International Marketing

Assignment no: 1

Cultural Analysis

Exporting Tanned Leather to Turkey

Executive Summary
To succeed with a potential venture of exporting Tanned leather under MMM company to
world-known Turkish leather industry at the profitable margins and thriving in a new economy
and setup, needs deep understanding of the Turkish culture, the people, etiquette and the way
they do business is essential. This part of assignment comprises a thorough analysis of Turkish
culture which is quite similar with Pakistan mainly with religion aspect both are Muslim
countries, the languages origins are same as mixture of Arabic and Persian, social structure of the
society and taboos are identical as giving respect to elders are highly appreciated in both
countries, preferring collectivism and nuclear family structure are observed with simple living
styles especially of eastern Turkish side. The business negotiation style of Turkey uses holistic
approach and employ a polychronic work style. They are used to pursuing multiple actions and
goals in parallel. Furthermore, both countries businesspeople avoid taking pressure and deadlines
and tried to improve business relationships by giving attention to other non-business aspects.

Moreover, Turkish education system is well-designed comprising of 2 types including formal

and non-formal and give importance to education by introducing number of reforms and
allocating enough budget to it. The health-care and social organizations are also working in the
best manner and controlled Covid-19 with outmost strategies. The political structure is also quite
similar with Pakistan as having democratic parliamentary republic system based on social justice
with number of parties having different ideologies. The taxation system is quite well-cleared and
simple to understand. For the living conditions of Turk, their lifestyle, eating habits, dressing
sense, festivals, arts, music and dramas are quite attractive in their nature and unique in their
aspect. The Turkish cuisine consist of highly nutritious meals including cheese, yogurts, olives,
meat and fish food. The Turkish museums, Masjids, breath-taking calligraphies, Sufi culture,
traditional and regional dances and music capture the huge interest of Tourists and Turkish
enrich aesthetics are so famous around the world.

Conclusively, the Turkish culture seemed quite interesting and easy to adapt offering the great
advantage and increasing the probability of our new venture to get successful because
communicating with Turks and learning about their culture, language and business customs is
way much simple as both nationalist respect and trust each other being Muslim brothers.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................................................3
BRIEF HISTORY OF TURKEY.................................................................................................4
GEOGRAPHICAL SETTING.....................................................................................................4
LOCATION.....................................................................................................................................4
CLIMATE.......................................................................................................................................5
TOPOGRAPHY................................................................................................................................5
SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS............................................................................................................6
FAMILY.........................................................................................................................................6
EDUCATION...................................................................................................................................7
POLITICAL SYSTEM.......................................................................................................................8
Political parties........................................................................................................................9
Tax System..............................................................................................................................10
Role of government.................................................................................................................11
SOCIAL STRUCTURE....................................................................................................................12
BUSINESS CUSTOMS AND PRACTICES.........................................................................................12
RELIGION...................................................................................................................................13
AESTHETICS..............................................................................................................................14

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LIVING CONDITIONS..............................................................................................................15
DIET AND NUTRITION.................................................................................................................15
HOUSING.....................................................................................................................................16
CLOTHING...................................................................................................................................16
RECREATION, SPORTS AND OTHER LEISURE ACTIVITIES.............................................................16
SOCIAL SECURITY.......................................................................................................................17
HEALTH CARE.............................................................................................................................18
LANGUAGE................................................................................................................................18
NEGOTIATION STYLE............................................................................................................18
REFERENCES............................................................................................................................22

Introduction
By keeping this strong fact in mind that Turkey and Pakistan
shares a strong brotherhood relationship and strong cultural
and religious ties, as highlighted “it is time for Pakistan and
Turkey to boost bilateral trade and both the countries want
to do this for their own reasons” (AHMED, 2020). As
Pakistan wanted to reduce dependence’s on US- influenced countries and Turkey willing to
become the part of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor to avail the economic benefits. Hence,
signed many Free-Tarde agreements between both countries. During the recent visit of Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Islamabad, the two countries signed some trade and
investment deals and resolved to take bilateral trade to $5 billion a year (AHMED, 2020).
Fortunately, giving us this golden opportunity to export intermediary tanned leather to Turkey
under the brand name of MMM cooperation. In Pakistan, it is considered to be the hub of
producing high quality leather and leather products but Turkish leather industry is more
flourished and advanced than Pakistan. Turkey is one of the biggest producers of high quality

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leather products in the world. It is mainly known for processing sheep and goat leather, which
takes it to the second position in Europe after Italy. (Leather industry in Turkey)

Even Pakistan is also actively engaged in producing best quality finished leather of cow, buffalo
and Sheep and goat skins. Pakistan has a large livestock population which plays an important
role in the economy of Pakistan by producing around 13.0 Million Hides and 47.4 Million Skins
per annum (2015-16). The quality of goat skins, cow, buffalo hides in Pakistan is excellent. The
type of sheep skins in Pakistan is better in respect of grain, substance and compactness of fibers.
(A BRIEF REVIEW ABOUT LEATHER INDUSTRY IN PAKISTAN). Due to some
geopolitics and energy crisis concerns, Pakistan leather industry is quite under-stressed whereas
Turkey is expert in manufacturing lots of medium and high-end first-class industrial and
consumer products including leather goods but Pakistan does not. Hence, by considering the high
quality, easy access and reasonable price of tanned leather of Pakistan and meeting the Turkish
leather industry standard provide us the great opportunity to export and sell our tanned leather at
profitable prices and learning new business tricks and techniques from Turkish leather industry
so in future, we are capable of running our own manufactured leather industry progressively.

Brief history of Turkey

Starting from the 16th century, the Ottoman Empire incrementally lost its economic and military
superiority in comparison to Europe, which had developed rapidly
with the Renaissance, with its conquest of new territories and its
access to raw materials, and with the Industrial Revolution. The
nationalist movements that started in the nineteenth century and the
self-determination movements and rebellions of the Balkan nations,
supported by the European powers and Russia, slowly brought the
Ottoman Empire to a decline. (A Brief Outline of Turkish History)

Republic of Turkey was proclaimed in 1923. For the first time in centuries, the Turkish people
enjoyed self-rule. Mustafa Kemal was elected as the first
president of the Republic of Turkey. The first Grand National
Assembly under the leadership of Ataturk created a new
political and legal system based on the principles of

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parliamentary democracy, human rights, national sovereignty and division of powers, private
ownership and secularism, and the separation of religion and state affairs. It was a revolution,
unparalleled at its time and even today, to bring a predominantly Muslim nation in line with
Western civilization and universal values. (History of Turkey in a Nutshell)

Geographical Setting
Location
Turkey, country that occupies a unique geographic position, lying partly in Asia and partly in
Europe. Throughout its history it has acted as both a barrier and a bridge between the two
continents. Turkey is situated at the crossroads of the Balkans, Caucasus, Middle East, and
eastern Mediterranean. It is among the larger countries of the region in terms of territory and
population. Nearly all of the country is in Asia, comprising the oblong peninsula of Asia Minor
also known as Anatolia and, in the east, part of a mountainous region sometimes known as the
Armenian Highland. (Yapp)

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Climate
In Turkey, there is a noticeable variety of climates, with considerable differences between the
areas and also with some microclimates due to the different exposure of slopes and coasts. The
coastal areas have generally a mild climate, but the coast of the Black Sea is colder than that of
the Mediterranean (Climates to travel). The interior has a continental climate, with cold, snowy
winters and hot, dry summers, though nights remain usually cool. Summer is dry and sunny
throughout the country, except on the north-east coast. In all the inland and south-central regions,
the driest months are July, August and September (Brosnahan)

Topography
Turkey's topographic structure clearly highlight the country's high elevation in comparison to its
neighbors, half of the land area being higher than 1000 meters (3281 feet) and two thirds higher
than 800 meters. Mountain ranges extend in an east-west direction parallel to the north and south
coasts and these are a principal factor in determining ecological conditions. Turkey’s rivers have
their sources within its borders and flow into the sea, into neighboring countries or into interior
drainages. Turkey has seven river basins. The principal rivers in the Black Sea basin being the
Sakarya, Kizilirmak Yesilirmak and Çoruh. Turkey also has two inland drainage basins. The first
is the Central Anatolia basin which contains the Tuz Gölü (salt lake) in Konya, and the Yay,
Seyfe, Kulu and several other satellite lakes (Sansal).

Another significant aspect of Turkey's topography is its continental character, preserved in the
ancient name of Asia Minor. This land mass is indeed a small scale continent in many respects,
above all with respect to the climate of the interior. In some provinces the temperature difference
over 24 hours can be as much as 20 degrees Centigrade (68 degrees Fahrenheit) (Turkey -
Topography)

Social Institutions
Family
Culture of the turkey is very family oriented. People ties with
their relatives by following a strong belief and respect their
elders and parents in their old age. They were lived with their
extended family and every person was contributed and enjoyed
in this system but after some times, this joint family concept changed into nuclear family and
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they started to live in their nuclear families (the average number of children is 2) due to
development in industrialization and urbanization. Now, there are more nuclear families (about
70 percent) in the country as compare to extended families (only 20 percent). But they also care
about their parents in this new family style and visit their home on regular basis. (Konda, 2018)

In family dynamics, respect is very important factor and associated with the age. Most Turks
respect their elders (higher authority persons) and refrain from smoking and arguing with them.
Parents grow up their children in very friendly environment. They take them in parks and their
desired places and allow them to play in the streets without any supervision. According to the
Islamic sharia, Turks can legally marry with four women and easily dissolve their marriage (not
much liked activity) but this rule changed in twentieth century and a man cannot marry with
second women without gaining the permission of first wife and also cannot give divorce to his
wife very easily. With the establishment of the Republic of Turkey (1924), new laws recognized
the right of divorce for partners, inheritance and the rights of separation of property in marriage.
(Turkey).

Education
According to the Constitution of the Republic of Turkey, every citizen has the right to education
which is free of charge for the compulsory primary education. Except in specially licensed and
foreign institutions, Turkish must be taught as the mother tongue. Since 2012, twelve years of
education is compulsory for boys and girls, which can be divided into 4+4+4 years of schooling.
(Sansal, EDUCATION SYSTEM IN TURKEY). Its national education system has two sections.
First is formal (structured and regular) education which further categorized into four steps.

Pre-primary education provides basic knowledge and helps in physical, mental and sensory
development of children (3-5 years). They learn Turkish language and prepare for the next level
in this optional category of education. Education of 8 years (4 years in elementary school and 4
years in middle school) is compulsory for all boys and girls (at the age of 5) in the primary
education. All primary schools provide this knowledge to students without any fee and they
cannot move to the next level after passing this necessary level.

Next, secondary and compulsory education is given in general, vocational and technical high
schools in four years. It prepares students to solve any kind of social and economic problem by
developing technical and special skills in them. In the last, students spend 4 years in

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universities for getting higher education and finalize its educational life by getting degrees in
their chosen field (General Overview of the School System).

Non-formal education in Turkey is offered by a network of training centers who are supervised
by the Ministry of National Education (MEB). Non-formal education services aim to teach
reading-writing, help to continue education of students for finish their incomplete education,
teach balanced nutrition and a healthy life style. Then government launched many national girls’
education campaigns for reducing these problems. Due to these all efforts, women literacy level
is improving (91% in 2018) with the men (98.5%) (Chapter 1. The Turkish education system).

Turkish
Education
System

Formal Non-Formal
Education Education

Secondary/High University/
Pre-primary Primary
school Higher
Education Education
Education Education

Political system
Political structure
The political system in Turkey is a democratic
parliamentary republic system, which is based on
social justice and the rule of law in a secular

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constitution, allowing multiple political parties. The President is the head of state. According to
constitutional amendments to the Turkish Constitution system, starting from 2014, the president
of Turkey will be elected, by direct popular vote, as a President of the Turkish Republic for a
period of five years renewable once. Whereas, Prime Minister is elected by the parliament
through a vote of confidence in the cabinet, and it is often that the chairman of the party, which
has the largest number of seats in Parliament will be the Prime Minister (Political System).PM
takes the responsibilities of both government and multi-party system with substantial reserve
powers by following the constitution of turkey. It is simply separation of power system. In this
system, judiciary is free of executive and legislative. Executive power is the responsibility of
council of ministers and Grand National assembly of Turkey holds legislative power.

(Turkish Political Hierarchy)

Political parties
It has five political parties in the current parliament.

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  Justice and development party (Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi, AKP)
 Republican People’s Party (Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi, CHP)
 Nationalist movement party (Milliyetci Hareket Partisi, MHP)
 Peace and democracy party (Baris ve Demokrasi Partisi, BDP)
 Participatory Democracy Party (Katilmci Demokraci Partisi, KADEP)
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Turkish politician serving under Justice and Development Party as the
current President of Turkey.

Source: Wikipedia, Hurriyet Daily News. Click to enlarge. @Fanack

Tax System
Turkey has three special and competitive taxes which are following:
Income Taxes:
It is the most type of tax and includes two kinds of tax. First is personal income tax which is paid
by individuals from its every type of earning such as business profit, agriculture profit, salaries
and income from independent personal services etc. Corporate income taxes, second kind of tax
is applicable on the legal companies which include cooperatives, capital companies, public
economic enterprises and joint ventures etc. The rate of this corporate income tax has been
increased to 22% for 2018, 2019 and 2020 in the country. (TAX GUIDE)
Taxes on Expenditure:
It has four types. First is Value Added Tax (VAT) which applies on agricultural, industrial and
professional goods and services with the rate of 1%, 8% and 18%. Petroleum and luxury products,

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tobacco, beverages and automobiles pay Special Consumption Tax (SCT). Next, Banking and
Insurance Transaction Tax applies on income earned by banks with the general rate of 5%. In
2008, turkey did not get any tax from foreign exchange transactions. At the last, Stamp Duty,
applies to a wide range of documents such as notes payables, financial statements and payrolls.

Taxes on wealth:
Turkish people pay taxes from their whole wealth. They give property, motor vehicle,
inheritance and even gift tax at the rate of 10%. (Individual - Taxes on personal income)

Role of government
Turkish government fulfills its all responsibilities in very good manner. It has three level
(National, provincial and municipal) and each has many duties and responsibilities which are
mentioned below.

 National government handles law and orders, state budget foreign policy, energy,
education, health and agricultural policies.
 Services related to the health, industry and trade, public and environmental works, social
services, loans, educational and other institutions are responsibilities of provincial
government.

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  Municipal government takes decisions related to issues of planning and development,
health and environment, sanitation, information system, police, culture, housing etc.
These all departments did their work very efficiently in the pandemic situation and still they are
trying to minimize the increasing situation of COVID-19. Government imposed strict
restrictions instead of full lockdown and succeeds in its plan of reducing the COVID-19 patients.

Social Structure
Turkish society has many classes based on wealth and education which include wealthy urban
educated class, the urban middle class, urban lower class, larger rural landowner class and the
general rural population. Urban upper class consists on high status and wealthy groups such as
cabinet ministers, physicians and assembly directors. Urban middle class is more orientated to
Turkish culture and less westernized than upper class and includes medium sized and semi-
skilled business men. Semiskilled, unskilled low paid and urban unemployed are come under the
category of urban lower class such as house maids and cleaner etc. It is low level class and finds
many difficulties to enter other high classes. Moreover, the class of larger rural landowner is
dominated on local population and urban lower class (Kasapoğlu & Ecevit, 2004).

People do not compromise on its religious values and education. There are no subcultures in the
country except communist and Islamist. It has many educational, entertainer (total 18 clubs
include in the system), social and supporting institutions. It has very beautiful and well-designed
mosques (Hersant & Toumarkine, 2005).

Business Customs and Practices

Turkish business culture is similar to the rest of the countries around the Mediterranean. While
Turkey is predominantly Muslim and the influence of Islam is visible in daily life, religious
values have little importance in business. Trust, confidence and loyalty go a long way in securing
a good deal as personal relationships are crucial to Turkish professionals. Bargaining is another
predominant feature of engaging in business in Turkey. (Business Culture )

The business decisions are usually made from the top down and the hierarchy is clearly defined
at most firms. While more modern management methods have been introduced in large
corporations, the most senior people continue to make decisions. Moreover, personal

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relationships are extremely important when securing a deal with Turkish companies. Turks
usually want to get to know their foreign counterparts personally as they most often seek long-
term relationships (Doing Business In Turkey).

For the greeting style, handshakes are the most common form of greeting. They tend to be
relatively firm for men and lighter for women. When meeting someone from the opposite gender,
women are expected to extend their hand first. If the woman does not extend her hand, a nod
with a smile will suffice. Whereas, for gift giving tradition is not a common at business meetings
in Turkey. But, if a gift is given it will be appreciated. A food delicacy to share or a craft item
from your home country is a good idea (Turkish business culture).

Religion
Turkey is a secular state according to the article 24 of its constitution. (Yilmaz, 2017). It was
announced as a secular state at the time of Mustafa Kamal Pasha in 1920’s. Out of his famous six
reforms one was to make Turkey a secular state as, he believed in the system without
discrimination against anyone in the name of religion. Turkey has been a home for centuries for
three substantial religions- Christianity, Islam and Judaism. According to the World Fact book
lists “Turkey’s majority population is of Muslims which is 99.8% and other minority religions
are Greek Orthodox Christians, Armenian Apostolic Christians, and Jews” (Turkey ).

People in Turkey belonging to minority religions are free to

practice their faith as the government has officially
recognized Christianity, Judaism and Sunni Islam. Turkey
has a deep Islamic history although, not all the Muslims
practice their religion strictly for example, at their European
side people are more open minded and modern so, they do
not practice religion strictly but, at Asian side people are
more conservative and sophisticated so, they practice religion. Overall there is a strong level of
religious beliefs throughout the Turkey. “Reverence of Islam is apparent in daily life For
example, it is common to hear someone saying “MashAllah” into casual conversation and Azan
is heard 5 times echoing from mosques” (Brosnahan, Religion & Islam in Turkey). During the
recent years due to the change in Government the secularism has weaken in the country. Alcohol

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sales and advertising have been restricted and modest clothing like wearing of head scarves is
more publicly promoted. (Phil Sylvester, 2019)

The summary of population of each religion can be seen in the given pie chart

Aesthetics
The architectural and decorative arts of Turkey are closely linked to the Islamic faith, which gave
major importance to mosques, medreses (theological schools), and mausoleums. Almost all
mosques follow the plan of Mohammed's house, which was composed of an enclosed courtyard
surrounded by huts, with a building at one end for prayer and an arcade to provide shade.

Calligraphy is intimately related to the Islamic faith and dates back to

the earliest surviving Quran manuscripts. Over the centuries, different
styles of calligraphy emerged, with one of the basic requirements being
that the text is legible. (Arts, Culture & Music in Turkey)

The art of carpet weaving has a complex heritage. Based on the

necessity of a nomadic existence, carpets had more practical functions: warmth and cleanliness.
As tribes migrated and integrated, designs and symbols crossed over borders as well.

Folk dances have different characteristics based on region and location and are generally
engaged in during weddings, journeys to the mountains in the summer, when sending sons off to
military service and during religious and national holidays. The best known folk dances are:

Kasik Oyunu: The Spoon Dance is performed from Konya to Silifke and
consists of gaily dressed male and female dancers clicking out the dance
rhythm with a pair of wooden spoons in each hand.

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Kilic Kalkan: The Sword and Shield Dance of Bursa represents the Ottoman conquest of the
city. It is performed by men only, dressed in early Ottoman battle dress, who dance to the sound
of clashing swords and shields without music. (Sansal, TURKISH FOLKLORE)

Living Conditions
Diet and Nutrition
Modern Turkish cuisine is healthy and varied, reflecting the
different civilizations which have inhabited the region. The east of
the country is characterized by high mountains, harsh winters and
livestock farming. There local foods center on cereals, meat,
butter, yogurt, cheeses and the delicately flavored honeys that the
country is renowned for. (Food and Drink in Turkey, n.d.)

In the center of Turkey the land is hilly and dry with a mixture of barren rock and wheat fields.
The traditional cuisine here is rich and made up of meat and vegetable dishes, kebabs and helva
desserts. Lamb is the most widely used meat, though chicken and beef are also common.

The warm climate in the west of the country produces abundant

fruit and vegetables, olive oil and seafood. The Black Sea coast is
home to many fishermen and many local dishes include Hamsi, a
small anchovy-like fish. The Caucasian Mountains are rich in
corn, tea and hazelnuts. (Turkish Food: Healthy and Delicious
Meals, n.d.)

Housing
The housing style of Turkey is very fascinating as it is a
mixture of east and west. It has modern European style
villas to intricately detailed Ottoman townhouses. Most
houses have at least two storeys. The upper storey is the
main living area and reveals details about the floor plan.
The ground floor generally has a high, solid stone wall,
almost like a fortification. The upper floor extends over the street (Turkish Houses, n.d.). During
the recent years, Turkey has modernized its real estate market. The housing style that is now

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followed in Turkey is a Mid-Rise Apartment Boom. The families in Turkey mostly prefer to
live in a one- family dwelling which mostly consists of husband wife, children and their
grandparents.

Clothing
The traditional male dress of Turkey includes the şalvar, yelek (vest) and
cebken (jacket) whereas; the traditional clothing for women of Turkey
includes the şalvar which is usually worn with upper garments of varying
styles and lengths. Men at workplace in Turkey mostly wears conservative
suit and tie while, women normally wears business suits with either skirt or
pants. During summer lighter clothes are acceptable without coat and tie for
men depending on the formality of a business. The eastern side of Turkish
likely to wear Abayas and cover their heads while western side is influenced of modern clothing
sense of Europe, where females are wearing short dresses, maxi style dresses, shorts, miniskirts,
skirts and many different types of trousers. Flip fops, sandals and flats are the preferred shoe
styles (TURKEY'S MODERN AND TRADITIONAL FASHION, n.d.)

Recreation, sports and other leisure activities

Turkey is one of the rare countries in the world which has an article related to sports in her
Constitution. Article 59 of the Constitution says, "The State takes measures to develop the
physical and mental health of Turkish citizens of all ages and encourages the spread of sports
among the masses. The State protects successful athletes." (Turkish Culture Foundation, n.d.)

Although soccer is the most popular sport in Turkey, basketball,

volleyball, handball, track-and-field and wrestling (which is
considered as the ancestral sport) are also popular. Furthermore,
important international successes have been attained in weightlifting,
boxing, taekwon-do, judo and archery in recent years.

With over 800 Km of coastline and a mountainous interior, Turkey

provides the opportunity for a wide range of sport and leisure
activities. From sailing, fishing, scuba-diving and watersports on the
Aegean and Mediterranean coasts, to skiing and snowboarding in the

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Anatolian mountains, Turkey's varied geography allows for a variety of outdoor pursuits. There
are also opportunities for hiking, walking, caving and hunting. (Angloinfo Turkey, n.d.)

Social Security
The social security system in Turkey is managed by Social
Security Institution (SGK). The social protection in Turkey is
based on two components: the contributory component
(Social Insurance) and the non-contributory component
(Social Assistance and Social Services). The Social Security
system is compulsory and runs on a pay as you go basis. It is funded by contributions from
employers, employees and the state. The contribution to social security is based on the total
earning. Moreover, the social security system in Turkey is predominantly similar to Bismarck
model, one of four basic insurance systems which are Continental Model (Bismarck),
Liberalistic Model (Beveridge), Northern European Model and Mediterranean Model. Bismarck
Model refers to a system where the premiums paid over the wages of employees according to
their insurance status are collected in a joint pool and the benefits are provided based on the paid
premiums only when old-age pension is entitled (Republic of Turkey Social Security Institution )

Health care
Turkey has universal healthcare system under its
Universal Health Insurance system. Under this system,
all residents registered with the Social Security
Institution (SGK) can receive medical treatment free of
charge in hospitals contracted to the SGK. The financing
of healthcare system has three main sources, which are:
Government budget funded by taxation revenue, contributions from employed citizens,
and out-of-pocket payments (differing from 3 to 10 Turkish Lira according to the type of
hospital). The annual growth rate of GNP in Turkey is between 5-6 percent but the health
expenditures are only between 3-5% of the GNP (Özdeniz, 2011)

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Language
The official language, Turkish, is the first language spoken
by 90% of the population. Minority languages include
Kurdish, spoken by 6% of the population, although this
isn't recognized as an official language. Arabic is spoken
by 1.2% of the Turkish population. Most of those speakers
are bilingual Arabic and Turkish speakers. Other minority
languages include Circassian, spoken by more than 0.09% throughout the country, Greek,
Armenian and Judezmo, a Romance language spoken by Jews (Languages across Europe , 2014)

Moreover, Turkish language has so many similar words to Urdu language as Turkish and Urdu
language sources are from Arabic and Persian languages For example, Dünya (Turkish) duniya
(Urdu) and Seder (Turkish) Safar (Urdu).

Negotiation style
Turkey’s culture is generally group-oriented. Asserting individual
preferences may be seen as less important than having a sense of
belonging to a group, conforming to its norms, and maintaining harmony among its members.
Turks generally employ a polychronic work style. They are used to pursuing multiple actions and
goals in parallel. When negotiating, they often take a holistic approach and may jump back and
forth between topics rather than addressing them in sequential order (Katz, 2008). There are two
important things when negotiating with Turks. Their favorite topics are always family and their
dreams. Political issues are almost never talked about. Therefore, one must be prepared for long
bargaining conversations in the markets of Turkey.

Things to avoid while negotiating in Turkey

First, do not limit your discussion to only business try to recognize the relationship or try to build
one.

Secondly, do not talk about politics because they are really sensitive and never liked to compare
themselves with the Arab countries because Turkish think that they have nothing in common
with these Arab countries except religion. Turkey is a secular state. (Negotiating Techniques)

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Demonstration:

2 people; one from Pakistan named as Mahpara and other one from Turkey named as Haseeb

Mahpara: Turkey is full with Arab people and language also seems a like similar

Haseeb: Excuse me! We are not Arabs, we are TURKS

Mahpara: Oh! I'm sorry.

Haseeb: Actually….. (Started his boring lecture to clarify)

Thirdly, do not start talking directly above the negotiations of business, hence, try to talk about
yourself and slowly initiate the negotiation but first having a chat about casual topics is quite a
good and formal style.

Fourthly, Turkish do not like to come under pressure and deadlines so avoid to put them under
pressure or give them a specific deadline as they'll not like it and will produce negative results.

Therefore, try to avoid such things in order to have long-term and smooth business relationship
with Turks.

Things to consider while negotiations

Try to learn about the history of Turkey and speak some words in Turkish to show that you are
interested in their culture

Demonstration: Mahpara went to a shop to buy something so she should try to use some
Turkish words.

Mahpara: Merhaba (hello)

Haseeb: Merhaba (hello)

Mahpara: ne Kadar (how much is it)

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Haseeb: 4 Turkish lira

Mahpara: okay I’ll buy it

Haseeb: Tesekkurler

Mahpara: Thanks

Comparing the negotiations style of Turks with Pakistanis

In Pakistan like Turkey you must be ready for long bargaining because they will not give you the
good price at first at most of the places so you have to do bargaining to make the price good.

For example demonstration;

Mahpara went to a shop to buy some fruits and a northern man is selling those fruits commonly
known as Pathan.

So conversation would be like this:

Mahpara: How much for 5 kg of these apples?
Northern fruit seller: Rs 1200
Mahpara: No! Give me a good price for them
N. fruit seller: okay you can give Rs 1150 special discount only for you
Mahpara: No! I can only give Rs 400

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Fruit seller: Nahhh! The final would be Rs 450
Mahpara: No. I’m leaving
Fruit seller: oh okay…. take it give me the money.

Mostly in Pakistan, people start fighting on political debates and religious topics and they also do
not like deadlines and aren’t straightforward in negotiations. They rely and give more importance
to personal relationships. The main strengths of the Pakistanis are relationship orientation, street
smarts, practicality and good communication. Issues that Turks might find challenging in
working with Pakistani counterparts are indirectness, polychronic approach to time, lack of
commitment, and slow pace of negotiation (Mubarak & Naghavi, 2019).

References
(n.d.). Retrieved from Angloinfo Turkey: Sports and Leisure Activities

A Brief Outline of Turkish History. (n.d.). Retrieved from Turkish Culture Foundation :
http://www.turkishculture.org/general/a-brief-outline-1067.htm

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