Business Profile
The Czech Republic’s principal industries are power engineering
and fuels, metallurgy, engineering, glass, wood and armaments.
The rapidly growing service industry is a major source of income,
with the related tourist industry providing enough invisible
income to help redress the trade deficit. Global recession in
1996 revealed just how fragile the Czech ‘economic miracle’ actually
was. Increased domestic demand and poor export performance have
generated a growing deficit.
Prague is the centre of Czech business – 20% of the country’s
GDP is created here – although there is no particular central
business district and companies are located in all parts of the
city and suburbs. As heavy engineering moves outside the city,
service industries (financial, retail and telecommunications)
and manufacturing industries (electrical, transport and food
processing) are becoming increasingly prevalent. Companies to
base their Czech or Eastern European Headquarters in Prague include
ABB, Siemens and Philips.
Business Etiquette
By and large the Czechs are a warm people who greatly value
hospitality. In some instances, when dining with Czech business
colleagues, it will emerge that the bill has quietly been settled.
If this happens, business visitors should accept gracefully (considering
the disparity in Czech and Western wages, this may also be a
matter of personal pride) and try to find some later means of
showing appreciation. Czech society is still largely male dominated
and, especially with older businessmen, it is unheard of for
a woman to pay for a meal, even if she is the senior member of
the team. If invited to dine at a colleague’s home, a small
gift is appropriate – a bottle of wine or flowers are best.
When offering or accepting a lift with a business colleague,
the favoured location is the backseat.
Initial business meetings are often serious affairs, during
which even business partners refer to each other by title and
surname. The use of forenames is a mark of friendship, however,
using them without permission is seen as insulting or demeaning.
Degrees are considered important and should always be used in
addressing correspondence (only the doctorate is used in direct
address). Meetings can take longer than expected and be more
formal than the average Western businessperson is accustomed
to. However, as the old Communist bureaucratic ways give ground
to capitalism, business lunches and such meetings are gaining
popularity, especially with the younger generation. However,
one should not expect work-related meals to be the norm.
Prague Dress Code
For business purposes, formal attire is the norm. Dress for
social gatherings is less formal but often dictated by the weather
which can be fairly extreme. Most restaurants do not require
jacket and tie but it is always wise to check when booking. It
is a Prague tradition to dress up when attending classical concerts.
Greeting Someone in Prague
A friendly handshake is the usual greeting upon meeting someone
in Prague. It is not common to use first names unless relationships
are extremely well established. Business situations are likely
to start and remain fairly formal.
Business Hours
Offices: Monday to Friday 8a.m. or 9a.m. to 5:00p.m.
Banks: Monday to Friday 8a.m. to 3:30 or 4:30p.m.
Government: Monday to Friday 9a.m. to 5:00p.m.
Retail: Monday to Friday 9a.m. to 6p.m. Saturday 9a.m. to noon
(Food stores open between 6 and 7a.m. and close between 6 and
7p.m. Some department stores stay open until 8p.m.) Note: Many
small shops, offices, and those government services in rural
areas often close for an hour at noon.
Banks
Also banks can be found in the Prague city centre. Known banks
in the Czech Republic are:
- CSOB
- Ceska Sporitelna
- Komercni Banka
- Bank of Austria
|
