Answer to Question 1
Answer to Question 2
At a cultural level, particularism in all its forms rejects the very concept of a shared global culture and rejects the penetration of domestic markets by foreign goods and services. Differences among cultures produce differences in social expectations, politics, and ultimately in legal rules. Different cultures produce different political regimes, with different laws governing the movement of information, information privacy of their citizens, origins of software and hardware in systems, and radio and satellite telecommunications. Even the hours of business and terms of business trade vary greatly across political cultures.
Cultural and political differences profoundly affect organizations' standard operating procedures. Everything from the different reliability of telephone systems to the shortage of skilled consultants creates barriers. National laws and traditions have created different accounting practices in various countries, which impact the way profits and losses are analyzed. These accounting practices are tightly intertwined with each country's legal system, business philosophy, and tax code. Cultural differences can also affect the way organizations use information technology. Japanese firms, for example, use fax technologies intensively but are not comfortable with e-mail. Language is a significant barrier. Software may have to be built with local language interfaces before a new information system can be successfully implemented. Currency fluctuations can play havoc with planning models and projections. Some of these problems will diminish in parts of the world when the Euro becomes more widely used.