Romania

Romania

●3 Country Background

History

Modern Romania can be dated to 1861, when the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia were freed from the control of the Ottoman Empire and united as the Romanian nation.

Despite having a Prussian king, Romania did not join the Central Powers at the outbreak of the First World War. When the Allies offered Transylvania to Romania, the Romanians joined their side. But without Allied armies on the ground, the Romanians were no match for German and Austrian armies. The Central Powers occupied Romania, while the Romanian government retreated to Moldavia, where the Russians protected them.

Russian protection ended with the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. Romania surrendered to the Central Powers in May 1918. But the Central Powers soon collapsed. Romania retracted its surrender and occupied both Bessarabia and Transylvania. Romanian troops even briefly occupied the Hungarian capital of Budapest.

The Romania that emerged from the First World War was the largest it had ever been, but it had earned the enmity of all its neighbors. The victorious Allies allowed Romania to keep its winnings, provided that they sign a treaty with Hungary. The Trianon Treaty was signed in 1920.

As the Second World War swept over the Balkans, the Romanian army became involved. They assisted the Austrians and the Italians in the invasion of Yugoslavia. Then, once Hitler invaded the USSR, Romanian troops marched into Ukraine. The Romanians also exterminated the Jews in the Soviet land they occupied.

When the war turned and the Red Army marched into Romania in August of 1944, the Romanians switched sides. The Romanian army fought the Germans with the same fervor they displayed in Ukraine. The Red Army occupied Romania until a Communist government was established.

Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej took power in 1953. He deviated from Moscow’s orders by encouraging anti-Hungarian and anti-Russian nationalism. These policies were continued

Although Romanian is quite similar to the Genoese dialect of Italian, some 12 percent of the Romanian vocabulary is derived from Slavic languages; do not expect to be able to conduct business by speaking Italian to your Romanianspeaking client.

Romania

Romania

The Romanian View

Some 87 percent of the population belongs to the Romanian Orthodox Church. The remainder of the population is Protestant, Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Jewish, Islamic, or atheist.

Romanians consider themselves to be descended from the native Dacians and the Roman legions who conquered them in a.d. 101. Of course, this original population has been influenced by some 1,650 years of subsequent conquest and migration by many other peoples.

Foreigners have often commented on the fierce intensity of Romanians. They are fearless soldiers. In Orthodox churches and at funerals, Romanians sometimes display a religious fervor that sedate—or repressed—foreigners find frightening. And in business, Romanians attack

obstacles with a will—particularly when their path is clear.

Romania is subject to occasional serious earthquakes, which may contribute to the Romanian mindset that they are not in control of their destiny.

*Know Before You Go

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The greatest hazard for visitors to Romania is probably nonviolent crime, such as pickpocketing. Visitors also complain about being gouged by taxi drivers, who often drive without meters or with nonoperational meters. Violent crime seems to be on the rise, ranging from simple muggings to sophisticated confidence schemes in which a criminal impersonates a law officer.

Romania is the second largest nation in Eastern Europe (after Poland). Consequently, it has a wide variety of terrain and climate. These include mountains and coastlines, each of which present different hazards. Romania is subject to occasional earthquakes, floods, and mudslides. Romania’s prevailing weather patterns flow through Ukraine and Russia, yielding hot summers and cold winters.

While public transportation in Romania is in good repair, the roads are not—especially in rural areas. Travelers on rural roads at night should be especially careful of pedestrians, bicyclists, and horse-drawn carts—none of which will probably be carrying lights. Also, be aware that Romanian traffic laws are very strict. Romanian police may confiscate your driver’s license for infractions, even if it was issued in your home country.

As in other former Warsaw Pact nations, little thought was given to the environment in the past fifty years. There is severe industrial and chemical pollution in parts of Romania. And Romania’s first nuclear power plant was built on the country’s most active earthquake zone.

There is a high degree of computer competence in Romania. Cybercrime is a growing problem, especially for foreign companies (which are the most frequent targets). Typical cybercrimes include: Internet fraud, credit card fraud, auction site fraud, and hacking or extortion schemes.

Despite anticorruption regulations, bribery is still common in Romania. The country has been described as“a nation of brown envelopes,” referring to the typical enclosure for a bribe.

●3 Cultural Orientation

Cognitive Styles: How Romanians Organize and Process Information

The people in Romania have always been independent (even under Communist rule) and open to outside information. Their basic education fosters associative thinking, but most of

The most famous foreign author to write about Romania is Bram Stoker, who located the home of his vampire, Dracula, in Romania. He placed Castle Dracula at the convergence of three regions: Transylvania, Moldavia, and Bucovina.

Romania

Romania

●3 Business Practices

Punctuality, Appointments, and Local Time

●Romanians tend to be very punctual; be on time.

●Appointments should be made well in advance.

●Appointments may be requested by e-mail or mail. Business letters can be sent in English. Not only do Romanians expect to translate foreign correspondence, but such a letter may be accorded more attention than one written in Romanian.

●An interpreter will be necessary for the meeting unless you are positive that you and your Romanian counterpart are fluent in a common language.

●Because more Romanian students now study at English universities than French, English is the most widely spoken foreign language. French is still widely studied as well, and many other languages are heard in various parts of Romania. For example, Hungarian is spoken in Transylvania, and Russian is common near the Romanian-Russian border. Older Romanian businesspeople tend to speak some German. Major hotels and resorts have English-speaking staff members.

●Official holidays include January 1 and 2, Easter Sunday and Monday, May 1 (Romanian Labor Day), December 1 (National Day), and December 25 and 26.

●Romania is two hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (G.M.T. +2), or seven hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time (E.S.T. +7).

Negotiating

●Patience is necessary for establishing business contacts in Romania; the process can seem glacially slow. However, once the connection is established, one can expect to continue the relationship for a very long time.

●Stay at one of the more prestigious international hotels. Staying elsewhere will diminish your importance in the eyes of Romanians.

●Like many Eastern Europeans who lived under totalitarian regimes, older Romanians learned to communicate obliquely. Even today, they are not accustomed to answering questions directly. Instead, they prefer to respond to questions with long stories that suggest an answer.

●Be prepared to hand out a large number of business cards. Your cards need not be translated into Romanian; a card in English or French is satisfactory. Your title and any advanced degrees should be listed on the card.

Business Entertaining

●Remember that Romania remains one of the poorer countries in Europe. As a foreigner, your hard currency gives you priority access to available goods. You should also bring some gift items with you from home.

Romania

Dress

●Casual Western-style dress is common; jeans are everywhere. However, businesspeople are still expected to dress in conservative business apparel. Men wear dark suits except during the summer, when short-sleeved shirts with ties are acceptable; women wear suits and heels. Make sure your shoes are well polished.

●Business wear will generally suffice for formal occasions.

●Shorts are appropriate only for the country or the shore, not the cities.

●Unless specified otherwise, assume that invitations to a Romanian house or restaurant call for the same clothes you wear for business.

●Women should wear a skirt that covers their knees, and have their shoulders covered when entering an Orthodox church. Covering up one’s hair is generally not required, but it is wise to carry a scarf just in case.

Cultural Note

With its varied scenery, Romania is popular as a low-cost venue for filmmakers. A number of Hollywood films, from the prestigious U.S. Civil War epic Cold Mountain to the camp horror sequel Seed of Chucky, have been filmed in Romania.