It is human nature to judge people by their looks and behavior without considering their backgrounds. However, each of us goes through several different experiences that form our personal history. These experiences shape the way we think and behave throughout the years. When we are young, we like to try new things. Our behavior often lacks consistency. We try to find our way with a bit of a rebellious attitude. Then we start to mature, develop our own principles and ways of doing things while harmonizing with the people we interact with. Countries follow the same pattern with their economies and cultures.
However, the general rules of doing business are more or less the same, as are the cultural behavior of countries. Foreign businesspeople from established countries—like adults looking at youngsters—often tend to ignore the age and the cultural background of Turkey when they make harsh judgments about the different ways of doing business in this country. The Turkish economy was semi-liberalized in 1984 and has been liberalizing since then. One should therefore always keep in mind that one is dealing with a “young” liberal business culture trying to figure out her own way between the traditions of her parents (developed during the closed-economy years) and her new liberal friends (whom she likes to hang out with) with— out getting hurt.
