b"and subordinates act independently without necessarily requir-ing instructions from above. These generalities are quite relative rather than absolute. Of course, every country, organization, and individual is unique.One of the most common mistakes is assessing other peo-ples behavior through our own cultural lens, says Coco Hofs, a Dutch-born intercultural trainer and founder of the intercultural consulting firm, Cross-Cultural Solutions. With over a decade of experience, she has helped countless organizations over-come cultural differences in the international workplace. When we think about other cultures, we do it from the lens of our own culture. So, for example, in an encounter between a Canadian and a Dutch person, Canadians are likely to be per-ceived as not so assertive. But that is not the case. That's the behavior of the Canadians through a Dutch lens. I think that cat-egorizing the behavior of another culture without looking at our own is one of the most common pitfalls because you start off on the wrong foot by creating somewhat of a stereotype, which is dangerously misleading, she says.Another common mistake is putting a whole continent into the same bag, culturally speaking. People mistakenly speak about a Latin American culture as if it were only one, which is equivalent to talking about the whole European culture as one.This is a dangerous assumption because there are huge dif-ferences in how neighboring countries, like Chile and Peru, do business. For example, whether it is okay to talk about business over lunch: in Chile, its acceptable and common practice, but in Peru, its frowned upon, she says.In the Global Seed Industry, Culture Affects EverythingCultural dynamics affect everything we do: how we greet one another, how we sell our services and products in different mar-kets, how we engage with people at different levels of hierarchy,Coco Hofs, intercultural educator and founder ofour notions of time, our adherence to regulations, and so on.Cross-Cultural Solutions.There is not one aspect of our lives that isnt tinted by our culture. Likewise, in the global seed industry, culture shapes alland consumer acceptance of new breeding techniques in differ-aspects of seed production, distribution, consumption andent countries and regions. While some cultures, like Argentina, regulation. Understanding and accounting for cultural factors isBrazil and Paraguay, are more culturally prone to embrace essential for seed companies, policymakers and stakeholders tobiotechnology as a means of enhancing agricultural productiv-effectively navigate the industry's complexities and address theity and sustainability, other countries (like Ecuador, Peru and diverse needs and preferences of different communities andMexico) are more likely to harbor concerns about GMOs' safety, regions.ethics and environmental impact. For that reason, seed com-Cultural attitudes and beliefs go beyond general dynam- panies and policymakers must consider these cultural perspec-ics like power structure. For example, cultural attitudes towardtives and invest more into very transparent communication and biotechnology and genetically modified organismsand, moredialogue with stakeholders in those countries that dont already broadly, trust in scienceshape both the regulatory landscapesupport biotech innovations.LATAMSEEDWORLD.COM /31"