Location: Southeastern Asia, archipelago between the Philippine Sea and the South China Sea, east of Vietnam

Capital: Manila

Population: 86,241,697 (July 2004 est.)

Languages: Filipino (formerly Pilipino) is based on Tagalog and is the official language of the Philippines. In spite of being the national language, only about 55 percent of Filipinos speak the language. English is generally used for educational, governmental and commercial purposes and is widely understood since it is the medium of instruction in schools. The Philippines are the third largest group of English speaking people in the world, after the United States and the United Kingdom.

Lifestyle & Aspirations
Family is the most important element of life in the Philippines. Filipinos will visit family regularly if they do not live together and young people will send money home. Filipinos have vast, extended family networks and gatherings will often be huge. Meals will always be taken as a family if possible.
Filipino culture is extremely colourful and the year revolves around a long string of festivals, from saints' days to a vastly lengthened Christmas with parades, fireworks and other celebrations a regular fixture in every village. Singing and dancing happen spontaneously; many Filipinos are naturally talented musicians.
Filipinos are also keen on sport, particularly basketball, a legacy of American rule. Beach life and watersports are popular as all Filipinos live within easy reach of the sea.
They are keen travellers, although they tend to venture abroad to find work and send money home rather than to take holidays.
In Manila and Cebu, life is as it would be in any huge metropolis with bars, restaurants, shopping malls and nightclubs. Elsewhere, however, the pace is slower, keeping more with life on a tropical island.

The Essentials (10 Key Tips)
1. Take time to form a relationship before getting down to business.
2. Adjust your expectations to the slower pace of life - becoming impatient is a waste of time.
3. Filipinos are usually warm and hospitable and they respond well to outsiders who clearly show they are interested in relationship building and enjoying social time together.
4. Make sure you are dealing with the decision maker. It may take several meetings and a lot of relationship- building to establish exactly who this is.
5. Many Filipinos in business have difficulty in disagreeing with others explicitly so this hesitation to be frank with bad news means there is a need to patiently probe to discover real'hidden' negative views.
6. Do not underestimate the power of the group. The family is the most important cultural unit and respect should be shown to its importance.
7. Remember that smiling can disguise anger or embarrassment in a Filipino.
8. Appearances really do matter and visitors should dress well especially when looking to create a positive first impression.
9. This is a matriarchal society. Women enjoy equal social and poilitical rights with men.
10. Filipina women can be tough negotiators and strong leaders; do not underestimate them or patronise them.

Working with the Filipinos
Business is personal in the Philippines and forming relationships with your counterparts is essential. Always make time for small talk and enquire about somebody's family. Only after establishing a cordial atmosphere will people negotiate. No matter what the final result, any discussions should always end cheerfully. To a Filipino - cultivating a friend, establishing a valuable contact and developing personal rapport are what make business wheels turn. The Filipino way of doing business is a confluence of the East and West. It is better not to assume that the friendly, chatty Filipino manner is a license to treat business as one does back home - setting tight deadlines, focusing on the bottom line, being more aggressive with your team. Despite the American influence, Asian values are still deeply ingrained.
Doing business can be deeply frustrating. Decisions take a long time to be made. Filipinos can appear very enthusiastic about projects and ideas but many will never get off the ground. Projects will be started but will lose their momentum. Teams tend to be dragged down to the lowest common denominator and may make progress slowly. Western managers have to adjust to the culture and allow people to save face, making it difficult to discipline anybody. It may be easier to move somebody to another department rather than to fire them.

Making a Good Impression
Dressing smartly is essential, as it shows you are serious about business. Women should dress modestly as well as smartly. If men are going to wear a barong tagalog (the loose-fitting white shirt worn by Filipino men), it should be without irony and is probably best saved for follow-up meetings; it's a bit much to turn up at an initial meeting in national dress.
Respect Filipino etiquette; address people correctly and understand the signs that indicate you have been accepted. For example, being invited to use somebody's nickname, or being invited to their home.
Act in a modest, unassuming way at all times. Speak calmly and do not raise your voice or lose your temper. Be careful when handing out criticism. Try to keep it indirect and always counter it with something positive.
Accept the fact that things will move at a Filipino pace, not the pace you may be used to. Make allowances for this and build it into schedules rather than trying to rush things and getting frustrated.
Respect the Filipinos' commitment to democracy and free speech. Attempt to learn to reconcile this with the autocratic management style still in existence in many companies.

Business Etiquette
Business cards are exchanged at the beginning of a meeting. Sometimes a Filipino prints his or her home number on a business card, which indicates that it is acceptable to call them outside office hours. Cards only need to be printed in English. Although their exchange is more casual than in, say, Japan or Korea, it is nonetheless polite to study the card carefully before putting it in your pocket. When dealing with Muslim Filipinos remember not to present a card with your left hand since it is considered unclean.

Body language
Filipinos are a touching people and are constantly connecting with one another, either holding hands, embracing or touching someone to illustrate a point. People talk to one another in close proximity.
Filipinos have complicated nonverbal language, much of it involving facial expressions. Lifting the eyebrows without smiling means no -- but lifting the eyebrows while smiling is used to greet a friend. Filipinos often point by pursing their lips. Pointing your finger is rude and you should avoid too-direct eye contact. Make eye contact during introductions but break it throughout conversations. Holding eye contact for long periods of time is intimidating and it's important not to cause a counterpart to lose face by embarrassing him in any way.
The rules on handshakes are similar to those in the West - although Filipinos may use a little more contact (a pat on the side of the arm as gesture of hospitality or friendship) and have a weaker handshake than Westerners. If there is a clear status differential or you are meeting a senior executive, it may be best to let him/her offer the handshake first. Do not make any other physical contact with a senior person, like grabbing their arm or slapping them on the back.
Raising one's voice is unacceptable in Filipino business culture. It's important to maintain a low, yet controlled tone of voice at all times. Striving to speak this way can help you conduct business with greater effectiveness and may even allow you to project more of an authoritative, confident image.
Don't assume that a smile is an indication of amusement or approval. Frequently, smiling is used to mask embarrassment, nervousness, and other feelings of distress. This is why you will sometimes observe Filipinos smiling or laughing during inappropriately sombre or tense moments.
Because of the years of U.S. military presence in the Philippines, most North American gestures are recognised and understood. You may observe people hissing in restaurants; this is a common way of beckoning waiters.

Communication style
Despite the Western influences on their culture, Filipinos are indirect communicators and will rarely use the word 'no'. Given the cultural value of pakikisama (group loyalty) and the importance of maintaining social harmony, disagreement or interpersonal tension of any sort is distasteful. As a result, business negotiations often have far more ambiguity than the typical Westerner is used to. Yes does not always mean yes, but could mean maybe, or be used simply to keep you quiet. There are words in Tagalog that don't say no, but do imply it. For example, the word mamaya implies "later today" while saka na means more like "sometime later… ".
This reluctance to say no comes across in other ways as well. A Filipino may not take your calls or may cancel meetings (by being 'out' when you arrive) rather than looking you in the eye and saying 'no'. Getting decisions made can be frustrating.
Another characteristic of Filipino communication is ningas cogon, an idiomatic phrase referring to what happens when you set a blazing fire, only to watch it quickly fizzle out. The phrase refers to a rather unfortunate tendency to start projects and never finish them. All too often the projects under discussion never get off the ground as the parties involved move on to other projects. This is usually because some participants were reluctant to show their reservations in the first place; they wanted to go along with the group consensus. While this has the short-term advantage of everyone leaving the meeting full of hope, the longer-term consequences include confusion, frustration, and resentment.

Gift-giving
Gift-giving is an important part of Filipino culture, particularly at Christmas, when gifts should be given to practically everybody you know, from doorman to office junior, as well as all suppliers and customers. Gifts could range from baskets of goodies to company giveaways to plain calendars or office items with your company logo.
In some cultures, gifts are considered bribes but in the Philippines, a business deal often isn't complete until gift exchanges are done. Upon signing of any contracts, if gift exchanges have yet to take place, offer the associates something tasteful but not too expensive and extravagant. Gifts are not opened in front of the giver.
Once a contract has been signed, prepare to give your new partners a gift of greater value. These gifts include dinner at a fine restaurant, whisky for men or perfume for women. The gift should still, however, be modest enough not to be construed as a bribe. Respect your company's culture and the laws of your own country and of the Philippines when it comes to gift-giving.
When invited to a Filipino home, bring a gift of flowers, candy or chocolates. Another option is to arrange to have these items sent before your arrival. Avoid bringing alcohol or food as these gifts may imply that the hospitality is inadequate. Allowances are made, however, for a speciality dish or food that is unique to your home region. Be sure to send a thank-you note afterwards.

Business Meeting Culture
Before the meeting
Meetings should be set up a few weeks ahead and then reconfirmed the day before. Do not arrange back-to-back meetings as there is every chance that somebody will be late and the meeting will probably run over schedule. Guests should be offered snacks and drinks (coffee and soft drinks) at the meeting. Filipinos may arrive as a team, rather than one-on-one, so be prepared. Dress smartly as you will be taken more seriously.
Filipinos will usually prepare thoroughly for a meeting so you should do the same.

During a meeting
Allow time for small talk before the meeting. This is an essential part of relationship-building and allows your Filipino counterparts to assess you as somebody to work with and to put you in context. If you are going to be negotiating, make sure your counterparts build relationships with more than one executive from your company, as a safeguard in case one of you cannot make it to future meetings. If one person is pulled off a deal, the relationship-building has to start again.
Meetings follow an agenda but may deviate from it. Filipinos tend to be good listeners and will not interrupt. The meeting should strive for harmony and even if you feel passionately about something do not raise your voice or show annoyance. If you must criticise a plan, present it as suggesting an alternative rather than causing somebody to lose face.
Always try to demonstrate a long-term commitment to doing business in the Philippines and highlight the benefits of your deal to your Filipino counterparts. Filipinos can be suspicious of people who are only involved in something for their own good.

After the meeting
More time should be allowed for small talk. It is rude to disappear straight after a meeting and important for the harmony of the group that the meeting should end on a positive note. Follow up any proposals in writing and if you hosted the meeting, distribute minutes to all who were present. From what was discussed, try to sort out in your head things that are likely to happen and those will amount to nothing. Filipinos can get very excited at new plans but sometimes lack the ability to follow them through.

Motivating Others
Filipinos see their place of employment as one big extended family and a feeling of comfort from this is more important than making a fast buck. People are certainly motivated by money but it is almost expected that loyal service to one employer will result in bonuses and pay increases. Working in one's comfort zone and attaining job satisfaction is more important.
Many bright, young Filipinos are however, ambitious. Progressing up the hierarchy in a company can be difficult if one is not a family member but the idea of advancement and frequent promotions for good service and loyalty can be a strong motivator. A lot of Filipino companies have an element of US influence in them, with a commitment to democracy, something which is greatly appreciated by Filipinos.
A good manager will appeal to the Asian and Hispanic influences on a Filipino workforce when trying to motivate employees. The modesty and courtesy of the Asian side of their nature should be appealed to, at the same time as the Hispanic desire for warmth, respect and close relationships. A manager who takes a close interest in employees' families and personal well-being will be a successful motivator.

Effective Presentations
Periodic power failures may result in difficulty using technology tools and anybody making a presentation should be prepared to 'wing it' should the power cut out. It is advisable to have a print-out of your speech, or index cards, should the daily 'brownout' catch you. Do not prepare a speech that relies entirely on an elaborate presentation. Have handouts ready for afterwards, for people to use as notes and as a backup in case the power does fail.
Filipinos generally make good, polite, attentive listeners and are used to long, elaborate speeches - sometimes half in English and half in Tagalog. Speakers should come across and warm and friendly, but modest. Don't be afraid to expand on a point and don't expect the audience to interrupt; they will listen and then ask questions later. Potentially awkward or challenging questions will be avoided, as nobody wants to cause the speaker to lose face.
There is no need to have a presentation translated and Filipinos can understand English spoken at a normal speed. If you want to use idiom or sporting analogy, ask yourself first whether the audience will understand this. American colloquialisms are more likely to be appreciated than those in British English.


Managing Relationships
Although many Filipino companies have a Western-style structure and senior employees who have trained in the West, the personal relationship aspect of business is still much stronger than it is in the West. Contacts, friends, family members and those who have extended favours in the past are all essential to oiling the wheels of business.
Although there are many social inequalities in the Philippines, there is a belief that everyone must be treated with civility and even the most important people are expected to behave graciously, particularly when dealing with those less fortunate. For example, beggars are politely refused with the phrase "Patawarin po", which means, "Forgive me, sir." Snubbing a beggar may result only in loss of face, both yours and the beggar's.
Avoiding loss of face is essential. If you do cause someone hiya (shame) they will probably not say anything but you will find out sooner or later when deadlines are missed, phone calls not returned and projects not completed. Passive-aggressive behaviour such as this is the team's, or the individual's way of letting a manager know they are unhappy.