Simon Peters, a senior manager at Celise Export Logistics, goes for a meeting in France to negotiate a deal with the company's French partners. He dresses casually in a t-shirt and jeans. His French counterparts call off the meeting and accuse him of taking a casual attitude toward negotiations. In the context of this scenario, dressing formally during business meetings is probably a cultural _____ for the French.
A. imperative
B. elective
C. exclusive
D. oddity
E. benchmark
Answer: imperative