32 Comments Add your own

• 1. Phil Hamer  |  January 23rd, 2010 at 3:57 pm

  Thanks for the good advice Dr. Carr. Being well read in our industry and major will help us all in lots of situations, especially job interviews. I believe that is one of the things that got Sarah Palin in trouble.

  I enjoyed the WSJ article. The thought of one person trying to be as serious as possible to impress the other who is trying to be as jovial as possible is hilarious.

  Sometimes it is hard to tell what could potentially be a cultural gaffe. I’ll never forget the time when I was overseas in Singapore and a group of us Americans were making Pakistani food with a group of Pakistanis for an activity. We were being taught how to make Chapatis which are the Pakistani version of the tortilla. We Americans thought it would be fun to start tossing the dough back and forth to each other like they do in fancy pizzerias. We were laughing and throwing the dough back and forth and the Pakistanis were all becoming very upset. One girl even started crying. Come to find out, bread and dough is considered a sacred thing in Pakistan. Especially in poor areas of the country where most of them were from. Us throwing the dough around as if it meant nothing was sacrilege to them.
  We had to do a lot of apologizing and it really put a damper on what should have been a fun activity.

• 2. Horizon Chaser  |  November 6th, 2010 at 10:12 am

  This article reminds me of a great book that I read over the summer by Malcolm Gladwell called Outliers. Gladwell tells a story about a time when Korean Air had an astonishingly poor safety record. This record wasn’t attributable to equipment failure or incompetence of the pilots. Rather, it was due to Korean cultural practices of communication between subordinates and superiors. It was allegedly acceptable and common at one time for Korean pilots to slap their co-pilots if the co-pilot made a mistake or questioned authority. Co-pilots were forbidden from challenging their superiors even when planes were about to fly into a mountain side.

  I remember thinking how unbelievably strange this kind of working relationship was relative to our cultural norms. Subordination in the workplace, to the point of death, is beyond my comprehension. However, the lesson to be learned here is that understanding the relationship between cultural legacy and behavior when dealing with foreigners is critical to interpersonal effectiveness.

• 3. Robbin Forsyth  |  November 11th, 2010 at 10:44 am

  A valuable service that could offered to rookie Americans people working in China and other asian countries would be a “no” interpreter.
  Americans generally are very direct. We value time highly
  and feel successful when we can accomplish a deal quickly. The Chinese are more process oriented and much less confrontational than Americans. They will rarely so “no” or express direct confrontation to an idea in a formal setting such as business negotiations. Especially towards a customer. Americans also assume that if someone else speaking english, that both parties understand each other. The Chinese language is so nuanced, that a Chinese person that is fluent in English will can actually confuse an American with the english language.
  An enthusiastic westerner not experienced with Chinese culture can make the mistake of non objection as agreement. I have seen several situations develop in which Americans incorrectly believe that the Chinese agreed to proposed pricing or other terms in a deal.
  One of these situations proceeded to the point is goods being refused because invoicing prices did not match a prearranged letter of credit.
  A simple solution would be to have someone more experienced with both cultures present in meeting to point out what is actually transpiring.
  “Excuse me sir, do you see the look on his face?”
  “Yes”
  “He’s trying to tell you no.”

• 4. Chris Carr  |  November 14th, 2010 at 10:12 pm

  Yep.

  Robbin’s point is spot on and has been my experience as well.

• 5. J Hurley  |  November 27th, 2010 at 7:38 pm

  Differences in cultures can be very hard to see and understand but can be extremely large at the same time. Just not being familiar with a culture and unaware of local customs and traditions is tolerable to some degree and expected. The best you can do is alter your behavior or actions to best suit the required needs of the culture. However, I think that alot of culture clash doesn’t only come from missed communications but also from lack of respect or care. A few months ago I was backpacking through Turkey and had found my way to Istanbul. I made a plan to see the Blue Mosque and waited out side most of the day until they would let visitors in as it was Ramadan. As you enter the mosque you are asked to remove your shoes and the women are provided cloth to cover their heads while inside. Once I entered, most people were respectful of the praying people and remained quite. However, there was a group of foreigners that were snapping pictures with flash, talking very loudly, and had removed their head cloth as soon as they entered. I found this to be totally disrespectful of the local people and their beliefs.

• 6. Amanda Podesta  |  December 14th, 2010 at 7:44 pm

  How far should multinationals go to accommodate customs?

  In particular, I’d be very interested in an honest evaluation of whether pay-offs/greasing palms is common practice when it is dismissively “how things are done” and if Western companies participate in behavior that they never would on home ground— also, when bribery/corruption gets whistle blown do companies get treated atypically (leniently or stridently) by the courts?

  We have been reading in the newest Wikileaks that in some cases American companies are not above bending its morals… DynCorp (with strong military connections) securing the services of boy prostitutes for Afghani cops, Pfizer pressuring Nigeria’s district attorney to drop lawsuits, Baker Hughes paying $4m to Kazakh chiefs for access to oil.

  … when a contract or promotion is at risk, which side of the line will we stand on?

• 7. Cassie Bettencourt  |  December 18th, 2010 at 4:11 pm

  The main issue with successfully navigating cultural differences in daily interactions and in business is illustrated by a quote in the referenced article from the Wall Street Journal. “You don’t know what you don’t know.” It is impossible to fully prepare for the unknown. On the other hand, business people are able to prepare themselves and their employees for the cultural differences that they are aware of, thus minimizing the problem. However, this is a case where ignorance is not bliss.

  A possible business opportunity I see is to create a firm that is dedicated solely to understanding various international business venture places as well as with the resources to figure out “what you don’t know”–like a specialty third party consulting firm. Although not an entirely new idea since the company Culture Coach International, Inc. was mentioned in the article, that is the first example this type of a company that I have ever heard of. I am surprised they are not more common, and I think this would be a great idea to build a business around. More specifically, a consulting firm having to do with proper greetings or even a proofreading service that checks over correspondence for tone and translation have great potential. Even though using a consulting firm like the ones mentioned above might be expensive for a company already spread thin looking to expand globally, the after-cost of not using one has the potential to be much more–both financially and in reputation.

• 8. Chris Carr  |  December 20th, 2010 at 12:31 pm

  @ Cassie —

  Good point. See, e.g., the business/consulting firm/blog by Jason Patent below. He has made the point that one would never try to sell lemonade in New York on a hot July day without the right stand and equipment, and when entering an emerging market knowing the cultural minefields is like having the right “lemonade stand”.

  http://www.jasonpatent.com/

• 9. Sarah Weinzapfel  |  December 21st, 2010 at 12:17 pm

  I completely agree with Cassie’s point on “you don’t know what you don’t know.” But how ignorant can any business trying to expand internationally be? Every example in this article was shocking to me. Even the example of Mr. Gonen expanding his company into England. How was that language barrier unexpected? Why would any company go into another country completely blind?

  Cultural no-no’s can be prevented. Consulting firms like Cultural Coach International should be more common and popular. International expansion and cultural coaching go hand in hand for me. In the HR class this past quarter we read a case study about a company who had just opened an office in Japan. The manager of the Japan office had no cultural training and was failing. Of course he was. It would be way more expensive to bring him home early from his assignment than it would have been to train him on the customs and business practices of Japan.

  Our class discussion, just like the article, gave the impression that consulting firms, like the one mentioned in the article, are not common. This is why I was so excited, when talking to a friend’s of mine father, that the company he worked for had sent him to China a couple times, but not before three weeks of training on their customs and business practices. There really is no other way to expand abroad. I feel that the tangible and intangible costs would be much higher of not using a consulting firm of the like than the upfront costs of using one.

• 10. Jessie Wilkie  |  December 21st, 2010 at 1:56 pm

  I think it would be clever to take advantage of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in all markets that consist mostly of BOP customers. I believe that by using technology you can reach many more people and address cultural nuances more easily–with all the databases of information that exist on cultures and language translators at our disposal.

  Furthermore, one could use ICT to help many people gather the tools and advantages that they might need to escape dire poverty. Poverty is a huge issue in the BRIC nations. In particular, within China and India. Within India the government attempted to launch the National eGovernance Plan, which aimed to provide internet kiosks within villages. This plan took advantage of many Public Private Partnerships. The infrastructure is in place, software just needs to be created to fulfill societal needs. I believe that there is a market in India for someone who had a clever idea of some software to write.

  Then they would have to decide how to distribute it, etc. But it’s just an idea…

• 11. Tara Millard  |  December 29th, 2010 at 1:34 pm

  As per your initial note prior to reading the article, I would have previously been a babbler. I often get so wrapped up in my education and completing all assigned tasks that I fail to make time for what I previously saw as personal reading. I now see that with or without an assignment, staying up to date on current business events is crucial to success. Everyone always says we learn from mistakes, so we may as well save some time and learn from others mistakes and successes. I will make it a point to read the Wall Street Journal and Financial Times on a regular basis.

  As for doing business abroad, I have always realized the importance of cultural awareness, which is enforced by this article. It seems as though any successful business comprised of bright individuals would be fully aware of this, yet the rapid pace at which business is done may account for these such blunders. Companies often engage in group thinking in which individual awareness is neglected leading to decisions that make sense to the group as a unit, but are not practical in real world settings.

  Perhaps hiring a native from the country to come to America to lead such planning would eliminate the majority of these situations. Assuming business is business is false if a company fails to take into account individual cultural preferences.

• 12. Jessica Shayler  |  January 2nd, 2011 at 1:36 pm

  With as many resources as we have there is really no excuse for major cultural faux pas or feeling offended because of them…from either side. I appreciated the opening story in the WSJ article of the Russian who had done his homework on American “business joviality” and was not offended even while he maintained his own cultural expectation of “seriousness in business settings.” Too often I feel like I am reading the synopsis of a soap opera when I hear about someone storming off in an offended huff because someone else made a comment or behaved in a way that meant something different than the intended message. What? Are we five again that we can’t give someone the benefit of the doubt (maybe they didn’t know what they didn’t know?)? Then I remember that people are people whether they’re five or fifty-five. Vocabulary improves a lot during that time, but maturity not as much. So what are we to do? Close the Johari Window (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johari_window). I feel that we don’t need more resources so much as we need to better market the resources we have. As others have said above, culture consulting firms exist, but are under-valued. If we can come up with a marketing campaign that shows businesses their value and cost-effectiveness, then maybe these consulting firms will have more business and we can move out of the soap opera phase.

• 13. David Hart  |  January 3rd, 2011 at 8:38 pm

  As the world continues to become more interconnected, it is critical for companies to understand various cultures in order to have success. The article provided some good examples of situations where cultural awareness and understanding would have made a big difference.

  Also, I think it is important to be aware of our own culture and how the world perceives us as Americans. I remember speaking to some of my German friends and having them tell me that Americans are good friends while they are with you in person, but the minute they go back to America they forget about you. They perceive some Americans to be superficial. I have tried to dispel that notion by keeping regular contact with them throughout the years.

  I agree with the other posters that culture awareness training is very important. When I have visited other countries, I have tried to at least learn a little about the culture beforehand. From a business standpoint, a company that trains its people to understand the culture has a step up on the competition.

• 14. Katie Moeller  |  January 4th, 2011 at 8:06 pm

  This is an interesting and relevant article for any business person to read. I think people trying to secure a business deal in another country are so worried about putting the best foot forward – having the financials in order, having answers prepared for tough questions, be jovial, etc. Etiquette is such an obvious but neglected aspect in a business transaction. Taking the time to understand another culture can set one apart from the rest of the competition.

  This article makes me think of how when I worked at Best Buy and we first entered into Puerto Rico, we sent promotional and directional signs to the retail store. We used our standard translations for Spanish. Puerto Rico speaks Spanish but there are different translations for sayings and products. In summary, some signs were not appropriate for customer viewing – we were alerted about these errors by our customers. We had to fix the problem immediately. Simple things like understanding the translation before-hand would have prevented this error and a bad first impression.

  As for the previous statement made by Carr, I am at fault for not being a dedicated reader to the Wall Street Journal and The Economist. I know this is something I need to do because it is imperative to know what is going on in business and these are key sources. I am happy that as part of this class we are exposed to articles such as this one to expand our knowledge and get better acquainted with these news sources. I know I will also need to read through the Q&A packet for this class again to make sure I understand and have the etiquette down before going to China.

• 15. Anthony Kallioinen  |  January 5th, 2011 at 7:03 pm

  Globalization trends have shown us that companies will continue to approach China as business partners due to the many advantages of a large emerging market. This article shows however that there are obstacles not normally thought of to overcome when trying to conduct business abroad. As Americans, we tend to think that others always will learn our ways, customs, and language. Maybe it is time that we took it upon ourselves to do some of the learning.

  The obvious business opportunity is to capitalize on the cultural mistakes of others and provide a consulting firm that can serve to remedy these problems. This firm would hire those valuable people from around the world that understand business practices in another country as well as ours who can serve as an emissary of sorts. These individuals will be able to offer training to business managers and may help to facilitate the partnerships between us and other countries. Those companies that employ this type of consulting in addition to routine due diligence will appear much better in comparison to a sea of uneducated businesses.

• 16. Brady Haug  |  January 5th, 2011 at 9:24 pm

  Cultural blunders are an issue that I am very conscious of. A hand full of my relatives still live in Europe and I have been fortunate enough to travel extensively there. This article reminded me of the countless blunders I have been witness to while traveling. One amusing instance occurred when my family and I were visiting relatives in the small Swiss city of Aarau. We had just flown in from a small city in Northern Italy where it appeared that the standard way of greeting people was to kiss the air on left cheek and then the right cheek. In Switzerland, I assumed that this was the standard as well. When I went to meet a friend of my relatives, I thought I was prepared for the greeting. I leaned to my left and she leaned to her right. We butted heads and she fortunately found the instance to be assuming. I was then taught that the standard for Switzerland is the three kiss approach, moving in from your right first. Though this situation ended in laughs, I am well aware that an improper bow in Japan could result in a failed deal. A business opportunity exists in creating highly localized etiquette guides. Guides like this would be purchased by both companies and travelers to inform them of the proper behavior of different regions. Broad guides can still result in similar foul ups. I can assure that the information in the general guide books I purchased to study abroad in England did not cover my basis. People in Liverpool are worlds apart from those in London.

• 17. Chris Bruns  |  January 6th, 2011 at 4:57 pm

  One of my favorite pieces of this article is the quote “the important thing to remember is that you don’t know what you don’t know,” from Heistad. I believe this is especially true when dealing with new cultures, countries, and even changing industries and companies in the US. I am guilty of going into a situation that is new and reverting to what is comfortable based on prior experiences. One of the things that I am trying to do is keep an open mind, do research and ask questions of how things should be done as someone in my position.

  I believe this article is valuable with all of the possibilities open to us as soon-to-be graduates. As an Agribusiness student I am always discussing foreign opportunities with coworkers, friends, classmates, and professors. One of the things we discuss is how different and unique the opportunity will be, even though it utilizes the same skills and crops we work with in the US. The foreign markets in agriculture are a huge opportunity for those willing to make the leap and really immerse themselves in the culture.

• 18. Tim Easton  |  January 9th, 2011 at 8:59 pm

  I thought this was a great article that really stressed the importance of avoiding cultural blunders when traveling to a foreign country either for work or vacation. I have done a fair amount of international traveling and have experienced cultural mishaps first hand. One example is on a trip to Europe, when I was visiting family friends who are from Switzerland. Before our meal, there was a toast to celebrate everyone being together, and after the toast everyone touched glasses and said “cheers” or “prost”. Shortly after, I was informed that I made a mistake common among many of their American friends. My mistake was that I did not look each person at the table in the eyes and have a separate “cheers” with all of them. I performed the simple, informal, American cheers where everyone just touches glasses in the middle and then you drink. This wasn’t a huge mistake since I was among friends, but I can’t imagine something like this happening at a dinner with a business client. From my experience, most people are willing to help foreigners with cultural differences as long as you are respectful and open to learning. Besides the consulting service that other students have suggested, another business opportunity would be a firm that provides a crash course in cultural differences for international business travelers. The firm would be located in the foreign country and would be the first stop for the business traveler among arrival. They will get a brief course on the differences of that culture and learn the major things of what not to do. As I said earlier the most important thing is to be respectful and open to learning about new cultures, and different ways of life.

• 19. Randy Camat  |  January 13th, 2011 at 8:59 pm

  I agree along with many others on “you don’t know what you don’t know.” You should always try to know anything and everything you can about different cultures when going abroad. The article highlighted the importance of cultural awareness and although the examples all resulted false alarms, I’m sure there are tons of deals that go awry due to accidental cultural violations. Stressing proper etiquette is an important topic that people almost always forget when going overseas because they assume that etiquette is universal. This happened to me on my last visit to the Philippines during my 2008 winter break. My family hosted a party to celebrate the homecoming. Out of approximately one hundred people that attended, less than twenty were family members – the rest were people I didn’t know and apparently some of my family members from the Philippines didn’t know. Now in the US custom, you don’t necessarily invite anyone into your home, but in the Philippines, it is common courtesy to invited everyone when there is a celebration. In addition, you would think with a party of that size, it would last a while – everyone but my family cleared the vicinity after a half hour. I was used to the way parties were celebrated back in the US where people would eat, stay, chat and have a good time. This actually got to me because I thought the people were a bunch of free loaders and had no respect. Fortunately, my mom told me that this was again how things were in the Philippines. People want to get out of your way because they feel that they will be a burden, so they leave. What I learned from this trip and this event specifically was to be open-minded and avoid jumping to conclusions when dealing with other cultures.

• 20. Kyle Rowland  |  January 16th, 2011 at 10:06 pm

  It seems like common sense to know cultural norms before going into a business deal. If you know you are going to make a business deal in a foreign country, do some research about the cultural norms first. Growing up I was exposed to a different culture early on, as my best friend was Japanese. I learned early on that in some Asian cultures it is rude to look someone directly in the face. For some cultures it is a sign of respect not to look people in the face, even in some Latino cultures it is seen as disrespectful or a challenge to look someone directly in the eyes. Having grown up in this environment I am more aware of issues that might arise. Like the fact that it is extremely disrespectful to turn down an offering in Japanese culture, just take it.

  If you know what the cultural expectations are then you are more likely to have a successful outcome, which seems obvious. You will, however, also gain a sense of something other than yourself. Americans tend to think they are without fault (other cultures have picked up on this, so why haven’t we?). Knowing what is proper elsewhere couldn’t hurt to know. I find myself far more culturally aware thanks to my friend and his culture. I also know, though, that I don’t want to completely leave out the American nuances that make me memorable. I value my culture as well and don’t want all of my customs to be left out because they might be offensive, other people should come prepared about my culture too, like the Russian man did.

• 21. Ashley Ogden  |  January 17th, 2011 at 8:54 pm

  I agree with the fact that it is very important to keep up to date with business stories. Not only for your own benefit in knowing what is going on in the world, but it is even useful when meeting new people, or in an interview as Mr. Carr said.

  I can see how important it is to understand people cultures when going into a new place. Even in our own country there are etiquette differences in different places. I grew up in Hawaii and the polite thing to do when meeting someone new is to give them a hug and a kiss on the cheek. As a kid when I would visit the mainland, I realized that this tradition is unique to our culture and that not everyone is comfortable with giving strangers a hug and kiss. There are other things that we do differently in Hawaii than they do on the mainland, but the important thing to remember is just that “you don’t know what you don’t know”. To prepare yourself the best you can when entering a new culture, but to also be understand that you can never know everything about another culture.

• 22. Will Moeller  |  January 20th, 2011 at 6:44 pm

  You don’t know what you don’t know. And what you don’t know will inevitably hurt you.

  The two things I kept reverting to while reading this was a business model based on lobbying and a business model based on consulting. In essence the best business model to fill the cultural gap is that of a broker.

  The idea of offering language lessons to executives or etiquette instruction to business owners is antiquated. Why not hire someone to handle the soft skills of business for you? For example, if the Chinese culture places an emphasis on having a long-term relationship before doing a deal, why start a business whose business is developing a long-term relationship?

  Here’s how it would play out: you are the broker, the middleman between a Chinese manufacturer and an American seller. You’ve developed a 20-year relationship with the Chinese company and have proffered them many profitable deals. An American company approaches you wanting to buy from a Chinese manufacturer. Your job is to ensure that the American company is reputable enough to do the Chinese company justice. Meanwhile, you want to assure the American company that they are getting the best deal from the Chinese manufacturer. You do all this without the two sides every having to bridge the cultural gap by sitting down together.

  Some cultural gaps are easier to bridge than others. But when this is not your business’s area of expertise, leave it to an expert, the same way corporations uses lobbyists or buyers use brokers.

• 23. Kristine Spencer  |  January 21st, 2011 at 5:52 pm

  Because of technology and globalization, people encounter people from other cultures more than ever. It is very important to have basic an understanding of other cultures. As the article states, it is even more important to understand other cultures and do ample research on cultural differences when doing business abroad. Things as simple as colors can mean completely different things in another culture and could be the cause of a business blunder.

  When I studied abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark, I had to complete a group project with other international students. My group consisted of people from China, Germany, Albania, Israel, and Denmark. It was an enlightening experience to work with people from so many cultures. Luckily everyone was very close to my own age and we had a lot in common, but completing the project was more difficult than expected. As others have suggested, an international culture consulting services could be a huge opportunity. I thought it was interesting that even through the current recession, small business international expansion has stayed at a steady. This leads me to assume that as soon as we overcome the recession, international expansion will increase more than ever before.

• 24. Jason Jay Sharma  |  January 22nd, 2011 at 4:28 am

  This Wall Street Journal article is ridiculous. Can people really be so disconnected with the rest of the world that they would jump head-first into a new nation with their business without the appropriate preparations?

  I also completed my undergraduate degree at Cal Poly’s OCOB. Two courses I took back then have helped me to understand the international business environment–they were: (1) International & Cross-Cultural Management and (2) Legal Environment of International Business. Maybe these courses set me up to believe that firms looking to expand worldwide prepare their employees and themselves to adjust to culture and business standards, but apparently that’s not true. In Management of Human Resources, I was shocked to find that many companies don’t offer cultural training for employees (or their families) looking to transfer to an international office. I would never think of even visiting another without reading some background material on their cultural business standards (if it was business related).

  That being said, with China growing as an economy, I would look to exploit some sort of training school for individuals moving to or planning on completing business in China. Maybe something like an assimilation boot camp? If someone isn’t aware of the standards, they can’t do anything about it… except learn them! At least try to, that is. You rarely hear stories about individuals from other cultures offending Americans in business–that’s either because we’re much more lenient or those stories are saved for their own business school blogs. Either way, it doesn’t hurt anyone to try…

• 25. Matt Streiter  |  February 5th, 2011 at 1:00 pm

  It feels like similar situations to this happen all the time, or at least when Americans are involved. Understanding cultural differences is important to not only make business deals, but also to reduce the risk of offending someone or embarrassing yourself. I suspect part of the problem lies in that it is impossible to know every tradition of every country. This being the case, a great business opportunity does exist. As noted in the article, its not about taking a single word and translating it, but adapting your writing to match the etiquette and culture of the person to whom you are sending it to.

  To capitalize on this culture barrier in the business environment there are a couple ways to address the opportunity. Depending on the amount of business flow it may not be feasible to have an expert from each region on the payroll. Being more cost efficient you could contract out work on a needs basis from a self made list of qualified representatives specializing in the culture you are interacting with. What could even be more cost effective in the long run, if done correctly, would to design an actual program that can detect phrases and analyze the overall message of your document in order to translate it meaningfully to the respective language.

  Encountering cultural differences in business events should definitely be expected and violating some foreign tradition at some point in time may be inevitable. The focus should be to minimize the occurrence of these miscommunications. Referencing the recent case in our negotiations class, many foreign countries seem to expect us to be pushy, loud, and informal. It would be interesting to see other countries try to mirror that!

• 26. Tyler Sereno  |  February 7th, 2011 at 5:53 pm

  It is becoming increasingly important for companies to do business in other countries such as China and India. Before one can do business in a foreign country, it is important that they are familiar with their business culture. You do not want to offend or disrespect someone you are trying to do business with. This could hurt the company’s reputation. If a company decides to send a representative to a foreign country on a business trip, they should inform them on each aspect of that country’s culture. There is a lot that you don’t know, and it is important to become familiar with these things before trying to do business in a foreign country. Perhaps companies should hire outside consulting firms to teach foreign customs and cultures to its employees before sending them on the important business trips that are crucial for the success of an expanding company.

  For example, the article from the Wall Street Journal explains a situation where a businessman went to Russia to make a deal with a company. The employee was joyful and even tried to make jokes while the Russian kept a serious face throughout the entire business meeting. So, he thought the meeting was a disaster. He later found out that it was part of the Russian culture to remain serious at all times in the business environment. Fortunately, the meeting was successful. If the employee were informed about the Russian culture before going on the trip, the meeting would have gone better, and he wouldn’t have made a fool of himself.

• 27. Chris Fung  |  February 16th, 2011 at 11:54 am

  Avoiding cultural gaffes are something that anyone dealing with international business needs to think about. While it is important to not just act like a fool when overseas or dealing with someone from a different culture, it is much harder than it seems. The article written by James Sebenius - How to Negotiate “Yes” Across Cultural Boundaries points out how understanding other cultures and the idiosyncrasies that derive from that can be a major player in the success of expanding business abroad. It is important for Americans to not just avoid being arrogant or disrespectful, but to understand the culture they are trying to enter to do business.

  In doing business overseas, someone should do their homework before starting their venture. I believe that you might not know everything about a culture but if you show that you are genuinely trying to learn, people will appreciate the thought. Also, it is important to seek help in overcoming what you don’t know. A classic example that I can think of was when GM tried to sell the Chevy Nova in the Latin American / South American market. The car sold poorly and it wasn’t realized at the time of launch that in the Spanish language, Nova could be translated into “no va” or no go (i.e. the car doesn’t go). Such a simple oversight in the translation of the language barrier became a costly endeavor for GM. To avoid this, I believe that cultural consulting could be a business in and of itself in bringing together two cultures to do business. In the corporate world, just introducing prospective company representatives to culture training can ease the transition for both sides of the agreement. But above all else, I believe it comes down to the individual to do their work and/or seek the help to bridge the cultural gap.

• 28. Ben Raymond  |  February 21st, 2011 at 7:26 pm

  I recently went over a case where a man was attempting to conduct business in Japan and failed due to cultural differences. He was basically asking his Japanese workers the viability of doing an impossible task and because they didn’t want to tell him no, they never gave him a straight answer about whether or not it was possible. He then misunderstood that as an acceptance of the task and was dumbfounded when nothing got done. He totally misunderstood their body language and was oblivious to the signs they were sending. If he had just understood a small part of the culture he could have saved his company a lot of time and money. We see examples of this all the time. I think it is a must for companies looking to expand globally to hire a native to that country to teach and monitor cultural differences. So much of business is about the relationship that it is definitely worth investing in a service that improves foreign relations.

  While the restaurant industry is already cashing in on people’s curiosity over cultural food differences, I think they could offer more. People often go looking for authentic foreign restaurants looking to capture the dining experience of a different culture. Most times they receive the food of that culture but not the entire dining experience. I think it would be a more valuable experience if restaurants offered the entire dining experience and educated patrons on the customs and traditions of that culture. Dining is often a time where cultures come together and certain tendencies stand out. I am always cautious about dining in foreign places and would be relieved to already know the customs and not have to worry about offending anyone or standing out in a negative way.

• 29. JP Salazar  |  February 26th, 2011 at 9:05 pm

  This is an interesting topic and one that can have major implications on our professional life down the road. I feel like the problem of not understanding another culture’s procedures and practices is most prominent in Americans. Americans tend to be very direct and to the point when dealing in business. They tend to focus solely on the topic at hand, and discussion on outside topics is often considered rude. Also, Americans tend to place their own culture in higher reguard than others. When Americans encounter practices that are different than their own they look down on them and see them as strange, even if they are rooted in preactices and a culture that has been around for thousands of years. Conversely, in many Asian cultures it is very impolite to jump right into buisiness ventures during a meeting. It is much more importent to foster a relationship and understand where the other party is coming from than just resolving the topic. As mentioned in previous posts, it is also considered rude to directly refuse an offer in many cultures. Being able to pick up on the nuances and subtleties of negotiating between different cultures can be a very important skill to have. In an age where business occurs worldwide, accross national borders, the skill to act as a buffer between two parties can be taken advantage of. There is the possibility to act as a sort of cultural broker, someone who understands the nuiances of two different cultures and can help foster a negotiation between the two. More importantly, I think the ability to read people is the most important skill when dealing with other cultures. No matter the cultural differences, in the end you are dealing with a person. Understanding the culture of that person is important, but being able to relate to them, understand them, and read them is what really counts.

• 30. J Vail  |  March 14th, 2011 at 12:56 pm

  I was intrigued by the quote “Culture is not at the forefront of the typical person’s psyche, given the sheer overwhelming nature of all the other parts of the due diligence process”, and I felt that it applied for many Americans interacting with other cultures. Even though certain aspects of our culture spread across the globe, personal conduct and conversations are distinct and culture-specific, especially in tense business situations. I think up until a few years ago I rarely thought about how what I considered to be acting polite and proper could be misconstrued.

  I think the only way to cross this chasm would be to actually immerse and embrace a culture for a decent amount of time, which is why I am glad that we have the opportunity to travel to China (and I plan to independently travel to Japan and Brazil after graduating). There is no book or website that can throw every gaffe at the reader and have them prepared to travel to foreign negotiation meetings.

  Perhaps a business opportunity would be for a firm to open multiple international offices in large markets to accomplish this goal. There would be liaisons that lived in these specific countries and offered ‘crash courses’ on business meetings and procedures for visiting businessmen to get them up to speed without having to experience the culture first hand. Contracts with large corporations who specialize in international business could set up these training offices as the first stop once in the foreign country, to avoid the embarrassment many have experienced.

• 31. Omar Pradhan  |  March 18th, 2011 at 12:44 pm

  Okay, so I grew up in a multicultural home (Father - India / Mother - Spain) and this article hints at something that has been very apparent / important to me throughout my life. Culture matters; those who fail to recognize differences when attempting to share cross-cultural information do so with increased risk. Beyond the cultural chasms I often had to bridge / endure as between members of my extended family, I also had the pleasure of coupling military (cultural) sensitivity training to my job as a pilot, where I was frequently tasked to fly / share my cockpit with NATO counterparts. As a young co-pilot, I once flew a training mission under a Greek command pilot…when I questioned his omission of a routine air traffic control procedure, his cultural roots triggered him to initially snap at me for challenging his honor / integrity in front of the other crew members (navigator & flight engineer)…he later apologized and thanked me for catching his mistake. Also during my aviation service, I encountered, as part of my Masters in Human Relations course work, an often cited book on Organizational Culture by Geert Hofstede, “Cultures and Organizations: Software for the Mind.” After reading up on where Spain, India, Greece, etc. lie along various cultural dimensions, many a memorable life experience was brought into focus… I definitely look forward to the China Trip as an opportunity to broaden my exposure and first hand awareness of global cultures. Recently, I enjoyed reading Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Outliers: The Story of Success, because it further expanded upon cultural observations / concepts that I had intuited from various life / professional experiences. p.s. If you go on Amazon.com and scan book reviews for Hofstede’s book, you will see an aviation related plug from yours truly (pradhanos) dated May 28 2007…seeing as how Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers was published at the end of 2008 (he mentions Hofstede’s research and its implications on cross-cockpit communications)…it’s nice to know I was ahead of the curve (Chapter 7: “The Ethic Theory of Plane Crashes: Captain, the weather radar has helped us a lot.”) in a number 1 bestselling book idea (now if only I had a gift for writing like Gladwell!:)

• 32. Omar Pradhan  |  March 18th, 2011 at 12:51 pm

  These videos mirror the accounts of Paul Midler, who spent a great deal of time in China after earning a Wharton MBA. He subsequently wrote “Poorly Made in China: An Insider’s Account of the Tactics Behind China’s Production Game.” I read this over the summer prior to starting the MBA and it was really shocking to realize how badly things can get out of hand when expectations are not properly managed. Back to Tony, Peter, & Vance…the lucky fellas who started off with a losing hand but somehow resurrected themselves to make out big in China (Midler’s book made me very suspect of the happy ending). Anyhow, there were many issues raised in this film. First, I was a bit put off by the callous way in which Vance treated those with whom he did business and relied upon. At first, based on the way in which he treated others, he seemed like a text-book psychopath (e.g. an inability to maintain enduring relationships, coning others for profit, grandiose sense of self-worth, glibness / superficial charm, lack of empathy for others, inability to take responsibility for actions, impulsive and irresponsible, etc.). One shocking example was that he seemed not to care for those who daily endured ascents / descents into his granite mine on rickety stairs, sans safety harnesses or other risk mitigation measures. Later, however, we were introduced to his son and with all the hugging and affection, my perception of him in this light was blunted, but only slightly. At all times, he seemed very comfortable not only operating in the grey areas but exploiting the grey areas to his advantage. This was evidenced by his caviler attitude toward marking his personal bus as an “Olympic Inspection” vehicle, copying the R&D of his competitors to whatever extent allowable, acquiring entire villages and forests for his products, etc. Not that any of these things are necessarily bad on the surface but I would not be surprised if, when the cameras weren’t rolling, he did whatever he could to externalize the costs of production on whatever his uneducated, unknowing workers, villages, etc. could bear. In other words, he struck me as the kind of guy who wouldn’t think twice about polluting a river or injuring a few quarry workers so he could save a buck and not have to buy waste water treatment devices or safety harnesses because they weren’t mandated (never mind that it’s the right thing to do if you care about human life, the environment, etc…or how about just leaving the world a better place for his son?!). Next there was Tony, who gambled big on relocating his business operations in China and by sheer luck, even though he relied heavily on translators and a local business partner with whom he did not seem to know well, succeeded BIG. As it turns out, Tony and Peter each gambled big and did well for themselves. So, going back to what I started with, this whole video presentation actually has me a little suspicious. Given the degree to which the central government will go to spy on their people and manufacture a certain perception of reality, I would not be surprised if all three individuals were somehow recognized as being in country with film crews (poised to showcase investment opportunities in China) and then, subsequently, “set up” to succeed. Thinking this out further, it would certainly not be too difficult to recognize the UK film crew with their cameras rolling in country. Supposing it did happen with the unfavorable outcomes, word would get out quickly among potential UK investors that the Chinese business environment was wanting of basic Rule of Law safeguards…investors would soon be right in demand a higher risk premium and growth in China would consequently suffer. Thus, interference toward a positive outcome would certainly be incentivized. Notwithstanding the veracity of the film presentation, it remains, to me at least, that doing business in China is a very risky endeavor…and one not to be entered into without careful preparation (e.g. time spent relationship building, establishing clear apportionment of risk / reward, etc. Failure in these and other respects will likely result in one quickly taken to the cleaners as a “ripe plumb”…

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