Cultural Awareness and Business Communication

Culture
What is culture? Choose the four factors below

that you consider as the most important in creating a culture:

institutions language social customs and traditions arts historical events ideas and beliefs cuisine religion ceremonies and festivals geography

Culture
What do you miss most about your country or

culture when you go abroad? Why is cultural awareness important for business people? Do you think cultures are becoming more alike? Think about: - improved communication; - cheap foreign travel; - global business; - trading groups.

Culture
How important are the following things when doing business in your country? Exchanging business cards; Shaking hands; Kissing; Small talk before meeting; Using first names; Punctuality; Giving and receiving presents.

Cultural Awareness - Definition

Definition: Cultural awareness

involves continually developing your awareness of your own and others' cultures to assist in the performance of your professional duties. Examples: This could include learning about traditional beliefs, remedies, meanings of words, phrases, gestures, customs, significant days or holidays, activities and rituals.

Culture
Culture represents the different

ways in which people behave, act, or think towards themselves, families, and other people in the society. It includes customs connected with social, political, family, and religious values. The differences between cultures must be identified and recognized to bridge the gaps between cultures and for real communication to take place.

Communication Guidelines
1. Listening with an open mind Putting aside personal feelings and listening deeply to the person talking; Developing listening skills; Knowing your own culture and the others culture; Keeping an open mind and sensitivity to these differences as a key factor, for better communication.

Communication Guidelines 2. Non-verbal and Verbal Behavior

Every language has its own linguistic preferences,

which can give clues about cultural behavior, manners, and thinking. The English : use modesty and understatement, and are sometimes purposely unclear to avoid confrontation and are very polite. The Italian and Spanish: are eloquent, expressive and talkative.

Communication Guidelines
3. Gestures Gestures involve sensitivity and awareness; Gestures that are not offending to you might be very offending to the other.

What are 'intercultural' relations and why is this issue important to an international business?
Companies operate alongside local partners and within local communities. International companies have special dynamics and relations to deal with: Business, government and community partners and contacts that do not necessarily share the same cultural starting point or perspective. These are intercultural relations.

How important is the consideration of intercultural relations?

It is not a soft business priority.

Relations crossing cultural boundaries and often

geographic ones, need to be established and properly maintained in order to succeed. It is key to international business success and requires the application of expertise and experience and not simply shared good will. The lapse in effectiveness can be very costly, causing unforeseen delays and can sometimes lead to failure of the business venture.

Employment Practices Abroad

Do American Workers Work Differently from

Workers in Other Countries? YES! In many countries, hierarchy, titles, determine how the work is done. Working Hours Human Interactions Work Ethics Verbal and Written Communication

Greetings

and

Introductions

Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands?

In Germany, always shake hands, firmly but briefly. In Japan you may greet with a hand shake, but the bow is the traditional Japanese greeting. In Italy, Mexico, Latin America and in Spain, women may kiss on both cheeks after knowing you awhile.

 Forms of Address Never Use First Names and Dont Suggest to be Called by Yours.
In Germany, always use professional titles after Mr. or Mrs.

Business Cards
In Japan business cards are extremely important.

Present your card with both hands. When you receive a business card spend several seconds studying it, and do not write on it or put in your pocket in the presence of the giver.

In many parts of the Middle East, you should

never use your left hand when giving your business card.

Business Cards
Print your business card in English on one side,

and in the language of your host on the other. Learn the protocol of giving business cards.

Doing Business in Mexico

First names are reserved for family and closer

acquaintances.
Professional titles are a very important part of

Mexican business protocol. Doctors, professors, engineers, lawyers, CPAs, and architects are always addressed by their professional titles.

Doing Business in Mexico

Use professional title followed by a surname, e.g.

"Ingeniero (Engineer) Fernandez, Doctora (Doctor) Gonzalez. Always use a title when addressing someone, and use the form usted, which means you.

Doing Business in Mexico

Anyone without a professional title should be

addressed by a courtesy title such as "Mr.", "Mrs." or "Miss" followed by a surname. If you don't know someone's last name, just use the courtesy title. Mr. = "Seor = Sr." Mrs. = "Seora = Sra." Miss = "Seorita = Srita.

Doing Business in Mexico

For a lady, use "Seorita if you dont know

her marital status.

Mexicans have two surnames that consist of

their father's last name followed by their mother's surname. Sr. Raul Martinez Castro

Doing Business in Germany

First names are reserved for family members and close friends. It's not uncommon for colleagues who have worked together for years not to know of each other's first names. For those without professional titles, or if you're unsure, use a courtesy title, followed by a surname. Mr. = "Herr" Mrs. (or Ms.) = "Frau"

Doing Business in Germany

German business culture is extremely hierarchical,

so be sure that you learn and use the professional titles of those you expect to encounter.
Professionals of any kind will expect to be

referred to as "Herr" or "Frau", followed by the correct occupational title.

An individual with a Ph.D. should be addressed as

"Herr (or Frau) Doctor Professor."

In France
When speaking French, use the "vous" form until

you are asked to use "tu." French business culture is intensely hierarchical, so be sure to learn and use the titles of everyone you plan to encounter. In many offices, first names are not used. "Madame" is a basic title of courtesy for all women, as is "Monsieur" for men. The French will sometimes introduce themselves by first saying their surname, followed by their first name; if both sound like first names, be sure to ask.

In Russia
It is appropriate, when meeting someone, to

simply state your family name without any additional greeting. Learn the titles of everyone you plan to encounter, as these distinctions are very important in this culture. Russians have three names. The first name is a given name, while the last name is the father's family name. The middle name is known as a patronymic; for a man, it ends with the suffixes "vich" or ovich" meaning "son of." For a woman, the patronymic ends with "a" or "ova" which means "daughter of."

Doing Business in Japan

First names are reserved for family and close

friends. Don't invite others to call you by your first name. Even if you are on a first name basis with a Japanese colleague, it may be appropriate to use his or her last name in the presence of colleagues, to avoid causing any embarrassment. Use courtesy titles such as "Mr.", "Ms.", or the suffix "san", in addition to last names.

In Japan
"San", an honorific attached to a person's last

name, is not to be used when referring to your spouse or children. Also, it is not used to refer to someone in your company when talking with someone outside it. This is because it is considered bad manners to elevate people of your own group when speaking with "outsiders.
The Japanese often use professional titles in the

place of actual names, as an acknowledgment of a person's status.

How cultural differences affect business?

When colouring in 800,000 pixels on a map of

India, Microsoft coloured eight of them a different shade of green to represent the disputed Kashmiri territory. The difference in greens meant Kashmir was shown as non-Indian, and the product was promptly banned in India. Microsoft was left to recall all 200,000 copies of the offending Windows 95 operating system software to try and heal the diplomatic wounds. "It cost millions," Microsoft's Tom Edwards said. (Byte level research, www.bytelevel.com)

How cultural differences affect business?

When Gerber started selling baby food in Africa,

they used the same packaging as in the U.S., with the beautiful Caucasian baby on the label. Later they learned that in Africa, companies routinely put pictures on the label of what's inside, since most people can't read. (iib.gsu.edu/cgbl/WorkshopII.ppt)

How cultural differences affect business?

A well-designed American car did not sell well in

Japan because the chassis was just an inch too long for the standard parking space available at most Japanese commercial garages. (Quality Function Deployment website, www.qfdi.org)

How cultural differences affect business?

A TV commercial boasted about the temperature-

sensitive washing power of a brand new laundry detergent, also developed by a well respected American company. The only problem was that at the time, in many traditional Japanese homes, laundry machines were hooked to cold water only; thus, the feature did not make sense to consumers in that particular market. (Quality Function Deployment website, www.qfdi.org)

How cultural differences affect business?

Coca-Cola tried marketing its domestically

successful two litre bottle in Spain. It finally withdrew the bottle from the Spanish market when it discovered that the refrigerator compartments were too small to hold the litre size. (eBook "How to Localize Products for Success in Foreign Markets" by Silk Road Communications.)

How cultural differences affect business?

Pepsodent tried to sell its toothpaste in Southeast

Asia by emphasizing that it "whitens your teeth." They found out that the local natives chew betel nuts to blacken their teeth which they find attractive. A company advertised eyeglasses in Thailand by featuring a variety of cute animals wearing glasses. The ad was a poor choice since animals are considered to be a form of low life and no self respecting Thai would wear anything worn by animals.

How cultural differences affect business?

The translation of documents, brochures,

advertisements and signs also offers us some comical cross cultural blunders: Kellogg had to rename its Bran Buds cereal in Sweden when it discovered that the name roughly translated to "burned farmer." American medical containers were distributed in Great Britain and caused quite a stir. The instructions to "Take off top and push in bottom," innocuous to Americans, had very strong sexual connotations to the British.

Homework
Find another examples that mirror the cultural differences when doing business in Romania.

Additional bibliography

Bridging the Cultural Gap: A Practical Guide to International Business Communication, Penny Cart and Chris J. Fox, Kogan Page, 2004, ISBN 07494-4170-4 Communicating with Strangers: An Approach to Intercultural Communication, Second Edition, William B. Gudykunst and Young Yun Kim, McGraw-Hill, 1992, ISBN 0-07-034602-X Intercultural Business Communication, Second Edition, Lillian H. Chaney and Jeanette S. Martin, Prentice Hall, 2000, ISBN 0-13013700-6

Intercultural Communication in the Global Workplace, 2nd Edition, Linda Beamer and Iris Varner, McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2000, ISBN 0-07239690-3 Intercultural Interactions: A Practical Guide, Second Edition, Kenneth Cushner and Richard W. Brislin, Sage Publications, 1996, ISBN 0-80395991-5 Doing Business Internationally: The Guide to Cross-Cultural Success, Danielle Medina Walker, Thomas Walker and Joerg Schmitz, McGrawHill, 2002, ISBN 0-0713-7832-4 From Da to Yes: Understanding Eastern Europeans, Yale Richmond, Intercultural Press, 1995, ISBN 1-877864-30-7 Mind your Manners: Managing Business Cultures in Europe, John Mole, Nicholas Brealey Publishing, 1995, ISBN 1-85788-085- 4