Having insight into the cultural dynamics of a country, ethnic group or region is essential in understanding why people behave the way they do and buy what they buy.
In today’s ever changing society, the need for an awareness of what is acceptable in business is more necessary than ever. International business success may offer more financial rewards but is harder to achieve than managing a domestic enterprise. This is because business owners and managers must also understand the international perspective that adds politics, culture, history and distance to the business mix.
Although the way we do business today has changed drastically over the last few decades, with a lot less formality expected, the power of etiquette is as relevant as ever especially in some of the more traditional countries, such as Japan, Saudi Arabia or Latvia. It is quite easy to make a disastrous business faux pas in your own country, where you are familiar with the business dos and dont’s but when doing business on an international arena, you must remain ever vigilant, or risk unintentionally offending your prospective business partners or clients.
In our fast-paced global environment, the workplace is becoming more international in nature. But the speed and depth of globalisation can be deceptive. International attitudes to time management, personal space, gift giving and food are very diverse and can be a source of embarrassment, or even business failure.
Short and simple sentences are easier to understand for non native speakers. Go easy on the jokes and informal emails if you don’t know the person well. Without verbal clues, emails can often be misconstrued, misunderstood, or, worse, damage your international relationship. In some parts of the world, all written communication is quite formal so it is best to err on the side of caution and keep things formal, at least until you’ve got to know the person dealing with better. In some fairly technologically advanced cultures, responding to emails isn’t as common place as it is in English-speaking countries. We may find not knowing whether an email has been received or not quite annoying, but they may simply not be in a habit of acknowledging emails so following up with a phone call may be necessary.