Business English
Developing cultural awareness in your company
What is meant by ‘culture’ in business?
Culture has been defined as ‘a community of people united by similar rituals, values, heroes
and symbols. It has a unifying effect and creates a sense of pride, belonging and familiarity.’
(Tony Fernandes, Global Interface Design) (10)
When your business operates overseas, collaborates with people from abroad, and must carry
out familiar tasks in unfamiliar circumstances, being a ‘fish-out-of-water’ can have a significant
impact on the business, and getting it wrong can result in your losing the business altogether.
You need to be aware of cultural differences if you and your colleagues want to be as effective
in dealing across cultural boundaries as you are on home territory. What’s more, cultural
awareness is not limited to your interpersonal relations, it is inherent in the style and design of
your business processes, in the way you hold meetings, and in knowing when to speak and
when to remain silent.
How you design your Web pages and packaging and use graphics or symbols, your choice of
names, and even the date of the product launch can all be culturally sensitive.
The impact of cultural differences on your business
One distinguishing feature of top-performing companies is that cultural differences are not
regarded as problematic but rather as enriching and stimulating. Understanding the culture of
negotiations and the mindset of different cultures is for many an essential requirement to
international business. Addressing cultural difference is arguably one of the most overlooked
aspects of doing business internationally.
Cultural differences in practice
How to negotiate the following cultural hot-spots varies between cultures – and an
inappropriate response could damage your business prospects:
How you address people and in what order.
o How you relate to gender and age.
o How you relate to authority.
o Decision-making processes.
o Personal space.
o Material wealth.
o Management and purpose of meetings, etc.
Meeting etiquette varies greatly between countries. Issues such as punctuality, meeting
attendance, and agenda topics can vary enormously. In some cultures, the purpose of
a meeting is to discuss and debate an issue before arriving at a consensual decision, while in
others it is simply to rubber stamp the boss’s decision.
o A European manager who expects to reach a concrete agreement on his or her first
trip to East Asia is almost guaranteed disappointment.
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o Showing signs of impatience while sipping tea and waiting to talk business with
a prospective buyer in the Middle East will do you no favours.
o Addressing your German host by their first name at a preliminary business meeting
may provoke a negative reaction since informality normally takes many years.
o Business travellers should be aware of the respect given to business cards in many
parts of Asia: the exchange of business cards is often a ceremony in itself.
o Business people who translate their business cards and job titles into the local
language will be one step ahead of the competition.
Other sensitive areas are entertainment, socialising and gift-giving. The ‘rules’ of best practice
naturally differ from country to country, but here are some of the questions to ask about the
cultures you trade with:
o Humour: International managers should proceed with caution, but humour can be an
engaging way to bridge cultural differences. Shared laughter is particularly meaningful
on cross-cultural teams, where it can bring differences to the surface and contribute to
team bonding. Is the culture one in which self-criticism, self-deprecating humour, and
jokes at one’s own expense are appreciated and found funny or would this be
considered bad taste?
o Teasing: In many Western business cultures, teasing is routinely used as a means of
social control. Typically, it serves to chastise a latecomer to a meeting or to mark mild
displeasure while avoiding confrontation. But in certain Asian cultures, making fun of
someone may leave managers feeling uncomfortable. In Japan, managers use after-
hours drinking as a functional equivalent to criticising with humour.
o Entertainment: Who pays for the lunch, the host or the salesperson? Will someone be
offended if you insist on paying for their meal? How should you avoid escalation in the
quality, lavishness and cost of entertainment? What are your business partners likely
to enjoy doing in their spare time in your country? How should you dress for the
evening social?
o Gift-giving: While in many parts of Asia gift-giving is a normal token of courtesy, in
some Western cultures it may be seen in a very different light. At what stage of
a meeting should you present the gift? How much should you spend on it? What would
be appreciated? Where can you get good advice on these questions?
o Greetings: Australians and Americans prefer a strong handshake, the French use
a lighter, single handshake, and the Japanese usually bow. How should you respond?
Mastering a language is often only half the battle: awareness of cultural differences can also be
crucial. Shaking hands, blowing noses and making direct eye contact communicates different
messages in different cultures. Business etiquette, meeting protocol, punctuality and
socialising vary tremendously between countries.
Intercultural awareness, knowledge and skills training
Intercultural awareness, knowledge, and skills can be acquired. The starting point is an
awareness of one’s own culture and the end point is a recognition of the distinctions between
two cultures and the ability to function effectively in a second culture. Intercultural skills help
you communicate with people from other cultures with flexibility and sensitivity. Source:
Cultures and Organisations. Software of the Mind (2010).
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Respecting and understanding the customer’s culture and mentality are the most emphasised
points. Stendera also focuses on intercultural skills and keeps a record of the staff’s
intercultural skills. It has undertaken intercultural training in the following cultures over the
past three years: Russian, Finnish, Japanese, Polish, Chinese, Egyptian, Slovenian, English,
German and French. (Stenders, Latvia, PIMLICO Study)
There are two generally separate types of cultural training:
o Cultural briefings focusing on knowledge of the target country: its geography, major
features and recent history.
o Awareness and skills training focusing on process rather than content. Learning how
our own culture ticks so we can understand how another one ticks.
Evricom of Bulgaria initially encountered communication problems in Albania, which
led to the end a business partnership and a financial loss of nearly €50K. The company
responded by employing local people with relevant language skills to do business in
Albania. Its experience in France was similar: the company had also lost business over
intercultural issues. In response, the company hired a Bulgarian residing in France who
spoke fluent French.
The company has responded to these experiences with a comprehensive HR strategy:
it now tracks staff language skills and can handle business situations competently in
four foreign languages: English, German, Greek and Romanian. To overcome cultural
barriers, for the past three years staff have received intercultural training dealing with
France and Germany. Native speakers have been hired for the Romanian and Greek
markets. Hiring native speakers has boosted company confidence in expansion and
increased company capability. Its next market is Italy (1).
Facts and figures
In a survey (1) of 40 successful European small and medium-sized exporters who had
introduced a language strategy, in 3 out of 4 of these companies, sales turnover
increased by at least 16 % through language management.
Percentage Increase in Companies’ (40 companies) Turnover Due to LMS
Implementation
Source: PIMLICO Study (2011). LMS = Language Management Strategy Increase 11-15
% Increase 6-10 % Increase 1-5 % Increase 25 % + Increase 16-25 %
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The Slovenian company Bisol, which specialises in the production of
highquality mono- and multicrystalline silicon photovoltaic modules, sees a
direct correlation between its introduction of new languages as part of its
strategy and a 35 %+ rise in sales turnover in the past business year:
‘The company added Italian and French in the last business year and sales
were directly affected’ (1).
Entek, a manufacturer of polyethylene battery separators from Newcastle
upon Tyne, UK, successfully uses its customer’s languages in the company:
English, Polish, German, Chinese, Russian, and Latvian. In their view:
‘Customers come back to us with their orders because they know we speak
their language. Polish customers in particular have responded positively to the
use of Polish. As a courtesy, all order confirmations are sent back to customers
in their native language: things may not be as well understood in English’ (1).
The cost of language gaps
According to the ELAN Study, amongst the nearly 200 companies that lost potential
contracts for lack of foreign languages, 37 valued the lost business at between €8
million and €13.5 million. A further 54 companies had lost contracts between
€16.5 million and €25.3 million, and 10 had lost contracts worth over €1 million.
Cultural differences are another related communication barrier, where about one in
five European companies report problems. And it’s not only in distant parts of the
world that companies report the greatest cultural differences – they can also arise
closer to home. Trading across Europe can mean having to negotiate business with
hundreds of different national and regional cultures.
When companies are asked where language problems lie, they can’t always be precise,
but they know roughly the area or activity in which the communication gap arose:
Reasons listed by companies for their communication failures:
o Staff couldn’t speak the language.
o Information inquiries or quotations weren’t followed up on.
o A lack of confidence in using the foreign language.
o Breakdown on receiving foreign call at phone or switchboard.
o Errors in translation or interpreting.
o Inability to capitalise on opportunities.
o Lack of cultural affinity.
Source: ELAN Study (2006).
Failure can come in different forms, often due to a lack of native speakers:
The company failed in Germany. The software was translated but the company didn’t
employ native German speakers to sell the product in their country. There was a lack
of cultural strategy and vision. The German branch had to close down… and it has only
reopened two years later. (Everteam, France, PIMLICO Study) `
This can also apply in certain markets where English is not used:
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The company started communicating with the Spanish market in English, but could not
fully communicate. Once it employed an account manager who spoke perfect Spanish,
the situation changed completely. (Fotona, Slovenia, PIMLICO Study)
Where are your language and cultural needs most likely to occur?
Use of the customer’s language is critical to your business prospects in a range of situations:
o Describing your business on your website.
o Complying with local laws and regulations and completing customs
declarations. Preparing employees for secondment or posting abroad.
o Tendering for public procurement and other types of contracts.
o Drawing up contracts in the proper style and in conformity with local
regulations. Attending court proceedings (such as pursuing bad debts and
defending patents). Advertising and launching publicity campaigns abroad.
o Undertaking market research in a foreign market.
o Selecting and managing a local agent or distributor.
o Managing and training multilingual workforces at home and abroad.
o Providing customer care and ensuring the quality of after-sales service.
o Pursuing payment and recovering bad debt.
o Handling local documentation, protocols, in-house styles, and technical
specifications. Negotiating joint ventures, acquisitions and take-overs.
Using the customer’s language can bring additional benefits:
o Establishing a positive rapport and sense of trust with major customers.
o Showing respect for cultural and religious differences.
o Demonstrating a long-term commitment to a foreign market.
o Showing your employees and foreign clients that ‘you mean business’.
o Increasing the flow of market intelligence and customer feedback and understanding
its real meaning.
Most businesses recognise the need to establish a rapport or sense of trust with their clients.
In other words, the ability to create one-on-one relationships can be a vital ingredient in
a successful business.
Talking to customers in their own language leads to better communication and can prevent
misunderstanding. It shows our customers and business partners that we foresee a long-term
commitment to their market. Each partner is more confident in business meetings, and
‘speaking the same language’ can save time, allow for a more relaxed meeting and result in
better business. (Nikwax Ltd, UK, PIMLICO Study)
What knowing foreign languages can do for you personally:
Increase your self-esteem, confidence and self-reliance abroad.
Enhance your personal job prospects.
Demonstrate your respect for your trading partners.
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Improve your understanding of the business environment.
An international survey of international recruiters found that nine out of ten executive
recruiters believe that the ability to speak another language is critical to success in Europe,
Asia-Pacific and Latin America. They believe that executives who are multilingual (i.e. speak
more than two languages fluently) have a significant competitive advantage. (Korn/Ferry
survey, 2005) ( 4 )
R: Corporate culture
A business culture or corporate culture refers to all the values, beliefs, actions,
thoughts, goals or norms that are shared by the members of the same organization.
Business culture defines the personality of an organization, as well as its ideology. And
this is reflected in any action carried out by the workers. That is to say: from how to
address clients, to their own colleagues; going through the company's priorities.
It should be noted that, although some use the term “organizational culture” as a
synonym for “business culture”, it is not entirely correct. The first goes further,
because it includes all types of organizations.
Panama is a country that has 3,723,821 inhabitants and a great cultural and religious
diversity. According to the last census carried out, the population is made up of 70%
mestizos, 10% white, 12% mulatto and 8% indigenous.
It is a bilingual country where the official language is Spanish and 80% of its population
speaks English, a product of the high North American influence left by the construction
of the Panama Canal by the United States. The official currency of the Central
American country is the Balboa, however, the US dollar has the same value and is
accepted as legal.
This country has a democratic government system, which guarantees stability and
security to both national and foreign investors in their negotiations.
According to the Embassy of Panama in Colombia, in this country there is a favorable
environment for foreign investment. Among the attractions for businessmen are the
Panama Canal, the Colón Free Zone, the Panama Canal Authority, the Processing
Zones, in addition to the validity of the dollar as legal tender.
It is important that, to carry out any business or to initiate closer relations with
Panamanians, foreign businessmen seek the help and advice of entities that serve as a
guide to achieve the expected objective.
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