International marketing and advertising are interesting fields for cultural research. Fraught with misunderstandings and misinter- pretation of messages and intentions, they expose fundamental challenges of working across cultures with which marketing professionals and others doing business across cultures frequently struggle. Most such issues fall into either of two categories:

Communication Challenges

Stories about marketing communication mistakes abound and often serve to educate International MBA students. Here are a few classics:

Cross-cultural advertisement gaffes tend to be caused by basic translation errors or other misunderstandings and oversights. Similar issues are frequent in other business exchanges. While incorrect translations often cause confusion, even people who speak the same language may interpret words in different ways.

Avoiding such communication issues altogether is difficult. However, a number of tactics help in achieving greater clarity:

•  Avoid slang, adages, and other culture-specific verbiage, such as sports analogies.

•  Consider that a statement’s ‘catchiness’ may matter less in one culture than in another.

•  For translations, use only native speakers living in the destination country.

•  If unsure how well your message works, consult with several people belonging to the target culture.

Cultural Sensitivities

If failing to communicate the right message can be embarrassing, appearing to be culturally insensitive can be outright disastrous.

Showing respect for culture, history, and people is essential when working across cultures. Doing so requires knowing about, and paying attention to, the other country’s values and practices. “Know before you go” is good advice, so unless you are well familiar with culture, history, values, and practices, do some reading, take training, and/or talk to others who are familiar with these aspects before venturing off to do business in any foreign country.

This books makes an inter- esting attempt to reduce complex culture specific marketing concepts to their essence.

A guide for expatriates to Belgium, France, Germany, The Netherlands, and Spain, with a plethore of information for each.

I see my path, but I don't
know where it leads.
 
Not knowing where
I'm going is what
inspires me to travel it

All of the 50 individual Country Sections from Negotiating International Business are available online.

Leadership Crossroads
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• Global Business Coaching & Training
• Cross-Cultural Project Management
• Outsourcing Preparation
• International Negotiation Training and Assistance
• Organizational Learning and Development
• Executive Coaching

This two-day project management workshop is facilitated by
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