Conflict Across Cultures: When you next think you are in conflict
with someone with a different background, how do you feel? Do you feel “first world” guilt? Do you ignore the differences and judge the other party by your own standards and codes?
It is not easy, but applying culture theory can help…
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When working internationally, there are certain principles
that are good to remember:
When things just don’t seem to be going right… Remember:
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“We should never denigrate any other culture but rather help 
people to understand the relationship between their own culture and the dominant culture. When you understand another culture or language, it does not mean that you have to lose your own culture.”
Edward T Hall (Anthropologist)
How difficult can it be?
A significant amount of overseas investment is wasted each year because there are invisible core differences between the American and British cultures. These are not always appreciated by corporations and leaders. Consequently the result can be culture clash. The damage to US – UK relationships leads to an absence of trust, the erosion of communication and cooperation and failure to achieve the common goal. When management time is applied to the ensuing crisis often only the symptoms are tackled.
So, what are the differences, how did they occur and what can we do to get over the shock and pain of culture clash?
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In 1987, the World Health Organisation called for a world-wide 
abstinence from smoking each year of 31st May. Called the ”World No Tobacco Day” this 24-hour long period is intended to draw global attention to the widespread prevalence of tobacco related illnesses and negative health effects which cause 5.4 million deaths each year. However, is it seems that non-Western nations take the day more seriously and protest loudest…
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China is a crazy, beautiful, frustrating, enlightening, contradictory, 
wonderful place. But whether you are doing business in China or entertaining visitors from that part of the world, it is important to understand Chinese business etiquette so that you can save ‘face’ and the ‘face’ of others. Watch this instructional video for a good insight into the behaviours you should be aware of…
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The average size of a bribe in Russia nearly tripled between 
2008 and 2009 and officials there accepted a whopping $33.5 billion in bribes from Russian companies last year, according to a new Russian government report cited in the St. Petersburg Times….
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By
Beauty Bogwasi
Dumelang, bagaetsho ( Hello all) These little words can save your life in Botswana. Greetings are key and pivotal in Botswana culture. Oh, sorry you are probably wondering where in the world is that! Botswana is the land of diamonds and game. It was first spoken in Botswana!
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Why we need to become global networkers
When organisations ‘go global’ we often think of the formal networks that need to be stretched and expanded to accommodate the increase in communication that results. What we often fail to realise is that as individuals, we now need to network on a global scale as well, in order to maintain the effectiveness of our role. Having teams spread out across the globe, having key opinion leaders in remote offices means that our influencing skills can be severely tested as we try to continue applying them but now mostly virtually instead of face to face…
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There is still concern about the notorious ‘‘dark’’ side of 
Russian business affairs, which includes a range of activities that could be regarded as violations of universal codes of human integrity, including extortion and flagrant breach of contract. The Russian phrase ‘nel’zya, no mozhno’ (prohibited, but possible) sums up the attitude of getting around the ‘official system’ where “nothing is legal, but everything is possible”…
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Hello, I'm Deborah Swallow and, for the last fifteen years, I've worked in over thirty countries addressing the complexities of people working internationally across multiple cultures, so individuals and organisations alike can gain an authentic competitive edge and win in international markets.
Contact me now for better international performance and increased profits
Tel: +44 (0) 207 1936 281
Email: deborah@deborahswallow.com
