by Richard Cook

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…

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”…

The black market economy in Russia is a huge industry, Corruption
estimated to be the equivalent of the GDP of Denmark – some US $300 billion. It is so rampant that many large Western firms are deciding to cut their losses and leave Russia for good, IKEA among them. This is just a tiny tip on an enormous iceberg…

Some years ago it was popular for OD consultants to observe that
many US organizational culture “managed by emergency.” s. In my several ongoing engagements with US groups, after living in France for some years now, it seemed to me that people in these organizations rushed about in a constant state of urgency, “putting out fires.” I won’t tell stories at length or repeat the literature on the effects of this kind of management on planning, productivity and morale, but I do want to share an observation about it that I did not remember seeing in this kind of discussion. It is much more of a cultural and personal insight. It comes from my US soul with the perspective of living abroad for many years now. The urgency is both part of me and something I recognize in others like me….

The question of whether the Eurozone states
should shell out to help Greece has opened up critical new fault lines in Europe. Germany is taking a tough position by resisting giving help and even advocating that future bad debtors be kicked out of the single currency. How much of this is down to pure economics and how much is to do with cross-cultural differences?

Interculturalists and cross-cultural communication
specialists are the first to advise caution when it comes to using humour in  international business. Copywriters and marketers often avoid humour for fear of offending readers in an increasingly diverse market place.

However, according to a recent study laughter may be a profit-enhancing business tool when used in negotiations by increasing trust and rapport. Read below to understand the role of humour on the early stages of negotiations and its subsequent impact on the trust between the negotiating parties – and, most importantly, whether there was any commercial gain…

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Cross-cultural differences in colour meanings are sometimes the least of our worries when communicating internationally. I have just finished off an article which is to appear in the next edition of Winning EDGE magazine for the Insitute of Sales and Marketing. In it, I caution marketers to know their target audience as different cultures ascribe various meanings to colours. How easy is it to convey the wrong meaning by getting colour choice wrong?

White in the west symbolises brides, angels, good guys versus funerals and death in the East; black in the West symbolises death, funerals and bad guys versus a colour for young boys in China and restoring balance in Chakra energy (Indian medicine). Then I went on a hunt to find out more. This is what I found out…

Why is it that serious attempts at sharing knowledge acrosscross-culture
cultures frequently end in frustration, disappointment and a sense of aggrievement on all sides?

The problem is that people from different cultures have fundamentally different beliefs about the proper roles of bosses and subordinates, teachers and students, and even about the nature of knowledge itself.

There is a deepening and increasing inequality between men and womenItaly
in Italy. The cause of the probelm is being firmly laid at the feet of the Italian Prime Minister, Belusconi.  Equality campaigners have suggested that the continual portrail of women in the media in a demeaning and  sexualised fashion has set back their cause by at least 150 years.

 

 Having been momaumbrellabrought up in the UK and witnessed (albeit I was very young at the time) the women’s liberation movement and bra burning antics of young female students, I thought Britain had a gender-equal society.  It wasn’t until I went to work in Finland, about 15 years ago, that I realised how unequal British society was. It therefore came as no surprise when I heard that the top places in the Global Gender Gap Index went to Norway, Finland, Sweden and Iceland.  However, finding Italy in 67th position (lagging behind Chile and Azerbaijan) was quite a shock!   Why not check out where your country fits in the league table?   You may be in for a few surprises.