International Business A Basic Guide For Women [Hardcover]

As we enter the new millennium, the growing importance of international trade and commerce has created the greatest demand ever for business people who are sophisticated in global management and skilled at working with people from other countries. Cross-cultural researchers, as well as business people themselves, continually observe and try to define the cultural differences in organizations around the world in order to suggest means of bridging the cultural divides that separate business people in one culture from those in another. Today, working in foreign countries and across different cultures requires many more skills than simply having expertise in a single functional area of business, such as finance or software programming; it also requires some knowledge of the foreign culture, its protocols and business style.

LACK OF PREPARATION BY FIRMS

Some research studies have been conducted on the selection, successes and failures of expatriates - business people who relocate to another country for the purposes of business for their firm -- to find out what training would provide for a smoother transition. Surprisingly, a recent study of 51 American companies found that only 12% offered any cross-cultural training, and that the training that was offered was inadequate, resulting in high levels of frustration for the employees and unnecessary costs to the firms.

Too often personnel are placed in a business environment in another culture with the incorrect expectation that interactions will mirror those in the United States. As a result, although most Americans who travel to other countries for business hope to make a favorable impression, often they don't. This may be due to inappropriate behaviors, comments, time orientation, social practices or etiquette differences. Actions that may be considered appropriate for professionals in corporate America may be perceived as arrogant, insensitive, overconfident, or aggressive in another culture, and l³$