Understanding Halal food

Do you understand Halal? Muslims are known for only eating Halal meats. Here is a video that explains what Halal is about.

Freddie Ravel uses music to bridge culture

Experiential learning works best when it involves as many senses as possible. Freddie Ravel has a unique talent at being able to use his skills as a professional musician, experience with multiple cultures, and skills as a top motivational speaker. He combines these talents to make a lasting impact in the lives of all who hear him. Watch this endorsement by Jack Canfield to learn more - then be sure to consider Freddie for one of your conferences.

Riots highlight immigration problems

Almost every industrial nation is experienced new, heightened levels of immigration. North America’s United States and Mexico are seeing record numbers of new people from the nation directly to their south. Likewise, South Africa is experiencing a fluid movement of Africa’s population.

Rioting has broken out in South Africa as protesters are targeting foreign owned businesses. Assaults, looting, and murder are becoming too common as long-term local residents show their displeasure with immigrants whom they see as taking jobs in poorer areas of the country from the North West province to Johannesburg and Pretoria.

As with much of the world, the problem exists largely because of a separatist mentality. Immigrants need to get involved with a community and build relationships. This is not to say they must act, dress, eat, worship, or in anyway try to be “like” local residents. However the bonds of friendship will trump immigrant status almost every time.

In other words, immigrants should keep their original culture while integrating with their new neighbors.

Careful OPEC: High prices are changing cultures

Steeply rising crude prices could be severely hampering the future of the traditional petroleum industry as global cultures deal with alternatives. From Detroit to Cambodia more employees are turning to biking as a way to get to work, with many forming bike clubs to travel together.

Four-day workweeks are being introduced as a way to get drivers off the road, reducing oil consumption and road wear. Many institutes of higher learning are also cutting their schedule to four days by taking Monday-Wednesday-Friday classes to Monday-Wednesday only classes using the twice-a-week model already used for Tuesday-Thursday classes.

The move to smaller vehicles and alternative fuel vehicles is also becoming a part of regional and economic cultures.

Once the thinking of cultures has changed, they have difficulty reverting to older, abandoned ideas. This could mean OPEC will see a decline that will be difficult to offset without substantial population growth.

Chinese culture provides cure for bad breath

The secret to stopping bad breath recently discovered by the Wm Wrigley Jr Company of Chicago is actually a long-known fact by the Chinese culture. Magnolia bark extract, used in traditional Chinese medicine for hundreds of years, or longer, is now being added to Eclipse gum and mints.

The natural bark extract kills the microorganisms causing bad breath without staining teeth like many other solutions are known to do.

Which is stronger: Laws or culture?

There has been a tremendous controversy brewing the United Kingdom as it struggles with a “Knife Culture”. Youth have latched onto the knife as a way to show dominance and territory, criminals are using knives more aggressively in robbery and murder.

It is very serious. During the past weekend, the out-of-control knife culture claimed the life of Rob Knox, one of the cast members of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”. The 18-year-old was stabbed outside a bar in London.

The debate has turned into culture versus law. Some claim the only way to control the violence is through legislation. Others say the problem can only be reversed through culture.

History has taught us legislation does not work. With every new law written new outlaws are born.

For any societal negative the positive rests in changing the hearts and minds of the citizenry. When people’s views are changed, they will become societal norms. Education and experience produce stronger, more consistent results than the pen strokes of high-ranking governmental, religious, or business figures.

Baby Boomers throughout the world proclaimed the truth in the 1970s. “You cannot legislate morality.” It was an accurate battle cry that should not be forgotten.

Pilots have renewed faith in God

Religious cultures have many anecdotal stories about how their faith has benefited them. Here is a story about two Christian pilots that will certainly foster much dialog among like-believers and skeptics.

It seems two New Zealand pilots, Grant Stubbs and Owen Wilson, ran out of fuel while flying last Sunday. They immediately began praying for a safe landing. According to Wilson their aircraft glided over a ridge revealing a grassy strip they had not know to exist previously. They were able to set the powerless plane down safely. When they deplaned and looked up, they were under a 20 foot high sign the read, “Jesus is Lord”.

Iceland is best place in world to live?

Combine Europe’s highest birth rate, the world’s highest divorce rate, and the highest percentage of women working outside the home and you have the happiest country in which to live. Iceland garnered that title in Human Development Index rankings, a study conducted by the United Nations.

Although we are sure the United Nations had its heart in the right spot, any attempt to use global factors in determining happiness based on lifestyle cannot be successful. Happiness is relative to cultures with each culture defining happiness in a specific way.

Book focuses on breaking out of a culture

There has been much talk about the polygamous culture of the American west. In this new book, Elissa Wall, provides cultural insight about her life in the Warren Jeffs cult. It is a captivating tale about how one person can have a remarkable persuasion over others and the thought processes required to break the bounds of influence.

Do you allow others to place false realities in your mind? If you quickly answered “no” you may be deceiving yourself. If you just said, “no I’m not”, you probably are.

Entire generation lost in earthquake

It appears an entire generation may have been lost during the earthquake in China last week. With most children in schools that collapsed few survived.

Generational voids have occurred previously in the world's history. The term “lost generation” is used to refer to generations that are wiped out by war, natural disaster, or disease. It is also a term used to refer to generations that have not been properly educated or simulated into mainstream ethnic or regional cultures.

Once a generation is lost, there is no recovery. Society as a whole suffers.

Culture clash leads to road rage

Miami was voted the city with the highest rate of road rage according to a survey by Prince Market Research. Following Miami, although we hope not too closely (as that might irritate the driver in front), were Boston, New York, Baltimore, and Washington.

The reason for the high rate of road rage is being credited the culture clash between Florida's youth and retiree cultures. Both cultures have distinctly different driving styles.

Perhaps it would be to the benefit of all to address the importance of cultural courtesy in driver handbooks and on driving tests.

Understanding Generation Y

We came across this video on You Tube and found it to be excellent insight into Generation Y.

“Take my wallet - but don't touch my cell phone!”

Given the choice by a robber of his money or his life, Jack Benny took a few moments to answer. When the robber repeated the question, miserly comic Jack replied, “I’m thinking, I’m thinking!”

According to a survey by IDC research, a victim of the same robbery attempt would now choose to give up their wallet rather than hand-over their cell phone.

They survey specifically asked, “if you had to leave your house for 24 hours and could take only one item, would you take your cell phone, digital music player, keys, laptop, or wallet.”

Of almost 2,400 respondents, 38% chose cell phone only 30% chose their wallet.

Perhaps they planned on texting a friend to bring cash.

Korean Tea culture

In Korea, tea is much more than a beverage – it is a culture. Watch this short video to see the beautiful tea landscapes in Korea. You will see how a culture stimulates sight and taste as you gain an understanding of the calming effect of tea.

Three Cups of Tea

Greg Mortenson shares a wonderful story of failure turned success. In return for kindness shown him following a failed attempt at scaling Mount Kilimanjaro, Mortenson promised to build a school for a Pakistani village. The book, Three Cups of Tea, provides an inspirational look at how to bring cultures together.

Read more about the book by clicking on one of these links: Australia, Canada, Europe, New Zealand, United States,

Africa culture in America threatened by development

When the American Civil War ended and West African slaves burnt the plantations on Sapelo Island as the white owners fled to mainland Georgia. What developed was a microcosm of the West African culture, which was still fresh in the minds of many of the newly freed slaves setting up their community.

Today the Atlantic island is a popular destination for tourists who want to learn more about this unique “Geechee” culture.

However the culture, which has survived for over a hundred years, is now under attack by development. Former residents left the island during the Great Depression and recent economic downturn. They are being offered huge sums for the property they still own on the island by developers seeing profits from the possibilities presented by the strategic recreational location of Sapelo.

Dubai seeks to be city of culture, knowledge

Dubai has set its vision as a city of culture and knowledge. The Knowledge and Human Development Authority, lead by Director General Dr. Abdulla Al Karam, met with the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority to discuss synergy in pursuing the goal of a city where the arts “covers the whole of a person’s journey through life.”

Dubai is a fast growing city with an aggressive development plan. The focus on knowledge and culture is being enacted early enough to have a strong impact on that development.

Having a vision and the ability to enact that vision are the foundations of developing new cultures. This puts Dubai is the unusual position of capturing existing culture, recognizing historical culture, and blending it all together for a new culture.

Green Culture builds momentum

Thinking and acting green have been important to environmentalist culture for decades. Several other cultures are gaining strong green elements, including the Gen X and Millennial generations, the outdoor recreational culture, and the health conscious culture.

GlobeScan has just released their findings of a 14 country survey. In order from greenest to brownest are: Brazil, India, China, Mexico, Hungary, Russia, Great Britain, Germany, Australia, Spain, Japan, France, Canada, and USA.

The survey offset country size by randomly selecting 1,000 respondents from each. The survey considered only residents and looked at transportation, housing, and food purchasing habits.

Brazil and India gained high ratings because of small home size leading critics to claim that population crowding, a leading cause of housing size per capita, gave an unfair advantage instead of counting urban congestion against a country.

Word of Mouth advertising flourishes on Internet

Word-of-mouth advertising is flourishing in a new home - cyberspace. According to a study by the Society for New Communications Research 74% of respondents make purchasing decisions based on customer service comments placed by customers.

Business ratings are available in many cyber locations, including ebay, You Tube, Facebook, and Twitter.

The survey is heavily swayed toward frequent Internet users, favoring techno-savvy Gen X, Gen Y, and Millennial shoppers. If this is your target demographic, you need to understand how they work and have a strategy to steer satisfied customers to the sites.

Request our complimentary article about the need for culturally-based customer service by clicking here.

Hungary deals with Nazi uprising

Neo-Nazi activities are on the rise in Hungary’s predominantly Jewish 13th district. Recently a group of 1,000 met at a ticket office for a theater presenting a performance about the Holocaust. “Hotel Modern”, a Dutch troupe, is sensitive to anti-Semitic issues. A counter-protest, joined by Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany, was also at the ticket office.

The events have opened dialog in the European country about the Nazi period and the prior communist government.

Read the full account here.

Americans to increase foreign travel

Tourism has received great news in the form of increased foreign travel plans by Americans. As the US travel season approaches, the American Automobile Association asked Global Insight to determine how many USA residents would travel outside its borders. Their survey found 25.1 million, a 2.6% increase over 2007, will explore other countries this summer.

Even better news is that the travelers are budgeting 5.7% more to compensate for the devalued US dollar.

Mexico continues to be the most popular destination as 5.8 million will take summer visits there. Canada is next with 5 million tourists. Travel to the two countries is roughly equal to last year, probably due to new travel restrictions. Passports are now required for most travel between North American countries. Once travelers have a passport they seem to start thinking about further destinations. The biggest increases will be India and Olympics host China.

TEN: Networking with a value proposition

Octavio Pitaluga has developed a value proposition for all of those interested in doing business internationally. Hear about TEN’s multicultural approach to networking and learn how it may benefit you.

What is Islam?

Here is an informative video providing insight about Islam.



For more information about Islam, visit our Muslim Cultural Bridge.

New Mosque – “not in my backyard”

Italians are afraid of intolerance to Catholicism and potentially increased terrorism if new Mosques are allowed in the country. So says a survey from Makno Consulting which found 31% of Italians are against the construction of new Muslim houses of worship.

Surprisingly the biggest anti-Mosque contingency was non-Muslim immigrants showed less tolerance than lifelong Italians. 50% of immigrants stated they did not want new Mosques.

The same survey found 34% of Muslim immigrants to Italy feel unaccepted by natives.

Italy has one million Muslims worshipping in 258 Mosques.

Millennial Generation choking itself

The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) has found that 7% of Ontario, Canada, students have purposely choked themselves.

The Millennial Generation plays “The Choking Game” to get a euphoric high as they cut off the blood to their brain.

Although 7% may sound like a low number, it equates to 79,000 students. In Atlanta, the US Centers for Disease Control attributes 82 deaths in the last 12 years to the game, with the number of deaths increasing annually.

Top 10 travel destinations

New Zealand is reveling in the travel survey released by TripAdvisor. It shows the top two travel destinations are located within its borders: Milford Sound and Queenstown.

The Caribbean region was also well represented in the top 10 due to its warm water and relaxing beaches.

Here are the top 20 travel destinations:

1. Milford Sound, New Zealand
2. Queenstown, New Zealand
3. Philipsburg, St. Maarten
4. Cayo Largo, Cuba
5. Rhodes, Greece
6. Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands
7. Cruz Bay, St. John, US Virgin Islands
8. Bridgetown, Barbados
9. Banff, Canada
10. Lake Tahoe, California

Men fail to act on women’s cues

The differences between men and women are among the most difficult to understand.

OK, this is not a newsflash – it seems to have been so since the beginning of the gender culture.

According to women between the ages of 21 to 30, only 13% of men react to the subtle signals they send to him know they are interested. This is according to a survey for Unilever by StrategyOne Research.

So how are these women giving the “signals”?

• 69% make eye contact and smile flirtatiously
• 37% ask for his opinion or advice about something
• 26% approach his friends
• 23% ask for the time

Cyberworld’s culture of bullying

World-wide incidents of cyber-bullying are growing at a rapid pace. In the United States a young teen was brutally attacked for posting made on her website. In Japan, an 18-year-old jumped off his high school’s roof to commit suicide. In Australia school violence is often tied to web postings.

In Japan 38,000 unsanctioned and unmonitored middle and high school websites contain hateful messages (38%), sexual content (40%), and violent slang (25%) according to Japan’s education ministry.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura acknowledges the task to control these sites will not be easy, and no other country has been able to find a method to control this part of the millennial culture.

Teaching products based on culture

Here is another vintage television commercial that presents a cultural lesson for today’s culturally conscious business person. This commercial introduced a new product by showing its versatility. The commercial is definitely targeting stay-at-home moms, which were the majority of households when the ad aired in the 1950s.

If you don’t think this commercial was successful, consider this: doctors are still trying to dissuade people from using the product to clean ears, mentioned twice in the commercial, half a century later.

Communicating with Generation X

Generational issues continue to distract managers from core competencies. However a survey from Robert Half International is providing some excellent connection tips when working with Xers.

According to generation members involved in the survey the key is to have frequent contact. Sixty percent want to hear from their boss daily while 35% want contact several times a day.

They believe that through constant contact they are able to better understand roles and expectations thereby miscommunication is less likely.

Hollywood and Bollywood in UAE

The United Arab Emirates has turned to Hollywood and Bollywood to help them lure visitors to Dubailand, the world’s largest theme park. As the billion dollar project continues, investors are looking at the American and Indian cultures to help build international appeal and tourism. Of course, the Middle East culture will also be represented in the park.

Eight major deals have been struck with Hollywood studios according to the Associated Press, for the park that is expected to increase tourism to 15 million annual visitors by 2015.

Studios are currently taking a look at how their characters will fit-in to the UAE, both culturally and governmentally. For example, Wonder Woman will be okay as long as there is no attempt made to make her seem like a Muslim woman.

Generations present top business challenge

A recent benchmarking study found that managing a multi-generational workforce is the top concern facing businesses today. An overwhelming 80% of companies identified this as a major challenge, although only 33% offer training to bridge to equip managers and employees to understand how to work through this challenge.

There are currently four generations in the workplace and each has their own career outlook, motivational factors, communication style, view of authority, cognitive style, and requirements for giving respect to supervisors.

This is substantiated by Max Impact and MBC Global where multigenerational training is a popular training request. Managing Builders, Boomer, Xs and Ys without losing your Zs was developed by Max Impact and is also used by MBC Global to teach employees at all levels how to work together in a multigenerational environment. Managers are also taught how to turn all four generations into long-term, productive, and respectful assets to their employer.

Iran and fundamental Christians find agreement

The government of Iran and fundamental Christians in America have found a point of agreement – Barbie is bad!

According to a story from the Associated Press, a top Iranian judge has warned against the "destructive" cultural and social consequences of importing Barbie dolls.

The official noted that as the wealth of Iranians has risen on increased oil prices a black market for western toys has developed. He fears the “personalities” of these toys will change the generational culture of Iran’s youth.

In the western world, fundamental Christian leaders have also held the position that Barbie is a destructive toy. They point to the doll’s “perfectly proportioned” figure and pure complexion gives girls and boys a false reality of personal appearance.

Lesbians sue Lesbians over name

The culture that raises the most negative comments to MBC Global and in the average workplace is the topic of sexual orientation. People have very strong feelings about the issue.

Imagine for a moment you were from the area where part of the culture gets their name. For those that disagree with the culture, it is humiliating to be known by the same name.
This feeling has prompted three women from the Isle of Lesbos, where all residents are properly known as Lesbians, to file suit in Athens against the Homosexual and Lesbian Community of Greece, a gay advocacy group that uses the term “Lesbian” to refer to its culture.

It is not as abstract a case as it might seem. In fact, the term “Lesbian”, when used to refer to gay women, is derived from Lesbos. It is on this island in the Aegean Sea that an acient poet, Sappho, wrote poems praising love among women. The term “Lesbian” was adopted by female gays based on the poet’s birthplace in Eressos, a town on Lesbos.

If the suit is successful, the term “Lesbian” will no longer be able to be used by the advocacy group. Of course, the group could change its name to “Homosexual Community of Lesbos”. That will probably be even more objectionable to the plaintiffs.

Learn more about cultures at MBC Global's Cultural Bridges website.