Japanese Business cards

Frank was so excited to meet a delegation of businessmen visiting from Tokyo. As they offered their business card to him for introduction, he took the cards with his right hand and stocked them in his left. The business men were highly insulted.

Why?

For the answer, click here.

Starbucks cannot compete in Australia

Starbucks has virtually left the land under saying they cannot compete due to the continent’s sophisticated coffee culture. They are closing all but 23 outlets after admitting defeat in their drive to hydrate thirsty Aussies.

The reason: Australia’s diverse population had already elevated the tastes of java lovers. Espressos and cappuccinos are common place in a land that has been brewing delicious blends since post-World War II migration upped the palates of the average Australian.

The sophistication of the Australian coffee aficionado is so strong they are turned off by one simple piece of the Starbucks formula – having teens prepare the cups. To an Australian it takes experience to be able to get the brew just right.

The chain will now be limited to Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne in an attempt to continue to brag about the intercontinental affection for its products.

Words and cultures

Words often mean different things in different cultures. This video is a comical look at how one word means something different in eastern and western cultures. It gives great insight into the frustration surrounding communication in a multicultural workplace. Of course, proper training can reduce or eliminate the communication problems. Enjoy the video.

Outsourced - "Rubber"
Uploaded by Outsourced

Living in the traditional business culture

Every corporation has its own culture, and every department within a large corporation exhibits a sub-culture. Here is a video that shows the traditional supervisor. As you can see, this is one individual that would do better if he were to adopt behaviors of a contemporary leader.

Globalization captures American icon

The proposed purchase of an icon of American beer, Budweiser, by Belgium’s InBev is potentially just the beginning of a trend. As populations continue to migrate around the globe at unprecedented rates, products with well-known names are easier to sell. Couple this with a rapidly descending American dollar and it is easy to see that companies located in stronger currencies, such as the Euro, are ready to pounce.

Few American businesses truly understand the global marketplace as ripe for growth. Companies such as Wal-Mart and General Motors have found great benefit by being savvy global marketplace players. For Wal-Mart, understanding the culture of the budget-minded along with the nuances of local cultures have given the global mega-corporation a safe harbor against the falling dollar. At General Motors, growth in new markets, such as China, is saving the company as it innovates to deal with alternatives to the American SUV marketplace.

American products with high advertising budgets have made their name known around the world. The spread of the population has also carried word-of-mouth name recognition to new customers. As the price tag of American companies drops in other currencies, because 1 billion US dollars is far less British pounds than it use to be, they become targets of international conglomerates that have already learned the importance of reaching across borders for business growth.

Several politicians say they will fight the buy-out due to the negative impact on jobs, which could number as high as 6,000 being added to Missouri’s unemployment roles. They say they fear jobs will be moved to InBev’s headquarters in Europe. InBev is smart enough to know that some presence in the US will be necessary, however it will not need all 6,000.

This should anger the politicians. not because their constituents will be added to the job lost category, but because they were inept in understanding their role in keeping the dollar in the category of strong currencies. In other words, they should not be mad at InBev or Budweiser, but they should be mad at themselves.

Perhaps they should put down a few Buds during their month-long August vacation. It will be interesting to see how much more devalued the dollar is when they return in September.

First it was cheap junk, now its energy efficiency

You absolutely have to admire the Japanese for being ahead of the curve. Fifty years ago when the global marketplace was first forming, Japan captured a large segment of the borderless economy by producing inexpensive items at a rapid pace. Then they spotted an emerging global interest in technology and developed some of the most advanced products possible. At the same time they saw a global need for quality inexpensive cars and answered that call, too. With world-respected corporations like Toshiba, Sony, and Toyota the Japanese have marveled the world.

Now comes the next trend, green and guess what. The world once again is turning to the creativity and ingenuity of the small but powerful island nation. They have created a commercial complex in Chiba that generates it’s power from transparent solar panels imbedded in the building’s windows. They discovered a way to harness the heat from the waste of the Taiheiyo Cement Factory in Kumagaya to make generate the factory’s own electricity. And the list of accomplishments goes on.

Engineers from around the world are traveling to Japan to see the marvels the inventive Japanese culture has now introduced to the world.

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.

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.

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.

MySpace uses local cultural info for success

Google and Yahoo have not been able to gain the market presence in South Korea they enjoy throughout the rest of the world. As one of the world’s most wired nations, South Koreans are tech savvy and have enough of a buying power to allow the development of Korean-focused website. Local competitors, such as Daum Communications and Naver Web, are designed specifically for the South Korean culture and are being rewarded by the loyalty of the Asian nation.

Recognizing this, MySpace took the time to learn the local culture and made enhancements to connect with Korean youth. One feature developed specifically for the Korean language site is “Minilog”. Users are able to write down everyday thoughts and feelings.

The result has been major inroads in building bridges to the South Korean culture, providing a strong challenge to South Korea’s dominant Cyworld.

All companies should have a strategy to reach out to new customers on a cultural basis.

Saudi Arabia offers cultural training for migrant workers

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia challenging organizations, companies, and nations to provide migrant workers with education about Saudi work laws. Although training on cultural customs and/or history is often provided the training does not extend into labor laws.

Ahmed Abdulraham Al Mansour, Saudi Deputy Minister for Labour, issued the challenge to provide extended training at the Saudi-Bangladesh Joint Economic Commission, held during the first week of April, 2008.

Ahmed said workers need to know Saudi culture, social norms and values, and labor laws. “Lack of knowledge about the rules and regulation creates problems”, he said, noting the problems cause embarrassment for Saudi Arabia and the nation sending the workers.

Agencies recruiting workers to Saudi Arabia have allegedly cheated workers from Bangladesh that did not understand worker requirements and regulations. He offered his government’s resources to assist in the worker training program, providing a model that all nations importing skilled workers could follow.

India to increase investment in Africa

India has announced plans for substantial investment in Africa in an attempt to become more prominent on the continent. India is also doubling its credit lines to African national and regional organizations according a story from the Associated Press.

China already has a major investment level in Africa and is growing their trade with the region by double digit annual increments.

Most of the world sees Africa as the next “China”. In other words, they see the continent as the growth vehicle for manufacturing into the middle of the century.

North and South America lag behind in recognizing the potential of Africa’s growth and developing a strategy for growth in the region.

Why to grow globally

Investment analysts are increasingly aware of social investment issues, says Alan Harper, VodafoneGroup Strategy Director. They are also very conscious of 'growth', which is beginning to come from new developing markets.

Cubans to get cell phones

Raul Castro, Cuba’s new President, has agreed to allow citizens to have cell phones. The move has a big impact on the culture of Cuba, where only Communist Party officials and employees of foreign business were allowed the phones.

The move also eliminates the black market for cell phones. Some Cubans paid foreigners to sign contracts in their names and then giving the phone to the Cuban.

This also opens up a business opportunity for those in the telecommunications industry as Castro’s move opens the door for calling plans from other countries to now charge to connect to friends and relatives in Cuba.

It is also marketplace where American telecommunication companies will not be able to participate. The United States government still prohibits direct and in direct business with Cuba. Therefore, American business with overseas offices or companies and entrepreneurs outside of the United States of America will be able to capitalize most.

Canadian businesses strategize for growth

NAFTA is no longer the driver behind growing Canadian business. Today it's a healthy Canadian dollar a comparison to a very weak United States dollar that is growing their economy.

Canadian business owners see a tremendous opportunity to position themselves for growth. They are borrowing money for capital improvements, new products, and other strategic expenses to take advantage of a healthy Canadian economy.

The entire world is watching the US dollar plummet in value. More distant neighbors are gearing up for imports and tourism (their citizens visiting the United States). However no nation is as strategically running as the USA's neighbor to the north.

This is also excellent time for American businesses to strategize how they can grow if they're dollar remains weak and to capitalize should the dollar rebound.

Cultural leap at restaurant eliminates red ink

Cultural leap at restaurant eliminates red ink
The food at the middle-eastern restaurant was delicious, fresh, and healthy. It was a popular eating spot for the students on the adjacent university campus due to its fast service and affordable prices. Many students were regulars due to a varied menu for those with typically American tastes and traditional Middle Eastern cooking for the school's Arabic population.

To continue reading this case study, click here.

Namibia bank to support arts, culture

Erastus Hoveka has taken over the role of Managing Director of Nedbank in Namibia. In his first official act he exhibited a strong priority to build Namibian commerce through culture.

Despite the differences in customs, practices and beliefs around the world, art is found in every human grouping and community, both in the past and the present, where activities in the form of ceremonies and rituals or artifacts such as symbols and creative products happened to reflect the identity of such a community," he asserted.

Hoveka’s vision is to use culture domestically and internationally to bridge Namibia with other global cultures and within Namibia’s local multicultural communities.

Hoveka is giving sound business leadership for all businesses and entrepreneurs as his concept is proven itself as a best practice for growth.

Note Hoveka’s recognition that “global clutures” are around the world – and in our own backyard.

Cyberspace or Outer space

Houston, we have a problem: Generation Y is more interested in cyberspace than outer space!

In the coming decades, funding for NASA is going to hinge on the support it receives from Generation Y. In a strategic move, the space agency is doing extensive research to find ways to build a bridge to Generation Y. They have discovered they must:

• Communicate to the generation what they do and why it is important to Gen Y members.
  Provide more real-time interaction. Things lake informative, fun links and videos on their website. Even live cams on their space ships, robots, and rovers.



• Understand the global perspective. Space and distance are not as important as they were to previous generations. Gen Y, therefore, is not impressed as mush with the distance to Saturn, however would love to see Saturn on a webcam.



• Hierarchical one-way communication does not work. Gen Y wants to be able to interact – they are very social.

Looking at this list we see the agency that brought us chap stick and Tang is now giving business some keys to establishing future business with Gen Y.

McDonald’s and Feng Shui

The growth of Feng Shui, an ancient Chinese practice of arranging numbers and objects to promote health, harmony, and prosperity, has caught the attention of McDonald’s.

The hamburger chain is reaching out to the large local Asian population at their restaurant in Hacienda Heights, California, by remodeling both interior and exterior.

With an earth tone color scheme, leather seats, water fountains, and bamboo plants, diners will experience a more peaceful experience than at traditional McDonald’s.

McDonald’s has shown their desire to reach out to local cultures in the past. In heavily Muslim Dearborn, Michigan, for example, their outlet serves halal hamburgers aligning with the Islamic culture.

The subtleties of the design promote a connection to the Asian culture without a negative impression by other cultures, something important when a company reaches out to a culture. This was not the case when bi-lingual labeling was introduced in Canada. Many in the French speaking areas rebelled against retailers that had English labels facing out and some English speaking locales protested retailers showing the French label on the outside.

Celebrating cultural success

If you want to connect to the emerging cultures in your neighborhood or across the globe, one proven method is to celebrate their successes. Take a look at the commercial below.

This 1960s ad campaign was used by the Philip Morris Company to grab market share in their highly competitive product line. It was a huge success as women wanted to be associated with the product. Why this one over the others on store shelves? Because they created an image that their product was not only a celebration of the advances in their culture, but it was the first of the product line to meet their specific needs.



What can you celebrate about the cultures with whom you want to connect?

It’s not the economy – it’s the culture

This has been a tough week for retailers. Sharper Image and Lillian Vernon file for bankruptcy. Wilsons Leather announced the closing of 160 stores while JCPenney saw an almost 10% profit drop. Profit woes also affected Whole Foods Market, Old Navy, and Zale.

On the other end of the spectrum, Wal-Mart saw continued profit growth as TJX, operator of TJ Maxx and Marshall’s, realized a 47% profit gain and Office Max profits were up 23%.

Some will immediately detect the companies in the first paragraph are at the upper end of the price scale while the second paragraph list stores that are at the lower end of the price scale. Although a correct observation, it would be a misled assumption as we have not given you one more piece of information that destroys theory.

Abercrombie & Fitch, which stores under the Abercrombie, Hollister, and Abercrombie & Fitch manners, saw a 9% increase in profits from their stores in North America and Great Britain.

With this added information and careful analysis you find that Abercrombie & Fitch, while matching the target demographics in the first paragraph, has produced results putting it with the winners in the second paragraph.

The difference is that Abercrombie is fully in tune with the culture of its demographic – Gen Y. They focus singularly on this group in developing a store ambiance, merchandise mix, and personnel selection. As the economy tightens, Gen Y will spend less at the fringe retailers, those that only present Gen Y fashions as an add-on to a broader assortment and devote their dollars to the retailers that reach out specifically to them.

Even if your demographic is not Gen Y, there is a lesson here that can make you stronger and economy-proof.

Generation Y eyes buying homes

The sharp realtor, mortgage broker, moving company, or other professional dealing with the real estate market have a prime target audience – Generation Y. These are people in their late teens and twenties.

Genworth Financial has released data from a study on the borrowing habits of Gen Y. Their study revealed that loans for the generation are up 28% in value – a remarkable growth rate as the generation only accounts for 20% of total loans.

The members of this group see the current depressed real estate economy as an opportunity to begin building a realty portfolio. Although 81% of loans are for homes they will occupy, 19% is for investment property.

There is no projected ending for this trend.

Poor offer business opportunity

Those of you that think only the middle and upper income cultures are viable for building business need to listen to this interview of Julio Moura, CEO of GrupoNueva, a holding company for businesses through the South, Central, and North America. Moura sees the poor as an economic culture representing part of the solution to building business in the 21st century.

More cultures revolt against power failures

Continual electrical service is being demanded in more areas of the world as public outcry against power failures is rising.

South Africa’s Chamber of Mines has entered into negotiations with Eskom, government-controlled utility to ensure power for ventilation in their underground shafts. In a nation with 25.5% unemployment it is critical to maintain safety for the mining industry, one of the nation's largest employers.

In the New York metropolitan area, the culture does not accept power outages. With a huge number of high-rises and an electrically powered public transportation system even a small outage has a huge impact. Residents and government officials vehemently protest and investigate every outage. The result has been decades of virtually continuous electrical supply. Although New York lost power in the Great Blackout of 2002, they were also the first area to have power restored and led the charge to find out what it happened.

Not every area is concerned about consistent power. In Detroit residents are confronted with power outages several times a year due to storms and outdated equipment. Yet residents accept these interruptions as a normal result of weather conditions.

So here we have examples of three electrical cultures:

• A culture that will not tolerate outages (New York).


• A culture that recognizes electricity as a key to economic growth (South Africa).


• A culture that doesn't seem to care. (Detroit)

Diversity still lags in staffing management

A survey of staffing firms released by the Association of Executive Search Consultants shows 76% of global senior executives reported their company has none or only one minority represented among their top executives. As for women, only 44% of the respondents had at least one woman in top management.

Diversity policies are also lacking among today's global staffing firms. Only 54% of responding organizations have a current diversity policy. This is down from 59% just two years previous.

One must wonder how long it will take to achieve diversity at all levels of the corporate world if those involved in hiring do not personally practice diversity.

Don’t mess with my Whopper

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of its popular Whopper hamburger, Burger King launched the most successful ad campaign since “Have it your way” in the 1970s. They starting serving Wendy’s “Singles” or McDonald’s “Big Macs” to customers that ordered “Whoppers” in selected restaurants with hidden cameras. In some cases they just refused to sell the burger, saying it had been discontinued. The result is priceless footage of customers bitterly and vehemently complaining about the sandwiches demise.

The ad campaign struck a cultural nerve among baby boomers that grew up enjoying Whoppers and Whopper Juniors. The sentimental former Burger King patrons returned to reconnect to the taste of the Whopper, creating a double digit increase in sales for the comparable fourth quarter of 2007, despite the fact that the ad campaign only ran for 20 days during the quarter.

Burger King has learned that connecting to customers culturally will drive profit into the cash register. Here are just some of the cultures with which the ad campaign resonated.

• Baby Boomers. Touched a nostalgic nerve.


• Gen Y. This generation enjoys humorous advertising, particularly when pranks are involved. The ad was viewed over one-third million times on You Tube.
  
• Recreational/outdoor. A subtle link to an earlier, albeit less successful campaign, exploiting the broiled versus fried taste preference of the outdoor recreational culture.

Euros now accepted in New York City

With the weakening US dollar, Europeans are traveling to New York City in record numbers. As a cultural bridge to their overseas guests many businesses are posting signs “Euros Accepted”.

This is a new phenomena for the Big Apple where despite a consistently high level of tourism acceptance of any foreign currency has been considered unpatriotic.

The signs are popular for the tourists and businesses are finding that by accepting the Euro their sales are increasing significantly. Many are also considering accepting the British Pound and Canadian Dollar, both of which are performing well against the US Dollar on currency markets.

One difference in New York versus other areas where foreign currency are accepted the same as the dollar, such as stores along the Canadian and Mexican borders, the merchants in New York have not worked out exchange deals with a local bank. Instead many are holding onto the Euros as an investment, betting on their continued increase in value.

Looking at customers that want cheap

As the eyes of the world are tuned to America’s Super Bowl, we thought we would share a lighthearted video with you. It shows the negotiation skills of the frugal culture.

This economic culture is always looking for a bargain. They are will to undergo almost any level of pain in order to save money. Long lines, extended driving distances, eating early, getting up in the middle of the night, are all within this culture’s willingness for a good deal.

The video shows what we mean.

Get lucky with the Chinese before August

The luckiest day in history is coming this August, according to the Chinese. It is signified by the opening of the Olympics in Beijing at 8:00 pm on August 8. That would be 8 08/08/08.

Anyone that has ever read a fortune cookie knows that numbers are important in the Chinese culture. And to the Chinese, no other number is as lucky as the number 8.

June weddings may be popular in the western culture, but to the Chinese, August 8 is the busiest day of the year for matrimonial industry. Last year 3,400 couples were wed in Beijing alone. That number should be dwarfed by this year’s nuptials.

Savvy people in the wedding business would do well to plan some special promotions geared around this once in a century marketing event.

Starbucks hits back in coffee culture war

People were shocked when McDonald’s, the chain more popular for burgers and fries, announced they were going after the elite coffee market. It was seen clearly as a missile aimed directly right into Starbucks profitable business niche.

Entrepreneurs and Generation Y regularly gather at Starbucks for meetings and relationship building. Both these cultures are also within McDonald’s target demographics however cultural members had been walking under the green circle more than through the golden arches.

Evidently McDonald’s move was effective as Starbucks is now firing back with a marketing campaign clearly aimed at the restaurant giant.

An undisclosed number of Starbucks in Seattle are test marketing two of McDonald’s mainstays: the dollar menu and free beverage refills.

Okay, so it only includes one-product, the small, or “short”, coffee, it is still a significant change in the way coffee shops operate. There is not price parody as McDonald’s cup is 50% larger, but it is the first time a major coffee-driven chain has provided free refills.

Now we’ll watch to see if Starbucks is able to attract McDonald’s frugal economic culture.

GM v. Toyota: Editor misses big story

The newspaper editor missed a big story by not reading his own newspaper.

His front page told about GM’s quest to stay number 1 in global automotive sales – a feat they pulled off by a mere 3,000 vehicles on a base of over 9 million new car deliveries. Meanwhile, the business section had a story about how GM and Toyota had also tied for customer loyalty awards.

Are these really unrelated stories – or are they a key factor in global business success?

The most significant number in the second story is the 63% rate at which GM drivers return to buy another car. The same rate is only 57% at Toyota. Seems like a small difference – think again, it is over a half-million cars. Had Toyota been as successful at customer retention, they easily would have been in first place.

The cultural aspect of customer retention

Every product and service lends itself to s specific cultural demographic. However cultures change as they grow and develop. For example, the interests of the Baby Boomers have gone from economy student car, to SUVs as the children grew, to more luxury features as the generation reached career goals.

Each country has also its own cultural factors to address. GM is rapidly growing in several nations where they have clearly keyed into the local needs and desires of prevalent automotive-buying cultures. That is why they were able to hold onto the top spot for at least one more year – despite predictions.

Oddly enough, in the 1970s it was companies like Toyota that taught GM this cultural lesson.

Wal-Mart opens door for cultural competition

Wal-Mart is open the door for culturally-minded storeowners by discontinuing more than 1000 magazines from the list of titles its stores can carry. Most magazines on the list has specific cultural demographics allowing for other merchants targeting that demographic have a competitive advantage over Wal-Mart's narrow offerings.

Wal-Mart has long left the door open to other retailers to find successful niches enabling them to survive side-by-side. Targeting specific cultures with merchandise offers smaller retailers, and everyone's a small retailer, to meet the needs and desires of specific groups within their community. These magazines offer another commerce niche to exploit when attracting culturally specific customers.

Among the magazines that were cut from the Wal-Mart approved list are Better Homes and Gardens, which is still popular for women -- particularly those in the Baby Boomer and Builder/Traditionalist generations. Condé Nast and The Economist were cut, providing an opportunity for those reaching out to the affluent culture.

Eliminating the titles is not an indication the magazines are not sellable, profitable, or desirable for other stores. It is merely keeping within Sam Walton's established culture of narrow product offerings. By limiting the number of products within any individual category or target group, Wal-Mart is able to keep their UPC catalog smaller to improve cash register efficiency. In the case of merchandise that flows through the distribution centers, narrowing the product mix allows them to handle fewer products and higher quantities which reduces handling and carrying costs.

Wal-Mart’s weaknesses

Smart local storeowners know they can compete very effectively with Wal-Mart through wider product offerings, unique local products, and enhanced customer service. These are Wal-Mart's three weaknesses, which the giant corporation is willing to risk as none of the three can be profitably overcome without sacrificing even more profitable areas of their operation.