International Business and Communication
How to overcome cultural differences in business communication benefits.
The company currently trade in goods and provide services to global customers. Many companies have facilities in different countries and most companies, large and small, work has been with the workforce, a very diverse international.
Communication is obviously an enabler of any kind of cooperation and business activities – nationally and internationally. Different cultures have a certain style of business communication, well accepted and adopted by their populations. Other cultures have different ways to do business and with it, use different styles to open, discuss, negotiate and close business deals and maintain business relationships.
What is the best way to communicate to people from different cultural backgrounds? The potential customer’s style or one that relates to the language used for communication? Unfortunately there is no clear answer to this question.
Specific communication styles have been developed over a period of time based on cultural values. Even with the desire to “speak the language of the customer”, these values ??can not simply set aside time to write or talk with people from other cultural influences.
Two little anecdotes that show the difficulty in communicating internationally. A Japanese company hire a professional trainer to teach them how to communicate with Western customers. Japanese style using words passive, perceived by the West customer “as if they do not want to make business with us”. Nothing is further from the truth, of course, Japanese companies are very interested in Western businesses. I witnessed another case of mistaken correspondence first hand, when a colleague received an email from another colleague in Europe. When reading it he suddenly muttered: “Why is he yelling at me?” I asked what he meant and he replied that using an exclamation colleague will be equal to yell at him. A look at an email confirming what I thought: an exclamation point underlined very important – not to scold the reader. Using the exclamation mark means that a common practice in the authors state. However, the authors write in English – so should it not be natural to use the Anglo-American style and rules?
We will have the interpersonal and business experience is more fruitful, if:








