With Taiwan the first country in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the acceptance of homosexuality was new to Asian culture.

However, homosexuality was generally an accepted part of the culture in many Asian countries until the West introduced its puritanical Christian religious ideology and played an influential role in bringing an end to the long-standing traditions in this part of the world.

There is no better way to understand the impact of cultural differences upon business than to look at real-life examples.

No matter what business, sector or market you are in, if you deal with people from different cultures, then cultural difference is going to impact what you do somewhere, somehow.

A common question foreigners moving to or working in the Middle East ask at cultural awareness training sessions is, "Why do the men wear the headdress?"

Great question!

Have you heard the story about the French student keeping money in his shoe?

Well, then we’re going to tell you a true story about a young French student called Victor who travelled to Thailand.

Did you hear about the supermodel, the airport lounge and the cultural faux pas that caused uproar in Saudi Arabia and the UAE?

No? Well, this is a great little example of culture gone wrong!

Living abroad gives you some excellent insights into foreign cultures.

Especially in terms of being able to compare them viz-a-viz with other cultures.

Being able to communicate and collaborate across cultures is crucial for many of today’s professions; engineers included.

However, a Japanese-led research team suggests that the intercultural communication skills being taught to today’s engineers are not fit for purpose.

Despite a history of limiting the visibility of women, the application of harsh gender laws have instead made them the most visible part of the Saudi identity.

As such, when many Westerners think of Saudi Arabia, niqab clad women without any rights, are one of the first images that come to mind.

When it comes to cultural sensitivity training, it’s a little misleading to think of Middle Eastern culture as something homogenous. 

Why?  Because the Middle East is a melting pot of ethnicities, languages and religions.  These elements all fuse together to give us a rich cultural tapestry.

Danes have every reason to celebrate! The Business Culture Complexity Index™ has ranked Denmark as having the easiest business culture among the top 50 economies of the world.

Let’s discover how this tiny western European country, famous for Lego, butter, bacon and Carlsberg beer, has created a culture, that according to the data, is open, trusting, transparent and open for business!

If you want to know how easy it is to do business with China, then look no further than the Business Culture Complexity Index ™ (BCCI), a tool that provides some great insights for expanding businesses.

The BCCI uses a number of data comparisons to produce a single ‘ease of doing business’ score for the world’s largest 50 economies, culturally speaking that is.

Evey company working on the international stage needs to prepare their staff with the skills and knowledge to work across cultures.

Where online cultural training is not an option, then it’s essential to provide staff with easily accessible, bitesize, digestible materials.

Unless you’re well-acquainted with Japanese culture, then it’s unlikely you have come across the word freeter before.

However, if you want to understand Japanese culture, this word can give you some great insights into the Japanese people's values and attitudes.

Are you travelling to the Arab world for business or working with Arab clients/colleagues?

Need to know what to call people and how to address them? Then this blog is exactly what you’ve been searching for!

Are you new to doing business with the Middle East?

Understanding the local culture is critical if you want to succeed.

If you’re travelling to the Middle East on business, and want to make a good impression, then it’s important you understand behaviours that are considered rude – or even taboo.

The Middle East is a large region, made up of many different countries – and hence cultures.

Do you work with or do business with Indians? Do you sometimes find it confusing?

Well, believe us you're not the first or the last.

Google Search Engine data provides a fantastic window into the cultures of different countries by giving us insights into popular online searches.

By understanding what people within that country or culture are searching for, we can start to appreciate the topics and concerns that bind them together.

Every culture behaves in certain ways that can seem weird and wonderful to the outsider.

By way of exploring Thai culture, in this blog, we’re going to be looking at some of the stranger aspects of life in Thailand.

Are you interested in Indian culture? Want to learn more?

Watching Indian TV shows is a fantastic way of learning about the culture, so we’ve found the best 3 on Netflix for you!