Many people ask, "What is culture?" 

How can it be defined? What analogies can be used to describe it?

'The art of communication is the language of leadership' James Humes

Today's businesses are complex entities. However, one fundamental principle of success remains constant - the need for communication.

"Education is the mother of leadership." Wendell Willkie

With the march of globalisation and internationalisation growing louder and stronger, few successful businesses can now escape the need to work across cultures.

Having a poor understanding of the influence of cross cultural differences in areas such as management, PR, advertising and negotiations can lead to cultural blunders with potentially damaging consequences.

It is crucial for today's business personnel to understand the impact of cross cultural differences on business, trade and internal company organisation.

Status exists in all societies but varies in fundamental ways.

Did you know there are cross cultural differences in the way people perceive status, gain status and react to status?

Looking for case studies of cultural issues in the retail sector?

In this article, we look at some examples from the retail industry where cultural differences or cultural issues have resulted in business success and failure.

The Public Relations (PR) industry is responsible for creating and maintaining relationships between clients and customers.

Through areas such as brand management, advertising, media relations and crisis management, PR practitioners seek to foster interest, trust and belief in a product or company.

‘Mindfulness’ is an increasingly common term.

We hear it bandied around by ‘celebs’ who have discovered mindfulness meditation as the means to a stress free life and we have heard the term used by people who try to practice ‘living in the moment’ whilst shrugging off stresses of the past or unrealised anxieties of the future.

As bridge-builders, interculturalists have a lot of work to do.

I’m going to be honest with you. I have written this blog once already – I fully expressed my views and vented my frustrations as to the recent events in the UK. I am now taking all those words back and starting again.

Looking to sell globally?

Export marketing will be crucial to your prospects – however it is key to always remember “cultural differences” in the back of your mind when putting together a strategy and approach.

Culture-Geeks Will Love This!

I’ve recently come across a totally awesome database – it’s a treasure trove of statistical information about cultures, societies, language, places and environments; something I thought I had to share with my fellow culture vultures.

Every now and again we get an international story that demonstrates the importance of cultural awareness in the modern age.

Examples include the Israeli tourists who got into trouble for kissing in a Hindu shrine, the movie poster depicting someone sat on the head of the Buddha that offended Buddhists and sparked protests in S.E. Asia and the now infamous Prophet Muhammad Cartoons.

I was recently at a dinner party in London for notable vultures and found myself speaking to a lovely vulture based in Wales who had flown down for the evening.

Conversation led to work and what I do here at Commisceo, and what we do as a company, i.e cultural awareness training.

As cultural trainers, we oversee the delivery of high level cultural training to large multinationals.

The benefits of the training extend beyond the company and help individuals to build skills and awareness which help in the long term.

If UK loses out on Erasmus, we lose the next generation

One of the OMG moments I had during my post-Brexit bewilderment was what would happen to funding for the Erasmus programme; an EU initiative to support students to study abroad for one year.

As a cultural awareness training consultant, I spend most of my time arranging cultural awareness training sessions for relocating expatriates, existing global companies and companies who plan to go global.

The training is delivered either face to face or remotely via professional trainers, with great feedback from our delegates.

Carrying on from our blog about cultural differences in body language, we now look at one of the most important areas of cross-cultural understanding - that of communication.

Communication covers many areas such as verbal and non-verbal.

For those that follow The Apprentice, you can’t have missed the recent outburst by contestant Dillon St Paul in Episode 6, entitled ‘Discount Buying’.

Sticking to the traditional programme format, contestants were required to spend the night identifying the whereabouts of 9 items in and around London and then negotiate the best possible price for their purchase.

How would you describe or define culture?

What imagery would you use?

Sporting its own fair share of industry models, my favourite cultural model has to be one which outlines the steps between cultural ignorance and cultural savvy.

This model resonates with me on a personal note.  Why?  Well, working in the Oil and Gas industry overseeing project delivery across international teams, I thought I was great at working across cultures.