A Home for Culture Vultures

Work with Canadians or doing business in Canada?

In this blog, we're going to explore 3 core values that shape Canadian culture and business.

How do Canadians communicate?

Well, different cultures communicate in different ways and Canada is no different.

Cultures experience time in different ways.

When working across cultures, this can cause problems.

Want to learn the basics about Judaism?

Welcome to our quick intro to the religion of the Jews!

When doing business abroad it is important to understand the local culture.

Culture includes areas such as a country's norms, values, behaviours, food, architecture, fashion and art.

Business etiquette is essentially about building relationships with colleagues, clients or customers.

In the business world, it is these people that can influence your success or failure.

Are you involved in negotiations with people from other countries and cultures?

Do you sometimes get confused with the negotiation process?

Do you want some advice on giving presentations abroad or to multicultural audiences?

Then you are in exactly the right place!

Cultural differences have a long and rich history of ruining marketing campaigns!

Although a little cruel, cross cultural marketing fails are a humorous means of understanding the impact poor cultural awareness can have when selling or working abroad.

Globalisation, internationalisation and trans-border trade are all terms that have been coined over the past decade(s) to reflect the reality of international trade.

Although international trade has long been in operation, the scale, frequency and speed at which it is conducted today is incomparable.

"Guanxi" (pronounced (jwan-see) is one of the most powerful forces in Chinese culture.

Though the direct translation of "guanxi" is "relationships", the concept as it is used and applied in Chinese culture is much richer and encompassing.

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.

Will we see a business brain drain?

Britain’s impending exit from the EU has rallied a host of cries from its European brethren, encouraging businesses to continue accessing European skills and resources by relocating elsewhere.

Many people love learning languages or would like to learn a language and use their language skills in a job.

In today's global economy the demand for language skills continues to grow as governments, businesses and organisations build relationships with foreign interests.

The Middle East is an area which carries many stereotypes and myths.

Before doing business in the Middle East it is imperative to learn about areas such as business culture, business etiquette, meeting protocol and negotiation techniques. 

Having received great feedback on my blog about the place of "tarof" in Persian culture, a few people have requested a brief guide to doing business in Iran for companies making the journey over.

So here goes....

It’s nearly a year since the restrictive sanctions imposed on Iran were lifted.

These sanctions were not only applied by the UN, EU and US but also included sanctions from third party countries.

Are you new to working abroad? Travelling to a foreign country for the first time for business?

Getting it right when working overseas is critical; but what do you do if you have little or no international exposure?

Training business professionals prior to visiting Iran gives us an excellent insight into the misconceptions, stereotypes, fears and worries many foreigners hold.

We're going to share 10 of the most DEADLY!

Do you work with or travel to Muslim majority countries? 

Then you need to know all about Ramadan!