2. Your Presenters
• Ray Joyce, CITP
– The Joyce Group
– Hydrotesters Inc.
– Associate Professor University of Calgary
• Scott Ferris, CITP
– FITT
– Professor Algonquin College
– Economic Development Professional
3. About FITT
FITT (Forum for International Trade Training) is a not-for-profit
organization devoted to helping individuals and businesses acquire the
practical skills they need to compete in the global marketplace. As an
organization, FITT:
• develops international business programs
• sets competency standards in international trade
• designs the certification and accreditation programs for the Certified
International Trade Professional (CITP) designation
• works with economic development professionals to help you help your
clients
FITT truly is the professional path to global markets.
4. Workshop objectives
At the end of this workshop, you will:
• recognize how cultural dimensions of different countries influence
international trade
• understand the complexities that cultural differences can create and the
vital role that building personal relationships plays in international trade
• know the personal characteristics that businesspeople must develop to
be successful in international trade
• be aware of websites that focus on the cultural aspects of international
trade
• appreciate why you should—and how you can—prepare yourself and
the men and women of your company to travel abroad on business
safely
5. Culture Defined
Perhaps no area of international trade is less
understood than culture. And yet, culture is a
key influence on consumer behaviour.
Serious cultural mistakes can negatively affect a
relationship. So can a simple cultural blunder.
6. So what is culture, exactly?
Culture is a system that members of a group share
and use to cope with one another and with their
world.
This system consists of:
• attitudes
• beliefs
• values
• aesthetics
• language
• material traditions
• social institutions
7. The components of
culture up close
Attitudes:a learned tendency that causes one to
respond in a consistent way to a given object
or entity
Beliefs: an organized pattern of knowledge that one
holds to be true about the world
Value: an enduring belief or feeling you have that a
certain type of conduct is personally or
socially preferable to a different type of
conduct
8. More components of
culture up close
Aesthetics: what people accept as beautiful or pleasing to the
senses, including music, art, literature, dress,
colours and architecture
Language: the ways in which people convey meaning and
understand messages, including spoken and
written words, body gestures, body position and
eye contact
Material traditions: the way in which a society organizes its economic
activity
Social institutions: the ways in which people in a particular society
relate to one another, as determined by family
relationships, social stratification, class, education,
religion and age
9. The influence of culture on consumers
How they like to be approached
How they respond to marketing
What breaks the sale immediately
How they like to be sold
What they need in a seller
What they feel they need to buy
What they feel they should not buy
What makes them hesitate in buying
What they buy
When they want to buy things
When they buy things
How they buy things
How they want products delivered
What they expect when they buy things
How they perceive the act of buying
How they consume things
How often they consume things
How they like to consume things
As consumers,
culture
influences your
international
clients in:
Patterned ways of:
A combination of:
Is transmitted through:
It permeates our:
Thinking
Feeling
Reacting
Historically derived ideas
Shared values
Symbols
Knowledge
Beliefs
Religion
Customs
Our learning process and education
Our interaction with the environment
Perception
Symbolism
Behaviour
Habits
Motivations
W hat is culture?
10. The characteristics of
culture
Culture has five notable characteristics.
It is:
• comprehensive
• learned rather than innate
• expressed within boundaries of acceptable behaviour
• beyond an individual’s conscious awareness
• dynamic and can change quickly
11. Observe behaviour to
identify cultural tenets
Cultural norms can indicate deep-seated social tenets. So be mindful of:
• standards for personal space
• personal greetings and introductions
• living standards and spending priorities
• approaches to design and standards of beauty
• concepts of right and wrong, and guilt and shame
• meal-time patterns, and dietary taboos and restrictions
• friendship patterns and the role of family and other relationships
• respect for personal characteristics such as decisiveness and honour
• the etiquette of gift giving and customs for entertaining business
associates
• religious practices, prohibitions, holidays, forms of observance, and
sacred objects, animals, places and people
12. But…
...be aware that culture is inherently vague.
Differences and variations exist across regions, and
people from one culture often violate the norms of
another without knowing—or even having been
informed—they have done so.
13. Be sensitive to the
spheres of influence
Some cultural influences penetrate more deeply
than others, and many are vitally important to
exporters, including:
• legal norms and requirements
• expected professional conduct
• generally accepted industry practices and processes
• cross-border cultural modifiers such as language,
religion and geographical location
14. High-context
communication cultures
Fundamental characteristics
• less is more
• shared aspects of culture equip people with the knowledge and
awareness necessary to fill in any gaps in meaning
Conducting business
• relations are built on trust and take a long time to develop
• focus is on personal, face-to-face communication, and often centres
around an authority figure
• identities of individuals are determined by the groups to which they
belong—family, class, occupation
Learning
• decision-makers in business welcome advice and rely on many sources
of information
15. Low-context
communication cultures
Fundamental characteristics
• rule-oriented
• attention is paid more to the literal meanings of words than the context
that surrounds them
Conducting business
• speed and efficiency are valued
• relationships tend to be task oriented
• business processes are decentralized, with responsibility spread
throughout organizations
Learning
• emphasis is on following explicit directions and explanations to gain
knowledge as quickly and efficiently as possible
16. Tips to avoid
cultural missteps
Don’t…
…view your culture as superior to that of others
…use the standards of your culture to evaluate the
advantages and disadvantages of other cultures
…make overgeneralizations about countries and their
cultures
17. Notice the universals
Account for differences in consumer behaviour
across countries with Geert Hofstede’s five
dimensions:
1. Small vs. large power distance
2. Individualism vs. collectivism
3. Masculinity vs. femininity
4. Weak vs. strong uncertainty avoidance
5. Long-term orientation vs. short-term orientation
18. Relationship Building in an
International Context
How much of a relationship is required?
German Swiss Scandinavian Canada/
U.S.
British Italian Spanish Greek Arab Japanese Chinese
Low Context High Context
19. Hofstede’s dimensions in action
Cultural Characteristics
Illustrative
Marketing
Implications
Size
(Million)
Power
Distance
Uncertainty
Avoidance
Individualism Masculinity
Cluster 1
Austria,
Germany,
Switzerland,
Great Britain,
Ireland
203 Small Medium Medium-High High Preference for “high-
performance” products;
use “successful-
achiever” theme in
advertising; desire for
novelty, variety and
pleasure; fairly risk-
averse market.
Cluster 2
Belgium,
France, Greece,
Portugal,
Spain, Turkey
182 Medium Strong Varied Low-Medium Appeal to consumer’s
status and power
position, reduce
perceived risk in
product purchase and
use, emphasize product
functionality
Cluster 3
Denmark,
Sweden,
Finland,
Netherlands,
Norway
37 Small Low High Low Relatively weak
resistance to new
products, strong
consumer desire for
novelty and variety,
high consumer regard
for “environmentally
friendly” marketers and
socially conscious firms
Culture-based segmentation
20. Understanding
who you are is the
first step in
beginning to
understand who
others are.
What is your
cultural baggage?
21. The Art of Negotiation Across Cultures
• We negotiate constantly in one form or
another throughout our lives
• Negotiation should not be a matter of winning
all you can at the expense of others
• Win-win negotiations are preferable
• Negotiating in a multicultural environment is
more challenging than in a domestic
environment
22. Four stages
of international negotiation
International trade negotiations are cyclical process that
consist of four stages:
1. Establishing the Relationship
2. Exchanging Information
3. Persuasion
4. Concession and Agreement
23. The 12 variables that
influence negotiations
Component Variables Contents Negotiating Profile
Building the
Relationship
• Concept of negotiation
• Selection of negotiators
• Role of individual
• Concern with protocol
• Counterparts philosophy
• Why negotiators were
selected
• Negotiators’ interests
• How each side acts
• Strategic or synergistic
• Technical skills or social
skills
• Organizational or
individual
• Formal or informal
Exchanging
Information
• Significance of each issue
• Language complexity
• Nature of arguments
• Time value
• What things are
important
• Method of
communicating
• Persuasion process
• Length of negotiation
• Substantive or
relationship-based
• Verbal or non-verbal
• Logical or emotional
• Strict or relaxed
Persuasion • Degree of trust
• Degree of risk
acceptance
• Decision-making systems
• Reason for trust
• Risk-management style
• Who makes decisions
and how are they made
• Laws or relationships
• Cautious or adventurous
• Authoritative or
consensual
Concession
& Agreement
• Form of satisfactory
agreement
• Form of agreement
expected
• Explicit or implicit
24. Bridge the culture gap
The greater the cultural differences between you
and your negotiating partner, the greater the
barriers to communication. Fortunately, you can
overcome these barriers by:
• learning about the other person’s culture
• leaving your cultural assumptions at home
• using elements of Canadian culture to achieve
desired ends
• bringing in a third party to act as an interpreter for
both sides
25. Developing Cultural Intelligence
You must become a sophisticated communicator, adept
at receiving and conveying ideas and information to
anyone and from anyone anywhere in the world.
26. Issues & Pitfalls: Body Language
• It is an important part of the communication
process, particularly where language barriers exist
• It is important to understand the mannerisms
common to your foreign market
• Recognizing that a large part of communication is
non-verbal in order to:
– understand how our message will be received in a
different cultural environment
– avoid misunderstanding because of body language
messages
– avoid feeling uncomfortable because of cultural
differences such as silence in conversations or lack of
personal space
27. Issues & Pitfalls: Gender
• The culturally appropriate manner in which men
and women relate with each other differs around
the world
• An issue for foreign businesspeople, particularly
women seeking to compete in certain
environments
28. Issues & Pitfalls: Gift Giving
• Challenge is to know the gift-giving customs of
your target market
• Giving the wrong gift at the wrong time can have
serious consequences
• Different protocols for presenting and receiving
gifts
29. Issues & Pitfalls: Humour & Time
Humour
• As a general rule, humour does not transfer well
between cultures
• To appreciate humour, listeners need an
understanding of the culture from which a joke
originates
Time
• Time and its use are seen differently around the
world
• Canadians view time as inflexible - meetings must
start on time or we get frustrated
• Other cultures treat time more flexibly
30. Issues & Pitfalls: History & Business
Card Etiquette
History
• History often influences a culture’s
perceptions
• Even within culturally similar regions, cultural
events will be viewed differently by different
people
• Research the target market’s history, but
avoid discussing sensitive issues
Business Card Etiquette
• Business card handling is a ritual in some
countries
31. Communication: Role of Words
• In different cultures words play different roles
• In Canada / US we say what we mean
• In other countries, “no” is rarely used - to avoid
embarrassment
• “We’ll see” or “perhaps” may mean “no”
• Silence or the absence of words can have different
meanings
32. Communication: Written
• Written communication in two or more languages
presents special challenges:
– use of slang / idioms
– ineffective translations
– interpretation of written contracts
• Back-translation is a useful tool to ensure message
is received as intended
• Effective translation is always critical, particularly in
contractual agreements
34. Cultural Differences & International
Marketing
• Cross-cultural marketing involves learning
how to adapt marketing strategies and
communications to cultural differences
• Knowing cultural differences is fundamental
for market research, strategy development,
planning and implementation
• Local guidance essential to avoid costly
marketing blunders
35. Cultural Differences &
International Marketing
Issues:
– the desired meaning of a product name does not
always survive translation
– solutions include “nonsense names” and multiple
names for multiple markets
– marketing materials will differ from market to
market, depending on education, gender and so
on
– packaging and marketing materials will differ to
satisfy different aesthetic tastes
– education profiles will determine level and quality
of professional / support services in target market
36. Cultural Differences &
International Marketing
• Issues:
– Design: product modifications may be required to meet
regional needs
– Colour: colours used in packaging / marketing materials
must be appropriate to target market
– Music: maintain cultural sensitivity when using music to
deliver marketing messages
37. Avoid cultural missteps
with these six tips
1. Keep your assumptions in check.
2. Think as an individual and interact with others as individuals.
3. Put yourself in another person’s position and try to see their
point of view.
4. Embrace the cultural differences you experience, and always
think before you act.
5. Get advice and involve others in situations you do not
understand or find uncomfortable.
6. Never attack or blame another person’s culture if you believe
that person’s actions or behaviour is wrong or misguided.
38. Recognize the signs of culture shock
Culture shock is the difficulty people encounter
adjusting to cultures that differ markedly from their own.
Common signs of culture shock are:
• feelings of anxiety
• feelings of isolation
• feelings of helplessness
• belief that one’s own cultural beliefs and values are
being openly challenged
39. Build your culture competence
TrainingRigour
Focus
LowHigh
Symbolic Participative
Verbal Observational Verbal Behavioural
TrainingM
ethods
Field Experience
Experiential
Simulation
FieldTrips
Role Plays
Interactive LanguageTraining
Analytical
SensitivityTraining
Cultural Assimilators
Books
Lectures
Area Briefings
Factual
40. Prepare Yourself and
Your Workers to Travel Overseas
Preparing your personnel to travel and work abroad—
even for short periods of time—is an essential element
of understanding and dealing with the cultural aspects
of international trade.
http://blog.valerie-antoinette.com/2012/03/14/duty-of-
care-an-employers-moral-social-and-legal-
responsibility/
41. You are liable under federal
and provincial law
• Federal legislation—contains stiff penalties for
employers who fail to take reasonable steps to
prevent bodily harm to their employees arising from
their work.
• Provincial legislation—protects workers against
workplace violence, including violence that takes
place abroad.
Duty to care is the backbone of all federal and
provincial laws that govern occupational health
and safety.
42. Create a
crisis-management plan
Put in place airtight plans to deal with crises related
to workers travelling and working overseas that fit
your company’s:
• size
• needs
• resources
43. Put together a
crisis-management team
Assign a structured team of people to:
• understand the problems that overseas travellers can encounter
• respond to simulated crises to put any plans and processes into
action
• ensure crisis-management planning is reflected in the
development of higher-level company policies
• link your crisis-management plan to Government of Canada
responders such as the men and women of the Consular Affairs
Bureau of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
• explore the option of hiring private security professionals to plan
and prepare for worker-safety incidents and provide group or
online training
44. Relationship Building in an
International Context
Costs
• Conducting international business is more
expensive than operating domestically
• High-context cultures can be more expensive at first
• Business relationship arrangements, if long term,
can be more cost-effective than they first appear
45. Relationship Building in an
International Context
Ethics
• Many activities that Canadians consider corrupt and
unethical occur on a regular basis throughout the
world
• Even if an activity is illegal in a foreign destination,
laws may not be enforced or may be enforced
unfairly
• If you engage in an activity that is perfectly legal in
the foreign market but considered unethical by the
majority of your consumers, it could adversely affect
your business
46. Intercultural Effectiveness:
Competencies
• Concept of culture
• Modesty and respect
• Target market and its culture
• Adaptation skills
• Intercultural communication
• Relationship building
• Personal commitment
47. Intercultural Effectiveness:
Relationship Building
• Successful relationships are developed over
time and need to be continually strengthened
• Relationship building is closely associated
with knowledge of the foreign market and
effective communication
• Success or failure of a venture is linked to
ability to foster good relationships
48. Intercultural Effectiveness:
Personal Commitment
• International business practitioners must
develop and maintain realistic expectations of
what they wish to accomplish
• Obtaining all of the competencies required to
be successful in international markets takes a
great deal of personal commitment
49. Keep learning
Websites that will help you understand culture and
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO!
• http://geert-hofstede.com/countries.html
• www.executiveplanet.com
• www.ediplomat.com
• http://www.getcustoms.com/
50. Thank you and we wish you much success
Ray Joyce, CITP
ray@fitt.ca
Scott Ferris, CITP
scott@fitt.ca
FITT – www.fitt.ca
1-800-561-3488