business women in other cultures

Women are not considered serious business people in some countries and are not to be expected as direct as US women are. Therefore, business women need to be aware of their tone and style in order to be taken seriously by people in other countries. They need to be careful how to word statements to avoid problems with men. Furthermore, due to the fact that in many parts of the world, women are not considered as business people, it is a challenge to satisfy the client on the other side of the world. Awareness is a must in order to make successful business with the abroad businesses.


Do you think it is unfair that women have to be careful how to word sentences when they are dealing with other cultures?



 References:
 Retrieved from: http://library.books24x7.com.library.sheridanc.on.ca/assetviewer.aspx?bookid=45432&chunkid=850870249&rowid=330

Global Business Challenges

i found some interesting articles about Global Business Challenges:

http://www.tdan.com/view-articles/15079

http://blog.communicaid.com/cross-cultural-training/challenges-of-doing-business-in-saudi-arabia/

http://www.strategy-business.com/article/re00128?gko=e012c

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705399040/Misunderstanding-foreign-slang-leads-to-arrests.html?pg=all


After reading through the articles, what did you find the most interesting?

Mistakes happen....

I found a video that shows how mistakes can happen between a native speaking English person and with a person who barley understands and speaks English. It is a funny video.

References:

YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTKCIgg573I

Language Knowledge

People whose native language is not English but they do speak and write in English, it is important for the receiver from North America to understand that it might not be easy for them. In a lot of countries like Europe or Africa people write from left to right, however in Japan, China or Israel, people write differently. In both China and Japan they write from right to left.
Language can be unifying and divisive. It is very difficult to understand a culture without knowing the language that is spoken in the specific country.

Have you ever had problems understanding someone who spoke English but not fluently? What did you do, to avoid problems and miss understandings?

























References:
http://library.books24x7.com.library.sheridanc.on.ca/assetviewer.aspx?bookid=45432&chunkid=850870249&rowid=330

Principles of Clarity

It is important to clarify all sentences that are included in a business letter, especially in an international business letter.

• Be careful of loosely connected words and sentences
• Be aware of misplaced words
• Use words in standard ways
• Use standard spellings which refers to the differences between British English and American English
• Be careful with numbers and dates due to the different structures in different countries
• Do not use words, that could have another meaning
• Do not use contractions like ASAP ( as soon as possible)
• Avoid slang
• Avoid sarcasm
• Suit your English to the country the letter will be sent to 

References:

http://library.books24x7.com.library.sheridanc.on.ca/assetviewer.aspx?bookid=20758&chunkid=685385840&rowid=108

A Guide to Writing Correspondance/ International English Style

It is not only relevant to know how to write a proper business letter, it is also important to have enough resources in order to satisfy globally. Business letters or messages make it possible for businesses to communicate without having to use phones. The internet makes it possible to send out various of emails and due to the fact that most of our mobile phones have now the ability to receive emails, it is a convenient way to communicate, especially when communicating with individuals abroad. If sending an international letter, all individuals must be aware of the importance of writing an appropriate letter to different countries. If an individual does not know how to write a proper business letter, wrong signals could be received on the other side of the world and that would not be good for the business therefore it is significant to have the knowledge of how to do it right. In today's society almost every business professional who works internationally knows how to speak and write English and therefore it is necessary for someone whose native language is English to accommodate with the receiver from the other country. It is most likely if someone is from China and he/or she writes a business letter to England, it would be in English and not Chinese, but if the letter would come from England to China it would be also in English most of the time, because more people know English.
International documents travel better if they are more polite and formal. However, many writer misinterpret what is meant by "formal".

"Here are some examples for formality used in letters or other messages that will be send abroad:

• No first names or other familiarities (My MBA students frequently refer to the authors of books and articles by their first names! As though they were friends.)
• No contractions (like don’t) or popular acronyms or shortened forms (like ASAP or 24/7)
• No non-standard punctuation (like linking two sentences with a comma or dash) or spelling (like nite)
• No colloquialisms or slang (like dump or non-starter)"
  Retrieved from http://library.books24x7.com.library.sheridanc.on.ca/assetviewer.aspx?bookid=20758&chunkid=470731947&rowid=337   

In my view, English is a universal language, and i found that almost everyone knows quite a little bit English. I have heard different opinions about that, but what would you think if English would be the only language that is spoken and written?

Japanese manners and attitudes in Business

I found another interesting video about Japanese Business letters. The next video shows that it is important sometimes to not send a typewritten letter but a handwritten one to the specific receiver.

References:
YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTxQ2ukUd1w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBxfWYFON00

Business letters in Germany and other european countries

In my previous Blog post i was talking about business letters in China and how important it is to have knowledge about the cultural attitudes. In comparison, Business letters in Germany are written in a similar way like North American letters. They seem to be very informal. However, business contacts are more formal. They normally address each other with titles and last names even if they have known each other for a long amount of time. The letter introduction in a German business letter generally refers past events that have happened such as meetings or other subjects. Furthermore in french businesses it would be inappropriate to begin a letter with a request before giving an explanation of the problem or situation. French business letters include a very respectful closing such as " of my most respectful wishes".
Foreign business messages contain passive voice constructions and compliments towards the business or organization. The format in foreign letters might differ from North American messages. Usually letters from North America are typewritten and single spaced, while other countries may prefer handwritten letters. In addition to, the foreign addresses might be organized in a different way than North American addresses. The structure is different in comparison. Furthermore, dates and numbers also have a diverse structure and can be confusing for people. A German date would look like this: 5th of August 2014 or 5.8.2012 while the North American style would be August 5, 2014 or 8/5/2014.

Does anyone know any European languages other than English? And if so, what do you find the most difficult. For myself, i speak French, Spanish and German and i find that the differences are mostly in the grammar and formality. While English only has the word "you" referred to everyone including business contacts, in Germany for example, if you speak or write to people you work with or people you do not know that well, you use a more formal salutation. Same in Spanish and French.
References:
YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMH5wWYRdpI
Business Communication Text Book, International messages

Different formats in different countries

In every country, there is a certain attitude to specific manners. Furthermore every country or continent has its own opinion about cultural attitudes. In order to meet these aspect, an organization that attempts to write a business letter to China for example needs to explore background information about the culture and manners. Chinese writers are very tentative. Chinese writers are more hesitant than those in North America which means that Chinese letters are less direct. By saying that Chinese people are less direct means that they are avoiding pressure tactics to show respect and create more harmony. A typical closing in Chinese letters would be " wishing good health". It is very relevant for Chinese people to be friendly and respectful and that is why it is so important for other business professionals to know about the culture in order to write an appropriate letter that will satisfy the reader. 

In addition to, i decided to post a video that explains about the challenges of the Chinese culture. I think it is a very helpful video to understand the culture and attitudes a little bit better and also that it is not always easy for other people to understand.

 Have you ever had experiences with challenges of different cultures? Maybe while you have been to another country on vacation or other purposes you realized how different a country and its attitudes are compared to what you know from home.
References: 
 You Tube The Challenge of Chinese Culture http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUuFkFDiiLo
Business Communication Text Book, International messages

Welcome everyone to my blog about international messages.....!

Writing business letters is a very important activity in organizations all over the world. However, business letters in North America or Germany differ from letters being prepared in China or Japan. Due to differences in the cultures, one country might see different tones or formats inappropriate while on the other site, another country perceives it as suitable. In order to achieve satisfactory from the receiver, a writer from any country in the world needs to understand the cultural attitudes from other countries and also an understanding how to integrate the specific writing styles and manners in a business letter. Although, business letters are seen differently in countries, a lot of organizations have international connections which means they have to be able to write applicable business letters, in order to show respect to the receiver. Every organizations needs to understand how important it is to send individualized letters to different countries and not to make the mistake in sending the exact same letters as they would do it within the country.