Cultural Sensitivity for Business

Don't be the insensitive American who lost the international contract because of a cultural faux-pas. You need to understand the customs, taboos and negotiating patterns of your potential international partners. This cross cultural savvy gains you an advantage over your competitors.

Consider this example

Your negotiations in China are going well. You are eating dinner in the home of your Chinese counterpart. You are genuinely enjoying the food and have cleaned your plate several times. At the end of the meal you thank your host profusely. The next day, as you are prepared to sign the contract with your host, he backs out of the deal.

What went wrong? The answer is that you seriously offended him by eating all the food that was put before you. This implied that he did not have enough food to satisfy you and that he is a bad host. If only you had known this custom, you would have a new international contract to take back to your company.

Training Programs

ViaTerra provides comprehensive cross cultural training designed specifically for you and your destination. ViaTerra will send an intercultural consultant to your office for a one or two day seminar. In this time, your consultant will present you with all the necessary information you need about the host culture. You will have the opportunity to ask all your questions and if any follow-up research needs to be done, your ViaTerra intercultural consultant will respond to you in a timely manner. It's not just a one-time encounter. We are there to walk you through every step of the way.