Bridging Culture, Building Business

Purpose of the workshop:
To develop delegates understanding of the impact culture has on their international business development and how to adapt to be closely aligned to their customer and market.

Workshop Overview
As companies develop their export strategy, they may experience hurdles and obstacles that must be overcome in order to be successful. In their domestic market, companies face their domestic competitors; as they enter international markets, they now face global competition. This is a great challenge and exporters must remove any barriers to winning business. One of the biggest hurdles to overcome is to align themselves to the target market and customer; companies that are more aligned to their customer are more successful than their competitors.

When thinking about culture, the focus tends to be on language and person-to-person communication. In reality, culture affects all other parts of international business including:

• Needs, use and expectations of the product or service.
• Business practices and trading issues.
• Verbal, non-verbal, remote and direct communication.
• Understanding the cost of localisation or adaptation, the effects on profitability and breakeven.

As the global marketplace gets smaller, there is a greater appreciation and awareness of cultures and differences between them, but the term “culturally aware” is one that has become disposable; many people use it and just throw it away without fully understanding the relevance and impact culture has on a company that is growing internationally.

The issues of culture must be an integral part of the export strategy and business plan. This workshop discusses all areas of cultural alignment, adaptation and the effects on the business; it ensures delegates understand how they must adapt to be more successful, whilst balancing the costs versus the increased volume.

Who should attend:
This workshop is relevant to anyone who is involved in the establishment, development and growth of international business.

This workshop is not a lesson in cross-cultural theory; all elements come from the facilitator’s experience of working within the international arena, supported by key models and research.

Workshop style and format:
Facilitator led discussion and instruction with delegates completing checklists and frameworks based on their own company and target market cultures.
Delegates are encouraged to raise issues they are currently facing, with the facilitator encouraging class debate to help develop cultural alignment. Delegates benefit from the experience of all other delegates and that of the facilitator.

Workshop duration: One day

Maximum number of delegates: 15

Workshop contents
The workshop covers the following main topics:

• What is culture? How does it develop? What influences culture?
• Understanding stereotypes and overlaps; looking at your own culture first.
• Finding out about culture; research and evaluating experience.
• Assessing and understanding the culture of a region, country or customer.
• What is affected by culture?
• Adaptation and localisation of products, services, business methodology, verbal and non-verbal communications.
• Understanding your cost of localisation or adaptation. It is worth it?
• Ethnocentrism.
• Real life examples of successful cultural alignment and adaptation, and cultural faux pas.
• Cultural overview by region:
• Europe
• Middle East
• Asia
• America