CHAPTER 18 COMMUNICATION: OVERCOMING CULTURAL DIFFERENCES

• Jurisdiction: United States

International Resources Law: A Blueprint for Mineral Development
(Feb 1991)
CHAPTER 18
COMMUNICATION: OVERCOMING CULTURAL DIFFERENCES
Gary M. Wederspahn
Moran, Stahl & Boyer
Boulder, Colorado

If we wish to convince people of other cultures, we have to use their language as far as we can, not language in the narrow sense of the word, but the language of the mind. — Nehru

The rapid globalization of the marketplace has placed international sales and marketing people on the front lines of the struggle to regain the competitive edge at home and abroad.

A survey of 217 companies by the Institute of International Education revealed that cross-cultural relations skills were rated more important for international business effectiveness than functional/technical skills, or product knowledge!

Bridging the gap of cultural differences requires in-depth understanding of foreign consumers' preferences, tastes, expectations, and quality standards. Effective international marketers must also be skilled in the use of foreign patterns of communication (verbal and nonverbal), decision-making styles, and modes of thinking. These essential tools can be gained or improved through carefully designed and custom-tailored training programs that focus on the specific cross-cultural interfaces between a company or business unit and its markets overseas.

This lesson was learned the hard way by a major U.S. aerospace company in the final stages of competition for a multimillion dollar contract to provide aircraft to the Canadian air force. Assuming there were no significant cultural differences between us and our neighbors to the north, they used the same aggressive, hard-sell techniques that had served them well at home. Since the performance and price of the aircraft were very similar to those of its only competitor, the sale hinged on the quality of the cross-cultural relationships with the customer. The Canadians preferred a low-key, modest, soft-sell approach and felt more...