| Forget the saying 'the world is getting smaller' - it | | | | diplomatic wounds. It cost them millions.*The fast |
| has gotten smaller. Advances in transport and | | | | food giant McDonald's spent thousands on a new |
| communications technology combined with the | | | | TV ad to target the Chinese consumer. The ad |
| development of a world economy have resulted | | | | showed a Chinese man kneeling before a |
| in people from different nations, cultures, | | | | McDonald's vendor and begging him to accept his |
| languages and backgrounds now communicating, | | | | expired discount coupon. The ad was pulled due to |
| meeting and doing business with one another | | | | a lack of cultural sensitivity on McDonald's behalf. |
| more than ever.There are some observers that | | | | The ad caused uproar over the fact that begging |
| claim this new found intimacy has lead to a | | | | is considered a shameful act in Chinese culture.* A |
| greater understanding of 'the other' and as a | | | | nice example of how pictures don't translate well |
| result our cultural differences are in fact | | | | across cultures is the time staff at the African |
| diminishing. However, in reality the opposite is true. | | | | port of Stevadores saw the 'internationally |
| As we come together our cultural differences | | | | recognised' symbol for "fragile" (i.e. broken wine |
| become accentuated as we start to realise that | | | | glass) and presumed it was a box of broken glass. |
| the rest of the world is not reading from the | | | | Rather than waste space they threw all the |
| same book. One area where this is now being felt | | | | boxes into the sea.* When the US firm Gerber |
| is in business.Very few businesses can escape the | | | | started selling baby food in Africa they used the |
| need to at some point in time deal with foreign | | | | same packaging as in the US, i.e. with a picture of |
| colleagues, clients or customers. Business is | | | | a baby on the label. Sales flopped and they soon |
| international and if an organisation wants to | | | | realised that in Africa companies typically place |
| develop and grow it needs to harness the | | | | pictures of contents on their labels.* Pepsodent |
| potential an international stage offers. Twenty | | | | tried to sell its toothpaste in South East Asia by |
| years ago British, European and American | | | | emphasizing that it "whitens your teeth." They |
| organisations doing business abroad had very little | | | | found out that the local natives chew betel nuts |
| competition due to the lack of rival industrialised | | | | to blacken their teeth which they find attractive.* |
| nations. Back then it was easy to do business 'our | | | | The film "Hollywood Buddha" showed a complete |
| way'. Today some of the world's largest | | | | lack of cultural sensitivity by causing outrage and |
| economies include Japan, China, Mexico, Brazil, | | | | protest on the streets of Sri Lanka, Malaysia and |
| India and Korea. As a result there has been a | | | | Burma when the designer of the film's poster |
| small shift from 'our way' to 'let's try and | | | | decided to show the lead actor sitting on the |
| understand your way'. Why? Because western | | | | Buddha's head, an act of clear degradation against |
| organisations are feeling the impact a lack of | | | | something holy.* The concept of Big Brother was |
| cultural sensitivity can and does have upon | | | | somehow taken to the Middle East. The show |
| business performance.Many organisations are now | | | | was pulled of the air after its first few episodes |
| investing heavily in providing staff with language | | | | due to public protests and pressure from religious |
| lessons in order to be able to crack foreign | | | | bodies stating the show's mixed sex format was |
| markets as well as providing cultural sensitivity | | | | against Islamic principles.* A golf ball manufacturing |
| training to address issues such as etiquette, | | | | company packaged golf balls in packs of four for |
| protocol, communication styles and negotiation | | | | convenient purchase in Japan. Unfortunately, the |
| approaches. In a competitive world such | | | | number 4 is equivalent to the number 13 due it |
| businesses appreciate that greater cultural | | | | sounding like the word "death". The company had |
| sensitivity will assist them in forging longer and | | | | to repackage the product.LanguageThe business |
| more prosperous relationships. Yet progress is | | | | world is littered with poor translations that have |
| slow. Unfortunately a subconscious sense of | | | | caused great embarrassment to their |
| cultural superiority still seems to reign; one that | | | | perpetrators due to their lack of cultural |
| assumes the rest of the world does business like | | | | sensitivity. The following are some of the choicest |
| us and if they don't then they should.The world's | | | | examples.* IKEA once tried to sell a workbench |
| inhabitants however come from many faiths, | | | | called FARTFULL - not a hugely popular product |
| cultures, world views and experiences which | | | | for obvious reasons.* Both Clairol and the Irish |
| makes such an assumption futile. We are all | | | | alcoholic drink Irish Mist did not properly consider |
| different and as a result doing business across | | | | the German language when they launched their |
| borders (whether political, religious, cultural or | | | | products there. Clairol's hair-curling iron "Mist Stick" |
| linguistic) requires cultural sensitivity, meaning a | | | | and the drink "Irish Mist" both flopped - why? 'Mist' |
| sense of empathy, flexibility and creativity | | | | translates in German as "manure".* The Japanese |
| informed by cultural knowledge. As with most | | | | seem to have a particular flair for naming |
| things in life, business has learnt the hard way.To | | | | products. The country has given us gems such as |
| illustrate how these lessons have and are still | | | | "homo soap", "coolpis", "Germ bread" and "Shito |
| being learnt we will look at some examples where | | | | Mix".* A new facial cream with the name "Joni" |
| a lack of cultural sensitivity has let a company, | | | | was proposed for marketing in India. They |
| individual or product down. For the sake of | | | | changed the name since the word translated in |
| brevity these have been summed up in two | | | | Hindi meant "female genitals."* Coors had its |
| simple categories: culture and | | | | slogan, "Turn it loose," translated into Spanish, |
| language.CultureCulture comes in many shapes | | | | where it became "Suffer from diarrhoea."All the |
| and sizes. It includes areas such as politics, history, | | | | examples cited above could easily have been |
| faith, mentality, behaviour and lifestyle. The | | | | avoided by conducting some basic research in |
| following examples demonstrate how a lack of | | | | respect to checking the concept, design, shape, |
| cultural sensitivity led to failure.* When colouring in | | | | colour, packaging, message or name in the target |
| 800,000 pixels on a map of India, Microsoft | | | | culture. In the majority of cases it is simply |
| coloured eight of them a different shade of green | | | | assumed that 'if it is OK for us it is OK for them'. |
| to represent the disputed Kashmiri territory. The | | | | If businesses want to succeed internationally, |
| difference in greens meant Kashmir was shown | | | | cultural sensitivity must be at the heart of |
| as non-Indian, and the product was promptly | | | | everything they do; from their personal interaction |
| banned in India. Microsoft was left to recall all | | | | and relationships with clients to the products |
| 200,000 copies of the offending Windows 95 | | | | services they develop. |
| operating system software to try and heal the | | | | |