For every car GM sold in China in 2004, it sold 10 in the United States. By 2009, sales in China equaled those in the US. Rapid economic growth in Brazil, Indonesia, China, and India will add a billion new consumers clamoring for goods and services from around the world over the next decade. With increasing frequency, professionals from one country are interacting with customers and colleagues from other countries.
The Challenge
Grappling with different languages, cultural barriers, and legal-regulatory differences presents formidable challenges. There are more than 20,000 cultures and 3,000 languages on planet Earth, and learning about every one of them is simply impossible. The good news is that while learning foreign languages is helpful, it is not necessary to study hundreds of cultures or languages to work effectively in multicultural environments. Extensive international business experience and research provide a solid starting point for successfully navigating global change. Critical knowledge and skills required for effectively working across cultures include self-awareness, using a cultural-general approach to understand key cultural differences, and translating this knowledge and awareness into cross-cultural competence.