Cultural Influence on International Businesses

International marketing or business is uniquely different from the local market because the product price, place and promotion is vastly different from what is been offered to local customers (Johansson, 2000) With the emergence of the information technology, cross border marketing has never been a distant dream. However, it has never been easier even for giant multinational companies to face challenges that come in international business. The biggest challenge comes from the culture which varies from country to country.

My research is focused on the problems associated with cross-cultural communication and how awareness of culture, language, tradition, and business practices can increase the advantages to globalization. This report will be field specific in

A third way to build a positive and successful intercultural relationship is to become educated on common business practices and cultural norms of the country of the prospective business partner. “Business people should learn how the other side approaches business and what the principles of hospitality are” (MacEwan, 2015, p. 156).” This quote demonstrates the importance of education in regards to other cultures business norms, because without a prior education a person could be doing something that the other country or culture finds offensive without realizing it. It could be the smallest of issues that ruins the business relationship and makes it unsuccessful.

International business has been a part of society for centuries. With the introduction of modern technological advances, countries have moved from participating in business ventures primarily by land or boat and advanced to virtual environments and acquiring passports that enable flights all over the world. This impact has challenged businesses to improve their cultural relations as they venture into unknown markets that are on the opposite end of their cultural spectrum and perspective. The world is a vast melting pot of all walks of life. The business world is no different and requires even sharper skills, especially when entering environments that may be tense or chaotic. This paper examines the country of Italy and how its culture impacts business domestically and internationally. It discusses the various strengths and weaknesses of its economic environment and the potential gains or losses a foreign investor may consider when deciding whether or not enter the Italian market.

Cultural differences between countries have strong effects on individual personality and behavior, as well as on organizational culture (Hofstede 2001). These differences can be a significant barrier for an international business leader. Failure to understand and adapt to these differences may

The Floundering Expatriate case study provides the right example of problems associated with the global marketplace and when businesses and their leaders transcend physical and cultural boundaries and they fail to adapt to cultural specifics. We consider that this report will allows making an analysis that contains discussion on culture and communication issues along with globalization.

Individualism/ collectivism. In individualistic organizations people achieve goals alone and they take care of themselves first. In collectivistic cultures instead members have joint responsibilities for example Japan.

International businesses that are ill informed about the practices of another culture are unlikely to succeed in that culture. One way to develop cross-cultural literacy is to regularly rotate and transfer people internationally.

Culture is a predominant social aspect of society, which guides the way people think and act in their environment. Culture develops differently for all the various nations of the world, and in the context of international business, the challenge that arises for today’s managers is managing across these varied cultures effectively enough to render positive growth and productivity for the business organization. The influential factors such as individualism versus collectivism and masculinity versus femininity amongst others help categorize and identify cultural differences. The manager of international business has to be well aware of these differences and show consideration and care in dealing with cultural disparities that may be

Deresky (2011) defines international management as “the process of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling in a multinational or cross-cultural environment” (p. 458). Miroshnik (2002) suggests that although the economic and physical environments certainly are important issues in multinational business, the cultural environment has a special importance in multinational business. Therefore, it is essential for international managers to understand the notion of national culture, as it influences how managers and employees of a particular nation make decisions and interpret their roles. As a result, differences between national cultures not only can create important

When operating internationally a company will face many challenges. One of the main challenges they face is the cultural differences among different nations. Even domestic businesses, with such a diverse workforce, have to deal with cultural differences. So what are the principal areas of cultural differences? Not just language, but values, dress, manners, views, and other factors are all principal area of cultural differences in business, and can manifest at all levels of business. In this paper I will go over the importance of understanding these principal areas.

For many global organizations, or organizations that produce or sell goods or services in more than one country, a difficult question is how to develop and place managers in foreign operations. Some people believe organizations should let foreign managers run foreign subsidiaries because of the large differences among national cultures while others believe that domestic managers should be trained to run foreign subsidiaries because of loyalty issues.

One way for Kafka to do market research for his new business is to utilize information provided by Euro monitor International. Euro monitor offers many different reports on different business sectors and information such as “Who Eats Out Where.” This report has information on the number of businesses, demographic information, and growth and trend information. If Kafka utilizes well-researched information on the food industry prior to creating his business plan and pricing structure, it could provide a very solid foundation to build on. Kafka can also perform his own personal research, and he can also conduct some focus groups with local residents on possible attitudes and price information on a specialty pizza such has the Chicago-style pizza. Kakfa should also investigate the eating habits of the 3.8 million foreign tourists that visit the city each year.

There are many factors that need to be considered when assigning a manager into an expatriate role. Of the many factors that most often lead to success, emotional intelligence (EI), transformational leadership, cultural awareness, and the ability to adjust to a foreign culture and attain productivity and performance quickly (Baliga & Baker, 1985). Ultimately, the four major determinants of expatriate performance include technical skills and mastery, contextual and pro-social performance, contextual and managerial performance, and expatriate-specific performance in a given nation or region (Claus, Lungu, & Bhattacharjee, 2011). These four factors combine to anchor performance analysis provided in this paper.

Figure 3 is a comparison of Japan and the UK using an up to date Hofstede’s model directly from his official website.