Doing Business Around the World

AUSTRALIA

If you happen to be face to face with an aboriginal, do never ask "Still throwing spears?" like Prince Philip of Edinburgh did when he visited the country in 2002. And beware if you are one of those who like flaunting around your business title…it's most likely that you will be cynically dismissed as a snobbish foreigner. Read More

CANADA

When you are conducting business in this country do not wear any scent at all! Perfumes, after-shaves, hairsprays and the like are perceived as a cynical cover up to poor personal hygiene. Furthermore, wearing scent can be a threat to individuals with asthma, a relatively common illness in Canada…Read More

CHINA

Once a foreign winemaker told Chinese reporters in Shanghai that he hoped his "ultra premium wine to do well in China because it has done well in Japan and the two cultures have so much in common". But the deep resentment of Japan that still remains in China didn't actually help him at all to sell a single bottle of his "ultra premium" product…Read More

EGYPT

Columbia Pictures produced a film in Egypt that caused the greatest shock to the general public. The actors' accents were Pakistani, their clothes were Moroccan and their behaviour was rather American. The most appalling element of the film, however, was the portrayal of the former Egyptian president Nasser, kissing his wife in public, something totally unacceptable in Islamic countries…Read More

FRANCE

After being invited for a private dinner in Paris, a foreign entrepreneur decided to reciprocate the gesture by offering two bouquets of chrysanthemums (used primarily as funeral flowers in France) and bringing a best-of-breed wine from his own country (as if suggesting that the hosts weren't considerate enough to pick up a good wine). By the way, the meal didn't last long. C'est la vie, n'est-ce pas? Read More

ITALY

Italians won't forget the infamous "Schweppes Tonic Water" campaign which was translated in Italy as "Schweppes Toilet Water". If you don't want to be misinterpreted when you go there, you shouldn't tap your forehead with your finger while looking at someone (otherwise you will be saying "Hey, you are stupid!") Read More

GERMANY

If you intend to practice some German beforehand, make sure you will know the difference between "Sie" (the polite form of "you") and "Du" (the informal one). Once a foreign lady was talking with a police officer when she used "Du". He was so insulted that he arrested her. A newspaper carried the story under the musical headline, "You Du Something to Me!" Read More

JAPAN

In Japan, you should spend several seconds studying any business card you are given. So refrain your instinct of rushing it into your pocket or writing on it in the presence of your Japanese counterpart: your will make his hair stand on end! If you fancy wearing a kimono make sure you wrap the left side over the right. Doing the other way around will hint that you are ready for burial. Read More

SPAIN

If you are one of those who like to say OK by forming a circle with your thumb and index finger, you shouldn't consider doing it in Spain as it refers to certain body parts and constitutes a deep insult. And don't be trapped by the apparent similarity between "services" and "servicios". If you commend someone for his good "servicios", you are basically praising his toilet. Read More  

USA

"Pocari Sweat" is a Japanese energy drink usually taken after sport. But the producers got into trouble when they decided to export it to the States.  While the Japanese believe that sweat represents a healthy and hard working body, the negative connotations associated with sweat in the States proved to be a major problem. The manufacturer was forced to drop the second word before eventually selling a bottle in the US. Read More