com/englishlibrary vk.com/englishlibrary S3~~IJ. lVI:JNVN ld lil .' Wl!aq1!d Ul!!JP'v' Pearson Education l imited The Financial Times Edinburgh Ga te Extract from Unit 1 adapted from 'Barriers can give a competitive Harlow edge', The Financial Times, 17 August 2004 (Witzel, M.l, Essex CM20 2JE copyright © Financia l Times ltd: Extract from Unit 4 adapted Engl and from 'Doing business in China: learn from Dell', The Financial and Associated Compani es throughout the world. Times, t1 February 2005 (di Paola, P. and Manning, 1), copyright © Financial Times lId; Extract from Unit 6 adapted from 'Ca se www.com of the "killer elevator The Financiol Times, 19 February 2009 8 ', CO Pearson Education limited 2010 (Tucker, S.), copyright (0 Financial Times Lld: Extract from Unit 9 adapted from 'Can the new CEO end a culture clash after a The right of Adrian Pilbeam to be identified as author of merger?', The Financial Times, 10 September 2008, copyright ID this Work has been asse rted by him in accordance with the Financial Times Lld: Extract from Unit 12 adapted from 'Britain Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
down expat'5 wish·list for chlldren ', The Financial Times, 18 All rights reserved; no part of this publication may be September 2008 (Turner, 0.), copyright ID financial Times Lld: reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any Extract from Unit 13 adapted from 'Virtual teams need to build form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, Irusl', The Finonciol Times, 8 September 2004 (Maitland, A. recording, Of otherwise without the prior written permission of copyright © Financial Times Lld: Extract from Unit 14 adapted the Publishers. from 'A melting pot for forging success' , The Financial Times, 8 March 2009 (Marsh, P.), copy ri ght © Financial Times Ltd. First published 2010 Second impression 201) In some instances we have been unable to trace the owners of copyri ght material, and we would appreciate any information ISBN 978'1-408'2200)'0 that would enable us to do so.
Set in Metaplus, Times & ITC Cheltenham Photos Printed in Malaysia (CTP.WP) The publisher would like to thank the following for their kind permission to reproduce their photographs: Acknowl edgements (Key: b·bottom: c'centre: 1· left: r.fight: HOp) This series was developed and written by consultants working with lTS Training and Consulting, Bath, a specialist Al amy Images: Baffie Harwood Photography 29tr, Drive Images language and interculturaltraining company. 5, Eye·Stock 17, idp geneva collection 291, MARKA 41; (orbis: Ralph A. Clevenger 7, moodboard 45; Getty Images: AFP 37, The author and publishers are grateful to the following teachers Camelotl), India Today Group 21, 65, Seth Joel9; iStotkphoto: who reported on earlier drafts of this ma terial: Aukjen Bosma 53,69, 73, Ania HUd 33, Huriye Akinci Iriyari 57, Andrew Rich 49, and Christine Thuillier. Agn ieszka Szym cza k 61 : Jupiter Unlimited : (omstock Images 25; Photolibrary.com : Odilon Dimier 3 The author would like to thank many colleagues from the SIETAR network in Europe and the US from whom he has gained invaluable All other images © Pearson Education insights into the intercullural field oyer the last 15 years.
Every effort has been made to trace the copyright holders and We ore grateful to the following {or permission to reproduce we apologise in advance for any unintentional omissions. We copyright material: would be pleased to insert the appropriate acknowledgement in any subsequent edition of this publication. Tables Table in Unit 12 from 'HSBC Bank International Expat Explorer Cover photo CO Getty Images: Edouard Berne Survey 08 - Report 2: Offshore Offspring' P3, www. Project managed by Chris Hartley hsbc.com, copyright ID Hill & Knowlton limited.
Text Extract from Unit2 adapted from 'Communicating across the cul tural divide'. Personnel Today, 22 May 2007, www.com, copyright © Personnel Today; Extract from Unil16 adapted from 'An international outlook: Infosys Trainee Scheme', The Independent, 27 September 2007 (Hilpern, K.), copyrigh t (0 Independent News and Media Limited 2007: Extract from Unit 17 adapted from leaders' Quest, www. org, gra nted with permission.com/englishlibrary Working across cultures 1 Overcoming cultural barriers 4 2 Communicating across cultures 8 3 Working styles in Japan 12 Doing business in foreign markets 4 Doing business in China 16 5 Keeping employees happy in India 20 6 The importance of understanding the local culture 24 International mergers 7 Why international mergers often fail 28 8 Making an international merger work 32 9 Rescuing a merger that's going wrong ,6 living and working in a foreign country 10 International assignments 40 11 Expatriate families 44 12 Bringing up children abroad 48 Working in international teams 13 Working in virtual teams 52 14 A mixed-culture workforce 56 15 Working in international project groups 60 Trai ning and development 16 Giving new recruits an international outlook 64 17 Improving the skills of international leaders 68 18 Hiring university graduates from China 72 Check Tests 76 Answer key 80 Glossary 91 vk.com/englishlibrary 3 This unit considers the cultural issues which can arise when a company starts working internationally. BEFORE VOU READ Discuss these Questions.
1 What are the main reasons for a company to start looking outside its domestic market? 2 What are some of the problems that might arise when marketing and advertising products in different countries? 3 What kind of cultural problems can arise when a compa ny starts working internationally? El Understanding the main points Read the article on the opposite page and say whether these statements are true (T), false (F) or there is not enough information given (N). Identify the part of the article that gives this information. 1 Most compan ies only sta rt working internationally when they have fully exploited their domestic market. 2 The best way 10 enter foreign markets is to set up subsidiaries in those countries.
3 Geert Hofstede was the first person to study the impact of cultu re on working internationally. 4 Geert Hofstede found that values and beliefs in different parts of IBM across the world were different. 5 The biggest problem when working internationally is getting the marketing right. 6 China is the most difficult fo reign country fOf Western companies to do business in.
7 Cultural diversity can be a benefit as well as a problem. m Understanding details Read the arti cle aga in and answer these questions. 1 What is Geert Hofstede's nationality? 2 When did Hofstede carry out his research at IBM? 3 Why was IBM a good company to choose for his research? 4 Why was 'Nova' a bad name for a car in Spanish-speaking markets? 5 Why was the lexus luxury car less successful in Europe than in the US? 6 What can companies do to be more successful when marketing products internationaUy? 7 Why do Western companies have problems operating in China? 8 What are some of the benefits of working across cultures? vk.com/englishlibrary UNIT 1 H OVERCOMING CULTURAL BARRIERS Barriers can give a competitive edge and the Lexus offered something appreciably different. The Lcxus has been much less successful in Europe.
whe re the re is a stronger trndition s.'l of luxury car-making and strong loyalty to local bnands on the part of their buyers. H Cultural barriers in marketing can be overcome by re positioni ng brands. 00 changing advenisillg and product fea- tures to suit local sensitivities and so 011. Much more difficult to manage arc the cultural difTcrcnces that arise when companies establish mult inational ~ subsidiaries and then expect members of different national cultures to work together.
T his is especially thc case with Western companies cstablishing subsidiaries in China. Chinese workers often prefer strong. directi\'e leadership to the more demo- cratic model now common in the West. They also rely much more 011 senior managers to sort out problems.
by l\1o rgan Witzel 2S Hofstede showed that a huge variety of ~ including problems in the wo rkers' beliefs and values were present in the private Ih·cs. Linguistic confusion is A Sooner or later. the growing company workplllce. not just between the US.
al so compounded by quite different will reach ma rket saturation in Europe and As ia. but within regions attitudes to issues such as ethics. its domestic market. and there will aswcll, reporting and control.
and worke rs' be little choice but to move into over- E Globalisation is said to be leading to III rights and responsibilities. cultural convergence but. as Hofstede J What appears to be a barrier. how- B Most companies.
start dip- and many later studies have shown. can actually be a source of ping their toes inlO foreign waters long convergence is still some way away. competitive advantagc for those com- before they reach domestic satuTation. F Companies moving into international panies and ma nagers that Icarn to 10 exploit other profitable markets lS markets will usually first feci the elTects Il.'i work with cultu ral differe nces and 10 and give themselves experience of of culture on their marketing and benefit from thelll.
Every international mar- K In terms of managing local subsidiar- C Whether the comp.1ny is tmding abroad keter has their collection of mistakes. some global companies have lcarnt or establishing foreign subsidiaries, the where the values of onc culture fail to to ado pt best pract ices from foreign issue of national culture assumes great 40 translate into another. Sales of the \(I companies and tnmsfer these into the 15 importance. It had been known for Vauxhall Nova in Hispanic-speaking home market.
This kind of cross-fertil- years that working across cultures countries. suffered isation has been taking place between poses special problems. but the work because in Spani sh. 110 I'a means Japa nese and Western car-makers for of Geert Hofstede.the Dutch manage- ·won'tgo·.
and has led to powerful ment theorist. in the 1970s and 1980s G Other failures are more complex and ~ innovations on both sides. 3) showed just how diverse and va rious based on dcepercultural divides. Toy- cultum] innuences can be.
ota's luxury car. was an D Working across a single global com- pany - IBM. a business noted for the immediate hit in the US. where the luxury-car market had been the pre- FT unifonnity of its corpomte c ulture - 30 scrve of a few domestic compan ies.com/englishlibrary 5 UNIT 1 ~.
OVERCOM ING CULTURAL BARRIERS VOCABULARY El Understanding expressions Choose the best explanation for each phrase from the article. will reach market saturation .• Wne 2) a) start to lose market share b) stop expanding its market share 2 •. start dipping their toes into foreign waters .' (lines 6-7) a) making the first moves b) carrying out test marketing 3 •. leading to cultural convergence .' (lines 30-31) a) where everything becomes similar b) where everything changes 4 •.
will usually first feel the effects of culture on .' (lines 35- 36) a) have cultural problems b) be influenced by cul ture 5 •. based on deeper cultural divides. to suit local sensitivities .' (line 61) a) adapt to different ways of dOing things b) try to change the local customs 7 'Linguistic confusion is also compounded by. a source of competitive advantage .' (lines 82-83) a) a reason for problems with competitors b) a chance to be better than competitors 9 •.
to adopt best practices from .' (line 89) a) improve by constanl practice b) take good ideas from others IJ Word search Find words or phrases in the article which fit these meanings.