A colleague of mine told of a conference where the keynote speaker opened with a story of a man in a physical struggle against a lion. The story was a metaphor for the struggles humans must encounter with opposition and the challenges we all must overcome. At the end of the story, the man eventually bested the lion as a testimony to the triumph of the human spirit.
As the story closed, one of the participants stood and asked the speaker why every story about a man and a lion ended with the man overcoming the lion. The facilitator responded, “Man will always win until the lion can write his own story.”
As much research as has been done on capturing business opportunities in emerging markets, surprisingly little has been written about the cultural nuances one encounters , how they may challenge the best business relationships and how businesses may overcome them. Let’s get this straight. I’m not talking about cultural etiquette and your ability to conform to cultural norms. Anyone can learn to go through the motions and display the appropriate behaviors. We’re talking about the real challenges. The unspoken ones. I’ve found that these challenges fall into a few categories that are consistent across many cultures.
Relational History – Impact on Indigenous Attitudes and Perceptions of Western Presence
When we study the history of other cultures, we must be aware that our perception of history may be biased by our perspectives. Facts don’t change; however, depending on historical outcomes, reactions and attitudes about those outcomes influence our ability to foster sound business relationships.
Media – Imagery and the Effect on Indigenous Public Perception
The perception of wealth and poverty on a spectrum of conditions in the west is controlled by the media which in turn controls disbursement of imagery about these conditions to the rest of the world. These images often do little to build trust in our economic platform for those emerging countries exploring options to do business in this country.
Experience – Anecdotal References and Relationships with Cultures
Experiencing emerging markets as a tourist can give a distorted view of the true nature of the political, environmental, economic and cultural dynamics that influence global business relationships.
Cross - Cultural Communication Models
Investment in communication models that foster trust are often limited and misunderstandings may reinforce preconceived attitudes and stereotypes.
Building stronger relationships requires multi-dimensional communication models. We explore one such model in Part 2 of this article.
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