Intercultural Communication and Translation News

Kiss, Bow or Shake Hands? Some of the questions a business traveller to a new country may be asking prior to landing. Making a good impression is important however is it all about etiquette? Kwintessential have today released a new App based on the research of Professor Hofstede which takes a more behavioural view of working in a foreign country.
International business travel is big. With people zipping north, south, east and west on a daily basis it has never been more important to take into consideration cultural differences.  The business world is full of examples of culture gone wrong. Understanding, appreciating and adapting to another’s culture is crucial in the modern business world. However it isn’t all about shaking hands or kissing.
“The kiss, bow or shake hands approach has its place within international business. However, we really feel people gain a cultural advantage when they concentrate on areas like behaviour, communication and general approach,” explains Neil Payne, Managing Director at Kwintessential. As a result the company decided to create a free App which offers tips and pointers on behaviour based around real academic research.
The App, named ‘Compare Cultures’, uses the work of renowned academic Professor Hofstede. He is a well-known pioneer in his research of cross-cultural groups and organizations. Using his research, the App allows you to choose two countries to compare [culturally speaking]. A neat graph is produced which illustrates where the countries may conflict. Useful tips are offered to help overcome the potential conflicts and ensure any business relationships gets off to a good start.
The App is completely free and available for download at Compare Cultures

Kwintessential Relationship Manager, Phil Reynolds, took part in three Santa fun runs this month to raise money for the Children’s Hospice South West.

Phil Reynolds, 27, donned his red suit and beard to take part in Santas on the Run in Bath, Bristol and Wells.

He joined hundreds of people taking to the streets in each of these scenic cities dressed in Santa suits to raise awareness and much-needed funds for Children’s Hospice South West.

Mr Reynolds said Bath was his favourite as the Santas had a lot of encouragement from passers-by – with some even singing Christmas carols.

Some of his fellow Santas were running with dogs and some were even pushing buggies decorated in tinsel.

The 2k runs were no problem for Mr Reynolds who runs and also plays rugby, but he said the third Santa run in Wells was the hardest as he had been up most of the night with his five-month-old daughter Maggie.

He said: “Wells was the most difficult for me. I’d been up all night and I was convinced they’d made it longer.”

Mr Reynolds was representing his Crewkerne-based company Kwintessential which made CHSW its charity of the year.

The company has been fundraising for the charity with various events throughout the year and has so far raised more than £7,000.

Mr Reynolds added: “We went for a charity that was local and we could really get involved in. Many of us have got children so we can appreciate the work that the hospice does.”

Mr Reynolds said he was looking forward to running next year and he might even take on all six in the South West if they weren’t on the same day.

Sophie Crossman, events fundraiser for Children’s Hospice South West, said: “We are really grateful to Phil for all the support he has shown us throughout the year. He will certainly be in Santa’s good books this Christmas.”

So what’s wrong with Google translate? Well actually it’s great…depending on what you use it for.

We recently had to completely re-translate a local food company’s packaging due to them using Google to translate their ingredients, etc into Dutch. However, in the Netherlands they were scratching their heads wondering why the packaging stated that “May contain crazy”. The English original was “May contain nuts”. Yes this is 100% true….a real life example of what happens when you entrust your translation to a machine.

And here is a very basic, illustrated example, of why you should never entrust translations to a machine [no matter how good].

Let’s say I am a British manufacturer of men’s underwear – what we would call “pants”. I excitedly set up a little e-commerce site for the Shanghai market and use Google translate [because I am either trying to save money or I really don't know what I am doing]. I do my keyword translations using Google and voila – my keyword is 男装裤! I get traffic but absolutely no sales! Why? Because Google is telling Shanghai you sell trousers!

Did you really think a machine is going to know if you are British or American or Australian or South African? No! It’s a machine!

So if you are serious about whatever it is you want to sell abroad,  have a human being who comes from that country, speaks the lingo and knows the shopping habits/terminology translate it for you.

by +Ben Lewis

I have used a tame example above as I didn’t want to shock anyone I could have chosen some funny ones (but they would have been a touch rude)

A report out today suggests that students in the UK are not what the country needs in order to remain competitive in the global economy. The Global Skills Gap report by the British Council warns that the “UK economy risks losing global competitiveness”.

Although the research is making headlines, including on the BBC, is anyone really that surprised? I’m not.

The report was compiled off the back of a survey of 500 business leaders. So what were their conclusions?

•    Recruiting staff who can “think globally” is crucial for multi-national companies
•    75% of the leaders fear the UK is going to be left behind because of the lack of recruits with international awareness
•    The UK is in danger of being taken over by countries such as China, India and Brazil who produce more ‘worldly’ recruits
•    74% warned that in the UK young people’s “horizons are not broad enough” for a globalised economy
•    35% of multinational firms find it difficult to recruit employees of the calibre they need
•    Business leaders suggest that schools are too worried about exam results and league tables not “about the wider world beyond the school gates and beyond our shores”
•    If UK students do not have the skills wanted by multinational employers then “highly skilled and highly paid jobs will be increasingly taken by young people in countries other than the UK”
•    Young people in the UK risk being confined to low-paid jobs or being out of work

This is a massive issue for UK PLC. It should not be underestimated. School leavers and graduates from many countries leave with a good standard of education, speak another language(s), are conscious and aware of the outside world and appreciate the need to be competitive in every way. They are armed and hungry!

So what’s the solution? Well three very simple places to start are 1) language, 2) our immigrant population and 3) topics at school.

In the UK we are notorious for our appalling lack of language skills. The uptake at school and then at university has been dropping consistently over the years. There is a complete lack of emphasis on the importance of knowing another language. In order to produce young people that think and act global we need to start with language. The evidence is clear that learning a language broadens the mind in terms of cultural know-how, empathy, out-of-the-box thinking, etc. We should be demanding from our schools that each and every leaver leaves with French, Spanish, German, Italian, Chinese, Arabic or Japanese [and any others].

In addition to this, why are we not taking advantage of the languages spoken in immigrant homes such as Mandarin, Somali, Urdu, Arabic, Polish, etc? Immigration should be used to benefit the UK at home and abroad. These children hold massive potential in that they are naturally cross-cultural, they are multilingual and they do have something to offer us in terms of our position in the global economy. We are not capitalizing on this. Children are brought up thinking their food, language, etiquette and values are for “the home” and not for the global workplace. Wrong.

How many schools do you know that teach international business? How many school leavers would know what ‘BRIC’ means? How many appreciate how inter-reliant all the world’s economies are? How many are encouraged to be entrepreneurial, think globally, explore the international scene, etc? How many have used social media such as Facebook and Twitter as a platform to look at all the above? The answer is not many. The education system needs to catch up and catch up fast in order to ensure this generation have a voice.

In conclusion, the report reveals nothing of any surprise but what it does do is highlight the fact that if we are to remain globally competitive in the next 100 years, we need to address these issues now.

by +Neil Payne

Press release: 28 November 2011
For immediate release

A 27 year old father of one from Chard is spreading festive cheer throughout the West Country by signing up to take part in three of CHSW’s Santas on the Run events.

Phil Reynolds will be donning his Santa suit at the 2k fun runs taking place in Bath (1 Dec), Bristol (4 Dec) and Wells (11 Dec). He will be joined by hundreds of people taking to the streets in each of these scenic cities dressed in Santa suits to raise awareness and much needed funds for Children’s Hospice South West.

Phil, Relationship Manager at Crewkerne based company, Kwintessential said: “Taking part in three of CHSW’s Santas on the Run events will certainly be a memorable start to the festive season. CHSW is one of Kwintessential’s chosen charities and I’ve also taken part in a corporate challenge and a firewalk in support of the charity this year. It’s great to be able to enjoy so many different experiences whilst raising money for such an amazing cause.”

Sophie Crossman, events fundraiser for Children’s Hospice South West said: “We are really grateful to Phil for all the support he has shown us throughout the year. He will certainly be in Santa’s good books this Christmas! If anyone else out there fancies joining an event with a festive difference there is still time to sign up.

To support Phil please donate at Kwintessential’s CHSW page.

To register for Santas on the Run please visit www.chsw.org.uk/santas or call 01275 866 600. All runners must register in advance as it will not be possible to register on the day.

Entry is just £10.00 per adult and just £5 for children and your Santa suit is included!

Notes to editors:
Santas on the Run: Santas on the Run is a national series of fun runs in Santa costume, organised by children’s hospices and Children’s Hospices UK, working in partnership. Details of all the events can be found on the website www.santasontherun.org.uk

-Ends-

Children’s Hospice South West

1. Chief Executive Eddie Farwell and his late wife Jill who had two life-limited children set up the charity, Children’s Hospice South West (CHSW), in 1991 and opened the first children’s hospice in the South West, Little Bridge House in Barnstaple, in September 1995.
2. CHSW is the only organisation in the South West providing hospice care to life-limited children and their families, in a hospice environment, from across the South West; from South Gloucester, Bristol, Somerset, Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
3. Little Bridge House very quickly became oversubscribed and CHSW opened their second hospice, Charlton Farm, near Bristol in April 2007.
4. Charlton Farm offers a real home from home environment, including a main living area that forms the heart and soul of the house, cosy lounges, a messy play room for carefree creativity, a multi sensory room with lights, sounds and textures to soothe and calm, a soft play area for safe, trouble-free fun and a jacuzzi for relieving stiff joins and muscle spasms. Not forgetting the beautiful gardens that surround the house including the Sunken Retreat (based on JRR Tolkien’s book The Hobbit) which opened in October 2009.
5. At Charlton Farm there are 8 child-friendly bedrooms that have minimal medical equipment and are decorated with favourite books, toys and DVDs for each child who stays. There is lovely accommodation for the rest of the family too.
6. There are around 30 staff on the care team at Charlton Farm. Half are Registered Sick Children’s Nurses, the others come from a variety of backgrounds and include teachers, nursery nurses, play specialists, social workers and physios.
7. CHSW has reached the Precious Lives Appeal target of £5 million to build a third children’s hospice in Cornwall, Little Harbour. We can now continue to fundraise to fit out and furnish the hospice and raise funds towards running costs.
8. Little Harbour will open its doors to the first families in December.

For further information please contact Zoe Mason, Press Officer for Children’s Hospice South West, on 01275 866600 or please email zoe.mason@chsw.org.uk

“Government needs the help of those that interact with SMEs on a regular basis to get the message out loud and clear that competing in the global marketplace makes business sense.” Lord Green, Minister for Trade and Investment

Above is the call Government made today in order to continue the drive to get UK PLC exporting. Well, as a company that has and is successfully working with companies exporting we have for a long time been banging this drum. But it’s time to bang it again! So I would like to outline some reasons why UK businesses need to be exporting, the benefits of doing so and some considerations around how to do it.

Why export?

Well it’s simple. You’ll make more money. A business confining itself to a country or even geographical region will hit a ceiling, eventually – it’s a basic fact. Reaching out to foreign markets allows you to expand your customer or consumer base, make more sales, develop your brand and ultimately benefit your bottom line. Exporting makes sense in every way as long as it’s a service or product with potential. Do we just talk the talk? At Kwintessential we realised this potential many years ago so started the process of identifying areas we need to be and now have offices in the USA, Argentina, South Africa and the UAE. We walk the walk.

So what are the main benefits of exporting other than money, money, money? Here are 5 which may or may not fit with your industry, i.e. a glass manufacturer and an interior design will have very different needs and experiences.

1.    Diversification: by exporting you diversity your markets. This reduces dependency on the domestic market and spreads risks.
2.    Excess Production Capacity: with more orders you can increase production to achieve an efficient level of production while at the same time reducing costs, whether that be raw materials, suppliers, fixed costs, etc.
3.    Business Stability: if your business is subject to revenue fluctuations, exporting can help stabilise your order books which in turn allows you to really tighten up on operations.
4.    Product Life Cycle Extension: when products reach the maturity stage in your domestic market, a company may look to replace or invest in new ones. However, by exporting you potentially allow the life cycle of a product to be extended.
5.    Product Improvement: competing in international markets is an excellent source of learning to gain more competitiveness in the domestic and/or international market.

One of the big benefits now if a company is looking to export is this – it has never been so easy. Now is the time to grasp the opportunity and make it work for you.

How do I start exporting?

So you have a service or product you want to export. What next? Well you have two options – 1) do it yourself or 2) contact an organisation that will help you do it. At Kwintessential we went with option 1 simply because we felt comfortable in doing so and understood the ins and outs of it all. However, it was hard work, we made mistakes and it possibly took a touch longer than we planned for. But it worked and worked well. Option 2 is to contact an organisation that does this day in day out, and that is UKTI. They have an amazing set-up which includes worldwide offices, advisors, resources and funding. They can assist with everything from market research right down to arranging meetings with stakeholders in companies abroad that are worth talking to. Simply visit them at UKTI and get in touch with your local advisor.

How can we help?

When you plan your export drive you need to take a lot into consideration, whether that is legal implications, taxes, language differences or anything else, it’s a lot to take on. You will need help.

Kwintessential designed a suite of services aimed specifically at UK businesses wanting to export. You can visit the page here at Export Support or contact us about your needs. Essentially we can help you with anything that falls under the language/culture umbrella in business but with some rather innovative services on top. So for example, we can help translate your business cards, website and product materials; we can run an analysis of your brand or product in the new market(s);  we can give you some cultural awareness training to help sharpen up your negotiation skills for China or help cement a relationship in Kuwait.  We can offer much more such as help set up Virtual Assistants in other countries who speak the local lingo, carry out some niche Business Research or even get involved with your Global Marketing strategy.

If you need help with other areas such as legal and logistics, let us know and we can point you in the direction of some good people.

So the message is clear – get out there and get exporting! “… competing in the global marketplace makes business sense.”

by +Neil Payne

It’s not every day you come into contact with the world’s greatest footballer. So we thought we’d shout about it. Well done to Kwintessential’s Paola who was lucky enough to act as Messi’s interpreter yesterday in Barcelona.

Previously, the nearest we have got to such footballing royalty was when I met Diego Maradona in Istanbul (below). I wish! He as a waiter, but you have to admit he is a good lookalike…

India as a country has 28 states, 7 union territories, 16 official languages and many different dialects. This can make it difficult to make general comments on the differences in culture and business when there are many differences in the country itself.

However, there are a few factors that are kept the same throughout India and should be kept in mind when doing business in India.
Both business and society structures are strictly hierarchical and everyone has a set position, because of this, Indian organisations are usually run by one powerful individual who makes all the big decisions and sends instructions down the hierarchical chain. Subordinates know their position within the business and will never question instructions due to the greater forces of Karma and Dharma.

Due to the strict business structure it is very important to find out who is at the top of the company’s hierarchical structure so no time is wasted with decision making, if this is not possible then aim to deal with someone else within the business that has an influence over decision making.

Meetings will vary between companies some will have a more westernised approach whilst others will have a more traditional approach. The more traditional style meetings may take some getting used to as they are usually very informal and interruptions often occur from other employees entering and discussing other matters or calls being taken.

As the Indian society find relationships very important meetings may start off with some casual banter, it is important not to rush this stage as it is a good time to help enhance credibility with the company.

Women are accepted in the Indian workforce and rank usually over rules gender, so if a woman is in a high ranking position her orders will be followed just as diligently.

Dress code in the Indian workplace is formal but light, if travelling there for business men should wear lightweight suits and women should wear appropriate dress or trouser suits, these should not show too much skin. Avoid wearing any leather as this may be considered offensive to Hindu’s who have a profound respect for cows.

Gift giving is a big part of Indian life and the gift giver should be the one to thank the receiver as it is believed that giving gifts during life helps you gain a better after life. Gifts should be wrapped but not in black or white paper as it is considered unlucky, make sure you keep in mind the receivers religion so you don’t give them anything that may offend them.

If you keep these basic tips in mind your trip should go smoothly and hopefully be rewarding!

by +Steph Lyons