Intercultural & Cross Cultural News

The End of Cross Cultural News

Cross Cultural news has now been running for a few years and has become extremely successful. We get over 4,000 visits a day. As a result we have had to move it over to a new platform to try and make the user-experience that little bit better. So for all your news please visit the new page at Cross Cultural, Intercultural Communication and Translation News. This page will remain to act as a resource for anyone wishing to access the archives.

Multicultural market research series

In 2004 and 2005, Common Sense Advisory released a series of multicultural market research reports. Now, the research firm has released an update to the series completely focused on internet retailers -- who translates their websites, how they respond (or not) to their web forms and e-mail inquiries, and what to know to get a website ready to sell to this demographic.

Three updated reports are included in the series: "Translation, It's the Law," "Reaching America's eLatinos Online: Otra Vez" and, coming soon, "Strategies for Developing Multicultural Sites."

Cultural understanding increases seafood exports

“Norwegian seafood exporters are too laid back about their products in demanding export markets. Cultural sensitivity is the key to better results,� asserts researcher Gro Alteren in her doctoral thesis at the BI Norwegian School of Management.

Disney To Make Chinese-Language Movie

Movie giant Disney is set to make its first Chinese-language movie - about an enchanted vegetable. The studio is teaming up with the China Film Group (cfg) to bring The Magic Gourd to the big screen.

The movie - a mix of live action and animation - is based on the book by late author Zhang Tianyi, and tells the story of a young boy who discovers a gourd (Chinese vegetable) that grants him wishes.

How Burton made ethnic cleansing fashionable

A T-shirt adorned with a slogan used by Russian right-wing groups to promote ethnic cleansing has been sold in one of Britain’s largest menswear stores.

Burton withdrew the T-shirt from all its stores this week when the true translation of the Cyrillic writing was pointed out. The expression translates as: “We will cleanse Russia of all non-Russians!� The company bought 6,000 of the Girlaun print crew-neck T-shirts from a supplier last week before distributing them to stores throughout Britain. The company said that it thought the slogan meant “Be proud of Russia�.

China: Seizing Economic Opportunities and Surviving Cultural Challenges

As the impenetrable barriers of doing business with China dissolve, companies and entrepreneurs have an unprecedented opportunity to reach one of the largest markets in the world. Seizing these opportunities and being prepared for their challenges is the topic of the May 15 MIT Enterprise Forum meeting.

Report on Consumer Behavior of South Asian Americans

Global Advertising Strategies has just released the first in a series of five marketing strategy reports outlining detailed research on the South Asian American community and its consumer preferences. As a leading multicultural advertising agency Global plans to release each installment of the research on a bi-weekly basis, available at its website www.ethnicusa.com. The first report focuses on "Lifestyle and Entertainment Spending." The other four will focus on the following industries: automotive, financial, travel and telecommunications.

Global’s focus on the niche market research is a part of its Multicultural 2.0 philosophy which captures the complex mosaic of different and nuanced cultures and delivers consumer insights from the untapped markets.

RTO Industry missing out on Hispanic custom

Considering that there are 45 million Hispanics in the United States representing nearly 9% of all consumer spending, the Rent to Own industry is doing a poor job of marketing to this group in the virtual world. Less than 1% of RTO industry websites offer a Spanish translation. Rent-A-Center is the only rent to own company with a national presence, or even a large regional presence, to offer a complete Spanish translation.

HSBC offers 24-hour multilingual advice service

Customers of HSBC's current account designed specifically for new arrivals in the UK, HSBC Passport, will now have access to local knowledge of the UK in their own language, with the introduction of a new 24-hour multilingual advice service.

The relocation advice service is available online or over the phone in six languages - Polish, Spanish, French, Slovak, Czech and English, with plans for more to be added if there is sufficient demand. As part of the service, customers can either speak directly to a representative in their own language or email their enquiries in any language and receive a response in English within 48 hours. However, the multi-language relocation service does not include telephone banking.

Going Global and Intercultural Communication

Nowadays business expansion more often than not involves going international or “going global�. This is true both for the small sole trader who may be selling a highly unique and individual product right up to the Blue Chip company. Going global offers access to thousands (even millions) of more customers and therefore revenue. In addition, there are other reasons for an international structure including outsourcing systems and processes, manufacturing and distribution. However, a lot of companies are now jumping onto the global stage but without considering the many challenges they will meet.

Multilingual citizens attract Amazon to Cork (Ireland)

Amazon’s 450-seat customer service centre in Cork was officially opened today. Nearly a third of the jobs for the centre have already been filled, Amazon said.

The experienced and multilingual personnel in the south-west region was a strong factor in Amazon’s decision to locate this centre in Cork. The digital media sector is transforming the information technology, media and entertainment industries and is creating new opportunities in our ever-evolving knowledge-based society,� Amazon’s senior vice-president of worldwide operations Marc Onetto said.

Speak Dutch or be fired

A Belgian auto parts supplier has forbidden its workers to speak any language other than Dutch, even during their lunch break, and employees could be fired if they disobey.

"We have people from Italy, India, Poland, Algeria here. It's to avoid cliques forming here and there," said Geert Vermote, human resources manager of HP Pelzer in the town of Genk in Belgium's Dutch-speaking Flanders region.

The Workplace: Profiting from diversity

Johan Talenti, a 43-year-old Swedish entrepreneur, says he does not see himself as a do-gooder or activist. "You don't run a company for the sake of taking social responsibility," he said, sitting in the offices of Silentium, a fast-growing telemarketing company that he founded in 1998. "You do it to make money."

But he has also done something that he thinks many more business leaders should do: He has made a conscious effort to diversify his staff. And, he said, the results have contributed to Silentium's success.

This might not sound unusual, especially from an American perspective. In the United States, promoting diversity in the work place has been part of business planning for years. Many big companies even have a chief diversity officer. But in Sweden, as in much of Europe, this has simply not been the case.

Clothing trademark case sets foreign language precedent

Clothing companies cannot assume a high level of linguistic knowledge amongst their consumers when assessing claims that they may confuse different uses of the same foreign word in rival brands, a European Court of Justice (ECJ) advocate general is suggesting.

In a case between Italian clothing manufacturer Ponte Finanziaria and compatriots FMG Textiles, ECJ advocate general Eleanor Sharpston has had to rule on whether Ponte's range of 'Bridge' marks could be confused with FMG's Bainbridge mark.

Overseas Trade is the ticket to Success

Foreign markets are like children's shoes: They offer plenty of room to grow. According to the Office of the United States Trade Representative, 95 percent of the world's consumers reside outside the United States. Some of those people have holes in their lives the exact size and shape of your product.

The Skills Group establishes PR center of competence 'Arab World'

Offering, with immediate effect, a dedicated PR and advice center for businesses operating in the fast-growing Arab market.

The new 'Skills Center Arab World' comprises a highly qualified Austrian-Arab team of advisors, offering strategic PR advice and coaching in intercultural communications and negotiation skills for decision-makers in politics and the economy.

With their center of competence, Skills is the first Austrian agency to bank on the booming Arab market, offering solutions for the specific communication needs of businesses and institutions operating in the Arab market.

Globe-trotting designers thrive on cultural challenges

Exciting global opportunities abound for North American designers who are prepared to meet the challenges of cultural barriers, distance and cross-cultural communication.

That was the theme of an International Interior Design Roundtable held recently in Vancouver. Roslyn Brandt, president of Brandt Resources of New York, moderated the panel which included Mark Gribbons, principal, IA Interior Architecture, Seattle, Washington and Joe Pettipas, principal HOK Toronto.

U.S. Architect work being Outsourced to India

Even in Las Vegas, a city not known for understatement, the overhaul of the Tropicana Casino & Resort is grandiose. When the $2 billion face-lift is completed in 2010, the hotel will have more than 10,200 rooms, a new convention center and shopping mall, parking for 6,200 cars, and multiple pools. That's great for gamblers, but it's a big challenge for the architects putting all the pieces together. Adding to the complexity, gaming tables and sections of the hotel will remain open through the renovation. Worse, it's happening at a time when U.S. architects are in short supply.

Time to call India. In a cramped office in Kolkata, some 8,000 miles from the Strip, dozens of Indian architects spend their days and often nights generating plans for the Tropicana.

Public safety agencies must address Cultural and Technological barriers

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c52368) has announced the addition of Datamonitor's new report: Government Technology - Fostering Interoperability in Public Safety Communications (Review Report) to their offering.

Public safety agencies struggle to enable first responders across disciplines, jurisdictions and levels of government to communicate during emergencies despite operating incompatible equipment. More than simply a radio or network issue, organizations must address the systemic and cultural barriers that inhibit cooperation in addition to the technology strategies that hinder interoperability.

Global Adjustments pioneers cross-cultural education with Globalindian.com

Global Adjustments, pioneers in Cross-Cultural education and India Destination Services, announced the launch of India's first web-based cross-cultural educational portal www.globalindian.com, designed specifically for professionals seeking to function effectively in a global environment. Thiru Dayanidhi Maran, Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology formally launched the e-learning portal with Mr David T Hopper, US Consul General and Mr. Lakshmi Narayanan, Vice Chairman, Cognizant Technology Solutions Pvt. Ltd at a function in Chennai.