Intercultural Business News

Earlier today Gordon Brown announced a new initiative designed to help UK businesses take full advantage of the opportunities still present in foreign markets. “Gateway to Global Growth”, as the scheme has been named, intends to provide bespoke financial and legal advice to 1,200 British companies over the next year in order to facilitate an increase in the volume of exports outside the UK.
The Government hopes that this will not only make Britain more prosperous in the long term but help struggling companies through the downturn and prevent further job cuts in the UK economy.
Speaking whilst on a visit to an advanced engineering firm with a strong presence outside the UK, Gordon Brown said:
  “I know times are tough here and across the world right now, but there are still markets for British goods if we help businesses access them. That is why it is vital we give British businesses world class support to make the most of global opportunities and increase their activity in overseas markets.”
Last year British exports totalled £413 billion. The Government will be hoping that this programme ensures that this figure grows in the year ahead.

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Career advancement is something that has traditionally been achieved through hard work and sector specific knowledge and experience. However, a growing number of companies are now increasingly looking to employ and promote people with experience of working if different countries and cultures, according to an article by Susan Karlin for IEEE Spectrum.

Carlos Founard, who worked in a plethora of European countries before returning to his native Spain, and now actively recruits foreign programmers for IT company iA Soft Aragón explains:

“I believe working abroad exposes you to new technologies and creative approaches, and working with multicultural teams makes you more flexible. You have to cope with ways of thinking that you could never imagine.”

In addition to career and personal development Founard cites greater autonomy in the work place, higher pay, tax breaks and the adventures of travel as further good reasons for taking up overseas postings.

To read more click on the link below.

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Taking a product global has always posed its challenges to marketing executives, requiring them not only to tackle language barriers but also understand the thought processes and rationales of people from different cultures.

 In a recent piece for Engine Search Watch reporter Frank Watson highlights how these challenges manifest in the age of mass internet communication and the dangers inherent in forgetting the subtle as well as the obvious differences between us all.

In his article he touches on such issues as the translation of search engine terms, the potential cultural discrepancies between those speaking different languages in the same country and the reluctance of people from areas of the globe where internet usage is less established to fully engage with online marketing strategies.

To read more click on the link below.

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