Business

In an increasingly global world, organizations have to be sensitive to cultural differences to avoid making costly blunders. The corporate world is full of examples where a product failed when launched in a foreign market because the executives did not consider the cultural differences.

Organizations and people in foreign settings can end up making mistakes ranging from funny to rude to costly simply because of inappropriate gestures or failure to properly translate the language. Let us look at some of the mistakes made by organizations in the past and how managers can avoid making these mistakes.

One of the most famous mistakes in international marketing was made by Chevy when it tried to sell its nova brand in Mexico. The words no va literally means does not go in Mexican and hence the car simply failed to launch (Hartmen). Similarly, the soft drink Fresca faced problems in Mexico because the word fresca is a slang for lesbian in Mexico (Payne, 2007).

Besides problems with translations, problems can also occur because of interpersonal relations and gestures. For example, when an American executive refused a cup of coffee from a Saudi businessman, it was considered rude and the negotiations were terminated. Similarly, the OK finger sign is considered an obscene gesture in many parts of the world and a company had to reprint its catalogue when it used the sign on each page of the catalogue (Hummel, 2010).

These and many other mistakes are very common and can be easily avoided if managers give their executives cross cultural training before dispatching them on international assignments. Also, when designing local marketing campaigns, it is a good idea to hire local talent to avoid making embarrassing mistakes.