The Cost of Business Gaffes across Cultures

Cross cultural business gaffes aren’t just embarrassing.  They can be expensive, too. The Wall Street Journal explores the financial cost of such cross cultural mistakes in  “Expanding Abroad? Avoid Cultural Gaffes” (1-19-10 by Emily Maltby), showing how the lack of advance research and cultural customization can wreak havoc. Remember the Chevy Nova, which failed to [...]

Respond to Your Clients Values: Lessons from Mary Kay in China

Mary Kay is the quintessential, American, direct-sales success—and, against odds, it has taken that success to China. The company faced roadblocks, including Chinese laws that forbade direct sales (until the law changed in 2006) and Chinese consumers’ lack of interest in make-up. However, as Slate reports, the company has worked around those challenges, leading people [...]