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Frequently Asked Questions:
  • I looked at your site, and it’s very, very good.  I like the overall look and feel – clean, modern, and professional – and the questions and answer that you have on the home page bring home your value in a highly visceral way.  They were interesting enough such that I actually sat on that page for a while to see what was next, since I have had many of those problems myself prior to learning how things work (and, truth be known, even since then).

    I can see where many of our cross cultural dilemna are more so with our internal mutlicutlural teams then with our saels organization. Do you see this trend often? How can we engage elsewhere with you and our organizaition?
    Thanks!
  • Our company has about 100 employees, and no international business plans. How would Global Context be able to help us?
    Great question. Many of our client - even with fewer employees than yours - find themselves working across different cultures within their own organization. You may also have customers, client, vendors and other U.S.-based relationships with people that have different cultural backgrounds. They are making decisions, establishing priorities, and influencing your productivity. So it's not about international - it's about cultural influence. And there is plenty we can do to help you and your company be more productive, and get better results. Talk to us.
  • I'm making my first visit to Canada next week and was wondering if there is anything I should know about the Canadians. Some folks in my office said they are just like us, so not to even worry. Is this true?
    We'd love for those "folks in your office" to take our "Doing Business With Canada" quiz, and then tell you there's nothing to think about. First off, where in Canada are you going? It shouldnt surprise anyone that French Canadians have a much different cultural influence than other parts of Canada. Secondly, by all means the BIGGEST mistake one can make is to tell the Canadians they are just like us!

    Canadians have a different approach to reaching decisions within their management teams. They will have a different style to negotiating issues, and many American has lost time, and/or money not recognizing how to built their trust and confidence.

    If you view our     intial webpage and click on the Canadian flag image in the lower right corner, you'll see some of those differences discussed.

    There is a whole lot more to the subtle yet significant difference between Americans and Canadians, and we'd enjoy discussing further with you.
  • As many times as I've been to Asia, I'm still not sure how to refuse alcohol without insulting my host, or calling to much attention to myself. This seems so hard to do when everyone is drinking, and having toasts. Any suggestions?
    There are several way you can do this without insulting your host. We'll post an answer to this question later this week.
  • I’ve had very little experience with other countries and very little experience with other cultures. The closest was an assistant who was Indian or Indonesian ( I never knew) but I was training him and he shook his head from side to side when confronted with a new idea. I thought he didn’t understand. I didn’t really have time to explore it with him but it was frustrating to me. What was I missing?
    You are not alone. While gestures may at times seem to be universal, they definitely are not. Gesture of all kinds can be very misleading. This head bobbing of sorts is very common in some parts of the world, especially India. It means neither yes or no, rather that the person is listening and understanding what you are saying.

    It's amazing that something as simple as shaking one's head can cause so much confusion. just think about how much could be misinterpreting by what is said!
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