Appropriate Business Behavior

Soft-Tech, a California software company, is actively involved in international business. Clients from other countries frequently visit the office, and many Soft-Tech employees have traveled abroad on business.

However, some serious communication problems and errors that had occurred in the company prompted management to offer a seminar to better prepare their employees for travel. The aim of the seminar, titled “The Clumsy American,” was to make employees aware of appropriate and inappropriate behavior in business dealings with other countries.

The seminar leader began the course with the following actual examples:

• An employee from California where everyone dressed casually attended a meeting in Chicago dressed in jeans and a polo shirt. Officers of a major bank company were also in attendance.
• Plant employees tried to return calls to European customers after 10 a.m. California time.
• A lunch meetings with Jewish customers from Israel was scheduled during Yom Kippur.
• At a meeting with some prospective clients who were Native American, the company engineers talked down to the audience as though they were children. The representatives in the audience were the chief executive officer (CEO) and the chief financial officer (CFO).

Why do you think the seminar was called "The Clumsy American"? In each of the above examples, suggest more appropriate ways to handle each situation.

1		How can you avoid giving offense during your meetings with representatives of an international business company in your country for the first time?
			A)	Tell a joke to create a casual and friendly business atmosphere.
			B)	Wait for your international guests to make the first move and then follow along.
			C)	Shake hands to establish a firm business camaraderie.
			D)	Formally welcome the business representatives, ask about any needs they may have, and then proceed to business.