EveryJoe » global business

Managing Across Cultures~ Book Review

Linette Gerlach — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 21:55:37 +0000

I’ve been checking out Managing Across Cultures: Seven Keys to Doing Business with a Global Mindset by Charlene M. Solomon, and Michael S. Schell. It’s been a very interesting read for me. Before I started writing I worked as a senior buyer for a multicultural automotive company for over 10 years. I always enjoyed working with, and learning about people from different nations.

The company I worked for was Japanese owned, but was developed from a sister company in Canada. The company also had plants in several other countries. I studied the Japanese culture quite a bit when I first started working there, and it was very interesting to learn how their culture differed from ours.

I wish I would have found a book then like Managing Across Cultures, but I’m still glad I stumbled on it now. Since I do most of my business online these days I deal with people from all over the world. The relationships range from co-worker, to customer, or reader, to possible business partnerships.

Managing Across Cultures is very informative, the book discusses how other cultures can impact different aspects of your business such as:

How cultures affect individual behavior, and how you can interpret that behavior.
They also discuss how you can use that information to become more affective in your business dealings.
Know the importance of studying other cultures before you jump in and try to do business there. Some major corporations have made costly mistakes by jumping into new markets without studying the culture first.
How your company can best utilize multi-cultural work force to encourage diverse thoughts and ideas.

There is a ton more information in the seven keys Managing Across Cultures discusses, this is just a small taste. I would say it’s definitely worth the read for many small business owners in today’s world wide marketplace.

The book is available at major retailers, and online at Amazon.com (I even saw a Kindle edition listed).

Book Image: McGraw Hill

Post from: EveryJoe

Managing Across Cultures~ Book Review

Coca-Cola Still World’s Best Brand

Mark Ellis — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 19:50:01 +0000

If there is a single artificial beverage known all across the world, it has to be Coca-Cola. Whether you drink soda or not, you know exactly what a bottle of Coca-Cola looks like and you have probably seen plenty of advertisement for the soft drink. Interbrand’s Best Global Brands Report 2009 has confirmed that Coca-Cola remains the world’s best brand.

According to the report, Interbrand uses the following criteria to rank the top 100 global brands: there must be enough publicity about the brand, the brand must get one-third of its revenue from outside of its home country, the brand must be an important part of the customer’s purchase decision, the company must have a positive Economic Value Added, and the brand has to have broad public awareness.

The rankings of the top five best brands have not changed from last year to this year, with IBM, Microsoft, General Electric, and Nokia still rounding out the top five in that order. McDonald’s rose two spots to sixth place, Google jumped three spots to seventh, while Toyota, Intel, and Disney fell on the list while still rounding out the top ten.

Image: Flickr

Post from: EveryJoe

Coca-Cola Still World’s Best Brand

Global Affects On Your Small Business

Linette Gerlach — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 04:51:34 +0000

If you think your small business isn’t affected by changes on the other side of the globe, think again. In today’s world we are all affected by each other. In other words, it’s a small world, smaller than you think. Even if your small business is a one man (or woman) show, it’s still probably more global than you think.

The parts you use to make your product may come from China, or Japan.
The customer service person you talk to about the copier you just purchased may be from India, or Mexico.
With today’s communication methods, and the power of the internet, you might even have a small business partnership, or business deal with someone halfway around the world. Or you may have clients or customers from other countries.
You may even have a multicultural staff located around the world. For some industries there is no reason to report to a central office every day. Workers can work remotely, wherever they are in the world. With Skype, and teleconferencing meetings can be held anytime any place.

In today’s global business economy, your small business is affected every day by things that happen halfway around the world.

Image via istockphoto.com

Post from: EveryJoe

Global Affects On Your Small Business