Reference no: EM133175918

Business Analysis. Read the article and answer the questions below.

The Context of International Business

Managers involved in international business should also be aware of the cultural environment, controls on international trade, the importance of economic communities, and the role of the GATT and WTO.

One significant contextual challenge for the international manager is the cultural environment and how it affects business. A country's culture includes all the values, symbols, beliefs, and language that guide behavior. Cultural values and beliefs are often unspoken; they may even be taken for granted by those who live in a particular country. Cultural factors do not necessarily cause problems for managers when the cultures of two countries are similar. Difficulties can arise, however, when there is little overlap between a manager's home culture and the culture of the country in which business is to be conducted. 

For example, most U.S. managers find the culture and traditions of England relatively familiar. The people of both countries speak the same language and share strong historical roots, and there is a history of strong commerce between the two countries. When U.S. managers begin operations in Vietnam, the People's Republic of China, or the Middle East, however, many of those commonalities disappear.

Cultural differences between countries can have a direct impact on business practice. For example, the religion of Islam teaches that people should not make a living by exploiting the misfortune of others; as a result, charging interest is seen as immoral. This means that in Saudi Arabia, few businesses provide towing services to transport stalled cars to a repair shop (because doing so would be capitalizing on misfortune), and in the Sudan, banks cannot pay or charge interest. Given these cultural and religious constraints, those two businesses automobile towing and banking seem to hold little promise for international managers in those particular countries!

Some cultural differences between countries can be even more subtle and yet have a major impact on business activities. For example, in the United States, most managers clearly agree about the value of time. Most U.S. managers schedule their activities very tightly and then try hard to adhere to their schedules. Other cultures do not put such a premium on time. In the Middle East, managers do not like to set appointments, and they rarely keep appointments set too far into the future. U.S. managers interacting with managers from the Middle East might misinterpret the late arrival of a potential business partner as a negotiation ploy or an insult, when it is merely a simple reflection of different views of time and its value.

Language itself can be an important factor. Beyond the obvious and clear barriers posed when people speak different languages, subtle differences in meaning can also play a major role. For example, Imperial Oil of Canada markets gasoline under the brand name Esso. When the firm tried to sell its gasoline in Japan, it learned that esso means stalled car in Japanese. Likewise, when Chevrolet first introduced a U.S. model called the Nova in Latin America, General Motors executives could not understand why the car sold poorly. They eventually learned, though, that, in Spanish, no va means, it doesn't go. The color green is used extensively in Muslim countries, but it signifies death in some other lands. The color associated with femininity in the United States is pink, but in many other countries yellow is the most feminine color. And when Disney was initially promoting its new theme park in Hong Kong, its print ads featured a family consisting of two parents and two children, failing to consider that the Chinese government limits most families to a single child. As a result, people who saw the ad were confused until Disney relaunched the campaign to show parents and a single child visiting the park.

Question 1. How has culture affected the conduct of international trade? Cite two reasons and discuss each in not more than 5 short sentences.

Question 2. Express your thoughts on the meaning of time management in the context of international trade.

Question 3. Originally, the English language used to be called as the international language of business. Today, such may not stand true anymore. Can you justify why Mandarin is fast emerging as one of the world's most common languages for the conduct of international trade?

Question 4. Connect the role of culture with the nature of WTO function in the conduct of International Business.

PLEASE REPHRASE. ANSWER ASAP