Well, try persuading an Italian to buy your software over the phone or introducing a Japanese CEO to your senior software designer in hope of selling him a shipment of your goods. Most likely, neither deal will go down. To avoid such errors in international etiquette, Stilwell has created an undergraduate course to help students increase their chances of success in today's global marketplace. The multicultural management class, in its second year, is an adaptation of an MBA course Stilwell has taught for the past several years.
Culture has a major impact on how people behave, no matter the particular culture.
We can then use those differences to create synergy, to create something better. In the main text used in the class, the author sketches the diversity of a country via an allegorical characteristic of that particular culture. As important as knowing when to shake hands, bow or embrace is understanding a culture's collective psychology when approaching business, Stillwell says. Italians don't like to use faxes or phones because they believe true communication only comes face to face. Everyone knows where they fit in their society.