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Getting to Grips with Foreign Customs 檢視各國商場地雷

In an age of globalization and international trade, learning to communicate with other cultures is vital. However, even if you know the language and have an idea about local customs, there’s still room for faux pas when doing business abroad. The following are just some of the areas where the uninitiated can run into trouble.

Getting to the Point
American businessmen in Asia have learned the hard way not to be too forward in negotiations. In Japan, for example, directness can be considered vulgar and disrespectful. Rather than starting a meeting by addressing the matter in hand, the Japanese will often skirt around the issue and engage in seemingly irrelevant pleasantries. They like to sound one another out before laying their cards on the table. Concluding deals can often be a painstaking process that requires patience.

Personal Issues
In some respects, though, Asians can seem more direct than their Western counterparts. The Taiwanese, for example, might ask personal questions on first meeting a foreigner. These can include inquiries about a person’s salary — a strict no-no in the West — and blood type, something many foreigners don’t even know. Misunderstandings about personal banter are not limited to speakers of different languages, either. One American businessman recalls asking a Scot about his wife and kids on a trip to the U.K. “I was flatly told it was none of my business,” he says.

在這個全球化和國際貿易盛興的年代，學習和不同文化的人溝通是非常重要的。然而，即便你懂得該語言，並對當地習俗有所了解，在國外做生意時還是會有失禮之處。以下就是一些禮儀新手可能碰到麻煩的地方。

切入重點
美國商人遇過不愉快的經驗後，才學會在亞洲進行協商時不要太過冒失。以日本為例，率直可能會被視為粗魯及失禮。日本人不會以討論手邊的主題來展開會議，反而常避談主題，進行著似乎和協商不相關的寒喧說笑。他們在打開天窗說亮話前，喜歡先試探他人。締結協議可能常是個煞費苦心的過程，需要極佳的耐心。

私人議題
然而，亞洲人在某些層面似乎比西方人來得更直接。比方說，台灣人可能在首次與外國人會面時，就提出私人問題。這可能包括詢問薪水──這在西方絕對是個禁忌──和很多外國人根本都不曉得的血型等問題。然而，圍繞個人話題聊天說笑而造成誤解的情況也不限於說不同語言者。一位美國商人回憶起至英國出差時，向一名蘇格蘭人問起其妻小的情景，他表示：「我被斷然地告知這不關我的事。」





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