Our world is becoming increasingly connected and global and the role of international business is increasing. Each country has its own set of unique customs and traditions. Each citizen's beliefs define the cultures by which each citizen abides by in normal everyday life, thus serving as the very foundation of the country. For example, in Saudi Arabia a citizen convicted of stealing will have his hand cutoff. In the United States, a citizen convicted of stealing would possibly receive only short term probation. The American Heritage Dictionary defines culture as, "The totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought characteristic of a community or population." Seemingly minuet gestures or situations which carry different meanings in particular cultures can make or break business deals. Global managers from the United States or from any other nation have to be aware of the various cultural differences. Injecting certain specific skills, such as diversity training for expatriate managers, will bridge the gap between cultural differences such as language, religion, and values.
The language barrier, which is also a difficult hurdle to encompass, serves as one of the most obvious cultural differences. A manager can delegate a task to be accomplished within a US based division and reap the expected results immediately. On the other hand, if an international manager is not familiar with the English language or culture, the same task may yield a different result. Language is the transmitter of both information and ideas. "The key to global competency is to develop the skills to cope, and that means integrating into the dominant culture and realizing how to properly interpret and analyze behavio ...