As the world
pushes ever forward towards a globalized economy, it is becoming increasingly
important that international corporations develop global awareness. Global
awareness can be stratified into two different competencies. One characteristic
of the globally aware is the tolerance of cultural differences. Business
customs that might appear foreign and bazaar must be tolerated for the benefit
of a successful business relationship. The second stratum of global awareness
is the knowledge of cultures, history, world market potential, global
socioeconomics, and political trends (Cateora, Graham 17). With a firm
knowledge of these vital aspects of global awareness the international
businessperson can better relate to people from different cultures. Tolerance
of foreign business practices can greatly benefit working relationships because
those who buy are often hesitant to adjust to those who sell. A globally aware
businessperson is more adept to understanding the cultural, historical, and
political nuances that may significantly benefit a working international
relationship and help the person buying his or her product feel more
comfortable.
For example,
“Shortly after Sept. 11, 2001, Secretary of State
Colin Powell, concerned about rising anti-Americanism abroad, hired Madison
Ave. maven Charlotte Beers to blitz the Middle East with pro-American
advertising and PR campaigns (Risen).” The PR campaign, which was “was nothing less than to rebrand American foreign policy,”
failed miserably in the United Arab Emirates because Charlotte Beers, the PR
manager in charge of the campaign, did not understand the Arabic socioeconomic
environment (Risen). “The efforts echoed the propaganda efforts of Nazi Germany
and other authoritarian regimes,” wrote Naomi Klein, a columnist at The Nation and the author of “No Logo.”
Without an understanding of Arabic culture, or global awareness in general for
that matter, the ad campaigns failed because the PR manager only used her own
self-reference criterion to create the ads. Cultural understanding is one of
the most fundamental aspects of global awareness and often the deciding factor
in the success of an international ad campaign.
This international marketing failure could
have been avoided in several ways. The first step to achieving global awareness
is to select individual managers specifically for their demonstrated global
awareness. After doing some research on Charlotte Beers it turns out she has
had an impressive career in marketing but it is almost certain that her primary
focus was on advertising to developed, modern nations. The Middle East has a
very lush and diverse history and that history largely defines modern Middle
Eastern culture. With even a brief glance at this history I think Beers would
have dramatically restructured her approach to “rebranding America in the
Middle East” because history is such a large factor in the beliefs of
contemporary Middle Eastern society.
A second approach to achieving global
awareness is to develop personal relationships in other countries. Doing
long-term business in a country is a great way to establish business
relationships but in many countries personal relationships are often more
important than business relationships. In Latin America for example, personal
ties with a business partner are considered more important than economic ties.
An American manager attempting to do business in Brazil might have to avoid
business conversations for several days just to gain the trust of the Brazilian
businessperson.
The final and most effective method of
achieving global awareness is to have a culturally diverse senior executive
staff. If the people behind the scenes making the decisions are of many
cultural backgrounds then they can better collaborate on effective means of
entering a foreign market. Collin Powell and the executive staff making the
decisions on the repositioning of America in the Middle East were most
certainly old, wealthy, white Americans with little to no cultural
understanding other than a vehement love for America. This is probably the
reason behind the PR campaigns failure—rich white Americans tend to have no
cultural understanding whatsoever.
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