Story board 1: A Dutch negotiating adventure in Egypt

This is the true story about a couple that went on vacation to Egypt. The man and the woman were in a perfume store to buy some presents. The owner of the shop refused to say a word to the woman! He only wanted to do business with the man. He gets very irritating when the girl tries to get involved in the discussion.

Read more

Story board 2: Expanding business in Russia

It is always difficult for a small sized company to grow its international operations. Especially if the country you want to grow in is Russia. The problem of smaller companies is that they tend to see tend to manage their international activities from a their country-residence company point of view.

Read more

Story board 3: An Italian Norwegian love affair

It is not easy to have a close relationship with a person from a different culture. Japanese living with American, Indians with Swedish and Norwegians with Italians. Especially in a relationship your cross-cultural negociation skills are of utmost importance.

This story board tells the story about a Norwegian girl who, in the first scene of the movie, is in love with an Italian. In the second scene she lives with a Norwegian man. The movie clearly shows the difference in behaviour between the Latin oriented Italians and the Nordic Norwegians.

See the movie

Story board 4: A Dutch Manager working in South Africa

This is the true story of a Dutch manager who went to South Africa for a Dutch syndicate that invested money in a South African plant. He went there to check how the money was spend and how the factory runs at the moment.. What were the obstacles the manager encountered during his business trip to South Africa?

Read more

Story board 5: Lost in translation

Growing MNC’s presence in overseas markets does require paying close attention to communication skills of the people on the work floor. In a situation with low skilled staff with limited language skills it is not surprising that running the business will be difficult. Some companies try to resolve this by making use of sophisticated online translation tools. This story board deals with some of the problems that occur as a result of the use of this software.

Read more

Story board 6: under 30 and getting a deal signed in India

In India seniority is very important. Below a certain age it is hard to do business in this country. This in contrast to Europe and the US where people are valued based on their skills. Many MNC's make the mistake sending relatively young people to India in a management position. In a job which requires high end networking and selling services this usually causes problems.

Read more

Story board 7: Misunderstandings between a French and a Norwegian

Although both European, the French and Norwegians differ quite a lot. This movie, with Arnaud Barre as the leading actor, is inspired from a true story. It shows were cultural differences can lead to.

Read more