One KFC, 2 very different experiences: the art of Uncertainty Avoidance.
Hofstede’s dimension of uncertainty avoidance refers to a society’s general tolerance of ambiguity or the unknown. This is reflected in the extent to which a given culture will utilize rules, societal norms and standardized procedures to reduce uncertainty with regard to future events, decisions or occurrences.
The Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI) assigns numerical scores to quantify the level of uncertainty avoidance held by individuals in various countries. People in cultures with high uncertainty avoidance prefer to minimize uncertainty with careful planning and regulation as well as a reliance on tradition. Conversely, cultures with low uncertainty avoidance are more open to change […] Read more
International Brand Blunders: How NOT to Enter a New Market
Expanding into a new market is no small feat. Regardless of your industry, you’ll be faced with the challenge of perfectly synchronizing tons of moving parts in order to truly make an impact. The last thing you’ll want to do is to ruin your grand entrance with an embarrassing faux-pas.
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Copywriters Beware! Don’t Joke About Religion in Poland
Poland belongs to one of the most conservative countries in Europe. In the past years the local political scene has been dominated by right-wing parties. Around 85% of all Polish people declare themselves members of the Catholic church. But the actual situation is not black and white, as only 20% of Poles go to church regularly. The main SEO question is: How does this effect content marketing?
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‘What Is That N*gger Doing In There?’ Catalog Triggers Violent Czech Consumers’ Responses
The Retail Store Lidl Czech Republic published a catalog with a black man on the front page, presenting their freshest sports apparel collection. Although the catalog came out last Thursday, disgusted Czech consumers started attacking the company’s Facebook page with their violent posts almost a week later. The responses involved phrases like “Do you think they put white men in catalogs in Africa?” or “Don’t you think it’d be better to use someone of our race?” (Lubos Krnavek).
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Monkey, Elephant… How Do You Call @ Symbol?
Many of us have been in the following predicament: you spell to your foreign friend an email over the phone and then… comes @ symbol. So you start coming up with weird (and often funny) synonyms and metaphors trying to explain it. Afterwards you probably think: “Man, I should really look it up”. And most probably you leave that thought until next time when you have to spell your email again.
Here are some notable examples from above:
Germany – monkey
Denmark – elephant
Czech Republic – fish
You may ask: “What’s the big deal anyway?”
Here is why. Your professional image […] Read more