The Challenges of International Collaboration - Us and Them

Within our own culture we are provided with a code of behavior which we learn from infancy. This code covers basic values and beliefs including attitudes towards different behaviors. There is right and wrong, professional and unprofessional, respectful and disrespectful. Unfortunately there is no such thing as international etiquette which has led to many challenges for leaders working in the global marketplace. When someone begins to consider their behavior in an international context they instinctively look to their own norms as being the logical, acceptable ways of being.

Sincerity is the key to success, at least in the short term. Europeans, Asians and Americans meet regularly at business conferences and manage to avoid giving offense by being their honest, authentic selves. In the early stages of business relationships any dissonant behavior is usually considered a faux pas and will be "allowed", and even considered eccentric or charming. However it becomes a different story once individuals move into more lengthy negotiations or joint venture entering into a collaborative partnership. Thus ongoing business relationships can place great stress on the tolerance of all parties as time goes by. eg the American habit of sprawling in chairs at business conferences may seem friendly and laid back to the British, but would place the Germans in constant state of unease. The Latin temperament, whilst engaging at first for Northern Europeans (particularly the Finns and the Swedes) will soon drive them up the wall. There is also a limit to how many cups of green tea a European can drink in any one day!

Some things are easier to identify, handshaking or bowing, chocolates or flowers for the hostess and ladies first are universally known but the deeper you delve into culture the harder it gets. In order to form true international partnerships you need to get under the skin of the natives, to peel back the membrane of the culture. It is critical that any international business traveller understands the important social norms, core beliefs and sensitivities and vitally what is strictly taboo.

So what are some of the major etiquette gaffes which may cause offense and even some of the more minor ones which may cause embarrassment?

Did you know:

  • It is bad manners to point one's foot at an Arab in conversation or ask about the health of his womenfolk?
  • Sending yellow flowers to a woman in some European countries may mean that she has been unfaithful to her husband?
  • If you are left handed and eating in an Arab country you will need to inform the host beforehand as eating is reserved strictly for the right hand as left handed tasks are for those of an unclean nature?
  • Gifts are big in Asia - wrap up presents in red paper - white on the other hand is an unlucky color associated with death. Never try to "outgift" a Japanese or Chinese you will never win, extravagance on your part will only result in escalating expense on theirs?
  • In Russia, people don't answer other people's telephones they just let them ring and ring and ring... ?
  • In Thailand a pale face is a sign of beauty in a woman so don't ask her if she is feeling unwell?
  • In Malaysia it is taboo to point with your index finger but you may point with your thumb?
  • In Indonesia the head is regarded as a sacred part of the body and should not be touched by another - it is also taboo for your head to be higher than a more senior person (which can lead to lots of heads bobbing up and down)?
  • In Russia coats should not be worn indoors and it is bad form to stand with your hands in your pockets?

The list goes on and can become even more complex when status, leadership and organizations come into play as they do when collaborating in international business partnerships. Cross cultural training is an essential part of any executives learning curve to ensure that they can breakthrough their own cultural black holes.

Wealth Masters International - Business Opportunity to Dive Into?

Are you looking to invest into a business opportunity? Are you looking to go into business for yourself? Certainly you are doing research to learn more about the companies you are interested in. Learning everything about the business is vitally important. Companies like Wealth Masters International, that require you to make a huge investment before you learn any trade secrets is a reason for you to be skeptical. Yet you should not let a good business opportunity slip by you.

What is Wealth Masters International? They are an online network marketing business. Those new to internet marketing or use a program with an automated system, network marketing may take time to get use to. If you enjoy making connections and recruiting, this business may just be what you are looking for. Just remember that talking with people online is much different than in person, but Wealth Masters International has a promise that they have the means to teach you how to attract customers both online and physical.

What does this business have to offer? They offer a system that has an educational program that teaches you how to run your internet business, yet they encourage you to think for yourself and make the decisions about products and commencement. As great as this business is, they face one criticism repeatedly. Wealth Masters International enrollees do not support newcomers to the business. Are you a fast learner that can operate independently? If you are, you may get ahead. However, if you are new to the business or feel you need a veteran teammate/mentor, this opportunity might be tough for you until you learn the tricks of the trade.

Let's get down to brass tacks. You are looking to invest in an online business that you can learn from and make your own decisions, right? How much are you willing to invest? With this business they ask you to invest anywhere from $12,000 to $20,000 just to get involved with them. Now in comparison with other marketing businesses it's a lot because the internet marketing business industry usually tops out at $3,000.

Like always, keep up with your research and do dilligence as this business might be right for you. You are the only one that can decide. In the meantime, do more research and contact the company with any questions, please do not forget to ask about their success rates!

Reliv International Business Review - Is This a Legit Company? Reliv International MLM Opportunity

Reliv International is a network marketing company that specializes in health and nutritional supplements. The company was started back in 1988 by Robert and Sandy Montgomery. The company today is in 14 different countries across the world and continues to grow at a rapid rate.

The company's number one goal is to nourish the world. As mentioned before, Reliv is a health and nutritional supplement company. They focus on three main areas pertaining to health; the three areas are nutrition, weight loss, and solutions to health problems.

The company's main products are called: Reliv Classic and Now, which are part of their nutrition focus; Simplicity, which is a health plan for losing weight; and they also carry products for blood sugar management, digestive health, energy, women's health, joint, heart, and anti aging products.

As I mentioned at the beginning, Reliv is a network marketing company which means they follow the MLM business structure. Instead of selling their products in stores, they use distributors to go out and sell their products. To become a distributor you must apply which will cost around $40; once you become a distributor you'll continue paying a monthly fee that is similar to the application fee.

As a distributor your main goal is not necessarily to sell but to recruit. Not only do you receive a commission from all of your personal sales but you also receive a commission from everyone you've recruited into the company. The percentage that you make from each person depends on what level you've reached within the company which is based on the size of your down line. It ranges from 8% - 2%.

The earning potential within Reliv is similar to most multi level marketing companies. Your success will be determined on your ability to recruit friends and family. You need to know that success won't happen overnight, but over time with a lot of hard work you can achieve the level of success that you're looking for.

If you feel comfortable recruiting your friends and family or trying to get them to buy your products then this company should be a great fit for. If you don't feel comfortable talking with people and persuading them to get involved with the company then you might want to continue searching for a different home based business.

International Income From Home

When considering an international business you need to consider existing market ties, market size, and the ability to market your products effectively. Just imagine all the legalities that are required to set up a business, for example in Hong Kong. The need to meet the countries rules and regulations, dealing with currency exchange, taxation and you would need to repeat these demands in each and every additional country, if you wanted an international business. I am exhausted just thinking about it!

There is a way to Fortify Your Income with an international business while eliminating these concerns. Align yourself with a global network that supports a seamless compensation plan. What is a seamless compensation plan? A company that embraces such a plan basically converts your earnings from foreign countries to a point system that in turn pays you on those points in whatever country you reside. Some benefits of being affiliated with a company that has a seamless compensation plan is the ability to see exotic places, and have the ability to embrace different cultures as you work your international business.

Network marketing or relationship marketing is here and here to stay. No time like the present to start a home-based business that you can grow as fast as you choose. The trick is finding a company of integrity that has a product line that is consumable. Remember, when you consume a product you love, you need more of the same! So, how do you go about selecting this integrity based, international business that has consumable products?

Let's begin by understanding buying trends. No single group in history moves trends quicker and stronger than the Baby Boomer Generation. You have heard of these Baby Boomers your entire life. They have made millions for companies around the world by consuming the trends they pursue since the 1950's. Currently those Baby Boomers are most interested in maintaining and preserving HEALTH and increasing or preserving their FINANCES. The amazing thing is these particular trends are the concerns of all generations! Statistics show the main concerns for ages teens-20's Gen Y's, 20's-40's Gen X'rs, and 40-60's Baby Boomers is categorically HEALTH and FINANCES.

Dr. Stephen R. Covey says, "I think network marketing has come of age. It's become undeniable that it's a viable way to entrepreneurship and independence for millions of people". So, when searching for a home-based business, consider these qualities:

o International Opportunity
o Seamless Compensation Plan
o Unlimited Earning Potential
o No Inventory Necessary
o On-Going Professional Training and Support
o Available in Multiple Languages
o Products EVERYONE Needs
o Paid Weekly on Sales Volume
o No Boss (Yay!), No Set Hours, No Set Workplace
o No Employees
o Potential Tax Advantages
o Minimal Start-Up Costs
o Time Leveraged; Residual Income
o Exponential Growth
o Online Tools and Training

To learn more visit http://www.FortifyYourIncome.com or call 1-800-477-6494

Ultra International Business Review - How to Have Success in Ultra International

What Is Ultra International?

Ultra International is a network marketing company that distributes a wide range of products including liquid nutritional and other supplements designed for health and wellness. Paired with the product line is the business opportunity where distributors can earn commissions per product volume sold monthly and new members sponsored in their respective organization.

From someone who has a thorough knowledge of the network marketing industry I feel Ultra International is going to do great. They have taken a wise approach with health and wellness because this is a very popular trend, especially in the United States.

Marketing Your Business

Sure, being a member of Ultra International is great because of the products, but how will you market your business and add the right leaders onto your team? First, let's look at the traditional marketing approaches that most companies employ. Since networking is based around word-of-mouth marketing you will probably be told to do the following:

- create a warm list including your family, friends, coworkers and everyone you know who would be 'good' for the business
- purchase leads and call them using call scripts
- pass out pamphlets, CD's, business cards or fliers
- prospect whenever and wherever
- hold home meetings to try the product
- repeat

This approach can work, but you have to understand the amount of time and energy you will have to invest. There are much smarter ways of building your business. Plus, most of the people you will speak to will not be good prospects because they never had the intent on starting a business. So how do you attract qualified prospects to you?

Your Ultra Marketing Tool

The internet. Yes, the internet! More and more struggling networkers have finally found success by going online. Using the internet you will be able to position yourself in front of people who are interested in Ultra International.

The online formula, if used properly, can put your message in front of thousands of prospects and will work for you 24/7 giving you serious leverage. The formula can be found below.

The Best Technology For International Business Communications

Communicating with customers, co-workers, and collaborators, of course, has been a regular business practice for some time. It has, for many decades, been relatively logistically difficult if this correspondence was intended for businesses physically located in different cities or even different countries. However there are a number of options for more streamlined and easier business communications abound today. The conference call is one of those.

Imagine a possible scenario that involves you being some part of a company. Sharing profit-related data with multiple stockholders or talking to several members of a client at the same time are two types of things you may want to do. You may even want to discuss marketing campaigns with several different people inside the company who do things in that capacity, a number of them working in company buildings located elsewhere.

Using conference calling services, a business associate from any region of the world can seamlessly communicate with others in various cases, including the ones just mentioned. In lieu of actually phoning multiple people you want to meet with one at a time and chatting with each of them with no way for one to hear the concerns or thoughts of the others, or having a face-to-face conference involving multiple people (many of whom might have to fly a great length just to participate), a conference call can make life easy for all parties concerned, and certainly remove the possible expenses and/or demands on time of one-on-one calls or regular meetings.

Several in-call options that can make conference calls exceptionally comfortable now are built in, as well. For instance, anyone on a call can mute their phone so that others on the call will be spared ambient noise. Furthermore, people in the same room as a caller cannot hear the other end of a conversation if a headset or ear bud with microphone is worn. A corporation with a conference calling service subscription and whose associates use the above hardware together with it can easily exchange information amongst particular individuals and departments.

In today's hectic, highly interconnected world, it is essential for businesses of all kinds to have a wide spate of communication options at the ready. A multinational corporation, by being able to make international conference calls, is certainly doing itself a favor. Time and money are both saved, helping the organization to stay on top of its game and keep profit margins maximized.

How to Innovate Your Internal Business Procedures

Many businesses focus their innovative activities on product innovation, which can produce valuable company assets. In addition to product innovations, businesses should look for ways to streamline business operations by innovating business processes.

Here is an approach to business process innovation:

  1. Big Question: Is the process necessary? The first question to ask when evaluating a business process is whether the process is necessary. What is the purpose or end result of the process? Is it still needed - does it provide value to the business? If not, don't spend time "optimizing" the process, just eliminate it.
  2. Identify the desired result of the process. Ask questions to determine the goal of the process. Why was the procedure originally developed and what are the desired results of the process?
  3. Eliminate steps. Once you identify the desired result of the process, look at each of the steps currently performed and see if any of them are unnecessary. Look for ways to achieve the same desired result with fewer steps - or by simplifying steps to be faster or cheaper to perform.
  4. Combine multiple steps. In addition to looking for steps that can be eliminated, find ways to combine multiple steps to improve the overall efficiency of the process. For example, can multiple steps be performed at the same time? Or, if several people are performing different steps, consider whether the process can be simplified by having one person perform all of those steps at the same time.
  5. Automate the process. Look for ways to automate some of the steps in the process. If several people are involved in the process, consider collaboration tools that allow those individuals to work together more efficiently - especially if they do not work in the same location. Consider document management tools, project scheduling tools and other resources to automate steps in the process.

Start looking for ways to streamline your own business procedures to boost your bottom line.

How Could Siri Accelerate Businesses?

In a world characterized by dynamically evolving business trends, adaptability is key. Modern enterprises are seeing how changing market trends and customer demands can significantly impact the way they do business. To keep up, business and software strategies employed by companies constantly undergo modifications time and again.

Such is the case with utilizing mobile phones for businesses. Many business owners are now realizing that they cannot afford to miss out on the huge potential for success that mobile phones offer for companies - with accessibility, wide reach and ubiquitousness of these devices as major advantages. Over the years, mobile phones are advancing with new business-friendly applications and features mushrooming one after another practically within short periods of time.

Apple, a leading name in mobile device creation and innovation, unveils Siri, its latest technology in iOS 5 that is integrated into and currently works only on iPhone 4S. Siri essentially functions as an intelligent, voice-controlled personal assistant - only better.

Apple had itself venturing into Siri after it acquired Siri, Inc., the company behind the technology, in April 2010. However, Siri is not Apple's first venture into voice activated control software. It may be remembered how the VoiceOver program in Mac computers instantly became a sensation among users.

This time, Apple is dangling Siri as a cutting edge technology that does more than just memorization of set commands. The program is able to understand conversational language; thus users are much likely to use it as though they are speaking to another person.

As speech recognition assistant, Siri offers speech input and output. Simply put, users can speak to it, and it speaks back or responds quickly. Siri is also capable of understanding natural speech and asks questions whenever it requires more details to complete tasks. The program uses dual-core A5 chip in iPhone 4S, as well as Wi-Fi networks and 3G for rapid communication with Apple data centers.

Siri is able to carry out various commands involving other apps, such as messaging, calendar, mail, iPod or music library, contacts, weather and Safari, among others. Its supported languages include American English, French, British English and German, making it a viable tool for international business marketing.

On the business front, Siri on iPhone 4S is projected to fundamentally alter people's relationship with computer devices. In the truest Apple fashion, Siri is marketed as a personal assistant that offers better ease in doing quick mobile searches while allowing for administrative tasks to be completed on the run.

Siri is also expected to impact the way business website managers and owners market their products and services. With Apple as intermediary, Siri offers a way through which businesses are able to gather insights on customer preferences. Providers are able to assess how they can align their business and software strategies to improve visibility to consumers and understand better their target market's demographics.

Artificial Intelligence proponents are seeing how the commercialization of the Siri technology is ushering the era of handy and easily accessible consumer devices that work as collaborators instead of functioning as passive assistants.

Intensive Spanish for International Business - Get Help With Learning Spanish

Have you ever thought to yourself, if I really wanted to learn a second language, what would it be and how would I benefit from it? That has certainly crossed my mind many times over the years. It would feel like you're just a bit worldly wiser than others because you have exposed yourself to an entirely different culture. If you have a real desire to explore other countries, people and cultures than you would benefit from learning intensive Spanish for international business.

Did you know that a thousand Spanish words have entered the English vocabulary? So learning Spanish can also help improve your English grammar and vocabulary (which is based on the Latin Language).

We're living in a much smaller world, with globalization bringing people together from different parts of the globe it's hard to imagine not to benefit from acquiring a second language widely spoken such as Spanish. So the question would be more like, why not learn Spanish and why not start in intensive Spanish for international business?

With the advent of the internet, learning Spanish has become so easy and manageable. You have Audio CDs available so that you can learn on your own time at the comfort of your home in front of your computer. Alternatively, save some money buy using a download able (mp3) format. And because interactive learning has become more and more popular, online learning has become just as effective as any traditional classroom language lessons.

In fact, learning online has become a main stream because it allows you to study intensive Spanish for international business at your own pace. Sometimes in a regular class, some students may fall behind their classmates and not catch up to the lessons because they may find it difficult to learn at the same rate as others. I definitely feel more comfortable learning at my own time and space. I think most importantly, learning online can save you countless amounts of money. Enough can be said about paying for the teachers' time. And if you are the fastest learner, you can only imagine how much money those lessons can cost a student.

Most importantly, Spanish has become one of the fastest growing languages in the world. In fact, it is so important that the U.N. has used it as one of their official languages. It is the fifth most widely used languages in the internet, and is steadily growing in the business environment as well. With so many facts supporting the importance of this language, you cannot doubt the intensive Spanish for international business will take you so far.

International Business Concepts - Will 3D Holographic Projection Change Business Forever

Anyone who has done much business out of the country realizes that cultures, time zones and communication are critical components of a careful and consistent international business strategy. Indeed, the incredible international logistic networks and the Internet have made doing business around the world extremely easy. Many folks do business now without ever meeting their vendors in other nations. Occasionally, business people do meet, but sometimes after many years of doing business with their overseas partners.

The smaller the companies the less chance of a personal face-to-face meeting ever taking place. In the future however, 3D Holographic projection technologies might change all that, as you would be able to meet face to face in a VR or virtual reality environment. In other words you would be sitting down for a discussion with a full-size view of the other party, interacting in near real time. Imagine that, why? Well, because all this is coming faster than ever expected.

Already cad-cam 3D renderings and prototypes are being worked on by teams across the ocean, where critical pieces that have tolerances of less than millimeters work together in collaboration on the exact same unit. This is only a start and in the future you can expect business meetings to be real-like in augmented reality or virtual reality.

Heads of states will meet with each other rather than gathering together and business people will increase productivity, save travel time and really do business at the speed of thought. Such international business concepts will change the climate of commerce forever. Indeed, someday this wonderful tool we call the internet will actually come alive, and that day will be very soon.

International Business - Degree Study Programs

It is no surprise that businesses are crossing over into other countries by selling their product internationally. The challenge of conducting business internationally is the differences in policy and social interaction. The need for education in business is essential and students can enter degrees with an international focus from business schools across the country.

With companies expanding their reach into foreign markets the study of business in regards to international work is required.

  • Students can enter multiple degree programs that focus on the differences of business culturally, geographically, and economically.
  • Studies can be entered at all degree levels, which present students with a variety of careers that they can transition into once they graduate.

There are numerous things for students to know prior to enrollment in a learning program.

1. Beginning education with an associate's degree provides students with specialized international business courses, general business courses, and some general education courses. The ultimate goal is to train students to enter work in global firms. Students explore global industry standards and regulations that help them become comfortable with international business tactics. Through the examination of business roles in global agenda students become an asset inside their job. Students are taught how to facilitate strategies that center on helping businesses be strong internationally. A general international business course introduces students to the geography, the Internet, and the cultures that participate in global business. Subjects covered include organizations, monetary systems, and business roles. Education at this level is a good stepping-stone to start a career or continue education.

2. Students can study in concentrated areas such as international banking, exporting, and marketing when they enter a bachelor's degree program. A program goes through the different regulatory practices that make up the work involved in international organizations. Essentials of business are also taught, which includes microeconomics, data analysis, and accounting. Courses on international marketing, finance, transportation, and the global market build upon basic business principles to create a well rounded professional. A marketing course gives students the framework for how marketing crosses national borders. Different foreign markets are examined to prepare students to work with various factors when deciding how to market internationally. Many students enter a career directly after completion but some use a bachelor's for an education base to enter a master of business administration degree.

3. Management level skills are gained when students work through an MBA in international business. Areas like business risk, foreign interaction, and contract assessment are discussed inside advanced level coursework. Students are able to explain regulations on importing, unfair trade, and law. Management courses on marketing, finance, advertising, and leadership are taught from an international strategic standpoint. Career work can be done in global companies as well as in government agencies and banking companies. Many students work within international companies throughout different areas of the world. In depth research and understanding is obtained when students work through a PhD degree. Curriculum is highly focused on advanced international study. Career work usually consists of becoming a post secondary professor.

The business being conducted internationally is going to continue to increase as companies and the Internet work on creating a global nation. The ability to contribute to the world of international business can be learned through accredited online schools. Full accreditation is provided by agencies like the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (http://www.aacsb.edu) to schools and colleges that offer students the best quality education available. Students can enter this exciting career by beginning education.

DISCLAIMER: Above is a GENERIC OUTLINE and may or may not depict precise methods, courses and/or focuses related to ANY ONE specific school(s) that may or may not be advertised at PETAP.org.

Copyright 2010 - All rights reserved by PETAP.org.

International Business Travellers Need a Global SIM Card

In an increasingly globalised world, where business happens on a global scale and across borders, more and more business people have to travel to international destinations for business. This could be to head over to another company office or it could be to see clients or suppliers who are based overseas. However, businesses are also becoming more budget conscious when it comes to international travel and keeping in touch with people back home. If you are looking for a cheap and extremely convenient way to keep in touch with people back home then you need to look at getting yourself a global SIM card.

Traditionally, if you wanted to save money on communications when you were travelling overseas, your options meant you weren't constantly contactable in case of an emergency. Constantly being contactable generally meant using your home mobile phone and being subjected to exorbitant roaming charges. Not only would you pay a fortune for outgoing calls but you would also face excessive charges for incoming calls. Saving money either meant buying a prepaid cell phone or SIM card in each country that you travelled to. This was not convenient because it meant you had to let everyone know back home what your new phone number was otherwise they'd be trying to call you on a number that was no longer active. If you are not contactable you might miss an important phone call. This could lead to you losing business.

If you weren't using your home mobile phone, or getting prepaid SIM cards but you hadn't bought a global SIM card yet, chances are you would be trying to use public telephones. This can be an extremely painful experience, especially if you are in a country where you don't speak the language. You could find the phones are difficult to use, you could find it difficult purchasing an international phone card or you could find that you have to carry around a big pile of change. If you are carrying a pile of change you risk bringing the attention of pick pockets and muggers on to yourself. You could also find that the phone you are trying to use has previously been used as a toilet by a homeless person.

Just take the easy option for yourself and get a global SIM card. You will save a fortune and you will be able to make and receive calls wherever you are without having to worry about exorbitant roaming charges.

Online Hobby Or Online International Business? 3 Key Differences

I recently heard a statement by Paul Birdsall in which he was frustrated by all the people who were online hobbyists. They didn't really take seriously the opportunity to make money on the internet. When I first heard that description, I pictured other people in my mind. But, the more I thought about it, I began to think that maybe I was just a hobbyist - at least in my perspective of making money online. So, I decided to examine a little better what is the difference between and online hobby and an online international business.

Knowledge

You might think a hobbyist has knowledge about their hobby. Generally this is true, but the online hobbyist is one who tries a little bit of everything. They have a limited knowledge of a lot of things - kind of a jack of all trades, master of none. The international businessman has narrowed his focus and has become knowledgeable about what it takes to make money online. He learns marketing like he were trying to achieve a masters degree. He learns from other people and his own experience what steps are necessary to accomplish his goals and he is committed to only that.

Vision/Scope

The hobbyist is content to surf traffic exchanges for exposure and get a few signups for another program that he joined. He is happy when, through his hard efforts his is able to earn a couple hundred dollars of monthly income from his referrals. The international businessman is using his knowledge to build his list - not just to hundreds, but to tens of thousands. He never stops trying to enlarge his list and he is always finding ways to sell to his list, thus developing many streams of income. This businessman is usually talking in terms of multiple thousands of dollars of income per month.

Spending Money

The hobbyist will try to make money without spending anything. He will join every free program, and in his mind he has a limit of how much he will spend to join any program (usually $10 - $20). He has probably been burned before and tries to limit his risk as much as possible. The international businessman knows what works and what doesn't. He knows that if he spends a hundred dollars on some form of advertising, he should get X amount of return. He is not afraid to spend large amounts of money if he can see a larger return on that sum. He may have been burned before also, but he learns from that and continues with his plan.

These three keys almost work in sequence. You need the knowledge to broaden your vision, and you need the vision to justify spending large amounts of money. But they can also grow at the same time. The point is that it is important that we grow beyond our online hobby mentality into a true online international business perspective.

Internet Marketing For International Business

International business is all about reaching out to a global audience and targeting the worldwide populations. Managing a multinational business can prove to be hectic and if not done with precision may prove to be a disaster and loss of huge amounts of money. Now where do the managers go to ask support for their international businesses? Simple, to the Internet. Through the Internet one can target a worldwide pool of potential customers and go global without the real world hassles of crossing borders. The Internet and online Business-to-Business (B2B) ecommerce are the most powerful business tools known to mankind. These are some of the benefits of Internet marketing for B2B ecommerce websites:

o These are easy to operate, in some cases they can even be operated automatically
o Very inexpensive as compared to the real world investments - as one website caters to customers all across the world
o The customers are provided with a non ending list of products and their varieties
o Provides dynamicity, i.e. each customer is handled individually and thus they get a-value-for-money services
o All the business processing and database processing is easily managed through a single administrative dashboard
o The websites can be customized to match the business processing and policies

It's been seen that Internet marketing is bring in more business than its real world counterparts. This is because of the reasons that make Internet marketing a must have strategy for any International business. These are:

o Reach. The Internet has a global reach so it is expected to bring in more customers than the local businesses are.
o Scope. The scope defines the niche that the business would target. Being online a business could target a wider niche by offering multiple products and varieties that may not be possible in the real world.
o Immediacy. The big benefit of Internet marketing is that it is immediate. The customer likes the product, he clicks "buy now", and you are done.
o Close Loop Marketing. The power of Internet allows the reputation managers to continuously trackback their sales and the reviews. This way you know what is being said about you.

Now we shall talk about strategies of Internet marketing. This is a step-by-step Internet marketing model. This is not comprehensive information about the marketing strategies as each individual has a unique methodology to pursue Internet marketing.

1. Online research is the point of start for all Internet marketing. You must know what you are promoting so that your product can give a stiff competition to the current rivals.
2. Plan a promotion strategy including which population to target and how to go through with the marketing.
3. Optimize your ecommerce websites for best search engine ranks using legitimate Search Engine Optimization techniques.
4. Make the best effective use of Email Marketing.
5. Dominate your targeted niche with affiliate, reseller, and associate programs.
6. Publish, article, Press Releases, blogs, and classifieds about your brands and get listed in news stories and web directories.
7. Interact with your visitors and ask for reviews.
8. Keep a trackback record of each sell and customer review.
9. Continuously monitor performance of the business processing.

Getting the Help of Immigration Lawyers for International Businesses

The growth of the business industry today is unbelievably fast. Newer businesses of all kinds are emerging every day. From large businesses aiming to create monopolies to small home-based businesses, people are trying everything to earn some money. In this meddle of affairs, there are a lot of legal issues that need to be taken care of. For example, all of these business owners need to make sure that they buy patents for their names. They also need to register themselves officially and to make sure that all of their practices are in line with the law. In such cases, almost everyone needs a good lawyer. This is why several people are now looking for business lawyers and patent lawyers. Some of these large businesses, however, also need immigration lawyers.

This is the case with large businesses, who want to expand their business overseas. Several entrepreneurs see working in international economies as an opportunity to earn profits. Many of them want to market their products abroad and to see if they can make any money. However, this process is not as simple as it may seem. Setting up a business in a foreign country can be a highly complex process. There are several requirements that need to be fulfilled. This is why you need to make sure that you hire immigration lawyers.

When you hire immigration lawyers for your international business, these professionals will tell you about to potential benefits and risks of your idea. These experts will make sure that you are aware of what you are doing and that you are doing it in the best way possible. Immigration lawyers will also explain the various requirements you will have to fulfill. For example, the requirements for expanding a multinational company and those for setting up an entirely new business abroad are different. Your lawyer will make sure that you understand all of these requirements.

Also, your immigration lawyers will deal with all of the paperwork for you. This, however, does not mean that you will not be involved in the process. While you certainly do need to stay involved, your job will become a lot less hectic. You will not have to make court appearances every time a document needs to be filed. In fact, your lawyer will do this for you. This also means that you will be able to save a lot of time and will be able to concentrate on your new business strategies!

How to Enter Into an International Market

There are clearly cases when the same consumer segment exists in many countries across the world, though obviously to differing degrees. Thus, the very rich in Korea, China, the Netherlands, or Brazil may all want to buy luxury cards such as a Mercedes, and that car can be positioned as such worldwide to this segment. Cross-cultural anthropologists talk about cross-cultural cohorts, groups of people who belong to different cultures or nationalities but nevertheless share common sets of needs, values, and attitudes. Thus, no matter where they live, consumer groups such as new mothers, computer users, international business travelers, audiophiles, high-end photographers, and so on represent groups with similar needs and wants. Because babies' bottoms are the same everywhere, diapers such as Pampers can use the same marketing and advertising strategies worldwide. This could act as an impetus for an international marketer, to draw out an entry point based on identical global segmentation.

Many researchers, companies and marketers have conducted research to find out if such global segments can be identified using psycho-graphic research. Alfred Boote, a psycho-graphic researcher, studied the comparative value structures of 500 women each in Germany, United Kingdom, and France in 1978, and found both similarities and differences. In terms of similarities, it appeared through statistical analysis that all three countries had four types, or segments of women labeled "traditional homemaker", "contemporary homemaker", "and appearance conscious"and"spontaneous". However, while the "traditional home makers" accounted for about one third of the sample from each country, the proportions for the other three segments varied dramatically across the countries. The "contemporary home makers" were found more in the UK than in the other two countries, the "appearance conscious" group was made up almost entirely of Germans, while the "spontaneous" was mostly French. Boote's conclusion was that while a common mode of entry in to an international market for a marketer might be possible for these three European countries, thematic variations across the countries, to accommodate country-specific differences, were also advisable.

The young and Rubicam research agency finally has its own theory-based global segmentation scheme, called Cross Cultural Consumer Characterizations; in which consumers in 20 countries have been placed into 7 segments based on data on their goals, motivations, and values. These 7 segments included 2 are characterized by financial insecurity, three that comprise the "middle majority" and 2 that are more driven by either internal values or social betterment.

No matter what strategy a business adapts to enter into an international market, it is vital that a prior research is sufficiently been conducted and also about the acceptability in other countries of marketing practices in another, and allow the local subsidiary managers inadequate input into the tailoring of marketing programs for their countries. Global companies, such as Nestle, have elaborate "cross-pollination" mechanisms and systems to ensure that marketing ideas and practices used in one market are known and made available to managers in other countries, such as newsletters and conferences. But the decision of whether and when to use a particular idea is usually left to local managers.

International Business Opportunity - Finding the Right One on the Internet

There are suggestions that when we are looking for business opportunities, using the internet that are useful. There are several ways on where and how to find international business opportunity online. First to consider is having a web site. You can use the site to publicize the product of the company to the world. The costs vary from free to millions of dollars. When starting to build a small time business, you need to find professional graphic designer and advertising copywriter who understand well about the web designing and marketing.

But if the plan is building a large corporation, it is practical to make an investment in a staff of professional consultants to a full-time staff. Many big companies find the international business opportunity to be much higher if they showcase their products and services on their websites, informing and communicating their stockholders.

Since big international companies will not consider direct selling of their products, they started new retail or the direct whole divisions because of the cost effectiveness, immediacy, and the efficiency of the online transactions.

Some international companies apply the trade lead systems on the Web. These are bulletin boards where companies can post offers to sell their products and services and requests to buy anything. Another thing to consider being able to gain international business opportunity is the use of mailing lists. These are email groups which are devoted to a certain topic.

This requires the subscription to the group and then receives some of the messages from other groups or members that are also subscribed to it. With their common interests meeting, the continuing conversations among thousands of people can contribute to business transactions to flow.

There are different international business newsgroups that offer a wide variety of topics. Just simply search a keyword and a series of e-mail addresses with its hyperlinks will appear as well as the descriptions of each list and the instructions on how to subscribe it. The same with newsgroups, the lists can also be used as an international business opportunity market intelligence, exchanging news and gossip, and discreet marketing messages.

Getting a Business Degree

In today's rapidly expanding world and economy, a business major gives one the competitive edge needed to succeed. The demand for business-savvy individuals is increasing and knows no bounds. For those who are willing to commit, the rewards can be exceedingly beneficial.

Given that the range of opportunities is infinite I will narrow my focus to international business. International Business allows you to use your skills in a global context. Not only are you dealing with the issues and affairs of your country, but with countries around the world. In this field you learn the logistics of international trade, government policy, and the basic principles of foreign markets. As technology continues its forward movement, students who decide to major in business are on the cutting edge of this advancement. Compared to a short ten to twenty years ago our world is completely different. We have globalized and developed in a number of ways. The people behind these changes are those that took advantage of what a business major offers. These are the same people who brought us cellphones, the internet, and computers. Not only did these innovations change the face of communications, they also stimulated improvements in healthcare, medical research, and disease prevention. Those less fortunate in other countries now have better access to these tools. A degree in business teaches you to think outside the box. The techniques and skills that you learn enable you to provide solutions to mind-boggling obstacles.

International business provides a basic foundation with a lot of hands on training. This valued experience produces a swell in career options and leadership roles. Roles such as these can take you to a variety of places such as Japan, Germany, South Africa, and England. Almost any place you can imagine. You are able to immerse yourself in new cultures, languages, foods, and traditions. Foreign travel to a country entirely different from your own can give you new insight that you would not be able to get anywhere else.

This is what makes this field so unique. There is no set method for success. Everyone is different. Everyone reaches the top in a different manner, but almost anyone who has the drive, passion, and motivation can be triumphant. They just have to take the proper steps in the right direction.

In summary, I believe that a major in business is the best place to invest one's funds and savings. It is a versatile field that is forever revolutionizing itself. In the long run, this is where you will get the most for what you pay for. Each new destination and new experience only adds to your extensive list of credentials and references. You will have worked with some of the most influential people of our time. All of this makes you a highly prized contender in the world of business. Employers will seek you out, and know that you have the potential to be one of those very few who inspire and bring about change.

The Global Domains International Business Opportunity - List Building

Among the highest rated work from home programs, the Global Domains International Business opportunity is the most lucrative. If you are looking to make some serious money in the comfort of your home, joining the MLM opportunity with Global Domains International is the ideal choice.

Domains are products that are most in demand today. Almost everyone is on the look out for a domain either for their company, service or for individuals. Your account is credited with $1 for every domain per month. If you refer five people under you, you get $5. If each of those five people bring in five referrals each, then you get to earn $25 a month for no effort.

All this sounds very exciting and interesting. However, in order to be completely successful, it is necessary to go about marketing the domains in the right manner. Social networking sites are one of the most popular marketing platforms today. There are various social networking sides and link building sites which are used to build product or service prominence among target customers. LinkBuilders use keywords to make their content search engine friendly.

The first step is to create an excellent, professional website with business-centric, powerful and attractive web content. An effective write up on forums global domains international and global international domains is absolutely necessary to give readers an exact idea of what the product is about. Information provided on the sites must be such that they are crisp and detail various aspects of the opportunity in clear terms.

After the website is in order, it is now time to bring traffic to the site by link building. An effective back link on partner sites ensure smooth flowing, niche traffic to the website, bringing in more referrals and helping you effectively build your downline. Ensure an absolutely user-friendly website which means keep processes simple and straight. Also ensure that the back links are rich in information and genuine.

The next step is to start building effective links. A keyword rich link is sure to generate smooth and effortless web traffic. It is important to remember that back links are spidered by spiders and web crawlers. It is therefore important to ensure professional, information rich content which in turn is sure to generate a smooth flowing traffic.

You can create either a two way or a one way back link and submit the content rich articles to various search directories that are highly ranked. Some of the popular directories include Yahoo, Reddit, De.icio.us, Sphinn, Ezine, Digg and Stumble Upon.

Selecting a professional SEO service provider and enhancing clientele prospect with a rich and convincing content, making use of relevant links preferably one way links with reliable partners, etc are some of the methods to popularize and drive essential traffic to your website marketing quality business opportunities like the Global Domains International Business opportunity.

Join one of the most lucrative and effective Global domains international business opportunities, market domains using effective strategies like link building to ensure success.

Staying Up To Date Crucial For Success in International Business

With nearly 500 million people speaking 23 languages in 27 member states, the European Union is home to a broad array of corporations and industries, including some of the world's leading multinational companies. Allianz, the largest financial service company in the world by revenue, Airbus, which produces about half of the world's airplanes, Air France-KLM, the world's largest airline, Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world's biggest beer company, beauty products company L'Oreal Group, mobile phone maker Nokia Corp, and Royal Dutch Shell all call the EU home. Industries as varied as agriculture, tourism, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, health care, construction, and finance are strong drivers of the EU's diverse economy.

With the variety and complexity inherent in an economy as large as the EU's, keeping up with news, current events, and upcoming meetings can be a daunting task. Promoting an event to these diverse constituencies can be equally intimidating. On any given day, in Brussels and throughout the EU and the world, multiple meetings, conferences, seminars, hearings and networking events that could affect you and your business are taking place. With regulatory agencies, NGOs, government agencies, and corporate entities all sponsoring and attending events, something is bound to slip past your radar. And in this increasingly difficult and competitive business environment, attending relevant meetings and publicising your event to appropriate audiences is key to getting ahead.

There are many solutions to this problem. You could spend hours every day reading newspapers, magazines, trade publications and NGO's websites. And if you have your own event to publicize, you could spend hours and scarce resources producing marketing materials, sending emails, and making phone calls. Fortunately, there is a quick, innovative solution to this problem. There are several websites out there that allow you track upcoming EU events and contain all the information you'll need to register for them.

These sites allow you to create a customized profile and will alert you when upcoming events match your interests. This saves you the time and effort of scanning dozens of websites, newspapers and magazines to find out what events are happening in the EU and around the world. And the site doesn't just keep you up-to-date on upcoming events, it also provides all the information you need to attend any event - nearby hotels, maps and driving directions, nearby airports and transportation hubs, and it can automatically translate listings to many major EU languages. These sites can also be the solution to promoting your conference or meeting - registered users can often post an event quickly and easily for no cost.

An Introduction to International Business Cultures - Asia

Students who've completed a foreign policy or international business program of study might be eager to begin working in a foreign country. Perhaps they might be a bit ambivalent or scared, too. After all, the business practices of various nations in Africa, Europe, Asia - and even, North America - can differ vastly from American business customs and etiquette.

Several Asian nations, notably China, Japan, and India, have the potential to dramatically shape the world economy over the next decade. Across Asia, workers highly skilled in computers, engineering, manufacturing, and biological sciences are revolutionizing global methods of innovation, business, and production. It will become more likely over the next decade that a business college graduate will work with professionals from one or more of these Asian nations - especially if that graduate pursues a career path with many international opportunities.

Developing cultural sensitivity and awareness is very important for cross-cultural exchanges. This article will explore some common business basics among people of several different Asian nations, while offering little-known, fun tips and facts.

Building relationships: Chinese, Japanese, and Indian international business

Asian cultures tend to be much more collectivist than Western counterparts. In business decision-making, the group as a whole chooses a course of action. An individual worker's identity is strongly shaped by the group for which he or she works. In American business, conversely, one is much less likely to see collaborative strategies - though the newest generation of American office workers is beginning to change this. International business program graduates who work in China, Japan, or India might wish to develop their group work skills further before heading abroad.

Greeting individuals with a handshake, a slight bow of the head, and eye contact is polite. The firm, authoritative American handshake can be overkill overseas. Touching other professionals is taboo in Asia. Personal space is important; it is not considered polite to stand very close to someone. It is always best to observe the behaviors of your professional associates, and act appropriately.

Expect business to be conducted in a slow, deliberate fashion, and rushed business deals to be regarded as highly suspect. Speak slowly and clearly, and present new ideas cautiously. Aggressive proposals or overly showy body movements will not be interpreted well. Being on time is also essential. Asia is a continent of punctual business professionals, and it makes good sense to be early -- or, at the very least, on time -- to each new business meeting or collaborative opportunity. It also helps to be willing and able to gently negotiate and compromise. Consensus-building trumps maverick ideas in Asian countries.

Building strong business relationships is absolutely paramount in Asian countries, too. American workers abroad are at a disadvantage in this regard, because they will need to overcome cultural barriers to build trust and respect. They will also need to demonstrate their business skills in an honest, but not boastful fashion. Talking less and listening more are always wise moves when meeting a new business colleague. Status and rank are of greater importance in Asia than they are in mostly-egalitarian America, so pay attention to who's who in a company - but, of course, get to know everyone with whom you will be doing business.

Customs for Asian countries

Of course, Asian business cultures will vary in their customs. In Japan, for example, gift-giving is much more acceptable than it is in China - although gift-giving can be an appreciated token if done correctly. Each Asian culture also tends to prefer some ways of greeting professionals over others. Typically, using the last name and the person's professional title (such as 'Dr.') indicates respect. Asian business dress is sometimes more formal than standard American business dress, especially since jeans and t-shirts have become more acceptable in the American post-dot-com age. Navy, black, or grey business suits with conservative ties for men; and dark dress suits or formal, conservative sheath dresses and jackets for women will work well. Business shoes should be dark, polished, and as conservative as possible.

The presentation and reception of business cards is also important in Asia. It is most polite to have your business card printed double-sided, with the Asian language on one side and English on the other. You should offer your business card with the Asian language side facing up. When accepting other business cards, treat them as valuable: Study them carefully to memorize names and information, and never stuff them into your pocket. For your business cards, you might want to consider purchasing a hard case that snaps shut, and which can be tucked discreetly into a briefcase or purse after the card exchange has occurred.

Working abroad can be great fun. Americans can learn much from their Asian professional counterparts, and, by following some simple etiquette guidelines, can enjoy a most enriching cross-cultural experience.

You Would Be Shocked With This Grand International Business - Natural Organic Fertilizers Business

If some of you think that this organic fertilizer business is a small business, we can say that you are incorrect and you may miss an opportunity to create a big fortune.

Why should you think of organic fertilizers as your grand business?

Firstly, food is the main needs of human being and the food industries can never be a sunset industry unless all of us do not eat food anymore. There is an unique situation that if the plants production area is at volcano coverage region and the soil is mostly rich with natural nutrition, then the agricultural producers may not need any fertilizers for their crops. Other than the volcano regions, majority of the agricultural producers require fertilizer to cultivate their crops. Therefore, natural fertilizer always has business opportunity.

Furthermore, the basic food industry is resistant to economy fluctuations because no matter how poor of the world economy, the people still need food to sustain. With such inelastic demands of food, the organic fertilizers will yet indirectly be benefited.

The application or supply of chemical fertilizers is slowly restricted and controlled by the authorities of all countries and this will be a grand business opportunity for bio organic fertilizer.

Please note that the use of chemical fertilizer destroys the soil particles and this will make the soil getting dense and unable to hold moisture and nutrients. As a result, the soil will get harder and harder and this is unavoidably a deterioration of soil quality. In other words, this will be a green issue. The green environmental awareness and protection nowadays is much powerful and some of these groups of environmental advocators also support bio natural fertilizer as a substitution of chemical fertilizer. With such movements, they indirectly help the agriculture world to produce a grand marketplace for organic fertilizer.

As I mentioned in my former article, whatsoever chemical elements that soaked up by the plants, will unavoidably pass into the bodies of beings. Please note that the chemical materials are in fact toxin. With this fact, we are taking toxin food indirectly everyday, do you, inclusive of your family members, want to eat chemical food daily? Bio organic fertilizer is healthy for plants as well as for the human being. Do you like to have good health for the rest of your lives? However, I have to caution you that not all the bio organic fertilizers are effective and healthy. Thus, a wise selection of bio-natural fertilizer is most significant.

In general, consumers have impressions that bio organic food is pricey and the people are adversely to purchase bio organic food due to its price. Yes, I agree in certain viewpoint because the agricultural producers might have use costly and ineffective bio-organic fertilizer in their plantation and the cost of pricey fertilizers will unavoidably be imposed into the price of food, that is, the additional cost of fertilizing will be conveyed to the final victims, the consumers. As a matter of fact, the agricultural producers can actually have lower cost of production and the end users can enjoy healthy organic food with reasonable and/or cheaper prices, PROVIDED the farm producers can select a good natural fertilizer.

The above are about eatable food. How about the non-edible food, such as grasses, flowers, trees and others? These are large marketplaces too! With an appropriate selection of bio-organic fertilizer, the cost of soil maintenance as mentioned above will be dropped and unavoidably gives the farm producers greater yield and profits. Your target purchasing markets for the organic fertilizers may comprise the home users, government departments such as town landscaping and agricultural divisions, multilevel marketing (MLM) companies, private farm companies, agriculture or farm association, online internet marketers and others.

Do you see the great business opportunities above?

To conclude: never disregard this natural fertilizer business and we should seriously study this bio-organic fertilizer industry.

International Business Dress Code Survey Reveals Startling Result

According to the recent Ipsos/Reuters survey conducted in 24 countries around the world, there is considerable disagreement about business dress codes. That's not to say workplace attire is an international hot potato with daily conference calls between Brussels and Singapore thrashing out the pros and cons of polo shirts. But, the very fact that Ispos, one of the world's leading market research firms, organized this survey speaks volumes about the magnitude of dress code issues.

I'm not surprised. I deal with matters related to business-appropriate apparel on a daily basis. Perhaps more to the point is that this took so long to surface. Some of the survey results were startling, to put it mildly, but I'll get to them later. The report, officially entitled "Ipsos Global @dvisory: Proper Attire in the Workplace," explores what people around the world are wearing to work and rates the acceptance level, or inappropriateness, of specific garments. As I scanned the various polls that comprise the survey, it occurred to me that at its absolute core, Casual Friday could be the demon behind the current confusion, in Canada and in the United States.

Europeans, I have always believed, are upstanding, solid citizens in matters related to collars and ties. They wrote the book when it comes to professional demeanor. Same goes for South America and Asia. On the other hand, we know back in the 80's, Silicone Valley's dotcom lifestyle created a khaki-culture workplace, ultimately resulting in North America's widespread observance of Casual Friday. But who knew the rest of the world shared a taste for laid-back clothing? It seems to me that the very existence of this study points to an easing up of dress codes - everywhere!

We can't, however, place all the blame on those early dotcomers. Around here, summertime seems to be the real culprit when it comes to ultra-casual clothing. I'm not so certain that the seasonal infractions routinely filling my inbox are confined to Fridays. For example, dƩcolletƩ, despite often Arctic-like A/C, probably tops the list of women's offences. Yet without a doubt, the most widespread complaints during hot weather months - for both men and women - are shorts and flip-flops. These beach buddies are the real burning issues.

Imagine my surprise when they both showed up on the Ipsos report. This is exactly what I mean about a universal dress code direction verging on non-existent. I'm not suggesting, on any level, that the poll results conclusively support abandoning traditional business apparel. I'm simply reading between the lines and pointing out that the very appearance of shorts and flip-flops on a business-attire survey tells the real story. Everyone everywhere wants to relax. Or do they?

Let's get down to the report's nitty-gritty. When it comes to interpretation, the shorts data presents a particularly interesting challenge. It makes sense that almost half the Australians polled judged shorts in the workplace appropriate. After all, it's hot Down Under. But Indonesia, only a hop, skip and a short plane ride away from Oz, is even hotter and yet only 5% of this survey group approved of shorts. Let's explore the stats a little further. It's coolish up in the land of fjords and midnight sun but the Swedes showed the same level of approval for shorts, as the Aussies. Hungary was the real surprise as the world's greatest supporter of short pants at work!

I can't say with any certainty that the citizens of Budapest represented the 46% short-support-group, but I can hazard a guess that it was these same folks who gave flip-flops wide approval. Over 50% of Hungarians polled endorsed flip-flops for business. And once again, Indonesia trailed at the bottom of the pack. You won't find either shorts or flip-flops in the boardrooms of the archipelago.

Here at home, Canadians and Americans, although polled separately, were in general agreement with about 30% in favour of shorts but fewer than 20% for flip-flops. (As a sidebar to this footwear phenomenon, I guess the old "socks with sandals" faux pas no longer poses a threat.) Ultimately, when the results from all 24 countries were tallied, both the flip-flops and shorts categories received an almost 25% approval rating.

But here comes a curveball. When these very same people - all employed adults - were asked if their most casually dressed co-workers qualified for promotion to senior management, almost 40% ticked the "No" box. It's as though they're saying; "Sure, go ahead. Wear whatever you want but don't expect to move up the ladder!"

A spin-off of this is the fact that two-thirds of the over 12,000 people participating in the survey agreed that: "Senior Managers/People That Run An Organization Should Always be More Dressed Up Than Their Employees." Clearly, this points to an expectation that both aspiring and existing leaders have a responsibility to maintain high standards when it comes to personal appearance.

Here comes another curve ball. The majority of participants approved "Bikinis/Speedos" for work-sponsored beach outings. Once again, it was the Hungarians by a mile, with almost 90% in favour of scanty beach wear. Not surprisingly, Argentina trailed closely behind but those surfing Aussies weighed in at only 60%. Here, on the home front, a comparative sense of modesty rules. Only about a third of the Canadians approved this minimalist approach.

Ultimately, what intrigued me was the diversity and magnitude of the report. I know we've come a hundred miles from the dark days when Casual Friday was in its infancy and some folks confused "dressing down" with sloppy carelessness. There's no question that business casual is constantly evolving but I for one, am greatly relieved to feel a touch of fall in the air. All those troublesome shorts and flip-flops will soon be tucked away.

Translation Services - Logistics of International Business

Your company is expanding into international markets. Congratulations! This is a time for celebration. You are preparing to take your business to the next level, but before you throw the company a party there are a lot of logistics to work out. Legal matters galore need to be taken care of and everything from contracts to advertisements will need to be translated into a language that you don't speak or know anything about.

There are several ways to ensure that you obtain accurate translations.

1. Person versus Machine: Your business is too important to leave to the hands of a machine. Yes technology is great and we should use it to our advantage but online translations just can't capture cultural innuendo or even the natural flow of language. For example take the simple sentence, "I am twenty years old" and run it twice through an online translator from English to Spanish and back again. Here's what you end up with.

I am twenty years old.

Tengo veinte aƱos de edad.

I have twenty years of age.

You can still understand the gist of the sentence but a native English speaker will pause to think about the funny phrasing. This distracts from the message you are trying to convey. Some thoughts simply don't translate, a human can adjust with such situations, a computer can't.

2. Native language: A good translator will speak the target language natively. You want someone with a full handle on both the language and culture to take care of you. This can help you avoid potentially expensive mistakes.

3. Writing Skills: Hire someone who can write well in both the source and target languages. Grammar, sentence structure, and paragraph flow all contribute to better communication.

4. Specialization: Hire someone with firsthand knowledge of your business. If you are in the car business, hire a translator that understands cars. Think of it your company as being a third language. Quality translators will speak source language, target language, and business language.

5. Deadlines: Deadlines are important to you and they should be important to your translator. Choose someone who will stick to your time scale.

6. Proofreading: The final stage in any written document is proof reading. The best translators will have a means of proofreading their work. The proofreader should be a second translator who is also native in the target language.

Good language translation is a must in international business, so make sure you check credentials and portfolio's before hiring someone. When hiring you can either hire a free lance translator through an agency or you can hire a translation service. Translation services provide the translator, the proofreader, and are very strict with deadlines. Both options can give you good results, as long as you do your homework and hire the right person or company.

So, going global is probably pretty intimidating, but relax, take one step at a time and get ready to celebrate, all that hard work is paying off and you just might be the next big success.

International Business Dealings

When one talks about international business, it simply connotes business dealings between two countries. Transactions would include a country's resources; whether it be the goods exported, the skills of people and/or financial assets that will benefit either the construction industry, finance, banking and other services.

Nowadays, our society is considered global in terms of business, technology and communication despite the many issues and debates going around it.

Pursuing an international business career can be quite a challenge for many. Unlike the local trade, one needs to understand the different cultures of other countries to be successful. Other than it gives the opportunity to travel, one gets to learn other language and study their different principles and beliefs. You should have a deep interest to be successful in this career.

Other than that, it is also a requirement that you have a background and skills in Math, communication and the most important one's creativity and uniqueness. You cannot simply expect to use the same method in dealing with one group of people to another. You must instead learn to adapt each time or you will be left behind.

Modern technology in communication does not hold any barrier in dealing in any business dealings because of easy access. Take the Internet for example. Because of it, business can be conducted within minutes despite the distance of the different contracting parties.

Information is easily passed from one country to another because of Internet access and all the fast abilities it presents to people. This makes collaboration between other countries easy when it comes to sales, marketing, manufacturing and even outsourcing of tasks. Whatever problems you face may it be financial or technical, it can be easily addressed.

It is not surprising that many are considering pursuing an international business career as it is one potential profession. To be successful, you need to understand how business is done based on the different cultures of every country. Once you achieve this, you can establish a strong business relationship with colleagues from other nations.

Always be prepared by researching about your clients before you venture out to talk business with them. An open mind is essential for you to be able to deal with the differences of culture, language and political system. Without thinking that way, I am afraid you will always struggle with fulling getting the concept of international business and all the positives it can bring to the table.

Aim, Facts and Career of MBA in International Business

Technology has converted the world into a global village. Like other things, it has benefited the business as well. Gone are the days, when the business was restricted to a specific place and geographical boundaries were hurdle in expansion of business. Trend of business expansion across the boundaries is on the rise and a lot of competition has been seen in international business.

As international business is a bigger perspective therefore more professionalism, efficiency and skills are required to fulfill its requirement, as compared to domestic business. MBA in International Business has been specially devised to train professionals to meet the challenging demands of international business.

Aim

This MBA degree is focused upon multinational business needs and designed to produce a lot of professionals which can understand the sensitivity of worldwide relations and multicultural concerns.
Every business company wants to expand itself as much as they can. After success at domestic level, next goal is to start global trade, for which they need experts who can handle the business at that higher level. Therefore, to meet the demand of international professionals in the market, this significant master's degree has been started.

Facts

After successful completion of the degree program, the graduate has to complete initial interim ship in some renowned company in order to gain working experience. This can be a paid or unpaid interim ship. After having requisite experience one can apply for the job in various organizations. As the level is high therefore salaries are also better than domestic business employees.

Career

Although it is a demanding and tough job but the reward it pays back is so high that one is always ready and motivated to work harder. With such a good degree like MBA in International Business in hand, one can get job in banks, manufacturing companies, government agencies, aviation services, shipping and import export firms.

Call Center Outsourcing and International Business Culture

The profits are high when a call center is successfully outsourced but disaster looms when this transition is done incorrectly. Shipping jobs overseas has become a favored form of money saving for corporations. This type of business is set up to deal with both telemarketing as well as offering technical or other support to your customers. When done right, all communications with customers will be handled by this center.

Dealing with complaints or customer questions can be costly and time consuming to any business. This is why call center outsourcing has become so valued. The company one hires to handle these calls is very important to the success or failure of your business. Losing customers or having unhappy customers will not be profitable for any business, so much care must be taken when selecting a company. The best way to ensure that you ship the jobs to the right country is to have a handle on international business culture and to understand what different countries can offer you.

Time zones can play an important role in selecting a company. While companies in Asia have become popular, American customers are often utilizing them at odd hours as the time difference is great. This can result in under-performance on the part of the call center and less than satisfactory results. Be certain and choose a company that can operate within the business hours you need them to.

The quality of language spoken is probably the most important factor to consider. Many people resent being forced to discuss problems or receive technical information from someone who is not fluent in their native language. Be certain to choose a company that has speakers who are fluent in the language of your customers. Accents are no problem as long as they are not so strong that callers can not understand them. One way of ensuring quality control is to only work with companies that agree to record calls so that you can occasionally review them. In this way, you can ship the job overseas and rest assured that it will earn your company money rather than cost it money.

The Best Specialty Services For International Business

Most if us know that when you go on business anywhere; local or otherwise, it's important that the hotel your staying at offers certain services. For some of us we might be a little less demanding and can stand having a room with 5 channels, no Internet connection, and a twin bed. But for me, and many others, we like to be comfortable and in touch with the outside world whenever we can because business matters is something we have to keep in touch with at all times, and comfort, well that should just be mandatory!

Recently I was thinking about going overseas to meet up with a few companies and businesses that might be interested in my business and then I got to thinking; who offers what, and what makes them really stand out amongst the crowd of all the other hotels and resorts. Little did I know, there are some really cool services and amenities available those of us that own business and do international travel! A few of them have been listed below (business and otherwise):

Pattaya Exhibition And Convention Hall (PEACH) is a world-class multipurpose exhibition and meeting facility of the award-winning Royal Cliff Beach Resort offering complete versatility and flexibility. PEACH has 6-levels and is located along the slopes of the cliff between Jomtien and Pattaya in a stand-alone complex occupying 10 acres. The convention and exhibition hall accommodates up to 8,000 person's theatre-style or 3,640 for banquets. The hall is highly flexible and can be divided into four large soundproof sections or into 10 smaller sections. There are also 18 breakout rooms with various capacities ranging from 25 to 320. This is a pretty incredible feat! I went online and looked up a little bit about the Pattaya Exhibition and Convention Hall and the pictures alone are amazing!

M.I.C.E is a new form of business services which is the fastest developing arena of the International tourism market. MICE supplies its services to many different business meetings, conferences, and also events and exhibitions. In fact, MICE; Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Exhibitions is growing so famous and popular it's actually one of the fiercest selections at any hotel and has become essential to that of tourists and tourist destinations such as India, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Dubai and Thailand! One of the most popular destinations for M.I.C.E, however, is India and Thailand, particularly Pattaya.

Its like an all in one service for people that stay in these hotels. The main goal for most places internationally is to have this type of service as being the "bread and butter" of the hotels individuals are staying at. And with the advancement of technology, warm hospitality and individualized services merged with natural beauty and rich heritage this destination doesn't seem to be very far amongst the hotel owners which are incorporating Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Exhibitions in their businesses.

The great thing about Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Exhibitions is that it's specifically molded for business men and women and some of these hotels that offer Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Exhibitions actually have on-ground Expo building that can be utilized by you the business person.

With the Thai Culinary Arts Class you can learn the fine art of Thai cooking, one of the world's most popular cuisines, at the Royal Cliff School of Thai Culinary Arts. Opened in September 2000, the school offers an ideal learning environment with a large open kitchen area for practical instruction, a small lobby and reception area, a locker room and a typically-Thai dining room with wooden furnishings and floor seating. Regularly scheduled classes are three hours long and in addition to cooking lessons, participants receive a number of complimentary gift items.

There are also special classes conducted for children. Each 3-hour class includes; Welcome Drink, lunch, Ingredients, Recipes and Menus, Apron and Chef's Hat, Gift Basket with Spices, Herbs and Curry Pastes, A Thai Culinary Arts Certificate. This would be a fantastic way to get away from the business side of things and take a break from work!

Theme Parties Clients have the opportunity to choose from a number of predetermined themes (a few of them listed below) or to customize one to their own liking. Whatever the case may be, a theme dinner or party at the Royal Cliff Beach Resort is guaranteed to be one of the highlights of your event. Themes include things such as; Ancient Sukhothai Theme, Black and Gold Theme, Dine Around Asia Theme dinner, Fiesta Latina theme, Fishermen's Theme dinner, Orchid Theme Dinner, and Chinese Emperor Theme Dinner.

Royal Cliff Wine Club is Asia's leading wine club! The Royal Cliff Wine Club was launched on the 28th of April, 2001. It is a by-product of the resorts enthusiasm in promoting wines and hosting wine-related events. Creative backdrops, excellent props and high quality staff service - from bringing in the wines to serving them - are what makes the club so very well-received. Add to that, a very affordable Baht 3,000 annual membership fee.

The Resort's Wine Cellar houses close to 900 of the world's best New and Old-World wine labels ranging in price from 850-450,000 baht a bottle and boasts more than 36,000 wines in its inventory including 10 varieties of the Resort's own label Selection. The wines in this selection are from some of the world's best wine producing regions and exclusively made and bottled for the Royal Cliff Beach Resort. The walk-in cellar houses carefully selected Old and New World wine labels, plus a variety of fine Champagnes and sparkling wines. For your convenience, the wine list comes with a map of wine-growing areas and shows where a specific wine comes from.

Ultimately I was just going to list off business service like the first two but really don't people that are away on business deserve to relax too? I mean that's what MICE and PEACH are all about after all, a business service but something that also allows you to soak in the atmosphere and scenery around you. To be able to have conference and meeting halls available to you but to also be able to kick back and relax and enjoy the beautiful place you are! Another thing you should look into, wherever it might be that your staying is sight seeing because you get to see impressive things round the country including wildlife in parks, the expansive ocean, mountainous passes and tremendous deserts. You can check out what services your resort or hotel offers beforehand by visiting their website or calling them and just asking the concierge!

International Business Cooperation - Does The Olympics Help the Process?

No one can deny that the Olympic Games bring nations together, and help humans understand that we aren't all that different, and that we all very much care about doing our best, our country, and competition. Recently, some scholars have gotten together and noted that the Olympic Games have not stopped humans from having wars, and while that may be true, we don't know for sure how many wars have been prevented due to the mutual benefit and coming together of humans across the planet in these Olympic Games over the years.

Now then, let me ask you a question; "do the Olympic Games also help international business cooperation, free and fair trade, and working together to help economic development and our global economy?" I believe the answer is yes, and I have noted in discussing with my international business acquaintances about the Olympic Games, and I have congratulated them on one of their athletes or teams in winning a gold medal or competing quite handedly in Olympic competition. Indeed, I have also noted the topic being brought up by them to me.

If anything else, this becomes an icebreaker, a celebration of humanity and human competition across the planet. We are much better off if we can compete in sports competition rather than in wars. Perhaps this is what the International Olympic Committee had considered around the turn of the 1900s. In hindsight, and we can mathematically point to these issues, there have been more wars, not fewer, and more people killed in wars as well. Of course we can't blame this on the Olympic Games, nor should we pretend that the Olympics could stop all human conflict.

Nevertheless, it has helped in so many other ways such as; international trade and negotiations, and in international business. More deals are made across borders when we are better able to understand the person on the other side of the phone or across an ocean. Therefore, it would be very hard to debate that the Olympics haven't been good for international business and trade, the evidence is indeed clearly there, and I can attest to that from direct experience and observation, as can a number of other business owners, and corporate multinational conglomerate executives.

I would say that is a good thing, and it's just too bad that the Olympics only come around every four years. Perhaps it would be nice if they could come twice as often, which is another concept altogether. Indeed I hope you will please consider all this and think on it, let's unite the world.

The Relevance of Enterprise Social Software to Modern Business

Coming in free form and inherently non-structural, social software is banking on the idea of collaboration. With this feature strength, it allows anyone in an enterprise to interact in ways that seem highly appropriate. Also regarded as a component of Enterprise 2.0 - a network of technologies that enable organizations to streamline their business systems and enhance collaboration - enterprise social software (ESS) takes the concept of intranet to a higher level.

Pointing to the enterprise landscape, a recent study by Gartner.com reveals that until 2015, 25% of enterprises will utilize social network analysis as part of their business and software strategies in an effort to improve business productivity and employee performance. In this regard, the research company recommends for the installation of easy-to-use ESS. Such tool that does not require rigid structures on users is deemed more helpful, coupled by visible, as well as strong, managerial support.

Gartner also cites the significance, for organizations, to develop long-term business and software strategies to provision and consume a set of social software and collaboration services. The development of governing policies that control and monitor the utilization of consumer services for business purposes is also necessary. To achieve these goals, organizations can solicit ideas and information from the business community regarding the most helpful ESS form.

Enterprise social software eases communication among employees, while doubling as an alternative source of information. Adopted as part of business and software strategies, it provides opportunities for modern employees to carry on with their business tasks instead of being in a physical office for eight working hours. Essentially, business social software supports the recent trend of sociability - meaning workers and customers want to be "social" - which leads to the implementation of internal network software.

An ESS system in place also allows multi-site organizations and companies to make employees collaborate more efficiently, and substantially improve their international business marketing efforts. Enterprise social tools make it possible for an enterprise to achieve, on the employee level, better collaboration on projects, as well as efficient sharing of experience and knowledge by cutting through corporate structures and flattening out some unnecessary bureaucracy.

Enterprise social software also makes genuine engagement possible, be it with respect to communication in corporate social networks or online communities. Moreover, better accessibility to information also results from integrating enterprise social software with business and software strategies. With this concept implemented and applicable functionality obtained, timesaving is realized.

While the lack of structure in social software is its strong point, it can also be a weakness for organizations that replace their traditional processes and systems. In order to successfully implement it, the social enterprise software works by making it concurrently exist with structured platforms (its processes and systems). In essence, the enterprise social software should augment - rather than replace - the systems in place in an organization. When designed to work in conjunction with existing systems, enterprise social software can pave the way for more effective and practical operations.

A Critical Review of the Wowgreen International Business

The name of this company speaks for itself. Wowgreen International, LLC is an MLM company that promotes green products. Wowgreen manufactures mainly cleansing products. The difference between their cleansing products and the others in the market is that; Wowgreen products are made mainly from Enzymes. Enzymes are naturally found in the body whose job is to break down complex compounds. Their product will allegedly clean without leaving a toxic residue. Wowgreen International, LLC states that their desire is to free the world from toxic materials. I would think that is a big dream, which is very achievable. So far, everything about Wowgreen is good.

A factor that we consider when we are reviewing a company is their leadership and management team. For Wowgreen International, their main leaders are Dave Deal, Rick Birndorf, Owen Stern, and Allie T. Mallad. All these gentlemen have very good impressive resumes. Their successes are also documented. One simple truth though that you must take a note of is that; they are business men. They are in to make money. If you decided to partner with Wowgreen in your business venture, you should understand that it is a business and it is your job to make money.

With Wowgreen International, you get paid in 5 different ways. You will get paid up to twenty percent of the retail price of their products. This is usually the difference between the retail price and wholesale price. You will also get paid anything between $20 - $100 bonuses for all your new representatives that you personally brought into the business. Other ways that you can get paid are Executive matching bonuses on green starter packs and Awards, Binary Bonus, Incentives and accolades (like car allowance and trips).

Many MLM companies and distributors out there still do not understand that you can build your MLM business faster by leveraging the internet. There is nothing wrong with the traditional way of building your business. But you should understand that the traditional techniques work for only 1% of the MLM professionals out there. Wowgreen is primarily teaching the Old School ways. However they are acknowledging the internet revolution also. You can build your Wowgreen business relatively quickly if you leverage the internet.

Should you join the Wowgreen business opportunity? Well, that depends on one major factor. Are you influential enough? If not, are you ready to do whatever it takes to be influential? People will join you and do business with you only if they think that you are a leader that can lead them to the promise land. This truth is the same for both online and offline methods. How many people are you impacting on a daily basis in a positive way? You need to learn that concept called branding. You need to brand yourself.

International Business Organization Development Factors For Consideration

International Business Organization

Export/International business can take on many challenges as it unfolds. Goal should be to construct the company's strategic building blocks, using it's assets to support international opportunities. The outline is formatted from a more basic approach, increasing through stages of complexity. There will be points below that overlap and dovetail. Some corporations may have already touched on many of these points. The examples below are geared toward the food/protein industries. Nevertheless, the concepts are transferable to many others. Below are organizational ideas for consideration:

I. International Business Unit Establishment- Create P&L.
A. Budget to encompass 3-5 key trade shows and conferences that support the geographic strategy.

- Restaurant Chain Shows (Subway, McDonalds, etc.)- Important shows that demonstrate a company's willingness to globally expand with the chains.

- Distributor Shows.

- Trade organization conferences. Provide key insights to new emerging markets and trends i.e., USMEF, USDEC, etc.

B. Forecasting- By product category and market to determine business profitability.

C. Expenses- Identify expenses against the business. Be fiscally prudent.

II. Geography- Are the most immediate markets being efficiently addressed by export? Begin with the immediate opportunities i.e., target nearest or import friendly international geographic markets.

A. Canada-

B. Mexico-

C. Caribbean-

D. Domestic Exporters-

III. Export Product Portfolio- Product's export potential? What are the popular US items sold? Using meat products as an example:

A. Pork- More than likely highest export potential.

B. Poultry- Certain drawbacks (Avian viruses), but often has the necessary price points for market entry.

C. Beef- Still questionable into many overseas markets (BSE). Slowly improving.

D. Other- Veal and lamb offer the specialty items often sought in many of the smaller boutique markets i.e., Caribbean. Should be a high margin opportunity?

IV. Utilize and maximize current customer base. Grow internationally with domestic customers.

A. Chains- What chains are currently being serviced (i.e., McDonalds)? What are the int'l springboard applications of those chains?

B. Distributors- GFS,US :: GFS, Canada; Sysco, US :: Sysco, Canada...Sysco, Export
C. Schools- Offer products supplied to the US to Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands and Guam have same requirements.

D. Retail.

V. Expand Geography- Be first in emerging markets. Chains, trade organizations and trade shows will assist in breaking into new venues.

A. Australia, open to US pork imports. US plants must be Australian approved.

B. Brazil and Argentina- as economies improve, so should pork imports.

C. Middle East- Israel.

D. Asia- SE Asia, Latin America.

VI. Product adaptation-

A. A commitment to international product customization. Overcome import non-tariff barriers through product modification.

B. As point "A" is evaluated, determine volumes and pricing with the customer completing the value proposition.

C. New protein introduction- Growing US Hispanic community looking to satisfy traditional diets i.e., goat. US ranchers begin to emerge from their traditional ranching habits to fill a consumer need. Shift creates new export opportunities.

D. Profit Margin/Revenue Growth- Theoretically, there is no competition for custom production and margins should reflect business value.

VII. Resource utilization-

A. R&D efforts to meet a qualified opportunity. Example, a 51% breaded product can be exported to Canada vs. a product with less than 50% breading.

B. Account Managers- Joint calls on corporate to further support the chains international expansions.

Distributor Managers- Joint calls in evaluating immediate opportunities extending across borders.
C. School Managers- Joint calls in US territories to expand and maximize product presence.

VIII. International Partnership Arrangements. Partnering/Joint Ventures with like businesses overseas. Some ideal targets are Japan, Australia, Mexico, China. Key defining terms...product novelty, business profitability, uniqueness, pricing, product demand, market distribution, language understanding, product understanding. If there is a commitment from an overseas manufacturer who understands the product/species, but lacks certain manufacturing capabilities, a partnership should be suggested.

A. Responsibility considerations :

o Raw Material Hedge

o Currency Hedge

o Brokerage Agreement

o Time lines

o Production Capacity

o Legal contract/Export Insurance

B. Partner's Responsibilities:

o Volume Projections

o Co-Pack Agreement

o QA Plant Approval

o End User Presentations

o Stand-by Letter of Credit/Purchasing Contract

o Exclusivity

o Currency Hedge

o Other product opportunities

Notice currency hedge may fall under both and is open for negotiation. It depends on relationship's strength. Many times it should be for the account of the partner. An exception may be made to consummate the deal, or as a long term service insuring a yearly contract renewal.

IX. Licensing- Often used as a barometer in evaluating potential opportunities and minimizing immediate risks.

A. Brand Licensing- What is the true value of a certain brand in an international market? Would be determined by the partner company in that country.

Example. What was the value of the Parkay brand in Canada? Became the second best Canadian margarine brand. Produced by Parmalat in Canada. Brand was licensed by ConAgra US.

B. Technology- Minimizes capital overseas investment, while transferring US production technology.

X. Mergers and Acquisitions- Up to this point a corporation may be supplying and evaluating their export potential. Simultaneously, it should be considering the business worthiness of certain key markets. Ultimately, it may consider investment in those markets.

A. Partnership/JV company may be ripe for buy-out.

B. Margin potential internationally warrants an acquisition for corporate diversification purposes.
C. Many similarities i.e., language, business culture, profitability, increased product demand from growing middle class, business supporting political environment.

D. Overcome stringent food import barriers i.e., EEC. Example- Companies have improved international exposure, opening manufacturing plants within the EEC. An example has been the recent purchase of Sara Lee European brands by Smithfield.

XI. Summary- These idea compilations are based on 20 years of international business experiences with four major corporations and an MA in International Business. No one size fits all. The outline can be used to build new profitable opportunities that may not otherwise have been realized or fully exploited.