As we move into the globalization era, it is almost impossible for existing companies to do things the old and traditional way. They need to adapt themselves to integrate into the global society and fully participate in it. To do this successfully, organizations need to have a deeper understanding

of themselves, customers, markets and the cultures of the world. It is with all these new knowledge can organizations survive well in today’s world. One must also note that they may be inter-related and not independent of one another.

Firstly, in order to live harmoniously and work effectively in the international community, business people from organizations also need to be able to adapt to new cultural environments, develop cross cultural awareness and develop the ability to communicate across cultures. For business groups developing their enterprises in the global arena, they cannot call themselves global companies without truly understanding the diverse cultures and social norms of the countries and regions they operate in. They must first respect this global diversity and then strive to attain deep understanding of it that will allow them to create new values which are appropriate for customers and users worldwide. We can see the importance of having cross-cultural acumen in today’s society from the fact that intercultural training is in vogue at the moment.

In Singapore, for instance, many companies (especially multinational companies) organize courses and workshops on for their employees to let them understand more about different cultures of the world, particularly those of their customers or suppliers. And this is for a good reason – often, intercultural skills are equally, or even more important than language skills. It certainly pays to understand the culture, the little jokes, the handshakes and the kisses of colleages or suppliers abroad. Organizations should be provided with the key knowledge of the communities and cultures of particular countries in order to dispel fear and misunderstandings. Besides this, they should also explore the importance of understanding the corporate cultures of the area in order to improve relations and be more effective in business.