Over 100 million people asking: Who will win?
Some might call this the World Cup finals of the US Football (not soccer) season. Sunday, February 5, 2012 the New York Giants and New England Patriots meet for the right to declare themselves the best football team in the nation (and the world). It is Super Bowl XLVI, the latest in a series of championship games that began in 1967. Adding to the interest in this year’s game is the fact...
WWYCW?
Have you ever noticed how often companies seem to focus on the wrong things? For example, look at any company's policy/procedures and ask yourself the question: Is each one of these bureaucratic hoops to be jumped through for the benefit of the customer...or their company?We've all seen the little rubber wrist bands with acronyms - standing for a wide variety of thought-provoking causes. Here's an...
CultureWizard Digest, Issue #46
A compendium of current news and headlines with commentary providing unique cultural insight into global affairs, business and daily life around the world. Interested in receiving the CultureWizard Digest every month? Click here to sign up. Check out CultureWizard Digest #46 here! IN THIS MONTH’S ISSUE: * Interpreting Overtime in Brazil * Improper Child-rearing? * Who works more in Europe? *...
Brazil Culture Tips
+ Unlike many other Latin American countries where there is a distinct indigenous population, Brazilians have intermarried to the point that nearly everyone has a combination of European, African, and indigenous ancestry. + Brazilian conversations are fast-paced and animated with frequent interruptions. Exclamations and a great deal of physical contact are normal. + Soccer is a highly respected national...
Interpreting Overtime in Brazil
Brazil’s hunger for growth is noteworthy on many fronts. Working long hours to make new sales targets and developing business at all hours of the day has become the norm for many Brazilians. So much that President Dilma Rouseff enacted a law ordering companies to pay overtime for emails or calls taken after the normal work day (versus the VW approach to prohibit this activity after employees...
Considering Consideration
There seems to be a lot of concern recently about a lack of consideration in society. In particular, I find it very interesting to see a bizarre (and incorrect) application of the concept. The politically correct (and logically INcorrect) interpretation is behaving in a way that will never offend or be contrary to what the other person wants. That is not being considerate. That is called "acquiescence....
Connecting the World 2012-01-29 22:11:00
Last May I wrote a post “Africa: Land of Opportunities” highlighting the growing awareness that the countries of Africa (a total of 51 big and small) represent significant business opportunities in the years to come. To see why many share that view take a look at the article “The Globe: Cracking the Next Growth Market: Africahttp://hbr.org/2011/05/the-globe-cracking-the-next-growth-market-africa/ar/1...
Translating British Talk
While the source of this is unknown (we found it posted somewhere on Facebook), we believe it’s quite true to form! Is there anything you can add to this list? If you’d like some more culture tips for the UK, click here to read our previous post on the matter. Mark RW3 CultureWizard
Take a break, you work hard enough already
How’s this BBC piece for bucking the trend? Volkswagen has agreed to stop its Blackberry servers sending emails to some of its employees when they are off-shift. The car maker confirmed it made the move earlier this year following complaints that staff’s work and home lives were becoming blurred. Could you imagine your employer doing this? Even more so, after a near-decade of cell phones...
When to Ignore The Rules
“A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson Here’s a story in the Huffington Post I think many of you will relate to in one way or another (Emerson certainly did). Recently, in Honolulu, a former Air Force sergeant, her husband and their two year-old daughter stop at the local supermarket, a national chain, to pick up some groceries. The mom, who happens to...
