Researchers believe they have finally discovered why the wide, white-teethed smile is so important in American culture - immigrants and cultural diversity.

Across different cultures, a smile can mean many things.

Multicultural teams are now the norm within many of our larger companies, organisations and brands.

Challenges relating to communication, trust and morale within culturally diverse teams are common.

If your introduction to the topic of cultural appropriation was due to a celebrity, such as Pharrell Williams, being slammed for wearing Native American headwear,  Zac Effron, being called out for sporting dreadlocks, or Katy Perry, being criticised for performing as a Geisha, then you're not alone. 

Once upon a time, cultural appropriation was something theorised and discussed solely at universities.

Researchers believe they have discovered a link between someone's culture and the language they use when they are telling lies.

Psychologists, led by Professor Paul Taylor of Lancaster University in the UK, have just published the findings of their research, entitled "Culture moderates changes in linguistic self-presentation and detail provision when deceiving others", in Royal Society Open Science.

Doing Business in Brazil?  

A ‘One Size fits All’ approach will sink your ship in Brazil. 

Have you read about the backlash Pearson Education received regarding a section about cultural awareness in a recent nursing textbook?

Initially, it started with a Facebook post outlining some crude cultural stereotypes, but the complaints soon grew large enough and loud enough for Pearson Education to take note.

Do you want to sell your products or services internationally?

Global sales are important for businesses looking to expand their client base, increase revenues or attract investment.

'Culturally aware' professionals have a distinct advantage over their peers.

International businesses increasingly cite Cultural Competence as a core requirement during the recruitment process.

Freelance linguists often complain of isolation, monotony and increasing competition within the profession.

Those looking for something new should consider cross-cultural training as it naturally lends itself to the talent of translators and linguists.

The following incident provides a great case study for the influence of cultural differences.

Guillaume Rey, a French waiter, was sacked from his job in a Canadian restaurant for being ‘aggressive, rude and disrespectful’

A common misconception held by many is that cultural awareness is a skill.

You either have or you don't have, or, at the very least, is a skill that can be learned through training.

Did you know the Japanese have over 20 ways to say 'sorry'?

If you plan to do business in Japan, you need to get up to speed with how apologies work in Japanese culture.

Why focus on 'culture' in the workplace?

Why do we need to look at 'culture' specifically?

As with any people, the Arabs look to the past for their sense of identity.

Arab history is tied to tribalism and the nomadic life of the desert.

Self-awareness is fundamental in raising cultural competence.

If you are unable to understand yourself, it will be very difficult to understand another.

Why do we focus on culture in corporate training? Is it really all that important?

Understanding the role culture plays in our lives is very important.

Doing business in the Middle East?

Then you need to understand the role of honour in the Arab world.

Online training for cross-cultural skills is in high demand. So why are corporate training stakeholders turning to e-learning?

Traditional face-to-face training has become more of a challenge over the past 15 or so years.

Essential to any sort of cultural awareness training are the two key concepts of stereotypes and bias.

As we touched on in an earlier blog, a common trap many of us naturally fall into when we are working in a cross-cultural situation is to let our own cultural lens get in the way.

We all know that a positive customer experience (CX) drives repeat business, increased turnover and higher profits.

Companies who work hard to ensure their customers have a positive experience certainly reap the rewards of their efforts.