International Marketing 10th Edition by Michael Czinkota, Michael Brumbach, Ilkka Ronkainen

Exercise 2

Gifts should always be chosen with great care. An ideal gift is one that represents the giver's own culture while being sensitive to the recipient's. For example, a Finn may give a Suunto compass to a Saudi business partner (to help him determine the direction for daily prayers). Some gifts are not suitable: clocks or other timepieces are symbols of death in China, while handkerchiefs symbolize tears in Latin America and Korea. What can a company do to culture-sensitize its staff?