Cultural Communication

Cultural Communication

January 25, 2008

To: Terrence Jensen

From: Taylor James

Subject: Fall 2008 Marketing Campaign Trip

As you requested, I have done research on Italian business etiquette in preparation for our marketing campaign trip in April. The quality of our presentations, business and personal; the gifts and entertaining styles we choose; and our negotiating styles should be carefully constructed and considered for the meetings taking place on this trip.

Presenting Our Materials And Ourselves

The Italians practice “Bella Figura” which translates to beautiful figure (Executive Planet, n.d.), and is a higher level of formality in business than we use here in the United States. Punctuality and eye contact are both important, especially since we are international clients. (Communicaid, n.d.) It is advised that we bring a translator, present our business cards with our information, including our full titles and any degrees we have, translated into Italian on one side, (Executive Planet, n.d.) and have our proposal materials available in both English and Italian. (Kwintessential, n.d.) Our appointments should be made at least two to three weeks in advance and reconfirmed by phone just before they are to take place. (Kwintessential, n.d.)

Italians consider appearance highly important whether it be how people are dressed or how a proposal is presented – both should be aesthetically pleasing. (Executive Planet, n.d.). Dressing well is imperative. Business dress is more formal, involving dark suits and flawless shoes. (Executive Planet, n.d.) In Italy, clothing will be perceived as a reflection of your social standing and relative success, as well as your competence as a businessperson. (Executive Planet, n.d.)

Giving Gifts And Entertaining

The gifts that we are taking should be of a finer nature than we would normally give to our American colleagues. We should not take anything with our company logo, and if we are going to take something to them from our country, there should be specific reason or background information as to why we chose it. (Executive Planet, n.d.) Thank you cards should definitely be taken, as cards are not commonly sent there and will be received with interest. (Communicaid,

Terry Jenner 2 January