"In Brazil, as in any Latin country, women aren't taken as seriously as they are here," says Parra, assistant to a vice president in the Cartoon Network's Miami office. "So you have to present yourself assertively. You can't be flirty. Dress conservatively. Think about what you say before you say it." And after a meal with business colleagues, "let a man pick up the check." To do otherwise, she has learned, might offend.
While Parra had some feel for Latin America, many businesspeople stumble when transferred overseas. Employees who don't get language training and cultural orientation aren't as likely to succeed and their families may be miserable - the main reason international transfers fail. "Sometimes you see these wives break down in tears, they're so scared," says Kay Rafool, director of Language Link, an Illinois-based firm that does business in Florida. "If a company doesn't prepare them, it's like sabotaging the assignment."
Failure can be costly. Relocating a family abroad can run up to $200,000, including a preliminary trip, packing, moving, selling the old house and finding a new one. "Cross-cultural training is like an insurance policy," says Erin Giordano, marketing associate for Berlitz International, the Princeton, N.J.-based language service.
Language schools geared toward training for Latin America are proliferating in major Florida cities and abroad - Costa Rica, Chile, Brazil, Mexico and elsewhere. In countries where training is cheap in U.S. dollars, the growth is dramatic. Although there's no official count, language-school operators estimate Guatemala is home to at least 50 language schools.
Business expansion is fueling demand. A recent survey of international firms found that 75% believe transfers abroad will increase in the next five years. Other factors: Managers are increasingly expected to handle projects in foreign countries and small firms are doing deals abroad for the first time. Berlitz even has a crash course for employees leaving on short notice called "Arrive and Survive."
Language firms offer a variety of packages for employees and families, including intensive study abroad in an English-free environment. David Bass, an Orlando environmental engineer who wanted to prepare for projects in Central America, spent two weeks learning Spanish in Guatemala last year through the language firm AmeriSpan. "The best way to learn is just go down there and start talking," he says.
Language Link's executive program in Cuernavaca, Mexico, boasts clients such as Caterpillar and Shell Oil. "Students" live with a Mexican family, study Spanish and take trips to factories, farms and other business sites. Training is offered in business entertaining, working with foreign managers, etc. Four weeks' training, including a private room and all meals, runs $4,500, not including airfare.
Cross-cultural lessons can also come with a personal touch. Atkins International "consultants" are part teacher, part social worker. In addition to language instruction, consultants coach family members on how to enroll in a new school, find a dentist and follow social etiquette. "We stay in touch with them for up to a year," says Atkins President Mary Rhodes. Cost for a husband and wife: about $5,000. "We're about getting families to be self-sufficient," she says. "The hand-holding part makes the difference."
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FAUX PAS
Cross-Cultural Blunders
Latin America: If you try to talk business over lunch or dinner, you won't get far. Social chitchat is the rule. Business can resurface over coffee.
Brazil: Never use the thumb-to-forefinger "Okay" sign. It's an obscenity.
Shanghai: An associate you pass on the street asks, "Have you eaten yet?" This is a greeting and requires no response. If you say, "No," the associate may feel compelled to play host.
Germany: In meetings, use titles and don't refer to your boss by his or her first name. For example, address a physician named Greta Braun as "Frau Doktor Braun," not "Greta."
Middle East: When greeting a Saudi, you may be tempted to ask about his health and his wife's health. Men should never inquire about other men's wives, no matter how innocently.
Source: Berlitz International