World's Friendliest Countries

According to an Expat Explorer Survey commissioned by HSBC, these nations are the most hospitable to expatriates :
10. USA
9. Spain
8. Singapore
7. Hong Kong
6. South Africa
5. Malaysia
4. Thailand
3. Australia
2. Canada
1. Bahrain
The survey used eight measures : organizing school for my children; organizing my finances; organizing my health care; finding somewhere to live; making friends; making local friends; setting up utilities; and joining local community groups. The combined scores on these measures were used to identify ranking. What do you think ?
(Source : Rebecca Ruiz, viewable at : http://travel.yahoo.com/p-interests-30903755)

Joke from Argentina

I'd like to share with you a snapshot of sense of humor in other countries. Here's a joke from Argentina :

An elderly couple goes to Burger King, where they carefully split a burger and fries. A trucker takes pity on them and offers to buy the wife her own meal. "It's all right," says the husband. "We share everything."
A few minutes later, the trucker notices that the wife hasn't taken a bite. "I really wouldn't mind buying your wife her own meal," he insists. "She'll eat," the husband assures him. "We share everything."
Unconvinced, the trucker implores the wife, "Why aren't you eating?"
The wife snaps, "Because I'm waiting for the teeth!"
(Source, Reader's Digest World Funniest Jokes, 2010)

Cross-cultural Writing Differences

In an international journalism conference, participants were asked to write an article about elephants. Here are article titles journalists from different countries came up with :
British – Hunting elephants in British East Africa
French – The love life of elephants in French
German – The origin and development of the Indian elephant in the years 1200-1950 (600 pages)
American – How to breed bigger and better elephants
Russian – How we sent an elephant to the moon.
Swede – Elephants and the welfare state
Spaniard – Techniques of elephant fighting
Finn – What the elephants think about Finland
Norwegian – Norway and Norway’s mountains
(Source : The book “When Culture Collide” by Richard Lewis)
While this was created for humor, the reality is that even in the way we write a cultural dimension is ever present.

World's Funniest Joke is from Sweden

Reader's Digest held a global competition to find the funniest joke. The selected winner was a joke from Sweden. See if you agree :

SWEDEN

Visiting the countryside on a hunting trip, the well-dressed man from Stockholm takes aim and shoots a duck. But the fowl drops into a farmer's field, and the farmer claims it. Since both want it, the farmer suggests settling the dispute with an old fashioned hick-kick. "I kick you as hard as I can in the crotch, then you do the same to me," he explains. "Whoever screams the least gets the bird."
The city man agrees. So the farmer winds up and delivers a crushing blow to the man's privates, and he collapses to the ground. Twenty minutes later, when he finally manages to stand, he gasps, "My turn."
"Nah," says the farmer, turning away. "You can keep the duck."
(Source : Reader's Digest, 2010)

What is the height of globalization ?

(Not necessarily the funniest global business joke, but it says a lot about global business)


Question: What is the height of globalization?

Answer: Princess Diana's death.

Question: How come?

Answer: An English princess with an Egyptian boyfriend crashes in a French tunnel, driving a German car with a Dutch engine, driven by a Belgian who was high on Scottish whiskey, followed closely by Italian Paparazzi, on Japanese motorcycles, treated by an American doctor, using Brazilian medicines! That, my friend, is Globalization. (Source : Personal email correspondence)

Global Business : Anecdotes and Antidotes

Hi, I'm a US-based international business professor on a quest for the most fascinating stories and theories in global business. I'd love to hear insights and viewpoints from all corners of the world ! Whether you have a funny story when doing business overseas (anecdote) or a potential solution to a global business problem (antidote) - share 'em. My intention is to turn this blog into a global hub for academics, businessmen, and executives - to learn from each other, while having fun. Let me take the first step in this journey by asking three questions (you may answer any of them) : (1) what's the most amusing thing that ever happened to you when doing business overseas ? (2) what's the funniest international joke that you've heard (3) what do you think is the biggest challenge in global business and what solutions are possible ?