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Growing, Growing ... Gone? China's under control, Europe's finally reforming, and the global economic outlook is rosy, right? Not quite
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Follow The Stars Forget politicians and titans of industry — celebs like Bono, Sharon Stone and Angelina Jolie set the agenda at the World Economic Forum
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Davos Identity Have business élites lost touch with their national roots? The WEF annual meeting in Davos this week crystallizes the debate over globalization
Posted Sunday, January 23, 2005; 11:27 GMT As anti-Americanism has grown in a post-9/11 world, firms that teach good manners to U.S. businesspeople have flourished. A once fledgling industry of protocol schools and etiquette consultants now serves a growing list of American corporate clients that pay $10,000 or more a day to learn the cultural sensitivities of far-flung regions.
"Increasingly, it's about building relationships, something American businesses are just beginning to understand," says Jacqueline Whitmore, director of the Protocol School of Palm Beach, Florida, who has seen her business triple in the past three years. Faux pas often begin, etiquette experts say, with an overly familiar, laid-back style in locales where "business casual" is an oxymoron and first names are reserved for family and close friends. Polo shirts aside, the minefields are everywhere: skipping tea drinking in Asia, for example, and forsaking small talk to rush headlong into negotiations. In some parts of Asia and the Middle East, guests should never clean their plate; if they do, it's a sign that they are still hungry, and their host will serve them more.
"We have somehow been tabbed with the term Ugly Americans," says Roger Axtell, author of eight books on business etiquette. "It's a bad rap. I don't think we are Ugly Americans, but we are often Unprepared Americans."
:: Building Bridges Feb. 08, 2001
Much of Davos was devoted to closing the gap between the technology haves and have-nots
:: Doubts At Davos Jan. 27, 2003
At 2003's World Economic Forum meeting, misgivings about America are the talk of the town
:: What The World Needs Now Jan. 19, 2004
Smaller nations have the chance to put poverty, AIDS and the environment back on the table
:: Voices Of A New Generation Jan. 19, 2003
Eight young leaders with huge hopes for Europe and big ideas about how to make a difference.
:: Rotten At The Core? Jan. 27, 2004
Germany and France have always driven E.U. integration, but smaller states say Berlin and Paris should move over
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The War On PovertyApr. 15, 2003
In office just two months, President Lula da Silva and his team have begun to tackle inequality in Brazil
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Can't Stand The Heat Mar. 22, 2001
Global warming is making many winter-sports lovers hot under the collar
Mogadishu at 60 Miles an Hour Arms merchants are once again doing brisk business after a rapid change of power in this tough town, but so far the peace has held
The Year of The Nuke A rundown of the world's nuclear powerhouses, and what to expect in the coming months
As anti-Americanism has grown in a post-9/11 world, firms that teach good manners to U.S. businesspeople have flourished. A once fledgling industry of protocol schools and etiquette consultants now serves a growing list of American corporate clients that pay $10,000 or more a day to learn the cultural sensitivities of far-flung regions.
