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Doing business abroad is a challenging skill for professionals to master. Each culture has a unique code of ethics that is often contrary to those across the globe. In order to successfully conduct business internationally, it would be ideal for businesspeople to take time consulting with coworkers about past experiences, brushing up on basic language skills, and even participating in detailed training courses.

In reality, there is often not enough time in the day to make all of the ideal preparations prior to a business trip. For business travelers lacking the optimal planning time, there are several applications available for mobile devices that can help them to avoid the most damaging cultural blunders without losing too much of their valuable work week.

Over the past ten years, has emerged as a major global power capable of wide scale competition in the international marketplace. Being the world’s fifth-largest land mass and the eighth-largest economy, Brazil has become one of the top global producers of market necessities including vegetables, minerals, water, and energy. Brazil’s economic growth correlates with the relative decline of United States influence in and the rise of new . Now, Brazil is looking to exert its force as a global heavyweight with an ambitious foreign policy.

There has been much debate about what the should and should not do in order to solve its financial issues. and : Who should stay? Who should leave? Who should be expelled?

Traditionally free trade agreements and their kin are the principle agents of more competitive, efficient, and economically viable countries. However, people often look at the overall effect of FTA’s in their questioning for whether or not FTA’s should be implemented. The smaller country is usually considered the major benefactor after an FTA is implemented, but what happens when the opposite happens? There is an obvious, glaring example that is often overlooked, I myself just stumbled upon it a few days ago. Looking at Europe currently, you have the PIIGS, the countries that seem to be on the fast track to nowhere, and the rest of the Union. The idea behind the Union was that the economies could build on each other and raise the smaller less developed countries to the same standard as the U.K., France and Germany. Did this actually happen though?

Cotton prices have recently reached record highs and have begun to cause some clothing retailers problems. Many clothing stores import their cotton from various countries in Asia, so they are often at the mercy of their suppliers. and are two of the top producers of cotton in the world, and they have recently undergone some industry changes that may lead to lower profit margins for their European buyers.

How do restaurants keep customers coming back and attracting new ones? All of us become critics when we try something new. From the outside look of the restaurant to the choice of napkins, every little detail factors into the way customers rate it. The atmosphere and decorations are some of the main essentials; however, the most important factor that makes a dining experience memorable is the skill of the chef.

Wondering where to go next? The answer is easy, Korea. Approaching the top ten largest economies in the world, it is often overlooked because of its physical distance and the close proximity of its big brothers China and Japan. In fact, Korea has recently doubled its GDP and its imports from the United States. So while recent news may be bringing adverse attention to Korea, it is starting to bring to the spotlight an economy that is growing and is expected to soon become a major economic partner of the United States.

While just about everyone in the world knows that in aggregate the world has been going through a so-called “Great Recession,” not nearly as many people understand how it has impacted the different regions in the world. Now, thanks to a new study called the produced by The Brookings Institute and the London School of Economics, they can.

Do you ever wonder why Facebook and websites always manage to have ads that seem very specific to you? Originally it was the cookie that tracked what you did, where you went, and how you used your internet. After that big scare many people started deleting their cookies every time they surfed the internet. Now? Facebook had the novel idea of the “like” button. Every time a person “likes” something, “magically” they will start seeing more ads geared towards that interest. The next step you ask? The digital fingerprint.

Continuous innovation is essential for companies to remain competitive in any industry. Businesses refusing to adapt to product and process improvements have quickly been left in the dust by competitors. Stability in business is based on the ability of management to consistently and effectively adapt to changes in the external business environment.

In collaborative partnerships, suppliers and customers work jointly to develop products that will be popular on the open market. A published by Michael Schrage in the Harvard Business Review shed some light on how to develop partnerships that are conducive to effective collaboration.