Area has its share of Asian experts at the ready to help a company large or small make the move into that region.
By: George Frey
The Princeton area has its share of Asian experts at the ready to help a company large or small make the move into that region.
Even small businesses are increasingly required to become more global as their clients need them to supply services wherever they are, said Catherine Mercer Bing, the vice president of human resources and new business development with International Training Associates of Princeton. Ms. Bing attended the NJGBI event.
"Essentially what we do is global business consulting," she said. ITAP also has offices in the UK and Korea. Additionally, there are about 20 associate offices worldwide. The firm offers cultural consulting services for a variety of companies and industries.
Ms. Bing said ITAP tries to present overlooked cultural differences and the illogical nature of communication to clients. Business, she said, is brisk.
"We park on the driveway and drive on the parkway," she said about American English. Ms. Bing has whole seminars devoted to idioms in American English that people in other countries have a hard time understanding. "To a lot of people, 9.11 is the ninth of November. I try to show people how to understand themselves better to communicate business."
Another common obstacle involves not knowing what foreign cultures and organizations expect or regard as credible, Ms. Bing said.
"Many small or medium-size companies that want to move to Asia think ‘We’ll get someone to sell for us,’ and that’s it. In Japan, if you don’t have your own office in the country, they won’t take you seriously. They won’t deal with you. They go into arrangements for the long-term."
For instance, the concept of time in business arrangements in Europe, the Middle East and Asia spans well beyond the contract, she said. In many instances, in fact, the contract is less important than establishing a friendship and trust with the people you’re dealing with.
"We have a few hundred years of history in the U.S. Our reality and way of doing business is really focused on the present and on the short term. It’s much different in Asia. It’s not uncommon for a Japanese or a Chinese firm to have a 100-year plan for their businesses."
Others at the NJGBI presentation used the event more as a networking tool and were trying to offer up their own help to other companies.
"I was a banker for eight years in Honk Kong and China," said Princeton Township resident Thomas Pyle, a self-described "good old boy executive" who worked for Deutsche Bank and Bank Austria, among other corporate and government positions. He said he attended the NJGBI event to get up to speed on the current business climate in the Far East because he is hoping to return there to work.
"They seemed to be plugged in and switched on. Doing international business involves a lot of networks. Having networks, contacts and trade missions is important. The state also has people posted around the world that can help. It’s good to have competent officials that can help a company follow up, open doors and serve as a contact on both sides of the ocean.
"I want to offer my time-honed expertise in that region to a new company," he said. "I have a lot of experience in the finance and rhythms of large infrastructure projects. I know about the intercultural interfaces."
If there had been enough time to approach all international trade issues at the meeting, Mr. Pyle said it would have been interesting to talk about how China is quickly trying to comply with World Trade Organization rules and what will come about in that region.
"There will be serious implications when China wants to assert itself over Taiwan. With its growing economic prosperity, China will build its military and could claim Taiwan," Mr. Pyle predicted. He called it the most important geo-political situation in the world because of China’s military might. What the U.S. reaction would be is anyone’s guess, he said. A Chinese grab for Taiwan could happen within the next 10 years, he said.
"Right now, China’s hand strengthens as North Korea calls out the U.S. It’s in China’s interest to help settle the dispute, but not without China negotiating concessions from the U.S."
Offering his best advice to companies that want to move into the region, Mr. Pyle said they should get moving, as China is changing rapidly and could be the largest economy by 2020. "It’s a contender. Be there; you must do it. Get in touch with those offices," he said.
Ms. Bing will be speaking at the Princeton Human Resources Management Association on March 10, and at a March 19 Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce meeting. Both programs will include a look at English as a crazy language, and how speakers of English can improve their content and style for business in foreign countries. For more information visit the Web site www.itapintl.com

