people’s attitudes toward life, what and how to buy and son on. More seriously, people may even refuse to buy certain products or services for religious reasons. So it’s no wonder that a common and well-received product in one culture may meet its waterloo in another culture. According to the Hofstede’s analysis of Saudi Arabia, the Muslim faith plays a significant role in people’s lives. For example, Saudi Arabians should never show bare shoulders, stomach, calves or thighs. Despite heat, most of the body must always remain covered. Men should wear long pants and a shirt, preferably long-sleeved, buttoned up to the collar. Women should always wear modest clothing in public. Therefore, how could it be possible for Saudi customs officials to accept a package like that. If the US knitwear firm had been aware of the Muslim faith before their packaging, they would not have suffered a loss of thousands of dollars. This case demonstrates that moral standards vary from country to country. Thus when doing international trade, one should never take his own religion and moral standards for granted but should always bear those differences in mind.
Case 39
In this case, what is at issue is the correct translation for terms, as well as the accepted use of terms in the chicken trade. Oliver Holms, a famous judge in the US, said that “the making of a contract depends not on the agreement of two minds of one intention, but on the agreement of two sets of external signs – not on the parties having meant the same thing but on their having said the same thing. ” The meaning of chicken in Swiss culture is different from that in America. In this case, the failure was caused by the misunderstanding of the different meanings of chicken in each other’s culture. In Swiss, chicken has a specific meaning, while in America this term is used for any type of chicken. As the case went to trial in the US, it was judged according to the American culture, which seems unfair. However, unawareness of these cultural differences will definitely result in problems in intercultural communication.