Knowledge in intercultural communication is a prerequisite for successful intercultural business communication, but by itself it is not enough. A useful point here can be made about the US middle manager who was moved to the German office of an American company in order to replace the current manager who had resigned. The initial days of his management were very unproductive as he was at a loss what to do in that unknown environment. Neither did he have profound knowledge of the German culture so in his first months he was assigned a German to English Translation consultant as his counterpart. Now he is by the end of his stay and he can boast that he has gained a more profound understanding of the business practices in Germany, which is partly due to his ability to give preference to the team, not to himself only. However this in-depth analysis of the German business laws has proved insufficient as he will now have to take into account both the business etiquette and current economic situation there. Besides this, he will be required to work for the objectives of the firm, which will include overcoming the stereotypical images of some key financial values still prevalent in Europe. He will as well have to make sense of the way a particular company mechanism governs the establishment of marketing objectives, the reception of data and the way in which vital changes are approved. In a nutshell, he will have to convince his superiors that he is worth the position he occupies and he can make important decisions.
Business people who are engaged in intercultural business communication need to ask how much they need to know about a particular culture and what they should know about that culture. The research on culture must specifically focus on economic practices relevant to each country. The consequences may be quite unpleasant as the intercultural communication actor may acquire the wrong information and it misinterpretation may lead to losses for the company. Referring to the French as a football nation is right but it does not specify how this helps doing business with them and how a successful deal can be concluded. Nevertheless, what is of crucial importance here is speaking the French language, which, if not mastered, must be aided by an English to French Translation professional who will interpret in key situations. In most situations, the knowledge of French football teams will not be crucial for the success of negotiations carried out by foreign partners.
The actors in the play called intercultural business communication must learn in advance about the basic elements of each of the cultures that they are going to enact in their roles. Furthermore, they need to familiarize themselves with specific discourses. After all, it is individuals that communicate with each other, not cultures. The focus on individuals also helps avoid the traditional tendency to talk about the categorical Arab audience. It is at this point that the assistance of an Certified Arabic Translator expert can be invaluable, otherwise some stereotypes may be formed. It is unnecessary to generalize categories here, so it can be presumed that it is more difficult to carry out successful international economic discourse than it was before. Obviously, we should not determine the importance of the multicultural discourse only by the degree of individuality each process is invested with, but we should also consider the group factor.