Site of the Month for August 2011 relates to Asia Business. Directory Asian is the comprehensive business directory of Asia including business, economy, education, computers, health, real estate, recreation, sports, shopping, transportation, travel & tourism.

If you don’t make an effort to understand the culture of the people you are looking to trade with, you will probably fail to achieve the level of success you desire. Saying “I am from Australia and didn’t realise that would be considered rude” is a lame excuse, and will be treated as such. “I didn’t understand” can be translated as “I didn’t bother to do my research”.

If Asia is Asia, then basically once you have researched one country you have mastered them all, right? Wrong! Asia is a region, not a country. There are so many variances from one country to another that need to be understood — I couldn’t hope to possibly cover them all in this column.

The following are important issues to consider as social conduct rules. They can alter significantly and are often foreign to our upbringing.

* Appropriate strength of a handshake can vary.

* To bow or not to bow?

* Do you initiate a handshake to women?

* What name do you use in an introduction or meeting?

* When should you exchange business cards?

* What should be written on the card?

* Do you understand what can be considered as obscene gestures?

* Appropriate business attire?

* Is gift giving appropriate?

* Are certain colours offensive?

I am not implying that doing business in Asian region means that you need to become an expert on regional customs, but it is important to make a genuine effort to understand local people and their culture.

Following are key extracts taken from the web on appropriate business conduct in Singapore. I don’t know about other executives, but without doing this research, I would be 99 per cent sure to offend in some small way:

* Do not touch anyone on the head — not even a child — as the head is considered sacred;

* Never signal or point at someone with your forefinger;

* Do not pound your fist on an open palm; it is an obscene gesture in Singapore;

* The foot is considered the lowest part of the body, and is thought of as being unclean;

* Never point your foot or the sole of your shoe at anyone;

A common question asked of executives when talking with a new contact is, “What do you know about my business?”. If you don’t know the answer, you go nowhere. If you know about the technical aspects of their business, but demonstrate limited knowledge of their social conduct rules, the result could well be the same.