The International Business Etiquette Guide is a comprehensive business culture and etiquette aide that provides information relating to speakers of ten of the major languages of the world, as well as important country-specific tips to remember when traveling.

Whether conducting business in Mozambique, Mexico, or anywhere in between, the International Business Etiquette Guide steers the business traveler through proper business meetings and business card etiquette and assists them in gaining the respect of their foreign colleagues.

In Japan, there are more opportunities for making etiquette mistakes than you can shake a chopstick at -- hang on, better not do that, it may cause offense. For every Japanese etiquette mistake listed here, there are another 50 that could have your face turning as red as a Japanese plum.

To help smooth things along and keep that all-important social harmony intact, we've compiled a list of 10 Japanese etiquette mistakes you really don't want to make. You'll be pleased to know, however, that Japanese folk are generally pretty generous toward the non-Japanese who don't know the rules, so don't spend too much time worrying about the occasional indiscretion -- and be sure to enjoy yourself.

In the last few years, a growing number of Americans in their 20s and 30s have been heading to China for employment, lured by its faster-growing economy and lower jobless rate. Their Chinese co-workers are often around the same age.

“The tight collaboration of the two countries in business and science makes the Chinese-American pairing one of the most common in the workplace in China,” said Vas Taras, a management professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, a specialist in cross-cultural work group management.

A new MIT report suggests people from different cultures use their brains differently to solve the same visual perceptual tasks.

Psychological research has established that American culture, which values the individual, emphasizes the independence of objects from their contexts, while East Asian societies emphasize the collective and the contextual interdependence of objects.

Effective communication is difficult under the best of conditions. Cross-cultural factors clearly create the potential for increased communication problems. American organizations have generally believed that more information is better, but are learning that is not the case.

As more information is needed for employees and as multiple cultures now inhabit the same workspace, corporate efforts toward effective intra-organizational communication will require overcoming tremendous challenges as to how information is successfully communicated.

American culture teaches its members to “save time.” In Mexico, one “spends” time.

When Americans and Mexicans communicate, they often seem to enter a time warp where words confuse and behavior confounds. There is a reason for this. Every culture strictly mandates the behavior of each and every one of its members. And since the different behavior required by different cultures has communicative meaning, when Mexicans and Americans interact, it is not surprising that misunderstanding can occur.

When we visit another country where a different language is spoken, it is obvious that it is necessary for someone to speak the other’s language in order to surmount this barrier and verbally communicate.

What is not so obvious, however, is that cultural barriers are greater than language barriers and they frequently provoke reactions that are both negative and emotional. What is considerate behavior in one country may be rude in another.

What is a sensitive issue to one culture, to another may not be a point of any consequence. Therefore, we really need to learn to “speak” the culture.

Steven Gaffney, president of the Steven Gaffney Company, is a leading expert on honest, interpersonal communication, influence and leadership . Thousands of people credit, Steven’s speeches, seminars, TV, and radio appearances as well as his books and products with making immediate and lasting change in both their organizations as well as their personal lives.

Serving such a diverse clientele has enabled Steven to create and implement innovative, cross-discipline solutions to achieve maximum effect. His clients include Marriott, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, BP, Citigroup, American Express, SAIC, Allstate Insurance, Blue Care Network, Texas Instruments, CIA, US Department of the Treasury, NASA, American Cancer Society, The US Navy, The US Marine Corp, among many others.

Golden Rule: Identify a person the way she or he asks to be identified, regardless of forthcoming litany.

Here are guidelines for bias-free communication.

The Four Seasons leads the hospitality industry with innovative enhancements and high standards, because their globally located teams of employees are single-focused.

This requires their leadership on all levels to have cultural intelligence, cultural sensitivity and a reinforced tolerance for cultural differences. Naturally, this doesn’t happen while operating in a bubble; but rather while stretching across cultural lines.