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LONDON -- Many British company directors ignore foreign languages and customs when they go to Europe to do business, a survey revealed Tuesday.
Around half of the 250 directors of major British firms surveyed by mobile phone company Cellnet said they made no effort to study local business etiquette. More than 30 percent admitted they had not bothered to learn even the most basic phrases of the local language when they went abroad on business.
"Our European counterparts have a huge advantage over us, through the ever-so-cunning technique of learning our language," said Cellnet general manager Steve Rowley.
The workings of the European Union remained a mystery to most directors -- 74 percent said they did not understand the Maastricht Treaty very well or did not understand it all.
British CEOs On Business: It's All Greek
30 November 1994
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