The ABC’s 4 Corners program recently showed controversial footage of the challenges Australian universities face when attracting and assessing international students, especially those from China.

The program highlights the dilemma that comes about when commercial viability clashes with, in this case, maintaining academic standards. As a lecturer at the University of New South Wales, I am only too aware of the pressures Australian universities face in overcoming cross cultural management issues.

However, despite these pressures, Australian universities have demonstrated how Australia can attract much needed export revenue. Last year I wrote 2 blogs, Chinese cultural awareness is key for Australian companies seeking successful business relationships and Coming from the North: why Australia needs to embrace our Chinese visitors, that consider how Australia can focus on its high quality service sectors to increase trade with its northern neighbours.

As Asia, and especially China, grows richer, its expanding middle class aspire to quality. The success of Australian companies in this lucrative market is based on their ability to adapt to an often very different commercial environment.

Here are some top line recommendations based on popular case studies:

Customers in Asia have very different needs and aspirations – find out what they are

We often refer to Asia’s growing middle class; however we also easily forget that the needs of this group are substantially different from those of Australia’s middle class.The End of Corporate Imperialism gives some good examples of Western companies paying a high price for making assumptions about the middle classes of the developing world. They include Kellogg’s who made a huge investment in changing the eating habits of Indian people and in doing so opened the door to a large array of local competitors. The people making up middle class in developing countries still have contrastingly low incomes.

This brings new challenges when hoping to harness their spending power, and it can be tough for overseas companies who fail to take this into account, because cross cultural sensitivities are paramount to doing business in other countries.

Bundaberg’s recent success in Asia is partly due to the company’s ability to adapt, which included creating a unique Ginger beer recipe especially designed for Asian customers.

Create a cross cultural team, not an Australian team

So often companies recruit local staff and spend many wasted hours trying to get these new recruits to simulate their home office practises. They are then surprised when this initially motivated team becomes completely disengaged.

Core to the success of Renault Nissan’s alliance was the creation of a unique company culture as opposed to a French or Japanese one. Carlos Ghosn who spearheaded the road to success even insisted on English as the company language rather than French or Japanese

Understand success takes time

As can be seen from Bundaberg’s key learnings – you can’t rush – when doing business in Asia. Asian markets call for resilience and commitment through both good and bad times. Building a strong customer base in Asia simply takes longer and Asian consumers do not appreciate companies that have a yoyo strategy of limiting their investments to boom times and exiting as soon as the going gets tough. Be loyal to build loyalty.

There’s no doubt that dealing with cross cultural differences can often cause discomfort. And, although Australian universities may still face some cross cultural management issues, they do throw a spotlight on Asia’s huge commercial potential. If the need to change business practices seems daunting, it’s worth considering the consequences of Australian businesses missing out on this inevitable boom, especially when, according to a recent report, successfully exporting Australia’s services to Asia could create up to 1 million jobs.

It’s important for companies to consider the whole picture and to embrace the cross cultural divide, that may include learning the language, getting to know business practices and understanding the role of religion and it’s impact on day-to-day life. But it’s worth it, because success is always more preferable to failure.