Steve Chapman recalls sitting near a group of American business people at a restaurant in Great Britain. They were irate because their server wasn’t continually refilling their coffee cups, as most U.S. restaurants do.

“That’s not how it’s done there,” said Chapman, president and CEO of ITAGroup Inc., a West Des Moines-based corporate travel incentive company that organizes trips worldwide for clients throughout the United States. “You order a cup of coffee; you get a cup of coffee. If you want another one, you order another one.”

This cultural faux pas illustrates the need for U.S. travelers to educate themselves about the customs of the countries they’re visiting, “and have less of an attitude that our way is the right way,” Chapman said.

Americans’ ignorance – or in some cases arrogance — is clearly hurting U.S. companies that do business overseas, said Keith Reinhard, a New York advertising executive who founded Business for Diplomatic Action Inc. in 2004. The non-profit organization’s mission is to partner with businesses to improve America’s standing in the world. Reinhard is scheduled to speak at the Des Moines Embassy Club on Nov. 15 at an event presented by the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy in Des Moines.

“I at first thought in 2004 that companies would find it in their best interests and do it for financial reasons,” Reinhard said in a telephone interview. “But I’m finding there’s more of a concern about national security, and then about benefits to the company. If current trends continue, we won’t have friends to tip us off that our jetliners may get blown up.”

The Nov. 15 event will be the first effort by the recently organized Center for Citizen Diplomacy to reach out specifically to the business community, said Ann Olsen Schodde, the center’s executive director.

“It’s quite appropriate that Keith is working with the business community to show them how they can become very productive citizen diplomats,” Schodde said. “The business community may not see themselves in quite that role, but of course, they are.”

The center, which in July received a $1 million commitment from Des Moines businessman Ted Townsend to kick off its fund-raising efforts, is focused on recognizing and supporting the work of organizations dedicated to furthering citizen diplomacy, such as the Iowa Council for International Understanding and the Iowa Sister States program.

“I think what’s happening in Des Moines is wonderful,” Reinhard said. “That somebody (has come up) with this idea; that somebody comes up with $1 million, and that it’s all happening in the center of the country, which in many ways represents the best core values of our country. At the same time, many people are not aware of how we’re perceived in other countries.”

In a series of one-on-one interviews Business for Diplomatic Action completed with 50 business executives two years ago, “they were in general agreement this is a looming problem not only for the United States but also for business,” Reinhard said. On the other side of the equation, a survey of young professionals in the United Arab Emirates just completed by BDA found that “while these people really don’t like America in general, they still like American business,” Reinhard said. “And they aspire to go into business in their country, particularly in financial services and technology. When asked where they would like to acquire training, the top response is the United States.”

Those results should send a message to Des Moines business people, particularly those in smaller companies, he said.

“A lot of these people are interested in gaining entrepreneurial skills. So if a few small companies in Des Moines would sponsor some young Arab leaders … Meanwhile, they’ll see the real America as they integrate into the community.”

Mary Bussone, senior vice president for event management for ITAGroup, has witnessed firsthand the deterioration of America’s image abroad. In her more than 20 years with the company, she has traveled to at least 30 countries as she has coordinated business meetings and incentive travel for companies throughout the United States.

“Years ago, when I began traveling abroad, Americans were somewhat admired,” she said. “We had somewhat of an entrepreneurial spirit about us, and Europeans looked to us at that time as a little bit of a youthful breath of fresh air. But as we as a country matured and began to have our position in the world, I have seen a slow progression and change, where now it’s probably at its worst.”

Americans have a long way to go in becoming more conscious of the need to assimilate more to the cultures they’re visiting, Bussone said.

“We take our own viewpoints, our own way that we talk, eat, and we impose that onto every area that we go,” she said. “Consequently, we are viewed as the ugly American.”

ITA trains its own employees to be aware of cultural differences and provides information to its clients prior to trips. However, it’s up to those companies to make their employees aware of the issue, Bussone said, and in many cases there’s only so much a company can do if, for instance, it has independent sales agents.

Providing a more international perspective to students may be one way of addressing the problem. Reinhard said businesses can play a key role by insisting upon a more global approach to teaching in American schools and universities.

“Government listens to business,” he said. “Should we really be satisfied with an educational system that doesn’t teach our kids languages or world geography? I think business has a role to play there.”

Drake University, through its Center for Global Citizenship, has been an active partner with the business community on a number of events it has co-sponsored over the past four years. Using $450,000 in matching gifts from R.W. and Mary Nelson, the founders of Kemin Industries Inc., the center offers a Global Ambassador certificate program that has enabled dozens of Drake students to study abroad.

“We’ve had fantastic turnout at many of our events,” said David Skidmore, the center’s director and a professor of politics and international relations at Drake. “We’ve gone from 14 global ambassadors in the first year to over 50. We have growing faculty involvement through our grant projects. We’ve sent faculty overseas to conduct research or collaborate with institutions overseas, and they come back with an enthusiasm to infuse their courses with what they’ve learned overseas.”

Working with the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy, Drake’s Center for Global Citizenship will host a weeklong visit in January by Harriet Mayor Fulbright, president of the J. William & Harriet Fulbright Center. The non-profit organization serves to advance the work of Fulbright’s late husband, Sen. J. William Fulbright, in promoting world peace and non-violent ways of resolving conflicts through international collaborations and education.

Despite the damage that has been done in recent years to America’s image abroad, Reinhard said he is optimistic that actions can be taken to reverse the trend.

“That’s why I like the idea of the Center for Citizen Diplomacy,” he said. “With an estimated 60 million trips a year taken by Americans overseas, it’s an opportunity to make that many positive impressions. On the flip side, it’s a chance to make that many negative impressions, so it works both ways.”