Why Call the NTD?

Whenever she has to plan a meeting in a country that's new to her, Karen D. Tucker makes her first call to a tourist or convention bureau. Tucker, president of the Newton, Mass.based consulting company Meeting Services Connection, has learned that it helps to have an inside partner in countries where business customs, language, and cultural values differ. "You don't need to know everything about everywhere," Tucker says. "What you need to be good at is knowing what questions to ask, finding