Bc_lect Cross Culture

Communicating Across Cultural Lines Communication is one of the most basic means of getting your idea across, but when it comes down to communicating with someone outside your comfort zone things can become a little unnerving.

“The reasonable person adapts himself to the world, while the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself.”

George Bernard Shaw

Then and Now… The move towards a cross cultural world

Then… 

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Fairly homogenous societies Domestic markets dominate Poor transport Early days of technology

…Now  

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Multicultural societies International trade & commerce Global travel Internet, satellite technology and mobile phones

Then…  

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Domestic marketplaces Culturally homogenous colleagues, clients and customers Little international interaction Foreign language use limited

…Now  

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International markets Clients, customers and colleagues from across the globe Daily cross cultural interaction Foreign languages critical

The result A need for…  Global approach to business  Intercultural awareness in public and private sectors  Language proficiency  Cross cultural communication skills

Rethinking concepts for Intercultural communication in the global knowledge economy

Culture “An integrated pattern of human behavior that includes thoughts, communications, languages, practices, beliefs,values, customs, courtesies, rituals, manners of interacting and roles, relationships and expected behaviors of a racial, ethnic, religious or social group; and the ability to transmit the above to succeeding generations.”

The Three C’s: Cross-Cultural Competence “The ability to think, feel, and act in ways that acknowledges diversity, respects and build upon ethnic, sociocultural, and linguistic variables”

(Lynch and Hanson, 1998)

Cross-Cultural Competence Awareness:

assumptions, values, biases Understanding: worldview of culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) clients Knowledge: cultural differences, assessment and intervention strategies Skills: providing assessment and intervention services

The linguistic challenges of intercultural communication To combat: • Ambiguity • Interference • Lack of equivalence

Some immediate challenges to interculturalists  Understanding the role of language in the creation and sustaining of communication environment. 

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Developing a different understanding of negotiation Relating intercultural communication to the tasks of collaborative learning, knowledge sharing and networking.

Ways to Facilitate Communication Across Cultural Boundaries 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Recognize differences Build Your Self-Awareness Describe and Identify, then Interpret Don’t assume your interpretation is correct Verbalize your own non-verbal signs Share your experience honestly Acknowledge any discomfort, hesitation, or concern Practice politically correct communication Give your time and attention when communicating Don’t evaluate or judge

CROSS-CULTURAL MANAGEMENT MINIMIZES: 

Misunderstandings of etiquette, values, and behaviours.

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Costly discrimination suits that arise from poor communication and worker alienation.

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Unnecessary terminations that result from communication breakdown and misinterpretation of employee behaviour.

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Managers' reluctance to hire and work with culturally diverse workers. "Racism and discrimination that can result from misinterpretations of the behaviours of others."9

“Reconciling cultural differences in the shortest time is crucial to the success of a business merger”

- TCL President Li Dongsheng

Merger of Daimler Chrysler

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In the period leading up to the Daimler-Chrysler merger, both firms were performing quite well (Chrysler was the most profitable American automaker), and there was widespread expectation that the merger would be successful

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Stockholders in both companies overwhelmingly approved the merger and the stock prices and analyst predictions reflected this optimism.

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Performance after the merger,however, was entirely different, particularly at the Chrysler division.

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Operations and management were not successfully integrated as “equals” because of the very different ways in which the Germans and Americans operated:

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while Daimler-Benz’s culture stressed a more formal and structured management style

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Chrysler favored a more relaxed, freewheeling style (to which it owed a large part of its pre-merger financial success).

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In addition, the two units traditionally held entirely different views on important things like pay scales and travel expenses.

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As a result of these differences and the German unit’s increasing dominance, performance and employee satisfaction at Chrysler took a steep downturn

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There were large numbers of departures among key Chrysler executives and engineers, while the German unit became increasingly dissatisfied with the performance of the Chrysler division.

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Chrysler employees became extremely dissatisfied with what they perceived as the source of their division’s problems: Daimler’s attempts to take over the entire organization and impose their culture on the whole firm.4

CROSS CULTURAL CONFLICTS When cultures clash, no matter what the cause, things should inevitably evolve into a 'them' and 'us' environment for success.

Merger of Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Compaq Computer

Cultural integration Cultural integration of two organizations following an acquisition depends on the compatibility of the contents of their respective cultures as well as the demographic flows of persons into and out of the new entity.  Merger of HP and COMPAQ took place in 2002. 

Culture at Compaq 

Compaq tended to be more marketoriented and aggressive.

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Here people appeared to be quite good at having constructive, open to conflict and decisions making environment.

Culture at HP 

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HP had a traditional way emphasing on teamwork, consensus, and the long-term view. HP has a strong value around respect for the individual and trust for the individual. They never want conflict. They will really wouldn't make a decision until virtually everyone in the room was in agreement.

Similarities in their cultures. 

There are certainly some cultural similarities between the two companies on the IT server front,". "They both approach it from the hardware background."

Merger HP and Compaq 

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After 18 months of bitter fight, the biggest merger in the technology industry was completed. At the time of merger, it was worth $19 billion approximately. The New HP has retained a few of the Compaq products and brands, especially in the business PC range. Customers continue to hear Presario brand of PCs and iPaq handhelds.

What do they gain? 

The big gain for the combined entity is LARGER CUSTOMER BASE.

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Coupled with the elimination of overlapping computer product lines, this lead to LOWER COSTS for the same revenues.

Hence prices came down and become more competitive which helped them in garnering a greater share of the market.  Single factory, improved logistics, strengthened distribution system and better negotiation with suppliers are some of the areas which would help in cutting cost. 

Things they do  

Carleton’s firm helped HP conduct 144 focus groups and 150 interviews in 22 countries. The data from the interviews was used to shape an integration plan that included the early appointment of the top three levels of management, a “Fast Start” training program that brought HP and Compaq employees together in the first weeks after the merger, and a multitude of meetings in which employees explored mutual cultural issues.

Language barriers and icebergs 

Much of the company's early work has been focused on two areas: minimizing disruption to customers and working to avoid internal culture clashes.

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By taking cautious steps successful merger was possible even in culturally diverse companies

Good Intercultural Communicators Are….  Aware values &

behaviors not always “right”  Flexible & open to

change.

And…..  Sensitive to verbal

& nonverbal behavior.  Aware of values, beliefs, practices of other cultures.  Sensitive to differences within cultures.

EX 3.1 High Context and Low Context Countries High Context: Meaning Im plicit Languages Japanese Arabs Surrounding Inform ation Necessary for Understanding

Latin Am ericans Italians British French North Am ericans Scandinavians Germ ans Swiss

Low Context: Meaning Explicit in Language

High-Context Cultures 

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Infer information from message context, rather than from content. Prefer indirectness, politeness & ambiguity. Convey little information explicitly. Rely heavily on nonverbal signs.

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Asian Latin American Middle Eastern

Low-Context Cultures 

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Rely more on content rather than on context. Explicitly spell out information. Value directness. See indirectness as manipulative. Value written word more than oral statements.

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European Scandinavian North American

Some Cultural Scenarios

Japan

China

India

Mexico

JAPAN To help her American Company establish a presence in Japan, Mrs. Torres wants to hire a local interpreter who can advise her on business customs. Ms. Tomari has superb qualifications on paper, but when Mrs. Torres tries to probe about her experience, Ms. Tomari just says, “I will do my best. I will try very hard.” She never gives details about any of the previous positions she has held. Mrs. Torres begins to wonder if Ms. Tomari's résumé is inflated.

CHINA Stan Williams wants to negotiate a joint venture between his American firm and a Beijing-based company. He asks Tung-Sen Lee if the Chinese people have enough discretionary income to afford his product. Mr. Lee is silent for a time, and then says, “Your product is good. People in the West must like it.” Stan smiles, pleased that Mr. Lee recognizes the quality of his product, and he leaves a contract for Mr. Lee to sign. Weeks later, Stan still hasn’t heard anything.

INDIA Gloria Johnson is proud of her participatory management style. Assigned in Bombay on behalf of her U.S.-based company, she is careful not to give orders but to ask for suggestions. But the employees rarely suggest anything. Even a formal suggestion system she established does not work. Worse still, she doesn’t sense the respect and camaraderie that she felt at the plant she managed in Texas. Perhaps the people in India just are not ready for a woman boss.

MEXICO Alan Caldwell is a U.S. sales representative in Mexico City. He makes appointments with Senõr Lopez and is careful to be on time, but his host is frequently late. To save time, Alan tries to get right to business, his host wants to talk about sightseeing and about Alan’s family. Even worse, the meetings are interrupted constantly with phone calls, long conversations with other people, and even customers’ children who come into the office. Alan’s first report to his home office is very negative. He hasn’t yet made a sale. Perhaps Mexico just isn’t the right place to do business.