Gip

QuickTimeª and a TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor are needed to see this picture.

The Professor and the Baby Carriage A large-built Texan, a university professor of German, scheduled his sabbatical leave in Germany. He was enormously enthusiastic about going to Germany and doing his research. Upon arrival he approached a number of people, mostly teachers and government officials who he felt were in a position to help him survey the cultural beliefs of a sample of Germans. But no QuickTimeª and a one seemed interested in his project and each day he became TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor are needed to see this picture.

more discouraged.

After trying unsuccessfully for several months, he started blaming others for their lack of interest. He felt the people he talked to were trying to undermine his efforts because he was an American. He began to see the Germans as the source of his frustration and each day his hostility increased. He would take Contd……….

his meals alone, then return to his room to brood about his failure. What was he going to tell his university colleagues back in Texas? How would he justify his paid sabbatical to his dean? The breaking point came when one afternoon he was walking down the street with a bulky briefcase in hand and a German lady blocked the sidewalk with her baby carriage. He became so enraged that he almost came down striking the lady with his briefcase. QuickTimeª and a TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor are needed to see this picture. His reaction so unnerved him that, out of fear of causing bodily injury, he kept himself locked up in his hotel room for the duration of the sabbatical, some six months.

A wise man who had traveled the world over once said,

“The first time you go abroad, you think you can do anything in the world. The second time, you start having doubts. The third time, you think - these foreigners don’t know what the hell they are doing. The fourth time, you think you don’t know what the hell you are doing.”

CULTURE CLASH The phenomenon resulting from clash of culture is called culture shock, self-discovery shock, role shock, transition shock, culture fatigue.

QuickTimeª and a TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor are needed to see this picture.

STRAINS OF CULTURE CLASH •

I can get what I want so much more easily in my hometown.

•

Process of unlearning - Having to learn new culturally appropriate behaviours.

•

Not being able to see experiences in their proper perspectives

• Having to continuously adapt oneself in a new cultural setting when one is removed from his/her own cultural setting •

Having to make decisions based on less information

•

Adjusting to different beliefs about how the workplace should be organized

•

Recognizing how time is broken down in the host culture.

•

Understanding the meaning of an ambiguous statement - “Let’s have lunch together sometime”

•

Learning to feel comfortable with the greater or lesser physical distance

•

Recognizing new cues to role and how one is expected to interface with that role.

•

Adjusting to sex roles that go against one’s principles.

Material Culture

C

U

L

T

U

R

E

QuickTimeª and a TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor are needed to see this picture.

Cultural Beliefs, Attitudes, Norms & Values Nonverbal Communication

Beliefs - A firm and considered opinion about something being true or real. Attitudes - Emotional responses to objects, ideas and people. Norms - Established behaviour patterns for members of a social system. Values - that which involves judgment and is normative

Do cultural differences influence the effectiveness of a message?

This safety poster was displayed in an South African nation in order to prevent mining accidents caused by chunks of ore on the railroad track. What message do you get from this poster? The miners who saw this poster perceived an opposite meaning because they read from right to left (as do other languages such as Arabic, Chinese and Hebrew

Attitudes based on cultural values In the United States, freedom is a dominant value. In others, it is just one value among others. The meaning of any value, including freedom, differs across culture. An old woman in Saigon told one of the authors that she felt that she could not tolerate the lack of freedom in the United States. In Vietnam she was free to sell her vegetables on the sidewalk without being hassled by police or city authorities. She did not have to get a permit to fix the roof on her house.

Cultural Norm Alice: I heard your son is getting married. Congratulations. Fatima: Thank you. The wedding will be next spring. Alice: How nice of you. How did they meet? Fatima: Oh, they haven’t actually met yet. Thai people revere their king, so much so that they seldom talk about him and are culturally forbidden to touch him. A U.S. professor, during the first months that he taught at Bangkok University, accidentally dropped a Thai coin on the floor. In order to keep the coin from rolling under a door, he quickly stepped on it. His Thai students were shocked. Why? The king’s profile is on every coin.

A recent university graduate from the US was interning in a Japanese company in Nagoya. He related his experience in violating a Japanese cultural norm about proper office behaviour: “During the first week in the company, I asked a fellow employee, a young woman, for a date. She became very embarrassed and told me that she could not go out with me because we worked in the same unit. By that evening, everyone in my office knew that had happened. Several of my colleagues made jokes of rather poor taste about my mistake. For the next several months, references were made about my asking Yuki for a date, especially after my colleagues had had too much to drink. Eventually, a year later, I learned that I was referred to, behind my back, with a nickname in Japanese that connoted something like “skirt-chaser.” This example shows the various ways in which a individual violating a cultural norms was punished: through gossip, joking, and by use of a humorous nickname.

These matrimonial ads have been placed in a major newspaper by the parents of young men and women in India.

These personal ads were placed in a U.S. newspaper by individuals seeking to establish a relationship with another person

Cross Cultural Values Collectivistic Vs Individualistic Culture A collective culture is one where collective goals are valued more than individual goals. While, an individualistic culture is one where individual goals are valued more than collective goals.

QuickTimeª and a TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor are needed to see this picture.

Proverb from a collectivistic culture “The nail that protrudes gets hammered down” “If one wants to establish himself, he should help others establish themselves firs”………words of Confucius Proverbs from an individualistic culture “Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps” “Rules are for fools” “My way or the highway” “A man’s home is his castle”

Uncertainty In the Greek, Japanese, French and Portuguese culture there is a need for rules, wish for specific proposals, a strong respect of the view of experts and a dislike for risk taking. Certain other cultures have a greater tolerance towards ambiguity like UK, Denmark, Sweden , Ireland and Great Britain Formality While certain countries like America is considered to have a highly informal culture, certain other countries have a high regard for formality, protocol and conventional behaviour such as Japan, Korea, Germany, Egypt and Great Britain. Sense of formality is reflected in speech, dressing, the way people are addressed etc.

Time For North Americans the future is of greatest importance. Buddhists believe in ‘mindfulness’ - the complete focus of all senses on the present Certain other cultures believe in the significance of prior events. They hold the belief that past should be the guide for making decisions and determining the truth. This is seen in the Chinese. For the Japanese, ‘Shintoism’ or ancestor worship is very important. The English because of their orientation to tradition, continue to resist change.

QuickTimeª and a TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor are needed to see this picture.

Credibility A speaker who is perceived as dynamic, outgoing and articulate by an American and Arab audience will have high credibility. Yet the same person can be viewed as aggressive or presumptuous by a Japanese or Chinese, which are more appreciative of a quite, reserved, humble and pensive approach to communication. Age American culture prefers youth to old age. In the Arab culture, children kiss the hands of holder people and respect their views and opinions. Respect for elderly is also a common East Asian culture. Filipinos and Native Americans

Harmony American culture - Aggressive, Assertive, Argumentation & debate is part of the American culture. Americans learn early, “squeaky wheel gets the grease”, stand up for their rights and even be confrontational should the situation call for such action. The Thai, Filipinos, Chinese and Japanese stress harmony and a lack of direct confrontation. The cultural value of these countries is reflected in the Asian proverbs, “The first man to raise his voice loses the argument” and “It is the quacking duck that is the first to get shot”.

In one multicultural workplace in the state of Gujarat in India, an irrepressibly fun-loving, somewhat boisterous supervisor noticed that one of his workers, an Italian woman, appeared particularly depressed. In an attempt to get her to smile he offered her - with a theatrical flourish - a handkerchief.

QuickTimeª and a TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor are needed to see this picture.

“What’s that for?” she asked. QuickTimeª and a TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor are needed to see this picture.

“Well,”, the supervisor replied, smiling, “you look so sad I thought I’d offer you my handkerchief to dry your tears.” “My mother died yesterday,” the grief-stricken woman said.

CRACKING THE SILENT CODE - DEALING WITH THE UNSPOKEN ASPECTS OF CULTURE

Eye Contact

QuickTimeª and a TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor are needed to see this picture.

Eye Contact in the United States and Europe • • •

Direct eye contact - openness, trustworthiness, integrity, confident Looking down / looking away - distracted, uninterested, lack of selfconfidence However, unlike America, direct eye contact is Europe has more flirtatious connotations.

Eye Contact in the Middle East • • • • •

Direct eye contact is less common and considered less appropriate Between different sexes - very brief (religious connotations) Between same sexes - Make Intense eye contact and concentrate on eye movement to find out real intentions. Arabs may even move closer to read the eye more clearly. When they might want to hide their real feelings, yet given the culture cannot refuse eye contact, they might hide their eyes behind veils, sunglasses

Eye Contact in Asia, Latin America and Africa • •

Direct eye contact - challenge of authority, offensive, invasion of privacy Looking down / looking away - respectful, polite,

How can the eye contact be interpreted in India? In a meeting between a Japanese and an Arab, what are the things that can go wrong with an Arab?

F A C I A L

QuickTimeª and a TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor are needed to see this picture.

E X P R E S S I O N S

Smile •

Americans smile a lot to appear open and friendly

•

Japanese do not express their feelings openly - Men don’t smile in public and - Women are not supposed to show their teeth while smiling

QuickTimeª and a TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor are needed to see this picture.

•

Germans smile, but not as much as the Americans. - A German will reply bluntly, “Life is severe and there is very little to smile about”

•

Koreans consider it inappropriate for adults to smile in public. - Smiling at strangers is something that the mentally retarded or the children do before they are properly trained - Smile is often an expression of embarrassment than pleasure

Laughter • Americans enjoy a heartfelt belly laugh

QuickTimeª and a TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor are needed to see this picture.

• Arabs and Latin Americans accompany laughter with body gestures such as arm waving and touching • Japanese seldom laugh except among intimates

Anger • Milder forms of anger in Western culture - frowning • In Japan showing anger even through frowning is considered inappropriate • Another way of showing anger is ‘Shouting’ • Germans, Canadians, Arabs and Latins often raise their voice when angry. Japanese seldom raise their voice even when angry. • Germans when angry may shout and throw epithets but are still fairly correct in how they address the opponent. Many would

• In some cultures like the Middle East, people accompany their verbal tirades with body gestures. • Far East Asian countries like Japan have more subdued facial expressions of anger. QuickTimeª and a TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor are needed to see this picture.

From facial expressions, an outsider may often be mislead in deciphering how angry, the person actually is.

Project Work Select any one of the following countries: Australia

Japan

Brazil

South Korea

Canada

United Arab Emirates

China

Singapore

England

United States of America

Finland

Netherlands

France

Taiwan

Germany Italy

Switzerland Russia

In your groups briefly find out about the following things of the country of your choice • • •

History Politics (Salient Features, Important Ministers - 4) Country Profile (People, Religion, Major cities, places of significance, climate, currency, language spoken etc.) • Economy of the country (Names of some of the major brands of the country) • Culture Bibliography