Cultural Difference and Communications

Week 13 Spring 2010

Global Engineering Professional Seminar

• Pictures now in Tools “root directory”• Profiles due on GlobalHUB today• Supplemental seminars end April 23

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Culture: Style Difference

› Interacting: What is polite?– Direct versus indirect—is “silence” a “yes” or

a “no”?– What is “personal”—age, family, health,

income?– What shows respect—first name?– Gesture  “thumbs up”, ok?– Attire--Wear a suit or roll up sleeves?

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Culture: Style Difference

›Time: What is polite?– Is time a commodity—can it be saved?– What is “late”? How long is “dinner”? – Is “multi-tasking” ok?– A “New York minute”?– Is there “enough”?

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Culture: Style Difference›Space: What is polite?

– What is a conversational distance?– Where is “off-limits”—where is “behind the

counter”?– What is “personal”—touching?– Is the office door closed?– Where is “first”—is this a line?

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Culture: Value Differences

›Power: What is right?– Less powerful members accept that power is

not equally distributed, that is expected and accepted.

– Not everyone is “born to lead.”– Challenge: We are all human, “created

equal.”

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Culture: Value Differences

› Individualism: What is right?– Ties between individuals are loose:

individuals should take care of themselves.– Maturity means independence and self-

reliance.– Challenge: Everyone needs help sometime;

and, we are, indeed, “our brother’s keeper.”

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Culture: Value Differences

›Achievement/masculinity: What is right?– Work is more important than personal

relationships.– Getting ahead is more important than being

liked.– Challenge: Don’t miss out on what really

matters—friends and family.

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Culture: Value Differences

›Uncertainty Avoidance: What is right?– Unstructured situations are threatening and

important to avoid.– Finding out how to do something correctly is

critical to success.– Challenge: Nothing ventured, nothing

gained.

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Culture: Value Differences

›Long-term orientation: What is right?– Future is more important than present.– Do not be distracted by immediate results.– Challenges: Tomorrow never comes.

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Hofstede: US

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Hofstede: China

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Hofstede: Comparison

http://www.geert-hofstede.com/

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Cultural Dimensions--HofstedePower Distance—how much inequality is there? Is inequality

good or bad?

Individualism—how much responsibility do people have for themselves? How much for others?

Masculinity—is it important to succeed at a task or at a relationship? How different from “femininity”?

Uncertainty Avoidance—how “closed” is the system? How much consensus is there on “right answers”?

Long Term Orientation—How far in the future do you look for outcomes? How far back to you look for guidance?

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Implications for effective communication….

›1. Assuming “universality” is hazardous—the “universal” is an extension of “self.”

›2. Assuming “superiority” can limit learning.

›3. Focus on “outcomes,” observations—functionality of behaviors helps understanding.

›4. Experience conditions interpretations—and can make interactions easier & more effective.

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Example: Discovering what matters?›High or low context:

– Low-context: words, documents, data, contracts, not what you wear or who you know

– High-context: who you are, what you do, where you are “now”

›Hofstede terms: low—emphasis on individual, equality, taking on risk, short-term high—collective, status/rank, minimal risk, long-term

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Case study example--next

› “Chinese Negotiation”—Harvard Business Review, describes “shortfalls” in typical understandings:

– Etiquette, surface accoutrements—e.g., attire, presentation issues as with business cards assumed sufficient

– Wider, deeper appreciation of context is not available to sustain interactions

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Chinese Neg. : Major Concerns

›Recognize Chinese “agrarian” roots: holistic, communal, millennia living close to soil (still 2/3 of population); commerce is (only) “branch,” agriculture is the “root.” Mao’s “Cultural Revolution” was attempt to return to the virtues of rural life.

›Recognize Chinese reverence for authority: family hierarchy (loyalty, obedience) underlies seniority in organizations.

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Confucian heritage

›Harmony achieved by defining relationships in terms of hierarchical authority—father over son, husband over wife, etc.

›Obedience and loyalty exchanged for security.

›Reverence for kinship and scholarship, conserving the past and present for the future.

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Significance of “the path,” “the way”

›Emphasis on “means” rather than “ends”

›Emphasis on the “whole,” the larger context

›Contrast with “fighting for principle”

›Contrast with insisting on “truth”

›Note: These authors interpret a “haggling” as a way to “find” true value, a highly valued means.

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Two sides of Negotiation

›American

› Individualism

› Egalitarian

› Information oriented

› Reductionist

› Seeks the truth

› The argument culture

›Chinese

› Collectivist

› Hierarchical

› Relationship oriented

› Circular

› Seeks the way

› Haggling culture

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Approach to meetings

›Americans

›Quick meetings

› Informal

›Rely on information (“cold calling”)

›Chinese

›Long courting process

›Formal

›Draw on intermediaries

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Information exchange›Americans

› Full authority

› Direct

› Proposals first—data/information

› Aggressive, impatient

› Seeking “good deal”

›Chinese

› Limited authority

› Indirect

› Explanations first—context/explorations

› Questioning, enduring

› Seeking long-term relationships

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Chinese Negotiation (HBR)

›Oil delivery contract—failed, too short, emotional

›Software contract—succeeded via intermediary

›GM send CEO—deep formality of status, succeeded

›Computer mfg—needed week of sight-seeing first…

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Another “difference” visual

Individualist Collectivist

_______________________________________________________

US UK F G R, I, S ME M A SEA/China

A-Africa, C-China, F-France, G-Germany, I-India, J-Japan, M-Mexico ME-Middle East, R-Russia, S-Spain, SEA-Southeast Asia, UK-United Kingdom, US, United States

Source: Craig Storti, Figuring Foreigners Out, Intercultural Press, 1998, p. 52.

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Germany and the U.S.

›Both “high context”– Germans go to lunch

together, eat in same cafeteria (IDV)

– Germans more formal, take minutes at meetings (UAI)

– Germans ready to “wait” for long-term merger benefits….(LTO)

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Actually: “peaches” and “coconuts”›working language” = English?

›Address co-workers by first name?

›Different cafeterias/garages?

›Executives w/o passports?

›Compensation differing by 35 to 1?

›Uncertainty about understanding/reluctance to act.

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High Context plus High Context

›U.S. and Germany—Daimler Chrysler merger– Managing uncertainty (Germans, more rule-

based), informality (U.S. more informal), meetings (Germans, used more written records and reviews), compensation (U.S. greater disparity).

– Potential for new synergies: harness diversity (intercultural differences) to construct innovative business models with application across diverse markets.

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Chrysler, less than a decade later…

›Private equity group, Cerberus Capital Management, purchased 80% of Chrysler ,

›As of January 20, 2009: remaining 20% owned by Daimler is on the market.

›The challenge of integrating a German-American colossus, with very different corporate cultures, …consumed the time and energy of DaimlerChrysler's top executives. New York Times, July 2005, reporting resignation of Schrempp, who was replaced by Dieter Zetsche.