LEADING BY EXAMPLE

Crossroads of Culture How to do business effectively in the

Global Marketplace.

Avinash Chandarana Group Learning and Development Director

MCI Group

Avinash.chandarana@mci-group.com

Culture eats

strategy and

processes for lunch!

“I don’t agree”

“Hmm, that’s a very interesting idea”

“Let’s go and have a Campari and talk about it

tomorrow”

“I agree.”

“…………………”

“You gotta be kidding”

What is Culture?

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Influence of Cultural Conditioning

Our Outlook and

World View

Our

Actions

Our concept of Space and Time

Our motivations

Our

Attitudes Our Communication style

Body

language

Our

Understanding

Cross Cultural Misunderstanding

1. Values – core beliefs

– national characteristics

– attitudes and world view

2. Communication patterns – speech styles & listening habits

3. Concept of space

4. Concept of time

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Stereotypes

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In an ideal world..

The policeman would be ..

Car mechanics would be ..

Cooks would be ..

Hoteliers would be..

And the lovers would be ..

English

German

French

Swiss

Italian

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In a living hell ..

The policeman would be ..

Car mechanics would be ..

Cooks would be ..

Hoteliers would be..

And the lovers would be ..

English

German

French

Swiss

Italian

‘Americans are arrogant and unsubtle. And they are overweight and bad dressers."

‘Americans always want to say your name: 'That's a nice tie, Mikko. Hi Mikko, how are you Mikko'

‘Americans are always in a hurry. Just watch the way they walk down the street." ‘Americans are distant. They are not really close to other people -- even other Americans."

‘Once we were out in a rural area in the middle of nowhere and saw an American come to a stop sign. Though he could see in both directions for miles, and there was no traffic, he still stopped!’

‘When my American professor told me 'I don't know, I’ll have to look it up', I was shocked. I asked ‘Why is he teaching me?'"

‘In the United States, they think that life is only work.’

‘In the United States everything has to be talked about and analyzed. Even the littlest thing has to be 'Why, why why?"

Human Mental Programming

USA

© 2001, 2009 Richard D Lewis

Arab countries

United Kingdom

Fog in The Channel.

Continent Cut Off

Germany

China

Guanxi - ( "guan-shee")

關係

关系

Categorisation of Cultures

Linear-Active Multi-Active

Reactive

Interaction - Time

Consuming

Interaction - Satisfactory

Interaction -

Difficult

Introverted - respect oriented listeners

People oriented,

talkative

Task - oriented,

highly organized

‘I have to rush’ says the American, ‘my time’s up.’

- ‘What! Are you about to die?’

replied the Spaniard

Concepts of Time

Linear-active

Multi-active

&

reactive

Cross Cultural Blunders

Cross Cultural Blunders

Cross Cultural Blunders

Drinks advertising campaign

But in Arab speaking countries . .

http://blog.communicaid.com/cross-cultural-training/challenges-of-doing-business-in-china/attachment/asian-chinese-business-man-2/

British Coded Speech (1)

What is said What is meant

Hm….interesting idea

You could say that

We must meet about your idea

We shall certainly consider it

I’m not quite with you on that

I agree, up to a point

What a stupid suggestion

I wouldn’t

Forget it

We won’t do it

That is totally unacceptable I disagree

British Coded Speech (2)

What is said What is meant

Remind me again of your strategy

We must wait for a politically

correct time to introduce this

It has lots of future potential

He works intuitively

He’s our best golfer

Let me make a suggestion

I wasn’t listening last time I wouldn’t

Forget it

It’s failed

He’s completely disorganised

We keep him out of the office

This is what I’ve decided to do

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• Coded speech (British)

• Hype, hard sell (U.S)

• Flexible, creative truth (Latin)

• Silence (Japanese, Finnish)

• Smiles (Asian)

• Humour (British, U.S)

• Verbosity (Latin)

• Loudness (Arab)

• Ambiguity (Asian)

Intercultural Communication -

Problems affecting trust

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Trust variance

Presentation Styles

Audience expectations

Audience expectations

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Motivation

• Linear-active

Money, career challenge, word-deed correlation, punctuality, reliability, result-orientation, speed

• Multi-active

Words, persuasion, warmth, compassion, feelings, personal approach, development of relationships

• Reactive

Protection of “face”, building of trust, modesty, patience, respect, courtesy, avoidance of confrontation

Golden Rules

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ecommendations

When you interact with . .

R

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Interacting with Linear-Actives

• Talk and listen in equal proportions • Do one thing at a time • Be polite but direct • Partly conceal feelings • Use logic and rationality • Interrupt only rarely • Stick to facts • Concentrate on the deal • Prioritize truth over diplomacy • Follow rules, regulations, laws • Speech is for information

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• Complete action change • Stay results-oriented • Stick to agenda • Compromise to achieve deal • Respect officialdom • Respect contracts and written word • Reply quickly to written communications • Restrain body language • Look for short-term profit • Be punctual

Interacting with Linear-Actives

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• Let them talk at length • Reply fully • Be prepared to do several things at once • Be prepared for several people talking at

once • Display feelings and emotion • People and feelings are more important than

facts • Interrupt when you like • Truth is flexible and situational • Be diplomatic rather than direct • Speech is for opinions

Interacting with Multi-Active Types

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Interacting with Multi-Active Types

• Think aloud • Complete human transactions • Digress from agenda & explore interesting

ideas • Seek and give favours with key people • Remain relationship-oriented • Spoken word is important • Contracts may often be renegotiated • Reputation is as important as profit • Overt body language and tactility • Accept unpunctuality

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• Good listening is important • Do not interrupt • Do not confront or disagree openly • Do not cause anyone to lose face • Suggestions, especially criticism, must be

indirect • Be ambiguous, so as to leave options open • Statements are promises • Prioritize diplomacy over truth • Follow rules but interpret them flexibly • Speech is to promote harmony

Interacting with Reactive Types

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Interacting with Reactive Types (2) • Share as much as you can

• Utilise networks • Talk slowly • Do things at appropriate times • Don’t rush or pressure them • Observe fixed power distances and hierarchy • Show exaggerated respect for older people • Go over things several times • Face-to-face contact is important • Work hard at building trust • Long term profit is preferable • Be punctual

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Acquire your ‘CQ’ • Use your “heart”: Commit to overcoming

challenges and believing in your own success

• Use your “head”: Create a learning strategy from observation

• Use your “body”: Adapt your behaviors to customs in another country

• Educate yourself

“Our world has greatly changed: it has

become much smaller.

However, our perceptions have not

evolved at the same pace;

we continue to cling to national

demarcations and the old feelings of

'us' and 'them.’

71

Crossroads of

Culture

How to do business effectively in

the Global Marketplace.

Avinash Chandarana

Group Learning and Development Director

avinash.chandarana@mci-group.com