70% of failures are directly due to
“soft factors”.
How do people understand one
another when they don’t share a
common cultural experience?
Americans and Germans?
Similarities
• Anglo-Saxon background
• monochronic
• direct and honest
• being on time
• competitive and practical
The Trap
of Similarity
Wal-Mart’s billion euro
fiasco in Germany
arrogance and ignorance
managers culturally naïve, simple-minded
driven by “time is money”
didn’t create enough economies of scale
The unconscious
projection of values
is the source of cultural mishaps.
The Cardinal Rule
Understanding oneself
and one’s own culture
Who understands others as well as oneself will be granted success in a thousand encounters.
3000 year-old Chinese proverb
“Culture hides more than it reveals and strangely
enough what it hides, it hides most effectively from
it’s own participants.
Years of study have convinced me that the real job is
not to understand foreign culture but to understand
our own.”
Edward Hall
Culture ?
Life style of a people, I.e. the learned and shared patterns of beliefs, behaviors and values of a group of interacting people. (Bennett)
Culture is the collective programming of the mind. (Hofstede)
Culture is the water we live in. It surrounds us and defines us. (Chinese definition)
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all
men are created equal, that they are endowed by
their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that
among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness.”
The Declaration of Independence, 1776
How do they affect you now?
Think about your own culture
How did socialization take place in your own life?
Try to recall some of the behaviors and values you were taught early in life.
Culture is to us
what water is to a fish.
Culture is like an iceberg
observable
Not observable
• Manners
• Clothes
• Food
• Newspapers, books
• Monuments
• Rituals, festivals
• History
• Friendship
• Time and space
• Negotiation style
• Communication style
• Solutions to problems
Observable Not observable
Everything is relative — no right
or wrong solutions
Intercultural
communications
Understanding the inner logic
of a culture
Cross-cultural success
3. They practice role reversal (empathy)
Attempt to understand an international situation through the eyes of others.
1. They “know that they don’t know”
Assume difference until similarity is proven, not the other way around.
The Four Secrets of Effective Global Managers
2. They emphasize description
Observe what is actually said and done rather than interpreting or evaluating.
4. They treat explanations as guesses, not as certainty.
Check with colleagues from home and abroad if guesses are plausible.
• mental viewing of how something might be
• not meant to be exact
Definition of a
theory
Serious Easy-going
German American (Ger) (Am)
1 Ger stereotype 3 Ger exception
2 Am exception 4 Amr
stereotype
Hofstede’s
Dimensions
• Individualism / collectivism
• Respect toward hierarchy
• Desire for structure
• Masculinity / femininity
• “we” society
• group identity
• important: harmony
• relations over tasks
• extended family
• “me” society
• self-identity
• important: pro-active
• tasks over relations
• success of individual
Collectivism Individualism
0 20 40 60 10080
KOR
SING
PORT
GRE JAP
GB
USA
NETH
CAN
ITA
PL
FRA
GER
Collectivism Individualism
SLO
• Inequalities not OK
• Privileges/status not OK
• Boss democratic
• Flat hierarchy
• Staff gives advice
• Inequalities OK
• Privileges/status OK
• Boss paternalistic
• Strong hierarchy
• Staff follows orders
Less Hierarchy More Hierarchy
0 20 40 60 10080
NETH
GB
GER
USA ITAJAP
GRE
POR
FRA
PL
SIN
SLOSWE
Less Hierarchy More Hierarchy
SPA
• Uncertainty O.K.
• Willing to take risks
• Non-orderly situations
• Hope for success
• Rational generalists
• There must be order
• Many rules
• Consensus
• Desire for security
• Experts und knowledge
Less Structure More Structure
0 20 40 60 10080
CAN
SWE GB
KORSIN
USA
NETH GER ITA
SLO PL
SPA
FRA
JAP
GRE
Less structure More structure
POR
Should a manager have precise
answers to subordinates’ questions?
Should a manager have precise
answers to subordinates’ questions?
NETH USA
23% 28%
CH BEL GER FRA ITA JAP
Yes:17% 18%
DEN GB
38% 44% 46%53%
66%78%
Understanding new behavior
D = detect
I = interpret
E = evaluate
American meetings
• An informal, relaxed attitude
• Confident, positive approach
• Brainstorming
• Come to the point quickly
• Active participation
• Give credit for others’ achievements (piggyback)
Working on Projects Germans Americans Americans Germans tend to…. tend to think tend to…. tend to think
PROJECT ...collect “Why are they …chat informally “Why aren’t theyIDEA information doing this?” about an idea doing anything?”
PROJECT …get down to “They are cold and …begin with small “They are wastingMEETINGS business unfriendly.” talk time.”
…present detailed “How can they …begin with“ They are not plans discuss the details brainstorming prepared for the at this stage?” meeting.”
…express criticism “They don’t like …be enthusiastic “They are not openly each other.” about all the ideas sincere.”
PROJECT …work individually “They don’t …hold frequent “They are tooPROCESS on the tasks communicate or meetings; change many meetings; we
assigned to them work as a team.” tasks as circum- can’t get our workstances change done.”
believe clearly …believe continuous defined milestones contact guarantees guarantee success coordination
Cognitive Styles of Germans and AmericansInteraction with reality, extracting, organizing and applying knowledge
BASIC Germans AmericansOUTLOOK tend to be more cautious, conceptual tend to be more optimistic, pragmatic
OPENING Do we really need…? Can we have…?QUESTION
ACQUIRING Structured way of knowing Hypothesis, testing way of knowingKNOWLEDGE Want solid theories, coherence Speculate with probabilities, risk taking
Deductive: acting on the basis of one’s Inductive: understanding a situation throughthorough understanding of the situation experimentation
Declarative thinking: focusing on Procedural thinking: focusing on how to getdescription and explanation of situation things done
Gather information from experts, logical Active experimentation: learn from peers,analysis of ideas brainstorming, “think out of the box”
Importance of background information Importance of measurement data, and facts(historical context, “Zeitgeist:, sociology) (how tall, how much, statistics, etc.)
APPLYING Development of strategic analysis Ability to get things doneKNOWLEDGE Systematic planning Trial and error, learn by doing, can do
Decisions are binding Decisions are guidelines
• Good working atmosphere
• Care for others
• Harmony
• Solidarity
• Modesty
• People over materialism
• Performance
• Polarization
• Assertive
• Competitive
• Displaying success
• Materialism over people
Femininity Masculinity
0 20 40 60 10080
SWE SPA
FRA
PL
GBUSA
GERNETH
KOR
SIN
CAN SLOITA
JAP
Femininity Masculinity
GREPOR
Culture is communication
Edward Hall
Hall’s
Definition
Culture determines the style of
communication:
indirect or direct
• Explicit
• Context not important
• Thinking-focused
• Result-oriented
• Masculine
• Implicit
• Context important
• Feeling-focused
• Relationship-oriented
• Feminine
Direct (low context) Indirect (high context)
0 20 40 60 10080
CH
ITAPL
FRAGER SPA
GB
NETH
USA JAP
Direct Indirect
German directness British indirectness
Jürgen wird an die Decke springen. Jürgen might tend to disagree.
Kommen wir gleich zur Sache. I was wondering if could talk.
Du sagst nur Blödsinn. I am not quite with you on that.
Das kann nicht wahr sein. Hm, that’s an interesting idea.
Wir werden dies nie unterschreiben. We’ll have to do our homework.
• One activity at a time
• Schedules very important
• Task-oriented
• Linear
• Punctual
• Parallel activities
• Plans are changed
• Relationship-oriented
• Interruptions
• Punctuality unimportant
Monochronic Polychronic
0 20 40 60 10080
CH
ITAPL
FRAGER
SPAGB
NETH
USA JAP
Monochronic Polychronic
Lesson to be learned
• US-German communication and co-operation
might not be as simple as it appears —
especially for Germans
Why do we
stereotype?
Natural impulse to categorize
when reality is too complex to handle.
Why do we
stereotype?
• consciously aware it’s a group norm
• descriptive and not evaluative
• modifiable
Stereotypes are
helpful when:
Cross-cultural perceptions
• unstructured
• energetic
• first-name
• seem happier
• overly self-confident
• narrow perspective of world
• process-oriented
• specialized, expert
• systematic, orderly
• precise, data-oriented
• too formal
• direct
perceptionof Germans
perceptionof Americans
Visitors’ perceptions of Germans
• perfectionist
• slow to get to know
• meticulous about deadlines
• systematic, orderly
• fair to a fault
• eager to do right
• excessively detailed
• standoffish
• pushy
• stubborn
• obsessed with rules
• afraid of making mistakes
Those who don’t speak German
Those who speak German
Cultural Perception
Americans are
According to Brazilians
Serious
Reserved
Introvert
Cautious
Restrained
Composed
Methodical
According to Chinese
Friendly
Spontaneous
Extrovert
Reckless
Uninhibited
Emotional
Impulsive
?
Attitudes for better intercultural communications
Tolerance for ambiguity
Low goal/task orientation
Non-judgmental
Flexibility
Sense of humor
Warmth in human relationships
Strong sense of self
Ability to fail
Open-mindedness
Empathy
Communicativeness
Curiosity
Motivation
Self-reliance
Perceptiveness
Tolerance to differences
Differences between German and American presentation styles?
American Presentation
• start with a “big bang” (hook them)
• show them how they can profit from the talk
• emphasize entertainment aspect — jokes, anecdotes
• conclusion is often enthusiastic, visionary
–— guaranteed to be a success!
• audience-centered and interactive
–— lots a smiles, speaker wants to be socially accepted
Deduct
ive
Germ
an A
pproac
h Inductive American Approach
Major Point
Background Information
Proof
Proof
ProofFact
Fact
Fact
Deductive and Inductive Thinking
Presentations styles
• Focused on listener
• Enthusiastic, optimistic
• Inductive
• Benefit orientation
• Showman’s effects
• Use of personal examples
• Get to the point
• Easy-to-remember statements
• Focused on content
• Start with straight introduction
• Factual (sachlich)
• Deductive
• Clear transitions
• Distant through formality
• Serious (bestimmt auftreten)
• Detailed explanations
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Communication
Exchanging ideas,
feelings, symbols, meanings
to create commonality
Misunderstandings:
Interpreting
“foreign behavior”
in terms of our own culture
The Cardinal Rule
Understanding oneself
and one’s own culture
Communication
breaks down —
people build up barriers
us versus them
Good, intercultural
communication is not just good
intentions.
Receiver’s perception
determines the real message,
not the one we send.
The greatest barrier
is culture, not language.
• Natural and simple
• Takes places in one’s culture
Communication
80% – 90% of information:
“non-verbal” signals
Perception is
• selective
• learned
• culturally determined
• consistent
• inaccurate
Why we don’t seeobjectively
ONCE
IN A
A LIFETIME
PARIS
IN THE
THE SPRING
BIRD
IN THE
THE HAND
Communication Styles
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Communication styles
• emphasizing content
• downplay relationships
• appearing credible
• being objective
• accentuating content
• accentuating personal
• being liked
• being socially accepted
• direct in stating
• more upgraders
• more modal verbs
• more imperative
• direct in expressing
• more downgraders
• more conditionals
• more questions
Credibility Likeability
• Complicated
• Over analytical
• Formal und detailed
• Objective
• Wants to be creditable
• Simple
• Short and concise
• Informal
• Friendly and easy going
• Wants to be liked
The German Desire for Clarity
“Jetzt werde ich mit ihr
deutsch reden müssen” (Klartext)
The German adjective deutlich (clear, plain) and the German verb
deuten (explain, interpret) have the same linguistic roots to the word
Germans use to refer to themselves and their language — deutsch.
Do’s
• Look for common opinions
• Focus on the results
• Use simple language
• Expect fewer details
• Be less direct
• Listen non-verbally and participate
• Expect agreement
Don’ts
• Forget to repeat
• Tell ethnic jokes
• Forget the small talk
• Expect critical feedback
• Be irritated by interruptions
• Hesitate to ask questions
• Be so critical
Communicating with Americans
U.S. negotiating style
Americans tends to
• make a small talk at the beginning
• look more at strengths & weaknesses of others than issues
• maximize benefits to themselves than “best” solution for all
• create a friendly, personable atmosphere
The typical U.S. negotiator
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always keeps a poker-face
Experience of Difference
Denial
Defense
Mini
miza
tion
Accep
tanc
e
Adaptatio
n
Inte
grat
ion
Ethnocentric Stages Ethnorelative Stages
Milton Bennett’s
Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity
Denial
• one’s culture is the only real one
• unable to construe cultural difference
• aggressive ignorance
• “Munich — lots of buildings, too many cars, McDonalds”
Defensive
• one’s culture is the only good one
• “we” are superior — “they” are inferior
• highly critical of other cultures
• “Americans are superficial and uncultivated”
Minimization
• one’s culture is viewed as universal
• obscure deep cultural differences
• insistently nice
• “We bankers are all the same all over the world.”
Acceptance
• one’s culture is viewed as one of many complex systems
• judgment is not ethnocentric
• curious about cultural differences
• “I want to learn German so I can understand Hans better.”
Adaptation
• internalize more than one complete worldview
• empathy
• may intentionally change behavior to communicate better
• “I’m beginning to feel like a member of this culture.”
Integration
• one’s self is expanded to include different worldviews
• cross-cultural swinger
• ability to facilitate contact between cultures
• “I truly enjoy participating fully in both of my cultures.”
• No longer attached to original cultural group
• Relativity of values
• Cross-cultural swinger
• Multi-lingual
• Other-culture awareness
Intercultural competence
Understanding others…
Understanding others doesn’t consist of only appealing to logic and reason. It consists of an emotional opening to the others
Jawaharlal Nehru
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