Peculiarities of Working in a Cross-Cultural Situation

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1 Question 1: What kinesics should business people be aware of when working in a cross-cultural situation? Answer 1: Nonverbal communication occurs through the transfer of meaning by means such as body language and the use of physical space. The categories that are of particular importance to an international management context are kinesics and proxemics. Kinesics is the study of communication through body movement and facial expressions. Primary areas of expression for kinesics are eye contact, posture, and gestures. Differences in eye contact can make a listener feel uncomfortable or unconnected with the person to whom they are relating. For example, in the United States, it is good manners to look into the other person s eyes during conversation while individuals from the United Kingdom do not tend to look directly into each other s eyes while talking. It is, in fact, considered impolite in many cultures to look directly into the eyes. Another difference in kinesics between cultures is that of freedom of space in one's office. When Americans are engaged in prolonged meetings, it is not uncommon to relax and put their feet up on a chair or desk. This behavior is considered an insult in the Middle East; in India, this behavior is looked upon as disrespectful to the work being completed. Showing the sole of the shoe is considered an insult in Middle Eastern countries. Its accidental exposure has been taken as an affront, much to the chagrin of many foreigners to those cultures. Similarly, gestures also greatly differ from culture to culture and have different meanings depending on the country. Consider a simple gesture of putting the thumb and the index finger together to form an O. This sign means okay in the United States, is a sign of money in Japan, means worthless or zero in Southern France, and it is regarded as vulgar or obscene in Brazil. As one can imagine, if we are not sensitive to the meaning of gestures in different cultures, it can dramatically widen a gap in business relationships. Such examples exemplify the importance of learning kinesics nuances when doing business with people of other cultures. Question 2: What proxemics should business people be aware of when working in a cross-cultural situation? Answer 2: Proxemics is the study of the way that people use physical space to convey messages. This is an area that varies greatly from culture to 1

2 culture. In the United States, leaders in the firm have large offices and secretaries to handle and screen the visitors and calls. In Japan, most management does not have large offices, and leaders prefer to spend a great deal of time on the shop floor with the employees. If a Japanese manager stayed in his office, staff would view it as a sign of anger or distrust towards the group. There are four distances in the United States for communicating face-to-face. Intimate distance is used for confidential communications. Personal distance is used for talking with family and close friends. Social distance is used for most business communications. Public distance is used when teaching in a classroom or talking to a group of people. Intimate and personal distances often create communication problems for American businesspeople when dealing with Middle Easterners and South Americans. Those from Latin and Middle Eastern cultures try to close the physical gap, and Americans may naturally draw back to obtain the distance that feels comfortable to them. In response, Middle Easterners or South Americans cannot understand why Americans often seem so reserved. Of course, this results in a communication breakdown, and both parties are offended. Americans prefer more personal privacy working in the office. In European companies, there are no walls in the office space provided to senior managers and their subordinates; everyone works in the same large room. American senior managers find this office setting very disconcerting as they prefer privacy in their workplace. A great deal of communication is carried out through body language. An American attempting to do business abroad for the first time will find that even if he or she has complete mastery of the language, he or she will still have difficulty communicating until the mastering of nonverbal communication. Question 3: What are some of the communication style differences between Americans and Europeans? Answer 3: European cultures tend to be low-context, explicit communication cultures. American communicators may perceive this direct, straightforward approach as blunt and threatening. U.S. managers are seldom blunt in their communication style. European counterparts sometimes consider the indirect approach of U.S. managers insincere and overly indirect. 2

3 A low-context culture (such as in Europe) refers to cultures where people have many relationships, but these relationships tend to be of shorter duration or for a specific reason, such as when business people negotiate a deal for the specific purpose of forming a joint venture or some sort of partnership. The relationship is specific and for the reason of arriving at a common understanding for the joint venture. The businessperson goes to a business conference, meets people from other companies, exchanges business cards, exchanges a few thoughts, and parts. Tasks are more important than the relationships. In low-context cultures, the cultural behavior and beliefs are spelled out explicitly so people know how to behave with each other. Workplace division of responsibility is often spelled out very clearly in lowcontext cultures. Rules are well defined, workplace culture is task centered, and activities are focused on what needs to be done. In low-context cultures, it is fairly easy for outsiders to enter the environment because the rules are well-defined and information is available. Moreover, because tasks are more important than the relationships, one does not have to work on building a relationship to get the business done. This does not imply that the low-context cultures are easy to learn. The written languages and regulatory laws all take several years to learn and understand. However, the information is there in systematic form and is available to those who are ready to learn it. Question 4: What types of miscommunication could occur between a firm in Japan and a firm in a large U.S. city? Answer 4: The informal way of addressing people in America is not typical in Japan where status and roles are taken very seriously. In Japan, those who have the authority to speak in a negotiation are limited, and the lines are clear as to who has official power in a business, government, or formal setting. In American business and government culture, speaking up is usually easier to do whether one does or does not possess a lead authority position. Japanese businesspeople also do not always like to answer a question immediately when asked. When thoughtful questions or issues are raised, they remain silent for a while before they feel they can respond appropriately. Americans may feel a void in communication and try to fill the gap by trying to make a conversation. The Japanese could feel that this is rude. If this occurs, obviously both parties will feel frustrated and not want to continue further. 3

4 The Japanese prefer to build a relationship before engaging in any serious business discussion. They take the discussion at a slow pace and try to understand those they are dealing with to build confidence and trust in the relationship before any business discussions can start. If the Japanese feel confident about their relationship with the Americans, they might invite them out to dinner where most of the business discussion is initiated by the Japanese. Americans who do not realize this may be disappointed when they expect the business discussions to start when they meet for the first time. After greeting executives from Japan, the U.S. officials may choose to get right down to the business at hand. The Japanese executives could perceive that as hasty and rude behavior. In Japan, it is customary to spend a much longer time getting to know one another before getting serious about business. One of the U.S. officials might try to create a more relaxed atmosphere by trying to introduce a bit of humor into the initial conversation. Due to the language barrier, the Japanese executives may not be certain as to whether the comments were made in jest or as serious statements. To be on the safe side, the Japanese executives will not laugh or even smile at the comments. The U.S. official may think the Japanese are cold and disinterested in the project because of the reaction to his humor. Question 5: How can we build an effective cross-cultural team? Answer 5: Multicultural, diverse teams have a great deal of potential and are critical to the growth and prosperity of multinational corporations. If crosscultural teams are guided properly, they can prove to be very effective and productive; if not managed and guided properly, they can be disastrous. There are some ways to build effective cross-cultural teams, however, making diversity an asset to the organization. Cross-cultural teams are most effective when they face tasks that require innovation. Routine tasks lead to the decrease in team effectiveness. Diversity is more critical during the planning and development of the projects than during the implementation of the projects. Diversity at senior level is more critical to the success of the multinational corporations (MNCs) than at the lower level where projects are implemented. The focus should be on the building of trust and team cohesiveness during the early stages of the project. As members of the team are used to working in different ways, this is not an easy task. For example, Americans, Swiss, and Germans typically spend little or no time getting to know each other. They are more interested in getting to know what has to be done so that they can start finding solutions. This is in contrast to the way Latin Americans, 4

5 Southern Europeans, or Middle Easterners operate, which is by building the trust and relationship before getting down to the task. Attention to relationships at the beginning, then employing task orientation at the proper time is critical to the success of cross-cultural teams. Proper training and support is very critical if an MNC plans to build an effective cross-cultural team. There are several managerial approaches that can help a multicultural team be successful. When teams are selected for a project, members should be selected for their task-related strengths rather than merely their representative ethnicity. It is also critical that the team leader understand the overall goal of the project and is able to communicate the same to the group. A manager should lead the way in creating mutual respect for others' contributions to the project. Managers should always provide positive feedback to help the members feel they are part of the team. Managers can cultivate team appreciation for the value of collaboration between diverse people and also help members come to the point where they are able to make judgments collectively as a team. Question 6: What are the advantages of using diverse teams? Answer 6: There is growing evidence that culturally diverse teams can enhance creativity and innovativeness that lead to better decisions. One of the biggest advantages of diverse teams is their ability to generate a larger pool of ideas for solutions and recommendations. For example, a U.S. multinational corporation (MNC) was preparing to launch a new software package for a mass consumer market. The marketing team hoped to capitalize on the Christmas season. A meeting of sales personnel from Spain, Japan, and the Middle Eastern markets was arranged to discuss the marketing plans for the launch of the software package in different markets. Inputs from these groups of personnel proved to be very helpful for the launch of the product. The Middle Eastern sales manager suggested that most of his customers were not Christians; hence, the season did little for the marketing efforts in that region. Instead, the focus should be placed on the software features and product usability. An early shipment for December is not exactly critical for the Middle East market. The Japanese manager reiterated the Middle East manager's ideas and suggested a change in color for the Japanese market. 5

6 The Spanish manager suggested that the marketing efforts should be focused more on the Magi, which falls on January 6th rather than on Christmas (December 25th). In Latin cultures, gifts are exchanged not during Christmas but during the Magi in January. The collective feedback made the marketing efforts very successful for MNCs based in the U.S. A second major benefit of having a diverse team is that they can prevent the groupthink syndrome often found in teams. This syndrome points to the problem of group participants believing that their ideas and actions are the best and are correct and that those who disagree with them are either uninformed or deliberately trying to sabotage their efforts. Diverse teams actually help avoid this problem as the team strives to get information from different team members without applying the pressure to conform. Diverse teams seek each other s suggestions, ideas, and opinions, and unanimity is achieved through proper deliberations rather than pressure. Question 7: What are the disadvantages of using diverse teams? Answer 7: Although there are advantages to having cross-cultural teams, there are potential problems that have to be overcome. Diversity can cause a lack of cohesion, which could result in a team s inability to take corrective actions, be effective, and create a work environment that could hinder the enhanced performance expected of cross-cultural teams. Most of these problems result from attitudes. If the attitudes of the people are not conducive to team cohesion, problems are inevitable. One example of the attitudinal problems in cross-cultural teams is mistrust among the team members. For example, U.S. managers who work for a foreign operation in the United States complain that the foreign managers often huddle together and discuss matters in their native language. This upsets the American managers as they feel worried that the topic of conversation is something the foreign managers do not want English speakers to hear. From the perspective of those from abroad, it is simply easier to communicate in their native language when Americans are not present in the meeting. Whatever the case may be, such practices promote mistrust among the team members. Another potential problem comes from the fact that team members carry preconceived stereotypes about other cultures. For example, during the initial stages of team building, the general perception is that engineers from the 6

7 advanced countries are more knowledgeable. Due to this perception, the group is considered more competent, and this creates a status related problem in the team. Although this problem can be corrected, it takes time. In one diverse group of Japanese and Americans, the Japanese engineer was assigned the task of technical lead due to the preconceived stereotype that his technical education was superior to the others in the group, however, over time the department saw that his technical skills were not sufficient to carry on the task. Misunderstanding in communication is a leading problem with cross-cultural teams. In some cultures, it is proper to nod the head or make affirmative sounds when others talk. This action does not indicate agreement with what is being said; it is simply polite and attentive. In many societies, it is impolite to say no, and if the listener believes that the other person wants a positive answer, then the listener will say yes even if the listener believes it is incorrect. Similarly, the issue of time can cause problems. For example, Japanese do not like to agree to anything on the spot. They would like to discuss the matter thoroughly, maybe repeatedly, before making a commitment. Latin managers do not like to be held to a time table, and they do not have the urgency of the U.S. managers to stick to a time table. Question 8: How can one achieve effective cross-cultural communication? Answer 8: Opening feedback systems, especially between the parent and subsidiaries, is one of the most important ways of improving communication. These can be personal systems in the form of s, conference calls, and phone meetings and impersonal systems in the form of plans, budgets, and reports. Both of these systems help the home office monitor the progress of the subsidiaries. Before an expatriate or a team of expatriates are sent on a foreign assignment, proper language training is very essential for their success and the success of the firm. While English is the international language of business, it is very critical that the language is also spoken and understood well by the counterparts in the subsidiary offices. This will help in phone conversations and communication. If the language of the home office is not English, this other language should be learned and understood. Although everybody says that all you need to know is English if you really want to know what is going on in the multinational corporation (MNC) for which you are working, learn the language of the MNC. 7

8 Communication is likely to break down if one party in the communication process does not have a good understanding of the culture of the other. Cultural training for the employees of MNCs is very important, especially for the firms that have operations throughout the world. Although there are differences in culture and subculture, there are similarities that can be applied to a larger region. For example, South Americans have certain common behaviors that apply to Spain and Portugal. Basic understanding of Latin culture can prove to be quite useful in the larger region of the world. Certain norms and values tend to be somewhat similar from one Anglo Saxon country to the other as well. Thus, providing proper cross-cultural training would improve the effectiveness of communication in cross-cultural teams. Question 9: What is internal and external communication? Answer 9: Global firms communicate with both the external customer (home and host country government, regulatory bodies, institutions, etc.) and internal customer (employees and staff). While operating on a global scale, the firm has to have established communication processes and techniques for both internal and external communication. It is well noted that U.S. managers rely more on informal, written, and telephone communication than face-to-face communication when compared to Russian businesspeople. The United States business and legal climate demands that many communications be in written form for documentation. Japanese managers working in both the countries use phone conversation but also make more use of face-to-face communication than the U.S. managers. One example of external communication is that of corporations requesting (i.e., through lobbying in Washington, D.C.) that the U.S. government work to negotiate beneficial trade agreements. One is the request for a deal with the government of India to open the market to reduce the import duties on the cars made in the United States. In another example, the European Union (EU) has set rules that U.S. fresh produce that is mostly genetically grown is not an acceptable standard for sale in EU. The United States businesses in this industry say that this is protecting the EU farmers and taking away the opportunity of the U.S. farmers from selling in the European Union. The EU feels that the U.S. has protected its farmers by providing subsidies so that other countries cannot sell profitability in United States. Although internal communication helps the global company monitor its worldwide operations, external communication helps the company maintain a 8

9 friendly and productive relationship with the host and the home-country regulators. The relationship is critical for the long-term future of the firm. 9