Final Exam - Global Culture

the story of Bo:

• The author waited for him, as an expert to interject, when he waited to be expressly called on, ignoring silent cues to jump in  

• He explained that his cultural understanding would have him wait until verbally signaled by the senior colleague to speak 

The french evaluation story:

A woman received a negative job evaluations but interpreted is as being positive because it was muted in its criticism but encouraging about the future. To the author, French and American job evaluations are mirror opposites in what's emphasized  

criticism of authors approach

"speaking of cultural differences lead us to stereotypes and therefor put individuals in boxes with "general traits" . Further "we must treat people as individuals"  

Don’t necessarily make assumptions, but those doesn’t mean leaning from cultural contexts is unnecessary"  

• essentially cant really learn about these different cultural nuances without basing it off of stereotypes

what are the 8 scales

• Communicating (low context vs high context)  

• Evaluating (direct v. indirect feedback)  

• Methods of persuasion  

• Methos of leadership (egalitarian v. hierarchical)  

• Decision-making  

• Trust 

• Methods of disagreement  

• View of time  

2 extra considerations

• Rule-breaking v. rule following  

• Formality v. informality  

explicit verus implicit communication

explicit: direct, low context less room for inference and interpretation

• like UK and US

Implicit: more room for inference and interpretation; lots of body language and minor hints = high context

• Japan, china and African cultures

• lots of reading between the lines

Low context communication

Effective communication must be simple, clear and explicit  

• These people are conditioned from childhood to assume a low level of shared-context that is, few shared reference points and comparatively little implicit knowledge  

• One is more likely to spell out your ideas  

• Ex. US, England, Australia, Germany and the Netherlands

High Context

The style of communication depends on unconscious assumptions about common reference points and shared knowledge  

• Japan, India, Iran and China  

  • Ex. Pang quio ce ji: beating around the bush, builds an implicit understanding  

• Ex. The offer of a meal in Iran 

  • Must offer it at least two to three times  

So why different communication styles  

why different communication styles?

Japanese/asian cultures are ancient and homogenous

• closed borders (japan) not a whole lot of cultural diversity

• more shared norms and nuances

US: newer country and a melting pot of different cultures

• need more context as there are different people of diff backgrounds

the consequences of using diff styles of communication in the wrong context

• Too much detail to high-context person might appear like one is treating the listener like a child or patronizing by explaining unnecessary detail 

• Low-context might perceive high-context communicators as secretive or lacking transparency 

criticism:

some cultures give more blunt feedback whereas others give more indirect feedback

• To the author, Americans wrap negative comments around with positives  

• Notably, almost all cultures believe in "constructive criticism" but what counts as constructive can vary greatly  

Dutch Politeness

To the Dutch, per the author "we give feedback very directly but we are always polite"  

• Perhaps a non-dutch person might disagree  

• Politeness is in the eye of the beholder  

• What constitutes rudeness varies greatly  

Embellishments and de-emphasis: what are these types of words called?

Upgraders and Down graders

Upgraders:

Upgraders: "totally" "absolutely" - this is totally unprofessional  

downgraders:

Down-graders: "kind of" " sort of" "little bit"  

what does the use of downgraders do?

• The use of down-graders can make a criticism go unnoticed  

• The English, per the author, are known for down graders  

• Language can also be coded where certain phrases or expressions that sound meek are really meant to convey strong messages, but people culturally understand those certain phrases  

types of feedback from low context culutres:

Often low context cultures (more direct) can be less direct in giving feedback and criticism  

• One rule for working with cultures that are more direct than yours: don’t try to do it like them  

  • It is still possible to be too direct  

  • If you try to do it like another culture, you run the risk of doing it wrong  

Russian example (low context and direct) 

• The bluntness of criticism depended on whether it was being delivered up to a boss or down to a lower level employee  

• Further, people are blunter with strangers. Not just with criticism, but in general  

American Criticism (low context and direct criticism)  

The American style of soft feedback but bluntness elsewhere is striking according to the author 

• Criticized as 'false" and confusing  

• Ex. Childs assignment with stars and praise  

• The disastrous conference example  

authors advice for feedback:

• Don’t launch into the negatives until you state something you appreciate  

  • They should be honest  

• Try over time to be balanced in the amount of positive and negative feedback  

• Frame your behavior in cultural terms  

Respect: egalitarian v Hierarchical

• On the far end of egalitarian: individuals should be equal. People are more free to question and challenge each other, while decisions are more likely to be made communally  

• On the far end of hierarchical: a boss is supposed to be above the subordinated. The boss is less likely to be challenged or perceived as "one of the people"  

What is power distance?

Power distance: the extent to which the less powerful members of organizations accept and expect that power is distributed unequally.  

European power expectations v Asia:

• In Europe, a potential explanation involves a country's religious faith  

• Confucian principles, which are more common in especially China, value hierarchy.

more ideologies that come from confucianism:

According to the author, the philosophy believes that society order and harmony come from stability  

• Clearer hierarchies with older siblings exerting more of a leadership role  

• A good boss based on these principles is a fairly paternalistic and protective  

• Views of leaders are thus less challenged  

• When I  would ask my staff members for their thoughts, advice, or opinions, they would sit quietly staring at their shoelaces  

Learning to navigate differences in leadership:

• It is important to know whether one can "skip steps" or "level hopping" in contacting someone who's superior of your boss or steps below your direct subordinate  

• Do you feel comfortable challenging your boss  

• Should you take initiative or should you check with your boss 

Decision making: German/American example 

• Americans can appear egalitarian with informal dress and interactions, but out decision making can be centered around the boss  

• Whereas Germans tend to build consensus among everyone  

• Typically though, in egalitarian countries, decisions are made by consensus  

• Both can be viewed as hierarchical  

American decision making:

• American decisions tend to be more temporary, subject to changes  

  • Or an "agreement to continue discussing" 

• America is an outlier in terms of egalitarian culture but hierarchical decision-making  

• Often, hierarchical cultures prefer consensus – USA outlier  

More effects on American Decision making:

• Americans tend to dislike too much discussion  

• Americans prefer to make decisions on scant information  

• American seme more willing to incorporate more information into a continuing process of making a decision  

• Adapt to new information 

• Consensus building can seem overly time consuming  

What do consensual cultures value?

• the consensus building process

• The idea is that people "buy in" more  

• It builds team coordination  

• Ex. Japanese Ringi system  

Discussion to implementation: hierarchical v consensual

• In more hierarchal countries, decisions can be made faster and with less discussion. But decisions are also more tenuous. 

• In more consensual cultures, decisions are made slower after more people are consulted, but also more finite. 

Trust: 2 types

Cognitive and affective

what is cognitive trust:

Cognitive trust: the trust you feel in anothers accomplishments, skills and reliability.  

• It is built through business interactions 

• You demonstrate through your work that you are reliable  

what is affective trust

Affective trust: from feelings of emotional closeness, empathy or friendship  

• Personal relationships stem from the heart  

Chua's study:

• Americans draw a sharp line between affective and cognitive trust  

  • Long history of separating emotional and practical. Mixing the two is perceived as unprofessional and risks conflict of interest  

• Out of people who a person "trusts" Chua found a difference between whether the trust involves completing a task or hearing a personal/emotional/story/problem  

• Chinese are more likely to express emotional bonds with colleagues. A separation of cognitive and affective trust can appear to lack sincerity  

Task based versus relationship based culture  

The further a culture falls toward the task-based end of the scale, the more people from that culture tend to separate affective and cognitive trust, and to rely mainly on cognitive trust for work relationships. The more relationship-based is the opposite  

where does the US fall according to the author

The US per the author falls on the far end of task-based  

what about china and spain?

• In China...loyalty is to the individual and not to the company"  

• The Spanish value "authentico" which includes your faults"  

 

Relationship-based societies  - what type of culture?

Peach culture

what are peach cultures?

• Often the most likely to make small talk with strangers ' 

• will frequently smile at strangers  

• But often softness of the initial interaction meets firm resistance when you break the surface  

• The people who invite me for coffee kept forgetting to actually invite me over  

what about coconut cultures

• People are more closed off with those they don’t have a relationship with  

• But people become very warm once you crack the surface 

Disagreement: in confucian cultures:

The example of being challenged and losing face in confucian cultures  

• Social order depends on harmony and respect between people  

• Guidelines of 5 constant relationships  

• The first Japanese constitution: harmony should be valued and quarrels avoided  

• In China protecting another persons face is more important than stating what you believe is correct  

Disagreement: in western cultures:

But in western cultures everyone is expected to have different opinions from everyone else  

• French business people intuitively conduct meetings in this fashion, viewing conflict and dissonance as bringing hidden contradictions to light stimulating thinking  

• Though face is important to some degree in all cultures  

where does US fall on disagreement scale

in the middle

Confrontation versus emotion expressiveness

• Some cultures express emotion that can appear like fighting  

• In some cultures, disagreement can differ by whether someone is from the "in group" or "out group"  

  • Confucious provided almost no example of how to interact with strangers  

  • Here in Japan...even asking another's point of view can feel confrontational  

 Sachlichkeit means what

Sachlichkeit - "objectivity": we can separate someone's opinions or idea from the person expressing that idea  

In a "god" meeting which of the following should happen for US?  

• A decision is made  

• Various viewpoints are discussed and debated  

• A formal stamp is put on a decision that has been made before the meeting  

Most American respond with 1.  

two views of time are:

Linear and flexible

• Linear: Germany, Scandinavia, Netherlands ' 

• Flexibly: Middle East, Africa, India, South America 

2 different types of time cultures are:

P time and M time cultures

what is P time culture

• P-time cultures: polychronic: a flexible approach based less on time and more on the completion of a task  

• Appointments not taken seriously  

• The Botswana example " I  am coming now now"  

• Particularly in the developing world, life centers around the fact of constant change  

• Ex. India and the practical difficulties of planning  

what is M time culture?

M-time cultures (monochronic): time is tangible and concrete  

• We talk about losing and gaining time 

how is this determined?

Often determined by how dynamic life is in a place  

• Ex: in Germany, the industrial revolution required labor to be in place at a certain time  

• Other places are animated with unpredictability – power outage, internet blackouts etc.  

• Value flexibility over linear planning  

consequences of diff time cultures

• The nature of appointments  

• Can you cancel an RSVP? (Nigerian or Indian examples) -  the scheduling scale  

• The nature of lines or queues  

  • In some cultures, one is expected to wait in an orderly line and to wait for their turn for most tasks 

  • Other cultures, the task of queuing is less orderly, or even exists less frequently  

    • The ever green tree culture example  

based on these time cultures, linear cultures are…

more likely to follow an orderly agenda in meetings.

flexible cultures are more likely to…

Where flexible cultures will allow the meeting to evolve 

is one more efficient than the other?

NO both can be seen as efficient

• Each system can be viewed as efficient  

  • Linear systems because they discuss the key tasks without much waste  

    • We set the plan, we prepare we follow the plan 

• Flexible systems may seem efficient because they allow people to discuss important ideas, even if they weren’t initially planned, for as much time as needed. 

  • In this sense, the amount of time spent practicing one’s presentation seems wasteful. 

Persuasion: what are the two reasoning methods?

Deductive reasoning - principle first

Inductive reasoning - application first

Deductive reasoning:

• principles-first reasoning 

• Derives conclusions from general principles 

• Start with a larger theory to make predictions/conclusions based upon that 

• ex. learning math: start with the theory behind the math formula before using it

inductive reasoning:

• applications-first reasoning 

• The reaching of general conclusions based on observed patterns 

• E.g., spending time in Georgia in the summer to conclude that Georgia is hot 

what are the differences between the two reasonings?

• People from principle-first cultures generally want to understand the why behind their boss’s request before they move to action” 

• “Application-first learners focus less on the why and more on the how” 

• In the USA, people focus on practicalities rather than theory, so they want to do know the recommendations or conclusions. 

  • Americans like practical examples 

• E.g., learning a language 

  • Application first: Russian 

  • Principle first: French 

if you are learning a language ad you start with all of the grammar rules and vocab rules first. what time of method is that?

Deductive - principles first

if you are learning Russian and your teacher immediately begins speaking to you in Russian, no grammar or beginning vocab to start - what time of method is this

Inductive - application first

which type of reasoning is common in the US

Application first - inductive reasoning is most used

• E.g., 

  • Americans may start with a case study (a practical example up front) 

  • Legal Systems (in the United States, the application sets a precedent) 

• E.g., the email: with application first, get to the point fast and stick to it. 

suggestions on how to navigate these two different styles

• Build team awareness  

• Use "cultural bridges" 

• Understand and adapt 

• Patience and flexibility  

What time of thinking is common in Asia?

Holistic thinking

• where as the west is “specific”

Asian Holistic thinking versus Western (american) Specific thinking

Americans will make more comments about the central figure whereas many from Asian cultures will focus more on all elements of story/picture etc., according to the author, as well as the part’s interdependence and interactions. 

Asia: Macro to Micro

US: Micro to Macro

As a result, Americans may feel like people from Asian cultures discuss too many tangential points whereas Americans could be perceived as too narrow sighted. 

Asian Holistic thinking versus Western (american) Specific thinking - Consequences

As a result, Americans may feel like people from Asian cultures discuss too many tangential points whereas Americans could be perceived as too narrow sighted. 

Holistic versus Specific examples

• asked to take photo of person

  • China: Take fare away pic with person and backgrounf

  • US: took close of up persons head/face

• When writing an address

If the address goes from: province, city, district, block, gate number - what time of thinking is that

Holistic

If the date is written: Year, Month, Day - what thinking is it

Holistic

If date is written: with month first then day then year - what type of thinking

Specific