Communicating Across

Cultural Lines

Communication is one of the most basic

means of getting your idea across, but when
it comes down to communicating with
someone outside your comfort zone things
can become a little unnerving.
“The reasonable person adapts
himself to the world, while the
unreasonable one persists in trying
to adapt the world to himself.”

George Bernard Shaw

 Then and Now…

The move towards a cross cultural

world
 Then…
 Fairly homogenous
societies
 Domestic markets
dominate
 Poor transport
 Early days of technology
…Now
 Multicultural societies
 International trade &
commerce
 Global travel
 Internet, satellite technology
and mobile phones
 Then…
 Domestic marketplaces
 Culturally homogenous
colleagues, clients and
customers
 Little international
interaction
 Foreign language use
limited
…Now
 International markets
 Clients, customers and
colleagues from across
the globe
 Daily cross cultural
interaction
 Foreign languages
critical
The result
A need for…
 Global approach to business
 Intercultural awareness in
public and private sectors
 Language proficiency
 Cross cultural
communication skills
Rethinking concepts for
Intercultural communication in the
global knowledge economy
 Culture

“An integrated pattern of human behavior that

includes thoughts, communications, languages,
practices, beliefs,values, customs, courtesies,
rituals, manners of interacting and roles,
relationships and expected behaviors of a
racial, ethnic, religious or social group; and
the ability to transmit the above to succeeding
generations.”
 The Three C’s:
Cross-Cultural Competence

“The ability to think, feel, and act in ways that acknowledges

diversity, respects and build upon ethnic, sociocultural, and
linguistic variables”

(Lynch and Hanson, 1998)

Cross-Cultural Competence
Awareness: assumptions, values, biases
Understanding: worldview of culturally and
linguistically diverse (CLD) clients
Knowledge: cultural differences, assessment and
intervention strategies
Skills: providing assessment and intervention
services
The linguistic challenges of
intercultural communication

To combat:
• Ambiguity
• Interference
• Lack of equivalence
Some immediate challenges to interculturalists

 Understanding the role of language in the creation and

sustaining of communication environment.

 Developing a different understanding of negotiation

 Relating intercultural communication to the tasks of

collaborative learning, knowledge sharing and networking.
 Ways to Facilitate Communication Across Cultural
Boundaries

1. Recognize differences
2. Build Your Self-Awareness
3. Describe and Identify, then Interpret
4. Don’t assume your interpretation is correct
5. Verbalize your own non-verbal signs
6. Share your experience honestly
7. Acknowledge any discomfort, hesitation, or concern
8. Practice politically correct communication
9. Give your time and attention when communicating
10. Don’t evaluate or judge
 CROSS-CULTURAL MANAGEMENT
MINIMIZES:
 Misunderstandings of etiquette, values, and behaviours.

 Costly discrimination suits that arise from poor communication and

worker alienation.

 Unnecessary terminations that result from communication breakdown

and misinterpretation of employee behaviour.

 Managers' reluctance to hire and work with culturally diverse workers.

 "Racism and discrimination that can result from misinterpretations

of the behaviours of others."9
“Reconciling cultural differences in the shortest
time is crucial to the success of a business
merger”

- TCL President Li Dongsheng

Merger of Daimler Chrysler
 In the period leading up to the Daimler-Chrysler merger, both
firms were performing quite well (Chrysler was the most
profitable American automaker), and there was widespread
expectation that the merger would be successful

 Stockholders in both companies overwhelmingly approved the

merger and the stock prices and analyst predictions reflected
this optimism.
 Performance after the merger,however, was entirely different,
particularly at the Chrysler division.
 Operations and management were not successfully
integrated as “equals” because of the very different ways
in which the Germans and Americans operated:

 while Daimler-Benz’s culture stressed a more formal and

structured management style

 Chrysler favored a more relaxed, freewheeling style (to

which it owed a large part of its pre-merger financial
success).
 In addition, the two units traditionally held entirely
different views on important things like pay scales and
travel expenses.

 As a result of these differences and the German unit’s

increasing dominance, performance and employee
satisfaction at Chrysler took a steep downturn
 There were large numbers of departures among key Chrysler
executives and engineers, while the German unit became
increasingly dissatisfied with the performance of the Chrysler
division.

 Chrysler employees became extremely dissatisfied with what

they perceived as the source of their division’s problems:
Daimler’s attempts to take over the entire organization and
impose their culture on the whole firm.4
 CROSS CULTURAL
CONFLICTS

When cultures clash, no matter what the cause,

things should inevitably evolve into a 'them' and
'us' environment for success.
 Merger of Hewlett-Packard
(HP) and Compaq Computer
 Cultural integration
 Cultural integration of two organizations
following an acquisition depends on the
compatibility of the contents of their
respective cultures as well as the
demographic flows of persons into and out
of the new entity.
 Merger of HP and COMPAQ took place in
2002.
 Culture at Compaq
 Compaq tended to be more market-
oriented and aggressive.

 Here people appeared to be quite good at

having constructive, open to conflict and
decisions making environment.
 Culture at HP
 HP had a traditional way emphasing on teamwork,
consensus, and the long-term view.
 HP has a strong value around respect for the
individual and trust for the individual.
 They never want conflict. They will really wouldn't
make a decision until virtually everyone in the room
was in agreement.
 Similarities in their cultures.
 There are certainly some cultural
similarities between the two companies on
the IT server front,". "They both approach it
from the hardware background."
 Merger HP and Compaq
 After 18 months of bitter fight, the biggest merger in
the technology industry was completed. At the time
of merger, it was worth $19 billion approximately.
 The New HP has retained a few of the Compaq
products and brands, especially in the business PC
range.
 Customers continue to hear Presario brand of PCs
and iPaq handhelds.
 What do they gain?

 The big gain for the combined entity is

LARGER CUSTOMER BASE.

 Coupled with the elimination of

overlapping computer product lines, this
lead to LOWER COSTS for the same
revenues.
 Hence prices came down and become more
competitive which helped them in garnering
a greater share of the market.
 Single factory, improved logistics,
strengthened distribution system and better
negotiation with suppliers are some of the
areas which would help in cutting cost.
 Things they do
 Carleton’s firm helped HP conduct 144 focus
groups and 150 interviews in 22 countries.
 The data from the interviews was used to shape an
integration plan that included the early
appointment of the top three levels of
management, a “Fast Start” training program
that brought HP and Compaq employees
together in the first weeks after the merger, and
a multitude of meetings in which employees
explored mutual cultural issues.
 Language barriers and
icebergs
 Much of the company's early work has been
focused on two areas: minimizing
disruption to customers and working to
avoid internal culture clashes.

 By taking cautious steps successful

merger was possible even in culturally
diverse companies
 Good Intercultural
Communicators Are….

 Aware values &

behaviors not
always “right”

 Flexible & open to

change.
And…..
 Sensitive to verbal
& nonverbal
behavior.
 Aware of values,
beliefs, practices of
other cultures.
 Sensitive to
differences within
cultures.
 EX 3.1 High Context and
Low Context Countries
High Context: Meaning
Im plicit Languages

Japanese
Arabs
Surrounding Latin Am ericans
Inform ation
Necessary for Italians
Understanding
British
French

North Am ericans
Scandinavians

Germ ans
Swiss

Low Context: Meaning

Explicit in Language
 High-Context Cultures
 Infer information from message
context, rather than from
content.  Asian
 Prefer indirectness, politeness &  Latin American
ambiguity.
 Middle Eastern
 Convey little information
explicitly.
 Rely heavily on nonverbal signs.
 Low-Context Cultures
 Rely more on content rather than on
context.
 Explicitly spell out information.  European
 Value directness.  Scandinavian
 North American
 See indirectness as manipulative.
 Value written word more than oral
statements.
Some Cultural Scenarios

Japan China

India Mexico
 JAPAN
To help her American Company establish a
presence in Japan, Mrs. Torres wants to hire a
local interpreter who can advise her on business
customs. Ms. Tomari has superb qualifications
on paper, but when Mrs. Torres tries to probe
about her experience, Ms. Tomari just says, “I
will do my best. I will try very hard.” She never
gives details about any of the previous positions
she has held. Mrs. Torres begins to wonder if
Ms. Tomari's résumé is inflated.
 CHINA
Stan Williams wants to negotiate a joint venture
between his American firm and a Beijing-based
company. He asks Tung-Sen Lee if the Chinese
people have enough discretionary income to afford
his product. Mr. Lee is silent for a time, and then
says, “Your product is good. People in the West
must like it.” Stan smiles, pleased that Mr. Lee
recognizes the quality of his product, and he leaves
a contract for Mr. Lee to sign. Weeks later, Stan
still hasn’t heard anything.
 INDIA
Gloria Johnson is proud of her participatory management
style. Assigned in Bombay on behalf of her U.S.-based
company, she is careful not to give orders but to ask for
suggestions. But the employees rarely suggest anything.
Even a formal suggestion system she established does not
work. Worse still, she doesn’t sense the respect and
camaraderie that she felt at the plant she managed in Texas.
Perhaps the people in India just are not ready for a woman
boss.
 MEXICO
Alan Caldwell is a U.S. sales representative in Mexico
City. He makes appointments with Senõr Lopez and is
careful to be on time, but his host is frequently late. To
save time, Alan tries to get right to business, his host wants
to talk about sightseeing and about Alan’s family. Even
worse, the meetings are interrupted constantly with phone
calls, long conversations with other people, and even
customers’ children who come into the office. Alan’s first
report to his home office is very negative. He hasn’t yet
made a sale. Perhaps Mexico just isn’t the right place to
do business.