How Do Cultures Vary?

In some countries of the world, people are

viewed as basically honest and trustworthy. In
others, people are regarded with suspicion and
distrust. For example, a reason some Third World
people regard the United States with suspicion
and distrust may result from the way these
people view themselves. They assume others are
like them that is, prepared to cut corners if they
can get away with it.
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 How Do Cultures Vary? …Contd.
On the other hand, many other people of Third
World countries are just the opposite. They do
not lock their doors; they are very trusting and
assume that no one will break in. It is forbidden to
take the property of another person and people
adhere strictly to that cultural value. In the United
States, people also have a mixed view of other
people. Most people from the United States still
view others as basically honest but also believe
that it is important to be alert for any sign of
trouble. 2
 How Do Cultures Vary? …Contd.
When people travel outside their home country, they
carry their values with them just like their baggage.
This sometimes results in their being surprised over
the way they are treated. The following is an example:
A young Canadian in Sweden found summer
employment working in a restaurant owned by
Yugoslavians. As the Canadian explained, “I arrived at
the restaurant and was greeted by an effusive
Yugoslavian man who set me to work at once washing
dishes and preparing the restaurant for the June
opening.
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 How Do Cultures Vary? …Contd.

“At the end of the first day, I was brought to the

back room. The owner took an old cash box out of
a large desk. The Yugoslavian owner counted out
my wages for the day and was about to return the
box to the desk when the phone rang in the front
room. The owner hesitated: should he leave me
sitting in the room with the money or take it with
him? Quite simply, could he trust me?

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 How Do Cultures Vary? …Contd.

“After a moment, the man got up to answer the

phone, leaving me with the open money box. I sat
there in amazement; how could he trust me,
someone he had known for less than a day, a
person whose last name and address he didn’t
even know.

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 Managing Cultural Climate
Behaviours that Help Build a Trust Climate
1. Express your doubts, concerns and feelings in
an open, natural way. Encourage your
subordinates to do so also.
2. When subordinates express their doubts,
concerns and feelings accept them
supportively and discuss them thoroughly.
3. Set honesty as one standard that will not be
compromised. Demand it from yourself and
from your staff.
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 Managing Cultural Climate …Contd.
Behaviours that Help Build a Trust Climate …Contd.
4. Be clear about your expectations when
assigning work or eliciting opinions. Explain
your reasons, wherever possible, behind
requests and directions.
5. Encourage subordinates to look at you as a
possible resource in accomplishing results, but
develop and reinforce independence.
6. When something goes wrong, determine what
happened, not “who did it.”
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 Managing Cultural Climate …Contd.
Behaviours that Help Build a Trust Climate …Contd.
7. Encourage active support and participation in
corrective measures from those involved.
8. Share credit for successes; assume the bulk of
responsibility for criticism of your unit.

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 Managing Cultural Climate …Contd.
Behaviours that Help Preclude a Trust Climate
1. Look on expressions of feelings and doubts as
signs of weakness.
2. Be sarcastic, but cleverly so.
3. Let your subordinates know that you expect
them to “stretch the truth” a little if it will
make the organisation look good.
4. Be secretive. Never let them really be sure
what’s on your mind. This keeps them on their
toes.
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 Managing Cultural Climate …Contd.
Behaviours that Help Preclude a Trust Climate …
Contd.
5. Discourage subordinates from coming to you
for help. After all, they should be “stem-
winders” and “self-starters.”
6. When something goes wrong, blow up, hit
the ceiling and look for the guilty party.
7. Gossip about and disparage others on the
staff when they are not present. Overrespond
to casual comments by others about your
people.
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 Managing Cultural Climate …Contd.
Behaviours that Help Preclude a Trust Climate …
Contd.
8. Take credit for successes. Plan vendettas and
other ploys to make other organisations look
bad. Draw on subordinates for carrying these
out. Always insist on plenty of documentation
to protect yourself.

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 International Body Language

Argentine
If the waiter approaches pointing to the side of
his head and making a spinning gesture with their
finger, don’t think they’ve lost it—they’re trying
to say you have a phone call.

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 International Body Language …Contd.
Bangladesh
Bursting to go the toilet? Hold it. It is considered
very rude to excuse yourself from the table to use
the bathroom.

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 International Body Language …Contd.
Bolivia
Don’t make “the sign of the fig” (thumb
protruding between index and middle finger),
historically a sign that you could not care less—it
is very insulting.

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 International Body Language …Contd.
Bulgaria
Bulgarians nod the head up and down to mean
no, not yet. To say yes, a Bulgarian nods the head
back and forth.

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 International Body Language …Contd.
China
In Eastern culture, silence really can be golden. So
don’t panic if long periods of silence form part of
your meeting with Chinese clients. It simply
means they are considering your proposal
carefully.

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 International Body Language …Contd.
Egypt
As across the Arab world the left had is unclean,
use your right to accept business cards and to
greet someone. Use only your right hand for
eating.

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 International Body Language …Contd.
Fiji
To show respect to your Fijian hosts when
addressing them, stand with your arms folded
behind your back.

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 International Body Language …Contd.
France
The French don’t like strong handshakes,
preferring a short, light grip or air kissing. If your
French colleague is seen to be playing an
imaginary flute, however, it means he thinks you
are not being truthful.

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 International Body Language …Contd.
Germany
When Germans meet across a large conference
table and it is awkward to reach over and shake
hands, they will instead rap their knuckles lightly
on the table by way of a greeting.

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 International Body Language …Contd.
Greece
Beware of making the okay sign to Greek
colleagues as it signifies bodily orifices. A safer
bet is the thumbs-up sign. The thumbs-down,
however, is the kind of gesture reserved for when
a Greek motorist cuts you off on the highway.

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 International Body Language …Contd.
Hong Kong
Whey trying to attract someone’s attention, don’t
use your index finger with palm extended
upward. This is how the Cantonese call their dogs.

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 International Body Language …Contd.
India
Beware of whistling in public—it is the height of
rudeness here.

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 International Body Language …Contd.
Japan
Japan is a real minefield for Western
businesspeople, but one that always gets to them
is the way the Japanese heartily slurp their
noodles at lunch. Far from being rude, it actually
shows appreciation of the food in Japanese
culture.

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 International Body Language …Contd.
Jordan
No matter how hungry you are, it is customary to
refuse seconds from your host twice before finally
accepting a third time.

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 International Body Language …Contd.
Lebanon
Itchy eyebrow? Don’t scratch it. Licking your little
finger and brushing it across your eyebrow is
provocative.

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 International Body Language …Contd.
Malaysia
If you find a Malaysian standing with hands on
hips before you, you have clearly said something
wrong. It means he’s livid.

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 International Body Language …Contd.
Mexico
Mexicans are very tactile and often perform a
bizarre handshake whereby, after pressing
together the palms, they will slide their hands
upward to grasp each other’s thumbs.

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 International Body Language …Contd.
Netherlands
The Dutch may seem open-minded, but if Dutch
people tap the underside of their elbow, it means
they think you’re unreliable.

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 International Body Language …Contd.
Pakistan
The overt display of a closed fist is an incitement
to war.

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 International Body Language …Contd.
Philippines a common greeting here—a quick
flash of the eyebrows superseded the need for
handshakes.

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 International Body Language …Contd.
Russia
The Russians are highly tactile meet and greeters,
with bear hugs and kisses direct on the lips
commonplace. Don’t take this habit to nearby
Uzbekistan, however, They’d probably shoot you.

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 International Body Language …Contd.
Saudi Arabia
If a Saudi man takes another’s hand on the street,
it’s a sign of mutual respect.

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 International Body Language …Contd.
Samoa
When your new Samoan host offers you a cup of
the traditional drink, kava, make sure to
deliberately spill a few drops on the ground
before taking your first sip.

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 International Body Language …Contd.
Turkey
Be careful not to lean back on your chair and
point the sole of your foot at anyone in a meeting
in Istanbul. Pointing with the underside of the
foot is highly insulting.

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 Communicating across Language Barriers
Verbal Behaviour
o Clear, slow speech. Enunciate each word. Do
not use colloquial expressions.
o Repetition. Repeat each important idea using
different words to explain the same concept.
o Simple sentences. Avoid compound, long
sentences.
o Active verbs. Avoid passive verbs.
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Communicating across Language Barriers …Contd.
Nonverbal Behaviour
o Visual restatements. Use as many visual
restatements as possible, such as pictures, graphs,
tables and slides.
o Gestures. Use more facial and hand gestures to
emphasize the meaning of words.
o Demonstration. Act out as many themes as
possible.
o Pauses. Pause more frequently.
o Summaries. Hand out written summaries of your
verbal presentation.
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Communicating across Language Barriers …Contd.
Attribution
o Silence. When there is a silence, wait. Do not jump
in to fill the silence. The other person is probably
just thinking more slowly in the language or
translating.
o Intelligence. Do not just equate poor grammar and
mispronunciation with lack of intelligence; it is
usually a sign of second-language use.
o Differences. If unsure, assume difference, not
similarity.
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Communicating across Language Barriers …Contd.
Comprehension
o Understanding. Do not just assume that they
understand; assume that they do not understand.
o Checking comprehension. Have colleagues repeat
their understanding of the material back to you.
Do not simply ask whether they understand or
not. Let them explain what they understand to
you.

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Communicating across Language Barriers …Contd.
Design
o Breaks. Take more frequent breaks. Second-
language comprehension is exhausting.
o Small modules. Divide the material into smaller
modules.
o Longer time frame. Allocate more time for each
module than usual in a monolingual program.

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Communicating across Language Barriers …Contd.
Motivation
o Encouragement. Verbally and nonverbally
encourage and reinforce speaking by nonnative
language participants.
o Drawing out. Explicitly draw out marginal and
passive participants.
o Reinforcement. Do not embarrass novice speakers.

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