International/Intercultural Communication in the Global Workplace

Business 100 Fall 2011 Class #1

Walt Disney Stated:

Of all of our inventions for mass communication, pictures still speak the most universally understood language.

Culture and Organizations

While pictures may speak the most universally understood language:
The workplace needs effective written and verbal communication. The workplace needs efficient written and verbal communication. Workers need to understand their duties and responsibilities.

Culture and Organizations

Culture plays an important role in efficient and effective organizational communication.
Norms + Values + Beliefs = Culture

Cultural Norms
Accepted behaviors within a culture The explicit or implicit rules that a group uses for appropriate and inappropriate behaviors The customary rules of behavior that coordinate our interactions with others

Cultural Norms
For Example:
Americans maintain fairly direct eye contact when conversing with others. Asians tend to avert their eyes as a sign of politeness and respect.

Cultural Norms
What happens when these cultural norms are violated?
As Americans, how do you react when someone does not look you in the eyes when speaking to you? How do you react when a stranger talks to you in an elevator? How do you react when a stranger invades your personal space?

Cultural Values
Within a community or society, values are the commonly accepted standards of what is:
acceptable or unacceptable, important or unimportant, right or wrong, workable or unworkable.

Cultural Values
Further, values can be defined as:
learned, relatively enduring, emotionally charged and moral conceptualizations that assist us in making decisions.

Cultural Values
For Example:
Consider the value you and/or our society places on the idea of The Wilderness.
What is your personal value judgment regarding the wilderness? Does our culture share the same values regarding the wilderness as you do?

Cultural Values
Is it:
Wilderness is the antithesis of civilization? Wilderness is a land of no use? Wilderness is where the birds fly free and the beauty of the flowers glows with the colors of the rainbow? Wilderness is the frontier we settled as we moved west?

Are there other alternatives?

Cultural Values
Summary:
Norms are rules for behavior in specific situations. Values identify what we each believe is good or evil.

Cultural Values
Remember:
There are no right or wrong answers to questions of values. However, individuals are likely to strongly hold these ideals and use them in their decision making.
Both in social and in business decisions

Cultural Beliefs
A system of shared ideals which guide behaviors.
Freedom Equal Justice under Law Hard work will be rewarded

Cultural Beliefs
What are other shared beliefs in our culture? What are shared beliefs about work in our culture?

Ethnocentrism
is the tendency to look at the world primarily from the perspective of one's own culture is the belief that one's culture is the most important and/or that some or all aspects of its culture are superior to those of other groups

Cultural Relativism
is the belief that the concepts and values of one culture cannot be fully translated into, or fully understood in, other cultures. is the belief that a specific cultural artifact (e.g. a ritual) can only be understood through an understanding of the culture of which it is a part.

Culture and Business

Culture plays an important role in effective organizational communication.
Leaders and Managers also must understand that different backgrounds and cultures may disagree with the message being disseminated. This disagreement will likely have a negative impact on the workplace.

Culture and Business

How is this knowledge acquired?
Learned from experience Passed down from one generation to another Shared among members of the group or community

Culture and Business

For Example: The Handshake
In the U.S. In Asia In the U.K. In France Firm Gentle (except Korea where firm) Soft Light and quick often repeated during the interaction

Culture and Business

Priorities of Different Cultures US Japan Arab World
Freedom Independence Self-Reliance Equality Belonging Group Harmony Collectiveness Age/Seniority Family Security Family Harmony Parents as Guide Age

Individualism

Consensus

Authority

Culture and Business

Priorities of Different Cultures
Using these priorities as a guide:
How will workers from one of these cultures interact with co-workers from another culture? How will workers from one of these cultures interact with a manager/leader from another culture?

Culture and Business

As stated above, culture plays an important role in effective organizational communication.
Norms + Values + Beliefs = Culture Leaders and Managers must understand that different backgrounds and cultures may change the way that the message is understood.

Geert Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions

"Culture is more often a source of conflict than of synergy. Cultural differences are a nuisance at best and often a disaster."

Geert Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions

Hofstedes model gives insights into our own and other cultures. Effective cross-cultural communication requires being aware of cultural differences because what may be considered perfectly acceptable and natural in one country, can be confusing or even offensive in another.

Geert Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions

All the levels in communication are affected by cultural dimensions:

Verbals (words and language itself) Non verbals (body language, gestures)

In international negotiations:
Communication style, expectation, issue ranking and goals will change according to the negotiators countries of origin.

Geert Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions

Hofstede found that there are 5 dimensions of cultural variability:

Uncertainty Avoidance Power Distance Masculinity-Femininity Individualism-Collectivism Short- versus Long-term Orientation

Uncertainty Avoidance
The extent to which a culture feels threatened by ambiguous, uncertain situations and tries to avoid them by establishing more structure

Uncertainty Avoidance
High positive scores on the uncertainty avoidance index indicate low tolerance for ambiguity. These cultures prefer to avoid uncertainty and dissent as a cultural value and desire consensus.
As a result, HIGH uncertainty avoidance cultures prefer formal rules.

Uncertainty Avoidance
Low scores indicate:
a high tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity, a belief in accepting and encouraging dissenting views among members, interest in taking risks, trying new things.

Thus, cultures that ranked low feel much more comfortable with the unknown.

Uncertainty Avoidance
Some of the common traits found in countries that score low on the uncertainty avoidance scale include:
a country with a young history (USA), a population that is very diverse due to waves of immigration, businesses that embrace risk, encouragement for innovation and pushing boundaries.

Uncertainty Avoidance
High UA
Greece 112 Portugal 104 Guatemala 101 Uruguay 100 Belgium 94

Low UA
Hong Kong 29 Sweden 29 Denmark 23 Jamaica 13 Singapore 8

Uncertainty Avoidance
Dealing with Uncertainty Avoidance:
You need more information in order to be successful in completing a task at work. Do you:
ask your supervisor? ask a co-worker? Observe others and wing-it? not ask anyone and hope that your intuition is correct?

Power Distance
The degree to which a culture believes:
how institutional and organizational power should be distributed (equally or unequally) how the decisions of the power holders should be viewed (challenged or accepted)

Power Distance
People in high power distance cultures are much more comfortable with a larger status differential than low power distance cultures.

Power Distance
Predictors of Power Distance:
Climate: measured by geographical latitude. Cultures in high-latitude climate (moderate or cold climates) tend to have low PDI scores. Cultures that have tropical climate tend to have high PDI scores. Population: Generally, the greater the number of people within the culture, the greater the power distance is likely to be.

Power Distance
Predictors of Power Distance:
Distribution of Wealth: The more unequally the wealth is distributed within a culture, the greater the culture's power distance.

Power Distance
High PD
Malaysia 104 Guatemala 95 Panama 95 Philippines 94 Mexico 81

Low PD
Ireland 28 New Zealand 22 Denmark 18 Israel 13 Austria 11

Power Distance
Dealing with Power Distance:
You need to talk with your supervisor at work about a task. Do you:
make an appointment and wait to hear back? go to your supervisors office and knock on the door and ask to talk? strategically run into your supervisor in the hallway and ask your question at that time?

Masculinity-Femininity
A Masculine culture values behaviors such as:
Assertiveness Achievement Acquisition of wealth

Masculinity-Femininity
A Feminine culture values:
Caring for others Social support systems Quality of life Equality between male and female and less prescriptive role behaviors associated with each gender

Masculinity-Femininity
Most Masc
Japan 95 Hungary 88 Austria 79 Venezuela 73 Italy 70

Most Fem
Costa Rica 21 Denmark 16 Netherlands 14 Norway 8 Sweden 5

Masculinity-Femininity
Dealing with Masculinity Femininity:
Your immediate supervisor is Swedish (you are American) and there is a conflict in the office. Should you expect your supervisor to engage in:
compromise? collaboration? competition?

Individualism-Collectivism
The degree to which a culture relies on and has allegiance to the self or the group

Individualism-Collectivism
Predictors:
Economic development
Wealthy cultures tend to be individualistic, whereas poor cultures tend to be collectivistic.

Climate
Cultures in colder climate tend to be individualistic, whereas cultures in warmer climates tend to be collectivistic.

Individualism-Collectivism
Hofstede found a strong negative correlation between a culture's scores on the power distance index and its scores on the individualism-collectivism index. High Power Distant cultures tend to be collectivistic, whereas low Power Distance cultures tend to be individualistic.

Individualism-Collectivism
Collectivistic cultures tend to:
be group-oriented; impose a large psychological distance between ingroup and out-group members; expect in-group members to have unquestioning loyalty to their group; find its members using avoidance, intermediaries, or other face-saving techniques in conflict situations.

Individualism-Collectivism
Individualists cultures tend to:
be perceived as not having a large psychological distance between in-group and out-group members, value self-expression among individuals, speak out as a means of resolving problems, use confrontational strategies when dealing with interpersonal problems.

Individualism-Collectivism
High Individuals
United States 91 Australia 90 United Kingdom 89 Netherlands 80 New Zealand 79

High Collective
Columbia 13 Venezuela 12 Panama 11 Ecuador 8 Guatemala 6

Individualism-Collectivism
Dealing with Individualism-Collectivism:
You have been working very hard to complete a task at work. The success of your work will not only positively impact you but also your entire work group. Do you:
want the rewards for yourself? want the rewards to be shared with your entire group?

Short/Long-term Orientation
The degree to which a society does or does not value long-term commitments and respect for tradition. Long-term traditions and commitments hamper institutional change.

Short/Long-term Orientation
Long-Term Orientation:
Persistence Ordering relationships by status and observing this order Thrift Having a sense of shame

Short/Long-term Orientation
Short-Term Orientation:
Personal steadiness and stability Protecting your face Respect for tradition Reciprocation of greetings, favors and gifts

Short/Long-term Orientation
High Long term
China 118 Hong Kong 96 Taiwan 87 Japan 80 South Korea 75

Low Long term

Norway 20 Philippines 19 Ghana 16 Nigeria 16 Sierra Leone 16

Short/Long-term Orientation
Dealing with Short- vs. Long-term Orientation:
You own a tire store on Kingston Pike. With all the new roofs being installed throughout Knoxville due to the spring hail storm, stray roofing nails are puncturing tires and as a result, your business is booming.

Short/Long-term Orientation
Dealing with Short- vs. Long-term Orientation:
Do you:
Expand your store? Hire new full-time help? Hire new part-time help? Put the money aside for when the demand for new tires returns to normal?

Culture and Management

Examples of how culture and management intersect:
Centralized vs. Decentralized decision making Safety vs. risk Individual vs. Group rewards Informal vs. Formal procedures

Culture and Management

Examples of how culture and management intersect:
High vs. Low organizational loyalty Cooperation vs. Competition Short-term vs. Long-term horizons Stability vs. Innovation