ENTERING ANOTHER CULTURE
People at all stages of their careers need to understand culture and how it works
because it can have a powerful effect on their lives. Just starting their careers, people
may think a job is just a job. But when they choose a company, they often choose a
way of life. Culture can make them fast or slow workers, tough or friendly managers,
team players or individuals.
Culture shock may be one of the main reasons why people “fail” when they
leave one organization for another or start doing business with partners from other
countries.
When dealing with foreign companies, it is important to be open-minded,
which means not judging one culture as better than another. You need to be sensitive
too. That means being careful to avoid doing things that people of other culture might
find strange or offensive, even if in your culture such things are quite OK.
To avoid misunderstanding it is important to be aware of different cultural
tendencies, customs and traditions. Some cultures are formal and polite. Other
cultures value a more individual style. For example Americans are direct and open in
making their argument, while people from many Far East countries never 'assert"
their views, interrupt and dominate the conversation because they don't want to be
rude and cause the other to lose face.
Greetings, gestures and terms of address are all potential hazards abroad. In the
USA, for example it is normal to for men to shake hands every time they meet. In
Britain they shake hands only when they meet for the first time. In our country we are
familiar with the short firm handshake. But in the Middle East the hand is held in a
loose grip for a longer time.
Another important thing to consider is corporate gift giving. In many countries
gifts is an important part of business relationships. The choice of a gift can cause
misunderstanding if the country's traditions are not understood. In the US, for
example, gadgets with corporate logo are often used as formal gifts while crafts or
folk art from home country can be appreciated in Switzerland. A bottle of scent or a
scarf can be a good way to express gratitude to a secretary in Brazil. In Middle East
you should not bring drinks to an Arab home because alcohol is forbidden by
religious law there. You should not admire an object openly either because the owner
may feel obliged to give it to you. In China expensive presents are not acceptable and
cause great embarrassment. Giving knives suggests cutting off the relationships in
that country.
So traveling abroad is a potential minefield for the unprepared traveler and to
avoid the problem you should learn customs and traditions of the country and be
prepared to cope with corporate culture clashes.
5. Answer the questions on the text:
1. Why do people need to understand culture at all stages of their careers?
2. Why is it important to be aware of the cultural differences when dealing with
foreign companies?
3. What different norms of communication do different cultures have?
4. When can gift cause embarrassment for the giver? Give an example.
5. Is the awareness of cultural differences vital only for businesspeople? Why / why
not?
1. When you go to another country, you will be confronted with different
behaviors, different foods, and different ways of life. Most of people are see that as
the main reason why they travel abroad in the first place. They want to open their
minds and learn about other cultures, educate about a different way of doing
something.
Understanding culture is important, as it makes you aware and more sensitive to
differences, and you could avoid big mistake in your behavior or maybe adjust, but at
least to respect the people that belong to other cultures than your own.
Moreover understanding culture does not only exist in the aim of helping poor little
students but it is also a real challenge for international businesses. You will not
promote a product in the same way in France or in Germany or in Russia.
Understanding culture is the most important thing when dealing and respecting
people. It does not mean, you have to go out of your way to mimic a culture that is
different than your own, but you should respect the other culture and treat it a
different, not inferior yours!
2. In a constantly evolving world, the act of going global must be accompanied
by the ability to conduct business in a manner that is efficient, but also sensitive and
respectful to the unique differences that are weaved into the fabric of intercultural
communication.
Here are five common practices that businesses often overlook.
1. Adapting global business models to the local market
2. Studying local business and managerial practices
3. Implementing diversity management
4. Adapting HR procedures to local market needs
5. Identifying regional and subcultural differences
3. Whether you are working abroad or are required to liaise globally with
colleagues or business partners, understanding how to effectively communicate
with people from all over the world is a key professional skill - one that is
increasingly important in today’s multicultural work environment.
It can be difficult to find common ground with people from other countries,
especially when their customs and business practices seem so different from your
own.
Here are some examples:
1. Managing emails and phone calls
2. Presentations
3. Meetings and how to facilitate them
4. Socializing
5. Handling negotiations
6. Managing teams
4. Since gifts represent our desire to build or cement a relationship, they also require
some form of reciprocation. Contemporary sociologist Dimitri Mortelmans argues
that gift giving creates a “debt-balance”, so to prevent ill feelings gifts must be repaid
creating a cycle of gift giving. When reciprocating a gift, it should be of roughly
equal value as giving too little signifies that you don’t value the relationship, while
giving too much means that you overvalue it and causes feelings of embarrassment.
Some gifts are given with no expected return. For example, we often give presents to
young children that have no way of reciprocating, or even our pets. While it could be
argued that these gifts are reciprocated in other ways, altruism could also be at play.
Love and appreciation are two of the biggest motivators for altruistic gift giving.
Giving gifts to help others can include donating money or volunteering for a charity.
There are several theories that attempt to explain why individuals do this. One theory
claims that dopamine-using pleasure circuitry in the brain is activated by charitable
giving. Effectively, we give because it makes us feel good.
5. A key to being successful in business internationally is to understand the role of
culture in international business. Whatever sector you are operating in, cultural
differences will have a direct impact on your profitability. Improving your level of
knowledge of international cultural difference in business can aid in building
international competencies as well as enabling you to gain a competitive advantage.
However, on the one hand where it is important to be aware of cultural differences of
different countries, on the other, it is also hard to be aware of every single aspect of
each country’s organisational culture. Therefore, you should be aware of the key
factors that have a direct impact on business.
