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would be greatly out of his depth if he tried to use the Japanese, Chinese
or even the Greek version of his favourite word processing program
even if all he wanted to do with it was to write an English text.
Misunderstandings, errors, even complete failure of the attempt,
depending on the degree of patience invested in this hardy enterprise,
are so to speak pre-programmed in. But after learning a few fundamen-
tals of the language version he is using, he could handle the software
with almost as much facility as his usual one.
This short chapter is intended above all to bring the reader s aware-
ness to the difficulties awaiting him in unfamiliar cultural territory, but
at the same time to encourage him to overcome these obstacles.
So let us come back to our question: what is culture? To take a some-
what more human-oriented definition, it is the ability to convey large mes-
sages with small gestures. That doesn t sound so technical, but in fact it
means exactly the same thing: a social code that serves the members of a
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Cross-cultural factors
common culture as an extremely effective mode of communication. It
goes far beyond and deeper than what is generally understood by cul-
ture, that is to say language, literature, art, music, history, customs, moral
standards, etc., and certainly the folklore aspect so beloved of the tourist
offices. Far less visible, but just as much a part of the cultural identity of
a people or tribe, are for example the following:
" Body language: Compare the expansive gesticulations of the Italians
with the reserved posture of the Japanese or the fixed friendly smile
of the Chinese;
" Priorities: Live to work (Germany, Japan, South Korea)? or work to
live (Spain, Italy, Brazil)? What role is played by religion (Islam)?
" Role expectations: What role do women, for example, play in society?
Wife and mother (Arab world) or equal colleague (Scandinavia)?
" Personal relationships: Do they play a significant role in business life
(Asia, Arab world) or virtually none at all (Germany)?
" Contact and affiliation: Official and formal, or casual with a glass of
beer after a day s work (this varies from country to country and also
according to social class)?
" Mr/Mrs/Ms or first name: At the very first meeting (USA) or only
among old school pals (Japan, France)?
" Attitude towards superiors: Is the boss a minor deity (France) or a col-
league invested with authority (Switzerland, Germany)?
" Leadership style and approach to problem solving: Orders and detailed
instructions (France) or a joint search for solutions (Germany,
Switzerland)?
" Motivation: Does it originate in the company (Japan) or the family
(China)? Or both (South Korea)? Generally speaking, what motivates
people within a given cultural context? (Chapter 3)
" Attitude to work: Protestant or Buddhist work ethic (Germany,
Switzerland, Japan) or a necessary evil (Caribbean)?
" Willingness to work: Until you drop (South Korea, Singapore) or until the
lunch break or early afternoon (Yemen, Eastern Europe before 1990)?
" Work tempo: easy-going (many tropical countries) or by piece rate
(South Korea)?
" Concepts taken for granted: Pride in the profession and membership of
a corporation or guild (Germany), class distinction: blue collar/white
collar (England) or uniform members of a work brigade (Russia)?
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Cross-cultural factors
" Keeping commitments: True until death (Germany), honouring of con-
tracts (Switzerland) or general disinterest (Serbia in the Yugoslavia
War)? Are contracts re-negotiated when conditions change (China) or
honoured come what may (Roman law)?
" Attitude towards planning: must be followed at all costs (technocratic
solution) or to be adapted as circumstances require (people are more
important than things)?
" Communication style: How do people behave towards one another?
Polite and friendly (Asia) or cool and businesslike (Germany,
Switzerland)? Is communication primarily in writing (Northern
Europe, USA) or by mouth (Asia, Arab countries, Africa)?
" Negotiation style: Which of the five positions (Chapter 5) is predomi-
nant? Does confrontation happen easily, or are consensus and com-
promise more common?
These behaviours, be it noted, are not acquired by the members of a
given cultural circle overnight. They are inculcated from the cradle on: in
the education process from early childhood and the first days at school,
to occupational training, university studies and beyond, each individual
is surrounded and moulded by his or her relations, friends, teachers, col-
leagues, bosses, and fellow citizens. This progressive socialization is a
process lasting many years, although its marking effect diminishes as
people grow older. Thus it is virtually impossible to completely acquire
a second or third culture side by side with one s own unless you have
the good fortune to have grown up in different cultures simultaneously
or side by side. The innumerable difficulties that such a double identity
brings with it during the formative years are often more than balanced
out by the broadening of horizons as time goes on. For the outsider, deal-
ing with a foreign culture is similar to learning a difficult foreign lan-
guage a slow, laborious process, but which is usually well worth it in
the end.
Cross-cultural relations
In the previous section we said that culture is an effective means of com-
munication between members of a cultural environment. Things are
understood immediately and explanations are often unnecessary. The
252
Cross-cultural factors
Figure 14-1 Cross-cultural noise
Frustration; withdrawal Interpretation errors
or accommodation and timelag
No direct interaction
or body language
Misunderstandings
Sources
of cultural Distraction from too
noise many new impressions
Cultural similarity
presumed for convenience
Defensiveness
Opposite number
becomes an adversary
Simplified and
streotypical
Misinterpretation of the
thinking patterns
other's motives
downside to this enormous efficiency within a cultural group is its at least
partial failure outside the group. Whoever does not understand the code can-
not participate effectively in the communication. Such a person does not fit
into the social context, is not accepted there, and in short cannot function
there correctly. That begins with the language (how many Europeans speak
fluent Mandarin or Urdu?) and goes right up to the chat about baseball (in
the USA and now also in Japan), which harmless as it seems, is essential if
one is to be accepted in the cultural environment. Much, but not everything,
can be learnt through a careful study of the quite numerous books that pro-
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