IBUS

The Cultural Dimension of Global Business

Now in its eighth edition, The Cultural Dimension of Global Business continues to provide an essential foundation for understanding the impact of culture on global business and global business on culture. The highly experienced authors demonstrate how the theory and insights of cultural anthropology can positively influence the conduct of global busi- ness, examining a range of issues that individuals and organizations face as they work glo- bally and across cultures. The cross- cultural scenarios presented in each chapter allow students of business, management, and anthropology alike to explore cultural difference while gaining valuable practice in thinking through a variety of complex and thorny cul- tural issues. The fully updated eighth edition offers:

• an expanded focus on organizational activities, with two new chapters that provide greater insight into organizational culture and change, and customer engagement;

• fresh case study material with a range of examples drawn from around the world; • further resources via a companion website, including a fully updated Instructor’s

Manual and new interactive quiz questions for students.

Gary P. Ferraro is Professor Emeritus in Anthropology at the University of North Caro- lina at Charlotte, USA. His expertise includes applied anthropology and intercultural communication.

Elizabeth K. Briody is a cultural anthropologist with 30 years of experience in cultural change efforts. She is a leading expert on the culture of organizations and the founder and principal of Cultural Keys, USA, an organization dedicated to helping companies diagnose and solve cultural issues.

The Cultural Dimension of Global Business

Eighth edition

Gary P. Ferraro and Elizabeth K. Briody

Eighth edition published 2017 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN

and by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

© 2017 Gary P. Ferraro and Elizabeth K. Briody

The right of Gary P. Ferraro and Elizabeth K. Briody to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

First edition published by Pearson 1990 Seventh edition published by Routledge 2015

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Names: Ferraro, Gary P., author. | Briody, Elizabeth Kathleen, author. Title: The cultural dimension of global business / Gary P. Ferraro, Elizabeth K. Briody. Description: Eighth edition. | Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2017. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2016047798 (print) | LCCN 2017005696 (ebook) | ISBN 9781138632455 (hardback : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781138202290 (pbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781315411019 (e-book) Subjects: LCSH: International business enterprises–Social aspects. | Intercultural communication. | Technical assistance–Anthropological aspects. Classification: LCC HD2755.5 .F48 2017 (print) | LCC HD2755.5 (ebook) | DDC 302.3/5–dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016047798

ISBN: 978-1-138-63245-5 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-138-20229-0 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-41101-9 (ebk)

Typeset in Goudy by Wearset Ltd, Boldon, Tyne and Wear

Visit the companion website: www.routledge.com/cw/ferraro

Contents

List of photos xiii List of figures xvi List of tables xvii List of boxes xviii Preface xix Acknowledgments xxiii

1 Cultural anthropology and global business 1

Introduction: global connections 1 The perspective of cultural anthropology 3 Cultural anthropology and business 6 Anthropology’s major concept: culture 10

Culture is learned 11 Culture influences biological processes 12 Cultural universals do exist 14

Economic systems 14 Marriage and family systems 14 Educational systems 16 Social control systems 16 Supernatural belief systems 17

Cultural change 17 People from all cultures are ethnocentric 20 Cultures are integrated wholes 21 Corporations also are cultures 23

Cultural differences in business: challenges and opportunities 25 Cross- cultural scenarios 26

2 Lenses for understanding culture and cultural differences 28

Contrasting values 29 The individual–collective dimension 32

How individualism–collectivism plays out in individual- oriented cultures 32

vi Contents

How individualism–collectivism plays out in collective- oriented cultures 34 Implications for business within collectivist cultures 34

The equality–hierarchy dimension 36 How equality–hierarchy plays out in egalitarian cultures 37 How equality–hierarchy plays out in hierarchical cultures 38 Implications for business within hierarchical cultures 38

The change orientation dimension 38 How orientations to change play out in change- embracing cultures 42 How orientations to change play out in change- fearing cultures 43 Implications for business within change- fearing cultures 43

The time orientation dimension 44 Precise versus loose reckoning of time 44 Sequential versus synchronized time 46 Past, present, and future orientations 47 The busyness factor 49 How time orientation plays out in precise/M- time cultures 50 How time orientation plays out in loose/P- time cultures 50 How time orientation plays out in past- oriented cultures 51 How time orientation plays out in present- oriented cultures 51 How time orientation plays out in future- oriented cultures 51 How time orientation plays out in busy cultures 52 Implications for business within loose/P- time cultures 52

Context 52 Metaphors 55 Change 58 Conclusion 61 Cross- cultural scenarios 62

3 Communicating across cultures: the nonverbal dimension 64

The nature of nonverbal communication 65 Types of nonverbal communication 66 Potential pitfalls in studying nonverbal communication 67

Business introductions 68 Business card exchange 69 Bowing 70 Gift giving 70

Interactions among businesspeople 73 Body posture 73 Gaze 74 Hand gestures 76 Facial expressions 80 Dress 82 Proxemics 85 New technologies and visual media 89

Contents vii

Conclusion 92 Cross- cultural scenarios 94

4 Communicating across cultures: language 95

The ideal of linguistic proficiency in global business 95 Defining language 95 Communicate more, misunderstand less, partner better 96 Cultural competence is essential too! 96 Need a reason to learn a foreign language? 98

English language skills are not always, or routinely, sufficient 98 Language skills enable relationship and partnership building 98 Few possess both language skills and specific technical skills 99 While helpful, interpreters have limits 99 Knowing more than one language improves contextual understanding 99

Linguistic diversity 101 Spoken languages worldwide 101 “What do they speak there?” 102

When the assumptions turn out wrong 103 Learning from firsthand experience 104 Revisiting and revising our assumptions 106

Language and culture 106 The influence of culture on language 106

Culture and business 107 Culture and sports 107 Culture and language preservation 108

The influence of language on culture 109 Language mirrors cultural values 110

Individualism vs. group- centeredness 110 Directness vs. indirectness 111

Language and social context 113 Taking relationship specifics into account 113 Translation issues can lead to miscommunication 114

Additional complicating factors 116 Slang 117 Euphemisms 118 Conversational taboos 119 Accents 119 Humor 120

Information and communication technologies 122 Email 122 Text messages 123 Chat/VoIP 124

Conclusion 125 Cross- cultural scenarios 125

viii Contents

5 Negotiating across cultures 127

The nature of cross- cultural negotiation 129 Where to negotiate 130 Effective strategies for international negotiators 132

Avoid cultural cluelessness 132 Concentrate on long- term relationships, not short- term contracts 133 Focus on the interests behind the positions 136 Avoid overreliance on cultural generalizations 138 Be sensitive to timing 139 Remain flexible 140 Prepare carefully 142 Learn to listen, not just speak 143 Act ethically and with integrity 146

The use of interpreters 150 Prior to the negotiations 151 During the negotiations: communicating with your interpreter 151 During the negotiations: communicating with your counterpart 151

The global negotiator 152 Cross- cultural scenarios 152

6 Partnering across cultures 154

Partnership basics 154 Meetings as opportunities for collaboration 155

Meetings and national- culture differences 156 Meetings and organizational- culture differences 158 Lessons drawn from meetings 159

Decision- making models to advance the partnership work 161 Decision making and cultural differences 161 Decision making and organizational- culture differences 161

Majority preferred at Small Car Group 163 100 percent consensus at Saturn 163 Leadership driven at Opel 163 Single voice of authority at Isuzu 164 Individual empowerment at GM Truck Group 164 Collaboration at GM do Brasil 164

The impact of decision- making differences 165 Lessons drawn from decision- making models 165

Partnering relationships and problem solving 166 Partnering with on- site work colleagues 166 Distinctions between local and global partnerships 170 Global virtual partnerships 171 Partnership life cycle 174

Initiation stage 174

Contents ix

Start- up stage 174 Growth stage 175 Mature stage 175 Transition 175

Partnership process outcomes 175 Partnership product outcomes 177 Lessons drawn from partnering relationships and problem solving 180

Cross- cultural scenarios 181

7 Cultural transformation 183

Definition of cultural transformation 183 Change unfolding 184

Developing and implementing a plan for change 184 Data gathering 186 Comparing the plan with the stated cultural ideals 186 Analyzing the reactions to change 187 Moving forward 188

Critical attributes of planned cultural transformation 188 Core idea 189 Culture 190 Time- based process 191

Business approach to change 191 Centralizing concept 191 Culture understood 192 Three- stage process models 193 Multi- stage process models 193 Summary 194

Anthropological approach to change 195 Mechanisms of change 195

Invention 196 Cultural loss 196 Diffusion 196 Acculturation 196

Acculturation often underlies organizational- culture change 197 Where are all the anthropologists? 197 Similarities to an anthropological approach 197 Crises often force change: a manufacturing case study 200 Process and problem solving as core ideas 201 Summary 203

Applying the planned cultural transformation process to health care 203 Process 203 Assessment of process 207

Conclusion 207 Cross- cultural scenarios 209

x Contents

8 Consumers 211

Consumer or customer: what’s the difference? 211 An anthropological approach to understanding consumers 212 Interface between business organizations and consumers 213

The gold star question 213 Difficulty keeping pace with market complexity 215

Design district 215 Macy’s Department Store 217 At home with consumers 217

Product development challenges 218 Summary 218

A holistic approach to consumer research 218 Coffee with an anthropological twist 219 Fine chocolate without the guilt 220

Collaborative approaches 222 A day in the life … and a sportswear opportunity revealed 223 A breath of fresh air … brought inside 224

Brand meaning and advertising 226 Inspirational characters with compelling stories 226 Know thy consumers’ culture 227

Conclusion 229 Cross- cultural scenarios 229

9 Global leadership 231

Globally oriented firms 232 Creating a globally oriented workforce 233

Recruiting and hiring 233 Global virtual teams 234 International assignments 235

Business trip 235 “Frequent flyer” assignments 236 Commuter assignments 236 Rotational assignments 236 Short- term assignments 237 Long- term assignments 237

Integrating the global at home 238 The evolving profile of the expatriate assignment 239

Expatriate numbers 239 Preferences in expatriate locations 241 The expatriate paradox 242 Expatriate strategy: short- and long- term assignments 242

The value of an expatriate strategy 242 Counterpoint: reducing the use of expatriates 243

Contents xi

Competencies for global leaders 244 Cultural adaptation 245 Cultural minimization 245 Cultural integration 246 Other global leadership competencies 246

Broad perspective 247 Appreciation of alternative viewpoints 247 Balancing contradictions 247 Emotional resilience 248

Selection for an expatriate assignment 248 Selection models 248 Preeminence of the technical 248 Interest in global 249

Motivation 249 Personality 250 Communication 251 Gender 251 Family circumstances 252

Conclusion 253 Cross- cultural scenarios 253

10 The expatriate assignment 255

Preparation 255 Language training 255 Cross- cultural training 256

CCT effectiveness 256 CCT content 258

A taste of life and the job abroad 260 The expatriate experience 260

Culture shock 260 Definition 260 Stressful impacts 261 Phases 263 Positive impacts 264

In- country support 265 A role for the corporation 265 Building a knowledge base 267 Accessing local networks 268

Repatriation 270 Reentry shock 271 Back home at the office 272

Global strategy reimagined 273 Conclusion 274 Cross- cultural scenarios 275

xii Contents

Appendix A: cross- cultural scenario discussions 277 Chapter 1 277 Chapter 2 277 Chapter 3 278 Chapter 4 279 Chapter 5 279 Chapter 6 279 Chapter 7 280 Chapter 8 281 Chapter 9 281 Chapter 10 282

Appendix B: locating relevant cultural information 283

The traditional anthropological approach 283 Documentary sources useful in developing a cultural profile 284

Culture- specific associations 284 Some country- specific sources 284 U.S. government sources 285 The electronic library 285

Human resources for culture- specific information 286 One’s own company 287 Academia 287 Foreign trade offices 287 Private- sector consultants and trainers 288

The search for cultural information upon arrival 289 In- country documentary resources 289 In- country human resources 290

Conclusion 291

Glossary 292 References 302 Index 320

Photos

1.1 Cultural anthropologist Ed Tronick conducts participant observation fieldwork among the Efe people of Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of Congo 5

1.2 Consumer anthropologist Timothy de Waal Malefyt conducts a videotaped interview with a female consumer in her home 7

1.3 Although these children growing up in Johannesburg, South Africa learn different cultural content than do North American children, the process of acquiring culture through learning is common to all cultures 11

1.4 This Masai girl from Kenya and this middle- class North American woman put holes in their ears for exactly the same reason—because their cultures teach them that it enhances their feminine attractiveness 13

1.5 Although the marriage practices among the Ndebele of South Africa differ in many ways from this wedding under the Chuppah in British Columbia, Canada, both sets of practices are responses to the universal interest in orderly systems of mating and child rearing 15

1.6 Cultural diffusion is responsible for the greatest amount of culture change in all societies 19

2.1 Parades both celebrate and reinforce ethnic identity 29 2.2 Children are encouraged to make decisions for themselves in highly

individualistic societies 33 2.3 Entrepreneurial start- up businesses, such as the many housed in the

Tech Town area of Detroit, Michigan in the U.S., require initiative, creativity, hard work, measured risk taking, and perseverance 42

2.4 Most Americans tend to take time very seriously 45 2.5 The tempo of life and business in Santiago, Chile, is more leisurely and

relaxed compared with the hurried pace and tight scheduling of time in much of North America 51

2.6 If a relationship has been established, even occasional collaborators can pick up where they left off 55

3.1 Business card exchange provides information, demonstrates respect, and establishes hierarchy 69

3.2 Gift giving can help establish and/or cement business relationships 72 3.3 The direct intense gaze is a sign of attentiveness and respect in some

societies, whereas in others it is threatening and hostile 75 3.4 Differences in facial expressions may suggest the need for further

inquiry 82

3.5 Fashion and attire often fail to translate across borders 84 3.6 Workspaces should be designed with the work tasks in mind to

maximize productivity. Walls and doors help researchers concentrate and collaborate without disturbing others 88

3.7 Video footage can capture consumer use, often illustrating the unexpected 91 4.1 If you want to communicate effectively in the global marketplace, there

is no substitute for the hard work it takes to learn another language 100 4.2 If you can’t read the one, perhaps you can read the other 103 4.3 The form of the English language used by these teenagers from the U.S.

with their priest is quite different from the form they use with their close friends 113

4.4 Marketing a water treatment product in Kenya required the use of language that enabled local residents to view the product as home grown rather than imposed by foreign organizations 115

4.5 Some shop owners take accents to the next level: “Connah” = “Corner” in Boston, Massachusetts, in the U.S. 120

4.6 Texting has become an increasingly common form of communication 123 5.1 Jet lag can be a disadvantage when negotiating abroad 131 5.2 Taking the time to get to know people as individuals can improve

outcomes during and after negotiations 134 5.3 Just like us, businesspeople around the world try to avoid doing business

during their important holidays 140 5.4 Much preparation for international negotiations can be done via

computer 143 5.5 Listening offers insight into underlying positions 145 5.6 Note taking signals interest and serves as a memory aid 147 5.7 Understanding your partner’s constraints and interests is contingent, in

part, on asking basic questions and exploring common ground 149 6.1 The lines between meetings and discussions are often blurred and both

need to be taken seriously 156 6.2 Power and social status are often evident in seating position, discussion

content, and agenda control 160 6.3 Visits help partners build reciprocal relationships 167 6.4 Global business and virtual work have led to the global “virtual

conference” connecting multiple sites in real time 173 6.5 Anthropologists conducted in- home interviews for Campbell’s Soup to

arrive at insights into the “dinner dilemma” 178 6.6 A partnership between the Hopi Nation and Northern Arizona

University in Flagstaff, Arizona, has led to new career, tourism, and community- building opportunities 179

7.1 One way to ensure quality is to test product samples 185 7.2 Observation and documents such as agendas and meeting minutes can

reveal insights about roles, divergent viewpoints, and organizational issues 190

7.3 Learning directly from those most closely associated with the work is one of the best ways to find out what’s going on 200

8.1 Intercept interviews provide quick and useful insights into purchase behavior 214

xiv Photos

8.2 Despite their important purpose as storage containers on farms, silos have come to be metaphors for organizational dysfunction and difficulty 216

8.3 Local farmers’ markets are particularly popular on weekends in urban locations 222

8.4 Post- it notes are a quick and effective way for teams to collaborate on an analysis 224

9.1 Short- term assignments have the virtue of extending one’s professional networks and gaining valuable international experience 237

9.2 International assignments offer employees career development opportunities 241

9.3 Successful managers for the twenty- first century need to know how to manage cross- cultural teams 247

9.4 Transportation can be quite different from what is available back home 250 9.5 Expatriates typically discover how much more mature their children are

compared to their peers who have not lived abroad 252 10.1 Predeparture cross- cultural training is just the beginning of the learning

process for the future expatriate 257 10.2 The unfamiliar can be shocking, leaving us to ask “Why?” 262 10.3 Adjustment to different cultures involves a willingness to get out and

explore the cultural landscape 266 10.4 Print and Internet sources are important starting points in

understanding aspects of the new culture and locale 268 10.5 Expatriate children often make smoother adjustments to new cultures

because of both school friends and cross- cultural flexibility 269 10.6 Volunteering with youth in your host country offers an interesting

perspective on the culture 270 10.7 New technologies, like Oblong’s Mezzanine, make possible new

collaborations at home and abroad 275

Photos xv

Figures

1.1 The various parts of a culture are all interrelated to some degree 22 2.1 Metaphors, like the test track for a program directed at automotive

managers, can convey key values 58 4.1 Language map of Belgium. Although Belgium has three official

languages, Flemish is spoken primarily in the north, French in the south, and German along the easternmost region bordering Germany 105

4.2 Three keys on a ring. Owing to the different, and seemingly arbitrary assignment of gender to nouns in Spanish and German, Spanish speakers would describe keys as “intricate,” “lovely,” and “shiny,” while German speakers would use such words as “hard,” “jagged,” and “serrated” 110

4.3 Functioning effectively in any language requires mastery of nonstandard forms of language 117

6.1 Partnerships have a life cycle associated with various stages of activity 174 7.1 An organization’s cultural ideals are often referred to as values 187 7.2 Misalignment between clinical and business models of care generates

conflict: frustrated employees and unhappy patients 189 7.3 Cultural transformation requires adaptiveness, responsiveness, and

problem solving 202 7.4 The Bridge Model of Cultural Transformation illustrates a path from the

old way to the ideal culture 203 7.5 Planned cultural transformation must be an iterative process to be most

effective 208 9.1 International assignments offer employees opportunities of varying

length to experience different national and organizational cultures 235

Tables

4.1 Top eight languages spoken by number of countries and number of first- language speakers 101

4.2 Grammatical gender’s effects on perception 110 5.1 Different value assumptions: U.S. and elsewhere 133 6.1 Selected organizational- culture differences on two GM vehicle programs 162 7.1 Schein’s model of organizational change (2010) 193 7.2 Cameron and Quinn’s model of organizational change (2011) 194 7.3 Briody et al.’s cultural transformation process (2010) 201 7.4 Validation of Briody et al.’s cultural transformation process for health care 204 7.5 Planned cultural transformation must be an iterative process to be most

effective 205 7.6 Selected recommendations by targeted areas for improvement and role 206 8.1 The American Girl brand holds different meaning for its various

stakeholders 227 8.2 To experience a “breakthrough” with your target consumers requires

marketing messages that are culturally appropriate and relevant 228 9.1 Corporate orientations 232

Boxes

1.1 A flatter world 2 1.2 How do you define the culture of a start- up? 24 2.1 Has individualism been taken too far in twenty- first century America? 35 2.2 A collective approach for small business entrepreneurs 36 2.3 “Chipping” away at gender- based hierarchies 39 2.4 How fast should the clock move? 48 2.5 How two busy cultures spend time in the office: Germans and

Americans 53 2.6 The elusive Canadian juice customer 61 3.1 The custom of bowing in twenty- first century Korea 71 3.2 A myriad of meanings behind “thumbs up” 80 3.3 A smile is not just a smile 81 3.4 Take a look at that abayah! 83 3.5 The “right” distance 86 3.6 The importance of walls 88 3.7 A moving picture is worth a thousand words 90 4.1 To speak or not to speak Pidgin 100 4.2 Words matter when marketing abroad 115 4.3 Speak plainly 118 5.1 Contracts and relationships 135 5.2 Interests behind the positions: a common example 137 5.3 “The best laid plans …” 144 6.1 Cowboys and Indians 169 6.2 Collaboration for community, career, and tourism 179 7.1 Corporate cultural values and performance 199 9.1 Connected domestic and global operations 239 9.2 Global leaders and conflict resolution 245 10.1 Interacting cross- culturally within Intel 259

Preface

For more than a quarter of a century this book has demonstrated how the theories and insights of anthropology have positively influenced the conduct of global business and commerce. It has provided a foundation for understanding the impact of culture on global business, and global business on culture. From the beginning we have used our orientation to culture as a holistic and evolving process to explain the themes, patterns, and lessons that emerge from cross- cultural business situations. Yet, as the saying goes, “nothing is as constant as change,” and this is particularly true of the world during the life of this book. Beginning with this new (eighth) edition, we are introducing a number of significant changes.

What’s new in this edition

• While previous editions have focused primarily, but not exclusively, on the relation- ship between the individual and the world of business, the eighth edition expands its focus on complex organizational environments. It introduces the concept of change and captures the growing importance of consumers within the global arena.

• Organizational growth and change are recognized in the eighth edition. Chapter 7 on Cultural Transformation focuses attention on the process of organizational change, extending the work on partnering that was newly described in the seventh edition. In Chapter 7 we illustrate the approaches of management specialists and anthropologists to change. An anthropological model of planned change developed in a manufac- turing context is applied to health care as a business. We draw several conclusions from our test of this model, including the importance of data gathering and analysis as part of an ongoing iterative cycle of change, and the critical engagement of all organ- izational members in any successful change process.

• Chapter 8 on Consumers emphasizes the global marketplace and the consumers who are part of it. We connect products on the sales floor downstream to consumers and upstream to the manufacturer. The key takeaway is that the sales floor reflects the manufacturer’s organizational culture (including its organizational structure, employee interactions, and product development process), which is tied directly to customer satisfaction. We also select consumer examples to portray the value of holism, collab- oration, and brand meaning.

• Two chapters pertaining to the international assignment in the seventh edition have been integrated and reorganized. One of them, Chapter 9, is dedicated to Global Leadership. This chapter not only includes competencies for global leaders, but also directs attention to creating a globally oriented workforce at home. The other,

xx Preface

Chapter 10, is completely dedicated to the long- term expatriate assignment. In it we discuss the three phases of the assignment—preparation, overseas experience, and repatriation—in context, pointing to both the opportunities and the challenges.

While containing much that is new, this eighth edition maintains the essential organiza- tional structure it established in its inaugural edition. All chapters have been revised and updated. Yet, like earlier versions, this new edition takes a fourfold approach to under- standing the cultural dimension of global business, as we describe below.

Exploring the relationship between the discipline of cultural anthropology, its central concept of culture, and the conduct of global business

Chapter 1 begins with a discussion of the enormous potential for business opportunities throughout the world, but cautions that business ventures are likely to fail without an ade- quate understanding of the concept of cultural differences. The chapter then provides an in- depth look at the concept of culture, what generalizations hold true for all cultures of the world, and the implications of those generalizations for global business in the twenty- first century. This chapter is predicated on the notion that it is impossible for anyone to master all of the specific cultural facts about the thousands of cultures found in the world today. Thus, a more conceptual approach is needed. The chapter includes various defini- tions of the culture concept, followed by some important generalizations that can be usefully applied to any cross- cultural situation. The importance of these cultural generali- zations for the conduct of global business is discussed.

Comparison and cultural self- awareness in global business

Chapter 2 presents a number of different models or “lenses” for understanding cultural dif- ferences, including contrasting values and metaphors. The discussion of contrasting val- ues—which examines such dimensions of values as individualism versus collectivism, equality versus hierarchy, and certain aspects of time—is designed with three purposes in mind. First, it aims to show that people from different cultures view the world from the perspective of their own cultural assumptions. Second, it encourages Western business- people to increase their cultural self- awareness—that is, their ability to recognize the influ- ences of their culture on their thinking and behavior. And third, a better understanding of other cultures and one’s own should make it easier to diagnose difficulties when operating in a foreign business setting or in a situation involving global partnerships or global virtual teams. It should enable the global businessperson to discover how a cross- cultural mis- understanding may have arisen from his or her own cultural assumptions rather than from some shortcoming of the culturally different individual or situation.

Building and maintaining relationships through communication: nonverbal and verbal

In Chapter 3 we discuss the importance of knowing the nonverbal communication pat- terns prevalent in the international business arena. As important as language is to sending and receiving messages, nonverbal communication is perhaps even more important. Not only do nonverbal cues help us interpret verbal messages, but they are also responsible in

Preface xxi

their own right for the majority of the messages that make up human communication. Seven major modes of communicating nonverbally—body posture, gaze, hand gestures, facial expressions, dress, proxemics, and visual media—are discussed in a cross- cultural perspective. The aim of this chapter is to demonstrate the possibility of miscommunica- tion in a cross- cultural business setting unless one is familiar with the nonverbal patterns of communication in addition to the linguistic patterns. Effective communication between people from the same cultural and linguistic group is often difficult. When one is attempting to communicate with people who speak little or no English—and have different ideas, attitudes, assumptions, perceptions, and ways of doing things—the chances for misunderstandings increase enormously. In Chapter 4 we examine the critical importance of language competence in an international business context, the scale of linguistic diversity, the interrelatedness between language and culture, and some of the complexities of language use (such as slang and euphemisms) that can further complicate verbal communication in a global business context.

Understanding global business processes in cross- cultural perspective

The final approach taken in this book examines five functional processes critical to success in conducting global business: negotiating, partnering, understanding change and consum- ers, and managing. Chapter 5 deals with negotiating in a global business context. Although it is recognized that no two international negotiating situations are ever identical, some negotiating strat- egies are generally valid in most instances. Based on the experiences of successful and culturally sensitive international negotiators, this chapter provides such general guidelines as (1) concentrating on long- term relationships, (2) focusing on the interests behind the positions, (3) being attuned to timing, (4) maintaining flexibility, (5) preparing carefully, (6) listening, and (7) acting ethically. Chapter 6 includes a discussion of building and maintaining partnerships between cor- porations and other organizational entities located in different parts of the world. Signi- ficant emphasis is given to cultivating relationships as the key to business success, with attention to the elements of cooperation, trust, and conflict. This chapter focuses on (1) business meetings as opportunities for collaboration among global partners, (2) under- standing different decision- making models to facilitate working efficiently and effectively among partners, and (3) developing relationships and problem- solving capacities among partners. Chapter 7 extends the discussion on partnership culture described in Chapter 6 to a focus on understanding and fostering planned organizational change. It describes a busi- ness approach to change as well as an anthropological approach to change. Each approach is associated with a core idea, a particular definition of culture, and a time- based process. An anthropological model of cultural transformation is tested and refined using data from a set of hospital medical practices. Lessons from this exercise are identified. Chapter 8 takes a holistic and collaborative view of organizations and consumers. The chapter emphasizes the importance of understanding the dynamic between the two. Organizational culture can have a direct impact on the design, development, and pro- duction of products and services. Firms not responding to consumer demand can experi- ence reputation loss and flat or reduced sales. By contrast, companies that respond to consumer input position themselves as open to change and new opportunities. Innovative

xxii Preface

relationships are created with consumers, often mediated by researchers and consultancies, in which consumers become an important and highly visible stakeholder in the business. Products ranging from intimate apparel to sportswear, and services from indoor climate to tea parties are discussed. Chapters 9 and 10, devoted to the topic of managing in a global context, are directly related to the successful mastery of leadership competencies such as cultural adaptation and integration, along with an appreciation for alternative views and an ability to balance cultural contradictions. While the expatriate assignment is an ideal time to build and rein- force such competencies, global virtual teams present opportunities to address cultural challenges while still at home. For those who seek international assignments, and for those who offer them, Chapter 10 warns that short- term and long- term expatriate assignments must be managed in a more systematic, holistic, and proactive way than they have been managed in the past. Such a shift requires global firms to be attentive to all aspects of transferring personnel abroad, including selection, cross- cultural preparation, in- country support, repatriation, and the integration of those skills gained abroad into the firm’s ongoing operations. As a final note, attention should be given to the scenarios appearing at the end of Chapters 1 through 10. The reader is encouraged to analyze these mini- case studies in an attempt to determine why a cultural conflict has arisen and how the conflict or misunder- standing portrayed could have been avoided. Although it is impossible to include exam- ples of every possible cross- cultural conflict in a business setting, these end- of-chapter scenarios are designed to help the reader gain a greater sensitivity to the wide range of potential conflicts that could arise. Moreover, they provide the active reader with oppor- tunities to develop analytical, problem- solving, and decision- making skills. Explanations of these scenarios appear in Appendix A.

Acknowledgments

A number of people contributed their time, effort, and energy to this edition. First, we want to acknowledge a few individuals who read and commented on early drafts of the text. They include Javier Alcázar, Dianne Atkinson, Bill Beeman, Laurens Boer, Domin- ique Charmillon, Bernardijn DeKoster, Jared Donovan, Ken Erickson, Emerson França, Julia Gluesing, George (Wolf ) Gumerman, Yasunobu Ito, Ann Jordan, Clare Keenan, Timothy Malefyt, Helen Malone, Maryann McCabe, Christine Miller, Anton Robinson, Kathleen Robinson, Marc Robinson, and Susan Squires. Second, we want to thank those who created the new illustrations and took the new photos for this eighth edition. Nathan and Neal Anderson, two talented artists and brothers, produced most of the new illustrations found in Chapters 4, 7, and 9. They worked hard to ensure that the concepts we were trying to depict were done so in a way that was visually pleasing and instructive. Their mother, Mary Bischak, also contributed a piece in Chapter 4. Perry Kuey produced two wonderful designs for Transforming Culture, which we reproduced in Chapter 7. The photographers for the eighth edition join a long list of those from the seventh edition. Their contributions are found in Chapters 7 and 8 and include Ken Erickson, George (Wolf ) Gumerman, and Elysée Nouvet. Taapsi Ramchandani served as a terrific research assistant for us. She was thorough and timely, and preselected a range of materials for our use. In addition, Taapsi created the vast majority of the content for the book’s website. Included in it are links to articles, blog postings, YouTube videos, and various other resources. Dawn Lehman took charge of the Instructor’s Resource Manual for the eighth edition and did a great job. Dawn has significant experience teaching business anthropology as well as working in the private sector in a variety of positions. Her mark is clearly evident in the lecture topics and research topics she suggests on a range of global- to-local themes. Additionally, professors will discover an array of useful questions to spark classroom discus- sion and review chapter content. Finally, Elizabeth Briody would like to thank her husband, Marc Robinson, for his ongoing support, ideas and perspectives, and good- natured cheerfulness during the research and writing process. To one degree or another many people over the years have contributed to this text. Some have made very explicit suggestions for revisions, many of which have been incorp- orated into various editions over the past two decades. Others have contributed less directly, yet their fingerprints are found throughout the text. We are particularly grateful to our many colleagues over the years who have shared generously their thinking and insights. While there are far too many names to mention here, we are confident that they

xxiv Acknowledgments

know who they are and will accept our most sincere gratitude. And finally, after more than four decades of teaching, Gary Ferraro wants to thank his many students who have helped him define and refine the anthropological concepts and interpretations found between the covers of this book.

Chapter 1

Cultural anthropology and global business

Chapter objectives:

1 Discuss some of the complex interconnectedness of world economies and cultures. 2 Explain how the insights, theories, and methods of cultural anthropology have been

applied to global management, negotiations, and marketing. 3 Analyze why cross- cultural communication sometimes gets short- circuited in spite of

our best intentions. 4 Identify how culture is acquired through learning, influences our biological processes,

and is constantly undergoing change. 5 Distinguish between ethnocentrism and cultural relativism and how each influences

the conduct of global business.

Introduction: global connections

In little more than two decades, the world has become increasingly more interrelated. To illustrate, computer parts manufactured in six different countries are assembled in Malaysia before being transported by a Dutch freighter and sold to a Russian entrepreneur. Since joining the World Trade Organization in 2001, China has become one of the largest (and certainly one of the most rapidly expanding) economies in the world, and its present day economic challenges pose a real threat to other world economies. Clothing for children’s dolls, sewn on Korean- made machines by Taiwanese workers, are assembled on dolls by Mexican workers according to U.S. specifications and then sold to parents in London and Chicago in time for Christmas. The American- based computer giant IBM has more than 430,000 employees working in some 40 different countries. Recently, a North Carolina man traveled to Bangkok, Thailand, to receive 22 dental crowns (and other dental work) by a Western- trained oral surgeon for less than one- third of what it would have cost back home. A German becomes the president of a Swedish kitchenware company, while an Indian university professor purchases (online) shares from a Swiss- based mutual fund for his retirement portfolio. The examples of the world becoming inextricably interconnected are simply too numerous to count. To remain competitive in this rapidly globalizing world, most businesses, both here and abroad, have needed to enter into international/cross- cultural alliances. The overall con- sequences of this trend have been that more and more companies have engaged in activ- ities such as joint ventures, licensing agreements, turnkey projects, and foreign capital investments. Since the end of the Cold War in the late 1980s, world economies have experienced dramatic changes; collectively these changes have been subsumed under the

2 Cultural anthropology and global business

term globalization. This term has become one of the most overused and poorly understood words in the English language. To be certain, countries and cultures have been interdependent for centuries, but when the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, the world began to change in some dramatic ways. Forces were unleashed that have had, and will continue to have, profound effects on all cultures and nations of the world. They include a new integration of world markets, tech- nology, and information that is oblivious to both national and cultural borders. This post- Cold War globalization is driven by free- market capitalism and the questionable idea that the more a country opens up its markets to free trade, the healthier its economy will become. The economics of globalization involve lowering tariff barriers while privatizing

Box 1.1 A flatter world

What follows are just a few illustrations of how extensively the lives of all of the world’s peoples are interconnected:

• The percentage of the U.S. population that is foreign- born has grown from 4.7 percent in 1970 to 8 percent in 1990 and to 14 percent in 2016.

• Coca- Cola sells more of its product in Japan (population: 127 million) than it sells in the United States (population: 319 million).

• Internet users worldwide increased approximately 832 percent between 2000 and 2015. • Direct foreign investments in the United States have increased from $50 billion in 1990

to $148 billion in 2013, an increase of 294 percent. And, in the opposite direction, U.S. direct investment abroad has grown from $46 billion in 1990 to $365 billion in 2013, an increase of 790 percent (Jackson 2013: 2).

• The nationality of many globally branded products is often difficult to pin down. For example, Stolichnaya vodka, originally made from grains grown in Russia, uses Latvian spring water, is filtered, blended, and bottled in Riga, the capital of Latvia, is sold throughout the world in bottles made in Poland and Estonia, and is sealed with caps made in Italy.

• Many high- skilled jobs formerly performed in the developed world are now being per- formed abroad, such as a CPA in Bangalore, India, filling out auditing forms for a company in Copenhagen; a mathematician in Mumbai, India, tutoring a high school student in London via email; or a Western- trained Thai surgeon in Bangkok performing a heart valve operation in Thailand (which costs over $200,000 in the United States) on a New Yorker for $10,500.

• More than half of U.S. franchise operators (e.g., Dunkin’ Donuts or KFC) are in markets outside the United States.

• Owing to a shortage of priests in North America, local Catholic parishes are sending mass intentions (requests for masses said for a sick or deceased relative) to India. Catho- lic priests in India (who have more time than North American priests and need the money) are now conducting the masses in Hindi on behalf of North American Catholics after receiving the requests via email. Americans are outsourcing not only manufacturing jobs, but also their religious rituals to India.

• Artistic styles and traditions also are being globalized. In recent years we have witnessed recording artist Paul Simon collaborating musically with Ladysmith Black Mambazo, a singing group from South Africa; Sting recording fusion music with Cheb Mami from Algeria; and Jaz Coleman, lead singer with a British rock group, collaborating with Maori singer and poet Hinewehi Mohi.

Cultural anthropology and global business 3

and deregulating national economies. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the European Union (EU) are two examples of the globalization of markets. The result of the globalization of markets is that goods, services, and ideas from all over the world are making their way into other cultures. At the same time that world trade barriers are falling, a concomitant revolution is going on in the world of information technology (IT). In the mid- 1980s, only a handful of people in the world could operate a computer. Today, computers are as common in the home as the radio was in the 1940s. Moreover, the development of digitization, fiber optics, satellite communication, and the Internet now enables people to communicate with one another instantaneously. With the advent of e- commerce, anyone with a good product, a computer, a telephone, access to the Internet, a website, and a FedEx account can become a potential entrepreneur. Globalization has encouraged the participation of large numbers of new players in the world market. It is now possible to enter the global economy virtually overnight, with very little capital outlay, and become a global competi- tor by the next afternoon. Indeed, the nation- state of the twenty- first century sometimes plays second fiddle to the powerful forces of the highly integrated global economy. During the early summer of 2002, India and Pakistan, both with nuclear capabilities, were on the brink of war over the issue of Kashmir. The two countries were rattling their sabers, as the leaders of the United States and Western Europe tried to bring the two parties back from the brink. In the end, the de- escalation of hostilities between India and Pakistan was brought about by pressure exerted by the IT industry—not the U.S. government (which has more military firepower than the next 15 most powerful nations). Since the early 1990s, the global revolution in IT has had an enormous impact on the Indian economy, accounting for 40 percent of India’s gross domestic product. Drawing upon the large tech- savvy Indian population, many of the world’s largest companies (including American Express, Motorola Solutions, Siemens, Shell, Nike, Sony, and General Electric) have their back rooms and research facilities in India. If you lose your luggage anywhere in the world, it will likely be tracked down by an Indian techie in Bangalore (India’s Silicon Valley). Accounting, inventory control, payroll, billing, credit card approval, and customer service, among other functions, for many of the world’s largest corporations are electroni- cally managed by highly skilled engineers, computer scientists, and information technicians in India. With India so intimately involved in the IT lifeblood of so many large corpora- tions, the possibility of India going to war could seriously disrupt the world’s economy. In the final analysis, it was the powerful international corporations that convinced the Indian government to disengage with the Pakistanis under the threat of taking their IT business elsewhere. Thus, in the words of Thomas Friedman (2002: 13), “in the crunch, it was the influence of General Electric, not General [Colin] Powell, that did the trick.”

The perspective of cultural anthropology

Cultural anthropology seeks to understand how and why contemporary peoples of the world differ in their customs and practices and how and why they share certain similar- ities. It is, in short, the comparative study of cultural differences and similarities found throughout the world. But learning about the wide range of cultural variations serves as a check on those who might generalize about “human nature” solely on observations from their own society. It is not at all unusual for people to assume that their own ways of thinking and acting are unquestionably rational, “natural,” or “human.”

4 Cultural anthropology and global business

Consider, for example, the nonverbal gesture of negation, shaking the head from side to side, found in certain parts of the world. In parts of India, people use this very same gesture to communicate not negation but affirmation. In fact, there are any number of ways of nonverbally communicating the idea of negation, all of which are no more or no less rational than shaking the head from side to side. The study of cultural anthropology pro- vides a look at the enormous variations in thinking and acting found in the world today and how many different solutions have been generated for solving the same set of human problems. Moreover, the cross- cultural study of the workplace and consumers by anthro- pologists can help global corporations craft solutions to problems of working together as efficiently as possible. Anthropology does more than simply document the enormous variation in human cul- tures. As a social science, anthropology works to identify, describe, and explain the com- monalities. For example, for any society to continue to exist over the long run, it must solve the basic problem of how to pass on its total cultural heritage—all the ideas, values, attitudes, behavior patterns, and so on—to succeeding generations. Should that complex- ity of cultural traditions not be passed on to future generations, that society will very likely not survive. Saudis have solved this problem by developing Koranic schools, which pass on the cultural traditions to the younger generations; in parts of West Africa, “bush schools” train young adolescents to become adults; in our own society, we rely on a formal system of compulsory education, complete with books, desks, and teachers. Although the details of these educational systems vary enormously, all societies in the world—today or in the past—have worked out a system for ensuring that new generations will learn their culture. Thus, the science of anthropology attempts to document the great variations in cultural forms while looking for the common strands that are found in all cultures. In addition to being comparative, the anthropological perspective has several other dis- tinctive features. First, to a greater extent than other social scientist, anthropologists analyze cultural differences and similarities firsthand. Rather than relying on secondary information gleaned (often by other people) from questionnaires, interviews, and census reports, cultural anthropologists use participant observation as a major method for collect- ing culturally comparative information. When cultural anthropologists use participant observation, they share in the everyday activities of the local people while making system- atic observations of people eating, working, playing, conversing, dancing, exchanging goods, fighting, or any other activity that might illuminate their cultural patterns. A second distinguishing feature of anthropology is holism in that it is concerned with (1) all peoples throughout the world and (2) many different aspects of human experience, including family structure, marital regulations, house construction, methods of conflict resolution, means of livelihood, religious beliefs, language, space usage, and art among many others. And finally cultural anthropology, unlike other social science disciplines, emphasizes viewing another culture from the perspective of an insider. For decades, anthropologists have made the distinction between the emic (insider) approach (describ- ing another culture in terms of the categories, concepts, and perceptions of the people being studied) and the etic (outsider) approach (in which anthropologists use their own categories and concepts to describe the culture under analysis). For the last half century, there has been an ongoing debate among anthropologists as to which approach is more valuable for the scientific study of comparative cultures. Thus, cultural anthropologists are trained to analyze the sociocultural organizations of various types of societies. In the early twentieth century, cultural anthropologists devoted their energies to the analysis of small- scale, technologically simple, and usually

Photo 1.1 Cultural anthropologist Ed Tronick conducts participant observation fieldwork among the Efe people of Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Source: Ed Tronick/Anthro-Photo.

6 Cultural anthropology and global business

non- Western peoples. Over the last half century, however, cultural anthropologists have become more involved in the study of complex societies. Yet whether dealing with simple or complex societies, the focus of cultural anthropologists has been the comparative study of sociocultural organizations wherever, or in whatever form, they may be found. When hearing the phrase cultural anthropologist, the average American often imagines a drab, eccentric, elderly, bookish professor wearing sensible shoes and natural fiber cloth- ing, and having little or nothing to do with anything outside the classroom. Anthropol- ogy, however, is neither dangerous (like the movie version of Indiana Jones) nor irrelevant. To counter this popular view that cultural anthropology is of little use in helping to understand the world around us, an increasing number of cultural anthropolo- gists have applied their theories, findings, and methods to a wide range of professional areas, including economic development, business, health services, education, and urban administration. In fact, business and organizational anthropologists work inside some of the leading manufacturing and service companies in the world. These firms understand that anthropology brings a unique perspective on sociocultural issues to their organiza- tions, both at home and abroad. Anthropologists not only help companies design products, but also develop culturally sensitive marketing strategies and organizational processes that incorporate an understanding of consumers, employees, and external communities. This book rests on the fundamental assumption that to operate effectively in today’s global business arena one must master the cultural environment by means of purposeful preparation as well as by becoming a lifelong student of culture. Now, as in the past, most globetrotting businesspeople acquire their cross- cultural expertise while on the job, and they consider hands- on factors such as business travel and overseas assignments to be the most important experiences. While not minimizing the value of experiential learning, this book argues that, in addition to on- the-job learning (and in most cases, before entering the global marketplace), successful international businesspeople must prepare themselves in a very deliberate manner to operate within a new, and frequently very different, cultural environment.

Cultural anthropology and business

Anthropologists have been working in business and industry since the early 1930s; useful historical and contemporary overviews of the field are those by Marietta Baba (1986, 2006, 2009) and Ann Jordan (1994, 2010, 2013). The human relations school of organizational research emerged from the Hawthorne Project and produced a number of ethnographies (i.e., descriptive and systematic accounts of culture) showing how informal cultural pat- terns could influence managerial goals (Mayo 1933; Roethlisberger and Dickson 1939; Gardner 1945; Warner and Low 1947; Richardson and Walker 1948). Also during this early period, some anthropologists turned their attention to consumer behavior (Warner and Lunt 1941; Gardner and Levy 1955), and later, a focus on occupations (Van Maanen 1978; Gamst 1980; Applebaum 1981; Coy 1989). Since the last two decades of the twentieth century, the field of business anthropology has evolved into two prominent streams of research and practice. One research stream has focused on organizational cultures, both domestic and global, along with global teams and partnerships (Gregory 1983; Serrie 1986; Suchman 1987; Dubinskas 1988; Sachs 1989; Hamada 1991; Hamada and Sibley 1994; Orr 1996; Gluesing and Gibson 2004; Briody and Trotter 2008; Cefkin 2009; Meerwarth et al. 2008b; Briody et al. 2010; Krause- Jensen 2010; Van Marrewijk 2010; Caulkins and Jordan 2012; A. Jordan 2013; B. Jordan 2013;

Cultural anthropology and global business 7

Garsten and Nyqvist 2013; Nakamaki et al. 2016). For example, Frank Dubinskas’ edited volume examines how time is understood in such places as high- energy physics laborato- ries, start- up biotechnology firms, hospital radiology departments, and an engineering company. Dubinskas writes, “Managers appear as short- term and biologists as long- term planners.… What managers see as ‘immaturity’—not coming to completion—the scien- tists see as necessary, ongoing development” (Dubinskas, 1988: 26–27). We discuss the dimension of time in Chapter 2. A second stream consists of a critical mass of business anthropologists in consumer research, product design, and advertising (Miller 1994; Sherry 1995; Moeran 1996; Squires and Byrne 2002; Blomberg et al. 2003; Malefyt and Moeran 2003; Arnould and Thompson 2005; Sunderland and Denny 2007; Diamond et al. 2009; McCracken 2009; Wasson and Squires 2012; Griffiths 2013; Oliveira 2013; Denny and Sunderland 2014; Moeran 2014). Ken Erickson is one such consumer anthropologist. He has learned many times over that marketing and sales manager models do not match reality on the ground. A personal printer manufacturer hired him to figure out why Brazilian consumers, many of whom bought personal printers, were not buying the company’s ink cartridges. Erickson dis- covered that lower middle class households were printing at the LAN House, the term for

Photo 1.2 Consumer anthropologist Timothy de Waal Malefyt conducts a videotaped interview with a female consumer in her home.

Source: Courtesy of Timothy de Waal Malefyt.

8 Cultural anthropology and global business

a neighborhood Internet café; it was much more cost effective for them. Some of the com- pany’s Brazilian managers saw no such places where they lived and thus did not believe that LAN Houses were important. Eventually Erickson’s team of Brazilian ethnographers prevailed. The printer manufacturer responded by carving out a new niche with LAN Houses and marketing affordable bulk ink printers and bulk ink refill bottles to them. We feature numerous examples of product design and marketing throughout the book. A third stream is design anthropology in which anthropologists are actively involved in the design of products and services, often in collaboration with experts from fields such as design, engineering, and computer science. (Squires and Byrne 2002; Blomberg et al. 2003; Metcalf and Harboe 2006; Gunn and Donovan 2012; Sanders and Stappers 2012; Wasson and Squires 2012; Gunn et al. 2013; Ingold 2013; Smith et al. 2016). Bill Beeman (2015b) is involved in a project to help make “smart systems” smarter. He and his colleagues are working with a medical equipment design firm to make the design process better. To do that requires integrating the qualitative human factors data identified by design anthropol- ogists with quantitative data produced by mechanical engineers and computer scientists. It also entails figuring out how to weight the product design decisions, which today are based largely on intuition and judgment. Fundamental to design anthropology is that consumers do not know or cannot articulate fully what they want in a product. Beeman (2015b) states, “This creates an informational vacuum where more sophisticated aspects of com- petitive viability are unknown, and where the elements that create ‘consumer delight’ are also unknown.” This specialty within business anthropology is a significant growth area. The anthropological perspective can be useful in the study of purely domestic business organizations, which are frequently composed of many social components that come from different backgrounds, hold contrasting values and attitudes, and have conflicting loyal- ties. For instance, the company vice president will not likely have much in common with the assembly- line worker, the union representative, the president of the local Sierra Club, the government inspector, the janitor, or many members of that diverse group called the “buying public.” And yet, if the organization is to function effectively, that corporate manager needs to know about the values, attitudes, expectations, concerns, and behavioral patterns of all these people, and others as well. In short, domestic business organizations can be viewed as minicultures (composed of different people with different roles, statuses, and value systems) that operate within the wider national cultural context. The number of MA and PhD anthropologists working in the private sector for corpora- tions and consulting firms has increased dramatically in the past four decades. Many high- tech multinational firms such as Microsoft, Google, and IBM have anthropologists on their staff working in the areas of research, marketing, management, human resources, and new product development. What is it that well- trained cultural anthropologists bring to the private sector? They are valuable because of their cross- cultural perspective, their capacity to study very specific behavior in its proper cultural context, and their primary research technique of participant observation, which reveals what people actually do in contrast to what they say they do. Today, research and design firms, which develop new products, are actively recruiting anthropologists to help them gain deeper insights about their customers through parti- cipant observation research. One such anthropologist, Susan Squires, who has worked in new product development for many years, conducted participant observation research on U.S. families during breakfast time (Squires 2002: 108–114). While hanging around the breakfast tables in middle- class homes, Squires found that, with both parents working, getting children ready for school was hectic at best, and often children ate “on the run”

Cultural anthropology and global business 9

rather than having a traditional sit- down breakfast. She also observed that both parents and children frequently ate bananas on the way to office and school respectively, because they are nutritious, portable, disposable, and fun to eat. If a new breakfast product were to be developed, it would have to meet the needs of a number of family members. For example, it would need to be nutritious, banana- like, portable, disposable, versatile, and fun to eat. Based on her anthropological observations of actual behavior, Squires developed a new breakfast product designed for the children of a two- parent working family on- the-go called “Go- Gurt.” The first yogurt served in a tube, Go- Gurt is a healthy, high- protein food that had sales of over $37 million during its first year on the market. Failure to consider the cultural context in the domestic organization can lead, and has led, to misunderstandings, miscommunication, costly marketing blunders, lawsuits, and generally an undermining of organizational goals. When moving into the area of inter- national business, however, the need to be aware of cultural environments becomes even more critical. Here the magnitude of the cultural differences is vastly greater; con- sequently, breakdown of communication usually increases geometrically. One of the most common factors contributing to failure in global business is the errone- ous assumption that if a person is successful in the home environment, he or she will be equally successful in applying technical expertise in a different culture. Yet, research has shown that failures in the global business setting—including partnerships and joint ven- tures—most frequently result from an inability to understand and adapt to foreign ways of thinking and acting rather than from technical or professional incompetence (Black et al. 1992; Adler 2002; Thomas 2002; Maurer and Li 2006). At home, U.S. businesspeople equip themselves with vast amounts of knowledge of their employees, customers, and busi- ness partners. Market research provides detailed information on values, attitudes, and buying preferences of U.S. consumers. Middle- and upper- level managers are well versed in the intricacies of their organization’s culture. Labor negotiators must be highly sensitive to what motivates those on the other side of the table. Yet when Americans turn to the global arena, they frequently deal with customers, employees, and fellow workers with a dearth of information that at home would be unimaginable. The literature is filled with examples of business miscues when U.S. corporations attempted to operate in a global context. Some are mildly amusing; others are downright embarrassing. All of them, to one degree or another, have been costly in terms of money, reputation, or both. For example, when firms try to market their products abroad, they often assume that if a marketing strategy or slogan is effective in, say, Cleveland, Ohio, in the United States, it will be equally effective in other parts of the world. But problems can arise when changing cultural contexts. To illustrate, an airline offering service to Brazil advertised that it had comfortable “rendezvous lounges” in its business class section, without realizing that the word rendezvous in Portuguese refers to a room for illicit sexual encounters. Chicken entrepreneur Frank Perdue decided to translate one of his very suc- cessful advertising slogans into Spanish, but the translated slogan didn’t produce the desired results. The slogan “It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken” was translated into Spanish as “It takes a virile man to make a chicken affectionate.” And the American Dairy Association’s wildly successful ad campaign “Got Milk?” had the unfortunate trans- lation “Are you lactating?” when used in Mexico. Although all these cross- cultural advert- ising blunders cause us to chuckle, they can result in a loss of revenue and even product credibility. These are only a few of the examples of the price paid for miscalculating—or simply ignoring—the cultural dimension of global business. The most cursory review of the global

10 Cultural anthropology and global business

business literature will reveal many other similarly costly mistakes. If American business- people are to meet the challenges of an increasingly interdependent world, they will need to develop a better understanding of how cultural variables influence global business enter- prises. A healthy dialogue between cultural anthropologists and members of the global business community—which this book seeks to foster—is an important step in achieving that needed understanding.

Anthropology’s major concept: culture

Anthropologists do more than simply accumulate and catalog information on the world’s exotic and not- so-exotic cultures. Like other scientists, they attempt to generate theories about culture that apply to all human populations. Because it is impossible for any indi- vidual to master every cultural fact about every culture of the world, anthropologists have developed a number of general concepts about culture that can be applied to a wide variety of cross- cultural situations, whether they involve differences in national culture, organiza- tional culture, occupational culture, work group culture, consumer culture, regulatory culture, or other kinds of cultural groupings with an impact on global business. In this section we explore what is meant—and what is not meant—by the term culture. In addition to defining this central anthropological concept, we also examine six important generalizations concerning the concept of culture and their significance for the U.S. businessperson operating in the world marketplace. In everyday usage, the term culture refers to the finer things in life, such as the fine arts, literature, philosophy, and classical music. Under this very narrow definition of the term, the “cultured person” is one who prefers Bach to Beyoncé, can distinguish between the artistic styles of Monet and Manet, prefers pheasant under glass to grits and red- eye gravy, and 21-year- old scotch to beer, and spends his/her leisure time reading Kierkegaard rather than watching wrestling on television. For the anthropologist, however, the term culture has a much broader meaning that goes far beyond mere personal refinements. The only requirement for being cultured is to be human. Thus, all people have culture. The scantily clad Dani of New Guinea is as much a cultural animal as is world- famous cellist Yo- Yo Ma. For the anthropologist, cooking pots, spears, and mud huts are as legitimate items of culture as symphonies, oil paintings, and great works of literature. While you will find many definitions of the concept of culture in the literature, we will define culture as: Everything that people have, think, and do as members of their society. The three verbs in this definition (have, think, and do) can help us identify the three major structural components of the concept of culture. For a person to have something, some material object must be present. When people think, ideas, values, attitudes, and beliefs are present. When people do, they behave in certain ways. Thus, culture is made up of (1) material objects, (2) ideas, values, and attitudes, and (3) patterns of behavior. The final phrase of our working definition, “as members of their society,” should serve as a reminder that culture is shared by at least two or more people. In other words, there is no such thing as the culture of a hermit. In addition to this working definition, a number of features of the concept of culture should be made explicit. In the remainder of this chapter, we briefly examine these fea- tures that hold true for all cultures, and discuss why they are valuable insights into the cul- tural environment of global business.

Cultural anthropology and global business 11

Culture is learned

Culture is transmitted through the process of learning and interacting with one’s environ- ment, rather than through the genetic process. Culture can be thought of as a storehouse of all the knowledge of a society. The child who is born into any society finds that most of the problems that confront all people have already been solved by those who have lived before. For example, material objects, methods for acquiring food, language, rules of gov- ernment, forms of marriage, systems of religion, and many other things have already been discovered and are functioning within the culture when a child is born. A child has only to learn the various solutions to these basic human problems established by his culture. Once these solutions are learned, behavior becomes almost automatic. Thus, culture is passed on from one generation to another within a society. It is not inborn or instinctive. It is sometimes easy to fall into the trap of thinking that because the Australian Bushman and the Central African Pygmy do not know what we know, they must be child- like, ignorant, and generally incapable of learning. These primitives, the argument goes, have not learned about calculus, Shakespeare, or the Nobel Peace Prize because they are not as intelligent as we are. Yet no evidence whatsoever suggests even remotely that people in some cultures are less efficient learners than people in other cultures. What the comparative study of culture does tell us is that people in different cultures learn different cultural content—that is, different ideas, values, and behavior patterns—and they learn that content every bit as efficiently as anyone else. For example, despite the inability of a rural Kikuyu farmer from Kenya to solve a problem by using differential equations, she

Photo 1.3 Although these children growing up in Johannesburg, South Africa learn dif- ferent cultural content than do North American children, the process of acquiring culture through learning is common to all cultures.

Source: Gallo Images/Alamy Stock Photo.

12 Cultural anthropology and global business

would be able to recite exactly how she is related (step by step) to a network of hundreds of kinsmen. Kikuyu farmers have mastered what to us is a bewildering amount of kinship information because their culture places great emphasis on such knowledge if the rather complex Kikuyu marriage and kinship system is to work. Hence, people from different cul- tures learn those things that contribute to adjusting to their particular environments. This notion that culture is learned has several important implications for the conduct of global business. First, such an understanding can lead to greater tolerance for cultural differences, a prerequisite for effective intercultural communication within a business setting. Second, the learned nature of culture serves as a reminder that because we have mastered our own culture through the process of learning, it is possible (albeit more diffi- cult) to learn to function in other cultures as well. Thus, cross- cultural expertise for global businesspeople can be accomplished through a combination of direct experience and men- toring; effective training programs and readings may be helpful as well.

Culture influences biological processes

If we stop to consider it, the great majority of our conscious behavior is acquired through learning and interacting with other members of our culture. Even those responses to our purely biological needs (e.g., eating, coughing, defecating) are frequently influenced by our cultures. For example, all people share a biological need for food. Unless a minimum number of calories is consumed, starvation will occur; therefore, all people eat. But what we eat, how often and how much we eat, with whom we eat, and according to what set of rules are all regulated, at least in part, by our culture. Anthropologist Clyde Kluckhohn provides us with a telling example of how culture affects biological processes (Kluckhohn 1968: 25–26). He once knew a woman in Arizona in the U.S. who took a somewhat perverse delight in producing a cultural reaction. At her luncheon parties she would serve delicious sandwiches filled with a pleasant tasting white meat similar to chicken. After her guests had eaten their fill, she would tell them that they had just eaten sandwiches filled with rattlesnake flesh. The results were always the same. Some of her guests would vomit, sometimes violently. Here, then, is a dramatic illustration of how culture can influence biological processes. In fact, in this instance, the natural bio- logical process of digestion was not only influenced but was actually reversed. A learned part of our culture (the idea that rattlesnake meat is a repulsive thing to eat) actually trig- gered the sudden interruption of the normal digestive process. Clearly, there is nothing in rattlesnake meat that causes people to vomit, for those who have internalized the opposite idea—that rattlesnake meat is delicious and high in protein—have no such digestive tract reversals. The basic anthropological notion that culture channels biological processes can provide some important insights when managing or marketing abroad. For example, in Chennai, India, such a concept can be a reminder not to serve beef noodle soup in the plant cafete- ria, for to do so might cause a mass exodus to the infirmary. Or, even though foot binding is no longer widely practiced in China, the notion of equating small feet with feminine beauty should be taken into account by shoe manufacturers who hope to sell shoes to Chinese women. Or, an understanding of the fascination with plastic surgery in the United States should encourage cosmetic manufacturers around the world to do their homework on what constitutes attractiveness for both men and women in the United States.

Photo 1.4a

Source: by the authors.

Photo 1.4b This Masai girl from Kenya and this middle-class North American woman put holes in their ears for exactly the same reason—because their cul- tures teach them that it enhances their feminine attractiveness.

Source: by the authors.

14 Cultural anthropology and global business

Cultural universals do exist

All cultures of the world, despite many differences, face a number of common problems and share a number of common features, which we call cultural universals. As we encoun- ter the many different cultural patterns found throughout the world, there is a tendency to become overwhelmed by the magnitude of the differences and overlook the commonali- ties. But all societies, if they are to survive, are confronted with fundamental challenges that must be addressed. When cultures develop ways of addressing those challenges, general cultural patterns emerge. Differences in the details of cultural patterns exist because different societies have developed different approaches and solutions. Yet, a number of commonalities exist. Let’s briefly examine the issues that all cultures face and the universal cultural patterns that emerge in response.

Economic systems

One of the most obvious and immediate issues of a society is to meet the basic physiologi- cal requirements of its people. To stay alive, all humans need a certain minimal caloric intake, potable water, and, to varying degrees, protection from the elements in terms of clothing and shelter. No society in the world has access to an infinite supply of basic resources such as food, water, clothing, and housing materials. Because these commodities are always in finite supply, each society must develop systematic ways of producing, distrib- uting, and consuming these essential resources. Thus, each society must develop an economic system. To illustrate this principle of cultural universals, we can look at one component of eco- nomic systems—namely, forms of distribution. In the United States, most goods and services are distributed according to capitalism, based on the principle of “each according to his or her capacity to pay.” In socialist countries, on the other hand, goods and services are distributed according to another quite different principle—that is, “each according to his or her need.” The Pygmies of Central Africa distribute goods by a system known as “silent barter,” in which the trading partners, in an attempt to attain true reciprocity, avoid face- to-face contact during the exchange. The Hadza of Tanzania distribute the meat of an animal killed in the hunt according to the principle of kinship—each share of meat is determined by how one is related to the hunter. But whatever particular form the system of distribution might take, there are no societies—at least not for long—that have failed to work out and adhere to a well- understood and systematic pattern of distribution.

Marriage and family systems

For a society to continue over time, it is imperative that it work out systematic procedures for mating, marriage, child rearing, and family formation. If it fails to do so, it will die out in a very short time. No society permits random mating and all societies have worked out rules for determining who can marry whom, under what conditions, and according to what procedures. All societies, in other words, have patterned systems of marriage. And since human infants (as compared with the young of other species) have a particularly long period of dependency on adults, every society must work out systematic ways of caring for dependent children. Otherwise, children will not survive to adulthood and the very sur- vival of the society will be in jeopardy. Thus, we can say that all societies have patterns of child rearing and family institutions.

Photo 1.5a

Source: Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher/Getty Images.

Photo 1.5b Although the marriage practices among the Ndebele of South Africa differ in many ways from this wedding under the Chuppah in British Columbia, Canada, both sets of practices are responses to the universal interest in orderly systems of mating and child rearing.

Source: by the authors.

16 Cultural anthropology and global business

And yet, it is absolutely essential that one knows something about the specific features of the marriage and family system that exists in those particular parts of the world in which one may have business interests. For example, where people have many obligations to attend family/kinship functions, labor contracts should include flexible working hours and perhaps slightly lower pay, instead of a rigid 40-hour workweek and somewhat higher pay. Workers, in other words, would be willing to give up higher pay rates if they knew they could attend family gatherings without being penalized.

Educational systems

Along with ensuring that the basic physical needs of the child are met, a society must see to it that the children learn the way of life of the society. Rather than expecting each new child to rediscover for himself or herself all the accumulated knowledge of the past, a society must have an organized way of passing on its cultural heritage from one generation to the next. The result is some form of educational system in every society. Despite the universality of education systems, the specific features of any given system vary widely from culture to culture. For example, are the patterned forms of education formal (schools, books, professional teachers) or informal (information passed from parents to children or from older to younger siblings)? Is the emphasis on rote memorization or the development of analytical carryover skills? Are students exposed to a broad “liberal arts” education or a narrow, more occupationally oriented curriculum? Are various levels of education (kindergarten through graduate school) open to all members of the society or only to the privileged classes? The answers to these and other questions have important implications for any international businessperson engaged in the management of foreign workforces, the negotiation of international contracts, or the development of marketing strategies abroad.

Social control systems

If groups of people are to survive, they must develop some established ways of preserving social order; that is, all societies must develop mechanisms that will ensure that most of the people obey most of the rules most of the time. If not, people will violate each other’s rights to such an extent that anarchy will prevail. Different societies develop mechanisms to ensure social order in different ways. In the United States, behavior control rests on a number of formal mechanisms, such as a written constitution; local, state, and federal laws; and an elaborate criminal justice system comprised of police, courts, and penal institu- tions. Many small- scale, technologically simple societies have less formal (but no less effective) means of controlling behavior. Regardless of the specific methods used, one thing is certain: Every society has a system for coercing people to obey the social rules, and these are called social control systems. Again, knowing the means that culturally different people rely upon for maintaining social order is important for managers of international workforces. To maintain order and good working relationships among employees, corporations operating abroad are likely to be more successful by using local mechanisms of social control than by imposing those that work effectively in the home office.

Cultural anthropology and global business 17

Supernatural belief systems

All societies have a certain degree of control over their social and physical environments. People in all societies can understand and predict a number of things. For example, a dense, heavy object when dropped into a lake will sink to the bottom; if I have C5 and give you C2, I will have C3 left; the sun always rises in the east and sets in the west. However, we cannot explain or predict with any degree of certainty many other things: Why does a child develop a fatal disease, but the child’s playmate next door does not? Why do tornadoes destroy some houses and leave others unharmed? Why do safe drivers die in auto accidents and careless drivers do not? Such questions have no apparent answers, because they cannot be explained by our conventional systems of justice or rationality. Therefore, societies develop supernatural belief systems for explaining these unexplainable occurrences. The way people explain the unexplainable is to rely on various types of supernatural explanations such as magic, religion, witchcraft, sorcery, and astrology. Religions and other supernatural belief systems affect the conduct of business by shaping attitudes about work, savings, consumption, efficiency, and individual responsib- ility. To illustrate, Euro- American Christianity, as it is embodied in the Protestant ethic, emphasizes hard work, frugality, and getting ahead for the sake of glorifying God. The Islamic religion, although not hostile to capitalism, places greater emphasis on the individual’s responsibility to the society, including charity to the poor and ensuring that profits are made only through fair business dealings rather than through fraud, deceit, or usury. And another world religion, Hinduism, places emphasis on spiritual goals rather than on economic or professional accomplishments. At the very least, global business- people must be sensitive to these broad divisions in how people’s values and work practices are affected by their religious traditions. Thus, despite the great variety of cultural features found throughout the world, all cul- tures have a number of traits in common. This basic anthropological principle, known as cultural universals, can be an important tool for helping global businesspeople become sens- itive to and appreciate culturally different business environments. Greater empathy for cultural differences—a necessary if not sufficient condition for increased knowledge—can be attained if we can avoid concentrating solely on the apparent differences between cul- tures and appreciate their underlying commonalities as well. In other words, we will be less likely to prejudge or be critical of different practices, ideas, or behavior patterns if we can appreciate the notion that they represent different solutions to the same basic human problems facing all cultures of the world, including our own.

Cultural change

All cultures experience continual change. Any anthropological account of a culture is merely a snapshot view at one particular time. Should the anthropologist return several years after completing a cultural study, he or she would not find exactly the same situation, because no culture remains completely static year after year. Although small- scale, technologically simple, preliterate societies tend to be more conservative (and thus change less rapidly) than modern, industrialized, highly complex societies, it is now generally accepted that, to some degree, change is a constant feature of all cultures. Students of culture change generally recognize that change occurs as a result of both internal and external forces. Mechanisms of change that emerge within a given culture are

18 Cultural anthropology and global business

called discovery and invention. Despite the importance of discovery and invention, most changes occur as a result of borrowing from other cultures, a process known as cultural dif- fusion. The importance of cultural borrowing can be better understood if viewed in terms of economy of effort: Borrowing someone else’s invention or discovery is much easier than discovering or inventing it all over again. Anthropologists generally agree that a substan- tial majority of all things, ideas, and behavioral patterns found in any culture had their origins elsewhere. Individuals in every culture, limited by background and time, can get new ideas with far less effort if they borrow them. This statement holds true for our own culture as well as other cultures, a fact that Americans frequently tend to overlook. Because so much cultural change is the result of diffusion, it deserves a closer examination. Although cultural diffusion varies from situation to situation, we can identify certain gen- eralizations that hold true for all cultures. First, cultural diffusion is a selective process. Whenever two cultures come into contact, each does not accept everything indiscriminately from the other. If they did, the vast cul- tural differences that exist today would have long since disappeared. Rather, items will be borrowed from another culture only if they prove to be useful and/or compatible. For example, we would not expect to see the diffusion of swine husbandry from the United States to Saudi Arabia because the predominant Muslim population has a strong dietary prohibition on pork. Successful international marketing requires an intimate knowledge of the cultures found in foreign markets to determine if, how, and to what extent specific products are likely to become accepted and used in the ways in which they were intended. Second, cultural borrowing is a two- way process. Early students of change believed that contact between “primitive” societies and “civilized” societies caused the former to accept traits from the latter. This position was based on the assumption that the “inferior” small- scale societies had nothing to offer the “superior” civilized societies. Today, however, anthropologists would reject such a position because it has been found time and again that cultural traits are diffused in both directions. For example, Native Americans have accepted a great deal from Europeans, but diffusion in the other direction also has been significant. It has been estimated that those crops that make up nearly half of the world’s food supply today (such as corn, beans, squash, sweet potatoes, and even the so- called Irish potato) were originally domesticated by Native Americans. Native Americans have given the world articles of clothing such as woolen ponchos, parkas, and moccasins, not to mention American varieties of cotton, a material used widely throughout the world for making clothing. Even the multibillion- dollar pharmaceutical industry in the Western world continues to produce and market commercial drugs first discovered by Native Amer- icans, including painkillers such as cocaine and Novocain, anesthetics, quinine, and laxa- tives. This concept that cultural diffusion is a two- way process should help global leaders be more receptive to the idea that the corporate culture, as well as the local culture, may change. The local culture may, in fact, have a good deal to offer the corporate culture, provided the corporate culture is open to accepting these new cultural features. Third, frequently borrowed items are not transferred into the recipient culture in exactly their original form. Rather, new ideas, objects, or techniques are usually reinter- preted and reworked so that they can be integrated more effectively into the total configu- ration of the recipient culture. In other words, once a cultural element is accepted into a new culture, it may undergo changes in form or function. Pizza is a good example of how a cultural item can change form as it diffuses. Pizza, which diffused from Italy to the United States in the late nineteenth century, has been modified in a number of significant ways to

Cultural anthropology and global business 19

conform to American tastes. It is unlikely that its Italian originators would recognize a pizza made of French bread, English muffins, or pita bread and topped with pineapple, tuna, clams, or jalapeno peppers. An understanding that cultural diffusion frequently involves some modification of the item is an important idea for those interested in creat- ing new product markets in other cultures. To illustrate, before a laundry detergent—nor- mally packaged in a green box in the United States—would be accepted in certain parts of West Africa, the color of the packaging would need to be changed because the color green is associated with death in certain West African cultures. Fourth, some cultural traits are more easily diffused than others. By and large, technolo- gical innovations are more likely to be borrowed than are social patterns or belief systems, largely because the usefulness of a particular technological trait is more immediately recog- nizable. For example, a man who walks five miles each day to work quickly realizes that an automobile can get him to work faster and with far less effort. It is much more difficult, however, to convince a Muslim to become a Hindu or an American businessperson to become a socialist. The idea that some components of culture are more readily accepted than others should at least provide some general guidelines for assessing what types of changes in the local culture are more likely to occur. By assessing what types of things, ideas, and behavior have been incorporated into a culture in recent years, strategic plan- ners are in a better position to understand the relative ease or difficulty involved in initiat- ing changes in consumer habits or workplace behavior. While all cultures are dynamic, some of the change that occurs in organizational cul- tures is intended and purposeful—that is, it is planned. Decades ago, Kurt Lewin emphas- ized that planned change required an awareness of the particular problem and a plan to

Photo 1.6 Cultural diffusion is responsible for the greatest amount of culture change in all societies.

Source: Andrea Booher/Stone/Getty Image.

20 Cultural anthropology and global business

address it (Lewin 1947b). Moreover, it necessitated action on the part of the organiza- tion—often the management—to initiate and manage the change process. Planned change is goal oriented rather than occurring spontaneously, fortuitously, or developmentally. Business anthropologists routinely work with organizations on matters related to planned change: to understand the issues organizations face, suggest possible solutions, implement the changes, and evaluate the effectiveness of the changes. Sometimes anthro- pologists offer their recommendations based on independent research or based on their familiarity, experience, and leadership in particular areas of organizational activity. In other instances they collaborate with organizational decision makers on projects to facilitate teamwork and problem solving, to investigate product development issues, to promote healthy supplier interactions, or to enhance customer expectations, among others. Planned change has some of the elements of invention (since it must fit the unique circumstances of the business situation) and some elements of cultural borrowing (since knowledge of other similar situations outside the organization might be adapted for the situation at hand). Of course, organizations—like individuals—often find change difficult. In fact, organ- izational members at any level may resist a new corporate initiative as in this manufac- turing example:

We’ve been through I don’t know how many hours of training where they say, ‘I don’t care what it takes. We won’t send out cars that are below our quality standards.’ Then we get back on the line and the first thing they say is, ‘No, we don’t have time to stop the line and solve this problem. We have to keep going.’ So what kind of message is that sending?

(Briody et al. 2010: 100)

This example represents a type of resistance known as a cultural contradiction. The ideal scenario was presented during a training session and then disregarded later on the plant floor. If the resistance is not addressed, employees may become jaded and managers may lose credibility. Fortunately, cultural processes known as enablers can address, or at least mitigate, such forms of resistance. For example, empowering employees, following stand- ardized work, rebalancing the work pace, or cultivating work ethic and pride are some pos- sible enablers that could speed up the process of organizational- culture change. Change must be planned and implemented carefully for the resistance to be overcome (i.e., stop- ping the line) and for the results to be successful (i.e., improved quality standards).

People from all cultures are ethnocentric

All cultures, to one degree or another, display ethnocentrism, which is perhaps the greatest single obstacle to understanding another culture. Ethnocentrism—literally being “culture centered”—is the tendency for people to evaluate a foreigner’s behavior by the standards of their own culture, which they believe is superior to all others. Because our own culture is usually the only one we learn, we take our culture for granted. We typically assume that our behavior is correct and all others are wrong, or at least very strange. The extent to which ethnocentrism pervades a culture is clearly seen in our history textbooks. Consider, for example, the historic event of the Holy Wars between the Christians and the Muslims during the Middle Ages. In our textbook accounts of the wars, we refer to the Christians

Cultural anthropology and global business 21

as crusaders and the Muslims as religious fanatics. Yet, if we read the Islamic accounts of these same wars, the terms crusaders and fanatics would be reversed. Sometimes our own ethnocentrism can startle us when we find ourselves in a different cultural setting. A particularly revealing episode occurred when an American visited a Japanese classroom for the first time. On the wall of the classroom was a brightly colored map of the world. But something was wrong: right in the center of the map (where he had expected to see the United States) was Japan. To his surprise, the Japanese did not view the United States as the center of the world. Ethnocentrism prevents us from seeing that other people view our customs as equally strange and irrational. For example, people in the United States think of themselves as being particularly conscious of cleanliness. As a nation we probably spend more money per capita on a whole host of commercial products designed to make ourselves and our environments clean, hygienic, and odor free. Yet a number of practices found in the United States strike people in other parts of the world as deplorably unclean. To illustrate, whereas most Americans are repulsed by an Indonesian who blows his nose onto the street, the Indonesian is repulsed by the American who blows his nose in a handkerchief and then carries it around for the rest of the day in his pocket; the Japanese consider the American practice of sitting in a bathtub full of dirty, soapy water to be at best an ineffec- tive way of bathing and at worst a disgusting practice; and East Africans think that Ameri- cans have no sense of hygiene because they defecate in rooms (the bathroom) that are frequently located adjacent to that part of the house where food is prepared (the kitchen). All people in all societies are ethnocentric to some degree regardless of how accepting or open- minded they might claim to be. Ethnocentrism should not be a source of embarrassment because it is a by- product of growing up in any society. In fact, ethno- centrism may serve the positive function of enhancing group solidarity. On the other hand, ethnocentrism can contribute to prejudice, contempt for outsiders, and intergroup conflict. Although it is a deeply ingrained attitude found in every society, it is important that we become aware of it so that it will not hinder us in learning about other cultures. Awareness of our own ethnocentrism will never eliminate it but will enable us to minimize its more negative effects. It is vital for businesspeople to refrain from comparing our way of life with those of our international business partners. Instead, we should seek to under- stand other people in the context of their unique historical, social, and cultural backgrounds. This approach to cultural differences is known as cultural relativism, the logical opposite of ethnocentrism.

Cultures are integrated wholes

Cultures should be thought of as integrated wholes: Cultures are coherent and logical systems, the parts of which to a degree are interrelated. Upon confronting an unfamiliar cultural trait, a usual response is to try to imagine how such a trait would fit into one’s own culture. We tend to look at it ethnocentrically, or from our own cultural perspective. All too frequently we view an unfamiliar cultural item as simply a pathological version of one found in our own culture. We reason that if the foreign cultural item is different and unfa- miliar, it must be deviant, strange, weird, irrational, and consequently inferior to its coun- terpart in our own culture. This ethnocentric interpretation, with its unfortunate consequences, is the result of pulling the item from its proper cultural context and viewing it from our own perspective. It is also the result of being unable to see the foreign culture as an integrated system.

22 Cultural anthropology and global business

When we say that a culture is integrated, we mean that it is an organized system in which particular components may be related to other components, not just a random assortment of cultural features. If we can view cultures as integrated systems, we can begin to see how particular cultural traits fit into the integrated whole and, con- sequently, how they tend to make sense within that context (see Figure 1.1). Equipped with such an understanding, international businesspeople should be in a better position to understand and cope with the “strange” customs encountered in the global business arena. The notion of integrated culture helps us to understand why culturally different people think and behave the way they do. However, we should avoid taking the concept too lit- erally. To assume that all cultures are perfectly integrated, we would have to conclude that every idea or behavior is both absolutely rational and morally defensible, provided that it performs a function for the well- being of the society. However, believing in the general validity of the integrated nature of culture does not require that we view all cultures as morally equivalent; not all cultural practices are equally worthy of tolerance and respect. Some practices (such as the genocide perpetuated by Stalin, Hitler, or the Bosnian Serbs) are morally indefensible within any cultural context. To be certain, cultural anthropolo- gists have sometimes been overly nonjudgmental about the customs of people they study. But, as Richard Barrett has suggested:

The occasional tendency for anthropologists to treat other cultures with excessive approbation to the extent that they sometimes idealize them, is less cause for concern than the possibility that they will misrepresent other societies by viewing them through the prism of their own culture.

(Barrett 1991: 8)

Family

Religion

Government

Technology

Education

Art

Marriage

Medicine

Figure 1.1 The various parts of a culture are all interrelated to some degree.

Source: by the authors.

Cultural anthropology and global business 23

The notion of integrated culture has several important implications for global business- people. When we understand that the parts of a culture are interrelated, we will be less likely to view foreign cultures ethnocentrically. Rather than wrenching a foreign cultural item from its original context and viewing it in terms of how well it fits into our own culture, we will be reminded to view it from within its proper cultural context. This concept allows us to understand more fully why a particular cultural item is found in a society, even if it violates our sense of personal decorum or morality.

Corporations also are cultures

Just as societies, tribes, religious communities, and neighborhoods all are cultures, so too are corporations. Shared values, behavior patterns, and communication styles all help the employees of a firm, from a clerk to the CEO, both feel and express a common identity. A corporate culture, in other words, helps ensure that people at all levels of the organiza- tion are pulling together in the same direction. Successful corporate cultures manage to integrate symbols (such as a corporate logo), legends (stories about past successes and fail- ures), heroes (influential managers from the past), communication patterns (language and nonverbal cues), shared values (what the organization stands for and believes in), patterns of social interaction (expected forms of behavior between those of different statuses and roles), rules to follow (including work processes and procedures), and shared experiences (such as working together on successful projects). The process of developing and main- taining a healthy corporate culture involves a number of distinct activities including:

• establishing trust and respect as a foundation for workplace interaction and collabora- tion;

• identifying and building on a common work ethic among employees in pursuit of organizational goals;

• setting clear expectations, soliciting input, gaining consensus, and resolving conflict; • documenting the essential organizational features, including “lessons learned,” and

integrating them into everyday practice; • making the culture visible to employees on a regular basis so that behavior and expec-

tations are aligned (i.e., “walking the talk”); • orienting new employees to their work tasks, colleagues, and the corporate culture

generally.

Having a well- defined and explicit corporate culture not only increases efficiency but it also contributes to overall competitiveness (Barney 1986). When a formerly domestic corporation decides to globalize its operations, it needs to pay attention to globalizing its culture as well. A corporate culture that works well for employees in Sydney, Australia, may need to be at least partially redefined in Jakarta, Indonesia, where a new office has been opened. This certainly does not mean that a corporation should jettison its corporate culture when operating abroad. Rather, it means that hitherto domestic companies need to modify their cultures to accommodate local cultural realities. It is, in other words, not possible for a corporation to export its culture wholesale to Indonesia and expect local workers to check their own cultures at the door each morning. Successful multinational corporations (MNCs), as they have expanded their overseas operations, have developed somewhat localized versions of their original corporate cul- tures. As McCune (1999) illustrates, when Wal- Mart, the largest retailer in the United

24 Cultural anthropology and global business

States at the time, opened its first discount store in Germany, it found that some features of its corporate culture (first developed in Bentonville, Arkansas) were not warmly embraced by their German employees. Workers had no difficulty with company cheers such as “Who’s Number One? The Customer!” However, they balked at applying Wal- Mart’s “10-foot rule,” which required all employees to greet any customer within a 10-foot radius. This rule is not enforced among Wal- Mart employees in Germany because both employees and customers place a high value on their privacy when they are shopping. Thus, Wal- Mart had the good sense to realize that it would be counterproductive to allow its corporate culture to supersede the local German culture. Instead, Wal- Mart permitted a local variation of the corporate culture that was more compatible with local German culture. What is important to realize is that neither version of the corporate culture sacri- fices the overarching cultural principle that the “customer is number one!” Philippe d’Iribarne (2002) provides two detailed case studies (one of a combined Italian- French microelectronic company headquartered in Geneva and the other a French food company located in Mexico) showing how Western corporate cultures can promote supportive communities of highly motivated workers by building upon deep- seated local cultural values. In Morocco, Islamic norms and values were combined with Total Quality Management values to transform SGS- Thomson’s factory culture, whereas in Mexico, norms and values regarding family and the pursuit of a higher moral purpose were com- bined with the traditional corporate model of Danone of France. In both cases, it was not the imposition of a foreign corporate culture over local cultural values. Rather, organiza- tional excellence was achieved by integrating local cultural values and behavior patterns into the Western corporate culture. These two case studies demonstrate the fact that

Box 1.2 How do you define the culture of a start- up?

All corporations—whether large or small, well- established or start- ups—are cultural entities. Yet, there are a number of questions that corporate leaders need to ask themselves such as: Has our corporate culture been planned and structured in a purposeful, deliberate way, or did it just emerge by default? How aware are our employees about the nature of our corporate culture? Is our corporate culture helping us meet our goals and objectives, and if so, to what extent? Or, since we are a start- up company, how do we define and structure our start- up culture in such a way as to support our work better, improve our efficiency, make valuable contributions to our industry, and enable our workforce to maximize their personal satisfac- tion? According to Corey McAveeney (2013):

Each company has a unique way of instilling company values. For example, Boundless, a Boston- based provider of free digital textbooks, had a strong sense of their values from day one. The way Ariel Diaz, co- founder and CEO at Boundless saw it, was that the values should be something attainable for everyone on the team. He and Aaron White, a co- founder at Boundless, created a succinct way to communicate the values and make it fun. At team meetings Diaz presents a “Cultural Achievement Award” to employees who have exemplified one of the four company values, represented by: The Beast (the hardest worker), The Architect (the best strategist), Indiana Jones/Lara Croft (the dedicated adventurer looking for results), and The Most Interesting Person In the World (a well- rounded, funny, charismatic individual). Even as the team at Boundless expands, there is a clear understanding of the expectations and purpose.

Cultural anthropology and global business 25

cultural differences are not de facto obstacles to creating efficient production facilities. In both situations the company managers (1) took the time and energy to understand local cultural realities, and (2) were willing to adapt their management practices and corporate cultures to the local cultural context in Morocco and Mexico.

Cultural differences in business: challenges and opportunities

This book is written with the primary objective of integrating the insights and findings of cultural anthropology with the practice of global business. When focusing on the nature of cultural differences, we cannot avoid pointing out the many pitfalls awaiting the naïve (culturally uninformed) businessperson ready to engage the global marketplace. In fact, at times, the reader might be overwhelmed with the daunting number of cultural differences that can result in needless misunderstandings (and a lack of success) when marketing, negotiating, or managing abroad. The purpose of focusing on cultural differences is not to discourage the reader from entering the realm of global business, but rather to educate the reader to (1) understand the cultural features different from one’s own, (2) use that know- ledge to alter one’s own behaviors so as to meet one’s professional objectives more effect- ively, and (3) assist organizations and individuals in developing solutions to the cultural problems they encounter. Thus, the more knowledge we have about our culturally different business partners, the more likely we will avoid cross- cultural misunderstanding. We are not suggesting that we eliminate, or even reduce, the number of the cultural differences by having you either (1) give up your own culture, or (2) force your own culture upon others. Rather, it is important to recognize cultural differences, learn about them, and also understand that cultural differences provide opportunities for individual and organizational synergy. When people from two different cultures work cooperatively in an atmosphere of mutual under- standing and respect, the outcome can be more productive than either group working independently. For example, a manufacturer of cell phones may want to expand its markets into Africa. One effective strategy for obtaining a larger market share of cell phones is for the firm to create an ongoing dialogue between its international marketing department, its new product development department, and the local African sales representatives in cities such as Lagos, Nigeria, Nairobi, Kenya, and Dakar, Senegal. The local sales force knows the local needs, which professions can be served best by cell phones, which features are most important, and what people would be able to afford. These local salespeople would know that local fishermen would profit handsomely by having the capacity to contact various restaurants and fish markets via cell phone while they head back with their day’s catch. These fishermen would not need all of the “bells and whistles” found on many cell phones, but rather an inexpensive way to communicate to their customers while they are several miles out at sea. Once the local fishing industry has been identified as a potential new market, the R&D people can develop an inexpensive phone that would meet the needs of the fishermen. Thus by pooling their different areas of expertise, the company and the local African sales representatives can develop new products more effectively to expand the cell phone market. It is also important to understand that cultural differences can be used as assets rather than liabilities when MNCs form task- oriented teams based on cultural diversity. It has long been known that culturally diverse groups (provided that all members understand and

26 Cultural anthropology and global business

respect the cultural perspectives of one another) perform tasks better than culturally homogeneous groups. For example, in experiments conducted by Warren E. Watson and his colleagues (1993), socially and culturally diverse work groups outperformed more homogeneous ones when the tasks were open- ended and the goal was to generate as many creative solutions as possible. Thus, if managed successfully, cultural diversity within an organization can be an asset rather than a potential liability, that is, something that must be eliminated from the corporate structure as quickly as possible.

Cross- cultural scenarios

Read the following cross- cultural scenarios. In each mini- case study, a basic cultural con- flict occurs among the actors involved. Try to identify the source of the conflict and suggest how it could have been avoided or minimized. Then see how well your analyses compare to the explanations in Appendix A.

1–1 Bernice Caplan, purchaser for women’s apparel for a major New York department store, had just taken over the overseas accounts. Excited and anxious to make a good impression on her European counterparts, Bernice worked long, hard hours to provide information needed to close purchasing contracts in a timely manner. Stefan, one of her Dutch associates in Amsterdam, sent an urgent message on May 1 requiring information before the close of day on 6/5. Although Bernice thought it odd for the message to be marked URGENT for information needed over a month away, she squeezed the request into her already busy schedule. She was pleased when she had whipped together the information and was able to send it by May 10, three full weeks before the deadline. She then placed a telephone call to Stefan to make sure that he had received the fax and was met with an angry, hostile response. The department store not only lost the order at the agreed- upon cost, but the Dutch office also asked that Bernice be removed from their account.

Where did Bernice go wrong?

1–2 In what was considered a “hostile takeover,” a U.S. corporation purchased a regional wine- producing vineyard in Limoges, France, in a strategic maneuver to enter the European market. Frank Joseph, a human resource specialist, was sent to Limoges to smooth the ruffled feathers of the vineyard’s workers. Along with videos and propa- ganda on the merits of working for a Fortune 500 corporation, Frank also brought to Limoges a number of company logo items. In what was intended as a goodwill gesture, he presented the workers with T- shirts, ball caps, ink pens, and coffee cups to take home to their families. Over the next several weeks, Frank never saw any of the com- pany’s logo items being worn or used by the workers. Instead, the workers were uncommunicative toward him and at times even hostile.

Why was Frank treated in this manner?

1–3 A fertilizer manufacturer headquartered in Brussels decided to venture into the vast potential of third- world markets. The company sent a team of agricultural researchers into Rwanda to test soils, weather conditions, and topographical conditions to develop locally effective fertilizers. Once the research and manufacturing of these fertilizer products had been completed, one of the initial marketing strategies was to

Cultural anthropology and global business 27

distribute, free of charge, 100-pound bags of the fertilizer to selected rural areas. It was believed that those using the free fertilizer would be so impressed with the dra- matic increase in crop productivity that they would spread the word to their friends, relatives, and neighbors. Teams of salespeople went from hut to hut in those desig- nated areas, offering each male head of household a free bag of fertilizer along with an explanation of its capacity to increase crop output. Although the men were very polite, they all turned down the offer of free fertilizer. The marketing staff concluded that these local people were either uninterested in helping themselves grow more food and eat better, or so ignorant that they couldn’t understand the benefits of the new product.

What was ethnocentric about this conclusion?

Chapter 2

Lenses for understanding culture and cultural differences

Chapter objectives:

1 Understand various contrasting value systems, such as individual versus collective or egalitarian versus hierarchical, and how they influence the conduct of global business.

2 Distinguish between high context versus low context societies and how they affect the process of cross- cultural communication.

3 Describe the metaphorical analysis of cultural similarities and differences. 4 Analyze the effects of change on cultures in the twenty- first century.

Whether you are a manager engaged in implementing a new work process, an evaluator charged with examining the effectiveness of an intervention, or a market researcher seeking innovative ways of capturing new consumers, you will confront cultural issues in your work. As a manager, you may discover that certain groups within your home organ- ization are reluctant to adopt the new work process developed in Germany. In fact, you have heard people comment, “Over my dead body!” As an evaluator, you are worried that the intervention worked better with virtual workgroups rather than those that were located in the same facility. You know your boss will not be pleased with these results because this intervention was her initiative. As a market researcher, your career mobility and your organization’s long- term survival are dependent on figuring out how to attract younger female shoppers to your lingerie products, which compete head on with Victoria’s Secret. Oh, and you are supposed to do this when the economy is flat! There are cultural aspects to all of these issues. Businesspeople need ways of accessing the internal workings of culture and using those insights when problem solving. There are many ways of learning about culture—through direct experience, observation, comparison with other situations, discussions with cultural experts (e.g., the young female lingerie shoppers), case studies and research reports, artifacts—the list goes on and on. Of course, anthropologists do this work for a living and become quite adept at unlocking explana- tions for viewpoints, assumptions, beliefs, and behavior—even those occurring under con- ditions of rapid change. Nevertheless, it is possible for those with an open mind, an interest in people, a desire to learn, and a focus on addressing the issues to be quite suc- cessful. This chapter focuses on four lenses that are helpful in teasing out cultural insights in global business settings: contrasting values, context, metaphors, and change.

Lenses for understanding culture 29

Contrasting values

It is not unusual for anthropologists to speak of people from different cultures as having different sets of assumptions or different value systems. A value system represents what is expected or hoped for in a culture, not necessarily what actually occurs. Values deal with what is required or forbidden, what is judged to be good or bad or right or wrong. Thus, values represent the standards by which behavior is evaluated. If communication and understanding between people from different cultures is to be successful, each party must understand the value assumptions—or cultural starting points—of the other. Unfortu- nately, our own values, the result of cultural conditioning, are so much a part of our con- sciousness that we frequently fail to acknowledge their existence and consequently fail to understand that they may not be shared by people from other cultures. When that occurs, cross- cultural cues can be missed, communication can become short- circuited, and hostili- ties can be generated. To maximize our chances of understanding the cultural environ- ment of international business, it is imperative that we examine cultural values—theirs as well as our own. Any attempt to analyze values is bound to be a tricky business at best. Part of the diffi- culty stems from the inherent bias in analyzing one’s own culture (e.g., national, organiza- tional, occupational). Because we are all influenced to some degree by the experiences of our own culture, any attempt to describe that culture inevitably will be distorted. Equally vexing is the enormity of the task. Moreover, whenever we make statements about the nature of our culture, we are (or may be) implying that other cultures possess the opposite traits. For example, to say that people in the United States place a high value on the indi- vidual is to imply that other cultures—such as Tanzanians—place a higher value on the

Photo 2.1 Parades both celebrate and reinforce ethnic identity.

Source: by the authors.

30 Lenses for understanding culture

group. Similarly, to say that people who graduate from Princeton are really smart and creative can imply that other university graduates are not as sharp or talented. Such com- parative statements presuppose that we are dealing with unified, monolithic cultures. In actual fact, the many cultures of the world cannot be sorted out into neat and tidy cat- egories due to internal variation in demographics, attitudes, and belief systems, to name a few. The United States is a case in point. It has been labeled a “melting pot” though a more apt characterization might be a “salad bowl,” whereby the individual subcultures retain their own identity and integrity. While acknowledging the difficulties inherent in generalizing about values in such heterogeneous cultures as Tanzania and the United States, Princeton and a small public university, or Yahoo and Google, contrasting value patterns are both possible and valuable. Indeed, the dual processes of making generaliza- tions and comparisons are imperative if we are to enhance our understanding of other cul- tures as well as our own. A value- orientation approach for understanding cultural differences was developed by Florence Kluckhohn and Fred Strodtbeck and their colleagues in the 1950s. Their research, which took place in Zuni, Navajo, Spanish- American, Mormon, and Texan communities, has served as the foundation for much of the cross- cultural and international business research since then. This approach assumed that certain universal problems and conditions face people in all societies, and that there are only a limited number of solu- tions to these problems. Although all potential solutions to these universal problems are present in every society, one solution tends to be preferred by most members of a particular culture. As social scientists, Kluckhohn and her colleagues believed that these different value orientations could be operationalized and presented in a questionnaire format. Once sufficient numbers of questionnaires were administered in a particular culture, dominant value orientations could be identified. Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck (1961: 11) put forth five universal problems (posed as questions) for which all cultures must find solutions:

1 Human nature orientation: What is the character of innate human nature? Potential options include innately good, innately bad, or a combination of the two.

2 Man–nature orientation: What is the relation of man to nature? Potential options include mastery over nature, subjugation to nature, or harmony with nature.

3 Time orientation: What is the temporal focus of human life? Is time directed to the past, present, or future?

4 Activity orientation: What is the modality of human activity? Do people value an indi- vidual’s accomplishments or his or her innate personal traits?

5 Relational orientation: What is the modality of man’s relationship to other men? Is individualism more highly valued than commitments and obligations to the wider group such as family, neighborhood, or society?

Although published over a half century ago, the value orientations of Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck have relevance for international business. For example, a society that believes that humans are essentially good would tend to emphasize training and development pro- grams because workers are seen as changeable; societies that view humans as essentially evil, on the other hand, would emphasize recruiting the right workers for the right jobs because employees are not likely to change after being hired. In “doing societies,” which emphasize individual accomplishments, employees should be rewarded for maximizing their work, whereas in “being societies,” which emphasize personal characteristics and social relationships, employees should be rewarded for being fair- minded, thoughtful, and

Lenses for understanding culture 31

good team players. Or, in highly individualistic societies, hiring should be conducted on the basis of experience, past performance, competence, and education, whereas in more collectivist societies, it would be appropriate to consider the social relationship of the job candidate to others in the firm. Other scholars have built upon this value- orientations model. In their classic textbook, which essentially launched the eclectic field of intercultural communication, John Condon and Fathi Yousef (1975) added an additional 20 dimensions to Kluckhohn’s ori- ginal five by looking at such variables as gender (equality vs. male dominance), authority (democracy vs. authoritarianism), social mobility (high vs. low mobility), and formality (low vs. high levels of informality). Dutch social scientist Geert Hofstede (1980, 1991, 2001) derived five major dimensions of cultural values from his large- scale study of IBM, which employed people from all over the world. His study involved the use of large amounts of questionnaire data in 53 national cultures. Hofstede was able to rank these cul- tures along the following dimensions:

• individualism–collectivism (the degree to which individual vs. group interests prevail);

• uncertainty avoidance (the degree of tolerance of change and ambiguity); • power distance (the degree of inequality); • masculinity–femininity (the degree of differentiation in gender roles); • long- term vs. short- term orientation (an emphasis on the future compared to the past

and the present).

Based on organizational studies in Denmark and the Netherlands, Hofstede also discovered six dimensions associated with organizational culture (e.g., process oriented vs. results ori- ented, loose control vs. tight control) (Hofstede 1991, 2001). Many other researchers have examined values cross- culturally (Brake et al. 1995; Wilson and Dalton 1996). One of the more recent studies was carried out by Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) researchers who gathered data from managers representing 951 organizations in 62 national cultures. Their goal was to understand the relationship between culture and societal, organizational, and leadership effectiveness (House et al. 2004; Chhokar et al. 2007). They identified nine dimensions of national culture as well as six major leadership styles (e.g., performance oriented, team oriented, autonomous). The contrasting values approach provides one mechanism for understanding how cul- tures differ on a variety of key cultural attributes or dimensions. It is alternately known as dimensional, bipolar, or culture- general research. This approach entails an exploration of cross- cultural similarities and differences on key dimensions (e.g., individualism–collectiv- ism). Those dimensions are expressed as two poles along a continuum (e.g., from individu- alism to collectivism). Cultures fall somewhere along that continuum (e.g., the United States is more individualistic, while China is more collectivistic). The approach is also considered culture- general because comparisons can be made across a large number of cul- tures. The research design relies on survey questionnaires, scores, scales, and relative rank- ings, which are analyzed quantitatively. Key strengths of the bipolar, dimensional approach lie “in its clarity and consistency” and in “juxtaposing one culture against another to facilitate cross- cultural comparisons” (Fang 2005–06: 72). It is designed to help you understand the value preferences of people from different cultural groups. It enables you to see how your cultural values compare with other cultural values on a number of important dimensions. It also gives you a set of

32 Lenses for understanding culture

“hooks” on which you can hang (and better understand) the various cultural traits that you may encounter. This framework assumes that cross- cultural awareness can take place only when you view other cultural values in relation to your own. Because cultural values lie behind breakdowns in cross- cultural communication, such an approach can help you diagnose and, it is hoped, avoid potential miscommunications. We now explore four of these dimensions: the individual–collective, equality–hierarchy, change orientation, and time orientation.

The individual–collective dimension

All cultures must ask and answer the following question: To what extent should people pursue their own individual activities and agendas rather than contribute to the success and well- being of the larger group, such as family, neighborhood, clan, team, or company? Some national cultures such as the United States, Canada, Great Britain, and the Nether- lands, and organizational cultures such as General Motors and General Electric, place a high value on individualism. These cultures emphasize the worth and dignity of the indi- vidual over the group, independence rather than interdependence, and relatively few social obligations. Other national cultures, such as Guatemala, Japan, Taiwan, or an Israeli kibbutz, tend to emphasize the larger group. These cultures encourage people to put the interests of the group above their own, maintain strong ties and obligations to group members, and value long- term social relationships above short- term accomplishments. The individual–collective dimension can be summarized as follows:

Individual-oriented cultures Collective-oriented cultures

Individuals are major units of social perception

Groups are major units of social perception

Explain others’ behavior by personal traits Explain others’ behavior by group norms Success attributed to own ability Success attributed to help from group Self-defined as individual entity Self-defined in terms of group Know more about self than others Know more about others than self Achievement for one’s own sake Achievement for benefit of group Personal goals over group goals In-group goal over personal goals Value self-assuredness Value modesty Value autonomy and independence Value interdependence Fear dependence on others Fear ostracism Casual connections to many groups Strong connections to a few groups Few obligations to others Many obligations to others Confrontation is acceptable Harmony is expected Task completion is important Relationships are important

How individualism–collectivism plays out in individual- oriented cultures

• The ideal of the individual is deeply rooted in the social, political, and economic institutions of such societies as the United States and England. The individual is con- sidered to be the source of moral power and totally competent to assess the effects of his or her own actions, and is expected to be responsible for those actions. In the United States, the Bill of Rights protects people against infringement of their indi- vidual rights by the state, thus allowing them to express their ideas freely, practice

Lenses for understanding culture 33

whatever religion they choose, assemble freely, and generally control their own lives to as great a degree as possible.

• Family ties tend to be relatively unimportant. That is not to say that in the United States the family is unimportant in any absolute sense, for the family remains the primary group to which most Americans have their strongest loyalties. Nevertheless, when compared with other cultures, Americans divide their time and emotional energy between family and a wider variety of social groupings, including school, work- place, labor union, friends, place of worship, and a host of voluntary organizations. Moreover, the constant preoccupation with self has resulted in the truncation of extended family ties, reducing the notion of family to its smallest possible unit—the nuclear family.

• The concept of individualism is instilled from an early age in the United States by constant encouragement of children to become self- sufficient. Children are taught to make their own decisions, clarify their own values, form their own opinions, and solve their own problems.

• The aim of education is not to serve God, country, or family but to enable individuals to maximize their human potential—or in the words of the U.S. Army recruiting campaign, “Be all that you can be!”

• Individuals, not groups, are evaluated for the work they do and compensated accordingly.

Photo 2.2 Children are encouraged to make decisions for themselves in highly individual- istic societies.

Source: by the authors.

34 Lenses for understanding culture

How individualism–collectivism plays out in collective- oriented cultures

• People tend to identify or define themselves primarily as members of a group rather than as individuals. When asked “Who are you?” most Americans would give their name, profession, and where they live, probably in that order. When asked the same question in Swaziland or Kenya, for example, a person is likely to give his name, his father’s name, and his extended family (which may number in the hundreds of people).

• Property, such as land or livestock, is controlled by the larger group rather than being individually owned. Whereas Americans own property (to the extent that they have total control over it), people in collectivist societies have only limited rights and obligations to property that is ultimately controlled by the larger group.

• Basic life choices, such as who you will marry or what profession you will follow, are not made exclusively, or even primarily, by the individual. For example, marriages in some parts of the world are arranged by parents and other influential members of the two family groups involved.

• Collectivist societies have a strong sense of responsibility to the group (e.g., country, family, company). In Asian cultures, if an individual does not give his or her best effort, it is seen as letting down the entire group; in other words, both success and failure are “team affairs.”

Implications for business within collectivist cultures

1 In highly individualistic societies such as the United States, it makes sense to hold out incentives to individuals as a way of motivating them. But in collectivist cultures, such as Japan, one’s primary responsibility is to one’s work group, not one’s own professional advancement. Thus, to single out an individual member of a Japanese work team for praise is likely to embarrass the individual and demoralize the others on the team.

2 Be aware of the need to build long- term relationships. If building long- term relation- ships is the only way to do business with people in collectivist societies, then Ameri- cans will need to spend time and energy nurturing these relationships.

3 Be careful about using the pronoun I. Often Americans use the pronoun I much more frequently than they use the word we. People from collectivist societies sometimes get the impression that Americans are “loose cannons” (John Wayne types, shooting from the hip) and are speaking for themselves rather than the organizations they represent.

4 Do not discount family, tribal, or national loyalties in other cultures, for they may be much stronger than your own.

5 Use third parties to make contacts and introductions. 6 Be aware that while nepotism is generally frowned upon in individualistic societies, it

may be considered both functional and ethical in collectivist societies. 7 Communicate respect for the wider good (e.g., environment, whole society) rather

than simply the good of the organization. Collectivist cultures tend to be more pub- licly conscious.

8 Emphasize your own sense of loyalty and that of your company, because loyalty and the meeting of obligations are important in collectivist cultures.

Lenses for understanding culture 35

Box 2.1 Has individualism been taken too far in twenty- first century America?

Of the many cultures found in the world today, it would be difficult to find one that would be any closer to the individual polarity than the United States. In fact, individualism is so embedded in the American psyche that it is central to one’s self- perception, and indeed, is frequently invoked to distinguish U.S. society from more collectivist European societies. The strong strain of American individualism has its roots in early American history. American pioneers could survive the early years on the frontier only if they relied on their own individual skills, endurance, and resourcefulness. Yet from the time of the first arrivals in the New World, settlers neither survived in a vacuum, nor faced all of the hardships by them- selves. Rather they lived for centuries in communities which, although relatively small at first, grew increasingly larger, more complex, and more interrelated over the country’s history as a colony and then as a nation. By the mid- twentieth century the typical American adult, imbued with a strong sense of individualism, had nevertheless been embedded in a network of social entities, including family, neighborhood, schools, churches, sports clubs, civic organizations, hobby groups, labor unions, political support groups, and the nation- state itself. After World War II, however, America’s “community mindset” became less robust and moved toward a more individualistic/independent mindset. With the many post- WWII opportunities for living the “American dream,” it was thought that individuals should be liberated from many of the constraining social obligations so they could live as they choose and actualize their full potential both professionally and person- ally. For example, entrepreneurs wanted to be freed from annoying government regulations; gun owners soon defined any type of regulations placed on the sale of guns as an ipso facto violation of their Second Amendment rights; religious adherents wanted to be free to interject their per- sonal interpretations of the Bible into public policy discussions; some state governments wanted to be free to run all of their elections as they saw fit without interference with the Federal Justice Department; and financial institutions wanted to be free to become “too big to fail.” For the past six- plus decades Americans’ real social relationships have diminished while they pursued their own dreams for themselves and their immediate family members. While Americans may have hundreds of friends on Facebook, more and more Americans in the twenty- first century report that they don’t have close personal friends to confide in and that they are less likely to know the names of their neighbors. And, since the 1960s Americans have increasingly associated themselves with people like themselves—i.e., sharing similar class interests, political ideology, theology, language, and ethnicity. During the first half of the twentieth century the fact that people participated in a broad set of “communities” (such as the PTA, Kiwanis Club, labor unions, and volunteer fire departments) meant that they were working and interacting with a much wider slice of U.S. society. You might be sitting next to a woman at the local PTA meeting with political opinions that you abhor, but you still have to work together, eyeball- to-eyeball and week after week, on a school fundraising project and actually get something accomplished. With the concentration of social relationships into smaller and more homogeneous com- munities—particularly during the twenty- first century—some of the features of a more collectivist- collaborative orientation are being ignored or even demonized, and consequently, American society is becoming more fragmented into isolated interest groups. Each group has its own narrow set of issues which it vehemently advocates in the political arena. And, at the same time, because of diminishing contact with groups other than one’s own, its positions become hardened while compromise and fact- based civil discourse becomes a sign of weak- ness or blasphemy. Some Americans think that this recent shift from individualism to “super- individualism” has been a major contributor of why the governmental decision- making process in the U.S. has become dysfunctional. WHAT DO YOU THINK?

36 Lenses for understanding culture

The equality–hierarchy dimension

The equality–hierarchy dimension, which is also referred to as power distance, raises the following question: How should people with different levels of power, prestige, and status interact with one another—equally or unequally? Those national cultures that emphasize the equality polarity such as Canada, Sweden, Australia, and the United States, or organ- izational cultures such as industrial research labs, tend to minimize power and status differ- ences. Power tends to be more diffused, people in higher positions can be questioned, and subordinates want their superiors to consult with them and be accessible. This egalitarian orientation leads to relatively informal relations between people of high and low status, a general disregard of protocol, and a high level of delegation of authority. At the other end of the continuum—represented by such countries as Malaysia, Panama, and the Philip- pines, or subcultures such as airline pilots or the military—people expect that status and power hierarchies will be maintained. In fact, hierarchical inequalities are seen as essential for the culture’s well- being because they satisfy a need for structure, order, and security.

Box 2.2 A collective approach for small business entrepreneurs

Collectivism can be harnessed to improve business outcomes. Microfinance has been a suc- cessful strategy assisting low- income entrepreneurs—particularly in developing markets—to launch their own businesses (Helms 2006). The entrepreneur typically receives a small loan of a couple hundred dollars which pays for equipment, materials, and other start- up costs. Many institutions and organizations provide microfinance including the World Bank Group, foundations, private funds, banks, and commercial investors. One model of microfinance uses foundation support to create a rotating loan belonging to the community, an approach that is aligned with collectivist traditions in the Andes. The Chijnaya Foundation, named for an Altiplano community of 800 in southern Peru (Bolton 2010), helps communities in the highlands work on projects and business ventures that lead to long- term sustainability and improved “cultural and economic well- being” (www.chijnaya- foundation.org/economic- development/microlending, accessed May 18, 2016). The first loans were made in 2006 for about $250 per household to build animal shelters to protect cattle from the harsh weather. “The economy of Chijnaya is based on cheese. The shelters increase the productivity of milk from the cattle. The milk is processed into cheese in the communally owned cheese factory,” stated anthropologist Ralph Bolton, President and CEO. Fifty house- holds received the micro loans, purchased the building materials together (to get a better rate), built the shelters, and paid back the loans with 2 percent interest at the end of the year. Bolton commented, “That first group increased their cash income by 40 percent in one year,” and had a 100 percent repayment rate. Once all households in the village had built their shel- ters and repaid their loans, the loan fund was put to use for other community projects. The Chijnaya Foundation, with its near perfect repayment rate over the past decade, now works in 25 altiplano communities and has been highly successful for several reasons. First, the foundation provides funding to an association within the community, rather than to individuals. Bolton pointed out, “We do this as a group enterprise.” Indeed, the funding belongs to the association. Second, each recipient provides documentation and signs for the loan. Third, both current recipients and next- in-line recipients apply pressure, as necessary, to ensure that the loans are repaid so that future funding is available. Finally, there is strong interest within the community to continue working with the foundation since the recipients have improved their income stream as a result of the loans.

Lenses for understanding culture 37

People at the higher levels of the hierarchy are treated with great deference by those lower down the ladder. People in authority should not step out of their privileged roles, bosses should not be questioned, and there is little or no delegation of authority. This dimension can be represented in the following way:

Egalitarian cultures Hierarchical cultures

Low-status differences High-status differences Power diffused to many people Power concentrated with few people Delegation of authority Little delegation of authority Informal social relations Formality in social relations Minimum deference for superiors Maximum deference for superiors Superior can be questioned Superior cannot be questioned Little respect for old age Great respect for old age Mechanisms to redress grievances No mechanism to redress grievances

Alfons Trompenaars and Charles Hampden- Turner (1993) represent this dimension by using a series of triangles illustrating varying degrees of social distance. Hierarchical soci- eties are represented by tall triangles (with a small base and relatively long sides) in which the distance between those at the top and those at the bottom is considerable. More egal- itarian societies, on the other hand, are represented by very flat triangles in which there is relatively little social distance among the various levels of the society.

How equality–hierarchy plays out in egalitarian cultures

• Downplaying status differences, an important theme running through American culture, has its roots in our nation’s early history. By moving onto the American fron- tier, the early settlers gave up much of the social structure’s formalities and rigidities found in Europe. The hard work required for survival on the frontier was hardly con- ducive to the preservation of pomp and circumstance. Hard work also made social mobility possible.

• Early Americans developed much fewer formal customs of dress, speaking, etiquette, and interpersonal relationships than found among their European ancestors. To a large extent, this informality and reticence to “stand on ceremony” persists to the present time, institutionalized in phrases such as “dress casual” or “casual Fridays.”

• Americans assume that informality is a prerequisite for sincerity. They become uncomfortable when faced with the type of ceremony, tradition, and formalized social rules found more widely throughout Europe. Moreover, they are likely to feel uneasy when others treat them with too much deference.

• Authority figures—such as clergy, professors, and supervisors—are often called by their first names rather than their official title and last name.

• In many egalitarian societies, informality (for example, de- emphasizing status differ- ences) is reflected in the structure of everyday language. The distinction between the formal and informal you, found in such languages as German and French, requires speakers to make linguistic choices that reflect the social status and role of the people being addressed. In contrast, the English language makes no such distinctions.

• Authority figures, such as supervisors or college professors, are allowed to admit that they don’t have all the answers. They will not lose respect because they admit fallibility.

38 Lenses for understanding culture

How equality–hierarchy plays out in hierarchical cultures

• Upper- status people are expected to maintain their high status and prestige at all costs. Don’t expect to see Queen Elizabeth of England wearing Levi’s in public or the King of Malaysia running through Kuala Lumpur in his jogging outfit.

• Languages are structured in such a way as to ensure that one’s relative status is reflected in the very construction of a sentence.

• High- status people are expected to be addressed by their formal title followed by the last name (“Hello, Dr. Evans”) rather than the first name (“Yo, Stan”).

• Children defer to their parents, younger defers to older, women defer to men, employees defer to employers, students defer to teachers, sellers defer to buyers, and everyone defers to the head of state.

• Professors (or highly respected authorities) would give a false answer rather than admit they don’t know.

• Social rank in hierarchical organizations is displayed in a number of subtle ways, including size of office and presence of an administrative and/or technical assistant.

Implications for business within hierarchical cultures

1 In egalitarian cultures such as the United States, it is expected that high- status people will play down their superior rank. In hierarchical cultures, people need to know from the outset what your status is so that they will know how to interact with you in an appropriate fashion. Thus, communicate your status, authority, credentials, expertise, and the like, but without arrogance or boasting.

2 The decision- making process takes longer in egalitarian cultures where all levels are asked for input. In hierarchical cultures, decisions are made more rapidly because some measure of consensus is not expected from all levels.

3 It is not particularly wise or productive for a manager from an egalitarian culture to play down the organizational hierarchies in other countries. The boss is the boss and should be treated as such.

4 A boss does not appreciate having his or her decisions or judgments called into ques- tion. You exercise your democratic inclinations at your own peril.

5 Pay attention to different levels of social status when dealing with people. Don’t expect that lower- status people in your organization will be able to negotiate or conduct business with those of higher status.

6 Don’t assume that all people have equal access to information. 7 Use high- status individuals (third parties) as your agents, contacts, and intermediaries. 8 Expect that there will be a greater level of tension in everyday interactions between

high- and low- status people (or between young and old or between men and women). 9 Realize that subordinates expect to be closely supervised, will smile more frequently,

and will repress negative emotions.

The change orientation dimension

This change orientation dimension incorporates a mix of elements related to uncertainty, ambiguity, risk, structure, flexibility, and change. It has been discussed widely in the liter- ature, albeit from different perspectives and by using different sets of terms. Condon and Yousef (1975: 99–102) discuss significant components of the dimension under the heading

Lenses for understanding culture 39

Box 2.3 “Chipping” away at gender- based hierarchies

Gender roles affect other cultural traditions in business and leisure such as golf. Nicole Laflamme, an attorney in Québec, often played golf with clients and colleagues. One weekday afternoon after a tournament, she and her three male colleagues sat down in the lounge of a private golf club to have a drink. The manager of the club appeared.

Manager: “What are you doing, Madame?” Laflamme: “What do you mean?” Manager: “You’re not allowed in this room.” Laflamme: “I’m part of a tournament. I’m with my colleagues.

What do you mean?” Manager: “Well, you are a woman.”

Laflamme had broken the rules; she had inadvertently entered the male- only lounge. Golf clubs, like many other institutions, had rules based on the presumption that men worked outside the home (while women did not), and that men needed special areas within the club should they want to build or solidify business relationships or conduct business. Club mem- bership was held by the male head of household. In the early 1990s, a ladies’ golf champion at another club sought legal help from Laflamme. This client faced similar issues, including where she was allowed to socialize in the club (due to her gender) and restricted tee times (i.e., not Wednesdays or early Saturday mornings when male members had priority). The client reported feeling like a “second- class citizen.” When her club decided to offer its wives full membership, this client purchased a share, only to discover that she would also have to pay an entrance fee of $30K Canadian. The client’s response was “No way!” given her many years of membership (through her husband), and her success in winning numerous prizes and trophies for the club. (Her elder son would not be subjected to the entrance fee if he were to become a full member.) She was told, “This is a private club. If you don’t like the rules, you don’t have to stay” (Nicole Laflamme, personal communication). Unlike in the United States or Great Britain, saying it was a private club did not halt the dispute (see, for example, Crouse 2011). Laflamme and the ladies’ golf champion took the case to the newly formed Québec Human Rights Tribunal. While the tribunal did not have legal authority to enforce its decisions, it had the ability to declare an action discriminatory, and set damages. The defense, replete with economic arguments, consisted of attorneys who were senior members of the same club as Laflamme’s client. Laflamme won. With victory in hand, she turned her attention to her own golf club. It was only after the airing of a television documentary exposing her club’s discriminatory practices that its membership rules changed (Gravel 1994). Other clubs followed over the better part of a decade so that by the early 2000s, golf clubs in Québec had instituted gender- neutral membership policies. Hierarchies can and do change—in this case in response to a confluence of factors including a significant narrowing of the gap between men and women in educational attainment and labor force participation rates, and changing views of male and female roles. As the status of women in Québec changed, so too did the gender hierarchy within the golf clubs, which in turn affected the strong relationship between business and golf and hierarchies in the business world generally.

40 Lenses for understanding culture

of “mutability”; Brake and colleagues (1995: 68–69) use the “order versus flexibility” dichotomy as part of their model; and Wilson and Dalton (1996: 15–17) use the terms “dynamic” and “stable.” Hofstede (1980, 1991, 2001) uses the phrase “uncertainty avoid- ance” to refer to the lack of tolerance for ambiguity and the need for formal rules and high- level organizational structure. For him, this dimension indicates the extent to which a culture conditions its members to feel either comfortable or uncomfortable in unstruc- tured, ambiguous, and unpredictable situations. We prefer the label change embracing– change fearing because it emphasizes the notion of change and removes the double negative (low to high uncertainty avoidance). Cultures differ in the degree to which they can tolerate ambiguity, cope with uncertain- ties, and adapt to the future. Change- embracing cultures (i.e., low uncertainty avoidance) tend to be more tolerant of unorthodox opinions, are comfortable with fewer rules and simpler organizational structures, and are more relativistic in their beliefs, philosophies, and religions. National culture examples include Singapore, Denmark, Hong Kong, and the United States, while start- ups, investment banks, Internet companies, and consulting businesses represent organizational- culture examples. Change- fearing cultures (i.e., high uncertainty avoidance) are at the other end of the continuum. They try to minimize unstructured situations as much as possible by (1) maintaining strict laws and regulations, (2) providing safety and security measures, (3) adhering to absolute truths, and (4) reject- ing unorthodox ideas. Greece, Portugal, and Japan are illustrative national- culture exam- ples, along with public sector bureaucracies and large corporations. Critical components of this dimension include:

Change-embracing cultures Change-fearing cultures

Willingness to live day-by-day Greater anxiety about the future Less emotional resistance to change More emotional resistance to change More risk taking Less risk taking Willingness to change employer Tendency to stay with same employer Hope for success Fear of failure Little loyalty to employer/partners Considerable loyalty to employer/partners Sometimes rules can be broken Rules should not be broken Conflict is natural and to be expected Conflict is undesirable Initiative of subordinates encouraged Initiative of subordinates discouraged Differences are tolerated Differences are considered dangerous Low stress High stress Little emotional expression Emotional expression is acceptable Superordinates may say “I don’t know” Superordinates have all the answers Less formal organizational structures Formal organizational structures

There is considerable variability across cultures in terms of the extent to which people feel that behavior should follow formal rules. In change- fearing cultures, behavior is rigidly prescribed, either with written laws or unwritten social codes. Even if individuals within such cultures occasionally break the rules, they generally believe that it is a good thing that the rules exist. In short, people feel anxious in the absence of formal regulations. At the other polarity, change- embracing cultures also have rules and regulations, but they are con- sidered more of a convenience than an absolute moral imperative. People in such cultures can live comfortably without strict conformity to social rules and, in fact, often appreciate their freedom to “do their own thing.” In terms of engaging in negotiations, people from

Lenses for understanding culture 41

change- fearing cultures are not very good negotiators because the outcome of the negoti- ations is never predictable. People from change- embracing cultures are much more comfort- able in negotiating situations in which the outcome is not a foregone conclusion. Anthropologist Kathleen Gregory- Huddleston was interested in how technical profes- sionals in the computer industry conceptualized job opportunities and career paths in Cali- fornia’s Silicon Valley. She focused on one particular aspect of this cultural system—computer firm growth from “start- up” through maturity. Start- ups represent a change- embracing culture. Gregory- Huddleston found that start- ups were intense entre- preneurial work environments where everyone was “on critical path” (1994: 127) and focused on a single purpose. Team spirit was high, as was the risk of failure. Impromptu parties marked the achievement of internal goals and stock options were an important incentive. By contrast, mature firms are more likely to be at the change- fearing end of the continuum. In her study, Gregory- Huddleston found that they exhibited a greater degree of formality. Their organizational structure was “more clearly defined, complex, and stable” (1994: 127) compared with the start- ups that did not even have a Personnel Department. Mature firms did not support or reward entrepreneurial behavior to the same extent as the start- ups. Indeed, they were considered more secure and bureaucratic and had little imme- diate risk of failure. Gregory- Huddleston also described the conflict that emerged between “oldtimers” (or “pioneers”) and “newcomers” (or “settlers”) as computer start- ups grew and matured. The organizational culture underwent a shift following an Initial Public Offering. Oldtimers reacted negatively to the increasing number of new company policies, red tape around salary, hiring, project scheduling (not on the weekends), and product maintenance (rather than under- the-gun innovations). One oldtimer commented, “It keeps getting duller and duller around here” while a newcomer acknowledged that newcomers were characterized as “plod[ding] along like Clydesdale engineers” (1994: 129). Similarly, newcomers were frustrated by oldtimers’ expectations of working overtime and “setting impossibly short targets for [product] release” (1994: 129). She recommended ways of reducing this kind of subcultural conflict:

• Large, established firms can encourage entrepreneurial activity through incentives (e.g., profit sharing, reduction of red tape).

• Large firms can develop creative strategies for preserving the informality of start- ups. • Oldtimers can try to accommodate the values and requirements of operating large

firms, or simply exit them. • Efforts can be made by all parties to create a new organizational culture through

common experience. • Entrepreneurs can move out of established firms into new ventures that become part

of the wider industrial base.

The culture embracing–culture fearing change dimension has particular relevance for the fast- paced global economy of the twenty- first century. The increasing use of the Internet is radically changing the way we do business today. If the world’s budding entrepreneurs are to be successful in today’s electronic business culture, they will have to make decisions quickly, and not always with all the information at their fingertips. In other words, they will need to learn how to do business in an environment filled with uncertainty and risks. Entrepreneurs in such change- fearing cultures as Greece or Portugal are likely to be at a marked disadvantage when competing in the new economy with those from

42 Lenses for understanding culture

change- embracing cultures such as the United States where businesspeople see value in trying but failing, because even in failure, there is something to be learned. A failed Amer- ican business person filing for bankruptcy, although hardly a hero, is at least seen as an entrepreneurial risk taker. By contrast, in change- fearing cultures, filing for bankruptcy is a sign of a flawed character. Let’s take a look at the relationship between this dimension and workplace attitudes and behavior.

How orientations to change play out in change- embracing cultures

• Employees/partners are willing to have their pension funds invested in the stock market rather than in a low- interest-bearing money market account.

• Employees/partners are more willing to experiment with new techniques and procedures.

• Employees/partners are not as threatened by workers from other countries as are those from change- fearing cultures.

• Employees/partners are better able to function in meetings with a loose agenda. • Employees/partners have relatively little loyalty to employers because they do not

depend on the company for security.

Photo 2.3 Entrepreneurial start-up businesses, such as the many housed in the Tech Town area of Detroit, Michigan in the U.S., require initiative, creativity, hard work, measured risk taking, and perseverance.

Source: by the authors.

Lenses for understanding culture 43

• Employees/partners have a preference for a broad set of guidelines rather than a formal set of rules and regulations.

• Bosses, professors, and other authority figures are not reluctant to say, “I don’t know the answer to that question.” (But, they will take the initiative to find out the answer.)

• Employees/partners are more likely to function effectively in work teams. • Leaders are more likely to be innovative, creative, and approachable.

How orientations to change play out in change- fearing cultures

• Employees/partners would prefer to keep their pension funds in a safe, low- interest- bearing account (or under the mattress).

• Employees/partners are less likely to try something new because the results might be highly unpredictable.

• Employees/partners are likely to resist the hiring of immigrants or others seen to be “outsiders.”

• People feel much more secure with a highly structured set of policies, rules, and regu- lations. Moreover, they have little tolerance for bending the rules under any circumstances.

• Employees/partners generally have a high level of loyalty to their employers and expect the same in return. Barring significant economic and/or political turmoil, relat- ively little job turnover will occur.

• Fewer members of the workforce are willing to travel abroad for overseas assignments. • Employees/partners prefer a manager whom they perceive to be competent and whose

authority cannot be questioned. • Employees/partners are not always comfortable working in problem- solving teams. • Leaders are not likely to be innovative or approachable.

Implications for business within change- fearing cultures

1 Build into your proposals and decisions as much predictability about the future as pos- sible, so as to minimize any anxiety.

2 Anticipate and reward your employees/partners for their loyalty to the organization or venture.

3 Make modest proposals for change, not radical ones. 4 Be careful not to appoint or recommend managers who are too close to the age of

most individuals in the organization or venture. 5 Provide structured work experiences that are likely to produce successful outcomes to

help overcome the inherent fear of failure. 6 Make certain that organizational and partnership guidelines (rules/regulations) are in

place, explicitly stated, and followed. 7 Avoid being too unorthodox in your opinions and recommendations. 8 Expect people to be highly rigid during negotiations. Whatever proposal you put on

the negotiating table should contain built- in protections that will make the future somewhat more predictable.

9 Do not have unrealistic expectations about your employees/partners’ personal initi- ative, creativity, or ability/willingness to work in teams.

10 Be aware of the fact that most people are not likely to appreciate a manager who dele- gates authority.

44 Lenses for understanding culture

The time orientation dimension

A major component of any constellation of values is how a particular culture deals with time. We consider this time dimension from four specific perspectives:

1 The importance of a precise reckoning of time. 2 The degree to which a culture uses sequential or synchronized time. 3 Whether a culture is past-, present-, or future- oriented. 4 The busyness factor.

Precise versus loose reckoning of time

For those cultures that reckon time precisely, such as Switzerland and the United States, time is seen as a tangible commodity that must be used efficiently. To ensure this, people are expected to make schedules, establish timetables, and meet deadlines. Much like money, time can be saved, spent, or wasted. In the United States, where punctuality is highly valued, the relationship between time and money is summed up in the expression “Time is money.” At the opposite end of the spectrum, in such places as the Middle East and South America, people take a looser, more relaxed approach to time. Schedules and deadlines are seen more as expressions of intent rather than obligations. Rather than react- ing to the arbitrary positions of the hands on a clock, people are more likely to respond to social relationships that are occurring in the present. People from cultures with relaxed notions of time see those who deal with time very precisely as being rude because they are willing to cut off social relationships for the sake of keeping their next appointment. The time dimension can be represented in the following way:

Precise reckoning of time cultures Loose reckoning of time cultures

Punctuality Little punctuality Rigid schedules Loose schedules Time is scarce/limited Time is plentiful “Time is money” Social relationships

Even though people from most cultures understand the meaning of clock time (hours, minutes, and seconds), each culture has its own vocabulary of time and its own pace of life. With increased business relations between the United States and Mexico, many U.S. businesspeople are becoming keenly aware of the differences in how these two cultures deal with time. The “mañana syndrome is basic to Mexican business” (Jessup and Jessup 1993: 34). Jeff Lewis has spent most of his life in Mexico—growing up there in an expatri- ate family, and now raising his own family there. He states, “I often tell newly arrived for- eigners [to Mexico] that while it literally means tomorrow, it actually means NOT TODAY.” He gives the following simple example: “When calling the cable company for a service call, the answer I got was that they would send a technician mañana. The techni- cian did not arrive the next day, but rather three days later.” Day- to-day working situ- ations require great patience since there is less attention to deadlines. Lewis offers an example that has a direct impact on job performance:

On a number of occasions, I would request information from co- workers and subordi- nates in order to prepare a report for upper management. It would be clear that I

Photo 2.4 Most Americans tend to take time very seriously.

Source: Blend Images/Alamy Stock Photo.

46 Lenses for understanding culture

needed the information by 9:00 a.m. on a particular day. Often the information requested would not arrive by the appointed hour, but rather at the end of the same day, causing me to have to spend late hours preparing the final report.

Lewis also points out that the degree of the “mañana syndrome” varies geographically. “The northern part of the country is much more U.S. in its focus, its way of doing busi- ness, and its adherence to schedules and deadlines. As you move farther south, this way of doing business becomes much less prevalent.” Many cultures tend toward precise reckoning of time or loose reckoning of time. India is interesting because punctuality and rigidity of schedules are largely “situational, fluid, and player dependent” according to anthropologist Anulekha Roy. Let’s say that you were given a 10:00 a.m. appointment by an accountant at an Indian bank. How long you wait for that appointment is a function of the type of bank, whether the accountant is tied up with another matter, the age of the accountant, the accountant’s perception of your role, and your nationality, among other factors. In other words, you could experience an on- time appointment under one set of circumstances, and a lengthy wait on a different occa- sion. In the event that the accountant is occupied when you arrive, “Be prepared to accept the fact that it will take time,” warns Roy. It is also possible to have a less timely appoint- ment if you are dealing with a government bank rather than a private bank, if you get an older accountant rather than a younger one, if you requested the meeting as an individual rather than as a “company’s representative,” or if you are Indian rather than a Westerner. Should you find yourself experiencing an unexpectedly long delay, Roy suggests, “This is a negotiated situation and you can push.” She advises letting the accountant know your time constraints beyond which you will need to reschedule.

Sequential versus synchronized time

In some respects, time speaks more plainly than words, for time conveys powerful mes- sages about how people relate to the world and to each other. Cultures also tend to do things sequentially (one thing at a time) or synchronically (a number of things at the same time). This dichotomy between sequentially and synchronically oriented societies uses terms suggested by Trompenaars and Hampden- Turner (1998: 126–128). However, others have used different terminologies to refer to the same phenomenon. For example, Brake and colleagues (1995: 50–51) use the terms single focus and multifocus, whereas years earlier anthropologist Edward Hall (1976: 14–18) spoke of monochronic time (M- time) and polychronic time (P- time). The person from a sequential, or M- time, culture conceives of time as a straight, dotted line with regular spacing. Tasks are routinely accomplished one at a time, meetings have highly structured agendas, and schedules are rigidly followed. Because everything has its own time and place for the sequential thinker, any changes in the normal sequence are likely to produce anxiety. In such sequentially oriented societies as Great Britain, the United States, and the Netherlands, one should never jump ahead of others waiting in line. According to Trompenaars and Hampden- Turner:

In the Netherlands you could be the Queen, but if you are in a butcher’s shop with number 46 and you step up for service when number 12 is called, you are still in deep trouble … [after all] order is order.

(1998: 126)

Lenses for understanding culture 47

Those people in sequentially oriented societies would argue that proceeding in a straight line is reasonable because it is orderly, efficient, and involves a minimum of effort. However, this type of straight- line thinking may not always be the best way of doing some- thing, because it is blind to certain efficiencies of shared activities and interconnections. Sometimes juggling a number of different tasks at the same time may in fact be the most time efficient. Continuing with the butcher shop analogy, Trompenaars and Hampden- Turner cite the example of the shop in Italy (a more synchronically oriented society) where the butcher unwraps and slices an order of salami for one customer and then yells out, “Anyone want salami before I rewrap it?” Even though each customer is not served in order, the whole process is more efficient because it involves far less unwrapping and rewrapping of the various types of meat. Thus, the person from a synchronically oriented society (P- time) conducts a number of activities in parallel, without being thrown off his or her rhythm. By way of contrast, those people that are sequentially oriented (M- time) envision a crucial path from which they do not want to deviate. Both approaches to time are usually so well ingrained in people that a person of one style will have difficulty when interacting with a person accustomed to the opposite style. To illustrate, a New Yorker is likely to think a salesclerk in Buenos Aires is extraordinarily rude when she is writing up his sales order while talking on the phone, drinking a diet cola, and flirting with another customer. Someone from a synchronically oriented society, however, will think that his American colleague (who is talking on the phone) is rude because the American does not greet him when entering his office, for it is considered a serious slight not to be greeted even while still talking on the phone. The differences between those who are sequentially oriented (M- time) and synchronically oriented (P- time) can be summarized as follows:

Sequentially oriented cultures Synchronically oriented cultures

One task at a time Multiple tasks at a time Concentration on task Easily distracted Schedules taken very seriously Plans change often and easily Many short-term relationships Long-term social relationships Time is a threat Time is a friend

Past, present, and future orientations

A third aspect of the time dimension concerns the extent to which people focus on the past, the present, or the future. To be certain, all three alternatives must be recognized, but as Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck (1961) argued, one time orientation is likely to predom- inate. Past- oriented societies regard previous experience and events as the most important and, in fact, use the past as a guide to the present. Traditional wisdom that has been passed down from previous generations is given a primary emphasis. Because the elders are the link with the past, they are afforded the highest level of deference in the present. Events in such societies are seen as circular or recurring. Consequently, the tried- and-true solu- tions to problems are the ones most likely applied to present- day problems. In such cul- tures, the leaders are expected to carry the vision of the past into the present and future. Present- oriented societies tend to emphasize spontaneity, immediacy, and experiencing each moment to its fullest. According to this perspective, people do not do things because they reflect a glorious past or will bring about some gain in the future. Rather, people do

48 Lenses for understanding culture

things because of the inherent pleasure they will derive in the here and now. This per- spective on time can be summed up in the adage “Take care of today, and tomorrow will take care of itself.” Because people with a present orientation typically believe that their lives are controlled by external forces (such as fate or luck), they have developed a number of ways of appreciating the simple pleasures of daily activities. Business organizations in such present- oriented societies formulate short- term plans, allocate resources based on present demands, and train their personnel to meet current goals. People from future- oriented societies believe that it is far more important to trade off short- term gains in the present for more long- term benefits in the future. One does not engage in activities today for the sole reason of benefiting from the immediate rewards, but rather from the potentially greater benefits that will be realized in the future. For example, rather than buying a caramel macchiato from Starbucks every day, you could put your money in a savings account and buy an iPad at the end of the year and have money left over for lots of apps and iTunes. In the event of premature death, future- oriented parents are willing to pay life insurance premiums today so that their dependent children are pro- tected from financial catastrophe. People from the United States, Canada, and a number of European countries believe that they have a good deal of control over their lives and can to some degree influence the course of future events. Business organizations in those cultures plan work and resources to meet long- term goals that will be directed to future needs. They may also be in a hurry to get things done so that they can move on and tackle other things.

Box 2.4 How fast should the clock move?

Americans get impatient for change. In 1992, Poland, like other countries in Eastern Europe, was moving to market economic systems with the help of international agencies. To privatize its housing system, it received a $350 million loan; anthropologist Ruth Sando and her colleagues at Fannie Mae (a U.S. government enterprise backing U.S. mortgages) were brought in to provide technical expertise. The complexities were enormous: provide the Poles with a techni- cal knowledge of banking, set up a financing structure for them, help them learn how to handle risk associated with mortgage lending, train the bank staff—in short, engage in institution build- ing. If Fannie Mae was not successful, hundreds of millions of dollars would be at risk. Sando framed the problem in this way: “Americans look at the task, develop a timeline, and get to work” (Ruth Sando, personal communication). Sando’s boss ended her speech at the start of the assignment in Poland with the Nike slogan—“Just do it!”—a phrase consist- ent with the economic “shock therapy” approach developed by U.S. economic advisors guiding the Polish government on its path to capitalism. Yet, a fundamental cultural difficulty revolved around the concept of time—particularly in planning initiatives. The project plan devised by the Americans was overly ambitious in that it “didn’t include time for difficulties on the ground,” stated Sando. Americans are “very action- oriented and our business organiza- tions do not put a value on the planning process … [which] can be a real weakness in Ameri- can business at home as well as abroad.” There had been little planning taking into account the country’s political instability, the hyperinflation, or the simple fact that there were no laws on the books around land ownership and transfer. “We were not naïve about how hard it would be, but [about] how long it would take,” she recalled. Sando believed that if there had been local input during the planning process, and if the plans had taken into account all the variables involved, the project goals and timeline would have been more realistic. It took years for the project to be considered a success, far longer than originally planned.

Lenses for understanding culture 49

The American view of the future—which, it is believed, can be controlled from the present—is relatively short term. American businesspeople tend to emphasize gains in the immediate future, not the distant future. Other societies have much deeper conceptions of the future. For example, in Japan it is not at all unusual for a couple to take out a 100-year mortgage on a house. Moreover, Japanese companies are likely to include projections for the next two centuries in their business plan, not just for the next decade, as is typical in Europe and the United States. The notion of a future- oriented society can become meaningful only when we realize that some societies have a very truncated view of the future. According to John Mbiti, many traditional African societies have essentially a two- dimensional notion of time, “with a short past, a present, and virtually no future” (1969: 17). Because African time is composed of a series of events that are experienced, the future must be of little meaning because future events have not yet occurred. Mbiti supports his argument with linguistic data from the Gikuyu and Kikamba languages of Kenya. Both languages contain three future tenses covering a period not exceeding two years from the present. If future events do not fall within this shallow range, virtually no linguistic mechanism can conceive or express them. Given these linguistic structures, it is safe to assume that speakers of these East African languages have little or no interest in those things that might occur in the distant future.

The busyness factor

Some recent research findings in the United States focus on an aspect of time that links America’s precise reckoning of time with its emphasis on (1) short- term time orientation and (2) the so- called Protestant Ethic, which considers hard work good in and of itself. While busy schedules have been gradually on the rise for much of the twentieth century, the pace of life for many Americans has become nothing less than frenetic in the last several decades. For example, anthropologists Charles Darrah, James Freeman, and Jan English- Lueck (2007) describe the hectic days of many Americans who are trying to fit more and more activities into shorter periods of time. We are working longer hours today than in the past because our coworkers are as well; we are more prone to multi- tasking than in the past; and parents are finding it increasingly difficult to manage jobs, homes, and kids in a society that is becoming more complex each year. According to Brigid Schulte (2014) of the Washington Post, “People now tell pollsters that they’re too busy to register to vote, too busy to date, to make friends outside of the office, to take a vacation, to sleep, to have sex.” Even though the “American Dream” since the 1950s was supposed to include more leisure time, the exact opposite has occurred. We are working more hours per week today than we were in the 1960s, and we are working more intensely on more projects than ever before. How did this happen? First, since 1975 there has been an increasing amount of economic inequality occurring in the United States, with incomes growing slowly or not at all at the lower- and middle- class levels, while soaring at the top. Inequalities of wealth (measured by the concentra- tion of wealth held by the top 1 percent of the population) increased from 20 percent in 1975 to more than 43 percent by 2012. Thus, by 2012, 72 percent of the nation’s wealth was controlled by the top 5 percent of Americans, whereas the remaining 28 percent was controlled by the bottom 95 percent of the population. Although a disproportionate amount of wealth in the United States has always been in the hands of a relatively small privileged minority, we have not experienced as wide a wealth gap since the Great Depres- sion of the 1930s (Dunn 2012). Thus, many middle- class Americans are working harder than ever to prevent themselves from losing the fight against downward mobility.

50 Lenses for understanding culture

Second, for some segments of the U.S. work force, particularly the creative classes, work has become less mechanical, more challenging, more engaging, and more rewarding. Thus, they work more hours and more intensely because work is more fun. But, working in creative professions (where wages are salaried rather than hourly) also has its down side, because it leads to greater job instability. That is, where hourly wage earners are protected from working more than 40 hours per week without overtime pay, salaried professionals can be required to work without being paid overtime or expecting the employer to hire additional employees to share the load. Thus, many people in creative professions are expected to work longer and harder in order to keep their jobs. And finally, Americans are becoming frantically busy in the twenty- first century because it is a way of achieving higher social status. That is, the busier you are, the more likely you are to remain employed, have the wherewithal to afford luxury status symbols, and be living a satisfying, robust, and accomplished life. We see many not so subtle reminders of how busyness has become the new status marker in the U.S. when we read those one- page typed letters tucked inside holiday greeting cards each December. Have you noticed the increasing number of certain (busy) words and phrases creeping into those holiday letters from friends and relatives—such as “frantic,” “grossly overscheduled,” “hectic,” and “out- of-control”—while describing a litany of activities for the year that would exhaust even a family on steroids.

How time orientation plays out in precise/M- time cultures

• People pay close attention to their watch, tend to divide time into very precise units, and are frequently fully scheduled or overbooked.

• People tend to eat meals because “it’s time to eat,” though they may sometimes eat on the run.

• Business deadlines are taken very seriously. • People move rapidly. • Meetings start pretty much on time, usually no later than five minutes after the

designated time. • People do one thing at a time, rather than a number of things at the same time

(though since the advent of electronic devices, multitasking has increased). • People tend to emphasize getting contracts signed and then moving on to some new

endeavor.

How time orientation plays out in loose/P- time cultures

• Few people pay close attention to the clock. • People eat because of the “need to share food,” rather than because of the position of

the hands on the clock. • Business deadlines are hoped for, but people will not get overly upset if something

prevents the deadline from being met. • People move at a more leisurely pace. • Meetings start after an appropriate amount of time is devoted to socializing. • People do many things at the same time. • A greater emphasis is placed on building social relationships rather than on complet-

ing the task on time.

Lenses for understanding culture 51

How time orientation plays out in past- oriented cultures

• People have a great concern for history and origins of their families, businesses, and social institutions.

• Employees are motivated by examples from the “golden past.” • Predecessors and older people are looked to as role models. Even though they may not

have had the most recent formal education, their wisdom and experience are highly valued.

• Business hosts will want to share their cultural history with you (via museums, monuments).

How time orientation plays out in present- oriented cultures

• People live in the here and now and look for immediate gratification. • Everything is evaluated in terms of its immediate impact. • People are not particularly effective at deferring gratification or planning for the

future.

How time orientation plays out in future- oriented cultures

• People tend to be enthusiastic planners. • There is a considerable willingness to defer present gratification for even more gratifi-

cation later on.

Photo 2.5 The tempo of life and business in Santiago, Chile, is more leisurely and relaxed compared with the hurried pace and tight scheduling of time in much of North America.

Source: Courtesy of Phil MacKenzie.

52 Lenses for understanding culture

• People are generally optimistic about progress in the future. • People place a high value on being youthful, because the young have more of a future

than the more senior members of the society.

How time orientation plays out in busy cultures

• People try to keep themselves organized through short- term planning. • Days are filled with activities that help them manage their obligations. • Busy people find satisfaction in achieving what they set out to do. • Getting things done is the goal and reflected in the old adage: “If you want something

done, give it to a busy person!”

Implications for business within loose/P- time cultures

1 Suppress the urge to get things done quickly (because “Faster is better” and “Time is money”). Be willing to spend time building long- lasting relationships.

2 Do not show impatience. You may be viewed as untrustworthy and as someone who wants to cheat your business partners.

3 Become more flexible in your scheduling and broaden your concept of what is an acceptable range of tardiness.

4 Be aware that higher- status people can keep lower- status people waiting, but the opposite is not true.

5 Do not be put off when business associates do more than one thing at a time. Be pre- pared to be in several different conversations at the same time.

6 Understand and respect local traditions and long- term commitments. 7 Use role models and situations from the past as ways of motivating your employees. 8 Sell the reputation of your company and its success over time.

Context

Context is a second lens for understanding cultural similarities and differences. It is a com- munication concept developed by anthropologists Edward and Mildred Hall to differenti- ate across and within cultural groups. They define context as “information surrounding an event” (1989: 6). Cultures can be compared on a scale ranging from high context to low context. Hall stated it this way:

A high- context (HC) communication or message is one in which most of the information is either in the physical context or internalized in the person, while very little is in the coded, explicit, transmitted part of the message. A low- context (LC) communication is just the opposite; i.e., the mass of the information is vested in the explicit code (language).

(1976: 91)

The concept of context provides a different kind of insight into culture than can be derived from a contrasting values approach. Though it too reflects dimensional polarity—where each end of the continuum stands in opposition to the other—it is based on communication behavior. Communication exchanges, whether verbal or written, are readily observable. Once observed, it is easier to figure out how to respond appropriately to the situation.

Lenses for understanding culture 53

Box 2.5 How two busy cultures spend time in the office: Germans and Americans

There can be little doubt, based on data collected over the past half century, that middle- class North Americans are working longer hours for their employers, often with less compensation. But does that mean American workers are more productive than the workers in cultures that spend fewer hours per week on the job? Not necessarily. To assess a worker’s productivity, it is important to look at the work habits and how people actually spend their time on the job. It is instructive if we look at worker productivity and how workers spend their time on the job in the United States (which is the world’s largest economy) and Germany (which is the undisputed economic powerhouse of Europe). Clearly both American and German workers lead increasingly busy lives in the twenty- first century, but how they spend their time on the job (both inside and outside the office) goes a long way in explaining why German workers, who work 35 hours per week and on average are given 24 days per year of paid vacation, produce more than their American coun- terparts. How do we explain this (counter- intuitive) phenomenon of German business culture which strongly suggests that less time spent really means greater productivity? First, the most compelling explanation is that German business culture is structured on the notion that when a person is working, they are expected to focus exclusively on their work. There is zero tolerance in the German office for personal e- mails, updating one’s Facebook page, flirting with colleagues, multiple coffee breaks, online shopping, or making plans for social activities after work hours. Unlike American workers, most German workers are under contract for a specific period of time, during which, if they stay focused and work intently on their specific job functions, their jobs will be secure over the long run and upward mobility within the corporation will be possible. By way of comparison, workers in the U.S. have less job security, and as such, are incentivized to continually expand their personal/professional networks (through such media as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter) to increase their chances of finding a better job elsewhere. Second, Germans, by and large, value the separation of work and other domains of their private lives. They work intensely while on the job, and then they expect to leave the job in the office at the end of the day so as to devote their undivided attention to their personal lives. In short, Germans work hard and play hard, but their lives are much more compartmen- talized than the average American worker. According to Amol Sarva (2014), “The German government is currently considering a ban on work- related emails after 6 pm to counter the accessibility that smartphones and constant connectivity give … employees. Can you imagine President Obama enacting such a policy in the United States?” And third, Germany’s corporations respect parenthood by having one of the most exten- sive (legislatively mandated) parental leave policies found anywhere in the world. Parents who have been gainfully employed for the previous 12 months are eligible for up to three full years of unpaid maternity/paternity leave with the guarantee of continuing the contract at the end of the leave period. Moreover, while on leave the employee is eligible to work up to 30 hours per week part time AND be eligible for up to 67 percent of one’s full- time salary paid by the state for a period of 14 months. Parental leave—and other generous benefits— certainly breeds loyalty to and hard work for the firm, particularly when workers know that the time away from the office is their own.

54 Lenses for understanding culture

One way to think about communications is in terms of directness (see Chapter 4 “Directness vs. Indirectness” section). High- context communications are indirect and understated, and sometimes ambiguous. The emphasis is largely on the non- verbal aspects of the exchange. People in high- context cultures or situations seem to know what the other person is thinking, feeling, or expecting. Few words are necessary to express the mes- sages being conveyed. Moreover, they do not “get to the point quickly” but instead, “talk around the point … think[ing] intelligent human beings should be able to discover the point of a discourse from the context, which they are careful to provide” (Hall 1983: 63). Many high- context business communications are not written down because the informa- tion is shared verbally. By contrast, low- context communications are direct and open, and presented in a logical format. They are also more explicit and precise than high- context communications. Verbal and written exchanges are highly structured, detailed, and speci- fied. “… The listener knows very little and must be told practically everything” (Hall and Hall 1989: 184). You cannot count on information being conveyed, or being conveyed accurately in a business environment. Therefore, much communication is painstakingly prepared in written form—whether through memos, posters, emails, and the like—and then distributed. Cultures around the world range from high to low context. Asian, Arabic, and Latin cultures are considered higher context than northern European, Canadian, and U.S. cul- tures. High- and low- context communication is correlated generally with the collectiv- ism–individualism dimension of culture (Gudykunst and Kim 2003) and with the P- time/M- time orientation (Gannon and Associates 1994). Members of high- context cul- tures have extensive information networks and close relationships with family, friends, and coworkers, and clients with whom they work. They typically share a set of common goals—personal or work- related—and routinely expect, exchange, and store in- depth information about each other. Members of low- context cultures do not share information as easily in their relationships with others. Indeed, many of their relationships are not long lasting, but rather transitory. Members of low- context cultures need quite a bit of back- ground information to function effectively. Goals in low- context cultures tend to be indi- vidually defined; even within a large corporation, individual employees typically have their own interests at heart. Hall’s work on context applies in many circumstances beyond national- culture differ- ences. For example:

Twins who have grown up together can and do communicate more economically (HC) than two lawyers in a courtroom during a trial (LC), a mathematician program- ming a computer, two politicians drafting legislation, two administrators writing a regulation, or a child trying to explain to his mother why he got into a fight.

(1976: 91)

Twins, no matter what their national culture, engage in high- context communications because they have shared a life together. “A high- context individual will expect his inter- locutor to know what’s bothering him, so that he doesn’t have to be specific” (1976: 113), according to Hall. On the other hand, an American boss might shift from the “high- context, familiar form of address to the low- context, formal form of address” to indicate frustration, annoyance, or displeasure (Hall and Hall 1989: 7) such as, “Hey, what you been up to?” versus a concise and controlled “Good morning.” A similar shift might occur in the example of the mother responding to the child who got into a fight. “Individuals use

Lenses for understanding culture 55

low- and high- context messages depending on their relationship with the person with whom they are communicating” (Gudykunst and Kim 2003: 72), as well as on the specifics of the situation at hand. Knowing the contextual preferences of the cultural group with whom you are interact- ing is relevant, useful, and important information. If your client is German (low context), he or she is likely to want detailed design specifications, comprehensive test results, and robust sales forecasts. Expect to spend time poring over the numbers and reviewing the issues in depth. If your client is Mexican (high context), he or she is likely to want to begin building a business relationship with you. Expect to spend some time in conversa- tion on a variety of general topics unrelated to business prior to focusing on the technical details of your new product. In a similar way, if your client is an American with whom you have done business in the past, your interaction is likely to have some high- context ele- ments (e.g., recall of shared experiences, knowledge of best processes and procedures to employ). If your client is an American with whom you have never done business, your communication style will be low context. You will need to provide appropriate back- ground information on your idea or proposal, identify possible goals, and discuss options for maximizing success.

Metaphors

Criticisms have been leveled at the dimensional or contrasting values approach (and to some extent the context approach). One criticism is that it assumes cultural homogeneity (Tung and Verbeke 2010: 1266). In other words, if a culture is identified as individualistic,

Photo 2.6 If a relationship has been established, even occasional collaborators can pick up where they left off.

Source: by the authors.

56 Lenses for understanding culture

hierarchical, or long- term time oriented, that designation is said to apply across the board to all cultural members. The “either/or” cultural dimension approach has no room for what Tony Fang calls “both/and” orientations such as long term and short term, or individualist and collectivist (2005–06: 75). When talking about the United States, the dimensional approach emphasizes individualism, even though American culture also consists of cooperative and collective endeavors (e.g., group projects, team sports). Rosalie Tung has pointed out that assumptions of homogeneity can lead to “results that mask or confound the phenomena under investigation” (2008: 45). When intra- cultural variation is ignored or overly simplified, it becomes impossible to capture the richness or complexity of the culture. Another criticism of the dimensional, bipolar approach is that it does not offer fine- grained, in- depth description and insight into a national culture, organizational culture, or subcultural group. Some cultural groups have similar scores on dimensional attributes. Martin Gannon and his colleagues report that national cultures such as the United States, Germany, England, New Zealand, and Australia exhibit similar scale values and rank orderings in the large quantitative dimensional studies that have been conducted (2005–06). Yet, we all know that these cultures are distinctive in their own right on a number of cultural traits. Metaphoric analysis is an alternative to the dimensional approach. A metaphor is a figure of speech which makes an implicit comparison between two things that are unre- lated but share some common characteristics. Metaphors are content- rich and culture- specific so they help to clarify how cultural groups differ. A simple example of a metaphor is “time is money.” Metaphors use the attributes of one item or phenomenon (money) to describe or explain a different item or phenomenon (time). Typically that second element is less tangible than the first. Metaphors create an image that captures the essence and viv- idness of that particular phenomenon (Ortony 1975). Gareth Morgan pointed out, “certain features are emphasized and others suppressed in a selective comparison” (1980: 611). Thus, “time is money” can be understood to mean that time is valuable, and indeed has a monetary value associated with it. Such a metaphor would be used in M- time cul- tures where it is believed that time is earned, spent, saved, and wasted. Metaphors can be used to uncover the cultural content of any given group, though, as Martin Gannon points out, they are “just a first step in attempting to understand a specific culture” (2009: 282). They enable the exploration of behaviors, attitudes, beliefs, values, and expectations as an integrated whole; a reasonably holistic understanding of a cultural group can be derived through an apt metaphor. Thus, metaphors can be employed as a “frame of reference” for understanding culture (Gannon et al. 2005–06: 45). A metaphor is for the anthropologist what a hypothesis is for a physicist. After empirical testing, one can decide whether the metaphor works and enables an accurate and appropriate understand- ing of the culture. For example, Clifford Geertz (1973) used the metaphor of the cockfight to reveal the intricacies of Balinese culture, while Susan Montague and Robert Morais examined success models in U.S. culture through both football games and rock concerts (1976). Metaphors are often identified using a combination of techniques including eth- nographic methods (e.g., observation, participant observation, interviews), questionnaires, and documentary materials. They are often validated through discussions with cultural experts or insiders. Metaphoric analysis did not take off, however, until Martin Gannon and his associates published Understanding Global Cultures: Metaphorical Journeys Through 17 Countries (1994). They selected three to six characteristics of a particular metaphor to apply to each

Lenses for understanding culture 57

of the nations. For example, the metaphor for France was French wine; they described the culture of France in terms of the key features of wine (e.g., purity, classification, composi- tion). They illustrated Nigeria using the metaphor of a marketplace with its diversity, social dynamism, and the balance of tradition and change. Metaphors have been applied beyond national- culture settings. For example, Gannon’s most recent book (with Pillai 2010) includes metaphors for clusters of nations (e.g., the Chinese family altar), and con- tinents such as Australia, while an edited volume by anthropologists Elizabeth Briody and Robert T. Trotter, II uses metaphors to highlight the evolving culture of organizational partnerships (2008). The cultural insights from metaphoric analyses have applicability for global business. Let’s take a look at one industry–university partnership that was in its fourteenth year at the time a case study on it was published. Anthropologist Julia Gluesing and her colleagues participated in and described the longstanding relationship between Ford Motor Company, Visteon Corporation, and Wayne State University (2008). The purpose of the partnership was to offer a master’s degree program for working engineers that would cross the discipli- nary boundaries between business and engineering and prepare the engineers for working globally. Since the partners were central to the U.S. automotive industry, the metaphor for the partnership was a “high- performance automotive test track” (2008: 126). The test track represented the intersection of business and academic values (see Figure 2.1) that would lead to winning outcomes for the partners (e.g., class projects yielding a high return on investment for Ford and Visteon; tuition revenue and research access to the auto- motive partners for Wayne State). It focused

attention on teamwork, on learning the specific skills, and on blending the diverse talents that are necessary to drive well under difficult conditions while keeping the car on the road, overcoming unexpected obstacles, recovering from mistakes, continuing to push to the finish with inoperable or damaged parts, and winning.

(2008: 139)

The metaphor both described the cross- cultural adaptability among the partners that was a necessary part of their collaboration and represented a set of guidelines and clear direction for the partners to follow. Similarly, it specified and documented the positive “win–win” outcomes that were essential to the partnership’s longevity. Thus, the metaphor reflected both the actual state and the ideal state of the partnership. Metaphors also have the potential to assist in the process of planned cultural change. Gannon (2001) used the metaphor of the traditional British house, a “durable, long- lived entity based on tried, tested and historically successful designs” (2001: 238), to capture the essence of Great Britain. He expanded upon the metaphor to describe how the house was built (a submetaphor for growing up British) and living within the house (a submetaphor for being British). Intervention strategies for planned change can target attributes associ- ated with the traditional British house metaphor. For example, when engaging in organ- izational change in Great Britain, interventions can target the “acceptance of tradition,” an important attribute of the metaphor. Gannon suggested three intervention strategies:

• Identify relevant tradition(s) within the organization. • Demonstrate how the planned change builds on the relevant tradition(s). • Involve people in the change process to ensure their approval and support of the

change.

58 Lenses for understanding culture

Change

Gannon’s example of the traditional British house offers a nice transition into a discussion of change. Metaphoric analysis has been evaluated in terms of its strengths and weaknesses (Gannon 2009). Metaphors do a better job than dimensions in exposing the internal workings of a particular culture or subcultural group. They can be called up on demand to improve cultural sensitivity or to propose solutions to practical problems. They do not mask intra- cultural variation in the way that dimensional studies do. Metaphors also have the virtue of being easy to remember. However, scholars have pointed out the imprecision, ambiguous meaning, and poor reliability of metaphors in interpretation and communica- tion (Ramsay 2004), as well as the confusion and vagueness associated with the metaphor’s boundaries (Ortony 1975). Metaphors also do not lend themselves as readily to cross- cultural comparison because of their culture- specific nature. Both the dimensional and metaphoric approaches are effective under conditions of stability. However, globalization continues to exert pressure on the pace and extent of change worldwide (Friedman 1999; Lewellen 2002; Spindler and Stockard 2007). Novel and rapidly evolving conditions are an ongoing part of our lives. The Arab Spring comes to mind, as does the burgeoning of text messaging among teenagers, and multicultural immigration in Europe. In business environments, new energy companies are being created, private sector organizations are changing hands, and virtual partnering arrange- ments are solidifying. And, any of these circumstances and situations could morph into

Shared values at

Ford Motor Company

and Visteon Corporation

Engineering Management Masters Program

Shared values at

Wayne State University

Figure 2.1 Metaphors, like the test track for a program directed at automotive managers, can convey key values.

Source: Courtesy of Julia C. Gluesing.

Lenses for understanding culture 59

new forms before you could catch your breath. Fluidity, transparency, and mobility are affecting the who, what, when, where, and why of our thoughts and actions. Change is embedded within the concept of cultural dynamics. Tony Fang views national culture as a product of the “dynamic interplays” between nationality, region- or ethnic- specific groups, organization- or industry- specific groups, and global culture (2005–06: 86–87). He offers an example of changing expectations among businesspeople in the large urban cities of southern Brazil. São Paulo, Curitiba, and Porto Alegre have more exposure to global business and foreign direct investment than does the northern region of Brazil. These southern cities are becoming more M- time in orientation, with greater emphasis on planning and adherence to schedules, while their northern neighbors retain their P- time orientation. Several examples in this book emphasize this shift in time orientation, including the example offered by Jeff Lewis in this chapter. The concept of negotiated culture has been applied to newly formed business organiza- tions. Anthropologist Mary Yoko Brannen and Jane Salk introduced this concept to explain the evolving relationship between the German and Japanese sides of a joint venture located in Germany. They found that national- culture characteristics were important in guiding how both partners responded to events in the factory. However, these characteristics were unable to explain the ways in which the plant’s organizational culture changed over time. Brannen and Salk discovered that the partners negotiated and accommodated each other’s expectations using four different methods (2000: 478):

• Compromise by one group (e.g., Japanese managers not expecting their counterparts to socialize with them outside of work; German managers forgoing vacations in the first two years).

• Meeting in the middle (e.g., meetings were longer and more frequent for the Germans and shorter and less frequent for the Japanese).

• Innovating something new for both groups (e.g., use of English with allowances for native- language discussions).

• Division of labor to minimize need for further negotiation with each partner in charge of certain factory departments.

This view of culture as a “dynamic and ongoing process of social negotiation” (2000: 480) can be adopted in a variety of business arrangements involving employees, clients, part- ners, and consumers. It is important to be alert for signals of change. As new groups, communities, and organizations are forming, it is not always possible, nor advisable, to rely on past models to explain a new entity or phenomenon. Facebook is a case in point. It capitalized on a change in technology (people were online a lot) and values (people wanted the ability to stay connected and fewer barriers to those connections) to produce both a method for connecting people and a culture associated with it. It also brought to the forefront some interesting cultural dilemmas about access (e.g., Do you “friend” your mother? What about your little brother? What about someone you do not know?) with which users had to cope. By being astute observers of the world around us, we have a reasonable chance of spotting a change (or a confluence of change elements), conceptualizing it, examining it, and figur- ing out how to tap into it for the benefit of individuals, organizations, and societies. Anthropologist Martin Ortlieb has proposed two parameters tied to change in the busi- ness world. Each parameter, representing opposing ends of a scale, is a way of conceptual- izing culture.

60 Lenses for understanding culture

• Slippery culture can be characterized as distinct, finite, linked with place, and timeless. It is “something that is ‘just’ hard to define and difficult to pin down.” Ortlieb states that business decision makers have traditionally adhered to the slippery- culture men- tality, meaning that they believe that culture can be managed once it is recognized and understood. Their belief system, an important part of their managerial role, is that once you grasp what the culture is, any problem with it “can be fixed, in a best- case scenario, once and for all” (2009: 187).

• Emergent culture can be found at the other end of the spectrum and described as “inherently shifting and elusive yet perceptible” (2009: 186). This view of culture is seen as continually evolving, though it remains identifiable and recognizable. Ortlieb indicates that anthropological researchers working in business endeavors are aligned with the emergent culture orientation. These anthropologists retain an openness to the world around them, a capacity to engage, learn, and document. Their research projects and methods uncover constantly changing user needs, expectations, and prac- tices that are used to shed light on new business opportunities.

These two bookend concepts represent distinctive—even competing—orientations to culture. Those ascribing to the slippery- culture orientation seem to want to hold on to their models or beliefs about what is and deal with any issues associated with it. In other words, they seem to want to make their past approaches and initiatives their models for the future. If we were to put ourselves in the shoes of these decision makers, we too would be seeking solutions to problems and would probably want to minimize the disruption to the organization and its work processes and procedures. However, they appear to be more reactive than proactive since they are fully grounded in the present. By contrast, those aligned with the emergent view of culture seem more comfortable with the nature and pace of change in today’s globalizing world. They appear to want their work to be as complete, up to date, and accurate as possible so that it can bridge the inter- face between the user/customer community and organizational decision makers. They seem to be looking forward into the future, rather than backward; they seem to face change head on, rather than resist it. Ortlieb describes the changing conceptualization of culture at Yahoo, aided by its anthropological researchers. With this change in conceptualization from slippery to emer- gent, came changes in business practices. For example, Yahoo product development was originally done in the United States, with rollouts to the rest of the world. After the cre- ation of regional business centers, new products were tested outside the United States with adaptations made. “It was the idea of fixing the cultural context: like fixing a technical bug, like flipping a switch, the cultural issue could be sorted. If it weren’t, then several iterations would eventually approximate an acceptable local solution …” (2009: 200). As the market expanded and Yahoo became a global brand, Yahoo’s internal processes had to keep pace. Global requirements gathering, performed by the research staff, have become the norm. “Products that resonate in substance, form, and/or positioning with local con- cepts and needs will perform better than clumsy adaptations of foreign concepts that do not ring true locally and which everybody in the local target audience recognizes as such” (2009: 201). Yahoo has advanced along the scale toward the emergent view of culture as evident in the value it now places on these new global research models, methods, and input. Yahoo seems to have learned to listen and respond appropriately to internal researcher input. At the same time, the researchers undoubtedly have become increasingly proficient in making

Lenses for understanding culture 61

compelling arguments to Yahoo’s leaders. This change within Yahoo’s own culture has positioned it to be highly responsive to its customers, and the changing connectivity environment, worldwide. The concept of an emergent culture reflects both the changing mindset among managerial leaders (an evolution in the organizational culture) and chang- ing customer dynamics (the ongoing transformation in the external environment).

Conclusion

In this chapter, we have outlined four lenses through which understanding and problem solving in global business settings might occur. This framework, derived from the work of many scholars over the past 40 years, raises important questions that need to be answered when encountering and working within a new and different culture. These questions include the following:

1 What are the key attributes distinguishing people who belong to an individualistic culture compared with a collectivist culture?

2 Do people with different levels of power and prestige treat one another equally or unequally?

Box 2.6 The elusive Canadian juice customer

Understanding emergent culture from the customer perspective can be a tricky undertaking. For example, why would a juice brand that is highly successful in the United States have a minimal market presence in Canada? In light of such different marketplace performances, Robert Morais’ firm conducted research in Canada that asked such questions as: What are the best ways to understand Canadian customers and their ongoing cultural evolution? How culturally different can Canada be from the United States? Do any of the factors linked with product success in the United States resonate with Canadians? Researchers have argued that Canadian cultural values and themes are distinctive, con- trasting remarkably with those of the U.S. (Lipset 1986, 1990; Adams 2003). “Canada is interesting because, as a U.S. resident, you feel you are close to the culture—but, you can be far from understanding it” (Robert Morais, personal communication). The U.S.-based juice manufacturer assumed that the Canadian market was like the U.S. market. For example, U.S. juice advertising and packaging for this product was used in the Canadian market with few, if any, modifications. Morais, an anthropologist, noted that life stresses (e.g., of work, family) dominated the conversation in a series of focus groups conducted in Canada. The stresses described by Canadians were also a salient pattern in U.S. life. In the United States, many people counterbalance their stress through movements like “slow food,” “simplicity,” “eco- friendly,” and similar trends. He wondered if his client’s juice brand could be connected to a stress- reducing cultural movement in Canada. Given that both Canadians and Americans feel stress in their lives, he speculated whether there were similar stress- reducing cultural movements in Canada, and if his client’s juice brand could be connected to them. At the time of this writing, these questions were not yet answered. Nevertheless, Morais’ openness to the evolving Canadian market and his comparative U.S.–Canadian framework put him that much closer to discovering and making sense of Canadian customer expecta- tions and preferences. Exploration of these issues would provide targeted insight into the dynamics of Canadian juice customers, as well as their connectedness with their U.S. neighbors.

62 Lenses for understanding culture

3 How do cultures differ in terms of taking risks, tolerating ambiguity, and needing rel- atively little organizational structure?

4 How precisely do people from different cultures deal with time? 5 What strategies might be employed in conducting a business meeting when members

of both high- context and low- context cultures are interacting for the first time? 6 What metaphor and its associated attributes could reveal the culture of an organiza-

tion that you have worked with during your career? 7 What are some indicators of an emergent culture when two teams begin working on a

project together?

This chapter should serve only as a starting point when interacting cross- culturally. To be certain, there are other dimensions and aspects of culture that could have been discussed but were not owing to limitations of space. Moreover, we must keep in mind that these dichotomies, images, and descriptions are not a precise description of reality. There are no cultures that embody absolutely all the traits associated with any of these basic polarities of equality and hierarchy or M- time and P- time. Cultures are composed of unique combi- nations of traits that can be portrayed, but which will surely change over time. We trust that the four lenses presented here will remind you to make the most of your powers of observation and comparison, analytic talents, and problem- solving abilities to work effect- ively with your global business colleagues and partners.

Cross- cultural scenarios

Read the following cross- cultural scenarios. In each mini- case study, a basic cultural con- flict occurs among the actors involved. Try to identify the source of the conflict and suggest how it could have been avoided or minimized. Then see how well your analyses compare to the explanations in Appendix A.

2–1 The strength of social relationships in collectivist cultures can create hiring difficulties for global firms. While on a short- term assignment to Venezuela, Harry Dalton, an upper- level manager for a U.S.-based multinational corporation, was extremely impressed with the performance of one of the local managers. In fact, Harry was so impressed that he offered him a job in the home office in Chicago, which involved a promotion, a handsome increase in salary, and a generous moving allowance. But, much to Harry’s surprise, the Venezuelan thanked him but turned down the job offer. Harry began to think that he had seriously misjudged this man’s intelligence.

What was going on here?

2–2 As an organizational consultant from Toronto working with a Mexican company, Christine Shaver has been traveling to Mexico City every other week for months to help her client improve its marketing. On this occasion, Christine scheduled a three- day trip, during which she planned to meet with a number of employees. But on the first day of scheduled meetings, she was informed that everyone would be leaving work at 2:00 p.m. because it was a fiesta day. She was beside herself because she had come all the way to Mexico just to have her first day of work cut short. As it turns out, Christine’s Mexican colleagues failed to understand why she was so upset.

What was behind this misunderstanding?

Lenses for understanding culture 63

2–3 For the past three years, Ned Ferguson had served quite successfully as the manager of a U.S.-owned manufacturing company in Taiwan. Shortly after Ned’s arrival in Taipei, he instituted a number of changes in plant operations that increased both production and worker satisfaction. However, within the last several months, a series of what seemed to Ned to be unrelated incidents had occurred. First, there had been a fire in the warehouse, which fortunately was contained before too much damage had been done. On the following day, the wife and two children of the local plant supervisor were killed in a spectacular automobile accident. Finally, within the past several weeks, there had been a rash of minor accidents on the assembly line; such situations were quite uncharacteristic of the plant’s excellent safety record. Ned heard that rumors were running rampant about the plant being cursed by evil spirits. Moreover, he knew that absenteeism had increased dramatically. To try to deal with these problems, Ned called together his chief supervisors. His American staff recom- mended that some experts from the insurance company come in to review the safety procedures, which, they argued, would show the workers that the company was taking their safety needs seriously. But the Taiwanese supervisors considered this step to be inadequate and instead suggested that a local religious priest be brought in, during company time, to pray for the workers and ward off any evil forces. Ned and his U.S. staff thought that such an action would do nothing but give official company support to superstition. The meeting ended without any substantial agreement between U.S. and Taiwanese supervisors.

How would you explain this basic cultural conflict?

Chapter 3

Communicating across cultures The nonverbal dimension

Chapter objectives:

1 Identify the wide variety of modes of nonverbal communication involved in global business interactions.

2 Discuss the potential pitfalls when studying nonverbal communication. 3 Describe some of the salient features of nonverbal communication in general. 4 Explore the issues revolving around initial cross- cultural business introductions such

as exchanging business cards, bowing, and gift giving.

Imagine that you are walking into an engineering meeting in the U.S. involving both Americans and Japanese. You know that this group has been working together for several months and that the Japanese will be in the U.S. for one week. It is your first meeting with them. You find an empty seat along one wall, sit down, and look around. Things somehow seem different. The first thing you notice is that the Japanese visitors are grouped together on one side of the large U- shaped table. Several of them are already seated at the table, while others sit in a row of chairs behind them. They are positioned so that they can see both the large screen used for projection at the front of the room, and anyone coming through the door. The Americans are standing and talking to each other on the side of the room near the door. You are thinking that they will have to take their seats opposite the Japanese because there is no other place for them to sit. Then you see the chief engineer and a designer that you met a long time ago on an earlier project. The chief engineer takes his seat about halfway down the American side of the table. Eventually the designer sits down too—several seats from where you are sitting. In walks another person you recognize—nice guy. He is talking with one of the Japanese businessmen as they make their way over to the Japanese side. They sit down next to each other opposite the chief engineer. Hmm … that’s interesting. There are not many women present. In fact, there is none among the Japanese visitors. You do note that there are three other females, two of whom you recognize though you do not know their names. They are dressed in “business casual,” as are their male counter- parts. Interestingly, all of the Japanese are wearing suits and ties. As you are trying to sort through everything you have seen, your thoughts are interrupted as the chief engineer wel- comes everyone to the meeting. The use and arrangement of space are examples of nonverbal communication, or com- munication without words. Both the configuration of the space and the behaviors taking place within it offer important clues about what is happening culturally. Watching only

Communicating across cultures: nonverbal 65

from the sidelines, the American newcomer figured out that this gathering was not an ordinary business meeting—at least not for her. She correctly perceived that the table divided attendees into two groups—the guests and the hosts. She noted that there was almost no interaction between the two groups prior to the start of the meeting. Style of dress distinguished the two groups: the Japanese were dressed more formally than the Americans. Finally, she was aware of the gender composition among meeting participants. But there were unanswered questions: Why were people grouped the way they were given that the meeting was happening on U.S. soil? What kinds of people got to sit at the table? Why was the chief engineer sitting in the middle on his side of the table? Was there a reason that the Japanese were located farther away from the door? She had every sense that these questions were just the tip of the iceberg. The participants in this meeting were communicating with each other in many ways before the meeting began. They were enforcing group boundaries through their arrange- ment of the space. They were paying attention to their own rules of politeness—the Americans by agreeing to Japanese preferences for seating arrangements, and the Japanese through their more formal dress. The seating arrangement would soon become clear: Those seated in the middle of each side of the U- shaped table were the most senior leaders, followed by their direct reports and others in descending order of rank on either side and behind them. As for “nice guy”—he turned out to be the bilingual interpreter for the Japanese.

The nature of nonverbal communication

Communication takes place in two ways: (1) through nonverbal communication, or what anthropologist Edward Hall refers to as the “silent language” (1959), and (2) through lan- guage in which using words and other vocalizations are combined to produce mutually understood meanings. In Chapters 3 and 4, we examine the nature of communication in international business and how communication problems can develop when people com- municate, or attempt to communicate, across cultures. Successful communication in the international business environment requires an understanding of both nonverbal and verbal expressions. Nonverbal communication is responsible in its own right for the majority of messages sent and received as part of human communication. In fact, it has been suggested on a number of occasions that only about 30 percent of communication between two people in the same speech community is verbal in nature. People rely heavily on nonverbal cues in international business situations, particularly when they lack the language skills for com- municating in that context. Even though some nonverbal cues function in similar ways in many cultures, consider- able differences in nonverbal patterns can result in breakdowns in communication in a cross- cultural context. The literature is filled with scenarios of how misreading nonverbal cues leads directly to cross- cultural friction. The need to master the nonverbal repertoire of another culture—in addition to gaining linguistic competence—increases the challenge of working successfully in an international business setting. Yet, people who know the nonverbal cues of another culture are more likely to experience successful interactions and be better positioned for building relation- ships with members of that culture.

66 Communicating across cultures: nonverbal

Types of nonverbal communication

Research in nonverbal forms of communication began in earnest in the second half of the twentieth century. Like any relatively new field of study, what constitutes the subject matter of nonverbal communication has not always met with widespread agreement. Clas- sifications of nonverbal behavior among some of the earlier writers vary from the threefold scheme of A. M. Eisenberg and R. R. Smith (1971) to the typology of John Condon and Fathi Yousef (1975: 123–124), which includes 24 categories. Despite the many alternative ways of categorizing the domain of nonverbal communication, the following topics are found widely in the literature:

• facial expressions (smiles, frowns) • hand gestures • walking (gait) • body posture • proxemics (space usages) • touching • gaze • olfaction (scents or smells, such as perfume) • color symbolism • artifacts (such as business cards, cell phones) • dress • hairstyles • cosmetics • time symbolism • graphic symbols • new technologies and visual media • silence.

Two broad categories of differences emerge in nonverbal expression: (1) the same nonver- bal cue that carries with it very different meanings in different cultures, and (2) different nonverbal cues that carry the same meaning in different cultures. Often the same gesture has different, or even opposite, meanings. Hissing, for example, used as a somewhat rude way of indicating disapproval of a speaker in U.S. society, is used as a normal way to ask for silence in certain Spanish- speaking countries and as a way of applauding among the Basuto of South Africa. In U.S. society, protruding one’s tongue is an unmistakable gesture of mocking contempt, whereas in traditional China it is an expression of embarrassment over a faux pas. The hand gesture of putting one’s index finger to the temple communicates “he is smart” in the U.S. but also means just the oppo- site—“he is stupid”—in certain Western European cultures. In contrast, the same message can be sent in various cultures by very different nonverbal cues. To illustrate, in the U.S. and most Western European societies, the nonverbal cue for affirmation (i.e., signifying yes or agreement) is nodding the head up and down. However, affirmation is signaled among the Semang of Malaya by thrusting the head forward sharply, in Ethiopia by throwing the head back, among the Dyaks of Borneo by raising the eyebrows, among the Ainu of northern Japan by bringing both hands to the chest and then gracefully waving them downward with palms up, and by rocking the head from shoulder to shoulder among the Bengali servants of Calcutta (Jensen 1982: 264–265).

Communicating across cultures: nonverbal 67

At times, nonverbal communication is expressed in similar ways around the world. There are commonalities in presenting at formal business meetings, for example, regardless of location or organization. The presenter typically stands in front of the group to speak. That position establishes the presenter as the focus of attention, and often, a source of authority. Indeed, we talk of a presenter having “a command of the audience.” The pre- senter can use his or her physical stance and role to gather nonverbal feedback from those present (e.g., disagreement conveyed through frowns, lack of understanding conveyed through raised eyebrows) and then act on it to enhance his or her delivery. PowerPoint slides can be used for a better and easier understanding of the topic being discussed; later, the slides can be shared electronically with attendees. Finally, the speaker may ask the audience for comments and questions that are addressed either during, or immediately fol- lowing, the formal presentation. Thus, PowerPoint slides serve as a visual mechanism to share information and generate discussion.

Potential pitfalls in studying nonverbal communication

A variety of difficulties appear in studying nonverbal communication in the global busi- ness environment. First, there is the potential hazard of overgeneralization. We fre- quently hear references made to such geographical areas as the Middle East, Latin America, or sub- Saharan Africa. However, it is important to keep in mind that there is wide variation in nonverbal communication in such locales. In sub- Saharan Africa alone, there are more than 40 independent nation- states and approximately 750 dif- ferent linguistic communities that speak mutually unintelligible languages. Yet, we cannot count on uniformity even within a single speech community, for even here there are likely to be internal variations in nonverbal communication patterns, depending on such variables as class, gender, education, occupation, and religion. For example, many of Edward Hall’s insightful conclusions on Arab nonverbal communication (discussed subsequently) are based on the observations of middle- and upper- class males, largely students and businesspeople. Arab females would not very likely conform to the same patterns of nonverbal communication as the Arab males that Hall describes. Thus, it is advisable to exercise some caution when generalizing even within a single culture or speech community. A second potential obstacle is the unwarranted assumption that within any given speech community, all nonverbal cues are of equal importance. Some nonverbal patterns may be rarely used and imperfectly understood, whereas others are more universally under- stood and taken more seriously. A third possible pitfall lies in overemphasizing the differences in nonverbal communi- cation patterns across cultural groups. Although we focus on the great variety of nonverbal patterns found throughout the world, many nonverbal similarities also exist among dif- ferent speech communities. The problem, of course, for the international businessperson is to distinguish between them. Finally, we should avoid thinking that the consequences of misunderstanding nonver- bal cues are always catastrophic. To be certain, misreading some nonverbal cues can lead to the misinterpretation of social meanings, which in turn can result in serious breakdowns in communication and even the generation of hostility. Many other nonverbal cues, on the other hand, have no such dire consequences, and instead cause only minor irritations or even amusement. Having said this, however, we should also realize that the more we know about the nonverbal cues found in the international business environment, the

68 Communicating across cultures: nonverbal

greater will be our chances of successful communication and the achievement of our per- sonal and professional objectives.

Business introductions

Nonverbal behaviors are associated with business introductions. Knowing the proper greeting and parting rituals can facilitate business interactions. In this section, the focus is on introductions among businesspeople that are face- to-face. Greetings and partings are complicated. They consist of numerous nonverbal actions all packed into one event. For example, facial expressions, posture, touching, and eye contact can play a role in business introductions. These actions may occur almost simultaneously— say, a smile accompanied by a handshake—or sequentially, in which the exchange of busi- ness cards occurs after the verbal introductions. In addition, greetings and partings can be difficult if one is unfamiliar with local etiquette. A case in point is India, where people often use a form of noncontact. They place their palms together at chest level with fingers extended upward and say the word Namaste or Namaskar (depending upon locale), which means “good day.” This form of salutation is used when meeting or saying goodbye to a person of a different age, status, or gender. Americans working in India may use this form of greeting, though a handshake is becoming increasingly common in international business. Greetings can be awkward when people meet on subsequent occasions. There may be confusion about which form of greeting or parting to use. For example, in Mexico it is quite common to shake hands when getting introduced to someone for the first time. If a strong business relationship develops over time, the handshake is likely to be abandoned in favor of an abrazo (“hug”) for males, or a kiss on the cheek when a female is involved. It is sometimes difficult to know when the transition occurs. According to anthropologist Laura Corrunker (personal communication):

As an American, you want your Mexican colleagues to know that you know the dif- ferences regarding greetings, but you don’t want to assume that the relationship has become familiar and informal. I struggled with this often when I was in Mexico.

Thus, it is not always possible to know with 100 percent certainty how to participate in a greeting ritual. When in doubt, err on the side of formality. An American businessman could be caught off guard by an abrazo, though the reaction by the Mexican counterpart is likely to be a wide smile. In parts of Asia, introductions are accompanied by two nonverbal processes that initiate an interaction: business card exchange and bowing; bowing may also occur at the end of a conversation. Although Westerners, in a very general sense, understand the meaning attached to these processes, they are complex. The notes from a participant in a Japanese cross- cultural training session revealed the following:

The last thing that we did before the training was over was to practice exchanging business cards and practice bowing. When you hand someone a business card, you would say, “My name is …” or “Watashi- no-namae wa.…” Then there are two things you can say. One is, “It’s the first time we’re meeting.” A second thing that you could say is, “Pleased to meet you.” I practiced bowing and giving my business card with one other person and found it quite difficult. I wasn’t sure if you bowed first and then gave the business card later.

Communicating across cultures: nonverbal 69

Business card exchange

Business cards belong to a type of nonverbal communication called artifacts. It turns out that the business card exchange precedes bowing. The reason is relatively straightforward. The business card helps the Asian businessperson to learn your title or position within a firm. Armed with this information, the Korean businessperson is able to understand your rank or position relative to him or her (Kohls 2001). The Japanese businessperson uses this information to determine how deferential to be (Hall and Hall 1987). Deference appears not only in how deeply one bows, but also in the tenor and content of the sub- sequent discussion. These kinds of considerations matter because hierarchy is an important dimension of these Asian cultures. Indeed, hierarchy was also at work in this chapter’s opening example of a meeting between some Japanese and Americans; the most senior Japanese executive sat in the middle of his side of the table surrounded by his subordinates. Appropriate business card exchange follows a number of rules. When giving or receiv- ing a business card, you hold it on the corners with both hands. It is important to make sure the recipient can read the wording as he or she takes the card. Koreans and Japanese who are dealing with English speakers typically have one side of their business cards printed in English. The giver says his or her name, and may say the firm’s name as well. As you take a business card, take the time to read it. In both cultures, it is appropriate to make facial expressions that give some indication of recognition or admiration based on what you have read on the business card. No matter how many people you might be introduced to, use the same level of care when exchanging cards. If at a meeting, it is considered

Photo 3.1 Business card exchange provides information, demonstrates respect, and estab- lishes hierarchy.

Source: Courtesy of Ken Kim.

70 Communicating across cultures: nonverbal

appropriate to place all the cards on the table in front of you so that they are aligned with the seating arrangement. It is not a good idea to write on a business card in the presence of the giver.

Bowing

Bowing is a type of nonverbal communication associated with posture. Once you have exchanged business cards, you and your new colleague will bow to each other; sometimes a handshake will follow. In both Korea and Japan, reciprocal bowing is determined largely by rank. In fact, the depth of the bows reveals the relative social status of two communica- tors (the deeper the bow, the lower the status). In Korea, the two individuals bow slightly to each other; normally it is the lower- ranked person who bows first. In Japan, when bowing deeply, it is conventional to lean slightly to the right to avoid bumping heads. The person of lower status is expected to initiate the bow, and the person of higher status determines when the bow is completed. People of equivalent status are expected to bow at the same depth while starting and finishing at the same time. As H. Befu (1979: 118) relates, this synchronization is an important feature:

The matter of synchrony, in fact perfect synchrony, is absolutely essential to bowing. Whenever an American tries to bow to me, I often feel extremely awkward and uncomfortable because I simply cannot synchronize bowing with him or her.… Bowing occurs in a flash of a second, before you have time to think. And both parties must know precisely when to start bowing, how deep, how long to stay in the bowed position, and when to bring their heads up.

Bowing also occurs in Japan as a form of greeting without the exchange of business cards. As an indication of how pervasive bowing is in Japan, Elizabeth Würtz states that the McDonald’s website in Japan uses videos showing bowing men on the introductory page and bowing females on the contact page (2005: 285), while Helmut Morsbach reports that “some female department store employees have the sole function of bowing to cus- tomers at department store escalators” and that many Japanese “bow repeatedly to invis- ible partners at the other end of a telephone line” (1982: 307). Americans are not expected to know all of the ritual subtleties associated with business introductions if they have not had experience in these cultures. Indeed, Koreans and Japa- nese may simply shake hands with the Americans—particularly in partnering situations in which they meet on an ongoing basis. However, those from the host culture will appreci- ate the willingness and interest by their guests to learn about their culture. Those efforts will go a long way in establishing a positive impression.

Gift giving

Gift giving also belongs to a type of nonverbal communication called artifacts. It is important in many cultures and functions to promote and solidify social connections. Gift giving in a business, rather than personal, context often occurs as a way to create a strong, positive image as part of business introductions. S. J. Yoon points out that if an initial meeting between a Korean and an American firm takes place in Korea, a gift may be pre- sented at the first meeting. If a series of meetings are planned, the gift giving may occur at the last meeting. Moreover, “If one of the parties is not prepared to give one [at some

Communicating across cultures: nonverbal 71

meeting], the party may bring a gift at the next meeting,” according to Yoon (personal communication). A gift is presented after those in attendance have introduced themselves. The giver typically presents it to the highest- status person present, such as a team leader, manager, or executive. The gift may or may not be opened immediately. If it is opened right away, the giver might provide an explanation of what the gift is (e.g., a particular handicraft, a product of a particular region). One business consultant from Michigan routinely takes pins and tie tacks made of Petosky stone (a rock of fossilized coral and the state stone of Michigan) for his Brazilian clients. Another consultant took packages containing several varieties of nuts to Brazil. This gift had the virtue of widespread appeal and could be shared easily in an office environment. Wiboon Arunthanes and his colleagues developed a cross- cultural gift- giving model that provides guidance to global businesspeople about gifts. They compared high- and low- context cultures with giver and recipient views of gift giving. When the giver and recipi- ent are from a high- context national culture (e.g., Turkey, Spain), gift giving is viewed as a “must.” When the giver and recipient are from a low- context national culture (e.g., Canada, Switzerland), gift giving is optional. When the giver is from a high- context culture and the recipient is from a low- context culture, the recipient “may feel very reluctant to accept a gift and even offended if it is an expensive one … and probably will

Box 3.1 The custom of bowing in twenty- first century Korea

While habitual for native contemporary Koreans, the intricacies of proper bowing behavior are often anxiety producing for non- Asian business travelers. In Korea, as well as other Asian cultures, bowing is a fundamental form of communication dating back several thousand years to the teachings of Confucius. The teachings of Confucius focused on the mortal world of rulers and their subjects rather than life after death. In Confucianism, order and peace eman- ated from the top of society. Rulers achieved order and harmony in their kingdoms when they adhered to strict moral codes and expected virtues. These virtues included humanness, filial piety, ritual, humility, loyalty, and diligence. Confucius also taught that the safety and well- being of a society depended on the people maintaining and strengthening five key relation- ships: ruler to subject, father to son, husband to wife, elder to younger, and friend to friend. Thus, unlike other world religions, Confucianisn emphasizes proper relationships and obliga- tions of people to one another rather than between people and their deities. Despite enormous influences of other world philosophies on Korean culture over the cen- turies, respect for age and seniority remains an important tenet of present day Korean culture. To illustrate, the elderly in Korea have designated seating on trains and buses, and are rou- tinely afforded places of honor at the dinner table and at the business conference table. And, age influences bowing behaviour as well. When bowing, the younger person will be expected to bow more deeply and wait for the elder person to initiate the bow. Interestingly, it is not considered disrespectful to ask the age of a person in Korea (as it would be in Western society) because when you know a person’s age, you will be able to show the proper respect and deference. The form that bowing takes in present- day Korea varies in terms of the social context and purpose of the bow. When the purpose of the bow is to apologize or to give thanks, the bower “bows at about 45 degrees with the head lowered lasting for about the count of three” (Mac- Gregor 2008). Both of these types of bows will vary in depth and frequency depending on the seriousness of the offense and the sincerity of the gratitude.

72 Communicating across cultures: nonverbal

be quite concerned with legal and ethical issues” (1994: 48). When the reverse pattern applies and the recipient is from a high- context culture and the giver is from a low- context culture, gifts “will be fully expected” but “the giver tends to underestimate and downplay the importance of giving business gifts” (1994: 48). There are sensitivities around business gift giving. Almost a century ago, Marcel Mauss (1923) suggested that gift exchange was based on expectations of return. Bronislaw Malinowski (1922: 176–191) talked about “gifts and countergifts” along a continuum from a “pure gift” in which no return is expected, to “gifts returned in economically equivalent form,” to trade for “mutual advantage.” Business gift giving does not serve as a “pure gift.” Instead, it functions as a way to build or reinforce business relationships, typically in antic- ipation of a future for the relationship. In Korea, “If the business relationship grows deeper and more mature over time, the gift giving may be used to symbolize long- term friend- ship,” and thus be viewed with great importance, according to S. J. Yoon. In China a gift carries long- term social obligations within guanxi, one’s set of interper- sonal connections. Such relationships involve the reciprocal exchange of favors and gifts that are mutually beneficial. Andrew Millington and his colleagues (2005: 262) investi- gated supplier relationships in a sample of manufacturing firms from the United Kingdom in China. They found that gifts were small and given at the time of Chinese holidays, and that companies distinguished between gift giving and dining on the one hand, and “under- table” or “back- door dealings” on the other. One of their interviewees stated: We strive to get good relationships with the supplier through frequent contact, often of the social kind: lots of dinners, going out in order to make sure any problems can be swiftly solved on the basis of these friendship dealings. Guanxi is to sort out minor problems and to have the

Photo 3.2 Gift giving can help establish and/or cement business relationships.

Source: Courtesy of Ken Kim.

Communicating across cultures: nonverbal 73

relationship run smoothly, based on trust and without too much lengthy administration— but if the fundamentals of quality and price are not there, merely guanxi will not hold up the relationship. Nevertheless, Westerners sometimes perceive guanxi relationships as nep- otistic or corrupt. Care must be taken to ensure that the gift is legal and ethical or else the business relationship may be adversely affected.

Interactions among businesspeople

Business interactions among individuals and organizations begin at the time of first com- munication—whether that communication involves an email, face- to-face meeting, con- ference call, or some other means. Business introductions are a preliminary part of business interactions. If all goes well, business relationships grow through subsequent contact. In this section, the focus is on interactions among businesspeople once the business introduc- tions have taken place. Many different domains of nonverbal communication affect the quality, effectiveness, and longevity of business interactions. A thorough discussion of all aspects of nonverbal communication would take us beyond the scope of this book. To convey the importance of nonverbal communication in an international business context, we examine some domains that have important effects on interpersonal communication and global business practice. Included in this section are body posture, gaze, facial expressions, hand gestures, dress, proxemics, and new technologies and visual media.

Body posture

The way that people hold their bodies frequently communicates information about their social status, religious practices, feelings of submissiveness, desires to maintain social dis- tance, and sexual intentions, to mention only some areas. When communicating, people tend to orient their bodies toward others by assuming a certain stance or posture. A person may stand over another person, kneel, or “turn a cold shoulder.” In each case, something dif- ferent would be communicated by the body posture. Postural cues constitute very effective signs of a person’s inner state as well as his or her behavioral expectations of others. When people are interacting in a cross- cultural environment, sharp differences can be seen in terms of what postures are taken and what meanings they convey. For example, in the U.S., we stand up to show respect; in certain Polynesian cultures, people sit down. We frequently lean back in our chairs and may even put our feet on our desks to convey a relaxed, informal attitude, but the Swiss and Germans would think such a posture rude. For many people, squatting is the most normal position for relaxing, yet for the typical Westerner it seems improper, “uncivilized,” or at least not terribly sophisticated. Sometimes we can inadvertently choose a body posture that will have disastrous results. Condon and Yousef (1975: 22) describe such a case:

The British professor of poetry relaxed during his lecture at Ain Shams University in Cairo. So carried away was he in explicating a poem that he leaned back in his chair and so revealed the sole of his foot to an astonished class. To make such a gesture in a Moslem society (where the foot is considered the filthiest part of the body) is the worst kind of insult. The Cairo newspapers the next day carried banner headlines about the student demonstration which resulted, and they denounced British arro- gance and demanded that the professor be sent home.

74 Communicating across cultures: nonverbal

This same meaning was seen on the global stage on two high- profile occasions at the start of the twenty- first century. In 2003, the statue of Saddam Hussein was dramatically pulled down in Baghdad with the help of a U.S. tank. As a nonverbal gesture of pure cultural insult, Iraqis in the street began pounding the fallen statue with their shoes. Five years later in 2008, an Iraqi reporter hurled shoes at President George W. Bush during a news conference in the palace of Prime Minister Nuri al- Maliki located in Baghdad’s Green Zone. The reporter said, “This is a farewell … you dog!” in Arabic. How we position ourselves when communicating with another person is also culturally variable. To turn one’s back on someone is a clear nonverbal indicator in the U.S. (and in many other societies as well) of an unwillingness to converse at all. But the degree to which two people are expected to face one another in normal conversation is not the same in all cultures. Even though two white, middle- class Americans have no difficulty convers- ing while walking next to each other with an occasional turn of the head, Edward Hall found it to be a major problem when attempting to walk and talk in this fashion with an Arab friend (1966: 160–161). While they walked, the Arab stopped to face Hall each time he spoke. Because many Arabic cultures insist on a high degree of eye contact when con- versing, conversants must be facing one another directly. Hall soon discovered that to talk while walking side by side without maintaining intense eye contact was considered rude by the Arab’s standards. This example illustrates not only how body stance or position com- municates different messages but also how two domains of nonverbal communication— body position and gaze—are intimately interconnected.

Gaze

All cultures use gaze (eye contact) as a very important mechanism for communicating nonverbally. John Heron (1970: 244) refers to gaze as “the most fundamental primary mode of interpersonal encounter,” for it is where two pairs of eyes come together “that people actually meet (in the strict sense).” Unlike other forms of nonverbal communica- tion, gaze is particularly salient because it is so noticeable. As Phoebe Ellsworth (1975: 5–6) notes:

For a behavior that involves no noise and little movement, it has a remarkable capa- city to draw attention to itself even at a distance.… People often use a direct gaze to attract another person’s attention in situations where noise or gesticulation are inap- propriate. The fact that we expect others to be responsive to our gaze is illustrated by our exasperation when dealing with people who have learned immunity to the effects of a stare, such as waiters.

The communicative function of the eyes has not escaped poets and essayists, for as Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “One of the most wonderful things in nature is a glance of the eye; it transcends speech; it is the bodily symbol of identity” (cited in Champness 1970: 309). The eyes are, in fact, such a powerful force for interpersonal interaction that it is imposs- ible not to communicate through visual behavior; that is, if we maintain eye contact with someone, we are communicating just as much as if we avoid eye contact. Although some aspects of eye communication are partially controlled by physiology, such as pupil dilation, much of the meaning attached to gaze and gaze avoidance is cultur- ally determined. Like many other forms of learned behavior, gaze can be affected by early childhood socialization, as exemplified by infants who are carried on their mothers’ backs

Communicating across cultures: nonverbal 75

and thus have little contact with the mothers’ faces. In later life, cultures tend to be extremely efficient at instilling certain values concerning gaze or its avoidance. Yet when- ever it may be internalized, how, when, and to what extent people in different cultures use gaze as a communication mechanism vary widely. One of the best scientifically controlled studies of eye contact in a number of different cultures was conducted by O. M. Watson (1970) among foreign- exchange students in the U.S. Pairs of students were invited into a laboratory and asked to talk on any subject in their native language while being observed from a one- way screen. Watson found that the highest levels of gaze were recorded for Arabs and people from Latin America, and the lowest levels were found among Indians and northern Europeans. These findings lend cre- dence to the earlier statement made by Edward Hall that “Arabs look each other in the eye when talking with an intensity that makes most Americans highly uncomfortable” (1966: 161). In such cultures, a lower degree of eye contact (such as might be found in the U.S.) can be viewed as impolite, inattentive, insincere, and aloof. There are also differences in the use of eyes to send and receive messages. Charles Mitchell (2000: 5) tells of an American businesswoman who had developed a good working relationship (over the telephone) with a British colleague working in London:

All went well until the American traveled to London to meet face- to-face with her British colleague to sign a research and development contract. The first meeting did not go well. “There was something that did not seem right,” she says, “Throughout the presentation none of the Brits, not even the guy I had developed a phone

Photo 3.3 The direct intense gaze is a sign of attentiveness and respect in some societies, whereas in others it is threatening and hostile.

Source: Greg Pease/Stone/Getty Images.

76 Communicating across cultures: nonverbal

relationship with, would look us in the eye. It was like they were hiding something. After a lot of internal discussion, we decided to sign the contract, but many of us still felt uneasy.… It almost ruined the relationship and sunk the deal.”

On the other hand, many societies teach their children to avoid direct eye contact in general or in specific social situations. Michael Argyle and Mark Cook report that among the Wituto and Bororo Indians of South America, both parties in a conversation must avoid direct eye contact by looking at some external object while talking (1976: 29). In Japan, rather than looking a person straight in the eyes, one should focus the gaze some- what lower, around the region of the Adam’s apple (Morsbach 1982: 308). The Navajo define eye contact so negatively that they have as part of their folklore a mythical monster named He- Who-Kills- With-His- Eyes who serves to teach Navajo youngsters that to stare can actually kill another person. In many parts of sub- Saharan Africa, direct eye contact must be avoided when addressing a person of higher- status. When we interact in an inter- national business context with people from such cultures, we must realize that our insist- ence on maintaining a relatively high level of gaze could be interpreted as threatening, disrespectful, haughty, or insulting. Rules for eye contact in public places also vary from one culture to another. “In small towns in India, people do not see foreigners often, so they stare at them. Seeing somebody so different is a novelty” according to anthropologist Anulekha Roy (personal communi- cation). To gaze at a foreigner is not considered rude by local standards. Indeed, “They do not even realize that the foreigner will feel uncomfortable.” By contrast, in the U.S., staring openly at someone in a public place is considered rude and an infringement on one’s privacy. Instead, Americans practice what Erving Goffman (1963) refers to as “civil inattention,” a very subtle practice whereby people give others just enough eye contact to acknowledge their presence but at the next moment withdraw that eye contact so they are not singled out as an object of particular curiosity. When two people are walking toward each other, civil inattention permits eye contact up to approximately eight feet before the eyes are cast downward as they pass, or as Goffman puts it, “a kind of dimming of lights” (1963: 84). Like so many other aspects of nonverbal behavior, civil inattention is such a subtle social ritual that most middle- class Americans are barely aware of it. Nevertheless, it remains an important nonverbal behavior that regulates interaction in the U.S.

Hand gestures

Until the mid twentieth century, the systematic study of hand gestures had gone largely unnoticed. Nonverbal communication in general, and hand gestures in particular, have long been considered a trivial aspect of communication, especially in the Western world. Because we are told that language (the capacity to use words to symbolize) is the hallmark of our humanity, we tend to consider all other forms of communication as pedantic and unimportant. But human communication is greatly enriched by the nonverbal component. According to Susan Goldin- Meadow (2003) using hand gestures can assist us in thinking “by reducing cognitive effort,” and in fact, speakers are likely to increase the number of speech errors when they cannot use hand gestures. In addition, the very meaning of words can, in fact, change, depending on the accom- panying hand gestures. Randall Harrison (1974: 135) offers an illustration from the English language. The words “Just let me say …” when used with the gesture of the hand up, palm facing the addressee, are likely to mean: “Wait, let me say.…” These same words

Communicating across cultures: nonverbal 77

with the gesture of the hand out and palm facing downward would most likely imply: “Let me tell you how it really is.” Finally, to utter these words with the hand out and palm facing upward would mean “It seems to me.…” Thus, these three different palm orienta- tions can provide three quite different meanings to the same words. Obviously, words are nearly indispensable for the communication of facts, but without hand gestures the human communication process would be mechanical and less capable of subtle nuances. The use of fingers, hands, and arms for purposes of communicating varies considerably from one culture to another. Some cultures (e.g., those located in southern Europe and the Middle East) employ a wide variety of gestures frequently and with considerable force and purposefulness. Based on research conducted on Italian and Jewish immigrants in New York City, David Efron (1941) found that Italians used broad, full- arm gestures with rel- ative frequency. At the other extreme, some indigenous Indian groups in Bolivia use hand gestures very sparingly because the cool highland climate requires them to keep their hands under shawls or blankets (Jensen 1982: 266). Still other cultures, like our own and those found in northern Europe, illustrate a middle position and tend to be more reserved in their use of gestures. These cultures place a higher value on verbal messages and no doubt consider excessive gesturing to be overly emotional, irrational, and socially unsophisticated. Proficiency in nonverbal communication is essential if one hopes to become competent in a particular culture. Through the process of socialization, young children learn nonver- bal communication, including hand gestures. For those of us who are exposed to cultures at an older age, the task requires observation, relationship skills, and perseverance. Martin Meissner and Stuart Philpott experienced the “language of manual gestures” first hand as they described their fieldwork with sawmill workers in British Columbia, Canada:

Some of the meanings [of the gestures used in the mills] became apparent from the context or consequences. Others were shouted to us over the shoulder and eventually explained at lunch time. The repertory was enlarged, during breaks, in conversations with a group of sawyers … Questions and jokes were of course also specifically directed to us, and we were usually at a loss for the quick and effective answer which the situ- ation demanded. We used crude sketches and written descriptions to record signs at the time of observing their use.

(1975: 291, 293)

They discovered that the workers used more than 200 gestures only when in the mill, and not in the lunch or coffee areas. Moreover, their analysis showed that these gestures were used only when high levels of noise (from the equipment) were combined with spe- cific elements of the production process (e.g., rapid work cycles, workers spatially sepa- rated, workers confined to a fixed work station). Meissner and Philpott’s work has the double virtue of documenting their process for learning the gestures, and describing the circumstances that led to the proliferation of gestures they recorded. Andrew Molinsky and his colleagues designed a study to examine the relationship between length of stay in a foreign location and gesture recognition accuracy. They had an actor perform 28 nonverbal gestures—most of which were hand gestures. Study particip- ants had to decide if these gestures were commonly used in the U.S. or not. Examples of a common American gesture included “thumbs- up” and “thumbs- down” gestures, a gesture indicating quotation marks, an “I can’t hear you” gesture in which the person cups his left hand around his left ear, and a “phew” gesture in which the person wipes his brow from

78 Communicating across cultures: nonverbal

left to right (2005: 385–386). Molinsky and his colleagues found that the longer a non- native was in the U.S., the greater the accuracy in recognizing American gestures. Their work illustrates the importance of nonverbal gestures in cultural adaptation. Unlike verbal communication, which is usually well documented in structure and meaning, the nonverbal aspects of communication in most language communities are very infrequently described; when they are, those descriptions are usually superficial and incom- plete. One of the rare exceptions is the study conducted by Desmond Morris and col- leagues (1979) of 20 major gestures found in Western Europe. Data were collected from 40 localities, using 25 languages, in 25 different countries. A sizable number of these gestures, used and understood widely in contemporary Europe, are also used and understood in the U.S. There is, for example, general consensus in both the U.S. and Western Europe about the meaning of crossed fingers (good luck), the contemptuous nose thumb, and the sexu- ally insulting forearm jerk. Given our strong European heritage, many European gestures have survived the Atlantic crossing. Yet, despite these similarities on both sides of the Atlantic, far more gestures that have little or no meaning in the U.S. are used commonly in Europe. Morris and his associates cited a number of hand gestures, which are widely used in Europe but have little meaning to the average American. Many of these hand gestures cited by Morris have their origins in Italy, which undeni- ably has the most robust lexicon of hand gestures found anywhere in Europe, or perhaps anywhere in the world. To illustrate, here are just a handful (pun intended) of hand ges- tures found in present- day Italy, with less theatrical variations found in other parts of Western Europe:

• The eyelid pull (the forefinger is placed below one eye, pulling the skin downward and thereby tugging on the lower eyelid)—meaning “I am alert” or “Be alert” in Spain, France, Italy, and Greece.

• The chin stroke (the thumb and forefinger, placed on each cheek bone, are gently stroked down to the chin)—meaning “thin and ill” in the southern Mediterranean area.

• The earlobe pull or flick (the earlobe is tugged or flicked with the thumb and forefinger of the hand on the same side of the body)—a sign of effeminacy found predominantly in Italy, meaning “I think you are so effeminate that you should be wearing an earring.”

• The nose tap (the forefinger in a vertical position taps the side of the nose)—meaning “Keep it a secret.”

• The chin flick (a gesture of derision or indifference made by flicking the fingernails across the bottom of the chin in an outward direction)—meaning “I don’t care” or “Get lost!”

• Outward facing palms (both hands up at shoulder level, with palms facing outward, and fingers spread apart)—“It wasn’t me” or “I don’t know.”

• The cheek screw (pointed index finger twisting into one’s own cheek)—meaning “superb” or “delicious,” as when complimenting one’s marinara sauce.

• The moving OK sign (making a circle with one’s thumb and index finger and moving it in a straight line in front of your face or chest)—meaning “Perfect!”

• The wrist tap (tapping one’s own wrist with the index and middle fingers)—meaning “Hurry up!”

• The finger purse (pinching the four fingers against the thumb in an upward facing posi- tion), a classic Italian gesture with variable meanings depending on the accompanying words, such as “What do you want from me?” or “I wasn’t born yesterday!”

Communicating across cultures: nonverbal 79

These examples represent just 10 common Italian hand gestures, of approximately 250 identified by psychology professor Isabella Poggi of Roma Tre University, an expert on Italian nonverbal communication. The half- jocular notion that Italians would be unable to express themselves if their hands were tied behind their backs is more than a vulgar stereotype. In fact, contemporary Italians are justifiably proud of their elaborate gesticulat- ing skills, arguing that it only enhances their collective capacity to communicate effect- ively. While there is no scientific evidence to suggest that hand gestures (or other forms of non- verbal communication) are genetically transmitted, some Italians joke that gesturing may begin in utero. According to Laura Offeddu (Donadio 2013: A- 6), while moving her pinched fingers up and down: “In the ultrasound, I think the baby is saying, Doctor, what do you want from me?” For more visual examples of gesturing across cultures, see: A Short Lexicon of Italian Hand Gestures (www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/07/01/world/ europe/A- Short-Lexicon- of-Italian- Gestures.html, accessed May 30, 2016, and Italian Hand Gestures: A Short History (video) (www.nytimes.com/video/world/europe/10000 0002309793/the- italian-gesture-.html, accessed May 30, 2016). Different cultures can use quite different gestures to signify the same idea. Beckoning for someone to come into your office can be done in a variety of ways. In many parts of Europe, you extend your arm outward, palm down, and fingers curled as if you are scratch- ing something. By contrast, in the U.S., the palm is extended upward as you move your curled fingers back and forth. The movement of the fingers in both the European and American models signals to the person to move toward your office. Michaela Safadi and Carol Ann Valentine point out that the Saudis use the palm- up gesture more so than other Arab- speaking cultures that use the palm- down gesture (1990: 281). Americans have a second option when beckoning to a child or lower- status person: palm up with only the index finger elongated and moving forward and backward. Accord- ing to Roger Axtell, the beckoning index finger would be considered impolite in places such as Malaysia and in parts of the Balkans since it is a gesture used to call animals (2007: 23). Because the human hand is such a precision instrument, and since communication patterns are so arbitrary, a vast array of alternative hand gestures can convey any given idea. Cross- cultural misunderstandings can also occur when a single hand gesture has a number of different meanings in different parts of the world. For example, most people in the U.S. know that to signify that something is OK or good, one raises one’s hand and makes a circle with the thumb and forefinger. In fact, Roger Axtell reports that Milton Bradley Company conducted a survey to identify the most well- known American gestures prior to the introduction of its game Guesstures. “The O.K. sign had 98 percent recogni- tion, greater than any other gesture” (2007: 12–13). However, this same hand gesture means “zero” or “worthless” to the French, “money” to the Japanese, “male homosexual” in Malta, and a general sexual insult in parts of South America. Another example—and one that had some serious diplomatic repercussions—is the clasped- hands-over- the-head gesture made famous by Soviet Premier Khrushchev on his visit to the U.S. in the 1960s. Interpreted by Americans as an arrogant gesture used by victorious prizefighters, it was used by Khrushchev as a gesture of international friendship.

80 Communicating across cultures: nonverbal

Facial expressions

The face, perhaps the single most important part of the body for channeling nonverbal communication, is particularly rich in its potential for communicating emotional states. Next to speech, the face is the “primary source of giving information” (Knapp 1972: 68–69). In English and in most other languages as well, only a handful of words refer to specific facial expressions (e.g., smile, frown, grimace, squint). Human facial muscles, however, are so complex that literally hundreds of different facial expressions are possible. The face is, in fact, so central to the process of communication that we speak of “face- to- face” communication, and English speakers to some extent—and Japanese to a far greater degree—speak of “losing face” in certain embarrassing situations. There is little question about the importance of the face as a source of nonverbal com- munication. The face is capable of conveying emotional, attitudinal, and factual informa- tion in short periods of time. In addition, the question of facial expressions has been central to the nature- nurture debate surrounding all nonverbal communication. Unlike every other form of nonverbal communication—which tends to be largely culture bound—a substantial body of literature claims that some facial expressions may be innate human traits, regardless of cultural context. Charles Darwin (1872) was the first to propose the notion of certain universal facial expressions, an idea also supported by F. H. Allport (1924) and Paul Ekman et al. (1972). All these researchers have attempted to demonstrate that certain emotions are expressed by the same facial expressions in widely diverse cul- tures, including isolated, preliterate cultures having little contact with the Western world. Some researchers have traveled the globe in search of remote tribal groups that have facial expressions identical to our own. For example, I. Eibl- Eibesfeldt (1971) contends that all people give a rapid “eyebrow flash” when greeting someone (the eyebrows are instantaneously raised and then lowered). Although this research is not exhaustive, the

Box 3.2 A myriad of meanings behind “thumbs up”

The thumbs- up gesture is interesting because it has multiple meanings attached to it. There is a broad, global consensus that it is a positive symbol; it generally means “OK” or “fine” and is interpreted that way in many parts of the world. However, this gesture is associated with numbers: in Germany it means “one” and in Japan “five.” Alternately, in Nigeria, it is con- sidered a rude gesture. An analysis of this gesture in Brazil by anthropologist Joel Sherzer was especially revealing. Sherzer was able to link the thumbs- up gesture (TUG) to seven kinds of interactions (1991: 191–192). He found that the meaning of the gesture was a function of the particular social context as in these situations:

• “To signify ‘positive,’ ‘good,’ or ‘OK’ with or without [words]. … In a game of tennis, one man hits a clear winner. His opponent responds by making the TUG.”

• As a response to a correction, “A informs B that her car headlights are on. B says ‘obrigado’ (thank you) and makes the TUG”.

• “As a request for permission to perform an action in a wide variety of situations. … A man wants to cross the street even though the light is against him. He makes the TUG to a car moving toward him. The car stops for him, and he crosses the street.”

Thus, the thumbs- up gesture is culturally complex. It represents a mix of global consensus, between- culture differences, and within- culture differences all wrapped up in one.

Communicating across cultures: nonverbal 81

wide global distribution of this particular facial movement strongly suggests that the behavior is inborn. Moreover, children who were born blind and deaf exhibit the normal repertoire of facial expressions, which would tend to eliminate the possible explanation that the expressions were acquired through the process of learning (Eibl- Eibesfeldt 1972). The nature- nurture question has not been settled, and others contend that facial expressions are culture bound. R. L. Birdwhistell (1963) advances the position that facial expressions do not have universal meanings but are instead the result of cultural, not bio- logical, inheritance. To substantiate this position, one has only to examine the variations in smiling behavior throughout the world. Weston LaBarre (1947: 52) distinguishes between two well- described cultures in the southwest Pacific—the Papuans, known for their wide use of smiling, and the Dobus, where “dourness reigned.” Geoffrey Gorer (1935: 10) reports that in certain parts of Africa, laughter and smiling are used to express surprise, wonder, and embarrassment, not amusement or happiness. Morsbach (1982: 307) suggests that, although a sign of joy in Japan, smiling can also be used to hide displeasure, sorrow, or anger, and the trained observer should be able to distinguish between these two types of smiling. J. V. Jensen (1982: 265) contends that in some Asian cultures smiling is a sign of weakness, and it is for this reason that teachers avoid smiling in class lest they lose control over their students. Thus, it would appear that, despite the fact that all people smile, the meanings attached to this particular facial expression vary widely. In some parts of the world, it is considered highly desirable to maintain an expression- less face. Nowhere is this ideal more widely adhered to than in Japan, which no doubt accounts for the contention by many Westerners that the Japanese are “inscrutable.” According to Morsbach (1982: 308):

Self- control, thought of as highly desirable in Japan, demands that a man of virtue will not show a negative emotion in his face when shocked or upset by sudden bad news; and if successful, is lauded as tiazen jijaku to shite (perfectly calm and collected), or mayu hitotsu ugokasazu ni (without even moving an eyebrow).… The idea of an expressionless face in situations of great anxiety was strongly emphasized in the bushido (way of the warrior) which was the guideline for samurai and the ideal of many others.

This ideal of masking one’s emotions is well supported by research conducted by Shimoda et al. (1978). English, Italian, and Japanese judges were asked to read or “decode” the

Box 3.3 A smile is not just a smile

Smiles don’t always indicate happiness. Christopher Engholm relates a personal experience that illustrates the meaning of a smile in China:

One morning, standing in front of our hotel in Korla, a desert town in the Xinjiand province of China, a United Nations consultant and I saw a tractor- wagon, loaded with masonry rock, hit a ditch and dump its contents upon its driver.… Our hotel concierge ran over to examine the situation and gave us the lowdown with a toothy smile: “He dead for sure. Hit his head very hard, I think.” We stood there horrified at his seeming indifference, until we remembered that his smile was a shield to protect us—the honored foreign guests—from being disturbed by the event.

(1991: 134)

82 Communicating across cultures: nonverbal

nonverbal facial expressions of performers from these three cultural groups. All three sets of judges had the least accuracy reading the facial expressions of the Japanese performers, a result explained by the lack of negative facial expressions. Another factor that tends to produce cultural differences is that facial expressions are filtered through one’s culturally learned display rules. Our culture teaches us what we should feel and how we should show it. It might be appropriate to intensify a felt emotion because it is socially expected, such as a display of exaggerated pleasure over receiving a present that was not particularly attractive or desirable. On other occasions, it might be socially appropriate to deintensify, or de- emphasize, an emotion, such as repressing one’s delight over winning a large pot in a poker game. In some situations, culture requires one emotion to mask another, as exemplified by the runner- up in a beauty contest who is expected to suppress her own disappointment by showing happiness for the winner. And, Morsbach (1982: 307) reminds us that the Japanese often mask their sorrow or anger by laughing and smiling. Thus, these socially learned display rules of intensification, deintensification, and masking can modify facial expressions from one cultural context to another. If, in fact, cultural learning can affect how and to what extent messages are sent by facial expressions, it behooves international businesspeople to become familiar with this critical aspect of nonverbal communication.

Dress

Royal weddings are big business—big international business. The wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton in London on April 29, 2011, was expected to generate £50 million in revenue from food, hotels, souvenirs, and attractions on the day of the wedding alone, “kick- starting a tourism bonanza that is set to last a decade” (Gordon 2011). Indeed, there are hopes for billions of dollars in revenue from the wedding (Ridgwell 2011).

Photo 3.4 Differences in facial expressions may suggest the need for further inquiry.

Source: by the authors.

Communicating across cultures: nonverbal 83

One of the topics covered by the media was dress: of the wedding party, guests, and onlookers. Fashion writers from the U.S. (as well as other countries) wrote reviews of what women were wearing at the royal wedding, in much the same way that they often describe (in excruciating detail) the gowns and jewelry of the female nominees at the Academy Awards ceremony. While the outfits that surfaced at the wedding were seen by the foreign press as generally tasteful and appropriate for a British royal wedding, much attention was paid to the wide variety of prominent hats—in many shapes and sizes—worn by female attendees at the royal wedding. Indeed, American media drew upon many analogies to describe these hats, and their first cousins, the fascinators, which are made of feathers, ribbons, and flowers and are attached to one’s hair. Many of these headpieces were con- sidered over- the-top and likened to a giant salmon, alien appendage, lampshade, cow catcher, salad plate, bait, tea cozy, and uterus and fallopian tubes, to name a few. Yet, this fascination with dress—particularly hats and fascinators—was tinged with dis- paragement. These mocking descriptions show no willingness or ability to recognize the strong tradition and meaning behind such accessories. Since hats are routinely part of the British female costume, they function to define and distinguish British from American couture. In Britain, hats complete an outfit, drawing attention to the wearer and signaling the wearer’s style and status. In America, hats are viewed (mostly) as some combination of unnecessary, impractical, or silly, with some exceptions (e.g., church attendance among African American women, female attendance at the Kentucky Derby). Thus, hats play a central role in differentiating British and American women when formally dressed. Belittling these highly individualized accessories has the effect of creating an “in- group/out- group” cat- egorization in which the Americans clearly view themselves as part of the “in- group.” What is behind the way people dress? Clothing and other accessories represent important symbols of cultural identity. They serve to distinguish groups of people based on occupation, gender, age, socio- economic status, and club or association affiliation (e.g., football/soccer leagues and clubs, Girl Scouts/Girl Guides, hospital volunteers), among others. They signal belonging to or participation in a particular national culture (American tourists wearing shorts and baseball caps and carrying cameras in Europe),

Box 3.4 Take a look at that abayah!

When anthropologist Ann Jordan takes a group of American female students to Saudi Arabia, she has them purchase an inexpensive, conservative abayah and headscarf online before departure. Once on location, the students, dressed in their own abayahs, quickly note the vari- ation in this traditional form of dress worn by Saudi women. Some are hand embroidered. Some are decorated with sequins and beads along the edges of sleeves or on the back. Others may be trimmed in some color, or reveal a design beneath the outer layer. Such decoration makes the traditional dress for Saudi females less conservative. Indeed, abayahs can be very stylish and cost thousands of dollars—a far cry, Jordan points out, from the undifferentiated “garbage bag that Westerners often perceive” (Ann Jordan, personal communication). “Abayah watching” provides clues about the current political climate, regional differences in this form of cultural expression, and location- specific variation (e.g., university setting, gov- ernment building). Once women enter their homes or places of employment, and if they are in the presence of only women and appropriate male relatives, they remove their abayahs until they move back into the public eye. “Abayah watching is one way to learn a little about Saudi culture, as well as just being a fun activity,” stated Jordan.

84 Communicating across cultures: nonverbal

organizational culture (uniforms worn by fast- food employees), or subculture (Orthodox Patriarchs of Constantinople and Russia in clerical garb). Thus, identity through dress is double- sided: it enables the wearer to be recognizable as a member of a particular group, and it functions to knit group members together as part of a common community. Sometimes dress becomes the subject of debate. Anthropologist Ann Jordan discovered tensions over dress among the staff at a large hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. She reported that “some Saudis believe that female nurses in scrubs should wear scrub uniforms with long sleeves, so that their arms will not be exposed, and that they should veil” (Jordan 2008: 188). Scrubs are the outfits consisting of tops and pants worn by medical personnel; the term originated from the process of “scrubbing” for surgery. “Those oppos- ing the long sleeves won out because of concerns about long sleeves coming in contact with the sterile field during medical procedures,” stated Jordan. Interestingly, Jordan found that female physicians, nurses, and other medical specialists who were Muslim had more flexibility in what they wore inside the hospital compared to other public places. Some women inside the hospital opted to cover their faces while others did not (Jordan 2008). All were able to replace the abayah (the long, loose black robe that is a required covering for females in public) with a lab coat and long skirt or long pants. There have been cultural changes in dress over time. Clothing protocol in American business organizations underwent a fairly dramatic change in the second half of the twentieth century. A key pattern was the more formal the dress, the higher the status of

Photo 3.5 Fashion and attire often fail to translate across borders.

Source: Courtesy of U. Ejiro O. Onomake.

Communicating across cultures: nonverbal 85

the individual. Senior leaders routinely wore business suits and ties—“gray pinstripe on the East Coast” according to anthropologist Frank Dubinskas (1988: 185). Entry- level professionals or support staff wore jacket and tie, or shirt and tie (for males) and dresses or skirts and blouses (for females). The dress of mid- tier professionals varied, tending to be more formal if one were interacting with higher- ranking managers—say, at a meeting. By the late 1980s, “business formal” attire began transitioning to “business casual.” It seemed to coincide, at least in the larger corporations, with the demise of highly visible indicators of executive status (e.g., executive dining rooms), the transformation of office secretaries into administrative assistants, and the widespread usage of personal computers by salaried and executive employees.

Proxemics

How people use space in their interactions with others is another “silent language” that must be understood to achieve clear communication within global business settings. This area of nonverbal communication is known as the study of proxemics, a term introduced by anthropologist Edward Hall, most notably in his book The Hidden Dimension (1966). In this section we focus on both personal space and organizational space, drawing on exam- ples from around the world. Although earlier researchers had developed similar concepts to Hall’s notion of personal space (Sommer 1959; Kuethe 1962; Little 1965), his observations and theories are clearly presented and rich in cross- cultural insights. Hall’s major contribution to our understanding of intercultural communication has been to demonstrate that people follow predictable cul- tural patterns when establishing distance between themselves and others. How close a person gets to another in normal conversation depends on the nature of the social inter- action, but in all cases the specific magnitude of the distance is dictated by cultural norms. An important part of Edward Hall’s (1966) typology of proxemics is his delineation of four categories of distance based on his observations of middle- class Americans:

• Intimate distance: Ranging from body contact to 18 inches, a distance used for love- making, comforting, and protecting, at which olfactory and thermal sensations are at their highest.

• Personal distance: From 18 inches to 4 feet, depending on the closeness of the rela- tionship. At this distancing mode people have an invisible “space bubble” separating themselves from others.

• Social distance: From 4 to 12 feet, a distance used by acquaintances and strangers in business meetings and classrooms.

• Public distance: From 12 to 25 feet, at which the recognition of others is not manda- tory and the subtle shades of meaning of voice, gesture, and facial expression are lost.

Although the specific distances described apply to middle- class Americans, all cultures have accustomed their people to feel comfortable at a specific distance. What is appropri- ate distance for one cultural group might appear to be “crowding” to another, or “standoff- ish” to a third. For example, operating within Edward Hall’s category of personal space, most middle- class Americans choose for normal conversations a distance of approximately 20 inches, with minor variations depending on gender and level of intimacy. For certain cultural groups in South America and the Caribbean, the normal conversational distance is in the range of 14–15 inches. And for certain cultures in the Middle East, that distance

86 Communicating across cultures: nonverbal

is as small as 9–10 inches. These appreciable differences should make it painfully obvious just how important an understanding of proxemic variables is to effective intercultural communication. To stand 20 inches from a Saudi Arabian, although normal for an Ameri- can, communicates reserve, unfriendliness, and a sense of superiority. Yet when the Saudi moves closer, to establish what for him is a more comfortable conversational distance, the typical American interprets it as pushy or aggressive. Because of these culturally produced perceptions of space, Americans, when conversing with South Americans or Middle East- erners, may find themselves continually backpedaling in an attempt to maintain their 20-inch distance as their foreign acquaintances continue to move closer. Although both conversants are simply trying to establish the normal conversational distance as deter- mined by their cultural upbringing, considerable misunderstandings can occur. Proxemic patterns are so important for cross- cultural communication largely because they represent such a subtle and frequently overlooked form of nonverbal communication. Each culture develops its own set of rules and uses of space, which like other aspects of culture are learned, but learned in an unconscious manner. It would be hard to find anyone in the U.S. who could testify that while growing up his or her adult role models explicitly taught him or her to maintain a conversational distance of 20 inches. Nevertheless, according to the findings of Edward Hall and others, middle- class Americans have learned what “proper” distance is, and they have learned it with remarkable consistency. There is variation in space usage within national cultures. Personal or individual attributes affect the use of space. Children play on playgrounds. Millionaires live in big expensive homes. Conductors walk the aisles of trains, and tuk- tuk drivers, operating their three- wheeled vehicles (in places like Honduras and Thailand), weave in and out of traffic. Native Americans may live and work on reserves (in Canada) and reservations (in the U.S.). Students are found in classrooms—often sitting, while their teachers are there too, but usually standing. In another example, spatial differentiation is created to accommodate gender differ- ences in the medical profession. The weekly resident and intern meeting took place in a big hall at a large hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Anthropologist Ann Jordan accom- panied the head physician to this meeting. Upon arrival, she noted that the female interns

Box 3.5 The “right” distance

Anthropologist Conrad Kottak says this about differences in personal space usage:

The world’s cultures have strikingly different notions about displays of affection and about matters of personal space. When North Americans talk, walk, and dance, they maintain a certain distance from others—their personal space. Brazilians, who maintain less physical distance, interpret this as a sign of coldness. When conversing with a North American, the Brazilian characteristically moves in as a North American “instinctively” retreats. In these body movements, neither Brazilian nor North American is trying con- sciously to be especially friendly or unfriendly. Each is merely executing a program written on the self by years of exposure to a particular cultural tradition. Because of dif- ferent ideas about proper social space, cocktail parties in international meeting places such as the United Nations can resemble an elaborate insect mating ritual as diplomats from different cultures advance, withdraw, and sidestep.

(2004: 88)

Communicating across cultures: nonverbal 87

and residents sat on one side of the hall while the males sat on the opposite side. This gender separation made sense to Jordan given what she knew about Saudi culture (Jordan 2011). What was somewhat surprising, however, was that the head physician—a male— chose to sit with Jordan on the female side of the hall. She asked him to explain why he sat with the women. He replied that he was their mentor and teacher and had to help both female and male physicians. Consequently, he could sit with the female interns. One lesson to draw from this example is that cultures have roles that link together culturally distinct and/or disparate groups. This head physician served as a bridge in the training of medical professionals within a particular spatial context. As the world has been globalizing, there has been a growing commonality in business office environments. Two key spatial patterns are associated with business discussions in many places around the world. One pattern is the conference room, which typically accommodates several clients or colleagues. A second pattern is the use of an individual’s office when only a few clients are involved; typically, there is a table around which people can sit—situated away from the occupant’s desk or workstation. There is variation, of course, for which an awareness of proxemics is valuable. An attor- ney’s office in Santiago, Chile, will have a desk against the wall but “usually, small confer- ence tables or coffee tables are there—around which people can talk, have coffee, and discuss business,” according to anthropologist Ken Erickson (personal communication). An ambience is created for the purpose of building business relationships. The business encounter has a quality of informality, though there is adherence to particular cultural rules regarding the use of space. Erickson reports:

Many smaller business office buildings in Santiago are converted old residences, walled, with outside space for discussion and meetings, as well as formal, fairly standard conference rooms. Offices are shared; bosses tend to meet people outside their own [boss’s] offices, in the conference room, around a table in the patio. If the company has many employees, you don’t eat where you conference, and you don’t conference in the canteen. But you may talk business after a nice lunch. Wine will be served—Chilean.

Contrast that kind of business environment with German business culture in which there is a strong value of privacy and personal space. A preference for closed doors while working is one way in which this preference is expressed. Moreover, Germans become uncomfort- able when someone moves his or her office chair closer to adjust the social situation. “There is great sensitivity about not moving or rearranging things in another office, acknowledging boundaries, and asking for permission when traversing boundaries” accord- ing to anthropologist Joerg Schmitz (personal communication). As in many business contexts, there are a range of options for German office environ- ments. While private offices are common, so are double offices (Doppelbüros) in which two people share an office, often with the desks facing each other. This kind of office arrange- ment is more common among mid- level management. Schmitz points out that German companies have experimented with open office space (Grossraumbüros): “It may be a testa- ment to the prevailing preference for ‘privacy’ that those office arrangements do not get great reviews.” As reported in a Swiss- German newspaper on April 27, 2010, a study found that employees do better in small, individual offices rather than open office arrangements (www.tagesanzeiger.ch/wirtschaft/konjunktur/Schlechte- Noten-fuers- Grossraumbuero/story/ 11770162, accessed June 16, 2011).

88 Communicating across cultures: nonverbal

Box 3.6 The importance of walls

Workspace is important around the world, though its meaning can differ by occupation and national culture. The head of General Motors Research and Development (GM R&D) encountered resistance to open office environments (cubicles) both in the established research facility in Warren, Michigan, and in the newer laboratories in Bangalore, India. “One reason our team was called in was because the Bangalore researchers kept putting in requests for headsets [to block ambient noise] and more one- on-one space for interacting with others,” reported anthropologist Tracy Meerwarth. This research executive asked his anthro- pologists to help him understand and manage the issue. Common themes across the two labs included a shared set of workspace requirements such as a workspace free of acoustical and visual distractions. To be productive, researchers emphasized the importance of privacy and “heads- down” (quiet) work (Meerwarth et al. 2008b), in addition to the ability to engage in problem- solving discussions with other researchers. Their researcher model of workspace was at odds with most other groups within the corporation where frequent and regular interaction was the norm and where workspace consisted of cubicles. There was an interesting difference distinguishing the Warren and Bangalore researchers. The Bangalore researchers were much more likely than the Warren researchers to view private offices, which they called “cabins,” as a key status symbol. Cabins were an important recruiting and retention tool in that they represented “hierarchy, power, and cultural symbol- ism in Bangalore’s highly- competitive industrial- research market” stated Meerwarth. Warren researcher comments did not reflect a significant focus on status, but rather emphasized the importance of “getting the work done,” according to Meerwarth’s colleague Wendy Bartlo, also an anthropologist. One insight from this project was that workspace in Bangalore played a role in shaping its organizational culture and in reinforcing themes of hierarchy and status within Indian society generally.

Photo 3.6 Workspaces should be designed with the work tasks in mind to maximize productivity. Walls and doors help researchers concentrate and collabo- rate without disturbing others.

Source: Courtesy of Tracy L. Meerwarth.

Communicating across cultures: nonverbal 89

In the late 1990s, businesses in the U.S., particularly in the high- tech industries, moved more and more toward the open office plan, where it was expected that colleagues would have greater opportunities to interact in creative ways. To be certain, business leaders are attracted to the open plan (characterized by low or no walls) because it maximizes office space and minimizes overhead. Moreover, it allows bosses to keep a close eye on their workers to insure that employees are not shopping online, playing video games, or updat- ing their Facebook pages. According to the International Facilities Management Associ- ation, by 2014 approximately 7 out of every 10 offices in the U.S. had an open plan. Nevertheless, it has become clear that whatever benefits accrue to increased creative inter- action, for many employees the open plan presents real challenges to their work productiv- ity. In an article in the Washington Post entitled “Google got it wrong: The open- office trend is destroying the workplace,” Lindsay Kaufman (2014) reports that many employees are often distracted by a dearth of both auditory and visual privacy. Eventually, such an innovative and informal spatial arrangement leads to a loss of “attention spans, productiv- ity, creative thinking, and satisfaction.” Thus, after several decades of wide- open spaces, some U.S. employees are calling for more walls, not fewer. Regardless of whether we encounter a preference for open doors or closed doors, or flex- ible or inflexible office arrangements, space usage is likely to have different meanings in different cultures, which can influence the nature of the international business relationship.

New technologies and visual media

People communicate with each other nonverbally through visual media. Drawings, paint- ings, cartoons, photographs, video, and film are among the most well- established forms of visual expression. Sending photographs to friends and loved ones is one way to com- municate the importance of relationships while architectural drawings provide visual and numerical guidelines for the construction of a home, building, or city park. Other exam- ples of visual media include PowerPoint slides, flow charts, electronic drawings and ges- tures, and application- sharing technologies. These forms of visual media enable both the compilation of ideas, recommendations, and timelines as well as the launch of creative “real time” brainstorming to achieve work objectives. Websites make use of visual media including animation, photographs, and images to generate audience interest in products and services. Elizabeth Würtz conducted a cross- cultural analysis of visual communication on McDonald’s websites. She found five dif- ferent strategies used to communicate messages. One strategy involved the use of animation. In high- context cultures, there was a significant amount of animation and the portrayal of people who were moving (e.g., people dancing or jumping in China and Chile). By contrast, in low- context cultures, animation was minimal, and people were shown in relaxed situations (e.g., listening to music on the Swiss- German site and in Scandinavia). Another strategy involved the design of the websites. Scandinavian sites were “tabular and functional” while the Asian sites had a “montage/layer- upon-layer approach” (2005: 293). In general, the websites in high- context cultures used more imagery than text. Anthropologist Susan Squires has been involved with three different projects for three different companies related to video technologies. Her research is less about cultural differences and more about cross- cultural similarities. In the mid- 1990s, her work at Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) focused on employee attitudes toward and use of

90 Communicating across cultures: nonverbal

videoconferencing on personal computers. In 1999–2000, Squires explored mobile phone needs and preferences for Ericsson—including a videophone—in a three- country telecom- munications study. In 2010 she revisited the evolving use of video on smartphones—this time through FaceTime video calling on Apple iPhones. The goal was to learn if user norms were shifting as video conversations were becoming more ubiquitous with the use of Skype. Would the use of video calling translate to FaceTime? When survey participants were asked about these different video technologies, they reacted favorably to them. However, the observational data demonstrated that users rejected these technologies when asked to use them. In the videoconferencing study, they would either turn off the video option or remove the video window from their computer screen soon after the simulation began, “much to the chagrin of the engineers helping with the simulation observations” (Squires 2005: 83). Forty percent of the participants assigned to the video package indicated discomfort in being “on camera” since it was pos- sible to see the context in which that person was working (e.g., in a messy office, at home). In the videophone study, study participants in the United Kingdom, for example, expressed concerns

about etiquette (“When would it be alright to turn the video part off?”); privacy (“What if I want to call in sick to work and my boss wants to see how sick I look?”); and security (“What about telemarketers? I don’t want them to see me.”).

(2005: 86)

Finally, only 8 percent of iPhone users also use FaceTime video calling so “It’s still not being adopted,” stated Squires. Neither videoconferencing nor videophone has gotten the traction that was anticipated. But there was an interesting twist in this would- be techno- logy. Study participants in the videophone project asked Squires if the videophone could be turned around and made into a camera phone. “The answer was ‘Yes’ and now cameras are on every phone!”

Box 3.7 A moving picture is worth a thousand words

Anthropologist Ken Erickson and his colleagues routinely use video in their consumer work to capture consumer behavior and highlight key findings. One project they did for Boeing, which manufactures airplanes, was to document how people with limited mobility managed to get into and out of their seats, or how they managed to use the restroom. Special needs among the traveling public has been an important and growing initiative at Boeing, and at airlines such as Japan Airlines (JAL), which has expressed concern about the interior spatial design of planes for its rapidly aging Japanese population. Erickson’s research team “flew along” with, interviewed, observed, and filmed passenger experiences in four different loca- tions: the United States, China, India, and Chile. At one moment in the film clip during their final presentation, a U.S. participant with mild cerebral palsy struggled to fasten his seatbelt. Stabilizing the right side of the seatbelt with his right hand, he attempted to use his left hand and push the left side of the seatbelt into the slot. After three tries over the course of 29 seconds, he completed the task. With a heavy sigh a few seconds later, he muttered an expletive. His relief was palpable. “One of the Boeing directors immediately interrupted the presentation.… He asked that the video be sent as soon as possible to Boeing’s seat contractor so that it could get started on some new design

Communicating across cultures: nonverbal 91

ideas” (Ken Erickson, personal communication). The researchers later learned that the last time seatbelts were redesigned was in 1964! Some in the air travel business told the researchers that design and service changes for the disabled were an expense that they could not easily afford. “How many of our customers,” Erickson paraphrased, “would really benefit from such design changes?” Yet, Boeing’s design team was energized by the compelling film clip of the recalcitrant seatbelt. Boeing’s focus on universal design (i.e., design changes that benefit everyone) was consistent with an increas- ingly progressive American attitude vis- à-vis the disabled. Boeing has responded to the cost argument in this way:

These design changes will have an impact on everyone, for two reasons. First, because everyone who is now able- bodied will, at some time in his/her life, experience some physical change or limitation—a broken arm, a case of arthritis, body changes due to illness, or even a reduction in hearing ability. Second, designing for special needs often benefits able- bodied people too.

The film made the difference by revealing the challenges faced by the disabled—an aspect of culture that is often hidden from view.

Photo 3.7 Video footage can capture consumer use, often illustrating the unexpected.

Source: Courtesy of Bruno Moynie/Pacific Ethnography.

Dane Archer wanted to capture nonverbal behaviors through film. Such media captures actions and experiences that are often difficult, if not impossible, to describe in verbal or written form. Archer discovered that nonverbal behaviors could be “performed, illustrated, modeled, taught, and explicated to cultural outsiders” (1997: 98). One goal in his 28-minute documentary video A World of Gestures: Culture and Nonverbal Communication was to create a visual “archive” that could teach specific gestures as well as make viewers

92 Communicating across cultures: nonverbal

aware of cultural differences. Because viewers are able to see nonverbal behaviors in action, they can learn the subtleties of the gestures and sometimes even some of the conditions under which they are used. In addition, viewers can often compare and con- trast what they observe with those forms of nonverbal communication with which they are familiar. In that sense, film and video reveal cultural differences to viewers—often quite effortlessly. Film is a core technique in consumer research because it enhances the discovery of cul- tural insights. A film clip documents what actually happens in the particular situation such as how people use products and services or the conditions under which they use them. It not only portrays the context in full visual detail, but also allows viewers to imagine them- selves as part of that context. Indeed, film can be a compelling form of evidence for under- standing products and services in the broader social milieu. One mode of nonverbal communication among those who do not know each other’s language(s) involves drawing. It is fairly common to see designers and/or engineers expressing themselves through hand- drawn sketches. A Brazilian engineer commented, “It works best face- to-face. The [Japanese] guys help you even if the subject is new to you. They explain with drawings. If you remove a pencil from his [sic] hands, he can’t work very well [given the language barrier].” Another Brazilian working on the same product program with the Japanese stated, “Their English isn’t as good as ours. We realize we must be very clear with them. We use drawings. Now we are doing well.” These statements reveal the bi- directionality of this form of nonverbal communication: Brazilians and Japa- nese use drawings to communicate with each other. Technical drawings represent a singu- larly important, if not principal, way in which ideas are exchanged when written or spoken languages are not shared. As such, drawings are a realistic alternative to language. However, drawings may have a key shortcoming: they may be only a partial communica- tion strategy if they require additional explanation. Under such circumstances, designers and engineers may pull in bi- or multilingual colleagues to serve as impromptu interpreters to facilitate understanding. Oftentimes, anthropologists focus their attention on cultural differences. They seek to describe and explain what is distinctive about a particular cultural group, in comparison with one or more other cultural groups. This example emphasizes cross- cultural similarities as Brazilian and Japanese product development personnel try to bridge a gap in their ability to transmit information and insights to each other. The drawings, a form of non- verbal communication, become a “workaround” strategy enabling them to launch their collaboration and establish a foundation for a shared, emergent culture.

Conclusion

As important as language is to facilitating intercultural communication within a global business setting, it is only a first step to intercultural understanding. Of equal importance is the nonverbal dimension, which we all rely on but may only vaguely recognize. Now that we have examined several of the more common modes of nonverbal communication in some detail, it would be instructive to look at some of the more salient features of non- verbal communication in general.

• Learned and shared: Nonverbal communication is largely a learned, or culturally transmitted, phenomenon. Although some convincing evidence shows that certain limited aspects of nonverbal communication are universal (e.g., the expression of

Communicating across cultures: nonverbal 93

emotions through smiles, frowns, eyebrow flashes), the great majority of nonverbal cues, and the meanings attached to them, vary from culture to culture.

• Grammar and dictionaries lacking: The comparatively new field of nonverbal com- munication studies has not been able to describe comprehensive systems of nonverbal communication for a single- speech community as linguists have done for language. We do not have, at least not yet, a grammar specifying the rules for constructing non- verbal messages. Nor are nonverbal dictionaries available that might provide, in refer- ence book fashion, the meaning of a particular nonverbal cue.

• Control not always possible: Many nonverbal cues are sent and received despite our best intentions to do otherwise. Whereas language is every bit as effective for masking our true feelings as it is for expressing them, much of nonverbal communication is beyond our purposeful control. We can smile when we are unhappy, and to that extent we can purposefully control some nonverbal cues, but we cannot control our blushing when embarrassed, perspiring when nervous, or pupil dilation when frightened.

• Alignment with verbal imperfect: Because some nonverbal communication is beyond the individual’s control, it is not uncommon to find a noticeable lack of fit between a person’s words and his or her nonverbal messages. For example, in response to the question “How are you?” a person might respond “Fine” while at the same time sending a number of nonverbal messages (such as sullen tone of voice, downcast eyes, and a frown) that totally contradict the upbeat verbal response. Research indicates that when a discrepancy occurs between the verbal and the nonverbal, the observer will most likely believe the nonverbal (Burgoon et al. 1989: 9–10).

• Largely unconscious: Nonverbal behavior is by and large unconscious—to a much greater degree than with language. We send nonverbal messages spontaneously without giving much thought about what hand gestures we are choosing to punctuate our words, how far we are from someone else’s mouth in normal communication, or how long we maintain eye contact. Because so much of our nonverbal behavior is operating on the unconscious level, seeking clarification of a misunderstood nonver- bal cue becomes nearly impossible. Although we can ask someone to repeat a sen- tence, we would be quite unlikely to ask someone to explain what he or she meant by a half smile, a particular posture, or a sudden movement of the head.

• Females excel at it: Based on past research, strong evidence indicates that women are able to read nonverbal cues better than are men. Judith Hall, reviewing 52 gender- related studies, found that 75 percent showed a significant female advantage (1978). Using the PONS (Profile of Nonverbal Sensitivity) test, Robert Rosenthal and his colleagues found an even greater female advantage than the earlier studies (1979: 80–84).

Although much has been made of the distinction between nonverbal communication and language, the two forms are in fact inextricably interconnected. To ignore the non- verbal behavior and learn just the spoken language would be as unreasonable as doing just the opposite. An understanding of both modes is necessary to reveal the full meaning of an intercultural event. Being able to read facial expressions, postures, hand gestures, gaze, and space usage, among others, increases our sensitivity to the intricacies of cross- cultural communication so necessary for success in the global business arena. To really know another culture, we must be able to hear the silent messages and read the invisible words.

94 Communicating across cultures: nonverbal

Cross- cultural scenarios

Read the following cross- cultural scenarios. In each mini- case study, a basic cultural con- flict occurs among the actors involved. Try to identify the source of the conflict and suggest how it could have been avoided or minimized. Then see how well your analyses compare to the explanations in Appendix A.

3–1 Dylan Adamson, a banker from Dublin, Ireland, was assigned for several weeks as a troubleshooter in the Rome office. To facilitate his adjustment to the Italian banking system and to assist with translation, the branch manager suggested Dylan work with Maria Fellini, a bilingual employee of the bank. Maria, like Dylan, was single and in her early thirties; she lived with her widowed mother. Maria invited Dylan to their home for dinner. When Dylan arrived, he brought a large bouquet of chrysanthe- mums for Maria’s mother as a token of his appreciation for her hospitality. Maria answered the door, greeted Dylan, and took the flowers into the kitchen. But for the entire evening, neither Maria nor her mother mentioned anything about the flowers. Dylan felt that perhaps he had done something inappropriate, or maybe they were just not appreciative.

What went wrong?

3–2 Aware of the enormous interest the Japanese have in the game of golf, a Canadian sports equipment manufacturer decided to explore the possibilities of a joint venture with a Japanese firm. Three representatives from each firm met in Vancouver to work out the details of the proposed venture. After the six men were introduced to one another, they were seated at opposite sides of a large conference table. In an attempt to show the Japanese their sincerity for getting down to the task at hand, the Canadi- ans took off their jackets and rolled up their sleeves. Then one of the Canadians said to his counterpart across the table, “Since we are going to be working together for the next several days, we better get to know each other. My name is Harry. What’s your name?” The joint venture never did take place.

What went wrong?

3–3 Steve Reichs was on a month- long assignment at his company’s office in Pusan, Korea. Wanting to catch the attention of his supervisor who was standing across the room, Steve “crooked” his index finger at him in an innocent gesture to have him come closer. Not only did Steve get his supervisor’s attention, he so infuriated his boss that Steve came very close to being sent back to the home office.

What was the problem?

Chapter 4

Communicating across cultures Language

Chapter objectives:

1 Articulate several reasons for learning a new language. 2 Explain the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis. 3 Discuss the virtues of an indirect style of communication as well as the misinterpreta-

tions that may accompany it. 4 Respond in the affirmative to the statement: Everybody has an accent.

Business organizations, like other social systems, require effective communication to operate efficiently and meet their objectives. International business organizations require effective communication at a number of levels. The firm must communicate with its work- force, customers, suppliers, and host- government officials. Effective communication among people from the same culture is often difficult. But when attempting to communicate with people who do not speak English—and who have different ideas, attitudes, assumptions, perceptions, and ways of doing things—one’s chances for miscommunication increase enormously.

The ideal of linguistic proficiency in global business

Defining language

A language is a symbolic code of communication consisting of a set of sounds (phonemes) with understood meanings and a set of rules (grammar) for constructing messages. Lan- guage is a universal in all cultures of the world. The meanings attached to any word by a language are totally arbitrary. For example, the word cat has no connection whatsoever to that animal the English language refers to as cat. The word cat does not look like a cat, sound like a cat, or have any particular physical connection to a cat. Somewhere during the development of the English language, someone decided that the word cat would refer to that particular type of four- legged animal, whereas other languages symbolized the exact same animal by using totally different words. Language, then, consists of a series of arbit- rary symbols with meanings that, like other aspects of culture, must be learned and that, when put together according to certain grammatical rules, can convey complex messages. All cultures have their own set of ideal standards for appropriate communication. The process of communicating across cultures can be short- circuited when at least one party assumes that its communication standards are universally understood. Even when the cross- cultural communication takes place using the same language, there are a number of

96 Communicating across cultures: language

parameters that can lead to misunderstandings or even a breakdown in the dialogue. For example, is the speaker the appropriate person to be delivering the message? Is the addressee the appropriate person to be receiving the message? Do both parties understand the content of the message? Is the message being sent and hopefully received in the appro- priate social context? Is it the right time for the message to be received successfully? Is the message being sent according to the appropriate medium (e.g., face- to-face, written letter, email)? Is the style of the message (e.g., formal/informal, direct/indirect) appropriate for the situation? What impact does the choice of words, tone of voice, and use of nonverbal cues have on the recipient? And, is the location of the communication (e.g., an office, res- taurant, taxi, golf course) appropriate for the message? If international business people are to succeed, there is no substitute for an intimate acquaintance with both the language and the culture of those with whom one is conduct- ing business. Both linguistic competence (knowledge of the language(s) in use) and cul- tural competence (knowledge of cultural norms, rules, and beliefs) are valuable skills in the global workplace. In fact, because of the close relationship between language and culture, it is virtually impossible not to learn about one while studying the other.

Communicate more, misunderstand less, partner better

Consider this example. Isuzu Motors Ltd. requested a meeting with its strategic alliance partner GM in the U.S. to resolve criteria issues related to brakes. About 20 people were present. Three were Japanese speakers, four were bilingual English- Japanese, and the remainder spoke only English. One issue concerned the “operating forces relative to gradi- ent that complied with FMVSS.” The U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards required 112.5 lbs. of force for its parking brake when the light- duty truck was parked on a 20 percent grade (slope). Isuzu had a proposal to meet this requirement. A discussion ensued between the GM park brake expert (Donald), the interpreter (Dan), two integra- tion engineers (Len and James), and a general assembly engineer (Mary). (See page 97.) Language plays a vital role in helping people understand each other. Without some ability to communicate, business ventures cannot be successful. In this strategic alliance, language differences were managed in two important ways. First, both firms selected at least some employees with language skills in both English and Japanese. Isuzu employees also took English- language classes. Second, “language interpreting” by designated employees was a routine part of the alliance’s work activities; these employees have been referred to as “bridge individuals” or “linking pins” because of their bilingual, and some- times multilingual skills (Harzing et al. 2011). The interpreters were frequently called upon—and sometimes called away from their usual job responsibilities—to provide real- time assistance in facilitating communication between English and Japanese speakers. Their language skills were in high demand by both sides.

Cultural competence is essential too!

The passage reveals the difficulties that the alliance encountered despite having the two strategies in place to ensure some level of linguistic competence. On the one hand, Dan’s interpreting skills were excellent; he was the skillful conduit for detailed information between the Japanese and English speakers. On the other hand, we read that while Donald understood the words that Dan used—the interpretation of what the Japanese said—he was not convinced of the value of the meaning.

Communicating across cultures: language 97

Donald (appearing extremely upset):

How would 110 lbs. be acceptable from a spec [specification] perspective?

Dan (conferring first with the Isuzu brake engineers):

It’s a stiff requirement and if it fits within the bounds, you are acceptable.

Donald: The legal limit is 112. If you design to 110, and if you can guarantee that every vehicle is less than 112 [then that’s fine], but there’s no safety factor.

Dan (conferring first with the Isuzu brake engineers):

With 112 and Isuzu’s design, the outer limit of the variation would be 110.

Len: So your question is, what is their nominal target value?

Donald: What are you going to design to?

Len: 90.

Donald: No, they [Isuzu] said they would shoot for 90.

James: There must be a thousand statements like this in the criteria.… What we need to do is say, ‘OK. We understand each other,’ and then move forward.

If they say 110, they’ll do 110. The program will fail if not. We’re in a partnership. We believe it and we move on. We will have an opportunity to validate their design. Conformity is our problem in the plants as much as theirs.

Donald: That’s what we’re talking about. We wouldn’t do that. We know if the legal limit is 112, when we get into production [in the plant], we won’t have a legal truck.… Who’s going to live with it if it doesn’t work? Me! … We would design to 110 if it was 120, and we would design to 90 if it was 112.

James: How do you know they won’t target to 90?

Donald: The translation yesterday was that they would shoot for 90.

Dan: Isuzu’s process is flexible … Both sides have to be flexible. I know it’s a legal requirement, but they [Isuzu] have a plant in the U.S … Isuzu feels … [He stopped suddenly, looked at Donald who seemed to be smiling, and said sternly] We’re working hard here. You gave me the impression that you’re not going to take me seriously.

Donald: OK. Go on. Go on.

Dan: In GM, we design to 90 and we go to 110. Isuzu looks at it the other way. 110 is the worst case. They design to the worst outer, which is 110. This is the worst case scenario. So it’s the reverse of what we do. Nominal is 90 lbs. This is just a different philosophy.

Mary: They do the same thing with fasteners. We start with a joint and make a fastener fit the joint. Isuzu starts with a fastener and makes it fit the joint. They end up with a lot less variation. It is the reverse of what we would do.

James: I’m going to record your objection, Donald, and then we will have to move on.

98 Communicating across cultures: language

Indeed, there was a deeper issue going on involving a distinction between how the Jap- anese and American engineers dealt with design requirements. This example represents a newer paradigm in the study of language and culture—that of cognitive linguistic anthro- pology. Zdenek Salzmann and his colleagues (2015: 29) describe the interpretation of lan- guage use via concepts “sometimes universal, sometimes culturally specific.” The Japanese engineers’ cultural models of engineering were so different to be incomprehensible to Donald. Not only was Donald’s linguistic competence in Japanese low, his cultural com- petence was low as well. A glimpse of this close relationship between language and culture becomes evident with Dan’s statement “This is just a different philosophy.” The language and culture connection is solidified further as Mary offers an example of how differently the two groups deal with fasteners. Those with foreign language skills are primed to perform relationship- building func- tions in global business environments. Not only was Mary able to serve as a check on Dan’s interpreting, but she was also able to jump in to support Dan in his quest to help convince Donald of the merits of the Japanese approach. After all, Mary had the benefit of listening to the discussion in Japanese, the way Dan interpreted the Japanese discussion, and Donald’s response to Dan’s interpreting. Mary also served another useful purpose: to help restore some degree of objectivity and neutrality to the discussion. Her statement to Donald was straightforward and matter- of-fact, in contrast to Donald’s ethnocentric atti- tude and Dan’s judgmental response to it. Those with language skills can serve as bridge builders. They are able to move the work along and help overcome the miscommunica- tion, misunderstanding, and cultural “disconnects” that emerge. This popular strategy is one of many that global firms and partnerships use to deal with the language barrier (Harzing et al. 2011).

Need a reason to learn a foreign language?

There are many reasons for acquiring foreign language skills. A fundamental precondition of any successful international business enterprise is effective communication. Moreover, all of the reasons listed in this section are predicated on the importance of being able to express yourself to your business partners. Most of the explanations offered for not learning to speak another language appear transparent and designed to justify past complacency and/or ethnocentrism.

English language skills are not always, or routinely, sufficient

We frequently hear that firms doing business abroad, particularly companies based in the U.S., need not train their overseas personnel in a second language because English is rapidly becoming the international language of business. Yet, English speakers now find they are part of a highly competitive world marketplace with greater linguistic parity. English is just one of the major languages of world trade.

Language skills enable relationship and partnership building

Many have argued that additional foreign language skills are not practical because most international businesspeople do not remain in the host country for more than a year or two. Yet, making any effort to learn the language of your partner will be useful in global business endeavors. It will enable you to participate more actively in the discussions, and

Communicating across cultures: language 99

help you build relationships with your partners faster and more effectively. International business, like any business, must be grounded in trust and mutual respect. What better way to gain that trust and respect than by taking the time and energy to learn someone else’s language?

Few possess both language skills and specific technical skills

The more people that have the appropriate foreign language proficiency and the necessary technical skills (e.g., design, engineering) for a business venture, the better. Moreover, any interpretation (of one language to another) works best when the interpreter’s abilities match the situation. For example, one take- away from the brake example above is the importance of foreign language skills—particularly for technical specialists such as engi- neers. These individuals will be in a better position to understand the language and con- ceptual approaches of their global partners compared with those who have not had such exposure. As such, they will be highly desirable in global business. As Benjamin Lee Whorf (1956: 212–214) suggested decades ago, the only way to really understand the worldview or perspective of another culture is through its language.

While helpful, interpreters have limits

It has been suggested that Western businesspeople can avoid the time and energy needed to learn another language by hiring in- country nationals who are well grounded in the local language and culture. Yet, whether dealing with international sales, management, negoti- ations, or facility construction/renovation, the Western businessperson who must rely on interpreters is at a marked disadvantage. You must depend on someone else, all the time, to convey your questions and responses, without understanding precisely what is said.

Knowing more than one language improves contextual understanding

Recent experimental research has shown that the communication skills of bilingual or multilingual children are better than those of monolingual children who have no expo- sure to more than one language. Samantha Fan and her colleagues (2015) discovered that multilingual children or children exposed to another language (say, from a grandparent) routinely consider the context in which the communication occurs. These children have a lot of practice in understanding linguistic abilities such as who speaks what language to which person or group. These kinds of socio- linguistic experiences enable children to take on the perspectives of others, interpret the speaker’s intended meaning, and be better equipped to operate effectively in diverse cultural environments. These arguments should be ample justification for Western businesspeople to have second- language competence, but we can add two other compelling reasons as well. First, the experience of learning a second language is beneficial in the learning of third and fourth languages, so that the time spent today learning Spanish will facilitate the learning of Chinese or Arabic in the future. Second, learning another language (and culture) is the best way to gain a fuller appreciation of one’s own language (and culture). Dianne Atkinson is Director of Global Studies and Experience for Purdue University’s School of Mechanical Engineering (West Lafayette, Indiana, in the U.S.). She works primarily with students studying and working in China and in Germany and particularly enjoys spending a lot of time on site with Purdue’s programs in China. She put it this way:

100 Communicating across cultures: language

Photo 4.1 If you want to communicate effectively in the global marketplace, there is no substitute for the hard work it takes to learn another language.

Source: by the authors.

Box 4.1 To speak or not to speak Pidgin

What language should visitors speak when engaging in business and commerce in Cameroon, a coastal country in central and western Africa? The official languages of the country are French and English (although there are a few hundred indigenous languages as well), so the answer might be readily apparent. Anthropologist Adam Koons noted that “Cameroonians would be happy to speak to me in either English or French” depending on whether it was the anglophone or francophone region. However, he quickly discovered that many locals spoke Pidgin English throughout the country. Pidgin is a simplified language composed of two or more languages and spoken as a second language. With the help of colleagues, friends, and a Peace Corps Pidgin manual, he managed to become somewhat proficient in Pidgin in a couple of months. One day, Koons was in francophone Douala, Cameroon’s largest city. He was making some purchases in a store that he had used periodically for a long time, and had always received a serious and impersonal response. When he heard Pidgin being spoken, he switched to Pidgin. Suddenly, everyone became friendly and accommodating. Even though most people speak formal French, they often feel more comfortable in Pidgin, and speak it among themselves. “There was a complete change in attitude toward me” (Adam Koons, personal communication). In speaking what the locals speak, the nature of the relationship with them changes. It sug- gests an interest in them, in their culture, and in their preferred language. Indeed, it makes it possible to “speak to them on their own terms.” Engaging with locals in this way, Koons stated, “offers a whole other level of acceptance,” a valuable asset in business, trade, and commerce.

Communicating across cultures: language 101

If you’re an engineer on the factory floor, you better have the language. And that lan- guage is not what you get by just taking it in college. That’s not enough. You just can’t get enough that way. Often, everyone involved underestimates the need for pretty advanced language skills if you are going to be working professionally. When engineering students don’t have enough language for a given work assignment, that assignment changes from engineering to something else. You answer the phone in English or you actually watch paint dry [since you have nothing to do].

There is simply no good substitute for conversational fluency in global business.

Linguistic diversity

Since languages are arbitrary symbolic systems, it is not surprising that there is enormous linguistic diversity on the face of Earth. A major difficulty of trying to determine the exact number of languages in the world is that linguists don’t always agree as to where to draw the boundaries between linguistic groups. Mutual unintelligibility is frequently used as the criterion for distinguishing between language groups. If people can understand one another, they speak the same language; if they can’t, they don’t. Yet, as is all too obvious, this criterion is hardly ironclad because there are varying degrees of intelligibility.

Spoken languages worldwide

Ethnologue, the “active research project involving hundreds of linguists and other researchers,” has identified 7,102 living languages as of January 2015 (www.ethnologue. com/about, accessed February 8, 2016). It has compiled data on first- language speakers. Table 4.1 includes only the top eight languages in terms of their world ranking. It is perhaps no surprise that Chinese ranks #1. Chinese speakers are located, of course, in the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of China (i.e., Taiwan). There is also a sizeable population of “overseas Chinese” who live in various places around the world including Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, the U.S., and Canada. Interestingly, Table 4.1 includes all Chinese “dialects” (e.g., Cantonese, Hakka, Mandarin); these dia- lects should have been classified as separate languages because they are not mutually intel- ligible. However, politics intervenes! Chinese language classification status “derives from their [sic] association with a single nation and a shared writing system, as well as from explicit government policy” (Anderson 2010: 3).

Table 4.1 Top eight languages spoken by number of countries and number of first- l anguage speakers

Rank Language Total countries Speakers (in millions)

1 Chinese 33 1,197 2 Spanish 31 399 3 English 101 335 4 Hindi 4 260 5 Arabic 60 242 6 Portuguese 12 203 7 Bengali 4 189 8 Russian 16 166

Source: Adapted from www.ethnologue.com/statistics/size, accessed February 10, 2016.

102 Communicating across cultures: language

What is fascinating about Table 4.1 is the number of countries in which the 335,000,000 first- language English speakers reside—101 in all. English blossomed as a global language, taking off in the nineteenth century with British colonization, and by the twentieth century with the rise of U.S. dominance in international trade and world affairs. Linguist David Crystal (2003) pointed out that by the late twentieth century, English became the key foreign language taught in schools around the world, even replacing French in former French colonies such as Algeria. Tom McArthur (2005: 58) developed a way to represent the languages of the world both in terms of their “size and ‘clout,’ ” refer- ring to it as the “seven- level model.” English, in its “many varieties,” is the only language identified with level 1. He continues, “It can be heard or read almost everywhere, and is the world’s primary vehicle for the media, commerce, technology, science, medicine, education, popular and youth culture, travel, trade in armaments, and United Nations peace- keeping.” Data from Ulrich Ammon at the University of Düsseldorf in Germany suggest that the number of English speakers is far greater than Table 4.1 indicates. His tabulations of English speakers total 527,000,000 and include both first- and second- language native speakers. However, even Ammon’s estimate is likely much lower than the total number of people conversant in English worldwide. Being “conversant” represents a far lower bar than being a “second- language native speaker.” Numerous factors that have encouraged some level of English- language acquisition including multinational or global firms, the media, the entertainment industry, the growth of the Internet, and the dissemination of scientific work (largely in English), to name a few. Many firms have adopted English as their primary business language such as major global airlines, manufacturing firms, and technology firms. Many university professors around the world teach in English—such as M. Sunwoo at Hangyang University in Seoul, Korea—thereby requiring their students to improve their English- language skills. How should native English- speaking businesspeople respond to the rise in English lan- guage use around the world? In some ways it is terrific! Knowing that English is spoken in the offices of a global firm can provide a certain level of comfort for the newly arrived, par- ticularly if they are monolinguals. Language may be one less thing that they need to worry about during their business trip or long- term assignment. What typically happens, however, is that the native English speakers develop a certain level of dependency on the local office staff. As soon as situations arise in which it is necessary to speak the local language, monolingual English speakers will be at a loss. They will find it is harder to negotiate a deal, work through complicated logistics, understand on- site business practices, and appreciate local viewpoints. Reliance on aides or in- house interpreters will be necessary, complicating the development of their own local business relationships. Consider this recommendation. The American CEO of a major global manufacturer strongly urged new managing directors of Brazilian operations to learn Por- tuguese, reflecting on his own experience in the role. Even though the hours spent working with a tutor would reduce the time that the new managing director devoted to his/her normal duties, the CEO felt this would be time well spent, especially since the role required meeting with workers, dealers, customers, and government officials.

“What do they speak there?”

How often have you heard that question? Isn’t it one of the first questions we ask about a country or region with which we have limited, or no familiarity? Furthermore, don’t we

Communicating across cultures: language 103

tend to make certain assumptions about language in that place? For example, if we were planning to travel to La Paz, Bolivia, we might assume that most people speak Spanish. After all, we might reason, Bolivia is located in South America where Spanish predomi- nates, and La Paz is both an urban center and the seat of the country’s government. Our assumption would be correct! Elizabeth Briody followed a similar chain of logic, when not long ago, she spent some time in Leuven in Belgium. Leuven is a lovely old city built on the Dijle River; some of its buildings date to the fourteenth century. With a population just under 100,000, Leuven is located about 20 minutes outside of Brussels, the Belgian capital. It is the home of Stella Artois beer, KU Leuven—the oldest Catholic University in the world, and several spin- off businesses in ICT (information and communication technologies) as well as bio- technology.

When the assumptions turn out wrong

Briody knew that “official” languages of Belgium were Flemish (a Germanic language) and French (an Italic or Romance language). An official language is one that holds a special status, having been designated for use in schools, courts, government operations, and com- merce. However, Briody erroneously made some assumptions.

• Assumption #1: People speak Flemish and French in Belgium. This assumption turned out to be simplistic on two levels. First, Belgium has three official languages includ- ing Flemish, French, and German. In actuality, 32 languages are spoken in Belgium including Picard, Limburgish, and Luxembourgeois. Twenty- two of the

Photo 4.2 If you can’t read the one, perhaps you can read the other.

Source: by the authors.

104 Communicating across cultures: language

32 languages are considered immigrant languages—and that number is on the rise (www.ethnologue.com/country/BE, accessed February 8, 2016). For example, arrivals since 2014 include both Afghani and Syrian refugees. Second, most people are bilingual though many are multilingual. Children typically learn their first, and some- times second languages at home, and begin acquiring additional languages in school and later, at work.

• Assumption #2: It is possible to communicate easily in French throughout Belgium since it is a bilingual country. Briody walked into a shop in Leuven and asked a middle- aged store clerk a question in French. The clerk stared back at her with a blank look on her face. Briody expanded on her question, speaking more slowly and choosing simpler words, but it did not seem to improve the clerk’s understanding. Finding the item in the shop on her own, Briody proceeded to the cashier to pay for it. This time she posed her question to a different clerk: “Français? English?” The cashier replied, “English.” Briody quickly learned from this and other experiences in Leuven that:

a many Belgians speak Flemish (but are not proficient in or comfortable speaking French);

b many Flemish speakers are proficient in English, considering it their de facto “second” language.

• Assumption #3: Flemish and Dutch are different languages and not mutually understand- able. Briody spent time with historian and friend Bernadijn DeKoster in Belgium. While out one day, Briody was surprised to hear DeKoster communicating easily with Flemish speakers in her native Dutch. Briody quickly learned that although languages may have distinctive labels—such as Flemish or Dutch—they may not actually be very distinct, with differences comparable to those between British and American English. Flemish is the language of the Flemings in the region of Flanders, an area that borders the Netherlands to the north. Linguists confirm the obvious similarity in Flemish- Dutch intelligibility that Briody observed. As Abram de Swaan (2001: 3) pointed out, “There is no doubt that Chinese and Dutch are two entirely different languages … while almost everybody would agree that Flemish and Dutch are two varieties of the same language …”

Learning from firsthand experience

We can derive several lessons from Briody’s experience. First, countries, organizations, institutions, and businesses may have official languages. Those official languages, however, do not necessarily correspond to language use in day- to-day communications. Second, some countries or regions are linked to specific languages. In Belgium, the longstanding linguistic divide between the northern and southern regions of Belgium— Flanders and Wallonia, respectively—has been referred to as the “territoriality principle” (Vogl and Hüning 2010: 229). The Brussels capital region, distinctive in that both Flemish and French are spoken, is based on the “personality principle” in which “citizens are granted services in the language(s) they speak”—whether French or Flemish (2010: 230). Figure 4.1 offers a simplified view of the three official Belgian languages. Third, historical reasons, complicated by shifting socio- economic and political con- siderations, may account for language preferences. Historian DeKoster points out that for centuries, Wallonia was part of France and Flanders part of the Netherlands. Similarly,

Communicating across cultures: language 105

those circumstances may repeatedly reinforce and solidify linguistic distinctions (e.g., Flemings speak Flemish, Walloons speak French). Fourth, when it comes to language, national and regional boundaries are fluid and changeable. Languages spill over into new spaces and places as people change jobs, schools, and residences. With the advent of the migrant crisis and its effect on Europe, lin- guistic diversity will increase and add to the number of languages spoken in a given location. Finally, language preferences may change over time. In Belgium, as throughout much of Europe, English has become the lingua franca (the language used to communicate with those speaking other languages) and the language to learn. This pattern of English lan- guage acquisition has been in place in the Netherlands and in the Scandinavian countries for many decades. Due to the growth of global commercial interests over the last several decades, that pattern has extended throughout Europe.

Figure 4.1 Language map of Belgium. Although Belgium has three official languages, Flemish is spoken primarily in the north, French in the south, and German along the easternmost region bordering Germany.

Source: Courtesy of Nathan Anderson.

106 Communicating across cultures: language

Revisiting and revising our assumptions

We often have to reconsider the assumptions that we hold about language—or any facet of culture for that matter—as we take part in novel experiences and acquire new knowledge. Integrating such insights first involves a comparison with our attitudes and beliefs from the past. Next, it entails modifying prior views, discarding what no longer fits, and/or building upon or expanding earlier perspectives. This process can help us to open ourselves up to innovative questions, conclusions, and implications. In short, we piece together information, engage in cultural sensemaking, and broaden our understanding of the world around us.

Language and culture

A fundamental tenet of anthropological linguistics is that there is a close relationship between language and culture. It is generally held that it is impossible to understand a culture without taking into account its language; and it is equally impossible to understand a language outside of its cultural context. Yet, despite the close connection between lan- guage and culture, we should not think of the relationship as being complete or absolute. Some societies share common cultural traditions but speak mutually unintelligible lan- guages. On the other hand, societies with quite different cultures may speak mutually intelligible languages. Nevertheless, culture influences language and language influences culture in a number of ways.

The influence of culture on language

Perhaps the most obvious relationship between language and culture is seen in vocabulary. The vocabularies of all languages are elaborated in the direction of what is considered adaptively important in that culture. In industrialized societies, the vocabularies contain large numbers of words that reflect complex technologies and occupational specialization. The average speaker of standard American English knows hundreds of technological terms, such as carburetor, microchip, and bulldozer, as well as a myriad of terms designating occupational specialties, such as accountant, philosopher, teacher, clerk, and thoracic surgeon, because technology and professions are focal concerns in U.S. culture. Thus, standard American English enables Americans to adapt most effectively to their environment by providing a conceptual lexicon most suited to U.S. culture. It is equally true for nonindustrialized societies that those aspects of environment and culture that are of special importance will be reflected in the vocabulary. The Koga of southern India have seven different words for bamboo, an important natural resource in their tropical environment, yet have not a single word for snow (Plog and Bates 1980: 209). The pastoral Nuer of the Sudan, whose everyday lives revolve around their cattle, have words in their language that enable them to distinguish between hundreds of types of cows, based on color, markings, and configuration of horns. This elaborate vocabulary is an indication of the central economic and social role that cattle play in their society (Hickerson 2000: 157–158).

Communicating across cultures: language 107

Culture and business

Acronyms are proliferating! That is one feature of working in or for an organization these days that is as certain as taxes. Acronyms are words made up of the initial letters of words in a phrase. They are embedded in all facets of business:

• That project does not have sufficient ROI. • Grab that CoW in the hallway and bring it here. • To improve quality, companies must comply with ISO.

We use them in conversations and in speeches, and we read them in reports, on posters, and on PowerPoint slides. Acronyms have become convenient shorthand for getting across a concept, identifying a process, and labeling people, places, or things. They have the virtue of reducing the number of syllables that must be spoken or written. But acronyms are problematic in business and in other domains. First, like any new term or phrase, acronyms have to be learned. Indeed, they are a code that must be deci- phered. Some organizations have produced ready- reference lists of acronyms to make the learning process as easy as possible for people new to a function, task, unit, or activity. In other organizations, acronyms are used routinely as part of verbal or email exchanges; new- comers must rely on themselves, others, or the context to figure them out. Second, acronyms are context- specific. What an acronym means in one place or situ- ation may not hold elsewhere. Related to that, acronyms typically have multiple mean- ings, as the example below reveals. Fortunately, our Internet search revealed online dictionaries and websites that might provide useful assistance (e.g., http://acronyms.the- freedictionary.com, accessed February 12, 2016). For example, aside from Return on Investment, the Free Dictionary lists 34 different meanings of ROI including Record of Invention, Radius of Influence, Republic of Ireland, and the airport code of Rovaniemi, Finland. Third, acronyms can change—say, for example, as new technologies and ways of doing work are introduced, or if the original acronym has the potential to be interpreted inap- propriately as occurred with the acronym CoW. This acronym originally stood for Com- puter on Wheels, but seems to have lost ground in terms of usage to WoW (Workstation on Wheels) both in the UK and U.S. Imagine if a hospital nurse said, “There’s a CoW!” and a visitor overheard the statement thinking the remark was directed at him or her! Perhaps the most confusing of our three acronym examples is ISO, a label that refers to the International Organization for Standardization. ISO is a non- governmental organiza- tion that develops and publishes international standards for products, systems, and ser- vices. According to ISO officials, ISO is from “the Greek word Isos, meaning ‘equal’ ” (Naroola and MacConnell 1996: 10). Thus, it is not an acronym at all, though it acts as an acronym, leading many to believe—mistakenly—that ISO stands for the International Standards Organization. So, when something looks like, sounds like, and acts like an acronym, our sensemaking kicks in and we turn the letters into an acronym and define it accordingly!

Culture and sports

Although it is frequently more difficult to find points of cultural emphasis in large, highly differentiated societies, one area of cultural emphasis in the U.S. is sports. To illustrate,

108 Communicating across cultures: language

Nancy Hickerson (2000: 165) points out that standard American English contains a number of colloquialisms, or informal statements, that stem from the popular sport of baseball:

• He made a grandstand play. • She threw me a curve. • She fielded my questions well. • You’re way off base. • You’re batting 1,000 (or 500, or 0) so far. • What are the ground rules? • I want to touch all the bases. • He went to bat for me. • He has two strikes against him. • That’s way out in left field. • He drives me up the wall. • She’s an oddball (screwball, foul ball). • It’s just a ballpark estimate.

These baseball expressions routinely appear in American commerce—in business meet- ings, commercial interactions, and even in marketing and advertising. Often the import- ance of “winning the game” is emphasized, where “the game” may refer to meeting sales targets, improving product quality, or enhancing customer satisfaction. Unfortunately, these expressions neither “pack the punch” nor convey the intended meaning when used in the presence of global partners who are unfamiliar with American baseball.

Culture and language preservation

The Internet revolution of the 1990s spawned a number of words that have been incorpor- ated directly into many world languages. Nouns like the “Web,” “spam,” and “virus” and verbs like “surf,” “chat,” and “boot” appear in their original English form. This pattern has not taken hold in France. The Académie française, created by Cardinal Richelieu in 1635, has served as a form of “language police,” protecting the French people from having to accept foreign words into their language. It tries to fulfill its mission by helping the French language evolve in ways that enable it to retain its distinctive French character (www. academie- francaise.fr). In short, it is engaged in language preservation. The recommended Académie française word for the World Wide Web is not le Web or le Net but rather la Toile (the spider’s web). The Académie française prefers to use the term pirate informatique (literally, IT pirate) rather than the English word “hacker” for someone who breaks into computer systems illegally. For many terms and phrases, the cognates of English words are recognizable such as un message texte or un texto (text message), les medias sociaux (social media), les applications (apps), and virtuel (virtual) which is considered acceptable. However, sometimes the recommended French translation does not gain traction. The Académie française chose the word courriel for the English word “email” but un mail or un message électronique are typically used. The Académie française is but one voice in French communication norms and its preferences do not always hold. A related question is: What is likely to occur when individuals and groups from different linguistic backgrounds—in this case French and English speakers—work together? The answer: Speakers may accom- modate each other in any number of ways:

Communicating across cultures: language 109

• speak only in English; • speak only in French; • Anglicize the French word mail while speaking in English: “I did not get your mail”; • Gallicize the English word “email” while speaking in French: “Je n’ai pas reçu votre

email.”

Here too, the Académie française has little control over how global business partners interact.

The influence of language on culture

We have just seen how languages tend to reflect cultural emphases. On the other side of the linguistic coin, however, some linguists have posited that language may actually influ- ence certain aspects of culture. Language, they suggest, establishes the categories on which our perceptions of the world are organized. According to this theory, language is more than a system of communication enabling people to send and receive messages with rel- ative ease. Language also establishes categories in our minds that force us to distinguish those things we consider similar from those things we consider different. And because every language is unique, the linguistic categories of one language will never be identical to the categories of any other. (Recall again the brake example earlier in the chapter.) Consequently, speakers of any two languages will not perceive reality in exactly the same way. Edward Sapir (1929: 214) was one of the first linguists to explain how language tends to influence our perceptions:

The fact of the matter is that the real world is to a large extent unconsciously built up on the language habits of the group. No two languages are ever sufficiently similar to be considered as representing the same social reality. The worlds in which different societies live are distinct worlds, not merely the same world with different labels attached.

Along with the amateur linguist Benjamin Lee Whorf, Sapir developed what has been referred to as the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis. This hypothesis, dealing with the relationship between language and perception, states that language is not merely a mechanism for com- municating ideas but shaping ideas. While there is no consensus among scholars concern- ing the exact nature of the relationship between language and perception, most cultural linguists agree that people from different cultural groups do not see the world in exactly the same way. In many languages nouns are classified as either masculine or feminine. Cognitive sci- entist Lera Boroditsky has shown that grammatical gender can have significant effects on perception. In one of many studies, she asked German and Spanish speakers to describe the characteristics of objects having opposite gender assignments. The testing was done in English. We compiled the responses to this test in Table 4.2. Boroditsky concluded (2009: 128), “Apparently even small flukes of grammar, like the seemingly arbitrary assignment of gender to a noun, can have an effect on people’s ideas of concrete objects in the world” (see Figure 4.2). The implications of the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis for the international businessperson are obvious. The hypothesis states that linguistically different people not only com- municate differently but also think and perceive the world differently. Thus, by learning

110 Communicating across cultures: language

the local language, the international businessperson will acquire a vehicle of communica- tion as well as a better understanding of why people think and behave as they do.

Language mirrors cultural values

Individualism vs. group- centeredness

Besides refl ecting its worldview, a language also reveals a culture’s basic value structure. For example, the extent to which a culture values the individual, as compared to the group, is often refl ected in its language. The value placed on the individual is deeply rooted in American culture. Most Americans start from the cultural assumption that the individual is supreme and not only can but should shape his or her own destiny. In busi- ness settings, individuals (rather than teams) are rewarded for their specifi c contributions

Table 4.2 Grammatical gender’s effects on perception

Word in English

Speaker’s native language

Gender of word in speaker’s native language

Speaker’s description of word in English

Key German Masculine “hard” “heavy” “jagged” “metal” “serrated” “useful”

Spanish Feminine “golden” “intricate” “little” “lovely” “shiny” “tiny”

Expansion Bridge

German Feminine “beautiful” “elegant” “fragile” “peaceful” “pretty” “slender”

Spanish Masculine “big” “dangerous” “long” “strong” “sturdy” “towering”

Figure 4.2 Three keys on a ring. Owing to the different, and seemingly arbitrary assignment of gender to nouns in Spanish and German, Spanish speakers would describe keys as “intricate,” “lovely,” and “shiny,” while German speakers would use such words as “hard,” “jagged,” and “serrated.”

Source: Courtesy of Mary C. Bischak.

Communicating across cultures: language 111

to a project. Individuals are expected to be entrepreneurial and independently minded. Individuals build their own careers, often changing jobs frequently as they climb the career ladder. Cultural values like individualism are reflected in standard American English. One such indicator is the number of words found in any American English dictionary that are com- pounded with the word self. No fewer than 150 such words, including self- absorbed, self- appointed, self- centered, self- confident, and self- supporting, can be found. The list of English terms related to the individual is significantly larger than one found in a culture that places greater emphasis on corporate or group relationships. In group- oriented cultures as Japan, people strive for the good of the larger group such as the family, the community, or the whole society. Rather than stressing individual happi- ness, the Japanese are more concerned with justice (for group members) and righteousness (by group members). They are focused on the collective or group- centeredness. In Japan the “we” always comes before the “I” whereas in the American workplace, people have to be reminded, “There is no ‘I’ in ‘TEAM.’ ” Group members in Japan don’t want to stand out or assert their individuality because, according to the Japanese proverb, “The nail that sticks up gets hammered down.” In Japan the emphasis is on “fitting in,” harmonizing, and avoiding open disagreement within the group. People in the U.S. express their individual- ism in exactly the opposite way by citing their proverb “The squeaky wheel gets the grease.” How language is used in Japan and the U.S. both reflects and reinforces the value of group consciousness in Japan and individualism in the U.S. The goal of communication in Japan is to achieve consensus and promote harmony, whereas in the U.S. it is to demonstrate one’s eloquence, confidence, and command of the issues, among other goals. Whereas language in Japan tends to be cooperative, polite, and conciliatory, language in the U.S. is often competitive, adversarial, confrontational, and aimed at making a point. The Japanese go to considerable length to avoid controversial issues that might be disrup- tive. Americans seem to thrive on controversy, debate, argumentation, and provocation, as is evident in the expression “just for the sake of argument.” Moreover, the Japanese play down individual eloquence in favor of being good listeners, a vital skill if group consensus is to be achieved. Americans are not particularly effective listeners because they are too busy mentally preparing their personal responses rather than paying close attention to what is being said. Thus, all these linguistic contrasts between Japan and the U.S. express fundamentally different approaches to group centeredness and individualism.

Directness vs. indirectness

Cultures vary in terms of how explicitly they send and receive verbal messages. In the U.S., effective verbal communication is expected to be explicit, direct, and unambiguous. Good communicators are supposed to say what they mean as precisely and straightfor- wardly as possible. Americans like to “tell it like it is,” “get down to brass tacks,” “lay their cards on the table,” and avoid “beating around the bush.” Directness is highly valued. A great emphasis is placed on using words powerfully and accurately; silences, even short ones, are anxiety- producing. Communication patterns in some other cultures are considerably more ambiguous, inexact, and implicit. In some Eastern cultures, such as Japan or China, where there is less emphasis on words, people tend to derive more meanings from nonverbal cues and the

112 Communicating across cultures: language

general social context. It is not that words are unimportant in Eastern cultures, but rather that the words are inseparably interrelated to social relationships, politics, and morality. Given this more holistic approach to communication, its purpose in many Eastern cultures is not to enhance the speaker’s individuality through the articulation of words but rather to promote harmony and social integration. In such societies, indirectness is the appropri- ate way to engage with people. One is expected to be sensitive to subtle contextual cues and to not assume that critical information will always be verbalized. This cautious Asian approach can be seen in the general suppression of negative verbal messages. As a result, politeness and the desire to avoid embarrassment often take preced- ence over the “truth.” This approach, at least in part, explains why Eastern cultures have so many nonverbal ways of saying “no.” Engholm (1991: 115–116) suggests a number of ways that Asians say “no” without directly or unambiguously uttering the word. In response to a Westerner’s question: “Has my proposal been accepted?” an Asian busi- nessperson is likely to reply in a number of different ways:

• The conditional “yes”: “If everything proceeds as planned, the proposal will be approved.”

• The counter- question: “Have you submitted a copy of your proposal to the Ministry of Electronics?”

• The question is criticized: “Your question is difficult to answer.” • The question is refused: “We cannot answer this question at this time.” • The tangential reply: “Will you be staying longer than you originally planned?” • The “yes, but …” reply: “Yes, approval looks likely, but.…” The meaning of “but”

could mean “it might not be approved.” • The answer is delayed: “You will know shortly.”

Needless to say, this practice has caused considerable misunderstanding when North Americans try to communicate with the Japanese. For example, the Japanese frequently use the word hai (yes) not necessarily to convey agreement, but rather to indicate that they understand what is being said. “Yes” is not always an affirmative response. Before accepting “yes” for an answer, make sure it was not just a polite response that really meant “no.” Direct and indirect styles of communications often lead to misunderstandings and mis- communications. Many Americans view a person who is being indirect as tricky, decep- tive, and of questionable integrity. On the other hand, those from implicit cultures see the explicit communication styles of Americans to be rude, coarse, and insensitive. The longer one is an active participant in a high- context culture where directness is not a salient trait, the better one will be able to assess particular reactions. However, for those who have limited familiarity or experience with such situations, anthropologist Cathleen Crain has developed some useful coping strategies to deal with potential instances of “misperceived” agreement. To launch an initiative in South East Asia, Crain commented:

We expect people won’t agree until they say, “Here are the next steps.” If we are unclear, we will ask, “Is it time to consider next steps?” If they say, “Yes, and I need to talk with others,” then they are not ready. If they say, “Yes, we can plan now,” then they are ready to commit.

(Cathleen Crain, personal communication)

Communicating across cultures: language 113

It is important to listen and observe such business interactions carefully to pick up clues of agreement and disagreement. One also can seek the counsel of a trusted local about the readiness of the individual or group to make a decision.

Language and social context

The understanding of linguistic differences in international business can be further com- plicated by the fact that people frequently speak several different languages or different forms of the same language, depending on the social situation. Bilingualism (or multilingual- ism) is the most obvious form of situational language use, for a person may speak one lan- guage at home, another language at work, and still another language in the marketplace. That same person may also use two (or more) languages within the same conversation or even the same sentence. Of course, code- switching is effective only if those participating in the conversation understand the second “code.”

Taking relationship specifics into account

Attention to social context affects all of us whether we speak one or more languages. We focus here on two different aspects of social context. First, people who speak only one lan- guage, or people who are speaking a particular language at a given point in time, switch styles of language. For example, the expressions college students use when speaking to one another in the dormitory are noticeably different than the forms of expression they use

Photo 4.3 The form of the English language used by these teenagers from the U.S. with their priest is quite different from the form they use with their close friends.

Source: by the authors.

114 Communicating across cultures: language

when they are conversing with their ministers, grandparents, professors, or employers. The specifics of the relationship of those engaged in the conversation matter. Levels of form- ality between speakers, relative status, and gender and age of the speakers can frequently determine what is said and how it is said. People in the U.S. are addressed by either (FN) first name (Richard) or by (TLN) title and last name (Dr. Allen), depending on the level of formality and relative social status between the speakers. In the American English context, there are only three possible com- binations of address between two people:

• Reciprocal use of TLN as in the exchange “Hello, Professor Davis” and “Good evening, Mrs. Bolton.”

• Reciprocal use of FN as in the exchange “What’s happening, Jack?” and “Not much, Norm.”

• Nonreciprocal use of TLN and FN as in the exchange “Good morning, Dr. Graves” and “Hello, Ricky.”

The first two exchanges—both reciprocal—imply relatively equal status between the speakers. The first situation indicates a relationship that is formal and non- intimate, whereas the second situation indicates an informal, more intimate relationship. The third case (TLN/FN) is indicative of marked status inequality, either differences in age (chil- dren and adults) or differences in rank within an organization (e.g., teacher and student, executive and administrative assistant, surgeon and nurse). Social status plays a critical role in the Javanese language spoken in Indonesia. Every speech situation, not just terms of address, requires the speaker to make choices reflecting the relative social status of the person being addressed. Before a word is uttered, the speaker must choose one of three basic linguistic styles: the plain, the fancy, and the elegant. In addition, the Javanese speaker can use special terms known as honorifics, which enable the speaker to express minute gradations of social respect within each of these three styles. As Farb has noted:

He has no choice but to inform his listener exactly what he thinks of him—because the style he selects reveals whether he considers the listener worthy of low speech, the middle- ground fancy speech, or elegant speech, with or without honorifics.

(1974: 44)

Translation issues can lead to miscommunication

Sensitivity to the context is relevant in global business from a marketing/advertising standpoint. The literature is filled with examples of problems firms have had in their inter- national advertising campaigns because of sloppy translations. For years the Pepsi Cola Company used the highly successful slogan “Come Alive with Pepsi” in all of its advert- ising in the U.S. With this domestic success, the company decided to use this slogan in its advertising in South East Asia. The slogan “Come Alive with Pepsi” was erroneously translated into the local language as “Pepsi brings your dead ancestors back from the grave.” This faux pas caused a lot of snickers, but didn’t increase sales of their carbonated beverage. Someone did not know that translations are never done word by word. In other instances of imprecise translations (Slater 1984), firms have advertised ciga- rettes with low “asphalt” (instead of tar), computer “underwear” (instead of software), and

Communicating across cultures: language 115

Box 4.2 Words matter when marketing abroad

During the late 1990s, CARE, a global humanitarian organization dedicated to fighting poverty, partnering with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), developed a water treatment product with a chlorine base that would sterilize drinking water. When introducing this product to communities in western Kenya, CARE personnel approached village leaders and sought their advice on marketing it. Staff and village leaders came up with a locally appropriate spelling for the product as a way to promote local owner- ship and use. The bottles were labeled Klorin, a term that was consistent and compatible with local language use. Words are extraordinarily important in this kind of social marketing because it “promotes self- determination, dignity and self- respect” (anthropologist Adam Koons, personal communication). Moreover, the newly labeled product was viewed as home- grown rather than imposed by some global organization. After 12 months, production was turned over to the private sector. Klorin was produced by a locally owned Kenyan firm and sold in shops, at kiosks, and at fairs. The labeling contains pictographic instructions, locally designed for maximum comprehension. The project was presented in the 2001 Global Health Conference and was identified by CDC as a “best practice.” All of the CARE projects in western Kenya were eventually given local names to promote and reinforce immediate owner- ship and comprehension.

Photo 4.4 Marketing a water treatment product in Kenya required the use of lan- guage that enabled local residents to view the product as home grown rather than imposed by foreign organizations.

Source: Courtesy of Adam Koons.

116 Communicating across cultures: language

“wet sheep” (instead of hydraulic rams). As amusing as these examples may seem, such translation errors have cost firms millions of dollars in losses over the years, not to mention the damage done to their credibility and reputations. These mistakes show a general lack of attention to the context in which these advertisements appeared as well as a lack of consideration for those who were part of that context. Why were these messages not tested before being disseminated? These examples serve as a reminder of the value in trying out particular advertising messages (or products or services) with locals and learning from their feedback. Companies also have gotten themselves into trouble when their product names have not translated well into foreign markets. According to Ricks (1999: 38–42), electronics firm Olympia attempted to market a photocopy machine named “Roto” in Chile only to learn later that the word roto means broken in Spanish. A female employee of Coca- Cola hired to hand out samples of Fresca soft drink in Mexico was met with considerable laughter by the local people, for whom the word fresca means lesbian. And, European com- panies have tried to sell products with unappealing names in the U.S. including “Zit” (a European chocolate and fruit dessert), “Super Piss” (a Finnish product for unfreezing car door locks), and “Bum” (a Spanish potato chip). Another way to reduce the possibilities of advertising the wrong message is to use back translation, whereby one person translates a document and then a second person translates the translated version back to the original language. Although not perfect, back translation provides a valuable check against sending unintended messages. Not only do businesses face formidable problems when translating from one language into another, but confusion can also occur between two groups that ostensibly speak the same language. We often hear this comment: “Fortunately, we are being transferred by the company to London, so we won’t have a language problem.” It is true that they will not have to master a totally new language, complete with grammar, vocabulary, and sound system. But it is equally true that there are a number of significant differences between British and American English that can lead to confusion and misunderstandings. After all, the context is different so aspects of the language will be as well. In some cases, the same word can have two very different meanings on either side of the Atlantic. A U.S. businessman in London will be in for quite a jolt when his British counterpart, in a genuine attempt to pay a compliment, refers to the American’s wife as “homely,” because in the U.S. the word means plain or ugly, but in the UK it means warm and friendly. And how many times has the phrase “table an item on the agenda” led to needless confusion and acrimony at joint British and American business meetings? Why? Because for the British, “to table an agenda item” means to give it top priority by moving it to the top of the agenda, while in the U.S. it means to postpone the agenda item indefinitely.

Additional complicating factors

To function effectively in any language community, it is necessary to know not only the formal structure of the language (e.g., vocabulary, grammar), but also how it is used in dif- ferent social situations. We have seen that what is said and how it is said can vary depend- ing on the gender, age, or relative social status of the speakers. To complicate the process of learning or using another language, most languages employ certain nonstandard forms. We discussed acronyms earlier. Now we focus on slang, euphemisms, conversational taboos, accents, and humor. The arrows in Figure 4.3 are purposely drawn to be one- sided,

Communicating across cultures: language 117

reflecting how difficult these five factors can be for the new language learner. Over time, we would expect an evolution to two- sided arrows to illustrate that same individual’s improved competency in that language and culture.

Slang

Slang is a form of casual or playful language comprised typically of short- lived phrases and figures of speech, which often substitute for more standard terms for the sake of added raci- ness, humor, or irreverence. Slang should be viewed as the speech of those who consider themselves to be part of a particular subgroup within the wider linguistic community. Jazz musicians, computer buffs, teenagers, prostitutes, psychologists, and truck drivers are just several subgroups that have their own slang. The importance of slang, whether we are referring to the speech of cobblers or financial analysts, is that it helps determine who is a member of an in- group and who is not. Businesspeople, too, have their own slang, which they use within their own in- groups. Such expressions as “dead in the water” (inoperative), “take no prisoners” (harsh), “red tape” (complicated procedures), and “bottom line” (net profit), among many others, are used daily by American businesspeople. Consider this common business expression in Brazil: Nós vamos fazer um negócio da China! The translation from Portuguese would be: We are going to do a Chinese deal! This bit of slang celebrates the reputation of the Chinese

Figure 4.3 Functioning effectively in any language requires mastery of nonstandard forms of language.

Source: Courtesy of Nathan Anderson.

118 Communicating across cultures: language

for their profitable business negotiations. Another expression, Vai terminar tudo em pizza (It’s all going to come to nothing in the end), is used in a variety of contexts including business, everyday life, and politics. The phrase em pizza suggests ambiguity surrounding a situation in which no one gets punished. These examples of slang present two important problems for the person trying to learn a second language. First, slang increases the possible variations of expressions in any given speech community. Second, since many slang words are used for only several years before disappearing or becoming incorporated into the standard form of the language, keeping up with current slang trends is difficult.

Euphemisms

Behavioral and verbal taboos exist in all known societies; that is, certain categories of words should be avoided in normal, polite parlance. Taboo words are dealt with through the use of euphemisms—that is, by substituting an indirect, inoffensive, and sometimes colorful expression for one thought to be too harsh, blunt, or unpleasant. In the English language, for example, the subject of death is so unpleasant that we have developed an entire system of euphemisms to avoid dealing with the subject in a direct way: people don’t die, they “pass away,” and those in charge of burials are no longer undertakers but “funeral directors.” A New York Times article on “doublespeak” identified terms and phrases associated with getting fired (www.nytimes.com/1996/05/26/weekinreview/word- for-word- doublespeak-it- fundamentally-true- that-terms- below-are- english.html, accessed February 22, 2016). Some in the list of 48 entries are euphemisms for getting laid off from one’s job:

• career assessment and redeployment • career transition • dehiring • negotiated departure • release • RIF (Reduction in Force): “I was Riffed” • right- size • selectively separated • workforce imbalance correction.

Box 4.3 Speak plainly

When communicating across cultures, it is best to avoid using jargon, slang, or euphemisms. Terence Brake et al. remind us (in a dialogue between an American and his potential business partner from India) that, although they might seem innocuous, these irregular forms of the English language can cause problems:

“I’ve been reviewing the materials you gave me, Mr. Nehru. You have a real cash cow here. Excellent.”

First of all, is Mr. Nehru going to have any idea what a “cash cow” is? And if Mr. Nehru is a Hindu, isn’t it possible he might take offense to the use of “cow” in this context? (1995: 174).

Communicating across cultures: language 119

This practice of substituting vague words for more precise ones can be found to some degree in all languages, although a word prohibited in one speech community may be per- fectly acceptable in another. Taboo words and euphemisms present yet another obstacle to second- language learning for the international businessperson. The learner must become familiar with the prevailing value system of the particular group to understand which topics can be dealt with in a direct and straightforward manner. Without such cultural competence, knowing when to use a bland expression and when not would be impossible.

Conversational taboos

Communicating in a business context, whether we are managing, selling, or negotiating, requires a certain amount of small talk before the business at hand actually takes place. All linguistic communities have certain topics of conversation, known as conversational taboos, considered inappropriate in either polite society or in a business context. When Americans deal with one another for the first time, the small- talk conversation usually starts off with topics that are fairly innocuous, such as the weather, sports, or some noncontroversial aspects of the physical environment. Such topics as religion or politics are usually scrupulously avoided because they are likely to be contentious. Other topics are avoided because they are considered to be too personal and thus off limits, particularly in initial meetings. These include such topics as health, the health of family members, how much one earns, the cost of personal possessions, and personal data such as age, weight, or sexual preference. Just as with other aspects of culture, what is an appropriate topic of conversation varies from one group to another. Some cultures, such as German and Iranian, do not share the taboo of discussing politics; in fact, they often think of Americans as being intellectual lightweights for avoiding such topics. In many parts of the world that place a high value on group and family (such as South America), inquiries about the well- being of a family member are considered quite appropriate. People from a number of cultures do not appre- ciate discussing topics that may be historically embarrassing, such as World War II for the Germans and Japanese or illegal immigration into the U.S. for Mexican businesspeople. Because of the enormous cultural variation on taboo topics, the best advice to follow entails doing your homework beforehand, and taking your cue from the other person by allowing him or her to initiate the discussion.

Accents

An accent is a characteristic or distinctive way in which words in a language are pro- nounced. Accents are typically associated with a particular nation, region, social class, or education level. To what extent are accents a complexity factor in language use, apart from potentially sounding strange to a listener? The proverbial answer is “It depends.” In many cases, accent differences are inconsequential for understanding. They do not affect comprehension and therefore have little if any effect on global business outcomes. A lis- tener may gloss over the variation, chalking it up to: “This is how Anita talks,” or “That’s how they say ‘process’ in Ontario—with a long ‘o.’ ” Alternately, if colleagues have a good relationship, they may poke fun at each other’s accent, even to the point of exaggerating the differences based on their own ability to reproduce the “unusual” sounds or cadence. Sometimes teasing someone, even in good fun, can backfire. A coworker routinely tried to imitate Clare Keenan who hailed from Dublin, Ireland. Clare reported, “It was funny but after a while, ‘Oh, that’s enough of that!’ ” One day Keenan told the coworker, “You’re

120 Communicating across cultures: language

using an English accent; that’s not my accent.” The coworker smiled and returned to her desk. Still, though, the imitations continued. Keenan tried a different tactic: “Check out YouTube. They have a lot of funny videos on how to do an Irish accent.” While the verbal attempts at caricature lessened, they have not disappeared completely. The coworker has not fully recognized that her own humor is not shared and, in fact, is offensive. Instead of bringing people together, the once playful teasing has led to tension and resentment. In other situations, accents can be difficult to understand. There may be enough differ- ence in particular sounds, or the inability to pronounce a vowel, diphthong, glottal stop, or some other feature of a language, that understanding is affected. The difficulty for the listener may be addressed if he/she is able to process and acclimate to the sounds. The dif- ficulty for the speaker may be partially overcome through help from language and speech experts. Accents are ubiquitous, particularly as the diversity of people rise in global busi- ness. It is worth remembering that accents, like culture, belong to everyone. Just as people participate in particular cultural contexts (e.g., workplace, home), they do so while reveal- ing their own speech patterns. Indeed, everyone has an accent.

Humor

Humor is another aspect of language that tends to confuse the new- language learner. This quality of being amusing or absurd can be conveyed through spoken or written language, as well as through nonverbal communication, images, and actions.

Photo 4.5 Some shop owners take accents to the next level: “Connah” = “Corner” in Boston, Massachusetts, in the U.S.

Source: by the authors.

Communicating across cultures: language 121

Anthropologist Bill Beeman (2015a) indicates that a surprise, or series of surprises, is the foundation for most humor. Humor entails “double framing” in which something is pre- sented but is quickly exposed as something different (2000: 104). Typically, humor involves four phases:

1 Setup involving the first frame. 2 Paradox involving one or more subsequent frames. 3 Dénouement or the juxtaposition of the frames with the tension and surprise created. 4 Release or the realization of the humor and enjoyment.

Take a look at this joke to see if you can identify each of the phases. Beeman’s joke is about Mullah Nasruddin from Iran—a foolish folk figure who, nevertheless, is able to create a “total reversal of reality” (2015a: 7):

Mullah Nasruddin is searching the ground outside at night under a streetlight. His friend asks him, “What are you looking for?” The Mullah answers, “My keys!” The friend begins to help him look. After a while the friend says, “Where exactly did you lose them?” The Mullah says, “Around the corner over there.” The friend says, “Well, why are you looking here?” The Mullah answers, “Because the light is better here!”

In some cultures, like the British and American, humor is used in business meetings, and business presentations often start with a humorous anecdote. In other cultures, however, business is considered a no- joking matter. It is not unusual at international business con- ferences, particularly in Asia, to hear the interpreter say, “The American is now telling a joke. When he finishes, the polite thing to do is to laugh.” Often jokes are told in an inter- national business context when, in fact, it is inappropriate to use humor in such situations. But, even if humor is appropriate, the meaning of the joke or humorous story is frequently lost because it doesn’t translate well from one culture to another. Jokes are difficult to understand because they contain a good deal of information about the culture of the joke teller. To “get” the joke, the listener must understand these pieces of cultural information and how they are combined to make something funny. The longstanding joke in the U.S. about lawyers is a case in point: “Why do lawyers not have to worry about sharks when they vacation at the beach?” The answer: “Profes- sional courtesy.” To appreciate the humor, the listener would have to know several pieces of cultural information about the U.S.:

• sharks have been known to attack Americans while swimming; • lawyers in the U.S. have the reputation of preying on people; • members of some professions in the U.S. give special consideration to other members

of their profession.

Assuming that the listener does understand these culture- specific pieces of information, he/she still needs to appreciate the idea that humor is found in ridiculing an entire profes- sion of people. Asians, however, with their strong traditions of Buddhism and Confucian- ism, place a high value on politeness and face- saving for others and would find little to laugh about in this type of sarcasm or parody.

122 Communicating across cultures: language

Information and communication technologies

The revolution in information and communication technologies (ICTs)—which started in the early 1990s—has had profound consequences on the way humans communicate today. Most “20-somethings” today often fail to realize how their parents communicated just a generation ago. Back in the “dark ages” of the 1980s, people typically sent and received messages by writing letters, speaking face- to-face or by telephone, or giving/ getting information via radio or television. When viewed from this narrow time frame, the changes in the number of ways of communicating have revolutionized information delivery and how we produce and consume it. ICT has transformed our social and professional lives. Many ICT commentators argue that email, online discussions, networking websites, and high- speed information diffusion will lead to more informed, engaged, and influential global businesspeople. Others, however, contend that the communications revolution may spawn a population of impres- sionable, impersonal, superficial, and easily manipulated people. While the impact of the Internet and cell phone technology on society is still widely debated, one thing is certain: the new technologies are powerful vehicles for change in the way humans communicate and share information.

Email

Email communication plays a critical role in the global workplace. It is fast, cheap, and flexible in the sense that it can accommodate text, images, and numerical data as attached written documents, photos, and spreadsheets. It also makes sharing photos and graphics possible. But what does it mean when email communication to a client in one particular location appears to be “over the top?” Here we are talking about the very quantity of mes- sages sent and received. Using Condor tracking software, the global automotive supplier Visteon Corporation noticed that email communication to and from France was five times greater than the other 26 countries with which it conducted business. According to anthropologist Julia Gluesing, “It did not matter what the part was—a heater, radiator, hose—the team ser- vicing France was communicating a lot more, so the structure of their network was dif- ferent” (Julia Gluesing, personal communication). Gluesing spent time educating the global sales manager about French national culture, communication patterns, and lin- guistic style. The global manager also spent time in France learning about French culture and language. In the end, the global manager understood that “A part is not a part; it comes with a communication relationship.” The global manager’s team had to engage in much more communication with the French, compared with the Americans. The expectations for communication content and communication frequency were different. Gluesing continued, “You have to be customer- focused and understand the communication patterns when working virtually.” This culture- specific communication pattern with the French had gone unnoticed until it was made explicit through Condor’s social- network visualizations. As a result, the global manager had a new insight about how to redistribute the workload of her team. The time and effort required for appropriate interactions between her team and the French cus- tomers would now be taken into account.

Communicating across cultures: language 123

Text messages

People around the world were forecast to send 9.6 trillion text messages worldwide, with highest growth in Asia- Pacific (https://karlwhitfield.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/mobile- messaging-futures- 2012-2016-portio- research-ltd- full-report.pdf, accessed November 10, 2016). The leader in handheld communication devices is China, whose people send about four times as many text messages as do people living in the U.S. In China, leaving voice- mails is considered both rude and humiliating to the sender, whose message must be left with a machine. Using text messages enables both senders and recipients to save face by eliminating the human voice. Texting has had a particularly important impact on the way people communicate. David Crystal (2013: 176–177) has identified a number of its virtuous characteristics:

• Direct: It gets to the person for whom it was intended. • Quick: It eliminates wait time associated with sending letters or emails. • Focused: It reduces chit- chat. • Portable: It enables a message to be sent from anywhere. • Personal: It permits secrecy, privacy, and intimacy. • Unnoticeable: It can be done in public places. • Empowering: It allows hearing impaired to communicate easily. • Relatively cheap: It is less expensive than speaking on one’s cell phone. • Discreetness: It lets users use the technology for whatever purpose. • Convenient: It can happen when the user wants it to happen. • Creative: It “adapt(s) language to suit the demands of diverse settings” (2013: 177).

Photo 4.6 Texting has become an increasingly common form of communication.

Source: by the authors.

124 Communicating across cultures: language

Most texts are limited to 140 characters, which may encourage blandness, brevity, and superficiality. On the other hand, texting does inspire creativity and innovation that has led to various shorthand symbols, such as those in English: “gr8,” “2moro,” “R U going?” and “4ever.” Of course, English speakers are not the only ones using text (or email) shorthand. In Mandarin Chinese the names of numbers sound very similar to certain words; it is possible to send the message “I love you” by simply typing in the number 520, or “Drop dead” by using 748. Consider what one website calls un lenguaje alternativo de abreviaturas (an alter- nate abbreviated language) (www.lonuncavisto.com/moviles/diccionario/abreviaturas/1, accessed February 14, 2016). In Spanish, first letters of words are used frequently along with numerals that either replace a number or sound like a syllable in the text.

English Spanish Abbreviated Spanish

Send me a message later Mándame un mensaje luego M1ML Have a good day Que tengas un buen día QT1BD We’ll see each other there Nos vemos allí NVA Cheers Saludos Salu2

Abbreviated language, as seen in the above example (Saludos = Salu2) can be phonetic. It also can be combined with other complexity factors, including the addition of words from another language. The blending of these complexity factors can create an enigma for those who are not native speakers. Consider this example that uses phonetic French and French words along with one English word:

«Ki C ki fait le fou à faire un footing sous la neige. C’est bibi.»

If you know French, perhaps you were able to decipher the phonetic text Ki C ki that stands for Qui sait qui (Who knows who). In addition, you would have to be familiar with the use of slang fait le fou (is crazy) and bibi (poor me). Finally, you would have to know the meaning ascribed to the English word “footing.” The problem for an English speaker who has some familiarity with French is that the phrase à faire un footing sous la neige does not make much sense. Indeed, it is idiomatic for “jogging in the snow.” Thus, the repur- posing of English words, along with other language complexity factors, can wreak havoc on texts or emails even in a bi- cultural context.

Chat/VoIP

The International Telecommunications Union (ITU), an international organization that is part of the United Nations system, reported anticipating almost seven billion mobile cellular subscriptions worldwide by the end of 2014. Growth was expected to be particu- larly strong in Asia- Pacific (89 per 100 inhabitants) (www.itu.int/en/ITU- D/Statistics/ Documents/facts/ICTFactsFigures2014-e.pdf, accessed February 16, 2016). A 2015 analysis of international smartphone mobility concluded that developing nations had striking dif- ferences in phone calling, texting, and using chat/VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) apps compared to the U.S. (http://informatemi.com/blog/?p=133, accessed February 16, 2016). The 11 developing nations in this 12-country study relied almost exclusively on chat/VoIP each day. For example, Thailand led (at 77 minutes), followed by Malaysia

Communicating across cultures: language 125

(at 59 minutes), and Qatar (at 50 minutes). By contrast, the U.S. had the lowest usage of chat/VoIP apps at 14 minutes/day. Cost is clearly a factor in the use of communication technologies. The Internet plays a singular role in how developing nations communicate locally and globally.

Conclusion

Learning a language requires time, hard work, and dedication on the part of the learner, and a sense of commitment on the part of the employer. Even after one masters the vocab- ulary, grammar, and syntax of a second language, engaging in verbal miscommunication is still possible, even likely, for several reasons. First, it is frequently impossible to translate some ideas from one language into another without a loss of some meaning. Second, some languages rely more on the explicit spoken word, whereas others rely more on the use of nonverbal cues and communication context. Third, people frequently speak different forms of the same language, depending on the social situation in which the communica- tion takes place. Finally, to further complicate communication, all languages, to some extent, use nonstandard forms such as slang and euphemisms. Yet, despite the formidable task that learning a second language is for most people, many good reasons justify the effort. Learning a new language or the host language

• establishes rapport and sets the proper tone for engaging in business worldwide; • shows interest and goodwill and signals intent to build relationships in the new cul-

tural environment; • improves communication through an ability to understand another person or group’s

perspective and the social context; • can play a major role in adjusting to culture shock because efficient communication can

a reduce the frustrations, misunderstandings, and aggravations that face the lin- guistic outsider;

b provide a sense of safety, mastery, and self- assurance.

• helps you understand your own language(s) better; • facilitates learning other languages.

In addition to all these cogent reasons, perhaps the best reason for learning a second lan- guage is that it enables the learner to get “inside” another culture. Communicating effec- tively—which is so essential to the conduct of business affairs—involves more than a proficiency in sending and receiving messages. Effective communication requires an under- standing of how people think, feel, and behave. In short, it involves knowing something about the cultural values, attitudes, and patterns of behavior, and one of the best ways to gain cultural awareness is through a culture’s language.

Cross- cultural scenarios

Read the following cross- cultural scenarios. In each mini- case study, a basic cultural con- flict occurs among the actors involved. Try to identify the source of the conflict and suggest how it could have been avoided or minimized. Then see how well your analyses compare to the explanations in Appendix A.

126 Communicating across cultures: language

4–1 Hans Wagner, an engineer for a Berlin- based international construction company, was working on a two- year building project in Montevideo, Uruguay. After several months on the job, Hans attended a cocktail party reception his firm was hosting for some of the local subcontractors. Upon entering the formal cocktail party about 30 minutes after it started, Hans greeted several groups of people with a cheerful ¡Hola! (Hello) and headed for the bar. Soon, Hans noticed that some of the attendees seem to be upset with him.

What did he do wrong?

4–2 Wendy Robinson, a vice president for marketing for a California cosmetic company, has been sent by her company to France to select a new sales manager for the Paris area. After sitting through a sales presentation (which included numerous historical and literary references) given by one of the leading candidates, Wendy wondered why this person had been so highly recommended. While trying to concentrate on the candidate’s presentation, Wendy questioned whether the candidate was compen- sating for his lack of technical knowledge by including excessive literary and histor- ical references.

Could there be another explanation?

4–3 Lars Jansson, a recent Harvard MBA and one of his organization’s most innovative planners, was assigned to the Stockholm office for a two- year period. Lars had been looking forward to the transfer. He had learned some Swedish as a child because his paternal grandparents were from Sweden; he was glad to be getting back to his “roots.” Lars was also looking forward to getting to know his Swedish colleagues on a personal level. During the third week there, an opportunity to socialize presented itself after the weekly planning meeting concluded. Anders Pettersson, a person about Lars’ age, engaged Lars in conversation. They shook hands and exchanged some pleasantries. Lars asked Anders if he had any children. Anders replied that he has two daughters and a son. Lars asked if he lived in a house or apartment. Anders said that he owned a condo in central Stockholm. Then Lars said, “Wow! I looked for a place there but the condos I saw were really expensive.” Anders said nothing and started gathering his things to leave. Lars continued, “Hey, I just read about the fluctuating interest rates. How are you dealing with those?” Anders appeared distant and uncommunicative and said, “Sorry, but I have to go now.”

What did Lars do wrong?

Chapter 5

Negotiating across cultures

Chapter objectives:

1 Describe the challenges involved in cross- cultural negotiations that are not present in intra- cultural negotiations.

2 Articulate the difference between a negotiating position and the interests behind that position.

3 Discuss the general strategies that should guide international negotiations. 4 Explain the importance of location in international negotiations.

In a very general sense, the process of negotiating is absolutely fundamental to human communication and interaction. If we stop to consider it, we are negotiating all the time. We negotiate with our spouses, children, coworkers, friends, bosses, landlords, customers, bankers, neighbors, and clients. Because negotiating is such an integral part of our everyday lives, it becomes largely an unconscious process because we do not spend a lot of time thinking about how we do it. As with so many other aspects of our behavior, the way we negotiate is colored by our cultural assumptions. Whether we are effective negotiators or not, our culturally conditioned negotiating framework, expectations, and styles are largely operating at an unconscious level. Because the act of negotiating is so central to our lives, we frequently fail to define it. Those who write about the process of negotiation, on the other hand, do define it—some- times in excruciating detail—but fail to agree on a common definition. But, as Robert Moran and William Stripp (1991: 71–72) explained, the common theme running through all definitions of negotiation is that two or more parties, who have both common and con- flicting interests, interact with one another for the purpose of reaching a mutually benefi- cial agreement. Some scholars have categorized the negotiation process into three phases—pre- negotiation, negotiation, and post- negotiation—in an effort to understand the importance of the context, interactions, and activities as the negotiations evolve (Weiss 1993; Kumar and Worm 2004). Distinctions also have been drawn between the “up front” discussions among negotiating partners as well as the “constant and ongoing negotiation” over the course of a business relationship (Teegen and Doh 2002: 751). In this book, we use the term negotiating to refer to the period prior to implementation of some initiative agreed to by the negotiating partners. If negotiations are happening for the first time, the negotiating period is the time when business relationships are formed and decisions are made about whether to work together toward some goal. If the negoti- ating partners have worked together in the past, relationships will be rekindled during the negotiating period and new projects targeted for attention.

128 Negotiating across cultures

When negotiating within our own culture, it is possible to operate effectively at the intuitive or unconscious level. However, when we leave our familiar cultural context and enter into negotiations with those from other cultures, the scene changes dramatically and different challenges appear. There may not be the same shared values, interests, goals, ethical principles, or cultural assumptions between the negotiating parties. As we demon- strated in previous chapters, different cultures have different values, attitudes, morals, behaviors, and linguistic styles, all of which can greatly affect the process and outcome of our negotiations. An ever- increasing body of literature has developed documenting the differences in cross- cultural negotiating styles (see, e.g., Lewicki et al. 1992; Tinsley and Pillutla 1998; Weiss 2006). To illustrate, Kam- hon Lee and his colleagues gathered videotaped and ques- tionnaire data on Chinese and American executives participating in simulated buyer– seller business negotiations. The executives reviewed their own videotaped interactions. They noted periods of tension, rated the intensity of the tension, and offered insights to account for it. The Americans reported more tension overall. They indicated that the Chinese kept revisiting issues, “returning to ground we already covered,” or continued to emphasize that “there were more issues to discuss” (2006: 638). It would have been useful for the Americans to know that their negotiating partners categorized and framed the negotiations differently than they did. The Chinese pattern was consistent with a holistic approach to problem solving—a pattern that contrasted with the American sequential approach in which issues were compartmentalized and dealt with one by one. Researchers Jeanne Brett and Tetsushi Okumura (1998) studied the effects of culture on the process of negotiating between Japan and the U.S. They found that the basic value differences of individualism versus collectivism (see Chapter 2) were reflected in differen- tial levels of self- interest in the negotiation process. The more individualistic Americans (who come from a culture where the definition of self is less dependent on group member- ship) are more likely to emphasize their own personal self- interests when negotiating. The Japanese, by way of contrast, are more likely to suppress their personal self- interests in favor of the interests of the group and the importance of honoring their social obligations. Moreover, the direct versus indirect way of communicating (see Chapter 4) that distin- guishes Japanese and Americans can affect the process of negotiations. In general, the Jap- anese tend to communicate much more indirectly than Americans; that is, they leave much information unstated about their expectations, positions, and priorities. Americans, on the other hand, state their positions very explicitly and expect those on the other side of the table to do likewise. Consequently, the Japanese negotiators are able to understand the priorities of the Americans, but the opposite is not true. Americans conclude (errone- ously) that the Japanese are sneaky and covert, and the Japanese conclude (equally errone- ously) that their American counterparts are not very intelligent because they cannot understand the subtle and indirect messages that the Japanese are sending. In some cases the very vocabulary of negotiating can have different meanings in dif- ferent cultures. In the Persian language (spoken in Iran) the word “compromise” is defined differently than it is in English. To the Iranian, “to compromise” means only to surrender one’s own principles, not, as it means in the English- speaking world, to reach a settlement agreeable to both parties. For Americans, in particular, a “willingness to compromise shows morality, good faith and fair play” (Herbig and Kramer 1991: 21). Moreover, the term mediator also has a negative connotation in the Persian language, referring to an unwanted intruder, rather than someone whose function is to broker a mutually agreed- upon settlement. According to Fisher et al. (1991: 33–34):

Negotiating across cultures 129

In early 1980, U.N. Secretary General Waldheim flew to Iran to seek the release of American hostages. His efforts were seriously set back when Iranian national radio and television broadcast in Persian a remark he reportedly made on his arrival in Tehran: “I have come as a mediator to work out a compromise.” Within an hour of the broadcast his car was being stoned by angry Iranians.

Many cultural differences already discussed in earlier chapters can influence the flow of negotiations. The relative emphasis placed on formal versus informal styles of discourse, for example, can lead the very formal Swiss negotiators to avoid joking, getting on a first- name basis, or taking off their jackets and loosening their ties during negotiating sessions. Or, when negotiating with change- fearing cultures, one can be relatively certain that their negotiators will be adverse to divulging information, proposing new approaches, or increas- ing the risk of uncertainty. Moreover, cultural factors can influence the type of written agreement each side is seeking in a cross- cultural negotiation. Some cultures, such as the U.S., strive to bring about a written contract that takes into account as many detailed eventualities as possible. The French or the Chinese, by way of contrast, are more likely to insist on a much less detailed contract, one that tends to emphasize the more generalized relationship between the two parties. Thus, as is obvious, we cannot negotiate across cultural lines without being conscious of how the basic features of different cultures can influence the negotiation process. In this chapter, our aim is to analyze the cross- cultural negotiation process, because by heighten- ing our awareness of some of the potential pitfalls, we may become more effective inter- national negotiators.

The nature of cross- cultural negotiation

Effective negotiation does not involve bludgeoning the other side into submission. Rather, it involves the more subtle art of persuasion, whereby all parties feel as though they have benefited. There is no simple formula for success; each situation must be assessed as part of its own unique set of circumstances. The successful negotiator must choose the appropriate strategy, project the correct personal and organizational images, do the right type of home- work, ask the most relevant questions, and offer and request the appropriate types of con- cessions at the right time. Negotiating within one’s own culture is sufficiently difficult, but the pitfalls increase geometrically when one enters the global arena. Being a skilled negotiator in any context entails being an intelligent, well- prepared, creative, flexible, and patient problem solver. International negotiators, however, face an additional set of problems and obstacles not ordinarily encountered by domestic negoti- ators. As we have tried to establish, one very important obstacle to international negoti- ations is culture. Because culture involves everything that people have, think, and do, it will influence or color the negotiation process. The very fact that usually one party in a negotiation will travel to the country of the other party establishes a foreign negotiating setting for at least one party. Indeed, this “strangeness” can be a formidable barrier to com- munication, understanding, and agreement. There are other challenges as well. The literature over the past four decades has identi- fied a number of characteristics of global business negotiations that set them apart from domestic negotiations. For example, global negotiation entails working within the con- fines of (a minimum of ) two different and sometimes conflicting legal structures. Unless the negotiating parties can both understand and cope with the differing sets of laws,

130 Negotiating across cultures

regulations, policies, and political authorities, a joint international contract may be gov- erned by two or more legal/political systems. Another barrier may be the extent to which government bureaucracies in other countries exert their influence on the negotiation process. Such a problem is not always understood by Westerners whose governments are relatively unobtrusive in business negotiations. A third factor unique to negotiating global contracts is the existence of different cur- rency systems that can vary in relative value over the course of the contractual period. Moreover, since all governments seek to control the flow of foreign and domestic currency across their borders, negotiated contracts often depend on the willingness of those govern- ments to make currency available. Finally, global negotiations are vulnerable to the sometimes volatile, or at least unpre- dictable, geopolitical realities. Sudden changes in governments, the enactment of new legislation, wars or internal revolutions, and even natural disasters can disrupt global busi- ness negotiations either temporarily or permanently. For example, the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the U.S. invasion of Iraq, and the earthquake and tsunami affecting the Fukushima Nuclear Plant in Japan had far- reaching implications for business negotiations (as well as ongoing business activities worldwide). Although we recognize the importance to international negotiations of these obstacles (e.g., different legal structures, interference by government bureaucracies, geopolitical instability), our discussion of global business negotiation focuses on the cultural dimension. It should be apparent by now that success in negotiating global business contracts requires a deep understanding of the culture of those on the other side of the table. The reason for this cultural awareness, however, is not for the purpose of bringing the other side to its knees—to make them do what we want them to do—nor is it to accommodate them by giving up some of our own strongly adhered- to principles. Rather, an appreciation of the important cultural elements of the other side is essential if one is to get on with the business at hand so that all parties concerned can feel as though they are better off after the negotiations than before. Moreover, it is equally the responsibility of both sides to understand each other’s cultural realities. International negotiation is a two- way street, with both sides sharing the burden and responsibility of cultural awareness.

Where to negotiate

Earlier we defined negotiation as a process between individuals and organizations who share some common interests and who stand to benefit from bringing the process to a successful conclusion. Both sides have a stake in the outcome, so it stands to reason that the place of negotiations could be on the home turf of either party or in a neutral environment. The selection of a site for the negotiations is of critical importance because there are a number of advantages to negotiating in your own backyard. In the world of international diplo- matic negotiations, the question of where a summit meeting will occur is taken very ser- iously because it is assumed that the location will very likely affect the nature and the outcome of the negotiations. The business negotiator who travels abroad is confronted with an appreciable number of problems and challenges not faced by those who negotiate at home. Let’s consider some of the difficulties encountered when negotiating abroad. First, and perhaps most important, the negotiator abroad must adjust to an unfamiliar environment during the days, weeks, or even months of the negotiations. This adjustment involves getting used to differences in language, foods, pace of life, and other aspects of culture. The negotiator who is well prepared will make a relatively smooth and quick

Negotiating across cultures 131

adjustment, yet not without moments of discomfort, awkwardness, and general psychologi- cal disorientation. Time and effort must be spent learning about the new environment, such as getting to the location where the negotiations will be held, figuring out how to access local communication systems, or simply locating the rest room. For those who are less well prepared, the adjustment process may be so difficult that there is little energy left for the important work of negotiating. Second, the business negotiator cannot avoid the deleterious effects of jet lag. Even for those international travelers who heed all conventional wisdom concerning minimizing jet lag (e.g., avoiding alcohol, eating certain foods), intercontinental flights take their toll on one’s physical condition. Thus, the traveling negotiator is not likely to be as rested or alert as his or her counterparts who do not have to cope with jet lag. Third, the negotiator has little or no control over the setting in which the discussions take place. The size of the conference room, the seating arrangements, and the scheduling of times for both negotiating and socializing are decisions made by the host negotiating team. The side that controls these various details of the process can use them to its own advantage. Fourth, the negotiator working in an unfamiliar cultural environment is hampered further by being physically separated from his or her business organization and its various support personnel. Frequently, before negotiators can agree to certain conditions of a con- tract, they must obtain additional information from the home office. Those negotiating at home have a marked advantage over the traveling negotiator because it is always easier to get a question answered by a colleague down the hall than dealing with time differences or relying on telephone or email.

Photo 5.1 Jet lag can be a disadvantage when negotiating abroad.

Source: Douglas E. Walker/Masterfile.

132 Negotiating across cultures

Finally, negotiators working on foreign soil are under pressure to conclude the negoti- ations as soon as possible, a type of pressure not experienced to the same degree by those negotiating at home. The longer negotiations drag on, the longer the negotiator is away from the other operations of the office that need attention, the longer his or her family and social life are disrupted, and the more it costs the firm in terms of travel- related expenses. Given these very real pressures, negotiators working abroad are more likely to make certain concessions that they might not make if they were negotiating at home. It would appear that negotiating abroad has a number of distinct disadvantages as com- pared with negotiating at home, including the hassle of an unfamiliar cultural setting, uncertain lines of communication with the home office, lack of control over the negoti- ating setting, and considerable expenditure of time and travel funds. There is little doubt that, given the choice, most Western businesspeople would opt to conduct their negoti- ations at home. Yet, more often than not, Westerners are attempting to sell their products and ideas abroad. And if the potential international customers are to learn about these products or services, it is essential that Westerners go to them. Moreover, in many parts of the world, particularly in developing areas, potential customers from both the private and public sectors have limited resources for traveling. Thus, in many cases, if Westerners desire to remain competitive in the global marketplace, they have no choice other than to do their negotiating on foreign soil.

Effective strategies for international negotiators

In keeping with the conceptual nature of this book, this chapter does not attempt to list all the do’s and don’ts of negotiating in all the cultures of the world. Such an approach— given the vast number of features found in each culture—would be well beyond the scope of this book and certainly beyond any single individual’s capacity to comprehend. Whereas some works have taken a country- by-country approach to international negotiating (Kennedy 1985; Moran and Stripp 1991), here we focus on certain general principles of cross- cultural negotiating that can be applied to most, if not all, situations. This chapter does not provide a cookbook- style guide for avoiding negotiating faux pas in all the major cultures of the world, but it does draw upon some of the best practices of successful inter- cultural negotiators.

Avoid cultural cluelessness

One could not have read the preceding chapters without predicting our first effective strategy for global negotiations: a warning against underemphasizing (or worse yet, ignor- ing) the cultural/linguistic features of those on the other side of the table. By now we should be well aware of the fact that people from different cultures have different ways of thinking, perceiving, behaving, evaluating, and communicating. People from the same culture, who differ in age, class, religion, education, and experience, often have difficulty understanding one another. But when negotiating with people from very different cultural backgrounds, the chances of misunderstanding increase enormously. To be certain, negotiators from other cultures have different, sometimes radically dif- ferent, cultural assumptions than our own. It is vitally important that we are aware of how some of our own normal statements, which make perfect sense from our cultural per- spective, may be incomprehensible to, or perceived negatively by, those with whom we are negotiating. In Table 5.1, you will find some typical statements made by American

Negotiating across cultures 133

negotiators, the U.S. values they represent, and how those values differ from those in other cultures with whom U.S. negotiators frequently interact. This list represents just a small sample of the statements that might be made by a typical U.S. negotiator operating exclusively under his or her cultural assumptions. No one is suggesting that one set of values is any better than the other. And certainly no one is suggesting that U.S. negotiators give up, or even temporarily suspend, their cultural values. However, unless one is aware of the cultural value preferences encapsulated in one’s own culture (and how they contrast with those on the other side of the table), one will not be in the best position to communicate in a fashion most likely to lead to a win–win conclusion. Moreover, what we know, or think we know, about our own culture is not necessarily perceived in the same way by culturally different people. In other words, we may see our- selves as holding a particular value but then describe that value in only the most positive ways. Those looking at us from the outside, however, are more likely to see some of the negative implications of that value as well. Having a realistic view of how others view us can help avoid cultural cluelessness. Even cultures that share many of the characteristics of American culture, such as those in Western Europe, may still tend to have a mixed view of attributes Americans value about themselves.

Concentrate on long- term relationships, not short- term contracts

If there is one central theme running through the literature on global business negoti- ations, it is that the single most important consideration is building relationships over the long run rather than focusing on a single contract. At times, U.S. and European business- people have been criticized for their short- term view of doing business. Some feel that they should not waste time on relationship building; they should get in there and get the contract signed and get on to other business. It is thought that if the other side fails to meet its contractual obligations, the lawyers can sue. Frequently, this approach carries with it the implicit analogy of a sports contest. Negotiating is like a football game, the purpose of which is to out- maneuver, out- manipulate, out- smart, and generally overpower the other side, which is seen as the opponent. And, the wider the margin of victory, the better. Nowhere is this “win–lose” gamesmanship of negotiating more explicitly spelled out than in a 1987 publication entitled The Art of the Deal by Donald J. Trump. When starting the negotiation process he sets his sights very high and “just keeps pushing, and pushing,

Table 5.1 Different value assumptions: U.S. and elsewhere

Statements of U.S. negotiators U.S. value assumption

Alternate value assumption

“Yes, I can make that work.” Individualism Collectivism “Just call me George.” Informality Formality “This is my best and final offer.” Competition Cooperation “Let’s take one item at a time.” Monochronic Polychronic “I don’t want to beat around the bush.” Directness Indirectness “Let’s get down to business; after all, time is money.” Precise time Loose time “Let me run this past my CEO, who, by the way, is

only 28 years old.” Egalitarian Hierarchical

134 Negotiating across cultures

and pushing to get what I’m after” (1987: 45). Although he prefers to act positively, he admits there are times (i.e., when he is not being treated fairly) that he takes a more con- frontational approach by “… fighting back very hard” (1987: 158–159). Moreover, the worst thing you can possibly do when negotiating, according to Mr. Trump, “… is to appear desperate to make [the deal] … because that makes the other guy smell blood, and then you’re dead” (1987: 53). Trump sees the negotiating process as a game or blood- sport, in which there can only be one winner, and if you are not winning, then you are a loser, one of the most frequently used words in his personal lexicon. But conventional wisdom, coupled with the experience of successful negotiators, strongly suggests that international business negotiating is not about winning big, humili- ating the opposition, making a killing, and gaining all the advantages. Rather, successful international business negotiating is conducted in a cooperative climate in which the pri- orities of both sides are met and in which both sides can emerge as winners. It is only under these circumstances that a business relationship will have a chance of lasting well into the future. To be certain, considerable variation exists throughout the world in terms of why people enter into business negotiation in the first place. In some societies, such as the U.S., businesspeople may enter into negotiations for the sake of obtaining the signed con- tract. Other societies, however, view the negotiations as primarily aimed at creating a longstanding relationship and only secondarily for the purpose of signing a short- term con- tract. While there are differences within any given culture, Jeswald Salacuse points out that a signed contract represents closing a deal for many Americans, while for Asians, signing a contract is seen as opening a relationship (1991: 60). Indeed, the “essence of the

Photo 5.2 Taking the time to get to know people as individuals can improve outcomes during and after negotiations.

Source: by the authors.

Negotiating across cultures 135

deal” for Asians is the relationship and not the contract (1998: 5). Even though relation- ship building may not conform to the typical American’s time frame, the inescapable truth is that because relationships are so important in the global arena, negotiations are unlikely to succeed without them. Building relationships requires that negotiators take the time to get to know one another. Frequently, this involves activities—eating, drinking, visiting national monu- ments, and playing golf—that strike the typical American as being outside the realm of business and consequently a waste of time. This type of ritual socializing, however, is vital because it represents an honest effort to understand, as fully as possible, the goals, values, interests, and opinions of the negotiators on the other side. Trust is a critical ingredient in negotiation and a key success factor. For example, any firm dealing with a Chinese firm would do well to show its “sincerity and commitment … to gain the Chinese partner’s trust” because trust seems to be the “ultimate predictor for success of business relations in China” (Fang et al. 2008: 167–168). Similarly, Mohammad Elahee and Charles Brooks advocate building trust relationships, not only between firms, but also among the indi- viduals representing those firms. One of their interviewees sums it up this way:

The most effective way for a foreigner to negotiate effectively is to develop a network of personal relationships within the company or group of people with whom they are going to negotiate. This should be done long before the negotiation begins. Estab- lished personal relationships are an absolute requirement for successful [business] negotiations in Mexico.

(2004: 403)

Box 5.1 Contracts and relationships

Most businesspeople are aware of the importance of relationships in Japanese national culture, but cultural sensitivity sometimes conflicts with other business objectives. A global techno- logy company with headquarters in the U.S. worked with a number of firms to manage its IT departments. As this company streamlined and standardized its work processes, it has required its employees to become more systematic in how they engaged in business negotiations, and more standardized in terms of the presentation of the contract at the outset of discussions. This policy was certainly influenced by the North American context with its preference for contracts, but was also a response to “fact- based” decision making (e.g., cost reduction, mini- mization of losses, anticipated benefits). Resistance to these new policies that reduced negotiator discretion emerged. There was “pushback” from the Japanese employees of this global company who argued that “Japan is different,” meaning that the one- size-fits- all standard should not apply to Japan. They pre- ferred getting to know one’s partners, customers, and business associates as a critical first step in launching new business initiatives, products, or ventures. Headquarters was reluctant to accept the advice of its Japanese employees and continued to insist that the company must conduct business the same way worldwide. This global technology company encountered two sources of tension: national culture (American vs. Japanese) and approach (standardization vs. customization). Currently, the company expects that the Japanese firms will adapt to its centralized and standardized approach. It appears willing to risk some loss of business to gain the benefits of standardiza- tion. One lesson from this example is that it is important to face such trade- offs openly, after exploring alternatives.

136 Negotiating across cultures

Negotiating partners do not have to have completely similar priorities, goals, and values because it is possible to disagree in a number of areas and still have a good working rela- tionship. According to Rajesh Kumar and Verner Worm, conflict during negotiations does not necessarily produce “dysfunctional outcomes” (2003: 279). In their study involving northern European and Chinese businesspeople, outcomes were dependent on the quality of the negotiators’ pre- existing relationships. What we take away from such studies on negotiation is that both parties need to be willing to identify their shared interests while working at reconciling their conflicting interests in a spirit of cooperation and mutual respect. This twofold task, which is never easy to accomplish, has the very best chance of succeeding if a relationship built on trust and mutual respect has been established between the negotiating parties. Another aspect of the negotiation process that is likely to create concern pertains to the continuity of participation of the negotiators in the venture. Large multinationals located in the U.S. often include senior executives, attorneys, and other specialists as part of the negotiation team. Legal expertise, for example, is viewed as essential in the prepara- tion of a written contract to guide the new business relationship. However, once an agree- ment is reached and the contract signed, the legal work is largely completed. The attorneys return to headquarters to tackle new assignments and are unlikely to have future contact with any of the negotiators—whether from their own organization or that of their negoti- ating partner. That kind of change can cause significant disruption within the fledgling venture. Relationships that are built during the prenegotiating and negotiating phases are no longer available to the partners in the same way. The trust and cooperation so neces- sary for success takes a hit when team members exit. One way to address this issue is to plan for and retain a high proportion of the negotiating team after contract signing. The venture will launch more easily and ramp up more quickly with a critical mass of preexist- ing relationships from among the negotiating partners.

Focus on the interests behind the positions

After the parties in a negotiation have developed a relationship, both sides typically set forth what they want to achieve from the negotiations. In a collaborative partnering arrangement, the parties are likely to indicate their hopes and expectations for a particular project or initiative. They may propose project roles, suggest monetary and personnel con- tributions for themselves and their counterparts, identify a time frame, and float anticipated outcomes. In a buyer–seller relationship, discussions are likely to focus on product and service attributes such as cost, quality, and market demand. For example, from a seller’s per- spective, the proposal may involve selling a certain number of high tech Husqvarna Viking sewing machines at C4,400 per unit. From the perspective of the purchaser, it may involve receiving a certain number of sewing machines within a month’s time by proposing a price per unit that is 20 percent less. Effective global negotiators will look behind those positions for the other party’s underlying expectations. Often the position of one side is in direct opposition to the position of the other side. If the negotiators focus just on the positions themselves, they will not likely resolve or reconcile their differences. However, by looking beyond the positions to the basic expectations that gave rise to those positions in the first place, it is often possible to find creative solutions to satisfy both parties. The need to distinguish between a position and the requirements underlying the position has been effectively illustrated by Dean Allen Foster (1992: 286–287). The representative of a U.S. telecommunications firm had been negotiating with the communications

Negotiating across cultures 137

representative from the Chinese government. After months of relationship building and discussing terms, the finalization of the agreement appeared to be in sight. At the eleventh hour, however, the Chinese representative raised an additional condition that took the American by surprise. The Chinese representative argued that since they were about to embark on a long- term business relationship between friends, the U.S. firm should give its Chinese friends a special reduced price that it would not give to other customers. The problem with this request was that the U.S. firm had a strict policy of uniform pricing for all countries with which it did business. If we look at this situation solely in terms of the positions of the two parties, it would appear to be an impasse. For anything to be resolved, one party would have to get what it wanted, whereas the other would have to abandon its position. But, by understanding the basic requirements behind the positions, both sides have more room to maneuver so that a win–win situation can result. The Chinese position was based on two essential require- ments or expectations: (1) to get a lower price, thus saving money, and (2) to receive a special favor as a sign of the American’s friendship and commitment to the relationship. The position of the U.S. firm was grounded in the principle of uniform pricing. By looking at the situation from the perspective of underlying expectations rather than positions, it now became possible to suggest some alternative solutions. The U.S. negoti- ator offered another proposal: to sell the Chinese some new additional equipment at a very favorable price in exchange for sticking with the original pricing agreement. Such an arrangement met all the requirements of both parties. The Chinese were saving money on the new equipment, and they were receiving a special favor of friendship from the U.S. firm. At the same time, the U.S. company did not have to violate its own policy of uniform pricing. In this example, a win–win solution was possible because the negotiators concentrated on the expectations behind the positions rather than on the positions them- selves. Once the negotiators were willing to look beyond a prepackaged, nonnegotiable, unilateral position for having their own requirements met, they could explore new and creative ways of satisfying each other.

Box 5.2 Interests behind the positions: a common example

When negotiating, either at home or abroad, it is important to distinguish between positions and the interests behind those positions, both your own and those on the other side of the table. This distinction can be illustrated by a commonplace type of salary negotiation between an employer and a prospective hire. For example, an employee, who has a small child at home, will take the position that he/she will need a higher salary to cover the cost of child care, an expense that a similarly qualified candidate for the job (who has no children) does not have to bear. But, as is often the case, the potential employee does not explain the interest behind the position—that is, why he/she needs a higher salary. The position of the employer, on the other hand, is that he does not want to have people in the same job, and at the same level, with differential incomes because it would most likely lead to jealousy and claims of favorit- ism. However, if the potential employee had clearly stated his/her reasons for needing the higher salary, the employer would have been able to explain to the job candidate that the company was planning on opening in several months a free, on- site day care center for its employees, and until it opened, the company would be willing to subsidize half of the parent’s day care expenses. In this example, a reasonable (win–win) solution would only be possible if both parties knew the interests behind the positions on both sides of the table.

138 Negotiating across cultures

Understanding the interests behind a position requires insight and creativity as Jeswald Salacuse (2003: 98) stated:

In one negotiation between Bechtel, an international construction firm, and a foreign manufacturing corporation for the construction of an electrical cogeneration plant, the foreign negotiators insisted that if the plant did not operate at a specific standard, Bechtel would have to dismantle the entire plant and take it away. Bechtel was unwilling to make the guarantee. As the negotiations appeared to disintegrate, Bechtel negotiators understood that the real interest of the foreign corporation was not in having a cogeneration plant, but in having a reliable supply of electricity. They therefore proposed that, if the plant were defective, Bechtel would take it over and run it, provided that the purchaser agreed to buy all of the electricity it produced. Ultimately, the two sides struck a deal on this basis.

Avoid overreliance on cultural generalizations

The central theme of this book has been that success in any aspect of global business is directly related to one’s knowledge of the cultural environment in which one is operating. Simply put, the more knowledge people have of the culture of their business partners, the less likely they will be to misinterpret what is being said or done, and the more likely their business objectives will be met. Communication patterns, both linguistic and nonverbal, need to be mastered as well as the myriad of other culture- specific details that can get in the way of effective intercultural business communication. But just as it would be impru- dent to place too little emphasis on cultural information, being overly dependent on such knowledge is equally inadvisable. Identified cultural patterns represent only possible tendencies at the negotiating table. As Paul Herbig and Hugh Kramer (1991: 20) suggested, “No two humans belonging to the same culture are going to respond in exactly the same way.” Not all Middle Easterners engage in verbal overkill, and not all Japanese are reluctant to give a direct answer. If we tend to interpret cultural generalizations too rigidly, we run the risk of turning the gener- alizations into cultural stereotypes. We may chuckle when we hear heaven defined as the place where the police are British, the cooks are French, the mechanics are German, the lovers are Italian, and it’s all organized by the Swiss; conversely, hell is defined as the place where the cooks are British, the mechanics are French, the lovers are Swiss, the police are German, and it’s all organized by Italians. Such cultural stereotypes can be offensive to those being lumped together uncritically, but they can be particularly harmful in the process of global business negotiations because they can be wrong. Sometimes negotiators on the other side of the table do not act the way the generalization would predict. To be certain, peoples’ negotiating behavior is influenced by their culture, but there may be some other factors at work as well. How a person behaves may also be conditioned by such variables as education, biology, or experience. To illustrate, a Mexican business negotiator with an M.B.A. from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, may not object to discussing business at lunch, as most other Mexicans might. We should not automatically assume that all Mexicans will act in a stereotypical way. Given this par- ticular Mexican’s education and experience, he or she knows how to behave within the U.S. frame of reference. It is important to move beyond cultural stereotyping and get to know the negotiators on the other side not only as members of a particular cultural group but also as individuals with their own personality traits and experiences.

Negotiating across cultures 139

Be sensitive to timing

Timing may not be everything, but in global negotiations it certainly can make a differ- ence between success and failure. As pointed out in Chapter 2, different cultures have dif- ferent rhythms and different concepts of time. In cultures like the U.S. and the UK, with tight schedules and a precise reckoning of time, it is anticipated that business will be con- ducted without wasting time. But in many parts of the world, it is not realistic to expect to arrive one day and consummate a deal the next before jetting off to another client in another country. While the more likely scenario involves spending what may seem like inordinately long periods on insignificant details, frustrating delays, and unanticipated postponements, it has the potential to reap significant benefits. Bringing the U.S. notion of time into a global negotiation will invariably result in either frustration or the eventual alienation of those with whom one is negotiating. As a general rule, global negotiations, for a number of reasons, take longer than domestic negotiations. We should keep in mind that McDonald’s engaged in negotiations for nearly a decade before it began selling hamburgers in Moscow. In another situation, a high- level salesperson for a U.S. modular office furniture company spent months negoti- ating a deal in Saudi Arabia. He made frequent courtesy calls, engaged in long discussions on a large number of topics other than office furniture, and drank enough coffee to float a small ship. But the months of patience paid off. His personal commission (not his compa- ny’s profit) was in excess of $2 million! The lesson here is clear. A global negotiator must first understand the local rhythm of time and, if it is slower than at home, exercise the good sense to be patient. Sometimes the American insistence on negotiating contracts as quickly as possible (after all, “time is money”) can subvert the negotiating process altogether. In a well- publicized case involving a subsidiary of the ill- fated Enron Corporation, a negotiated con- tract to sell electricity to a state- operated power company in India was eventually canceled by the government on the grounds that it was concluded too hastily. Suspicious of attempts to speed up negotiations, Indian officials concluded that the public interest was not being adequately protected (Salacuse 2003). Rushing into deals or concluding them in a hurried manner can send the wrong signals to one’s partner or to the stakeholder groups with which that partner is connected. Another important dimension of time that must be understood is that some times of the year are better than others for negotiating internationally. All cultures have certain times of the year when people are preoccupied with social or religious concerns or when everything having to do with business simply shuts down. Before negotiating abroad, become familiar with the national calendar. To illustrate, do not plan any global deal making with the Taiwanese on October 10, their national day of independence; or with the Japanese during “Golden Week” when most people take a vacation; or anywhere in the Islamic world during Ramadan when Muslims are more concerned with fasting than with negotiating. Any attempt to conduct negotiations on these holidays, traditional vaca- tion times or times of religious observances, will generally meet with as much success as a non- American might have trying to conduct business negotiations in the U.S. during the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day. Still another consideration of time has to do with the different time zones between one’s home office and the country in which the negotiations are taking place. Owing to these different time zones, an American negotiating in Manila cannot contact the home office in New York and expect an answer within minutes, as might be expected if the

140 Negotiating across cultures

negotiations were taking place in Boston. If at 4:00 p.m. (Manila time) a question is raised that requires clearance or clarification from the home office, an answer will not be received until the next day because in New York it is 3:00 a.m. Thus, attempting to operate between two distant time zones can be frustrating because it tends to slow the pace of the negotiations.

Remain flexible

Whenever entering an international negotiating situation, the Western negotiator, despite the best preparation, will always have an imperfect command of how things work. In such an environment, some of the best- laid plans frequently go unexecuted. Schedules change unexpectedly, government bureaucrats become more recalcitrant than predicted, and people don’t follow through with what they promised. When things do not go as expected, it is important to be able to readjust quickly and efficiently. To be flexible does not mean to be weak; rather, it means being capable of responding to changing situations. Flexibility involves avoiding the all- too-common malady known as “hardening of the categories.” The need for remaining open and flexible has been well illustrated by Dean Allen Foster (1992), who told of a U.S. businessman trying to sell data- processing equipment to a high- level government official in India. After preparing himself thoroughly, the Ameri- can was escorted into the official’s office for their initial meeting. Much to the business- man’s surprise, seated on a nearby sofa was another gentleman who was never introduced. For the entire meeting, the host- government official acted as if the third man were not there. The businessman became increasingly uncomfortable with the presence of this mystery man who was sitting in on the negotiations, particularly as they discussed specific details. After a while, the businessman began having paranoid delusions. Who was this

Photo 5.3 Just like us, businesspeople around the world try to avoid doing business during their important holidays.

Source: Wavebreakmedia ltd/Shutterstock.

Negotiating across cultures 141

man listening in on these private discussions? He even imagined that the man might be one of his competitors. Ultimately, he became so uncomfortable with this situation that he lost his capacity to concentrate on the negotiations and eventually lost the potential contract. Here was a perfect example of a negotiator who was unsuccessful because he could not adjust to an unfamiliar situation. In India, as in some other parts of the world, it is not unusual for third parties to be present at negotiations. They may be friends, relat- ives, or advisors of the host negotiator, invited to listen in to provide advice—and perhaps a different perspective. Unaware of this customary practice in India, this U.S. negotiator began to imagine the worst until it had irreparably destroyed his capacity to focus on the negotiations at hand. Flexibility was a key to success for the U.S. firm P.T. Essex, a subsidiary of the drug manufacturer Schering Corporation. It set out to negotiate a land purchase in East Java where it hoped to build a new manufacturing facility. The negotiations were lengthy and multifaceted in that they involved several stakeholders (e.g., Essex, Indonesian govern- mental entities, peasant landowners), and a series of issues (e.g., building networks into the community, making an offer, furnishing payment). The firm expanded its networks, working with local officials to understand and address key local concerns. Richard Reeves- Ellington, Essex’s U.S. manager and an anthropologist, followed appropriate conventions for meeting and interacting with the locals. Essex also reviewed its intended offer with two local officials from the village and got their support. Yet, after several meetings, no agree- ment was reached even though the peasant landowners indicated they were not seeking higher payments for the sale of their land. Reeves- Ellington asked one of the village officials if “other, nonmonetary issues … might be blocking progress in the negotiations” (2009: 399). Two concerns emerged which were tackled in succession. First, the villagers wanted to purchase hadj tickets (for the pil- grimage to Mecca to which Muslims aspire) with the money they would receive from Essex, but tickets were difficult to obtain. Reeves- Ellington had to persuade a reluctant Essex of the value of the tickets as part of the offer, and then get Essex to figure out how it might acquire them. Essex’s Javanese lawyer singlehandedly convinced the home office that the purchase of the tickets “was a stroke of genius and should be done” (2009: 401). He argued that villagers needed a critically important reason—such as going on a hadj—to sell their land; attending a hadj would improve both the villagers’ status within the com- munity and their chances for long- term success because they would be viewed as more trustworthy and pious. Essex accepted this argument and then turned its attention to acquiring the tickets. It ended up using its own local and international networks, which ultimately led to contact with the Minister of Religion, who made the tickets available. The second concern related to the peasants’ tie to the land. The peasants believed that if they sold their land, they would break their spiritual bond with it—given their particular belief system. Possible solutions to address this issue flowed back- and-forth between Reeves- Ellington and village officials. Essex initially proposed allowing the peasants to use some of the land for farming after the land sale. However, village officials, local lawyers, and ministry leaders rejected this proposal since it would allow “de facto squatters’ rights” (2009: 403). Eventually, the collaborative effort resulted in two solutions. First, some of the land would be available for public use under the supervision of village officials, though that amount would be reduced over time. “It’s their culture and they know how to make it work,” pointed out Reeves- Ellington, who nicely summed up Essex’s respect for its Java- nese negotiators. A second solution promised priority consideration in hiring at the new

142 Negotiating across cultures

Essex manufacturing facility for those agreeing to sell their land. The purchase offer, the land- use proposal, and the hadj tickets were offered to the villagers as a package, which they accepted shortly thereafter. This example highlights the importance of flexibility throughout the negotiation process. Flexibility helps negotiating partners address the complexity and adapt to each other’s cultural circumstances. Remaining flexible has another advantage as well. Flex- ibility creates an environment in which creative solutions to negotiating problems can emerge. We said earlier that negotiations should be win–win situations, whereby both sides can communicate their basic requirements and interests, rather than just their posi- tions, and then proceed to brainstorm on how best to meet the needs of both sides. A win–win type of negotiation is most likely to occur when both sides remain flexible and open to exploring nontraditional solutions.

Prepare carefully

It is difficult to imagine any undertaking—be it in business, government, education, or athletics—where advanced preparation would not be an asset. Nowhere is this truer than in the arena of global negotiating where the variables are so complex. There is a straight- forward and direct relationship between the amount of preparation and the chances for success when engaging in global deal making. Those who take the rather cavalier attitude of “Let’s go over and see what they [the other side] have to say” are bound to be disap- pointed. What is needed is a substantial amount of advanced preparation. In addition, the would- be negotiator needs to seek answers to important questions concerning his or her own objectives, bottom- line position, types of information needed as the negotiations pro- gress, an agenda, and accessibility of support services, to mention a few. These and many other questions need to be answered before getting on the plane. Vivian Sheer and Ling Chen (2003) identified successful strategies used by Chinese and Western negotiators (a mix of Americans, British, Canadians, and Germans). Both groups emphasized the importance of researching market conditions as well as anticipating risks and problems that might occur during negotiations. In addition, the Chinese looked into the reputation of the Western firm as well as its competitors. They focused considerable effort on planning the agenda and presentation materials. The Westerners conducted research on the power structure of Chinese organizations by tapping into their own Chinese networks and hiring locals. They also researched Chinese policy generally. The lesson here is that it is important to start with as full an understanding as possible of cir- cumstances and constraints associated with your negotiating partner. The availability and portability of the Internet and social media now put vast quantities of information into virtually anyone’s hands. Failure to prepare adequately will have at least two negative con- sequences. First, it communicates to the other side that you do not consider the negoti- ations sufficiently important to have done your homework. Second, ill- prepared negotiators frequently are forced into making certain concessions that they may later regret. A basic part of preparing for negotiations is self- knowledge. How well do you under- stand yourself, the assumptions of your own culture, and your own goals and objectives for this particular negotiation? If you are part of a negotiating team, a number of questions must be answered: Who are the team members? How have they been selected? Is there general consensus on what the team hopes to accomplish? Is there a proper balance between functional skills, cross- cultural experience, and negotiating expertise? Is there a

Negotiating across cultures 143

division of labor for tasks such as note taking, serving as a spokesperson, or making local arrangements? Has there been sufficient time for discussions of approaches and frame- works, likely scenarios, priorities, and strategies and counterstrategies? A particularly important area of preparation has to do with getting to know the negoti- ators on the other side of the table. At the outset, it must be determined if the organiza- tion is the appropriate one with which to be negotiating in the first place. Once that has been decided, it is important to know whether its negotiators have the authority and responsibility to make decisions. Having this information before the negotiations begin can eliminate the possibility of long delays stemming from the last- minute disclosure that the negotiators on the other side really cannot make final contractual decisions. Once involved in the negotiating process, it is important, as a general rule, to get to know the other team’s negotiators as people rather than simply as members of a particular culture.

Learn to listen, not just speak

The style of oral discourse in the U.S. is essentially a very assertive one. Imbued with a high sense of competition, most Americans want to make certain that their views and positions are presented as clearly and as powerfully as possible. As a consequence, they tend to concentrate far more on sending messages than on receiving them. Many Westerners treat a discussion as a debate, the objective of which is to win by convincing the other party of the superiority of their position. Operating under such an assumption, many Americans concentrate more on their own response than on what the other party is

Photo 5.4 Much preparation for international negotiations can be done via computer.

Source: by the authors.

144 Negotiating across cultures

actually saying. They seem to have a stronger desire to be heard than to hear. Although public speaking courses are quite common in American high schools and colleges, courses on how to listen are virtually nonexistent. Because effective listening is a vital component of the negotiating process, Westerners in general, and Americans in particular, are at a marked disadvantage when they appear at the negotiating table. If the best negotiator is the well- informed negotiator, then active listening is absolutely essential for understanding the other side’s positions and interests. The understanding that comes from active listening can have a positive persuasive effect on your negotiating part- ners in at least three important ways. First, it can convince your negotiating partners that you are knowledgeable and thus worthy of entering into a long- term relationship. Second,

Box 5.3 “The best laid plans …”

Even the best preparation can fail—especially in a cross- cultural context—so problem- resolution skills are especially important. Mary Beauregard found herself in an awkward situ- ation with a new trainer she had hired to deliver cross- cultural training on Mexico to American automotive engineers. The two worked together to develop the workshop mater- ials. Beauregard emphasized her expectations for a “nuts- and-bolts approach” given that the participants were eager to begin addressing the issues they were facing with their Mexican counterparts. The trainer seemed more than agreeable to the proposed approach. Following introductions, the workshop began. Beauregard reported a set of behaviors that were completely unexpected:

I watched Dr. García [a pseudonym] take our well- thought-out slides and move them to a side table … he reached into his briefcase and produced a packet of worn, typewritten slides, with misspelled words and incorrect grammar. He then began a presentation on the sociological and anthropological background of culture. Although his intentions were good, he was rapidly losing 22 engineers.… During the morning break, I delicately asked Dr. García what in the world he was doing. His explanation revolved around setting a foundation for the concepts we were going to be covering, which he had previ- ously agreed to present in a much more hands- on manner … I politely asked him to dis- continue his lecture and to get to our slides and the agreed- upon format. When we reconvened, he went back to his old slides, completed his lecture, and finally got down to business about forty minutes later.

(Beauregard 2008: 85)

Beauregard recovered from this setback in two ways. First, she spoke with the trainer and learned that he had his own ideas about what Americans needed to know about Mexicans. She also discovered that he only wanted to provide the best for the client. Second, she arranged a three- way debriefing with the trainer and her client to outline how future training sessions would be presented. The trainer, responding both to the client’s dissatisfaction with the poor evaluations on the opening lecture, and the potential for many future workshops in the U.S. and Mexico, agreed to conduct future workshops according to the original plan. This example highlights some of the difficulties encountered in cross- cultural negotiations despite significant planning, preparation, and the best of intentions. It points to the emergent and delicate nature of the relationship between the parties—a relationship that was not yet characterized by confianza (trust) or an open and candid exchange of ideas. Over time, however, Beauregard’s relationship with the trainer blossomed and resulted in a highly suc- cessful multiyear partnership.

Negotiating across cultures 145

the very fact that you made the effort to really hear what they were saying will, in almost every case, enhance rapport and trust. Third, by listening to and reflecting on your negoti- ating partner’s point of view, you will be better equipped to identify the common ground between the different points of view, be able to problem solve more generally, and achieve more of your negotiating objectives. Developing good listening skills may be easier said than done. Nevertheless, some general guidelines, if followed, can help improve your ability to grasp oral messages more effectively:

• Be aware of the phenomenon that psychologists call cognitive dissonance, the tend- ency to discount, or simply not hear, any message that is inconsistent with what you already believe or want to believe. In other words, if the message does not conform to your preconceived way of thinking, it is possible to dismiss it subconsciously. It is important to hear all messages—those with which you agree and those with which you do not. You do not have to agree with everything being said, but it is important to hear the message so that you will then be in a position to seek creative ways of resolv- ing whatever differences may exist.

• Listen to the whole message before offering a response. Focus on understanding rather than interrupting the message so that you can give a rebuttal/response. Since no one likes to be cut off before he or she is finished speaking, it is vital for the effective negotiator to practice allowing other people to finish their ideas and sentences.

• Concentrate on the message rather than the style of the presentation. It is easy to get distracted from what is being said by focusing instead on how it is presented.

Photo 5.5 Listening offers insight into underlying positions.

Source: by the authors.

146 Negotiating across cultures

No matter how inarticulate, disorganized, or inept the speaker might be, try to look beyond those stylistic features and concentrate on the content of the message.

• Learn to ask neutral, open- ended questions that are designed to allow the speaker to elaborate on a particular point. Examples include: What kinds of strategies do you use? How can we improve the process? What are your thoughts on addressing this issue?

• Be conscious of staying in the present. All people bring into a negotiation session a wide variety of “baggage from the past.” It is tempting to start thinking about yester- day’s racquetball game with a friend, this morning’s intense conversation with your boss, or the argument you had with your spouse at breakfast, but to do so will distract you from actively hearing what is being said.

• Consider the possibility of having a friend or close associate serve as an official listener whose job it is to listen to the other side with another set of ears. Such a person can provide a valuable new perspective on what is being conveyed and can also serve as a check on your own perceptions.

• In almost all situations, taking notes will help you become a more effective listener. Provided you don’t attempt to record every word, selective note taking can help high- light key points. Not only will note taking help document the messages, but when the speaker notices that you are taking notes, he or she, in all likelihood, will make a special effort to be clear and accurate.

As difficult as it may be, Western businesspeople, particularly Americans, need to develop active listening skills if they are to become effective global negotiators. Acquiring this skill is becoming increasingly more difficult because, as linguist Deborah Tannen (1998) sug- gested, the adversarial nature of communication in the U.S. has escalated sharply into an “argument culture.” Active listening entails suspending, at least temporarily, one’s highly competitive notion about winning the debate, and instead, strive for full understanding of what is being said on the other side of the bargaining table. It involves getting past the other party’s accent, thought process, or linguistic style and focusing on what message is being transmitted. Since it is impossible to disguise an honest and energetic effort to understand what the other party is saying, an inevitable by- product of active listening is the creation of greater empathy and rapport, two vital ingredients of successful global negotiations.

Act ethically and with integrity

We find that the world is becoming more heterogeneous, fast- paced, and complex, due in large part to globalization. If we are to succeed in such a world, creating and nurturing long- term relationships built on trust with our global business partners is essential. There is nothing particularly complicated or mysterious about building trust, nor are there any simple shortcuts. Trust develops only when people act with integrity—which means being honest with oneself and with others, keeping promises, and accepting responsibility for one’s actions. Acting with integrity involves standing behind your words and commit- ments no matter how convenient it might be to do otherwise. In short, integrity is the bedrock on which trust relationships are built. Integrity also means not violating the ethical standards of one’s own culture, firm, or self, or those of your global partner. While ethical breaches may provide a short- term economic gain, acting ethically at home and abroad remains the best strategy for building long- term,

Negotiating across cultures 147

sustainable business relationships. At the same time, it is important to be aware, particu- larly in global contexts, that your negotiating partner may hold different ethical standards. Often these differences are rooted in history, tradition, practices, and laws. Ethical questions, like cultural values in general, are addressed differently in different parts of the world. To illustrate, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act prohibits U.S.-based corporations from giving money to government officials in exchange for contracts—in other words, engaging in bribery. Although this type of quid pro quo is outlawed by the U.S. Congress, it is considered an acceptable form of business practice in some of the more group- centered cultures found in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. In such societies, the benefits reaped by government officials taking a quid pro quo are justified since they:

• are a traditional way of meeting communal obligations by redistributing wealth to certain segments of the population;

• supplement the low salaries of civil servants.

The cross- cultural relativity of ethics is also seen in the issue of employee “whistle- blowing.” In the U.S., an employee is usually on the ethical “high ground” when exposing illegal activities of his or her employer. In more group- centered societies, such as Peru or Japan, whistle- blowing is discouraged because it violates the higher value of loyalty to the group (i.e., corporation). Awareness of each other’s ethical standards is critical not only in negotiations, but also in any subsequent business that results. Before entering into negotiations, it is important

Photo 5.6 Note taking signals interest and serves as a memory aid.

Source: by the authors.

148 Negotiating across cultures

to be aware of the ethical and legal requirements of your country and business organiza- tion, and issues that are likely to arise with your negotiating partner. A business relation- ship can break down, perhaps catastrophically, if both parties’ ethical standards are not understood and if no agreement is reached on the ethical standards that will be observed. The Sullivan Principles and the United Nations Global Compact are among many docu- ments providing guidance on corporate social responsibility. They represent voluntary initiatives that support such values as human rights, equal and fair employment practices, anti- corruption, and responsible environmental stewardship (Sethi and Williams 2000; Williams 2004). Organizations seeking to work together can use these documents as a way to gauge each other’s commitment to and generate discussion surrounding business ethics. The United Nations Global Compact (www.unglobalcompact.org) supports companies to engage in ethically responsible business practices by aligning their strategies and opera- tions with the following 10 principles on human rights, labor practices, environmental sustainability, and anti- corruption:

• Human Rights

• Principle 1: businesses should support and respect the protection of internation- ally proclaimed human rights; and

• Principle 2: make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses.

• Labor

• Principle 3: businesses should uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining;

• Principle 4: the elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labor; • Principle 5: the effective abolition of child labor; and • Principle 6: the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and

occupation.

• Environment

• Principle 7: businesses should support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges;

• Principle 8: undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility; and

• Principle 9: encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies.

• Anti- corruption

• Principle 10: businesses should work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery.

Another way to test the congruence of ethical standards is to ask your negotiating partner some basic questions, and be prepared to answer similar questions in return. Choosing the appropriate tone, timing, and phrasing for such questions is often delicate and challenging. Some questions may need to be explored outside the negotiation room and in other ways (e.g., due diligence, plant visits). Questions could cover your negotiating partner’s current business activities, as well as the potential business arrangement in which you might work together.

Negotiating across cultures 149

• What current labor practices and conditions does your negotiating partner face? • What are the environmental rules in your negotiating partner’s country/countries of

operation? What environmental practices will your partnership venture use? • How does your negotiating partner handle quality issues or customer complaints

related to products or services? • What position does your negotiating partner take on copyright and patent

infringements? • How might you and your negotiating partner problem solve around the issue of

payment to public officials? • What are the requirements for disclosure and accounting governing your potential

relationship? • What are the tax practices to which any transactions must adhere? • What ethical standards will be followed in advertising?

The Reeves- Ellington example of the East Javanese villagers (discussed earlier in the chapter) shows the importance of exploring questions and developing creative solutions that are consistent with both parties’ ethical standards. The village officials made clear to Essex that allowing villagers to use the land after it was sold would not work out long term; current practice made it difficult to evict squatters. However, Essex and the villagers were able to come up with a plan that all parties could find consistent with their legal and ethical practices. Indeed, taking the time to address these issues in advance reduces the risk of disastrous misunderstandings that may have consequences beyond failure of the business relationship and put reputations—or even lives—at risk. Acting ethically and

Photo 5.7 Understanding your partner’s constraints and interests is contingent, in part, on asking basic questions and exploring common ground.

Source: by the authors.

150 Negotiating across cultures

with integrity is good for a healthy relationship with your negotiating partner and the communities and governments with which you will be dealing. It is also critical to your career and the long- term success of your organization around the world.

The use of interpreters

Knowing as much as possible about the language and culture of the people with whom you are doing business matters. Speaking the language of your business partner gives you an enormous advantage in that it enhances rapport and allows you to understand more fully their thought patterns, assumptions, beliefs, and expectations. However, negotiators are not always proficient in the language spoken by their negotiating partners. Greeting a partner in his/her language is typically viewed favorably, as is engagement in informal con- versations should negotiators have the appropriate language skills. Such actions symbolize a general willingness for negotiators to step out of their comfortable cultural milieu and into some other cultural space—though it might only be momentary if it is restricted to ¡Muy buenos días! (Good morning). Moreover, these kinds of interactions can begin to build a bridge of understanding between the negotiating partners, and lay a foundation for the important work of relationship development. At the same time, when deciding on which language to use in the negotiations, do not be guided by the principle that a little knowledge is better than none at all. In other words, unless you are extremely well versed in a foreign language, do not try to negotiate in that language directly; rely instead on the services of a competent interpreter. Even if you have a relatively good command of the language, working through an interpreter may be helpful because it allows you more time to formulate your response. On the other hand, use of an interpreter has certain disadvantages, such as increasing the number of people involved, increasing the costs of the negotiations, and serving as a barrier to the two sides really getting to know one another (see Chapter 4). When considering the use of a linguistic intermediary in cross- cultural negotiations, it is important to distinguish between a translator and an interpreter. Although both roles are aimed at turning the words of one language into the words of another language, the translator usually works with documents, whereas the interpreter works with the spoken word in a face- to-face situation. Translators have the luxury of using dictionaries and generally are not under any great time constraints. Interpreters, on the other hand, must listen to what is being said and then instantaneously translate those words into the other language. Interpreting is a demanding job, because it requires constant translating, evalu- ating, and weighing the meaning of specific words within the specific social context. A good interpreter not only will need to be aware of the usual meaning of the words in the two languages but also must consider the intent of the words and the meanings of the non- verbal gestures. When selecting an effective interpreter, it is important for that person to be intimately knowledgeable of the two languages, and have technical expertise in the area being nego- tiated. For example, although a university professor of Spanish literature may have an excellent command of the language, he or she may not be particularly effective at trans- lating scientific terms, engineering concepts, statistical results, or highly technical data on something like weaving equipment. It is this type of shortcoming that could lead an inter- preter to translate the term hydraulic ram into the term wet sheep. Because of these special demands, language interpretation is more exhausting—and may be less accurate—than language translation.

Negotiating across cultures 151

The use of an interpreter involves placing an additional person between the two primary negotiators. Therefore, one should take a number of precautions to ensure that the interpreter clarifies communication rather than obscures it.

Prior to the negotiations

• Spend sufficient time with the interpreter to get to know him or her. Review your own notes, slides, and technical terms and phrases that may cause misunderstandings. When the interpreter understands your goals and expectations, he/she can represent your interests to the other side and be on the lookout for valuable information.

• Ask the interpreter to go over the important nonverbal cues you will need to be aware of when negotiating.

• Make certain that the interpreter is located at the proper place at the negotiating table so he or she can be most effective.

• Treat interpreters with respect and acknowledge them as the highly qualified profes- sionals that they are. The purposeful development of cordial relations with your inter- preter can only help facilitate the process of communication at the negotiating table.

During the negotiations: communicating with your interpreter

• Have the interpreter apologize for your inability to speak your negotiating partner’s language.

• Insist that the interpreter translate small segments of information rather than waiting until the end of a long, complex chain of sentences.

• Help the interpreter by speaking slowly, clearly, and using active rather than passive verbs.

• Plan your words carefully so as to avoid ambiguities, slang, jokes, or other expressions that do not translate well.

• Ask the interpreter to offer an explanation when either side’s negotiating team is engaged in a “huddle”—discussing an issue, sharing a story, or examining new docu- ments or electronic communications. A simple statement from the interpreter is a courteous way of keeping all present informed about what is going on.

• Pause momentarily between sentences to provide a little more time for the interpreter to do his or her job.

• Give the interpreter periodic breaks to recharge his or her intellectual batteries because interpreting is an exhausting job.

• Submit complicated questions to the interpreter in writing to enable ease of translation.

During the negotiations: communicating with your counterpart

• Direct your comments to your negotiating counterpart, rather than to the interpreter. • Use carefully prepared graphics when possible. Encourage the use of spontaneous

drawings and sketches to help get a point across. A picture, figure, or chart really can be worth 1,000 words.

• Recognize that “side conversations” among a few people are likely to occur during the negotiations. Such discussions can be potentially valuable when they clarify concerns or lead to the development of new questions. However, if they come to dominate the negotiations, it is probably time to take a break.

152 Negotiating across cultures

• Check periodically for comprehension by asking your negotiating partners to para- phrase back to you their understanding of your major points.

• Confirm all important negotiations in writing so as to avoid misunderstandings.

The global negotiator

We have examined, in a very general way, some of the problems and challenges of negoti- ating abroad. This chapter is not intended to be a cookbook for the would- be global negotiator. Rather, it is offered as a set of general guidelines for those who find themselves negotiating across cultures. Bear in mind that no two negotiating situations are exactly alike, but most of the strategies suggested here are applicable to whatever type of cross- cultural negotiating session one might imagine. We have suggested that global negotiators should (1) avoid cultural cluelessness, (2) concentrate on building long- term relationships rather than short- term contracts, (3) focus on the interests that lay behind the positions, (4) avoid overdependence on cultural generalizations, (5) develop a sensitivity to timing, (6) remain flexible, (7) prepare carefully ahead of time, (8) learn to listen effectively, (9) act ethically and with integrity, and (10) know when and how to use interpreters. A major theme running through the contemporary literature is that, because negoti- ating across cultures involves mutual interdependence between the parties, it must be con- ducted in an atmosphere of mutual trust and cooperation. Quite apart from your position on the issues that are being negotiated, maintaining a high degree of personal respect for those on the other side of the table is critical. Even though your negotiating partners are likely to view the world very differently than you, always approach them with respect and with a willingness to learn. Do not try to reform them at the negotiating table in the hopes that they will eventually be more like you, for the simple reason that it will not work. On the other hand, do not go overboard in the other direction by “going native”; most people tend to be suspicious of anyone imitating their gestures or behaviors. The soundest advice is to learn to understand and respect cultural differences while retaining one’s own. Sala- cuse (1991: 164) has cogently expressed this spirit of mutual respect and cooperation:

At times the two sides at the negotiating table are like two persons in a canoe who must combine their skills and strength if they are to make headway against powerful currents, through dangerous rapids, around hidden rocks, and over rough portages. Alone they can make no progress and will probably lose control. Unless they cooperate, they risk wrecking or overturning the canoe on the obstacles in the river. Similarly, unless global deal makers find ways of working together, their negotiations will founder on the many barriers encountered in putting together an international business transaction.

Cross- cultural scenarios

Read the following cross- cultural scenarios. In each mini- case study, a basic cultural con- flict occurs among the actors involved. Try to identify the source of the conflict and suggest how it could have been avoided or minimized. Then see how well your analyses compare to the explanations in Appendix A.

5–1 Within the past decade, Ray Cisneros had worked hard to become the top sales- person for the entire West Coast district of his company that manufactures and

Negotiating across cultures 153

distributes vinyl floor coverings. When his company received an invitation to make a marketing presentation to a large distribution firm in Santiago, Chile, Ray’s Hispanic background, fluency in Spanish, and excellent sales ability all made him the logical choice for the assignment. Ray had set up an appointment to make his presentation the day after he arrived since it would take about 13 hours (with a brief layover) to get there from Los Angeles. But upon arrival, the marketing representative of the host firm, who met him at the airport, told him that the meeting had been arranged for two days later so that Ray could rest after the long trip and have a chance to see some of the local sights and enjoy their hospitality. Ray tried to assure his host that he felt fine and was prepared to make the presentation that day. Ray could see no good reason not to get on with the business at hand. Eventually, the marketing repre- sentative (somewhat reluctantly) intervened on Ray’s behalf, and the meeting was reset for Ray’s original appointment time. But once the meeting began, Ray noticed that the Chilean executives never really got beyond the exchange of pleasantries. Finally, the vice president in charge suggested that they meet again the next after- noon. Ray was feeling increasingly frustrated with the excruciatingly slow pace of the negotiations.

How could you help Ray gain some clarity on this cross- cultural situation?

5–2 Larry Ligo, an art dealer from Florida, was in some intense business negotiations with a Brazilian firm. At the meeting many differing opinions were discussed, and at times the exchanges became somewhat heated. This intensity was exemplified by the Bra- zilians, who tapped Larry on the shoulder or arm each time they expressed an opinion. The repeated taps began to make Larry angry. In fact, he wondered whether the Brazilians were trying to pick a fight. The next time Larry was touched on the arm he impulsively jerked his arm away. The Brazilians were surprised by Larry’s response. After that Larry sensed that the discussion was not progressing smoothly.

Why?

5–3 Roger Brown, marketing vice president for a Canadian lumber company, was making a sales presentation to a plywood wholesaler in Tokyo. Roger had just proposed what he considered to be a fair price for a large shipment of first- quality plywood. Much to his amazement, the three Japanese executives did not respond immediately but rather sat across the table with their hands folded and their eyes cast downward, saying nothing. Fifteen seconds passed, then 30, and still no response. Finally, Roger became so exasperated that he said with a good deal of irritation in his voice, “Would you like for me to repeat the offer?” From that point onward, the talks were stalled.

What advice would you give Roger for any future interactions with the Japanese?

Chapter 6

Partnering across cultures

Chapter objectives:

1 Identify three characteristics of meetings that provide insight into German national culture.

2 Help your board, composed of business partners from all over the world, to use a single decision- making model in their work.

3 Describe the partnership life cycle and the various challenges at each stage. 4 Explain four ways in which virtual teams operate differently than face- to-face teams as

well as strategies they can put in place to be successful.

Partnership basics

Partnering is at the heart of global business and partnerships are the vehicle for bringing people, ideas, resources, and energy together. Partnering requires the participation of at least two parties in the pursuit of some shared goals and objectives. In this chapter we take a broad perspective on partnering and partnerships. Partner- ships may be viewed as “organizations,” though their structure varies from one- on-one relationships between an entrepreneur and a supplier, to a network that consists of people filling several different roles, to a formal, legal entity such as a joint venture that draws on resources from parent firms. A large corporation might partner with two suppliers to develop a new composite material for sports equipment. An entrepreneur might partner with a family business to market and sell jewelry over the Internet. A consulting organiza- tion might partner with a client firm to help make its organizational culture more effective or augment its consumer base. Colleagues with different skill sets might partner to develop a crisis- management plan for their company. Representatives from several firms might work with a federal agency on the development of noncompetitive technologies. Thus, partnerships may take a variety of forms depending on mutual interests, the availability and experience of the key personnel, the contribution of resources, and the urgency and scale of the effort. Partnerships come with fundamental challenges, which often lead to conflict. Most partnerships fail due largely to cultural and organizational differences among the partners. Some of the obstacles to success include: status and power differences, intergroup dynamics, insufficient time spent in building trusting relationships, knowledge flows and constraints on learning, misconceptions about the partner(s), inadequate effort and energy, and differences in management styles (see, e.g., Olie 1990; Meschi 1997; Jamali 2004; Thompson and Perry 2006).

Partnering across cultures 155

When the partners operate within the same organization as colleagues or team members, they share a common organizational culture, though they may come from dif- ferent disciplinary backgrounds, have a range of expertise and experience, and be associ- ated with particular functional areas. Contrast that situation with a partnership between a university and a community, a consultant and a global organization with offices in mul- tiple locations around the world, or two organizations representing two different industries with headquarters in two different countries. Typically, as the cultural complexities increase, so do the challenges. Effective partnerships operate with the principle of collaboration at their core. The der- ivation of the word collaboration is from the Latin com (with, together) and laborare (to labor), meaning to work together. Collaborative partnerships involve an ability to work together and problem solve. Participants in effective partnerships have built strong, healthy relationships with one another, many of which are associated with high levels of cooperation, commitment, and trust. Participants have worked hard to maintain the synergy that they have developed. Without a strong relational base, it would not be pos- sible to sustain the partnership indefinitely. In this book, we use the partnership definition coined by Elizabeth Briody and Robert T. Trotter, II: “Collaborative arrangements, in which participants enter into relationships, combine their resources, time, and expertise through the various roles they play, and work toward the creation of new knowledge, prod- ucts, and services” (2008: 7, 196). Increasing numbers of individuals, groups, organizations, and institutions are engaging in an array of partnering arrangements to take advantage of opportunities in many parts of the globe. New partnerships are proliferating in concert with the breakneck speed of glo- balization. This chapter is designed to assist you both as an individual and/or as a member of some larger organizational entity. One of our goals is to raise awareness about the impact of culture and cultural differences on partnering and partnership performance generally. A related goal is to focus attention on the domains of relationships and problem solving. Knowledge of and experience in these domains can help guide your interactions and work activities in partnering situations. We begin with one of the most common activities associated with partnerships: meetings.

Meetings as opportunities for collaboration

What are meetings? They are clearly an essential part of business—a key way to meet people, gather information, exchange ideas, and get projects and initiatives started. In fact, they have been described as “communication events” (Schwartzman 1993: 39). Meetings can be helpful in moving things along so that progress is made toward work goals and objectives. A lot of people spend a lot of time in meetings—not to mention all the pre- and post- work associated with them. Many people view meetings as so routine and integral to work that they often take them for granted. Should this book devote any attention to meetings? Is there a need to understand meet- ings with colleagues, clients, and business partners—potential or actual—who work in dif- ferent locations or organizations? The answer to these questions is a resounding: Yes! Meetings are a critical area of cultural difference. While meetings enable people to share ideas, plan strategies, announce decisions, and an array of other functions, culture affects how meetings are conceptualized, managed, and integrated into the business context.

156 Partnering across cultures

Meetings and national- culture differences

As with other dimensions of culture, people typically assume that the way they do some- thing is universal—until they are exposed to an alternative. Let’s take a look at this field notes excerpt in which a bilingual German marketing specialist identifies differences in meeting goals and attributes compared with a group of Americans with whom he is working:

I have had such a terrible morning [that] I’ll have to tell you about it. It’s just so frus- trating! … There are a lot of meetings that are completely unorganized with no purpose. You will get a call on the day of the meeting that the meeting will last from 9:00 until 5:00 and it is about a particular topic. The agenda will be distributed in a second VME [voice mail] and then you find that your name is on the agenda. You are supposed to say something about a particular topic and you are totally not prepared so you look stupid. Then, no one takes minutes. The meeting consists of statements of opinion by single [individual] people. If a conclusion is made, no one follows it. This is a very inefficient way to work with each other. In Europe, we have meetings that are scheduled many months in advance. They tell you what type of meeting it will be and some of the issues of those meetings so that they can plan far ahead in time. Four weeks before a particular meeting, you can try to get on the agenda. The organizer will ask you what decision you want made. A one- pager is required. You must turn this in

Photo 6.1 The lines between meetings and discussions are often blurred and both need to be taken seriously.

Source: by the authors.

Partnering across cultures 157

48 hours before the meeting takes place so people know exactly what you will be dis- cussing. At the meeting, decisions get made and someone takes minutes. After the meeting is over, someone reviews the draft minutes and they get sent out and there is no more discussion.

National- culture differences in meeting styles have been identified as an important focus of attention. Pamela Sheppard and Bénédicte Lapeyre have described such differences between the British and the French. The British use meetings for

debate for those who take part in and are affected by a decision. Everyone is expected to make some sort of contribution, whatever its quality, and not necessarily in their specialist area. They are not regarded as interruptions from real work.

(1993: 35)

By contrast, the attributes of a French business meeting parallel many of the elements of German meetings portrayed in the excerpt above.

In France meetings called by the manager will follow an established format with a detailed agenda. The purpose is for briefing and coordination rather than a forum for debate or decision making. People will come well- prepared for the contribution they are expected to make.… Kicking ideas around, floating a few trial balloons is relat- ively uncommon …

(1993: 35)

Moreover, when differences in meetings become apparent to attendees of different national backgrounds, misunderstandings can occur. Working globally requires quick learning and rapid adjustment to unfamiliar con- ditions. It is helpful to know something about the national culture in which the meeting is scheduled because the meeting style will encompass cultural elements that feature prom- inently in the national culture. For example, in German national culture, leaders hold high status and command significant authority. Accordingly, the leader performs a central role in German meetings. Looking for clues in how a meeting is run will help you figure out ways to interface effectively with meeting participants. Ask yourself these questions when participating in a meeting with those from a different national culture:

• Who is doing the talking—a leader, a select group of participants, or all the particip- ants?

• Can anyone present material or offer ideas? • Whose views seem to matter? • Does anyone keep the meeting moving along?

The answers to these questions will enable you to identify the roles that meeting particip- ants play, the amount of planning associated with the meeting, the extent to which the agenda is followed, and what occurs at the end of the meeting.

158 Partnering across cultures

Meetings and organizational- culture differences

While it is helpful to know the nationalities of meeting participants—particularly those who are the meeting hosts—other factors are at play in structuring meeting goals, in pre- senting content, and in the interactions that occur. Indeed, there is significant variation in the function, management, and significance of meetings within any given national culture. Variation in meetings is evident within a firm’s supply chain, between a firm and its partners, or within a firm’s departments. Characteristics of an organizational culture are reflected in an organization’s meeting style. Elizabeth Briody examined organizational- culture differences in meeting styles among those working together on global ventures. Her work demonstrated that organizational culture played a more important role than national culture in shaping the business prac- tice of meetings (Briody et al. 2004). One three- way partnership she studied involved two American organizations and one German organization. She discovered not only that the two American organizations employed distinctive meeting styles, but that the Americans who worked for the German organization held the same expectations about meetings and exhibited the same behavior during meetings as their German counterparts. Meeting attributes, such as the purpose of meetings, differentiated these three partnering organizations. For the German organization, the purpose of meetings was to make deci- sions. For one of the American organizations, the purpose was to reach consensus—a core theme in its organizational culture. For the other American organization, meetings were used to present, discuss, and debate the issues. A second attribute, the amount of time allocated to meetings, also was a point of contrast. Time in meetings was kept to a minimum in both the German organization and in one of the American organizations. However, in the other American organization, much of the workweek was spent in meetings—with reports as high as “30 hours a week.” When this American organization was criticized for its meeting patterns, one of its members com- mented, “It’s interesting why the Germans … do not think that we are working when we are in a meeting.” Indeed, the organizational culture of this American organization equated meetings with work. A third attribute, meeting content and format, also varied among the three organizations. Meeting content and format were predetermined in the German organization where there was a high value on structure and order. In one of the American organizations, the content of the meeting evolved; it was possible to add a meeting agenda item prior to or during the meeting. In the other American organization, the content was “focused” and directed toward the key issues that required resolution. Now let’s examine meeting attributes of another partnership that Briody studied involving General Motors Truck Group (GMTG) and Isuzu Motors Ltd. GMTG preferred free- flowing dialogue on technical issues and opportunities to engage in problem solving during its meetings with Isuzu. It considered brainstorming, on- the-spot discussions, and debate appropriate meeting behaviors. GMTG believed that meeting format should be flexible enough to accommodate exploration of new issues. At the same time, meetings could be venues for crystallizing or reinforcing “joint” decisions on which the partners agreed. Isuzu’s actions indicated a strong preference for solving technical issues within its own organization, rather than attempting to solve them during a meeting. It sought to generate consensus in- house, with a presentation of the results to GMTG in as complete a form as possible. Isuzu valued being well informed and prepared. It preferred to receive feedback,

Partnering across cultures 159

questions, and presentation material prior to its meetings with GMTG. Isuzu expected a pre- planned and structured approach to discussions with its partner. An excerpt from Briody’s field notes documents a discussion that occurred immediately following introductions during a two- day meeting in Japan. The meeting was conducted in English, though side conversations occurred in both Japanese and English:

[The Isuzu program manager] went over the agenda and asked if there were any ques- tions. [The GMTG program manager] said, “We would like to spend time with the vehicles today or tomorrow and drive the vehicle if possible—maybe during lunch.” [The Isuzu program manager] started smiling and said, “This is a late request.” [GMTG’s chief engineer] said, “We have concerns and we need to let [the GMTG program manager] see what the vehicle is like.” [The GMTG program manager] said, “Also, we could give an update on where we are relative to Contract Signing [a mile- stone in GMTG’s product development process].” [The Isuzu program manager] said, “When?” [The GMTG program manager] responded, “Maybe at the end of the Plan- ning section?” At this point, [the interpreter] turned to me [Briody] and said, “We have been into the meeting for six minutes and there have already been two surprises. The Japanese aren’t very good with surprises.”

Leaders played a prominent role in Isuzu and GMTG. Both program managers engaged in a dialogue that reflected tensions about power and authority. The GMTG program manager presented the requests conditionally: “we would like … if possible—maybe during lunch” and “we could give.…” However, his tone of voice, supplemented by a statement by GMTG’s chief engineer, left no doubt about what GMTG expected. GMTG used its clout to insist on full compliance with its “requests.” The flow of the exchange showed an Isuzu program manager on the defensive. Although he invited comments on the prepared agenda, he did not anticipate the response he got. Isuzu program- level meetings formalize what has already been accomplished. Such meetings are not planned with the flexibility to accommodate on- the-spot requests, which can have a negative effect on the meeting’s overall success. Had the Isuzu program manager known that GMTG wanted to drive the prototype vehicle, he could have ensured that it was ready to be taken on the road. In the end, the Isuzu program manager was pushed to integrate two new items into an already- full agenda, and direct a few engineers to work that morning so that the prototype would be ready for GMTG’s noontime drive. The balance of power had shifted, at least temporarily, to the GMTG side of the partnership.

Lessons drawn from meetings

The cultural patterns embedded in meetings offer insights for understanding expectations, assumptions, and behavior in organizational and/or partnership settings. A first obvious lesson is that there is significant variation in how meetings are structured and executed. Meeting styles reflect and are reflective of the cultures of the meeting participants. In this section, we have emphasized the influence of both national culture and organizational culture on the character of meetings, though meeting styles also may reflect the impact of subcultural groups or the composition of meeting participants (e.g., females, new hires). Learning as much as possible about how to prepare for the meeting, how it is likely to proceed, and what follow- up tasks are typical will reduce the misunderstandings and level of frustration, and increase the likelihood of success.

160 Partnering across cultures

A second lesson is that meetings reveal differences in power and social status within each individual organization, and among the participating organizations. Meetings illus- trate different views of hierarchy and the role of leader, the degree of balance achieved between guests and hosts, and the strategies used by individuals and organizations to attain their goals. Clues about who must be persuaded, and the best ways to approach the task of persuasion, are embedded in meeting protocols and behaviors. Discovering and operating on the basis of such clues can lead to improved meeting outcomes. A third lesson is that meetings represent important interactions among individuals, groups, and organizations. They symbolize the possibilities of what might be, as well as the realities of what actually is. Meetings launch collaborations, bringing people together to accomplish certain goals. They are a playing field on which relationships are formed and/ or strengthened, or weaken and/or fail. Taking the time to build relationships with meeting attendees during breaks, meals, after work, and on other occasions helps to shape the interactions in a positive way and facilitate goal achievement. One other important lesson is that meetings can be highly volatile events from which attendees can learn. They are part of a person, a community, and/or an organization’s identity and practices. Problems arise when individuals, groups, or organizations decide to work together and do not realize that their approaches differ, or may even be incompati- ble. Meeting participants may not be able to articulate precisely what the differences are, but they will be able to express their annoyance and dismay over the way others run meet- ings. Raising awareness of such differences is a critical first step in understanding how the differences may be accommodated. Establishing a common meeting style, as a follow- up, will begin the process of helping disparate individuals, groups, and organizations create a shared foundation or platform for collaboration.

Photo 6.2 Power and social status are often evident in seating position, discussion content, and agenda control.

Source: by the authors.

Partnering across cultures 161

Decision- making models to advance the partnership work

Decision making is another critical element of partnership activity and partnership success. It is the process of arriving at some determination or conclusion related to part- nership goals and objectives. Partnership decision making represents judgments about spe- cific aspects of the work: What tasks need to be done? Who should be involved? When should the tasks be completed? How should they be carried out? Where will the money come from? Under what circumstances will additional data be gathered? Decisions crosscut all partnering activities. As such, they are critical to the achievement of goals and overall partnership performance.

Decision making and cultural differences

Just as meetings reflect cultural differences, so do decision- making models. Partnership participants may hold different views of decision- making roles. For example, some may consider decision making a largely collaborative endeavor, while others may see it as the responsibility of the highest- ranking leaders. Partnership participants also may have dif- ferent conceptions of how decision making should proceed. Some may find that significant time should be spent in gathering and discussing input from all parties, while others may be more comfortable making the call quickly on the advice of key subject matter “experts.” There seems to be an increasing sensitivity to decision- making differences as more indi- viduals and organizations are engaged in global business endeavors. Decision- making dilemmas are a key source of conflict and a major impediment to partnership success. The individual’s role is highlighted frequently in management (Segil 1996; Kalmbach and Roussel 1999; Spekman and Isabella 2000). However, the linkages between organizational culture and decision making have not been fully explored. Recent attention has been dir- ected to the composition of the work group—including its diverse knowledge and skill base—as a way to improve decision making (Shachaf 2008). Decision- making issues appear front and center as individuals and organizations attempt to plan and carry out partnering work. Frustration often occurs as people begin to realize that their partners do not conceptualize the decision- making process in the same way that they do. Partnership participants may also learn about decision- making differences through reading, cross- cultural training, or discussions with those who have lived and worked abroad. Generally speaking, decision making tends to be viewed as a characteristic of national culture. People often refer to the groups involved by their nationality, rather than singling out any other characteristic (e.g., their gender, organization). For example, Amer- icans are said to tally up their votes compared to the Japanese who make decisions based on group consensus.

Decision making and organizational- culture differences

It turns out that decision- making processes vary within any given national culture. They are a reflection of such factors as the people and organizations involved (including their role and status) and the importance and urgency of the decisions under consideration. Elizabeth Briody has researched decision- making processes in two different partnerships involving six different organizations. Each of the six organizations had its distinctive decision- making model. Moreover, each organization was characterized by a particular key relationship (i.e., peer, superior–subordinate), and a cultural principle or theme that permeated work- related values and behavior. Attributes of each organization are described in Table 6.1.

Ta bl

e 6.

1 Se

le ct

ed o

rg an

iz at

io na

l- cu

lt ur

e di

ff er

en ce

s o

n tw

o G

M v

eh ic

le p

ro gr

am s

Sm al

l C ar

G ro

up

(b as

ed in

t he

U .S

.) Sa

tu rn

C or

po ra

tio n

(b as

ed in

t he

U .S

.) Ad

am O

pe l A

G

(b as

ed in

G er

m an

y) G

M T

ru ck

G ro

up

(b as

ed in

t he

U .S

.) G

M d

o Br

as il

(b as

ed in

B ra

zi l)

Is uz

u M

ot or

s Lt

d.

(b as

ed in

J ap

an )

D ec

is io

n- m

ak in

g m

o de

l M

aj o

ri ty

p re

fe rr

ed 10

0 pe

rc en

t co

ns en

su s

Le ad

er sh

ip d

ri ve

n In

di vi

du al

em

po w

er m

en t

C o

lla bo

ra ti

o n

Si ng

le v

o ic

e o

f au

th o

ri ty

K ey

r el

at io

ns hi

p In

di vi

du al

t o

po te

nt ia

l al

lie s,

pa

rt ic

ul ar

ly l

ea de

rs

In tr

a- gr

o up

, in

cl ud

in g

le ad

er Le

ad er

t o

su bo

rd in

at es

In di

vi du

al a

lo ne

, w

it h

in pu

t fr

o m

o

th er

s as

n ee

de d

Pe er

s Le

ad er

t o

s ub

o rd

in at

e,

w it

h so

m e

in pu

t fr

o m

o

th er

s

K ey

c ul

tu ra

l pr

in ci

pl e

A lli

an ce

f o

rm at

io n

Eq ua

lit y

H ie

ra rc

hy In

di vi

du al

is m

In te

rd ep

en de

nc e

H ar

m o

ny

Partnering across cultures 163

Majority preferred at Small Car Group

The Small Car Group decision- making model can be described as majority preferred. It was a cross between majority rule, in which attempts are made to foster as much consen- sus as possible, and leadership rule in which the leader plays a significant role in directing decision making (see also de Tocqueville 1990 [1835]: 254–270). Small Car Group employees expected to contribute their ideas to unit operations via information sharing and debate. There were frequent and continuous efforts to “pitch” both technical and business- related ideas in the hope of generating “buy- in” from the appropriate leader(s) and organizational members. Thus, the key relationship was between a given individual and any potential “allies” that the individual was able to influence. Alliance formation was the key cultural principle, with some alliances carrying more weight than others. For example, if the relevant leader(s) agreed with a particular proposal, there was a greater likelihood that the proposal would be accepted and the decision made. These alliances varied in duration, some lasting only as long as it took to get a particular decision made.

100 percent consensus at Saturn

Saturn employees indicated that they made and expected to make their decisions based on 100 percent consensus. They respected the viewpoints of their Saturn colleagues as they worked together to arrive at the best possible solutions. Arriving at unanimous consent could take considerable time and energy. However, Saturn employees used two strategies to enable their decision- making model. First, employees adhered to the rule of thumb that if someone was 70 percent comfortable with a proposed decision, he/she must be 100 percent committed to it. Second, on those occasions when the “team” was unable to make a particular decision, team members sought assistance from a higher- ranking management group. Equality was the cultural principle interwoven throughout Saturn’s organizational culture. Thus, the key relationships were those within any given “team” (see also Stewart and Bennett 1991). The decision- making process typically involved a group of people rep- resenting a range of classification levels and variety of functions.

Leadership driven at Opel

Opel’s decision- making model was leadership driven. In the period prior to the decision, the leader requested input from numerous sources. At this stage, it was possible for employees to provide substantive information as well as an assessment of a given proposal. Employees sensed that they were free to express their opinions. Leaders tried to resolve issues and make decisions that were both consistent with the “data” and tended to reflect widespread support within the organization. In that sense, the Opel decision- making model was consensus based. Hierarchy was the cultural principle shaping relationships at Opel, with the key relationship between a leader and his subordinates. There was a strong recognition of and regard for individuals in positions of authority (see also Hall and Hall 1989). Much of this respect stemmed from their technical areas of expertise and the judg- ment that they applied in coordinating and managing projects and people. Once the deci- sion was final, organizational members fell in line behind it.

164 Partnering across cultures

Single voice of authority at Isuzu

Isuzu’s decision- making model was driven by the idea of establishing and disseminating one position internally and then passing that decision on to its partners. Single voice of authority entailed assigning a task to a subordinate. The subordinate conferred with others—either within or outside the work group or functional area—to complete the assignment. That employee then developed a list of alternatives or proposals to present to the supervisor. While the employee typically made his preferences known, the leader made the decision. The belief was that the leader could apply a broader experience base and a more holistic view of the situation to the particular decision. The employee worked to satisfy his supervisor and through that supervisor the entire organization. Thus, the ver- tical relationship between the employee and his supervisor was the key relationship. The stability and acceptance of these work roles and the unity of purpose among organizational members contributed to a relatively high degree of internal understanding and harmony— the key cultural principle in Isuzu.

Individual empowerment at GM Truck Group

The basis of decision making at GMTG was individual empowerment. Employees tended to be highly specialized in their job responsibilities. They typically performed tasks on their own as they developed ideas or proposals to solve technical or business (i.e., finance, purchasing) issues. Employees generally expected their supervisors to uphold their conclu- sions or decisions. However, individuals often encountered resistance. Multiple positions on any given issue were common and reflected the obstacles in crossing work group and functional boundaries. Consequently, decisions were frequently revisited and changed. Nevertheless, individuals viewed themselves as free and empowered agents who had the potential to make a difference. Individualism was the cultural principle resonating within GMTG’s organizational culture (see also de Tocqueville 1990 [1840]: 98–99). There was no particular key relationship among organizational members that mattered so much as the pivotal role played by individuals operating largely independently in the day- to-day life of the organization.

Collaboration at GM do Brasil

Collaboration was the basis for GM do Brasil’s (GMB’s) decision- making model. Notice- able about the environment at GMB was the apparent ease with which colleagues exchanged information and cooperated with one another. Once assignments were gener- ated, individuals received both solicited and unsolicited input from their peers. This feed- back typically occurred in face- to-face situations as colleagues recalled earlier examples—sometimes from other product programs—and offered ideas and commentary on the technical or business issue at hand. This kind of informal information sharing was complemented by the more formal design and engineering reviews. Eventually, a solution or decision became evident to the individual initially assigned the task, and to those par- ticipating in any discussions with him/her. The emphasis at GMB was on horizontal rela- tionships, that is, among peers or colleagues. Interdependency was the cultural principle that characterized GMB’s organizational culture (see also DaMatta 1991; Oliveira 2001). It was supported by such factors as the extensive social networks, the expectation that col- leagues would assist each other, the sharing of work tools and equipment (e.g., telephones, computers), and the small size of the operation in terms of headcount and budget.

Partnering across cultures 165

The impact of decision- making differences

The fact that there are distinctive ways of making decisions raises the obvious question: To what extent do these decision- making models aid or hinder the overall effectiveness and efficiency of a partnership? In Briody’s partnerships, there were numerous indicators of decision paralysis (2010). Three decision models were in use in each of the two partner- ships. One of the participating organizations might have spearheaded a particular initi- ative, only to find that one or both of the partners were unwilling to go along with it. Delays often resulted in arriving at a final decision. In fact, the delays had their own con- sequences including cost in labor hours and an inability to meet the partnership lead- time targets. In a number of cases, one (or more) of the partnering organizations would ask its own senior leadership (e.g., President, Managing Director) to intervene and reverse a decision. When decisions did not “stick,” rework was typically required, which also led to additional cost and delays. The multiplicity of decision- making models, combined with other part- nership issues, resulted in significant levels of frustration, damaged relationships, and irre- solvable conflict. The partnership involving Small Car Group, Saturn, and Opel ultimately failed, while the GMTG, GMB, and Isuzu alliance never met expectations.

Lessons drawn from decision- making models

The first lesson was the discovery of multiple decision- making models among the partners. Indeed, each participating organization had its own approach to decision making. Five of these decision- making models were associated with a single corporation (and even within that corporation, there were likely to be many other variants). While decision- making models are associated with both national and organizational cultures, they may also be tied to other subcultural groups related by occupation, job classification, and gender, among others. A second lesson is that decision- making models are more closely aligned with organizational- culture attributes than with national- culture traits. One proof point is that three of the six decision- making models were associated with American national culture, that is, they were associated with organizations based in the U.S. Although they were clearly recognizable as sharing some common cultural elements (given their national- culture heritage), they were also easily distinguished from each other on the basis of organizational affiliation. A second proof point was that some Americans worked for organizations located outside the U.S. and took on the cultural orientation of those organizations. For example, the Americans who worked for Opel expected that decisions would be “leadership driven.” A third proof point is that Isuzu’s hierarchically oriented decision- making approach was very different than the consensus- based characterization associated with Japanese national culture (see Dore 1973; Hall and Hall 1987; Gannon and Associates 1994; Jun and Muto 1995). A third lesson relates to the who and the how dimensions of any decision- making model. The who dimension identifies the individual or group responsible for making decisions. In two of the decision- making models—GM do Brasil and Saturn—an individual’s relation- ships with peers were at least as important as the relationship with his/her immediate supervisor. By contrast, in some of the other models such as GMTG and Opel, peers were not as central to decision making. Instead, the individual tended to work largely alone or with his/her supervisor. This analysis negates simple conventional wisdom that only leaders make decisions, and reveals role diversity in decision making.

166 Partnering across cultures

The how dimension of a decision- making model specifies the process by which decisions are made. Sometimes decision making was an overtly collective endeavor such as at Saturn where consensus was essential. In other models such as Small Car Group, the decision- making process was collective, though the decision might not hold if a higher- ranking leader disagreed with it. In still other models such as Isuzu and Opel, decision making was considered a leadership responsibility. One other important lesson is that conflict is sure to surface when multiple decision- making models coexist within the same partnership. Learning how to manage the conflict can lead to significant benefits. Partners on high- performing partnerships have figured out strategies for working together, despite the differences. There is synergy in their relation- ships and effort behind their joint work. They have created “cultural crossvergence” (Sarala and Vaara 2010), “cultural synergy” (Adler 1997) or “hybrid culture” (Gluesing and Gibson 2004), or a partnership culture that includes a shared decision- making model and unites them as a whole.

Partnering relationships and problem solving

How individuals, groups, organizations, and other entities conduct themselves in a part- nership matters to its success. Partnering is hard work, requiring significant time, energy, and effort. What you are expecting to happen may not occur, while the unexpected may appear without warning. There are always questions, concerns, ambiguity, and second guessing. Cultural differences are a key source of partnership issues. If they are not well understood or if they are ignored, the partners are likely to face ongoing difficulties as long as the partnership is active. In this section we discuss two strategies to foster the work of the partnership and mitigate tension: building and maintaining relationships, and problem solving. Partnerships are launched when two or more individuals or organizations make a deci- sion to work together. Often they are initiated on the basis of personal, face- to-face intro- ductions, which lead to further discussions about combining resources and expertise toward some set of goals and objectives. Follow- up interactions are essential for under- standing perspectives, approaches, and competencies; hammering out roles and respons- ibilities; creating an initial plan for the joint work; and very importantly, beginning the process of relationship building. Preparing some kind of written agreement (e.g., memo of understanding, contract) to guide the partnership occurs when a formal document is desired. Robert T. Trotter, II and his colleagues have examined the relationship component of industry–university partnerships. They discovered the importance of reciprocity to collab- orative work. Partnership participants emphasized the importance of sharing information and insights, engaging in the joint work, and understanding, trusting, and respecting their counterparts (2008a, 2008b). Indeed, he and his research team concluded, “Without strong relationships, there is neither a commitment to the partner nor the likelihood of achieving partnership goals” (Sengir et al. 2004: 555). This element of reciprocity matters within both “home- grown” partnerships, and those operating in a global context.

Partnering with on- site work colleagues

One such home- grown partnership is a multidisciplinary research team at Motorola Mobil- ity. Multidisciplinary work has long been a mainstay of industrial research laboratories.

Partnering across cultures 167

Researchers must figure out ways to collaborate to invent new products, processes, tech- nologies, and software, and then shepherd their inventions into commercialization. The “Experiences Research” group at the Applied Research Center consists of engineers, human–computer interaction specialists, designers, and an anthropologist who also serves as the group’s manager. Crysta Metcalf led this team in a discovery process that focused on two key questions related to the group’s role within the corporation: “How do we com- municate our contributions? How can we persuade others that these contributions are valuable?” (2011: 28). The answers to these questions lay in the group’s ability to collabo- rate to achieve a common goal. The team’s approach to collaboration was not additive; each individual did not perform a specific task. Rather, the team opted to engage in the applied research tasks as a group— conducting the fieldwork and analysis together, designing and building prototypes together, and contributing to the final deliverables together. Metcalf comments, “We became successful when we stopped trying to convince each other of our disciplinary value.” An increasing number of innovations have resulted from “doing the work together” and being actively engaged in the transfer of their technologies. A key piece of advice from Metcalf is: “You don’t throw it over the wall to the product groups for commercializa- tion. You bring in the product groups and get them involved—the earlier the better—and that helps convince them” (Crysta Metcalf, personal communication). Interest in the Experiences Research group as a new model of work has risen as the corporation sought to expand its market reach in a tight economy. Gülcin Sengir and her colleagues discovered that the process of achieving partnership work goals “is both the raison d’être holding the relationships together, and the driving force justifying the establishment of the partnership in the first place” (2004: 547). The joint work promotes ongoing involvement of partnership participants. Working together effectively depends on a number of factors including a strong relational foundation of

Photo 6.3 Visits help partners build reciprocal relationships.

Source: Courtesy of Tracy L. Meerwarth.

168 Partnering across cultures

mutual respect and trust. A field notes excerpt from the larger data set in which she was involved encapsulates this point: “The people who end up working together need to understand and appreciate each other. They need mutual respect and this is the major element of success for us” (Trotter et al. 2008a: 47). In fact, successful work strategies and outcomes can help solidify or reinforce positive team interactions and relationships. Sometimes the hoped- for, anticipated collaboration within the work group does not materialize immediately. One American RN (Registered Nurse) had to overcome a diffi- cult challenge. She had been hired along with health care professionals from a number of countries to help staff Saudi Arabia’s expanding medical sector; English was the man- dated language for patient care. The American RN reported, “You got paid by your pass- port,” meaning that the pay rate was contingent upon country of origin. For example, American nurses were paid four times more than their Filipino peers. (From another per- spective, American nurses earned a salary that was equivalent to what they would make in the U.S. while the Filipino salary was more than triple what would be expected in the Philippines.) The differential pay structure, along with preferential housing accommodations based on nationality, created an undercurrent of discord in the Saudi hospital. This nurse, the only American RN among the largely Filipino nursing staff, reported feeling alienated. There was “resentment about how much I made” independent of her role as assistant manager and charge RN. She learned enough Tagalog, one of the national languages in the Philippines, to understand what the Filipino nurses were saying. Their attitudes became more pronounced when their concept of nursing was inconsistent with hers. For example, patient chart reviews were an essential element for safe patient care and part of the American RN’s oversight duties and responsibilities. However, some of the largely Fili- pino staff did not perceive reading charts as work and “complained that they were doing more work for less money.” What can a global nursing manager do under such circumstances? What are some ways in a partnership to bridge differences in status and power? The American RN used her basic Tagalog to engage with the Filipino nurses. “I had to look for ways to build relation- ships,” she stated. At the hospital, she tried to be as approachable as possible and minimize the differences between her and the nursing staff. She also participated in food shopping, preparation, and meal sharing, as well as weekly mah- jongg games with the Filipino com- munity working at the hospital. The American nurse met with some success, even making a couple of Filipino friends who were able to offer insights and guidance into the social complexities of the Filipino expatriate community. The American RN actively engaged with her Filipino work colleagues in nonwork con- texts with the intent of building relationships. Her approach consisted of repeated interac- tions and regular communication, built on physical proximity (in that she lived and worked near them), and showed interest in their cultural values (see Shapiro et al. 1992). She sought a closeness in her relationship with them as a way to build interpersonal ties (see Bozionelos 2009). Her success was due, at least in part, to her sensitivity to their culture and her ability to encourage openness and sharing (see Phan et al. 2005). Sometimes relationships between work colleagues falter and may even fail when the parties perceive the relationship differently. Cultural differences can exacerbate the situ- ation because those involved may not understand each other’s assumptions and expecta- tions. A number of Russian scientists and engineers participated in a U.S. government- run partnership with the automotive industry. The Russians came to the U.S. for a six- month internship as a way to jump- start their international careers.

Partnering across cultures 169

One of the scientists had been asked to talk about his adjustment experiences from the previous year in a cross- cultural training class offered by the program sponsors. He told a story of how difficult it was to work as a team with Americans. He had been assigned to work on a project with one American whom he considered a close friend. As the project was winding down, he told the American that he had made a calculation error, but that he had rectified it. The American reported the error to the local management because error reporting was part of the work process. In the training class, the Russian was still upset. “I remember him saying, ‘I thought he [the American] was my friend but he didn’t care. He cared only about the task,’ ” stated Natasha Crundwell, the owner of the firm pro- viding the training and a Russian herself. This incident represents two particularly difficult lessons in American culture for the Russian scientist. First, he felt that his American friend had betrayed him since he had told his friend in confidence about the error. He learned that Americans do not understand friendship as Russians do. For Russians, friendships are “almost like family

Box 6.1 Cowboys and Indians

Workplace conflict can be complicated, arising from both individual and organizational factors, and have a direct impact on relationships and productivity. A global investment bank purchased an expensive automated tool for testing software. A leading global IT services company in India was in charge of the testing and assigned one of its experts to test the tool in the U.S. Tension soon flared up between the tool expert and the on- site team leader for the global IT services company, as well as between the tool expert and the investment bank’s software developers. The team leader was ethnically Indian but raised in the U.S., according to anthro- pologist Patricia Ensworth. He was accustomed to “flat organizational structures, informal communication, and gung- ho attitudes toward taking the initiative,” and sent the tool expert off to obtain the specifications from the developers on her own. Ensworth continued, “As one might expect from someone who was used to hierarchical organizations, formal communica- tions, and deference to authority, and who had never visited the U.S. before, she struggled with the assignment.” The already- overworked developers complained to the team leader that they did not have time to write documentation or answer her questions. The tool expert appealed to the team leader for support but was told she must try harder and improve her performance. The team leader found himself under fire from both the software developers and his own management. One day at a status meeting the tool expert again reported that the problem was a lack of cooperation from the developers. “No,” the team leader shouted. “You’re the [exple- tive] problem!” Shocked, she flung her cup of hot coffee in his face and walked away. Within 48 hours, the tool expert and her husband were deported to India. The team leader received a verbal reprimand. According to the bank’s Human Resource department, the coffee- throwing constituted “workplace violence” and was grounds for immediate dismissal. Among the employees of both the bank and the IT services company who had grown up in India, the pun- ishment was perceived unanimously as unjust (Patricia Ensworth, personal communication). Fortunately, the global investment bank viewed this incident as a learning opportunity. Ensworth was given greater authority “to drill down into the teamwork issue” on software pro- jects. She essentially served as “ombudsman,” helping raise project team awareness of the cul- tural elements at play and developing process documents with deliverables that included an effective intercultural team (see Ensworth 2003 for an example of the ombudsman role at a different firm).

170 Partnering across cultures

relationships where there are strong emotional bonds,” stated Crundwell. What Ameri- cans call friendship seemed superficial to him. The relationship was certainly not fully reciprocal since he cared more for the American than the American for him. Second, the American pointed out to the Russian that “You have to follow the process” and “report every error,” stated Crundwell. From the Russian scientist’s perspective, the incident did not merit being reported when relationships were on the line. It was only a minor error and not relevant for any important outcome. Moreover, it was not a “cover up” since he had fixed the error. He believed that his American colleague should have dis- cussed this matter with him first before reporting it. Obviously the rigid work process with its rules was more important to the American than their friendship. (The Russian’s ana- lysis of the matter was reminiscent of the distinction made between universalistic cultures and particularistic cultures; universalistic cultures favor rules while particularistic cultures favor relationships [Parsons 1951; Parsons and Shils 1951; Trompenaars and Hampden- Turner 1998].) This promising relationship neither attained its potential nor reached a resolution. The conflict from this single incident continued to overshadow the Russian’s recollection of his partnering experience one year later. Managers can play a critical role in transcending the tensions by establishing work practices and processes that are inclusive and empower- ing, and keep people connected. Unfortunately, there was no managerial strategy in place to help the Russian scientist deal with the culture clash he experienced. Shortly after his internship was over, he returned to Russia.

Distinctions between local and global partnerships

In the four examples—the Motorola Mobility researchers, the American and Filipino nurses, the Russian and American scientists, and the relationship between the global investment bank and global IT services company—the parties were physically located together and experienced direct, face- to-face contact with their counterparts. However, many partnerships have members who are geographically separated from each other because they work and reside in various sites around the world. While they may meet regu- larly to advance their joint work, those meetings do not typically occur in person. Indeed, many partnership participants work “virtually,” that is, they use IT and communications technologies to interact. The growth of virtual teams has occurred for many reasons including the possibilities of tapping into a larger talent pool, decreased development time for new products and services, lower travel costs, and reduced time spent in travel (Dekker et al. 2008; Shachaf 2008). Julia Gluesing and her colleagues compared global work teams engaged in partnering work, with local work teams that relied primarily on face- to-face interactions. Global virtual teams face complexity challenges that traditional teams do not confront. A prom- inent complexity challenge for global virtual teams involves working across multiple con- texts, and doing so virtually. (They define context as “a way of life and work in a specific geographic area with its own set of business conditions, cultural assumptions, and unique history” [Gluesing et al. 2003].) Context affects how work gets done including where the work occurs, the language(s) used, the forms of communication with colleagues, and time of day in which work interactions take place. In a different study, Julia Gluesing and Cristina Gibson identified a number of characteristics distinguishing global teams from “traditional” teams working in a single context (2004: 202–203). Among the work groups studied were an automotive product

Partnering across cultures 171

development team, a team responsible for tracking and reporting sales, a management team responsible for creating a joint venture, and some software development teams. Typically, global teams:

• work in multiple locations, rather than a common location or work environment; • consist of people from multiple national cultures in multiple geographic locations,

rather than in a common national culture in a single geography; • are composed of people from multiple and dissimilar political and economic con-

ditions, compared with teams operating in common political and economic conditions;

• include both native and nonnative speakers while traditional teams have native lan- guage speakers;

• are more likely to be developing or have developed cross- cultural skills, compared with traditional team members;

• engage in work tasks that usually involve crossing national and organizational bound- aries unlike tasks on traditional teams that generally remain within such boundaries;

• rely on various ICTs much more so than face- to-face interactions; • often work across multiple time zones unlike traditional team members.

Global virtual partnerships

Many partnerships are increasingly reliant on virtual interactions—whether as a supple- mentary or primary strategy. Frequently used IT and communication technologies include email, telephone, mobile and smartphone devices, instant messaging, application sharing, and virtual private networks. These technologies tend to direct the partners’ attention to the specifics of the work, while simultaneously limiting face- to-face encounters. Global virtual teams interface with their partners differently. Angelika Zimmermann (2011) summarizes some of the communication patterns associated with these teams. They have to learn to communicate so as to build trust and reduce risks and uncertainties related to their work goals. Because communication often contains implicit messages, they have to acquire the skills to communicate in a clear and direct fashion. The fact that much of their communication is nonsynchronous means that they do not benefit from immediate feedback, though regular communication can help. In addition, these teams have to figure out how to evaluate each other’s competencies and motivation levels without an ongoing, face- to-face connection. Tara Eaton conducted a study on the virtual aspects of offshore outsourcing, a project that involved globally distributed work teams (Eaton 2011). Offshore outsourcing refers to situations where client firms contract with one or more providers located in another country. For example, an American automotive company might hire an IT services company in India to create a billing and invoicing system. Eaton found that the structure of virtual work, including the use of technologies, brought “disparate workers together in a committed way.” She pointed out that she observed the gradual development and solidifi- cation of a “virtual culture” which she defined as “an adaptive system of learned, shared, and symbolic meanings and behaviors characterizing the virtual group.” The IT and communication technologies “seem to foster a focus on the task at hand, and represent a wider and overlapping range of devices for work in the virtual environ- ment,” stated Eaton. Indeed, they contrast markedly with the technologies in use even 10 years ago (i.e., fax, video conferencing) (Riopelle et al. 2003). The current practice of

172 Partnering across cultures

virtual work is associated with a rise in problem solving and learning which, in turn, rein- forces the development of the virtual culture. As one of her study participants said, “When I’m trying to explain something technical, I prefer to use email and application sharing software because you can’t assume someone else gets all that they need to understand without a visual demonstration.” The importance of written communication for global virtual teams, especially email, cannot be overestimated. Often, nonnative English speakers can express themselves better in writing than verbally, and prefer written communication over verbal because they can spend the necessary time decoding and understanding it, and preparing a well- thought-out response. In addition, written communication eliminates the nonverbal and social cues, and variation in accents associated with these virtual groups, which can help reduce mis- communication and misinterpretation. A field note excerpt of an American virtual team member makes the point this way (Shachaf 2008: 136):

Communicating with technology [email] with people in other countries … removes some of the problems … you don’t have all the cultural, physical aspects of communi- cations. You know, the way you speak to a Japanese is not the way you speak to an Arab is not the way you speak to an American, from the point of view of the distance you have to keep, the way you look at them, the way you express feeling, etc. when you just type a text in an email or a chat system … all that disappears, there is just the plain text there.

One lesson to be drawn from this work is that IT and communication technologies play a dual role in shaping virtual culture: (1) they are the principal mechanisms by which work tasks are completed, and (2) they are the primary ways in which collaborative relation- ships are formed and maintained. The combination of these elements distinguishes virtual collaborations from those that are grounded largely in face- to-face interactions. Partnerships are based on cooperative and collaborative activity and not typically on friendship (though friendship might result). Particularly for virtual partnerships, cooperation is essential since it is difficult to create a personal bond that is so highly dependent on face- to-face interaction. An innovative course on Collaborative Innovation Networks (COINs), offered since 2008, is “helping students learn to work in multicultural, multidisciplinary, globally distributed virtual teams” according to Christine Miller, one faculty member who has taught the course several times. Participating universities in 2015 included MIT Sloan from the U.S., Aalto University Helsinki in Finland, and the University of Cologne and the University of Bamberg in Germany. Students and their faculty advisors work on projects brought to them by client organizations, gathering and analyzing social network data from various sources including the Web, social networking sites, online forums, phone logs, email archives, face- to-face interaction, and blogs (http://sites.google.com/site/coincourse2015/home, accessed April 22, 2016). Students rank- order their interest in the projects and then are assigned to a project with peers from at least two of the other three universities. Once students receive instruction in the current best practices of collaborative net- works, they begin to establish the tools they will use for communication (e.g., email, Skype, Google hangout) and how they will use them. After a few weeks, an analysis of the students’ own communication behavior is conducted and presented to them. This “virtual mirror” is usually an “eye- opening experience” since it shows the disparities between the COINs’ best practices and the students’ actual collaborative abilities. In particular, it

Partnering across cultures 173

provides insight on how responsive each student is within his/her project team, as well as the degree of balance in both sending and receiving email messages. Other analyses have revealed some fascinating national- culture differences. The Finns communicate the least, the Germans the most, and the Americans somewhere in between. The tenor and quality of the communication also varies. Finns are “to the point” and appear to be somewhat introverted. Germans tend to communicate with “brutal” honesty. Americans “try to convey unpleasant things in a nicer way”; their partners might interpret their statements as evasive (Gloor et al. 2011). These patterns of virtual communication are useful in helping students understand the extent to which they are contributing to the team project, and their style of interaction with team members. Julia Gluesing and Cristina Gibson found that the key way that global teams become effective is by creating a new hybrid culture for themselves that reflects their emerging work styles, practices, and processes. Team members and leaders who have global experience and/ or have previously worked together can facilitate this effort. Launch time is reduced under such circumstances because there is “likely to be a foundation of trust and shared know- ledge of each other’s work habits” (2004: 212). Building relationships among team members is particularly important at the outset of a new venture. Their findings dovetail with those of other researchers (Henttonen and Blomqvist 2005: 112) who found that “Often the first impression … defined the direction and depth of future cooperation … When the other team members did not demonstrate goodwill in her/his actions by answering emails promptly and communicating openly, the interaction faded away.”

Photo 6.4 Global business and virtual work have led to the global “virtual conference” connecting multiple sites in real time.

Source: by the authors.

174 Partnering across cultures

Gluesing and Gibson also suggest that structuring the team’s work (e.g., establishing objectives, assigning roles and responsibilities, making decisions about communication tech- nologies) helps in the organization and coordination of work activities. Creating a sense of community and developing shared models or frameworks of how to work together can help the global team mature and position them to be successful. Similarly, Cristina Gibson and Jennifer Gibbs emphasized the value of a “psychologically- safe communication climate” con- sisting of features such as openness, mutual respect, and risk taking to facilitate virtual team innovation (2006: 484). Thus, relationship development and maintenance are just as important in global, virtual teams as they are in face- to-face work groups. Moreover, global teams generally need to be more imaginative about the best ways of creating team bonds.

Partnership life cycle

A critical part of partnership work involves addressing work- related issues. Partnerships face different issues depending on where they are in the partnership life cycle. Robert T. Trotter, II and his colleagues examined the evolution of industry–university partnership activity through a combination of ethnographic interviews, observation, and social- network data (2004, 2008a, 2008b). Initially, potential partners are identified and con- tacted to gauge mutual interest in forming a partnership. If there is agreement among the parties to proceed, negotiations about the work of the partnership follow. They found that partnerships have a life cycle beginning with an early period during which relationships are developed among the key players, progressing through increasingly focused joint work, and ultimately into some transition period. Figure 6.1 illustrates this evolution from Initi- ation through Transition (Borgatti 2002; Trotter et al. 2008a, 2008b).

Initiation stage

Small work groups consisting of a mix of technical, managerial, and support personnel are formed during Initiation. Over time, these work groups grow in size and density to form a social network structure with a core and periphery.

Start- up stage

During Start- up, relationship development continues with the establishment of a strong core membership. The development of trust and mutual respect among the participants occurs, along with good communication and coordination. Some tension appears as the partners begin to learn about and adjust to their differences.

Figure 6.1 Partnerships have a life cycle associated with various stages of activity.

Source: Courtesy of Robert T. Trotter, II.

Partnering across cultures 175

Growth stage

Collaborative work moves into high gear during the Growth stage. Those individuals at the core of the social network focus on such matters as partnership goals and direction, and act as integrators across the partnership network. Those on the periphery are engaged in particular technical tasks, with key players in the core keeping them linked to the overall effort.

Mature stage

Distinct subgroups emerge from the core during the Mature stage, each composed of a mix of participants from the partners. Participants are fully engaged in accomplishing the part- nership goals through joint work.

Transition

During Transition, the partners examine what they were able to do together as well as what fell short of expectations. They also consider the relationship dynamics and make decisions about the partnership’s future. Four outcomes are possible, including continuing the partnership with minimal change, modifying the partnership by adding or deleting certain technical areas, splitting the partnership into two or more fully functioning part- nerships, and terminating the partnership. Transition can be associated with conflict since partnership conditions are in flux.

Partnership process outcomes

We use the term process to refer to how the work and problem solving get done and/or should get done. A significant amount of effort goes into keeping partnerships on track so that there is alignment between the work process and the goals and objectives. Cultural rules help to illuminate the process of problem solving and the emergence or existence of a partnering culture. Tracy Meerwarth and her colleagues examined partnership culture as it was in the process of forming. They sought to provide “an understanding of the day- to- day partnership activities, work processes, and participant concerns during the partnership cycle” (2005: 286). They investigated two private- sector partnerships with GM—one with Alcan International Ltd. and the other with BP (formerly known as British Petroleum). Through their interviews they identified the concept of “partnership rules”—unwritten prescriptions offered by partnership participants for how partnerships should work. Illustra- tive examples included:

• You need to spend time thinking about what you want to solve. • There has to be a benefit for both parties in a partnership. • In the end, if you can’t put the product together to satisfy your customers, both lose. • We have to protect our competitive advantage.

About 40 percent of the 440 rules they discovered were already an active part of partner- ship problem solving, while others were in the process of crystallizing. Not only was there a higher proportion of rules that were “not yet in place” on the Alcan–GM partnership, but also the rules prescribed numerous ways to improve partnership functioning.

176 Partnering across cultures

By contrast, the BP–GM partnership had a higher proportion of rules already “in place,” suggesting a well- functioning partnership. Thus, the number and content of the rules offered insight into perceived differences in partnership performance. The rules indicated distinctive partnership cultures. When cultural rules are not shared, they can reveal a lack of integration across partner- ships, organizations, and groups. Anthropologist Yasunobu Ito compared the work activ- ities of seven different medical departments at a national university hospital in Japan. He discovered that unofficial “local rules” are specific to departments. For example, in one department where the nurses work three shifts, patient medical notes are taken “using a black pen, a red pen and a blue pen respectively” (2011: 35); this rule does not exist in other departments. Departments also use binder or folder tags in different colors and with different signage to communicate with other medical professionals. A pink tag in one department might mean that a nurse has to check with a doctor on some issue, while in another department, it might mean that the nurse needs to check with another nurse. In some departments, tag color matters, while in others, the writing on the tag is what is rel- evant. In still other departments, no one uses the tags at all. Indeed, Ito found that there is no standardization across hospital departments. Moreover, hospital culture in the division of nursing “makes it difficult to talk about those local rules and the thinking behind them, since according to the official line, they should not exist at all, and if they do, they have to remain secret” (2011: 55). When a partnership is being initiated, few rules are in place to guide it. Sometimes cul- tural experts, who are familiar with the key people involved, their expectations and assumptions, and their interaction styles, are there to assist. One such case involved people in the international programs office at a major U.S. research university. They had been trying for over a year to broker a partnership between their business school and that of a prestigious Chinese university. Now, at long last, discussions were beginning. It was hoped that the resulting agreement would set in motion a series of important research collabora- tions. The U.S. business school Dean had never been to China before. His Chinese coun- terpart had been educated in Sweden and spoke some English, though he had little experience with Americans. Also in the room as the conversation started were Riall Nolan, an anthropologist and Dean of International Programs, and his Associate Dean, an American who spoke fluent Mandarin. Almost immediately the conversation ran into trouble. “The two Deans were talking, but not really hearing one another, and with each exchange, the level of frustration and irritation was growing. Neither one of them understood what was happening or why,” stated Riall Nolan. After an hour, Nolan called time out. Nolan took the Business School Dean aside, and the Associate Dean took the Chinese Dean aside, to explain what the cross- cultural communication difficulties were. Each time the Chinese Dean threw out a proposal, the American Dean would say, “That’s interesting,” or “We can think about that.” Although these kinds of statements are often the way Americans will signal genuine interest, such phrases are also used in other cultures to mean the equivalent of “never in a million years.” Since this was the way in which the Chinese Dean was interpreting the American Dean’s responses, the Chinese Dean became more anxious, then louder, and finally, angry. By contrast, every time the American Dean made a proposal, the Chinese Dean would immediately respond with “Ja, Ja, Ja, Ja, Ja” (Swedish for “Yes”). The American Dean understood this reply as “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah” which, in an American context, would probably be interpreted as dismissive and sarcastic. However, the time out and

Partnering across cultures 177

personal coaching helped. When the meeting reconvened, each man understood what the other was really trying to say; agreement on the launch of the partnership was reached quickly. In this case, although both sides sincerely wanted to collaborate, and although both could speak English, differences in communication style almost doomed the partner- ship before it had begun.

Partnership product outcomes

Another aspect of problem solving relates directly to the achievement of partnership goals and objectives—that is, the actual or anticipated products of the partnership. Anthropolo- gist Sunil Khanna partnered with an NGO (nongovernmental organization) in India on an innovative problem- solving strategy related to the health of mothers and children (Khanna 2010). This organization had been providing health care to slum communities for about 20 years. While it had developed a significant amount of expertise working with such communities, it had simultaneously been challenged by changing funding criteria. For example, funding for HIV- AIDS prevention is typically for specific prevention activ- ities, rather than for a wider range of activities with key community stakeholder groups (e.g., parents, teachers) to ensure high rates of success. Khanna consulted with the leadership to design and launch a nonprofit foundation. This activity was highly unusual among such organizations at the time; the usual reaction would have been to change programs and reporting requirements to meet the changes in funding requirements. However, through Khanna’s guidance, the entrepreneurial leadership recognized the important role of community buy- in for any successful HIV- AIDS prevention program. Soon the foundation began approaching private donors in India—including business people and public–private partnerships—to fill its funding gaps. Khanna stated, “Changes are now under way to open a foundation branch in the U.S. so that American donations are tax deductible. Future branches of the foundation are planned for Europe as well” (Sunil Khanna, personal communication). The products of the partnership included creating a foundation and then expanding fundraising to other settings. The new business model would address changing funding requirements and help to ensure organizational longevity and impact. Indeed, organiza- tional innovation often stems from perceived and actual barriers. While some anthropologists partner with firms on a wide variety of organizational issues, others work with firms to understand their customer base. A holistic ethnographic approach can help firms make better products, improve their brands, and reduce the likeli- hood of product failure. In effect, such firms are acting proactively by partnering with the anthropologist, and through him or her, with the customer. For example, Campbell Soup Company wanted to develop a deeper understanding of the “dinner dilemma”—how decisions are made about what to cook for the family dinner—and how Campbell might assist in that process. Anthropologist Timothy de Waal Malefyt led research that consisted of in- depth journaling of thoughts and feelings around meal planning, the creation of a collage of a favorite meal, lengthy in- home interviews, and observations of grocery shopping and meal preparation (2010). One key finding was that personal connections play a critical role in the meals that women prepare for their families. Women share recipes and meal ideas, often hearing about and trying a new recipe from a friend, family member, or coworker. Thus, their inspi- ration often comes from other women in their social network. Malefyt and his research team developed a series of recommendations to build on this notion of interconnectedness

178 Partnering across cultures

and make Campbell’s products more meaningful. One outcome of this research was tar- geted advertising in which women are shown “planning weekly meals and talking with other women for meal ideas” (2010). Other outcomes involved website changes including (1) ways for women to expand their meal ideas and share them with their friends through Campbell’s website, (2) tips and ideas for both new cooks and experienced ones, and (3) connecting with a larger community of other cooks who also deal with the “dinner dilemma.” Campbell’s, through Malefyt’s work, was able to tap into the cultural dimen- sions of this everyday practice of meal preparation. The NGO, Campbell’s Soup, and Hopi Footprints examples are considered successful partnerships from the standpoint of product outcomes. The NGO created a foundation and is bringing in revenue. Campbell’s soup improved both its advertising and Web

Photo 6.5 Anthropologists conducted in-home interviews for Campbell’s Soup to arrive at insights into the “dinner dilemma.”

Source: Courtesy of Timothy de Waal Malefyt.

Partnering across cultures 179

Box 6.2 Collaboration for community, career, and tourism

Effective partnerships with local communities require time and effort along with paying atten- tion to the internal dynamics of the community. A partnership between the Hopi, a sovereign nation and Native American tribe located in northeastern Arizona, and the Department of Anthropology at Northern Arizona University has resulted in some unexpected outcomes. While the initial focus in 2003 was to integrate aspects of Hopi culture into teacher training and lesson plans, the project has since blossomed to connect Hopi youth and elders, and the scholarly community, through such means as intergenerational- learning and service activities. Archaeologist George (Wolf ) Gumerman stated, “The Hopi are facing a challenging task of retaining their distinct cultural identity while preparing youth for successful transition in a fast- paced world of modern lifestyles and different cultures” (Inside NAU 2006). Hopi elders and university archaeologists have shared their knowledge and exchanged ideas with Hopi youth on a variety of topics including food, ethnobotany, sustainability, environment, and community. The Hopi Footprints project has been successful on many fronts. Bonds have been formed between Hopi youth and elders, and between these groups and their university partners. The youth have benefited from what they have learned through the project including a greater knowledge of Hopi culture as well as career- preparation and business development skills (e.g., filmmaking, website design). According to Gumerman, parents have reported that their “kid was lost and now is on the right path.” The team produced four films that highlight the Hopi youth perspective on several archaeological sites. The DVDs are available for distribution at the National Parks and other Southwestern tourist locations. The project expands with the transfer of this model of cultural preservation and sharing to other tribes in the U.S. Gumer- man recently reported, “We are working on transferring the project over to Hopi so that it is ‘for Hopi and by Hopi.’ ” The Hopi Footprints Project shows a viable partnering strategy for community change, career preparation, and tourism in the midst of globalization processes.

Photo 6.6 A partnership between the Hopi Nation and Northern Arizona Univer- sity in Flagstaff, Arizona, has led to new career, tourism, and community- building opportunities.

Source: Courtesy of George Gumerman.

180 Partnering across cultures

content, and incorporated the findings to benefit the overall direction of its strategic mar- keting plans. The Hopi Footprints project fostered the cultural transmission of Hopi culture both within and beyond the Hopi Nation through DVDs and public programs, and prepared Hopi youth for a brighter future. In these examples, strong cooperative relation- ships mattered to the final outcomes. However, it is important to note that product outcomes may be achieved in partnering arrangements that are “less- than-ideal” (Briody and Trotter 2008: 204). Three of the eight cases in the Briody and Trotter book (2008: 205) were considered successful “despite the lack of institutional support” from one of the partners (Miller et al. 2008), “insufficient cross- agency connections and processes” (Eaton and Brandenburg 2008), and “little concern for the importance of partnering relationships within the hospital” (Jordan 2008). Angelika Zimmermann identified interpersonal variation in virtual teams citing two dominant configurations. One team configuration was characterized by “commitment and tight coupling” where there was “close co- operation and frequent communication … as well as the integrative leader.” In the second configuration, “commitment and loose cou- pling,” “shared understanding and role clarity may be weaker, leading to less effective com- munication and possibly lower trust” (2011: 73). The relationship aspects of partnerships obviously vary, and vary at different levels from the boardrooms to the conference rooms to the team rooms. More research is needed to explore the relationship between process (both relational and work related) and product outcomes.

Lessons drawn from partnering relationships and problem solving

A first lesson is that partnering is done locally as well as globally, with global teaming on the rise. The modes of communication vary depending largely on proximity of the partnership participants. Local collaborations continue to rely on face- to-face interactions while global work depends mostly on virtual forms of communication. Email, the most prominent means of communication for global teams, has become the key mechanism by which work tasks are coordinated as well as the primary mechanism for relationship development. Lack of communication by email can signal inattention, disinterest, or at worst, a lack of com- mitment to the partnering relationship. Establishing regular and frequent communication patterns, whether through face- to-face contact, IT and communication technologies, or a mix of the two, will help to keep both local and global partnering efforts on track. A second lesson is that conflict, misunderstandings, and miscommunications are unavoid- able. When individuals and groups are from different national, organizational, or institu- tional cultures, or represent particular cultural subgroups, differences become apparent. Those cultural differences, if not known or accepted by the partners, lead to tensions. Such difficulties can be mitigated in three key ways: (1) by developing open and mutually respectful relationships, (2) making assumptions and expectations as transparent as pos- sible, and (3) identifying and addressing ambiguities and disagreements in a timely fashion. A third lesson from our review of partnership culture is that partnerships have a life cycle during which they grow and change. The evolution of the life cycle parallels the development and accomplishment of partnership goals, and the development and mainte- nance of partnering relationships. Cooperation and trust are valuable attributes of partner- ing interactions that tend to emerge over time. Conflict is also present during the partnership cycle—particularly in the early and late stages when participants are adjusting

Partnering across cultures 181

to new circumstances and conditions. Well- functioning partnerships figure out ways to accommodate partner differences. One additional lesson is that partnership outcomes matter to individuals, teams, organiza- tions, and other partnering entities. Partnering is hard work. The majority of partnerships fail due to various types of organizational and cultural differences among the partners. When a failure occurs, the partners incur losses of resources (e.g., time, money), and fre- quently experience damage to relationships. Perhaps most significantly, they have failed to realize their objectives and produce the desired product and service outcomes they sought. Strategizing continually to uncover and resolve difficulties, compare progress to goals, and cultivate partnering relationships at all levels will contribute substantially to partnership success.

Cross- cultural scenarios

Read the following cross- cultural scenarios. In each mini- case study, a basic cultural con- flict occurs among the actors involved. Try to identify the source of the conflict and suggest how it could have been avoided or minimized. Then see how well your analyses compare to the explanations in Appendix A.

6–1 Sam Lucas, a construction supervisor for an international engineering firm based in Manchester, England, had been chosen to supervise construction on a new hotel project, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, primarily because of his outstanding work record. On this project, Sam supervised nearly 100 Saudi laborers. It was not long before Sam realized that the Saudi laborers, to his way of thinking, were nowhere as reliable as the workers he had supervised in the UK. He was becoming increasingly annoyed at the seeming lack of competence of the local workforce. Following the leadership style that held him in such good stead at home, he began reprimanding any worker who was not doing his job properly, and made certain that he did it publicly so that it would serve as an object lesson to all the other workers. He was convinced that he was doing the right thing and was being fair, for after all, he reprimanded both Euro- peans and Saudis alike. He was troubled, however, by the fact that the problems seemed to be growing worse and more numerous.

What advice might you give Sam?

6–2 George McDonald was a chief engineer for a machinery manufacturer based in St. Louis, Missouri. His company had recently signed a contract with one of its largest customers in Japan to upgrade the equipment and retrain mechanics to maintain the equipment more effectively. As part of the contract, the Japanese company sent all 10 of its mechanics to St. Louis for a three- month retraining course under George’s supervision. Although George had never lived or worked abroad, he was looking forward to the challenge of working with the group of Japanese mechanics because he had been told that they were all fluent in English and tireless workers. The first several weeks of the training went along quite smoothly, but soon George became increasingly annoyed with the constant demands they were making on his personal time. They would seek him out after the regularly scheduled sessions were over for additional information. They sought his advice on how to occupy their leisure time. Several even asked him to help settle a disagreement that developed between them.

182 Partnering across cultures

Feeling frustrated by all these demands on his time, George told his Japanese trainees that he preferred not to mix business with pleasure. Within a matter of days, the group requested another instructor.

What was the principle operating here?

6–3 Captivated by the beauty of East Africa during a three- week safari, Jeff Walters and his wife decided to sell their Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, bookstore and start a book- distribution company. Over the first four years, Jeff put together a professional and administrative staff of 18 local Kenyans; his successful enterprise involved supplying books from all over the world to eastern and southern African countries. One day Jeff found that he was behind schedule in preparing a lengthy proposal for a possible gov- ernment contract due in the USAID (U.S. Agency for International Development) office in Nairobi the next day. The deadline was so critical that he had to work very closely with some of his staff to make sure that it was met. In the final hours, Jeff found himself helping the secretaries make copies, collate, and assemble the multiple copies of the proposal. But minutes after pitching in to help, he noticed that his staff became very non- communicative, and he seemed to be getting a lot of cold stares. Jeff couldn’t understand why his attempts to be helpful were so unappreciated.

How could you help Jeff understand this cross- cultural problem?

Chapter 7

Cultural transformation

Chapter objectives:

1 Describe the usefulness of comparing “official” organizational values to behavior pat- terns observed in the organization.

2 Identify the four mechanisms used by anthropologists to account for change. 3 Contrast Edgar Schein’s definition of culture with Ferraro and Briody’s: “everything

that people have, think, and do.” 4 Discuss why anthropologists have focused on the four mechanisms by which change

does occur and have been less interested in how cultural transformation should occur.

Definition of cultural transformation

A quick search of recent publications on Google scholar shows that the phrases “organizational- culture change” and “cultural transformation” are associated with a variety of cultural contexts. Notable among them are health care, nonprofit organizations, long- term care, the media, climate, and travel. Many writers designate a societal issue or domain as their area of focus. Anthropologist Sandy Ervin (2015), for example, is interested in cultural transformations in relation to globalization. He examines sociocultural theories of change and gauges their usefulness in explaining global processes such as development, communication, social movements, and innovation. Our focus is on cultural transformation in relation to organizations, rather than a par- ticular societal phenomenon. Organizations can and do change through such means as careful planning, laissez- faire policies, unanticipated innovations, thoughtful experiments, and growth (or loss) of resources. Our definition of cultural transformation is synonymous with organizational- culture change: “A process of cultural change that produces a cohe- sive pattern of change in an organizational culture” (Briody et al. 2010: 8). We use these two phrases interchangeably. Companies struggle with the process of change as well as the outcomes of the change process. Think about the various circumstances, stakeholders, and issues with which organizations and their employees must cope in a fast- changing marketplace. Some of these changes occur unexpectedly, brought on by shifts that no one saw coming either in the external environment or the internal functioning of the firm. Other changes are fore- cast but not seen as priorities. Still others are high on a company’s radar and being “managed” but the strategies put in place are not sufficiently effective. Thus, sometimes change is planned and sometimes it is not planned. In this chapter we focus primarily on

184 Cultural transformation

planned change, though even in those cases, cultural responses are enough of a wild card that what is planned often appears as unplanned. Consider this example of an organization in trouble that illustrates the principle that cultures are integrated. A significant downsizing took place without appropriate restructur- ing of work practices and processes, and without any change in the customer base:

A large consultancy firm advised one hospital to “cut heads” and it did, by 350 employees. In doing so, the administration was able to control costs. However, that decision led to unintended consequences in the hospital’s medical practices. Employees perceived the cuts as random rather than based on performance—“a doctor here and a nurse there”—and noted that the cuts were ongoing. Their morale was low, their workload had risen, and they were afraid of losing their jobs. Patients were subject to longer wait times. They were at an increased risk of lower- quality service. And, they voiced their concern and frustration with their health care professionals.

What do we know from this brief summary? What other information do we need to get a more robust understanding of what is going on now? How might we help to “rebuild the culture” if brought in by a senior hospital administrator? We use this example in this chapter as we explore the issue of cultural transformation. It is based on a project that Elizabeth Briody led. The description of the organizational culture was heartbreaking. She and her team were eager to help the “survivors” cope with the involuntary changes that had taken place. In addition, Briody saw it as an opportunity to test the model of cultural transformation that she and other colleagues had developed in a very different work context—automotive manufacturing. Her hope was that the model designed for work in automotive plants could be adapted for use in a medical environment.

Change unfolding

Cultural transformation is an important area of focus for businesspeople. Organizations are a powerful force in the economy, contributing to the development, production, and sale of products and services, employee livelihoods and lifestyles, and community outreach and improvement. They are linked together in a supply chain with the hope of appealing to customers or clients. When innovations occur or issues emerge with the product or service, or with the work practices, processes, and/or relationships involved with that product or service, a part or all of the supply chain can be affected. Improvements, or breakdowns, in the network that affect quality, cost, and/or timing among other factors can motivate organizational- culture change.

Developing and implementing a plan for change

Organizational leaders typically craft plans to disseminate innovations or address issues. The planning process can vary from simple to challenging. Technical, legal, and market- ing complexity, appropriate involvement of knowledgeable and influential individuals, ability to meet product, service, and organizational goals, and degree of acceptance by stakeholders are among the elements that might derail the “best- laid plans.” Let’s return to our example:

Cultural transformation 185

Certainly the cuts had been planned, and apparently monitored, since employees con- tinued to be laid off. Yet, no centralized plan for workplace restructuring was imple- mented in any of the hospital medical practices. Such restructuring in the form of process improvements, training or retraining of personnel, role overlap during busy times (e.g., medical assistant helps scheduler), or employee strategy sessions to gather input and mitigate concerns would have come with a price tag that the hospital was unable (or unwilling) to pay. Any of these possibilities might have helped mitigate the downsizing’s effect on employees. Patient satisfaction had plummeted, not to mention the impact of stress on patients’ overall health. Thus, customers (medical practice patients), like employees, also took a direct hit from the downsizing.

And then there is the canvas on which the existing culture has been painted. The new initi- ative or solution must be integrated somehow into that existing culture. Figuring out how to fuse the new with the existing is rarely given the attention required. Plans often are incom- plete, leaving implementation unspecified and under- resourced. Announcing a new approach, for example, does not mean that it magically and harmoniously blends with the current organizational culture. Indeed, there may be features of the current culture that are valued more, take precedence over, or conflict with what is new. It is precisely at this inter- section of new and old where beliefs, values, expectations, and assumptions emerge in full force, with cultural reactions ranging from enthusiastic support to widespread rejection.

Photo 7.1 One way to ensure quality is to test product samples.

Source: Cultura Creative (AF)/Alamy Stock Photo.

186 Cultural transformation

Data gathering

It is essential to know something about the culture before proposing any set of recom- mendations or interventions. Without that specific, local knowledge, it would be a bit like working in the dark. The change agent, like a business anthropologist, may have signi- ficant experience with cultural transformation projects. Indeed, that individual may have previously developed an organizational- change process (as in this example). However, any preexisting process, approach, or methodology would need to be adapted to the specific circumstances and culture of the organization in question. There are many ways to gain insight into an organizational culture. For starters, one could search websites and collect publicly available information. If acting in a consulting capacity, it might be possible to negotiate a set of data collection methods that could shed light on the past, the current state, and a potential future state. Keep in mind that organi- zations are continually in the process of change and that the anthropologist would be coming into the organization at a particular point in the organization’s history. It is pos- sible to build an awareness of what was, sensitivity to what is, and imagining what could be built into how and what kinds of data are gathered. That would include any constraints on data collection (e.g., rapid time frame, access to certain individuals) due to the par- ticular organizational setting. The methods used in our example were as follows:

Documentary data were collected from the medical group’s website. In particular, special attention was paid to the organization’s “About Us” page that listed the cul- tural values. Surveys and focus groups were conducted with medical practice employees. The two methods were sequential, with the four focus groups building on the 84 surveys. Survey questions focused on roles in the practice, assessment of those roles, and per- ceptions of the culture while the focus groups explored the current and ideal views of employee work. Themes and patterns from the two methods were compared for com- monality and variation; the data from these two methods were highly consistent.

Comparing the plan with the stated cultural ideals

If we focus on that intersection where new meets old, it is possible to gain a foothold in constructing a knowledge base of the medical group’s organizational culture. It also places us in a position to learn how members of the culture interpret a significant event (e.g., a downsizing). Let’s begin by examining the old—the organizational values that represent the cultural ideals of this medical group (see Figure 7.1). Then we will have some basis for comparing those ideals with the survey and focus group data:

Patients are depicted as the center or focal point of care delivery. The “extraordinary team” set a high bar in what it sought for its patients (“wellness”) and how it would serve them (with “compassion,” “integrity,” and a “team spirit”). The importance of team relationships and relationships with patients is clearly evident in the combina- tion of values chosen. The team also strives to be capable and innovative, with a desire to excel in all facets of its work.

Cultural transformation 187

Analyzing the reactions to change

The organization’s cultural ideals provide a point of departure for understanding organizational- culture change. They offer a thumbnail sketch of the cultural expectations for employee actions and behaviors. They ground us in what is valued and desired. With this information we can ask how these organizational values are interpreted and realized. It is especially informative to compare the cultural ideals with a culture’s current state fol- lowing a significant event or crisis. It is likely that certain ideals will be discounted or underemphasized. Various cultural contradictions will arise. And in the best of circum- stances, some ideals will remain largely intact. When stakeholders perceive an organizational change negatively, conflict typically arises over what happened, how it happened, and why it happened. Initially, that tension may appear to be layered over the current culture—largely because of the collective sur- prise and disbelief, incomplete sensemaking, and avoidance of the negative effects (to the extent that that is possible). Eventually, the new way seeps into the organizational culture to some degree. It can exacerbate workplace issues, alter priorities, and damage once col- legial relationships. However, it also has the potential to bring employees together and encourage long- term adaptation to the change. Several sources of conflict emerged immediately after the downsizing followed by a period of unease and uncertainty as some coping strategies emerged. Here we offer a brief synopsis of the main findings.

1 Employee effectiveness was compromised due to increased workload. The new “reality” had sunk in leaving employees discontent, uneasy, fearful, and overwhelmed. It was an especially critical issue for the clinical side because the downsizing affected patient care (e.g., insufficient time with patients, hectic pace, higher error rates).

Figure 7.1 An organization’s cultural ideals are often referred to as values.

Source: Courtesy of Nathan Anderson.

188 Cultural transformation

Practices resorted to an array of strategies to keep the system operational (e.g., arrive to work early, work during lunch).

2 Employees expressed dissatisfaction with hospital management’s unwillingness to listen and respond to their concerns. They appeared largely powerless in a hierarchic- ally structured organization where business rules often seemed inconsistent with caring for patients. Moreover, “management” was perceived as neither valuing nor recogniz- ing employees for their contributions, regardless of their role, and was viewed as having little understanding of their work situation. Many were told they “should just be lucky to have a job.” Although morale was low, members in some practices initi- ated a conscious effort to compliment or praise each other for their work.

3 The decision to downsize was unanticipated and viewed as “top down.” There was no evidence of managerial communication about the pending organizational changes prior to the downsizing; employees reported learning about it in the newspaper. Clini- cal employees, in particular, expressed no appreciation for the hospital’s business goals or financial difficulties. Instead, they continued to argue that it made no sense to cut staff given the patient needs. Under such circumstances, trust and teamwork with the hospital administration were severely harmed. Some employees began a job market search, while others tried to hold onto their current positions.

4 Strife also occurred along job function lines within the individual medical practices. Physicians, who led the clinical hierarchy, valued their status and autonomy in attending to patients. They often quarreled with office managers over expectations, responsibilities, and organizational “rules” (e.g., start times, dress code), typically “winning” handily. Office managers, who headed the business chain of command, pre- ferred commonality and compliance as a way to promote teamwork. They tried to run the practice as a business but without full authority. Interactions became complicated and difficult when office managers tried to tell physicians, nurses, or medical assistants how to do their jobs, or when physicians instructed the office staff how much time to allow between patients (see Figure 7.2). For some practices, the status hierarchy became more rigid and the post- downsizing organizational culture fell short of the col- laborative team ideal. For other practices, “teams” became more cohesive, tasks were “covered” given the workload, and role overlap (i.e., work sharing) was established as the new norm.

Moving forward

We now have some understanding of medical group culture at the hospital. Before we con- tinue further with our example, let’s take a look at how other researchers have approached planned cultural transformation. We should be able to get some useful ideas for how to deal with the original charge in the medical group project: “Help rebuild the culture.” We return to our example later in the chapter.

Critical attributes of planned cultural transformation

Many researchers, as well as professionals, have tackled issues associated with cultural transformation. It continues to be an ongoing domain of interest both for those working inside companies and for those working with them from the outside. There is an eagerness to find solutions for implementing new initiatives, alternative approaches, and innovative ideas successfully. Insiders may be looking for enhancements to their brand, a permanent

Cultural transformation 189

fix for a broken process, or improvements in fractured workplace relationships. It is not uncommon for insiders to bring in “fresh eyes” to help benchmark the current organiza- tional state and collaborate on how things might be different. Consultants, for example, may be looking for ways to expand their client base, apply their skills, test their ideas, or simply earn a living. Whatever the motivation, there is strong interest in identifying and promoting improved organizational performance.

Core idea

The planned cultural transformation process typically exhibits three important attributes. First, a central theme or idea underscores the rationale for the suggested change and is used to bolster support for it. That idea may be explicit or implicit. For example, when GM introduced the Quality Network initiative in 1987, the target was explicit: improved product quality. The players, on the other hand, were somewhat implicit, that is, it was not clear who was to be involved and what their roles and responsibilities would be. Over time the Quality Network’s focus evolved, incorporating “relationship” quality (i.e., between GM management and UAW [International Union, United Automobile, Aero- space and Agricultural Implement Workers of America] leadership and members) into the mix. That too was implicit and would only have been known to insiders. Today the initi- ative is called the UAW- GM Quality Network. The naming change suggests the active,

Figure 7.2 Misalignment between clinical and business models of care generates conflict: frustrated employees and unhappy patients.

Source: Courtesy of Neal Anderson.

190 Cultural transformation

lead role of the UAW in promoting high manufacturing quality. It also signals a partner- ship between union and management.

Culture

A second feature of planned cultural transformation entails the concept of culture. It is a term defined and understood in different ways by different people in different settings. Social psychologist Edgar Schein’s definition will be familiar to those with a business back- ground. Schein’s definition of culture entails a “pattern of shared basic assumptions learned by a group as it solved [sic] its problems of external adaptation and internal inte- gration …” (2010: 18). He views culture as “an abstraction” (2010: 7). Although he asserts that there are three levels of cultural analysis—artifacts, beliefs and values, and assump- tions—his definition is fundamentally cognitive. Contrast Schein’s definition with the one we suggested in Chapter 1, that culture is “everything that people have, think, and do.” Our anthropological definition is broader and more comprehensive. For example, archaeologists and physical/biological anthropologists study culture without direct access to peoples’ cognitive states. An anthropological focus also takes the long view, ranging from the past, through the present, and into the future. Anthropologists consider culture to be an overarching concept. For them, an organiza- tional culture includes all aspects of organizational life: decisions, activities, interactions, technologies, relationships, rites of passage to new job positions, work processes,

Photo 7.2 Observation and documents such as agendas and meeting minutes can reveal insights about roles, divergent viewpoints, and organizational issues.

Source: by the authors.

Cultural transformation 191

equipment, workspace, arguments, project work, and on and on. Organizational history, role models, traditions, and old newsletters are part of the culture, as are expectations for future job performance, plans for expansion or contraction, initiatives in the development stage, and long- term contracts. Anthropologists strive for as holistic an understanding of culture as possible.

Time- based process

A third feature of planned cultural transformation entails a prescribed, evolving structure for achieving a particular goal. A step- by-step process or series of stages represent a sequenced approach and order to cultural transformation. Theoretically, the change process can be broken down into simplified, manageable parts. W. Edwards Deming, the quality expert largely responsible for Japan’s quality improvements following World War II, created one of the most well- known change processes. The PDCA (plan- do- check- act) cycle consists of four distinct stages with the goal of continuous improvement. PDCA is designed to be iterative; when one cycle is complete, a new cycle commences. The American Society for Quality continues to promote this process to ensure quality output (http://asq.org/learn- about-quality/project- planning-tools/overview/pdca- cycle.html, accessed March 3, 2016).

Business approach to change

Business researchers have devoted significant effort over decades to examine organizational functioning and recommend ways to improve its performance. Brought in by senior organ- izational leaders, these researchers have benefited from exceptional access to company operations and executives; they operate out of company “power centers” as described by Schein (1987: 43). Indeed, their close association with company leadership offers these researchers a bird’s-eye view of how external market fluctuations and internal business issues are perceived by the C- suite. To remain competitive, planning for faster, better, and/or smoother company opera- tions is necessary. Consequently, planned organizational change continues to be a valued area of study and experimentation. Business researchers have developed process models to assist corporate leaders with both necessary and desired organizational change. They typic- ally identify a key theme that acts as the glue in connecting the various steps in the change process together. Their work consists primarily of case studies and surveys from which they generate recommendations.

Centralizing concept

Models of organizational change generally reflect a core theme or centralizing concept. Schein focused on individual and group learning. Organizational psychologist and entre- preneur Daniel Denison and his colleagues emphasized unity and commonality by “creat- ing one culture out of many” (Denison et al. 2012: 71). Generally speaking, core themes represent areas of potential weakness for organizations. Indeed, business professor John Kotter (1996: 20) described these trouble spots as “fundamental errors” that can undercut transformation. Still, the themes are depicted not so much as challenges, but as cautionary signs requiring extra care and effort. Indeed, sociologist and business professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter and her colleagues emphasized the theme of “reacting flexibly” (1992: 389).

192 Cultural transformation

They argued how important it was to attend to internal organizational variation (e.g., in perspectives, roles, and practices) and unexpected outcomes. Core to the business approach to organizational change is the concept of change. But as we describe below, there is no uniformity in how the term change is used:

• In the singular vs. as a sequence of plans, actions, or events. • Situated in the individual vs. reflecting a group, or even corporate phenomenon. • The purview of leadership vs. the responsibility of the entire organization.

Moreover, the varied interpretations of change are sometimes, but not always, explicitly related to culture. Schein, for example, indicates that organizational changes may not involve culture. He states, “change occurs when leaders perceive some problems that need fixing or identify some new goals that need to be achieved. Whether these changes will involve culture remains to be seen” (2010: 299). Then too, consider some of the book titles related to the topic of organizational change: (1) The Challenge of Organizational Change, (2) Organization Change, (3) Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture, and (4) Organizational Culture and Leadership. Does change pertain to the organization, the organizational culture, or both? Should we assume this terminology is interchangeable?

Culture understood

At least some of the differences in how the term change is applied are related to how the concept of culture is interpreted and used. Generally speaking, business writers understand culture as separate and distinct from other organizational elements (e.g., strategy, process). Business professors Kim Cameron and Robert Quinn (2011: 27) offer this description:

more than one hundred published studies have explored the relationships between organizational culture and factors including management and leadership success, quality and total quality management, teamwork, organizational effectiveness, … competitive strategy, … innovation, … communication …

Similarly, Kotter (1996: 20) writes:

needed change can still stall because of inwardly focused cultures, paralyzing bureau- cracy, parochial politics, a low level of trust, lack of teamwork, arrogant attitudes, a lack of leadership in middle management, and the general human fear of the unknown. To be effective, a method designed to alter strategies, reengineer processes, or improve quality must address these barriers and address them well.

Culture is certainly considered an important dimension of organizations in these and similar works by business writers. However, it is depicted as paralleling other organiza- tional elements such as leadership, strategy, and quality. Culture is treated as a variable, that is, something that can be altered or varied. It is possible to control, measure, and manipulate culture, just as leadership, strategy, or quality can be controlled, measured, or manipulated. Moreover, the culture concept is understood as something that the organiza- tion has (consistent with this idea of culture as a variable), rather than is or may become. Finally, business researchers view culture from a normative perspective, which is captured best through large surveys such as the Organizational Culture Assessment

Cultural transformation 193

Instrument (Cameron and Quinn 2006) or the Denison Organizational Culture Survey (www.denisonconsulting.com/diagnostics/organizational- culture, accessed March 4, 2016). Given this normative perspective, culture is seen to have pathologies. Just as some indi- viduals are considered “normal” and others “deviant,” so too are organizations evaluated in terms of behavioral norms. In fact, the survey method allows for scaled comparisons across organizational cultures, leading to such characterizations as “individualist” and “collectiv- ist,” and “feminine” and “masculine” corporate cultures (see Chapter 2).

Three- stage process models

Various models have been crafted to describe and guide the change process. Three distinct steps or stages characterize most of these process models of change, whether explicitly or implicitly. In the first stage, the ways of the past are identified as inconsistent with the present or future. The second stage is a transition period during which a new vision and plan are created. In the third stage, the plan is implemented and institutionalized. When the change process is effective, organizational work practices and processes along with atti- tudes and behavior align with the new vision. The three- stage model of psychologist Kurt Lewin (1947a)—unfreezing, moving, and freezing—is perhaps the most well known. A motivation to change appears during the first stage. The individual or group then shifts to a new level during the second stage. Finally, in the third stage, new beliefs and practices are solidified. Lewin’s model was based on experimental work demonstrating the power of group decisions over individual decisions. He argued that motivation to change was linked, in part, to the individual’s “ ‘commit- ment to a group’ ” (1947a: 38). Schein expanded on Lewin’s model (see Table 7.1). He argued that transformation requires people to “unlearn something as well as learning something new” (2010: 301). During the first stage, he indicated that individuals or groups would experience “discomfort,” “guilt,” and “anxiety” (2010: 300–301). Cognitive restructuring occurs during his second phase as individuals learn by trial and error or through role models. In the third phase, the new learning is internalized so that it becomes part of a person’s identity.

Multi- stage process models

Significantly more detail on the steps or stages in planned organizational change is offered in the multi- stage process models. Embedded in some of these models are versions of the three stages described above. The multi- stage models vary in emphasis—on domains that necessitate planning and preparation, and on the effort required during implementation and its aftermath.

Table 7.1 Schein’s model of organizational change (2010)

Stages Description

1 Unfreezing: Creating the Motivation to Change 2 Learning New Concepts, New Meanings for Old Concepts, and New Standards

for Judgment 3 Internalizing New Concepts, Meanings, and Standards

194 Cultural transformation

Kanter and her colleagues also advocated for the usefulness of a three- step change process. However, they proposed a series of “ten commandments” (1992: 382–391) to serve as an outline for planned change. Among them were “separate from the past,” “develop enabling structures,” and “communicate, involve people, and be honest” (1992: 383–384). Moreover, they recommended evaluating each commandment for its effective- ness before moving on to tackle the next one. Kotter identified eight steps or stages in successful organizational change that is led by leadership. Steps 1–4 help to “defrost a hardened status quo,” while steps 5–6 present the new approach and steps 7–8 “ground the changes in the corporate culture and helps make them stick” (1996: 22). Kotter indicated that many organizations begin work on several steps simultaneously. He cautioned that omitting a step or paying inadequate attention to one or more steps always leads to difficulties. Cameron and Quinn created a nine- step process for helping managers develop and implement organizational change (see Table 7.2). Theirs was intended to help organiza- tional leaders arrive at a consensus view of the change process. Key steps included agreeing on an understanding of the current and future organizational culture, and ways to achieve that future culture. They pointed out that if leaders are successful in reaching agreement during preliminary discussions, they face lower resistance to change in the long run. Psychologist W. Warner Burke developed a four- phase model based largely on his con- sulting experiences with CEOs who were acting as change agents. The first three phases in Burke’s framework are similar to those proposed by other researchers. In his prelaunch stage, he emphasized establishing the need for change and a vision. During launch he stressed communication and addressing resistance, while in post- launch he highlighted consistency and perseverance. However, Burke’s fourth phase is devoted explicitly to sus- taining the change: the unanticipated consequences and contingency plans, and “launch- ing yet again new initiatives” (2014: 327). He also repeatedly called attention to the overlap in phases and the iterative, rather than linear, nature of change.

Summary

The business approach to planned organizational change displays several key patterns. They include:

• Thematically notable: The change process is infused with a key theme or concept to orient and guide action.

Table 7.2 Cameron and Quinn’s model of organizational change (2011)

Steps Description

1 Reach consensus regarding the current organizational culture 2 Reach consensus on the preferred future organizational culture 3 Determine what the changes will and will not mean 4 Identify stories illustrating the desired future culture 5 Identify a strategic action agenda 6 Identify immediate small wins 7 Identify leadership implications 8 Identify metrics, measures, and milestones to maintain accountability 9 Identify a communication strategy

Cultural transformation 195

• Stage- based: A series of steps or phases represent a framework to describe and explain the change process.

• Individually or group- focused: The goal is to develop and implement the change by altering individual attitudes and behavior.

• Reflective of vulnerabilities: Each phase targets a set of change- related activities, often in anticipation of organizational shortcomings and missteps.

• Practically oriented: The change process offers guidance at numerous points along the way.

• Leadership- centric: Leaders design, package, communicate, and direct the change process.

Some of the change processes described here are more complete than others. Some specify the ongoing and repetitive nature of change while others do not. Some are largely reflec- tions of the PDCA process; others exclude an evaluation component. And finally, some change processes include the culture concept, though the interpretation of the concept is narrow.

Anthropological approach to change

Anthropologists have been engaged in studies of cultural change since the discipline’s cre- ation in the late nineteenth century. They were positioned to recognize and record various aspects of cultural life, including change, because they were involved in fieldwork or exca- vations. Through their data collection and analysis methods, they have documented cul- tures of the past and present. Whether within a particular field period, or over numerous trips to their field sites, anthropologists have learned about change and change processes. Cultural anthropologists often experience change as participant observers. Studies of change are subject to the same core principles described in Chapter 1 as any anthropologi- cal study:

• Holism: A perspective on studying a culture by exploring all parts of the system and how those parts are interrelated.

• Ethnocentrism: The belief that one’s own culture is better than other cultures—which anthropologists try to counter.

• Cultural relativism: The idea that any dimension of culture needs to be understood in its proper cultural context and not from the viewpoint of the observer’s culture.

• Emic (or insider) view: The emphasis on viewing another culture from the standpoint of an insider—that individual’s perceptions, beliefs, categories, and assumptions.

Mechanisms of change

At one time or another, as individuals, as members of a cultural group, or as participants in a large organization, we experience change. Change happens in all cultures; no culture is exempt. Anthropologists point out that change results from four distinct mechanisms: invention, culture loss, diffusion, and acculturation.

196 Cultural transformation

Invention

The process of creating something new is referred to as an invention. It refers to the cre- ation or discovery of a new process, item, or method. Inventions come in all shapes, sizes, functions, and impacts. Ferraro and his colleague Susan Andreatta write about the inven- tion of 3M’s Post- it notes (2014). The invention was accidental. It came about when one of 3M’s scientists was trying to develop a strong adhesive. The scientist was not successful, but the weaker adhesive eventually found its way onto the back of small yellow notes now found in various places in offices, homes, and other settings.

Cultural loss

Culture changes through cultural loss, a process in which cultural elements disappear. Spoken languages are one obvious example. UNESCO produces an entire atlas on endan- gered languages (www.unesco.org/new/en/culture/themes/endangered- languages/, accessed March 6, 2016); about half of the world’s languages are at risk of disappearing by the end of this century. Paralleling language loss is loss of historical, philosophical, and ecological knowledge. When the corner store is shuttered, when a major department store merges with another, or when a family business is purchased by a new owner, we are reminded that change can and does happen. Members of the surrounding community often lament such changes, romanticizing the “good ol’ days” when life was said to have been simpler, better, and perhaps even kinder.

Diffusion

Diffusion refers to the dissemination or borrowing of a practice, product, or process more widely. Let’s use the Post- it note example. At some point after it was invented, it was introduced into the market. It began in a particular place and then spread beyond as its usefulness became apparent. The diffusion of an idea, item, or trait changes as it spreads and adapts to local conditions; think of benchmarking or the transfer of “best practices” as companies seek and implement insights from peer organizations into their own corporate cultures. A particular group may not opt to accept a new cultural trait; think of the physicians retiring early so as to avoid learning how to use Electronic Medical Records. The pace of diffusion may be slow or fast; think of the rapid growth of social media worldwide.

Acculturation

A fourth mechanism by which change occurs is acculturation. It is a particular type of dif- fusion involving repeated and sustained contact between at least two groups. Significant cultural changes result in one or both groups over a relatively short time. Typically a sub- ordinate culture adopts more cultural traits than the superordinate culture, signaling an unequal relationship. John Berry developed an acculturation model consisting of three dis- tinct phases of interaction. First, contact is initiated. Next, conflict follows since “groups do not lightly give up valued features of their culture.” Finally, some form of adaptation is “inevitable” (1980: 11). Acculturation examples are prevalent in business: in mergers and acquisitions, in the reorganization of a firm’s divisions and staffs, and in the formation of work teams. Indeed, acculturation is linked to the notion of accommodation in which organizational members negotiate ways of working with each other.

Cultural transformation 197

Acculturation often underlies organizational- culture change

The incidence of anthropological studies of invention, cultural loss, and to a certain extent, diffusion is relatively low when it comes to organizational- culture change. That is not to say that inventions do not matter, that cultural loss is a rare event, or that diffusion (and its counterpart, borrowing) blends seamlessly into organizational culture. However, to study these three change mechanisms in “real time” would mean that the anthropolo- gist would have to be in the right place at the right time. While that is possible, it is hard to predict a priori that an invention will happen, when cultural loss will result, or how and where diffusion will percolate. Typically, anthropologists would investigate invention, cul- tural loss, and diffusion retrospectively unless they were lucky enough to be in the field as those change processes were taking place. For example, anthropologist Julia Gluesing (2011) has been among those who have examined the spread of innovative ideas (a form of diffusion) in networks of connected professionals via such means as email exchanges. Of the four change mechanisms, acculturation seems to be tied most closely to anthro- pological studies of organizational- culture change. As indicated earlier, organizations are always evolving and adjusting, or they end up losing customers and eventually go out of business. Moreover, people come into contact—whether by chance or not, voluntarily or not, in a formal group or not, for a particular purpose or not, on an urgent matter or not. Such conditions lead to the relatively high prevalence of organizational issues that can be funneled into the acculturation category.

Where are all the anthropologists?

You might be surprised to learn that anthropologists have been largely absent from studies of planned cultural transformation. Now it is certainly the case that anthropologists have done projects in and for firms big and small, single site and virtual, at home and abroad. Take anthropologist Julian Orr who was employed at Xerox PARC. One of Orr’s projects involved technicians who repair copy machines. He learned that sharing stories of their repair experiences with other technicians was a key way of diagnos- ing problems with copy machines and fixing them (1996). Orr experimented with portable radios to enable the technicians to learn from each other during repairs. He later studied the use of the radios when they were adopted throughout the firm. Yes, this particular change helped to retain and share knowledge, enabling technicians to get to know and work with each other in a novel way (i.e., acculturate). However his project, like many other business anthropology projects with (1) recommendations for change, and (2) implementation of those recommendations, was not about the change process. That was not the point of Orr’s research.

Similarities to an anthropological approach

A few studies have adopted several key components of an anthropological approach. These studies pay much more than lip service to the concept of culture, typologies, and methods used by anthropologists. In reviewing the literature, representatives of several disciplines can be counted in the mix (e.g., business, sociology, health care). Business researcher George Philip and his colleague Ian McKeown (2004) use a model by anthropologist Mary Douglas to study cultural transformation in an aerospace/engineering firm. The original Douglas grid and group model identified four worldviews or cultural

198 Cultural transformation

types in which an individual’s societal position could be categorized. Philip and McKeown adapted the model, showing its usefulness to business. Over a 15-year period ending in the early 2000s, the firm changed from a fatalistic and hierarchical culture to one that was entrepreneurial and team- based, supported by a hierarchical orientation. Apart from the model’s usefulness in studying and explaining a cultural transformation, the authors suggest it also could be employed for other purposes including future planning. One weak- ness, from an anthropological point of view, is that culture is viewed as a variable. Culture is not understood as a dynamic and evolving process in which business is a part. An exploratory project, the reverse of what Philip and McKeown did, was conducted by sociologist Fernanda Duarte. She began with Linda Smircich’s business framework of organizational culture and used it to reconstruct individual and collective understandings of the history of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in a Brazilian mining enterprise. Duarte argues that the change to embrace CSR was the result of CSR values such as social justice and respect for the environment. These values “generated specific structures and positions (e.g., Sustainability Division; Community Relationships Manager) … [and] spe- cific symbolic practices such as specialized language, evocative metaphors, stories and cele- bratory rituals” (2011: 117). Those using an anthropological approach would be unlikely to draw a causal connection between values and other aspects of culture such as organiza- tional structure, symbols, or practices. Sociologist Nicola Gale and her colleagues also view culture as a variable. They sought to develop a framework in the English National Health Service to understand interrela- tionships between culture and service redesign. They looked at how patients and health care professionals experienced the culture as a way to get at the process of service redesign. Though they found culture to be “elusive” (2014: 9), they argued that their patients- people-place framework helped to ground the concept of culture in its context. Under- standing culture in its context (i.e., cultural relativism) is a critically important concept for anthropology. Gale and her colleagues recognized its importance. Finally, a book by business professors Mats Alvesson and Stefan Sveningsson is well worth “the read.” It is called: Changing Organizational Culture: Cultural Change Work in Progress. They studied an organizational change process at a high tech company as it was occurring; an internal unit was being spun off as an independent subsidiary. Alvesson and Sveningsson focused on all of the activity and interpretations swirling around the transformation as a way to gain insight into the organization. It was refreshing to read that they did not take “managerial espoused organizational beliefs and values” at face value (2016: 55). They emphasized a focus on the micro- processes associated with change—the experiences employees have and the meanings they associate with those experiences. The above works suggest the beginnings of a rapprochement or a greater blending of definitions and domains. In particular, Alvesson and Sveningsson and Philip and McKeown seem to have largely embraced the anthropological perspective on organizational- culture change. That is great news for research and the recommendations and interventions derived from it. Let’s turn now to a case study of organizational- culture change conducted by a team of anthropologists and a computer scientist. It begins during a context of crisis.

Cultural transformation 199

Box 7.1 Corporate cultural values and performance

Positive, purposeful cultural transformation often requires rethinking corporate values and expected behaviors as well as expanding the breadth and scope of the corporate culture itself. Traditionally, the central mission of a corporation, and its primary social responsibility, is to increase profits and ROI for its investors. Any other social responsibilities—such as providing livable wages and benefits, safe working conditions, upward mobility within the corporation, or environmental stewardship—are thought to hurt the company in the long run. And, even though this traditional view of corporate missions, cultures, and values is the rule rather than the exception, there are a growing number of corporations that are demonstrating that low wages and benefits do not necessarily translate into lower costs and higher profitability. In 2006 Wayne F. Cascio published a comparative study of the corporate cultural values driving the business models of the two leading “Warehouse Retailers,” Sam’s Club and Costco. With both of these companies starting their operations in 1983, they have much in common with one another, yet their basic mission and values are appreciably different. Sam’s Club’s motto “Always low prices, Always” is the centerpiece (some might say the only piece) of its basic mission/values statement. Costco, on the other hand, aims to provide quality merchandise at the lowest possible price, while following its code of ethics, which involves (1) obeying the laws of any country it operates in, (2) taking care of its members by providing excellent service and the best possible value and quality of merchandise, (3) taking care of its employees by good wages and benefits and an excellent record of upward mobility within the company, (4) respecting its suppliers, and (5) rewarding its stockholders (Costco Code of Ethics, 2016). Based on data from 2005, Costco paid its employees $17 per hour (as compared to $10.11), provided health care for 85 percent of their employees (as compared to <50 percent), and contributed $1,330 per worker to pension plans for 91 percent of its employees (as compared to only half that amount for 64 percent of Sam’s Club employees (Cascio, 2006: 34)). To be certain, the costs of providing generous wages and benefits are 40 percent higher for Costco than for Sam’s Club. Nevertheless, when compared in 2005, Costco was the industry leader in annual sales and market share, and it achieved this with far fewer stores (338 versus 551) and far fewer employees (67,600 versus 110,200). Wayne Cascio (2006) suggests that Costco can be more profitable than Sam’s Club despite paying higher wages and benefits because Costco has an “off- setting cost- containment effect.” In return for its labor invest- ment, Costco has significantly lower turnover rates (17 percent) than Sam’s Club (44 percent), and consequently has much lower replacement costs and gets one of the most loyal and productive workforces in all of retailing. “Moreover, owing to this loyal and hardworking work force, Costco maintains one of the lowest shrinkage figures [i.e., employee theft] in the industry” (2006: 34). The significance of the Costco model for twenty- first century retailing is that it shows the importance of having a well- articulated corporate culture with an explicit statement of corpo- rate values. If a company finds itself in structural difficulty, it needs to examine its corporate cultural values and policies to see if changes would alleviate some of the challenges. If the company is presently laboring under the mantra of “lower prices at all costs,” then the Costco story provides some insights into the question: “Can businesses behave ethically and respons- ibly and still make a profit?” The answer, of course, is that it is not only possible, but also empirically demonstrable, for a corporation to do well (financially) by doing good things for all of its stakeholders, not just its stockholders.

200 Cultural transformation

Crises often force change: a manufacturing case study

Unresolved organizational issues fester. When combined with severe external environ- mental pressures, we have a recipe for a crisis in motion. Some companies seem at a loss for how to address the risks they face. Other companies carry on, turning a blind eye to the problems in the hopes that they diminish. Still others are caught unaware because of unknowns. Yet the founder of crisis management, Ian Mitroff (2001: xii), states, “crises do not happen merely because a single part of a complex system fails. Rather, they occur because a significant amount of the overall system fails.” This is precisely what happened in U.S. automotive manufacturing as firms had trouble adapting to the continuing pressure of global competition. The American automotive industry lost ground to Asian competitors who first spear- headed quality improvements and then became masters at reducing waste and cost, redu- cing lead time to market, and learning effectively from their mistakes. Cost disadvantages, the lagging perception of product quality, a midwestern U.S. parochial mindset, and the long history of contentious relations between the UAW and the “Big Three” (GM, Ford, Chrysler) hit GM and Chrysler particularly hard. Matters only worsened as bankruptcy loomed and became a fait accompli, with thou- sands losing their jobs due to corporate downsizing. GM and Chrysler were vilified by the U.S. Congress, the media, and much of the American public, though the bridge loans were

Photo 7.3 Learning directly from those most closely associated with the work is one of the best ways to find out what’s going on.

Source: Courtesy of George Gumerman.

Cultural transformation 201

made available due to the vulnerability of the economy. In 2009, the U.S., Canadian, and Ontario Provincial governments came to GM’s rescue. Together they spent over $60 billion to help the corporation, albeit with a stern warning to “fix the culture”—a culture perceived to be dysfunctional, slow to change, and arrogant. Such serious business challenges were ripe for a different approach. Briody and her col- leagues Bob Trotter and Tracy Meerwarth believed they understood the process of cultural change that was going to be necessary to reshape GM and U.S. manufacturing culture. Their work on the Ideal Plant Culture Project had been ongoing since 2002; it was nearing completion when the crisis hit and was published shortly after (2010). Fortunately, they had been able to deliver their results, recommendations, and 10 prac- tical tools to assist with and sustain the cultural transformation that GM desperately needed. Indeed, the project recommendations and tools emphasizing a “culture of collabo- ration” had already been implemented at the then- new GM plant at Lansing Delta Town- ship in Michigan that went on to become the best manufacturing facility in GM. Government officials who visited this plant and spoke with employees at all levels were impressed with the changes. The U.S. government’s belief in GM’s ability to change and address its problems was a key factor in its decision to support GM’s restructuring.

Process and problem solving as core ideas

The team of six researchers worked closely with both management and union throughout the project. The team observed them at work, listened to their ideas, reflected back what the analysis showed, and gathered additional insights during validation sessions with them. The project combined stories from the plant floor, observations, interviews, and historical and cultural analysis to illustrate how manufacturing culture had evolved and how it needed to change. Briody and her colleagues discovered that the cultural transformation process was itera- tive. It involved a series of stages captured during the lengthy fieldwork period (2010: 8–9), much like the phases or steps described by business researchers (see Table 7.3). The researchers used two primary domains to help illustrate and explain the overall process of planned cultural transformation (see Figure 7.3). Cultural adaptiveness occurs when a company “gets it,” that is, understands that it must adapt its worldview to address new issues in the external environment (2010: 9). Cultural responsiveness refers to the ability of an organization to maintain an appropriate pace, response, and targeting of trans- formation in relation to that external environment. Together, these two domains have the potential to produce a set of actions to change the culture in the desired direction (referred

Table 7.3 Briody et al.’s cultural transformation process (2010)

Steps Description

1 Recognize the importance and necessity of change 2 Identify the direction of the change 3 Discern the focus of the change (i.e., conditions and processes that must change) 4 Implement the change process 4a Expose obstacles that have the potential to derail the change 4b Activate enablers or positive cultural processes that can support the change 5 Evaluate the effectiveness of the change 6 Celebrate success or relaunch the transformation process

202 Cultural transformation

to as cultural problem solving), deal with cultural obstacles that arise, and lead to the cul- tural transformation. The elements of transformation shown in Figure 7.3 ultimately were integrated into a composite conceptualization of planned cultural transformation that was situated within the wider environment. These same elements were linked to an understanding of the seven cultural obstacles (2010: 94) GM encountered in moving from the “old way” to the ideal cultural model—the collaborative ideal between management and union, salaried and hourly, and the paint shop and final assembly, among other boundary markers. These cultural obstacles included:

• learning a new culture • ethnocentrism • cross- cultural conflict • resistance to change • cultural dilemmas • cultural contradictions • cultural drift.

Incorporated in the composite were enablers or positive processes that could promote or sustain planned cultural transformation. Examples of enablers from this manufacturing culture included putting oneself in someone else’s shoes by understanding and appreciat- ing his/her feelings or experiences, and accelerate problem solving and innovation based on learning from past experiences. The researchers discovered that enablers were linked directly with the ideal cultural model (shown on the right side of Figure 7.4). The enablers represented hidden treasures for manufacturing to leverage. The composite conceptualization, known as the Bridge Model of Cultural Trans- formation, shows a bridge that leads from the old way to the new ideal. For a successful cultural transformation from one side of the bridge to the other, Briody and her colleagues argued, three critical tasks must be undertaken. First, organizational members must attend to and address the cultural obstacles that act as a drag on the transformation. Second, they must access and put the enablers in their particular cultural setting to work. Third, they must be engaged in evaluating the transformation as it progresses, making any modifica- tions to ensure positive outcomes.

Figure 7.3 Cultural transformation requires adaptiveness, responsiveness, and problem solving.

Source: Courtesy of Perry Kuey.

Cultural transformation 203

Summary

The anthropological approach to planned organizational- culture change displays three patterns that are consistent with the business approach. They include:

• Thematically notable: The change process is infused with a key theme or concept to orient and guide action.

• Stage- based: A series of steps or phases represent a framework to describe and explain the change process.

• Practically oriented: The change process offers guidance at numerous points along the way.

However, other patterns distinguish the anthropological from the business approach.

• Organization- focused: The ideal cultural model depicts distinct areas of workplace attention: work environment, workforce, relationships, and work practices; it is likely that these focal areas, and perhaps others, would have relevance in other organiza- tional settings.

• Weighted toward implementation: “Heavy lifting” is required during the implemen- tation phase as change is introduced; problem solving occurs as enablers are triggered to deal with various obstacles to implementation.

• Change- engaged: Transformation is successful when there is a role for all in moving the changes forward to achieve the organization’s goals.

Applying the planned cultural transformation process to health care

Process

It would be instructive to apply the planned cultural transformation process outside of manufacturing. Let’s compare the six- step process that Briody and her colleagues developed in automotive manufacturing with what unfolded in the medical group project.

Figure 7.4 The Bridge Model of Cultural Transformation illustrates a path from the old way to the ideal culture.

Source: Courtesy of Perry Kuey.

204 Cultural transformation

This type of assessment has the potential to identify consistencies, reveal weaknesses, and validate the general usefulness of the process (see Table 7.4). We focus only on Steps 2–4 since the completion of those steps is partial and requires some explanation. Hospital leaders offered no particular information on where they wanted to take the transformation (Step 2). Moreover, during the contract period we did not have sufficient contact with hospital leaders to explore a future direction for the medical group. A reasonable alternative in such a situation is to propose a cultural ideal, based on data collected, and use it to stimulate discussion within the organization. We rated the status of Step 2 as partially completed. Cultural obstacles can apply to any culture at any time (Step 4). Generalizable across cultures, the cultural obstacles take a variety of forms in the particular organizational culture. We identified five cultural obstacles that appeared prominently in the medical group data set and provided examples of them (see Table 7.5). We also found examples of enablers (Step 4) from medical group culture (see Table 7.5). There does not need to be a one- on-one correspondence between a particular obs- tacle and a particular enabler. Enablers have a wide reach and can be activated for any number of obstacles. Table 7.5 illustrates how the problem- solving enabler can be applied to the specific issue of physician ethnocentrism, or how the patient care enabler can be used to help break down disharmony between the clinical and administrative staff in a

Table 7.4 Validation of Briody et al.’s cultural transformation process for health care

Steps Step focus Status Application to medical group example

1 Recognize the importance and necessity of change

Completed •   Represents domain of cultural  adaptiveness

•   Help sought by hospital leadership in  rebuilding medical group culture which signifies recognition of need to change

2 Identify the direction of the change

Partially completed

•   No specific direction or cultural ideal  articulated by leaders

•   Analyzed data to create cultural ideal 

3 Discern the focus of the change

Partially completed

•   Developed recommendations •   Presented to leaders •   Leaders appreciative but 

noncommittal about using cultural insights for future planning

4 Implement the change process, identifying obstacles and enablers

Partially completed

•   Identified cultural obstacles to change  and enablers to support change process

•   Conducted workshop with medical  group personnel

•   Workshop valued but leaders  noncommittal about the future

5 Evaluate the effectiveness of the change

Not completed •   Unclear if change process continued  after consulting engagement ended

6 Celebrate success or relaunch process

Not completed •   Unclear if change process continued  after consulting engagement ended

Cultural transformation 205

practice. We rated the status of Step 4 as partially completed since hospital leaders were not vocal about their future organizational plans. We developed recommendations for hospital administrators and members of the medical group to deal directly with the focus of the change (Step 3). Specifically, we identified six targeted areas that together could help rebuild the culture (see Table 7.6). Each targeted area concentrates on an area of weakness. Some were a product of the downsizing (e.g., better workload management) but others were likely part of the culture for some time (e.g., integration of clinical and business worldviews). Table 7.6 also indicates whether the recommendations are suggested for practice employees or hospital administrators. Next, we proposed and conducted a workshop for a cross- section of employees to identify their collective hopes and vision for the future. During the workshop that we facilitated, participants decided to focus on the area of insufficient recognition from peers and supervisors. They enthusiastically crafted the “Caught Caring” program that involved “looking for people (employees) doing great things.” Workshops and discussions like this can serve as a turning point in cultures marked by turmoil. After the workshop, we followed up with hospital leaders. They seemed impressed with our work and grateful for the insights. The lead hospital administrator told us, “We are very pleased with the learning from the cultural assessment process and are confident that the proposed action plans will move us toward achieving our goals.” At the same time, our consulting contract was not renewed. We learned that they too had bosses since they represented one site in a large hospital system. We suspected that difficulties emerged in discussions at the interface of the hospital and the hospital system. Because we never had access to administrators at the system level, it was not possible to engage and problem solve with them. We do not know whether additional actions post- workshop occurred.

Table 7.5 Planned cultural transformation must be an iterative process to be most effective

Cultural obstacles Features of medical group culture

Obstacle examples Enabler examples

Learning a new culture

Lack of awareness among some staff (e.g., clinical) of business challenges

Ability and interest in learning new knowledge and skills

Ethnocentrism Some physicians view themselves as clinician-administrators and ignore new workplace policies

Engaging physicians in problem solving around effective work rules

Cross-cultural conflict

Clinical staff at odds with administrative staff

Common goal of patient care shared by clinical and administrative staff

Cultural dilemmas – –

Resistance to change

Some practices have not coalesced to develop new workload strategies

Desire by most practice employees to “do a good job”

Cultural contradictions

Patient care is compromised due to downsizing in spite of medical group values

Physicians have status and credibility to negotiate with hospital administration

Cultural drift – –

Ta bl

e 7.

6 Se

le ct

ed r

ec o

m m

en da

ti o

ns b

y ta

rg et

ed a

re as

f o

r im

pr o

ve m

en t

an d

ro le

Ta rg

et ed

a re

as f

or

im pr

ov em

en t

Se le

ct ed

r ec

om m

en da

tio ns

Fo r

m ed

ic al

g ro

up e

m pl

oy ee

s Fo

r ho

sp ita

l a dm

in is

tr at

or s

In te

gr at

io n

o f

cl in

ic al

an

d bu

si ne

ss

w o

rl dv

ie w

s

R ev

ie w

a nd

u pd

at e

w o

rk pl

ac e

po lic

ie s

to

re du

ce i

nt er

na l

co nf

lic t

C ro

ss -t

ra in

a cr

o ss

j o

b fu

nc ti

o ns

w he

n po

ss ib

le

(e .g

., sc

he du

le r

an d

m ed

ic al

as

si st

an t)

C o

m m

un ic

at e

th e

st at

e- o

f- th

e- bu

si ne

ss r

eg ul

ar ly

t o

ke ep

e m

pl o

ye es

i nf

o rm

ed

W o

rk  t

o ge

th er

 w it

h  pr

ac ti

ce s

o n

se tt

in g

an nu

al

go al

s an

d o

bj ec

ti ve

s

B et

te r

w o

rk lo

ad

m an

ag em

en t

Id en

ti fy

a nd

s ha

re p

o st

- do

w ns

iz in

g st

ra te

gi es

t o

im pr

o ve

p ra

ct ic

e ef

fe ct

iv en

es s

C o

m pi

le d

o ’s

a nd

d o

n’ ts

w

he n

im pl

em en

ti ng

n ew

pr

o ce

ss es

a nd

t ec

hn o

lo gi

es

an d

sh ar

e w

it h

o th

er

pr ac

ti ce

s

H ir

e  pr

o ce

ss  i

m pr

o ve

m en

t  ex

pe rt

s to

e nh

an ce

pr

ac ti

ce e

ff ic

ie nc

y an

d ef

fe ct

iv en

es s

R ec

o ns

id er

t he

d ec

is io

n to

ke

ep p

ra ct

ic e

ph o

ne l

in es

o

pe n

du ri

ng l

un ch

t o

a llo

w

ti m

e fo

r sp

ec ia

l pr

o je

ct s

Im pr

o ve

d un

de rs

ta nd

in g

ac ro

ss

ro le

s

Sh ad

o w

a p

er so

n in

a

di ff

er en

t pr

ac ti

ce r

o le

o n

an o

ng o

in g

ba si

s fo

r at

le

as t

tw o

h o

ur s/

qu ar

te r

D es

ig n

te am

-b ui

ld in

g ev

en ts

t o

i m

pr o

ve

ca m

ar ad

er ie

a cr

o ss

r o

le s

Sh ad

o w

p ra

ct ic

e em

pl o

ye es

o

n an

o ng

o in

g ba

si s

fo r

at

le as

t tw

o h

o ur

s/ qu

ar te

r

U se

p ar

ti ci

pa to

ry

m an

ag em

en t

in d

ec is

io n

m ak

in g

to b

en ef

it f

ro m

em

pl o

ye e

in pu

t

Pr o

bl em

s o

lv in

g no

t pr

o bl

em c

re at

io n

C re

at e

o ng

o in

g di

sc us

si o

n fo

ru m

( e.

g. ,

el ec

tr o

ni c,

fa

ce -t

o -f

ac e)

t o

a dd

re ss

sp

ec ifi

c pr

o bl

em s

G at

he r

ve rb

al a

nd w

ri tt

en

in pu

t fr

o m

p at

ie nt

s ab

o ut

th

e pa

ti en

t ex

pe ri

en ce

i n

th e

pr ac

ti ce

Pl an

f ut

ur e

in it

ia ti

ve s

ba se

d o

n in

pu t

fr o

m a

c ro

ss -

se ct

io n

o f

th e

m ed

ic al

gr

o up

Pi lo

t te

st a

nd l

ea rn

f ro

m

ro lli

ng o

ut n

ew i

ni ti

at iv

es

w it

h se

le ct

ed p

ra ct

ic es

B ui

ld in

g an

d re

ta in

in g

em pl

o ye

e va

lu e

Pr o

vi de

a pp

ro pr

ia te

tr

ai ni

ng i

n ne

w t

ec hn

o lo

gy

an d

so ft

w ar

e

C re

at e

m en

to ri

ng

re la

ti o

ns hi

ps a

cr o

ss

pr ac

ti ce

s to

o ff

er c

ar ee

r gu

id an

ce a

nd e

nh an

ce

le ar

ni ng

C o

nd uc

t an

d us

e re

su lt

s fr

o m

s ta

ff t

ur no

ve r

an d

em pl

o ye

e su

rv ey

s to

g ui

de

fu tu

re d

ec is

io ns

Es ta

bl is

h a

sp ea

ke r

se ri

es

th at

e m

pl o

ye es

c o

ul d

at te

nd

du ri

ng t

he l

un ch

h o

ur

R ec

o gn

it io

n fr

o m

m

an ag

em en

t,

su pe

rv is

o r,

a nd

p ee

rs

In tr

o du

ce a

pp re

ci at

io n

aw ar

ds f

o r

“P ro

bl em

S o

lv er

o

f th

e M

o nt

h”

R ec

o gn

iz e

o ne

e m

pl o

ye e/

m o

nt h

w ho

e xe

m pl

ifi es

a

ho sp

it al

v al

ue

Im pl

em en

t in

ce nt

iv es

t o

re w

ar d

hi gh

p er

fo rm

er s

ac ro

ss a

ll pr

ac ti

ce r

o le

s

R ei

ns ti

tu te

t he

a nn

ua l

re tr

ea t

to b

ui ld

c o

m m

un it

y an

d sh

ar e

fu tu

re p

la ns

Cultural transformation 207

We rated the status of Step 3 as partially completed because leaders were noncommittal about using cultural insights for future planning.

Assessment of process

We uncovered some useful insights in comparing the process designed for manufacturing culture to the medical group culture. First, we found that the six individual steps were reason- ably robust and connected well with one another since they were internally consistent. Second, we learned that the steps could be applied to two different activities: gathering and analyzing data, as well as implementing a specific cultural transformation. That dis- tinction between research and implementation was implicit in the process Briody and her colleagues developed for manufacturing. The medical group project demonstrates how explicit that distinction needs to be. For example, collecting and analyzing organizational- culture data is essential if the implementation is to be appropriately targeted. We had a chance to work in the implementation arena through the workshop. From what we could tell, the workshop was well received by participants. Third, we found that gathering and analyzing data on cultural obstacles and enablers should be separated from implementation. We recommend moving this research portion earlier. This modification does not mean that the implementation step would have no emphasis on cultural obstacles and enablers. Indeed, change agents and members of the culture should always be on the lookout for elements that disrupt or enhance the trans- formation, and then react accordingly. Fourth, in keeping with the previous point, it is insufficient to expose the cultural obs- tacles during implementation. The obstacles must also be addressed effectively so that the change process can continue. Finally, we concluded some of the steps should be iterative. These steps represent a series of sub- processes that continuously influence each other. Prior to implementation, some data gathering and analysis is required, which can and does inform the direction and focus of change. Implementation is also internally iterative given its goal to implement the cultural transformation while (1) recognizing and addressing emerging cultural obs- tacles, (2) searching for enablers to mitigate the impact of cultural obstacles, (3) making other adjustments to organizational practices, roles, and policies as needed. Our assessment of medical group culture has led us to restructure, refine, and reduce the number of steps in the planned cultural transformation process (see Figure 7.5). The revised process illustrates the sequential components of research and implementation. It also stresses the iterative nature of change generally—overall as well as within the data gathering and analysis step and the implementation step of the change process.

Conclusion

Organizations face the prospect of cultural transformation at many points in their history, given that they are dynamic, continually evolving entities. Change is, more often than not, complex and difficult. The business approach to change has focused on ways to effect organizational change. Much of this work emphasizes how planned change should occur within corporate entities. Business models of change vary but generally reveal a three- part process: making a deci- sion to change, preparing for and implementing the change, and sustaining the change. Such models are prescriptive, offering practical advice to organizational leaders in the form

208 Cultural transformation

of key principles or guidelines. Business researchers tend to target individual behavior since their organizational worldview is grounded in the field of psychology. Culture is con- sidered part of organizational life and functioning, but not synonymous with it. Indeed, culture is viewed as a variable that can be controlled in organizational operations. The anthropological approach to change takes a different tact in exploring change pro- cesses. Much of the anthropological focus has been on how change does occur as it unfolds in communities around the world: through invention, cultural loss, diffusion, and accul- turation. However, very little work has targeted planned cultural transformation in organ- izational settings. We reviewed a cultural transformation process developed in a manufacturing environment and then assessed its usefulness in a health care setting. One outcome was a restructured and iterative cultural transformation process. Another outcome was the realization of the importance of engaging organizational members in all roles—including hospital system administrators. We believe that without hospital system involvement, the cultural transformation process cannot succeed in the long- term.

Figure 7.5 Planned cultural transformation must be an iterative process to be most effective.

Source: Courtesy of Nathan Anderson.

Cultural transformation 209

Cross- cultural scenarios

Read the following cross- cultural scenarios. In each mini- case study, a basic cultural con- flict occurs among the actors involved. Try to identify the source of the conflict and suggest how it could have been avoided or minimized. Then see how well your analyses compare to the explanations in Appendix A.

7–1 Angus McBride, an up- and-coming executive for a Scottish electronics company, was sent to Japan to work out the details of a joint venture with a Japanese electronics firm. During the first several weeks, Angus felt that the negotiations were proceeding better than he had expected. He found that he had very cordial working relationships with the team of Japanese executives, and they had in fact agreed on the major pol- icies and strategies governing the new joint venture. During the third week of negoti- ations, Angus was present at a meeting held to review their progress. The president of the Japanese firm, Mr. Hayakawa, chaired the meeting. He was a man in his mid- forties who had recently taken over the presidency from his 82-year- old grandfather. The new president, who had been involved in most of the negotiations during the preceding weeks, seemed to Angus to be one of the strongest advocates of the plan that had been developed to date. Also attending the meeting was Hayakawa’s grand- father, the recently retired president. After the plans had been discussed in some detail, the octogenarian past president proceeded to give a long soliloquy about how some of the features of this plan violated the traditional practices on which the company had been founded. Much to Angus’ amazement, Hayakawa did nothing to explain or defend the policies and strategies that they had taken weeks to develop. Feeling extremely frustrated, Angus then gave a strongly argued defense of the plan. To Angus’ further amazement, no one else in the meeting spoke up. The tension in the air was quite heavy, and the meeting adjourned shortly thereafter. Within days the Japanese firm completely terminated the negotiations on the joint venture.

How could you help Angus understand this bewildering situation?

7–2 Bill Higgins had served as the manager of a large U.S. timber company located in a rather remote rain forest in a South American country. Since it began its logging operations in the 1950s, a major problem facing the company has been the recruit- ment of labor. The only nearby source of labor was the sparsely populated local Indian groups. Bill’s company has been in direct competition for laborers with a German company operating in the same region. In an attempt to attract the required number of laborers, Bill’s company has invested heavily in new housing and offered considerably higher wages than the German company, as well as a guaranteed 40-hour workweek. Yet, the majority of the available workers continued to work for the German company, despite its substandard housing and a minimum hourly wage. Bill finally brought in several U.S. anthropologists who had worked among the local Indians. The answer to Bill’s labor recruitment problem was quite simple, but it required looking at the values of the Indian labor force rather than simply building facilities that would appeal to the typical U.S. laborer.

What did the anthropologists tell Bill?

210 Cultural transformation

7–3 Linda Harmon, a vice president of a U.S.-based courier service, was sent to open an office in Madrid. The company had recently expanded its overnight delivery services to several other countries in Europe (including the Netherlands), and these opera- tions were doing very well. The company’s “bread- and-butter” service was overnight delivery anywhere in Europe, provided that the package was in the pickup box by 5:00 p.m. Even though Linda and her husband, John, were getting along well in Spain, she could not understand why the Spanish people were not responding more favorably to the company’s services.

Why was the overnight delivery system not catching on in Spain?

Chapter 8

Consumers

Chapter objectives:

1 Identify three venues or ways in which a consumer gets exposed to a firm’s products or services.

2 Choose any product or service and discuss how you would investigate its use as holisti- cally as possible.

3 Explain the value in researchers or consultants collaborating with firms on projects. 4 Choose any brand, explain the meaning it holds for you, and discuss why the connec-

tion with meaning matters in product advertising.

Consumer or customer: what’s the difference?

This is not a stupid question! It is not apparent at face value that these words—consumer and customer—can have different meanings. If you are familiar with sales and marketing, these terms have unique connotations. Anthropologists would refer to them as emic terms because they are defined and applied in particular ways in the business world. Indeed, we chose the title of this chapter purposely. As anthropologist Ken Erickson points out, “A lot of folks in business may not even make this distinction. But when you play in the consumer- facing market research world, the distinction has a kind of general salience” (Ken Erickson, personal communication). A consumer is someone that purchases something for use: some product, service, or experience. So, if you were to buy food at the local store, pay the kid next door to cut your lawn, or purchase a ticket to a magic show, you would be considered a consumer or the end user. (Of course, this definition breaks down quickly if you do not eat the food, pay the kid, or go to the show!) The word consumer refers to those who purchase from a busi- ness. Hence, it is a B2C (i.e., Business to Consumer) arrangement. A customer, in business lingo, is a business who purchases from another business. For example, a car dealership is considered a customer because it purchases from an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) like Ford Motor Co. The car dealership does not use the vehicles, but rather sells the vehicles. This type of commerce is referred to as B2B (i.e., Business to Business). The OEM sells vehicles to a dealership wholesale (B2B), while the dealership sells vehicles to an individual or family retail (B2C). Interestingly, the acro- nyms B2C and B2B became popular during the “dotcom boom” at the turn of the century; at that time, the acronyms signified online retail enterprises or firms that sold products and services via the Internet (www.investopedia.com/terms/b/btoc.asp, accessed May 3, 2016).

212 Consumers

For the remainder of this chapter, we focus on consumers and the ways in which they connect with or are connected with businesses.

An anthropological approach to understanding consumers

Global business has been exposed to anthropology and its methodological cousin, ethno- graphy. Anthropological contributions to consumer behavior, marketing, and advertising began in the 1940s. For example, W. Lloyd Warner and Burleigh Gardner started Social Research, Inc. (SRI) in Chicago during the mid 1940s where one of their areas of focus was the symbolism around consumer behavior and products (e.g., smoking as symbolic of virility). Joseph Plummer, who worked at Leo Burnett advertising agency in the early 1960s, used ethnographic techniques which led to the successful “A Kellogg’s Kind of Morning” campaign. Steve Barnett “made anthropology visible to Madison Avenue” in New York City through his consulting practice and his column in the trade periodical Advertising Age in the 1980s (Barnett 2016; Sunderland and Denny 2007: 30). Despite the start- and-stop quality to anthropological contributions to business during the middle decades of the twentieth century, consumer anthropology, advertising anthro- pology, and design anthropology have taken an increasingly firm grip since then. Anthro- pologists have used their knowledge and training to conduct studies for business clients—several of which are described in this chapter. The focus typically involves product and service use (or potential use) and meaning. The context in which the con- sumer lives or works is a critical element in understanding everything from product or service awareness, to consumer mental models, purchase decisions, use, identity, and disposal. Data gathering techniques used by anthropologists engaged in such research vary depending on many factors including the questions asked by the client organization, the time frame and budget available, and the skill sets of collaborating researchers. However, consumer research carried out by anthropologists involves a mix of methodological tech- niques, rather than a single technique. Thus, observation of a context (e.g., a store, work- place) might be combined with focus groups. Alternately, interviews in consumers’ homes might be combined with collages reflecting personal values or diaries of the consumers’ daily activities. Videography is often employed to show to the client as part of the researchers’ final presentation/report. There are numerous sources that would be useful introductions to consumer work, several of which are listed here:

• Edited volumes: Sherry, Jr. (1995), Miller (1998), Squires and Byrne (2002), Remy et al. (2003), Gunn and Donovan (2012), Belk et al. (2013), Gunn et al. (2013), Denny and Sunderland (2014), Smith et al. (2016).

• Books: Suchman (2007), Sunderland and Denny (2007), McCracken (1990), Morais (2010), Malefyt and Morais (2012), Ann Jordan (2013), Griffiths (2013), Oliveira (2013).

One outcome of this large body of work is that many firms have wanted to take advantage of the anthropology/ethnography “buzz.” Some have hired anthropologists while many others have tried to use ethnography, often less effectively, with their own clients. One recent assessment by anthropologist Yasunobu Ito (2016) discusses such attempts among Japanese firms. Concerned about tapping into the “voices of voiceless customers,” the Jap- anese business sector is part of a new trend to employ esuno (i.e., ethnography) to uncover

Consumers 213

“hidden potential needs of customers” (2016: 61). Ito points out that many Japanese cor- porations have “redefined” ethnography as a “tool” so that it is “standardized and formu- lated for everyone who wishes to use it as such” (2016: 57). Achilles Corporation retrospectively indicated that it had used ethnographic observation prior to launching its sports shoe brand SYUNSOKU in 2003 when, Ito points out, “the term ethnography was unheard of among Japanese corporations” (2016: 66). Other firms in Japan have used similar strategies in renaming the product research they have done in the past as esuno. In other firms, attempts are made to mimic the anthropological approach to consumer research without attending to the elements of the approach or hiring those who are experi- enced in it. (This application of anthropological methods in name only is common in the U.S. as well.) According to Ito, Japanese firms have yet to employ anthropologists, prefer- ring instead to use businesspeople and engineers to conduct esuno. Ito also reports on a case of in- company researchers asking housewives to take photos of particular areas in their homes, in lieu of conducting home interviews and observations. Why? The photos took less time and energy on the company’s part.

Interface between business organizations and consumers

The last three chapters have emphasized various types of organizational activity including negotiations, partnering, and planned change. We begin this chapter by examining the interface between organizational activity and its potential consumers. One such interface is retail floor space. The product has been manufactured and delivered for sale. It has found its way to a particular location in the store where it will be on display. Many a marketing specialist or sales associate has learned about consumer reac- tions whether through intercept interviews (i.e., brief discussions with shoppers while they are shopping) or through assistance provided to the shopper. So the sales floor is one important place where product characteristics (e.g., fit, price) can be compared and con- trasted with competitor products. It is a place where decisions are made to purchase … or not. But, what if we were to say that the shopping floor is also a space where we can learn about or confirm attributes of a firm’s organizational culture? Do you think the organiza- tion’s interface with the public can be that revealing? The short answer is, Yes! By looking upstream from the interface at the corporate culture and downstream from the interface to consumer preferences, we were able to make sense of sales in light of corporate strategy. And it all got started when the client, a global intimate apparel manufacturer, supported a proposal by Ken Erickson and his colleague Elizabeth Briody. The proposal’s focus was on perceptions of the effectiveness of various steps in the value chain including design to marketing to retail to consumer experience (Briody and Erickson 2017).

The gold star question

We developed our list of interview questions beginning with employees at the corporate headquarters. The questions included some specifics on the employees’ work history, their views of the current culture, their understanding of consumer perceptions, and their advice to improve the company’s effectiveness. One question was embedded in the set that proved to be extremely revealing: Can you see the culture of the firm reflected on the sales floor? Our second day of interviewing at headquarters had barely started when we had an intriguing reply to this question from a long- time female employee. She was quiet for

Photo 8.1 Intercept interviews provide quick and useful insights into purchase behavior.

Source: Courtesy of Ken C. Erickson.

Consumers 215

nearly 30 seconds before responding and then said, “Bras don’t talk to panties.” Briody, who was conducting the interview and could not quite believe what she had just heard, managed to contain her laughter to ask, “What?” The interviewee answered matter- of- factly gesturing to her right, “The bra people are over here and [gesturing to her left] the panties people are over there. We’re on the same floor and we don’t even have lunch together!” She continued that it was similar in stores. “Bras don’t match panties and bras and panties don’t hang together to make it easier to shop.” When asked why any of this was a problem, she responded, “Women want matching sets!” The potential of what this employee related was swift and unmistakable. The inter- viewee had described a structural feature of the organizational culture of the firm that was replicated on the sales floor. But there was more research to be done. Through our inter- views and observation at headquarters, we learned that firm employees were separated into organizational units by product (e.g., bras, panties), then by size (e.g., full- figure, average figure), and finally by brand. The bra department controlled significantly more resources than panties, serving as lead on product development each time new styles were designed. The panties department adapted to the new bra styles, selecting fabrics, patterns, and colors consistent with them. One employee told us, “The bra palette drives the panties palette.” Moreover, employees described their culture as full of “silos,” “turf,” and “tribes,” all of which signal an organizational culture marked by difficult- to-bridge bounded hierarchies.

Difficulty keeping pace with market complexity

Design district

The next stop during our ethnographic investigation was New York City’s design district. We spent time with designers and merchandisers employed by the intimate apparel firm. Their orientation to consumers came across to us as an ex post facto excuse. For example, one designer commented: “Our philosophy is, we are not first, we are better.” Another designer made a similar statement, “We make great, basic products. If they [consumers] knew about it, they would come back [to us from our competitors].” The designers were alluding to consumers taking their purchasing power elsewhere—typically to Victoria’s Secret. They, as well as those at headquarters, seemed ill prepared to identify solutions to improve their current—and flat—market share. A contributing factor, we learned, was that designers and merchandisers had restricted lines of communication with headquarters. They were not permitted to exchange informa- tion with anyone but the most senior leaders. This “rule” seemed to confirm and extend the pattern we observed at headquarters: the lack of sharing and collaboration across product lines and functions. However, headquarters assigned fault to New York for not soliciting more consumer input. Our project sponsor told us that the “Designers tap into a little of our stuff [consumer insights data] but not a lot.” A second headquarters’ employee stated, “Merchandising and design are working in a vacuum of what is selling well.” A third employee there commented, “Designers will design what they think is right.” It appeared to us that New York and headquarters were operating largely independently of one another. The conversation in the NY design district turned to the firm’s business model in rela- tion to a changing marketplace. One designer commented, “Now we have turnkey devel- opment. We can’t manage the complexity. It’s ruffles, polka dots, etc. … Our supply chain doesn’t have this.… We can’t change a strap 12 different ways.” In a subsequent discussion

Photo 8.2 Despite their important purpose as storage containers on farms, silos have come to be metaphors for organizational dysfunction and difficulty.

Source: by the authors.

Consumers 217

with merchandisers, the difficulty of producing what shoppers might buy was reiterated in this exchange:

PANTIES MANAGER: “Ninety percent of my day, people are asking for matching and I don’t believe that.”

BRA MANAGER: “If we had matching, will you [the consumer] wear a brief, or bikini, or thong?”

Much of the concern, of course was with unsold product as indicated in this comment: “We need to manage markdowns. We need to be able to get rid of the merchandise.”

Macy’s Department Store

Next, we visited the famous Macy’s Department Store in New York at Herald Square. Upon entering the firm’s area within the intimates department, we noticed that bras and panties were not grouped together. In fact, they were not even next to each other, requir- ing a shopper to walk back and forth across sections to identify possible coordinated sets. We also spotted four mannequins dressed in matching sets of bras and panties. Briody approached a Macy’s sales clerk, explaining the project briefly and said, “I see you’ve got matching sets on the mannequins. We understand that women like matching sets.” The sales clerk looked anxiously at the mannequins—some of which were wearing polka dots— and quickly retorted, “I’ve got to take those down. We’ve run out of the panties.” Her response was unexpected for two reasons. First, it was clear the firm offered match- ing sets after all, suggesting we had wrongly assumed that the firm did not make them. Second, her facial expression indicated a degree of concern that was only explained after she told us it would be impossible to get any additional matching sets. Apparently, she did not relish the idea of facing angry shoppers unable to purchase what they wanted. Finally, we had a tour of the Macy’s intimates department by one of the firm’s field staff associates. These employees worked for headquarters but their days were spent on the sales floor checking on product displays, selling to shoppers (due partly to reductions in store sales clerks). The field staffer stated, “Ninety percent of our job is consumer education on size and different types of bras.” During the tour, she articulated a contradiction. She pointed out that, “The ladies I work with want matching sets. I am constantly asking, ‘When are we getting matching panties?’ ” However, when passing by a competitor’s display of a peach bra and panties matching set, she commented, “Calvin Klein can take more risks. They will have lots of inventory left over.”

At home with consumers

On balance, the home interviews suggested a preference for bra and panty matching sets, paralleling a prevalent viewpoint we had heard in our interactions with employees. Some female interviewees seemed to want to wear matching sets everyday: “Let’s match a good support bra with underwear that is cute.” Others indicated that matching sets were prim- arily for special occasions: “I have matching when I get into fancy.” Still others pointed out that matching sets were for younger women: “I used to coordinate, but not now. I stopped two years after I met my husband. It was—whatever.” Finally, some commented that they were unable to purchase matching sets because they were hard to find: “It would be nice to have matching sets.”

218 Consumers

Product development challenges

The consumer perspectives we gathered have enough variation to give our manufacturer pause. It turns out that matching sets are difficult to produce. Unlike panties, bras are the more complex product with an average time to market of 18 months! Bras and panties are made in different Asian plants so that getting colors to match is next to impossible. Add the fact that bras and panties are made with different kinds of fabric means you have dye lot disasters just waiting to happen. And then, matching sets generate a significant amount of unsold inventory—an extra leopard panty here and a hot pink push- up bra there— whose costs the manufacturer has to absorb. In 2011 when we conducted this research, the corporate mantra was “sell more, spend less, [and] generate cash”; the firm was in recovery mode from the 2008 recession and had had several rounds of layoffs to reduce costs. Panties are typically sold at least three to the package, a practice consistent with statements we heard at headquarters such as, “We sell volume.” Panties are made in various colors, patterns, and styles and are relatively inex- pensive to make. If women want bra–panty sets, they have two options: (1) select bras that “coordinate” with panties, or (2) purchase bras and panties that “match” in the corporate color offerings of black, beige, or white but not in other colors or prints. One of the paradoxes we encountered in our research—mannequins in colourful matching sets—extended to include print and online advertising. Tags on the product as well as pages in the catalog or on the website routinely showed matching sets. Clearly, the firm made a limited number of matching sets. However, it was unwilling to satisfy the demand. Certainly the myriad of product development issues associated with the manufac- ture of matching sets could have been a key reason. Alternately, there was a view among senior leaders, one of whom (a male) told us directly, that women did not want matching sets. Consumers found the lack of availability of matching sets frustrating; we found the tags and advertising of matching sets disingenuous.

Summary

The structural separation of internal but related products, and its reflection in retail floor space, was not inherently inappropriate. However, it did offer evidence about how the intimate apparel manufacturer was organized, and how it preferred to display its product. And the in- store context, linking as it does the product and the product’s consumers, pro- vided a useful lens through which to get a more holistic view of the organization. As we came to understand the flap around matching sets, both the internal corporate structure and the store layouts made sense. It would not have been possible to produce matching sets in quantity, or on a regular basis, without cross- unit collaboration between the bra and panty departments. Doing so might have helped the company meet the desires of women who wanted matching sets; ignoring consumer input has the potential to lead to reputa- tion loss and flat, or reduced sales. The interface between organization and consumer— retail floor space—had a story to tell. We just had to do some digging to appreciate not only why bras do not talk to panties in the organization, but also why they do not relate well to one another at retail either.

A holistic approach to consumer research

The discipline of psychology has had a dominant effect on how consumer research is con- ducted. Its influence is apparent in the focus on the individual—whether that consumer is

Consumers 219

young or old, female or male, rich or poor, or even interested or disinterested in a par- ticular product or service. Psychologists view consumer patterns as driven by individuals and their “needs and wants,” personal preferences, emotions, and motivations. Consumer data are often gathered one individual at a time. For example, a person may be asked to fill out a survey. The survey responses are compiled and compared with others in the sample for the purpose of understanding customer views on products and services. Anthropologists take a different approach to understanding consumer behavior. Instead of focusing on the individual, they focus on small groups and their various socio- cultural contexts. Anthropologists examine consumer patterns for evidence of use (i.e., use of the family car over the course of the day) and meaning (i.e., values people ascribe to fitness club membership). They typically gather consumer data through a combination of tech- niques including observation and conversations or interviews. Their work often reveals explanations for consumer reactions to products and services because they are able to gain insight into consumer experiences and practices as well as the symbolic meaning behind consumer behavior. Their emphasis, according to Bill Beeman (2015b), is in uncovering “the broad cultural patterns in which products [and services] are embedded.” Let’s focus on two different research projects to illustrate how anthropologists approach consumers. We’ll pick two of our all- time favorite consumer goods—namely coffee and chocolate.

Coffee with an anthropological twist

Anthropologists Patti Sunderland and Rita Denny describe a project they created to understand coffee’s meaning in various parts of the world (Sunderland and Denny 2007). They had been invited to deliver a one- week-long training program to researchers from Asia and Europe employed by an international marketing research firm. Participants in the training were assigned prework that included:

• taking photos where coffee could be purchased or consumed, and coffee as it might appear in their own homes;

• collecting ads about coffee from print media (e.g., magazines, billboards).

This portion of the training consisted of two parts. First, participants interviewed each other about coffee and its place in their home countries. They shared and discussed their photos and advertisements. Second, participants analyzed the role and meaning of coffee in each of the countries represented in the training. Moreover, Sunderland and Denny encouraged them to “come up with multiple, even potentially contradictory strands of cul- tural meaning” (2007: 68) for coffee. The results to this point were varied and insightful. In Malaysia, coffee had two distinct associations: one with the upscale fashion industry, and the other with a lower- class environ- ment. Coffee drinking for teenagers was considered a rite of passage in the Netherlands; for adults generally, coffee served as a “social lubricant” (2007: 67) bringing people together. In China and the UK, coffee was linked to work, though in China it was also tied to modern Western values. Coffee was considered trendy in India, unlike tea. In Japan, coffee signaled modernity and trendiness as well, evident in how the models in the ads dressed. The training continued with observation of “coffee places” in Bangkok, Thailand. The participants were divided into two groups, one guided by Denny and the other by Sunderland. Each observer had an observation protocol that included the physical layout

220 Consumers

of the settings as well as patterns associated with consumption and/or browsing. Key ques- tions such as who was involved (or not involved), how coffee was made and served, and what the environment was like were part of the instructions. The first “aha” moment came when Denny and Sunderland, in advance of the training, realized that Thailand had relatively few “coffee places” and yet, “coffee was, in actual fact, everywhere” (2007: 70). To understand coffee in Bangkok meant keeping an open mind. It was important to be on the lookout for coffee—wherever it might be. Specific locales like Starbucks or its home- grown variants were few and far between. As the actual training exercise got under way, Sunderland and Denny found themselves giving clues to their charges—essentially leading them right to street vendors who not only sold coffee but also would add Carnation canned milk to it. None of the participants had anticipated this discovery, perhaps because their mental model of what to look for was “coffee places!” A second “aha” moment came during the analysis of their observations or participant observations. Sunderland and Denny began by asking the participants to describe what coffee is not, as a way to acknowledge their own assumptions about coffee. Three elements emerged about coffee from their observations:

• It was not hot and was typically poured over ice in plastic bags; it was also not black. • It was “not ‘refined’ through a mechanical process” (2007: 76) involving grinders or

drip pots say, but appeared in pitchers or filtered socks. • It was not found in specific places such as cafés, boutiques, and stores but rather, ubiq-

uitously on streets at local stands and carts.

The next challenge was for participants to describe what coffee seemed to be in a Thai cultural context, admittedly a difficult task given participants’ general lack of familiarity with the language and culture. However, participants came up with some preliminary fea- tures of coffee:

• It is created; for a “really good coffee” you add “the condensed milk, then the coffee, then the evaporated milk” (2007: 77).

• It is more common than soda pop and sold alongside fruit drinks on the street. • It is symbolic of Thai values and not linked overtly to Starbucks or other name brand

coffee companies.

As Sunderland and Denny pointed out, the coffee findings are insightful. It is possible to see the power of ethnographic methods converging on a preliminary understanding of a consumer product. From an analysis of observations, conversations, and print and photo- graphic media, combined with a comparison of coffee use and meanings in other inter- national settings, we can learn something about what coffee is in Bangkok. Armed with such knowledge, we are equipped to understand consumers and sellers better within their own cultural context. We also are positioned to propose new business ventures, including partnerships, consistent with the cultural context.

Fine chocolate without the guilt

Are you a fine chocolate connoisseur? Well, here’s a piece of research that may offer a reason to you as a consumer to switch brands, and entice businesses to reposition them- selves in a new market.

Consumers 221

Godiva engaged an anthropological market research company in 1989 to address new competition in Japan where it had been the only fine chocolate brand available for sale. Anthropologist Maryann McCabe was part of a team (which also included Rita Denny) to investigate its positioning in Japan where it centered on gift giving. McCabe defines posi- tioning as “an idea that resonates with consumers and differentiates a brand from its com- petitors” (personal communication). The team also focused on the senses as consumers ate the chocolate. McCabe and her colleagues learned that for Japanese consumers, “fine chocolate connoted high social class, because it came from Europe and reflected world travel and sophistication” (McCabe 2015: 64). They also learned that chocolate quality was evaluated on the basis of its aroma, which to the Japanese, signaled it must be hand- made. Consumer participants in the study from other countries identified other important features of the chocolate including its purity (Europe), its crispiness (U.S.), and the context in which it was consumed: at breakfast, given chocolate’s healthful qualities, or together with members of the extended family (Europe), or often alone (U.S.). Twenty- four years later in 2013, McCabe did some subsequent ethnographic research with her undergraduate students. They interviewed consumers, observed in local chocolate shops, and conducted an online survey. Their focus was on the relationship between con- sumers and chocolate brands that were associated with three particular characteristics (2015: 62):

• high- quality cocoa beans; • grown with fair labor and sustainable farming practice; and • hand- crafted with traditional artisanal methods.

The fine chocolate market began its shift between the two study periods. In 2000, the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) aired a documentary that affected consumer views of both fine chocolate and fair trade. The BBC program alleged that child labor was involved in the production of cocoa beans in Ivory Coast. One year later, another story reported a ship with child slaves heading to West Africa from the Gulf of Guinea. Soon after, other media outlets and academic studies refuted much of the detail found in the original reports. Nevertheless, the coverage elevated the visibility of child labor in Ivory Coast and Ghana. Enter the Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International, responsible for setting standards and certifying organizations worldwide in the use of ethical practices. McCabe indicates that such fair trade labeling went from “marginal to mainstream” toward the end of the twentieth century. It has the aim of informing “people that their concerns for farmers and their lives—as well as for non- abusive labor and for sustainable farming methods that protect the environment—are being addressed” (2015: 73). Moreover, con- cerns with cocoa production were aligned with the growth of local food movements, which helped raise the profile of both. Consumers wanted greater transparency on where and how their food was produced. Fair trade labeling in cocoa production is expanding, though it remains small and tends to be associated with smaller brands (e.g., Green & Black’s, Equal Exchange, Divine Chocolate). Yet, it is a factor in the purchases of a growing number of consumers. Fair trade labeling of some fine chocolate represents what anthropologist Timothy Malefyt (2017b) refers to as a response “in which consumers negotiate, contest, and even resist corporate efforts.” With knowledge of fair trade labeling and the reasons for it, con- sumers have a more expansive and informed understanding of the commodity chain. Fine

222 Consumers

chocolate starts its journey in the tropics, ideal for growing the cocoa beans, and then moves on to roasting and grinding before being sold to chocolatiers in Europe and else- where. Fine chocolate is no longer simply delicious (e.g., aromatic, pure, crisp); some of it has now been transformed into a guilt- free confection through fair trade labeling. Given the growth in this “moral ingredient,” can you imagine how you might assist with the mar- keting plan for a local chocolate shop near you?

Collaborative approaches

Collaboration is a powerful force in today’s world and is particularly evident in global busi- ness. Firms have built various relationships with other firms (e.g., joint ventures, strategic alliances, partnerships) as a way to enter new markets, access resources or technologies,

Photo 8.3 Local farmers’ markets are particularly popular on weekends in urban locations.

Source: by the authors.

Consumers 223

and improve effectiveness and efficiency, to name a few. In this section we describe two collaborations in which firms in two different industries—sportswear and construction— engaged with consumer researchers to improve and extend their business outcomes.

A day in the life … and a sportswear opportunity revealed

Gary Ferraro can recall successfully convincing his parents as a high school sophomore to purchase for him a pair of Adidas running spiked shoes, made of light- weight kangaroo skin, so he could break his high school 100-yard dash record. He never did break the record, but sportswear manufacturers were into advertising their “competitive edge” as early as the mid- 1950s. The two leading sportswear companies (Nike, the global leader in sales, and Adidas, the runner- up) were designing their sports gear with high performance in mind. For decades Nike had been paying prominent sports figures like Michael Jordan to endorse its basketball sneakers, leaving the consumer with the impression that Nike shoes have so many technological features that they give even Michael Jordan a competitive edge. James Carnes from Adidas, the global sportswear manufacturer headquartered in Germany and Mikkel Rasmussen from ReD Associates, a human- sciences consultancy in Denmark met in 2004 at a conference in Oslo, Norway. A conversation ensued about the value of increasing the number of features in sportswear products. According to a 2013 article in The Economist, Rasmussen argued against this concept suggesting that a cell phone “may have 72 functions, but that is 50 more than most people wanted, or used” (www.economist.com/news/business/21584002-german- firms-unusual- approach-designing- its-products- adidas-method, accessed May 8, 2016). Rasmussen struck a chord with Carnes and ReD Associates was brought in to help make sense of the Adidas market. Because Adidas catered to athletes, innovations concentrated on improving the techni- cal aspects of footwear and apparel. Rasmussen and his partner Christian Madsbjerg described it this way:

The assumption was … the company develops products for the best athletes out there—the 5 percent—and 95 percent of sales will happen when ordinary people see the shoes on their idols, be it in soccer, basketball, or tennis.

(Madsbjerg and Rasmussen 2014: 146)

ReD Associates, a somewhat unorthodox business consulting firm, hires primarily cul- tural anthropologists and other social scientists. ReD trained a number of Adidas designers in some of the methods used by anthropologists, including participant observation. (The ethnographic approach is significantly different from the typical focus groups, telephone interviews, and surveys used by many firms to uncover customer “needs and wants.”) Each member of the ReD team spent a day with “a customer: to have breakfast, run and do yoga with them, and find out what made them exercise,” according to the same article in The Economist. Customers also received disposable cameras and were asked to take pictures of what motivated them to work out. Interestingly, 25 of the 30 female customers with cameras sent pictures of a small black dress, which is very different from a championship trophy or a miler breaking the tape while crossing the finish line. This was consistent with what James Carnes had noticed: people (potential customers) jogging on the street, working out at health clubs, and attending yoga classes in their sports gear. Indeed, once the participant observation data

224 Consumers

were analyzed, it was clear that many people were heavily involved in sport- like activities, namely exercise, but did not consider themselves athletes. Customers wanted sports gear that enabled them to be fit and lead a healthy lifestyle, rather than be the best forward for Manchester United or the best running back in America’s National Football League. Thus, a gap in consumer targeting was revealed: “In 2003, Adidas had almost nothing to offer this particular type of consumer despite this segment’s potential to form the largest consumer group for athletic equipment in the coming decade” (Madsbjerg and Rasmussen 2014: 147). The data also pointed to a second opportunity: stylish clothing for those who exercise. These two sense- making insights led to the transformation of Adidas to an inclu- sive brand. Corporate slogans changed from “Impossible is nothing” to those that had broad appeal such as “All in” (2014: 150–151). After a series of projects with Adidas, Madsbjerg and Rasmussen report shareholder profits increased tenfold (2014: 136).

A breath of fresh air … brought inside

Anthropology and ethnography have influenced and been influenced by the field of design. Findings from ethnographic studies are used in the creation of new products such as Go- Gurt, described in Chapter 1. This next example features a collaboration between Danish and Australian interaction design researchers working with Danish business organizations and families on an innovative approach to interior air climate.

Photo 8.4 Post-it notes are a quick and effective way for teams to collaborate on an analysis.

Source: Courtesy of Elysée Nouvet.

Consumers 225

Have you ever considered how changeable the air indoors can be and how affected you are by it? How many times have you wondered, “It’s freezing in here!” or asked, “How about opening up a window?” This project features researchers working at the intersection of user- centered design and design anthropology. User- centered design is a framework that devotes significant attention to the end users—including how they will understand and use the product or service. Laurens Boer, Jared Donovan, and Jacob Buur teamed up to tackle this problem of indoor “comfort.” The researchers worked with several companies in the building industry to understand perspectives on indoor climate and figure out ways of establishing new areas of growth for them. The project kicked off with ethnographic fieldwork in the homes, offices, and kindergartens of the members of five families. Subsequently, all of the project partners got together to analyze the patterns. Tensions were apparent. Industry partners understood indoor climate through quantitative measures (i.e., temperature); in other words, just trust the thermostat! The field data, by contrast, revealed something entirely different. One of the six comfort themes that emerged was “bringing feeling, observing, and understanding in tune” (Boer and Donovan 2012: 390), that is, how indoor climate was experienced. The researchers looked to the Render- Lamp provotype for assistance; a provotype is a prototype that is provocative, intended to expose tensions and challenge prior views. The lamp measured several parameters including temperature, CO2, light intensity, sound, and humidity by changing the light in different ways. The lamp got the building industry partners talking about indoor climate, “something that is normally not under scrutiny” (Boer et al. 2013: 8). It also led the entire team to agree on the light as the “design direction,” though the building industry partners “still clung to faith that numbers can tell people what to do” (2013: 8). A new provotype was designed and placed in the firms of the building partners. Known as Sensitive Aunt, the light of this provotype indicated temperature and various other measures of the indoor air environment. The Sensitive Aunt made her way around the various departments of the building organizations and got employees talking. Indeed, according to the researchers, she had the effect of transferring “the role of interventionist and sense- makers from us as design team, to the individual project partners”; she also “ ‘forced’ them to articulate the motivations behind the provotype” to their colleagues (2013: 11). Parallel with this kind of behavior, different reactions to the Sensitive Aunt emerged given the diversity of employees experiencing the indoor climate at these firms. Another breakthrough was evident as the project team began using different language to discuss indoor climate “from teaching people what to do to supporting individuals or groups” (2013: 12). Project team members offered examples that might explain variation in reactions to an indoor climate system:

• making the room air healthier • saving money • saving energy • maintaining the building • improving personal comfort.

A design proposal was developed, along with a “comfort instrument” (2013: 13) that assessed various features of indoor climate. The measurements from this instrument, together with a smartphone app (also known as the Interactive Home Owner Guide) offer four different functions. For example, the climate diary allows users to take photos of room

226 Consumers

activity to remind people what was going on at that point in time. It also lets people “browse through their indoor climate history … [which provides] a graphic overview of … temperature, humidity, and CO2” (Buur 2012: 57–58). In addition, it is possible to respond to a climate test questionnaire that can be paired with measurements over a particular period of time:

A test can, for example, indicate that critical humidity values are associated with drying the laundry, or make suggestions for regulating temperature in a small bedroom. Over time, it can gradually work towards “optimising” comfort, by taking transitions between different room climates into account.

(Buur 2012: 57)

The project, which lasted over three years, has shifted how the building industry under- stands indoor climate from a “numbers” standpoint to one that is more holistic. It has enabled family members to have a mechanism for offering their input and feedback, giving them an active role to play in the creation of more comfortable living and working spaces. WindowMaster, a firm specializing in natural ventilation and advance control systems, made this comment: “The fundamental concept is already established by the smartphone application, and further development of the comfort instruments could lead to some excit- ing new discoveries” (Buur 2012: 59).

Brand meaning and advertising

We all have some level of familiarity with brands. Runners have a preference for a par- ticular brand of running shoes. A lot of people like iPhones or iPads by Apple. Some kids use Crayola products like crayons and markers. Then, what about motorcycles: Harley- Davidson perhaps?

Inspirational characters with compelling stories

What exactly is a brand? It is a term of art used by marketers that includes certain sym- bolic elements associated with a set of products or services. The American Girl brand is emotionally powerful because of its gestalt (i.e., unified whole). The elements of the brand are, first and foremost, the dolls along with their stories and accessories, and the magazine, keepsake photos, and DVDs, among many other products. In addition, the American Girl shopping experience at 20+ stories, complete with café and tea parties, provides “a special place for girls to make lasting memories with their families and friends” (www.american- girl.com/corporate/retail- stores, accessed May 7, 2016). Anthropologist John F. Sherry and his research group examined the meanings that four stakeholder groups attribute to the brand (see Table 8.1). The researchers point out that to understand a brand, it is “best studied in its totality” (Diamond et al. 2009: 130) with “careful attention to all its stakeholders” (133). For that reason, mothers and grand- mothers appreciate the brand for its emphasis on telling their own stories of the past that are integrated in a collective family identity. The girls, on the other hand, may make up their own stories of their dolls, or pretend that they are part of the story written for a par- ticular doll like Josefina (a New Mexico girl from 1824) or Kaya (a Nez Perce girl). Sherry and his colleagues indicate that describing the parts of a brand in detail, and the relationships among the parts, allows firms to capture the gestalt and be positioned to

Consumers 227

manage their brands effectively. If brands consist of multiple systems of meaning, firms must both create and coordinate or channel input associated with their brand. In practical terms for American Girl, that means not just buying, having, or using its products, but engaging customers in the experiences associated with the brand. Mattel, Inc., the parent company, must work with its brand managers to keep the products and the experiences fresh, current, and inspirational.

Know thy consumers’ culture

Advertising campaigns are a highly visible way of capturing the imagination, the poten- tial, the interest, and the desire of consumers for a particular product or service. Timothy Malefyt (2017a) writes of advertising as “a persuasive symbolic system that converts com- modity objects and services into symbolic images and narratives that are valued and adapted to specific consumer tastes.” One might think of advertising, he suggests, as a form of magic. Malefyt and his colleague Maryann McCabe teamed up to understand the devel- opment of brand meaning by comparing two advertising campaigns—one involving GM Cadillac and the other Nissan Infiniti. Cadillac had a “greying image” in the later years of the twentieth century, a “stodgy vehicle brand for the silver- haired set” as described in Advertising Age (Halliday 2003). Consumers discussed the brand as consisting of “large floaty boats” (McCabe and Malefyt 2010: 253). GM sunk $4 billion into new Cadillac products in the hopes that they would appeal to a younger audience, thereby enabling the brand to be more competitive. Malefyt and McCabe, in conjunction with the advertising agency D’Arcy, Masius, Benton & Bowles, conducted ethnographic research and subsequently developed the Cadillac “Breakthrough” campaign. The campaign, which kicked off during the 2002 Super Bowl

Table 8.1 The American Girl brand holds different meaning for its various stakeholders

Girls Adult women

Girls play with dolls, their clothing, and accessories

Values of hard work, respect, and attention to others are reinforced

They reenact stories from the books or make up their own stories unrelated to the books

A model of behavior for young girls serves as a counterweight to popular culture’s negativity and violence

Only older girls “absorb the finer moral and ethical points” of the stories

A collective family identity can be created

Marketer Customer in the retail environment

18-inch dolls represent “real” girls in history who have their own life stories

The store—American Girl Place: Shopping is a chance to engage with female family members

Values are embedded in the books (e.g., family/friend relationships, dealing with disappointment, perseverance)

The theater and café—Family stories can be elicited, ceremonial tea parties can be shared

Girls were “growing up too fast” and needed a product to let them be girls a little longer (founder philosophy)

228 Consumers

featuring Led Zeppelin’s “Rock and Roll,” enjoyed a successful four- year run highlighting several Cadillac models. Nissan’s introduction of Infiniti faced a different challenge. It was only the second Japa- nese firm (after Toyota) that had introduced a luxury brand into the U.S. market. The Toyota introduction of the Lexus had been well received. By contrast, Nissan’s campaign experience with Infiniti was unexpectedly ineffective. Nissan wanted to differentiate the Infiniti from its competitors and settled on the concept of “Japanese- ness” that came to be interpreted as serenity. In their work for Nissan on three separate projects, McCabe and Malefyt discovered that low sales were due primarily to poor reception to Infiniti’s initial ad campaign known as the “Nature” campaign. Table 8.2 compares the key elements of the Breakthrough and the Nature advertising campaigns. The Breakthrough campaign was designed to revitalize Cadillac’s image. It demonstrated Cadillac’s evolution over its long history into “a reinvented brand metamor- phosed from the past with a refurbished heritage” (2010: 255). Cadillac’s reinvention cam- paign resonated with the target consumers that understood luxury through sharp- looking, upscale material goods. In the first year of the campaign (2002), sales were up 16 percent over the previous year (Halliday 2003) and Cadillac rose to first place among luxury vehi- cles (www.blabbermouth.net/news/cadillac- sales-soar- with-led- zeppelin/, accessed May 8, 2016). Over the course of the campaign, the average age of Cadillac owners dropped about 20 years, from someone in his/her 70s to 50s (McCabe and Malefyt 2010: 255). Younger buyers were attracted back to the brand. Infiniti might have been highly successful in Japan where nature and serenity are aligned symbolically with comfort and luxury. However, the imagery in the Infiniti ads, “leaves reflected in a rippling pond, waves rolling over an ocher beach, and geese gliding across the sky in curvilinear pattern” (2010: 255), had little meaning or appeal in the U.S. market. In fact, consumers were surprised to find that the car itself did not appear in the ads! Why did the Breakthrough campaign succeed and the Nature campaign fail? Branding must be authentic and reflect consumer culture. Breakthrough linked American cultural themes with the brand: “doing,” performance, individualism, identification with the underdog, entrepreneurship, the American dream, “things,” and reinvention. The Cadillac

Table 8.2 To experience a “breakthrough” with your target consumers requires market- ing messages that are culturally appropriate and relevant

GM Cadillac “Breakthrough” campaign Nissan Infiniti Nature campaign

Life is viewed as a process of becoming and associated with a sense of “doing”

“Japanese-ness” is translated as serenity in the U.S.

One defines and redefines oneself continually over time – dreaming outside the box – breaking through old constraints

Serenity is presented as the peaceful absence of objects

People mark success in a visible and highly flashy way—with the purchase of luxury goods

Nature, comfort, and luxury are portrayed as quiet, subtle, and peaceful

Desire for Cadillac to become “cool” again Being one with nature and united with nature are emphasized

Consumers 229

brand was embraced due to the Breakthrough campaign; purchase and brand loyalty grew. The Nature campaign linked Japanese, rather than American cultural themes with the brand: oneness with nature, minimalism, absence of objects, and passive “being” mode of existence. The Infiniti brand was rejected and purchase and brand loyalty faltered. Con- sumers are more likely to accept a brand when the brand meaning is consistent with their lives.

Conclusion

We began this chapter by looking upstream from the sales floor back to the firm to gather insights into the firm’s organizational culture. The insights enabled us to understand some of the difficulties in fulfilling customer preferences. We discovered it is close- to-impossible to produce matching clothing on a regular basis if the organization is not appropriately structured to accomplish that goal. The arrangement of products on the sales floor reflected internal organizational divisions in intimate apparel. All of the examples in this chapter from coffee to Cadillacs and from stories and sym- bolism to sportswear emphasize the importance of two particular concepts in consumer work. First, understanding consumers holistically enables firms to gain an edge over com- petitors in the marketplace. Whether that holism relies on an historical context as in the case of fine chocolate, or on today’s consumers, many of whom are engaged in living active, healthy lives, the message is the same. Understanding consumer behavior is not simply about acquiring single pieces of information, but rather looking for those broad cul- tural patterns that can lead to more targeted marketing and advertising. Second, the cases emphasize the importance of meaning. Products and services that reflect consumer identity, values, and beliefs are more meaningful and more likely to be purchased. Consumers rejected the Infinti Nature campaign because it held no meaning for them. By contrast, the reinvention messaging in the Breakthrough campaign appealed to customers and resulted in a significant increase in market share and sales for Cadillac. Similarly, for those fine chocolate consumers who are social justice minded, the fair trade labeling is attractive; products with that labeling have enjoyed a growing market presence. Collaboration is also a notable aspect of a number of these cases. It is not simply that connections are being established between firms and the research/consulting community; those relationships have been operating for decades. Instead, innovation in collaborative approaches entails engagement between members of the firm and members of the research/ consulting group in shared pursuits. Increasingly, firm employees are participating actively in data collection and analysis alongside their experienced counterparts from universities and consultancies. Such an approach yields benefits including simultaneous exposure to the same consumer viewpoints and activities, interpretation of the findings via a coord- inated, team- based partnership, and “ownership” of the results by the firm along with any strategic decisions tied to them.

Cross- cultural scenarios

Read the following cross- cultural scenarios. In each mini- case study, a basic cultural con- flict occurs among the actors involved. Try to identify the source of the conflict and suggest how it could have been avoided or minimized. Then see how well your analyses compare to the explanations in Appendix A.

230 Consumers

8–1 Antoine Leclerc, a French winemaker, was making a sales presentation to a large dis- tributor in Shanghai, China. As part of his presentation, Antoine mentioned that he thought that his wines would be well received in China because they were very popular in Japan, and, after all, the two countries had a great deal in common. From this point on in the presentation, the Chinese lost interest in Antoine and his line of French wines.

How can you explain this situation?

8–2 Lily Feenan, an associate in an internationally known architectural firm in Philadel- phia, Pennsylvania, was assigned to head up a project designing public housing units in Nairobi, Kenya. With a small team of colleagues, Lily spent about three months designing and preparing the schematics for a large, nine- building project consisting of over 200 separate units. The various units were laid out in much the same way that public housing units would be designed in Philadelphia, Atlanta, or Chicago—that is, with two bedrooms, a large bathroom, a living room, and dining area with an adjoining open kitchen. Once completed, the units were rented (with substantial government subsidies) to needy families. Unfortunately, many of the new residents, while grateful to live in new housing with modern conveniences, were not at all sat- isfied with one particular design feature shared by all of the units in the project: every unit came with a dining room which opened up into the kitchen.

How could local Nairobi residents possibly take issue with an open kitchen design?

8–3 Mary Putnam, the president of a Boston, Massachusetts, publishing company, had been working for several months with a French architectural firm that was designing the company’s new printing facility in Fontainebleau, France. However, Mary was becoming increasingly frustrated with the many delays caused by the French archi- tects. When the preliminary plans for the building—which the architects had prom- ised by a certain date—had not arrived, Mary called to inquire when she would be receiving them. The architects, somewhat indignant that she had called, felt that Mary doubted their integrity to deliver the plans. Mary was equally annoyed because they had missed the deadline, and what was worse, they didn’t seem to be the least bit apologetic about it. By the end of the phone call, Mary was convinced that her company’s relationship with the French architectural firm had suffered a major setback.

How might you explain the conflict in this case?

Chapter 9

Global leadership

Chapter objectives:

1 Identify four possible strategies for creating a globally oriented workforce. 2 Debate the virtues and drawbacks of a short- term international assignment. 3 Explain why company leaders should be worried about the “expatriate paradox.” 4 Describe the three features of “cultural agility” and why those features matter in the

selection of a candidate for an international assignment.

Most CEOs consider foreign markets to be a key factor in their company’s future success. Moreover, a growing number of these same CEOs believe that developing global leaders must be an integral part of their long- term strategic planning. People with global perspec- tives and work experiences have an ability to work in and across multiple cultural worlds. The following statements are descriptions of a typical day in the lives of global leaders and their views of the skills required for their roles:

• “I want to find out how things can be improved [in my firm’s European operations]. I have to be very tactful or else everyone will get defensive. It’s not helpful if you don’t act tactfully. In my job you can lose friends. You can’t say that you know it all. The acid test is that we are still friends.”

• “As financial assistant to the executive, I investigate management and financial prob- lems. I will get on a plane to Rome [from England] to visit a plant to see what the problems are, for example. I try to find a solution.”

• “[In Korea] I had to learn how the people operated—their culture. There was a lot to get used to. We read books and used our heads. We talked to people about it and kept our ears open. If you refuse to pay attention to what you learn, you’ll have trouble. You can’t do it like you did in the good ol’ U.S.A. They’ll never understand.”

The technical and people- oriented competencies of global leaders are enhanced by their cross- cultural interactions. They confront and deal with “difference” as a routine part of their job. They recognize the value of diverse sources of input. They can apply a broad base of knowledge to the solution of corporate problems. They figure out new ways of tar- geting opportunities, conceptualizing issues, and implementing initiatives—all of which can help the firm grow and prosper. These competencies are supported by the firm’s orien- tation to global business—including products and services resonating with global cus- tomers, and employees who work well with colleagues, partners, and suppliers in global markets.

232 Global leadership

Globally oriented firms

More than 35 years ago, David Heenan and Howard Perlmutter offered a model for cate- gorizing corporate orientations to the global marketplace. Still valuable today, this model classifies firms on the basis of a national, regional, or global orientation (see Table 9.1). Global leaders, of course, might be found across all three groups. However, it is the glo- bally oriented firms that are most likely to operate using a global strategy and reap the benefits if their strategy is well executed. The bar is high for firms, as it is for individuals or teams, to achieve a global orienta- tion. Indeed, it is an ongoing pursuit and challenge in all aspects of a firm’s operations from customer relations to supplier contracts to work processes to workplace conflicts. Companies and their employees have to step out of their cultural comfort zones into spaces in which they do not recognize the patterns of behavior that they see, or understand the attitudes and assumptions that they hear. Those from corporate headquarters may be sur- prised to learn that innovative ideas often appear at the “margins”—in the local facilities and neighborhoods rather than in headquarters. They may discover that global policies and procedures developed with one locale or region in mind have to be adapted to fit other contexts. Alternately, those situated away from the company’s central core may find that they too have something to learn. Baruch Shimoni points out that “local managers mix and hybridize” their own cultural styles with that of their company (2006: 231) as in the following example in which a Thai employee talks about his Swedish supervisor:

He told me I am one of the “slave drivers” [laughing] … so I have changed quite a lot in the past years … now, I have not totally changed, I think, I become more softer.… He gave me a lecture … you know, to be sensitive and things like that, and we have to handle them with care, even if they are your subordinates …

(2006: 223)

The good news is that if those companies learn from their experiences and use those insights to improve their overall effectiveness, they are much more likely to be successful in the global marketplace.

Table 9.1 Corporate orientations

Nationally oriented Regionally oriented Globally oriented

Operates independently and autonomously within a particular nation

Operates interdependently within a limited area involving more than one nation

Operates interdependently worldwide across nations and world regions

Focuses on local objectives Focuses on regional objectives Focuses on worldwide objectives

Exhibits tendency toward national-culture homogeneity

Exhibits limited multicultural heterogeneity

Exhibits extensive multicultural heterogeneity

Source: Adapted from Heenan and Perlmutter (1979: 8–9, 17–21).

Global leadership 233

Creating a globally oriented workforce

Purposeful steps are required not only to create a globally oriented workforce, but also to fold in the knowledge and experiences derived from global and virtual work interactions, issues, and accomplishments into the firm’s day- to-day operations. Firms with a global ori- entation are most likely to maximize their global potential by emphasizing the following organizational processes:

• seeking job candidates with geographically, culturally, linguistically, and organization- ally diverse experiences;

• enabling their workforce to gain a stronger global perspective such as through parti- cipation on global virtual teams and international travel;

• preparing and sending selected managers abroad for overseas assignments; • building a stronger company on the basis of what has been learned from these global

interactions.

In this chapter we focus on those who work as employees for corporate organizations. Much of the literature pertains to global business leaders. In addition, our areas of exper- tise lie in that domain. Consequently, we do not explicitly emphasize entrepreneurs, government or NGO employees, or other internationally oriented individuals and fam- ilies who make their living abroad. Nevertheless, much of what we discuss can apply to anyone from students to retirees who work and/or live voluntarily outside of their native country.

Recruiting and hiring

Many businesses today are becoming increasingly interested in recruiting new employees who have international or cross- cultural experience on their resumes. University students worldwide are studying abroad in greater numbers than ever before. The International Organisation for Economic Co- operation and Development reported that these inter- national students rose from 0.8 million in 1975 to more than 4.5 million in 2012 (OECD 2014: 342, 344). Asian students represent 53 percent of these international students, the largest number of which are from China, India, and Korea. This remarkable increase is due to the desire to broaden student perspectives, exposing them to the “world’s languages, cultures, and business methods” (2014: 342). In addition to study abroad programs, a growing number of recent high school graduates are opting to take a gap year, traveling and interning with organizations abroad before attending college (Mohn 2006: 6); programs also exist for college graduates (https://think- ingbeyondborders.org/programs- for-gap- year-students/, and www.projects- abroad.org/how- it-works/gap- year-volunteers/, accessed April 6, 2016). Gap year programs are designed around service learning, cultural immersion, mentored internships, outdoor education and leadership, and teaching and assistant teaching, to name a few. Participants typically return home with greater maturity and focus, often develop some level of fluency in a second language, are able to “internationalize” their resumes, and start the process of developing those skills and competencies that multinational corporations seek. Taking a gap year does not necessarily represent frivolous “bumming around,” but is rather a way of developing vital global skills. Graduates with study abroad and gap year experience are among the prospects that could help firms long- term.

234 Global leadership

Another option for businesses with international locations is the pool of self- initiated expatriates (SIEs). Management professors Jean- Luc Cerdin and Jan Selmer (2014) have defined SIEs by four criteria:

• have relocated to places outside of their country of residence; • seek regular employment; • plan to remain abroad temporarily; • have some professional skill set.

According to Vlad Vaiman and his colleagues, “A particular advantage of SIEs over other local hires is typically their greater global competence and sophistication due to their mas- tering challenges of living and working in multiple cultural environments” (2015: 283). Global firms would do well to reach out to this group. Firms may find that SIEs’ global work experience positions them for hire in the host country context.

Global virtual teams

In today’s globalizing environment, a firm is likely to have projects and activities that push the boundaries and traditions of the past. Anthropologist Tracy Meerwarth and her col- leagues point out, “The rhythm of work that was once delineated by the ringing of the factory bell or the closing of office doors at the end of the day, now responds to a different rhythm” (2008a: 2). Working virtually is now fairly commonplace for corporations and workers alike and an important path into a global work stream. Global teams offer indi- viduals and their organizations an opportunity to engage with different people using different technologies working in different time zones on different projects (see Chapter 6). That kind of global partnering experience, distinctive in its own right culturally, can be a valuable addi- tion to the organization’s work portfolio and to individual growth and learning. Global virtual teams have grown largely because many work- related interactions can be accomplished through the use of ICTs. Video conferencing, Internet use, emails, Cloud computing, Mobile Web, and other ICTs have enabled individuals and organizations located in different parts of the world to work collaboratively on projects. While face- to- face interactions are often preferred, virtual work can occur flexibly, easily, and effectively. Moreover, costs associated with international travel can be sharply reduced. Management scholar Vesa Suutari and his colleagues (2013) write about some of the issues in working virtually on global teams. They report an increase in cultural misunder- standings. Working virtually requires learning and adapting to the various technologies that will be used to communicate—independent of language. The key here is to figure out what works best for sharing information and communicating with the particular indi- viduals or group. Charles Vance and Yongsun Paik have compiled “key skills and prac- tices” for global virtual teams in three areas: collaboration, socialization, and communication (2015: 299). Among them are sharing ideas without being critical, sum- marizing team member ideas, soliciting feedback, and responding promptly. Elizabeth Briody has been meeting virtually with French anthropologist Ghislaine Gal- lenga for a number of months. They have settled on Skype as their primary means of com- munication. It allows them to see and hear each other simultaneously, which is very helpful when one is speaking in a nonnative language. They also use email to supplement their Skype meetings. The combination of technologies makes for a productive set of virtual interactions. Some research has shown the importance of meeting face- to-face prior

Global leadership 235

to engaging virtually. Gallenga and Briody did meet face- to-face shortly after they were connected virtually. While this one interaction was helpful in establishing their social and professional relationship, it is not clear that it was a necessary condition for their virtual work together.

International assignments

Firms have a longstanding practice of sending employees abroad to work as they expand their horizons. International assignments are distinguished initially in terms of their length and subsequently, by a variety of other factors including adjustment to the overseas environment, extent and depth of interaction with host country nationals, and whether family members accompany the employee. We restrict the phrase expatriate assignment to refer to those international assignments in which employees (and their families) move abroad. However, we recognize that many of the experiences that those on long- term international assignments have, can occur with anyone working abroad (e.g., those taking business trips). Figure 9.1 depicts the types of international assignments in which an employee may work abroad. The size of assignment types is proportional to the amount of time required abroad.

Business trip

International assignments of any length have a steep price tag associated with them. For that reason, they typically receive scrutiny from supervising personnel. The shortest and

Figure 9.1 International assignments offer employees opportunities of varying length to experience different national and organizational cultures.

Source: Courtesy of Neal Anderson.

236 Global leadership

least expensive for the firm and for the employee (in terms of time away from home) is the business trip. An example might be a meeting of global risk managers who confer for several days in a particular location that has the appropriate accommodations in which to conduct the discussions. Oftentimes the meeting is held in a large urban area—whether at the firm’s offices or at a hotel—unless the meeting is held at a company facility further afield from the airport. The length of the business trip varies, ranging from a few hours to several days, and occasionally a week or more.

“Frequent flyer” assignments

Like the business trip, frequent flyer assignments are international and last from a few days to a week. However, this type of assignment continues indefinitely, though it may not occur on a regular basis. The employee travels frequently, often is in some kind of a coor- dinator role, and maintains close contact with the home office. For example, the employee may travel among various production facilities or to a single company site to advise or supervise quality control. The frequency may not always be planned, and instead is a response to an urgent company need. Frequent flyer assignments enable face- to face inter- action without the relocation expense. There are downsides to the repetitive nature of the work including burnout, health issues, family issues, and a build- up of workload at the employee’s home location.

Commuter assignments

Commuter assignments involve an international commute on a regular, ongoing basis. A typical commuter may change work locations every week, every other week, or even every month. Commuter assignments are also common in Europe where skill transfers across company locations are essential. A Human Resource specialist interviewed by Vesa Suutari and his colleagues (2013: 125) states that the optimal length of such assignments is dependent on distance: “It seems that it [optimal duration of commuter assignment] is something between 4 to 6 months with a distance such as between Finland and Germany.” Key benefits for the firm include improved communication between sites and speed of knowledge and technology transfer. Employees indicate advantages of learning quickly and developing their professional networks. The same kinds of disadvantages associated with frequent flyer assignments apply to the commuter employee.

Rotational assignments

Like commuter assignments, rotational assignments are cyclical. However, they tend to involve work that is highly intensive and physically isolated. Consequently, the employee receives time off upon return home. Some workers travel domestically and others interna- tionally. A worker from the UK working on a Norwegian oil rig is a good example of someone who takes part in a rotational assignment. That individual possesses certain tech- nical skills (e.g., mechanical, electrical) that are highly paid, though at some personal cost. The shifts are 12 hours long, and the assignments range from two weeks on to four weeks off (www.jobsite.co.uk/worklife/work- oil-rig- 18734/, accessed April 23, 2016).

Global leadership 237

Short- term assignments

Short- term assignments usually last from about one month to one year. In many instances the work involves problem solving of a technical nature. An example of this type of work is troubleshooting the launch of a new manufacturing plant, which requires ongoing atten- tion over many months to ensure a successful product launch. In most instances, family members do not relocate with the employee, making family life difficult during that period of time.

Long- term assignments

The “traditional assignment” in corporate business, known as a long- term assignment, lasts three to five years according to David Collings and his colleagues. It involves the relocation of the employee and his or her family abroad (Collings et al. 2007: 199). We use the term expatriate to refer to those participating in long- term assignments, or accom- panying a family member abroad, meaning that they have

citizenship in at least one country, but … [live] in another country. Most expatriates only stay in the foreign country for a certain period of time, and plan to return to their home country …, although there are some who never return to their country of citizenship.

(www.businessdictionary.com/definition/expatriate.html, accessed April 6, 2016)

New expatriates engage with other expats and host country nationals in the course of their workday to accomplish the objectives of the overseas assignment. There will be ongoing

Photo 9.1 Short-term assignments have the virtue of extending one’s professional net- works and gaining valuable international experience.

Source: by the authors.

238 Global leadership

opportunities for give- and-take including learning the most appropriate ways to imple- ment a new program, sharing current best practices, and figuring out how to reconcile opposing approaches to a particular problem. Working overseas is challenging from a per- sonal, familial, and organizational perspective—as we describe throughout this chapter and the next. At the same time, it can be a highly rewarding and transformative experience. Whether the overseas assignment involves a position in finance, sales, purchasing, engi- neering, or public affairs, expatriates typically develop a set of general managerial and negotiating competencies. Anne- Wil Harzing uses three metaphors to describe the kinds of roles expatriates play. The “bear” role is charged with formal and direct decision making and surveillance over operations, the “bumble- bee” with socialization and knowledge transfer across organizational units, and “spiders” with weaving an informal network of communication (2001: 369). While these roles are figurative, they do offer interesting images of some of the skill sets global organizations need.

Integrating the global at home

The development of global leaders is greatly enhanced when a global perspective has been built into the fabric of the corporate culture, when global work infuses the domestic environment, and when people have ongoing opportunities to interact with others from different cultural settings both at home and abroad. These patterns are often evident within organizations that engage in global virtual teams as a routine part of day- to-day activities. When colleagues, partners, suppliers, and customers are located in different parts of the world, effective interactions require the development of cross- cultural under- standing and a partnership orientation to the work. However, the organizational processes of preparing anyone for globally oriented work does not automatically imply building a stronger global company on the basis of what has been learned from these global interactions. Companies vary in their ability and willing- ness to use the skills and knowledge that employees gain when working globally. Inter- national business researchers Iris Varner and Teresa Palmer have written about the relationship between successful expatriation and organizational strategies. They found that performance improves when

• expatriation is tied to international operations and the firm’s overall objectives; • expatriate training and development are tied to company goals; • the corporation “systematically manage[s] the international knowledge expatriates

acquire” (2002: 8).

We believe that their findings can apply to international assignments of any length. We also note that there can be internal variation within organizations in terms of how the return process works and the extent to which it is valued. Indeed, some firms may have internal units that are more globally linked than others. Assessing or reassessing the long- term goals for training, leadership development, and human resources management will help—particularly if global leadership competencies are encouraged, rewarded, and routinely part of the organizational culture. Exposing more employees to work projects and activities with global content and global colleagues will help make the meaning of “global” tangible to them. Hiring a culturally and linguistically diverse workforce at home to lead key work efforts can also be an effective globalizing strategy.

Global leadership 239

Of course there are many other small steps, none of which is particularly expensive, but when taken together can have a positive cumulative effect. For example, companies can (1) bring in speakers from corporate divisions in other countries or from other global organizations; (2) offer internationals visiting the company, the opportunity to interact socially with host families during their stay; (3) sponsor “brown bag” lunches (open to all) where employees can present interesting insights from recently completed international travel; (4) use in- house international employees as part of cross- cultural training (CCT) as advisors for those working virtually or going abroad on some type of international assignment. This list is endless. However, what makes any item on such a list meaningful to employees is its connection to their current and/or future work activities. Knowing that you are scheduled for a short- term assignment in Germany can be a highly motivating reason for dusting off your old high school German books. Or, realizing that the composi- tion of your global work team is mostly Chinese nationals can be enough of an incentive to get you to sign up for that CCT class you have been meaning to take. Thus, creating global leaders is at least partly contingent on finding ways to link job responsibilities to global colleagues, issues, and interests. When that happens, it sends a message that the organization is committed to its global mission over the long haul.

The evolving profile of the expatriate assignment

Expatriate numbers

Since firms have routinely used overseas assignments as a way to break into new markets and build and sell their products, we now turn our attention to the practice of sending employees abroad. The number of expatriates has fluctuated over time based on a number of factors including industry type, size, and maturity, the goals of a particular firm, and host country demand. Periods of infrastructure building involving “greenfield” (new industrial) sites or developing specialized teams are likely to usher in an expansion in the expatriate

Box 9.1 Connected domestic and global operations

GM’s component and car divisions displayed radically different views of the value of global experience. The component divisions (now Delphi Automotive) were organized as a “coupled system,” that is, their domestic and overseas operations were linked structurally and ideologi- cally. Elizabeth Briody and Marietta Baba report one expatriate’s experience: “You could end up going to Alabama or France. While overseas you are still getting letters from your general manager. The relationships and communications continue to be present because you haven’t left Saginaw Division” (1991: 332–333). The component divisions valued and integrated the work of expatriates into their operations both during and after an overseas assignment; repat- riation was straightforward with relatively few hiccups. By contrast, the car divisions were “decoupled systems” in which there were no structural links between domestic and international activities, and where an “anti- international ideo- logy” prevailed (1994: 251–253); repatriation was almost always problematic. GM’s com- ponent divisions, with their globally integrated facilities, excelled in fostering a global outlook from the executive suite to the plant floor, at home and abroad, unlike their parochial- minded counterparts making Chevys and Buicks.

240 Global leadership

ranks. Under these circumstances, more expatriates will be required, including those who have particular technical skills (e.g., plant engineering, “troubleshooting”) that may not be available locally. François Vardon, a French expatriate to Mexico for a number of years, explains that an expatriate presence is typically necessary during this infrastructure- building phase. His firm, Saint- Gobain (the world’s largest building materials company), is active in many developing nations (e.g., Thailand, Poland, Turkey, Russia, China, India). “Once opera- tions are up and running effectively, company policy is to hire locals for the key manage- rial posts” (François Vardon, personal communication). Alternately, there may be a “pull” from a host country government or firm for expatri- ates that have specific skills. Ann Jordan describes the monumental job in the early twen- tieth century of modernizing Saudi Arabia through transnational partnerships in such areas as health care, education, and oil production (Jordan 2011). Individuals signed con- tracts to engage in various forms of “institution building” from constructing the physical plants of hospitals, to putting in place its work processes and practices, to training the locals to work there. Now the country has nationals with these skill sets who have replaced the expatriates. For example, physicians trained in developed nations are now practicing successfully in Saudi hospitals and performing skillful surgeries (www.nytimes.com/ 2016/04/07/world/middleeast/conjoined- twins-a- trip-to- saudi-arabia- and-a- risky-operation. html?ref=todayspaper&_r=0, accessed April 7, 2016). Citing United Nations’ statistics from 2013, ExpatFocus estimates over 230 million expatriates live outside their home countries (www.expatfocus.com/c/aid=2514/articles/ general/these- five-countries- have-the- highest-percentage- of-expats- find-out- why/, accessed April 6, 2016). Many of those included in this estimate (e.g., retirees, college students, immigrants, refugees) however, are not the focus of this chapter. In this chapter, we have been focusing primarily on what we call corporate expatriates—those employed full- time for three to five years on an international assignment for a multinational corporation. Unfortunately, getting a handle on the number of corporate expatriates and their household members living abroad is difficult. Large surveys do not provide worldwide expatriate estimates. A survey published in 2012 estimated about 40 million highly skilled expatriates in the 34 OECD (Convention on the Organisation for Economic Co- operation and Development) countries (http://expatmarketing.com/news/expat- trends/how- big-is- the-expat- market, accessed April 6, 2016); this survey did not specify estimates for non- OECD countries. We were unable to find any other estimates for the global expatriate population. Surveys furnish insight into expatriate trends over the last decade. One- half of the firms in the 2014 Cartus Corporation survey indicated that they expected to increase inter- national assignments between 2014 and 2016. In particular, they called attention to a 54 percent rise in developmental assignments, whose major objective is to provide a “career- development opportunity” for an employee (Cartus Corporation 2014: 5, 3). They also pointed out that the top destinations continue to include the U.S., UK, and selected parts of Asia; Brazil, United Arab Emitates, and Australia are among new company sites. Many U.S. companies were not only increasing the percentage of workers they were posting abroad, but were also requiring their employees to have more international experi- ence as a precondition for qualifying for leadership positions. KPMG is a global network of firms providing audit, tax, and advisory services. In 2008, KPMG had 2 percent of its workforce on foreign assignments, with the goal of increasing that to 4 percent by 2010,

Global leadership 241

and having 30 percent of its professional staff with international experience in the not- too-distant future (Von Bergen 2008: 4). Mercer’s 2008–09 Benefit Survey for Expatriates and Globally Mobile Employees included data from 243 global firms for a total of 94,000 participants (an increase of 44,000 since 2005–06). Of these companies, 47 percent reported deploying more expatriates (those working one to five years abroad) and 38 percent reported more “global nomads” (those taking one expatriate assignment after another) (CPA Practice Management Forum 2008: 21).

Preferences in expatriate locations

Two recent expatriate surveys identify location preferences for overseas assignments. Each survey rates countries on somewhat different criteria. The eighth HSBC Expat Explorer Survey (2015) had 21,950 respondents residing as expatriates in 39 countries. Responses to questions were grouped into three categories: economics, experience, and family in the host country. Singapore, a major financial hub in Asia, was the best overall place in which to work and live. Expats indicated they could advance in their career, earn higher incomes, and acquire new skills. Indeed, about two thirds reported making more money in Singa- pore than at home. In addition, over two thirds stated that the quality of their lives had improved since their arrival overseas, along with their children’s health and well- being. When considering the three categories, Switzerland ranked first in economics, while New Zealand was first in experience and Sweden first in family.

Photo 9.2 International assignments offer employees career development opportunities.

Source: by the authors.

242 Global leadership

The InterNations Survey (2015), in its second year, had over 14,400 respondents residing in 64 countries. It incorporated five factors into its ranking: quality of life, ease of settling in, personal finance, family life, and working abroad. Its definition of expats is quite broad, unlike the HSBC Survey, and includes those who are retired and employed part- time. (We suspect that there were far fewer corporate expatriates among survey respondents.) Ecuador was the highest- ranked country in 2015 with over 90 percent reporting satisfaction with the cost of living; it was also the top- ranked country for per- sonal happiness (one of the quality of life components). On the other hand, about three fifths indicated that their income in Ecuador was lower than at home. In terms of the five factors contributing to the overall ranking, Singapore was the highest- ranked country for quality of life. Mexico ranked first for ease of settling in. Ecuador was first in personal finance and cost of living. Austria ranked first for family life and Malta for working abroad.

The expatriate paradox

“While international talent grows in value, it is increasingly difficult to obtain, deploy and retain” them according to management professor Moriah Meyskens and her colleagues (2009: 1448). There are many explanations for the expatriate paradox. They indicate factors such as cost, security, family considerations, and cultural expectations resist the application of a single corporate approach to international assignments. Best expatriate practices have not been routinely hammered out and implemented. (They also report a general lack of agreement on corporate policy surrounding shorter overseas assignments, which are increasing overall.) Disparate goals between the organization and the employee can be an important con- tributing factor to the paradox. Management researchers Noeleen Doherty and Michael Dickmann (2012: 3435) report that firms often seek expatriates to fill “shorter- term business- needs driven” situations while employees anticipate “longer- term, career- oriented outcomes.” An organization’s reputation among returning expats suffers when tainted either by difficult experiences abroad or lackluster return assignments once home. Circula- tion of expat stories within corporate circles can affect the willingness of other company employees to take such assignments. Let’s take a look at firm expatriate strategy to draw some additional insights.

Expatriate strategy: short- and long- term assignments

The value of an expatriate strategy

The expatriate strategy is an important means of connecting the home organization to the overseas environment through a direct exchange of long- term personnel. Many firms see significant value in sending employees on international assignments. Proponents will argue against cutting back too precipitously on the use of a firm’s own expatriate policy. First, by relying too heavily on host country nationals, the company may become isolated from its overseas operations—whether these operations are wholly owned subsidiaries, joint ventures, strategic alliances, or sales and distribution centers. If the reduction of expatriates proceeds too far, the result could be a corporation that is little more than a loose federation of semiautonomous units located throughout the world. Even in the case of a new start- up venture, having an expatriate “on the ground” can help shape

Global leadership 243

the fledgling organization and keep the goals and objectives front and center; handoffs to a third party tend not to be as effective. A second factor also comes into play. It can be difficult to recruit locals with the desired combination of skills for executive positions in certain locations. The pool of available candidates can be small compared to the rising demand. Also, global firms are painfully aware that their executive ranks are still short on females (especially for key management positions), with many trying to increase their diversity. Pointing again to Saint- Gobain, François Vardon offered some comments on the ideal candidate to replace him:

Saint- Gobain is looking for a female manager who is Mexican, who has solid inter- national experience, is fully proficient in English, is willing to work long and flexible hours, adapts to jet lag and conference calls with Europe and China, and is well versed in Saint- Gobain’s analytic culture where information and numbers are centralized.

He concluded his statement with the following tongue- in-cheek remark: Et je souhaite … «bonne chance!» (meaning—“Good luck with that!”) (François Vardon, personal communication). A third disadvantage of reducing the number of expatriates too severely is that the firm has fewer opportunities for developing valuable managerial skills that can be gained best through overseas experiences. Without those opportunities, the firm’s culture is less likely to be infused with a global character and may exhibit a more provincial outlook. More- over, those companies will miss an opportunity to develop a cadre of global leaders with (1) the agility to operate in a rapidly changing marketplace, and (2) the experience of working with different legal systems, political structures, languages, tax and regulatory systems, customs, and ethical systems.

Counterpoint: reducing the use of expatriates

There are a number of good reasons for limiting expat assignments. First, it tends to be more cost effective to use host country nationals compared to relocating employees and their families. Second, the use of local people is typically required, and well received, by host country governments (e.g., Dowling et al. 2008). Third, an increasing number of local people are both well qualified to manage large operations and well versed in the local culture and language(s). Expatriate failure rates can also be a contributing factor, though perhaps because they are so visible within an organization. According to Anne- Wil Harzing, the few docu- mented studies of expatriate failure have shown a relatively low and decreasing rate over time (2002); expatriate failure is defined in terms of early return home, or dismissal from the company. Rosalie Tung reporting on her sample of 80 firms stated:

Seven percent of the respondents indicated that the recall or failure rate was between 20 and 40 percent. 69 percent of the firms had a recall rate between 10 and 20 percent; and the remainder had recall rates below 10 percent.

(1981: 77)

In a replication of her 1981 study, Tung found that “none of the 163 U.S. multinationals had failure rates in excess of 7 percent, even in assignments to culturally distant countries,

244 Global leadership

such as the Middle East” (1988: 16). Larger and more detailed data sets are needed to understand the magnitude of and change in this issue over time. Nevertheless, any early repatriation is costly—organizationally and personally. It can affect the quality and output of work at the overseas location, as well as its reputation, especially if there is no replacement in sight. At the home base, there are a number of costs (Briody and Chrisman 1991: 277) including:

• repatriating the family early, which in 2008, Peter Dowling and his colleagues indi- cated might be as high as three times the domestic salary plus relocation expenses;

• finding an appropriate position for the returnee, unless there is a dismissal; • selecting and preparing another employee (and family members) for an overseas

assignment—a process which can be protracted; • filling the position of the employee who will be sent abroad.

Competencies for global leaders

As more and more corporations are seeking a piece of the global pie, employees are playing a critical role in that investment. One high- profile figure is Carlos Ghosn, Chairman and CEO for the Renault- Nissan Alliance, a partnership that oversees both firms. Born in Brazil in 1954 to a French mother and a Lebanese father, he spent his early years in Brazil, was schooled in Lebanon and France, graduated from the École Polytechnique and École Nation- ale Supérieure des Mines de Paris (France’s highly selective grandes écoles or “great schools”), spent the early part of his career at Michelin Tire in France and Brazil, ultimately becoming the Chairman and CEO of Michelin North America. Renault hired him in the mid- 1990s to run its activities in South America. He then went on to become CEO of Nissan while retaining his role at Renault, turning around both companies by the mid- 2000s (Hamada 2008). Ghosn is CEO of the Renault- Nissan Alliance. In addition, he heads France’s Renault Group and Japan’s Nissan Motor Co. Ltd., and serves as chairman of Russia’s AVTOVAZ. Combined sales worldwide of these firms totaled 8.5 million units in 2015. (http://nissannews.com/en- US/nissan/usa/releases/carlos- ghosn, accessed April 5, 2016). We may not have the range of global experiences as CEO Ghosn, but we can develop capabilities and behavioral traits that enable us to work effectively in the global work- place. The management literature is inundated with descriptions of behavioral traits for successful management. Although each commentator puts a slightly different spin on his or her list of characteristics, there remains a basic core set of competencies upon which most would agree. These competencies involve developing a broad perspective, appreciat- ing points of view other than one’s own, understanding issues holistically, being able to balance contradictions and operate comfortably in ambiguous situations, working effect- ively in cross- cultural teams, and bridging the local and the global. International business professor Paula Caligiuri describes global business leaders in terms of their cultural agility, “the ability to quickly, comfortably, and effectively work in different cultures and with people from different cultures” (2013: 175). Culturally agile leaders matter, she argues, because their work offers organizations a global competitive advantage. Three distinct behavioral dimensions are associated with culturally agile leaders: cultural adaptation, cultural minimization, and cultural integration. Caligiuri states that it is essential for global leaders to know when to adapt to a particular cultural norm, when to minimize or override it, and when to find a way to integrate and arrive at a solution that is acceptable to all.

Global leadership 245

Cultural adaptation

A leader who is culturally adaptive is able to modify his or her behavior to be consistent with the local context. The cultural adaptation dimension of cultural agility necessitates familiarity with the particular culture(s) and an ability to work effectively there. Caligiuri identifies specific tasks in which culturally adaptive leaders might excel:

• sales and marketing to potential customers; • interactions involving motivation and persuasion with subordinates; • interactions requiring credibility and trust with colleagues and clients; • communications with local governments and regulatory agencies.

We note from this set of tasks that some involve knowledge and experience within the national culture, while others entail understanding both the national culture and at least one organizational culture (e.g., firm’s in- country unit, government agency).

Cultural minimization

Caligiuri frames cultural minimization at the other end of the continuum from cultural adaption. There are times when a global leader must reduce or constrain variation in

Box 9.2 Global leaders and conflict resolution

In her analysis of a retirement party of an American executive who worked for a Japanese subsidiary in the United States, Tomoko Hamada Connolly illustrated the skill set of a global manager. The retiree, Mr. O’Casey, was the Human Resources Director. At the party, the Japanese plant manager spoke warmly of him, praising his abilities to guide the firm through difficult times over a 17-year period; a number of the supervisors drank the local micro- brew “Legends” as a way to honor and recognize him. But, rituals can be “full of hidden dangers and pot holes” (Hamada Connolly 2010: 43). Barb, the female with the highest seniority and one that remembered a sexual discrimination lawsuit, baited Mr. O’Casey about the “secrets” he held in working with the Japanese and “whether working with the Japanese gentlemen was the most challenging thing in his long career or not” (2010: 39). The Japanese management present responded by sucking in their breath through their teeth—an indication of significant discomfort. However, Mr. O’Casey tackled the notion of “secrets” as one might expect of a superb cultural broker. He joked in response by inviting Barb to “come to my office tomorrow,” a phrase interpreted by attendees that a serious work- related issue had occurred. Indeed, Mr. O’Casey’s statement signaled to Barb that she had moved beyond the acceptable norms of the occasion—which she seemed to understand. In this instance, Mr. O’Casey was successful in dealing with this very public threat of organizational conflict. Later during the party, Mr. O’Casey offered his perspective on the trajectory of the multi- national by proposing three general guidelines. The first was aimed at the American work force: recognize that the firm is Japanese- owned, implying that American input would be limited. The second targeted both the Japanese and the Americans: profitability is a shared goal. The third guideline was directed at the Japanese management: run the business humanely and ethically. By highlighting general guidelines rather than specific incidents, and by sidestepping controversial questions from employees like Barb, Mr. O’Casey was able to present a potential model and a hopeful outlook for the future.

246 Global leadership

expectations or behavior. A good example might be setting standards related to quality, throughput, and cost to ensure high- quality products and services are produced efficiently and delivered in a timely fashion. Cultural minimization entails the “control of any cul- tural differences” (2013: 176) so that corporate goals, processes, and values such as safety, quality, and ethics are maintained. Caligiuri specifies some of the tasks tied to cultural minimization:

• upholding corporate ethical standards; • supporting values; • attending to regulatory and corporate standards for production and delivery.

Required here is knowledge of and strong support for the organizational culture. Leaders need to recognize if there is a difference between the company’s stated beliefs and values and what they observe at the site abroad. Moreover, they must be able to close that divide by insisting on adherence to corporate expectations.

Cultural integration

The third dimension of cultural agility requires an ability to think, act, and lead in ways that are transcultural. Cultural integration requires working across multiple groups to arrive at a new way, a hybrid way. The norms of one particular culture are not singled out as the new model. Instead, the team develops its own special set of cultural rules and prac- tices to which it will adhere, acceptable to all parties and consistent with the larger organ- izational culture. In so doing, the team creates its own identity. Caligiuri indicates several tasks that might be completed by a leader experienced in cultural integration:

• leading teams that are multicultural and geographically distributed; • promoting creativity and innovation; • directing an international joint venture through the integration of common ways of

working; • retaining critical staff from an acquired firm or from one affected by a merger.

Creating a hybrid culture is not a recent concept. It has its roots in the international man- agement literature, connected with concepts such as cultural synergy and cultural diver- sity. However, when combined with the capabilities of adapting to the local context and knowing when to invoke a singular, common approach, cultural integration is a powerful addition to the cultural agility trio.

Other global leadership competencies

The literature is filled with numerous prescriptions for global leadership effectiveness. We review a few global leadership competencies that both align with the concept of cultural agility and amplify it. A more complete discussion of these competencies appears on our book’s website.

Global leadership 247

Broad perspective

Global leaders should develop and display a broad perspective. Unlike the more traditional domestic leaders, global leaders will be expected to keep the “big picture” in mind. This capability involves a type of systems thinking whereby one can see how the various parts are interconnected to make a whole.

Appreciation of alternative viewpoints

A key aspect of learning for global leaders is being able to bridge from their own point of view to many different points of view. Perhaps the best way to understand other points of view is to learn how to listen effectively, discuss appropriately, and try to put yourself into someone else’s shoes.

Balancing contradictions

A major requirement for being an effective global leader is being able to balance contra- dictory needs and demands rather than prioritizing or attempting to eliminate them. When exposed to logical alternatives to one’s own way of thinking and behaving, global leaders can learn to cope with the contradictions and actually use these differences for the sake of achieving synergy. Grasping multiple perspectives can lead to a wider range of options and approaches to problems and challenges.

Photo 9.3 Successful managers for the twenty-first century need to know how to manage cross-cultural teams.

Source: Bruce Ayres/Stone/Getty Images.

248 Global leadership

Emotional resilience

Frustrations are frequent and stress can be high when operating globally. Global work becomes a training ground for learning how to deal with unanticipated problems and annoyances. To succeed, the global leader must learn to get back in the game immediately after disappointment and maintain a positive, upbeat attitude in the face of adversity.

Selection for an expatriate assignment

When companies take a holistic approach to their global operations and strategy, it neces- sarily involves the role of international assignments. Globally astute companies reassess their global strategy over time so as to have the best mix of methods, approaches, and practices to accomplish it.

Selection models

Management specialists Charles Vance and Yongsun Paik describe three approaches for selecting candidates for expatriate assignments (2015: 222–224). They point out that these approaches are often used in combination:

• Psychometric: Personality tests are used to identify competencies and predict effective performance during an international assignment.

• Experimental: Candidates’ direct experiences with conditions associated with the international assignment are evaluated. These assessments can be performed in- house or during a “look- see” or familiarization trip abroad. They may also occur during an international assignment to determine if the expatriate might be suited for an assign- ment elsewhere; this selection option is notably linked to the creation of an inter- national cadre of expatriates within the firm.

• Clinical risk assessment: This broad- based evaluation examines candidates’ compe- tencies and adjustment prospects during an international assignment. It also focuses on family circumstances including dual- career issues, spouse adaptability, and other factors. Firms seek candidates associated with the lowest risk factors all around.

Preeminence of the technical

Firms have positions to fill, work to be done, customers to satisfy, and bills to be paid. They also have employees with particular sets of skills that possess the appropriate know- ledge and expertise to offer input, manage operations, and make decisions related to cor- porate practices and policies. Firms are looking for a match between a position and an employee. The “technical,” that is, the actual work in which companies are engaged, is essential to long- term firm success. As firms develop partnering arrangements abroad or expand into markets beyond their home country locations, they find that they need employees with both generalist and specialist skills. Personnel resources are assigned to carry out the new tasks overseas, or else new employees are hired. Anticipated time abroad and amount of attention to employee selection for overseas work are highly correlated. Selection is not as lengthy or complex a process for the employee traveling to Korea for a four- day workshop, compared to the employee who is expected to remain abroad for a significant period of

Global leadership 249

time. For the prospective expatriate, agreement must be reached within and across one’s chain of command if the trip abroad requires a long- term expenditure of funds and time. Expatriate selection has historically been made on the basis of technical competencies. Many multinational firms continue to make their selections on the basis of technical skills primarily, if not exclusively; that is, an engineer expected to be an expatriate in Indonesia will be selected largely on skills and past performance as an engineer at home. The assump- tion is that if one can perform effectively in the job at home, he or she can do so equally well abroad. Selecting expatriates primarily on the basis of technical expertise and past performance may be more prevalent among U.S. corporations than many European firms that place greater importance on such criteria as language skills and cross- cultural adaptability. The emphasis on the technical dimension of work has implications beyond the selec- tion process. Employees participating in any type of global interaction from virtual meet- ings to expatriate assignments tend to draw on their own inner resources while abroad, observe how their more experienced colleagues interact with host country nationals or other internationals, and try to make sense out of how and why work is done as it is with these new (and different) colleagues. They are essentially learning on the job through trial and error as they initiate their own interactions and try to fit in into a cultural world that is unfamiliar to them. Sometimes they are even unaware of cultural difference and wrongly assume that the way work is done at home is the way work is conducted everywhere. When one is ill prepared for international work of any type, the work suffers, relationships suffer, and the newly initiated suffer.

Interest in global

Although technical expertise certainly is an important selection criterion, it should not be the only one. The literature is clear that expatriates perform poorly or fail not because of technical incompetence but because they (or their accompanying family members) have not adjusted to the foreign culture. In other words, their professional effectiveness is diminished by the fact that they are suffering from culture shock or are otherwise unable to get along with the new cultural demands. Thus, technical competency is a necessary but not a sufficient selection criterion. A number of studies have identified those selection criteria that predict both cultural adjustment and job effectiveness (Mendenhall et al. 1987; Black et al. 1992; Teagarden and Gordon 1995; Hechanova et al. 2003; Bhaskar- Shrinivas et al. 2005). These criteria range from job skills to spousal adaptability to a wide range of personal and interpersonal skills. We have already emphasized the competency of cultural agility, applicable to the employee as well as family members. We have also commented on key competencies such as having a broad perspective and being able to balance contradictions. Aligned with all of these leadership competencies is the desire and ability to engage with others—what we call here, interest in global. We highlight four aspects of interest in global beginning with the motivation to engage in global work.

Motivation

An important variable for expatriate success is the level of motivation to take an assign- ment in the first place. Some expatriate candidates view overseas transfers as necessary evils that must be endured. Others, by way of contrast, see expatriate assignments as

250 Global leadership

opportunities for professional advancement, learning, and personal growth. These indi- viduals and family members have a general interest in working and living abroad and sometimes, a particular interest in the host culture. It is generally accepted that those with greater motivation for, and more positive atti- tudes about, overseas assignments are more successful. Gilad Chen and his colleagues found that positive cross- cultural motivation enables expatriates to adjust better to the work, and therefore improves expatriate job performance—even when controlling for other factors such as perceived stressors and previous job performance (2010); David Har- rison and Margaret Shaffer (2005) came to a similar conclusion. Other researchers found that level of motivation by expatriate spouses was correlated with level of interaction adjustment (Mohr and Klein 2004). The motivational state of expatriate candidates is an important dimension of the selection process and should not be overlooked.

Personality

A number of effective standardized inventories have been designed to provide information on an individual’s potential for cross- cultural effectiveness. For example, the Multicultural Personality Questionnaire can help predict how easily people are likely to adjust to a dif- ferent cultural milieu (Van der Zee and Van Oudenhoven 2000, 2001). Ekta Sharma used its five dimensions—cultural empathy, open mindedness, social initiative, emotional stability, and flexibility—to assess Indian expatriates to Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom (2011). Martin Eriksson and Robin Lindström (2013) used the MPQ

Photo 9.4 Transportation can be quite different from what is available back home.

Source: by the authors.

Global leadership 251

with expat spouses and discovered a positive correlation between spouse host country adjustment and personality characteristics. They suspect that this inventory can also be used to “detect spouses who are in need of additional support during the international assignment period” (2013: 45). Colleen Kelley and Judith Meyers (1995) developed the Cross- Cultural Adaptability Inventory (CCAI). It examines four basic dimensions that contribute to intercultural effectiveness: emotional resilience, flexibility/openness, perceptual acuity, and personal autonomy. The CCAI is not intended to predict with absolute certainty success or failure in overseas assignments. Instead, after exploring candidate strengths and weaknesses along these four dimensions, candidates (and their employers) can assess their readiness for an overseas assignment. The results from such inventories provide useful input for expatriate selection.

Communication

Learning the local language can be a key factor in acclimating to the new environment. Studies have shown a correlation between language skills and general cultural adjustment (Hechanova et al. 2003; Mohr and Klein 2004; Bhaskar- Shrinivas et al. 2005) and inter- action adjustment (Mohr and Klein 2004; Bhaskar- Shrinivas et al. 2005). The ability to speak to host country nationals in their own language can help ease the period immedi- ately following relocation, as well as open up the possibility of rewarding interactions and relationships over the long term. Interestingly, these same studies do not show the direct link between local language skills and work adjustment. However, in a subsequent analysis, Purnima Bhaskar- Shrinivas and his colleagues found a stronger, positive effect when a “nonnative English- speaking expatriate was relocated to an English- speaking country than when a native English speaker was relocated overseas” (2005: 272). Although they were unable to fully account for this pattern, they suggested that English- speaking countries (e.g., Australia, England, United States) are less accom- modating to nonnative speakers than are non- English speaking countries. This finding may also be related to the ongoing use, and in fact, primacy of English as a global business language. For example, Tomoko Hamada pointed out that Carlos Ghosn (discussed earlier in this chapter) insists on the use of English at business meetings even though English is not one of his native languages. In a different way, this statement by one of Alexander Mohr and Simone Klein’s (2004: 1194) interviewees confirms the point:

For my husband it’s a lot easier. At the company they are all educated people, all speak English and he doesn’t have any disadvantages. This is not always true in my life. You don’t know how much of the world is the language [requires language], every- thing. In the beginning I think this was the hardest part.

Gender

The number of female expatriates in both Europe and the U.S. is low relative to the overall labor pool. Brookfield Global Relocation Services reports that 19 percent of expa- triate employees are women (2015: 14). Cartus Corporation, another relocation- based firm, indicates that females comprise 24 percent of expatriate employees abroad in 2014, up from 21 percent in 2007 (2014: 4). Female expatriates work in locations such as the U.S., China, UK, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Germany among others. An earlier 2005

252 Global leadership

survey conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers reported that women accounted for about 10 percent of the expatriate population worldwide, and that this percentage had not changed since the mid- 1990s. Assuming the accuracy of these surveys, the number of female expatriates appears to be on the rise. This pattern would be welcome news for two reasons. First, research has shown that women tend to be better suited for international assignments due to their stronger intercultural communication skills than men. Second, it would suggest that corporate selection procedures are no longer reinforcing prejudices against selecting women for overseas assignments, an argument that organizational psy- chologist Phyllis Tharenou (2010) has strongly made.

Family circumstances

A growing number of studies over the past decade have emphasized the importance of the accompanying spouse for expatriate success. For example, Martin Eriksson and Robin Lindström (2013) also discovered that the adjustment of the spouse affects the adjustment of the expatriate. In many respects, the spouse faces a greater number of challenges in adjusting to the new culture than does the expatriate employee. While the employee has the security and familiarity of the organizational structure, the accompanying spouse is faced with dealing with the butcher, getting the TV repaired, and enrolling the children in school—all with little, if any, institutional support. In addition to spouses, the special circumstances that can influence the cross- cultural adjustment of teenage children must also be considered. It is not hard to imagine how a maladapted spouse or pouting teen can negatively affect the morale and performance of the expatriate employee.

Photo 9.5 Expatriates typically discover how much more mature their children are com- pared to their peers who have not lived abroad.

Source: by the authors.

Global leadership 253

David Collings and his colleagues (2007) point out that while the expatriate employee may see the international transfer as a positive career move, the accompanying spouse may see the move as little more than the disruption of his or her own career. In a similar way, Cartus Corporation (2014: 5) indicates that more expatriates are living in “split family” circumstances, with the expatriate returning home from time to time. Cartus also reports that between 2012 and 2014, family members accompanying the expat abroad decreased from 90 percent to 76 percent. However, Susan Shortland’s research on UK oil and gas firms found that expatriate gender diversity was likely to increase if employers “recognize and address dual career and coworking concerns” (2015: 19); coworking is defined as an expatriate situation in which a couple works for the same firm. She also learned that women make expatriate location choices based on career development, security concerns, and access to quality child care.

Conclusion

A number of “current best practices” emerges for selecting employees for international assignments. First, using as wide a variety of criteria as possible improves selection. Cul- tural agility, technical competence, motivation, personality characteristics, and communi- cation skills not only help to predict successful expatriates, but anyone who is involved in international work. Moreover, it is past time for firms to be selecting predominantly males for international assignments. If women represent 10–24 percent of the employee popula- tion on international assignments, that proportion of female expatriates is too low and inadvertently detrimental to firms. Second, improving existing selection processes for the long- term expatriate as well as initiating selection processes for cyclical global assignments and short- term assignments enable the identification of a more appropriate candidate pool. Saving money and cutting corners on selection is not cost effective in the long run. Given the considerable costs of an international posting, companies need to protect their long- term investment by maxi- mizing their chances for selecting high- performing candidates. Learning about the global interests of current employees and hiring new employees who already possess global experi- ences position firms to be able to tap directly into existing resources to match people to international positions. Third, all candidates do not score equally well on all selection criteria. Firms enhancing those weaker areas in either the predeparture preparation phase or during the in- country posting phase help their employees get a jump start on their adjustment abroad. As that happens, those employees (and their family members) are far more likely to be productive and satisfied during their international assignment.

Cross- cultural scenarios

Read the following cross- cultural scenarios. In each mini- case study, a basic cultural con- flict occurs among the actors involved. Try to identify the source of the conflict and suggest how it could have been avoided or minimized. Then see how well your analyses compare to the explanations in Appendix A.

9–1 Harold Mariani, an internal consultant with a large Montréal, Québec, accounting firm, was transferred to work in his firm’s Mexico City office for nine months. His immediate supervisor, who was Mexican, assigned him a week- long project. After the

254 Global leadership

boss described the project, Harold told him that he didn’t think it was a good idea and that it would be a waste of his, and the company’s, time. Angered by Harold’s reaction, his supervisor tells him to implement the project anyway and storms out of the office.

Why was the supervisor so angry?

9–2 While working on a six- month assignment in her company’s Taipei office, Kathryn Skye made arrangements to meet for dinner a former classmate from the Harvard Business School. While enjoying the food and getting caught up on each other’s lives, the Taiwanese classmate, who currently worked for a large software company, told Kathryn about his plans for starting his own software consulting business. Unfor- tunately, he said that he needed to wait before he launches the business because he was unable to get the proper telephone number for the business from the telephone company. Given all of the work he has done to write his business plan, it strikes Kathryn that a telephone number should not delay the opening of the business. But Kathryn’s former classmate insists that he cannot start his new enterprise until he has the right telephone number.

How can you explain to Kathryn what is going on?

9–3 Right after completing a master’s degree in international business, Dick Sutton decided to accept a job with a firm in Tokyo. He had studied Japanese for a year and was most interested in immersing himself in Japanese culture. Within the first month of his arrival, he was invited to an office party. As was the custom, most of the employees were expected to entertain the group with a song, poem, or joke. Knowing the keen interest the Japanese have in baseball, Dick recited the poem “Casey at the Bat,” which seemed to be well received. Dick was having a good time at the party and was secretly congratulating himself on his decision to come to Japan. In fact, he couldn’t help thinking how informal and playful all his colleagues were, including the upper- level executives—a far cry from all the descriptions he had read of the Jap- anese as austere and humorless businesspeople. Later in the evening, Dick found himself talking with two of his immediate superiors. Wanting to draw on the inform- ality and good humor of the moment, Dick casually brought up some plans he had for a new marketing strategy, only to be met with near total indifference. For the remain- der of the evening, Dick felt as though he was not being included in the party.

What advice could you give Dick?

Chapter 10

The expatriate assignment

Chapter objectives:

1 Identify what typically happens to people in the stages of culture shock. 2 Advocate for cross- cultural training in the form of problem- solving sessions once fam-

ilies are abroad for their international assignment. 3 Compare the similarities and differences of culture shock and reentry shock for an

expatriate spouse. 4 Discuss why international assignments are considered “transformational” from a per-

sonal perspective, but often detrimental from a career perspective.

This chapter builds on the previous one by zeroing in on the three stages of the expatriate assignment: preparation, the international experience, and repatriation. We examine the long- term assignment holistically to understand the employee and his or her family in the domestic and international contexts. We decided to devote an entire chapter to this experience because of its transformational impact personally and professionally. The expa- triate assignment also has the potential to contribute to the evolution of a firm’s orienta- tion from a local to a global outlook. We begin with common ways of preparing for an international assignment.

Preparation

Language training

Once the employee has been selected to live and work abroad, the next step is to equip that individual with as much preparation as possible so as to maximize his or her chances for success in meeting professional objectives. To be certain, a vital part of that prepara- tion involves information about the nature of the job description, how it fits into the overall organizational structure, and the relationship between the particular job and the wider objectives of the company. But because the expatriate will be expected to operate within a different cultural context, an essential part of the preparation must involve an understanding of the new cultural realities. Language training is an important part of the preparation process and is typically supported by organizations sending expatriates on international assignments. Based on our knowledge of the literature and our own research on expatriate house- holds, we believe that expatriates with little or no proficiency in the host country language can be classified into three main groups with respect to language learning. One group, with

256 The expatriate assignment

limited or no proficiency in the host country language, actively seeks language classes or tutoring prior to departure, and then continues instruction while abroad. This group is very disciplined and systematic about language training and makes it a priority. For example, these expatriate candidates may take language classes or hire a tutor (paid for by the firm) prior to relocation abroad and follow up with language instruction once abroad. A second group of expatriate candidates finds that it has little time for language instruc- tion. Members of this group just recently learned that they were to become expatriates and their departure date is imminent. Of this group, some will access language instruction once abroad. A third group with little to no host country language skills opts out of taking advantage of language instruction either at home or abroad; instead, this group operates in English and relies on the language skills of those in its social network. We suggest that companies continue to encourage host country language instruction for all of their candidates both prior to departure and while abroad. Companies should also work toward selecting candidates well in advance of the start date to increase the likeli- hood that language instruction occurs prior to departure. If expatriate candidates have a longer time to prepare for their international assignment, there would be more time for language instruction and a greater likelihood that language instruction becomes part of their routine.

Cross- cultural training

For decades, cross- cultural training (CCT) has been advocated as essential for adjusting to new cultural environments, irrespective of whether expats are diplomats, missionaries, Peace Corps volunteers, health professionals, or businesspeople. It typically provides a general orientation to culture, the world region, and the specific country where the newly selected expats and their family members will live. Comparisons are made between the attendees’ national culture and that of their new host country to help them recognize and understand some of the similarities and differences. If attendees are particularly lucky, they may be exposed to insights into the organizational culture of the expatriate’s firm in the host country. By facilitating adjustment to the host culture, CCT enhances job performance, reduces the number of incorrect attributions of behavior, increases an understanding of one’s own culture, reduces stereotypic thinking, helps in intercultural team building, decreases the social ambiguity that can lead to culture shock, enables the development of cross- cultural competencies, and generally contributes to accomplishing one’s professional objectives. Despite what appears to be a compelling case in favor of CCT, Janet Chew reports that many firms still do not provide it for those about to assume an expatriate assignment (2004).

CCT effectiveness

The impact of CCT on adjustment has been an area of considerable controversy. Cur- rently, there is no consensus despite numerous studies, including “meta- analytic” studies that merge data from multiple studies to create a larger sample and then analyze it statisti- cally. In one of the most cited review articles, J. Stewart Black and Mark Mendenhall argued over 25 years ago that “cross- cultural training is effective in developing important cross- cultural skills, in facilitating cross- cultural adjustment, and in enhancing job per- formance” (1990: 133). Two meta- analytic studies drew similar conclusions—one finding reasonably strong correlations for the CCT effects on performance and adjustment

The expatriate assignment 257

(Deshpande and Viswesvaran 1992) and a later study showing a weaker relationship (Morris and Robie 2001). A more recent meta- analytic study shows a negative correlation between CCT and general adjustment (Hechanova et al. 2003). Thus, conclusions drawn from studies involving smaller sample sizes are mixed. In a recent study of expatriate spouses no significant correlations were found “between spouse adjustment and company provided training nor self- initiated training” (Eriksson and Lindström 2013: 43). However, there are some indications that CCT for Westerners taking assignments in developing nations eases adjustment (Okpara and Kabongo 2011). CCT is a “hot” topic because it is contested. Research cannot demonstrate consistently that CCT makes a difference in hastening adjustment abroad. At the same time, there is some evidence that when CCT is well done and targeted, expatriate candidates and their family members generally value it, and researchers argue for its inclusion in predeparture programs (Shaffer et al. 1999). Moreover, according to a study at Simon Fraser University of 409 expatriate employees from 49 multinational companies, most interviewees felt that their international assignments were positive, but two of every three believed that they could have been better prepared through predeparture CCT (Light 1997: 20). A recent annual review article of expatriate research cited CCT- focused articles published only through the mid 2000s (Kraimer et al. 2016). Our view is that CCT is worth doing but that a more rigorous and longitudinal approach to CCT evaluation is necessary. As a rule, firms capture CCT effectiveness data in nonstandardized, and often, anecdotal ways, which makes comparison across firms (or across expatriates within those firms) difficult. A better approach would be to gather an

Photo 10.1 Predeparture cross-cultural training is just the beginning of the learning process for the future expatriate.

Source: Courtesy of Duncan Crundwell.

258 The expatriate assignment

immediate post- CCT evaluation from the expatriate candidate, followed by subsequent data gathering on expatriate adjustment and performance abroad from multiple stand- points (e.g., the expatriate, his or her supervisor, colleagues, family members). Mark Morris and Chet Robie have advocated training programs with these kinds of rigorous evaluations (2001). A different approach would entail offering CCT abroad as a way to get expatriates to identify vexing cultural issues and problem solve with their respective work groups. This approach would have team problem solving and performance as primary goals, rather than individual adjustment and performance.

CCT content

The content of the CCT program is an important consideration during the pre- departure phase. When attempting to answer the question, “What is the syllabus for cross- cultural training?” we should not expect a simple or singular answer. No generic or packaged program would be appropriate for all situations. Rather, each company must carefully design its own CCT programs (or contract with a reputable CCT firm) to meet its specific requirements and the needs of its trainees. To determine the content, length, intensity, and rigor of a particular CCT program, certain critical issues need to be considered, including previous host- country experience, job type and responsibilities, language capability, the extent of the cultural differences, and previous international experience. However, as a general rule of thumb, the deeper the level of training (in terms of time spent, information learned, and problem- solving scenarios tackled), the more effective the training will be and, consequently, the more likely the expatriate candidate (and family members) will be successful in adjusting during the expatriate assignment. Even though most Westerners live in an instant society (complete with instant coffee, instant service, and instant gratification), it is shortsighted for Western corporations to expect instant adjustment and immediate benefits. Whatever form CCT might take, pre- paring people to function effectively in a different cultural environment requires a multi- faceted approach and one that might take some time to simmer. The often- heard advice of KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) is itself wrongheaded. The world is complex, and any attempt to overly simplify the process of preparing for expatriate assignments is bound to fail. Taking our lead from the relatively wide CCT literature, and following the basic structure of Chapters 2 through 6, pedagogically sound programs should include the fol- lowing major components, to one degree or another:

• Culture- general component: A general understanding of the concept of culture pro- vides a fuller appreciation of other cultures, regardless of where one might be conduct- ing business.

• Mastering patterns of communication: Understanding another culture entails famil- iarization with its patterns of communication, both verbal and nonverbal.

• Cultural self- awareness: It is imperative that we examine cultural values—theirs as well as ours—and recognize how the cultural influences on our own thinking conform to or contrast with those of culturally different people.

• Culture- specific component: Host country culture- specific information (including the types of information discussed in Appendix B), along with any cultural details of the particular organizational environments in which the expatriate will be involved, can help jump- start the learning process.

The expatriate assignment 259

• Developing cross- cultural skills: While the preceding four components are all cogni- tive in nature, the CCT program can begin helping the expatriate (and family members) develop certain skills, acquire new ways of thinking, and modify old ways of doing things.

CCT can be conducted using different methodological approaches, in addition to having a number of content components. These approaches differ in terms of levels of active participation (i.e., experiential learning), which in turn affect the level of train- ing rigor. As one moves from less to more experiential methods, the training becomes more rigorous, and consequently more effective. At the least rigorous end of the contin- uum is the approach that emphasizes the simple imparting of factual information, using such passive techniques as assigned readings, lectures, and videos. At a more inter- mediate level is the analysis of mini- case studies or scenarios (i.e., attribution training), which involves trying to determine why people in other cultures think and act the way they do. This approach is predicated on the fact that cross- cultural misunderstandings frequently occur because of the tendency to explain (or attribute meaning to) the behavior of others based on one’s own values and cultural assumptions. At the highest level of interactivity are such experiential training strategies as role playing, simulations, field trips, and interactive multimedia CDs, which involve the individual trainees to as great an extent as possible.

Box 10.1 Interacting cross- culturally within Intel

Semiconductor giant Intel provides an example of a company committed to a high level of experiential learning for cross- cultural competency. The company’s 91,000 employees work in 48 different countries and 70 percent of its revenues come from sales outside the United States. Wisely, Intel has made exposure to different cultures a cornerstone of its leadership program for middle managers. Company officials reason that with so much at stake, it is imperative that all employees learn to understand their international coworkers and cus- tomers as thoroughly as possible. This, of course, involves learning to work on foreign assignments, with culturally diverse colleagues at home, and as part of global cross- cultural teams. The goal of the Intel leadership program (which was designed by employees from Russia, China, Israel, and the United States) was to expose its employees to three different levels of culture: (1) the overall corporate culture, (2) the subcultures of various business units within the company, and (3) the cultures in their facilities around the world. The training sessions, which are held at various locations throughout the world, do not draw upon reading mater- ials, lectures, or “class discussions.” Rather, training sessions are organized around culturally diverse teams that have a week to develop a business plan for a new product. Even though cross- cultural concepts are not the main “subject matter” of the training sessions, participants, who come from different cultural backgrounds, are forced (by their interactions) to consider cultural differences in their week- long planning process. This Intel approach to training for cross- cultural competency is highly experiential because trainees are learning to cope with cultural differences in a real, live work setting (Frauenheim 2005).

260 The expatriate assignment

A taste of life and the job abroad

Companies usually send expatriate candidates on a short familiarization trip to their expected location abroad. In the best case, candidates explore housing options, gain some familiarity with the surroundings (e.g., grocery stores, school, neighborhoods), and often have a chance to meet work colleagues or other expatriate families. Such trips are vital to candidates both as an introduction to life and work abroad, but also as a kind of “test” (for themselves and their firms) of how they respond to the expatriate assignment opportunity. A different form of preparation involves engagement between the expatriate candidate and his potential work colleagues and partners abroad. Given the importance of collabora- tion in today’s world (both virtual and face- to-face), it is possible that many candidates will have been working with overseas peers, suppliers, and customers for some time. Valu- able about these prior relationships is that they help to make the transition to an expatri- ate assignment much smoother. Expatriate candidates can build on those relationships. Rather than walking into the office or plant that first day not knowing a soul, expatriate candidates have a relational foundation already in place. In such instances, there is also the possibility that the work tasks have some continuity with work back home. For those expatriate candidates without such connections, establishing even initial email or phone contacts can provide an important entrée into work activities abroad and help facilitate collegial interaction.

The expatriate experience

As soon as the expat and his or her family arrive in the new host country to begin their assignment, they are confronted with a host of challenges. Adjusting to a new national culture, and for the employee a new organizational culture, is all of a sudden no longer hypothetical, but very real. There is also the international expatriate community in the new location to get to know—a group consisting of business people and their families from many different organizations who live and work nearby. Because this initial phase is a vul- nerable period, the expatriate and family need all of the support they can get to minimize some of the more debilitating effects of culture shock.

Culture shock

Definition

Culture shock, a phrase first popularized by anthropologist Kalvero Oberg, refers to the psychological disorientation experienced by people who suddenly find themselves living and working in radically different cultural environments. Oberg (1960: 177) describes culture shock as the anxiety that results when all familiar cultural props have been knocked out from under a person who is entering a new culture:

Culture shock is precipitated by the anxiety that results from losing all our familiar signs and symbols of social intercourse. These signs or cues include the thousand and one ways in which we orient ourselves to the situations of daily life: when to shake hands and what to say when we meet people, when and how to give tips, how to give orders to servants, how to make purchases, when to accept and when to refuse invita- tions, when to take statements seriously and when not. Now these cues which may be

The expatriate assignment 261

words, gestures, facial expressions, customs, or norms are acquired by all of us in the course of growing up and are as much a part of our culture as the language we speak or the beliefs we accept. All of us depend for our peace of mind and our efficiency on hundreds of these cues, most of which we do not carry on the level of conscious awareness.

Culture shock ranges from mild irritation to a deep- seated psychological panic or crisis. Culture shock occurs when people such as U.S. businesspersons and their family members try to play a game abroad in which they have little or no understanding of the basic rules. Here are some examples of statements (from interview data collected by Elizabeth Briody and Judith Beeber Chrisman) made by American expatriates about the early period of their overseas assignment:

• Expatriate Spouse: “I was pregnant. We were not looking forward to moving and had no idea we would be going [on an expatriate assignment]. It was a surprise … I was sick for two months from the pregnancy. We are at such a high altitude here [in Mexico]. We have to boil our water. We eat at home always.” [She began to cry and it took her several minutes to regain composure.]

• Expatriate Spouse: “We were afraid for him [my husband]. He would cry at dinner. We didn’t want to tell him about our problems. He was feeling guilty that he got us into this.”

• Expatriate Child: “Hearing the kids talking to the teachers in Spanish was hard. I thought that they were supposed to be talking in English since it was the American School.”

Stressful impacts

Both social scientists and laypeople use the term culture shock to define, in very broad terms, the unpleasant consequences of experiencing a foreign culture. Since the 1960s a number of writers in the field have attempted to elaborate on Oberg’s (1960) original formulation by using such terms as role shock (Byrnes 1966), pervasive ambiguity (Ball- Rokeach 1973), and culture fatigue (Guthrie 1975). Yet despite these variations on Oberg’s original theme, there is general agreement that culture shock involves a sense of:

• confusion over expected role behavior; • surprise, even disgust, after encountering some of the features of the new culture; • loss of the old familiar surroundings (e.g., friends, possessions, routines); • loss of self- esteem because the inability to function in the new culture results in an

imperfect meeting of professional objectives; • impotence at having little or no control over the environment; • doubt when old values, which had always been held as absolute, are brought into

question.

Despite the use of the word shock, which implies a sudden jolt, culture shock does not occur quickly, nor is it the result of a single event. Rather, it results from a series of cumu- lative experiences. When you first arrive in a new culture, usually flying into a major city, the cultural contrasts do not seem too obvious. There are usually traffic lights, taxis, tall buildings with elevators, banks, and modern hotels with English- speaking desk clerks.

262 The expatriate assignment

But before long, the very real cultural differences become painfully apparent. People push in front of you in line rather than lining up in an orderly fashion; when people say yes, they don’t always mean yes; you try to be thoughtful by asking about the health of your business partner’s wife, and he acts offended; you invite local acquaintances to your home for dinner, but they don’t reciprocate; you cannot buy things that you are accus- tomed to having; people promise to have something done by tomorrow, but it doesn’t get done; you tell a humorous story to your colleague at the office and he responds with a blank look on his face; you try to be friendly, but people don’t respond. As those first days and weeks pass, the differences become more apparent, and the anxiety and sense of frustration build slowly. Trying to cope with all the newness is begin- ning to sap you of your energy. Eventually, the cultural differences become the focus of attention. You no longer perceive the foreign ways of thinking and acting as quaint and fascinating alternative ways of living, but rather as pathological and clearly inferior to your own. When this occurs, culture shock has set in. Robert Kohls (1984: 65) and Elisabeth Marx (1999: 32) provide a fairly comprehensive list of the major symptoms that have been observed in relatively severe cases of culture shock:

• homesickness; • boredom; • withdrawal (e.g., spending excessive amounts of time reading, seeing only others of

the same nationality, avoiding contact with host nationals); • need for excessive amounts of sleep; • compulsive eating;

Photo 10.2 The unfamiliar can be shocking, leaving us to ask “Why?”

Source: by the authors.

The expatriate assignment 263

• compulsive drinking; • irritability; • exaggerated cleanliness; • marital stress; • family tension and conflict; • chauvinistic excesses; • stereotyping of host nationals; • hostility toward host nationals; • loss of ability to work effectively; • unexplainable fits of weeping; • physical ailments, including psychosomatic illnesses; • feelings of isolation; • weight loss; • feelings of helplessness; • tenseness, moodiness, and irritability; • loss of confidence; • fear of the worst happening.

Because culture shock is characterized by a large and diverse set of symptoms, the malady is frequently difficult to predict and control. The anxiety of culture shock can interrupt daily patterns, increase the number of bad solutions to problems, and impair decision making, planning, and personal relationships. Not everyone experiences all the symptoms, but almost all people experience some. Moreover, some symptoms, or combination of symptoms, vary in severity from one case to another. Ironically, some of the personality characteristics traditionally considered positive for businesspeople at home are the very traits that can most readily contribute to culture shock. To illustrate, many business leaders are type- A personalities, characterized by a high motivation to achieve, competitiveness, and a high level of time consciousness. However desirable these traits may be at home, they can become liabilities when attempt- ing to work globally. Wanting to achieve the greatest results in the shortest period of time, type- A personalities tend to be impatient, overly aggressive, domineering, and self- centered. They often do not take the time to listen to others or study and adapt to the local cultural environment.

Phases

Individual international businesspeople vary greatly in the extent to which they suffer from culture shock. A few people are so ill suited to working in culturally different environments that they repatriate shortly after arriving in the host country. Others manage to get by with a minimum of psychological discomfort. But for most Westerners, operating abroad involves a fairly severe bout with culture shock. According to Oberg (1960), culture shock usually occurs in the following four stages:

1 The honeymoon stage: Most people begin their foreign assignment with a positive attitude, so this initial stage is usually characterized by euphoria. At this point, all that is new is exotic and exciting. Attitudes about the host country, and one’s capacity to operate in it successfully, are unrealistically positive. During this initial stage, which may last from several days to several weeks, recent arrivals are probably staying

264 The expatriate assignment

temporarily at a Western- style hotel where food, conditions of cleanliness, and lan- guage are not appreciably different from those at home. Time is devoted to getting established—finding a house, transportation, and perhaps schools for the children. Similarities between this new country and the home country stand out.

2 Irritation and hostility: Within several weeks or perhaps months, problems arise at work and at home. Small problems appear as insurmountable obstacles. It is the cul- tural differences, not the similarities that loom so large. This second stretch represents the crisis phase of the expatriate assignment. A common response is to band together with other expatriates and disparage the locals: “How can they be so lazy?” “So dirty?” “So stupid?” “So slow?” Now is when ethnic jokes proliferate. The speed with which one passes through this crisis stage varies directly with one’s level of success during the international assignment. Unfortunately, some never get past this stage; they become premature return statistics or somehow manage to stick it out but at a high cost to themselves, their families, and their companies.

3 Gradual adjustment: This stage marks the passing of the crisis and gradual recovery. An understanding slowly emerges of how to operate within the new culture. Some cultural cues now begin to make sense. Patterns of behavior begin to emerge, which enable a certain level of predictability. Some of the language is becoming compre- hensible. And, some of the problems of everyday living—which seemed so over- whelming in the second stage—are beginning to be resolved. In short, the culture seems more manageable and understandable. A capacity to laugh at one’s situation is a sure sign that adjustment is under way.

4 Biculturalism: The fourth and final stage, representing full or near full recovery, involves the ability to function relatively effectively abroad. Expats now recognize and appreciate local customs and practices that were so unsettling months earlier. While some strains in intercultural relationships may remain, the high- level anxiety experi- enced earlier is reduced. Moreover, many find that there are some local customs to which they have become accustomed and which they know they will miss upon returning home. Again, many people never reach stage 4. It is possible to “get by” with a modicum of success by never going beyond stage 3. For those who are success- ful in conquering culture shock, the international assignment can be a truly positive, growth- producing experience.

Positive impacts

A lot has happened in the realm of global business since Oberg’s seminal work. More com- panies are doing business abroad. International assignments continue to rise, as Aahad Osman- Gani and Thomas Rockstuhl point out in their review of the expatriate literature (2008), subsequently confirmed by various expatriate relocation services (Cartus Corpora- tion 2014; Brookfield 2015). Those who are successful will have developed an ability to negotiate and operate not only biculturally, as suggested by Oberg, but also triculturally— within the local host country national culture, within the expatriate community culture, and within their home culture once they have repatriated. We can view culture shock in a positive way as a potentially profound experience leading to cultural learning, self- awareness, and personal growth. For example, Peter Adler suggested that the conflicts, problems, and frustrations associated with culture shock can result in transitional experiences for the international businessperson and accompanying family members. “In the encounter with another culture, the individual gains new

The expatriate assignment 265

experiential knowledge by coming to understand the roots of his or her own ethnocentrism and by gaining new perspectives and outlooks on the nature of culture” (1975: 22). Cul- tural learning is most likely to occur under situations of high anxiety, such as is common in moderate- to-severe cases of culture shock. The motivation will be powerful to acquire new knowledge and skills, which can be used to reduce the anxiety. Moreover, culture shock encourages the sufferers to confront their own cultural heritage and to develop a new awareness of the degree to which they are products of it.

In- country support

One way to conceptualize adjustment and performance on an expatriate assignment is in terms of those who have a “stake” in the expatriate’s (and accompanying family members’) success. Riki Takeuchi has proposed a framework that highlights four stakeholder groups that can influence, or are influenced by, the arriving expatriate (2010). The four stake- holder groups include spouse–family, parent company, host country nationals, and the foreign subsidiary (or overseas operations). This framework is helpful in that it serves as a starting point for understanding potential sources of in- country support. While some of this support is through “formal” channels—such as the personnel departments in the home and international units—much of the support is “informal” through the establishment of new relationships.

A role for the corporation

To be sure, firms provide an array of financial inducements as well as support services for their expatriates (Guzzo et al. 1994; PricewaterhouseCoopers 2005). Though each firm is different, some of the types of financial incentives include a housing differential, reloca- tion payments, educational allowance for the children, tax equalization, and reimburse- ment for tax return preparation, among others. Often the firm pays for or subsidizes a health or athletic club membership. Firms typically provide general support in the form of home leave (sometimes as much as once per year), emergency leave, company car allow- ance, driver (depending on location), access to Western medical care, and language train- ing, to name some of the key services. Companies have found it necessary to “sweeten” expatriate packages as a way to attract high- quality candidates. Consequently, these forms of support tend to be generous. However, one issue has been that many corporations are not particularly attentive to the next (absolutely vital) step in providing expatriates with the in- country support ser- vices and resources to enable them to make a successful adjustment to their new foreign assignments. It is generally the case that the home unit’s connection to the expatriate weakens over time. Expatriates have a phrase for this situation: “Out of sight, out of mind.” Historically, this “syndrome” has been most visible in the months prior to repatriation, when the home office has been scrambling to find the expatriate a return position. One strategy that could make a significant difference is enabling the expatriate to stay con- nected with the home unit. An ongoing connection with peers (say, on project work) or senior leaders (say, on a global initiative that would be valuable at home) might even pave the way for the next career move. For the businessperson, work is the primary mechanism that shapes the day and that offers a handy opportunity for building and maintaining relationships. Much of the busi- nessperson’s schedule involves engaging with people to plan projects, problem solve, and

266 The expatriate assignment

implement decisions. Thus, the job offers a readymade structure and a set of social interac- tions for the day’s activities—largely with host country nationals. Soo Min Toh and Angelo Denisi point out that the locals are the “often overlooked partners” in the expatriate’s adjustment experience (2007: 281). “Socializing behaviors” such as providing the expatriate with information and offering social support are not typic- ally required of the local staff (with the possible exception of the role of administrative assistant); instead, it is an “extra” role that one or more of the local staff may take on as a goodwill gesture (2007: 282). However, Toh and Denisi suggest that host country nation- als might be more likely to help expatriates if there were work- related beliefs and expecta- tions about doing so. The host country operation might consider implementing this suggestion if its own organizational culture is not already attuned to the importance of integrating the expatriate as quickly as possible. Making available, or at least raising awareness about, local learning opportunities could also contribute to expatriate adjustment. Both organizational- sponsored programs and organizational- encouraged activities may be helpful (Andreason 2003). For example, local staff might suggest travel to different parts of the country (whether for business or pleasure), concerts and performances, museums and places of national interest, or an entrée into local professional, civic, and social organizations. Such counsel enables expa- triates to continue to learn about both the new national culture and the new organizational culture. In the event that local colleagues accompany the expatriate (and possibly family members depending on the particular collegial relationship), the expatriate can learn directly from a “native.” Such gestures demonstrate a willingness to help the expatriate acclimate and emphasize the value in throwing oneself into the local scene.

Photo 10.3 Adjustment to different cultures involves a willingness to get out and explore the cultural landscape.

Source: by the authors.

The expatriate assignment 267

When the home and local host country offices encourage and support their employees in these ways, they are sending several unmistakable messages:

• The best way to adjust to one’s new cultural surroundings is to experience firsthand what the new culture has to offer.

• The quicker and more thoroughly one adjusts to the new cultural environment, the more successful one will be in the new work assignment.

• Daily life in the new assignment becomes the best possible classroom for learning another culture and language.

• The firm as a whole is interested in supporting its expatriates in the best ways possible because it is a “win–win” for both the company and the expatriates.

While companies should provide such support to their expats, it is equally imperative that the expatriates avail themselves of these in- country learning experiences.

Building a knowledge base

The number of sources of culture- specific information is nearly endless. We recommend drawing on a wide range of sources to assist in the acculturation process. Immediate goals include getting to know the new locale, minimizing the effects of culture shock, reducing the number of cultural surprises and missteps, and putting into practice newly acquired insights. In general, people who have spent time in the particular international location, or at least overseas, are valid sources of information. Work colleagues, members of the expatri- ate community locally, foreign exchange students and faculty, and volunteers and staff of nongovernmental organizations are among the kinds of people who can be particularly helpful. Some of these interactions are likely to occur over the course of the international assignment anyway. However, reaching out to these kinds of individuals right away not only can assist in the adjustment process, but also can serve as an entrée into a new circle of contacts and friends. Numerous published materials pertaining to living and working in a particular country or region can be useful: commercially published sources for the business traveler, State Department publications, newspapers, information published and distributed by the various foreign embassies, as well as scholarly books and journal articles (see Appendix B for a general overview of print or Internet sources). Much of this information is available on the Internet. With a few clicks, it is possible to learn everything from local customs and store hours, to laws and public festivals. Cross- cultural training classes may also be especially beneficial for new expatriates. Research by John Okpara and Jean Kabongo suggests that CCT is most effective when focused on the specific host country culture (2011). This targeted approach makes a lot of sense given the urgency with which expats need answers to their burning questions. At this point, expats are experiencing cultural differences “upfront and personal” and in “real time.” Such “in- the-moment” situations have that ability to focus the mind on the prob- lems at hand. We have taught, observed, and/or participated in enough CCT classes to know that the shorter the time span between unexpected cultural incidents and the train- ing, the more value attendees derive from the it. The motivation is there, learning is a necessity, and there is no time like the present!

268 The expatriate assignment

Accessing local networks

For the children in an expatriate household, school and after- school activities provide an institutional (routine) structure similar to what the workplace provides for their employed parent(s). Indeed, children’s schooling and leisure interests not only fill children’s time, but also present opportunities for developing friendships that can facilitate adjustment both abroad and upon return home. The diversity of children’s networks (e.g., expatriate, host country national) largely depends on whether they attend an international or local school. It has been well established that if household members are unhappy—particularly teenagers—everyone in the family suffers. Schools and the social networks connected with schools (or for that matter, clubs, and other community- based groups) can be a valuable resource for expatriate families and can play a critical role in the adjustment of both the children and their parents. Unlike the employee or school- age children, the spouse on an expatriate assignment is not automatically integrated into life in the new setting. He or she does not often have the option of working outside the home due largely to host country work permit restrictions or because the job in the home country was not transferable; some spouses also choose not to work while abroad. Instead, the spouse tends to be the one responsible for managing the household and caring for the children. Research going back to Rosalie Tung’s 1982 study indicates that if the spouse is unable to adapt, it can have detrimental effects on family life (e.g., increasing conflict, divorce), the effectiveness of the employed businessperson at work, and the likelihood of the household’s premature repatriation.

Photo 10.4 Print and Internet sources are important starting points in understanding aspects of the new culture and locale.

Source: Courtesy of Richard J. Rybak.

The expatriate assignment 269

Spouses have to “create their own structure and then fill it with selected activities” according to Elizabeth Briody and Judith Beeber Chrisman (1991: 276). With time, the spouses they interviewed usually identified members of the expatriate community in their locale with whom they were able to interact and develop relationships. “That community, by virtue of its clubs, church, and sponsored activities, furnished a potential structure around which the spouses could organize their lives” (1991: 276). International management pro- fessor Vlad Vaiman and his colleagues point to potential expatriate networks including special interest groups on LinkedIn, local organizations (e.g., chambers of commerce), inter- national women’s organizations, and “expatriate- focused sites organized by host country, such as InterNations.org, ExpatForum.com, and ExpatFocus.com” (2015: 282). Many spouses also developed long- lasting relationships with host country nationals through some common activity, hobby, or routine (e.g., their children attended the same school). The longer it took the spouses to create a structured environment for themselves, the longer it took them to adjust during the expatriate assignment. The need for spouses to develop and maintain social relationships is no less pressing today than it was in the early 1990s when Briody and Chrisman conducted their study. The task of initiating social contacts is made easier today owing to the blogs and networking opportunities found in cyberspace. Strangely, neither educational institutions nor the expatriate community were part of Riki Takeuchi’s (2010) four- stakeholder framework of expatriate adjustment (spouse/ family, parent company, host country nationals, and the foreign subsidiary/overseas

Photo 10.5 Expatriate children often make smoother adjustments to new cultures because of both school friends and cross-cultural flexibility.

Source: Courtesy of Carole Vardon.

270 The expatriate assignment

operations). But it is clear that new networks at work and school and in leisure activities are critical for all members of the expatriate household. Ideally, these networks should include both host country nationals and other expatriates. The most efficient way of learn- ing to adjust to a foreign work assignment is by expanding one’s social and professional net- works as widely and as intensively as possible. Of course, the expatriate is often tempted to confine his or her networks (particularly social networks) to other expatriates, rather than making the effort to cultivate social relationships with host country nationals. But getting out of one’s comfort zone is absolutely essential for adjusting to the new assignment. The best way to learn about another culture is experientially—that is, by interacting with the practitioners of the new culture.

Repatriation

Repatriation, derived from the Latin repatriare, means to return to one’s fatherland; the international assignment is over and it is time to return to the place one calls home. Although many expatriates anticipate dealing with a host of adjustment problems when entering a new culture, few are prepared for the adjustments they face when coming home. Most returning expatriates—particularly those who have successfully acclimated to their

Photo 10.6 Volunteering with youth in your host country offers an interesting perspective on the culture.

Source: MITO images/Alamy Stock Photo.

The expatriate assignment 271

international assignments—expect (or at least hope for) a ticker- tape parade upon return- ing home. In many cases, they have made enormous sacrifices by uprooting themselves and their families, managed to adjust to many new situations, and generally succeeded in meeting at least some of their personal and professional objectives. Having accomplished some major achievements, they view themselves as extremely valuable resources for their firms. Yet, if they expect to be seen as “conquering heroes or heroines” by their employers, colleagues, friends, and loved ones, they are in for a rude awakening.

Reentry shock

Returning home is oftentimes as challenging as the original adjustment to the foreign assignment. Ideally, preparation for repatriation should be taken as seriously as predepar- ture preparation. Coming home should be treated as yet another foreign assignment. Because successful expatriates have experienced some life- altering changes while abroad, they are different people than they were when they left home. Moreover, home is not the same. During one’s time away, many changes will have occurred at the home office, in the neighborhood, at the children’s schools, in the economy, and even in the physical surroundings. Expatriates who left their homes in the throes of a deep economic recession would return to a very different political and eco- nomic climate. Even the amount of commercial development (and the resulting traffic congestion) in one’s old neighborhood can seem startling upon returning after a three- or four- year assignment abroad. The disorientation faced when trying to reorient oneself to life and work at home has come to be known as reentry shock. Nan Sussman found that expatriates who were the least prepared for repatriation, experienced greater distress than those who had a better understanding of it (2001). Here are some examples (from research done by Elizabeth Briody and Judith Beeber Chrisman) of reentry shock statements made by expatriates upon their return home:

• Former Expatriate: “I experienced a good deal of reverse culture shock in coming back [from Japan].… There is disinterest on the part of the Americans with regard to how the Japanese do things.… There is resentment about having to hear about the Japanese and how they are taking us to the cleaners. This occurs both in my social life where people essentially do not want to hear about the last four years of your life, and in my work life.… When you return to the U.S., you encounter a closed social system. Even with your former friends, it is hard to fit in with them. The disparity of your experience and their lack of experience with a foreign culture make it difficult to fit in.”

• Former Expatriate Spouse: “I was not happy when I first came back to the U.S. Jack was gone a lot. If we had still been overseas, friends would have known that Jack was away and would have called me to do things. This did not happen when we moved back. In addition, we were living quite close to my parents and they were always drop- ping in—a lot. I would have to drop whatever I was doing in order to entertain them. This turned out to be pretty stressful. Also, I was thrown right back in with suburban life—talking about idiotic things in a small town. In general, overseas people were more into foreign affairs, paying more attention to it. No one cared about foreign affairs in Ridgewood since they lived in their own little world there. A lot of the sub- urbia wives would find out that we had lived overseas and would poo poo it and then say how difficult it must have been for the kids to adjust …”

272 The expatriate assignment

• Former Expatriate Child: “I noticed that American kids were more aggressive. I knew that I couldn’t fit in. I didn’t like football and baseball because I couldn’t under- stand them. I only knew soccer. It took me a long while to make friends [about 4 years].”

Although most expats will anticipate a certain number of problems and discomforts when entering a new cultural environment, they are frequently unprepared for the myriad of problems they will face when returning home. First, upon return, home life feels relatively boring and confining. Many foreign assignments of a year or more can be exciting in that they involve travel and learning all sorts of new things. Coming home to “life as usual” can seem uninteresting by comparison, with many returnees experiencing a generalized malaise or lack of interest in their lives. Second, while trying to overcome the original dose of culture shock, many business- people tend to embellish their fond memories of life at home. Upon reentry, many of those myths are shattered. After one lives for a while in Switzerland, for example, life seems less structured and efficient for a French expat. When compared with the Japa- nese, the typical American seems loud and boisterous. One of the by- products of a suc- cessful adjustment to the host culture is that our old notions of our culture will never again be the same. Third, one’s standard of living may actually decrease upon return. Such luxuries as household help, large company houses, chauffeurs, live- in babysitters, and other perks used to entice people into an international assignment are likely to disappear. Fourth, in those cases in which businesspeople have made a successful adaptation to a third- world cultural environment, there can be additional problems of adjustment. The returnee and his or her family have become familiar with the economic, housing, and health challenges of people living in the host country. Upon return, they encounter friends and relatives unaware of their own material well- being. Fifth, one of the most unsettling aspects of reentry shock is the almost total dearth of psychological support for the returnee and his or her household; most returnees do not receive any repatriation preparation. Expats often feel alone and unable to express their feelings with someone who has not been through the same type of experience. Friends and relatives whom they have not seen for months or even years will say, “Oh, I can’t wait to hear about your stint in Singapore.” But after listening half- heartedly for about two minutes, they will change the subject to a new TV show they have just seen. These friends and acquaintances, whose lives have gone on uninterrupted or changed in other ways, may have no way of relating to these international experiences.

Back home at the office

Many businesspeople, after returning from a long assignment abroad, soon realize that a critical problem for them is finding a new niche in the corporate structure at home. Whereas the expatriate may have been a “big fish in a little pond,” he or she may be just the opposite after returning home. One’s status, authority, and even physical amenities are likely to be diminished after returning home from an expatriate assignment. There are also bound to be a number of changes at the home office in terms of personnel, strategy, leader- ship, technology, and even corporate culture. Those who originally decided to send them abroad may no longer be on the scene. Consequently, the corporation’s plan for how it would use the returnees now may no longer exist.

The expatriate assignment 273

Research conducted on U.S. expatriate executives in the last decade of the twentieth century provides some insight into the dimensions of the problem (Briody and Baba 1991; Black et al. 1992; Stroh et al. 1998). For example, they found that:

• About two- thirds of all repatriates did not have a specific job to return to when they repatriated.

• In nearly half the cases, returning Americans wound up in jobs with less authority and autonomy than they had in their expatriate assignments.

• Only 11 percent of returnees received a promotion upon return, whereas 77 percent were actually demoted to lower- level positions.

• More often than not, the returnees had no opportunity to use their internationally acquired skills in their next position.

• Owing to their dissatisfaction with the “coming home” process, approximately 20 percent of all U.S. expatriates left their firms within the first year of their return stateside.

Recent repatriation research from just over 1,000 American and European CEOs by man- agement experts Monika Hamori and Burak Koyuncu (2011) is consistent with these pat- terns from the 1990s. The authors discovered that those CEOs with international experience took longer to reach the top corporate position than those without inter- national experience. In fact, the CEOs’ path to the top was slowed the more expatriate assignments they had and the longer the time they spent outside their home organization. Other researchers, including Maria Kraimer and her colleagues (2012), found that repatriated employees had career concerns that led many to leave their firms within one year of return. Noeleen Doherty and Michael Dickmann reported repatriate turnover rates that were more than twice as high as managers who had not worked abroad (2012: 3447). Kraimer’s review of four decades of expatriate research with a different set of colleagues also drew unhappy conclusions about career paths post international assignment (Kraimer et al. 2016). If these data continue to be even remotely accurate, the message that U.S.-based and European multinational corporations send is both clear and unfortunate: expatriate assign- ments are detrimental to one’s long- term career development. Because most expatriates make considerable sacrifices for the company by disrupting their personal and professional lives (and those of their families), they expect to be rewarded upon their return. Not only are most not rewarded, but many are actually penalized. Moreover, the home office does not benefit from the expatriate employee’s experiences abroad. As Hamori and Koyuncu (2011: 858) state, “repatriate turnover harms both parties.” On the other hand, if com- panies manage the return placement well during the year immediately following the inter- national assignment, the repatriate is “highly likely to stay in the organization” at least for the next couple of years (Doherty and Dickmann 2012: 3448).

Global strategy reimagined

How firms accomplish their global strategy changes over time. The strategies that might be appropriate for a start- up operation such as an export jewelry business could create havoc for a well- established venture producing OLED UHD Smart 3D TVs. Corporations can and do rethink their approach to the market. At one time, the expatriate assignment was the primary mechanism for establishing and managing overseas “outposts,” often in

274 The expatriate assignment

sales. However, the world has changed with the ability to travel to centers of business and commerce with expediency, and the development of ICTs (see Chapters 6 and 9). Yet, even with a reduction in the number of a firm’s expatriate pool, there is still the nagging issue of repatriation and reintegration for those on expatriate assignments. Repat- riation is often treated as if it were an anomaly in organizational functioning. At a minimum, firms need to devote much more time and energy to strategic problem solving. What needs to be done to ensure that returning expatriates (a corporate asset far more valuable upon return than before the international assignment) are (1) integrated smoothly back into the corporate mainstream, (2) in a position that maximizes the use of their combined skills and knowledge, and (3) retained over the long haul? The answer to this question goes beyond merely looking at the issue of repatriation. Instead, it requires that the company understand and attend to the larger issue of why it is making the inter- national transfer in the first place. What is the strategic purpose of the international assign- ment? What will it accomplish?

• If it is no more than filling a position, it might make sense to engage someone as a short- term transferee or hire a host- country national to accomplish a specific task; each of these options could be supplemented through ICTs.

• If the company, in addition to filling a job position, wants to achieve greater control over a foreign subsidiary, then it needs a plan for how expatriates would accomplish that.

• If the company is interested in global leadership development, it needs to be very explicit upfront about what skills and capacities should be nurtured during the expatriate assignment.

• Most importantly, if the company is hoping to use the transfer abroad as a mechanism for increasing its flow of global information, products, or services, then it must be pur- poseful in identifying what information will be transferred and how best to use expa- triates in that capacity.

This last strategic purpose has implications for continuing the globalization process of the firm. What does it mean to senior corporate leaders to be a global enterprise? How does this conception compare with ongoing beliefs and practices currently? How does it compare with the global approach of other similar firms? What is the company’s plan in the near- term and long- term for globalizing its operations? We are not simply talking about entering new markets, identifying new partners, or working with global suppliers. We are not just suggesting a focus on “growing leaders” so they will know how to work abroad effectively. We are not solely intent on sharing work processes and practices so they can be adapted globally. Instead, we are recommending integration of home and abroad in ways that build on the strengths, address the weak- nesses, and maximize the potential future for the entire enterprise.

Conclusion

Globalizing involves reconfiguring the structural and ideological aspects of the firm’s oper- ations. “Coupled systems,” as was the case with GM’s component divisions years ago, is one such global model that offers important clues. The “coupling” of international with domestic sites can link together the larger corporate system. Employees of host country sites are valued for their contributions, just as employees at headquarters are. Internal

The expatriate assignment 275

competition fades as organizational “silos” (e.g., divisions, functional units) no longer optimize for themselves but consider their decisions in light of the entire corporation. Information is shared, not guarded. Lessons learned are actively sought and implemented, not hidden away on the company’s server. Indeed, the company’s business is the business of all employees, regardless of location.

Cross- cultural scenarios

Read the following cross- cultural scenarios. In each mini- case study, a basic cultural con- flict occurs among the actors involved. Try to identify the source of the conflict and suggest how it could have been avoided or minimized. Then see how well your analyses compare to the explanations in Appendix A.

10–1 Stefan Baros, a manager for a large European airline, was transferred to Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, to set up a new office. Although Stefan had had several other extended overseas assignments in Paris and Brussels, he was not well prepared for working in the Arab world. At the end of his first week, Stefan came home in a state of near total frustration. As he sat at the dinner table that night, he told his wife how exasperating it had been to work with the local employees, who, he

Photo 10.7 New technologies, like Oblong’s Mezzanine, make possible new collaborations at home and abroad.

Source: by the authors.

276 The expatriate assignment

claimed, seemed to take no responsibility for anything. Whenever something went wrong they would simply say Inshallah (“If God wills it”). Coming from a culture that sees no problem as insolvable, Stefan could not understand how the local employees could be so passive about job- related problems. “If I hear one more Inshal- lah,” he told his wife, “I’ll go crazy.”

What might you tell Stefan to help him understand the cultural realities of Saudi Arabia?

10–2 Randy Hightower, recently appointed to manage his firm’s office in Singapore, was anxious to do well in his first overseas assignment. Shortly after his arrival, he called his first staff meeting to outline the objectives for the coming fiscal year. He had already met with his staff individually and was feeling quite confident about the prospects for having a good first year. Toward the end of the staff meeting, Randy, in his characteristic upbeat fashion, told his employees that he looked forward to working with them and that he anticipated that this would be their best year ever. To emphasize his optimism for the coming year, Randy punctuated his verbal remarks by slapping his fist against his palm. The reaction was instantaneous: Most people laughed, giggled, or looked embarrassed. He felt that the point of his dra- matic climax was lost amidst the laughter.

How might you explain the cause for the hilarious outburst?

10–3 Sandra Scott was living abroad for the first time in her life as part of a year- long exchange program for a group of post- secondary students. Rotary International had publicized the need for families and mentors for such students. Sandra found her way into the home and life of a French family as a result. She arrived as a smiling, active, and vibrant teenager. Back in the U.S., Sandra had been involved in numer- ous school, volunteer, and athletic activities, including playing on the boys’ varsity tennis team. She was enrolled in a local academic program that included language instruction during the day. In the evenings, she interacted with the family as she worked hard to improve her oral communication skills. The weeks wore on and the initial “high” of being in a new place and meeting new people wore off. She found this “total immersion” into a 24-hour per day French- language environment increasingly difficult. There was no relief from it. Everything she did every day required listening to and responding in French. After about two months, her outlook had changed and those around her noticed. She tried to keep up with her studies, said little, and kept to herself. It was clear to Sandra’s mentor that culture shock had set in. He wondered what he might do to help her get through this phase. One day he had an idea.

What was he thinking?

Appendix A

Cross- cultural scenario discussions

Chapter 1

1–1 In most of Europe when people write the date as 6/5/17, they are placing the day first, the month second, and the year last. So Bernice’s request for information by 6/5 was not for June 5 but for May 6. Therefore, Bernice was not three and a half weeks early but five days late!

1–2 France, along with other European countries, still suffers the memories of Hitler’s reign of terror. Uniformity in logos, slogans, or signs are reminiscent of the German swastika and the humiliation of the period of occupation. The “gifts,” coupled with the hostile takeover, started the Fortune 500 corporation off on shaky ground, con- sidering French history.

1–3 Although this fertilizer company did a good deal of research in developing its product, it was woefully lacking in cultural information that would have enabled the company to market it. First, the company tried to convince the village men to accept an agricultural innovation, when in fact it was the women who were the farmers. That they failed to understand this basic ethnographic fact did little for their general credibility. Second, many East Africans have two important beliefs that can help explain their reaction: (1) the theory of limited good, which assumes that there is a finite amount of good in the world (such as fertility), and (2) witchcraft, the notion that evil forces embodied in people can harm members of the community. Given these two beliefs, any individual East African farmer would never participate in any scheme that promises to produce considerably more per acre than her neighbor, for to do so would open her up to charges of having bewitched the fertility from the neighbor’s soil. In short, to continue to grow the same amount as one had in the past is a far preferable alternative to being killed for witchcraft.

Chapter 2

2–1 What Harry did not realize was that the Venezuelan manager was making a perfectly intelligent career decision. Coming from a collectivist society, Venezuelans tend to first consider the needs of their family or organization before considering their own self- interest. Being offered a promotion and higher salary would not be the most com- pelling reason for taking a new position. Rather, the Venezuelan manager would think primarily about the interests of extended family members, many of whom prob- ably would not want him to move. Then the employee would consider the interests of the local company, which probably needs him to continue working in Caracas.

278 Appendix A

People are not always motivated by individual benefits when deciding to take a new job.

2–2 Mexicans place a high value on fiestas because they represent an opportunity to get together with friends and family. Work, for the sake of work, is not as highly valued as it is north of the Rio Grande. Mexicans, unlike their counterparts from the U.S. and Canada, have no difficulty putting off a task until tomorrow, particularly if it helps to maintain important social relationships between friends and family.

2–3 This scenario illustrates the high value Americans place on science, logic, and rational thought. Because there were no logical links between any of these unfortunate hap- penings at the plant, Ned and his fellow Americans concluded that they were just an unfortunate, yet unrelated, series of accidents. The local workforce, on the other hand, believed that sinister forces were at work that required the services of a religious spe- cialist. This belief was the direct cause of Ned’s two managerial problems—morale and absenteeism. Unfortunately, Ned and his colleagues got caught up in their own value system and missed the major point: It makes little difference whether the belief in evil spirits is true or false. Ned was no more capable of proving that evil spirits did not in fact cause this series of events than the local workers could prove that they did. What Ned and his American staff failed to understand was that (1) the workers believed that evil spirits were at work, and (2) this belief, whether true or false, was causing a major problem for the company. The only reasonable way to solve that problem was to take an action that would enable the workers to perceive that the power of evil spirits had been neutralized and that their safe work environment had been restored.

Chapter 3

3–1 In any society, gifts are given as a way of symbolizing certain thoughts. Yet, like other aspects of culture, certain gifts symbolize different thoughts in different cultures. In Ireland, chrysanthemums are given for a number of general purposes. But in Italy and in some other European countries, chrysanthemums are used traditionally as funeral flowers. Also, Dylan’s flowers sent another unintended message. Although it is appro- priate to take flowers as a gift when invited to someone’s home for dinner, to present flowers to the mother of an unmarried woman is seen as an expression of a man’s serious intentions toward the daughter.

3–2 In a sincere but misguided attempt to convey to their Japanese counterparts their interest in the project, the Canadians made two serious cultural blunders. First, by taking off their jackets and rolling up their sleeves, they were trying to communicate sincerely, in a nonverbal way, that they were interested in working hard to arrive at a satisfactory agreement between the two corporations. The Japanese, however, who tend to be much more formal in dress, interpreted this symbolic gesture as most unbusinesslike and inappropriate—a breach in professional protocol. The second faux pas resulted from Harry’s invitation to start their discussions off on a first- name basis. Although by making such a suggestion Harry was genuinely interested in facilitating their work relationship, he failed to realize that Japanese business relationships tend to be based on quite rigid status differences. In the eyes of the Japanese, being on a first- name basis involved an unacceptable level of informality and egalitarianism.

3–3 This is just one more example of how the same hand gesture can have very different meanings in two different cultures. Although beckoning someone with a “crooked” index finger is perfectly normal in the U.S., in Korea it is an obscene gesture.

Appendix A 279

Chapter 4

4–1 In Uruguay it is considered impolite to use a blanket greeting (¡Hola!) for an entire group. Hans should have personally greeted everyone at the party, and, when leaving, he should personally say farewell to everyone individually as well. Also, the greeting ¡Hola! is a more informal greeting and should only be used in casual situations.

4–2 The candidate is demonstrating a presentation style that the French are accustomed to and respect. The French prize eloquence and knowledge of history and literature; such attributes convey that one is a cultured, well- educated person. The inclusion of these types of references would be a normal part of a well- executed presentation in France. This knowledge of French culture, however, should never be a substitute for product knowledge and technical expertise.

4–3 The key to understanding this apparently innocent exchange, which left Anders offended and Lars confused, revolves around the use of personal questions. People in the U.S. think it perfectly natural to ask a number of personal questions early on in one’s initial conversation; this is considered a normal way of finding a common ground on which to build a relationship quickly. In other societies like Sweden, people move to establish social relationships at a slower pace. The personal lives of the Swedes and their families are considered private. They will be quite reluctant to make any moves toward intimacy until there has been sufficient time to assess the newcomer. Thus, Lars’ questions appeared overly personal to Pettersson, whose culture handles such introductory amenities much more slowly.

Chapter 5

5–1 Despite Ray’s Hispanic heritage, his dramatic rise in his company’s organization required him to adopt the mainstream U.S. cultural interpretation of time; that is, Ray was operating under the assumption that because time is money, there is no reason to waste it. Such a definition of time assumes that the end product of negoti- ations between two companies is more important than the process that brings it about. But in Chile and many South American cultures, the process is also very important. It is not enough just to make a decision on the merits of the product; to many South Americans, it is equally important that those entering into a business relationship enjoy one another’s company and build a strong foundation of mutual trust. To the Chileans, Ray’s insistence on getting down to business as quickly as pos- sible was bypassing some very important components of the negotiation process.

5–2 In Brazil, ideas are often reinforced with touch. Larry should not have been insulted by the taps on his shoulder and arm. Indeed, it would have been appropriate for him to have emphasized his views in a similar fashion.

5–3 North Americans place such importance on words that the absence of words becomes very disorienting. Because most Canadians feel that silence is inherently unnatural, they frequently say things that get them into trouble in their haste to fill the silence. Roger would have been better off to have waited out the silence and then come back with another proposal or a question that would have kept the discussions on track.

Chapter 6

6–1 In the U.S., public humiliation is one of a number of techniques that can be used quite effectively to change people’s behavior. In the world of Islam, however, where

280 Appendix A

the preservation of dignity and self- respect is absolutely essential, public reprimand will be totally counterproductive. If Arabs feel that they have suffered a loss of per- sonal dignity because they have been criticized in public, they take it as a dishonor to both themselves and their families. And when Sam insisted on using this “motiva- tional” technique, he alienated not only the individual to whom the reprimand was directed, but also all his fellow workers who felt hurt on his behalf. When this happens, the person giving the reprimand loses the respect of those witnessing the situation.

6–2 The employee–employer relationship in Japan is very different than in the U.S. When a Japanese firm hires an employee, he or she becomes part of the corporate family. Whereas labor and management in the U.S. operate largely from an adversar- ial perspective, the relationship between the Japanese worker and the company is based on loyalty and a long- term commitment to one another. Though there is some evidence of change, many employees hope to stay with their firm for the duration of their careers and have the firm take an active role in their personal lives in areas such as housing, recreation, and schooling for their children. Moreover, far less separation of business and personal matters occurs between Japanese employees and their super- visors. Thus, it is little wonder that the Japanese mechanics thought that George was not acting like a responsible supervisor because he was unwilling to become involved in their personal lives.

6–3 In Nairobi, as in many other parts of the world, status and rank are important ele- ments of social and business relationships. In the U.S., where people have a tendency to play down status differences, the boss may often roll up his or her sleeves and start working alongside those of lower rank and position. In fact, the boss in the U.S. is likely to become more popular by engaging in manual labor alongside the workers, for it shows a true spirit of empathy and democracy. In Kenya, however, a boss doing manual labor is seen as a deliberate rejection of self- respect. If those in high positions are not willing to maintain their high status and self- respect, they will unlikely con- tinue to receive the respect of their employees. To the African employees, it would have been far preferable to have missed the deadline than to have their boss lose his self- respect by engaging in manual labor.

Chapter 7

7–1 The demise of these joint- venture negotiations cannot be explained by the fact that contemporary Japanese firms are inextricably wedded to traditional practices. Present- day Japanese firms have shown an enormous willingness to adopt innovative policies and strategies, which has contributed to their rapid rise in the world economy. Yet, equally high on the Japanese list of cultural priorities is the value placed on respect for elders and saving face. Even though Hayakawa may have disagreed with his grandfather’s position, it would have been totally inappropriate to disagree with his grandfather in a public meeting. The Japanese way would have involved private dis- cussions between Hayakawa and his grandfather to try gently to convince the former president of the need for these innovative policies. Angus’ impassioned attempt to change the retired president’s mind in the public meeting was seen as a serious breach of etiquette, which caused the old man to lose face.

7–2 For the local Indian labor pool, flexibility of time was of greater significance than housing or high wages. Under the German system, which paid an hourly wage (rather

Appendix A 281

than a 40-hour- per-week salary, as with Bill’s company), local laborers could take time off for their festivals and ceremonies without fear of losing their jobs. The solu- tion to Bill’s labor recruitment problem required the relatively simple task of chang- ing to a more flexible hourly wage system rather than a weekly salary system.

7–3 Unlike the Netherlands, where offices generally close promptly at 5:00 p.m. and the workers go home, it is common for Spaniards to work until 8:00 p.m. or later. There- fore, a 5:00 p.m. deadline would not be advantageous to a Spanish operation. Failure to seek out cultural differences when trying to establish new territory can result in a less than successful operation.

Chapter 8

8–1 The Chinese, and particularly those in Shanghai, are resentful of the Japanese, who bombed and brutally occupied Shanghai during World War II. Moreover, these Chinese businessmen believe that Japanese culture is a derivative of Chinese culture.

8–2 An open kitchen design reflects the typical American lifestyle of using the kitchen for both food preparation as well as socializing. It is, in other words, not at all unusual for dinner guests in the U.S. to socialize in the kitchen (with or without drinks) while the host may be putting the final touches on the dinner. However, for many Nairobi residents (most of whom retain strong ties to their traditional rural cultures), the place where food is cleaned, prepared, and cooked is considered an unclean place totally unsuitable for entertaining one’s guests, or, for that matter, even letting them see. To serve their guests dinner in the dining room, while being able to look into the “unclean” place where food is prepared, is as unthinkable as having a door- less bath- room adjoining the dining room. After people complained to the public housing offi- cials, the units were modified by building a door between the dining room and kitchen. Lily failed to remove her cultural blinders by assuming that people the world over deal with their personal domestic space in similar ways. Perhaps the Municipal government of Nairobi could have been spared the needless expense of altering the kitchens had Lily done her cultural homework.

8–3 Although both U.S. and French culture are what Edward Hall would call mono- chronic (emphasizing promptness and schedules), they differ in terms of the degree to which each emphasizes the primacy of meeting deadlines. For Americans, keeping to an agreed- upon schedule takes priority, even when confronted with unanticipated contingencies. If need be, personal pleasure or even quality will take second place to meeting the deadline. The French, too, are interested in efficiency and meeting schedules, but they don’t give deadlines the same top priority as in the U.S. For the French, the emphasis is on quality. In the event that time runs short, the French will choose to take additional time to ensure high quality, whereas Americans are more willing to sacrifice a number of things—including quality—to meet the deadline.

Chapter 9

9–1 In Mexico, subordinates are not expected to question their assignments. In other cul- tures, however, subordinates are urged to be more independent, which, in some cases, involves questioning the wisdom of the decisions made by one’s supervisor. But in Mexico, as a general rule, supervisors do not appreciate having their authority challenged.

282 Appendix A

9–2 Taiwanese, despite their great economic leap into the global economy, still retain a good deal of superstition. This is particularly true about certain numbers. Some primary numbers, associated with very negative things such as death or excrement, are to be avoided at all costs. Other numbers, associated with positive things such as money, growth, and wealth, should be used in house addresses, license plates, and telephone numbers. In Taiwan, the telephone company receives many requests for numbers that include the lucky numbers, leaving those with unlucky numbers unused. Thus, Kathryn’s classmate believed strongly that unless he had a telephone number with lucky numbers in it, his business would be doomed from the start.

9–3 Dick’s problem stemmed from making the unwarranted assumption that informality at the party could carry over into a business context. In fact, Japanese make a very real distinction between these two social situations. Japanese senior executives can be informal and playful at parties, but this is not the environment in which to discuss business matters. The two realms are kept quite distinct in Japan.

Chapter 10

10–1 The scenario can best be understood by first appreciating the very different views in European culture and Saudi culture concerning locus of control. In Europe, it is believed that people are ultimately responsible for their own destiny. If something goes wrong, it is believed that it is frequently possible for the individual to do some- thing (that is, to change certain behaviors) to bring about the desired outcome. In Saudi Arabia and throughout the Arab world, people are taught from an early age that all things are subject to the direct will of Allah. All plans for the future (including, of course, business plans) are viewed with a sense of inevitability and will be realized only if Allah wills it. This is not to say that people in the Arab world would not work hard to help bring about the desired results. Rather, they believe that despite the effort the desired ends will not happen unless Allah is willing. Perhaps Stefan would have been less frustrated if he had translated Inshallah to mean “if possible” or “Allah willing” rather than as a knee- jerk response used to absolve oneself of all responsibility for one’s actions.

10–2 Here is another example of how certain nonverbal actions—in this case, the pound- ing of one’s fist into one’s palm—can have very different meanings in different parts of the world. In Singapore, as well as in several other Southeast Asian countries, such a gesture is a sexual insult, comparable in the U.S. to extending the middle finger.

10–3 Sandra’s host family belonged to a tennis club not far from the house. The father of the family decided to drive her there one day. He introduced her to the club manager and explained that Sandra had played competitive tennis in the U.S. The manager welcomed Sandra to the club and immediately arranged for her to play with some of the club’s members. When Sandra got out on that court and began her first set, she realized that tennis freed her from having to engage in any kind of verbal communication. She could keep score in her head and just enjoy the round of play. Tennis gave Sandra the confidence that she could succeed. Within just a few weeks, her spirits were lifted. She was back in the French game of life.

Appendix B

Locating relevant cultural information

In recent years an increased awareness has risen in the international business literature regarding the need for a fuller understanding of the cultural environment of global busi- ness. Whether one is managing a firm’s overseas operations, directing an international sales force, or helping expatriate employees and their families adjust to living and working in a foreign culture, the need for understanding the cultural environment has never been greater than it is today. The difficulty lies not with identifying the problem but rather with knowing how to solve it. Much of the literature from international business tends to be anecdotal, illus- trating by endless examples how well- meaning but shortsighted businesspeople can run amok because of their cross- cultural insensitivity. Or the literature deals with general pleas for cross- cultural understanding. This approach is of little assistance to the global businesspeople (and their accompanying family members) who must deal with culture- specific problems. Clearly, global businesspeople need to be able to acquire culture- specific data that are accessible, relevant, and applicable to their immediate business situations.

The traditional anthropological approach

Although the discipline of anthropology, with its central focus on the concept of culture, is the logical place to turn for culture- specific information, most international business- people contend that the conventional anthropological approach to research is not particu- larly well suited to meeting their informational needs. Cultural anthropologists collect data in a particular culture by means of the time- consuming technique known as parti- cipant observation. The field anthropologist must master the language, gain acceptance into the foreign culture, and develop networks of relationships before the formal data gathering typically begins. Thus, most international businesspeople view the traditional data gather- ing process used by anthropologists as so snail- like in pace that it is virtually useless for their more immediate needs. As time consuming as traditional cultural anthropological research is, there may well be international business situations that would require such an approach. For example, a U.S. multinational corporation about to invest millions of dollars in a manufacturing facil- ity in Colombo, Sri Lanka, will not be acting extravagantly by hiring one or more anthro- pologists to conduct a cultural study of the local people, who would eventually make up its workforce. Such a study might include traditional techniques such as participant observa- tion and interviewing, as well as drawing on the already existing ethnographic and social science literature on the region. Although conducting such firsthand research would cost

284 Appendix B

thousands of dollars, it nevertheless provides the best assurances that the corporate values and assumptions will be generally consistent with those of the local workforce. Also, many MNCs are using cultural anthropologists for the purpose of developing new products. Anthropologist John W. Sherry, who years ago studied communications techno- logy among the Navajo, is now a member of an interdisciplinary team of design ethnogra- phers with Intel Corporation. Their purpose is to learn as much as possible (by using anthropological methods) about how people work and use high- tech tools so that Intel can design better ones for the future. Sherry and his teammates venture out to homes, businesses, public spaces, and any other places where they can observe people interacting with technology. Anthropologists are trained to patiently observe human behavior for hours on end while recording those behaviors in minute detail. Intel (along with other high- tech companies such as IBM, Hewlett- Packard, Motorola, and Xerox) is betting that useful insights will emerge from those minute details. Because technology design always carries with it a number of assumptions about the people who eventually use it, Sherry and his band of high- tech ethnographers frequently must determine the degree to which those design assumptions actually jibe with those of real end users.

Documentary sources useful in developing a cultural profile

Culture- specific associations

A particularly effective way to access culture- specific information is by contacting the many associations, both at home and abroad, that focus on a particular country or culture. A primary reference book that can be found in the reference department of any good research library is the Encyclopedia of Associations (Gale Research, 53rd Edition, 2014), the most comprehensive source of detailed information concerning nonprofit American membership organizations of national scope. This encyclopedia is a guide to more than 23,000 organiza- tions dealing with such subjects as Trade, Business, and Commercial; Legal, Governmental, Public Administration, and Military; Cultural; Educational; Veterans’, Hereditary, and Patriotic; Athletic and Sports; Fan Clubs, and many more. According to the publishers of this considerable database, “Frequently, a phone call, fax, or letter/email to one of the thou- sands of organizations formed around a specific interest or objective produces more informa- tion faster than research in books, periodicals, and other printed materials.” The database can be accessed at (http://find.galegroup.com/gdl/help/GDLeDirEAHelp.html).

Some country- specific sources

Proquest and Brigham Young University produce a series entitled Culturegrams, brief cul- tural orientations covering 25 cultural categories of customs, courtesies, and lifestyles in more than 200 different countries, all 50 states of the U.S., and the Canadian Provinces. Each Culturegram, now in electronic, downloadable form, represents a condensation of a wide variety of data sources. Culturegrams are written and reviewed by in- country experts and are updated as new information becomes available. Although these mini- cultural briefings are by design not in- depth cultural profiles, they do provide some valuable information on a wide variety of contemporary cultures. In their cross- cultural compendium entitled Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands, Terri Morrison and W. A. Conaway (2006) examine cultural features, behavioral styles, negotiating

Appendix B 285

techniques, protocol, and business practices in 60 countries throughout the world. Each country description, written succinctly in 9–11 pages, deals with a standardized set of issues such as cognitive style, negotiating strategies, locus of decision making, power dis- tance, punctuality, business entertaining, nonverbal communication, forms of address, and gift giving. Although hardly definitive, this entry into the cross- cultural business literature is a convenient and reasonable place to start. For more than 30 years, Intercultural Press has been a trusted source of books and videos dealing with intercultural communication and the cultural aspects of global busi- ness. With 68 books on intercultural communication, multicultural studies, and global business, Intercultural Press will enable you to build strong relationships with your foreign business partners and make the most of your encounters with other cultures (http:// nicholasbrealey.com/boston/subjects/interculturalpress.html?p=3). For a convenient way of locating the latest books on specific cultures, there is no better source than the electronic bookseller Amazon.com (www.amazon.com). You can find the newest books on Amazon (and, in some cases, reviews) even before they are available at the best research libraries. The best part is that, with several clicks of the mouse, the books can be at your doorstep in a few days.

U.S. government sources

The U.S. Department of State has for decades published a country study series entitled Background Notes, short (4–8 pages in length) country descriptions on approximately 160 countries. The series, recently renamed “U.S. Bilateral Relations Fact Sheets,” includes country- specific information on the demography, geography, government, economy, history, and foreign relations. The series is available online through the State Depart- ment’s website (state.gov). The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) makes available basic factual information on most countries in a source called the CIA Factbook (www.cia.gov/library/publications/the- world-factbook/, accessed November 15, 2016). Each entry contains 3–5 pages of back- ground information on such topics as geography, climate, land use, population, birth and death rates, ethnic divisions, religions, languages spoken, government divisions, member- ship in world organizations, and considerably more.

The electronic library

In previous editions of this appendix, the overwhelming majority of sources for inter- national business people was hard copy data found most likely in a research- oriented library. Since the turn of the millennium, however, most of the country/culture- specific material now can be found on the Internet, which can be accessed at home, at the office, or at a Starbucks. That doesn’t mean that you should give up on libraries, because they too have many of their databases on- line rather than in the musty stacks. In fact, if you have access to a good research library, be certain to make friends with one of the reference librarians, who may be any student’s most valuable resource. They can also show you how to use the library’s varied databases, which you would not have access to at home or at Starbucks. Although websites on the Internet are always changing, there are a number of sites at any given time that can provide valuable sources of country- specific information. Below are listed some of the better known sites:

286 Appendix B

• Bureau of Consular Affairs: U.S. Department of State (http://travel.state.gov). This site, sponsored by the U.S. State Department, is absolutely essential for expatriates or frequent business travelers. It provides valuable information on visa requirements, travel advisories, help for Americans abroad, document authentication, medical ser- vices around the world, and international legal issues and services, among other things.

• Executive Planet: (www.executiveplanet.com). This is an extremely comprehensive site that provides a guide to the business cultures found in 48 major countries of the world. In addition to providing some basic facts about the countries, it provides well- written and insightful information on business expectations (e.g., appointments, dress, entertainment), negotiating strategies, tips on intercultural communication, and proper public behavior.

• Federation of International Trade Associations: (www.fita.org). This site is a gateway to hundreds of sites dealing with various aspects of international trade. It aims to provide the most content- rich materials on international trade as well as a comprehensive outlet for goods and services needed by those interested in engaging in international trade.

• International Business Etiquette and Manners: (www.cyborlink.com). This site provides valuable information on the cultural practices of 30 different countries. Each coun- try’s page has the same format, including introductory country facts, fun facts, expla- nation of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, appearance, behavior, communication, and resources.

In addition to these online bibliographic services, vast quantities of cultural data can be found by surfing the Internet. By using such search engines as Google or Yahoo, it is pos- sible to find a great deal of helpful information about the country/culture in which one wants to do business. It is important to say from the outset that all information found on the Internet is not created equal. With the advent of the mass use of television in the 1950s, anyone could become a viewer. Today, with the widespread use of the Internet, anyone can become a broadcaster: anyone with a little bit of technical know- how can con- struct his or her own Web page and put any type of information on it. This necessitates that we learn to look at the sources of information on the Internet with a critical eye. There are no methods for assessing the accuracy or validity of Internet information with absolute certainty. Nevertheless, you should look for the reason(s) that a particular site exists in the first place. Do the people constructing the site have a “hidden agenda”? Are they putting this information on the Internet for the purpose of educating you in an objective way? Are they trying to sell you something? Are they trying to convert you to their particular cause? In most cases, websites that are the property of universities, librar- ies, museums, and governments are likely to be the most reliable. Those sites that are put on the Internet by individuals or small, non- institutional groups and organizations require considerably more scrutiny.

Human resources for culture- specific information

Given the generally inaccessible nature of much culture- specific information, the success- ful international businessperson must be creative in his or her search for relevant informa- tion. This search, of course, requires the use of human resources as well as published ones. Every businessperson bound for a foreign assignment has a vast variety of experts to draw

Appendix B 287

on, but it requires knowing where to look. Unfortunately, most businesspeople do not take advantage of the resources at hand, many of which are free. Here are some major sources of expertise that should be utilized.

One’s own company

Frequently, expertise on the cultural environment of a particular country can be found in one’s own corporation. Depending on the size of the corporation, people working right down the hall may have experience in living and working in a specific part of the world. Western multinational corporations are so large and decentralized, with divisions operat- ing independently of one another, that most divisions usually do not know what types of international expertise exist in other divisions. If this is the case, the wise international businessperson will do well to contact the one division within the corporation that might have that type of information—the Human Resources department. Once the appropriate persons have been identified, they will likely be willing to share all sorts of culturally rel- evant information, if for no other reason than they have become instant experts on a subject of mutual concern.

Academia

Local colleges and universities are excellent sources of culture- specific information. Inter- estingly, U.S. businesses have turned to universities for technical assistance but have not by and large utilized the cultural, social, or political expertise that is also part of the aca- demic world. Many mid- to large- sized universities have well- established area studies pro- grams composed of faculty, and often graduate students, who have had considerable experience conducting research in various parts of the world. For many of these faculty members, the prime purpose for living abroad was to study firsthand the sociocultural realities of the area. Perhaps the most relevant are the small but growing number of academic programs in the U.S. that are designed to integrate inter- national business studies with area studies (i.e., language and culture). Although it would be impossible to list them all, this type of program is exemplified by the Masters of Inter- national Management offered at the American Graduate School of International Business in Glendale, Arizona; the International Master of Business Administration (IMBA) offered at the University of South Carolina at Columbia; and the M.B.A./M.A. in Inter- national Management and International Studies at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Yet, even those institutions that do not offer programs in international busi- ness employ faculty from a wide variety of disciplines with extensive knowledge of dif- ferent parts of the world. For example, a sociology or foreign language professor who lived and conducted research at the Cairo University for several years will no doubt be a valu- able resource on the general cultural, social, political, and economic environments of Egypt. Such academic experts can be identified with a few well- placed phone calls to the office of the director of the International Studies Program, the dean of the Business School, or the dean of Arts and Sciences.

Foreign trade offices

In the U.S., many foreign governments maintain foreign trade offices (FTOs), whose very existence is to assist U.S. importers and exporters. Although most FTOs are located in

288 Appendix B

Washington or New York, some of the larger foreign governments may have branches in other major cities throughout the country. These offices publish excellent (and usually free) brochures, booklets, and so forth, on both the technical and the cultural aspects of doing business in their countries. The extent of the services provided by any FTO will vary according to the country’s relative affluence and its commitment to stimulating trade with the U.S. The Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) maintains the most elaborate services (www.jetro.go.jp/en/). To illustrate, JETRO makes available more than 100 com- plimentary publications and films on doing business in Japan and employs Japanese trade experts in New York, Houston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco to answer individual ques- tions. Not all foreign governments provide such extensive services, but frequently helpful culture- specific information can be obtained from the appropriate embassy in Washington, DC or consulate in other U.S. cities.

Private- sector consultants and trainers

Before the 1950s there were virtually no cross- cultural consultants specializing in business. Then with the appearance of William Lederer and Eugene Burdick’s The Ugly American (1958) and the “discovery” of culture shock by Kalvero Oberg (1960), there was an increasing awareness of the hazards involved in conducting business in an unfamiliar cul- tural environment. In the past several decades, an entire specialized consulting and train- ing industry has developed. The problem today is not a shortage of qualified cross- cultural consultants and trainers but rather sorting through all their credentials to find someone with the particular knowledge and skills needed to address a firm’s particular and fre- quently unique situation. By simply searching any search engine on the Internet by using the term cross- cultural training, you will be directed to the home pages of many of the leading cross- cultural trainers and consultants. Consultants and trainers must be able to address the firm’s special needs and problems. Does the consultant have the proper culture- specific experience and training? Are the pro- posed training and/or services designed to meet the specific needs and objectives of the corporation? Are the learning objectives clearly stated? Are the methods of training realis- tic and compatible with company policies and procedures? How will the program be evalu- ated to determine if it has accomplished what it promised? Once these questions have been answered to the firm’s satisfaction, a program can be designed and executed. These may include predeparture briefings for international businesspeople and their families on such topics as customs, history, political structure, and practical matters necessary for living and working in the assigned country. In recent years a relatively dramatic increase has occurred in the number of people claiming to be cross- cultural trainers or consultants. Many are well trained and effective, but others may be considerably less effective or just plain charlatans. Before hiring such cross- cultural trainers, insist that they demonstrate six important qualifications. First, they should possess considerable knowledge of the target area, gained through both formal aca- demic study and firsthand living experience. Second, they should understand a number of important anthropological principles and concepts that they can apply to their country- specific area of expertise. Third, they should have personal experience with culture shock and should have made a successful adjustment to living in another culture. Fourth, they should have a sound understanding of their own culture and how their own values and attitudes influence them. Fifth, they should be experienced trainers who feel comfortable using a wide variety of educational strategies, including experiential learning techniques.

Appendix B 289

Finally, they should have a “presentation of self ” that corporate personnel do not find offensive.

The search for cultural information upon arrival

So far we have considered a number of possible sources of cultural information that should be consulted before one’s departure for a foreign business assignment. This constitutes the predeparture aspect of one’s preparation, which should provide a solid background for the most important learning that is yet to come. Regardless of how much predeparture prepa- ration has taken place, the new arrival will be a stranger in a very different, and perhaps frightening, cultural environment. Despite occasional claims to the contrary, this is no dif- ferent from the position most cultural anthropologists find themselves in when first arriv- ing at the site of a field research project. It is now time for the newly arrived Western businessperson to become his or her own “ethnographer” by becoming an active learner while immersed in the culture. If the businessperson is serious and purposeful about mas- tering the new cultural environment, there should be no shortage of sources of cultural information, both documentary and human. Moreover, the quality of one’s cultural learn- ing during this on- site phase should be significant because it will be acquired experientially. In short, if the newly arrived businessperson realizes that the culture is the classroom, the amount of cultural learning that can occur is virtually limitless.

In- country documentary resources

Because tourism represents a welcome source of foreign exchange, most countries make considerable efforts to attract tourists and make certain that they see the sights, spend their money, and leave with a desire to return. Consequently, most foreign countries, even small third- world countries, maintain tourist information centers (at least in the major cities), where the new arrivals can obtain printed information (brochures, booklets, maps, and so on) on things to do and see while in the country. Thus, one of the first stopping places in your continuing search for cultural information should be the local tourist center. However, having in your possession information on national monuments, historic sites, scenic areas, and museums is just the beginning of the learning process. Your understand- ing of the culture will be greatly enhanced by actually exploring these places and learning about them firsthand. It is hard to imagine any country without a public or university library with books on national history, culture, and contemporary issues. Shortly after arrival, seek permission to use the local library and get to know the most valuable person there, the reference librarian. Private- sector bookstores can also be valuable sources of local cultural data. Not only are you likely to find a number of valuable written sources, but it is also possible to learn a good deal about a culture by noticing how the bookstores are organized. Are some topics or categories of books not sold? Are some topics or categories unusually large? Frequently, it is possible to get a feel for what a particular culture emphasizes by looking at how much space is devoted to certain topics in local bookstores. One of the best entries into a culture, and by far the most accessible type of documen- tary source, is local or national newspapers, some of which will be printed in English. Not only are local newspapers the best source of contemporary happenings, but they also reflect a wide range of cultural values. To illustrate, what does it say about a society if there are

290 Appendix B

no letters to the editor? If there is an editorial page, are certain topics restricted or limited? What clues might one get about a culture if male suitors advertise for “brides wanted” in the classified section? Can information be gleaned from the jobs’ section of the classifieds about the degree of labor specialization within the society? What can you learn about the family structure by reading the obituary pages? What insights into the culture can one pick up by reading the comics? These are only some of the questions that the culturally sens- itive businessperson should raise when reading local newspapers in a foreign country. In addition to reading in- country newspapers daily, many have found it helpful to clip and file some of the more interesting articles. Clipping articles is more convenient than taking notes and can provide a sizable amount of data that can be referred to and studied for years to come.

In- country human resources

Clearly, it would be unwise to spend all or most of your time in a new country reading various printed materials. There is no substitute for people, for most of the important insights into a culture will come from interacting with local people. After all, they are the real experts in the local culture. Although cultural anthropologists do, in fact, draw on whatever reliable documentary materials are available, most of their data come from a com- bination of being a participant observer and asking questions of knowledgeable local people. These are the two best sources of cultural data for the international businessperson as well. Of course, most international businesspeople operate under certain work and time con- straints not usually facing the field anthropologist, thereby making a total immersion into the local culture impractical if not impossible. Yet there are a number of opportunities for expatriate businesspeople to become involved in the local culture. The critical question is whether you choose to take advantage of these opportunities. If you do, you will increase your cultural learning geometrically, and you will most likely enjoy yourself in the process. Being a participant observer in the local culture involves making a conscious decision and taking some personal risks. As a newly arrived participant observer, you will feel very much out of control of the situation, particularly at first. Much of what will be observed will not be understood, and there will be opportunities at every turn to contract “foot- in- mouth” disease. Yet, to succeed as a field anthropologist or curious international busi- nessperson, you must be patient and able to live with ambiguity. Gradually, more and more of what is observed begins to make sense until eventually an increasingly logical and coherent picture of the culture emerges. Once you decide to become a participant observer in the new culture, the question of how best to record the cultural data arises. The best advice is to always carry a pocket notebook. As new bits of cultural information are experienced, it is important to jot down as soon as possible some key words that can be transformed into more elaborate notes at the end of the day. Periodically, perhaps every month or two, your daily notes should be reviewed to discover both recurring themes and possible inconsistencies, which may require additional focused research to resolve. When acting as your own ethnographer, participant observation alone is not enough. Bound by your own cultural perspective, you can possibly misinterpret what is observed. Thus, as a check, you should ask questions of local people. Key “informants”—those willing and able to provide insights into the culture—can be invaluable sources of local know- ledge. The sampling of conversations and interviews should be chosen carefully, and the sample of interviews should be as large and representative of the total society as possible.

Appendix B 291

Conclusion

We have explored a number of sources of information available to the international busi- nessperson when attempting to construct a cultural profile of another country. These sources of cultural data include both written materials and human resources. They also include resources that should be consulted before leaving home and entering the inter- national business arena, as well as those likely to be found abroad. This discussion of sources certainly does not pretend to be definitive but is rather meant to be suggestive. Many valuable data sources have not been mentioned specifically. The international businessperson should keep three major points in mind when con- structing foreign cultural profiles. First, there is a direct correlation between the amount of good culture- specific information a person has and the success of his or her personal and professional overseas experience. Second, it is important to be constantly on the lookout for new sources of cultural information and to be sufficiently creative and open minded to see how they can be integrated with other sources. Finally, the cultural learning process does not end with an orientation program or the completion of a reading list; rather, it is an ongoing process that starts before leaving home and continues throughout one’s assign- ment abroad and beyond. The aim of this appendix has been to explore some sources of information that can help the international businessperson acquire a measure of “cultural literacy” when entering a foreign business setting. According to E. D. Hirsch (1987), literacy requires more than knowing how to read; it also requires a certain level of comprehension of background information about the culture. Just as a U.S. high school graduate cannot be considered culturally literate if he or she identifies Karl Marx as one of the Marx Brothers or the Great Gatsby as a magician, the international businessperson attempting to conduct busi- ness in Germany cannot be considered culturally literate without knowing something about Nietzsche, Wagner, and the Schwarzwald. The sources discussed in this appendix are intended to provide the Western international businessperson with a starting point in the quest for “literacy” in another culture.

Glossary

100 percent consensus A decision rule in which agreement is unanimously achieved

Accent Features of a language including stress and pitch that contribute to making pronunciation distinctive

Acculturation Repeated and sustained contact between at least two groups, one of which is considered subordinate to the other

Acronym A word formed from the initial letters of several words that make up a phrase

Advertising A persuasive symbolic system that converts commodity objects and ser- vices into symbolic images and narratives that are valued and adapted to specific con- sumer tastes; it links ideas, thoughts, and images with lifestyles, values, and modes of consumption

Alliance formation A relationship among individuals, groups, organizations, or other entities created for mutual benefit and based on an affinity of viewpoints and interests

Being societies Societies that emphasize personal characteristics and social relation- ships; organizations in such societies expect employees to be team players

Brand A product or service appearing under an identifiable name, to which people may attach value and meaning

Bridge Model of Cultural Transformation A composite conceptualization that uses a bridge as a metaphor and leads from the culture’s old way to its new ideal

Business anthropology A domain of anthropology focused on the behavior in and around organizations, including the behavior of consumers of organizational products and services

Busyness factor The quality or condition of being engaged continuously in a variety of activities

Change- embracing culture A culture that is open to the possibility of change; dif- ferences are tolerated, greater amounts of risk taking occur, organizational structures are simpler, and beliefs are not rigid

Change- fearing culture A culture that resists change; differences are viewed as dangerous, risk taking is low, formal organizational structures and rules are preferred, and anxiety about the future is radiated

Change orientation dimension An orientation toward culture in which one pole is represented by an emphasis on embracing change while the other pole reflects the prominence of fearing change

Chat/VoIP A form of synchronous voice communication using the Internet (e.g., Skype)

Glossary 293

Code- switching A speaker’s use of two of more languages within the same conversa- tion; also known as code- mixing

Cognitive Pertaining to the mental process of perceiving, knowing, or remembering Cognitive dissonance Psychological conflict resulting from simultaneously holding

contradictory and incompatible attitudes, values, and beliefs Collaboration Working in concert with others in the pursuit of particular goals Collectivism An attribute of culture in which emphasis is placed on the group and

which is aligned with elements such as interdependence and harmony Colloquialism A term or phrase used in informal or everyday conversations Commuter assignments Assignments that involve an international commute on a

regular, ongoing basis (e.g., every week, every month) Comparative approach An exploration of differences and similarities in human

behavior Confianza The term is translated from Spanish as trust and implies a sense of familiar-

ity and reliability Consensus A generally accepted agreement by a group on some process or action Consumer A person who purchases a product or service from a business for use Consumer anthropology A domain of anthropology dedicated to describing

and explaining consumer perspectives and behavior in relation to products and services

Context Information surrounding an event, as described by Edward Hall Conversational taboos Topics that are best not discussed in polite social conversa-

tions (e.g., religion, sex) Corporate culture The culture of a corporation including how it is structured, its

social networks, activities, goals, artifacts, problems, and successes, among other elements

Corporate expatriates Those employed full- time internationally for a period of three to five years by a multinational corporation; their immediate family members typically relocate with them

Coupled system A system of product development and employee transfers in which domestic and overseas operations are linked structurally and ideologically (i.e., in terms of worldview)

Cross- cultural training Formal instruction and discussion related to the concept of culture and national- culture differences; may also include exposure to a particular organizational culture

Cultural adaptation One of three dimensions of global agility involving an ability to modify one’s behavior to be consistent with the local context

Cultural adaptiveness The ability to understand that one’s worldview must change and adapt to emerging issues in the external environment

Cultural agility The ability to work quickly, comfortably, and effectively in different cultures and with people from different cultures

Cultural broker A person with the skills and ability to bridge or transcend different groups or individuals with distinctive cultural backgrounds for the purpose of lowering conflict or encouraging change

Cultural competence An ability to interact effectively with people of different cultures

Cultural crossvergence The creation of a shared culture via input from two or more organizations following an acquisition

294 Glossary

Cultural diffusion The spreading of a cultural trait (e.g., a material object, idea, behavior pattern) from one group, organization, or society to another

Cultural ideals A set of aspirations and expectations that can shape behavior Cultural integration One of three dimensions of global agility requiring an ability

to think, act, and lead in ways that are transcultural and in which a new, hybrid path is defined

Cultural loss A process associated with the disappearance of cultural elements (e.g., particular languages, tools)

Cultural minimization One of three dimensions of global agility entailing the control of cultural differences so that corporate priorities (e.g., safety, quality) are maintained

Cultural obstacles Barriers to attaining a desired goal, an imagined future, or a cultural ideal that impede or arrest the cultural transformation process; seven such obstacles are encountered in organizational settings: having to learn a new culture, ethnocentrism, cross- cultural conflict, resistance to change, cultural dilemmas, cultural contradictions, and cultural drift

Cultural problem solving A set of actions that entail both a change in worldview and behavior that ultimately address external challenges

Cultural relativism The idea that cultural traits are best understood when viewed within the cultural context of which they are a part

Cultural responsiveness The ability to maintain an appropriate pace, response, and targeting of change in relation to the external environment

Cultural synergy A process in which new forms of management and organization are created, transcending the distinct cultures of their members

Cultural transformation A process of cultural change that produces a cohesive pattern of change in an organizational culture; synonymous with organizational- culture change but distinctive from organizational change

Cultural universals Those general cultural traits found in all societies of the world Culture Everything that people have, think, and do as members of their society Culture shock The disorientation resulting from ongoing exposure to a new and dif-

ferent culture, exacerbated by the loss of one’s familiar routines and surroundings Customer A business that purchases something from another business Decision making The act or process of settling on an option to pursue Decision paralysis An inability to reach an agreement or resolution Decoupled system A system of product development and employee transfers in

which domestic and overseas operations are disconnected both structurally and ideo- logically (i.e., in terms of worldview)

Design anthropology A domain of anthropology committed to the design and cre- ation of products and services that consumers will find useful and attractive

Developmental assignments International career- development opportunities for employees

Dialect A form or language or speech used by a subcultural group which typically includes similarities in pronunciation, vocabulary, and/or grammar

Diffusion See cultural diffusion Dimensions Concepts representing key cultural attributes and displayed as polar

opposites along a continuum (e.g., individualism vs. collectivism) Directness The quality of being straightforward, targeted, honest, and explicit in

communicating

Glossary 295

Doing societies Societies in which individual accomplishments are held in high esteem; organizations in such societies expect a strong work ethic and significant work output

Doublespeak Deceptive language that can be understood in two or more ways Email Messages sent from one computer to another and usually involving written com-

munication and sometimes images Emergent culture A perceptible, but shifting and elusive culture which is con-

stantly evolving Emic A perspective in ethnography that uses the concepts and categories that are rel-

evant and meaningful to the particular culture under analysis Enablers Positive, culturally specific processes that can help mitigate the impact of the

cultural obstacles and influence the direction and speed of cultural transformation Entrepreneur A person who organizes, coordinates, or manages an enterprise Equality A form of social organization in which people or groups are considered relat-

ively equivalent in terms of status or power Equality- hierarchy dimension An orientation toward culture in which one pole

is represented by an emphasis on equality while the other pole reflects the focus on hierarchy

Ethnocentrism The practice of viewing the customs of other societies in terms of one’s own

Ethnography A descriptive and systematic account of a particular culture derived from a combination of data collection techniques (e.g., participant observation, inter- views, observation, documents)

Etic A perspective in ethnography that uses the concepts and categories of the anthro- pologist’s culture to describe another culture

Euphemism The replacement of a harsh or unpleasant term or phrase for one con- sidered mild or less offensive

Expatriate A person whose citizenship is in one country but who resides in a different country (and may work there)

Expatriate assignments International assignments in which employees and their family members relocate abroad

Expatriate community A group of people of all ages from a variety of countries who are residing (and many of whom are working) in a particular international location

Expatriate paradox The difficulty of identifying potential candidates for expatriate assignments, deploying them abroad, reintegrating them successfully back home, and retaining them indefinitely—despite their value with the acceleration of globalization

Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International An association with organ- izations in 23 countries responsible for setting standards and certifying organizations worldwide in the use of ethical practices; established in 1997, Fairtrade labeling began with coffee and spread to other products (e.g., cocoa, tea, fruit, cotton)

Frequent flyer assignments Ongoing international assignments whose duration is indefinite but that last from a few days to a week in length; they may not occur on a regular basis

Future- oriented societies The long- term is targeted, with attention to planning Gap year A period of time between high school and college, or college and graduate

school during which students travel abroad and intern with organizations Gestalt An organized whole that is viewed as more than all of its parts together

296 Glossary

Global language A language used internationally (e.g., in business, diplomacy), with many native and second language speakers, who are geographically dispersed in many parts of the world; alternately known as a lingua franca

Global virtual teams Teams that span time zones and geographic boundaries and develop ways of working together that rely on ICTs

Globalization The worldwide process, dating back to the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall, that involves a revolution in information technology, a dramatic opening of markets, and the privatization of social services

Grid and group model An explanatory framework accounting for variation in social organization with two dimensions: how differentiated people are by roles and how strongly they are bonded together

Group- centeredness A characteristic of some cultures in which the collective or group, and its associated relationships, is the focus of attention

Guanxi Interpersonal relationships or social networks, particularly in the world of busi- ness, which entail future obligations for those involved; the term is translated as rela- tionships that can lead to exchanges of favors or connections

Hadj The pilgrimage to Mecca (in western Saudi Arabia) that Muslims are expected to make at least once during their lifetime given good health and resources; variants of the term include hajj or haj

Hierarchy A form of social organization in which people or groups are ranked accord- ing to authority, power, or status

High- context communications Indirect, understated, and sometimes ambiguous exchanges, with an emphasis primarily on the nonverbal aspects

Holism An exploration of human behavior in its entirety over time and space, and from the biological to the socio- cultural aspects; related to the concept of an integrated whole

Honorifics Grammatical or morphological forms used to signal relative social status, particularly when addressing someone (e.g., -san added to a Japanese last name to indicate respect)

Horizontal relationship A relationship between status equals (e.g., among peers) Humor A mode of expression leading to amusement (e.g., funny stories, jokes) Hybrid culture A culture that bridges multiple boundaries, allowing teams to take

advantage of their diversity to connect with each other and achieve their goals Identity The feeling associated with belonging to a group and which is part of a per-

son’s self- concept and linked to a variety of cultural elements (e.g., ethnicity, locale, family)

Indirectness A communication pattern characterized by ambiguity and messages that are implicit and allusive

Individual- collective dimension An orientation toward culture in which one pole is represented by an emphasis on the individual while the other pole reflects the focus on the group or collective

Individual empowerment A decision rule in which individuals take the initiative to reach a particular conclusion

Individualism An attribute of culture in which individuals are a focal point of attention and which is aligned with related features such as independence and self- reliance

Integrated whole A way to understand culture by looking at how all of its elements (e.g., politics, economics) are interconnected; related to the concept of holism

Glossary 297

Intercept interviews Short, quick interviews conducted where consumers are found (e.g., in a store, mall)

Interdependency A mutual dependence between two or more people, groups, or organizations in which activities are performed for the benefit of the whole

International assignments Work that takes corporate employees abroad for varying lengths of time and during which they experience national- culture and organizational- culture differences; family members relocate abroad when the assign- ments are long- term

Interpreter a person who translates the words that someone is speaking into a dif- ferent language

Invention A change brought about by the recombination of already existing items within a culture

Iterative An action or process that is repeated Language A symbolic code of communication that includes sounds, meanings tied to

those sounds, and rules for creating messages Language preservation A process used to protect a language from changing or

from disappearing entirely Leadership driven A decision rule that emphasizes the role and influence of the

leader over both the decision- making process and outcome Leadership rule See leadership driven Lingua franca A language adopted for common use when speakers have different

native languages Linguistic competence The underlying knowledge pertaining to a language, typic-

ally possessed by native speakers Local rules Principles or guidelines to which one must adhere in particular contexts

(e.g., work group, department) Long- term assignments International assignments typically lasting from three to

five years that involve the relocation of employees and their family members abroad Loose reckoning of time cultures Cultures in which time is viewed as plentiful,

schedules and deadlines are primarily expressions of intent, and social relationships are valued more than the next appointment

Low- context communications Open, direct, detailed, and logical exchanges, with an emphasis primarily on the written word

Majority preferred A decision rule combining a preference for a numerical majority with the leader’s hand in directing the outcome

Majority rule A decision rule in which a numerical majority have the power to make a decision considered binding on the group

Marketing The communication, management, and distribution of value, of a product, brand, or service, for the purpose of persuading consumers to act in some way

Meaning An idea, concept, or value that is represented by a word or phrase, an object, an image, an action, or something that one can sense (e.g., a smell, sound)

Meetings Communication events or gatherings in which people come together for getting information, discussion, debate, and decision making

Metaphor A linguistic device used to make an even stronger image in the head of the listener/reader by describing a place, subject, or object as something unlikely (e.g., “My boss was boiling mad”; “The world is a stage”)

Monochronic time (M- time) Time is understood in a linear way, with tasks com- pleted one at a time; also known as sequentially oriented

298 Glossary

Multidisciplinary Involving more than one discipline or branch of knowledge Multilingual The ability to understand, respond in, or both understand and respond

in more than one language Multinational corporations Firms that have offices, production facilities, and

other assets in at least one location outside of their home country; also known by the abbreviation MNCs

National culture The culture of a particular nation influenced by historical circum- stances and reinforced by its contemporary social, political, and economic context

National- culture differences Distinctive patterns of cognition and behavior tied to one’s national culture

Negotiated culture A culture characterized by compromise and accommodation Negotiating A process between individuals and organizations who share some

common interests and who stand to benefit from bringing the process to a successful conclusion

Negotiation A formal discussion between two or more people who are trying to reach an agreement that will be mutually agreeable

Official language A language accepted and designated by a particular entity (e.g., government, organization) for use in administrative processes, courts of law, and communications

Offshore outsourcing Hiring firms to perform particular functions, typically at a cheaper cost, than would be possible in the country where the contract originates

Organizational change A planned process of modifying particular organizational features (e.g., structures, policies); distinctive from organizational- culture change

Organizational culture The culture of an organization (e.g., for profit, nonprofit, gov- ernment agency, nongovernmental organization) including how it is structured, its social networks, its activities, goals, artifacts, problems, and successes, among other elements

Organizational- culture change See cultural transformation Organizational- culture differences Distinctive patterns of cognition and behav-

ior tied to one’s organizational culture Organizational values Standards and/or ideals that serve to guide the perspectives

and behavior of organizational members Participant observation A fieldwork method in which the cultural anthropologist

lives with the people under study and observes their everyday activities Particularistic cultures Cultures in which people emphasize personal status with

one another (e.g., kinship connections, ethnic affiliation) Partnering The process of engaging with another party in the pursuit of some shared

goals and objectives Partnership Collaborative relationships in which participants enter into relation-

ships, combine their resources, time, and expertise, and work toward the creation of new knowledge, products, and services

Partnership life cycle The stages or phases of development and change associated with a partnership (e.g., start- up, maturity)

Partnership rules Prescriptions that are unwritten and emergent and offered by participants for how partnerships should work

Past- oriented societies Previous events and experiences are the most salient and the past is used to guide the present

PDCA cycle The Plan- Do-Check- Act cycle, developed by W. Edwards Deming, is a critical way to improve product quality; it has as its goal continuous improvement

Glossary 299

Perception A person’s awareness, understanding, and interpretation of some phenomenon

Pidgin A simple language form that develops when speakers do not share a common language; often associated with trade

Planned change Processes that are intentional, purposeful, delineated, and executed in an effort to create change

Polychronic time (P- time) Time is understood as flexible and in which multiple activities can occur in parallel; also known as synchronically oriented

Positioning A marketing strategy that resonates with consumers and differentiates competitors

Power The capacity to produce intended effects on oneself, other people, social situ- ations, or the environment

Precise reckoning of time cultures Cultures in which time is understood and treated as a commodity, schedules and deadlines are firm, and punctuality is valued

Present- oriented societies The focus is on the current state or the here and now with little emphasis on anything beyond the near- term

Process How the work and problem solving get done and/or should get done Process models of change Proposed ways of achieving planned change that are

generally sequential and are characterized by particular steps or phases Productivity The rate of output per unit of input; labor productivity is the rate of

output per hour worked Provotype A prototype that is supposed to be provocative and which is intended to

expose issues and challenge prior thinking Proxemics The study of the symbolic and communicative role of spatial arrangements

and variations in distance within a culture, such as in how far apart individuals stand when conversing

Reciprocity A process for establishing and maintaining relationships through the exchange of goods and services

Reentry shock The disorientation resulting from repatriation following an inter- national assignment

Repatriation The process of returning home from an international assignment Role A socially expected behavior pattern based on one’s status or function in a par-

ticular society or context Rotational assignments Assignments that involve highly intensive, physically iso-

lating work (e.g., on an oil rig) that are cyclical (e.g., two weeks on and four weeks off ); they may involve work outside the worker’s home country

Sapir–Whorf hypothesis Languages have an effect on how people interpret and understand the world and on their behavior

Schein’s definition of culture A “pattern of shared basic assumptions learned by a group as it solved [sic] its problems of external adaptation and internal integration”; a fundamentally cognitive definition

Self- initiated expatriates Adults who relocate abroad with the intent of finding regular, but temporary employment; they do not relocate by virtue of their employ- ment with a particular organization

Sequentially oriented societies Societies in which activities and tasks are typic- ally done one at a time, schedules and agendas are fixed, efficient, and valued, time is seen as a threat, and many short- term relationships are evident; also known by the phrase monochronic time

300 Glossary

Short- term assignment International assignments that last from about one month to one year and often involve troubleshooting technical issues; they do not typically involve the relocation of family members

Silos A metaphor for areas of specialization (e.g., finance, purchasing) within a hierar- chical organization but which typically signals organizational dysfunction and difficulties

Single voice of authority A decision rule in which a single position is achieved internally within a group and then disseminated to others

Slang A form of language considered very informal and typically associated with a par- ticular subculture or context

Slippery culture A culture characterized as distinct, finite, linked with place, and timeless, and associated with a belief system in which things can be controlled and fixed

Social context A social setting in which activity is occurring that typically conforms to a particular set of cultural rules

Social status One’s position in a group, organization, or society relative to others Subculture Subsets of the wider culture, whether in a community or organizational

setting, that share some features of the mainstream culture but retain some level of cultural uniqueness

Sullivan Principles A set of six human rights principles proposed by the Reverend Leon H. Sullivan in 1977 to bring about change in the apartheid system in the Republic of South Africa

Supply chain The network involving suppliers, manufacturers, and distributors that are involved in the production, sale, and distribution of a specific product or service

Synchronically oriented societies Societies in which activities and tasks are typically done in parallel (e.g., multitasking), schedules and agendas are changeable, time is not considered a threat, and long- term social relationships are evident; also known by the phrase polychronic time

Text message An electronic communication that is sent and received via cell phone Time orientation dimension An orientation toward culture in which the poles of

a continuum represented different aspects of time including (1) precise or loose reck- oning of time, (2) sequential or synchronized time, (3) past to future, (4) low to high busyness

Traditional teams Teams that work face- to-face because they are co- located, sharing a single workplace

Translation Words that have been changed from one language into another Translator Someone who changes the words found in a document from one language

into another United Nations Global Compact A strategic policy initiative to encourage busi-

nesses worldwide to adhere to principles related to human rights, labor, the environ- ment, and corruption, adopt sustainable and socially responsible policies, and report on their implementation of those policies; it was announced by UN Secretary- General Kofi Annan in 1999 with nine principles, with a tenth added in 2004

Universalistic cultures Cultures in which social relationships are determined by a universally applicable set of rules

User- centered design An approach for designing a product, service, or process from the perspective of how an end user will understand it

Glossary 301

Value- orientation approach A way to understand culture by focusing on key values and popularized by Florence Kluckhohn and Fred Strodtbeck and their col- leagues in the 1950s

Values Shared ideas (within a culture) about what is true, right, or beautiful Vertical relationship A hierarchical relationship between two or more individuals,

groups, or organizations (e.g., boss and subordinate) Virtual culture A culture in which the participants rely on ICTs to interact and

accomplish their goals Worldview A perspective or system of categories for organizing and interpreting

the world

References

Bibliographic resources

Adams, Michael with Amy Langstaff and David Jamieson. 2003. Fire and ice: The United States, Canada, and the myth of converging values. Toronto, ON: Penguin Canada.

Adler, Nancy J. 1997. International dimensions of organizational behavior, 3rd ed. Cincinnati, OH: Southwestern.

Adler, Nancy J. 2002. From Boston to Beijing: Managing with a world view. Cincinnati, OH: South- western.

Adler, Peter. 1975. The transitional experience: An alternative view of culture shock. Journal of Humanistic Psychology 15(4): 13–23.

Allport, Floyd H. 1924. Social psychology. Boston, MA: Houghton- Mifflin. Alvesson, Mats and Stefan Sveningsson. 2016. Changing organizational culture: Cultural change work

in progress. New York, NY: Routledge, Taylor & Francis. Anderson, Stephen R. 2010. How many languages are there in the world? Linguistic Society of

America Brochure Series: Frequently Asked Questions, 1–6. Andreason, Aaron W. 2003. Direct and indirect forms of in- country support for expatriates and their

families as a means of reducing premature returns and improving job performance. International Journal of Management 20(4): 548–555.

Applebaum, Herbert A. 1981. The culture of construction workers. New York, NY: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

Archer, Dane. 1997. Unspoken diversity: Cultural differences in gestures. Qualitative Sociology 20(1): 79–105.

Argyle, Michael and Mark Cook. 1976. Gaze and mutual gaze. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univer- sity Press.

Arnould, Eric J. and Craig J. Thompson. 2005. Consumer culture theory. Journal of Consumer Research 31(4): 868–882, March.

Arunthanes, Wiboon, Patriya Tansuhai, and David J. Lemak. 1994. Cross- cultural business gift giving: A new conceptualization and theoretical framework. International Marketing Review 11(4): 44–55.

Axtell, Roger. 2007. Essential do’s and taboos: The complete guide to international business and leisure travel. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons.

Baba, Marietta L. 1986. Business and industrial anthropology: An overview. NAPA Bulletin No. 2. Washington, DC: American Anthropological Association.

Baba, Marietta L. 2006. Anthropology and business. In Encyclopedia of anthropology, edited by H. James Birx, 83–117. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Baba, Marietta L. 2009. W. Lloyd Warner and the anthropology of institutions: An approach to the study of work in late capitalism. Anthropology of Work Review 30(2): 29–48.

Ball- Rokeach, Sandra J. 1973. From pervasive ambiguity to a definition of the situation. Sociometry 36(3): 378–389.

Barnett, Steve. 2016. Hard cases. Journal of Business Anthropology 5(1): 54–63, Autumn.

References 303

Barney, Jay B. 1986. Organizational culture: Can it be a source of sustained competitive advantage? Academy of Management Review 11(3): 656–665.

Barrett, Richard A. 1991. Culture and conduct: An excursion in anthropology. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Co.

Beauregard, Mary. 2008. Cultural training partnerships: Who has the power? In Partnering for organ- izational performance: Collaboration and culture in the global workplace, edited by Elizabeth K. Briody and Robert T. Trotter, II, 75–89. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield.

Beeman, William O. 2000. Humor. Journal of Linguistic Anthropology 9(1–2): 103–106. Beeman, William O. 2015a. Creating humor in the Middle East. Annual Meeting of the American

Anthropological Association. Denver, CO. Beeman, William O. 2015b. Ethnography for smart service systems in product design, EPIC Perspec-

tives, April 21, www.epicpeople.org/ethnography- for-smart- service-systems- in-product- design/ ?utm_source=EPIC+Past+Attendees+%26+Community&utm_campaign=ab2aae29ec-EPIC_ news_articles4_14_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_9d6d93b52d-ab2aae29ec- 196977877, accessed February 29, 2016.

Befu, H. 1979. Konnichiwa, essay read at the meeting of the Japan Society, April 1975, San Fran- cisco, CA; quoted in Sheila J. Ramsey, Nonverbal behavior: An intercultural perspective. In Handbook of intercultural communication, edited by M. K. Asante, E. Newmark, and C. Blake, 105–143. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.

Belk, Russell W., Linda Price, and Lisa Peñaloza, eds. 2013. Consumer culture theory. Bingley, UK: Emerald Group Publishing Ltd.

Berry, John. W. 1980. Acculturation as variety of adaptation. In Acculturation: Theory, models, and some findings, edited by A. M. Padilla. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 9–25.

Bhaskar- Shrinivas, Purnima, David A. Harrison, Margaret A. Shaffer, and Dora M. Luk. 2005. Input- based and time- based models of international adjustment: Meta- analytic evidence and theoretical extensions. Academy of Management Journal 48(2): 257–281.

Birdwhistell, R. L. 1963. The kinesis level in the investigation of the emotions. In Expression of the emotions in man, edited by Peter H. Knapp. New York, NY: International University Press.

Black, J. Stewart and Mark Mendenhall. 1990. Cross- cultural training effectiveness: A review and a theoretical framework for future research. Academy of Management Review 15(1): 113–136.

Black, J. Stewart, Hal B. Gregersen, and Mark E. Mendenhall. 1992. Global assignments: Successful expatriating and repatriating international managers. San Francisco, CA: Jossey- Bass.

Blomberg, Jeanette, Mark Burrell, and Greg Guest. 2003. An ethnographic approach to design. In Human- computer interaction handbook: Fundamentals, evolving technologies, and emerging applications, edited by Julie A. Jacko and Andrew Sears, 964–989. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Boer, Laurens and Jared Donovan. 2012. Provotypes for participatory innovation, ACM Conference on Designing Interactive Systems, June 11–15, Newcastle, UK, 388–397.

Boer, Laurens, Jared Donovan, and Jacob Buur. 2013. Challenging industry conceptions with provo- types. CoDesign: International Journal of CoCreation in Design and the Arts, 1–17, http://dx.doi.org/1 0.1080/15710882.2013.788193.

Bolton, Ralph. 2010. Chijnaya: The birth and evolution of an Andean community: Memories and reflections of an applied anthropologist. In Vicos and beyond: A half century of applying anthropology in Peru, edited by Tom Greaves, Ralph Bolton, and Florencia Zapata, 215–263. Lanham, MD: Altamira Press.

Borgatti, Stephen P. 2002. NETDRAW. Boston, MA: Analytic Technologies. Boroditsky, Lera. 2009. How does our language shape the way we think? In What’s next: Dispatches

on the futures of science, edited by Max Brockman, 116–129. New York, NY: Vintage Books. Bozionelos, Nikos. 2009. Expatriation outside the boundaries of the multinational corporation: A

study with expatriate nurses in Saudi Arabia. Human Resource Management 48(1): 111–134, Janu- ary–February.

Brake, Terence, Danielle Medina Walker, and Thomas Walker. 1995. Doing business internationally: The guide to cross- cultural success. Burr Ridge, IL: Irwin.

304 References

Brannen, Mary Yoko and Jane E. Salk. 2000. Partnering across borders: Negotiating organizational culture in a German- Japanese joint venture. Human Relations 53: 451–487.

Brett, Jeanne and Tetsushi Okumura. 1998. Inter- and intracultural negotiations: U.S. and Japanese negotiators. Academy of Management Journal 41: 495–510.

Briody, Elizabeth K. 2010. Handling decision paralysis on organizational partnerships, Course Reader (Internet Access), Detroit, MI: Gale.

Briody, Elizabeth K. and Marietta L. Baba. 1991. Explaining differences in repatriation experi- ences: The discovery of coupled and decoupled systems. American Anthropologist 93(2): 322–344, June.

Briody, Elizabeth K. and Marietta L. Baba. 1994. Reconstructing a culture clash at General Motors: An historical view from the overseas assignment. In Anthropological perspectives on organizational culture, edited by Tomoko Hamada and Willis E. Sibley, 219–260. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, Inc.

Briody, Elizabeth K. and Judith Beeber Chrisman. 1991. Cultural adaptation on overseas assign- ments. Human Organization 50(3): 264–282, Fall.

Briody, Elizabeth K. and Ken C. Erickson. 2017. Success despite the silos: System- wide innovation and collaboration. In Collaborative ethnography in a business environment, edited by Maryann McCabe, 26–59. London, UK: Taylor & Francis.

Briody, Elizabeth K. and Robert T. Trotter, II, eds. 2008. Partnering for organizational performance: Collaboration and culture in the global workplace. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield.

Briody, Elizabeth K., Robert T. Trotter, II, and Tracy L. Meerwarth. 2010. Transforming culture: Cre- ating and sustaining a better manufacturing organization. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.

Briody, Elizabeth K., S. Tamer Cavusgil, and Stewart R. Miller. 2004. Turning three sides into a delta at General Motors: Enhancing partnership integration on corporate ventures. Long Range Planning 37: 421–434.

Brookfield Global Relocation Services. 2015. 2015 Global mobility trends survey report: Mindful mobility, 1–85, brookfieldgrs.com.

Burgoon, Judee K., David B. Buller, and W. Gill Woodall. 1989. Nonverbal communication: The unspoken dialogue. New York, NY: Harper and Row.

Burke, W. Warner. 2014. Organization change: Theory and practice, 4th ed. Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications.

Buur, Jacob, ed. 2012. Making indoor climate: Enabling people’s comfort practices. Sønderborg, Denmark: Mads Claussen Institute for Product Innovation, University of Southern Denmark.

Byrnes, Francis C. 1966. Role shock: An occupational hazard of American technical assistants abroad. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 368: 95–108, November.

Caligiuri, Paula. 2013. Developing culturally agile global business leaders. Organizational Dynamics 42: 175–182.

Cameron, Kim S. and Robert E. Quinn. 2006. Diagnosing and changing organizational culture based on the competing values framework. The Jossey- Bass Business & Management Series, rev. ed. San Fran- cisco, CA: Jossey- Bass.

Cameron, Kim S. and Robert E. Quinn. 2011. Diagnosing and changing organizational culture based on the competing values framework, 3rd ed. San Francisco, CA: Jossey- Bass.

Cartus Corporation. 2014. Global mobility policy and practices. Chicago, IL, www. cartus.com. Cascio, Wayne F. 2006. Decency means more than “always low prices”: A comparison of Costco to

Wal- Mart’s Sam’s Club. Academy of Management Perspectives, August: 26–37. Caulkins, D. Douglas and Ann T. Jordan, eds. 2012. A companion to organizational anthropology.

Malden, MA: Wiley- Blackwell. Cefkin, Melissa, ed. 2009. Ethnography and the corporate encounter: Reflections on research in and of

corporations. New York, NY: Berghahn Books. Cerdin, Jean- Luc and Jan Selmer. 2014. Who is a self- initiated expatriate? Towards conceptual clarity

of a common notion. International Journal of Human Resource Management 25(9): 1281–1301.

References 305

Champness, B. G. 1970. Mutual glance and the significance of the look. Advancement of Science 26: 309–312.

Chen, Gilad, Bradley L. Kirkman, Kwanghyun Kim, Crystal I. C. Farh, and Subrahmaniam Tangi- rala. 2010. When does cross- cultural motivation enhance expatriate effectiveness? A multilevel investigation of the moderating roles of subsidiary support and cultural distance. Academy of Man- agement Journal 53(5): 1110–1130, October.

Chew, Janet. 2004. Managing MNC expatriates through crises: A challenge for international human resource management. Research and Practice in Human Resource Management 12(2): 1–30.

Chhokar, Jagdeep S., Felix C. Brodbeck, and Robert J. House. 2007. Culture and leadership across the world: The GLOBE book of in- depth studies of 25 societies. LEA’s Series in Organization and Man- agement. New York, NY: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Chijnaya Foundation, “The Chijnaya Foundation: Purpose and promise,” www.chijnayafoundation. org/chijnaya- foundation-purpose- and-promise, accessed May 18, 2016.

Collings, David G., Hugh Scullion, and Michael J. Morley. 2007. Changing patterns of global staff- ing in the multinational enterprise: Challenges to the conventional expatriate assignment and emerging alternatives. Journal of World Business 42(2): 198–213, June.

Condon, John and Fathi Yousef. 1975. Introduction to intercultural communication. Indianapolis, IN: Bobbs- Merrill.

Costco Code of Ethics. 2016. media.corporate- ir.net/media_files/NSD/cost/reports/our_mission.pdf, accessed November 16, 2016.

Coy, Michael W., ed. 1989. Apprenticeship: From theory to method and back again. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

CPA Practice Management Forum. 2008. Expatriate employee numbers double as companies see increased value in expatriate assignments, November, 21–22.

Crouse, Karen. 2011. British women face hurdles and indifference, New York Times, Special Report: Women’s British Open, July 27.

Crystal, David. 2003. English as a global language, 2nd ed. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Crystal, David. 2013. Why all the fuss? In Making sense of language: Readings in culture and communi- cation, edited by Susan Blum. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 171–178.

DaMatta, Roberto. 1991. Carnivals, rogues, and heroes: An interpretation of the Brazilian dilemma. Translated by John Drury. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press.

Darrah, Charles, James Freeman, and J. A. English- Lueck. 2007. Busier than ever! Why American fam- ilies can’t slow down. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

Darwin, Charles R. 1872. The expression of emotions in man and animals. London, England: John Murray.

De Swaan, Abram. 2001. Words of the world: The global language system. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.

Dekker, Daphne M., Christel G. Rutte, and Peter T. Van den Berg. 2008. Cultural differences in the perception of critical interaction behaviors in global virtual teams. International Journal of Intercul- tural Relations 32: 441–452.

Denison, Daniel, Robert Hooijberg, Nancy Lane, and Colleen Lief. 2012. Leading culture change in global organizations: Aligning culture and strategy. San Francisco, CA: Jossey- Bass.

Denny, Rita and Patricia Sunderland, eds. 2014. Handbook of anthropology in business. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press.

Deshpande, Satish P. and Chockalingam Viswesvaran. 1992. Is cross- cultural training of expatriate managers effective: A meta- analysis. International Journal of Intercultural Relations 16(3): 295–310, Summer.

Diamond, Nina, John F. Sherry Jr., Albert M. Muniz Jr., Mary Ann McGrath, Robert V. Kozinets, and Stefania Borghini. 2009. American girl and the brand gestalt: Closing the loop on sociocul- tural branding research. Journal of Marketing 73: 118–134, May.

306 References

D’Iribarne, Philippe. 2002. Motivating workers in emerging countries: Universal tools and local adaptations. Journal of Organizational Behavior 23(3): 243–256, May.

Doherty, Noeleen T. and Michael Dickmann. 2012. Measuring the return on investment in inter- national assignments: An action research approach. International Journal of Human Resource Man- agement 23(16): 3434–3454.

Donadio, Rachel. 2013. When Italians chat, hands and fingers do the talking. New York Times, July 1, A- 6.

Dore, Ronald. 1973. British factory, Japanese factory: The origins of national diversity in industrial rela- tions. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

Dowling, Peter J., Marion Festing, and Allen D. Engle Sr. 2008. International human resource manage- ment: Managing people in a multinational context, 5th ed. London, UK: Thomson Learning.

Duarte, Fernanda. 2011. What does a culture of corporate social responsibility “look” like? A glimpse into a Brazilian mining company. International Journal of Business Anthropology 2(1): 106–122.

Dubinskas, Frank A., ed. 1988. Making time: Ethnographies of high- technology organizations. Philadel- phia, PA: Temple University Press.

Dunn, Alan. 2012. Average America versus the one percent. Forbes.com, March 21, forbes.com/ sites/moneywisewomen/2012/03/21/average- america-vs- the-one- percent.

Eaton, Tara. 2011. A cultural analysis of information technology offshore outsourcing: An exercise in multi- sited ethnography of virtual work. Paper 370. Wayne State University Dissertations, Detroit, MI.

Eaton, Tara A. and Dale C. Brandenburg. 2008. Coordinated autonomy? Culture in emergency response partnering. In Partnering for organizational performance: Collaboration and culture in the global workplace, edited by Elizabeth K. Briody and Robert T. Trotter, II, 91–106. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield.

Efron, David. 1941. Gesture and environment. New York, NY: King’s Crown. Eibl- Eibesfeldt, I. 1971. Transcultural patterns of ritualized contact behavior. In Behavior and environ-

ment: The use of space by animals and men, edited by Aristide H. Esser, 297–312. New York, NY: Plenum Press.

Eibl- Eibesfeldt, I. 1972. Similarities and differences between cultures in expressive movement. In Non- verbal communication, edited by Robert A. Hinde. London: Cambridge University Press.

Eisenberg, Abne M. and Ralph R. Smith. 1971. Nonverbal communication. Indianapolis, IN: Bobbs- Merrill Co.

Ekman, Paul, Wallace V. Friesen, and Phoebe Ellsworth. 1972. Emotion in the human face: Guidelines for research and an integration of findings. New York, NY: Pergamon Press.

Elahee, Mohammad and Charles M. Brooks. 2004. Trust and negotiation tactics: Perceptions about business- to-business negotiations in Mexico. The Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing 19(6): 397–404.

Ellsworth, Phoebe C. 1975. Direct gaze as a social stimulus: The example of aggression. In Nonverbal communication of aggression, edited by P. Pliner, L. Kramer, and R. Alloway. New York, NY: Plenum Press.

Engholm, Christopher. 1991. When business East meets business West: The guide to practice and protocol in the Pacific rim. New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons.

Ensworth, Patricia. 2003. Patricia Ensworth on managing multicultural project teams at Moody’s. CIO, October 1, www.cio.com/article/29821/, accessed April 8, 2011.

Eriksson, Martin and Robin Lindström. 2013. International assignments: An updated picture of important factors for expatriate spouse adjustment. MA thesis, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden, 1–64.

Ervin, Alexander M. 2015. Cultural transformations and globalization: Theory, development, and social change. Boulder, CO: Paradigm Publishers.

Fan, Samantha P., Zoe Liberman, Boaz Keysar, and Katherine D. Kinzler. 2015. The exposure advantage: Early exposure to a multilingual environment promotes effective communication. Psy- chological Sciences 26(7): 1090–1097, July.

References 307

Fang, Tony. 2005–06. From “onion” to “ocean”: Paradox and change in national cultures. Inter- national Studies of Management and Organization 35(4): 71–90, Winter.

Fang, Tony, Verner Worm, and Rosalie L. Tung. 2008. Changing success and failure factors in busi- ness negotiations with the PRC. International Business Review 17: 159–169.

Farb, Peter. 1974. Word play: What happens when people talk. New York, NY: Knopf. Ferraro, Gary and Susan Andreatta. 2014. Cultural anthropology: An applied perspective, 10th ed.

Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. Fisher, Roger, William Ury, and Bruce Patton. 1991. Getting to yes: Negotiating agreement without

giving in, 2nd ed. New York, NY: Penguin Books. Foster, Dean Allen. 1992. Bargaining across borders: How to negotiate business anywhere in the world.

New York, NY: McGraw- Hill. Frauenheim, Ed. 2005. Crossing cultures: As the world gets smaller understanding country- specific

differences becomes a business imperative: Culture of understanding. Workforce Management 84(13): 1, 26–32, November.

Friedman, Thomas L. 1999. The Lexus and the olive tree. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Friedman, Thomas L. 2002. India, Pakistan, and G.E. New York Times, August 8, p. 13. Gale, Nicola K., Jonathan Shapiro, Hugh S. T. McLeod, Sabi Redwood, and Alistair Hewison. 2014.

Patients- people-place: Developing a framework for researching organizational culture during health service redesign and change. Implementation Science 9(106): 1–11.

Gamst, Frederick C. 1980. The hoghead: An industrial ethnology of the locomotive engineer. New York, NY: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

Gannon, Martin J. 2001. Cultural metaphors: Readings, research translations, and commentary. Thou- sand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Gannon, Martin J. 2009. The cultural metaphoric method: Description, analysis, and critique. Inter- national Journal of Cross Cultural Management 9(3): 275–287.

Gannon, Martin and Associates. 1994. Understanding global cultures: Metaphorical journeys through 17 countries. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Gannon, Martin J. and Rajnandini Pillai. 2010. Understanding global cultures: Metaphorical journeys through 29 nations, clusters of nations, continents, and diversity, 4th ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Gannon, Martin J., Edwin A. Locke, Amit Gupta, Pino Audia, and Amy L. Kristof- Brown. 2005–06. Cultural metaphors as frames of reference for nations: A six- country study. International Studies of Management and Organization 35(4): 37–47, Winter.

Gardner, Burleigh B. 1945. Human relations in industry. Homewood, IL: Irwin. Gardner, Burleigh B. and Sidney J. Levy. 1955. The product and the brand. Harvard Business Review

33(2): 33–39, March–April. Garsten, Christina and Anette Nyqvist, eds. 2013. Organisational anthropology: Doing ethnography in

and among complex organisations. London, UK: Pluto Press. Geertz, Clifford. 1973. The interpretation of culture. New York, NY: Basic Books. Gibson, Cristina B. and Jennifer L. Gibbs. 2006. Unpacking the concept of virtuality: The effects of

geographic dispersion, electronic dependence, dynamic structure, and national diversity on team innovation. Administrative Science Quarterly 51(3): 451–495.

The Global Sullivan Principles. Human Rights Library, University of Minnesota, www1.umn/human- rts/links/Sullivan principles.html, accessed May 24, 2016.

Gloor, Peter, Maria Paasivaara, Casper Lassenius, Detlef Schoder, Kai Fischbach, and Christine Miller. 2011. Teaching a global project course: Experiences and lessons learned. Conference pro- ceedings—Collaborative teaching of globally distributed software development—Community building workshop. International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE), supported by the National Science Foundation.

Gluesing, Julia C. 2011. Anthropology and the business of social networks: Then, now, and in the future. Paper presented at the American Anthropological Association Meetings, November 16–20, Montréal, QC.

308 References

Gluesing, Julia C. and Cristina Gibson. 2004. Designing and forming global teams. In Handbook of global management: A guide to managing complexity, edited by Henry W. Lane, Martha L. Maz- nevski, Mark E. Mendenhall, and Jeanne McNett, 199–226. Oxford, UK: Blackwell.

Gluesing, Julia with Tara Alcordo, Marietta Baba, David Britt, Willie McKether, Leslie Monplaisir, Hilary Ratner, Kenneth Riopelle, and Kimberly Harris Wagner. 2003. The development of global virtual teams. In Virtual teams that work: Creating conditions for virtual team effectiveness, edited by Cristina B. Gibson and Susan G. Cohen, 353–380. San Francisco, CA: Jossey- Bass.

Gluesing, Julia C., Kenneth R. Riopelle, Kenneth R. Chelst, Alan R. Woodliff, and Linda M. Miller. 2008. An educational partnership for immediate impact. In Partnering for organizational perform- ance: Collaboration and culture in the global workplace, edited by Elizabeth K. Briody and Robert T. Trotter, II, 125–141. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield.

Goffman, Erving. 1963. Behavior in public places. Glencoe, IL: Free Press. Goldin- Meadow, Susan. 2003. Hearing gesture: How our hands help us think. Cambridge, MA: Belknap

Press. Gordon, Sarah. 2011. Royal Wedding to provide £50m tourism boost on Friday, and that’s just the

beginning.… Daily Mail On- Line, April 28, www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article- 1381459/Royal- Wedding-2011-tourism- boost-London- visitors-spend- 50m-Friday.html?ito=feeds- newsxml, accessed June 5, 2011.

Gorer, Geoffrey. 1935. Africa dances: A book about West African Negroes. New York, NY: Knopf. Gravel, Alain. 1994. Le Point, Radio- Canada. June 29. Gentleman [sic] only ladies forbidden.

Running time 21:20, http://archives.radio- canada.ca/sports/golf/clips/11730/, accessed September 3, 2011.

Gregory, Kathleen L. 1983. Native- view paradigms: Multiple cultures and culture conflicts in organi- zations. Administrative Science Quarterly 28: 359–376.

Gregory- Huddleston, Kathleen. 1994. Culture conflict with growth: Cases from Silicon Valley. In Anthropological perspectives on organizational culture, edited by Tomoko Hamada and Willis E. Sibley, 121–131. Lanham, MD: University Press of America.

Griffiths, Michael B. 2013. Consumers and individuals in China: Standing out, fitting in. London, UK: Taylor & Francis.

Gudykunst, William B. and Young Yun Kim. 2003. Communicating with strangers: An approach to intercultural communication. Boston, MA: McGraw Hill.

Gunn, Wendy and Jared Donovan, eds. 2012. Design and anthropology. London, UK: Taylor & Francis. Gunn, Wendy, Ton Otto, and Rachel Charlotte Smith, eds. 2013. Design anthropology: Theory and

practice. London, UK: Bloomsbury Academic. Guthrie, G. M. 1975. A behavioral analysis of culture learning. In Cross- cultural perspectives on learn-

ing, edited by Richard W. Brislin, Stephen Bochner, and Walter J. Lonner. New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons.

Guzzo, Richard A., Katherine A. Noonan, and Efrat Elron. 1994. Expatriate managers and the psy- chological contract. Journal of Applied Psychology 79(4): 617–626.

Hall, Edward T. 1959. The silent language. New York, NY: Doubleday. Hall, Edward T. 1966. The hidden dimension. New York, NY: Doubleday. Hall, Edward T. 1976. Beyond culture. New York, NY: Doubleday. Hall, Edward T. 1983. The dance of life: The other dimension of time. New York, NY: Doubleday. Hall, Edward T. and Mildred R. Hall. 1987. Hidden differences: Doing business with the Japanese. New

York, NY: Doubleday. Hall, Edward T. and Mildred R. Hall. 1989. Understanding cultural differences: Germans, French and

Americans. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press. Hall, Judith A. 1978. Gender effects in decoding nonverbal cues. Psychological Bulletin 85(4):

845–857. Halliday, Jean. 2003. Cadillac tries to crash out of old man image: Led Zeppelin sound track con-

tinues charge to lure young buyers. Advertising Age, January 29, http://adage.com/article/news/ cadillac- crash-man- image/36681/, accessed May 10, 2016.

References 309

Hamada, Tomoko. 1991. American enterprise in Japan. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

Hamada, Tomoko. 2008. Globalization and the new meanings of the foreign executive in Japan. In Multiculturalism in the new Japan: Crossing the boundaries within, edited by Nelson H. H. Graburn, John Ertl, and R. Kenji Tierney, Asian Anthropologies, Vol. 6, 43–62. Oxford, UK: Berghahn Books.

Hamada, Tomoko and Willis E. Sibley, eds. 1994. Anthropological perspectives on organizational culture. Lanham, MD: University Press of America.

Hamada Connolly, Tomoko. 2010. Business ritual studies: Corporate ceremony and sacred space. International Journal of Business Anthropology 1(2): 32–47.

Hamori, Monika and Burak Koyuncu. 2011. Career advancement in large organizations in Europe and the United States: Do international assignments add value? International Journal of Human Resource Management 22(4): 843–862.

Harrison, David A. and Margaret A. Shaffer. 2005. Mapping the criterion space for expatriate success: Task- and relationship- based performance, effort and adaptation. International Journal of Human Resource Management 16(8): 1454–1474.

Harrison, Randall P. 1974. Beyond words: An introduction to nonverbal communication. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Harzing, Anne- Wil. 2001. Of bears, bumble- bees, and spiders: The role of expatriates in controlling foreign subsidiaries. Journal of World Business 36(4): 366–379.

Harzing, Anne- Wil. 2002. Are our referencing errors undermining our scholarship and credibility? The case of expatriate failure rates. Journal of Organizational Behavior 23: 127–148.

Harzing, Anne- Wil, Kathrin Köster, and Ulrike Magner. 2011. Babel in business: The language barrier and its solutions in the HQ- subsidiary relationship. Journal of World Business 46(3): 279–287.

Hechanova, Regina, Terry A. Beehr, and Neil D. Christiansen. 2003. Antecedents and con- sequences of employees’ adjustment to overseas assignment: A meta- analytic review. Applied Psy- chology: An International Review 52(2): 213–236.

Heenan, David A. and Howard V. Perlmutter. 1979. Multinational organizational development. Reading, MA: Addison- Wesley Publishing Co.

Helms, Brigit. 2006. Access for all—Building inclusive financial systems («La finance pour tous—Con- struire des systèmes financiers inclusifs»). Washington, DC: The World Bank.

Henttonen, Kaisa and Kirsimarja Blomqvist. 2005. Managing distance in a global virtual team: The evolution of trust through technology- mediated relational communication. Strategic Change 14: 107–119, March–April.

Herbig, Paul A. and Hugh E. Kramer. 1991. Cross- cultural negotiations: Success through under- standing. Management Decision 29(8): 19–31.

Heron, John. 1970. The phenomenology of social encounter: The gaze. Philosophy and Phenomeno- logical Research 31(2): 243–264, December.

Hickerson, Nancy P. 2000. Linguistic anthropology, 2nd ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Hirsch, E. D., Jr. 1987. Cultural literacy: What every American needs to know. Boston, MA: Houghton

Mifflin. Hofstede, Geert. 1980. Culture’s consequences: International differences in work- related values. Beverly

Hills, CA: Sage Publications. Hofstede, Geert. 1991. Cultures and organizations: Software of the mind. London, UK: McGraw- Hill

Book Company Europe. Hofstede, Geert. 2001. Culture’s consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions, and organiza-

tions across nations, 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. House, Robert J., Paul J. Hanges, Mansour Javidan, Peter W. Dorfman, and Vipin Gupta, eds. 2004.

Culture, leadership, and organizations: The GLOBE study of 62 societies. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

310 References

HSBC Holdings PLC. 2015. Expat explorer: Balancing life abroad. Jersey, Channel Islands, 1–87, www.expatexplorer.hsbc.com/survey/, accessed April 5, 2016.

Ingold, Tim. 2013. Making: Anthropology, archaeology, art and architecture. Abingdon, UK: Taylor & Francis.

Inside NAU. 2006. Following Hopi footprints, 3(38), September 20 (Campus Publication, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona).

InterNations GmbH. 2015. The expat insider 2015 survey report. Munich, Germany, 1–234, www. internations.org/expat- insider/, accessed April 5, 2016.

Ito, Yasunobu. 2011. Prohibited ingenuity at the workplace: An ethnographic study of medical information and nurses’ practice in Japan. Presentation at Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK, March 10.

Ito, Yasunobu. 2016. “Ethnography” in Japanese corporate activities: A meta- anthropological obser- vation on the relationship between anthropology and the outside. In Enterprise as an Instrument of Civilization: An Anthropological Approach to Business Administration, edited by Hirochika Naka- maki, Koichiro Hioki, Izumi Mitsui, and Yoshiyuki Takeuchi. Tokyo, Japan: Springer Japan KK, 55–72.

Jackson, James, K. 2013. U.S. direct investment abroad: Trends and current issues, Congressional Research Service, December 11, p. 2.

Jamali, Dima. 2004. Success and failure mechanisms of public private partnerships (PPPs) in devel- oping countries: Insights from the Lebanese context. International Journal of Public Sector Manage- ment 17(5): 414–430.

Jensen, J. V. 1982. Perspective on nonverbal intercultural communication. In Intercultural communi- cation: A reader, edited by Larry A. Samovar and Richard E. Porter, 260–276. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Jessup, Jay M. and Maggie L. Jessup. 1993. Doing business in Mexico. Rocklin, CA: Prima. Jordan, Ann T. 1994. Practicing anthropology in corporate America: Consulting on organizational culture.

NAPA Bulletin No. 14. Arlington, VA: American Anthropological Association. Jordan, Ann T. 2008. The making of a modern kingdom: Transnational partnerships in Saudi

Arabia. In Partnering for organizational performance: Collaboration and culture in the global workplace, edited by Elizabeth K. Briody and Robert T. Trotter, II, 177–192. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Lit- tlefield.

Jordan, Ann T. 2010. The importance of business anthropology: Its unique contributions. Inter- national Journal of Business Anthropology 1(1): 15–25.

Jordan, Ann T. 2011. The making of a modern kingdom: Globalization and change in Saudi Arabia. Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press.

Jordan, Ann T. 2013. Business anthropology, 2nd ed. Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press. Jordan, Brigitte, ed. 2013. Advancing ethnography in corporate environments: Challenges and emerging

opportunities. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press. Jun, Jong S. and Hiromi Muto. 1995. The hidden dimensions of Japanese administration: Culture

and its impact. Public Administration Review 55(2): 125–134, March–April. Kalmbach, C. Jr. and C. Roussel. 1999. Dispelling the myths of alliances. Outlook, Special Edition,

Andersen Consulting, October. Kanter, Rosabeth Moss, Barry A. Stein, and Todd D. Jick. 1992. The challenge of organizational

change: How companies experience it and leaders guide it. New York, NY: The Free Press. Kaufman, Lindsay. 2014. Google got it wrong: The open- office trend is destroying the workplace.

Washington Post, December 30, www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2014/12/30/google- got-it- wrong-the- open-office- trend-is- destroying-the- workplace/, accessed May 25, 2016.

Kelley, Colleen and Judith Meyers. 1995. CCAI: Cross- cultural adaptability inventory: Manual. Min- neapolis, MN: National Computer Systems, Inc.

Kennedy, Gavin. 1985. Doing business abroad. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster. Khanna, Sunil K. 2010. Fetal/fatal knowledge: New reproductive technologies and family- building strat-

egies in India. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Cengage.

References 311

Kluckhohn, Clyde. 1968. Mirror for man. New York, NY: Fawcett. Kluckhohn, Florence and Fred L. Strodtbeck. 1961. Variations in value orientations. New York, NY:

Harper and Row. Knapp, Mark L. 1972. The field of nonverbal communication: An overview. In On speech communi-

cation: An anthology of contemporary writings and messages, edited by C. J. Stewart and B. Kendall. New York, NY: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

Kohls, L. Robert. 1984. Survival kit for overseas living. Chicago, IL: Intercultural Press. Kohls, L. Robert. 2001. Survival kit for overseas living: For Americans planning to live and work abroad,

4th ed. Boston, MA: Intercultural Press Inc., Nicholas Brealey Publishing. Kottak, Conrad P. 2004. Cultural anthropology, 10th ed. New York, NY: McGraw- Hill. Kotter, John P. 1996. Leading change. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press. Kraimer Maria L., Margaret A. Shaffer, David A. Harrison, and Hong Ren. 2012. No place like

home? An identity strain perspective on repatriate turnover. Academy of Management Journal 55(2): 399–420.

Kraimer, Maria, Mark Bolino, and Brandon Mead. 2016. Themes in expatriate and repatriate research over four decades: What do we know and what do we still need to learn? Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior 3: 83–109.

Krause- Jensen, Jakob. 2010. Flexible firm: The design of culture at Bang & Olufsen. New York, NY: Berghahn Books.

Kuethe, J. L. 1962. Social schemas. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology 64(1): 31–38, January. Kumar, Rajesh and Verner Worm. 2003. Social capital and the dynamics of business negoti-

ations between the northern Europeans and the Chinese. International Marketing Review 20(3): 262–285.

Kumar, Rajesh and Verner Worm. 2004. Institutional dynamics and the negotiation process: Com- paring India and China. International Journal of Conflict Management 15(3): 304–334.

LaBarre, Weston. 1947. The cultural basis of emotions and gestures. Journal of Personality 16(1): 49–68.

Lederer, William J. and Eugene Burdick. 1958. The ugly American. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Lee, Kam- hon, Guang Yang, and John L. Graham. 2006. Tension and trust in international business negotiations: American executives negotiating with Chinese executives. Journal of International Business Studies 37: 623–641.

Lewellen, Ted C. 2002. The anthropology of globalization: Cultural anthropology enters the 21st century. Westport, CT: Bergin and Garvey.

Lewicki, Roy J., Stephen E. Weiss, and David Lewin. 1992. Models of conflict, negotiation and third party intervention: A review and synthesis. Journal of Organizational Behavior 13: 209–252.

Lewin, Kurt. 1947a. Frontiers in group dynamics: Concept, method, and reality in social science; social equilibria and social change. Human Relations 1(5): 5–41.

Lewin, Kurt. 1947b. Frontiers in group dynamics: II. Channels of group life; social planning and action research. Human Relations 1: 143–153.

Light, David A. 1997. Expatriate employees: Getting the most out of their experience. Harvard Busi- ness Review 75(6): 20, November/December.

Lipset, Seymour Martin. 1986. Historical traditions and national characteristics: A comparative ana- lysis of Canada and the United States. The Canadian Journal of Sociology/Cahiers canadiens de soci- ologie 11(2): 113–155.

Lipset, Seymour Martin. 1990. The values of Canadians and Americans: A reply. Social Forces 69(1): 267–272.

Little, Kenneth B. 1965. Personal space. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 1(3): 237–247. MacGregor, Tony. 2008. Tips on Korean custom of bowing. The Korean Times, April 29, www.korea

times.co.kr/www/news/special/2010/08/177_23339.html, accessed November 10, 2016. Madsbjerg, Christian and Mikkel B. Rasmussen. 2014. The moment of clarity: Using human sciences to

solve your toughest business problems. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Review Press.

312 References

Malefyt, Timothy de Waal. 2010. Using anthropology to understand the American “dinner dilemma.” CourseReader (Internet Access), Detroit, MI: Gale.

Malefyt, Timothy de Waal. 2017a. Advertising. Wiley Blackwell International Encyclopedia of Anthro- pology, forthcoming.

Malefyt, Timothy de Waal. 2017b. Marketing. Wiley Blackwell International Encyclopedia of Anthro- pology, forthcoming.

Malefyt, Timothy deWaal and Brian Moeran, eds. 2003. Advertising cultures. Oxford, UK: Berg. Malefyt, Timothy de Waal and Robert J. Morais. 2012. Advertising and anthropology: Ethnographic

practice and cultural perspectives. London, UK: Berg. Malinowski, Bronislaw. 1922. Argonauts of the western Pacific: An account of native enterprise and

adventure in the archipelagoes of Melanesian New Guinea. New York, NY: E.P. Dutton and Co., Inc. Marx, Elisabeth. 1999. Breaking through culture shock: What you need to succeed in international busi-

ness. London, UK: Nicholas Brealey Publishing. Maurer, Steven D. and Shaomin Li. 2006. Understanding expatriate manager performance: Effects

of governance environments on work relationships in relation- based economies. Human Resource Management Review 16(1): 29–46.

Mauss, Marcel. 1923. Essai sur le don [The gift: The form and reason for exchange in archaic societies]. London, UK: Routledge.

Mayo, Elton. 1933. The human problems of an industrial civilization. New York, NY: Macmillan Company.

Mbiti, John S. 1969. African religions and philosophy. New York, NY: Praeger. McArthur, Tom. 2005. Chinese, English, Spanish—and the rest, English Today 83, 21(3):

55–61, July. McAveeney, Corey. 2013. How do you define startup culture? WIRED Blog, www.wired.com/

insights/2013/09/how- do-you- define-startup- culture/, accessed May 21, 2016. McCabe, Maryann. 2015. Fine chocolate, resistance, and political morality in the marketplace.

Journal of Business Anthropology 4(1): 54–81, Spring. McCabe, Maryann, ed. 2017. Collaborative ethnography in business environments. London, UK: Taylor

& Francis. McCabe, Maryann and Timothy de Waal Malefyt. 2010. Brands, interactivity, and contested fields:

Exploring production and consumption in Cadillac and Infiniti automobile advertising campaigns. Human Organization 69(3): 252–262.

McCracken, Grant C. 1990. Culture and consumption: New approaches to the symbolic character of con- sumer goods and activities. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.

McCracken, Grant C. 2009. Chief culture officer: How to create a living, breathing corporation. New York, NY: Basic Books.

McCune, Jenny C. 1999. Exporting corporate culture: A cohesive culture helps hold far- flung opera- tions together. Management Review 88(11): 52–56, December.

Meerwarth, Tracy L., Elizabeth K. Briody, and Devadatta M. Kulkarni. 2005. Discovering the rules: Folk knowledge for improving GM partnerships. Human Organization 64(3): 286–302.

Meerwarth, Tracy L., Julia C. Gluesing, and Brigitte Jordan, eds. 2008a. Mobile work, mobile lives: Cultural accounts of lived experiences. NAPA Bulletin No. 30. Malden, MA: Blackwell.

Meerwarth, Tracy L., Robert T. Trotter, II, and Elizabeth K. Briody. 2008b. The knowledge organ- ization: Cultural priorities and workspace design. Space and Culture 11(4): 437–454.

Meissner, Martin and Stuart B. Philpott. 1975. The sign language of sawmill workers in British Columbia. Sign Language Studies 9: 291–308.

Mendenhall, Mark E., Edward Dunbar, and Gary R. Oddou. 1987. Expatriate selection, training and careerpathing: A review and critique. Human Resource Management 26(3): 331–345.

Meschi, Pierre- Xavier. 1997. Longevity and cultural differences in international joint ventures: Towards time- based cultural management. Human Relations 50(2): 211–228.

Metcalf, Crysta J. 2011. Circulation of transdisciplinary knowledge and culture in a high- tech organ- ization. Anthropology News, February, p. 28.

References 313

Metcalf, Crysta J. and Gunnar Harboe. 2006. Sunday is family day. Ethnographic Praxis in Industry Conference Proceedings, September 1, pp. 49–59.

Meyskens, Moriah, Mary Ann Von Glinow, William B. Werther, Jr., and Linda Clarke. 2009. The paradox of international talent: Alternative forms of international assignments. International Journal of Human Resource Management 20(6): 1439–1450.

Miller, Christine Z., Jörg Siebert, Julia C. Gluesing, and Amy Goldmacher. 2008. The challenge of partnerships in complex cultural environments. In Partnering for organizational performance: Col- laboration and culture in the global workplace, edited by Elizabeth K. Briody and Robert T. Trotter, II, 159–176. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield.

Miller, Daniel. 1994. Modernity, an ethnographic approach: Dualism and mass consumption in Trinidad. Oxford, UK: Berg.

Miller, Daniel, ed. 1998. Material cultures: Why some things matter. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

Millington, Andrew, Markus Eberhardt, and Barry Wilkinson. 2005. Gift giving, guanxi and illicit payments in buyer–supplier relations in China: Analysing the experience of UK companies. Journal of Business Ethics 57: 255–268.

Mitchell, Charles. 2000. A short course in international business culture. Novato, CA: World Trade Press.

Mitroff, Ian I. 2001. Managing crises before they happen: What every executive and manager needs to know about crisis management. New York, NY: American Management Association.

Moeran, Brian. 1996. A Japanese advertising agency: An anthropology of media and markets. Honolulu, HI: University of Hawai‘i Press.

Moeran, Brian. 2014. The business of creativity: Toward an anthropology of worth. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press.

Mohn, Tanya. 2006. How to become a world citizen, before going to college. New York Times, Sep- tember 3, p. 6.

Mohr, Alexander T. and Simone Klein. 2004. Exploring the adjustment of American expatriate spouses in Germany. International Journal of Human Resource Management 15(7): 1189–1206, November.

Molinsky, Andrew L., Mary Anne Krabbenhoft, Nalini Ambady, and Y. Susan Choi. 2005. Crack- ing the nonverbal code: Intercultural competence and gesture recognition across cultures. Journal of Cross- Cultural Psychology 36(3): 380–395, May.

Montague, Susan P. and Robert J. Morais. 1976. Football games and rock concerts: The ritual enact- ment of American success models. In The American dimension: Cultural myths and social realities, edited by William Arens and Susan P. Montague, 33–52. Port Washington, NY: Alfred Publish- ing Company.

Morais, Robert J. 2010. Refocusing focus groups: A practical guide. Ithaca, NY: Paramount Market Publishing, Inc.

Moran, Robert T. and William G. Stripp. 1991. Dynamics of successful international business negoti- ations. Houston, TX: Gulf Publishing.

Morgan, Gareth. 1980. Paradigms, metaphors, and puzzle solving in organization theory. Administra- tive Science Quarterly 25(4): 605–622, December.

Morris, Desmond, Peter Collett, Peter Marsh, and Marie O’Shaughnessy. 1979. Gestures: Their origins and distribution. New York, NY: Stein and Day.

Morris, Mark A. and Chet Robie. 2001. A meta- analysis of the effects of cross- cultural training on expatriate performance and adjustment. International Journal of Training and Development 5(2): 112–125.

Morrison, Terri and Wayne A. Conway. 2006. Kiss, bow, or shake hands: The bestselling guide to doing business in more than 60 countries, 2nd ed. Avon, MA: Adams Media.

Morsbach, Helmut. 1982. Aspects of nonverbal communication in Japan. In Intercultural communica- tion: A reader, 3rd ed., edited by Larry A. Samovar and Richard E. Porter, 300–316. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

314 References

Nakamaki, Hirochika, Koichiro Hioki, Izumi Mitsui, and Yoshiyuki Takeuchi, eds. 2016. Enterprise as an instrument of civilization: An anthropological approach to business administration. Tokyo, Japan: Springer Japan.

Naroola, Gurmeet and Robert MacConnell. 1996. How to achieve ISO 9000 registration economically and efficiently. New York, NY: Marcel Dekker, Inc.

Oberg, Kalvero. 1960. Culture shock: Adjustments to new cultural environments. Practical Anthro- pology 4: 177–182, July–August.

OECD. 2014. Indicator C4: Who studies abroad and where? In Education at a Glance 2014: OECD Indicators. Paris, France: OECD Publishing, http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888933118656.

Okpara, John O. and Jean D. Kabongo. 2011. Cross- cultural training and expatriate adjustment: A study of Western expatriates in Nigeria. Journal of World Business 46: 22–30.

Olie, René. 1990. Cultural issues in transnational business ventures: The case of German- Dutch cooperation. In Cross- cultural management and organizational culture, edited by Tomoko Hamada and Ann Jordan, 145–172. Studies in third world societies, February, Publication No. 42, Wil- liamsburg, VA: College of William and Mary.

Oliveira, Jacqueline. 2001. Brazil: A guide for businesspeople. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press. Oliveira, Pedro. 2013. People- centered innovation: Becoming a practitioner in innovation research.

Columbus, OH: Biblio Publishing. Orr, Julian E. 1996. Talking about machines: An ethnography of a modern job. Ithaca, NY: Cornell Uni-

versity Press. Ortlieb, Martin. 2009. Emergent culture, slippery culture: Conflicting conceptualizations of culture

in commercial ethnography. In Ethnography and the corporate encounter: Reflections on research in and of corporations, edited by Melissa Cefkin, 185–210. Studies in Public and Applied Anthropol- ogy, Vol. 5. New York, NY: Berghahn Books.

Ortony, Andrew. 1975. Why metaphors are necessary and not just nice. Educational Theory 25(1): 45–53.

Osman- Gani, Aahad M. and Thomas Rockstuhl. 2008. Expatriate adjustment and performance in over- seas assignments: Implications for HRD. Human Resource Development Review 7(1): 32–57, March.

Parsons, Talcott. 1951. The social system. New York, NY: The Free Press. Parsons, Talcott and Edward Shils, eds. 1951. Toward a general theory of action. Cambridge, MA:

Harvard University Press. Phan, Michel C. T., Chris W. Styles, and Paul G. Patterson. 2005. Relational competency’s role in

Southeast Asia business partnerships. Journal of Business Research 58: 173–184. Philip, George and Ian McKeown. 2004. Business transformation and organizational culture: The

role of competency, IS and TQM. European Management Journal 22(6): 624–636. Plog, Fred and Daniel Bates. 1980. Cultural anthropology. New York, NY: Knopf. PricewaterhouseCoopers. 2005. International assignments—Global policy and practice: Key

trends 2005. Ramsay, John. 2004. Trope control: The costs and benefits of metaphor unreliability in the descrip-

tion of empirical phenomena. British Journal of Management 15: 143–155. Reeves- Ellington, Richard. 2009. Enviroscapes: A multi- level contextual approach to organizational

leadership. In Multi- level issues in organizational behavior, Vol. 8, edited by Francis J. Yammarino and Fred Dansereau, 337–420. Bingley, UK: JAI Press.

Remy, Eric, Isabelle Garabuau- Moussaoui, Dominique Desjeux, and Marc Filser, eds. 2003. Sociétés, consommation et consommateurs: Marketing et sciences sociales à la rencontre de la consommation. Paris, France: L’Harmattan.

Richardson, Friedrich and Charles R. Walker. 1948. Human relations in an expanding company. New Haven, CT: Yale University Labor Management Center.

Ricks, David A. 1999. Blunders in international business, 3rd ed. Oxford, UK: Blackwell. Ridgwell, Henry. 2011. Britain hopes for billion- dollar economic boost from royal wedding. Voice of

America News, April 30, www.voanews.com/english/news/europe/Britain- hopes-for- billion- dollarboost- from-royal- wedding-120852234.html, accessed June 5, 2011.

References 315

Riopelle, Kenneth, Julia Gluesing, Tara Alcordo, Marietta Baba, David Britt, Willie McKether, Leslie Monplaisir, Hilary Ratner, and Kimberly Harris Wagner. 2003. Context, task and the evo- lution of technology use in global virtual teams. In Virtual teams that work: Creating conditions for virtual team effectiveness, edited by Cristina B. Gibson and Susan G. Cohen, 239–264. San Fran- cisco, CA: Jossey- Bass.

Roethlisberger, F. J. and W. J. Dickson. 1939. Management and the worker: An account of a research program conducted by the Western Electric Company, Hawthorne Works. Chicago. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Rosenthal, Robert, Judith A. Hall, Dane Archer, M. Robin DiMatteo, and Peter L. Rogers. 1979. Measuring sensitivity to nonverbal communication: The PONS test. In Nonverbal behavior: Applications and cultural implications, edited by Aaron Wolfgang, 67–98. New York, NY: Academic Press.

Sachs, Patricia, ed. 1989. Special issue: Anthropological approaches to organizational culture. Anthropology of Work Review, Editorial 10(3): 1, Fall.

Safadi, Michaela and Carol Ann Valentine. 1990. Contrastive analyses of American and Arab non- verbal and paralinguistic communication. Semiotica 82(3–4): 269–292.

Salacuse, Jeswald W. 1991. Making global deals: Negotiating in the international marketplace. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.

Salacuse, Jeswald W. 1998. So, what is the deal anyway? Contracts and relationships as negotiating goals. Negotiation Journal 5–12, January.

Salacuse, Jeswald W. 2003. The global negotiator: Making, managing, and mending deals around the world in the 21st century. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.

Salzmann, Zdenek, James Stanlaw, and Nobuko Adachi. 2015. Language, culture, and society: An introduction to linguistic anthropology, 6th ed. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

Sanders, Elizabeth B.-N. and Pieter Jan Stappers. 2012. Convivial toolbox: Generative research for the front end of design. Amsterdam, the Netherlands: BIS Publishers.

Sapir, Edward. 1929. The status of linguistics as a science. Language 5(4): 207–214, December. Sarala, Riikka M. and Eero Vaara. 2010. Cultural differences, convergence, and crossvergence as

explanations of knowledge transfer in international acquisitions. Journal of International Business Studies 41: 1365–1390.

Sarva, Amol. 2014. Why Germans work fewer hours but produce more: A study in culture. Huffpost Business (Blog), November 18.

Schein, Edgar H. 1987. The clinical perspective in fieldwork. Qualitative Research Methods Series 5, Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.

Schein, Edgar H. 2010. Organizational culture and leadership, 4th ed. San Francisco, CA: Jossey- Bass. Schulte, Brigid. 2014. Why being too busy makes us feel so good. Washington Post, posted March 14,

updated January 18, 2015. Schwartzman, Helen B. 1993. Ethnography in organizations. Qualitative Research Methods, Vol. 27.

Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications. Segil, L. 1996. Intelligent business alliances: How to profit using today’s most important strategic tool. New

York, NY: Times Books. Sengir, Gülcin H., Robert T. Trotter II, Elizabeth K. Briody, Devadatta M. Kulkarni, Linda B.

Catlin, and Tracy L. Meerwarth. 2004. Modeling relationship dynamics in GM’s research- institution partnerships. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management 15(7): 541–559.

Serrie, Hendrick, ed. 1986. Anthropology and International Business. Studies in Third World Societies, No. 28. Williamsburg, VA: College of William and Mary.

Sethi, S. Prakash and Oliver F. Williams. 2000. Creating and implementing global codes of conduct: An assessment of the Sullivan Principles as a role model for developing international codes of conduct—Lessons learned and unlearned. Business and Society Review 105(2): 169–200.

Shachaf, Pnina. 2008. Cultural diversity and information and communication technology impacts on global virtual teams: An exploratory study. Information and Management 45: 131–142.

316 References

Shaffer, Margaret A., David A. Harrison, and K. Matthew Gilley. 1999. Dimensions, determinants, and differences in the expatriate adjustment process. Journal of International Business Studies 30(3): 557–581.

Shapiro, Debra L., Blair H. Sheppard, and Lisa Cheraskin. 1992. Business on a handshake. Negoti- ation Journal 8(4): 365–377, October.

Sharma, Ekta. 2011. Global adjustment perspectives of Indian professionals. Global Business Review 12(1): 87–97.

Sheer, Vivian C. and Ling Chen. 2003. Successful Sino- Western business negotiation: Participants’ accounts of national and professional cultures. The Journal of Business Communication 40(1): 50–85, January.

Sheppard, Pamela and Bénédicte Lapeyre. 1993. Meetings in French and English [Tenir une réunion en Anglais comme en Français]. London, UK: Nicholas Brealey Publishing.

Sherry, John F., Jr., ed. 1995. Contemporary marketing and consumer behavior: An anthropological sour- cebook. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

Sherzer, Joel. 1991. The Brazilian thumbs- up gesture. Journal of Linguistic Anthropology 1(2): 189–197.

Shimoda, Kimiko, Michael Argyle, and Pio Ricci- Bitti. 1978. The intercultural recognition of emo- tional expressions by three national groups—English, Italian, and Japanese. European Journal of Social Psychology 8: 169–179.

Shimoni, Baruch. 2006. Cultural borders, hybridization, and a sense of boundaries in Thailand, Mexico, and Israel. Journal of Anthropological Research 62(2): 217–234, Summer.

Shortland, Susan. 2015. The purpose of expatriation: Why women undertake international assign- ments. Human Resource Management 1–24, DOI:10.1002/hrm.21686.

Slater, Jonathan R. 1984. The hazards of cross- cultural advertising. Business America 7(7): 2, 20–23, April.

Smith, Rachel Charlotte, Kasper Tang Vangkilde, Mette Gislev Kjaersgaard, Ton Otto, Joachim Halse, and Thomas Binder, eds. 2016. Design anthropological futures. London, UK: Bloomsbury Academic.

Sommer, R. 1959. Studies in personal space. Sociometry 22: 247–260. Spekman, Robert E. and Lynn A. Isabella. 2000. Alliance competence: Maximizing the value of your

partnerships. New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons. Spindler, George and Janice E. Stockard, eds. 2007. Globalization and change in fifteen cultures: Born

in one world living in another. Case Studies in Cultural Anthropology. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

Squires, Susan. 2002. Doing the work: Customer research in the product development and design industry. In Creating breakthrough ideas: The collaboration of anthropologists and designers in the product development industry, edited by Susan Squires and Bryan Bryne, 103–124. Westport, CT: Bergin and Garvey.

Squires, Susan. 2005. Telecommunication- product meaning and use: Two examples of needs assess- ment. In Creating evaluation anthropology: Introducing an emerging subfield, edited by Mary Odell Butler and Jacqueline Copeland- Carson, 79–88. NAPA Bulletin 24 Arlington, VA: American Anthropological Association.

Squires, Susan and Bryan Byrne, eds. 2002. Creating breakthrough ideas: The collaboration of anthropol- ogists and designers in the product development industry. Westport, CT: Bergin and Garvey.

Stewart, Edward C. and Milton J. Bennett. 1991. American cultural patterns: A cross- cultural per- spective, rev. ed. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press.

Stroh, Linda K., Hal B. Gregersen, and J. Stewart Black. 1998. Closing the gap: Expectations versus reality among repatriates. Journal of World Business 33(2): 111–124.

Suchman, Lucy A. 1987. Plans and situated actions: The problem of human- machine communication. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Suchman, Lucy A. 2007. Human- machine reconfigurations: Plans and situated actions, 2nd ed. Cam- bridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

References 317

Sunderland, Patricia L. and Rita M. Denny. 2007. Doing anthropology in consumer research. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press.

Sussman, Nan M. 2001. Repatriation transitions: Psychological preparedness, cultural identity and attributions among American managers. International Journal of Intercultural Relations 25: 109–123.

Suutari, Vesa, Chris Brewster, Kimmo Riusala, and Salla Syrjäkari. 2013. Managing non- standard international experience: Evidence from a Finnish company. Journal of Global Mobility 1(2): 118–138.

Takeuchi, Riki. 2010. A critical review of expatriate adjustment research through a multiple stake- holder view: Progress, emerging trends, and prospects. Journal of Management 36(4): 1040–1064, July.

Tannen, Deborah. 1998. The argument culture: Moving from debate to dialogue. New York, NY: Random House.

Teagarden, Mary B. and Gary Gordon. 1995. Corporate selection strategies and expatriate manager success. In Expatriate management: New ideas for international business, edited by Jan Selmer. West- port, CT: Quorum Books.

Teegen, Hildy J. and Jonathan P. Doh. 2002. U.S.-Mexican alliance negotiations: Impact of culture on authority, trust, and performance. Thunderbird International Business Review 44(6): 749–775, November–December.

Tharenou, Phyllis. 2010. Women’s self- initiated expatriation as a career option and its ethical issues. Journal of Business Ethics 95: 73–88.

Thomas, David C. 2002. Essentials of international management: A cross- cultural perspective. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Thompson, Ann Marie and James L. Perry. 2006. Collaboration processes: Inside the black box. Public Administration Review, Special Issue 20–32, December.

Tinsley, Catherine H. and Madan M. Pillutla. 1998. Negotiating in the United States and Hong Kong. Journal of International Business Studies 29(4): 711–728.

de Tocqueville, Alexis. 1990 [1835]. Democracy in America, Vol. 1. New York, NY: Vintage Classics. de Tocqueville, Alexis. 1990 [1840]. Democracy in America, Vol. 2. New York, NY: Vintage Classics. Toh, Soo Min and Angelo S. Denisi. 2007. Host country nationals as socializing agents: A social

identity approach. Journal of Organizational Behavior 28: 281–301. Trompenaars, Alfons and Charles Hampden- Turner. 1993. The seven cultures of capitalism. New

York, NY: Currency/Doubleday. Trompenaars, Alfons and Charles Hampden- Turner. 1998. Riding the waves of culture: Understanding

cultural diversity in global business, 2nd ed. New York, NY: McGraw Hill. Trotter, Robert T., II, Elizabeth K. Briody, Linda B. Catlin, Tracy L. Meerwarth, and Gülcin H.

Sengir. 2004. The evolving nature of GM R&D’s collaborative research labs: Learning from stages and roles, GM Research and Development Center Publication No. 9907, October 15.

Trotter, Robert T., II, Elizabeth K. Briody, Gülcin H. Sengir, and Tracy L. Meerwarth. 2008a. The life cycle of collaborative partnerships: Evolutionary structure in industry- university research net- works. Connections (International network for social network analysis) 28(1): 40–58, June.

Trotter, Robert T., II, Gülcin H. Sengir, and Elizabeth K. Briody. 2008b. The cultural processes of partnerships. In Partnering for organizational performance: Collaboration and culture in the global work- place, edited by Elizabeth K. Briody and Robert T. Trotter, II, 15–54. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield.

Trump, Donald J. and Tony Schwartz. 1987. Trump: The art of the deal. New York, NY: Random House.

Tung, Rosalie L. 1981. Selection and training of personnel for overseas assignments. Columbia Journal of World Business 16(1): 68–78, Spring.

Tung, Rosalie L. 1982. Selection and training procedures for U.S., European, and Japanese multina- tionals. California Management Review 25(1): 57–71, Fall.

Tung, Rosalie L. 1988. The new expatriates: Managing human resources abroad. Cambridge, MA: Ball- inger Publishing Co.

318 References

Tung, Rosalie L. 1998. American expatriates abroad: From neophytes to cosmopolitans. Journal of World Business 33(2): 125–144.

Tung, Rosalie L. 2008. The cross- cultural research imperative: The need to balance cross- national and intra- national diversity. Journal of International Business Studies 39(1): 41–46.

Tung, Rosalie L. and Alain Verbeke. 2010. Beyond Hofstede and GLOBE: Improving the quality of cross- cultural research. Journal of International Business Studies 41: 1259–1274.

Vaiman, Vlad, Arno Haslberger, and Charles M. Vance. 2015. Recognizing the important role of self- initiated expatriates in effective global talent management. Human Resource Management 25: 280–286.

Van der Zee, Karen I. and Jan P. Van Oudenhoven. 2000. The multicultural personality question- naire: A multidimensional instrument of multicultural effectiveness. European Journal of Person- ality 14(4): 291–309.

Van der Zee, Karen I. and Jan P. Van Oudenhoven. 2001. The multicultural personality question- naire: Reliability and validity of self- and other ratings of multicultural effectiveness. Journal of Research in Personality 35(3): 278–288.

Van Maanen, John. 1978. Policing: A view from the street. New York, NY: Random House. Van Marrewijk, Alfons. 2010. European developments in business anthropology. International Journal

of Business Anthropology 1(1): 26–44. Vance, Charles M. and Youngsun Paik. 2015. Managing a global workforce: Challenges and opportunities

in international human resource management, 3rd ed. New York, NY: Routledge, Taylor & Francis. Varner, Iris I. and Teresa M. Palmer. 2002. Successful expatriation and organizational strategies.

Review of Business Spring, 8–11. Vogl, Ulrike and Matthias Hüning. 2010. One nation, one language? The case of Belgium. Dutch

Crossing 34(3): 228–247, November. Von Bergen, Jane M. 2008. More U.S. workers being sent to international posts. The Charlotte

Observer, August 17, p. 4D. Warner, W. Lloyd and J. O. Low. 1947. The social system of the modern factory: The strike: A social

analysis. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Warner, W. Lloyd and Paul S. Lunt. 1941. The social life of a modern community. New Haven, CT:

Yale University Press. Wasson, Christina and Susan Squires. 2012. Localizing the global in the field of technology design.

In Applying anthropology in the global village, edited by Christina Wasson, Mary Odell Butler, and Jacqueline Copeland- Carson, 251–284. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press.

Watson, O. Michael. 1970. Proxemic behavior: A cross- cultural study. The Hague, the Netherlands: Mouton.

Watson, Warren E., Kamalesh Kumar, and Larry K. Michaelsen. 1993. Cultural diversity’s impact on interaction process and performance: Comparing homogeneous and diverse task groups. Academy of Management Journal 36(3): 590–602.

Weiss, Stephen E. 1993. Analysis of complex negotiations in international business: The RBC per- spective. Organization Science 4(2): 269–301, May.

Weiss, Stephen E. 2006. International business negotiation in a globalizing world: Reflections on the contributions and future of a (sub) field. International Negotiation 11(2): 287–316, February.

Whorf, Benjamin Lee. 1956. Language, thought, and reality. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Williams, Oliver F. 2004. The UN Global Compact: The challenge and the promise. Business Ethics

Quarterly 14(4): 755–774. Wilson, Meena and Maxine Dalton. 1996. Selecting and developing global managers: Possibilities

and pitfalls. Unpublished paper, May. Würtz, Elizabeth. 2005. Intercultural communication on web sites: A cross- cultural analysis of web

sites from high- context cultures and low- context cultures. Journal of Computer- Mediated Communi- cation 11: 274–299.

Zimmermann, Angelika. 2011. Interpersonal relationships in transnational, virtual teams: Towards a configurational perspective. International Journal of Management Reviews 13: 59–78.

References 319

Website addresses

http://acronyms.thefreedictionary.com. http://archives.radio- canada.ca/sports/golf/clips/11730/. http://asq.org/learn- about-quality/project- planning-tools/overview/pdca- cycle.html. http://expatmarketing.com/news/expat- trends/how- big-is- the-expat- market. http://find.galegroup.com/gdl/help/GDLeDirEAHelp.html. http://informatemi.com/blog/?p=133. https://karlwhitfield.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/mobile- messaging-futures- 2012-2016-portio-

research-ltd- full-report.pdf. http://nicholasbrealey.com/boston/subjects/interculturalpress.html?p=3. http://nissannews.com/en- US/nissan/usa/releases/carlos- ghosn. http://sites.google.com/site/coincourse2015/home. https://thinkingbeyondborders.org/programs- for-gap- year-students/. https://travel.state.gov. www.academie- francaise.fr. www.amazon.com. www.americangirl.com/corporate/retail- stores. www.blabbermouth.net/news/cadillac- sales-soar- with-led- zeppelin/. www.businessdictionary.com/definition/expatriate.html. www.chijnayafoundation.org/economic- development/microlending. www.cia.gov/library/publications/the- world-factbook. www.cyborlink.com. www.denisonconsulting.com/diagnostics/organizational- culture. www.economist.com/news/business/21584002-german- firms-unusual- approach-designing- its-

products- adidas-method. www.ethnologue.com/about. www.ethnologue.com/country/BE. www.ethnologue.com/statistics/size. www.executiveplanet.com. www.expatfocus.com/c/aid=2514/articles/general/these- five-countries- have-the- highest-percentage-

of-expats- find-out- why/. www.fita.org. www.investopedia.com/terms/b/btoc.asp. www.itu.int/en/ITU- D/Statistics/Documents/facts/ICTFactsFigures2014-e.pdf. www.jetro.go.jp/en/. www.jobsite.co.uk/worklife/work- oil-rig- 18734/. www.lonuncavisto.com/moviles/diccionario/abreviaturas/1. www.nytimes.com/1996/05/26/weekinreview/word- for-word- doublespeak-it- fundamentally-true-

that-terms- below-are- english.html. www.nytimes.com/2016/04/07/world/middleeast/conjoined- twins-a- trip-to- saudi-arabia- and-a- risky-

operation.html?ref=todayspaper&_r=0. www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/07/01/world/europe/A- Short-Lexicon- of-Italian- Gestures.html. www.nytimes.com/video/world/europe/100000002309793/the- italian-gesture-.html. www.projects- abroad.org/how- it-works/gap- year-volunteers/. www.tagesanzeiger.ch/wirtschaft/konjunktur/Schlechte- Noten-fuers- Grossraumbuero/story/

11770162. www.unesco.org/new/en/culture/themes/endangered- languages/. www.unglobalcompact.org.

Page numbers in italics denote tables, those in bold denote figures.

Index

100 percent consensus 162, 163

abayah 83, 84 Académie française 108–9 accent 119–20 accommodation 196 acculturation 195–7, 208, 267 acronyms 107, 116, 211 activity orientation 30 adaptiveness 202 Adidas 223–4 Adler, Peter 264 advertising 7, 212, 218, 227–8; and brand

meaning 226–9 advertising anthropology 212 African time 49 alliance formation 162, 163 alliances, international/cross-cultural 1 Allport, F. H. 80 alternative viewpoints, appreciation of 247 Alvesson, Mats 198 American Girl brand 226–7, 227 American Society for Quality 191 Ammon, Ulrich 102 Andreatta, Susan 196 anthropological approach to change 195; and

acculturation 197; grid and group model 197–8; mechanisms of change 195–6; patterns of 203

anthropologists: and consumer behavior 218–19; and cultural transformation 197; in the private sector 8

anthropology, and the study of culture 10–12 anti-corruption 148 Arab Spring 58 Archer, Dane 91–2 Argyle, Michael 76 artistic styles, globalization of 2 Arunthanes, Wiboon 71 Atkinson, Dianne 99, 101 automotive industry 200–1; see also General

Motors (GM)

Axtell, Roger 79

Baba, Marietta 6, 239 Background Notes 285 balance of power 159 balancing contradictions 247 Barnett, Steve 212 Barrett, Richard 22–3 Bartlo, Wendy 88 baseball expressions 108 Beauregard, Mary 144 Beeman, Bill 8, 121 Befu, H. 70 being societies 30 Belgium, languages spoken in 103–5, 105 Berry, John 196 Bhaskar-Shrinivas, Purnima 251 biculturalism 264 bilingualism 99, 113 Birdwhistell, R. L. 81 Black, J. Stewart 256 blogs 172 body posture 73–4 Boer, Laurens 225 Bolton, Ralph 36 Boroditsky, Lera 109–10 bowing 70, 71 BP–GM partnership 175–6 Brake, Terence 118 brand meaning, and advertising 226–9 brands 226 Brannen, Mary Yoko 59 Brett, Jeanne 128 Bridge Model of Cultural Transformation

202–3, 203 Briody, Elizabeth 57, 103, 155, 158–9, 161, 180,

184, 201, 202, 213, 234, 235, 239, 261, 269, 271

broad perspective 247 Brookfield Global Relocation Services 251 Brooks, Charles 135

Index 321

Bumerman, George (Wolf) 179 Burdick, Eugene 288 Bureau of Consular Affairs 286 Burke, W. Warner, model of organizational

change 194 business: in change-fearing cultures 43; in

collectivist cultures 34; in hierarchical cultures 36–8; see also cultural dimensions

business anthropologist 7, 20, 186 business anthropology 6, 8, 20, 197 business approach to change: centralizing

concept 191–2; key patterns 194–5; multi- stage process models 193–4; three-stage process models 193; understanding of culture 192–3

business card exchange 69–70, 69 business interactions 73; body posture 73–4;

dress 82–4; email communication 122, 172, 234; facial expressions 80–2; gaze 74–6; Google hangout 172; hand gestures 76–80; through ICTs 234; proxemics 85–9; Skype 172, 234; text messaging 58, 123–4

business introductions 68; bowing 70, 71; business card exchange 69–70, 69; gift giving 70–3, 221

busyness 49–50 Buur, Jacob 225

Cadillac Breakthrough campaign 227–9, 228 Caligiuri, Paula 244–6 Cameron, Kim 192; model of organizational

change 194 Campbell Soup Company 177–8, 178 Canada, marketing in 61 Carnes, James 223 Cartus Corporation 240, 251–2, 253 Cascio, Wayne F. 199 Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) 285 Cerdin, Jean-Luc 234 change see anthropological approach to change;

business approach to change; cultural transformation; organizational change; planned change

change-embracing cultures 40–3, 58–61 change-fearing cultures 40–2, 43, 60 change orientation dimension 38 chat/VoIP 124–5 Chen, Ling 142 Chew, Janet 256 Chijnaya Foundation 36 China: academic partnerships with 176–7; gift-

giving in 72; negotiations in 128, 137, 142; and the world economy 1

chocolate, consumers of 220–2 Chrisman, Judith Beeber 261, 269, 271 Chrysler 200 civil inattention 76

climate diary 225–6 clothing protocols 82–4; in Saudi Arabia 83–4 Cloud computing 234 Coca-Cola 2 code-switching 113 coffee, consumers of 219–20 cognitive 76, 98, 109, 190, 193, 259 cognitive dissonance 145 collaboration 8, 23, 55, 57, 92, 155, 160, 162,

164, 167, 168, 172, 176, 178, 180, 201, 215, 218, 222–3, 224, 260, 275; in consumer research 229; in global virtual teams 234; Hopi Footprints Project 179; in marketing 222–6; using post-it notes 224

Collaborative Innovation Networks (COINs) 172

collectivism: in business cultures 31–4, 54, 128, 133; for small business entrepreneurs 36; see also group-centeredness

Collings, David 237–8, 253 colloquialisms 108 communication: chat/VoIP 124–5; across

cultures 95; email 122, 172, 234; in global virtual teams 234; high- vs. low-context 52–5; psychologically safe climate 174; text messaging 58, 123, 123–4; use of metaphors 55–7

communication patterns 23 communication technologies 171; email 172 commuter assignments 236 comparative 3–4, 11, 199 comparison 30, 31, 33, 53, 56, 58, 92, 106, 193,

220, 256, 272 computer assignments 236 Conaway, W. A. 284 Condon, John 31, 66, 73 conferences, virtual 173 confianza 144 conflict 180 conflict resolution 245 consensus, regarding decision making 23, 38 142

194; and Isuzu 158, 165; and Japan 111, 158, 161; and Opel 163; and Saturn Corp. 162, 166; and Small Car Group 163; and thumbs up 80

consumer anthropology 7, 212 consumer behavior 6, 90–1, 92 consumer research 7, 212, 213; holistic approach

to 218–19 consumers 211; anthropological approach to

understanding 212–13; and automobiles 227–9; of chocolate 220–2; of coffee 219–20; holistic approach to 229; interface with business organizations 213; of intimate apparel 213–18; and market complexity 215, 217; and meaning 219, 226–7, 228, 229; and sportswear 223–4

322 Index

context, high vs. low 52–5, 71–2, 89, 112 contracts, and relationships 135 contradictions, balancing 247 conversational taboos 119 Cook, Mark 76 corporate cultural values, and performance 199 corporate culture 18, 23–5; of start-ups 24 corporate expatriates 240; see also expatriate

assignments corporate orientations 232, 232 corporate social responsibility (CSR) 148, 198 corporations, as cultures 23–5 Corrunker, Laura 68 Costco 199 coupled systems 239 Crain, Cathleen 112 crisis management 200 Cross-Cultural Adaptability Inventory (CCAI)

251 cross-cultural scenarios: in consumer research

229–30; for cultural transformation 209–10; in expatriate assignments 253–4, 275–6; global business scenarios 26–7; for global negotiation 152–3; language skills 125–6; nonverbal communication 94; for partnering and partnerships 181–2; understanding culture 62–3

cross-cultural skills 259 cross-cultural training (CCT) 239, 256, 257,

267, 268, 288; content of 258–9; effectiveness of 256–8

Crundwell, Natasha 169, 170 Crystal, David 102, 123 cultural adaptiveness and adaptation 201–2,

245 cultural agility 244 cultural anthropology 5, 284; and business 6–10;

perspective of 3–6 cultural borrowing 17–9; see also cultural

diffusion cultural brokers 245 cultural change see also cultural transformation cultural competence 96, 98, 119 cultural conflict 63; examples 26–7 cultural contradiction 20 cultural crossvergence 166 cultural differences 28; in business 25–6; in

gestures 76–82, 91–2; value-orientation approach 30–2

cultural diffusion 17–20; see also diffusion cultural dimensions 30–1; change embracing-

change fearing culture 38–43, 40, 58–61; context 52–5; directness vs. indirectness 111–12; equality vs. hierarchy 36–8, 37; individualism vs. collectivism 30, 32, 33, 32–6, 128; individualism vs. group- centeredness 110–11; long-term vs. short-

term orientation 30; masculinity-femininity 30; power distance 30; slippery vs. emergent 60; time orientation 44–52, 44, 47, 51; uncertainty avoidance 30; universalistic vs. particularistic 170

cultural dynamics 59 cultural generalizations 138 cultural heritage 4 cultural ideals 186–7, 204, 187; see also cultural

dimensions; values cultural information resources: academia 287;

anthropological approach to locating 283–4; foreign trade offices 287–8; in-country documentary resources 289–90; in-country human resources 290; international business studies 287; one’s own company 287; private- sector consultants and trainers 288–9

cultural integration 246 cultural loss 196, 197 cultural minimization 245–6 cultural obstacles 202, 204, 205, 207 cultural problem solving 202 cultural profiles: country-specific sources 284–5;

culture-specific associations 284; electronic library 285–6; human resources for 286–9; U.S. government sources 285

cultural relativism 21, 195, 198 cultural responsiveness 201–2 cultural synergy 166 cultural transformation 17–20; analyzing the

reactions to change 187–8; and the anthropological approach to change 195–8; applying to health care 203–7, 204, 205, 206; Bridge Model of 202–3, 203; Briody et al.’s process 201; and the business approach to change 191–5; comparing the plan with the stated cultural ideals 186; and the concept of culture 190–1; core idea of 189–90; critical attributes of 188–91; data gathering 186; defined 183–4; developing and implementing a plan for change 184–5; at GM 201–3; in health care 203–7; as iterative process 201, 205, 207, 208; manufacturing case study 200–3; planned 184, 204, 205, 208; process and problem solving 201–2; requirements for 202; as time-based process 191

cultural universals 14; economic systems 14; educational systems 16; marriage and family systems 14; social control systems 16; supernatural belief systems 17

culture(s): acquisition of 11; anthropological definition of 10, 190–1; anthropological study of 10–12; and business 107; cognitive aspects of 190; influence of language on 109–10; influence on biological processes 12; influence on language 106–9; as integrated wholes 21–3; interrelated parts of 22; and language

Index 323

preservation 108–9; national 157; Schein’s definition of 190; and sports 107–8; transmission of 11–12; understanding of 192–3; as variable 198; virtual 171; see also corporate culture; cultural dimensions

culture fatigue 261 Culturegrams 284 culture shock 250, 260–5, 262, 266, 288;

phases of 263–4; positive impacts of 264–5; symptoms of 262–3

customers 211

Darrah, Charles 49 Darwin, Charles 80 decision making: and cultural differences 161;

and organizational-culture differences 161–2 decision making models: 100 percent consensus

163; alliance formation 163; horizontal relationships 164; impact of differences in 165; individual empowerment 164; interdependency 164; leadership driven 163; leadership rule 163; lessons drawn from 165–6; majority preferred 163; majority rule 163; single voice of authority 164; vertical relationship 164

decision paralysis 165 decoupled systems 239 DeKoster, Bernadijn 103 Delphi Corporation 239 Denisi, Angelo 266 Denison, Daniel 191 Denison Organizational Culture Survey 193 Denny, Rita 219, 220, 221 deregulation 3 design anthropology 8, 212, 225 developmental assignments 240 dialect 101 Dickmann, Michael 242, 272–3 diffusion 196–7; see also cultural diffusion dimensions, individual-collective 31–2;

equality-hierarchy 36–7; change orientation 38, 40–1; time orientation 44, 47

direct foreign investments, in the U.S. 2 directness 54, 111–12, 133 discovery 18 diversity, cultural 25 Doherty, Noeleen 242, 272–3 doing societies 30 Donovan, Jared 225 double framing 121 doublespeak 118–19 Douglas, Mary 197 Dowling, Peter 244 downward mobility 49 dress 82–4; see also clothing protocols Duarte, Fernanda 198 Dubinskas, Frank 7, 85

Eaton, Tara 171 economic systems 14 educational systems 16 Efron, David 77 Eibl-Eibesfeldt, I. 80 Eisenberg, A. M. 66 Ekman, Paul 80 Elahee, Mohammad 135 Ellsworth, Phoebe 74 email archives 172 email communication 122, 172, 234 emergent culture 60–1 Emerson, Ralph Waldo 74 emic (insider) approach 4, 195 emotional resilience 248 empowering/ment 123, 162, 164, 170 enablers 202, 204 Engholm, Christopher 81, 112 English 37, 59, 69, 80, 92, 95–6, 98, 102, 105,

177, 181, 251 English-Lueck, Jan 49 Ensworth, Patricia 169 entrepreneurs 30–1, 36, 42 environmental responsibility 148 equality 31, 36–8, 62, 162, 163 Erickson, Ken 7–8, 87, 90–1, 211, 213 Eriksson, Martin 250, 252 ethics issues 146–50 ethnic identity 29 ethnocentrism 20–1, 27, 195, 204 ethnography/ies 6, 212, 213, 224; and indoor

climate 225 etic (outsider) approach 4 euphemisms 118–19 Executive Planet 286 ExpatFocus 240 expatriate assignments 235, 237–8; alternatives

to 274; corporate 240; and culture shock 260–5; developmental 240; and the expatriate experience 260–70; expatriate numbers 239–41; and the expatriate paradox 242; in-country support 265–70; preferences in locations 241–2; preparation for 255–60; reduction of 243–4; reimagining global strategy 273–4; and repatriation 270–3; role of spouse and children 252, 252–3, 268–70, 269, 270; strategies for 242–4; see also expatriate selection

expatriate community 260 expatriate paradox 242 expatriate selection: communication 251; family

circumstances 252–3; gender issues 251–2, 253; global interest 249; models for 248; motivation 249–50; personality 250–1; technical skills 248–9

eye contact 75–6 eyebrow flash 80

324 Index

Facebook 59 FaceTime 90 facial expressions 80–2; in Japan 81–2 Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International

221 Fan, Samantha 99 Fang, Tony 56, 59 farmer’s markets 222 Federation of International Trade Associations

286 feedback 234 Ferraro, Gary 196, 223 Finland, business culture in 173 flexibility 140–2, 191 Ford Motor Company 57, 200 Foreign Corrupt Practices Act 147 foreign language skills 98–101, 100, 103, 125;

in expatriate assignments 251, 255–6; top eight languages 101; see also language(s)

foreign trade offices (FTOs) 287–8 Foster, Dean Allen 136, 140 franchise operators 2 Freeman, James 49 frequent flyer assignments 236 future oriented societies 48–9, 51

Gale, Nicola 198 Gallenga, Ghislaine 234–5 Gannon, Martin 56, 57, 58 gap year 233 Gardner, Burleigh 212 gaze 74–6, 75 Geertz, Clifford 56 gender-based hierarchies 39 gender roles 30 gender separation 87 General Motors (GM) 188–91, 200–1; car

division 239; component division 239; meeting with Isuzu partners 96–8; organizational cultural differences 162; partnership with BP 175–6

General Motors (GM) Cadillac 227–9 General Motors Truck Group (GMTG),

partnership with Isuzu Motors Ltd. 158–9 Germany, business culture in 53, 59, 173 gestalt 226 gesture, cultural differences in 76–81, 91–2 Ghosn, Carlos 244, 251 Gibbs, Jennifer 174 Gibson, Cristina 170, 173–4 gift giving 70–1, 72, 221; cross-cultural 71–3 global connections 1–2 global leadership 231; competencies for 244–8 Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior

Effectiveness (GLOBE) 31 global nomads 241 global partnerships 6; virtual 171–4

global skills 233 global teams 6; virtual 170, 234–5 globalization 1–3, 58 globally branded products 2 globally oriented firms 232 globally oriented workforce: global virtual teams

234–5; international assignments 235–8; recruiting and hiring 233–4

Gluesing, Julia 57, 122, 166, 170, 173–4, 197 GM see General Motors (GM) Goffman, Erving 76 Goldin-Meadow, Susan 76 Google 89 Google hangout 172 Gorer, Geoffrey 81 Gregory-Huddleston, Kathleen 41 grid and group model 197–8 group-centeredness 110–11; see also collectivism guanxi 72 Gumerman, George (Wolf) 179

hadj 141–2 Hall, Edward 46, 65, 67, 74, 75, 85–6 Hall, Judith 93 Hamada Connolly, Tomoko 245, 251 Hamori, Monika 272–3 Hampden-Turner, Charles 37, 47 hand gestures 76–80 Harrison, David 250 Harrison, Randall 76 Harzing, Anne-Wil 238, 243 Hawthorne Project 6 health care, cultural transformation in 203–7,

204, 205, 206 Heenan, David 232 Herbig, Paul 138 heroes 23 Heron, John 74 hierarchy 36–8, 39, 62, 160, 162, 163, 188 hierarchies 160; gender-based 39 high-skilled jobs 2 Hirsch, E. D. 291 HIV-AIDS prevention 177 Hofstede, Geert 30 holidays 139–40, 140 holism 4, 195 honorifics 114 Hopi Footprints Project 179, 179, 180 human nature orientation 30 human rights 148 humor 120–1, 262 hybrid culture 166, 173, 232, 246

Ideal Plant Culture Project 201 Identity 193, 212, 226, 227; of a brand 226; of

consumers 229; of a corporation 23, 160; cultural 30, 74, 83, 179; ethnic 29; of a team 246

Index 325

in-country support: building a knowledge base 267; from the corporation 265–7; local networks 268–70

India: and the global IT revolution 3; workplace design in 88

indirectness 54, 111–12, 118, 128, 133 individual empowerment 162, 164 individualism 31–5, 54, 56, 133, 164; in

21st-century America 35 indoor climate 224–6 Infiniti Nature campaign 227–9 information and communication technologies

(ICTs) 122, 234; chat/VoIP 124–5; email communication 122; text messaging 123–4

information technology (IT) 171; globalization of 3

in-group/out-group 83 in-home interviews 7, 177, 178, 212, 213, 217 integrated wholes 21–3 integrity 146–50 Intel Corporation 284; cross-cultural

competency in 259 Interactive Home Owner Guide (smartphone

app) 225 intercept interviews 213, 214 Intercultural Press 285 Interdependence/y 32, 152, 162, 164, 232 interior air climate 224–6 international assignments 235, 241; business

trips 235–6; computer assignments 236; frequent flyer assignments 236; integrating the global at home 238–9; long-term assignments 237–8; rotational assignments 236; short-term assignments 237, 237; see also expatriate assignments

International Business Etiquette and Manners 286

international business studies 287 International Organisation for Economic

Co-operation and Development (OECD) 233, 240

international students 233 Internet use 2, 234 interpersonal relationships 168–9 interpreters 99, 150–2; see also translation and

translators interviews 72, 90, 135, 175, 201, 215, 219, 221,

223, 236, 283, 290; ethnographic 174; of expatriates 251, 257, 261, 269; in-home 7, 177, 178, 212, 213, 217; intercept 213, 214

interview questions 213, 215 intimate apparel marketing 213–18 invention 18, 196 Iribarne, Philippe d’ 24 Isuzu Motors Ltd.: meeting with GM partners

96–8; partnership with General Motors Truck Group (GMTG) 158–9

Italy, hand gestures in 78–9 iterative 191, 194, 201, 205, 207, 208 Ito, Yasunobu 176, 212, 213

Japan: bowing, 70; business card exchange, 69–70; business culture in 59; facial expressions in 80–1; use of ethnography in 213; negotiations in 128, 135

Japan Airlines (JAL) 90 Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO)

288 Jensen, J. V. 81 jet lag 131, 131 Jordan, Ann 6, 83–4, 86–7, 240

Kabongo, Jean 267 Kanter, Rosabeth Moss 191, 194 Kaufman, Lindsay 89 Keenan, Clare 119–20 Kelley, Colleen 251 Khanna, Sunil 177 Klein, Simone 251 Kluckhohn, Clyde 12 Kluckhohn, Florence 30, 47 Kohls, Robert 262 Koons, Adam 100, 115 Korea, bowing in 71 Kottak, Conrad 86 Kotter, John 191, 192; model of organizational

change 194 Koyuncu, Burak 273 KPMG 240–1 Kraimer, Maria 272–3 Kramer, Hugh 138 Kumar, Rajesh 136

La Barre, Weston 81 labor laws 148 Laflamme, Nicole 39 language(s): accents 119–20, 146; Asian

approach to 112; in Belgium 103–5; Chinese 110; conversational taboos 119; defined 95–6; direct vs. indirect 111–12; English 37, 59, 69, 80, 92, 95–6, 98, 102, 105, 113, 177, 181, 251; euphemisms 118–19; French 110; German 110; global spoken 101–2; and individualism vs. group-centeredness 110–11; influence of culture on 106–9; influence on culture 109–10, 110; international marketing 114–16, 115; as mirror of cultural values 110–13; official 103; nonstandard forms of 117; slang 117–18; and social context 113–15; Spanish 110, 124; Tagalog 168; translation issues 114–15; use of humor 120–1, 120; use of interpreters 150–2; see also foreign language skills

language loss 196

326 Index

language preservation 108–9 language training 255–6 leadership driven 162, 163, 165 leadership rule 163; see global leadership learning, from those involved 200 Lederer, William 288 Lee, Kam-hon 128 legends 23 Lewin, Kurt 19, 193 Lewis, Jeff 44, 46 Lindström, Robin 250, 252 lingua franca 105 linguistic competence 65, 96 linguistic diversity 101–6 linguistic proficiency 95–6 long-term assignments 237–8 loose reckoning of time 44, 46, 50, 133

McArthur, Tom 102 McAveeney, Corey 24 McCabe, Maryann 221, 227–8 McKeown, Ian 197–8 Madsbjerg, Christian 223, 224 Malefyt, Timothy de Waal 7, 177–8, 221, 227 Malinowski, Bronislaw 72 majority preferred 163 majority rule 163 man–nature orientation 30 mañana syndrome 44, 46 marketing 7–8, 9, 12, 18, 25, 108, 114, 115,

211–13, 228, 229 market research: chocolate 220–2; coffee

219–20; intimate apparel 213–18; sportswear 223–4

marriage and family systems 14, 15, 16 Marx, Elisabeth 262 Mauss, Marcel 72 Mbiti, John 49 meaning, of consumer products 219–20 Meerwarth, Tracy 88, 175, 201, 234 meetings: agendas and minutes 190; differences

in power and social status 160, 160; lessons drawn from 159–60; and national-cultural differences 156–7; as opportunities for collaboration 155; and organizational-culture differences 158–9

Meissner, Martin 77 Mendenhall, Mark 256 metaphors 55–7, 58, 216, 238 Metcalf, Crysta 167 Meyers, Judith 251 Miller, Christine 172 Millington, Andrew 72 misalignment 189 miscommunications 180 misunderstandings 180 Mitchell, Charles 75

Mitroff, Ian 200 Mobile Web 234 models of care 189 Mohr, Alexander 251 Molinsky, Andrew 77–8 monochronic time (M-time) 46, 47, 50, 59 Montague, Susan 56 Morais, Robert 56, 61 Moran, Robert 127 Morgan, Gareth 56 Morris, Desmond 78 Morris, Mark 258 Morrison, Terri 284 Morsbach, Helmut 70 Multicultural Personality Questionnaire

250–1 multidisciplinary 166, 172 multilingualism 99, 113 multinational corporations (MNCs) 23, 284 multi-tasking 49

national culture 31, 32, 36, 40, 56, 83, 122, 260, 232, 245, 264, 266; and differences 10, 54, 56–7, 59, 86, 88, 135, 173 256; and high or low context 71; and meeting styles 156–7; and teams 171

negotiated culture 59, 196 negotiation: avoiding cultural cluelessness

132–3; avoiding cultural generalizations 138; careful preparation for 142–6, 143; change- fearing and change-embracing cultures 41; Chinese/American 128, 137; competency 238; concentrating on long-term relationships 133–5; cross-cultural 127–8; cross-cultural challenges 129–30; establishing relationships 134; ethics and integrity 146–50; finding common ground 149; focusing on the interests behind the positions 136–7; global 152; importance of listening 143–4, 145; and language ability 99, 102; Japanese/American 128, 135; location of negotiations 130–2; need for flexibility 140–1; note taking 147; Persian 128–9; sensitivity to timing 139–40; social status 38, 205; using interpreters 150–2; value assumptions 9, 133

networks, collaborative 172 new technologies, and visual media 89–92 Nike 223 Nissan Infiniti Nature campaign 227–9, 228 Nolan, Riall 176–7 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) 177,

178 nonverbal communication 4; drawing 92;

imperfect alignment with verbal 93; lack of grammar and dictionaries 93; learned and shared 92–3; nature of 65; new technologies and visual media 89–92; potential pitfalls in

Index 327

studying 67–8; types of 66–7; unconscious nature of 93; use and arrangement of space 64–5

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) 3

Northern Arizona University 179 note taking 147

Oberg, Kalvero 260–1, 264, 288 Offeddu, Laura 79 office environments 87–8 official languages 100, 103–4, 105 offshore outsourcing 171 Okpara, John 267 Okumura, Tetsushi 128 online forums 172 open-office plan 87–9 Organisation for Economic Cooperation and

Development (OECD) 233, 240 organizational change 187; Cameron and

Quinn’s model of 194, 194; reaction of stakeholders to 187–8; Schein’s model of 193, 193

Organizational Culture Assessment 192–3 organizational-culture differences 158–9, 162 organizational-cultural change 19–20, 183–4,

187, 197–8, 203; see also cultural transformation

organizational cultures 6, 10, 32, 36, 40–1, 59, 61, 84, 88, 154, 163–5, 183–6; 188, 190, 215, 229; and expatriates 235, 238, 245–6, 256, 260, 266; and Hofstede 31; and Cameron and Quinn 192, 194; and Kotter 192; see corporate culture

organizational research, human relations school 6

organizational values 8, 24, 25, 41, 57, 58, 60, 158, 174, 186, 187, 198, 199, 206, 239, 246

Orr, Julian 197 Ortlieb, Martin 59, 60 Osman-Gani, Aahad 264

Paik, Youngsun 234, 248 Palmer, Teresa 238 participant observation 4, 5, 8, 220, 283 particularistic cultures 170 partnering 58, 59, 70, 142, 154; lessons drawn

from 180–1; local and global 180; and problem solving 166; and reciprocity 166; with on-site work colleagues 166–70, with locals 266

partnerships 9, 14–16, 21, 26, 57, 149, 154–5, 190; in change-embracing and change-fearing cultures 40, 42–3; between Chinese and others 128, 136, 142, 176–7; between Enron and India 139; decision-making models for 161–6; and ethics 147; global 6, 171–4, 234,

238; between GM and Isuzu 96–8; importance of outcomes 181; and language skills 98–9, 150–2; life cycle of 174–5, 174, 178, 180–1; local vs. global 170–1; in loose time reckoning cultures 52; process outcomes 175–6; product outcomes 177–8; public- private 177; relationship aspects of 180; between Renault and Nissan 244; rules for 175; and trust 135, 146–9; for tourism 179–80; transnational 240; virtual 171–4; see also teams

past-oriented societies 47 PDCA (plan-do-check-act) cycle 191 perceptions 4, 32, 35, 46, 186, 195; of

consumers 213; and language 109, 110; and proxemics 86

Perlmutter, Howard 232 personal space 85–8 pervasive ambiguity 261 Philip, George 197–8 Philpott, Stuart 77 phone logs 172 Pidgin 100 planned change 19–20, 57, 184, 188–91, 194,

207 Plummer, Joseph 212 Poggi, Isabella 79 polychronic time (P-time) 46, 47, 50, 52, 59 positioning, of consumer products 221 power, balance of 159 power differences 36, 37, 88, 154, 159, 160,

160, 168, 188 power distance 30, 36 power, emotional 226 power, global economy 3, 184 power structure 142, 191; see also hierarchy power, use of 133, 215 precise reckoning of time 44, 46, 49–50, 133,

139 present-oriented societies 47–8, 51 problem solving, cultural 202, 202 process, decision-making 38, 161–4, 166 process model of (planned) change 20, 57,

189, 191, 193–5, 197, 201–7, 205, 206, 208, 274

process, negotiating 59, 127 process, planning 48, 184, 259 process, work-systems 28, 60, 77, 97, 135, 159,

169–70, 175, 184–5, 233, 238, 240 processes of change 17–19, 19, 195–7 product design 7; user–centered 225 product development 284 productive/ity 27, 53, 88, 88, 169, 199, 234,

253 Protestant Ethic 17, 49 provotypes 225 proxemics 85–9

328 Index

P.T. Essex 141 public–private partnerships 177; see also

partnerships punctuality 44

quality control 185 Quality Network Initiative (GM) 188–91 Quinn, Robert 192; model of organizational

change 194

Rasmussen, Mikkel 223, 224 reciprocal/reciprocity 15, 70, 72, 114, 166, 167,

170, 262 ReD Associates 223 Reeves-Ellington, Richard 141–2, 149 relational orientation 30 relationships: establishment of 55; horizontal

164; reciprocity in 166, 167 religious ritual, outsourcing of 2 Render-Lamp provotype 225 repatriation 269–70; back home in the office

272–3; reentry shock 270–2 research, multidisciplinary 166–7 responsiveness 202 Robie, Chet 258 Rockstuhl, Thomas 264 role 8, 23, 31, 37, 39, 46, 51, 52, 60, 67, 86, 87,

102, 136, 150, 154, 155, 157, 159–69, 174, 180, 185–6, 188, 189–93, 190, 206, 225, 231, 236, 238, 244, 266

role shock 261 Roman Catholic Church 2 rotational assignments 236 Roy, Anulekha 46, 76 rules 11, 12, 16, 23, 24, 37, 39, 40, 43, 149, 163,

170, 188, 205, 215, 246, 261; language 95; local 176; partnership 175–6

Safadi, Michaela 79 Salacuse, Jeswald 134, 138, 152 Salk, Jane 59 Salzmann, Zdenek 98 Sam’s Club 199 Sando, Ruth 48 Sapir, Edward 109 Sapir–Whorf hypothesis 109 Saudi Arabia: clothing protocols in 83–4;

transnational partnerships in 240 Schein, Edgar: definition of culture 190; model

of organizational change 191–3, 193 Schering Corporation 141 Schmitz, Joerg 87 Schulte, Brigid 49 self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) 234 Selmer, Jan 234 Sengir, Gülcin 167–8 Sensitive Aunt 225

sequentially-oriented societies 46–7, 47; see also monochronic time (M-time)

Shaffer, Margaret 250 shared experiences 23 Sharma, Ekta 250 Sheer, Vivian 142 Sherry, John F. 226, 284 Sherzer, Joel 80 Shimoni, Baruch 232 Shortland, Susan 253 short-term assignments 237 silos 215, 216, 275 single voice of authority 162, 164 Skype 172, 234 slang expressions 117–18, 124, 125 slippery culture 60–1 small business entrepreneurs 36; see also

entrepreneurs smart systems 8 smartphone apps 225–6 Smircich, Linda 198 Smith, R. R. 66 social context, nonverbal and 71, 80; language

and 96, 112, 113–16, 125, 150 social control systems 16 social interaction, patterns of 23–4 social media 59 social networking sites 172 Social Research, Inc. (SRI) 212 social status 37, 38, 70, 73, 114, 116 social status differences 160, 160 socialization, in global virtual teams 234 Spanish 110, 124 sportswear market 223–4 Squires, Susan 8–9, 89, 90 Stripp, William 127 Strodtbeck, Fred 30, 47 students, international 233 study abroad experience 233 subculture 30, 36, 84, 259 Sullivan Principles 148 Sunderland, Patti 219, 220 supernatural belief systems 17 supply chain 184, 215 Sussman, Nan 271 Suutari, Vesa 234, 236 Sveningsson, Stefan 198 Swaan, Abram de 103 symbols 23 synchronically oriented societies 46–7, 47; see

also polychronic time (P-time)

Takeuchi, Riki 265, 269 Tannen, Deborah 146 teams: cross-cultural 247; global 6, 170, 234–5;

traditional 170 text messaging 58, 123, 123–4

Index 329

Tharenou, Phyllis 252 time: African 49; monochromic 46–7, 50, 59;

polychromic 46–7, 50, 52, 59; understanding of 7

time orientation 30; and the busyness factor 49–50; past, present, and future 47–9, 51; precise vs. loose time reckoning 44, 46, 50; sequential vs. synchronized 46–7, 54

Toh, Soo Min 266 Total Quality Management 24 tourism 179 traditional teams 170–1 translation and translators 114–15, 150; see also

interpreters transnational partnerships: with China 128,

137, 176–7; with Japan 128, 135; with Saudi Arabia 240

Trompenaars, Alfons 37, 47 Tronick, Ed 5 Trotter, Robert T., II 57, 155, 166, 168, 174,

180, 201 Trump, Donald J. 133–4 Tung, Rosalie 56, 243, 268

UAW (International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America) 188–9, 200

UAW–GM Quality Network 188–9 uncertainty avoidance 30 United Nations Global Compact 148 United States: attitude regarding time 45;

business culture in 53, 173; direct foreign investment in 2; foreign-born population 2

universal problems 30 universalistic cultures 170 U.S. Department of State 285, 286 U.S. population, foreign-born 2 user-centered design 225

Vaiman, Vlad 234, 269 Valentine, Carol Ann 79 value assumptions 133 value orientations 30–2 value systems 29–30 values 9, 24, 51–2, 53, 59, 61, 75, 77, 87,

110–11, 119, 121, 128, 133, 141, 147, 148, 158, 167, 168, 187, 188, 205, 206, 219, 220, 227, 257, 258–9, 261; contrasting 29–32; corporate cultural 199; shared 23, 128; see also cultural ideals and organizational values

Vance, Charles 234, 248 Vardon, François 240, 242–4 Varner, Iris 238 ventilation 226 vertical relationship 164; see also hierarchy video footage 91, 91 videoconferencing 90 videophones 90 virtual conferences 173 virtual culture 122, 170–2 virtual teams 180; global 170, 172–3, 174, 180,

234–5, 238 Visteon Corporation 57 visual media, and new technologies 89–92

walls, in the work environment 88 Wal-Mart 24 Warner, W. Lloyd 212 Watson, O. M. 75 Watson, Warren E. 26 Wayne State University 57 wealth inequality 49 websites 89 whistle-blowing 147 Whorf, Benjamin Lee 99, 109 WindowMaster 226 women: as expatriate wives 261, 268–70, 271; as

expatriates 251–3; and feminine attractiveness 13; and gender-based hierarchies 39; gender roles 30; gender separation 87; and intercultural communication 252; and intimate apparel marketing 215, 217–18; and marriage practices 15; and meal preparation 177–8; and nonverbal communication 93

workforce see globally oriented workforce workplace conflict 169 workspace design 88, 88; open plan 88, 89 worldview 99, 197, 201, 205, 206, 208 Worm, Verner 136 Würtz, Elizabeth 70, 89

Yahoo 60–1 Yoon, S.J. 70, 72 Yousef, Fathi 31, 66, 73

Zimmermann, Angelika 171, 180