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1 Understand Cultural Differences Cultural differences have huge impacts in the business world –International business dealings –Working locally with an.

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Presentation on theme: "1 Understand Cultural Differences Cultural differences have huge impacts in the business world –International business dealings –Working locally with an."— Presentation transcript:

1 1 Understand Cultural Differences Cultural differences have huge impacts in the business world –International business dealings –Working locally with an international work force Culture profoundly affects how people communicate –And communication is the basis of all business activities The Silent Language –Culture is often outside of people’s conscious awareness

2 2 What is Culture? How does it impact business activities? How can cultural differences hamper international business? How can an understanding of cultural differences improve international business?

3 3 What is Culture? A lens – a frame of reference –Through which we view and interpret human interaction 90% of communication is nonverbal –Nonverbal communication is heavily culturally influenced

4 4 Key Concepts Speed: fast and slow messages Context Space Time Information Flow Interfacing

5 5 Fast and slow messages How quickly is the meaning of a message understood? –Art is slow; a cartoon is fast –Television is faster than print Messages are sent and received at different speeds depending upon culture People are messages –How long does it take to “know” a person?

6 6 Context How much of the relevant information is in the message, and how much is already understood by sender and receiver? High context situations –a message can contain lots of meaning without much information content Low context situations –The message must contain all relevant information

7 7 Space Territoriality –What space and how much of it is “mine”? –Size and location of an office Personal space –How close is too close? –This is very culturally dependent

8 8 Time How people view time is very culturally dependent Monochromatic vs. polychromatic –How many things are done at once? One thing: monochromatic Many: polychromatic

9 9 Time Polychronic cultures –Lots of information is present –Very tolerant of interruptions –Very fluid and flexible Monochronic cultures –Compartmentalized –Schedules and agendas very important

10 10 Time: Orientation to Past, Present and Future Cultures differ in the importance they place on past, present and future –For example: in some cultures, current proposals must be positioned in terms of their historical relationships Respect given to age and seniority is also relevant here

11 11 Time as Communication Time-related behavior “says” a lot –But it’s all different by culture Examples of time as communication –How far ahead are appointments scheduled? –How much importance is placed on a schedule? –How is waiting time interpreted? –What does setting end dates imply?

12 12 Time as Communication Other cultures –Schedule and agendas are viewed as goals, not binding –Promptness is not as important as completing a human interaction As a result, interruptions will delay appointments –Forcing someone to wait is not intended as an insult

13 13 Information Flow How fast does information make its way through an organization? In highly networked, high context cultures –Very fast –Information is not “hoarded” In other cultures –Information flow is slow because communication is more compartmentalized Email is changing this, but… –Email is a low-information-content medium

14 14 Context Low context cultures –US and Canadian –Northern European High context cultures –Mediterranean (Arab, Greek, Southern European) –Japanese –African –Latin American

15 15 Space Territoriality –What space and how much of it is “mine”? –Size and location of an office US: Executives have large, isolated spaces Japan: Executives often don’t have private offices Personal space –How close is too close? –This is very culturally dependent –North American, North European Don’t get too close! –Mediterranean, Latin, African: close

16 16 Time How do monochromatics view polychronicism? –Chaotic –Noisy –Inefficient (is anything getting done? –Creates anxiety How do polychromatics view monochronicism? –Slow, sterile, boring, uncreative –Creates frustrations

17 17 Time: Orientation to Past, Present and Future Cultures differ in the importance they place on past, present and future US culture is very present and near-future oriented In some cultures (German, French) historical context is very important Some Asian, Arab cultures are very past- oriented

18 18 Time as Communication Highly scheduled cultures –North America, Northern European –Lots of importance placed on punctuality –Time communicates importance –Poor schedule adherence Interpreted as arrogance or incompetence

19 19 Interfacing What happens when different cultures meet? Least difficult interfacing –Low context to low context –Germans and Americans –Canadians and Scandinavians Most difficulty –High context to low context –High context to high context

20 20 So What Do You Do? Don’t judge culture –No culture is more or less valuable or efficient than any other Understand your own cultural framework Be interested – study – the cultures you work with Move slowly and softly –Ask, listen, observe Be brave and have fun!


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