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Lecture 2

Valerija Malavska

BAT Turiba

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Ancient times: Culturally centric approach

Cultural centrism one nations culture, way of problemsolving and decision making is the most significant. Othercultures deviation from the correct one.

E.g. Ancient Greeks and Romans other nations less

civilized, less cultural.

Modern times: Shift of paradigmResult of culturology, ethnography, cross-cultural

psychology.

Science proved people are similar in their internalperception, values, ethics. Differences are noticed incustoms, rituals, behavior, dress style.

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Richard Lewis Communicationsfounded by Richard D. Lewis (one of Britains foremost linguists)Founder of Berlitz schools in East Asia, Portugal and Finland etc.

When Cultures Collide(well known work on cross culturalunderstanding) - sold over 250,000 copies

Richard D. Lewis currently lectures throughout the world on crosscultural issues, gives cross-cultural seminars and keynote

speeches to international corporations, as well as governments.

Lewis speaks 10 languages (French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese,German, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish and Japanese).

Clients include UBS, Coca Cola, Deloitte, Gazprom, Nokia, Unileverand the World Bank.

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Lewiss approach to analyze broad cultural differences (When CulturesCollide )

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Core Values of people of 3 different types :Multi Active People:

Family

Hierarchy

Relationships

EmotionEloquence

Persuasion

Loyalty

Linear Active People:Facts

PlanningProductsTime lines

Word deeds Correlation

Institutions

Law

Reactive People:Intuition

Courtesy

NetworkCommon Obligations

Collective Harmony

Face

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Typical representatives of each category by LewisLinear active - a person fulfills the task by dividingit into logical consequent stages, does one job after another,rather than all simultaneously.

Punctuality, methodicalness -Americans, Germans, North

Europeans, Englishmen.

Multi-active - one can do several tasks simultaneously LatinAmericans, South Europeans, Arabs etc.

Reactive one organizes work according to changing context ofa situation. Reaction to changes. Chinese, Japanese, Finns, etc.

Most people - hybrids having characteristics from all three

categories.

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How does this help in intercultural communication, e.g.business negotiations?For successful cross-cultural negotiation it helps to have

logical mental process encompassing: understanding ofyour own personal cultural profile in

areas such as attitudes to truth, risk, time, power, etc.

adaptation ofpersonal communication style to differentcultures expectations in negotiation

understanding of how trust is seen in different cultures,and using this as a means of building trust moreeffectively in negotiation.

building time in your preparation to synthesize theseelements into your overall strategy and tactics.

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Every individual possesses his own personal and psychologicaltraits

However contextwithin which he or she operates is an important factor

Three ingredients of situational context: age,

profession and field of study.

Age Attitudes about society, authority, law and freedom are often

generational.

Younger people test strongly linear-active or multi-activeaccording to their culture

Both groups become more reactive as they get older.

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Profession Linear-activeoften engineers, accountants and technologists, their professionreinforces their linearity.

Multi-activeoften teachers, artists and sales and marketing staff , whereflexibility and feelings before facts fit their chosen type of work.

Skilled senior managers are usually more multi-active.

Reactive peopledoctors and lawyers either need to be reactive by nature or developreactive skills in order to listen carefully to their clients plights.

HybridHuman resource managers, as they seek and promote diversity in afirms human and cultural capital.Successful managers

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Difference in process gathering informationDialogue oriented, data oriented and listeningculturesData oriented cultures research to produce lots of information (e.g.

Swedes, Germans, Swiss, Northern Europeans).

Communication and information revolution dream coming true fordata-oriented cultures.

Dialogue oriented cultures (Italians, other Latins, Arabs, Indians)see events and business possibilities in context possess enormous amount of information through personal informationnetwork; discuss, gossip in their circle of friends, business acquaintancesand extensive family connections.

Listeners (Japanese, Finns, Chinese) may be even better informed web society involves them in information network duringschooldays, college, university, etc.

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TV , radio,

Internet

Family &

Friends

Reports

Database

Project

notes

Reading

Informationsource:Data orientedcultures

A data-oriented person sees data design, data capture, data integrity,and data analysis as a critical part of any process.

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People ofdialogue oriented cultures may get impatientwhen data oriented people try to feed them with facts,figures, etc.

Relationship forming is more important than pure factsand figures.

Often dialogue oriented managers take their customersand colleagues when they change one job to another.

Correlation between dialogue- oriented and multi - activepeople.

Multi active people knee-deep in information. Atmeetings they tend to ignore agendas, speak out of turn.

Dialogue oriented people wish to use personal relationsto solve the problem from the human angle.

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TV , radio,

Internet

Work

colleagues

Tennis and

golf

Relatives

School

fiends

Reading

University

peers

Godfather

Friends of

family

Oldteachers

Caf

gossip

Family

Information source:Dialogue oriented cultures

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Listening culturesReactive in nature combine deference to database and printinformation with a tendency to listen well and enter intosympathetic dialogue.(Japan,Finland, Singapore, Taiwan, etc.)

Allow ideas to mature, only then make a decision

Chinese will entertain the prospect of lengthy discourse in

order to attain ultimate harmony.

Finns base their dialogue on careful consideration of wishesof the other party.

Monologues are unknown in Finland, unless practiced by the

other party.

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TV , radio,

InternetWork

colleagues

Tennis and

golf

Relatives

School

fiends

Reading

University

peers

Godfather

Friends of

family

Old

teachers

Wifes

family

Database

Reports

Project

notes

Caf gossip

Family

Information source:Listening cultures (e.g. Japan)

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Linear Time (2)

Linear vision of time - Switzerland, Germany, Britain, Anglo-Saxonworld, Netherlands, Austria, Scandinavia

Time is passing without decisions being made or actions performed.

Monochronic groups, prefer to do one thing at a time.

Protestant work ethic working time = success the harder you work the more hours the more successful you will be the more moneyyou will make.

Swiss are time dominated, have made precision a national symbol watch industry, banking.

Planes, buses, trains leave on the dot. Everything is exactly calculatedand predicted.

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Multi Active Time Southern Europeans the more things one can do at the same

time the happier a person is.

Not much interested in schedules, punctuality.

Present reality is more important than appointments.

Human transaction the best way one can invest time.

The meeting is that counts, but not some 30 minutes one had towait for it to start.

Linear active people time is clock, calendar related,segmented for convenience, measurement.Multi active cultures time is event, personality related,subjective, can be manipulated, molded.

I have to rush, my time is up. (American). The Spaniard and Arabwould use this expression if death were imminent.

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Cyclic TimeSome Eastern cultures.

The sun rises and sets, the seasons follow one another, people grow old anddie. There is always supply of time just around us. When God made time, He

made plenty of it.

Westerners expect quick decision from Asians. Asians cannot do this. Asiansthink long term. Asians do not see time as racing away, but coming around ina circle.

The first linear organization of time can be traced to the monasteries ofMedieval Europe.

Monks saw a need for rationalized conduct in order to overcome the naturalstate, e.g. the dependence on impulses and world of nature.

The concept ofwasting time never existed before societies began to industrializeand fast-paced lives became a virtue.