Understanding Cultural Differences: Insights and Examples
Understanding Cultural Differences
So what about this definition of culture…? This definition may, after all, be correct. Life is complex, and our lives have many facets, depending on the situation we’re in. It’s very hard to know what your values are, the way they’ve been defined here. Values are transferred, especially by parents, not so much by what they say but by how they behave in crucial situations.
Values only become real in comparison. So, if you’re not put in a situation where you can compare cultures at a deep level, you don’t actually know what your own values are.
What about the differences between cultures? Will they eventually disappear or not? In all likelihood, cultural differences are here to stay.
Austria scores lowest on Power Distance. Yet many Austrian managers complain that their subordinates are so obedient. How can you explain this? They are especially obedient when their boss appears to be highly competent.
If a French CEO (le PDG) makes a lot of small corrections in the text of a proposal a subordinate made, what is it that a subordinate will most likely say to his colleagues or what is it that he will do? “Can you believe it? The CEO has apparently nothing better to do…”
Germany scores rather low on Power Distance. Yet it happens that German managers complain that their subordinates are so obedient. How can you explain this? They are especially obedient when their boss appears to be highly competent.
According to a Chinese saying, Westerners are naive, as Westerners believe what people say. Yet, Chinese can easily be offended by Westerners, by letting Chinese lose face. How to explain this contradiction? The Chinese tend not to say how things really are, but rather what they think others want to hear.
If you are a local managing director in Greece, what do you have to do in order to receive reliable negative feedback, i.e., feedback about things which go wrong? Create trust.
Why do Italians keep their mobile phone on wherever they are so that, in a restaurant, it can happen that you see everyone talking into their phones instead of to each other? Italians are so afraid of being out of touch that they simply must remain connected with the outside world at all times.
The divorce rate has been rising rapidly in Italy, as in many other countries, and Italian men find themselves increasingly being divorced by their wives. In quite some instances, Italian men go back to live with their mother, irrespective of their age. This can be explained as follows: A divorce is an emotional and threatening affair. Men go back to their mother for comfort.
What could be the reason that Japan scores so high on Uncertainty Avoidance? Earthquakes, typhoons, and volcanic eruptions.
Why are Americans generally so full of confidence yet keep their swimming trunks on in the sauna? Self-confidence and wearing swimming trunks in the sauna are unrelated phenomena.
Why do Americans, compared to some other nationalities, ask so many redundant questions? Subordinates seek positive feedback by asking questions, and their superiors ask questions in order to give subordinates an opportunity to be assertive.
Why are American arrival and departure times given to the minute, whereas in Europe only every five minutes? Americans are less punctual than some other nationalities, but it sounds good. After all, time is money.
Research has shown that American companies place particular emphasis on the importance of good teamwork. Yet other research has also shown that in US companies where teamwork is emphasized, 80% of those who rise to the top are non-cooperative. This contradiction can be explained as follows: Despite a real need for teamwork, it is very hard to achieve genuine cooperation.
Why do much more men in London walk without overcoat on a winter day than men in Amsterdam, Paris, or Madrid? They want to show how tough they are. Overcoats are for wimps!
Explain the phrase “If Allah wants…” stopping people to try to improve their fate. It is the flip side of high Uncertainty Avoidance. In such a culture, people who have no control about life easily give up and put their life in the hands of fate or God.
If you have just arrived from China in the UK as an exchange student, why do especially the English leave you so often alone? They have no idea how frustrating it can be, “being left alone.”
Japanese don’t often ask the question “why”. Why? They believe that it is simply not given to mankind to know the answers to many questions about life.
If a boss in Malaysia doesn’t check the progress of subordinates’ work, which of the following will they say among themselves? The boss is apparently not interested in the outcome of the assignment he gave me, so he can’t be interested in me. What have I done wrong?
Singapore scores lowest on Uncertainty Avoidance. Yet, Singaporeans call their country “A fine country, because one gets a fine for everything.” This is not a contradiction. Without fines, Singaporeans would just do what they like.
A Dutch sales representative concluded a major deal in Saudi Arabia where he had been stationed. He was called back to HQ in the Netherlands as he got a promotion and another Dutch guy took over to implement the deal. But then nothing happened on the side of the Saudi’s. They did not know the successor. They prefer to work with somebody well known. They don’t easily identify with a company even when being represented by a trustworthy person.
In Spain people often have bilateral discussions during meetings, during which they don’t pay attention to whoever is speaking. They are simply better talkers than listeners.
In Sweden most subordinates don’t like strict, precise job evaluation systems. Why? Such systems tend to increase competition among direct colleagues. As one is not supposed to stand out in the crowd, such systems may actually de-motivate employees.
If a subordinate in Tanzania keeps asking you, a Western expatriate, a question that you have already answered adequately many times, what could be the reason? It is a way for subordinates to let you know that they feel demotivated.
Why do the British get so upset when on vacation Germans raise very early to put a towel on a deckchair at the pool side and only then go to the breakfast table. And why is it that many Germans cannot stop doing this? The Germans otherwise worry too much whether they would get a chair at all.
Anglo Saxons often complain that when they make a request from HQ to colleagues at the same hierarchical level in France, Spain, or Italy, they get a positive response, but then nothing happens. They actually have less authority than the Anglo Saxons thought they had.
In which culture do strict, precise appraisals, given in writing, work the best? In the UK, although the British tend to be modest about it.
Why do the English hate to jump a queue? The English are not particularly fond of rules, but the existing rules should be followed in most instances.
Cultural Dimensions Explained
POWER DISTANCE INDEX (PDI): It measures the extent to which less powerful members of a society, organization, or group accept that power is distributed unequally.
LOW/HIGH: Hierarchy for convenience/Hierarchy is needed, Inequality minimized/Inequality accepted, Low dependence/High dependence obedience, Equal right for all/Power holders privileged, Change by evolution/Change by revolution, Superiors accessible/Superiors inaccessible.
INDIVIDUALISM OR COLLECTIVISM (IDV):
I: People are supposed to look after themselves and their family only.
C: People belong to in-groups or collectivities which are supposed to look after them in exchange for their loyalty.
HIGH/LOW: “I”/“We”, Task before relationships/Relationships before task, Loyalty to the core family/Loyalty to the group, Preference for freedom/Preference for harmony, Losing self-respect (bad)/Losing face (bad), Explicit communication/Implicit communication.
MASCULINITY FEMININITY (MAS):
M: Emphasis on status, achievement, and success in life.
F: Emphasis on quality of life and serving others.
LOW/HIGH: Modest behavior/Assertive behavior, Quality of life/Ambition and competition, Consensus/Tendency to polarize, Work for live/Live for work, Sympathy for the unfortunate/Admiration for success, Intuition/Decisiveness.
UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE INDEX (UAI): To extent to which people feel threatened by ambiguous situations and have created beliefs and institutions that try to avoid these.
LOW/HIGH: Low stress anxiety/High stress anxiety, Less need for laws and rules/Need for laws and rules, Work hard if needed/Inner urge to work hard, Acceptance of dissent/To disagree is threatening, Emotions not shown/Emotions shown, Inductive education/Deductive education.
LONG TERM ORIENTATION (LTO): The extent to which society exhibits a pragmatic future-oriented perspective rather than a normative historic or near-term point of view.
LOW/HIGH: Absolute truth/Many truths, If A is true B (opposite) is not/A and B can be true, Normative/Pragmatic, Quick results expected/Perseverance, Emphasis on rights/Emphasis on obligations, Spending for today/Saving for tomorrow.
INDULGENCE VS RESTRAINT (IVR): The extent to which a society perceives a higher optimism or pessimism of life.
LOW (R)/HIGH (I): More moral discipline/Less moral discipline, Importance of duty/Importance of leisure, Pessimism/Optimism, Perception of helplessness/Perception of control, Negative attitude/Positive attitude, More neurotic people/More extroverted people.
