CorporateCoach eNewsletter

Issue No. 34, 10^th November 2003

CONTENTS

1. Editorial: No zeds please, we're British
2. Coaching notes: Hints for multicultural managers

1.     Editorial: No zeds please, we're British – Richard winfield

CorporateCoach is written in International English. This causes confusion to some of our readers who write to point out spelling 'errors'; very often the word 'organisation'. In this week's letter, Nancy Chadd draws attention to the difference and recognises the reason.

When I was in the USA earlier this year I was discussing the situation with my client and said "The difference between our two nations is the difference between an 'ess' and a 'zed'." It was not until later that I realised that I had fallen into the same trap of ignorance. For, in fact, the difference is between an 'ess' and a 'zee'!

Spelling is only a small detail in the cultural differences between nations - or even between regions. I met someone recently who had moved to Birmingham from London. She said that she could not understand why people kept speaking to her. "I wondered what they were after", she said. In London, commuters, especially, are known for being uncommunicative. Just as Yorkshire people are known for being blunt.

In America there are differences between, say, New Jersey, the Deep South and the West Coast. There are greater differences between Britain, America, India and Australia.

The trouble for those of us who use an international language is that it does not repesent an international mindset. It is easy for us to mis-read a situation or unintentionally offend someone from another culture.

If an English person goes to France or Japan, they expect people to behave differently and they are more self-conscious because of the language difference and the effort of communication.

We have a saying "The meaning of the communication is the response it elicits." In other words, successful communication is the responsibility of the sender.

In this week's coaching notes we introduce you to some thoughts on culture and list recommendations from Pierre Casse for multicultural managers.

Next week we shall look at corporate culture.

USEFUL LINKS:

• What is Culture?
• Made in America, Bill Bryson
• Mother Tongue: The English Language, Bill Bryson

LETTER TO THE EDITOR:

Dear Editor

I loved your new newsletter.
I was a little dismayed to see so many misspellings. Then I realized that you are coming from the UK.
I guess you did invent the language and we Americans changed it to suit us! Good luck with this endeavor.

Life is short.....be Extreme!

Nancy Chadd

2.     Coaching notes: Hints for multicultural managers

Manifestations of culture

Culture provides people with a meaningful context in which to meet, to think about themselves and face the world.

In the language of Clifford Geertz, culture is the means by which people communicate, perpetuate and develop their knowledge about attitudes towards life. It is the fabric of meaning in terms of which human beings interpret their experience and guide their action.

In every culture a limited number of general, universally shared human problems needs to be solved. One culture can be distinguished from another by the specific solution it chooses for those problems. The anthropologists, F. Kluckhohn and F. L. Strodtbeck, identify five categories of problems, arguing that all societies are aware of all possible kinds of solution but prefer them in different orders. Hence in any culture there is a set of "dominant", or preferred, value orientations. The five basic problems mankind faces, according to this scheme, are as follows:

• What is the relationship of the individual to others? (relational orientation)
• What is the temporal focus of human life? (time orientation)
• What is the modality of human activity? (activity orientation)
• What is a human being's relation to nature? (man-nature orientation)
• What is the character of innate human nature? (human nature orientation)

One culture can be distinguished from another by the arrangement of the specific solutions it selects for each set of problem situations. The solutions depend on the meaning given by people to life in general, and to their fellows, time, and nature in particular.

Geert Hofstede defines culture as "the way in which a group of people solves problems and reconciles dilemmas" and suggests that we look at cultural manifestations from an outer layer to an inner layer.

Symbols

On the outer layer of culture we find symbols, which could include gestures, dress code, class symbols, eating habits, office and shopping hours, etc.

Heroes

In the next layer of culture we find heroes. These are real or imaginary figures of special importance within a given culture:

• John F Kennedy in the USA
• Jean-Paul Sartre in France
• Margaret Thatcher in the UK

Rituals

Next are rituals, ceremonies marking special occasions, such as funeral rites, or tea ceremonies in Japan.

Values

To comprehend what symbols, heroes and rituals really mean, one needs to understand the values behind them. In contrast to symbols and rituals that are overt, values are covert or implicit - they are not directly observable and require time and effort to comprehend. However, they form the basis of all cultural differences. To be able to understand others, we need to be aware of and understand our own value system.

Pierre Casse’s Recommendations for Multicultural Managers

1. Be aware of your own culture and its limitations. Know that every behaviour is influenced by some basic cultural assumptions, values and beliefs.
2. Respect the other culture. Tolerance is a necessity for effective cross-cultural interactions.
3. Listen, observe and learn from interactions. Each situation is different and requires adaptation. Listening and observing our's as well as the other’s behaviour is very useful.
4. Practise empathy. People prefer to associate with those who give the impression that they understand things from their point of view.
5. Avoid stereotypes. Generalisations lead to misinterpretations and ineffectiveness.
6. Avoid attributions. Explaining others’ behaviour using our own frame of reference leads to misunderstandings and communication breakdown.
7. Tolerate ambiguity. Tolerance of ambiguity helps you cope with the unavoidable stress of the intercultural setting.
8. Be persistent. Fleeing and withdrawing may be justifiable in the short term but in the long run can create problems and deadlocks. We have to be patient.

Pierre Casse: Training for the Multicultural Manager.

USEFUL LINKS:

• Clifford Geertz
• Culture and Values – Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck
• Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind: Software of the Mind (The Successful Stategist), SGeert Hofstede
• Clifford Geertz (Key Contemporary Thinkers), F. Inglis
• Culture's Consequence: Comparing Values, Behaviours, Institutions and Organizations Across Nations, Geert Hofsted

Managing people in-tray exercise – Imperial plc

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