International
Management
Dr. Ossama Mossallam
Harvard University Training Consultant,
Former Assistant Professor , Boston University,
Former UN / USAID / JICA Management International Consultant
Negotiating Among
Cultures
• What is “CULTURE”?
– Ideas, Values, Beliefs, Customs, Protocols
– Language
– Religions
• Culture Shock!... Alvin Toffler
• Reverse Culture Shock
Negotiating Among Cultures
• Clash of Civilizations...... Samuel Huntington
1993
‫الشرق شرق ‪ ،‬و الغرب غرب ‪ ،‬و لن يلتقي التوأمان‬
‫الشاعر اإلنجليزي كيبلينج ‪1936 - 1865‬‬
CULTURE
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•
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Language
Religion
Habits
Customs
Dressing - Clothing
International Management
Negotiating Among Cultures
• Who is an effective manager/negotiator?
• In Japanese Culture:
–Able to win respect and confidence and
having integrity, good listening skills and
verbal expressiveness
International Management
Negotiating Among Cultures
• Who is an effective manager/ negotiator?
• In American Culture:
– Product knowledge and verbal ability
• In Chinese Culture:
– Interesting person, have good judgement,
demonstrate product knowledge and intelligence.
International Management
Negotiating Among Cultures
• What happens when a close friend is potentially in a
serious trouble with law?
–Fons Trompenaars: A Dutch researcher
–A research done in multinational organizations:
15,000 managers from 50 different countries
International Management
Negotiating Among Cultures
–Fons Trompenaars: A Dutch
researcher
–A research done in
multinational organizations:
15,000 managers from 50
different countries
International Management
Negotiating Among Cultures
The scenario: You are riding in a car driven by a close
friend. He hits a pedestrian. You know he was going 35
miles per hour in an area of the city where the
maximum allowed speed is 20 miles per hour.
– There are no witnesses. His lawyer says that if you
testify under the oath that he was only driving 20 miles
per hour, it may save him from serious sequences.
International Business Among Cultures
Question 1:
What right has your friend to expect you to protect him?
A- My friend has a definite right to expect me to testify
to the lower figure (20 miles).
B- He has some right as a friend to expect me to testify
to the lower figure.
C- he has NO right as a friend to expect me to testify to
the lower figure
International Business Among Cultures
Question 1:
What right has your friend to expect you to protect him?
A- My friend has a definite right to expect me to testify to
the lower figure (20 miles). 1/3 of French and Japanese.
More than 1/2 in Russia, Venezuela , Indonesia and China.
B- He has some right as a friend to expect me to testify to the
lower figure.
C- he has NO right as a friend to expect me to testify to the
lower figure: North Americans and North Europeans
Business Among Cultures
Question 2:
What do you think you would do in view of the obligations of
an under oath witness and the obligation to your friend?
D- Testify that he was going 20 miles per hour: 1/3 of
French and Japanese
E- Not testify that he was going 20 miles per hour: 2/3 of
French and Japanese. The majority of North Americans and
North European.
International Business Among Cultures
People from different cultures have very different views of
what is fair, reasonable and proper behavior. According
to Geert Hofstede four keys could be used:
1. Power distance
2. Masculinity
3. Individualism
4. Uncertainty avoidance
International Business Among Cultures
People from different cultures have very different views of
what is fair, reasonable and proper behavior. According
to Geert Hofstede four keys could be used:
i- Power distance:
A high power distance index (PDI) means that large
inequalities of power and wealth exist and are tolerated
and accepted in the culture.
International Business Among Cultures
People from different cultures have very different views of
what is fair, reasonable and proper behavior. According
to Geert Hofstede four keys could be used:
i- Power distance:
Power distance is the degree to which people in a country
accept that power in institutions and organizations is
distributed unequally. The power distance is closely
associated with social inequality.
International Business Among Cultures
People from different cultures have very different views of
what is fair, reasonable and proper behavior. According
to Geert Hofstede four keys could be used:
i- Power distance:
A low-power-distance ranking indicates the culture
discourages differences between power and wealth.
These societies stress equality and opportunity.
International Business Among Cultures
People from different cultures have very different views of
what is fair, reasonable and proper behavior. According
to Geert Hofstede four keys could be used:
i- Power distance:
High: France, Greece, Belgium
Low: Denmark, Norway, Britain
International Business Among Cultures
People from different cultures have very different views of
what is fair, reasonable and proper behavior. According
to Geert Hofstede four keys could be used:
i- Power distance:
High: France, Greece, Belgium
Low: Denmark, Norway, Britain
Business Among Cultures
People from different cultures have very different views of
what is fair, reasonable and proper behavior. According
to Geert Hofstede four keys could be used:
ii- Masculinity:
Strong: Japan & Austria
Moderate: USA
Weak: Scandinavian (Feminine)
Business Among Cultures
People from different cultures have very
different views of what is fair, reasonable
and proper behavior. Four keys could be
used:
iii- Individualism
High: Britain, Italy, France
Low: Japan, Latin America, Greece
Business Among Cultures
People from different cultures have very different views
of what is fair, reasonable and proper behavior. Four
keys could be used:
iv- Uncertainty avoidance
Strong uncertainty avoidance + high power distance:
Latin America and Europe
Weak uncertainty avoidance + low power distance:
Great Britain and Scandinavian countries
Negotiating Among Cultures
Should managers always have answers to subordinates’
questions? ( Andre Laurent)
* 13% of American and Swedish managers agreed with the
above statement.
* 30-50% of managers from Britain, Germany, Belgium
agreed
* 59% of French and Italian managers agreed
*Thank you
= Who cares
*I am sorry
= Weakness
*I don’t know
= Ignorance
Negotiating Among Cultures
Major Mistakes
– Cultural bias We are not aware of our cultural bias
– Our Cultural norms: We are blind to our cultural norms
– Other Cultures are deviations from the norm
– Stereotyping is common
Negotiating Among Cultures
Key Points
– Planning: study customs, norms, values, practices
– Stereotyping could be misleading
– Language could be a link or a barrier
– Non-verbal communication
– Negotiating Styles differ significantly across cultures