Zuyd University for Applied Sciences
23 May 2011
10-12 a.m.
Br.3.02
1
Theresa M.J. Snyders
Cross-Cultural communication
Lecturer
2
Welcome to the Kingdom of The
Netherlands
3
Intercultural failures
 Unaware of the key features and biases of our own
culture
 Feeling threatened or uneasy when interacting
 Unable to understand or explain behaviour
 Unable to transfer knowledge
 Not recognizing when own culture affects behaviour.
 Unable to adjust to living and working in another
culture.
4
Workshop Objectives
By the end of the workshop, participants will:
 be aware of how national, organizational and individual
cultural values influence attitudes and behaviour
 understand more about other cultures
 develop culturally appropriate strategies for dealing with
cultural differences in business customs, management
styles and social protocols
 develop tools to be more effective in an intercultural
environment
Be able to improve their Cultural Intelligence
5
Today’s Workshop
 Perceptions
 What is culture?
 Explore U.S. (and some other) cultural values
 Cultural Dimensions
 Cultural Contrasts
 Quiz
 American Stereotypes
 Cultural Encounter
 Native English Speaker Activity
6
Perceptions – what do you see?
7
Perceptions – what do you see?
8
What image to you first see ?
9
Perceptions – what is written?
PARIS
in the
the spring
10
Perceptions/Assumptions
 The result of our many different culture standpoints
means that:
 ‘Pure’ communication is impossible,
 Much of our communication is
unconscious.
 We expect to see what we expect to see.
11
Perceptions/Assumptions - Summary
WE create the reality upon which our
communication is based. We bring prior
assumptions and associations, many of
which are culturally based, to the process of
communication. We can never assume that
the assumptions we operate under are the
same for everyone, particularly when we are
engaged in cross-cultural communication.
12
Challenges of working across cultures
 What is normal to us may not be normal to other
cultures!
 We make assumptions based on our own set of rules –
 Yet they are often different from other people’s rules.
13
What is culture?
 What is culture?
 In your groups, brainstorm what culture means to you.
14
What is culture?
Some modern definitions:
 “Culture is the deeper level of basic assumptions and beliefs that are
shared by members of an organization, that operate unconsciously and
define in a basic ‘taken for granted’ fashion an organization's view of its
self and its environment.”( Edgar Schein)
 “Culture is an integrated system of learned behavior patterns that are
characteristic of the members of any given society. Culture refers to the
total way of life for a particular group of people. It includes everything
that a group of people thinks, says, does and makes its customs,
language, material artifacts and shared systems of attitudes and
feelings. Culture is learned and transmitted from generation to
generation.” (Robert Kohls)
 “Culture is the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes
the members of one human group from another.” (Geert Hofstede)
15
The Iceberg Model
Behaviours
Five Senses
Philosophies
Convictions
Viewpoints
Opinions
Attitudes
Values
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The Iceberg Model
Eye contact
Sports
Music
Clothing
Importance of face, harmony
Art & Literature
Gestures
Language
Leisure Activities
Emotions
How the individual fits into society
Notions of Time
Importance of work
Communication styles
Attitudes about men’s/women’s roles
Tolerance for change
Beliefs about human nature
Rules about relationships
Preference for thinking style
linear or systematic
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Characteristics of Culture
 Culture is shared
 Culture is learned/acquired and enduring
 Culture is a powerful influence on behaviour
 Culture is systematic and organized
 Culture is largely invisible
 Culture may be ‘tight’ or ‘loose’
18
What are US cultural values
 Form small groups and brainstorm what you consider
to be US cultural values.
19
Cultural Dimensions
 Equality – Hierarchy
 Direct – Indirect
 Individual – Group
 Task – Relationship
 Risk – Caution
 Time
20
Attitude to Equality/Hierarchy
Equality
Hierarchy
A cultural style that is based on equality
means people prefer to:
A cultural style that is based on
hierarchy means people prefer to:
- be self directed
- take direction from above
- have flexibility in the roles they play in a
team
- have strong limitations about
appropriate behaviour for certain roles
- have the freedom to challenge the
opinion of those in power
- respect and not challenge the
opinions of those in power because of
their status and position
- make exceptions, be flexible
- enforce regulations
- treat men and women in the same way
- expect men and women to behave
and be treated differently
Source: Peterson
21
Attitude to Equality/Hierarchy
Equality
Denmark
Norway
UK
Germany
Netherlands
Canada
USA
Italy
Spain
Greece
Portugal
Belgium
Turkey
France
Hierarchy
Source: Hofstede
22
Attitude to Direct/Indirect
Direct
A direct cultural style means people prefer
to:
Indirect
An indirect cultural style means people
prefer to:
- be more direct in speaking and be less
- focus not just on what is said, but how it
concerned about how something is said
is said
- openly confront issues or difficulties
- discreetly avoid difficult or contentious
issues
- communicate concerns straight forwardly - express concerns tactfully
- express views or opinions in a frank
manner
- avoid conflict if at all possible
- say things clearly, not leaving much open - count on the listener to interpret meaning
to interpretation
Source: Peterson
23
Attitude to Direct/Indirect
Direct
USA
Canada
Netherlands
Germany
Denmark
Norway
UK
Belgium
Hungary
Italy
Spain
Portugal
Greece
Turkey
Indirect
Source: Hofstede
24
Attitude to Individual/Group
Individual
Group
An individual cultural style means people prefer to:
A group cultural style means people prefer
to:
- take individual initiative
- act cooperatively and establish group
goals
- use personal guidelines in personal situations
- standardize guidelines
- focus on themselves
- make loyalty to friends a high priority
- judge people based on individual traits
- determine their identity through group
affiliation
- make decisions individually
- make decisions as a group
- put individuals before the team
- put the team or group before the
individual
- be nonconformists when necessary
- conform to social norms
- move in and out of groups as needed or desired
- keep group membership for life
Source: Peterson
25
Attitude to Individual/Group
Individual
USA
UK
Canada
Netherlands
Italy
Belgium
Denmark
France
Norway
Germany
Hungary
Spain
Group
Turkey
Greece
Portugal
Source: Hofstede
26
Attitude to Task/Relationship
Task
Relationship
A task cultural style means people prefer to:
A relationship cultural style means people
prefer to:
- define people based on what they do
- define people based on who they are
- move straight to business, relationships come
later
- establish comfortable relationships and a
sense of mutual trust before getting
down to business
- keep most relationships with co-workers
impersonal
- have personal relationships with coworkers
- sacrifice leisure time and time with family in
favour of work
- sacrifice work in favour of leisure time
and time with family
- get to know co-workers and colleagues
quickly but usually superficially
- get to know co-workers and colleagues
slowly and in depth
- use largely impersonal selection criteria in
hiring (such as CVs and test scores)
- use largely personal selection criteria
(such as family connections) when hiring
- allow work to overlap with personal time
- not allow work to impinge on personal life
Source: Peterson
27
Attitude to Task/Relationship
Task
USA
Denmark
Netherlands
UK
Canada
Norway
Germany
Belgium
Italy
Greece
Hungary
Spain
Portugal
Turkey
Source: Hofstede
Relationship
28
Attitude to Risk/Caution
Risk
Caution
A risk cultural style means people prefer to:
A cautious cultural style means people prefer to:
- make decisions quickly with little
information
- collect considerable information before
making a decision
- focus on present and future
- focus on the past
- be less cautious – in a “ready, aim, fire way”
- be more cautions – in a “ready, aim fire way”
- change quickly without fear of risk
- change slowly and avoid risks
- try new and innovative ways of doing
things
- refer to past precedents of does and doesn’t
work
- use new methods for solving ,problems
- stick to proven methods for solving problems
- have fewer rules, regulations, guidelines
and directions
- want more rules, regulations, guidelines
and directions
- be comfortable changing plans at the last
minute
- not change plans at the last minute
Source: Peterson
29
Attitude to Risk/Caution
Risk
Denmark
UK
USA
Canada
Norway
Netherlands
Germany
Italy
Turkey
Spain
France
Belgium
Hungary
Portugal
Greece
Source: Hofstede
Caution
30
Attitude to Time
Flexible
With
Time
Strict
Linear
Time
 Tasks need to be given strict time
periods
 Time is spent on interaction with people
as well as on task accomplishment
 Take time commitments seriously
(e.g. deadlines, schedules)
 Deadlines can be negotiable
 Preference for scheduling one thing
at a time
 Comfortable doing many things at once
 No interruptions
 Interruptions accepted
 Quick pace
 Time is not always the priority
Source: Hall
31
Attitude to Time
Strict
Linear
Time
North America
Western Europe
Scandinavia
Hungary
Mediterranean
Countries
Source: Hall
Flexible
With
Time
32
Origin of Cultural Contrasts
Form a pair with another student you don’t know
very well.
Identify which statement is closest to US culture.
Identify which value from the “Value Contrasts”
handout its selected sentence might represent.
Speculate as to what factors, historically, might have
contributed to the formation of the identified
value in American culture.
33
Quiz
 In your groups
 Create 3 questions (2 Multiple choice and 1 open Q)
about the content of the lecture
34
American Stereotypes
 In small groups, brainstorm what kind of stereotypes
you think foreigners have of Americans.
 Furthermore, think of at least three stereotypes you
have heard of related to European nationalitites.
35
Culturally Intelligent Leader
 The global leader of today and tomorrow must learn to
be:
 flexible enough to adapt with knowledge
sensitive to each new cultural situation that
they face
Do you think you are heading in that direction ?
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Is that it?
Royal
Regards,
Wishing you a great ‘Spirit of Europe’
experience
37
Native English Speaker Activity
 Read pp.22 – 24 in the ‘Intercultural awareness’
Document
• Figure out the linguistic mistakes in the ‘howlers’ on
pp. 26 + 27. Try to rephrase at least 6 of them in such a
way that it is understandable for people from various
linguistic and cultural backgrounds.
• Fill in the ‘cultural Intelligence checklist’ on p. 29
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Which culture(s) can you perceive in this
picture ?
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