International Cooperation
USA
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Facilitator: Patrick Schmidt
Germany
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70% of failures are directly due to
“soft factors”.
How do people understand one
another when they don’t share a
common cultural experience?
Americans and Germans?
Similarities
• Anglo-Saxon background
• monochronic
• direct and honest
• being on time
• competitive and practical
The Trap
of Similarity
Wal-Mart’s billion euro
fiasco in Germany
arrogance and ignorance
managers culturally naïve, simple-minded
driven by “time is money”
didn’t create enough economies of scale
The unconscious
projection of values
is the source of cultural mishaps.
The Cardinal Rule
Understanding oneself
and one’s own culture
Who understands others as well as
oneself will be granted success in a
thousand encounters.
3000 year-old Chinese proverb
“Culture hides more than it reveals and strangely
enough what it hides, it hides most effectively from
it’s own participants.
Years of study have convinced me that the real job is
not to understand foreign culture but to understand
our own.”
Edward Hall
Plan
Culture
Communication
Meetings - Presenting - Negotiating
Intercultural Competence
Theories of Intercultural Communication*
How do people understand one another when they don’t share a common cultural experience?
Positivist
Relativist
Assumption
Reality is absolute
and discoverable
Reality is framed by
an observer’s
perspective, formed
within “systems”.
Reality emerges
from transaction
between observer
and observed.
Implication
Discover what is real
and unreal in a
culture. Assumes
‘finished’ artifacts,
non-movement.
Culture is a set of
roles and rules
within a social
system. Awareness
of other perspective
Culture is socially
constructed.
Conscious of own
boundary-setting.
Application
Adaptation is
knowledge of
cultural history.
Enactment of “do’s
& don’t’s”
Learn about cultures
through contrast
analysis. “Informed”
role play
Adaptation is
dynamic, ‘other’
perspective-taking
(empathy). Mutual
penetration
* Derived from Milton J. Bennett, BID-LLC@comcast. net
Constructivist
Culture ?
Culture ?
Life style of a people, I.e. the learned and shared patterns of beliefs,
behaviors and values of a group of interacting people. (Bennett)
Culture is the collective programming of the mind. (Hofstede)
Culture is the water we live in. It surrounds us and defines us.
(Chinese definition)
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all
men are created equal, that they are endowed by
their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that
among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness.”
The Declaration of Independence, 1776
Think about your own culture
How did socialization take place in your own life?
Try to recall some of the behaviors and values you
were taught early in life.
How do they affect you now?
Culture is to us
what water is to a fish.
Culture is like an iceberg
observable
Not observable
Observable
Not observable
• Manners
• History
• Clothes
• Food
• Newspapers, books
• Monuments
• Friendship
• Time and space
• Negotiation style
• Communication style
• Rituals, festivals
• Solutions to problems
a.
b.
12
88
9
91
• Singapore
33
67
• Greece
42
58
• Venezuela
66
34
5
95
• France
32
68
• Germany
16
84
• South Korea
74
26
• Holland
• Great Britain
• USA
Intercultural
communications
Everything is relative — no right
or wrong solutions
Success
abroad
Understanding the inner logic
of a culture
The Four Secrets of Effective Global Managers
1. They “know that they don’t know”
Assume difference until similarity is proven, not the other way around.
2. They emphasize description
Observe what is actually said and done rather than interpreting or evaluating.
3. They practice role reversal (empathy)
Attempt to understand an international situation through the eyes of others.
4. They treat explanations as guesses, not as certainty.
Check with colleagues from home and abroad if guesses are plausible.
Definition of a
theory
• mental viewing of how something might be
• not meant to be exact
German
(Ger)
Serious
American
(Am)
Easy-going
1
Ger stereotype
3 Ger exception
2
Am exception
4
Amr stereotype
Hofstede’s
Dimensions
• Individualism / collectivism
• Respect toward hierarchy
• Desire for structure
• Masculinity / femininity
Collectivism
Individualism
• “we” society
• “me” society
• group identity
• important: harmony
• relations over tasks
• extended family
• self-identity
• important: pro-active
• tasks over relations
• success of individual
Individualism
Collectivism
GRE
JAP
FRA
PORT
ITA
GER
CAN
SLO
NETH
SING
GB
KOR
0
PL
20
40
USA
60
80
100
Less Hierarchy
More Hierarchy
• Inequalities not OK
• Privileges/status not OK
• Boss democratic
• Inequalities OK
• Privileges/status OK
• Boss paternalistic
• Flat hierarchy
• Staff gives advice
• Strong hierarchy
• Staff follows orders
More Hierarchy
Less Hierarchy
USA
NETH
ITA
JAP
SPA
GER
GRE
POR
SWE
20
PL
SIN
GB
0
FRA
40
60
SLO
80
100
Less Structure
More Structure
• Uncertainty O.K.
• Willing to take risks
• Non-orderly situations
• There must be order
• Many rules
• Consensus
• Hope for success
• Rational generalists
• Desire for security
• Experts und knowledge
More structure
Less structure
KOR
SIN
0
SWE
20
GB
NETH
CAN
USA
40
GER ITA
SLO PL
SPA
FRA
JAP
POR
GRE
60
80
100
Should a manager have precise
answers to subordinates’ questions?
Should a manager have precise
answers to subordinates’ questions?
78%
66%
38%
44% 46%
53%
23% 28%
18%
17%
Yes:
NETH USA DEN GB
CH
BEL GER FRA ITA JAP
Five years after the merger
8%
USA
77%
France
Understanding new behavior
D
=
detect
I
=
interpret
E
=
evaluate
American meetings
• An informal, relaxed attitude
• Confident, positive approach
• Brainstorming
• Come to the point quickly
• Active participation
• Give credit for others’ achievements (piggyback)
Joint Problem Solving
• engineering point of view
• brain-storming
• Americans: cowboy mind
• Germans: over analyze
• less communication later
• more communication later
• Americans: many questions
• Germans: impersonal
• decision is binding
• decision is a guideline
• leader is mediator
• leader is decision-maker
Working on Projects
PROJECT
IDEA
Germans
tend to….
Americans
tend to think
Americans
tend to….
Germans
tend to think
...collect
information
“Why are they
doing this?”
…chat informally
about an idea
“Why aren’t they
doing anything?”
“They are cold and
unfriendly.”
…begin with small
talk
“They are wasting
time.”
…present detailed
plans
“How can they
discuss the details
at this stage?”
…begin with“
brainstorming
They are not
prepared for the
meeting.”
…express criticism
openly
“They don’t like
each other.”
…be enthusiastic
about all the ideas
“They are not
sincere.”
…work individually
on the tasks
assigned to them
“They don’t
communicate or
work as a team.”
…hold frequent
meetings; change
tasks as circumstances change
“They are too
many meetings; we
can’t get our work
done.”
PROJECT …get down to
MEETINGS business
PROJECT
PROCESS
believe clearly
defined milestones
guarantee success
…believe continuous
contact guarantees
coordination
Cognitive Styles of Germans and Americans
Interaction with reality, extracting, organizing and applying knowledge
BASIC
OUTLOOK
Germans
Americans
tend to be more cautious, conceptual
tend to be more optimistic, pragmatic
OPENING
QUESTION
Do we really need…?
Can we have…?
ACQUIRING
KNOWLEDGE
Structured way of knowing
Hypothesis, testing way of knowing
Want solid theories, coherence
Speculate with probabilities, risk taking
Deductive: acting on the basis of one’s
thorough understanding of the situation
Inductive: understanding a situation through
experimentation
Declarative thinking: focusing on
description and explanation of situation
Procedural thinking: focusing on how to get
things done
Gather information from experts, logical
analysis of ideas
Active experimentation: learn from peers,
brainstorming, “think out of the box”
Importance of background information
Importance of measurement data, and facts
(historical context, “Zeitgeist:, sociology) (how tall, how much, statistics, etc.)
APPLYING
KNOWLEDGE
Development of strategic analysis
Ability to get things done
Systematic planning
Decisions are binding
Trial and error, learn by doing, can do
Decisions are guidelines
Femininity
Masculinity
• Good working atmosphere
• Care for others
• Harmony
• Performance
• Polarization
• Assertive
• Solidarity
• Modesty
• People over materialism
• Competitive
• Displaying success
• Materialism over people
Masculinity
Femininity
USA
NETH
SPA
SWE
POR
0
FRA
20
KOR
CAN
SIN
SLO
PL
GB
GER
ITA
JAP
GRE
40
60
80
100
Culture is communication
Edward Hall
Hall’s
Definition
Culture determines the style of
communication:
indirect or direct
Direct (low context)
Indirect (high context)
• Explicit
• Context not important
• Thinking-focused
• Implicit
• Context important
• Feeling-focused
• Result-oriented
• Masculine
• Relationship-oriented
• Feminine
Direct
NETH
GER
CH
0
20
Indirect
ITA
PL
SPA
GB FRA
USA
40
JAP
60
80
100
German directness
British indirectness
Jürgen wird an die Decke springen.
J
ürgen might tend to disagree.
Kommen wir gleich zur Sache.
I was wondering if could talk.
Du sagst nur Blödsinn.
I am not quite with you on that.
Das kann nicht wahr sein.
Hm, that’s an interesting idea.
Wir werden dies nie unterschreiben.
We’ll have to do our homework.
Monochronic
Polychronic
• One activity at a time
• Schedules very important
• Task-oriented
• Parallel activities
• Plans are changed
• Relationship-oriented
• Linear
• Punctual
• Interruptions
• Punctuality unimportant
Monochronic
NETH
GER
CH
0
20
Polychronic
ITA
PL
SPA
GB FRA
USA
40
60
JAP
80
100
Management conflict between
American and German managers
Differences perceived
Differences regarded as difficulties
US perception of D as
difference
process-oriented
yes
specialised, expert
yes
rule-bound
yes
precise, data-oriented
yes
formal
yes
surnaming / using titles
yes
direct
yes
German-speaking, multilingual
yes
difficulty
yes
yes
D perception of US as
difference
difficulty
unstructured
yes
yes
informal
yes
yes
first-naming
yes
yes
humour
yes
yes
English-speaking, monolingual
yes
exaggerated optimism
yes
fluid agreements (trial and error)
yes
yes
yes
Underlying regularities
• American low uncertainty avoidance (low UA)
vs. German higher uncertainty
avoidance (high UA)
• American higher context communication (hcc)
vs. German low context communication (lcc)
• American relationship orientation (r o)
vs. German task orientation (t o)
How can
these differences
in regularities
be explained?
US perception of D as
difference difficulty
yes
regularity
process-oriented
yes
specialised, expert
yes
higher UA, t o
rule-bound
yes
higher UA
precise, data-oriented
yes
higher UA, lcc
formal
yes
surnaming / using titles
yes
higher UA
direct
yes
lcc
German-speaking, multilingual
yes
yes
higher UA
higher UA
D perception of US as
difference difficulty
regularity
unstructured
yes
yes
low UA
informal
yes
yes
higher cc, r o
first-name
yes
yes
low UA, r o
humour
yes
yes
low UA, r o
English-speaking, monolingual
yes
exaggerate optimism
yes
yes
fluid agreements (trial & error)
yes
yes
low UA
Lesson to be learned
• US-German communication and co-operation
might not be as simple as it appears —
especially for Germans
Why do we
stereotype?
Why do we
stereotype?
Natural impulse to categorize
when reality is too complex to handle.
Stereotypes are
helpful when:
• consciously aware it’s a group norm
• descriptive and not evaluative
• modifiable
Cross-cultural perceptions
perception
of Americans
perception
of Germans
• unstructured
• process-oriented
• energetic
• specialized, expert
• first-name
• systematic, orderly
• seem happier
• precise, data-oriented
• overly self-confident
• too formal
• narrow perspective of world
• direct
Visitors’ perceptions of Germans
Those who don’t
speak German
Those who speak
German
• excessively detailed
• perfectionist
• standoffish
• slow to get to know
• pushy
• meticulous about deadlines
• stubborn
• systematic, orderly
• obsessed with rules
• fair to a fault
• afraid of making mistakes
• eager to do right
Cultural Perception
Americans are
According to Brazilians
According to Chinese
Serious
Friendly
Reserved
Spontaneous
Introvert
Extrovert
Cautious
?
Reckless
Restrained
Uninhibited
Composed
Emotional
Methodical
Impulsive
Attitudes for better
intercultural communications
Tolerance for ambiguity
Open-mindedness
Low goal/task orientation
Empathy
Non-judgmental
Communicativeness
Flexibility
Curiosity
Sense of humor
Motivation
Warmth in human relationships
Self-reliance
Strong sense of self
Perceptiveness
Ability to fail
Tolerance to differences
Differences between
German and American
presentation styles?
American Presentation
• start with a “big bang” (hook them)
• show them how they can profit from the talk
• emphasize entertainment aspect — jokes, anecdotes
• conclusion is often enthusiastic, visionary
–— guaranteed to be a success!
• audience-centered and interactive
–— lots a smiles, speaker wants to be socially accepted
Deductive and Inductive Thinking
Major Point
Fact
Fact
Proof
Proof
Fact
Proof
Background Information
Presentations styles
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• Focused on listener
• Focused on content
• Enthusiastic, optimistic
• Start with straight introduction
• Inductive
• Factual (sachlich)
• Benefit orientation
• Deductive
• Showman’s effects
• Clear transitions
• Use of personal examples
• Distant through formality
• Get to the point
• Serious (bestimmt auftreten)
• Easy-to-remember statements
• Detailed explanations
Communication
Exchanging ideas,
feelings, symbols, meanings
to create commonality
Misunderstandings:
Interpreting
“foreign behavior”
in terms of our own culture
The Cardinal Rule
Understanding oneself
and one’s own culture
Communication
breaks down —
people build up barriers
us versus them
Good, intercultural
communication is not just good
intentions.
Receiver’s perception
determines the real message,
not the one we send.
The greatest barrier
is culture, not language.
Communication
• Natural and simple
• Takes places in one’s culture
80% – 90% of information:
“non-verbal” signals
Why we don’t see
objectively
Perception is
• selective
• learned
• culturally determined
• consistent
• inaccurate
ONCE
IN A
PARIS
IN THE
BIRD
IN THE
A LIFETIME
THE SPRING
THE HAND
Reasons for
intercultural faux pas
• Think seldom about communication
• Non-verbal signals underestimated
• Perceive things differently
Communication Styles
QuickT ime ™an d a TIFF (Un compr ess ed) d ecomp res sor a re ne eded to se e th is p ic tu re.
Communication styles
• emphasizing content
• accentuating content
• downplay relationships
• accentuating personal
• appearing credible
• being liked
• being objective
• being socially accepted
• direct in stating
• direct in expressing
• more upgraders
• more downgraders
• more modal verbs
• more conditionals
• more imperative
• more questions
Credibility
Likeability
• Complicated
• Simple
• Over analytical
• Formal und detailed
• Objective
• Wants to be creditable
• Short and concise
• Informal
• Friendly and easy going
• Wants to be liked
The German Desire for Clarity
“Jetzt werde ich mit ihr
deutsch reden müssen” (Klartext)
The German adjective deutlich (clear, plain) and the German verb
deuten (explain, interpret) have the same linguistic roots to the word
Germans use to refer to themselves and their language — deutsch.
Peach and Coconut Metaphor
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TIFF (U ncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Communicating with Americans
Do’s
Don’ts
• Look for common opinions
• Forget to repeat
• Focus on the results
• Tell ethnic jokes
• Use simple language
• Forget the small talk
• Expect fewer details
• Expect critical feedback
• Be less direct
• Be irritated by interruptions
• Listen non-verbally and participate
• Hesitate to ask questions
• Expect agreement
• Be so critical
Opening lines for “small talk”
I hear you are going to be transferred to Rome. That sound great!
You and Elke have been married for three years now. When will you have children?
I like that pair of shoes you have on. Where did you buy them?
John, you look like you’ve gained a few kilos these last few months.
Did you see that great Formula 1 race on TV yesterday? Schumacher left all of his
competitors in the dust.
This weather is fantastic. It’s a great day to go hiking, don’t you think?
I’ve heard you come from Zurich. That’s in southern Germany, isn’t it?
I just got a great offer. If I accept the job in Chicago, I’ll make $70,000 a year, plus
a annual $25,000 bonus.
Who will you vote for in the upcoming election?
Have you heard that latest rumor? Beatrice is going out with the boss.
U.S. negotiating style
Americans tends to
• make a small talk at the beginning
• look more at strengths & weaknesses of others than issues
• maximize benefits to themselves than “best” solution for all
• create a friendly, personable atmosphere
The typical U.S. negotiator
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always keeps a poker-face
Milton Bennett’s
Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity
Experience of Difference
Ethnocentric Stages
Ethnorelative Stages
Denial
• one’s culture is the only real one
• unable to construe cultural difference
• aggressive ignorance
• “Munich — lots of buildings, too many cars, McDonalds”
Defensive
• one’s culture is the only good one
• “we” are superior — “they” are inferior
• highly critical of other cultures
• “Americans are superficial and uncultivated”
Minimization
• one’s culture is viewed as universal
• obscure deep cultural differences
• insistently nice
• “We bankers are all the same all over the world.”
Acceptance
• one’s culture is viewed as one of many complex systems
• judgment is not ethnocentric
• curious about cultural differences
• “I want to learn German so I can understand Hans better.”
Adaptation
• internalize more than one complete worldview
• empathy
• may intentionally change behavior to communicate better
• “I’m beginning to feel like a member of this culture.”
Integration
• one’s self is expanded to include different worldviews
• cross-cultural swinger
• ability to facilitate contact between cultures
• “I truly enjoy participating fully in both of my cultures.”
Intercultural competence
• No longer attached to original cultural group
• Relativity of values
• Cross-cultural swinger
• Multi-lingual
• Other-culture awareness
Question for reflection
QuickT ime ™an d a
TIFF ( Uncomp res sed) deco mpre ssor
ar e need ed to see this pictur e.
What are the characteristics
of an effective multinational team?
Effective multinational teams
• recognize diversity
• members selected for task-related abilities
• mutual respect
• equal power
• super ordinate goal
• external feedback
Team Charter (example)
A commitment to:
• assume difference until similarity is proven
• emphasize description, not interpreting or judging
• practice role reversal
• more use of conditionals
• to be more open to compliments
Advantages of multinational teams
• expanded horizons
• less groupthink
• increased creativity and flexibility
Basic German Values
1. Strong sense of group welfare: Sozialmarktwirtschaft
2. Confidence to do the job right due to thorough training
3. Extremely fair towards others; have vision what is right and wrong
4. A serious and factual attitude toward life
5. Excellent listeners
6. Meticulous about deadlines and appointments
7. Perfectionism: very neat and orderly, pay attention to details
8. Precise execution of activities and products; brilliant organizers
9. “Höchste Leistung bringen”: obsession for high performance
with passionate intensity
10. “Durchsetzungsvermögen”: very thorough and effective in work
Basic American Values
1. Very proud of political system and the American way of life
2. High self-confidence; rely on own strength and capability
3. Volunteerism: very engaged in community services
4. Trust in people; relaxed friendliness and spontaneity
5. A “can-do” optimism: openness to improvement and change
6. Anti-authoritarian attitude: don’t bow to a higher authority
7. Equality and the rule of law: every person is equal before the law
8. Individualism: everyone has the right to self-actualize
9. Restlessness and impatience: desire to move up the social ladder
10. Pragmatism: prefer the concrete over aesthetic and conceptual
Understanding others…
Understanding others doesn’t consist
of only appealing to logic and reason.
It consists of an emotional opening to
the others
Jawaharlal Nehru
You have been great participants