Uncertain Times – Tips to consider when working with different cultures

I am sure that I do not have to elaborate on what I mean when I refer to ‘uncertain times’.  Something that seems everywhere – when you get together in social gatherings, water cooler chat at office, turn the radio on, news paper headlines…….economic downturn…..

Do you know that different cultures adapt/ deal with uncertain and ambiguous times strikingly different? Here are some highlights and tips to turn a challenge into an opportunity when working with different cultures during tumultuous times.

‘Uncertainty Avoidance’ is a cultural dimension that relates to the degree of anxiety society members feel when in uncertain or unknown situations – deals with a society’s tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity.

Cultural groups from Argentina, Latin American, Arab nations, Japan, US generally tend to avoid uncertainty and ambiguous situations. When faced with uncertainty, these cultures generally need and expect more structure, express a sense of nervousness and spurn high levels of emotion, and avoid differences.

Cultural groups from India, East Africa nations, Denmark, Jamaica, Singapore, and Hong Kong generally tend to manage uncertain and ambiguous situations better. When faced with uncertainty, these cultures generally orient themselves towards long term strategy than what is happening on a daily basis, accept change and risk, and express a greater level of tolerance for a variety of ideas, thoughts, and beliefs.

Here are some tips for those of you working with cultures that tend to avoid/ averse to uncertainty:

•       Be clear and concise about your expectations and parameters.

•       Plan and prepare, communicate often and early, provide detailed plans and focus on the tactical aspects of a job or project.

Here are some tips for those of you working with cultures that tend to embrace/ manage uncertainty better:

•       Do not impose rules or structure unnecessarily.

•        Minimize your emotional response by being calm and contemplating situations before speaking.

•        Express curiosity when you discover differences.

Share your thoughts and personal insights working across cultural boundaries.

 

 

Gift giving vs. Grease payments – A slippery slope

Gift giving is an intrinsic part of investing into the emotional bank accounts/ relationships when you work with your Asian counterparts. For example, you may have heard of the term ‘guanxi’ from the Chinese cultural context, as an act of reciprocation or returning a favor. Understanding the role of Guanxi in business is fundamental to building relationships in China. Giving gifts and returning a favor is a matter of maintaining equilibrium in business relationships.

As business operations expand across cultural boundaries, it is important for leaders to understand the boundaries of culturally acceptable practices vs. landing in border line ethical issues (i.e. making grease payments/ bribery for any improper advantage). This is all the more pertinent when working with government officials in foreign countries.

There are several U.S. laws that address the manner in which U.S. firms operate internationally, two of which are Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA) ¹. You may find the interpretation of some of these interesting:

·         Paying a government official to expedite a safety inspection does not violate the FCPA¹

·         Reimbursing his or her travel expenses for the site visit does not violate the FCPA¹

·         Offering the inspector money to ignore hazardous findings does violate the FCPA¹

It is important to understand that cultural differences exist with respect to gift giving and grease payments. This will allow businesses to navigate through the interesting challenges of work with diverse national cultures.

Note:

‘Cultural Imperialism’ is the belief that one’s culture is right and others are wrong.

‘Cultural Relativism’ the belief that right or wrong is determined by one’s culture and there are no universal principles of right or wrong (or good or bad) across cultures.

Neither approach is ideal. While global firms must understand that practices in other countries are often different rather than unethical, they must also ensure that certain minimum standards are upheld. Cultural Competence is a subject that allows you to recognize, respect and reconcile on value differences between nations and avoid making judgments of right and wrong.

 

¹ SHRM- International Employee Relations and Regulations

Do you or don’t you ? Simple expressions with cultural connotation

Let’s be practical here, in America we have seen it all. We are a melting pot of all cultures, don’t we know how to get the job done! Anyway, they are from an English speaking nation and we should be all set right?

I hitched a ride with my friend this week end to the airport to catch my flight from Atlanta to Detroit, and got caught up in a conversation about Cultural Competence. Reflecting back on a workplace incident that occurred a few years ago…I was in a regular management meeting where we discuss issues, projects and priorities. The discussion revolved around a technology project that most of my colleagues seemed very interested in. I said something that I thought was pretty normal and proceeded to discuss the subject further.

I kind of got a strange reaction from my colleagues, who all of a sudden disengaged from the subject abruptly and then started rolling their eye balls and seemed a little confused as I discussed the subject further. The same kind of dynamics happened one other time and I thought is this something that I said that is causing this strange reaction?

Well, the pretty normal something I said was ‘Let’s table the discussion’. In some cultures (in this case the culture that I come from), ‘Let’s table the discussion’ means let us get it on the table for discussion and get it done! No wonder my colleagues who come from the American cultural background all of sudden disengaged abruptly…started rolling their eye…seemed a little confused. In the American culture, the very same ‘Let’s table the discussion’ means let us park it for later. Imagine this little dynamics playing itself out in a global team/ virtual team environment and if and how this may impact communication, understanding of each other’s goals & priorities.

In speaking events, my audiences quite often ask me how Cultural Competence is different from Diversity.  I believe that Diversity tends to be ‘what meets the eye’ i.e. observable behaviors of different cultural groups…following the classic cliché expression – tip of the iceberg. Cultural Competence takes a deeper perspective on the customs, beliefs, values and assumptions of different cultural groups that has a direct impact on how they show up for the game every day. To succeed in this global economy and to effectively manage global teams, it is imperative to develop a global mindset that has a reciprocal familiarity of cultural values and beliefs. The example above, although does not specifically delve into beliefs or values, but at a surface level highlights the cultural variations to normal English expressions.

Do you have a similar story to share? Has something like this caught you by surprise at your workplace? Share your thoughts…..