DIVERSITY ABROAD
Often intercultural business communication is regarded as something necessary only for international business. But we want to emphasize that many cultures are represented within the borders of one nation: This is true of all countries that already have, or are rapidly developing, a high degree of technological expertise. In fact all large city centers, from Delhi to Detroit, from Caracas to Canton, are peopled by members of cultures from all over the world.
As materials, capital, expertise, and organizations migrate, so also the workforce of every major center in the world is increasingly made up of migrants. Markets, labor, and money are all global. Correspondingly, intercultural communication skills are extremely important for businesspeople looking for markets, suppliers, associates, partners, subsidiaries, or joint venture companies in foreign countries. Today's successful business-people must be able to communicate interculturally both at home and abroad. Business travelers are often characterized as unaware of—and unconcerned about—priorities in other cultures and the behaviors they generate. They are supposedly interested only in profits. They say, "It works at home, so it will work anywhere," or "I know how to sell/manufacture/manage anywhere," or "My product is the best, so I don't have to worry about the culture." Donald Hastings, Chairman Emeritus of Lincoln Electric, attributed many of the company's mistakes abroad (see the opening of this chapter) to an executive attitude that since they were successful in the United States they must certainly succeed in other countries. But these characterizations may not be accurate. Most businesspeople want to act appropriately and avoid offending their counterparts in foreign countries. Most businesspeople want to know the buttons to push that motivate people in other cultures, if only for the sake of making a sale. But those who are genuinely concerned about how to learn what matters in another culture have few guides, beyond lists of "do's and don'ts." As we have suggested, such lists are never complete. One researcher suggests that McDonald's success—it has more outlets worldwide than in the United States, and a new McDonald's opens somewhere every 17 hours—is because they practice a localized approach. McDonald's succeeds because it offers what local people want." That means being sensitive to the cultural needs of the immediate market. Some businesspeople turn to lists of do's and taboos for help, such as this one governing nonverbal communication: - Never refuse the offer of coffee from a businessman in Kuwait. - Be very careful not to cross your legs so that the sole of your foot points to someone in Thailand. - Only remove your jacket and work in shirtsleeves in Japan when your Japanese colleagues do so first. - Never help yourself to food when you are the guest of honor at a banquet in China. - Do not become irritated if you find yourself waiting half an hour or more for an appointment with a businessperson from Venezuela. - Use business courtesies in India, such as shaking hands when introduced, except when females are involved. - Do not discuss politics in Nigeria. - Do not offer your host gifts for his wife or children when doing business in Saudi Arabia. - Plan to spend about two hours on lunch in France. The do's and taboos lists are usually accurate, but their helpfulness is limited. One-sentence advice on behavior is like seeing a snapshot from a movie. It is accurate, but without the context of the movie's story line, character development, or even the specific episode, the snapshot's significance may not be understandable. Lists of do's and taboos can't explain why you should or should not behave in a particular way in a particular place. Lists can't possibly be comprehensive. And even if a business traveler were armed with a very long list, who can consult a list for every nuance in every different country? It's no wonder that businesspeople may seem to discard tips on do's and taboos in favor of simply being themselves and acting the same way abroad that they would at home. And yet most businesspeople know that business as usual—doing what they do at home—can be counterproductive when doing business abroad. To be effective in a foreign business setting, you need to know certain things, but not necessarily everything, about that culture's priorities, its members' attitudes, and how they think people should behave. With the right set of questions, you can learn what you need to know about how people of another culture think. Then you can draw parallels from how people think to how they probably expect you to act. For example, if you know people in a particular culture have great respect for age and seniority, you can infer they will appreciate your standing up when an older representative from their company comes into a meeting room. Because cultures are coherent and made of elements knit together in a fabric, understanding why enables you to understand the specific what of behavior. For example, consider some of the list of do's and don'ts above in the light of these explanations. Hospitality is highly valued in Kuwait, and refusing the offer of coffee offends that value. In Buddhist Thailand, the sole of the foot is the furthest part of the anatomy from heaven and the least sacred. To show the bottom of the foot to someone is to show disrespect. Similarly, it shouldn't surprise you to know that Thais consider touching a person's head to be disrespectful, since the head is sacred. In Japan, where standing out and being different threatens social harmony, matters of form—such as clothing—are dominated by consensus. In China, a host can lose face if the guest appears to be hungry, since it is the host's role to offer even more than the guest can eat. Therefore, "cleaning your plate" is not a good idea. Time in Latin American cultures is flexible; it can be stretched to allow things to be attended to properly. Once you begin to build a picture of a culture's priorities, you can draw fairly accurate deductions about what kind of behavior will be offensive and what behavior will be pleasing. Chapters 3 and 4 discuss what questions to ask in order to have an understanding of a culture that will enable you to do business effectively.
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