Cross culture awareness

What is Culture ?
• Culture is the "lens" through which you
view the world.
• It is central to what you see,
• How you make sense of what you see,
• How you express yourself.
 A shared system of meanings, beliefs,
values, behaviours through which
experience is interpreted and carried out

CROSS CULTURE
Cross cultural communication focuses on how people from
different cultures, background, beliefs and communities
communicate across different cultures

5
Americans as other see them…
 India: “Americans seem to be in a perpetual hurry. Just watch the way
they walk down the street. They never allow themselves the leisure to
enjoy life; there are too many things to do.”
 Turkey: “Once we were out in a rural area in the middle of nowhere
and saw an American come to a stop sign. Though he could see in both
directions for miles and no traffic was coming, he still stopped!”
 Colombia: “The tendency in the US to think that life is only work hits
you in the face. Work seems to be the one type of motivation.”
 Ethiopia: “The American is very explicit; he wants a “yes” or a “no”. If
someone tries to speak figuratively, the American is confused.”
 Iran: “The first time my American professor told me, “I don’t know the
answer, I will have to look it up,” I was shocked. I asked myself, “Why is
he teaching me? In my country a professor would give the wrong answer
rather than admit ignorance.”
Source: N. Adler., 1991

What is Cross Culture Awareness
• Cultural Awareness is the foundation of
communication and it involves the ability of
standing back from ourselves and becoming
aware of our cultural values, beliefs and
perceptions.

Why Cross Culture
Communication is important ?
Globalization: Cross border movement of people, goods and
data brings more and more cultures into contact with one
another and increases the potential of cross culture
communication.
◦ Business Opportunities
◦ Job Opportunities
◦ Improves the contribution of employees in a
diverse workforce
◦ Sharing of views and ideas
◦ Talent improvisation
◦ An understanding of diverse market

Different areas of cross culture

Degree of cultural awareness
• There are several levels of cultural awareness that
reflect how people grow to perceive cultural
differences.
• My way is the only way - At the first level, people are
aware of their way of doing things, and their way is the
only way. At this stage, they ignore the impact of
cultural differences. (Parochial stage)
• I know their way, but my way is better - At the second
level, people are aware of other ways of doing things,
but still consider their way as the best one. In this stage,
cultural differences are perceived as source of problems
and people tend to ignore them or reduce their
significance. (Ethnocentric stage)

• My Way and Their Way - At this level people are aware
of their own way of doing things and others’ ways of
doing things, and they chose the best way according to
the situation. At this stage people realize that cultural
differences can lead both to problems and benefits and
are willing to use cultural diversity to create new
solutions and alternatives. (Synergistic stage)
• Our Way - This fourth and final stage brings people
from different cultural background together for the
creation of a culture of shared meanings. People
dialogue repeatedly with others, create new meanings,
new rules to meet the needs of a particular situation.
(Participatory Third culture stage)

High Context culture
• High Context
• Less verbally explicit communication, less written/formal
information
• More internalized understandings of what is communicated
• Multiple cross-cutting ties and intersections with others
• Long term relationships
• Strong boundaries- who is accepted as belonging vs who is
considered an "outsider"
• Knowledge is situational, relational.
• Decisions and activities focus around personal face-to-face
relationships, often around a central person who has
authority.

Examples:
Small religious congregations, a party with friends, family gatherings,
expensive gourmet restaurants and neighbourhood restaurants
with a regular clientele, undergraduate on-campus friendships,
regular pick-up games, hosting a friend in your home overnight.
• African
• Brazilian
• Chinese
• French
• Indian
• Italian
• Japanese
• Portuguese
• Russian
• Southern United States
• Spanish

• Examples:
• large US airports, a chain supermarket, a cafeteria, a
convenience store, sports where rules are clearly laid out.
• Australian
• Dutch
• English Canadian
• English
• Finnish
• German
• Hebrews/Jews
• New Zealand
• Scandinavia
• Switzerland
• United States

Low Context Culture
• Rule oriented, people play by external rules
• More knowledge is codified, public, external, and
accessible.
• Sequencing, separation--of time, of space, of activities,
of relationships
• More interpersonal connections of shorter duration
• Knowledge is more often transferable
• Task-centered. Decisions and activities focus around
what needs to be done, division of responsibilities.

16
French: logical,
cartesian,
elitist,
authoritarian,
proud
Germans: rigid,
methodical,
obsessed with order
& privacy,
unemotional, territorial
Americans: superficial,
‘Frontier Spirit’,
materialistic,
over-optimistic
Italians: loud,
macho,
impatient,
over-emotional,
talkative,
unorganized
British: imperialistic,
‘Island mentality’,
principled,
class-conscious,
conservative
Stereotypes…
Chinese: quiet,
hardworking,
enigmatic,
smiling, cruel

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Opening a meeting
Germany Formal intro. Sit down. Begin.
Finland Formal intro. Cup of coffee. Sit down. Begin.
USA
UK
France
Japan
Spain/
Italy
Number
of minutes
Informal intro. Cup of coffee. Jokes. Begin.
Formal intro. Cup of tea.
10 min small talk. Casual beginning.
Formal intro. 15 min small
talk. Begin.
Formal intro. Protocol seating. Green tea. 15/20 min small
talk. Signal from senior member. Begin.
20/30 min small talk while others arrive. Begin when all are
there.
5 10 15 20 25
Adapted from Richard D. Lewis

Barriers to cross cultural
communication

Blocks to Cultural Communication
1. Ethnocentrism : Inability to accept another culture's world view;
"my way is the best."
2. Discrimination : Differential treatment of an individual due to
minority status; actual and perceived;
e.g., "we just aren't equipped to .Serve people like that."
3. Stereotyping : Generalizing about a person while ignoring presence of individual
difference;
e.g., "she's like that because she's Asian – all Asians are nonverbal."
4.Cultural Blindness: Differences are ignored and one proceeds as
though differences did not exist; e.g., "there's no need to worry about a
person's culture
5.Cultural Imposition: Belief that everyone should conform to the
majority; e.g., "we know what's best for you, if you don't like it you can
go elsewhere."
6.Tone Difference : Formal tone change becomes embarrassing and off-putting in some
cultures.

Pre-cautions in Cultural
Communication
1. Slow Down
2. Separate Questions
3. Avoid Negative Questions
4. Take Turns
5. Write it down
6. Be Supportive
7. Maintain Etiquette

Be open to new ideas and appreciate
cultural differences

Skills To Overcome Differences
Respecting Differences and Working Together
Building Trust Across Cultural Boundaries
Understanding Body Language
Connecting with people

“For a German and a Finn, the truth is the truth.
In Japan and Britain it is all right if it doesn't rock
the boat. In China there is no absolute truth. In
Italy it is negotiable."
Richard D. Lewis

Culture and communication
Culture and communication are inseparable, because culture not
only dictates who talks to whom, about what, and how the
communication proceeds, it also helps to determine how people
encode messages, the meanings they have for messages, and the
conditions and circumstances under which various messages may or
may not be sent, noticed, or interpreted.

Time to play cross cultural
quiz….
27

In Saudi Arabia, which is considered a popular gesture of
friendship between men?
50/50
A. A high five B. Holding hands
while walking
C. A hand shake D. A hug and kiss on
the cheek
28

In Saudi Arabia, which is considered a popular gesture of
friendship between men?
50/50
A. A high five B. Holding hands
while walking
C. A hand shake D. A hug and kiss on
the cheek
29

In Great Britain, tapping your nose indicates that something is:
50/50
A. Confidential B. Smelly
C. Inappropriate D. Very important
30

In Great Britain, tapping your nose indicates that something is:
50/50
A. Confidential B. Smelly
C. Inappropriate D. Very important
31

32
Conclusion
“Culture is more often a source of conflict than
of synergy. Cultural differences are a nuisance at best
and often a disaster. But if we really want to globalize,
there is no way around them so we better take them for
what they are.”
Geert Hofstede

Cross culture awareness

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Cross culture awareness