Cultural awareness

To succeed in today's global market place, it is essential to learn as much as possible about the problems in overseas markets. In the past, companies with international aspirations simply familiarised themselves with any differences in the legal system or in the (1)..... used in the day-to­day business of import and export.

Modern trade, however, (2)..... more. Today the company seeking international success must also understand the people who live and work in countries they deal with, how they think, behave and do business. In short, today's market leaders must have greater cultural awareness.

Business people operating in foreign markets often fail to consider that cultural differences can result in a (3)..... of approaches to everyday business activities such as the way a cross-cultural team (4)..... or how it conducts its meetings.

One of the main (5)..... of investing in our cultural awareness programmes is that they can help you to fully (6)..... your business potential, leaving you better placed to succeed. Our cultural awareness training seminars will (7)..... the importance of taking into account how other nationalities think and behave and how they might see you. We can also help you develop the (8)..... you need to construct effective working relationships and (9)..... difficulties that may arise when working with colleagues or clients from different nationalities and cultures.

1 (a) technicalities 2 (a) commands

(b) mechanics (b) requests

(c) schedules (c) demands

(d) procedures (d) prescribes

3 (a) variety

(b) scope

(c) choice

(d) selection

4 (a) co-operates 5 (a) prizes

(b) associates (b) benefits

(c) contributes (c) premiums

(d) compensations

6 (a) practice 7 (a) demonstrate

(b) exploit (b) expose

(c) outdo (c) announce

(d) publish

8 (a) talent 9 (a) overturn

(b) skills (b) overrun

(c) strength (c) overtake

(d) proficiencies (d) overcome

Activity 8. What forms of organizational communication are affected by culture? Read an extract from a report on the DaimlerChrysler merger:

A DaimlerChrysler executive who is German recalled a meeting...

"When one of the Americans from Chrysler brought up what he thought was a new issue a German counterpart said, "But we have agreed on this already in an earlier discussion. It is all written in the protocol." The American looked puzzled and said, "What protocol? I remember you took some notes and you sent me some papers recently, but I did not think they were important."

"At the beginning one side tried to impose its working style on the other," said Roland Klein, D/C's manager of corporate communications in Stuttgart. "This prompted conflicts and misunderstandings. But even worse, it just did not fit with the people's culture."

Germans were irked by the Americans' unstructured ways, while Americans thought the Germans were too rigid and formal.

"Each side thought its components and methods were the best," said a senior product development executive in Stuttgart.

Klein said that there are fundamental differences between Chrysler and Daimler executives.

"Germans analyze a problem in great detail, find a solution, discuss it with their partners and then make a decision. It is a very structured process," he said. "Americans start with a discussion, and then come back to new aspects after talking to other people. Eventually - after a process which they call creative - they come to a conclusion." Former Daimler-Benz executives found the system chaotic. They were often puzzled by the American tendency to return to a subject they thought had been settled. Klein said the two sides also decide things in a different ways. In America, he said, "At any time you can just pop into your boss' office and tell him something. The boss can make an instant decision - without explaining the reasons or involving other employees. It's different in Germany, underlings prepare extensive reports for the top bosses and make recommendations at formal meetings."

A high-ranking engineer in Auburn Hills said:"(at the old Chrysler) if an idea had merit, you didn't worry about approval you just went ahead and did it. Working level people feel empowered to do things. It's based on management trust. Over there (in Germany) they've got all those smokestack organizations that measure things, survey things. A lot of time is spent on unproductive activities." The clashing styles became apparent when Chrysler's US methods were adopted inside purchasing operations in Germany. The American style was imposed largely because Chrysler executive Gary Valade heads global purchasing. "It just didn't work out over here," said Klein. "There are some European suppliers which you have to approach differently or even have to deal with in the German language. For Americans, this was cultural shock." A senior product development executive in Germany said top management probably underestimated the difficulties."(Ostle, Dorothee, "Automative News Europe", 22 November, 1999)

Activity 9. Reflect on any similar to the one described in Activity 8 experiences of cultural clash you have had and how you dealt with them:

1. When did the incident occur?

2. Who was involved?

3. What exactly happened?

4. What did you feel at that time?

5. How far do you think the incident was caused by cultural factors?

6. How has your behaviour changed since?

Unit 2

NON –VERBAL COMMUNICATION

A lot of cultural differences relate to body language, so it is useful to revise parts of the body and physical actions.

To shake hands, to kiss, to make eye contact, to touch to hug, to cross your arms, to point, to bow, to pat somebody on the head

Дата добавления: 2015-09-03