Cultures and National Stereotypes

1. People often say such things as 'Italians are good lovers' or Englishmen are cold-blooded'. What other generalizations of this nature can you think of?

2. Do these generalizations serve any useful purpose? If so, what?

We are repeatedly warned to beware of generalizations yet, paradoxically, it seems that the human mind cannot resist categorizing people and things. We love to 'pigeon-hole', to make order out of a universe that frequently seems to us confusing and even chaotic. We create national. To illustrate this point, we shall take a look at the findings of a survey carried out by the market research firm, Parkland Research Europe.

It revealed many widely-held stereotypes, but also came up with a few surprises. In the chart below, some of the data from this survey is summarized.

Parkland Findings

The Germans liked themselves best of all. Most Europeans agreed that the Germans had the highest proportion of good qualities. They considered themselves very tolerant, but nobody else did. They saw themselves as fashionable. Others found them 'square'.

The French were not really admired by anyone except the Italians. Other Europeans found them conservative, withdrawn, chauvinistic, brilliant, superficial, hedonistic and also, not very friendly. The French agreed on the last point!

The British caused mixed reactions. Some found them calm, reserved, open-minded, trustworthy; others deemed them hidebound, closed and superior. Everyone was unanimous that the British had an excellent sense of humor. The British most admired the Dutch.

The Swiss showed considerable clearness and powers of self-analysis. They saw themselves as serious, trustworthy, but too money-minded and suspicious. Most Europeans agreed. The Swiss liked the Germans best.

The Italians were generally considered by everyone to be lazy and untrustworthy, and the Italians agreed! Most also found them to be vivacious, charming, hospitable and noisy. The Italians admired the French and the Dutch. Hardly anyone loved the Italians except the French.

The Dutch are the most admired people in Europe — except by their neighbors — the Belgians. Everyone agreed that the Dutch are hard-working, thrifty, good-natured, tolerant and business-minded. The Netherlands, however, was not considered a good place to live in.

The Belgians showed to be the least admired in this group. They see themselves as easy-going and diligent workers. Other Europeans consider them undisciplined and narrow-minded — and lousy drivers!

As a follow-up to this study, businessmen were asked to imagine they were setting up a multinational company. They had to choose 60 nationalities for the positions of president, managing director, chief cashier, public relations officer and skilled and unskilled labour.

The Germans came out of this exercise smelling of roses! They were universal choice for the top jobs, and also first choice for skilled workers. The Italians were relegated to the unskilled jobs; the French received massive support for the light-weight public relations post. According to the economist in charge of Parkland Research, 'No European picked an Italian as president or chief cashier. Moreover, no Italian or Frenchman picked one of his own nationals as chief cashier!'

Let us turn from theory to practices. One excellent tip for doing business with different cultures is that in a universalist culture there will be one way to do something, while in the particularist there may be a number of alternatives. Another hint says that in conducting business it is important to realize that it may be the group as opposed to a key individual who need to be satisfied in a collectivist-oriented culture, and that the building of collective relationships will be of great importance. It is also desirable to know to what degree it is culturally acceptable to show feelings in business relationships. In the UK and Japan it may be frowned on, less so in Italy and France. Latin cultures tend to accept displays of emotion more readily than those designated as Anglo-Saxon. The next issue to consider is the distinction between work and home. In some cultures, work and home are closely related (Japan, China); in others, people are not expected to bring domestic issues into their workplace (UK, US). Some cultures tend to be much more focused on objectives, whereas in diffuse cultures, time may be

spent talking about non-organizational-related issues. It is a matter of knowing, understanding and reacting in a culturally acceptable manner. Besides, one must be aware that titles and qualifications are much more important in ascription -oriented cultures (like in India) and great offence can be caused by omitting them or quoting them incorrectly. Age is respected in many Eastern cultures, whereas it may be difficult for an over-40 to find employment in the West. Similarly the position of women differs from one culture to another. Sending a young man or woman to negotiate on behalf of the organization may be a good practice in certain cultures but frowned on in others, especially if they are ones that disregard the position of women or aged people. Organizations that discriminate against people on the grounds of age, gender or even race do themselves a grave disservice, as well as breaking the law of many developed jurisdictions. Sex and race discrimination are illegal in the UK and to these are added age in the USA.

1Find English equivalents from the text and learn them:

Консерватор, обыватель/приклеивать ярлыки/ замкнутый/ неглубокий/ ограниченный, с узким кругозором/ надменный/ недоверчивый / расчетливый/ исполнительный/ с легким характером/ незначительный/ расплывчатый, многословный/ социальное происхождение/ от имени/ оказывать себе плохую услугу, чреватую последствиями / правоохранительные органы

2 Answer the following questions

Do you agree to the results of the research?

What other national stereotypes do you know?

How can national stereotypes hinder business?

Up to you…

What do foreigners say about your own national character? What do you think about it?

Make a survey to describe your nation according to the following attitudes:

1) Attitude to time:

2) Universal vs. particular (if there is one way of doing things or there are alternatives)

3) Individualism vs. collectivism

4) Emotional vs. neutral

5) Specific vs. diffuse

6) Achievement vs. ascription

7) Attitudes to age and gender

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