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The Culture Map - Introduction (Eight scales that map the world's…
The Culture Map - Introduction
to apply clear strategies to improve effectiveness at solving problems caused my cross-cultural misunderstanding or avoid them altogether, begin with recognising cultural factors that shape behaviour, and analyse the reasons for that behaviour
France - positive feedback is often given implicitly, negative feedback is given more directly - an exception to normally being quite 'high context'
USA - give positive feedback directly, and try to couch negative messages in positive, encouraging language
Invisible boundaries that divide our world
Majority of managers who work internationally = unware of the impact of culture on their work
With modern methods of communication such as exchanging emails with an international counterpart in a country you have never been to, it is easier to miss the cultural subtleties that impact communication
when you actually live, work or travel extensively in foreign countries you pick up on contextual cues you use to understand the culture, and decode communication to adapt.
Being open to individual differences is not enough
People work in global settings while viewing everything through their own cultural lens - this leads to assumptions that all differences, controversy and misunderstandings are rooted in personality
Why not approach people with an interest in getting to know them personally (as opposed to culturally)
If you approach interactions assuming culture doesn't matter, you automatically view others through your own cultural lens or misjudge them accordingly
If your business relies on the ability to work well with people of different cultures, you need to have an appreciation for cultural differences AS WELL as respect for individual ones
cultural and individual differences are also often wrapped up with differences among organisations, industries, professions and other groups
Eight scales that map the world's cultures
Each represents one key area managers should be aware of, and show how cultures vary along a spectrum from one extreme to the other
communicating - low context vs high context
evaluating - direct negative feedback vs indirect
persuading - principles- first vs applications-first
leading - egalitarian vs hierarchical
deciding - consensual vs top-down
trusting - task-based vs relationship-based
disagreeing - confrontational vs avoiding confrontation
scheduling - linear time vs. flexible time
How did my country get placed there?
what is important on the scale is the relative gap between two countries not the absolute position of the country you are looking at
first step in the scaling is interviewing people from the demographic, a normative pattern emerges - bell curve illustrates the range of what is considered appropriate or acceptable behaviour in that culture - the hump is where the majority of responses fall
there are outliers, but then their behaviour would be considered inappropriate, unacceptable or unideal in that culture's business culture
the culture sets a range, and within that range each individual makes a choice about how to act - it is not only a question of culture or personality but both