Differences in Cultures

In an ideal world ...

the policemen would be English
the car mechanics would be German
the cooks would be French
the innkeepers would be Swiss,
and the lovers would be Italian
In a living hell ...
the policemen would be German
the car mechanics would be French
the cooks would be English
the innkeepers would be Italian

and the lovers would be Swiss

In the US, a firm, short handshake indicates self-confidence and (heterosexual) masculinity. A
limp handshake by a man can be interpreted (usually wrongly) as a sign of homosexuality or
wimpiness. But in most parts of Africa, a limp handshake is the correct way to do it.
Furthermore, it is common in Africa for the handshake to last several minutes, while in the
US a handshake that is even a few seconds too long is interpreted as familiarity, warmth and
possibly sexual attraction.
In Britain, men do not look at women on the streets. The French do. Recently, a French public
figure mentioned in a speech that the Brits are all gay -- the evidence was their lack of overt
interest in women.

High Context vs Low Context

Interactions between high and low context peoples can be problematic.

Japanese can find Westerners to be offensively blunt. Westerners can find Japanese to be
secretive, devious and bafflingly unforthcoming with information
o French can feel that Germans insult their intelligence by explaining the obvious, while Germans
can feel that French managers provide no direction
o

Monochronic vs Polychronic

Interactions between types can be problematic. German businessman cannot

understand why the person he is meeting is so interruptible by phone calls and people
stopping by. Is it meant to insult him? When do they get down to business?
Similarly, the American employee of a German company is disturbed by all the closed
doors -- it seems cold and unfriendly.

Future vs Present vs Past Orientation

Past-oriented societies are concerned with traditional values and ways of doing things. They
tend to be conservative in management and slow to change those things that are tied to the
past. Past-oriented societies include China, Britain, Japan and most spanish-speaking Latin
American countries.

Present-oriented societies include the rest of the spanish-speaking Latin American countries.
They see the past as passed and the future as uncertain. They prefer short-term benefits.
Future-oriented societies have a great deal of optimism about the future. They think they
understand it and can shape it through their actions. They view management as a matter of
planning, doing and controlling (as opposed to going with the flow, letting things happen).
The United States and, increasingly, Brazil, are examples of future-oriented societies.

Power Distance

In high power distance countries (most agrarian countries), bypassing a superior is

unsubordination. In low power distance countries (US, northern europeans, Israel),
bypassing is not usually a big deal.
In the US, superiors and subordinates often interact socially as equals. An outsider
watching a party of professors and graduate students typically cannot tell them apart.

Individualism vs Collectivism

A market research firm conducted a survey of tourist agencies around the world. The
questionnaires came back from most countries in less than a month. But the agencies
in the asian countries took months to do it. After many telexes, it was finally done. The
reason was that, for example, American tourist agencies assigned the work to one
person, while the Filipinos delegated the work to the entire department, which took
longer. The researchers also noticed that the telexes from the Philippines always came
from a different person.

Problems Caused by Cultural Differences

You greet your Austrian client. This is the sixth time you have met over the last 4
months. He calls you Herr Smith. You think of him as a standoffish sort of guy who
doesn't want to get really friendly.
A Canadian conducting business in Kuwait is surprised when his meeting with a highranking official is not held in a closed office and is constantly interrupted. He starts
wondering if the official is as important as he had been led to believe, and he starts to
doubt how seriously his business is being taken.

A British boss asked a new, young American employee if he would like to have an
early lunch at 11 am each day. The employee said 'Yeah, that would be great!' The
boss immediately said "With that kind of attitude, you may as well forget about
lunch!"

Dave Barry tells the story of being on a trip to Japan and working with a Japanese
airline clerk on taking a flight from one city to another. On being asked about it, the
clerk said "Perhaps you would prefer to take the train." So he said "NO, I want to fly."
So she said "There are many other ways to go." He said "yes, but I think it would be
best to fly." She said "It would very difficult". Eventually, it came out that there were
no flights between those cities.