Cross-Cultural Issues: Part 1
By Michael S. Schell, CEO RW³ and Charlene Marmer Solomon, Executive VP RW³
Section 1: Pre-departure Phase: Cross-Cultural
We all know that cultural fluency is one of the most important attributes to successful transitions in the international arena. As a global manager, you face cultural issues every day. This article will give you background as you work in the global marketplace.
What is Culture?
Culture is multi-layered. Created by myriad factors, including history, religion, mythology, climate and geography of a country, it is defined by shared values and beliefs, and forms the fundamental assumptions on which the whole society is built. Since no two countries share exactly the same influences, national cultures always vary. We can see what happens when countries artificially merge cultures based on political or economic motivations. When they try to create alliances between ethnic or religious groups without understanding and integrating cultures, the situation inevitably unravels. We need to look no further than the former Yugoslavia or the Soviet Empire to see how cultural incompatibility can disintegrate alliances. Despite the fact that several generations were raised in this artificial nationality, the populations maintained their separate cultures and eventually sought autonomy.
To be sure, culture is a powerful force. We talk about it like the layers of an onion –– the outer visible layer — to the less visible middle layer that carries a society’s unspoken, intuitive value system, down to the core of the culture that embodies the values that are assumed because they’re intrinsic. Cultural anthropologists have described culture as a shared way of solving dilemmas or processing ideas. A prerequisite for this is the existence of mutual expectations.
There are three layers of culture. The outer layer or the surface culture is the obvious, observable behavior –– food, language, dress, infrastructure of cities, structure of office space. The middle layer or the hidden culture is the values, beliefs and philosophy that define the culture such as attitudes toward time, communication, religion, and notions about good and bad. The inner core or the invisible culture, hearkens back to the essence of our innermost beliefs about universal, nonnegotiable truths. The invisible culture is so deeply embedded that it is difficult to recognize and is critical to forming our social fabric. The visible layers might change but these changes are superficial and shouldn’t delude observers to think that deep alterations in culture have been made.
In preparing global managers, expatriates and others to interact effectively across cultures, we could theoretically provide them with a cultural briefing for every destination so they could learn how to live with their new neighbors and conduct business in that environment. But, that’s inefficient, and culture isn’t random. It consists of distinct and logical behavior patterns that you can identify, and even measure. These patterns form a framework for analyzing culture, and once you understand that framework, you can use it to predict how people will respond in a whole variety of situations.
Instead, several intercultural organizations have developed cultural training processes that build a foundation for both understanding new cultures and recognizing cultural behaviors. We are presenting the one we have developed with Paula Caligiuri, Ph.D. This preparation develops managers who are multi-culturally fluent and capable of functioning in a global environment.
Many cultural observers have studied the behaviors of different nationalities and developed models to help us understand the patterns they found. Typically, the models consist of contrasting behaviors. Our program uses, “The Intercultural Awareness Model (The ICAM)” developed by Caligiuri & Associates. The ICAM creates a framework of eight dimensions, or aspects of culture.
The eight dimensions are:
- Hierarchical vs. Egalitarian Structures
- Formal vs. Informal Style
- Group vs. Individual Interests
- Interpersonal vs. Transactional Relationships
- Direct vs. Indirect Communication
- Controlled vs. Fluid Time
- External vs. Internal Control
- Status vs. Balance Motivation
For a description of these cultural dimensions, see Cross-Cultural Issues, see Part 2.
