On the Gregorian calendar, the month of November is host to these holidays, and others celebrated globally.
Tell us about a holiday you celebrate: how would you describe it from a cultural perspective? We’re interested in hearing from you.
Valerie
The New York Times reports that despite the challenge women face to become leaders of banks in New York and London, many women fill senior positions in India. “HSBC, JPMorgan Chase, Royal Bank of Scotland, UBS and Fidelity International in India are run by women. So is the country’s second-biggest bank, Icici Bank, and its third-largest, Axis Bank.”
Chanda Kochhar, chief executive of Icici Bank
This may come as a surprise, for many families in certain parts of India favor boys over girls. According to female professionals in the industry, “India provided the right combination of supportive, mostly male, managers and a diverse work environment that did not require them to be ‘one of the boys’ to succeed.” The freedom from conforming to a stereotypically masculine banker persona, which is prevalent in Western banks, has allowed women to climb the ladder in their own way, which isn’t to say that they are exempt from hard work and long hours.
A managing partner from head-hunting firm EMA said that “bosses sometimes gravitate toward women in India because they think ‘women are less corruptible, more straightforward and above board most of the time.’” How does this view of women differ in other cultures?
How do you think Indian culture influences the success of women in this industry? How does culture in other parts of the world make it more difficult for women to attain the same positions? The article reminds us that “there are no women leading major American or European banks, and no woman has ever run a Wall Street investment bank.”
Click here to read the article.
Valerie
In Den Senor’s book, Start-Up Nation, Israeli culture is attributed to the innovation that has made Israel the country with the highest density of start-up companies per capita in the world.
Senor connects the universal military service requirement to this fact. Military service gives young Israelis leadership experience while it teaches them to manage people, time and even money. Interestingly, it also teaches them how to improvise and make “tough decisions with imperfect information,” said Senor.
In general, Israeli culture is tolerant of questioning authority, debating and challenging hierarchy. Entrepreneurs in Israel have also historically invested a lot of money in research and development, which has developed strong IT and technology industries. Watch the video above to hear the author speak about his findings, which lead him to write Start-Up Nation.
Valerie
Although there are many professional Japanese baseball players, Hideki Matsui has certainly made baseball more than just an American sport. One sentence in a recent New York Times article caught our “cultural” eyes:
“In a oft-repeated story, a young Matsui switched to left-handed pitching and hitting so that youths playing against him would have more of a chance.”
Chris McGrath/Getty Images
In any adversarial game, people from individualistic cultures (e.g. Australia or US) would find this confusing. In collectivist or group-oriented cultures, as in Japan, the well-being of the group is highly important. Another related example is in the concept of giving and saving “face,” or the idea that one’s reputation is built upon the actions of the larger group. For Matsui, he was exhibiting his cultural preference to help his peers succeed rather than stand out as an extremely unique and talented player.
Click here to jump to the article.
Valerie
+ Malaysia is a multi-ethnic society where Malays, Chinese, and Indians are the predominant ethnic groups. The different ethnicities retain their customs and way of life, which gives Malaysia an intricate cultural fabric.
+ Malaysians can broadly be categorized into two groups: the Malay (Bumiputra) and indigenous people (Orang Asli) and the immigrant groups (Chinese, Indian and others). The approximate breakdown of ethnic groups is as follows:
Malay 50.4%
Chinese 23.7%
Indigenous 11%
Indian 7.1%
Others 7.8%
(2004 est.)
+ The most important festivals of each ethnic group, Hari Raya (marking the ending of the Muslim fasting month), Chinese New Year and Deepavali (Indian Festival of Lights) for example, are public holidays and are open to celebration by all.
+ The country’s diversity is further reflected in the many religions that are practiced. The predominant religion is Islam, which is followed by virtually all Malays as well as by some Indians and members of other ethnic groups. Here is a breakdown of religions in Malaysia:
Muslim 60.4%
Buddhist 19.2%
Christian 9.1%
Hindu 6.3%,
Confucianism, Taoism, other traditional Chinese religions 2.6%
Other or unknown 1.5%
None 0.8%
(2000 census)
+ Hierarchy is respected in Malaysia. Older businesspeople should be greeted before younger ones and treated with deference and respect. Do not correct someone who is in a higher position or who is older than you, as this will cause both of you to lose face and may negatively affect your ability to conduct business.
+ Malaysian communication is guided by a desire to maintain face by not losing emotional control or causing embarrassment in public. In an effort to conceal uneasiness or avoid embarrassing others, Malaysians may smile at what appear to foreigners to be inappropriate moments. Try to “read between the lines” rather than take words and facial expressions at face value.
- from RW3′s CultureWizard® Country Profiles
An article on short-term assignments in October’s Chief Learning Officer magazine proves how important it is to understand cultural differences in business today.
“To get an idea of the importance of cultural understanding for short-term employees, consider the following scenario.
“In July 1995, House Intelligence Committee member Bill Richardson was scheduled to meet with Iraqi president Saddam Hussein. The meeting was almost called off after Richardson unwittingly insulted the president by crossing his legs and thereby showing the soles of his shoes — a great affront in the Middle East. A similar scenario played out more recently when some Israelis were insulted by a press photo that depicted President Barack Obama speaking on the phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — with his feet up on his desk.
“Cultural differences exist everywhere — from Europe to Asia, from Africa to Australia. In Japan, there is a protocol to give and accept business cards, and not doing it properly insults the host. In Germany, it is common to serve fruit at the end of the meal. When Microsoft came out with Windows 95, the package jacket in India outlined eight areas of Kashmiri in green, indicating land under question of sovereignty. The Indian government was incensed, and Microsoft removed 200,000 copies of Windows 95 from the shelves.
“These types of situations occur routinely in today’s international business world, and without proper training around cultural protocol, professional relationships could be seriously — even irreparably — damaged.”
The writer’s central message is that “it’s vitally important that a short-term manager or executive not only comprehend these cultural differences, but adjust his or her management style to work with diverse people and develop specific training programs as needed. It’s a fundamental principal for success in a multinational world.”
Click here to read the rest of the article online.
Valerie
+ Australians, or Aussies, may downplay their own success, which has lead to a common misconception that they are not achievement-oriented. Their humble attitude may mislead you, but the reality is that Aussies are very competitive.
+ Aussies generally work to live, rather than live to work. This shouldn’t be interpreted as a lack of ambition. Leisurely time with family and friends is very important, so you can expect that holidays and time away from work are normal and expected.
+ For the most part, Australians enjoy humor and use it frequently when speaking. It’s often self-deprecating, but it can also be used to bring someone down if they are taking themselves or a situation too seriously. People are expected to be able to take a joke. In fact, Aussies’ sense of humor is one of the first thing foreigners notice about them.
+ Australia has a collaborative culture where meetings may be held to share information, review situations, make plans, or communicate decisions. Since everyone is thought to have an opinion, emphasis isn’t placed on position or status.
+ Most Australians are direct and comfortable addressing others in a frank, concise manner. They say what they mean and mean what they say. They often expect the same from others.
+ If you come from a culture where communication is more indirect, you may have difficulty with the brevity and lack of context provided in Australian communication. This is a culture where what you say will be taken literally, so it is important to speak plainly.
+ The most important cultural attributes that you will see operating in business in Australia are:
- Egalitarianism
- Achievement orientation
- Direct communication
- Controlled sense of time
- from RW3′s CultureWizard™ Country Profiles
An article in the Science and Environment section of BBC News explains how new research shows that the way people interpret facial expressions can vary across cultures.
“In the study, East Asians were more likely than Westerners to read the expression for ‘fear’ as ‘surprise’, and ‘disgust’ as ‘anger.’
“The researchers say the confusion arises because people from different cultural groups observe different parts of the face when interpreting expression.
“East Asian participants tended to focus on the eyes of the other person, while Western subjects took in the whole face, including the eyes and the mouth.”
The same goes for emoticons when chatting online or writing emails. East Asian cultures utilize emoticons that express different emotions by altering the eyes, while in Western cultures, the mouth is what changes. Cross-cultural communication is a challenge if you’re not aware of these subtle differences.
Click here to read the full article.
