Tell us about a holiday you celebrate: how would you describe it from a cultural perspective? We’re interested in hearing from you.

Valerie

RW3 CultureWizard

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.”

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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

RW3 CultureWizard

“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.

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+ 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

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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

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