Read Charlene Solomon’s article in MOBILITY magazine, “International Assignments: Then & Now”.

RW3 CultureWizard

Geremie Sawadogo of the World Bank surveyed 200 international aid workers in Sub-Saharan Africa and found the top cultural challenges to be: 1) the way time is used and perceived, 2) hierarchy and family lineage, 3) relationship building, 4) deference to authority and 5) the concept of “face”.

These findings are presented in his recent MOBILITY article. Sawadogo highlights the challenge of defining general cultural concepts within the scope of “Africa” (the continent) and Sub-Saharan Africa as a region. Just as one can’t look at Europe or Asia as a general cultural region, although many always refer to the “West” and “East” for simplicity’s sake, Africa can’t accurately be understood in this context.

One of the article’s most interesting insights is an expression for losing face from Cote d’Ivoire, which is translated to “you poured my face down on the ground.” This descriptive saying expresses how losing face can severely damage a business relationship and a person’s stature within a business. Culture also informs the definition of risk, which “face” impacts: do you risk loss of face in order to reveal certain facts, or do you save face by avoiding mention of something that would be like “pouring someone’s face on the ground”?

What do you value: saving face or objectivity? What have your personal and professional experiences been in Africa?

Also, to learn more about doing business in Africa, watch this TED talk given by Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala: Want to help Africa? Do business here.

Sean

RW3 CultureWizard

A compendium of current news and headlines with commentary providing unique cultural insight into global affairs, business and daily life around the world.

Interested in receiving the CultureWizard Digest every month? Click here to sign up.

Check out CultureWizard Digest #36 here!

* A Relationship with Disaster
* Cultural Reaction to Catastrophe in Japan
* McWeddings
* Culture of the Eyes

CultureLinks
+ Indians have a sense of humor, too
+ China’s First Nigerian Pop Star

CultureTips
+ Bahrain

RW-3.com

The impossible-to-imagine three-pronged catastrophe hitting Japan right now is almost too much to take in. Yet, we do try to take it in; to make sense of it, and in some ways we share this global disaster on a human level. I lived in Japan; I have always lived in earthquake country and I’ve witnessed powerful quake damage in Los Angeles and San Francisco several times. It is scary as your home moves around you and the ground underneath you has tantrums of varying degrees throughout the days that follow. Add a devastating tsunami and the post traumatic stress of shared recollections of radiation and it really is too much to conceive.

Yet, watching the televised images of Japanese reacting to the disaster reminds me again how different cultures are as they express their grief, fear and trauma. In an unprecedented event, Emperor Akihito gave a televised speech in which he comforted his people and applauded their ability to remain calm and respectful of each other.

Emperor Akihito's Speech

We are very interested in hearing your thoughts on what has happened and would especially value any accounts from individuals who have been in Japan or have heard stories from people in Japan. How would you react to the “keep calm and carry on” theme that many officials in Japan have exuded over the past few days? How is the stoic facade the Japanese have maintained connected to Japanese culture?

Click here to read a personal account of what’s happened from an intercultural consultant based in Tokyo, Japan.

Below are links to related articles:
Bangkok Post: “Stoic calm in the face of utter calamity“
Japan Times: A round-up of updates
Washington Post: “Emperor Akihito gives message of comfort in televised address“
Korea Herald: “Former ‘comfort women’ pray for Japan“

“Business schools like to tout their focus on globalization, but a new report from a b-school accrediting agency says most of their strategies don’t go far enough,” according to an article in the Wall Street Journal. The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business published the report in question.

We’d like to ask who out there went to a graduate business program – either in the US or elsewhere – where the education provided was globally focused and required coursework abroad. Did the experience adequately emphasize the particulars of today’s very global business environment? Were there any courses focusing on intercultural business skills and competencies?

What about other global graduate school degrees? In late 2009, Sean Dubberke of RW3 wrote an article on global education for Mobility magazine. What do you feel it takes to be adequately prepared to engage in truly global, cross-cultural business?

Adam

RW3 CultureWizard

An impressive display of forward-thinking youths in Alexandria garnered the Wall Street Journal’s attention earlier this month during the height of anti-Mubarak protests.

According to the article, “…Egyptian youths held hands last week to form a human cordon around the massive [library of Alexandria]…”

According to the library’s director, Ismail Serageldin, the Bibliotheca Alexandria, its formal Latin name, “has proved to be a key tool in ‘a battle for the hearts and minds’ of Egyptians, and whose programs served as a catalyst for the current civic unrest. ‘We’re spreading the values of democracy, freedom of expression, tolerance, diversity and pluralism that…are taking root in the young generation.’”

The library is a bastion of the values the Egyptian youth embodies, values towards which the country has made great progress over the past few weeks. It’s unique collection of material is described below:

Young people, scholars and gaping foreign tourists frequent the building to gain access to materials that are hard to come by in Arab countries. The collection, though far from complete, includes volumes critical of Islam, others dealing with gays and lesbians, and books that offer contrasting views on Zionism and Israeli affairs. Even the works of Salman Rushdie are available, though these are kept on closed stacks to prevent them from being destroyed by vandals, as are art-history volumes containing nudes.

Egypt’s population structure, where 52.3% are under the age of 25 (according to this interactive map from The Economist), and the relative influence of its youth is another important topic to note from a cultural point of view. Their exposure to the internet and the growing popularity of social media has connected Egyptian youth in a way previous generations could never connect. Virtual networks facilitate more open exchange of ideas, commiseration over politics and friendships with people all over the world have surely contributed to the surge of support that eventually led to an organized protestation.

Protesters at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina

The library, too had a role to play in this: “We taught a lot of these kids who are demonstrating how to use computers, how to use social media, and I’m glad to see it’s put to good use,” said Sohair Wastawy, a former chief librarian.

How else will the youth’s culture, vision and determination impact the trajectory of Egypt’s future? How is their world view changing Egyptian culture?

Sean

RW3 CultureWizard

Illustration by Alex Gross

Fast Company’s spread on China’s plentitude of social networking sites designed in the image of Facebook is a foray into the culture of China’s online denizens born in the 1980′s and 1990′s.

Because Facebook is prohibited by the Great Firewall of China, dozens of sites have taken a share of the social media market over the past few years. The article contains some truly cultural insights, which I’ve posted below.

Liu Neng, a sociologist at Peking University, says that [the young] generation has come to see social networks as ‘a place of escape. Online, they find a sense of security and a sense of social worthiness. It’s a place where they can derive their own youth culture. These are things they cannot get from their real lives, where they feel pressure.’

…In a society where the collective has long been emphasized over the individual, first thanks to Confucian values and then because of communism, these sites have created fundamentally new platforms for self-expression. They allow for nonconformity and for opportunities to speak freely that would be unusual, if not impossible, offline. In fact, these platforms might even be the basis for a new culture. ‘A good culture is about equality, acceptance, and affection,’ says Han Taiyang, 19, a psychology major at Tsinghua University who uses Renren constantly. ‘Traditional thinking restrains one’s fundamental personality. One must escape.’

This tells us individuality is a new value youth culture is embracing more than ever before. This also alludes to important implications for the commercial applications of social media sites:

…According to Netpop Research in San Francisco, Chinese Internet users are twice as conversational as American users; in other words, they’re twice as likely to post to online forums, chat in chat rooms, or publish blogs. And to the joy of advertisers and marketers, social media is twice as likely to influence Chinese buying decisions as American ones, which explains why brands such as BMW, Estée Lauder, and Lay’s have flocked to China’s social networks.

Because so many social sites are nearly identical copies of their predecessors, the concept of intellectual property in China is an important theme of the article. Wang Xing, founder of one of China’s most successful social media sites – Renren, echoes the view that in a very group-oriented society, copying and re-producing ideas is not seen as stealing, but rather supporting the community through improvement:

When asked how [Wang Xing] could be so comfortable with copying, he says he has nothing to say about intellectual-property rights. In fact, many Chinese have remarkably lax views on IP. Copying usually isn’t seen as wrong as long as you’re making something better or cheaper.

This is a powerful case that illustrates a culturally-based view on IP. It reminds me of the stories I’ve heard in chatting with other intercultural consultants. During tests and examination, Chinese students will often whisper their thoughts on the correct answers (otherwise known as cheating in the West). When the Western instructor intervenes, the candid response of the students depicts their strong desire to help their teammates – not to compete with them.

Furthermore, ideas on the rule of law are commonly expressed by Chinese youth where they compare it to law in the West: “In the West, law is like an .exe file. In China, law is like a .txt file.”

Did you get that? “In other words, in the West, the law works. In China, it exists, but doesn’t operate…” according to the article. The loose enforcement of laws in China speaks to the more case-by-case approach most Chinese take to rules.

What else do these websites tell you about the culture of China’s future middle class? How can this cultural knowledge impact your decision to do business in China or with Chinese colleagues?

Sean

RW3 CultureWizard

In “The Power of Virtual Teams,” an article our EVP, Charlene Solomon, wrote for this month’s Mobility Magazine, she explores why global virtual teams are one of the biggest workplace challenges for all HR professionals in 2011.

What is most troubling to you about being on a virtual team? Where do you find yourself struggling, and how do you help your colleagues succeed on global, virtual teams? Is cross-cultural misunderstanding an issue at your company?

RW3 CultureWizard

In “The Cost of Ignorance,” an article in Diversity Executive magazine, Nikravan explores why “Miscommunication and a lack of cross-cultural understanding are two main barriers organizations face when it comes to working globally.”

Nikravan interviewed our EVP, Charlene Solomon, to understand RW3 CultureWizard’s best practices for teaching culture to global teams, which we achieve primarily through electronic methods.

“Best-practice companies are preparing in advance and making plans,” said Solomon. “It doesn’t mean you have to change your beliefs; it just means you’re more aware of other people’s belief systems.”

She also refers to “pull” technology in the learning context: “It’s important to deliver information to adult learners in bite-size pieces for the depth of knowledge that [an] individual learner wants at the appropriate time…”

What have you found to be the most effective way of learning about doing business effectively in other countries? Is trial-and-error a process your managers expect you to go through, or do you find preparation and review of best cross-cultural practices valuable?

RW3 CultureWizard

The folllowing quote is from this New York Times article on the state of immigration in Japan:

Despite facing an imminent labor shortage as its population ages, Japan has done little to open itself up to immigration. In fact, the government is doing the opposite, actively protecting tiny interest groups, (like) a local nursing association, afraid that an influx of foreign nurses would lower industry salaries.

One of the most interesting things we do at RW3 CultureWizard (in addition to preparing people to perform in global business by familiarizing them with culture and business protocols around the world), is to make people aware of their own personal culture. It’s crucial to know how culture, unconsciously, influences the ways we act, which can cause conflict when interacting with people accustomed to a different set of cultural norms.

In light of cultural awareness, we can readily see how many of the decisions a country or even a corporation makes are often in conflict with their own best interests. As this article illuminates, so often the very things that are a country’s greatest strengths are also a significant liability. While a powerful cultural attachment to hierarchy in addition to family and group well-being might keep Japan’s crime rate, homelessness and drug use low, these cultural beliefs also create an insularity, resistance and resentment towards immigration – even at the expense of its citizens’ well being. As the article points out, this is causing Japan some major concerns as their population ages and the demand for healthcare workers grows exponentially. It’s a labor force that Japan can’t meet internally, yet the country still makes it inordinately difficult for foreign nurses and doctors to practice.

Without getting too political or polemical, can you think of other instances where a particular culture bias led a country or corporation to make a decision that seemed to immediately contradict its own best interest?

Adam

RW3 CultureWizard

Meet RW3 CultureWizard’s newest members, Harold and Lakshmi. Click below to learn about the “stuff” of culture, and don’t let cultural ignorance get you.

 When you think about culture, think about us! 

RW3 CultureWizard

The LinkedIn blog features the top 10 buzzwords (read: vacuous terms) US Americans use in their LI profiles to describe their personal and professional qualities. Here are the top 10 most overused words:

1. Extensive experience
2. Innovative
3. Motivated
4. Results-oriented
5. Dynamic
6. Proven track record
7. Team player
8. Fast-paced
9. Problem solver
10. Entrepreneurial

Now, for the cross-cultural analysis:

While members from the USA, Canada and Australia tend to emphasize their ‘extensive experience’, Brazilians, Indians and Spaniards identify themselves as ‘dynamic’ professionals. Members in the UK call themselves more ‘motivated’ and the French, the Germans, the Italians and the Dutch see themselves as ‘innovative’.

The ways in which we position ourselves through resume’s and CV’s in addition to the way we think our potential employers look for top notch candidates is informed by a certain measure of “culture.” In this case, we’re looking at national units, so we can refer to this concept as national culture, or the accepted forms of behavior that we can see across a broad base. My question is: why do North Americans and Australians put forward their experience while Brazilians, Indians and Spaniards highlight their dynamism?

Cliché or not, it seems the former group bases competency on experience rather than a personality trait, while the latter’s best strategy is to project themselves as vigorous, energetic multitaskers. “Innovative” is the most overused buzzword in most of Western Europe, which may be connected to the continent’s reliance on brainpower rather than manpower in the post-manufacturing era. In any case, culture is a strong informant of how we perceive and brand ourselves in the marketplace. In most cases, understanding the cultural background of an individual is just as important as recognizing their qualifications.

Sean

RW3 CultureWizard

An article by Guy Deutscher titled “Does Your Language Shape How You Think?” appeared in the New York Times last month. It reminded me of the ideas in a Wall Street Journal article that ran in July called “Lost in Translation” (here is our take on that article). His essential point is that:

‘Languages differ essentially in what they must convey and not in what they may convey.’ This maxim offers us the key to unlocking the real force of the mother tongue: if different languages influence our minds in different ways, this is not because of what our language allows us to think but rather because of what it habitually obliges us to think about.

Deutscher explains how languages that utilize gendered particles, e.g. Spanish and German, inform the way we conceptualize inanimate objects that have no biological gender. He also details how the English language requires the speaker to reveal the timing of an event because of the obligatory conjugation of verbs into a certain tenses:

If I want to tell you in English about a dinner with my neighbor…I do have to tell you something about the timing of the event: I have to decide whether we dined, have been dining, are dining, will be dining and so on. Chinese, on the other hand, does not oblige its speakers to specify the exact time of the action in this way, because the same verb form can be used for past, present or future actions. Again, this does not mean that the Chinese are unable to understand the concept of time. But it does mean they are not obliged to think about timing whenever they describe an action.

Culture, which impacts how we think about time just as much as language, is another interesting way to look at this comparison. Typically, Chinese people don’t feel they have as much control over time compared to people from English-speaking countries like the US or the UK. Time is a fluid concept for many people in China, which impacts the level of importance people assign to deadlines, schedules, etc. The obvious question is: how does culture inform and reinforce language, and vice versa?

Also, because of the global nature of English, do English speakers in countries like India, South Africa and Jamaica share the same general notion of time with people in, say, the US? In general, time is also a very fluid concept in these three countries, despite the fact that many people grow up speaking English. So, we have to examine the larger cultural context of a community in order to understand how much language impacts thought processes.

The most demonstrative part of the article is in the difference between geographic and egocentric languages, or the ways in which we describe spatial orientation. An Australian aboriginal language, Guugu Yimithirr, “does not use words like ‘left’ or ‘right,’ ‘in front of’ or ‘behind,’ to describe the position of objects. Whenever we would use the egocentric system, the Guugu Yimithirr rely on cardinal directions. If they want you to move over on the car seat to make room, they’ll say ‘move a bit to the east.’”

The individualistic, egocentric nature of the English language is made obvious through the following statement Deutscher makes:

…If you saw a Guugu Yimithirr speaker pointing at himself, you would naturally assume he meant to draw attention to himself. In fact, he is pointing at a cardinal direction that happens to be behind his back. While we are always at the center of the world, and it would never occur to us that pointing in the direction of our chest could mean anything other than to draw attention to ourselves, a Guugu Yimithirr speaker points through himself, as if he were thin air and his own existence were irrelevant.

Of course, the “we” Deutscher uses above (or to the “north”?) refers to the Western English speaker.

How much does the structure and nature of language reveal about the ways we act, think and feel? How does the interplay of culture and language impact cross-cultural interaction? What does this all mean in terms of globalization and the increasingly global nature of our work and daily life?

Sean

RW3 CultureWizard

A compendium of current news and headlines with commentary providing unique cultural insight into global affairs, business and daily life around the world.

Interested in receiving the CultureWizard Digest every month? Click here to sign up.

Check out CultureWizard Digest #29 here!

* New TV Show: OUTSOURCED
* Global Leadership
* Advertising to Muslims
* “For rent in China: White people”

CultureLinks
+ Push and Pull in Learning Technology
+ Women’s Economic Opportunities
+ Legal Outsourcing

CultureTips
+ Panama

RW-3.com

According to the New York Times, outsourcing legal services to India has grown in the past few years, and is poised to expand at an even faster rate in coming years.

Cash-conscious Wall Street banks, mining giants, insurance firms and industrial conglomerates are hiring lawyers in India for document review, due diligence, contract management and more.

Legal outsourcing firms are also hiring experienced lawyers from Western countries to handle more complicated projects, something many lawyers would not consider in prior years based on a general aversion to outsourcing legal work and relocation to India. The article highlights the challenges of moving to India and working with Indians:

Moving to a legal outsourcing firm, especially in India, is not for everyone. About 5 percent of Western transplants cannot handle it and move back home, managers estimate.

Some find it hard to adapt to India. Other times, the job itself does not suit them — after spending years working nearly independently as a litigator, for example, it can be hard to transition to managing and inspiring a team of young foreign lawyers.

Cultural preparation is supremely important to living and working in a new culture. While many people are inherently suited to assignments in countries around the world, the vast majority of people won’t be equipped with the skills to succeed without sufficient intercultural training. How will this new trend impact internal needs for cultural training? The article predicts legal outsourcing will climb to over $1 billion in revenue by 2014. What are organizations doing to support global initiatives like this? What are the challenges of virtual, global teams that span time zone differences of 10 hours or more and cultural, linguistic and religious barriers?

Sean

RW3 CultureWizard