The document discusses the importance of effective communication in global projects due to cultural and language barriers. It provides several studies that found "language, communication, or culture" barriers and poor communications were among the top causes of project failures in global software development and outsourcing projects. Developing cultural understanding and improving communication skills are important factors for maintaining trust and success in global collaborations.

1. What Did You Say?
Intercultural Expectations, Misunderstandings, and
Communication
Greetings! I am pleased
to see that we are different.
May we together become greater
than the sum of both of us.
Surak in the Savage Curtain episode of Star Trek
Frederick Zarndt

2. The problem

3. What did you say?
• I most enthusiastically recommend this candidate with
no qualifications whatsoever.

4. What did you say?
• In my opinion you will be very fortunate to get this
person to work for you.

5. What did you say?
• Press ANY key to continue...

6. What did you say?
• Please revert as soon as possible.

7. What does this mean?
Fine
for Parking
Here

8. What do you see?
The young girl The old woman
is turning away... is very sad...

9. What do you see?

10. Why (better) communication is
necessary
A recent survey of 752 IEEE members conducted by IEEE Spectrum and The New York Times
discovered that "just 9 percent of 133 respondents whose organizations currently offshore R&D
reported 'No problem'. The biggest headache was 'Language, communication, or culture' barriers, as
reported by 54.1 percent of respondents." (http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/feb07/4881)
In a March 2007 web poll conducted by the Computing Technology Industry Association "nearly 28
percent of the more than 1,000 respondents singled out poor communications as the number one
cause of project failure". (http://www.comptia.org/pressroom/get_pr.aspx?prid=1227)
Nilay Oza et. al. in their study Critical Factors in Software Outsourcing: A Pilot Study of top Indian
outsourcing firms named cultural differences and language as the 2 most difficult among the 5 difficulty
factors identified in outsourcing relationships.
In their 2006 study Crticial factors in establising and maintaing trust in software outsourcing
relationships presented at the International Conference on Software Engineering, Nguyen, Babar, and
Verner identified communication and cultural understanding as the 2 factors most critical to maintaining
trust relationships.
Huang and Trauth identified three themes as major cross-cultural challenges: "...the complexity of
language issues in global virtual work, culture and communication styles and work behaviors, and
cultural understandings at different levels." (Cultural influences and globally distributed information
systems development: Experiences from chinese IT professionals)

11. Why (better) communication is
necessary
No communication ...
Little communication ...
Poor communication ...
Reduced communication ...
... all result in more assumptions about
intent!

12. Why (better) communication is
necessary

13. Why (better) communication is
necessary
• Because effective communication results in better
understanding and ...
• Better understanding of each other’s personal / business
needs leads to ...
• Better personal / business relationships which in turn
leads to ...
• More harmony in personal / business relationships,
and ...
• Understanding is more fun than misunderstanding!

14. Exercise: Introductions
• Introduce yourself and give your nationality
• Say one thing about you that you really like
• Say one thing about you that you don’t so
much like
• Tell one unique thing shared by all / most
members of your native culture that is
different from other cultures
• Do this is 2 minutes or less!

15. What we will talk about ...
• Human basics
• How perception works
• Influence of parents, family, culture, ...
• Definitions of culture
• Frameworks to understand cultures
• Specific cultural differences
• Influence of culture (software of the mind)
• Simple principles for effective communication

16. Goals
• Personal goal: Through my behaviour in thought,
word, and deed to be and to become a better person
• Business goal: Measured by the 4 way test
• Is it the truth?
• Is it fair to all concerned?
• Will it build goodwill and better friendships?
• Will it be beneficial to all concerned?
Your goals?

17. Wiio's laws:
How
all
human
communica-on
fails
except
by
accident
1. Communication usually fails, except by accident
1.1 If communication can fail, it will
1.2 If communication cannot fail, it still most usually fails
1.3 If communication seems to succeed in the intended way, there's a
misunderstanding
1.4 If you are content with your message, communication certainly fails
2. If a message can be interpreted in several ways, it will be interpreted in a
manner that maximizes the damage
3. There is always someone who knows better than you what you meant with
your message
4. The more we communicate, the worse communication succeeds
4.1 The more we communicate, the faster misunderstandings propagate
Osmo A Wiio in “Wiion lait - ja vähän muidenkin”
cf. http://www.cs.tut.fi/~jkorpela/wiio.html

18. Simple principles
• Be impeccable with your word
• Don’t take anything personally
• Don’t make assumptions
• Always do your best
• Be mindful
Adapted from The Four Agreements by don Miguel Ruiz

19. The basic human

20. Genetic difference at most 0.5%

21. Genes, neurons, and synapses:
How humans are alike
• Humans have about 3,000,000 nucleotides. Maximum genetic
variation based on
• single nucleotide polymorphism is 0.1% or 1 difference in 1000
base pairs
• copy number variation resulting from deletions, insertions,
inversions, and duplications is 0.4%
• Total maximum genetic difference between two randomly selected
humans is ~0.5%.
• Genetic difference between human and chimpanzee is ~4%.

22. Purkinje neuron in cerebellar cortex

23. Genes, neurons, and synapses:
How humans are different
• Estimated number of neurons in an adult human brain
10,000,000,000 (1011)*
• Estimated number of synapses in an adult human brain:
100,000,000,000,000 (1014)
• Estimated number of synaptic connections for each neuron: 7,000
• Number of combinations of n (1011) neurons with s (7000) synapses
C (n, s) = C (1011, 7000) is very large (for example, the number of
combinations of n (52) cards taken 5 at a time C (52,5) is 2,598,960
* Anotherestimate is 86 x 109 total neurons, 16.3 x 109 in the cerebral cortex
and 69 x 109 in the cerebellum.

25. Connectome map of nematode (roundworm) caenorhabditis
elegans : ~302 neurons with 7000 neural connections

26. Basic human nature
Regardless of culture, humans have 4 basic natures. With
only slight racial and geographic differences, the physical
body is the same for all cultures. How humans meet their
physical needs -- water, food, shelter, procreation -- and
fulfill their emotional, mental, and spiritual natures differs
from culture to culture and from person to person.
Physical Vehicle comprised of “meat” body and its needs. (Latin
physica ‘things relating to nature’.)
Emotional Motivational force for human activities. (Latin emovere
‘move’.)
Mental Sets goals, creates problems, solves problems. (Latin mens
‘mind’, Indo-European / Sanskrit ‘revolve in the mind, think’.)
Spiritual Relationship to creator. (Latin spirare ‘breathe’.)

27. Basic human activities
Basic physical needs -- water, food, shelter, procreation --
are fulfilled in variety of culture specific ways. Once these
needs are met, humans from every culture engage in 4
fundamental activities.
Relationship Manner in which one connects to and interacts with
other humans. (Latin referre ‘bring back’.)
Work Physical and mental activity intended to achieve a
purpose or result or to create something.
Recreation Activities done for enjoyment and to re - create oneself.
(Latin recreare ‘to create again, renew’.)
Devotion Activities to fulfill and develop spiritual nature. (Latin
devotionem ‘to dedicate by a vow’.)

28. Perception
To become conscious of or aware of through the senses
(Latin perceptiōn or perciptio: comprehension, taking in)

29. Reticular activating system
The Reticular Activating System
(RAS) is a structure common to
mammals that is necessary for
consciousness to occur.
RAS filters data coming to your
mind so that your perception of
events agrees with your past
experience.
Midbrain
Everything you see, hear, smell,
feel and touch is a message Pons
entering your brain. RAS filters RAS Noise (+)
through all these messages and Medulla
decides which ones will get Exercise (+)
attention from your consciousness.

30. Perception
Much of what you think happened or what you think you
heard is based on misperception.

31. Perception
• Mother and daughter
• Innocence Project
• Eyewitness misidentification is the single greatest cause of wrongful
convictions, playing a role in more than 75% of convictions overturned
through DNA testing.
• Exonerated 258 wrongfully convicted men (as of Aug 2010)
• Crab Nebula supernova
• In 1054 a star in the region of what is now know as the Crab Nebula
exploded. For several days it was the 3rd brightest object in the sky,
bright enough to be seen in daytime.
• The supernova was observed and recorded by Chinese, Japanese,
and Arab astronomers and by native Americans. There are few and
very obscure recorded European observations.

32. Process of perception
1. Observation
2. Interpretation
3. Evaluation or judgement

33. That man
is running
Perception: Observation

34. He must
be late...
Perception: Interpretation?

35. Those foreigners
are always in
a hurry!
Perception: Judgement

36. Exercise: Misperceptions
Think of one of your own misperceptions or a
misperception that you witnessed. It may have been the
result of your own personal or cultural programming or the
result of your assumptions about a situation, relationship, or
the circumstances.

37. Software of the mind

38. Definitions of culture
Culture is like the color of your eyes: You cannot hide it and can change it only
with difficulty, and although you yourself cannot see it, it is always visible to
others when you interact with them.
Culture Any knowledge passed from one generation to the next, not
necessarily with respect to human beings.
Culture is a collective phenomenon shared with people within the same social
environment.
Culture is learned, it is not innate.
Culture is different from personality but the border between culture and
personality is fuzzy.

39. Levels of mental programming
Specific to Individual Personality Inherited and Learned
Specific to Group Culture Learned
Universal Human Nature Inherited

40. Definitions of culture
Culture The attitudes and behavior characteristics of a particular social group
(from the Latin cultura stemming from colere “to cultivate”). Oxford American
Dictionary
Culture is the way in which a group of people solves problems and reconciles
dilemmas. Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner
Culture is the collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the
members of one group or category of people from others. Hofstede and
Hofstede
Culture means the total body of tradition borne by a society and transmitted
from generation to generation. It ... refers to the norms, values, standards by
which people act, and it includes the ways distinctive in each society of ordering
the world and rendering it intelligible. Culture is...a set of mechanisms for
survival, but it provides us also with a definition of reality. It is the matrix into
which we are born, it is the anvil upon which our persons and destinies are
forged. Murphy

41. Cultural expectations
Cultures similar Cultures different
Behaviors and values

42. Culture stereotypes
Ability to put things in conceptual categories is fundamental
to perception.
Advantages of stereotypes Disadvantages of stereotypes
Prediction of cultural behaviors Stereotypical behavior does not match real
behavior
Illuminates intent Expected intent disguises real intent
Helps one avoid giving offense

43. Exercise: Cultural stereotypes
Think of a cultural stereotype from your own or from
another culture. Think of advantages, disadvantages, and
dangers of the stereotype.

44. ment, while an average of greater than 4.5 reflects a true CQ strength. grew. Confid
of a particul
Rate the extent to which you agree with each statement, using the scale: A person
1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = neutral, 4 = agree, 5 = strongly agree. ble of under
cultures will
meet with h
Before I interact with people from a new culture, I ask
contrast, a p
myself what I hope to achieve.
upon confro
If I encounter something unexpected while working in a failure, reen
new culture, I use this experience to figure out new ways motivated, h
to approach other cultures in the future.
pend on obt
I plan how I’m going to relate to people from a different conventiona
culture before I meet them. Hyong M
Exercise: +
When I come into a new cultural situation, I can
immediately sense whether something is going well
or something is wrong.
cially mixed
when he hea
velopment t
Complete the
from the sa
Total ÷4= Cognitive CQ engineering,
did not go sm
ample, objec
cultural
tempt to ad
It’s easy for me to change my body language (for bags because
example, eye contact or posture) to suit people from excessively. T
a different culture.
so public tha
intelligence I can alter my expression when a cultural encounter
requires it.
vene. Althou
felt chastene
Copyright © 2004 Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved.
I modify my speech style (for example, accent or tone) harder to gai
questionnaire
to suit people from a different culture. by convincin
+ I easily change the way I act when a cross-cultural
bags could m
though he h
encounter seems to require it.
tional teams
teams had g
Total ÷4= Physical CQ vere. He com
disagreemen
able to help
I have confidence that I can deal well with people from ferences, so I
a different culture.
I am certain that I can befriend people whose cultural
How Head
backgrounds are different from mine. Together
At the end o
I can adapt to the lifestyle of a different culture with acquired UK
relative ease.
ment. At the
a decorous,
+
I am confident that I can deal with a cultural situation
that’s unfamiliar. pany known
of an earlier
Total ÷4= Emotional/ was informa
motivational CQ trepreneuria
harvard business review • october 2004

45. Cultural models
• Hofstede’s 5 Dimensions of Culture
• Richard Lewis’s Cultural Categories
• Tropenaar’s 6 Cultural Dimensions
• Others ...

46. Hofstede’s 5 dimensions of culture
• Model was first based on survey data from 100,000
employees in 50 IBM subsidiaries around the world (~1980).
• Value survey modules (VSM) have been administered by
others with similar results.
• Each dimension has opposite extremes.
Based on research and
publications by Geert and Gert
Jan Hofstede

47. Geert Hofstede’s 5 dimensions of
culture
• Power distance
• Masculine / feminine
• Individualism / collectivism
• Uncertainty avoidance
• Long-term / short-term orientation

48. Some more equal than others:
Power distance
Power distance is the extent to which the less powerful
members of an organization within a country expect and
accept that power is distributed unequally.

49. Small power distance Large power distance
Inequalities among people should be minimized Inequalities among people are expected and desired
Hierarchy in organizations means an inequality of roles, Hierarchy in organizations reflects existential inequality
established for convenience between higher and lower levels
Managers rely on their own experience and on
Managers rely on superiors and on formal rules
subordinates
Subordinates expect to be consulted Subordinates expect to be told what to do
Privileges and status symbols are frowned upon Privileges and status symbols are normal and popular
Manual work has the same status as office work White-collar jobs are valued more than blue-collar jobs
There are fewer supervisory personnel There are more supervisory personnel
Parents treat children as equals Parents teach children obedience
Teachers are experts who transfer impersonal truths Teachers are gurus who transfer personal wisdom

50. Small power Large power
distance distance
Employee Director Employee Director

51. Power distance
cultural differences
Small Power Distance Large Power Distance

52. Exercise: The emperor’s new
clothes
You are a software engineer with 10 years experience. For
the last 2 years, you have been part of a 5 person team of
equally experienced engineers at the Lee Corporation.
One day during a team meeting, the team leader asks the
team to develop an unneeded module, one not described in
the project specifications. What do you do?
[2]

53. Exercise: MarsTech Inc
You are the CEO of a new technology company
headquartered on Mars. The company will initially have
about 100 employees: 25 each from Denmark and New
Zealand (low power distance cultures) and 25 each from
India and China (high power distance cultures). Design an
organizational culture which optimizes productivity,
personal, and professional growth for all employees.
[2]

54. I, we and they:
Individualism and collectivism
In individualistic cultures ties between individuals are
loose, everyone is expected to look after himself or
herself.
In collectivistic cultures people from birth onward are
integrated into strong, cohesive in-groups, which
throughout people’s lifetimes continue to protect them in
exchange for unquestioning loyalty.

55. Collectivist Individualist
Purpose of education is learning how to do Purpose of education is learning how to learn
Employees are members of in-groups who will pursue their Employees are “economic men” who will pursue
in-group’s interest employer’s interest if it coincides with their interest
Employer-employee relationship is basically moral, like a Employer-employee relationship is a contract between
family link parties on the labor market
Relationship prevails over task Task prevails over relationship
High-context communication prevails Low-context communication prevails
On personality tests, people score more introvert On personality tests, people score more extrovert
Harmony should be maintained and direct confrontations Speaking one’s mind is a characteristic of an honest
avoided person
Interdependent self Independent self
Occupational mobility is lower Occupational mobility is higher

56. Perception of relationships
COLLECTIVISTIC CULTURES
more perceived
ingroup intercultural distance
outgroup
P
P
less perceived
ingroup outgroup
intercultural distance
INDIVIDUALISTIC CULTURES

57. Individual / collective
cultural differences
More individualism More collectivism

58. Exercise: Who is responsible?
A new employee joins an experienced production team.
The employee receives the usual training (same training
that all production teams receive) and passes a proficiency
exam. During her/his 1st week on the production line, s/he
makes a mistake that cause several days of production to
be recalled. Who is responsible?
[2]

59. Exercise: Who earns the bonus?
Should a bonus be paid to the best individual performer in a
high performing group or should it be paid to the entire
group even though some members of the group are below
average performers?
[2]

60. He and she, masculine and feminine,
tough and tender
A culture is masculine (tough) when emotional gender
roles are clearly distinct; men are supposed to be
assertive, tough, and focused on material success,
whereas women are supposed to be more modest,
tender, and concerned with the quality of life.
A culture is feminine (tender) when emotional gender
roles overlap: both men and women are allowed to be
modest, tender, and concerned with the quality of life.

61. Masculine Feminine
Challenge, earnings, recognition, and advancement are
Relationships and quality of life are important
important
Men should be assertive, ambitious, and tough Both men and women should be modest
Women are supposed to be tender and take care of Both men and women can be tender and focus on
relationships relationships
Brides need to be chaste and industrious, grooms don’t Bridegrooms and brides are held to the same standards
People live in order to work People work in order to live
Resolution of conflicts by letting the strongest win Resolution of conflicts by compromise and negotiation
There is a lower share of working women in professional There is a higher share of working women in professional
jobs jobs
Students underrate their own performance; ego-
Students overrate their own performance; ego-boosting
effacement
Women shop for food, men for cars Women and men shop for food and cars

62. Exercise: Who decides?
Marriage customs differ from culture to culture, sometimes
significantly. Broadly speaking, the two most common
types of marriage are parent- or family-arranged marriages
and romantic marriages where each partner chooses for
him/herself. Within your groups discuss the advantages/
disadvantages of the assigned marriage custom. Then with
another group (odds with evens), create a new marriage
custom taking the best from both types of marriages.
• Odds to favor arranged marriages
• Evens to favor romantic marriages
[2 x 2]

63. Masculine / feminine
cultural differences
More masculine More feminine

64. What is different is dangerous:
Uncertainty avoidance
Uncertainty avoidance is the extent to which the
members of a culture feel threatened by ambiguous or
unknown situations, often expressed through nervous
stress (anxiety) and in a need for predictability.

65. Weak uncertainty avoidance Strong uncertainty avoidance
More changes of employer, shorter service Fewer changes of employer, longer service
There is an emotional need for rules, even if these will not
There should be no more rules than necessary
work
There is an emotional need to be busy and an inner urge
Hard-working only when needed
to work hard
There is tolerance for ambiguity and chaos There is need for precision and formalization
Focus on decision process Focus on decision content
Low stress and low anxiety High stress and high anxiety
What is different is curious What is different is dangerous
Top managers are concerned with strategy Top managers are concerned with daily operations
Teachers may say “I don’t know” Teachers are supposed to have all the answers

66. Exercise: Risk seekers / Risk averse
Australia • Brazil • China • Denmark • Finland • France • Germany
Great Britain • India • Ireland • Japan • New Zealand • Norway
Pakistan • Singapore • Switzerland • Thailand • USA
From the list above, choose 2 cultures that are likely to
foster individuals that will readily take risks and 2 cultures
that are likely to foster individuals that are risk averse.
Justify your choices.
[2]

67. Exercise: Risk seekers / Risk averse
The year is 2050. A company headquartered on Mars has
sent you a very attractive employment offer. The offer
requires a minimum commitment of 5 years on Mars. Under
what conditions (if any) would you accept employment?
Fact for this Exercise: More than 21,000 people have emigrated to Mars and
about one hundred children have been born on Mars.

68. Uncertainty avoidance
cultural differences
Strong uncertainty avoidance Weak uncertainty avoidance

69. Yesterday, now, or later:
Long- and short-term orientation
Cultures with long-term orientation foster virtues oriented
toward future rewards, in particular, perseverance and thrift.
Cultures with short-term orientation foster virtues related
to the past and present, in particular, respect for tradition
and fulfilling social obligations.

70. Long-term orientation Short-term orientation
Perseverance, sustained efforts toward slow results Efforts should produce quick results
Respect for circumstances Respect for traditions
Concern with personal adaptiveness Concern with personal stability
Willingness to subordinate oneself for a purpose Concern with social and status obligations
Leisure time is not important Leisure time is important
Focus is on market position Focus is on bottom line
Main work values include learning, honesty, adaptiveness, Main work values include freedom, rights, achievement,
accountability, and self-discipline and thinking for oneself
Investment in lifelong, personal networks Personal loyalties vary with business needs
Marriage is a pragmatic arrangement Marriage is a moral arrangement

71. Exercise: Cultures with long-term
and short-term orientations
Australia • Brazil • China • Denmark • Finland • France • Germany
Great Britain • India • Ireland • Japan • New Zealand • Norway
Pakistan • Singapore • Switzerland • Turkey • USA
From the list above, choose 1 culture with long-term
orientation and choose 1 culture with short-term orientation.
Justify your choice.
[2]

72. Long-term / Short-term
orientation
Long-term orientation Short-term orientation

73. Exercise: What will you do?
A distant, wealthy relative recently died. In his will he left
you USD $10,000. There are no conditions on the
inheritance except that you must invest or spend the money
as follows: Invest the money in the XYZ hedge fund* or
spend the money on a holiday in Hawaii. What would you
do and why?
*The hedge fund is 10 years old and has had an average historical annual return
that barely exceeds inflation.

74. Richard Lewis’s cultural categories
• Based on Lewis’s experience as linguist (speaks 12
languages) and as cross-cultural trainer for companies
in 60+ countries
• Based on Lewis’s study of organisational behaviour
• Founded Berlitz schools in East Asia, Portugal,
Finland, and lived several years in Japan as advisor
and tutor to the Japanese imperial family
• Knighted by President of Finland in 1997 for his service
to the country

75. Richard Lewis’s cultural categories
Linear-active cultures tend to be task-oriented, highly
organized planners who complete action-chains by doing
one thing at a time, preferably in accordance with a linear
agenda.
Multi-active cultures are loquacious, impulsive, like to do
many things at the same time, and attach great importance
to feelings, relationships and people-orientation.
Reactive cultures rarely initiate action or discussion,
preferring first to listen to and establish the other’s position,
then react to it and formulate their own. Reactive cultures
listen before they leap.
Adapted from Richard D Lewis

76. Cultural types model
Figure copyright Richard D Lewis

77. Culture category statistics
Linear-active 600,000,000
Multi-active 3,300,000,000
Reactive 1,700,000,000
Hybrid (multi-active and
290,000,000
reactive)
Total (approx.) 6,000,000,000
Adapted from Richard D Lewis

78. Common cultural traits
Linear-active Multi-active Reactive
introvert extrovert introvert
patient impatient patient
quiet talkative silent
minds own business inquisitive respectful
likes privacy gregarious good listener
plans ahead methodically plans grand outline only looks at general principles
does one thing at a time does several things at once reacts
works fixed hours works any hours flexible hours
punctual not punctual punctual
dominated by timetables and timetable unpredictable reacts to partner’s timetable
schedules
compartmentalizes projects lets one project influence another sees whole picture
sticks to plans changes plans makes slight changes
sticks to facts juggles facts statements are promises
gets information from statistics, gets first-hand (oral) information uses both first-hand and researched
reference books, database, internet information
job-oriented people-oriented people-oriented
Table copyright Richard D Lewis

79. Common cultural traits
Linear-active Multi-active Reactive
unemotional emotional quietly caring
works within department gets around all departments considers all departments
follows correct procedures pulls strings networks
accepts favors reluctantly seeks favors protects face of other
delegates to competent colleagues delegates to relations delegates to reliable people
completes action chains complete human transactions reacts to partner
likes fixed agendas interrelates everything thoughtful
brief on telephone talks for hours summarizes well
uses memoranda rarely writes memos plans slowly
respects officialdom seeks out (top) key person ultra-honest
dislikes losing face has ready excuses must not lose face
confronts with logic confronts emotionally avoids confrontation
limited body language unrestricted body language subtle body language
rarely interrupts interrupts frequently doesn’t interrupt
separates social / professional interweaves social / professional connects social and professional
Table copyright Richard D Lewis

80. Exercise: What will you do?
You must fly to a business meeting in another country. You
ask your good friend to drive you to the airport. Whilst
driving to the airport, your friend hits and seriously injures a
pedestrian. S/he drives on without stopping. Later the
police catch her/him and expect you to testify in court.
What can your friend expect you to say?

81. Culture and emotions

82. Culture and emotions
• “Humans are reaction machines.”
• “When you are angry, you will make the best speech
you will ever regret.”
William Ury , co-founder of Harvard's Program on Negotiation and Senior
Fellow of the Harvard Negotiation Project.

83. Culture and emotions
• “Universal” emotions such as anger, contempt, disgust, fear, happiness,
sadness, and surprise are common to all cultures.
• Individualistic cultures tend to direct attention to inner states and feelings
(such as positive or negative affects).
• Collectivistic cultures tend to direct attention to outer sources (adhering to
social norms or fulfilling one’s duties).
• Suh et al. found that the correlation between life satisfaction and the
prevalence of positive affect is higher in individualistic cultures, whereas in
collectivistic cultures affect and adhering to norms are equally important
for life satisfaction.

84. What is this man feeling?
Anger • Disgust • Neutral • Fear • Joy • Surprise • Sadness

85. What is this man feeling?
Anger • Disgust • Neutral • Fear • Joy • Surprise • Sadness

86. What is this man feeling?
Anger • Disgust • Neutral • Fear • Joy • Surprise • Sadness

87. What is this man feeling?
Anger • Disgust • Neutral • Fear • Joy • Surprise • Sadness

88. What is this man feeling?
Anger • Disgust • Neutral • Fear • Joy • Surprise • Sadness

89. What is this man feeling?
Anger • Disgust • Neutral • Fear • Joy • Surprise • Sadness

90. What is this man feeling?
Anger • Disgust • Neutral • Fear • Joy • Surprise • Sadness

91. What is this man feeling?
Anger Disgust Neutral Fear
Joy Surprise Sadness

92. Culture and emotions
Shame is an automatic involuntary response to a personal
failure attributed to the self. The failure is relative to
someone else’s expectations. Shame is a social emotion
that involves self-consciousness.

93. Exercise: Personal failure
At the beginning of the year, you promise or are assigned a
quota of X (dollars, lines of code, whatever). At the end of
the year you have produced only X/2. Your supervisor is
not pleased. What is your reaction to your failure?

94. Culture and emotions
A study examined the effects of shame on salespersons in Holland (an
individualistic culture) and the Philippines (a collectivistic culture). They found
that bad experiences with clients led to similar shame emotions in both cultures.
However, the responses to this shame were opposite: shame caused Dutch
salespersons to withdraw and to perform poorer on their job, apparently
because they directed most of their mental resources inwards, to defend the
self.
Filipino salespersons felt shame all the same; however, the shame caused them
to put more efforts in building relationship and thus to perform better on the job.
Moreover, Filipino salespersons demonstrated more Organizational Citizenship
Behaviors (OCB) after experiencing shame. The reason for this is that in
collectivistic cultures shame signals that social harmony has been hampered
and that the individual should act to rebuild it.

95. Exercise: MacDonald’s mules
Farmer MacDonald died. His will leaves 17 mules to his
daughters: His daughter Xiaoping gets 1/2 of the seventeen
mules, his daughter Mary 1/3, and daughter Susheela 1/9
of the mules. Without killing or cutting any of the mules,
find a way to equitably meet the terms of old MacDonald’s
will.
[2]

96. Basic communication

97. How do you communicate?
• Communication is at most 30% verbal!
• Remainder - 70% or more - is comprised of gestures,
facial expressions, tone of voice, posture, odors, ...
• Telephone communication removes gestures, facial
expressions, posture, odors, etc. Only words and tone
of voice remain.
• Written communication - email, letters, etc - removes all
modes of communication save for words.

98. Simple principles
• Be impeccable with your word
• Don’t take anything personally
• Don’t make assumptions
• Always do your best
• Be mindful
Adapted from The Four Agreements by don Miguel Ruiz

99. Be impeccable with your word
• Take responsibility for your words and actions.
• Respect others and yourself.
• Be aware of your intent.
• Consider the effect that your words will have on those
who hear them.
• Do not lie to yourself or to others.
• Do not gossip.

100. Don’t take anything personally
• To take stuff personally is expression of selfishness: You
assume that everything is about you.
• Nothing others do is because of you: It is because of the
others’ programming.
• Act, don’t react: When you take stuff personally, you feel
offended by others’ words and your reaction is to defend
your beliefs thus creating conflict.

101. Don’t make assumptions
• Human has need to explain and understand everything. It doesn’t matter if
the explanation is correct -- the explanation by itself makes us feel safe.
• Problem with assumptions is that we believe they are the truth.
• Do not assume that your partner (business or personal) knows what you
think and therefore you don’t have to say what you want.
• Do not assume that others think the way we think, feel the way we feel, and
judge the way we judge.
• Stop making assumptions: Have courage to ask questions!
• Make sure communication is clear. Even then don’t assume you know
everything about a situation.
• Communicate “This is what I want. That is what you want.”

102. Always do your best
• Do no more or less than your best.
• Reasonable balance.
• Your best changes one moment to next moment.
• Don’t beat yourself up when you fail to do your best.

103. Be mindful
• Mindfulness is being in touch with and aware of the present moment, as well as taking
a non-evaluative and non-judgmental approach to it.
• Mindfulness is paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present
moment, and non-judgmentally.
• Mindfulness is a kind of non-elaborative, nonjudgmental, present-centered awareness
in which each thought, feeling, or sensation that arises is acknowledged and accepted
as it is.
• When the mind is not mindful and attentive, it follows its habitual patterns of liking,
disliking, rejecting, pursuing, projecting, and being for and against things. Clear
attentiveness is awareness that is free from the process of reacting, without adding or
subtracting anything from the experience.

104. Cross-cultural proficiency
• Develop awareness of your own mental software and
cultural assumptions.
• Refine your perception of others’ mental software and
cultural background.
• Increase your knowledge of other cultures, countries,
and languages.
• Acquire skills in interacting with people from other
cultures: Practice!
• Be mindful!

105. Basic communication
principles
Simple Keep It Simple Stupid (KISS principle)
Repeat Say it twice in different ways
Listen Repeat what you hear
Respect Respect yourself and others

106. More communication
principles
• When we speak to others in a language that is not our own, we often
unconsciously transfer elements from our own language into the other.
• When someone speaks your language, you tend to assume that they also share
your thoughts and assumptions.
• Unless you understand very well proverbs from a language that is not your own,
don’t use them.
• Humor does not translate well!
• Conversational taboos usually include religion and politics as well as questions
about health, age, weight, income.
• Effective verbal communication is expected to be explicit, direct, and
unambiguous. Say what you mean as precisely and straightforwardly as
possible.
• Some western cultures view a person who is being indirect as tricky, deceptive,
and of questionable integrity. At best indirect communication is viewed as a
waste of time.
• Some eastern cultures view a person who is being direct as rude and of
questionable honor. At best direct communication is viewed as impolite.

107. Organizing information
• Particularistic thinkers tend to feel that a personal
relationship is more important than obeying rules or
laws.
• Universal thinkers tend to obey rules and laws;
relationships are less important than duty to company,
society, and authority in general.
• Abstract thinkers tend to be universal thinkers.

108. Organizing information
• Open-minded people seek out (more) information
before making a decision
• Close-minded people see only a narrow range of
possibilities and ignore the rest
• Most cultures produce close-minded people!

109. Exercise: Close-minded or not?
Do you agree with the statement that most cultures
produce close-minded people? Why?

110. Processing information
• Associative thinkers process information using
personal experience. Educational systems that teach
by rote learning tend to produce associative thinkers.
• Abstract thinkers process information by extrapolating
data and considering hypothetical situations.
Educational systems that teach by problem-solving
tend to produce abstract thinkers.
• No country has more than its share of smart or dull
people!

111. Exercise: Invent a gesture
Invent a gesture that a driver can use to apologize for
unintentionally cutting off another driver. The gesture must
be usable in any country.
[2]

112. Selected Bibliography
• Benedict, Ruth. Patterns of culture. Houghton Mifflin Company. 1934..
• CultureGrams World Edition 2007 <various countries>. Proquest Information and
Learning Company. http://www.culturegrams.com
• Dafoulas, Georgios and Linda Macaulay. Investigating cultural differences in
virtual software teams. The Electronic Journal on Information Systems in
Developing Countries. 2001.
• Hayakawa, S.I. et al. Language and Thought in Action. 5th edition. Harcourt. 1991.
• Hofstede, Geert and Gert Jan Hofstede. Cultures and organizations: Software of
the mind. Mc-Graw Hill. 2005.
• Hofstede, Gert Jan, Paul B Pedersen, and Geert Hofstede. Exploring culture:
Exercises, stories, and synthetic cultures. Intercultural Press. 2002.
• Lewis, Richard D. When cultures collide: Leading across cultures. 3rd edition.
Nicholas Brealey International. 2006.
• Morrison, Terri and Wayne A Conaway. Kiss, bow, or shake hands. 2nd edition.
Adams Media. 2006.
• Ruiz, Miguel. The four agreements: A practical guide to personal freedom. Amber-
Allen Publishing Inc. 1997.
• Thomas, David C and Kerr Inkson. Cultural Intelligence: Living and Working
Globally. 2nd edition. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. 2009.
• Trompenaars, Fons and Charles Hampden-Turner. Riding the waves of culture:
Understanding diversity in global business. 2nd edition. Mc-Graw Hill. 1998.

113. Where there is light in the soul,
心善人品美 There is beauty in the person.
Where there is beauty in the person,
人美家庭和 There is harmony in the home.
家和国势荣 Where there is harmony in the home,
国荣天下安 There is honor in the nation.
Where there is honor in the nation,
There is peace in the world.
Frederick Zarndt
Coronado CA 92118
USA
+1.801.361.3204
frederick@frederickzarndt.com