How to communicate with cultural competency in an increasingly diverse business environment. A presentation for the the Ambassadors of the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce (8/13/13)

1. Communicating with Cultural
Competency in an increasingly
diverse Business Environment
August 13, 2013

2. International
Business is rolling
into Tennessee

3. So, the Germans,
French, Japanese,
Koreans are
coming...
...but what does this
have to do with me?

4. Mind the Culture Gap

5. Do Any Of These
Statements Apply to You?
• I work with people of different cultures/
countries and sometimes I feel like we
aren't fully connecting
• When working with foreigners I am unsure
how to make contact and what contacts
to make
• Sometimes it seems difficult to get
"honest" information from my foreign
business contacts

6. Why Culture matters
• Cultural values impact most relevant behaviors in interpersonal
processes
* contacting * introducing * trust building *
* communicating *negotiating * conflict management *
• Knowing about cultural behavioral preferences will benefit work
performance in diverse teams

7. Visible & Invisible
Parts of Culture
Visibles:
- what people see,
hear, touch, taste, smell
- explicitly learned
- conscious
- easily changed
- objective knowledge
Invisibles:
- what people believe, value,
think, feel
- implicitly learned
- unconscious
- difficult to change
- subjective knowledge

9. Cultural Dimensions
• Individualism vs. Collectivism
• Short-term vs. long-term
orientation
• Hierarchical vs. participative
orientation
• Need for certainty vs. tolerance for ambiguity
• Orientation towards achievement vs. quality of life

10. 1. Individualist ……………………………………....…………………....…................ Group-oriented
2. Egalitarian ………………………….…………………....……......…................………. Hierarchical
3. Task-oriented …………………....………………..………..........................………… Relationship
4. Rules ……………………………....…………………....……..............……... Particular Situations
Building Relationships
US GER AR GER* MEX PER
|________|_______|________|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Individualist Communitarian
MEX PER AR GER US
|________|_______|________|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Hierarchical Egalitarian
US GER AR PER MEX
|________|_______|________|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Task-oriented Relational
MEX PER AR US GER
|________|_______|________|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Particular situations Universal rules

11. 1. Implicit ……………………………………....…………………....…........................………..... Explicit
2. Consensual Harmony ………………………….………….................………. Confronting
3. Formal …………………....………………..……………....................................………… Informal
4. Achievement ……………………………....…………………..................……... Balanced Life
Communication
MEX PER AR US GER
|________|_______|________|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Implicit Explicit
MEX PER AR US GER
|________|_______|________|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Harmony/Consensus-seeking Confrontational
MEX PER GER AR US
|________|_______|________|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Formal Informal
GER US AR GER* MEX PER
|________|_______|________|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Live to work (achievement) Work to live (balance)

12. 1. Polychronic ………………………....…………….....................................….... Monochronic
2. External Control ………………………….…….....……................………. Internal Control
3. Risk-averse …………………....………………..….....................………..............… Risk-taking
4. Process-orientation …..…………………....…...........….......…... Results-orientation
Time & Decisions
MEX PER AR US GER
|________|_______|________|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Polychronic Monochronic
PER MEX AR GER US
|________|_______|________|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
External Control Internal Control
PER MEX AR GER US
|________|_______|________|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Risk-averse Happy to take risks
GER PER AR MEX US
|________|_______|________|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Processes matter Results matter

13. Peaches vs. Coconuts

14. Peach
- extroverted with strangers
- open & curious
- makes "friends" quickly
- talks openly in public
- public & private interwoven
Coconut
- reserved, needs time to warm up
with strangers
- private & public strictly separated
- social distance determined by
status, social role, profession
- close, very intimate sharing of
experiences with friends

15. ze German use of ze
Englisch language
• most Germans speak English
• many know English only on an academic/
school level
• most schools teach mainly British English
• => misunderstandings (esp. with Americans)
• difficulties in understanding nuances,
reading between the lines
• native speech is full of "would", "could",
"please", "thank you", "might"
• Germans use "should", "must", "have to",
"yes" and "no"

16. Working
across
Cultures
• Be patient when building trust and establishing
relationships
• Use simple English - Avoid idiomatic language
• Watch for nonverbal interaction cues
• Be aware of the gap between your home
culture and the culture of your counterpart

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