Solomon Managing Across Cultures

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.It gives you the ability to motivatepeople who may decline a promotion for reasons you ordinarily wouldn’tunderstand, devise different schedules and methods for meeting dead-lines, and develop a broad variety of approaches to communicationand negotiations.It means you have to understand how people think,how they’re motivated, and how to anticipate their reactions.We believe the most effective way to start is with the seven keys orseven dimensions that we call the CultureWizard Model© (CW Model©).You’ll learn about them in the next chapter.It presents you with aframework that defines easily recognizable behaviors that give visibleclues to help you understand some of the invisible assumptions andunderlying thoughts we all have.In this way, you know how to react.Ifyou learn to identify behaviors that manifest themselves differentlydepending on the society and are able to plug them into a framework,M A N A G I N G A C R O S S C U L T U R E S35you will have a better idea of how to respond.By developing an aware-ness of these behaviors, you will be in a better position to adjust yourexpectations, attitudes, and actions and significantly enhance yourchance for success in the international business arena.This trainingprocess builds a foundation for:• Recognizing cultural behaviors that are different• Understanding how your cultural background colors the way youperceive the world• Building awareness of ways to adjust your own behavior when youenter a new cultureThe CW Model© is adapted from the Windham InternationalModel (created by Michael S.Schell and Marian Stoltz-Loike, Ph.D.)and the Intercultural Awareness Model, ICAM© (developed by PaulaCaligiuri, Ph.D., of Rutgers University’s Center for Human ResourceStrategy and Caligiuri & Associates).It also is grounded in the work ofrespected sociologists and anthropologists, including Fons Trompe-naars, Geert Hofstede, and Edward T.Hall, who are consideredpioneers in the field.21 This preparation helps people become multiculturally fluent and capable of functioning in a multiplicity ofenvironments with a global mindset.What Is Culture?What, then, is “culture”?• Is it the way people act?• Is it what they think?• Is it what they believe?The answer to all three questions is yes.Culture is everything yousee around you: the words people use, the food they eat, their clothes,36S O L O M O N - S C H E L Lthe pace of their lives.But that’s only the surface: what is called “visi-ble” culture.It’s the stuff of travel guides and first impressions.Figure 2-2 illustrates that the part of a society that can be seen—visible culture—is far smaller than what lies beneath the surface.Figure 2-2Traditional iceberg model of visible and invisible cultureExperts use the iceberg analogy to describe this phenomenon.Thepart of the iceberg that’s below the surface—what’s termed invisibleculture—is far more powerful than the area of visible culture becauseyou don’t know what is there.The only way to deal successfully withpeople from a different country is to be aware of what’s going onbeneath the surface and use that knowledge to shape your own behav-ior and expectations.If you don’t understand that what’s below the sur-face is far more powerful and potentially dangerous than what you cansee, you run the risk of hitting the invisible part of the iceberg.How can you begin to recognize cultural differences? The CWModel© provides seven keys to help you navigate, which you’ll discoverin Chapter 3.M A N A G I N G A C R O S S C U L T U R E S37D E F I N I T I O N S F O RT H I S C H A P T E RCulture: The visible and invisible values and beliefs that underlie behav-iors and are unique to each society.Global mindset: The ability to recognize and adapt to cultural signals sothat you intuitively see global opportunities and are effective in dealingwith people from different backgrounds around the world.Lessons Learned to Develop Your Cultural Skills• The importance of creating a cultural integration plan as part of duediligence• The ability to recognize the potential for cultural challenges beforethey materialize• How culture defines work styles and priorities• How the seven key dimensions contribute to a global mindset• How the subtle and visible cultural signs are indicative of profoundbelief systemsQuestions to Ponder1.You just finished a meeting with your German colleagues andcannot understand why they have scheduled three moreplanning sessions when you were ready to begin tackling thetask at hand.What do you think is going on?38S O L O M O N - S C H E L LDirections: Go to http://book.culturewizard.com and join thediscussion.2.Within the context of the DaimlerChrysler situation, do youthink that the corporate cultures or the national culturesplayed a bigger role?Directions: Go to http://book.culturewizard.com and join thediscussion.What Do You Think?You have had your own experiences.Share them.Go to http://book.culturewizard.com and join the discussion.Notes1 “The DaimlerChrysler Merger,” Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, No.1-0071, 2002.2 Paul Ingrassia,“Chrysler, Daimler Agree to Merge in Deal That Will Reshape Industry,” The Wall Street Journal, http://online.wsj.com, May 6, 1998.3 “The DaimlerChrysler Merger.”4 “Daimler-Benz AG,” Standard & Poors Stock Reports, New York: Standard & Poors, Inc., July 21, 1997, cited in Tuck School of Business case study.5 Ingrassia, chart on page 2.6 Jürgen Shrempp, quoted in Financial Times, October 2000 [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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