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F o

u r Communicating

across Cultures

After studying this chapter, you should be able to do the following:

LO4.1 Describe characteristics of cultural intelligence, its importance for global business leaders, and approaches to developing it.

LO4.2 Explain the major cultural dimensions and related communication practices.

LO4.3 Name and describe key categories of business etiquette in the intercultural communication process.

Learning Objectives

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Why Does T his Matter?

You are living in one of the most exciting times because of opportunities to work and interact with people from across the globe. Only a few decades ago, few busi- nesspeople worked closely with members of other cultures. Now, however, global business connections have increased rapidly, and you will undoubtedly work across cultures throughout your career. For example, you will probably have some chances to travel internationally for work assignments. More frequently, however, you are likely to work across cultures by collaborating with work teams in India, videoconferencing or emailing with customers or suppliers in China, or working in a culturally diverse office in your hometown. The pos- sibilities are immense!

The rapid growth in intercultural business con- nections is driven by technological and cultural forces of globalization. Technology has allowed people to nearly instantaneously communicate with people around the world, transact business, and move capital. These technologies include the Inter- net, the digitization of work, ATMs, credit cards, smart cards, and GPS. Furthermore, convergence of many business standards and platforms has made conducting business easier and more predict- able. These common standards and platforms in- clude English as a global business language, trade agreements that specify rules for commerce (the World Trade Organization and North American Free Trade Agreement), and quality standards in manufacturing (e.g., supplier-customer relationships driven by ISO 9000 quality standards). Also, many non-Western ex- ecutives are trained in business schools in the United States, Australia, and Western Europe, creating a more homogeneous business culture around the world. 1

Throughout this chapter, you will see a variety of national cultures compared. The countries selected for this chapter are among the most important trading partners for the United States and Canada. In terms of trade volume, countries such as China (including Taiwan), Mexico, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Germany dominate. (See Table 4.1 for the most important trading partners of North America.) Of course, you will likely work with business professionals, clients, or customers from many other national backgrounds. Your business discipline, company, and industry will factor into the national cultures with which you most frequently interact. Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Nissan and Renault, explained the necessity of learning to work and communicate effectively across cultures:

Companies are going global, but the teams are being divided and scattered all over the planet. If you’re head of engineering, you have to deal with divisions in Vietnam or China, and you have to work across cultures. You have to know how to motivate people who think very dif- ferently than you, who have different kinds of sensitivities, so I think the most important message is to get prepared to deal with teams who are multicultural, who do not think the same way. 2

Read the following case about Carlos Ghosn. Throughout the chapter, you will read more advice from him and other business executives. 3

? TABLE 4.1

Top Trading Partners with North America (United States and Canada)

Country Total Trade ( in millions of dollars )

1. China

2. Mexico

3. Japan

4. United Kingdom

5. Germany

6. South Korea

7. France

8. Netherlands

9. Brazil

10. Italy

$494,244

326,802

167,520

114,592

109,488

77,247

69,009

52,952

50,327

44,917

Note: China fi gure includes Hong Kong and Taiwan. Total trade combines total imports and exports with the United States and Canada. Based on 2009 trade fi gures.

Hear Pete Cardon explain why this

matters.

bit.ly.com/CardonWhy4

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88 Part two Principles of Interpersonal Communication

Chapter Case: Carlos Ghosn and Working across Cultures at Nissan

Carlos Ghosn , president and CEO of Nissan and Renault • Held many international management positions: Michelin in France, 1978–1985;

Michelin in Brazil, 1985–1989; Michelin in the United States, 1989–1996; Renault in France, 1996–present; Nissan in Japan, 1999–present.

• Speaks six languages: Arabic, Portuguese, Spanish, French, English, and Japanese. • Born in Brazil, grew up in Lebanon, and moved to France for university studies. • Industry analysts comment that Ghosn “epitomizes a new breed of borderless global

managers. . . . These executives are multilingual, have worked around the world, and seem impervious to jet lag.”4

In March 1999, Carlos Ghosn was asked to lead the turnaround at the struggling Japanese car- maker Nissan. The company was $23 billion in debt, had suffered declines in domestic market share for 27 straight years, was unprofitable on 43 of the 46 products it sold, and had lost money for seven of the prior eight years. Many viewed Ghosn, who was nicknamed Le Cost-Killer and renowned for his turnaround abilities, as the best hope to fix the crisis. Yet, many industry analysts thought the situation was impossible. They also wondered how a foreigner could succeed in the Japanese work environment. Within 18 months, Nissan was restored to profitability and has sustained annual profitability for all but one year (during the recent worldwide recession) since then. Within five years of Ghosn’s arrival in Japan to run Nissan, the debt of $23 billion had been turned into a $7 billion surplus. It now sells and markets cars in nearly every country in the world and runs manufacturing facilities in nearly 20 countries. Nissan is currently developing some of the most innovative cars, including the Nissan Leaf, the first zero-emissions car. Ghosn credits much of this turnaround at Nissan to his ability to work across cultures and to build on the best parts of each culture involved.

Who’s Involved

The Situation

Questions to Consider as You Read • What types of attitudes do business professionals need to communicate effectively across cultures? • How can business students learn about and prepare to work with members of other cultures? • How can understanding cultural dimensions help business professionals work cross-culturally? • What advantages accrue to companies with a global mentality? • What is the value of global leaders?

Companies depend on business professionals who can manage across cultures. Com- panies such as Coca-Cola sell more products abroad than they do locally. In fact, Coca- Cola sells more drinks in Japan alone than in the United States. In Chapter 2, you read about emotional intelligence (EQ), your ability to manage emotions in interpersonal situations. Similarly, cultural intelligence (CQ) is a measure of your ability to work with and adapt to members of other cultures. Like EQ (but unlike IQ), CQ can be de- veloped and improved over time with training, experience, and conscious effort. 5 Business professionals with high CQ understand differences and similarities be- tween and among cultures. Culture includes the shared values, norms, rules, and

Developing Cultural Intelligence LO4.1 Describe

characteristics of cultural intelligence, its importance for global business leaders, and approaches to developing it.

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Communicating Across Cultures Chapter Four 89

behaviors of an identifiable group of people who share a common history and com- munication system. There are many types of culture, such as national, organizational, and team. We discuss principles of intercultural communication in this chapter in the context of national cultures, which tend to be more permanent and enduring than other types of culture. The norms and values of national cultures are instilled in young mem- bers through a shared language, shared history and traditions, school systems, and political and economic systems. When working with members of other cultures at the home office or abroad, business professionals with high CQ are skilled at forming goals, discussing and succeeding on joint projects, resolving differences, and negotiating mutually beneficial outcomes. They understand new markets and can develop global plans for marketing and supply chain management. When people with high CQ encounter unfamiliar situations, they implement a variety of the skills displayed in Table 4.2 and discussed throughout the chapter. 6 Developing cultural intelligence is more than possessing favorable attitudes toward members of other groups. It also requires developing skills and knowledge. In this sec- tion, we focus briefly on several characteristics of cultural intelligence.

Respect, Recognize, and Appreciate Cultural Differences Cultural intelligence is built on attitudes of respect and recognition of other cultures. This means that you view other cultures as holding legitimate and valid views of and approaches to managing business and workplace relationships. Ghosn, when first sent to Japan from France to turn around Nissan, demonstrated this view of cultures:

People who try to impose one system onto another only wind up destroying it. This has never been our strategy. If Renault had wanted to do that, they would have picked anyone but me, because I’m completely convinced of the opposite course. Nissan had to be changed from the inside. If you’re French and you come to Japan, you have no chance, zero, of budging the system an inch. I’m convinced of this. My conviction is both human and professional, and it’s bolstered by the experience of having lived on several continents. Right from the beginning, I told them: “You’re not missionaries. You’ve come here not to change Japan but to straighten out Nissan with the men and women of Nissan. We’re the ones who have to assimilate with them—it’s not up to them to adapt to us.” 7

In recent years, many public and educational campaigns have focused on embrac- ing diversity. In this book, we refer to diversity as the presence of many cultural groups in the workplace. Business professionals with high cultural intelligence em- brace diversity as a moral imperative and as a means to achieve higher performance. A great deal of research has examined the role of cultural diversity in the workplace. These studies have shown that a mix of cultural groups in terms of national culture,

TABLE 4.2

Cultural Intelligence in the Workplace

Characteristics of High Cultural Intelligence

• Respect, recognize, and appreciate cultural differences. • Possess curiosity about and interest in other cultures. • Avoid inappropriate stereotypes. • Adjust conceptions of time and show patience. • Manage language differences to achieve shared meaning. • Understand cultural dimensions. • Establish trust and show empathy across cultures. • Approach cross-cultural work relationships with a learner mind-set. • Build a co-culture of cooperation and innovation.

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90 Part two Principles of Interpersonal Communication

ethnicity, age, and gender leads to better decision making. 8 Nissan, like many com- panies, has recognized the moral and business value of diversity and explicitly states this on its website:

At Nissan, we believe that diversity is a source of strength. . . . Nissan is committed to diversity to ensure that we meet the diverse needs of our customers and achieve sustainable growth for all stakeholders. Each and every employee will respect diversity and take full advantage of it. . . . We believe that embracing and leveraging this cultural diversity gives us a competitive advantage. 9

Be Curious about Other Cultures As a college student, you are in a stage of life that gives you unique opportunities to acquire cross-cultural experiences. Consider the following options: studying abroad, learning a language, developing friendships with international students on campus, and taking an interest in and learning about a particular culture. 10

Study Abroad Living in another culture is perhaps the best approach to learn- ing about one. It allows you to immerse yourself in another way of living—to observe and experience up close how members of another cultural group communicate, work in groups, manage relationships, celebrate successes, and deal with disappointments. When asked, “What’s your best career advice to young graduates?” Quintin E. Primo III, co-founder and chief executive of Capri Capital Partners, responded in the follow- ing way: