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What is the culture? Lz 1/10/ Each contry has it's own culture; an international manager has to understand all different cultures. Culture could be define in different ways by different disciplines such as antropology, sociology and management. -what we do not mean by culture: high culture which includes arts, literature, theatre... we refer to a more intangible concept. It's deeper and more complex. -what we do mean by culture: it is an integrated system of value, believes and behaviours that are learned and shared by a group of people. A group's typical ways of thinking, believing, behaving and living are shaped by culture. Definition of culture: -most common one by the Dutch anthropologist Geert Hofsted(?): “ culture is the collective programming of the mind which distinguished the members of a group from another”.
- Culture is learned, it's passed down from generation to generation
- Culture is shared, a group share a similar system of values and use a similar logic to interpret the world. Often we don't realize that culture shared in our group is not accepted in others.
- Culture is unconscious, communication is verbal and non verbal (gesture, facial expressions...)
- Culture is dynamic, it changing and adapting. The pace of cultural changes, hawever, is often rather slow.
- Culture is emotionally binding. We are not neutral about our culture. Culture is provides us with out sense of identity. It's very important displaying respect for other cultures.
- Culture is ethnocentric, a general tendency of groups is to look at themeselves as the centre of everything and to judge all others by reference to themeselves. it's important to became aware of or ethnocentric tendencies. lz Hofstede argues that all members of a culture share cultural programming. Example of dinner at 7.00 pm. Of implements used to eat cultural differences (chiedi Flavia spiegazioni esempi). -Communication: “it's how we plan and organize our lives. It's how we build friendship and get close to people fell and something discover important things about ourselves. It's how we influence us. It's how we sort out problems, co-operate with each other and create new opportunities” (talk works: how to get more out conversations” 1997 british telecom). -The exchange of ideas, information etc... between two or more people. -In act of communications on there is us usually at least one speaker or sender, a message which is transmitted, and a person or people for whom this message is in intended (the receiver) → techincal aspect. The importance of gestures! Ex: “ come alive with pepsi” (resurrection, reincarnation). -communication is studies from many disciplinary perspectives, is often viewed as a discipline in its own right, and is central to sociolinguistic, psycolinguistic, anthopology and information theory. “in recent years it has become common place to find all sorts of problems being described as “communication problem”- problem arising from the ways in which people talk or don't talk, to one
another”. The perception that “poor c.” is at the root of many problems prompts various interventions aimed at getting people to communicate better. -programmes of education and training have been instituted with the goal of improving “ communication skills”. -in workplace, schools and colleges, more and more people are receiving formal instructions in bow to talk to one another, and in some cases their performance is being formally assessed”. They judge you also when you are not working. -in 1995 Deb. Cameron speaks of “verbal hygene” meaning attempts to “clean up” language- uso so it conforms to particular standards of correctness, clarity, efficiency, beauty or morality. She examines the discourse and practices in which concerns about communication are manifested in contemporary. English-speaking societies. She argued that many of these concerns can be linked to the economic, social and cultural changes. -as the linguistic anthropologist Susan Gal (1995) has observed, ideas about what is describle in the sphere of language-using are always “ systematically related to other areas of cultural discourse such as the nature of a person, of power and a desirable moral order”: -Regimes of VERBAL HYGIENE that centres on “communications” are inseparable from changing concepts of identify, agency and society. They are both a reflex of a cultural change. COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES: when we speak of it we refer to the way used to express meaning in a second or foreign language, by a learner who has a limited command of the language. In trying to communicate, a learner may have to make up for lack of knowledge grammar, on vocabulary. -eg: the learner may not be able to say: “it's against the law to park here” ...he may say: “this place, cannot park”. The message arrives. -the use of PARAPHERSE Communicative competence include: lz 8/10/
- grammatical competence (also formal competence), that is the knowledge of the grammar, vocabulary, phonology, and semantics of a language. [ We have to share between formal and informal language (for sure the written language is more formal than speaking )].
- Sociolingustic competence (also socio-cultural competence), that is knowledge of the relationship between language and its non-linguistic context; [ You can understand this when you see tv program like a politicians and they cut some parts, you can understand but maybe without these part the meaning could change ]. Knowing how to use and respond appropriately to different types of speech acts, such as requests, apologies, thanks, and invitations; [is important to use a appropriately excuse to refuse an invitation if you are tired]- knowing which address forms should be used with different persons one speaks to and in different situations, and so forth. [ religion, politic things or idea ] Coherence :
- Discourse competence (sometimes considered part of sociolinguistic competence), that is
cultures, blunt speech is respected; elsewhere, it is interpreted as aggressive and bad-mannered. In different cultures, different communicative styles are appropriated. [ we have to decide which different communicative style we have to use in relation with the culture ]. Time:
- How much time should you expect to invest in communicating your message? You cannot always hope to complete a deal as quickly (or slowly) as you might at home. [e.g Asia slow, USA faster]. Agreement:
- what is communicated by an agreement? In some cultures, a signed agreement is interpreted as a legally binging (legalmente vincolante); elsewhere, it may be regarded as a stage in the implementation process, and always subject to renegotiations. [e.g George USA che va in Asia a vendere un servizio al Dott. Hamad).
- good communication helps you to develop and maintain with another organization or managing your own. Good relationship mean increased productivity and profits.
- bad communication leads to conflicts inefficiency, and loss.
- cultural priorities influence communicative priorities, and differences in the communicative priorities of different cultures can create serious problems for the negotiator and the manager. -the communication problems that arise from cultural difference can be overcome, and differences can be turned to advantage. -the course deals with cross-cultural communication skills that any manager needs when working with members of another culture. -the manager needs cross-cultural skills in order to avoid and overcome problems arising from differences in management and communications priorities. He or she needs these skills: -when working within the organization, whether as superior, peer, or subordinate; -when working with some other organization or individual, while negotiating with a customer, supplier, joint venture partner, or government representative; -at social occasions; -in an overseas posting or in his/her own country. The aim of the course is to show how management priorities are decided and communicated in different cultures. It examines the organizational problems facing managers in cultural context other than their own. It shows how to: -recognize cultural differences; -understand how cultural priorities influence communications styles; -plan and communicate management messages so that they make most sense to members of other culture; -understand the intended meanings of messages sent by members of the others culture; -overcome communications problems resulting from language difference.
Lz 11/10/ Culture is very important, set of values, sometimes is more important than the language. Over a century ago in 1871 Edward Tailer, anthropologist defined culture as a complex which includes knowledge art customs and any other capabilities. Culture has also being defined as a learned, shared compelling interrelated set of symbols, whose leaning provides a set of orientation for members of a society. Over 1060 and 1068 definition of culture have been defined in the anthropological system. 3 definition provided. Commonalities. It is generally heat culture is not inherent or innate but rather is learned. Learning typically takes place in institution such as the family, church and school. Most definition also emphasise that culture is shared by members of a group. It is this shared aspect that enables communication between individual, within that culture. Cross-cultural communication is so difficult, because of the lack of shared symbols. Without thought we react to our environment in a manner that is socially acceptable because that is how we have been socialized. Edward t hall points out: “no matter how hard man tries, it is impossible to him to divest himself of his own culture, for it has penetrated to the roots of his nervous system and determines how he perceives the world...people cannot ac or interact in any meaningful way expect through the medium of culture” When we move into another culture, we carry our cultural map with us, responding to the foreign environment in ways that would be acceptable in or own culture but that may or may not be acceptable in different surroundings. SELF-REFERENCE CRITERION AND ETHNOCENTRISM. When we examine other cultures we tend to view them trough culturally tinted glasses. For example of our own culture places a high valuer on education or cleanliness, we may assume-correctly or incorrectly-that other cultures has the same values. James lee terms this unconscious reference to one’s own cultures the self-reference criterion. Ethnocentrism poses another obstacle to understanding foreign cultures. Litterally defined ethnocentrism means “culturally centred”. I refer to people’s tendency to place themselves at the centre of the universe and not only evaluate others by the standards of their own culture also because that their own culture is superior to all others. A fundamental assumption of ethnocentric people is that their way of doing things is right, proper and normal and that the way of culturally different people are wrong and inferior. This tendency toward on “us versus them” mentally is universal. People in all cultures display ethnocentric behaviors. Ethnocentrism limits ability to accept cultural differences.
possible: he/she would like to be fluent. Being fluent means having a mastery of vocabulary and grammatical systems, and the banks of metaphor which native speakers use naturally. It means being able to speak and write the language easily and smoothly. But even if the cross-cultural manager were able to find sufficient time to develop a technical mastery of the other language, this would not guarantee that he/she could communicate effectively with native speakers of the language.[ we need also any other aspects of the difference cultures ]. In order to communicate effectively with another person you need more than a common language. -just as communications within one culture depends on more than a common language, so does communication across cultures. -this is shown by fact that members of different cultures which share the same language (for instance, Americans, British, Australian...all of whom have English in common) may have problems in communications. -there are differences between the version of english they use: at the level of grammar, an american might say “ Did you complete the report yet? ”. And briton: “ have you completed the report yet? ” -at a level of vocabulary: “ specialty ” and “ speciality ” -of spelling: “ labor ” and “ labour ” -of pronunciations: “schedule” pronounced [ skedul ] and [ shedul ] differences of idiom: “ how did you find mr X”? which in British english can mean: “did you like mr X”? → ti è piaciuto mr x? These differences are minor, and are usually of no grater significance than dialectical differences within each of these different cultures (for instance, between the english of Glasgow and Bristol, or New York and Luisiana). So it's important the values → the members of these cultures are separated by value not language.
- a common first language does not mean that members of different cultures share the same attitudes towards their roles and responsibilities and is no guarantee of communicative effectiveness. -if thee individual take for granted that a literal understanding of the words used is sufficient to bridge the differences between them, a common language may hinder rather than enhance understanding. Summarizing: -the more you know of the other language, the better; -fluency does not guarantee effective communication; -effective communication also depends upon understanding of other person's cultural priorities. Lz 6 22/10/ “Cultures hides more than what it reveals, and strangely enough what it hides, it hides most effectively from its own participants”. From Eduard T. Hall
characteristics of culture: -we have been talking about the unconscious aspect of culture, and how we learn and share our culture with a group of people. -we described our tendency to behave in automatic ways, without thinking beforehand, or without even knowing that our thoughts and behaviours are influenced by our culture. -a way to visualize the culture is to think of it as an iceberg. Just as in an iceberg, the majority of culture is hidden from the eye. -the tangible part of culture, called the surface culture , [the way they dress, they eat.. is not the entire culture], which we can see and feel, is only a small part of the whole. -the true depth of the iceberg, and its intricate complexities, are outside of our awareness. [So surface culture, and deep culture.] THE SURFACE CULTURE: when we travel to a country for the first time, whether it is for business or as a tourist, we notice certain things that are different from our own country. For example: -people may speak a different language, or -they may speak our language with a different accent. -they may eat different foods from those we are used to, and may use different utensils when eating. -the people may dress differently and listen to different types of music, or celebrate different festivals. -these are examples of visible culture, the behaviours, rituals and habits that represent the surface of the cultural iceberg. -since we are able to see these differences, we are often able to prepare for them. For example we can practice using chopsticks or begin learning the language of the contry. While this type of preparation is helpful, it is important to remember that we are learning only a small part of the culture. As we already said: the majority of what is significant in a culture is hidden from our immediate observations. THE DEEP CULTURE:
- since the most significant aspects of a culture are hidden from view, we often do not know what we do not know. -some people believe that, just because they have been to a country once or twice, they understand the people and their ways of thinking. To know a culture fully is to gain access to its deep culture. THE ICEBERG OF CULTURE → the deep culture: -norms -values -expectations -beliefs -assumptions Assumptions: our assumptions are out most basic conceptions of reality which lie behind everything we believe and value. They are the root of how we look at the world.
different expectations. -people from the same culture understand the culture's expectations and do not need to have them made explicit. -one very common example is the expectation of punctuality. -in some cultures it is expected that people show up on time, or even early for a meeting, while in others, it is perfectly acceptable to be late because meetings are not expected to begin on time. Lz 7 25/10/ When we interact with people from different cultures, the more our expectations diverge from theirs, the greater our communications problems are likely to be. Examples of cultural expectations: -it is expected that people will take financial responsibility for their elderly parents. -it is expected that children will move from their parent's house at the age of 18 (eg america, switerland, uk) -itis expected that people will freely express their feelings. (no religion, politics at the first meeting). Dimensions of culture: -most of the dimensions of culture in use by management scholars have been derived from the classic works of anthropologists. -Kluckhohn and Strodbeck (1961) (principally work on value orientations). -the research and publications of Edward Hall, particularly in the areas of the context of communications, of time and contexts of communications, of time and space, have also been very influential on researchers and practitioners who study the impact of culture and business. No communication without a context space, have also been very influential on reserachers and culture and business. No communication without a context space is very important (bubble around us). -althought these collective scholarly works have each other on a number of dimensions, it is important to remember that these differences are relative, not absolute. -an arm distance (at least) -no culture is entirely one way or another, so it is best to think of cultural differences as forming a continuum. (think about italian differences between regions). The ideas of kluckhohn and Stordbeck (1961) as well as Hall's work (1959,1963,1966) focus on time and space. Hall also focused on the notion of high context societies under the topic of international communication. Hogstede (1991) and Trompenaars (1993) examine culture's influence on business. OVERVIEW OF DIMENSIONS OF CULTURE K&S (1961) Man's relationship with nature: -Domination by men – Harmony-Dominations by nature (different possibilities). -Human nature: good-good and Evil- Evil. (good is a good person; good and Evil is a mixture a person who is sometimes good and sometimes evil; Evil Is persons who try steel your job for e.g). -Human activities: Doing – Being in becoming, being (people who think to be). -relationship with people: individualistic – collateral lineal. -Time: Future-present-past (people thinking always of). E.Hall.
-Communication in terms of: high context -low context. -Time: polychronic- monochronic. -Space: private-public. Hogstede: Power distance uncertainty avoidance individualism-collectivism long-term- short-term masculinity (language) – Femininity (metal language: I want to communicate something but I use a different language). Tram penaars: -relationship with nature; -relationship with people; -Affectivity; -Diffuse-specific (belonging to everybody or to a person); -Achievement -Ascription -Relationship with time (time is money) VALUE ORIENTATION ----CONTINUA Lz 8 29/10/ HUMAN ACTIVITY Doing: Cultures that have a “doing” orientation in relation to activities tend to: -define themselves in terms of their activities. -value practical activities. -tie doing to energy youth and change. [ they give importance to energy, youth because they are start learning early and change ]. Being and becoming: cultures that have a “being in becoming” orientation tend to: -emphasize discovery; -enjoy the process, not the outcome. Being: cultures that have a “being” orientation tend to: -emphasize simplicity; -embrace life without needing to change it. Relationship with people individualistic Cultures that have an “individualistic” orientation towards other people tend to: -have a sense of separation from extended family and community. -be self-reliant.
in monocrhronic cultures, people: -see time as linear and sequential, -believe time to be measurable and predictable, and rely on clocks and calendars for managing time. -they view tim as a valuable resource not to be wasted. -insist on planning for the future and in scheduling time. -value punctuality and productivity. -focus on the task in hand. -prefer to do one thing at a time. Polichronic cultures: in polichronic cultures people: -see time as circular, unlimited and simultaneous. -believe that time expands to accommodate activities [I can finish my things tomorrow]. -engage in several activities at the same time. -believe that time is expandable, therefore it is not a scarce resource. -do not insist on rigid time deadlines. -accept interruptions. -focus on relationship over tasks. Hall- Concept of space Hall studied how cultures use space and distinguished between “public” and “private” space. Public space in cultures with a Public orientation toward space: -individual require limited or no “protective bubble”. -people are more informal and easy to approach. -the boundary between personal and professional life is blurred. -people will more easily talk about their personal lives and ask similar questions of others. Private space in cultures with a private orientation toward space: -individuals require a large protective bubble. -people need at least an arm's length of distance between themselves and others in order to be confortable. -personal and professional lives are considered to be separate domains. -personal information is considered private and therefore, not easily shared. Both the value orientations of Kluckhonhn and Strodtbeck and Hall's concepts of time and space provide the foundations for most other research that has been conducted in the field. This implies the understanding of culture's impact in communications, perceptions and business practices. The perceptual process: Our senses are constantly inundated with endless amounts of stimuli from many different sources. To avoid being overwhelmed by the quantity of incoming information, we must screen what is relevant and important from what is not. How we sort through the flood of sensory data and what we choose to pay attention to, are influenced by our culture, environment, background, personal experiences...etc. Our culture helps us to sort, define and understand our experience by providing us with relevant
categories. Our brain takes in information, classifies, categories and labels it. For example, we decide that a particular person in an Australian (national category), a woman (gender category) or a teacher (occupational category). Through this classification process, we simplify the information and make it manageable. However , we risk the danger that our categorization can lead to stereotyping. Stereotypes: All of us hold and use stereotypes of groups and individuals we don't know, since they act like useful summaries. We tend to categories and create mental stores of the relevant information we receive from our environment. This simplifies our lives and helps us to react to people and events. For example, when we meet someone from France, we think, “this is a French man”. We immediately recall the mental store of our knowledge and experience of the French and evaluate this new person in the light of our past experiences with the French. -Although at times useful, our stereotypes are often inaccurate and can be hurtful and misleading. We tent to make subtle distinctions among people in our culture, but we usually categorize people of a different culture in an overly simple way (e.g the French are snobs, the Mexicans are lazy, The Americans are naïve, the Germans are too rigid etc). -Because of our lack of knowledge about other groups, we overlook many of their important characteristics and describe them in terms of broad, simplistic categories. -We often base our stereotypes on the only person from that culture whom we have met and we assume that all people from that culture must be similar. -for example, we may have met an American man who was 1,9 meter tall, or have watched American basketball games on television, and now believe that all American are tall. -Although stereotypes can help, they are not sufficient, and we must go beyond them (al di la dello stereotipo). It is important to acknowledge that we all use stereotypes and to be willing to revise them based on factual information and new experiences. Intercultural communication: culture is communication → “E.t Hall” -Communicating effectively with a different culture requires much more than speaking the language. It demands an understanding of that culture's particular pattern of communication. -Edward Hall in his classic book “the silent language” agued that culture is communication. He meant that all the ways of thinking, believing, expecting, valuing and acting within a particular culture are unique to that culture and communicate something about its character. -when you enter a culture different from your own, you encounter a whole new communication system. -even if you understand and speak the language, there are many ways local people communicate with each other and assign meanings to behaviour, which are special to that culture. -when you communicate with a colleague or customer from a different culture, you may be using cultural codes which are different from those they are familiar with and this can easily cause misunderstangings. Lz 10 12/11/
directly and as efficiently as possible, while others, concerned with saving face and not hurting the feelings of others, prefer to communicate their message indirectly (at business level) Lz 11 15/11/ Direct cultures with a direct communication style prefer direct ways of expressing themselves by stating what they believe,want, feel or need. Indirect cultures with an indirect communication style prefer to avoid embarrassment and conflict, to “save face” and protect the feelings of others. Politeness and ambiguity are more important than total honesty which may damage harmony. Contrast in intercultural communication styles Formality Formal: formal culture emphasize social customs, protocol, use of titles, and formal modes of addresses. Form, decorum and deference are important in communicating. Informal: informal cultures emphasize comfort and getting rid of formalities. Use of first names are encouraged and status differences are minimized in communicating. Emotional expressiveness: cultures differ in the amount of emotion they show in their communication. Some cultures are: emotionally expressive: expressive cultures tend to display their emotions and to be subjective in their communications. They give priority to feelings and relationships over tasks. Emotionally restrained: such cultures tend to restrain or mask their emotions and adopt an adopt an objective style in their communications. They tend to emphasize facts an logic over feelings, relationships or personal issues. Types of communication “language and culture are dimensions of each other, interrelated and inseparable. Language in fact, both reflects one's worldview, serving as a sort of road map to how one perceives, interprets, thinks and expresses about the world”. → by Alvino Fantini. Verbal communication language and cultures are both human inventions. It is through language that we can express and share out thoughts and emotions with others. Our language is a reflection of out experience, but it also shapes our experience. If you plan to move to another country as an expatriate, it is critically important that you begin to
learn the local language. Although your local counterparts may communicate with you in english, or speak your local language, you will miss out on much of what is important in your new environment if you have no knowledge of the local language. Begin learning the language before you assignment and continue while in the assignment country. Learning the language will be a significant help for the cross-cultural adjustment of, for example, your spouse (wife) and family. Tips for communicating with non-native english speakers: -avoid complex sentences. -do not use jokes. -avoid idioms, abbreviations, or expressions that may only be meaningful in your culture. -be patient and listen well. Keep in mind that the other person is making greater effort and is at a greater disadvantage than you are. -speak slowly and clearly, articulating your words fully. Non verbal communication: -non verbal communication is without words. It includes: -how we look, -how we move. -how we sound -how we smell -how we use space -how we use time -how we use eye contact. -how we touch. -although words are not part of verbal communication, the tone and loudness of our voice and the speed of our speech, all communicates something about us and the message we are trying to get across. keep in mind that: -non-verbal communication can be intentional or unintentional. -meaning is dependent on the receiver's interpretation, not on the sender's intention. -even doing nothing can carry meaning to another person, as in silence conveying dissent. It is almost impossible to avoid to avoid communicating non-verbally. Lz 19/11/ Culture's impact on business -if you understand the logic of another culture, then you can find points of connection to work with and you can be successful. -we are now focussing on the impact of culture on business, management and organization. -when people ignore cultural differences they are applying their ethnocentric assumption that “business is business”, that business people face the same common issues everywhere in the world. -they believe differences between managers are disappearing with advancements in technology, increased competition and the spread of new management theories and practices.
-employers and employees have a professional contractual relationship based on mutual benefit. -personnel decisions, eg hiring and promotions, are based on skills and merit. -managers manage individuals. -the task is more important than relationships. -communications are “low context”. In collectivist societies: -people belong to extended families or groups which provide them with security in exchange for loyalty. -a person's identity is defined in terms of their social group. -people think in terms of “we”. -harsh disagreements or confrontations are avoided to maintaing group harmony. -employers and employees have a moral relationship and mutual commitment to one another, like family members. -person decisions take a person's group membership into account. -relationship are more important than the task. -communications are “high context”. Masculinity-femininity: in masculine societies: -tangible evidence of personal profess such as money and material possessions are valued. -men are ambitious, assertive and tough. -women are tender and caring. -fathers deal with fact and mother deal with feelings. -managers are decisive and assertive. -in the work place, there is competition among colleagues and there is an emphasis on high performance. -conflicts are resolved by fighting them out. In feminine societies: -caring for others and relationships are valued. -Warmth and modesty are important. -both men and women are allowed to be tender towards other people. -in families, both fathers and mothers deal with facts and emotions. -managers try to achieve consensus among employees. -in the workplace, there is equality, solidarity and quality of work life. -conflict are resolved through compromise lz 13 26/11/ Working in an international context: a challenging experience. Montesidon group (chemical and oils) preamble: -english language and “business language” -any language is a tool for communication. Important is what you want to communicate -the body language. Working for an EPC contractor:
-E for Engineering (petrol-chemical claims in Asia, Russia and North Africa). Company makes revenue with the margins, but it depend on the competition on the market. P for Procurement and C competition. Peculiarities of an EPC contractor: -No physical production of goods most important assets: the human resources, the organizational working procedures and tools distinctive competences: capabilities to manage complex project in a multinational context, engineering technical skills/ exprerience -capability to arrange project finance. The market (petrochemical plants and oil and gas): -more than 90% abroad, mainly in countries with oil and gas or in fast developing contries. -yearly revenues: about 2,5 billions €. -value of a single plant: 300-600 million -the largest contract awarded 4 billions. The engineering centers: maire tecnimont group has about 5300 employees, spread in 30 contries. The major engineering center are: Milan, Rome, Mumbai...other. Why a large engineering centre in India: -facing international competition through qualified resources at low cost. -large availability of qualified engineers. -special attitude for software development -english language widely spoken. A constant approach: the responsibility to manage different types........ …. …. Mr. simpatia! Experience in Romania → Transilvania ( Poor conditions, no communication between management). Experience in India → Mombai, 800 employees and no HR department. A huge significant of god. Some problems in terms of medical insurance to employees. The spirituality: − the joke of the universal deluge, − the prayer of Irene − everything is already defined − the towers of silence. Germany 8 ys since 2002
