responsibility. No individual has the authority to commit the organisation
without first consulting others. In Japan, for example, the negotiating
team arrives at a consensus through an elaborate, time-consuming process
(agreement must be complete — there is no majority rule). If the process is
not laborious enough, the Japanese feel uncomfortable.
Concepts of time
Differing perceptions of time are another factor that can lead to
misunderstandings. An executive from North America or Germany attaches one
meaning to time; an executive from Latin America, Ethiopia, or Japan
attaches another. Let's say that a salesperson from Chicago calls on a
client in Mexico City. After spending 30 minutes in the outer office, the
person from Chicago feels angry and insulted, assuming, "This client must
attach a very low priority to my visit to keep me waiting half an hour." In
fact, the Mexican client does not mean to imply anything at all by this
delay. To the Mexican, a wait of 30 minutes is a matter of course.
Or let's say that a New Yorker is trying to negotiate a deal in Ethiopia.
This is an important deal, and the New Yorker assumes that the Ethiopians
will give the matter top priority and reach a decision quickly. Not so. In
Ethiopia, important deals take a long, long time. After all, if a deal is
important, it should be given much careful thought, shouldn't it?
The Japanese, knowing that North Americans are impatient, use time to
their advantage when negotiating with us. One of them expressed it this
way:
"You Americans have one terrible weakness. If we make you wait long
enough, you will agree to anything."
Concepts of personal space
The classic story of a conversation between a North American and a Latin
American is that the interaction may begin at one end of a hallway but end
up at the other, with neither party aware of having moved. During the
interaction, the Latin American instinctively moves closer to the North
American, who in turn instinctively steps back, resulting in an
intercultural dance across the floor. Like time, space means different
things in different cultures. North Americans stand about five feet apart
when conducting a business conversation. To an Arab or a Latin American,
this distance is uncomfortable. In meetings with North Americans, they move
a little closer. We assume they are pushy and react negatively, although we
don't know exactly why.
Body language
Gestures help us clarify confusing messages, so differences in body
language are a major source of misunderstanding. We may also make the
mistake of assuming that a non-American who speaks English has mastered the
body language of our culture as well. It therefore pays to learn some basic
differences in the ways people supplement their words with body movement.
Take the signal for no. North Americans shake their heads back and forth;
the Japanese move their right hands; Sicilians raise their chins. Or take
eye contact. North Americans read each other through eye contact. They may
assume that a person who won't meet our gaze is evasive and dishonest. But
in many parts of Latin America, keeping your eyes lowered is a sign of
respect. It's also a sign of respect among many black Americans, which some
schoolteachers have failed to learn. When they scold their black students,
saying "Look at me when I'm talking to you," they only create confusion for
the children.
Sometimes people from different cultures misread an intentional signal,
and sometimes they overlook the signal entirely or assume that a
meaningless gesture is significant. For example, an Arab man indicates a
romantic interest in a woman by running a hand backward across his hair;
most Americans would dismiss this gesture as meaningless. On the other
hand, an Egyptian might mistakenly assume that a Westerner sitting with the
sole of his or her shoe showing is offering a grave insult.
Social behaviour and manners
What is polite in one country may be considered rude in another. In Arab
countries, for example, it is impolite to take gifts to a man's wife but
acceptable to take gifts to his children. In Germany, giving a woman a red
rose is considered a romantic invitation, inappropriate if you are trying
to establish a business relationship with her. In India, you might be
invited to visit someone's home "any time." Being reluctant to make an
unexpected visit, you might wait to get a more definite invitation. But
your failure to take the Indian literally is an insult, a sign that you do
not care to develop the friendship.
* * *
Behind The Scenes At Parker Pen
Do as the Natives Do,
But Should You Eat the Roast Gorilla Hand
If offered, you should eat the roast gorilla hand—so says Roger E. Axtel,
vice president of The Parker Pen Company. Axtel spent 18 years living and
travelling in the 154 countries where Parker sells pens. He learned that
communicating with foreign nationals demands more than merely learning
their language. The gorilla hand (served rising from mashed yams) was
prepared for a meal in honor of an American family-planning expert who was
visiting a newly emerged African nation, and the guest of honor was
expected to eat it, so he did. Learning the behaviour expected of you as
you do business internationally can be daunting if not intimidating. Axtel
recommends the following rules to help you get off to a good start without
embarrassment.
Basic Rule #1: What's in a Name?
The first transaction between even ordinary citizens— and the first chance
to make an impression for better or worse—is an exchange of names. In
America, there is not very much to get wrong. And even if you do, so what?
Not so elsewhere. In the Eastern Hemisphere, where name frequently denotes
social rank or family status, a mistake can be an outright insult, and so
can using someone's given name without permission. "What would you like me
to call you?" is always the opening line of one overseas deputy director
for an international telecommunications corporation. "Better to ask several
times," he advises, "than to get it wrong." Even then, "I err on the
side of formality." Another frequent traveler insists his company provide
him with a list of key people he will meet—country by country, surnames
underlined—to be memorized on the flight over.
Basic Rule #2: Eat, Drink, and Be Wary.
Away from home, eating is a language all its own. No words can match it for
saying "glad to meet you ... glad to be doing business with you . . . glad
to have-you here." Mealtime is no time for a thanks-but-no-thanks response.
Accepting what is on your plate is tantamount to accepting host, country,
and company. So no matter how tough things may be to swallow, swallow.
Often what is offered constitutes your host jj country's proudest culinary
achievements. Squeamishness comes not so much from the thing itself as
from, your unfamiliarity with it. After all, an oyster has | remarkably
the same look and consistency as a sheep’s eye (a delicacy in Saudi
Arabia).
Is there any polite way out besides the back door? Most business
travelers say no, at least not before taking a few bites. It helps to slice
unfamiliar food very thin. This way, you minimize the texture and the
reminder of where it came from. Another useful dodge is not knowing what
you are eating. What's for dinner? Don't ask.
Basic Rule #3: Clothes Can Make You or Break You
Wherever you are, you should not look out of place. Wear something you look
natural in, something you know how to wear, and something that fits in with
your surroundings. For example, a woman dressed in a tailored suit, even
with high heels and flowery blouse, looks startlingly masculine in a
country full of diaphanous saris. More appropriate attire might be a silky,
loose-fitting dress in a bright color. With few exceptions, the general
rule everywhere, whether for business, for eating out, or even for visiting
people at home, is that you should be very buttoned up: conservative suit
and tie for men, dress or skirt-suit for women.
Basic Rule #4: American Spoken Here— You Hope.
We should be grateful that so many people outside the United States speak
English. Even where Americans aren't understood, their language often is.
It's when we try to speak someone else's language that the most dramatic
failures of communication seem to occur. At times, the way we speak is as
misinterpreted as what we are trying to say; some languages are
incomprehensible as pronounced by outsiders. But no matter how you twist
most native tongues, some meaning gets through—or at least you get an A for
effort even if it doesn't. Memorizing a toast or greeting nearly always
serves to break the ice, if not the communication barrier.
* * *
Rules of etiquette may be formal or informal. Formal rules are the
specifically taught "rights" and "wrongs" of how to behave in common
situations, such as table manners at meals. Members of a culture can put
into words the formal rule being violated. Informal social rules are much
more difficult to identify and are usually learned by watching how people
behave and then imitating that behaviour. Informal rules govern how men and
women are supposed to behave, how and when people may touch each other,
