Greetings!
As summer is here and many of you will be travelling abroad we thought we'd take a light-hearted approach this month by doing a cultural quiz to test your knowledge of the do's and don'ts of working with different nationalities.
Test yourself and your colleagues and find the answers by clicking on the link at the end of the quiz - GOOD LUCK! |
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Cultural Quiz - How much do you really know about the etiquette of other cultures?
Test your knowledge by answering the following eight questions and when you have finished click on the link at the end to reveal the answers.
1) Which of the following countries have different rules for greeting people who are in their social circle compared to those who are not?
a) France
b) Germany
c) United States
d) Italy
e) Norway
f) Spain
2) In which of the following countries is it not advisable to take red carnations if you are invited as a guest to someone's house?
a) France
b) Germany
c) Switzerland
d) Italy
e) Norway
f) China
3) In which of the following countries can it be perceived as acceptable for the host to arrive late for a business meeting?
a) Greece
b) France
c) Sweden
d) Turkey
e) Ireland
f) Australia
4) What percentage of the bill is seen as an acceptable tip in a restaurant for the following countries?
a) Germany
b) Australia
c) India
d) Ireland
e) United States
f) Spain
5) In which of the following countries is shaking hands not the traditional business greeting?
a) Finland
b) Portugal
c) Japan
d) Argentina
e) Korea
F) Poland
6) In which of the following countries may it be considered inappropriate to take a bottle of German wine if you were invited to dinner?
a) Belgium
b) Croatia
c) France
d) Germany
e) Canada
f) Italy
7) In which of the following countries would it be inappropriate to give your host or business colleague an expensive gift?
a) Poland
b) Spain
c) United States
d) Egypt
e) Italy
f) Australia
8) Using the standard time zone (not summer time zone), what is the time difference from GMT for the following cities:
a) New York
b) Hong Kong
c) Brussels
d) Tokyo
e) Moscow
f) Buenos Aires
For the answers please click here |
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So, how did you do?
And does it matter? Well, yes it does because in an increasingly globalised context, miscommunication and misunderstandings lead to costly mistakes and missed business opportunities.
With increasing migrant worker recruitment and growing international business, we must equip our managers and support our existing workforce to:
- be able to deal with diverse colleagues, consumers and customers
- see diversity as an asset for better ideas, products and services
Before we can understand and embrace difference, we need to look at ourselves and reflect on how others see us.
Self evaluation
Our way of doing business is a product of where we come from and what we've learnt on the way. Self evaluation is about recognising the assumptions we have about the way we do things. For example, it's usual to exchange a bit of small talk at the beginning of a meeting as we pour a coffee and settle into our seats. This could signal a lack of seriousness and care about the meeting to other cultures.
Understand others and embrace differences
For British employees, the important thing is to get the job done. If decisions are taking too long, it's not unusual to email a counterpart to try and speed things up. But if you're used to working in a context where hierarchy is respected (eg Germany) and the importance of following proper channels of communication are paramount, you'll wait and not send the email. A different attitude to hierarchy is just one of many dimensions where we can raise our awareness and avoid misinterpretations. Other dimensions include:
- time and space: in some cultures it's acceptable to do several things at the same time and the approach to deadlines is flexible. In other cultures, one thing is done at a time, with great emphasis being placed on meeting deadlines.
- the individual and the group: individualist cultures stress self-realisation and individual skills. Other cultures will give more value to the group and relationships and harmony are more important than skills.
- problem-solving: one way is to analyse the situation in depth before taking any action; the other is to try things out and see if they work.
Have you begun to recognise which one you identify with in each situation? What is your role as manager with staff from different cultures? Even here, what constitutes the qualities of a good manager will differ between cultures. How do you manage these different perceptions?
Managing differences
If you have international teams, your staff may have different expectations of you in terms of decision making, detailed knowledge of the job, achieving results, creating good working relationships, and so on.
What can you do to manage expectations of you, of your staff and between staff?
- Understand and support your international staff
- Provide mentoring and management support, as well as any necessary training they need to do the job. This way any possible issues and misunderstandings can be identified and addressed as soon as possible
- Support your existing employees
Create channels for discussing any concerns; provide training for developing more awareness and tolerance for ambiguity
Training can include:
- activities based around interpreting situations from different perspectives, eg, negotiating, conducting meetings
- understanding culture-specific differences
- knowing how to use English which is direct and clear in emails and on the phone
Janet Bateman is our expert on cultural diversity having worked in a number of different countries. Please click here to view her profile and see how LCP can support you in improving cross cultural communication.
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