Cultural Competency

But this level of globalized behavior is very, very thin. It's ubiquitous, it's wide, but it doesn't go very, very deep. If you're in Kuwait, every day you're going to be behaving in work in a very Kuwaiti way. And, if you're in China, you're having to do business in a Chinese way, and if you're in France, it'll be in a French way. That's the day-to-day reality.

In fact, our coming together through technology and through transportation and communications has brought cultural differences to the forefront because we're having to confront them to a degree that we've never had to before.

Rachel Salaman: So how well equipped is the average businessperson when it comes to managing or doing business with people from different cultures?

Dean Foster: Well, it's been my experience that they're not too well equipped. And that's probably the bad news. The good news is that people are becoming aware of the fact that they need this information. Oftentimes after experiencing some really hard knocks, around not knowing the cultural issues.

I would say the average businessperson probably thinks they know some, might think they know enough, but (in both cases) they probably need to know a whole lot more.

Rachel Salaman: And is it possible to talk about common challenges that people face?

Dean Foster: Well, yes. I think around the world the challenge, working across cultures, is to not assume that there are more similarities than differences. It's the difference that makes the problems. And, as you well know, the differences between the U.K. and the U.S. are precisely those issues that often make the problems in business relationships.

Rachel Salaman: So could you give us an example to bring to life why all this matters?

Dean Foster: Because it's going to cost a lot of money if you don't get it right. I would like to think, from a business perspective, that's going to be forefront and fundamental for a lot of people's concerns.

I think, from a more ethical and philosophical perspective, it's great to be able to understand one another. And I think in today's world that's going to be a major issue going forward: we've got to figure out how to live with one another in a much more globalized environment.

So we have this kind of humanistic requirement that we have to understand one another better. But, beyond that, I think from a practical perspective, in terms of doing business day-to-day, you're not going to get the deal if you don't understand the culture and your competition does.

Rachel Salaman: So how much do you think that this, shall we call it "cultural competency," how much should that be treated as a core business skill? Rather than, let's say, a softer add-on that's nice to have?

Dean Foster: Right. Let's look at some statistics. We know that, for example, expatriates – people who are relocated abroad for their work – because they were so good at what they did at home, the company now wants to send them to replicate their success in China for the Chinese operation, let's say.

And so we send someone and their family and their kids to Shanghai and set them up for three years to run the business in China for us. There's a real expense to this. This is an investment that's being made: if you don't get the investment back, or if you don't get the return on the investment to the degree that you need it, you've failed in a major investment.

Now, over 30 percent of all international assignees do not stay on international assignment, they return home prematurely. And the major reason for a premature return is the inability to manage the cultural differences.

If we don't know how to communicate with each other; if we don't understand that a team in a particular country might be thinking about the issue in a way that's different from the way it's being thought of at headquarters; if conflict resolution styles within the team are different; or if the basic protocols of how to run meetings are different, based on cultural differences – then the team is simply not going to be functioning at a high level of expertise.

In fact, every day, there will be more and more misunderstandings that will drag the performance of the team. And, every day, a team, and its success, represents an investment that's being made by the company. And we know that cultural differences affect all of these aspects of global teamwork.

So, having a culturally competent team – a team that understands the differences that exist amongst their members and who knows how to manage those differences (so that we can accelerate our decision-making, and our conflict resolution, and our negotiation style) so that we can operate as a smooth, well-oiled machine every day – is going to be a major asset toward the investment that's being made in the international venture. But, just the opposite, if we don't do that. If we have a team that fumbles along and misunderstands each other, then we're putting, usually major, investments at risk.

Rachel Salaman: So, in your experience, whether we're talking about multinational teams or about doing business with clients or associates from different cultures, is verbal or nonverbal communication the bigger minefield?

Dean Foster: I think, if you can develop language fluency, that's terrific because, ultimately, I think the one who is fluent in a local language certainly has an advantage. But, the practical reality is that all of us are working globally with so many different cultures that it's almost impossible to develop the fluency that's required for all of those cultures.

And we know how long it takes to become fluent in a language. That's a difficult task for most people. But being able to become culturally fluent, that can occur rather quickly – you can learn the things that you need to know to be effective in another culture.

And I think that, ultimately, is probably the greater skill. It's certainly the more doable: it's something that can be accomplished more easily than language fluency, and I think it matters the most.

Because, there is this development of global English around the world, so the language issue becomes less and less compelling, but cultural competency becomes more and more compelling.

Rachel Salaman: So are we talking about things like what gifts to bring, how to greet people – that kind of thing?

Dean Foster: I think there are two levels. There's what I like to refer to as a kind of "superficial level," which is all around etiquette and protocol. And I say "superficial," but I don't mean to minimize its importance.

But it's the stuff that you see with your senses: you step off the plane and suddenly you realize, "Well, I need to understand how to greet people." And there's a certain behavior around that: "Do I give them three kisses or two kisses? Do I bow? Do I touch? When I go out and socialize with people are we eating with chopsticks? Are we eating with our fingers?" How one dresses, what kind of gifts to bring: "When do I give the gifts? How do I wrap the gifts? What are the gift taboos that I should know about? What are appropriate gifts?"

All of these things are important but they're superficial in the sense that, if you keep your eyes and ears open, you can see very quickly what the rules are. You can learn and mirror those behaviors.

I think what trips us up and may be more fundamental are the unseen aspects of culture.

This is: how do people think about issues? What are the negotiation style differences that I should expect (and plan for) so that I can come up with some strategies that work in this culture? What are the conflict resolution styles? What are the expectations of how men and women are supposed to relate with each other in business, or older and younger? What are the expectations that teams have for their bosses and that bosses have for their teams?

These kinds of hidden, unspoken "cultural orientations" (one could say) I think are the things that trip us up, day to day. Then they get expressed through all sorts of verbal and nonverbal communications which we may or may not understand, so that complicates the picture even further.

I think we have to get expert at all of it. And that's a hard task, I think, for a lot of folks who are first just waking up to the idea of, "Oh, there's this new thing on my plate, it's called ‘culture' and I'm so busy anyway, why do I need to think about one more thing?"

But I think that, fundamentally, it's the thing that will make the difference.

Rachel Salaman: Talking about these kinds of issues, it's easy to slip into generalizations about cultural behavior. How helpful – or unhelpful – is that kind of stereotyping?

Dean Foster: Right. Well, I think it's unhelpful but it is unavoidable because, as human beings, we typically make judgments about other cultures, based on whatever information we have.

And, if we have a lot of information, then we're probably making more accurate judgments. But, if we have just a little bit of information, or if the information we have is incorrect or based on insufficient experience, then I think it's dangerous. Right? So I think we have to be careful about generalizing.

The good news here is that there's been a lot of research in this area of culture and its effect on how we work with each other. And we have data that tells us that, in fact, it's a social-scientific fact that Norwegians, for example, given a set of certain business scenarios, will tend to behave a certain way around those issues. And we have data that says Mexicans faced with the same situation, will tend to behave a different way around those issues.

And so with that kind of social-scientific information at hand, we can come up with some strategies for managing what we might expect. It doesn't mean every Norwegian, every Mexican, is going to behave this way, because individuals still always can surprise us. But, it does mean that we can come to the situation prepared with certain expectations about how things might work.

And the good news is that, when you apply these facts – social-scientific facts – to business situations, they usually resonate pretty true, precisely because business behavior usually is a reflection of the general cultural expectations. So, if I have information about how a local culture might work, and it's real data (and not just generalizations from someone who's visited for a few days) then I can use that to my advantage. And that's what we base this information on.

Rachel Salaman: Right. Well, you've written books to help outsiders do business in four parts of the world: Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Africa and the Middle East together. Now, those are all huge land masses with lots of cultural variation within them. How hard was it to find the data or do the research to come up with the material for those books?

Dean Foster: It's a great question because I had to pick and choose the information that I wanted to put in my books, based on the criteria of "usefulness," actually: does this ring true for most readers who might be working in this particular country?

And, while I can certainly say a lot about the culture (and other experts can add a great deal as well) I had to decide that there are some facts that probably weren't as relevant, simply for space and time and usefulness, so that we left them out. And that's unfortunate, but I think that's the reality that any writer faces.

Rachel Salaman: So how did you do your research?

Dean Foster: Well, I was lucky. I've been doing this work for about 35 years, so a lot of my own experience went into my books.

But, also, as the director of my own consultancy (which was DFA Intercultural Global Solutions), we have a network of cultural consultants around the world, who are constantly feeding us information about how their culture is changing, and the cultural norms in their country. And so I was fortunate to be able to access this information on a consistent basis.

Rachel Salaman: I wonder if you could share a couple of the tips for each of those regions, starting with Europe. What's one of the most serious faux pas someone could make here when it comes to doing business?

Dean Foster: Oh, my! Well, you know, there's so much that could be said. And to your point that these are huge regions where the differences, country by country, are so significant… but we can make some valid, general statements, I think, that are useful for most people not from the region, who might be looking to do business in the region.

And I think one of those things would be, if you're looking at the continent and want to decide, "Am I working in Northern Europe or Mediterranean Europe? North of the Alps or south of the Alps? Am I working east or am I working more west?" Because I think those four major divisions represent four very different types of behaviors that one might encounter when working across Europe.

I think, for example, it's very important for individuals who are not of the continent to recognize that there's a historically created orientation, throughout much of western Europe, to analyze and dig deeply into the reasons for conclusions that people draw. So we have to have a lot of data and a lot of facts to overcome a certain skepticism. (A skepticism based on valid curiosity – in other words, "Let's have all the data before we make a decision.")

And this is often a challenge for business people from abroad – outside of the continent – where doing business is about making decisions more quickly, and making decisions based on just enough information, and fixing as we go and experimenting (if we need to) to get things done.

So, the moral of the story: one needs to consider that we have these two different orientations toward, let's say, decision making. Therefore, U.S. Americans need to have a strategy for coming into a situation with more facts, more figures, more logical conclusions, and that's going to take more time and more data. On the other hand, Germans and French and other continentals need to understand that they're going to be working with North Americans who are very results-oriented, and who will be making decisions based, not on the entire encyclopedia of available information but, rather, on what works.

Rachel Salaman: Well, moving across the Atlantic to Latin America. What does it help to know about business habits there?

Dean Foster: I think, when you look at Latin America (and look at the Americas in general), we have to recognize that here, too, we have this north-south divide. So in North America – or let's say north of the Rio Grande – we have this culture that developed out of Northern Europeans who came to this part of the world.

And that means the Puritans from Britain, the French into Canada… but, in Latin America it's different. We have a civilization that developed from Spaniards and Portuguese, who came to this part of the world bringing this very hierarchical way of thinking, bringing the Church and the king to impose that on the civilizations that they encountered.

So, North American thinking was revolutionary, and it was leaving something behind, but in Latin America we recreated the Spanish Kingdom and the Portuguese Kingdom and the Church.

What does this have to do with today? Well, today you're doing business in Latin America in a very hierarchically oriented business environment. You have to know who the decision maker is: you've got to be speaking, in a sense, to the "conquistador." Anybody else who you might be speaking with is probably not a decision maker.

So, I would put my time into understanding the hierarchy in the business organization that I'm working with, and building very close personal relationships, based on trust, with key decision makers (after I investigate who those key decision makers might be). Or else you find yourself wasting a lot of time and money trying to get things done with people who are merely gatekeepers, but not decision makers.

Rachel Salaman: Well, let's talk a bit more about Asia now. What general insight can you share about this massive region of the world?

Dean Foster: Right. It is massive and again, as we take a step closer to each of the countries there, we see significant differences between those countries. I think one of the great challenges, working in East Asia, for example – and we're looking at Japan and China and the Pacific Rim area – is that we're dealing with cultures that are very, very, what we call group-oriented and consensus decision-oriented.

In the West, we're often working with cultures that are very individualistic. If we're talking to an individual, we make an assumption that that individual is empowered to do certain things.

But in Asia that may not be the case. And, even if there is a leader of a team – and, often the leader of the team is hierarchically determined by age and gender, etc. – that leader is still not going to be making decisions until the team (who is responsible to him) makes, or advises him as to what the decision should be. And so the way that we run meetings, the way we make decisions, the way we answer questions even, will be very, very different.

There's a communication style that's associated with this in Asia, also, which is nonconfrontational. So that anything that's problematic, or difficult, or raises uncomfortable feelings, often will be either ignored, or minimized, or softened by inferring or implying what we mean, rather than coming out and saying "no" or "I disagree" or "I don't think that's a good solution."

And so you never get valid information if you're expecting a "yes" or a "no" answer. And a simple technique that we always remind Westerners of is, when working in Asia, do not ask questions that require a "yes" or a "no" as an answer. Ask questions that require information as an answer. The best strategy is don't ask questions: simply state the facts, let the problem or the issue reveal itself and give people time to come up with solutions.

Rachel Salaman: As I mentioned, you combine Africa and the Middle East in your book on that area of the world. What cultural differences should people be aware of between the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa, which seem like two completely different regions?

Dean Foster: And they are completely different regions. I have to confess that combining both Middle Eastern culture and African culture was a battle that I lost when I spoke with my publisher. We really did want to have two separate books but the practical realities of the publishing world forced them to put these cultures together into one.

If you're going into the Arab world – and this would be North Africa and what is commonly referred to as the Middle East – you've got to understand the complexity of the religious orientations and you've got to be prepared to do business that subordinates daily business activity to religious requirements.

So a simple thing like, don't try to negotiate a new deal during Ramadan. Your Muslim colleagues are simply not going to be focused on your new and exciting idea during a period like Ramadan. Understand that you're not going to be able to schedule that business meeting on a Friday, because Friday is the Muslim Sabbath.

I mean, it can be things that simple, but it could also be things more complex and more subtle. Because, in addition to these religious requirements, there are lots of traditions that have emerged that one needs to be sensitive to as well. For example, there's a tradition, all across the Middle East (and most of Africa as well) where you avoid using your left hand, when passing items – when passing important documents, certainly for passing food – you don't use your left hand.

The left hand was, traditionally, the hand that was used for personal hygiene and it's considered unclean. Something as simple as that, after a while if you don't get it right people, at first I think they will excuse the Westerner for not knowing these things but, very quickly, over time, if you don't get it, it's a major issue for them in their region and you just lose the respect. And that's going to make it very difficult to maintain the relationship that you need to have, in order for your business to be successful.

Rachel Salaman: Now, you haven't written a book about North American business etiquette, although you've touched on a couple of things in our discussion. What might be some key tips for outsiders doing business in North America?

Dean Foster: I think North American behaviors can be just as mystifying to non-North Americans as in the reverse.

I think one thing that I could say about North American business behavior is that – as I alluded to before – it's very results-oriented. Anything that slows down the effort to get to the end result is generally going to be viewed with frustration. Even if it's so important in your culture to get all those final details in place, that will be a frustration for most U.S. Americans. (I'm not considering the Canadians here because we have, again, a different culture and there are different issues there. But for U.S. Americans certainly, that's a major issue.)

And I think, also, working in the U.S. environment, one has to be very sensitive to the fact that it is a rule-based and a litigious culture. And so following rules, regulations and procedures, in terms of day-to-day business, is highly valued. Now, of course, when it comes to daily life and the craziness of politics, that all goes out the window!

But, in terms of daily business behaviors, I think it's probably frustrating for many non-U.S. Americans to work in the U.S. work environment, where following processes and procedures is something that is highly valued and required.

Rachel Salaman: What are some specific words of advice for written communication, rather than face-to-face or verbal communication?

Dean Foster: Right. Well, written communication… I would say, keep it simple and keep it logical. I think people trip themselves up when they're writing emails, for example.

You've got two issues: you've got the cultural issue and you've got the language issue that you've got to manage.

And the best way to manage both… because there will be differences in how what you say is being interpreted through the cultural filter of the reader, as well as the language difference just simply gets in the way if you're emailing someone whose first language is not English. So, don't use words that are three syllables and five syllables long. A one-syllable word is much better than a two-syllable word whenever you can choose.

And bullet point your comments so that you don't have long, complicated sentences, filled with clauses and commas and dots and all sorts of things. A simple statement with a full stop at the end: "bullet point number one," leading therefore, logically, to "bullet point number two" with the same format. I think that's very important.

And don't load up an email with multiple different questions and issues. Try to keep your email to one issue and send a separate email for a separate issue. People will respond to your email much faster if they only have to respond to one issue. But, if they've got to respond to three different unrelated issues that you might have asked about in one email, it's going to be very hard to get a response at all.

Rachel Salaman: That's really good advice in any situation, I think. Now, we've been talking mainly about how outsiders negotiate the norms of different business cultures. How much do these tips apply internally within an organization, to multinational teams that have people all around the world?

Dean Foster: Yes, I think it applies equally so. Maybe even more so. It's an interesting question because the multinational teams are made up of individuals from different cultures, and while they are learning about some of the norms that their own organization requires for their behavior with each other, they are still fundamentally cultural beings. We all are.

And, I think, as such, we often default to our culture when we seek solutions to problems that might be popping up. So I think these rules, in multicultural teams and global teams, probably, are equally important there as well.

Rachel Salaman: And would you advise organizations to try to develop a code of conduct when it comes to cross-cultural communication? And, if so, what's the best way to do that?

Dean Foster: Yes, that's a great idea. I wish some of my clients would do that! And I think the fundamental first step in that is understanding that it is the organization's responsibility to develop a certain level of cultural competency, across the board, with the individuals who are on these global teams.

It would be great if we lived in a world where our employees come to us already informed about these things, but the reality is that they don't. And so it does become the organization's responsibility to develop cultural competencies. And I think those organizations that are committed to doing so are the ones that will succeed in the 21st century.

So, what does that mean? It means helping all members on the team to understand that these cultural differences exist. What are they? Where might they reveal themselves? How might they reveal themselves? Who are the members of my team? What are the cultural orientations that those folks have that might be different from my own? How does that affect how we work with each other on a day-to-day basis? And how can we make decisions about how to be more effective as a global team, given the cultural differences that exist?

We know, for example, that there are best practices for managing cultural differences on global teams. Well, do the members of our global teams know what those best practices are? And I think it becomes the responsibility of the organization to ensure that they do.

Rachel Salaman: Well, we've covered a lot of ground in this discussion. Do you have any catch-all advice that would help someone who has no idea what's expected in a given situation, anywhere in the world?

Dean Foster: Yes. Be humble; say less, listen more; don't assume that you're as similar as you think you are; and remember you are a guest, when you're abroad, in someone else's home.

Rachel Salaman: Great words of advice. Dean Foster, thanks very much for joining us today.

Dean Foster: Rachel, it's been a real pleasure. Thank you for having me.

You can find out more about Dean and his work at www.deanfosterglobal.com. And there's plenty of helpful information on Mind Tools too, including specific tips on managing in various countries.

I'll be back in a few weeks with another Expert Interview. Until then, goodbye!