2. Looking closer at the rules for distinguishing one culture from another: which of them strike you as particularly salient and useful for describing the culture differences between nations?

Metaphorical images of culture

Victoria Guillén Nieto

University of Alicante

A variety of metaphorical models have been used to explain the conceptual nature of culture. For instance, the onion model sees layers of culture which can be peeled away to reveal underlying basic assumptions. The tree model shows, on the one hand, visible aspects of culture such as behaviour, clothing and food hanging from the branches of the tree; and on the other, hidden aspects such as the underlying meaning, beliefs and attitudes embedded in the roots.

However, in our view it is the iceberg model which best illustrates the multifaceted nature of culture. This model depicts culture as an iceberg, with the tangible expressions of culture and behaviour above the surface of the water, and the underlying attitudes, beliefs, values and meanings below the surface.

As we can see from figure 1, the iceberg metaphor provides an image of the dual nature of culture, i.e. the visible and the invisible. The visible face is the outer expression of culture, that is, the peripheral aspects such as: people’s patterns of behaviour, their eating habits, their clothing, their body language, social etiquette, etc. It is believed that just like the observable mass of ice floating in the sea, the visible face represents only 30% of the immensity of culture.

By contrast, the invisible face is the inner expression of culture, the core beliefs, that is, how people make sense of the world, their principles, their attitudes, their values, etc. This hidden face represents 70% of the dimension of culture and is comparable to the huge mass of the iceberg hidden under the water surface.

11. Read what Craig Storti in his book The Art of Crossing Cultures says about flexible thinking, and the ‘flexible thinking’ model that follows. Then answer the questions.

The ability to interpret situations, problems, practices – the way we do things – from multiple perspectives, from the way other people see them, is a tremendous benefit to you and your company. You begin to understand that behaviour makes no sense to you might make perfect sense to others. You’re not so quick to judge any more… you give the benefit of the doubt.

Flexible thinking model

Flexible thinking stops people judging others’ behaviours negatively too quickly. It makes people more open and interact more positively with each other and creates a stronger foundation for cooperation and mutual learning - all with the simple step of trying to understand the world from the other person’s point of view.

1. Which ability does Storti say can produce real benefits for those working internationally?

2. What does flexible thinking stop people doing, according to Storti?

3. How can flexible thinking improve cooperation between people?

11. Study the language you can use to exchange opinions, and to encourage others to think more openly and ‘flexibly’ by considering alternative perspectives. Match each heading to the expressions. What phrases can you add to say the same things?

Evaluating different perspectives Asking for the opinion of others Giving an opinion Generating multiple interpretations Deciding what to do

1. 4

I tend to think that... This makes a lot of sense if we assume that...

From my perspective ... If this is the case, then you're right that...

2. 5

What do you reckon? Given what has happened, I think it would be best if ...

How do you see it? In the circumstances the best thing to do is to ...

3…………………………………………………

Could we look at it another way and say that... ?

Just putting myself into her shoes, maybe ... ?

HERE ARE 10 PRINCIPLES TO BE GUIDED WITH WHEN WORKING IN AN INTERCULTURAL ENVIRONMENT (e:info@kwintessential.co.uk) DO YOU THINK THE LIST IS EXHAUSTIVE?

1. Be Patient: Working in an intercultural environment can be a frustrating affair. Things may not get done when expected, communication can be tiresome and behaviour may be inappropriate. Patience with yourself and others helps move beyond such issues and address how to avoid similar incidents in the future. 2. Establish Rules: Sometimes if working in a truly intercultural team it may be necessary for all to take a step back and set down some ground rules. i.e. how do we approach punctuality, meetings, communication, emails, disagreements, etc? It is always a good idea to try and develop the rules as a group rather than have them imposed. 3. Ask Questions: When you don't understand something or want to know why someone has behaved in a certain way, simply ask. Asking questions stops you making assumptions, shows the questioned you did not understand them and helps build up your bank of intercultural knowledge. 4. Respect: The foundation of all intercultural communication is respect. By demonstrating respect you earn respect and help create more open and fruitful relationships. 5. The Written Word: Sometimes people who do not have English as their mother tongue will read more proficiently than they speak. It is a good idea to always write things down as a back up. 6. Time: Not everyone in the world thinks "time is money". Understand that for many people work is low down on the priority list with things like family taking a much higher precedence. Do not expect people to sacrifice their own time to meet deadlines. It is good practice to always leave a bit of spare time when considering deadlines. 7. Humour: In an intercultural environment one man's joke is another's insult. Be wary of differences in the sense of humour and also the acceptability of banter and the like in a business environment. 8. Always Check: The easiest way of minimizing the negative impact of intercultural communication is to check and double check. Whether agreeing something or giving instructions, a minute spent double checking all parties are 'reading from the same sheet' saves hours of work later on down the line. 9. Be Positive: When faced with incidents of an intercultural nature steer clear of blame and conflict. Stay positive, analyse the problem areas and work as a team to build strategies and solutions to ensure the same never occurs again. 10. Self-Reflect: A good intercultural communicator not only looks outwards but also inwards. Take time to reflect on your own communication, management or motivation style and see where you can improve as an individual.

USING WHAT YOU’VE LEARNED ABOUT CULTURE IN GENERAL AND INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION AS A STARTING POINT GIVE YOUR OWN EXPLANATION OF WHAT SHOULD BE MEANT BY LINGUOCULTURAL DIFFERENCES. WHAT IS THE ROLE OFLANGUAGEMEANS, INCLUDING PHONETIC MEANS, IN DISTINGUISHING CULTURES? Give examples.

ОТСКАНИРОВАТЬ!!!

11. Discuss one of two case studies of intercultural misunderstanding. Group A, turn to

Case A on page 76. Group B, turn to Case B on page 78. Consider the following questions.

• What do you think is happening in each case?

• Which cultural, personality and business factors could be important?

• Flow are the people involved seeing things? Are they thinking flexibly or inflexibly?

• Decide on a recommended course of action to move each case forward in the best way possible. Present your case and recommendations to the other group.

Compare your recommendations with the short case summaries on pages 64-65.