Trouble on a Global Scale: Analyzing Intercultural Blunders (Objs. 1–3)

As business organizations become increasingly global in their structure and marketing, they face communication problems resulting from cul- tural misunderstandings.

Your Task. Based on what you have learned in this chapter, describe several broad principles that could be applied in helping the individuals involved understand what went wrong in the following events. What suggestions could you make for remedying the problems involved?

a. In Saudi Arabia an American businessman sat down and crossed his legs, so that the leather soles of his fine dress shoes were show- ing. He then refused an offer of a cup of coffee from his Saudi counterpart. A Southpaw, the visitor from the United States kept passing out handouts and his business card with his left hand. The business negotiations fizzled. Why?

b. An advertising agency manager, new to his post in Japan, gathered his team for an old-fashioned brainstorming session in the board- room. A big presentation loomed, and he expected creative ideas from his staff. Instead, he was met with silence. What went wrong?

How could he coax ideas from his staff?73

c. During a festive dinner for a delegation from Singapore visiting the government of the Czech Republic, the conversation turned to the tasty main course they were eating. One of the Czech hosts explained to the inquiring foreign guests that they were enjoy- ing a Czech specialty, rabbit, known for its light white meat. The

Singaporeans’ faces mirrored shock, embarrassment, and irritation. As inconspicuously as possible they put down their silverware. Only later did the Czech delegation learn that rabbit is a pet in Singapore much like the house cat in European or North American households.74

d. The employees of a large U.S. pharmaceutical firm became angry over the e-mail messages they received from the firm’s employees  in Spain. The messages weren’t offensive. Generally, these routine messages just explained ongoing projects. What riled the Americans was this: every Spanish message was copied to the hierarchy within its division. The Americans could not understand why e-mail mes- sages had to be sent to people who had little or nothing to do with the issues being discussed. But this was accepted practice in Spain.75

e. As China moves from a planned to a market economy, profes- sionals suffer the same signs of job stress experienced in Western countries. Multinational companies have long offered counseling  to their expatriate managers. But locals frowned on any form of psychological therapy. Recently, China’s largest bank hired Chestnut Global Partners to offer employee counseling services. Chestnut learned immediately that it could not talk about such issues as con- flict management. Instead, Chestnut stressed workplace harmony. Chestnut also found that Chinese workers refused one-on-one counseling. They preferred group sessions or online counseling.76 What cultural elements were at work here?