McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Background on Culture:
Questions for Discussion
What is culture?
What kinds of factors have influenced national
cultures?
How have the Internet and increasing global
trade affected cultural differences?
Why are people able to do business across
different cultures? What do businesspeople have
in common the world over?
What is ethnocentrism and how does it impair
cross-cultural business relations?

15-2
Different Meanings of Body Language
The body (bowing, standing)
The head
The hands
A smile
A handshake
Others you know of?

15-3
Factors of Human Relationships
Time
Space
Odors
Frankness
Intimacy
Values
Expression of Emotion

15-4
Values and Communication:
Edward T. Hall High-Context versus Low-
Context
Low Context
Straightforward, verbal
American, German, Scandinavian (Northern
Europe), Swiss, and Finnish
High Context
Non-verbal elements
French, Japanese, Indian, British, Irish, Arabic

15-5
Values and Communication:
Geert Hofstede

1. Power Distance (high if authoritarian

hierarchy)
2. Individualism vs. Collectivism
3. Masculinity vs. Femininity
4. Uncertainty Avoidance
5. Long-Term vs. Short-Term Orientation

15-6
Values and Communication:
Richard D. Lewis
Linear-Actives,
Stresses planning, do one thing at a time
Germans, Swiss
Multi-Actives,
Multi-tasking
Italians, Latin Americans, Arabians
Reactives
Listen, move with caution
Chinese, Japanese, Finnish

15-7
Problems of Language
Lack of Language Equivalency
Difficulties with English
Multiple meanings of words
Two-word verbs
Culturally derived words/phrases

15-8
Examples of Language Inequivalencies:
Words with No English Counterparts
Deroulement (French): an unfolding, how
things happen
Fahrvergnugen (German): joy of driving
Makulit (Filipino): from a root word that
means repetitive; refers to a type of pest or
stubborn person
Ringi (Japanese): reaching a decision via a
document circulated to all employees

15-9
Sample US Colloquialisms to Avoid
burn your bridges pull no punches
making it impossible to
retreat.
cold turkey
the unpleasant physical
and mental effects
someone suffers when
they suddenly stop
taking drugs T
This expression comes
from boxing, where to pull
one's punches means to
hit less hard than one can.
This idiom, too, has been
applied more generally, as
in They decided to pull
their punches during these
delicate negotiations.
15-10
Advice for Communicating
Cross-Culturally
Do your research.
Know yourself and your company.
Be awareand waryof stereotypes
(generalizations).
Adapt your English to your audience.
Be open to change.
Google Translate.

15-11
 Tutorial
Critical Thinking Exercises, pg 516
All questions, group work