Bridging the Culture Gap: A Practical Guide to International Business Communication

Citation

Vallaster, C. (2005), "Bridging the Culture Gap: A Practical Guide to International Business Communication", Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 26 No. 6, pp. 503-504. https://doi.org/10.1108/01437730510617690

The black box “culture” has been opened somewhat more by supporting evidence showing its impact on real‐world international business scenarios. The chapters in Bridging the Cultural Gap offer excellent opportunities for discussion within the classroom, and during managerial trainings. Authors Penny Carté and Chris Fox (both work as trainers for Canning, a UK‐based consultancy specializing in international training and development) provide insights into areas that “culture” touches on. The chapters, organized into three parts – bridging the culture gap during day‐to‐day communications both inside and outside the organisation, adapting presentations and negotiation skills to suit the expectations of the international audience, and cultural preference scales including a list of “dos” and “don'ts” in intercultural encounters – provide food for thought for practitioners.

The authors draw from their rich experiences as trainers and refer to cultural theorists such as Hofstede, Hall and Trompenaars. Academics may find this approach simplistic and repetitive at times, but for practitioners this approach is the book's greatest strength as a pedagogical tool. Will it help managers to become more sensitive to the influence of culture on management practices in general, and the communication process in particular? I believe so!

The first chapter “Interpreting the party line” relates to the issue headquarter vs subsidiary. The easy‐to‐read text (also for non‐native English speakers) shows examples of how mission statements, corporate initiatives, working rhythms, and communication styles may be subject to individual and hence, culturally coloured interpretations.

In chapter 2 “Knowing your place” the authors show how formal systems such as hierarchy relate to the influence of culture and how that may affect the attitude towards taking responsibility. The discussion includes an anecdote of a French and Japanese manager working together to run a project. The case illustrates the necessity of learning how the international colleague expects to be treated and what can be done to getting people to play ball.

In Chapter 3 the authors pose the question “What can you do when you come up against beliefs or practices which seem to go against everything that you believe to be right?” Again, the text includes excellent examples on how rules, laws, or regulations, as well as gift‐giving, favours and bribes, or nepotism can be “bent” in their interpretation depending on the culture one comes from. No examination of differing moral values would be complete without some reference to where people draw the line between discretion and dishonesty. The authors give helpful hints on how to navigate smoothly through the moral maze.

Chapter 4 “Knowing the form” probes deeply into the communication process and styles and the impact such social behaviour is likely to have on the culturally‐different communication partner. For communication instructors who are tired of participants blithely suggesting that the solution to most cultural woes is to “talk clearly”, I was pleased to see that Cartés and Fox's chapter offers readers a practical approach for evaluating and reflecting on different styles of communication.

They then take the next step and explain in chapter 5 entitled “Making presentations” how managers can speak with impact in front of their international audience. Much of this chapter is again supplemented by interesting and fresh examples, such as a description of a conversation where a group of six Finns had to introduce their company. While five of them presented rather boringly, one person managed to capture attention by finding a concrete example the listener could immediately relate to. “Putting oneself in the other's shoes” is key to get the message across.

“Making deals” tracks the secrecy of successful negotiation styles. Illustrated by an example that tells the story of two companies (one from the USA and one from Sweden) that had been short‐listed for a major infrastructural contract in Mexico, the authors crystallize important laws of handling the client in the right way, i.e. picking the right people, thinking about pace and place, and understanding beliefs of the client. In my view this chapter is particularly useful as the authors recommend helpful techniques to be employed when negotiating. Examples include written sentences that highlight the differences in communication and show how signals can be interpreted differently.

Chapter 7 provides a framework or schema to help managers being able to locate themselves on a series of culture‐related scales. These show that human behaviour is not universal and cannot be restricted to a nation's borders. A list of dos and don'ts additionally help to give ways on how to adapt styles when doing business with people whose preferences are very different from one's own.

Reading the book carefully and struggling to apply its contents to practice effectively will be a time‐consuming task for all, and perhaps overwhelming for some. Those who successfully complete these tasks, however, will undoubtedly become culture sensitive managers for having done so.