The question of whether the Eurozone states
should shell out to help Greece has opened up critical new fault lines in Europe. Germany is taking a tough position by resisting giving help and even advocating that future bad debtors be kicked out of the single currency. How much of this is down to pure economics and how much is to do with cross-cultural differences?

The Europeans may be ahead of the US in terms of  accommodating climate change as a BIG issue, but it was a US Senator who brought about an awareness day forty years ago – Earth Day. Whilst we are trying to save the world one recyclable, reusable bag and low-watt light bulb at a time, it is interesting to note how the different nations of the world think about climate change and how differently they are planning their future energy needs…

Cross-cultural differences in colour meanings are sometimes the least of our worries when communicating internationally. I have just finished off an article which is to appear in the next edition of Winning EDGE magazine for the Insitute of Sales and Marketing. In it, I caution marketers to know their target audience as different cultures ascribe various meanings to colours. How easy is it to convey the wrong meaning by getting colour choice wrong? 

White in the west symbolises brides, angels, good guys versus funerals and death in the East; black in the West symbolises death, funerals and bad guys versus a colour for young boys in China and restoring balance in Chakra energy (Indian medicine). Then I went on a hunt to find out more. This is what I found out…

Why is it that serious attempts at sharing knowledge across
cultures frequently end in frustration, disappointment and a sense of aggrievement on all sides?

The problem is that people from different cultures have fundamentally different beliefs about the proper roles of bosses and subordinates, teachers and students, and even about the nature of knowledge itself.

There is a deepening and increasing inequality between men and women
in Italy. The cause of the probelm is being firmly laid at the feet of the Italian Prime Minister, Belusconi.  Equality campaigners have suggested that the continual portrail of women in the media in a demeaning and  sexualised fashion has set back their cause by at least 150 years.

 Having been brought up in the UK and witnessed (albeit I was very young at the time) the women’s liberation movement and bra burning antics of young female students, I thought Britain had a gender-equal society.  It wasn’t until I went to work in Finland, about 15 years ago, that I realised how unequal British society was. It therefore came as no surprise when I heard that the top places in the Global Gender Gap Index went to Norway, Finland, Sweden and Iceland.  However, finding Italy in 67th position (lagging behind Chile and Azerbaijan) was quite a shock!   Why not check out where your country fits in the league table?   You may be in for a few surprises.

Bribery & Corruption: how things get done around the world.

Since 1995, Transparency Internationl have produced a comparision of 180 countries by their perceived levels of corruption. Denmark is seen to be the least and Somalia the most corrupt currently. Check out your country’s perceived level of corruption.

Ask yourself these questions about corruption:

• What is it?
• Can you find reasons to justify it?
• Where do you think the money/gifts go?
• Why could people from a ‘corrupt’ society be suspicious of you?

Difficult questions to answer as your answers depend on the culture you are accustomed to. The trouble is, what is considered corruption in one country is perfectly acceptable in another. Also, we tend to ‘judge’ other countries by our own experiences and norms. When working in the Middle East, I was amazed to learn that those who come from a culture where ‘oiling the wheels’ (bribery) is comon place look suspiciously on those that do not adhere to that practice. They find it difficult to understand the motivation behind someone whose purpose is to carry out their job well – because it’s their job.

Read about my experiences below and check out the Corruption Perception Index to see how corrupt your country is perceived to be in relation to the rest of the world.

I got the following story from David Willoughby, a freelance writer now living in Tokyo:

Whilst in Japan, I happened to find myself seated next to another foreigner who recognised me from the gallery event we had both just attended. We chatted amicably for a while … A little while later, he stood up to leave. “If you like art,” he said to me, almost as an afterthought, “you might be interested in this.” And he nonchalantly tossed onto my table his business card on which he had biro’d the details of some upcoming event he was attending.

It wasn’t just the contrived nature of his networking spiel that made the exchange so unforgettable, it was in the small details. It was in the way in which he dealt his card onto the table rather than to me directly, minimising the chance that it might be rejected. It was in the fact that he waited until the final seconds of our encounter to produce it so that neither of us would have to endure the awkwardness of the moment. Before I had a chance to digest what was written on the card he had vanished.

The exchange would have been amusing for any watching Japanese who are, of course, far more comfortable with the use of business cards, or ‘meishi’. In the West, business cards are strictly for networking and careful consideration must be made about if and when to proffer the card – not so in Japan.

www.tokyoartbeat.com

Find more information about cross cultural differences in the exchange of business cards by clicking on the following links:

Top Ten Tips on passing business cards with cultural fluency

Japan: everything you need to know about business card ‘meishi’ etiquette

U.S.,  Britain, Australia: Business Card Etiquette

The art of business card giving: an East West perspective

Watch a Video on Chinese Business Etiquette