Chusok Thanksgiving Day is a public holiday in South Korea.

The Chusok Harvest festival is one of the most important festivals in throughout the world, whatever culture or religion it might be, or however it is named; Thanksgiving in America, Pongal in India and Chusok in Korea. This festival is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the eighth Lunar month of every Lunar year. Let us see more about the Festival of Chusok, its Legacy, its rituals and what it means to the people of that culture.

Find out more about the Chusok Festival in South Korea

I was recently sent this photo taken by Jules Hersman which I have named The Colours of Diversity.  What occasion it is and where it was taken, unfortunatley, I do not know. I just smiled when I saw it. A Google search has not enabled me to find Jules Hersman though I did find reference to a voluntary worker of the same name.  Are you out there Mr. Hersman? I’d love to hear from you and the story behind the photo.

 I recently had the pleasure of being interviewed by Cindy King a cross-cultural marketing expert living in France.  As Twitter was our interview medium, I haved blogged our conversation for those who missed the ‘live’ performance. 

‘Tweets’ are limited to 120 characters per post, so sometimes it’s a challenge to articulate what you think in so few words!  In part one of the interview Cindy asked me about my background and this can be found on her site. Part two, as blogged below, is all about cross-cultural things.

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.

I’d really appreciate your help… I’m lecturing on ‘Sharing Knowledge Across Global Teams’ at a conference in the UK later on this month and still busy researching.  I’d really appreciate different cultural opinions and would love you to leave a comment on this blog for me.

The effective managment and sharing of knowledge in global organisations is seen to be a key competitive advantage. Large firms have been intent setting up Knowledge Management Systems so knowledge can flow easily around the world. However, ‘knowledge’ is viewed differently by different cultures.

In Anglo-Saxon cultures, ‘knowledge’ is viewed as a commodity, owned by one person, that will give him/her a competitive advantage in the workplace.  The more s/he has the more the market will pay in terms of salary. Knowledge is a closely guarded secret and gives someone their worth.  For other cultures, it is not knowledge of THINGS but knowledge of PEOPLE and NETWORKS that is the valuable commodity. Yet other cultures view knowledge as only being valuable when it is freely shared by all.

What is your CULTURAL view on this?

In American culture, generally speaking, a TEAM is seen as a support group that allows individuals to be champions. To a greater or lesser degree, most individualistic cultures have a similar attitude. But what does a ‘team’ and teamworking mean to you?  Can you help me please?

I’ll be lecturing at the end of this month at a conference on High Performing Global Teams and would love to be able to include your opinions. Please leave a comment for me on this blog – all comments greatly appreciated.

 Originally got this via @raykwong through one of his Tweets. Interesting to read the attitudes of young Chinese shoppers and how global companies are looking to China to help them meet their turnover targets.

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.

An Emotional Appeal

Have you ever negotiated with an Italian?  The experience I had was very much like attending an opera.  Of course there is always a tragic story that you need to know before the negotiation starts. And the person you are negotiating with is the victim …. Unless you help.  The overture starts and the scene is set.  He rises before you, the room is dark, the people sombre. The first act will begin. The negotiator expresses his heartfelt sorrow over the situation, his despair; he shows you pictures of his children, and tells you how they will suffer if things do not work out for him in his work.  Only you can help. He then goes into his second act with a higher-pitched voice, and his arms starting to swing as he shows you their agony through his voice and face and intonations. Then the negotiation story reaches a climax with his needs or plea to you, however outrageous it may be. He stops, checks to see if he has totally lost you, and then slowly lets you down to rest. The story is over. He sits down. He pulls out a cigarette and takes a long draw from it. He wipes his brow. And you are left to ponder his tragic case.”

  Excerpt from Dr. Tracy Willen’s book
“International Business: A basic guide for women”