Learning to cope with corporate culture clashes

The dos and dont’s of travelling abroad are a potential minefield for the unprepared traveller. If you spit in some countries, you could end up in prison. In others, spitting is a competitive sport.

The Centre for International Briefing has spent 40 years preparing the wary traveller for such pitfalls. Though it may sound like a covert operation for aspiring secret agents, what the Centre does is prepare travellers for encounters with new social and business customs worldwide. To date, over 50,000 people have passed through its headquarters at Farnham Castle in Surrey. ‘There are two broad tracks to our training programme,’ explains Jeff Toms, Marketing Director. ‘One covers business needs, the other social etiquette.’ For example, business travellers need to know how decision-making works.

................................... . In China, it may be necessary to have government involved in any decision taken. And in India, people are sometimes late for a scheduled appointment.

................................... . While we are familiar with the short firm handshake in this part of the world, in the Middle East the hand is held in a loose grip for a longer time. In Islamic countries, showing the soles of your feet is a sign of disrespect and crossing your legs is seen as offensive.

................................... . Jeff Toms tells the story of a British employee asked to post a letter by her Indonesian employer. ‘She knew the letter was too late for the 6 o’clock post, so she decided to hold it until the 8 o’clock one. Her boss saw the letter on her desk and sacked her for not posting it immediately. In Western cultures, we believe in empowering people and rewarding them for using initiative, but other cultures operate on the basis of obeying direct orders.’

.................................... . ‘For them, the most senior person at the meeting will say very little, and the person doing most of the talking is not very important.’ Doherty has spent 12 of his 16 years with the IDA working abroad in the USA, Germany, South-East Asia and Japan.

.................................... . With a population of 125 million condensed into a narrow strip of land, private space for the Japanese is virtually non-existent. You can’t worry about your personal space in a packed train when people are standing on your feet.

Tiptoeing through the minefield

Do

- Show an interest in, and at least an elementary knowledge of the country you

are visiting;

- Learn a few words of the language - it will be seen as a compliment;

- Be sensitive to countries who have bigger and better known neighbours, and

not to confuse Canadians with Americans, New Zealanders with Australians,

Belgians with French;

- Familiarise yourself with the basics of business and social etiquette. As a starting

point, learning how to greet people is very important.

Don’t

- Assume you won’t meet any communication problems because you speak English.

You may think you are paying somebody a compliment by telling them their

business is going a bomb*, Americans will infer you think it is falling.

- Appear too reserved. As Americans are generally more exuberant than their

European colleagues, they may think that your reserve means lack of enthusiasm.

2. Match the words from the text with their corresponding definitions.

1. abroad a. something done in a society because of tradition

2. a minefield b. able to understand others’ feelings

3. a pitfall c. in or to a foreign country

4. a custom d. something that expresses admiration

5. etiquette e. to show or represent

6. scheduled f. rude or insulting

7. to be a sign of g. a situation with hidden dangers

8. offensive h. formal rules for polite behaviour in society

9. a compliment i. a likely position

10. sensitive j. arranged for a certain time

2. Find the examples of the adjectives of nationality in the text.

2. Translate the second part of the text ‘Tiptoeing through the minefield’