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������� Vinnova Co-ordinators Day Communicating Across Cultures Stockholm • 4th December Presenter: John Alexander
Today… • cultural perspectives • intercultural communication: what skills? • reconciling cultural dilemmas • applications
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Worldwide Number of Researchers per Million Inhabitants
Worldwide Annual Coffee Consumption Per Capita
World Values Survey 2015 • Ingelhart & Welzel
what do you do?
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MY VALUES ARE WHEN IN ROME… SOUND VALUES
Sweden's feminist trade minister Ann Linde dons the hijab and wears a black cloak like her Iranian counterpart. Teheran February 2017
� Vinnova Co-ordinators: Cross Cultural Issues
Cross Cultural Issues • giving feedback • authority role • expectations of expertise • standards and protocols • communication style • issues regarding time • gender issues
communicating across cultures…
communication skills language skills cultural awareness
effective communication?
effective communication? polite or direct?
CONTEXT Be Polite or Be Direct? High Context Low Context Hall, Beyond Culture
high context low context yes = maybe yes = yes now = ? now = 2 minutes positive atmosphere to the point vague? confrontational? Hall, Beyond Culture
CONTEXT Be Polite or Be Direct? High Context Low Context J CH IND LA UK Sweden USA D DK AUS Fin
High Context SWEDEN lyhörd FRANCE sous entendu beneath hearing SPAIN sobrentendido “ “ JAPAN kuuki yomena i can’t read air CHINA pang qiao ce ji beat about the bush
decision making
The The Swedish Swedish Way Way The The Finnish Finnish Way Way 1 . 1 . 2 . 2 . meet 5 . 5 . 3 . 3 . 4 . 4 . discuss 6 . 6 . 8 . 8 . 7 . 7 . 9 . 9 . decide 10. 10.
The The Swedish Swedish Way Way The The Finnish Finnish Way Way 1 . 1 . 2 . 2 . meet 5 . 5 . 3 . 3 . 4 . 4 . discuss 6 . 6 . 8 . 8 . 7 . 7 . 9 . 9 . decide 10. 10.
Social Norms & Expectations neutral affect J Finland Sweden UK US IND LA ME FR IT Trompenaars, 2011
Paul Ekman (US anthropologist): Six Universal Expressions of Human Emotion
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Why so angry? Why so uninterested?
chironomia the rhetorical art of using hand gestures
proxemics the study of spaces between people in different cultures
avoiding uncertainty = unwritten rules and regulations to avoid conflicts and the unexpected
LEVELS of ORGANISATION Be flexible or be structured? Weak Uncertainty Avoidance – Strong Uncertainty Avoidance India Greece Brazil UK US D CH Sweden (SNG) Hofsteede, 2010
organise or adapt? Sweden
Computer Crash – Who Does What? Most aggressive Action hit computer NL shout France shout Denmark persevere Germany persevere Sweden fix it Finland go home Switzerland go home Norway free time UK Least aggressive
Dealing with Angry Clients by Telephone Most aggressive Action shout/swear Danes shout/swear Australians shout in French French shout/offer bribes Russians demand action Germans lawyer: legal terms USA calm:’nu är jag arg’ Swedes call every 10 minutes Norwegians apologise English Least aggressive
what’s the right thing to do?
The Car and the Pedestrian You are riding in a car driven by a close friend, and your friend hits a pedestrian. You know your friend was going at least 50 kph in an area of the city where the maximum speed limit is 30 kph. There are no witnesses. The lawyer of your friend said that if you testify under oath that the speed was only 30 kph, it may save him from serious consequences. What right has your friend to expect you to protect him?
(A) My friend has a definite right to expect me to testify to a lower figure (B) He has some right to expect me to testify to a lower figure (C) He has no right to expect me to testify to a lower figure
Would you help your friend in view of the obligations you feel you have for society? (D) Yes (E) No
Particularist Universalist relationships rules obligations regulations mutual reciprocity contracts favours the system adapt to circumstances right & wrong
The Car and the Pedestrian (Percentage opting for universalist system) Switzerland 97 Canada 96 USA 95 Sweden 94 Australia 93 Poland 74 France 73 Spain 65 Greece 58 China 48 Russia 37 Venezuela 34 Trompenaars,
Corruption Perception Index (Transparency Agency 2016 • 174 countries) Denmark / Finland / NZ 01 Sweden 04 Switzerland 06 Australia 07 Canada/ Netherlands 09 USA 19 Italy 72 Russia 133 Afghanistan 174 North Korea 174 Somalia 174
Universalist perspective Particularism = corruption Particularist perspective Universalism = cold, unfeeling
good citizen good friend
Immanuel Kant Critique of Pure Reason (1781) “Act only according… to a universal law” — The Categorical Imperative
utilitarianism “the doctrine that actions are right if they are useful or for the benefit of a majority.” J S Mill
Applications
• clarity in communication • positive communication (‘sandwich’) • ‘the meaningful dialogue’ (= deal with feelings (FUDs) • clarify procedure • self-awareness
www.johnalexandersweden.com john@johnalexander.se
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