1.1

For some reason, we accept the different meaning of words but not of behaviour. We expect people to behave the way we perceive them from the media.

2.1

From the above it can be seen that some cultures are very results‐oriented and the others are dominated by relationships.

2.2

North Europeans and North Americans think of themselves as the norm in cultural terms, but their results culture is in the minority, representing only one‐fifth of the world. The remaining four‐fifths is a relationship culture.

3.1

These generalisations have been shown to be useful:

1. Our first cultural experience in going to another country is at immigration and customs. If there is a mistake in the documentation or if it is not all there, our first reaction is that they are difficult people. However, it was our mistake in getting the paperwork wrong.
2. Northern Europeans like important matters to be in writing. Southern Europeans have a much more oral culture. Their first reaction to receiving written communications is not ‘what does this mean’ but ‘why has this been written down?’
3. The British tend to challenge the boss and go in different directions, and as a result do not achieve as much as they should. They adopt a negative ‘devil’s advocate' attitude.
4. U.S. people accept the supervisor as the boss and, as a result, go in the same direction and achieve more. They adopt a positive ‘can do’ attitude.
5. The Japanese have a greater desire for strong authority than Westerners (British).
6. “Norwegian contractors work in a very functional way⁴: they don't need to interpret drawings or add value solving on‐site problems. They just do what they are told, sometimes rather blindly.”
7. In Arab countries, greetings are lengthy (up to fifteen minutes). There are long handshakes, more body contact, and less personal space. There is great emphasis on maintaining harmony and confrontation avoidance. It is good manners to let the person on your right‐hand side go through a door before you. Showing the soles of the feet/shoes in Arab countries is insulting – the Turks, in particular, will be deeply offended.
8. The Japanese build relationships over four to five meetings. They spend time planning and obtaining a consensus. However, they can't cope with change.
9. The British spend little time planning and spend a lot of time firefighting. They are good at coping with change.
10. Americans like to have scheduled plans and transact. The British don't like to have instructions for achieving their objectives; they like to understand the strategic picture and develop relationships.
11. In the hierarchical societies of East Asia it is an error to tell the boss that they are wrong.
12. In African and Far Eastern cultures, age is respected for its wisdom and experience. The Arabs respect grey hair for the same reasons. Consequently, younger members in a meeting will not express their views because of their respect for the views expressed by older people.
13. Different cultures also use meetings in different ways:
    1. The British and Dutch use meetings to resolve issues, and everyone contributes and debates the subject matter.
    2. In Germany the meeting is used for experts to exchange information.
    3. In France they tend to use meetings for the manager to announce decisions that have been discussed and decided by management outside the meeting. It is not a discussion forum.
    4. In Portugal there will be several discursive meetings before coming to a result.
    5. In Arab cultures the discussion is much less open. There is a reluctance to acknowledge the full extent of a problem. The information needs to be conveyed in a very delicate manner by a person of appropriate seniority.
    6. You cannot have the concept of ‘any other business’ at the end of a meeting agenda in Arab, Chinese, or Japanese cultures.
14. Tabling the agenda in British English means putting the agenda on the table in order to raise the subjects for discussion. In American English it means almost the opposite – to put it to one side and discuss it later.
15. U.S. people take their jackets off in order to be serious about a discussion. The Germans; however, would view this behaviour as not being serious; they keep their jackets on when being serious.
16. In the UK and U.S.A, relaxing at a meeting with one's arms folded would be interpreted as arrogance by the Finns and would be taken as a sign of disrespect in Fiji.
17. Tapping the nose in the UK would communicate that the subject is confidential, whereas in Italy it would represent a warning.
18. Placing the right thumb and index finger together to form a nought, means zero in France, OK in Britain and North America, and in Japan it represents money, but in Germany and Brazil, it is obscene.
19. The Dutch say what they mean. They have a single understanding to the meaning of an English word. If you are not used to them, they can be seen as rude to the British. The British/English do not necessarily say what they mean. Germans speak their mind and get to the point quickly.
20. Yes and no are used differently in Western and Eastern cultures.
    1. Sri Lankans and Indians will nod their heads in a Western ‘No’ fashion and still mean ‘Yes.’
    2. Egyptians will say ‘Yes’ in a desire to please and because it is what you want to hear.
    3. Eastern cultures will say ‘Yes’, agreeing to a negative statement to which a Westerner would say ‘No.’
    4. In Greece a nod can also mean ‘No’.

3.2

As distance diminishes, the cultural groupings also get smaller, for example, nationalism, regional groupings, and local town rivalry. Consequently, cultural behaviours may be modified and many less‐apparent cultural idiosyncrasies can become problems.