I don’t want my house to be walled in on all sides and my windows to be stuffed. I want the cultures of all the lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible, but I refuse to be blown off my feet by any.
—Mahatma Gandhi
I didn’t go in thinking I was going to change anybody; I just went in knowing that I was going to be changed.
—WiSER Jacqueline
How does culture impact success in an expatriate role? Culture influences the way that business is conducted, decisions are made, and how people interact with one another. Regardless of whether one selects to expatriate independently or through company channels, the level of role and responsibilities, or the type of organization, when working and living abroad, it is important to understand the cultural norms and values that are deeply rooted in a particular country. Greater understanding of a culture will positively affect how you engage with your colleagues, improve your level of acceptance and tolerance, and help you to operate in greater ambiguity in order to make solid decisions and recommend viable solutions that are feasible, timely, and acceptable. It is a common misnomer that many expatriates believe that they are brought in as experts and should have “all the answers.” This misconception can often lead expatriates to believe that their knowledge is greater than that of the people who live there. WiSER Flavia advised expatriates against coming into a situation with an attitude of superiority. “They will just bear with you for as long as you have to be there, and just hope that the next time they’ll be lucky and have someone else,” she explained. “I think, going into any new situation with the curiosity to learn what they have to teach you—and not just with the pretension that you have things to teach them—is very important.” In actuality, “the single most important element to establish a relationship with your hosts is to respect them,” advised WiSER Flavia. “If they sense that you respect who they are and what they stand for, then you can do anything. I was extremely candid with my counterparts on matters that I thought needed to be addressed …” She noted that she spoke frankly to employees about issues including inadequate skills, lack of commitment, and even corruption. “Yes, occasionally, you do get into a little bit of a tiff with some,” she added. “But if you do it from the perspective that I really love this country, I really want to see it do well, that allows you to become a credible interlocutor who can—and is—legitimized to carry difficult messages.”
The importance of cultural differences, when conducting business outside of our own nation, has been recognized for decades. L. Robert Kohls, an expert in the field of internationalism, describes culture as “an integrated system of learned behavior patterns that are characteristic of the members of any given society.” For Kohls, the term culture encompasses “the total way of life of particular groups of people,” including everything that group “thinks, says, does and makes.” This culture is “learned and transmitted from generation to generation” (Kohls 1996, p. 23). In many ways, culture is like an iceberg, given that some parts a culture are visible to the naked eye, while others are hidden below the surface (Figure 8.1). WiSER Julie Anne admitted that it took her some time to discover those rules. She shared how tricky it was to understand concealed components of a culture, the hidden part of the iceberg.
Figure 8.1 The cultural iceberg
I got there and there were all sorts of unwritten cultural rules that were totally foreign to me. I had several examples of specific times when I thought, “how can I not figure that out?” But it took me probably a year or more into that assignment before I started to realize, “oh, that’s what’s happening.” Then it became much easier for me.
The hidden, or “concealed,” part of the culture is less accessible, but it is very important to understand. After all, it was the concealed portion of an iceberg that sunk the Titanic, and the concealed portion of a culture can “sink” you on your expatriate assignment.
Many cultural awareness courses and books written on the topic of expatriation focus on helping people who are entering new cultures to manage the “revealed” cultural aspects so that people can get on with daily life. Learning to look for external cues to see if we are doing the right thing is pivotal to managing revealed culture. In WiSER Emily’s case, she found a need to adapt to local customs regarding attire. “I have made mistakes about clothing in places and that’s not something I like,” she acknowledged. “In Eastern Europe, it was [a] pretty sexist atmosphere, so I started dressing more conservatively.” During an assignment in the Middle East, she had an embarrassing experience, when she wore a summer dress that turned out to be too short, by local standards. “Now, when I travel to the Middle East, I pretty much only wear pants,” she noted. “I try to make sure that I prevent things that are going to make the fact that I am woman be an issue.” WiSER, Diane, shared an example from her own experience. “In Asia, you are not likely to know that you’ve stepped wrongly,” she said. “I mean, there [are] no clear signals. Now, you do that in West Africa, and they’ll tell you. In Asia, you absolutely have to invest the time.” Simply put, the tangible way to recognize cultural context is to consider timing, clues, body language, facial expressions (or lack thereof), intonation, and personal interaction. Consider the following situations, which demonstrate how “revealed” and “concealed” culture can affect a given situation. The subtleties are interesting, and they contribute to a complex tapestry that can be both challenging and enriching.
Situation #1: Playboy Magazine
Hans is from the Netherlands and works with a major global employer. He recently attended a global meeting in New York City, and while there, he and Jim, a colleague from the United States, got to know one another and built a positive working relationship. During the rapport-building process, Hans and Jim engaged in a casual conversation, and Jim shared the fact that he considered Bella Hadid to be extremely beautiful. Jim also told Hans that she was his favorite supermodel. A few months later, Bella Hadid appeared in Playboy magazine. Hans promptly picked up a copy of the magazine and, when he saw Jim at the next global meeting in the Netherlands, he presented the magazine as a fun gift. Well, it turned out that an American female colleague, who was in the room when Hans discretely handed over the magazine, happened to notice it and became very angry. She indicated that presenting a Playboy magazine to another man in her presence was offensive. Hans was perplexed. What would you do as the female colleague? Why was Hans confused? Was Hans right or wrong in his decision to give the magazine to his colleague? Download the Women Leaders Toolkit from the BEP Publishing website for additional tools and resources.
Situation #2: Paint in the Amazon
Carlotta secured a position with the United Nations immediately after earning her university degree. She was proud, and excited, to join one of the biggest NGOs in the world, whose mission was to “save the world” one action at a time. Shortly after she joined the UN, she was given a chance to join a team in Brazil. As it turned out, her first major assignment proved exceptionally challenging. Given that Carlotta was young and ambitious (and intent on a successful global career), she accepted the assignment without hesitation. She learned that there were three huge barrels of aluminum paint standing in a small village in the Amazon, and if the UN did not intervene, the villagers were going to dump the aluminum paint in the Amazon River, thereby endangering the local wildlife. The aluminum paint had been left in the village when the company that used it, lacked the resources to dispose of it properly. In the end, they abandoned the barrels in the village. Carlotta went to the village and assessed the situation, but she soon discovered she couldn’t communicate with the villagers because they spoke in a tribal dialect. She recognized, however, that one young man was willing to help her, as he understood her and her purpose. The next morning, the young man came out, dressed in a Western suit and helped her organize a discussion around ways to remove the aluminum paint without dumping it in the river. He also helped to explain the ramifications of dumping the paint. She was grateful for his gesture, given that she felt the young man had helped her to meet her goals. She planned to thank him, yet, the next morning, the young man was nowhere to be found. Can you guess what happened to him? How was the mission accomplished? Download the Women Leaders Toolkit from the BEP Publishing website for additional tools and resources.
Notably, one complexity of concealed culture relates to gender relationships. Even in those countries where women occupy an increasing percentage of senior-level roles, gender issues remain prevalent. “You can’t get upset by … cultural issues,” WiSER Anne stresses.
I remember, early on, if I shook the hand of a Muslim man, he would sometimes refuse to shake my hand, or he would cover his hand with a cloth to shake my hand, because women were impure. None of that ever bothered me. I never took it as insulting.
She treated these responses as a reflection of the individual’s worldview, and while she didn’t agree with his perspective, she didn’t take these responses personally.
As Fons Trompenaars, a leading authority on cultural diversity in business, notes: “Every culture distinguishes itself from others by the specific solutions it chooses to certain problems” (2006, p. 8). These solutions are made on the basis of relationships with people as well as attitudes toward time and the environment. On occasion, our values and beliefs will conflict, and sometimes they will converge with the cultures we visit. Cultural differences are often a source of confusion, misunderstanding, and misinterpretation. If you have a clear understanding of these cultural differences, you stand a greater chance of working effectively with others in an international venue. Cultural experts have created various tools to assess and understand face value cultural differences. Download the Women Leaders Toolkit from the BEP Publishing website for additional tools and resources.
Seven Cultural Dimensions
One simple way to quickly identify some of the underlying values of any nation is to come up with a list of their common proverbs. These proverbs are a simple reflection of what is valued or promoted. A good example is, “God helps those who help themselves,” a popular proverb in the United States that celebrates initiative. A common Dutch expression (translated into English) is, “adding water to the wine,” which underscores a national tendency toward consensus building. Beyond proverbs, consider analogies, expressions, and jokes.
Language also tells you a great deal about the culture of a country. People appreciate it enormously when you attempt to speak the language, even if you are limited to a few words or polite expressions. Notably, language fluency positively impacts adjustment in the host country (Selmer 2015). All WiSER agreed that learning to speak the host country’s language is very important. Yet, it is not always easy to learn a new language. What do you do then? How does that impact your working environment? WiSER Marjet, who works in Japan, shared some of her professional experiences. “I have a permanent translator who is my shadow,” she revealed. “Everywhere I go, he goes, and that’s the way it works.” She admitted, however, that this situation is hardly ideal. “It’s frustrating because you can never have a one-on-one with someone. You can never brainstorm. It’s very difficult with the translator, and, of course, the limitation of the translator is also the limitation of the conversation.” She noted that it becomes very difficult to discuss more complex topics such as the company’s strategy, given that conversations usually remain at a basic level.
As we grow up among people who share the same norms and values, we expect them to behave in certain ways in certain circumstances. Although we are mentally prepared that people with different cultural backgrounds behave differently, emotionally we often find it difficult to accept these differences when we encounter them. We examine the world through our own cultural lens, and the greater the differences, the harder the adaptation (or settling process) is likely to be. We can distinguish seven dimensions where cultures differ. Five relate to the way people interact and how they build relationships, and two focus on how people interact with their environment (Table 8.1). These seven cultural dimensions, originally identified in 1997, continue to serve as a gold standard when it comes to understanding business across cultures (adapted from Trompenaars 1997).
Table 8.1 Seven cultural dimensions. Adapted from Fons Trompenaars’ cultural dimensions
|
Interaction with others |
Beliefs and behavior |
|
|
Degree to which you do things by the book |
Black and White: Rules are always applicable |
Gray: Special circumstances and relationships may require exception to the rule |
|
Degree of individualism |
Part of a group |
“Me, myself and I” |
|
Degree of expressing emotion in interactions |
Non-expressive |
Expressive |
|
Degree of importance of personal relationships for business purposes |
Strictly business |
Business is personal |
|
Factors that are considered when judging someone’s success |
Achievement |
Status |
|
Relationship with environment |
Beliefs and behavior |
|
|
The importance of time |
Time |
Event |
|
The relationship with nature |
Fatalistic |
Own your destiny |
The Degree to Which People Do Things by the Book
Does a rule always apply or are there exceptions to the rule due to special circumstances or relationships? Rigid application of the rules can sometimes give undesired results. Some cultures take that for granted, knowing that the consistent application of those rules create equality and certainty for all. In other cultures, it is acceptable to deviate from the rules to take special circumstances into consideration.
The Degree of Individualism
Do individuals see themselves as individuals or primarily as part of a group? Does the individual’s interest come first, or is there a greater emphasis on the interests of the group? Many societies are deeply informed by collectivist values, a characteristic that WiSER Marjet encountered when working at a Japanese organization. “In Japan, they consult forever before they make a decision,” she said. “That’s part of the way they work and breathe and think.” Although individual leadership is not altogether absent, there is a greater emphasis on consensus building. “They don’t believe so much in leaders,” WiSER Marjet explained. “You are part of the whole system (everyone is part of the whole system), and at the end of the day, of course, there is one top leader, but for that person just to express his or her opinion is …not the way it works.”
The Degree to Which People Express Emotions in Interactions
How visibly do individuals show their feelings of anger, frustration, happiness and so forth? This difference proved a challenge for WiSER Marjet when she moved to Japan. She had a difficult time controlling the degree of emotion she expressed in a culture where emotional displays are culturally unacceptable. “I have a lot of expression in my face, a lot of nonverbal expression,” she said. “That’s something that’s frowned upon in Japan. You should keep your thoughts to yourself, but I find it difficult to change that.”
The Degree of Importance Placed on Personal Relationships for Business Purposes
Is doing business rational, transactional, “strictly business,” or are personal relationships as much part of it, or maybe even a condition to do business and to work together? In some cultures, there is very little overlap between one’s professional and personal life, as WiSER Lillian discovered when on an assignment in Germany. “Our work life and our personal life, with extremely few exceptions … don’t mix,” she said. “What we do at work is work; what we do at home is home, and there have only been just a couple of areas where that line has been crossed or blurred.” WiSER Lillian indicated that she and her German colleagues often knew very little about one another. “When I came to Germany, I was actually quite surprised because I had two colleagues, who shared an office—and they had shared an office for over 10 years—and I asked one colleague, ‘Does that person have children?’.” The co-worker had no idea, she recalled. “In Germany, there is more distance between work and personal [life], as compared to Italy or in Greece.”
Meanwhile, WiSER Elsa I. discovered that there was a strong emphasis on personal relationships in Latin cultures. “I’d say that relationship is a big part of how work gets done there, and I probably underestimated how to leverage that,” she said in the interview. She added that, if she had known what she currently knows, she would have approached her job very differently, and it would have helped her synchronize with the new organization much more quickly.
The Factors that are Considered When Judging Someone’s Success
Are you considered to be successful and do you earn respect because of what you know and what you did (achievements), or because of who you know and who you are (status)? WiSER Alexis encountered unfamiliar attitudes toward authority when she accepted an assignment in the Czech Republic. “In Czech, I’ve had to adapt my style … dramatically,” she revealed. “I’m used to coming from an environment where I have to earn respect as the boss.” This was not the case, however, when she assumed a position as CEO of an organization in Central Europe. “I’m automatically given enormous respect,” she said. “They automatically think that I would know everything about what direction we should take, what decisions we should take, and they expected me to have a certain level of studiousness about me.” In the end, these expectations led her to modify her management style. WiSER Alexis found that she needed to curb her sense of humor, because her employees expected their manager to be serious-minded.
Similarly, WiSER Anna found that traditional attitudes toward authority in Southeast Asia sometimes made it difficult for her to get honest feedback from her employees. “We tend to have a big Indian workforce and a big Filipino workforce, and they are extremely respectful to you,” she said. “So, they are not going to tell you that you are wrong, or they’re not going to tell you that’s the best idea.” The tendency of many workers to nod in agreement made it difficult to gauge their real attitudes. “People are not going to tell you automatically,” she said. “You need to kind of figure it out yourself as well.” However, the situation was very different in the UK, where employees challenged their managers on a regular basis. “I think in the UK, one of the things I learned quite quickly is … stand your ground, but make sure you know what you’re talking about,” she said. “People respect you, if you know what you’re talking about.” WiSER Carrie discovered how status is attributed to age when she was working in South Korea. “The society is set up [with] … strict rules or norms … that you need to follow,” she recalled. “For example, [with] a senior or junior man, the junior guy has to use a different language with this senior person.” She noted that, in many situations, people are tacitly aware of who is the oldest, and this person will generally be treated with deference.
The Importance of Time
In some cultures, everything is driven by time, while in others, the event is of primary importance. WiSER Jacqueline noticed the differences during an assignment in Africa. “In Africa, there is [an] event culture, and I came from a time culture.” She remembered when she and her husband had invited a group of people from four to six.
[T]here is going to be a group that is going to leave at six, … but then there [will be] a group that’s going to show up around 4.35 and they will stay until nine O’clock. The … getting together … was so much more important than the time.
While this required some adjustment, she found that she had to insist upon some degree of punctuality in the workplace. “I couldn’t adjust to it too much in the workplace, so it was sometimes challenging with my staff to say, ‘We need to be on time’. But I found in my own personal life [that] I made lots of adjustments.” If you extrapolate the idea of time culture further, it defines a culture’s sense of living in the past, present, or future. For example, Ireland is mired in folklore and their sense of present is strongly linked to their past identity. In the United States, a relatively young nation, people are very future focused.
The Relationship with Nature
Due to the somewhat abstract nature of this dimension, we will simply mention that it is the relationship people assign to their environment. Some cultures live in harmony with nature, others control it, and others respect it at varying degrees. Further extrapolated and applied to business terms, this dimension influences whether people in a culture are more or less fatalistic or whether they feel they own their destiny.
Cultural dimensions are a logical series of categories to better understand revealed and concealed culture, which is key to supporting successful business interactions. Understanding your own cultural values and work style, and those of others will help you to work effectively in other cultures and decrease your ramp-up time to high performance. Once you understand the differences you can consider where and when to adapt.
To Adapt or Not to Adapt?
When we work and live abroad, we may assume that there is no tolerance for diverse approaches of thought and execution. We tend to believe that we should simply accept the way things are done there and “fit in.” This can lead to “cognitive dissonance” between our internal values and the demands of an unfamiliar culture, which can create internal conflict and contribute to disengagement, poor performance, and a lack of personal fulfillment. Reducing levels of cognitive dissonance among expatriates can promote an easier adjustment, reduce stress levels, and decrease the chance of an early departure (Maertz, Hassan, and Magnusson 2008). As per WiSER Marjet,
You want to hold on to your core beliefs and values. You need to be able to change colors without losing yourself, and that’s the trick. If you lose yourself and become too much of a Japanese or too much of a Czech, you lose the strength that … got you to that place and got you to that position in the first place. So, you have to find a balance there. That’s actually adapting, but not changing.
To adapt or not to adapt, that is the question. You may embrace all, some, or no new habits from the host country. Each choice has its pros and cons (Figure 8.2).
Figure 8.2 Model for cultural adaptation. Based on research by Maertz, Hassan, and Magnusson (2009)
“No Sense of Belonging”
Worst-case scenario. You no longer have a connection with your home country culture and values, but you have also failed to adapt to the host country. You don’t feel you belong anywhere anymore. The result is high stress levels and a high risk of assignment failure.
“Only My World”
You do not adopt new cultural habits because you simply fail to understand them, or you don’t want to adopt them, or you believe they conflict with your personal values. As WiSER Emily said:
When something really doesn’t feel right, it doesn’t matter. You shouldn’t have to accept it just because you are in an international environment. If it feels like supervisors are overstepping the lines of protocol between men and women, it doesn’t matter that you are sitting in another country. You should be able to sort of step back and say, “That’s unacceptable to me.”
Failing to adopt any cultural habit of the host country, however, you remain an outsider, living in a country where you don’t feel comfortable. The result is high stress levels and a high risk of assignment failure.
“Only Your World”
You adapt too well to the host country culture, and in doing so, you abandon your own values, and what you stand for. You risk “losing touch” with yourself if you become somebody else, if you become a “clone” of the locals. As WiSER Jacqueline cautioned:
Don’t try to become somebody (or something) else but learn from the culture and be willing to make some adaptations. You are never going to be a Kenyan [if you are not], but you can learn and grow and adapt to another cultural context … I have seen too many extremes. I have seen lots of people who just go there and kind of throw off … their own cultural heritage, and it just seems such a mistake.
The result is medium stress level, and a low risk of assignment failure.
“Best of Both Worlds”
This is the quadrant where you have achieved a balance between your host and home cultures. The new behaviors you adopt are considered up front, so you can stand behind your decision and feel comfortable about it. You adopt behaviors because you either like them, or you can live with them or justify them. At the same time, you may also choose to reject those host country behaviors that stand in opposition to your values. The result is low stress level, and a low risk of assignment failure.
In order to achieve peak performance in an expatriate role, it is key to adopt host country customs and behaviors that are in line with one’s values. “I was very conscious of the fact that I had to learn the culture, tune in and learn and observe,” recalled WiSER Hermie. “I was very conscious of that in my first couple of years because I was keen to be successful in my new environment.” At either end of the spectrum, if you make too many concessions to the host culture or if you don’t adapt at all, you will feel lost and alienated. As WiSER Martha put it: “When you live in multiple cultures, there are always pros and cons of every culture. So, you have the opportunity to embrace what’s wonderful about that culture. You can reject what you don’t like.”
Working and living abroad brings a roller-coaster of emotions, alternately feeling happy and then sad (Figure 8.3). This is called the expatriate cycle (Expat Explorer 2012). At first, everything seems new and exciting, and you find that there are many things to discover. This period is generally referred to as the “honeymoon phase.” Within about three months, however, you will become sensitive to some of the differences between the host country and your home country, evidence that you have entered the “negotiation phase.” Many of the differences you dislike become a source of annoyance and dissatisfaction, and in time, you may become homesick.
Figure 8.3 The emotional rollercoaster
WiSER Andrea described her experience of the first two phases.
The first time that you move … is the first time that you realize that you are basically on your own in a different country, that you don’t have any kind of support system, that you have to build everything again from scratch, from zero,
she said. “In the beginning … you are happy. Then, after this two to three-month period … comes the homesick time, when you start to compare everything, and you miss everyone, and you miss everything in your daily life.” It will take another few months to find yourself in the “adjustment phase.” At this point, the host country starts to feel less foreign, and you feel more confident. You become familiar with the different routines and customs and start to understand the new culture and to accept the differences. In the end, you will feel comfortable in the new country. You will find your place in the local community and identify ways to combine the new culture with your own.
It’s a Wrap!
Cultural norms are the underlying reasons for different behaviors including how people interact and build relationships. Some of the differences will be obvious, but many cultural norms and values will be concealed and difficult to recognize. There are seven different cultural dimensions, of which five influence interpersonal relationships: the degree to which a culture places group interest vs. individual interest; the degree to which people of a culture express emotions; the degree to which a culture values building a personal relationship prior to engaging in business activity; and the degree to which success is measured based on personal achievement or status. Each culture also has a unique relationship with time and environment. When combined, these dimensions highly impact how people interact, and business gets done. When adapting to a new culture, find the right balance between adopting new behaviors and staying true to yourself. Understanding the way you work with others, combined with understanding how other cultures work, equals success.