Module 1 MULTICULTURAL DIVERSITY IN WORKPLACE FOR TOURISM PROFESSIONALS

Lesson 2: Cultural Differences

Lesson Outcomes:
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
Explained what cultural differences and its sources
Understand that every culture is different
Lesson Context:
Introduction
Cultural differences may affect both the concern that clients experience
as well as the communication styles and assessment and intervention methods
that will be successful. An individualized assessment requires attention to
cultural differences that may be related to problems and potential resolutions.
Culturally sensitive practice requires knowledge of the values of different
groups and their historical experience and how these differences may
influence behavior, motivation and view of the helping process. Different
groups may prefer different problem-solving styles and have different beliefs
about the causes of problems. The norms for behavior vary in different groups.
It is important to be knowledgeable about cultural differences that may be
mistakenly viewed as pathology. The degree of acculturation (the process of
adaptation to a new or different culture) is important to assess. This may
influence drop-out rate, level of
stress, attitude toward
clinicians, and the process
and goals that are
appropriate. Knowledge of
challenges faced and
preferred communication
styles of people in different
generations will be useful.
Cultural groups can
differ widely in their beliefs
about what is true, good, and
efficient. The study of cultural
differences combines perspectives i psychology and anthropolog to
n y
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understand a society’s signature pattern of beliefs, behavior, and social
institutions and how these patterns compare and contrast to those of other
cultural groups.
Cultural differences appear both between and within societies, for
example, between Canadians and Japanese, and within the United States
between Anglos and Latinos. Descriptions of cultural differences are made in
context to the many similarities shared across human groups. Although a
variety of attributes differ between cultures, there are also many similarities
that exist across human societies. Moreover, even where there are differences
between cultural groups, individual differences mean that not every person
within a particular culture will have beliefs or exhibit behaviors that resemble
predominant patterns in their society

Differences in Cultures
Increasingly, managers must deal with multiple ethnic groups with very
different cultures. Thanks to globalization, you are likely to work with
Japanese, French, Chinese, German and all sorts of other nationalities. It is
important to recognize that people from different cultures have are different
in a variety of ways, including
different ways of looking at things
different ways of dressing
different ways of expressing personality/goodness
In an ideal world ...
the policemen would be English
the car mechanics would be German
the cooks would be French
the innkeepers would be Swiss,
and the lovers would be Italian
In a living hell ...

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the policemen would be German

the car mechanics would be French
the cooks would be English
the innkeepers would be Italian
and the lovers would be Swiss
These differences can cause problems interpreting what the other person is
doing. Some simple examples:
In the US, a firm, short handshake indicates self-confidence and
(heterosexual) masculinity. A limp handshake by a man can be
interpreted (usually wrongly) as a sign of homosexuality or wimpiness.
But in most parts of Africa, a limp handshake is the correct way to do it.
Furthermore, it is common in Africa for the handshake to last several
minutes, while in the US a handshake that is even a few seconds too
long is interpreted as familiarity, warmth and possibly sexual attraction.
In Britain, men do not look at women on the streets. The French do.
Recently, a French public figure mentioned in a speech that the Brits
are all gay -- the evidence was their lack of overt interest in women.

Some dimensions along which cultures vary:

High Context vs Low Context
A low context culture is one in which things are fully (though concisely)
spelled out. Things are made explicit, and there is considerable dependence
on what is actually said or written. A high context culture is one in which the
communicators assume a great deal of commonality of knowledge and views,
so that less is spelled out explicitly and much more is implicit or communicated
in indirect ways. In a low context culture, more responsibility is placed on the
listener to keep up their knowledge base and remain plugged into informal
networks.
Low context cultures include Anglos, Germanics and Scandinavians.
High context cultures include Japanese, Arabs and French.
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Implications
Interactions between high and low context peoples can be problematic.
Japanese can find Westerners to be offensively blunt. Westerners
can find Japanese to be secretive, devious and bafflingly
unforthcoming with information
French can feel that Germans insult their intelligence by explaining
the obvious, while Germans can feel that French managers
provide no direction
Low context cultures are vulnerable to communication breakdowns when
they assume more shared understanding than there really is. This is
especially true in an age of diversity. Low context cultures are not
known for their ability to tolerate or understand diversity, and tend to
be more insular.
Monochronic vs Polychronic
Monochronic cultures like to do just one thing at a time. They value a
certain orderliness and sense of there being an appropriate time and place for
everything. They do not value interruptions. Polychronic cultures like to do
multiple things at the same time. A manager's office in a polychronic culture
typically has an open door, a ringing phone and a meeting all going on at the
same time.
Polychronic cultures include the French and the Americans. The
Germans tend to be monochronic.
Implications
Interactions between types can be problematic. German businessman
cannot understand why the person he is meeting is so interruptible by
phone calls and people stopping by. Is it meant to insult him? When do
they get down to business?
Similarly, the American employee of a German company is disturbed by all
the closed doors -- it seems cold and unfriendly.
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Future vs Present vs Past Orientation
Past-oriented societies are concerned with traditional values and ways
of doing things. They tend to be conservative in management and slow to
change those things that are tied to the past. Past-oriented societies include
China, Britain, Japan and most spanish-speaking Latin American countries.
Present-oriented societies include the rest of the spanish-speaking
Latin American countries. They see the past as passed and the future as
uncertain. They prefer short-term benefits.
Future-oriented societies have a great deal of optimism about the
future. They think they understand it and can shape it through their actions.
They view management as a matter of planning, doing and controlling (as
opposed to going with the flow, letting things happen). The United States and,
increasingly, Brazil, are examples of future-oriented societies.

Quantity of Time
In some cultures, time is seen as being a limited resource which is
constantly being used up. It's like having a bathtub full of water which can
never be replaced, and which is running down the drain. You have to use it as
it runs down the drain or it's wasted. In other cultures, time is more plentiful, if
not infinite. In old agricultural societies, time was often seen as circular,
renewing itself each year.
Implications
In societies where time is limited, punctuality becomes a virtue. It is
insulting to waste someone's time, and the ability to do that and get
away with it is an indication of superiority/status. Time is money. In
cultures where time is plentiful, like India or Latin American, there is no
problem with making people wait all day, and then tell them to come
back the next day.
Time-plentiful cultures tend to rely on trust to do business. Time-limited
cultures don't have time to develop trust and so create other
mechanisms to replace trust (such as strong rule-by-law).

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Power Distance
The extent to which people accept differences in power and allow this
to shape many aspects of life, is the boss always right because he is the boss,
or only when he gets it right?

Implications
In high power distance countries (most agrarian countries), bypassing a
superior is insubordination. In low power distance countries (US,
northern Europeans, Israel), bypassing is not usually a big deal.
In the US, superiors and subordinates often interact socially as equals. An
outsider watching a party of professors and graduate students typically
cannot tell them apart.

Individualism vs Collectivism
In individualist cultures,
individual uniqueness, self-
determination is valued. A
person is all the more
admirable if they are a "self-
made man" or "makes up their
own mind" or show initiative or
work well independently.
Collectivist cultures expect
people to identify with and
work well in groups which
protect
them in exchange for loyalty and compliance.
Paradoxically, individualist cultures tend to believe that there are
universal values that should be shared by all, while collectivist cultures tend to
accept that different groups have different values.
Many of the asian cultures are collectivist, while anglo cultures tend to
be individualist.
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Implications
A market research firm conducted a survey of tourist agencies around the
world. The questionnaires came back from most countries in less than a
month. But the agencies in the Asian countries took months to do it.
After many telexes, it was finally done. The reason was that, for example,
American tourist agencies assigned the work to one person, while the
Filipinos delegated the work to the entire department, which took
longer. The researchers also noticed that the telexes from the
Philippines always came from a different person.

Problems Caused by Cultural Differences

You greet your Austrian client. This is the sixth time you have met over the
last 4 months. He calls you Herr Smith. You think of him as a standoffish
sort of guy who doesn't want to get really friendly. That might be true in
America, where calling someone Mr. Smith after the 6th meeting would
probably mean something -- it is marked usage of language -- like
"we're not hitting it off". But in Austria, it is normal.
A Canadian conducting business in Kuwait is surprised when his meeting
with a high-ranking official is not held in a closed office and is
constantly interrupted. He starts wondering if the official is as important
as he had been led to believe, and he starts to doubt how seriously his
business is being taken
A British boss asked a new, young American employee if he would like to
have an early lunch at 11 am each day. The employee said 'Yeah, that
would be great!' The boss immediately said "With that kind of attitude,
you may as well forget about lunch!" The employee and the boss were
both baffled by what went wrong. [In England, saying "yeah" in that
context is seen as rude and disrespectful.]
A Japanese businessman wants to tell his Norwegian client that he is
uninterested in a particular sale. So he says "That will be very difficult."
The Norwegian eagerly asks how he can help. The Japanese is mystified.
To him, saying that something is difficult is a polite way of saying "No
way in hell!". Dave Barry tells the story of being on a trip to Japan and
working
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with a Japanese airline clerk on taking a flight from one city to another.
On being asked about it, the clerk said "Perhaps you would prefer to
take the train." So he said "NO, I want to fly." So she said "There are
many other ways to go." He said "yes, but I think it would be best to fly."
She said "It would very difficult". Eventually, it came out that there were
no flights between those cities.

Three basic kinds of problems: interpreting others comments and actions,

predicting behavior, and conflicting behavior.