Cross Cultural Communication

1
Cross Cultural Communication

• Chapter 7
• Life Space

2
Learning Outcomes

• Involvement
• Specific Vs Diffuse Cultures
• Specific-oriented Cultures (segregate task
  relationship)
• Diffuse-oriented Cultures (involves in close
  relationships)

3
Specific Vs Diffuse

• How far we get involved?
• Whether we show emotions in dealing with other
  people?
• We engage others
• Specific areas of life and single level of
  personality
• Diffusely in multiple areas of our lives and at
  several levels of personality at the same time

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Specific Vs Diffuse Cultures

• Specific-oriented Cultures
• A Manager segregates (isolate) out the task
  relationship she or he has with a subordinate
  and insulates this from other dealings.
• Diffuse-oriented Cultures
• Every life space and every level of personality
  tends to permeate all others.
• Reputation always leaks to some extent into other
  areas of life. The extent is what we measure for
  specificity ( small) vs. diffuseness ( large)

5
Kurt Lewins Model

• Kurt Lewin, the German-American Psychologist,
  represented the personality as a series of
  concentric circles with life spaces or
  personality levels between them.
• The most personal and private spaces are near the
  center.
• Most shared and public spaces are at outer
  peripheries.
• U Type ( American life spaces) G Type (
  German Life spaces) are contrasted in Fig.7.1
  Lewins Circles

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Kurt Lewins Model

• U-type (American) life spaces
• Much more public space than private, segregated
  (separated) into many specific sections
• Friends enter into the public spaces are not
  necessarily close or life-time buddies
• American personality is so friendly and
  accessible being admitted into one public layer
  is not a very big commitment
• G-type (German) life spaces
• Entry and access to life spaces are guarded by
  thick line
• It is hard to enter and you need the others
  permission to enter
• Public space is relatively small
• Private spaces are large and diffuse once a
  friend is admitted, this lets the friend into
  all, or nearly all private spaces.
• Your Standing and reputation cross over these
  spaces.

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Specific Vs Diffuse Cultures

• Germans may be thought by Americans as remote and
  hard to get to know
• Americans may be thought out by Germans as
  cheerful, garrulous, yet superficial, who let you
  into a very small corner of your public life and
  regard you as peripheral.
• Borders and barriers between life spaces have
  physical dimensions also.

8
The Danger Zone Specific - Diffuse Encounter

• What U types sees as impersonal, the G-type sees
  as highly personal
• Pleasure and pain, acceptance and rejection
  ramify more widely in the diffuse system
• When Americans let in a German or French and
  show their customary openness and friendliness,
  that person may assume that they have been
  admitted to diffuse private space.
• French / Germans for example, may be offended by
  criticism-as-a professional which they take to be
  attack-by-a close friend.
• See Fig.7.2 in this context.

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Specific Vs Diffuse CulturesLosing Face

• Specific Cultures with their small area of
  privacy clearly separated from public life, have
  considerable freedom for direct speech. Do not
  take it personally is a frequent observation
• In relationship with diffuse people this approach
  can be insult

10
National DifferencesExercise 1

• A boss asks a subordinate to help him paint his
  house. The subordinate, who does not feel like
  doing it, discusses the situation with a
  colleague.
• The colleague argues You dont have to paint if
  you dont feel like it. He is your boss at
  work.Outside he has little authority.
• The subordinate argues Despite the fact that I
  dont feel like it, I will paint it. He is my
  boss and you cant ignore that outside work
  either.
• Where do you stand?

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National DifferencesExercise I

• Fig.7.3 shows the proportion of managers that
  would not paint the house.
• Around 80 or higher in the UK, USA, Switzerland
  and most of Northern Europe would not paint.
• In the diffuse societies of China, Nepal the
  majority would.

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Negotiating the Specific - Diffuse Cultural
divide

• In diffuse cultures, everything is connected to
  everything
• Diffuse culture partner would like to know many
  personal details
• Specificity and diffuseness are about strategies
  for getting to know other people.
• Figure 7.4 left diagram shows the typical
  diffuse strategy
• ( from general to specific) circle around the
  stranger, getting to know him diffusely, come
  down to business specifics later when
  relationship of trust have been established
• On the right, you get straight to the point, to
  the neutral, objective aspects of business deal,
  and if the other remain interested, then
  youcircle around getting to know them in order
  to facilitate the deal. ( from specific to
  general)

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Cultural Context

• Specific and diffuse cultures also known as
• Low and high context cultures
• Context has to do with how much you have to know
  before effective communication can occur
• How much shared knowledge is taken for granted by
  those in conversation with each other
• How much reference there is to tacit common
  ground

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High and Low context cultures

• High context culture
• Japan and France
• Strangers must be filled in before business can
  be properly discussed
• Tend to be rich and subtle but carry a lot of
  baggage
• Never really be comfortable for foreigners who
  are not fully assimilated
• Tend to look at relationships and connections

• Low context culture
• America and Netherlands
• Each stranger should share in rule-making
• Tend to be adaptable and flexible
• Tend to look at objectives, specifics and things

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Effect of specific-diffuse orientation on
business

• Americans prefer MBO Pay-for-performance to
  motivate employees as part of their specific
  orientation
• In MBO first agreement on objectives ( the
  specifics)
• Diffuse cultures approach the issue from the
  opposite direction.
• It is the relationship between A and B that
  increases or reduces output, not the other way
  around.
• Objectives or specifics may be out of date by the
  time evaluation comes around. B may not have
  performed yet done something more valuable in
  altered circumstances.
• Only strong and lasting relationships can handle
  unexpected changes of this kind.

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Effect of specific-diffuse orientation on
business

• Japanese cultures speak of acceptance time
  the time necessary to discuss proposed changes
  before they are implemented
• Nemawashi concept binding the roots of shrubs
  and trees before transplanting them
• Fig.7.5 shows the circling around before coming
  to the point
• Pay for-performance concept not popular as it
  ignores role of superiors / team mates
• Diffuse cultures do have lower turnover and
  employee mobility because of importance of
  loyaltyand the multiplicity of human bonds.

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Effect of specific-diffuse orientation on
business

• Pitfalls of evaluation and assessment
• Specific cultures easily criticize people without
  devastating the whole life space of the target of
  that criticism
• Example in diffuse culture stealing is not
  easily separable from domestic circumstances and
  the western habit of separating an office crime
  from a problem at homeis not accepted.
• Frank discussion of subordinates in diffuse
  cultures may be perceived as total rejection /
  betrayal of mutual confidence

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Effect of specific-diffuse orientation on
business Exercise -II

• Some people think a company is usually
  responsible for the housing of its employees.
  Therefore, a company has to assist an employee in
  finding housing
• Other people think the responsibility of housing
  should be carried by the employee alone. It is so
  much to the good if company helps.
• See Fig.7.6 for findings of the survey.

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The Mix of Emotion and Involvement

• Different combinations
• level of emotion or affectivity ( High to low or
  neutral )
• with its reachor scope ( diffusing several life
  spaces or remaining specific)
• Four Combinations are described by Talcot
  Parsons.
• Fig.7.7 shows four different primary response
• Diffusive Affective (DA) expected reward is
  love a strongly pleasure diffusing many life
  spaces ( negative evaluation hate)
• Diffuse Neutral (DN) expected reward is
  esteem less strongly expressed admiration also
  spread over many life spaces ( negative
  evaluation disappointment)
• Specific Affective (SA) expected award is
  responsiveness a strongly expressed pleasure
  specific to certain occasion or performance (
  negative evaluation rejection)
• Specific Neutral (SN) expected reward is
  approval a job, task, or occasion specific
  expression of positive, yet neutral approbation.
• ( negative evaluation criticism)

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The Mix of Emotion and InvolvementExercise -III

• Which of the following four types of people do
  you prefer to have around you? Review these
  descriptions carefully, then circle the one that
  most closely relates to your preferences and the
  one that represents your second preference
• People who completely accept you the way you are
  and feel responsible for your personal problems
  and welfare ( combines Diffuse Affective
  love)
• People who do their work, attend to their affairs
  and leave you free to do the same ( Specific
  Neutral approval)
• People who try to improve themselves and have
  definite ideals and aims in life ( Diffuse
  Neutral esteem)
• People who are friendly, lively and enjoy getting
  together to talk or socialize
• ( specific and affective enjoyment)

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The Mix of Emotion and InvolvementExercise III
Findings

• Fig. 7.8 shows how a number of nationalities
  score in this exercise
• Typical American approach is quite close to the
  mean both for emotion and in balance between the
  specific and the diffuse.
• Eastern and Western Germans are very similar in
  emotional levels, but East Germans are
  appreciably more specific.
• Fig. 7.9 shows regional cultural differences

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Reconciling specific diffuse cultures

• Specific extreme can lead to disruption
• Diffuse extreme to a lack of perspective
• Collision between them results in paralysis
• Interplay of the two approaches is good
• Recognizing the privacy is necessary
• Complete separation of private life leads to
  alienation and superficiality
• Business is a business but stable and deep
  relationship mean strong affiliations

23
Practical tips for doing the business in specific
and diffuse cultures

• Table 1 / Pg.100 highlight the differences
  between specificity and diffuseness
• Table 2 / Pg.100 shows tips for doing business in
  both cultures
• Table 3 / Pg.101 shows when managing and being
  managed in both cultures