HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT

Read the following CASE STUDIES (< Richard Gesteland in Cross-Cultural

Business Behaviour, 1997) and comment on them using Gestelands 4-D Model:

Deal-Focused vs. Relationship-Focused Cultures

Informal vs. Formal Cultures

Rigid-Time vs. Fluid-Time Cultures

Expressive vs. Reserved Cultures

1. Paraverbal Negotiating Behavior: Vocal volume and inflection

A few years ago in Alexandria two American buyers were negotiating a contract with a
large public sector manufacturing company.
Raymond was a stereotypically expressive, somewhat loud-mouthed Yank while Clem
was unusually restrained and soft-spoken for an American. Clem led off the discussion of
contract terms in a low monotone. After about ten minutes first one, then another and
finally all three Egyptian negotiators fell sound asleep at the conference table despite
having swallowed toxic-level doses of high-octane Turkish coffee.
Raymond had spent enough time in that area to know that Egyptians tended to be very
expressive communicators. They liked to speak loudly enough to be heard clearly, often
raised their voices to emphasize important points and were known to literally pound the
table when still further emphasis was called for. So after just a few minutes of Clem's low
monotone the three executives apparently concluded that this guy had nothing really
important
to
say
and
proceeded
to
drift
off.
The Americans of course saw this as a problem. A negotiation with one side fast asleep is
unlikely to be extremely fruitful. So the buyers called for a short break during which the
officials gulped more coffee and Clem decided to leave the meeting for a tour of the city.
When the four men reconvened, Raymond continued the discussion in a voice that was
loud, clear and spiced with vocal inflection. By the time Clem rejoined the meeting that
afternoon, the two sides had reached agreement on the major points. It is amazing what
negotiators can achieve when they are wide awake and paying attention.
"But wait a minute! Aren't the sellers supposed to adapt to the buyers?" Yes - unless of
course that buyer really wants the deal and happens to know how to close the
communication gap.
2. 'Space Invaders' vs. Cold Fish
Early in our eight-year stay in Italy I often felt vaguely uncomfortable during business
discussions. Meeting rooms seemed to be overcrowded; I felt hemmed in. Then at a

social gathering I heard other experts complain about Italians being pushy and
aggressive. "Why do they always crowd so close, invading my space?"
That's when I finally figured out what was going on. Florence was our fourth or fifth
expatriate assignment. By then we knew that when foreign visitors started a question
with, "Why do they always ..." we were going to hear about another cultural clash. About
that same time I overheard some Greeks and Italians at a bar in Athens describing AngloSaxons as "Cold fish - they always want to keep their distance."
3. Gaze Behaviour
My long assignment in Florence taught me the importance of appropriate gaze behavior.
One day I was walking to the train station accompanied by my friend Paolo. It was only a
ten-minute stroll and there was plenty of time - or there would have been had it not been
for the southern European concept of proper eye contact.
Every time Paolo had something to say he would grab me by the shoulders and turn me
towards him so that we could look directly into each other's eyes. Since talkative Paolo
did that every few steps, I actually ended up missing my train. From that day on I
mentally doubled my estimated walking time when in the company of a Latin European.
4. FORMAL VS. INFORMAL
A few years ago, my employer at that time, a Chicago export management company,
transferred
me
to
Germany
to
expand
sales
in
Europe.
My first appointment was with a distributor of hand-tools located in Stuttgart. I spent that
day in meetings with the boss of the company, Doctor Wilhelm Mller, and I found
myself saying "Herr Dr. Mller" and "Dr. Mller" the whole day. All this formality was
oppressive for a young man from the United States, one of the world's most informal
cultures. So returning to Frankfurt that evening I phoned my German friend.
"Hans, I'm really tired of this medieval formality. How many times do I have to meet
with
this
guy
before
I
can
start
calling
him
'Willi'?"
Fortunately Hans straightened me out on the formality issue right then. "You are asking
when you can start calling Dr. Mller by his first name? Well, the answer is niemals,
Dummkopf!
Never,
you
dummy!"
5. How do you explain the situations described in the following text on the basis of
Gestelands model?
A large US multinational operating in Malaysia noticed that US expatriates and local
managers were not on the same cultural page. In particular: (1) Malaysian managers took
fewer initiatives in front of their bosses; (2) they often said yes when they meant no;
(3) they were upset when a lower status US engineer openly disagreed with his boss in a
meeting.

6. It takes time, patience and sometimes a cast-iron liver to develop a strong

relationship in markets such as Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.
At Nihon World Widget their first meeting starts with the elaborate greeting ritual of the
meishi., the formal exchange of business cards. Lubricated with large quantities of tea the
two sides then dialogue about everything on earth except the matter that brought them
together: widgets.
The visitors answer polite questions about Copenhagen and Denmark and respond with a
similar number of questions about Tokyo and Japan. The two sides discuss weather,
sports, music, movies ... all part of the "getting to know you" game.
Nor are Christina and Lars surprised when the meeting ends without a single mention of
business. When Watanabe-san suggests another meeting on Wednesday they accept his
offer of arranging transport back to their hotel.
The second meeting with NWW again ends without a discussion of widgets. But this time
Watanabe-san invites his visitors to a Japanese dinner - a good omen.
At the restaurant the four Japanese men are impressed with the elegant way Christina
handles her chopsticks. Lars is somewhat less adept with the unfamiliar utensils but
shows that he can sip his sake with aplomb. But it's when the dinner is over that Christina
really demonstrates her thorough grasp of Japanese social protocol. She suddenly puts a
hand to her temple and excuses herself politely. "Watanabe-san, I'm so sorry. I seem to
have developed a rather bad headache. Would you mind terribly if I go back to the hotel
now?" Of course Mr. Watanabe does not mind! This diplomatic headache frees the men to
spend the next three or four hours building a relationship over beer, karaoke and whisky.
So it's no great surprise when at next morning's meeting it is Christina who leads the
Danish side of the business meeting while Lars gulps quantities of white aspirin and
black coffee. The Japanese now feel they know their foreign counterparts well enough to
discuss business. They signal their readiness by asking a number of detailed questions
about those famous Superwidgets.
The best way to get to know your local counterpart varies from one RF culture to another.
In much of the Arab world steaming platters of rice and lamb may take the place of
booze. Brazilians and Mexicans love to talk about their art, music, literature and films.
And then there is golf
7. WHICH CULTURAL DESCRIPTOR(S)
FOLLOWING CASE STUDY?

APPLIES/APPLY

TO

THE

When we moved from Germany to Singapore in 1988 my wife and I decided to try
learning Mandarin on weekends. We hired Stefanie, a pleasant young woman who had
recently immigrated from Taiwan to tutor us.
My lessons were rudely interrupted late that year when my mother passed away and I had
to fly to Wisconsin to attend the funeral. Unfortunately, barely had I returned to

Singapore when my brother phoned again to break the sad news that our father had just
passed away. As you might imagine, this was a very difficult time for me. It happened to
be a Saturday when I got back from this second funeral, and Stefanie dropped by to
enquire why I had missed over a month's worth of lessons. Suffering from grief
compounded by jet lag and exhaustion, I blurted out that both of my parents had just died.
A stricken look flashed across the young woman's face for just a fraction of a second, and
she gasped. Then Stefanie suddenly laughed out loud, right in my face. And proceeded to
giggle for several seconds.
Now, intellectually I was quite aware that people from certain cultures hide their
nervousness, embarrassment or severe stress with a laugh. I also knew 1 should have
broken my sad news much more gently. After all, Stefanie was a Chinese person raised in
the Confucian way: She revered her parents. For her the sudden realization that she could
perhaps lose both of them almost at the same time must have come as a terrible shock.
Nevertheless my immediate reaction to her laugh was visceral. I felt as though I had just
been hit very hard in the stomach. Even though I understood rationally what had
happened I had difficulty relating to Stefanie as I had before the incident. A few weeks
later she stopped coming and we had to find a new Mandarin tutor.