Abstract

In the globalizing world, where multinational companies work across the borders,
the question of cultural differences and mutual understanding seems to be highly
relevant and has been discussed by many researchers in the last decades.
When we talk about differences between cultures, we are speaking about
generalities. Thus we should be aware of the expectations that every individual
will behave in a manner consistent with those generalizations, because even
within cultures, people differ from one another.
In international business practices, both reasons and emotions play a major role.
Which of this is dominant depends upon whether we are affective (readily
showing emotions) or emotionally neutral in our approach. Members of neutral
cultures do not telegraph their feelings, but keep them carefully controlled and
subdued. In an affective cultures, people show their feelings plainly by laughing,
smiling, grimacing, scowling, and sometimes crying, shouting, or walking out of
the room. This doesn't mean that people in neutral cultures are cold or unfeeling.
But in the course of normal business activities, neutral cultures are more careful
to monitor the amount of emotion they display.


Introduction

One way in which culture has often been understood is as a body of knowledge
that people have about a particular society. This body of knowledge can be seen
in various ways: as knowledge about cultural artifacts or works of art; as
knowledge about places and institutions; as knowledge about events and
symbols; or as knowledge about ways of living. It is also possible to consider this
aspect of culture in terms of information and to teach the culture as if it were a
set of the learnable rules which can be mastered by students.
When translated into language teaching and learning, this knowledge-based view
of culture often takes the form of teaching information about another country, its
people, its institutions, and so on. Culture is not however, simply a body of
knowledge but rather a framework in which people live their lives and
communicate shared meanings with each other.

Culture is most commonly used in three basic senses which are as follows:
- Excellence of taste in the fine arts known as high culture.
- An integrated pattern of human knowledge, faith, and behavior that
depends upon the capacity for emblematic thought and communal
learning.
- The set of shared attitudes, goals, values, norms, and practices that
characterizes an organization, nation or group.
A pictorial way to represent culture is to think of it like a lily pad on a pond. What
are visible above the surface are the artifacts the symbols and the behavior
you see enacted. The deeper levels are the mindset assumptions and beliefs
represented by the stem, leading down to the murkier depths of the emotional
ground, and finally the motivational roots.


In terms of corporate culture dimensions, it is considered that slating countries in
each of quadrants makes is it easier and more comprehensive to explore the
basis of each type of corporate culture in terms of how their employees learn,
change, resolve conflicts, motivate, etc.


Consequently, the four types of corporate cultures are:
1. Family - which is personal, with emphasis on close relationships, but also
one in which the parent, the father, has far more authority than other
members.
2. Eiffel Tower which refers to countries which consider that structure is
more important than function. The boss here is not the father figure, but
rather a role.
3. Guided missile - whose characteristics are equalitarianism and impersonal
and task oriented.
4. Incubator - where organizations come second to individuals.

Fons Trompenaars and Charles Hampden-Turner argue that the problems
between various cultures may appear from the answers they give to three
categories of existential dilemmas:
1. Problems generated by our relationships with other people: Talcott
Parsons five orientations, covering the ways in which human beings deal
with each other, was used as a starting point for this category
- Universalism vs. Particularism: What is more important; rules or
relationships?
- Individualism vs. Communitarism: Do we function in a group or as an
individual?
- Specific vs. Diffuse: How much do we get involved?
- Affective vs. Neutral: Do we display our emotions?
- Achievement vs. Ascription: Do we have to prove ourselves to receive
status or is it given to us?

2. Attitude towards time (Sequential vs. Synchronic) - Do we do things once
at a time or do we do it together?

3. Attitude towards environment (Internal vs. External control) - Do we control
our environment or do we work with it?


Culture is a very vital word which affects every aspect of life, like the process of
doing business and managing. One can see that cultural differences are common
between people of different nations, organizations, and even between people of
same organization but different departments.
Methodology
The material collected and used in the report were the fruitful results of the
following:

Affective versus Neutral culture
In an affective culture, people do not object to a display of emotions. It isn't
considered necessary to hide feelings and to keep them inside. Affective cultures
may interpret the less explicit signals of a neutral culture as less important. They
may be ignored or even unnoticed. People from affective cultures are less
concerned with the precision of communication than with the establishment and
maintenance of personal and social relationships. Displaying emotions and
warmth is valued. Emotions are persuasive in affective cultures and are often
used in arguments. Being cold and objective is the better flaw. A wise and
respected person speaks from the
heart.
In contrast, people from neutral culture
are taught that it is incorrect to show
one's feelings overtly. This doesn't
mean they do not have feelings, it just
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means that the degree to which feeling may be expressed is limited.
They accept and are aware of feelings, but are in control of them. In neutral
cultures, showing too much emotion may erode your power to interest people.
Objectivity, facts, logic and cool head are valued in a neutral culture. Emotional
pleas or expressions of feelings carry little weight and are considered soft.
People in neutral cultures become impatient when feelings get in the way of clear
thinking.
The below table outlines the differences between the two type of cultures:
Neutral Culture Affective Culture
Do not reveal what they are thinking or
feeling
Reveal thoughts and feelings verbally
and in face and posture
Cool and wellcontrolled conduct is
admired (but sometime can explode)
Heated, vital and animated expressions
are admired
Statements are monotonic and lack an
emotional tone
Statements are emotional and dramatic
The entire negotiation is typically
focused on the object or proposition
being discussed
Negotiation is typically focused on the
persons involved and not so much on
the object of proposition being
discussed
Behavior during negotiations tends to
be detached, distant ambiguous and
cool
Behavior is warm, expressive and
enthusiastic
People stick to the point; the specific
predetermined topics being discussed
Can easily deviate and expand the
discussion to the general context of the
relationship

In affective cultures, the expressions of emotions can be raised to the level of art.
It is important to present ideas aesthetically. The use of poetry is an example. In
neutral cultures, there is little interest in the beauty of a well-crafted sentence.
Again, aesthetics can be seen as elevating or as futile.
Ang Lees film, Crouching Tiger Hidden Tiger, transports viewers to Ancient China. Li Mu
Bai, the films hero, is in love with Yu Shu Lien but waits till the end to express his
feelings. In his culture, purity is the ideal and implies detachment rather than indulging in
passions. Meditation allows one to reach this state of detachment. But as Bai is about to
die, he decides to declare his love. His act can be interpreted as moving from culture as
given to culture as a process. In this instance, the hero ends up regretting his neutral
orientation. He eventually embraces the affective pole.


Degrees of Affectivity in Different Cultures
Since all non-verbal mannerisms are culturally acquired, expressiveness differs
from culture to culture regarding emotions. Latin American, European and
Mediterranean cultures are among the most expressive: North American, Eastern
European and African Cultures vary their level of expression; and German and
Asian cultures are among the most reserved. In Middle Eastern cultures, it is
considered natural for people to express warmth and expression by speaking in
animated tones, moving close to another person and looking him or her in the
eyes, or by touching an arm around the shoulder, a kiss on either sides of the
cheek. However, people who come from more reserved cultures such as
Thailand may interpret loudness and animated gestures as a sign of anger or
disapproval.

In China people express their emotions naturally. Reactions are shown
immediately verbally and/or non-verbally by using mimic and gesture in form of
body signals. In contrast neutral cultures like Japanese tend to hide their
emotions and dont show them in public. It is considered important not to let
emotion influence objectivity and reason in decision making. In general they feel
discomfort with physical contact in public and communicate in a more subtle way
which makes it difficult for members of other cultures to read between the lines
and get the message.

The Chinese use more intuition or feeling in making a business decision. The
Americans are in the middle of this dimension. They express their emotions but
try to avoid that they wont influence the rational decision making, especially in
business situations. Germany, France and Finland are also more centered within
the scale of this context neutral versus affective. These cultures respond from a
non-emotional level in business life. They often expect gratification for their work
achievements not immediately but later on.
Cultural display rules are enforced by pressure from all levels of society. Thais,
who are a part of a collective culture, are generally under pressure to suppress
feelings of negativity and anger. Unlike individualistic cultures like that of the
U.S., in which emotions are perceived as highly individual, in Thai feelings are
seen to be entirely linked and interconnected with those of others. Negativity-
particularly anger- is not openly expressed or even discussed in many Asian
cultures. Arguing with your lover loudly and publicly, waving your hands, and
generally losing your cool (and losing face) is considered barbaric and rude.


Many Americans, on the other hand, are desensitized to aggression in its many
forms- passive and active; mental, emotional, and physical; subtle and stated.
Likewise, feelings of depression and despair are hardly censored. Of course
these feelings are present in the life of any human being. Yet for many
Americans it is incredibly normal and natural to express them in hyperbolic,
dramatized ways. In contrast, the Thais avoid conflict at all costs. Whether
annoyed, embarrassed, or angry, they smile and chuckle.


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The anecdote below shows how one persons idea of affirmation and positive
response can mean another persons shame and embarrassment.

Jane Reynolds was the executive director of an important trade association in
Singapore. An outgoing, enthusiastic American who was successful in gaining the
cooperation of the associations members, she has lived in Singapore for ten years
and got along with people there very well.
Jane was pleased when she was asked to chair the annual meeting of a Thai
womens organization in Bangkok. Although Mrs. Reynolds was an experienced
speaker and discussion leader, this was the first time for her to chair a conference
in Thailand. When Jane asked friends and colleagues for advice, they warned her
that Thai women tended to be somewhat shy in public. They would probably be
hesitant to offer their view and opinions in front of a large group.
So Jane was delighted when, during the morning session, first one and then two
other Thai participants quietly offered useful comments and suggestions. She
showed her delight in characteristic fashion. Getting up from the table with
eyebrows raised and arms waving, Mrs. Reynolds exuberantly thanked the three
women and praised them for their contributions, making sure to speak loudly
enough that all the attendees would be able to hear.
The meeting then continued, but for some reason there was no more input from
the floor. In fact, the Thai women stopped responding to the chairpersons
questions as well, remaining silent for the reminder of the conference.
After the meeting, two of the Thai members who had spoken up approached Jane
and tearfully asked, Why were you so angry with us this morning? We dont know
what we did to upset you. Jane hastily replied that she wasnt angry or upset at
all, but the two women just their goodbyes and walked sadly away.


Affective and Neutral Culture in Business
In some cultures, the expression of emotions is fully encouraged, whereas in
others emotional expression is unacceptable and is seen as a sign of weakness
or loss of control. Emotional expression is part of business life in Latin countries,
whereas Asian countries such as Japan or China would find this intolerable and
see it as a loss of face and therefore a loss of respect.
There are business situations in which emotional behavior results in loss of face
and respect and ultimately, in the loss of relationship with foreign business
partners. But even if emotions can be freely expressed, there is a question about
the type of emotions that is acceptable. Researchers point out cross cultural
differences in the acceptability of emotions. For example, US culture is obsessed
with positive and optimistic presentation; consequently, assertiveness, positive
self-presentation and optimism are highly valued in USA. This means that the
expression of regret and self-effacing behavior are less acceptable.
Elisabeth Marx, author of Breaking through Culture Shock, talks in her book about her
experience working in a mixed-cultural group in Singapore. The Singaporeans typically
behaved in a rational and unemotional way when expressing their opinion in group
meetings. They wanted to find a harmonious solution and therefore focused on
consensus decision making. Ultimately, they did not want to lose face. Western
expatriates, in contrast, debated ferociously, showing anger, frustration and enthusiasm,
and generally did not care whether their opinion were extreme and against the majority.
Intercultural Communication
The word communication means exchange of information. The key to effective
cross-cultural communication is knowledge. First, it is essential that people
understand the potential problems of cross-cultural communication, and makes a
conscious effort to overcome these problems. Second, it is important to assume
that ones efforts will not always be successful, and adjust ones behavior
appropriately.

For example, one should always assume that there is a significant possibility that
cultural differences are causing communication problems, and be willing to be
patient and forgiving, rather than hostile and aggressive. One should respond
slowly and carefully in cross-cultural exchanges, not jumping to the conclusion
that you know what is being thought and said.
There is various means of communication subdivided into two categories
1. Verbal: This is based on spoken words or voices. Can be distinguished
based on the tone of the voice or on the words themselves.
2. Non-verbal: This is the communication through actions (body language)
and eye contact.
As an example of an indirect style of verbal communication, the Japanese
communication style has both close personal relationships and huge information
network (Matsumoto et al., 1988). In this communication style messages are
implicit and indirect, because the Japanese dont depend on the language only to
deliver a certain message, so the receiver should focuses on the facial
expressions the timing and the voice tune.
Communication in Affective cultures
Different types of cultures have different styles of communication. Some
emotional countries like Mxico and china are known for their affective
communication style. So we conclude that in the affective style, meaning is
perceived through nonverbal signs, and intuition should be used to decode the
messages
Affective cultures, such as Latin and Middle Eastern:
1. Express emotions more immediately, openly and passionately.
2. Can be seen as being out of control and inconsistent.
3. Have a wider range of facial expressions and physical gestures during
conversation.
4. Talk loudly when excited, and love the art of arguing and debate.
5. Are more enthusiastic and spontaneous.
6. Consider their emotions (intuitions) in their decision making process.





Communication in Neutral cultures
In the United States and Canada, people use the direct style of verbal
communication. Communicators meet only to accomplish objectives, and often
the parties at a meeting dont know each other very well. Speakers are typically
direct and focused.
Exacting style is used in neutral countries like England and Germany. Messages
are delivered in a precise and direct short way. Communication with too many
words is considered as exaggeration.
A well-known research shows that American subjects report more verbal and
nonverbal emotional reactions than Japanese subjects (Matsumoto et al. 1988).
Sometimes differences are not only quantitative, but qualitative or related with
cultural meaning of the emotional expression. For instance, Chinese novels
report that persons smile to hide distress, anger or embarrassment (Kleinberg
1954). A classic research suggests that Japanese subjects smile when
experiencing distress in the presence of a high status person, however when
they are alone they displayed as negative behaviors as the American subjects,
who always act in the same way (Ekman and Friesen 1972). More recent large
scale survey data found that Asian subjects reported less verbal and nonverbal
emotional reactions (Matsumoto et al. 1988).



Neutral cultures, such as Anglo-Saxon and Asian:
1. Do not openly or directly show emotions and opinions and consider it
inappropriate to exhibit emotions in certain situations.
2. Value self-control, being calm and rational, and not going to emotional
extremes.
3. Can be viewed as cold or aloof.
4. Discourage touching or excessive gestures and body language.
5. May speak in monotone in formal conversations.
6. Separate their emotions from the decision making process, and prefer to
focus on logic.
Reconciling Neutral and Affective Cultures
Cultural dilemmas need to be reconciled in a process of understanding the
advantages of each cultural preference. In the same way that people have
variations in meanings for different cultures, so organizations have different
meanings for the people working in them. Different meanings lead to different,
specific solutions to certain problems.
It would be very difficult for business to exist within the extremes of the two
different cultures until and unless they have formed a great deal of understanding
between each other. It is rather difficult to form a conclusion as to which culture
generally could be proved better than the other corporately since they both seem
to have their pros and cons. In some situations, one might stand out to be better
than the other. But it is evident that these two cultures are successful in the
regions where they are highly promoted.
They do however face problems when required to deal with people from the other
culture. The people of the neutral culture are easily accused of being cold
hearted, whereas the affective people are considered to be inconsistent and out
of control. So the first step to be implemented is to recognize the differences and
not make any judgments based on emotions or on lack of them. By doing so and
understanding each other, the benefits could be far greater than that of being
different.





Case Studies have been performed which depict the importance of reconciliation
between the two cultures. One such case observed the problems that arise when
people belonging to neutral cultures had been employed in an affective based
organization and then how reconciliation resolved those problems. In another
case, a study was performed in which affective participants could identify the
nationality of the people based on analyzing their affective (emotional)
expressions and hence divide the group of people into the two categories of
cultures based on the nationality judgments made. In another case, a usual
consensus of cultural difference between men and women was studied, and so
on.
The point trying to be proved here is that it is necessary for the two cultures to
understand each other so that they can work together leading to better
Intercultural Business etiquette.


Case Study
The case study being studied in this assignment paper observes how a group of
Norwegian managers sojourning in Spain experience cultural differences,
whether trying to adapt to the Spanish culture as such or experiencing cultural
clash results. This case study is a massive one with enormous potentials as it
considers all the underlying aspects of cultural differences with respect to
Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner theories. But as for this paper, the focus will
only be on the ideas and results of relevance to the topic.
General Findings
All the Norwegians mentioned in this case study were managers, with various
positions within companies, ranking from middle to top management. Most of
their subordinates were Spanish, making sojourners dive into the Spanish
culture complete. They also have had at least one year of experience in their
current expatriate position, ranging from one to eight years.
They were all working in various fields of activity, such as:
- Food import
- Property development
- Dairy industry
- Fertilizer business
- Life style management
Among the various issues they had to deal with upon their arrival in Spain, the
most important ones have been considered:
1. Language - While most of them were aware of it and started to learn the
language while still in Norway, for all language has been a shock,
amplified by the lack of English language knowledge of the locals.
2. Bureaucracy - The bureaucracy was considered really tough, as all
respondents had trouble working with the public administration.
3. Time perception - Time perception is another issue for a Norwegian
manager in Spain. While some have fought it and imposed to their
colleagues their perception of time, others have accepted that this is how
the Spanish people are and adjusted to this reality.
4. Maana attitude - The maana attitude defines the relaxed and
untroubled by deadlines perspective of the Spanish people. Not
acknowledging rules, deferring things and not finishing the task are not
very accustomed habits and easy to understand by the Norwegians.
Common Grounds and Particularities
On the basis of the study, all Norwegian managers were in favor of openly
expressing emotions and four cases in which the Spanish colleagues were
positively influencing, by expressing their feelings, the work. There was actually a
happy note about being able to express emotions more openly than in Norway.
Only one considered that, maybe because the company was male oriented
people were not expressing their feelings, and being an expatriate made him
stand out from the crowd.
Informal meetings and emails were the preferred means of communication. In
daily activities informal meetings, emails or the blackboard were mostly used. As
well, when rigor and transparency were sought upon, formal meetings or official
letters had been employed.
Research Analysis and Conclusion
As predicted by the various cross-cultural studies, the sojourners had to adapt
their management style to the new realities, but also had to impose their
standards to their working environment.
The Spanish tend to exhibit and not to separate emotions from work. Their
behavior may be interpreted as aggressive or even out of control by the
Norwegians. The research showed that the Spanish people were indeed very
emotional and open about their emotions, but this was not to the
disagreement of the Norwegians. Even more, the Norwegians found it very
good to behave this way and were very positive about it. Even work and the
results were seen as positively influenced by the openness in showing emotions.
This dimension anticipated the behavior of the Spanish people, but did not
perceive correctly the Norwegian perspective. This could be due to the
acceptance of some of the characteristics of the host culture or to the realization
that, once experiencing it, the openness is better than a hold out.
A Norwegian manager working in Spain would feel that the Spanish subordinates
do not focus on their tasks enough and would not collaborate and give proper
feedback. The collaboration between employees was almost inexistent; there
was no focus on tasks as well, with people looking, for example to finish work
faster to go home than to better serve the customers. Subordinates feedback
was more related to their counterparts and the issues they have to complete their
job, than being constructive.
In general a following conclusion can be made that on the Neutral vs. Affective
aspect, the Norwegians not only will not hide emotions and not display them, but
will approve and exhibit open feelings at work. They actually found it very good to
behave this way and were very positive about it, but only asked to be warned or
taught of this particular piece of information beforehand.