Goldbrain delves into the importance of cultural sensitivity and cross-cultural communication when navigating an international environment. You'll see how crucial it is to have cultural awareness to avoid cultural misunderstandings and foster effective cross-cultural relations and business etiquette.
Throughout the discussion on business etiquette and global business practices, you'll learn how small gestures, like handling business cards differently in various cultures, can make or break your cross-cultural communication efforts. In Asia, business cards are treated with respect and should not be immediately tucked away. The "Indian yes" can be misinterpreted by Westerners as disapproval when it actually indicates agreement. Eye contact in the United States may be perceived as inappropriate in certain situations, examples which prove the importance of cultural sensitivity, cross-cultural communication and appropriate interpersonal communication.
The video emphasizes the necessity of cultural sensitivity and business etiquette in global business practices. Examples, from the Indian yes to the Korean yes, illustrate how misinterpretations can occur without adequate interpersonal communication skills and the huge significance of cross-cultural communication in an international environment.
More serious cultural awareness and cultural sensitivity is also discussed. In Saudi Arabia, extramarital relations and public displays of homosexuality are criminal offenses.
Cultural awareness and cultural sensitivity is crucial when considering gift-giving customs, food preferences, and other aspects of Cross-cultural Communication. Gift-giving customs vary greatly between cultures.
Food preferences can also lead to misunderstandings, this is why cross-cultural communication is vital. What may be considered a delicacy in one culture could be repulsive to another, cultural sensitivity being absolutely necessary in this case. You'll be advised to research before engaging in international business to prevent cultural misunderstandings.
In one anecdote, you'll see the consequences of enforcing a "yes" response without understanding the cultural context, which led to a business failure, highlighting the importance of cultural sensitivity in cross-cultural relations and cross-cultural communication.
The video concludes by urging you to share your experiences and continue learning about cultural sensitivity and cross-cultural communication to navigate the complexities of the global business landscape effectively.
Video transcript:
In today's video, we will talk about cultural sensitivity and what can go wrong if you work in an international environment.
If you are planning to work in an international environment, go to my website www.gabrielgoldbrain.com and find out about the Goldbrain Success Training which brings you into management consulting.
Let's start with a classical mistake being made: business cards.In Asia, in Europe, and the US, you have a quick look at the business card and then you take it away, in your jacket or in your pocket. Don't do that in Asia; this may be considered disrespectful and impolite. Rather do it that way: in a meeting with Asians, treat the business card as an important item, put it on the table next to you, don't put it into your pocket, treat it with respect.
Next one, the Indian yes. This is something which feels disturbing for Westerners because we're not used to the Indian yes. Imagine you're holding a presentation with an Indian CEO or an Indian CFO, and then you make your first good point, and then the CEO goes like, "You continue with the next point." So you thought maybe okay, he didn't like the first one, then it continues with your second point, third point, then you feel, am I getting things completely wrong? It feels so weird that he does not like anything what you say, what looks like a CEO disliking what you say, it's just the opposite; he was doing the Indian yes or the Indian form of nodding. So that means he actually liked your presentation. But as a Westerner, this can be pretty disturbing if you experience this the first time.
Another thing we will talk about later is the Korean yes. I will tell you why enforcing a Korean yes can end up in terrible headache, but let's do that later.In the United States, making eye contact, like the CEO making eye contact with a cleaning lady or with a woman in the elevator, that can be considered sexual harassment. So if you want to avoid 100% trouble, never be in the same room with a woman without witnesses. For sure, we're talking about business settings, like in the office or on business trips, in the hotel.
When we talk about cultural sensitivity, we also have to talk about the real hard cases, cases for which you can go to jail, cases for which you can get serious sentences. For instance, extramarital relations in Saudi Arabia can cause you big trouble. It's a criminal offense not being married and having a sexual relationship with an unmarried woman in Saudi Arabia. So you probably don't go to Saudi Arabia with your girlfriend or with a group of friends, friends with a mixed group of friends. It's not a good idea. A pretty bad idea is to be lesbian, gay, and show that in public in Saudi Arabia; this is probably the safest way to get into prison and get heavy penalties for that. In Western countries, this is not considered a problem or an issue at all. If you kiss, if you're gay, and you kiss on the street, who cares? Nobody really cares. In Asia, more so, people do care. Also in Southeastern Europe, people will care, Russia maybe also, people will care. But in Saudi Arabia, this is something you definitely won't and don't do.
Other Cultural Differences in Saudi Arabia
Quite a few things can go wrong. For instance, it's forbidden to celebrate your birthday, which seems you would not even think about it in the West or in other countries, but don't do it in Saudi Arabia. Also, don't take pictures of people in Saudi Arabia and post them on social media; that's violating the personal rights of this person and it can bring you into serious trouble. The same if you have certain entertainment videos on your smartphone when you're coming to the country; don't do it.
In other countries, there is strict punishment for drug abuse or for carrying even minor amounts of drugs, for instance, marijuana. Bring it to the UAE, Malaysia, or Japan, and you're in big trouble. Don't do it in the UAE; for instance, in the worst case, this can lead to a death sentence, so it's really serious. Take it serious before you travel to these countries.
For every private and business traveler, I recommend researching the dos and don'ts of the country you're planning to visit. If you go there the first time and if you don't know the customs in this country, this will keep you out of trouble.
When talking about cultural sensitivity, you should also learn about presents. Presents are often made among business friends or if you're invited home to someone. Usually, you do presents. Presents usually don't bring you into prison, but things can go wrong badly anyway. For instance, if you give flowers to a Russian girl or to a Russian business partner, make sure it's an odd number because even numbers are used at funerals. Therefore, by some people, it may be considered an insult. The same with roses; either give one or a number that is not even because an even number means he doesn't love me or maybe he just he's an idiot. And why? Because he's just not culturally sensitive and even a small child in that country knows that you don't do it that way. So do your research before you go abroad or before you interact with people coming from foreign countries.
The Umbrella Story
One thing Goldbrain has seen is that a company wanted to make presents to their Chinese and Asian friends, and they thought about an umbrella. Nice umbrella with a corporate logo on it would be nice to have an umbrella, no? But not in Asia, not in China, not in Japan; they consider it as disrespectful and not valuing the counterparty. And why? Because an umbrella is associated with rain. Who likes rain?
Another big topic of cultural sensitivity is food. Chicken feet, bugs, or dogs, that won't make a Western happy; they will be pretty disgusted by it. Also, whereas the French, they like to eat frogs, this will disgust other Europeans. Whereas in Europe, we like cheese, moldy cheese, smelly cheese, don't do that to Asians; they will hate it, they're not used to it. Don't serve crispy bread like you get it in Switzerland, Germany, or Austria to an American; they like it soft, a soft crust like toast. So you see there is a lot of things you can do wrong when it comes to food.
Let's now come to my final point which is the Korean yes, or generally, we could even say the Asian yes, but the strongest, it's the strongest in Korea. Koreans are very polite and therefore they learn from a young age that saying no should be avoided as good as possible. So you will hardly see a Korean disagreeing with you. If they disagree, they do it more indirectly. They will not directly tell you that they dislike what you propose, but they will start talking, giving arguments, making stories why they think there are better options than what you propose. Europeans and Americans tend to ignore that. They just think, "Why is he discussing all these stuff?" And then they will ask you, "Will you do what I propose, yes or no?" For instance, "Will you attend the meeting on Friday, yes or no?" And every good Korean will say yes, yes, I will attend, yes, yes. And guess what happens? He actually wanted to say no, but as he's a very polite person, he could only give one answer when he was cornered like that. So in his culture, there is no no in such a situation; he will give you the yes you want. But then guess what happens on Friday? This guy, he won't show up despite he gave you the yes. How can that be? You will be furious at this guy because he made the promise to come and he didn't. So this is a very common misunderstanding between Westerners and Asians that in Asian culture there is no no, no direct no. When you corner someone, they will give you the yes you want, but then things will go differently than you think, and so you will be disappointed, and he will be kind of intimidated by your behavior. So that is a typical misunderstanding which is bad for both sides. So everyone should know about that, the Asians as well as the Westerners, that this can lead to pretty bad conflicts.
And now we come to the example which I promised to give you about the Korean yes which I experienced. So GoldBrain was in a restructuring situation of a bankrupt company; time was running out, and an important meeting with all key customers of the company was called in. The company's management and the management consultants, they prepared a solution to overcome the problems of the company and find a new investor. Everything that was needed to save the 500 jobs which were on the table was the commitment of the most important customers. And guess what happened? The presentation was given, there was some discussions, and all customers agreed to the solution. And there was only one which was the Korean customer. And so people were arguing, "Why would you not agree? What are your reasons? Do you have? Why do you not support the proposal?" Because I mean there are 500, 100 jobs and people may lose their job if you don't agree. And so the discussion went on, and instead of understanding that the Korean would never agree for the reasons he gave, they put more pressure on him and they said, "Hey, we've got to save these jobs. Do you not want to save these jobs?" So hey, "Why do you not commit to the rescue of the company? Why do you not commit to the plan which we presented?" And so finally, the Korean guy, he agreed because he just could not say no being cornered by the big group in the room. So the meeting ended, and people went home happy that they saved the company. Now the only thing that had to be done was signing some documents before the deadline lapsed. Guess what happened when it was for the signature of the Korean guy? No one could reach him. He didn't show up. When they called his office, he was not available. So the deadline lapsed, and the deal got passed. There was no solution, and the people were on the street. Their jobs were eliminated. And why? Because the Korean yes was enforced by someone who was not culturally sensitive. Whereas if you had taken the guy serious during the meeting, you could have elaborated an alternative with all the remaining clients without violating the bank deadline because then all the other customers were sitting in one room, and there was enough time to find a solution without this big customer. But due to trusting on the yes given by the Korean, there was no alternative. They could not bring together all the customers in an emergency meeting, and that way the deadline lapsed, and the company got busted. Therefore, before you act in an international setup or before you go to a country in which you have never been, I recommend to you, try to Google what are the specifics, what are the rules, what are the cultural particularities that you must be sensitive about, because that way you can avoid trouble. But sometimes it can be really tough because you may deal with a lot of countries and you may not be aware about everything, and you can't Google everything before you're in such setups. Just always be open-minded and mindful that you could be falling into one of these pitfalls. If you experienced some weird international situations, put it down in the comments below; I guess the community will highly value what you experience. Today, I recommend two videos to you. The first one is how you invite properly for presentations, and the second video is how you become a CEO. Like my video, thanks for watching.
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