Richard Lewis - When Cultures Collide

www.nicholasbrealey.com

www.crossculture.com

First published in 1996 by Nicholas Brealey Publishing

This fourth edition published in 2018 by Nicholas Brealey Publishing

An imprint of John Murray Press

An Hachette company

Copyright Richard D. Lewis 1996, 1999, 2006, 2018

The right of Richard D. Lewis to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978-1-473-68482-9

eBook ISBN (UK) 978-1-473-69780-5

eBook ISBN (US) 978-1-473-69781-2

To Jane, Caroline, Richard and David,
multicultural all

I was once in charge of an English language summer course in North Wales for adult students from three countriesItaly, Japan, and Finland. Intensive instruction was relieved by entertainment in the evenings and by day excursions to places of scenic or historical interest. We had scheduled a trip up Mount Snowdon on a particular Wednesday, but on the Tuesday evening it rained heavily. Around 10 oclock that night, during the after-dinner dancing, a dozen or so Finns approached me and suggested that we cancel the excursion, as it would be no fun climbing the muddy slopes of Snowdon in heavy rain. I, of course, agreed and announced the cancellation.

Immediately I was surrounded by protesting Italians disputing the decision. Why cancel the tripthey had been looking forward to it (escape from lessons), they had paid for it in their all-inclusive fee, a little rain would not hurt anyone and what was the matter with the Finns anywaywerent they supposed to be tough people? A little embarrassed, I consulted the Japanese contingent. They were very, very nice. If the Italians wanted to go, they would go, too. If, on the other hand, we cancelled the trip they would be quite happy to stay in and take more lessons. The Italians jeered at the Finns, the Finns mumbled and scowled, and eventually, in order not to lose face, agreed they would go. The excursion was declared on. It rained torrentially all night and also while I took a quick breakfast. The bus was scheduled to leave at half past eight, and at twenty-five past, taking my umbrella in the downpour, I ran to the vehicle. Inside were 18 scowling Finns, 12 smiling Japanese, and no Italians. We left on time and had a terrible day. The rain never let up, we lunched in cloud at the summit, and returned covered in mud at 5 oclock, in time to see the Italians taking tea and chocolate biscuits. They had sensibly stayed in bed. When the Finns asked them why, they said because it was raining

Cultural diversity is not something that is going to go away tomorrow, enabling us to plan our strategies on the assumption of mutual understanding. It is in itself a phenomenon with its own riches, the exploration of which could yield incalculable benefits for us, both in terms of wider and more profitable policies and activity. People of different cultures share basic concepts but view them from different angles and perspectives, leading them to behave in a manner which we may consider irrational or even in direct contradiction of what we hold sacred. We should nevertheless be optimistic about cultural diversity. The behavior of people of different cultures is not something willy-nilly. There exist clear trends, sequences and traditions. Reactions of Americans, Europeans, and Asians alike can be forecasted, usually justified and in the majority of cases managed. Even in countries where political and economic change has been rapid or sweeping (Russia, China, Hungary, Poland, Korea, Kazakhstan, etc.) deeply rooted attitudes and beliefs will resist a sudden transformation of values when pressured by reformists, governments or multinational conglomerates. Post- perestroika Russians exhibit individual and group behavioral traits strikingly similar to those recorded in Tsarist timesthese had certainly persisted, in subdued form, in the Soviet era. By focusing on the cultural roots of national behavior, both in society and business, we can foresee and calculate with a surprising degree of accuracy how others will react to our plans for them, and we can make certain assumptions as to how they will approach us. A working knowledge of the basic traits of other cultures (as well as our own) will minimize unpleasant surprises (culture shock), give us insights in advance, and enable us to interact successfully with nationalities with whom we previously had difficulty. This book aims to facilitate the acquisition of such insights.

International business, especially where joint ventures or prolonged negotiations are involved, is fraught with difficulties. Apart from practical and technical problems (to which solutions are often readily found), national psychology and characteristics frequently interfere at the executive level, where decisions tend to be more complex than the practical accords reached between accountants, engineers and other technicians. Corporate cultures vary widely inside one country (compare Apple and IBM in the US, or Sony and Mitsubishi in Japan); national business styles are markedly more diverse. In a JapaneseU.S. joint venture, where the Americans are interested mainly in profit and the Japanese in market share, which direction is to be taken? When a capitalistic company from the west sets up business in a socialist country, the areas for conflict are even more obvious. But how similar will be the business ethics or cultural background of Sweden and Greece, both European?

Determining national characteristics is treading a minefield of inaccurate assessment and surprising exception. There exist excitable Finns, wooden Italians, cautious Americans and charismatic Japanese. There is, however, such a thing as a national norm. For instance, Italians are in general more loquacious than Finns. Yet talkative Finns and silent Italians will overlap. The individuals who overlap are actually deviates in terms of that particular characteristic. In this book, with the object of making meaningful comparisons between different cultures, I have made certain generalizations regarding the national characteristics of one people or another. Such generalizations carry with them the risk of stereotyping as one talks about the typical Italian, German, American, etc. It is evident that Americans differ greatly from each other and that no two Italians are alike. However, my experience during 30 years of living abroad and rubbing shoulders with individuals of many nationalities has led me to the conviction that the inhabitants of any country possess certain core beliefs and assumptions of reality which will manifest themselves in their behavior. Culture, in the sense that it represents ones outlook and world view, is not, however, a strictly national phenomenon.