Can you think of a quick definition of culture?

Probably not.

It’s one of those murky areas of understanding, but Dictionary.com defines it as “the behaviors and beliefs characteristic of a particular social, ethnic, or age group.”

That may not be crystal clear, especially when trying to understand the impact of Chinese culture, but intercultural competency is critical for company success.

That’s according to AmCham Shanghai’s latest issue of Insight magazine.

“Researchers agree that in order for managers to be effective in different cultures, they need to be interested in the new culture, sensitive to unique qualities and willing to change their own behavior as an indication of respect,” Insight reported.

The issue noted that Milton Bennet, codirector of the Intercultural Communication Institute, has found that denial of cultural differences, and defense against and minimization of them explain why some people don’t get any better at communicating in foreign environments. Meanwhile, acceptance of, adaptation to and integration of cultural differences into identity help tremendously.

Mr. Bennet and Mitchell Hammer of the cross-cultural team-building consultancy Hammer Consulting created a tool called the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) for measuring both individual and group intercultural competence.

“The system can be employed to build intercultural competence in global leaders, as well as to deliver high-impact international executive coaching, implement multicultural teambuilding [sic] and development, and improve communication, effectiveness and productivity among employees,” Insight noted.

Without proper culture adjustment, failure rates are high.

“The failure rate of U.S. expatriates is estimated at between 40 to 55 percent, and the cost of failure for a company usually ranges from US$250,000 to US$1 million,” Insight reported.

It looks like a few more foreigners need to learn how to use chopsticks – to begin with.

    Channel: Local Wisdom     |