Intercultural Management by Farhad

1.1: Describing my cultural background

farhad_karim6 — 2016-10-28 17:23:13 UTC

Above the water (visible symbols and behavior):

Koningsdag

farhad_karim6 — 2016-10-28 17:35:35 UTC

Koningsdag is a national holiday in the Netherlands that celebrates the birthday of the king, Willem-Alexander, which is celebrated on April 27th. Everyone wears orange clothing or even dye their hair orange, in honour of the king. There are dozens of flea markets all around town where people sell their used goods. Concerts are also held on Koningsdag, the most popular of them in Amsterdam. But so many people go there that the outdoor events are ended before midnight.

farhad_karim6 — 2016-10-28 18:27:39 UTC

Klompen

farhad_karim6 — 2016-10-28 18:28:42 UTC

Klompen, also called Dutch clogs, are a type of wooden shoes usually worn by farmers. Because I grew up in a pretty rural area in the east of the Netherlands, klompen were a thing I saw every day. They might be considered strange by others, but even now, three years after moving from my hometown, it's still weird for me to never see them.

farhad_karim6 — 2016-10-28 18:39:42 UTC

Sinterklaas

farhad_karim6 — 2016-10-28 19:02:59 UTC

It's basically the Dutch version of Santa Claus, and each year he and his helpers called Zwarte Pieten hand out gifts and candies to children all over the Netherlands. Adults don't celebrate it, it's mostly children, who each write wish lists for Sinterklaas in hope that he fulfills their wishes. Pepernoten, and speculaas are the most popular candies eaten by children. Every kid in the Netherlands has celebrated Sinterklaas, and finding out that Sinterklaas isn't real is one of the worst things that can happen in your childhood.

farhad_karim6 — 2016-10-28 19:10:59 UTC

Suikerfeest

farhad_karim6 — 2016-10-28 19:13:21 UTC

The suikerfeest marks the end of Ramadan, the holy Islamic month of fasting. After about a month of fasting, families and friends gather for a big feast to celebrate the end of the fasting. A lot of sweets and delicacies are made and a lot of food is made for all the guests.

farhad_karim6 — 2016-10-28 19:23:38 UTC

Oud en Nieuw

farhad_karim6 — 2016-10-28 19:24:10 UTC

Oud en Nieuw, also known as New Year's Eve in English is celebrated on the last day of the year, 31st December. In the Netherlands this is celebrated by eating a lot of oliebollen and lighting a lot of fireworks.

farhad_karim6 — 2016-10-28 19:31:36 UTC

farhad_karim6 — 2016-10-28 19:32:57 UTC

Below the surface (norms and rules):

Don't disrespect your elders

farhad_karim6 — 2016-10-28 19:36:13 UTC

Elders must always be respected, also your parents. Even if you disagree with them don't be too confrontational about it and be as polite as possible.

Family above all

farhad_karim6 — 2016-10-28 19:40:33 UTC

The family is one of the most important parts of your life. Men and women's roles are more traditional.

Politeness

farhad_karim6 — 2016-10-28 19:44:35 UTC

When meeting somebody, you shake his hand and ask him how he and his family is doing. When you talk to a person you make eye contact.

Hospitality

farhad_karim6 — 2016-10-28 19:46:24 UTC

Hospitality is an important aspect of my culture. You always try to treat your guests as good as possible. When guests come over, you keep giving them snacks and drinks until they can't eat anymore.

Honour

farhad_karim6 — 2016-10-28 19:50:33 UTC

It defines the reputation and worth of an individual, also who they are associated with. The head male is usually the one that protects the honour of the family

farhad_karim6 — 2016-10-28 19:54:07 UTC

Deep under water (values, basic assumptions, beliefs):

Men need to be strong

farhad_karim6 — 2016-10-28 20:18:55 UTC

Men need to appear strong to fulfill the macho tendencies that is expected of them by others.

Don't forget your roots

farhad_karim6 — 2016-10-28 20:21:12 UTC

Even though I'm from the Netherlands, my parents have taught me to not let go of my roots by teaching me the Afghan Persian language.

Low context/High context

farhad_karim6 — 2016-10-28 20:24:24 UTC

Even though I tend to be more low context myself, at home when I talk to my parents I do it in high context.

Compare yourself with others

farhad_karim6 — 2016-10-28 20:27:56 UTC

When you have achieved something, you often will want to find out if others have done the same already.

Facial expressions

farhad_karim6 — 2016-10-28 20:30:04 UTC

When talking to someone, the importance of facial expressions are often very important and can change the entire mood of the conversation.

1.2: Format your Personal Profile

farhad_karim6 — 2016-10-28 20:32:37 UTC

farhad_karim6 — 2016-10-28 20:35:14 UTC

Communication
High context Low context
I/C

<----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------->

I'm low context, for example I always answer with short yes or no answers to yes or no questions, and don't beat around the bush.

In the Netherlands people are low context and often seen as too direct by high context people.

Time
Monochronic Polychronic
I/C

<----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------->

I always prefer to be on time for appointments, sometimes even earlier. An example is of my driving lesson that I had today, ten minutes before it began I was already standing outside waiting for the car to come.

People in the Netherlands also find this important, they like to plan things ahead and are always on time, e.g. in formal things like business meetings, or informal things too like coming on time to parties.

Personal Space
Close Distant
I/C
<--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------->

I shake peoples' hands when I meet them, for example I always shake the hands of strangers, as it is a polite thing to do.

In the Netherlands it's largely the same, hand shakes and hugs for people you know well.

Nature
Dominating In harmony with Subjugated to
I/C
<----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------->

Everything around me is dominating nature, it's also the same in Netherlands, for example the many dikes here to prevent flooding.

Orientation
Doing Being
I/C
<---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------->

I personally don't like to wait and prefer to get the job done as soon as I can, for example I keep up with my homework.

In the Netherlands people also like to do things as structurally as possible.

farhad_karim6 — 2016-10-28 21:11:20 UTC

farhad_karim6 — 2016-10-28 21:15:09 UTC

The biggest similarity is with the aspect Monochronic and Polychronic, the rest are evenly distributed, with the exception of the aspect Doing or Being, which is the biggest gap that we have. Because we are all on the same page, there are no conflicts within our group and our strategies are effective.

1.3: DIE Method

farhad_karim6 — 2016-10-28 21:30:13 UTC

farhad_karim6 — 2016-10-28 21:35:38 UTC

farhad_karim6 — 2016-10-28 21:37:16 UTC

What I learned from the observations and interpreting them is that I shouldn't judge too quickly on what people do. It is better to make sure if what he/she portrays him/herself as is actually the way they intend it to be, this can easily be solved by just asking them to confirm. This can also avoid unnecessary conflicts within the group.

What I learned about my group is that they each have their own way of doing their things as best as possible, in their own way and that this difference is what makes groups stronger.

1.4: Randömia Simulation Game

farhad_karim6 — 2016-10-28 21:42:40 UTC

farhad_karim6 — 2016-10-28 21:46:16 UTC

I was assigned to be a Randömian worker in the Randömia Simulation Game. I didn't really know what to expect at first, but it became clear later that I had to talk to the Richlanders, who were visiting our factory. We needed to talk to them in an submissive way, and avoid eye contact at all costs. It proved to be difficult to communicate with the Richlanders this way, our points did not come across at all. It was pretty hard for me to be this indirect and high context, I didn't really know how to speak that way because I'm not used to it. Not being allowed to make eye contact made it even harder.

What I learned from this is that instead of feeling helpless in the face of culture shocks, we try to resolve it by adapting to the other person's culture instead of continuously sticking with our own

Cross-cultural example:

During my trip abroad to Turkey, people kept approaching me and suddenly start talking in Turkish to me. They assumed I was a Turk, I had to explain that I'm not and they would apologize. This happened multiple times.

1. Neutrally describe:
A situation in where people have mistaken me for being Turkish.

2. Wonder about cultures:
Turkey has a different culture than the Netherlands, with Turkey being a mostly high context culture. perhaps being too direct in immediately telling them that they're wrong gets them off the wrong foot.

3. Inquire first, then interpret
Perhaps I could have asked them first about why they approached me before I commented on it.

4. Explore new responses and behaviour
Instead of immediately correcting them and putting them off I could have instead listened to what they had to say/ask to me and respond in an other language like English instead, which clears the confusion.

In retrospect, this way would have been better and I have learned something new.

farhad_karim6 — 2016-10-28 22:14:59 UTC

2.1 Interviews

farhad_karim6 — 2016-12-22 19:59:05 UTC

farhad_karim6 — 2016-12-22 20:00:57 UTC

Interviewer: Farhad Karim
Interviewee: Dirk Nijzink

Date: 19-12-2016
Place: Winterswijk
Time: 19:47

Interviewer: Good evening. My name is Farhad and I will ask you questions regarding your cultural background.
Interviewee: Alright, that’s fine.
Interviewer: Good, I’ll start easy though. What’s your name, age and where are you from?
Interviewee: My name is Dirk Nijzink, I’m 46 years old and I’ve lived in Winterswijk my entire life.
Interviewer: Oh really, your entire life? Did you never move out from your parents’ house?
Interviewee: I didn’t need to. The place where I have always worked at is my father’s business, I still work there.
Interviewer: Do you have any other siblings? Did they end up working in the same company?
Interviewee: Yes, I have one older brother. And no, he moved out to pursue his own path a while ago, when we were still teens.
Interviewer: How was it like growing up in Winterswijk?
Interviewee: Well, I can only remember nice things from my childhood. A lot of memories of going to school and playing with my mates, a lot of other things like the first time going to college, first time I got a job.
Interviewer: Did you always plan to work in your father’s company? What was your dream job, like what was your plan for the future when you were a child?
Interviewee: I didn’t plan for my current job, but I certainly don’t regret working here now either. My dream job as a child was becoming an astronaut, I imagine I wouldn’t have much chance at becoming one, looking back at it now.
Interviewer: Are you a religious man?
Interviewee: My parents used to bring me to church every Sunday when I was a child, but I haven’t gone in a while. I wouldn’t call myself too religious but not an atheist either. I’m agnostic.
Interviewer: And what about politics?
Interviewee: Well, I’ll be honest here, I haven’t voted in about ten years. It’s just something about this current political climate that I don’t like. I don’t feel like they’re being honest with us.
Interviewer: And why is that?
Interviewee: Like, with promises that end up being not fulfilled just to name one example.
Interviewer: I have to end it here, thank you for allowing me to interview you.
Interviewee: No problem.

farhad_karim6 — 2016-12-22 20:05:51 UTC

Interviewer: Farhad Karim
Interviewee: Cas Hendriks

Date: 21-12-2016
Place: Arnhem
Time: 13:41

Interviewer: Good afternoon. My name is Farhad and I will ask you questions regarding your cultural background.
Interviewee: Okay.
Interviewer: So what’s your name?
Interviewee: My name is Cas Hendriks.
Interviewer: Have you always wanted to study at the HAN Business school?
Interviewee: I finished VWO in high school, but chose for college. I think I want to study at an university after finishing my study here.
Interviewer: What kind of job do you want to have in the future?
Interviewee: I don’t know what exact kind of job yet, but obviously a job in the business world.
Interviewer: You’re old enough to vote, do you involve yourself in politics?
Interviewee: Not much at all actually, I know I’m old enough to vote but I never thought about it either.
Interviewer: Are you religious?
Interviewee: No, I’m not religious. I celebrate stuff like Christmas but everyone does it, doesn’t make you religious I guess.
Interviewer: Thank you for your time.
Interviewee: Thank you.

Personal reflection:
Interviewing my classmate was different than interviewing a 40+ person, because I know my classmate better. So, I guess the interview with my classmate was more personal, because I didn’t ask too many basic questions compared to the other interview. Similarity is that we both study at the same school and want to have a job in the same aspect (business). Difference is religion and not much else actually. What I learned from doing these interviews is how to ask better follow up questions, I feel as if I have improved these.

farhad_karim6 — 2016-12-22 20:07:33 UTC

Case study Plastics Vietnam meets German factory

1. 1: Power Distance Index (high versus low).

The Power Distance Index influences peoples’ thoughts and behavior a lot. It refers to the amount of equality, or inequality, there exists between people. A high PDI score means that there is a hierarchy, a low PDI means that the power is distributed equally. This dimension influences peoples’ behavior and thoughts a lot because people without power will be more hesitant to approach someone with higher power in a high PDI society, compared to those in low PDI societies where society members accept situations where the boss and the employee are treated equally.

2: Universalism versus particularism.

Universalism means that people put rules before relationships, meaning that people that have universalist thoughts think that the law is the number one thing. Particularism means that people look at each situation differently and apply rules according to each situation, meaning that rules can change depending on the situation. This influences peoples’ thoughts and behavior seeing a universalist people have a different way of dealing things than particularist people, universalist people would put the law above their personal preferences. Particularist people would look at each situation differently and apply rules differently.

3: Overtness of messages.

People in high context cultures put a lot of emphasis on metaphors and try their best to not be direct to people, they try to hide their real reasons often in sentences. Whereas people in low context cultures are often seen as rude and too direct by these same high context people, because they don’t communicate in the same way that they do.

4: Privacy of space.

The amount of personal space is considered differently by various cultures. There is little personal space in some Asian cultures, take for example the amount of distance between people in trains or in the bus between people in those cultures. Western cultures are usually characterized by high amounts of personal space. This can be important in peoples’ behavior and thoughts, as standing too close or too distant from people can be considered as rude by people while interacting with them.

5: Flexibility of time.

Time is more open and flexible in high context cultures, while in low context cultures time is very organized. This is also extremely important in peoples’ behavior and thoughts because things like deadlines will be treated differently by people from high and low context cultures.

2. After analyzing the case, it seems that collaborating will be the best option to solve this conflict. Both parties need to come to an agreement by coming up with a creative solution. This would seem like the best option to pick, especially seeing as the two parties are both from totally different cultures. Mr Dinh might not be trying to upset Mr Kolman but the differences in dealing issues in both cultures are different. So in conclusion, collaborating will bring the best results for both parties.

3. I had conflict with my coach at my old football club, he thought I was not trying hard enough in training so I got benched during games. We eventually used the conflict style of compromising, so I trained harder in order to start more games.

2.5 Case study

farhad_karim6 — 2016-12-22 20:08:35 UTC

2.5 End reflection

farhad_karim6 — 2016-12-22 20:09:31 UTC

farhad_karim6 — 2016-12-22 20:10:48 UTC

End reflection

1. In my opinion, the intercultural management lessons were very much needed. I learned a lot of things that I didn’t even know existed, such as the differences in cultures. Myself being brought up in a different culture home compared to the outside, I always knew there were differences but I didn’t know how many there actually were until I actually read about it during these lessons and realized it. One topic that was very useful was high context and low context cultures, I learned something that I kind of knew about but never knew the name of this and the exact theory about it. Another thing that was useful for me was Trompenaar’s dimensions of cultures, I actually read about it once before I took this course and it always interested me so it was good knowing that this was dealt with in the theory too. One topic that wasn’t too useful for me was the simulation game called Randomia, I already deal with high and low context culture differences almost every day so doing this game wasn’t too useful for me. Another topic that I didn’t like were the case studies because the theories behind it were often almost exactly described in the lessons book.

2. Two personal challenges for me are understanding the hidden messages in high context culture sometimes and understanding their way of seeing a hierarchy between people. Two strengths are being able to collaborate with people with different cultures, and also being able to understand the way why they act differently sometimes, seeing as I also am brought up in two different cultures. One personal goal is to understand the perception of time of high context cultures, by gradually caring less about the strictness of time in low context cultures. An example is coming about 5 minutes late to a meeting with a high context cultured friend, and gradually build it up, then ask the friend if he realizes that I’m doing this and if so if he minds it. Another personal goal is to change my perception of a hierarchy as seen by high context cultures, so I would be more of a subordinate during meetings in where a boss is appointed. I would gradually keep this up and then ask the boss if he realizes that I’m acting differently. I would do this every meeting.