Culture Clash
Culture Clash
MARY COLLINS had impressed her superiors during her five years at the Pittsburgh office of a manufacturing firm specializing in farm equipment. Her superiors asked her to accept an assignment in Russia to determine the possibility of joint ventures. A firm in Moscow was identified whose executives agreed to have a series of meetings with Mary. On her first day at the firm, she met Yuri Sakharov who showed her around, introduced her to secretaries, and offered to answer questions as they came up during the next few weeks. Chatty Americans
find others quietThe next morning, Mary saw Yuri in the hall and they greeted each other and had a short conversation. Later in the afternoon, Mary saw Yuri again but he walked by her and did not acknowledge her presence. Mary wondered if she had done or said something offensive earlier in the day.
The cultural issue here involves a difference in workplace norms regarding how people are expected to respond to each other over the course of the day. In the United States, there is often the informal norm that people acknowledge each other every time they come into contact. In Russia, the norm is that "once is enough." People greet each other and exchange pleasantries the first time they see each other, but they are not expected to do this upon a second or third meeting during the same day. Mary should not take the lack of a second greeting personally. Yuri is behaving quite appropriately according to Russian workplace norms.
This analysis of a cultural difference was developed during conversations with the University of Hawaii's Julia Nikulina Compton. She is originally from Siberia and has also worked in Moscow. She points to another implication of the American desire to chat at every interaction compared to the "once is enough" norm. Julia has had the opportunity to learn a number of languages other than her native Russian. She found English the easiest of these additional languages to learn. She points out that "English speakers, especially Americans, are willing to talk with you and so you have the opportunity to get a lot of practice."
If speakers of other languages don't feel the need to have conversations with people more than once a day, there is far less opportunity for everyday use of language. Teachers of second languages always give students the advice to move beyond their textbooks and to engage native speakers in as many conversations as possible.
The purpose of this column is to increase understanding of human behavior as it has an impact on the workplace. Special attention will be given to miscommunications caused by cultural differences. Each column will start with a short example of such confusion. Possible explanations will be offered to encourage thought about these issues.
Richard Brislin is a professor in the College of Business Administration,
University of Hawaii. He can be reached through the
College Relations Office: cro@cba.hawaii.edu