Culture Clash
Culture Clash
Be aware of
status hierarchies
in different countriesBecause he had recently been awarded a patent in wireless user interface technology, Bob Mayer had received extensive publicity in his hometown, Seattle. Known locally as "the twenty-four year old boy wonder," Bob felt that there were international markets for his technology.
He scheduled a trip to Osaka, Japan, to have meetings at Sumitomo Electronics. He was pleased to learn his reputation preceded him given extensive coverage of his patent in the Asian Wall Street Journal and the Japan Times. The chairman of the board asked Tadashi Ueda, a vice president at Sumitomo, to welcome Bob and to arrange a meeting with 10 other influential executives. Tadashi was 50 years old and was well known at Sumitomo for his 25 years of excellent work.
Tadashi met Bob in his office and they walked together to a meeting room where the other executives were waiting. When they came to the door, they both stopped, wondering who should enter first.
Both knew the general guideline that the higher status person should enter first, but it was unclear who this was. Bob was young but had status because of his well-publicized patent. Tadashi had status as an older man who was a company vice president. Bob and Tadashi stood at the door to the meeting room and looked to each other for guidance concerning what to do next.
Bob and Tadashi are engaging in "status abacus." They are trying to figure out who has the higher status so the culturally appropriate behavior, entering the room first, can take place. The process is complex in this example since the two people bring different kinds of status to their encounters. Bob has his youthful major achievements, and Tadashi has his age and company title. The former carries weight in the United States, and the latter is important in Japan.
This incident and analysis developed from discussions with Philip Zimbardo, Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif. Our advice to Bob is that he behave in ways where he shows knowledge of Japan's "home court advantage." For instance, he might say, "Please go first. I'm just a guest here and you're the vice president." Even if he does not behave in ways that are totally appropriate in Japan, his efforts to be culturally sensitive will be recognized and appreciated.
If people can communicate good will and an appreciation of cultural differences, minor errors during social and work encounters will often be forgiven.
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