Culture Clash
Culture Clash
Specific examples
of complex topics focus
people’s attention'People's minds wander from generalization to generalization. Precise examples direct people's attention and encourage them to focus their thinking. Don't tell me about the need for modern technological advances at a community hospital. Tell me about a kidney dialysis machine that will help a young child." This advice from my college speech teacher, Russell Lembke, came to mind as I thought about recent events in Hawaii in which the public has taken great interest.
Many people contributed to the expensive rescue at sea of the dog, Hok Get. The Van Cam program for ticketing speeders was met with unprecedented unpopularity. Lobbying groups formed to argue against the proposed decrease in fines for parking illegally in a reserved handicapped space. In all three cases, people's attention was drawn to specific actions that encourage mental images in which they can become personally involved.
People can imagine finding Hok Get and can visualize and the excitement of the press coverage as the rescue boat arrives in Honolulu. People can imagine being ticketed when they were not the driver but instead lent their car to a friend. Many people know a driver with a handicapped parking pass and can empathize with the unreasonableness of searching for another parking spot and walking long distances when spaces are occupied illegally.
Culture gives people guidance concerning which specific events are important enough to warrant attention. In the Hok Get case, people in many cultures find the amount of money spent hard to understand. One reason is that, in contrast to the United States, not all cultures encourage people to humanize pets and to treat them as family members. In the handicapped parking space example, American values concerning inclusive treatment of people with various disabilities come to the forefront. In other cultures, people with disabilities are looked upon as embarrassments and are not encouraged to participate fully in everyday social life.
As people move from culture to culture, they are well advised to realize that culturally-important specific behaviors have an impact on their reputations. In Japan, for example, people show their goodwill by integrating their suggestions with those of others rather than by emphasizing their personal opinions. In China, they will be careful not to embarrass others in public and to make sure that they help others "save face." In Hawaii, they will participate actively in various company picnics and parties and will bring more food than people are likely to eat. These specific gestures are noticed by people and they contribute to a more general reputation as "someone we like to have around."
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