Integration: Thai culture

I've started reading your preparatory work for the integration tasks. The remarks about the tasks could be enlightening for all of you, so that is why I put them on the blog. If you would like to add comments or additional material, please feel free to do so.

The group that is working on Thailand did a great job on describing the material they collected. From an overall point of view, we have enough information about Thailand. When you start processing the material (and I have pointed this out already in class), try to bear in mind what is really important in business communication. Both business and communication are equally important: whereas an overall overview of Thai culture (including e.g. the explanation of Thai chess) is useful, you could also focus on typical Thai habits that are important in business relations, especially on those habits that are quite unusual to our culture (e.g. the wai).

Lecture 8: Framework for assessing culture

This lecture is based on this article by Michael McGinnis about the integration of Geert Hofstede's framework into cross-cultural negotiations situations.

Four dimensions:
1. Individualism - Collectivism
- individualistic societies: stress on individual independence (e.g. US)
- collectivistic societies: group is responsible for the individual (e.g. Japan)
- individualistic: stress on short term, extreme offers
- collectivistic: stress on long term, realistic offer

2. Power Distance
- Is power distributed (un)equally?
- high power distance: little consultation between superiors and subordinates
- low power distance: more cooperation between "leaders" and "followers" (these roles could shift...)

3. Masculinity - Femininity
- masculine society: money and things - tangible (e.g. Japan)
- feminine society: relationships and quality of life - intangible (e.g. Finland)

4. Uncertainty avoidance
- high uncertainty avoidance: stability, structure and precise managerial direction (e.g. Greece)
- low uncertainty avoidance: ambiguity, unstructured situations, broad managerial guidance (e.g. Hong Kong)

For all of these dimensions, you could ask a few questions (feel free to add answers in the comments):
- What possible problems could you encounter in negotiations when two people of a different kind of culture are trying to reach an agreement?
- What kind of culture is your own culture?
- Could this framework work? Why (not)?
- Why is it important to have a framework? Could you possibly do without?

Lecture 7: explanation integration task

Case: looking for Belgian culture.

linklist for this lecture (selection):

http://www.expatriate-online.com/moving/Belgium/culture/culture.cfm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flemings

http://www.expatica.com/source/forum_thread.asp?channel_id=3&thread_id=13673

You can retrieve some information for your country/region as well:

• expatriate-online: maybe something similar is available for your country; look for forums (like expatica) and personal experiences, rather than general information. Stress is on: social interaction and communication.
• Wikipedia: could be interesting for you as well.
• Of course: if you look for personal experiences, make sure that you handle them as such in your portfolio.

If you have information you would like to share with your fellow students, mail me (even if it is only an annotated linklist). I'll put them on this blog.

Next week: integration week

Next week is the first integration week for NE.

For all of you (i.e. not only for NE, but also for OM and International Students), I will reserve next week's session (14 November) for questions and answers about your integration task.

Lecture 6: Intercultural leadership

I would like to give some examples of possible differences between "Western" style and an other culture's style of communication. I know that there could be a problem of overgeneralizing, but if I do, please correct me in the comments section.

Communication with people from the Middle East:
- Be patient. Recognize the Arab attitude towards time and hospitality;
- Relationships are much more important than the company (face to face vs. phone);
- Body language and flowery speech;
- Honour: no doubts/criticism in public.

Differences between Japanese and American style:
- No confrontation - confrontation;
- Group - individual(istic);
- Indirect - direct.

Examples of (intercultural) leaders.
- Why are they leaders? Why are they intercultural leaders?
- What is positive about their leadership?
- What is negative about their leadership?

Try to answer these questions (feel free to use the comments section for that) for:
- Malcolm X
- Adolf Hitler
- Ernesto Che Guevarra
- Saddam Hussein
- Mahatma Gandhi
- Joseph Stalin
- Jo Lernout & Pol Hauspie