The Society for Intercultural Education, Training and Research - Houston
Rick Schroder led the group in a discussion of some of the challenges facing
people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender (GLBT), with a focus
on issues and situations that arise in the workplace. The goals of the discussion
were to:
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Increase understanding of sexual orientation issues for the workplace
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Encourage people to step outside of their comfort zones
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Identify opportunities to build increased inclusiveness.
Rick emphasized that he is interested in changing behaviors of employees in
the workplace, not beliefs. All employees, GLBTs included, deserve to be treated
with dignity and respect by co-workers and management.
Rick opened the discussion by asking a question most of us have probably not thought of: How many of you have ever had to choose your sexual orientation? In one sense, the next 90 minutes developed and deepened the meaning of that question.
As background to appreciating the workplace situation, Rick took us through a discussion of issues involved in sexuality and gender identity. This involves four major components, each of which can be represented on a spectrum with two endpoints:
Diagram of Sex and Gender
Biological sex (anatomy, chromosomes, hormones)
Male intersex Female
Gender identity (psychological sense of self, how you think)
Man Woman
Gender expression (communication of gender)
Masculine Feminine
Sexual orientation (who you are attracted to)
Women bisexual / asexual Men
Social norms describe men as having the traits on the far left side of the four spectra and women are portrayed by the characteristics on the far right. Rick asked us to consider the issues that confront people who discover themselves somewhere in the middle on the four spectra. Sooner or later, they begin to understand that they are different and to contemplate what that might mean. Because GBTL people do not fall neatly into any of the socially accepted norms, they find themselves trying to rationalize why they are different – something that could be mistaken for making a choice. But the real choice involves whether and how to represent themselves and express their gender identity and sexual orientation.
For the most part, we all fall somewhere in between, with the majority of people being clustered near the endpoints of the four spectra, even on the biological scale, and perhaps most notably on the gender expression scale. The four scales are intended to provide a framework for putting GLBT orientations in a context relative to society as a whole.
Rick discussed the following challenges that GLBT employees and companies are meeting in the overall effort to level the playing field and promote acceptance in the workplace:
• Eliminating heterosexism – Heterosexism is the general term
denoting biases and discrimination with reference to sexual orientation that
are characteristic of the way HR systems and policies operate in most U.S.
workplaces. The term would seem to be the equivalent of “racism” and “sexism” in
denoting the systematic biases and preferences that operate to the detriment
of women and people of color in U.S. society. Examples of heterosexism in the
workplace would include denial of spousal benefits for same-sex partners and
invisibility of GLBT employee challenges in talent management.
•
Creating a safe, inclusive workplace – This involves such things as creating
GLBT employee networks, considering GLBT needs in issues of work / life balance,
and establishing policies and codes of conduct that reduce instances of hostile,
discriminatory behaviors.
•
Internal / External outreach – Companies can engage in efforts to include
and support GLBT employees and the GLBT community in general. Internal outreach
might include programs to increase managerial comfort levels with GLBT employees,
or support for GLBT employee networks. External outreach includes all efforts
that companies make that are supportive of the GLBT community, such as advertising
in GLBT publications or sponsoring GLBT events and promoting legislation to
eliminate legal barriers and discrimination.
•
Education and awareness – This involves promoting inclusion through communications,
leadership development, network sponsored events, etc.
•
The future – Examples of issues that are emerging for GLBT employees
and companies include recognition of gay marriage and transgender health benefits.
The GLBT community has acquired considerable economic muscle. Rick reported that the total U.S. GLBT buying power is now $610 billion annually and is headed to $745 billion in 2009.
Rick closed the discussion by sharing his own experiences as a gay employee, particularly his coming out in 1994 as an employee of a major U.S. oil company that at the time did not think that it had any gay employees.
Merna Jacobsen took the group through a lively, animated, and masterfully
professional presentation exploring what facilitation is all about. To begin,
Merna had us break into four smaller groups and assigned each group one of
the following questions to discuss:
1. What is facilitation?
2. What do facilitators do?
3. What do facilitators believe?
4. When are facilitators needed?
The rest of the presentation elaborated on these four questions, using the
groups’ answers posted on a “Sticky Wall” as a basis for
deriving answers.
The richness and variety of the discussion and the enthusiasm and commitment of Merna’s “facilitation” cannot be reproduced in a mere summary. The following attempts to convey something of what was said. Needless to say, there were no single “right” answers to any of the questions.
1. What is facilitation?
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Providing leadership without taking the reins
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Sense-making
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Enabling people to work in collaboration
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Forging communities
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Helping people have difficult conversations.
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Facilitation involves the use of intuitive knowledge. Facilitators are “present
with people.”
2. What do facilitators do? This part of the discussion drew upon Roger Schwartz
book “The Skilled Facilitator” and his nine types of intervention.
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Facilitation is either basic or developmental. Basic is temporary and the facilitator
leads the group. Developmental facilitation is done to implant a process for
the permanent benefit of the group, and thus the group must become independent
of the facilitator.
•
Facilitation can be focused on either content or process. In content-focused
facilitation, the facilitator is an expert in the subject and provides information
and ideas. In process-focus, the facilitator remains neutral on content and
only keeps the process going. “Neutrality” looms large in the ethics
of facilitation and the need to avoid manipulation.
•
Schwartz’ Nine Types of Facilitation
1. Exploring
2. Seeking specifics
3. Diagnosis
4. Emphasizing process
5. Managing group processes
6. Teaching and training
7. Confrontation and feedback
8. Making content suggestions
9. Reframing – helping people to change the way they think, asking them
to test their assumptions
Facilitation is not a passive activity. It’s ok to give content, confront,
guide, but all of these must be done in the right way with sensitivity to the
relationship between facilitator and the group and the avoidance of manipulation.
There are five levels of facilitation, with the ethical responsibility of the
facilitator increasing from shallowest to deepest (1-5):
1. Roles and functions
2. Performance and goals, assessment
3. Changing behaviors and relationships
4. Interpersonal feelings, relationships
5. Self-awareness, challenging people
3. What do facilitators believe? The process that people go through is more
important than the content. Planning is everything, transformational; the plan
is nothing.
•
Three ethical foundations
o Valid information – We share.
o Free and informed choice – Facilitators allow people to determine where
they are, w/o manipulation. This involves living with the choices of others.
o Internal commitment to the choice – When the facilitator leaves, the
commitment must remain behind.
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The process can be trusted.
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People can be trusted.
4. When is facilitation needed?
• When a group is having a hard time getting from A to B
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When the group is flailing around
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When important interests are in conflict
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When communication is ineffective
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When a collaborative process is needed
Final words of wisdom
Facilitation always involves “convening” people, getting together
diverse groups of people, the people who count. You can convene without facilitation,
but you can’t facilitate without convening.
Facilitating is the art of focused conversation.
Aabha Davé is a licensed social worker who serves on the board of The
Center for Healing Racism. She began the program by showing a video titled “Raising
Our Voices” produced by the group South-Asian American Leaders of Tomorrow
(SAALT) in response to the profiling of South Asians following the September
11, 2005, attack on the World Trade Center (9/11). The video portrays various
examples of profiling, bias, and hate speech directed against South Asians.
The purpose of the video is to raise awareness of the extent to which South
Asians have been subjected to profiling and hate speech / crime in the post-9/11
United States.
Following the video, Aabha facilitated a discussion of the audience’s responses and reactions to what we had seen. Aabha drew from the discussion that the negative perceptions or and attitudes toward South Asians are based on stereotyping, in which attributes supposedly observed in one member of a group are assigned to all members. The urge to stereotype is itself one of the manifestations of racism, which is the driving force behind the profiling and hate speech / crimes directed toward South Asians and other minority groups by the dominant anlgo-white culture.
Other topics raised during the discussion included the following:
• The dynamics of fear as a contributor to racism and stereotyping
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The role of the media in forming perceptions and creating fear
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The similarity of negative attitudes and behaviors toward South Asians to anti-semitism
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The relative wealth of S. Asian immigrants compared to other immigrant groups
as a factor contributing to bias and hatred
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Possible differences in the contributions to racial stereotyping and hate crimes
between men and women based on differing ways of expressing aggression
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Identity confusion or uncertainty of South Asians as they struggle to balance
American citizenship and values with the need or desire to retain their ethnicity
and traditional values.
It was clear from the discussion that the audience unanimously condemned the victimization of South Asians by racist stereotyping and hate crimes and supported efforts to raise awareness about this issue and eradicate the underlying racism.
Russell Richards is a social worker with a Masters degree in social work from
LSU.
The program began with a short PBS documentary video describing how the situation leading to the Rwanda genocide had developed, and then moved on the video “The Ghosts of Rwanda.” Prior to colonization, two ethnic groups, the Tutsi herders and the Hutu farmers, had lived together peaceably in Rwanda. The Belgian colonists selected the taller Tutsis to be overseers on their plantations and organized the Hutu farmers into work gangs. When they left, the Belgians established a Hutu dictatorship government.
The Hutus began punishing their former Tutsi overseers, and many Tutsis fled and became refugees and ultimately rebels seeking to overthrow the Hutus. UN troops were sent to try to enforce a fragile peace between the government and the rebels, but they were given little education about the cultural or historical background of the conflict and no effective mandate to suppress violence. The more extreme elements in the Hutu government laid plans to attack the UN peacekeepers and exterminate the Tutsis and also moderate Hutu leaders. The UN response to these plans was to order its peacekeeping troops to avoid any use of force. The United States, having just experienced the debilitating “blackhawk down” episode in Somalia, was very reluctant to intervene again in an African dispute. The situation was thus set for a “perfect storm” conflict.
In early 1994, Hutu extremists became confident, imported machetes, and compiled hit lists. The assassinations of Tutsis started slowly, but were carefully planned and executed. The U.S. government ordered the evacuation of all American citizens. All embassies were closed, and aid workers were ordered out of Rwanda. Essentially, the world averted its eyes from the developing genocide that reached its murderous extremes in May and June of 1994. U.S and French troops did nothing to intervene beyond ensuring the evacuation of their citizens and other whites. The UN authorized 5000 additional peacekeepers, but none were available to be dispatched.
The video provides evidence of the effectiveness of the few outsiders who did stay in preventing violent episodes and shielding potential victims simply by their presence, since they had no real power to enforce their disapproval. Courageous individuals were in a few instances able to stand against far more powerful Hutu and Tutsi forces simply by asserting their will and moral condemnation and refusing to back down.
In the absence of intervention from the outside, the Tutsi rebels prevailed in the civil war and ended the genocide in July 1994, after 100 days of mayhem.
The discussion following the video focused on two issues:
1) the bureaucratic paralysis that prevented intervention by the U.S., France,
and the UN. The U.S. in particular remained aloof because we could not determine
that our “interests” were at stake in the conflict.
2) the potential effectiveness of publicity in exposing the atrocities and
potentially ending them or deterring the perpetrators. Evil flourishes when
it is shrouded from view. When the gaze of the world, or even of a small but
morally committed group of people opposed to the violence and willing to condemn
and stand against it, penetrates the shroud, the evildoers must reckon with
the judgment of others whom they have not been able to devalue and dehumanize.
The disapproving gaze is a powerful force that can re-establish more normal
standards of moral judgment under which violence and murder are forbidden.
Brenda Hagen, Director of Global Workforce Development for Prudential Intercultural,
gave an energetic, enthusiastic, and highly responsive presentation of the
highlights and key findings, statistics and recommendations from the 2002
study “Many Women Many Voices: A Study of Accompanying Spouses Around
the World.” The study was commissioned by Prudential Intercultural
and conducted by The Interchange Institute, Anne P. Copeland, Executive Director.
The study surveyed 194 participants in 17 countries located in four geographical
regions between 1995 and 2001. Everyone attending the meeting received a
copy of the study.
Brenda’s presentation focused on the findings and recommendations derived from the survey data. The 82 page report of the study explores those things that affect accompanying spouses at a deeper level, the experiences of accompanying spouses from their own points of view, and the factors that are most clearly related to successful family adjustments. Copies of the study are available from The Interchange Institute. A second study examining the value of intercultural training for expatriate families will be available from November 15.
Among the key findings of the study are:
Most stressful aspects of expatriate living for accompanying spouses:
• Managing the tasks of daily life
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Missing family and friends in the home country
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Speaking the host country language
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Possibilities of employment in the host country
Items significantly related to a woman’s adjustment included:
• Not being able to be the kind of person I want to be
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The possibilities for employment
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Having a foreign accent
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Reservations about raising children in the host country
Listed as the most difficult activities in the host country were:
• Shopping for clothes
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Shopping for household goods
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Shopping for and preparing food
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Using health care facilities
Several findings probably go contrary to most people’s expectations:
• Time does not heal the accompanying spouse’s wounds. Many of
the difficulties do not become easier, even after several years in a host country.
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Successful adjustment is not related to the specific host country. No particular
destination seemed to allow for an easier adjustment.
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Being able to make friends and fit into or form a community is very significant
to a successful adjustment.
The findings of the study will certainly be useful to anyone involved in preparing families for the difficulties they will encounter living in a foreign culture.
Dr. Carroll began by emphasizing the truly volatile nature of this triad – religion, politics, and culture. The addition of religion to any secular conflict seems to increase the likelihood of violence. Dr. Carroll believes that unless we learn to negotiate issues of major world religions at the intersection with politics, we are unlikely to survive as a species.
In this triad, culture is primary in the sense that religion and politics are artifacts or products of culture. This is a first principle in understanding the nature of conflict involving religious allegiances. It is necessary to recognize that humanity creates gods rather than the other way around. Nevertheless, religion is one of our most enduring cultural products. Despite the 19th century announcements of the demise of religion by Darwin, Marx, and Freud, religion is still very much with us as we begin the 21st century. Religion has not become a relic as these men of science had predicted, and certainly not in the United States where religious commitment is stronger than in any other industrialized nation. And in most of the rest of the world, religion persists unabated as if this trio of western intellectual giants had never lived.
Religion
Religion is in the truth business, and this seems to be part of the explanation
for its endurance. Religion sanctions the truths of a culture. The “Genesis” origins
myth is a perfect example of religion supporting cultural truths. A people
create a cultural pattern, such as male superiority, and religion blesses
that pattern and gives it supernatural authority as truth, unquestionable
and absolute. Both religion and culture are heavily involved in individual
identity, so we become blind to the fact that we made them up and oblivious
to their nature as constructs. Both religion and culture are filters that
organize “reality” for us, and so we forget they are there and
just assume that things actually are as we have been taught to perceive them.
Religious truths are thus not negotiable.
Religion is not rational. Post-enlightenment thinking tries to rationalize religious dictates, but at a certain point the religious intentionality requires a leap of faith, an abandonment of strictly rational apprehension. After the leap is made, everything else can be rationalized, all doctrines and beliefs become absolute. It is the irrational nature of religion that is the other source of its durability as a cultural product. Freud said that religion addresses our deepest anxieties, fears, and desires. Our fear of death is assuaged by the promise of immortality. Our anxiety about the injustice or unfairness of life, our moral fear that the good is not always rewarded and evil not always punished on this earth, is mitigated by the promise of a divine justice in the afterlife. We yearn for immortality, we yearn for a moral universe, and religion delivers an eternity or a karma where our yearnings shall prevail. Religion thus is bound up with the very deepest levels of our emotional being, and this is a profound part of its strength.
Politics
It is said in the United States that “Religion and politics don’t
mix.” This proverb should perhaps be altered to “Religion and politics
should not be mixed,” an idea that is made plain in the U.S. Constitution.
But our American preference, stemming from the enlightenment philosophy of
John Locke, is most certainly a minority view when weighed on a global scale.
While the founding fathers saw the wisdom of taking the authority of the state
away from the authority of the church, and vice versa, much of the rest of
the world finds that unthinkable, absurd. Religion and politics (or at least
government) mix all to well in much of the world. Islam, for example, means
surrender, the peace that comes when one surrenders ones life to Allah, and
such a premise fuses religion, culture, and politics. Our inability in the
U.S. to understand this leads to confusion in foreign policy, a kind of hubris
that argues that our secular democracy is the best, and perhaps the only just,
system of government for any and all times and places.
Religion is drawn to politics because it pays off in power and influence. Most religions have a social and political agenda, an articulated desire to make over the world, redeem it, reform it, make it right. Religion thus is drawn into politics in order to wield its secular power. There is a risk for religion in this strategy, however, because political institutions are disposed to extend their control over anything that seeks their aid, and also because politics (or government) is just as likely to want to appropriate the authority of religion to advance its own agenda. Religious sanction can bestow the status of Truth with the capital T on a political agenda. Politics can gain energy from religious passion. Entanglement with government, however, can also lead to the loss of prophetic power that is so much a part of religious authority.
Violence
The problem with mixing religion and politics, however, is that the mixture
becomes explosive. When religious passions enter a conflict that is basically
about secular economic matters, the conflict is far more likely to become
violent. There is a religious element to most of the main conflicts in the
world at the start of the 21st century, a time when Freud, Marx, and Darwin
would have it that religion should have become a relic.
The concept of religion as peaceful is a myth. Religion is not peaceful, and the major religions of the world have histories of violence going back to their foundings and expansions. Sometimes religious or theological differences are the real origins and causes of a conflict. But more often, religion enters a conflict that first involves non-religious matters and becomes the trigger that sets off violence. This often tends to happen through violations of sacred time (holy days, festivals) and sacred space (holy places, shrines, temples). The current intafada in the Middle East was launched in response to a perceived violation of Muslim holy space, the Temple of the Mount, by the Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon. And we may rest assured that Sharon know exactly what he was doing. Religion can provide meaning and sanction for an act of violence, such as suicide bombings or the death of a Hebrew prophet. The theologized ideas of sacrifice and martyrdom advance both the intertwined religious and political agendas.
In resolving religious conflicts, it is necessary to adopt faith-based practices and negotiating strategies. Such approaches may not be rational, but that should not matter if the goal is to defuse a potentially violent (or already violent) situation. It is necessary to get into the world and perspective of the parties in conflict.
In the book Clash of Civilizations, Samuel Huntington argues that civilization is a larger organizing pattern than culture and identifies eight major civilizations in the world of the early 21st century. His thesis is that future conflicts will be between civilizations rather than cultures or nations. We should note carefully that religion attaches to each of Huntington’s civilizations, and religion, as always, sanctions the conflicting position.
We can avoid or ameliorate many conflicts and reduce violence if we just have a basic understanding of all the world’s major religions. If we can emphathize with the religious perspective of another group, we are less likely to proceed with attempts to subjugate or exterminate them, or are more likely to succeed in mediating the dispute. In this endeavor it is good above all to remember the constructed nature of these things we call religion, culture, and civilization. Despite the integral role these play in establishing individual and group identity, if we remember that we created them and our human minds and imaginations remain primary, we are more likely to be successful in disciplining the violent urges that they often promote in us.
Jeremy Solomons
President, Jeremy Solomons & Associates
Austin, Texas, USA
Against the backdrop of deteriorating relations between the United States and
the countries of Western Europe, Jeremy Solomons, president-elect of SIETAR
USA, asked SIETAR Houston members to consider the differing values of Americans*
and Europeans and to ponder whether we find these differences something to
relish or to regret. Jeremy pointed to a recent poll in which 84% of French
respondents, 69% of Germans, and 61% of British said that the U.S. did not
take their nations’ interests into account in determining its own actions.
The percentages of respondents saying that the US was insincere and dishonest
were only marginally lower. Jeremy challenged his audience to think about
actions that SIETAR might take to promote better understanding and improved
relations between the United States and Western Europe, as well as other
regions of the world.
Jeremy began a broad-ranging discussion with the following observations:
• It is mistaken and dangerous to assume similarity between Americans
and Europeans. The highest failure rate for U.S. expats occurs in the UK and
stems from the illusion of similarity.
•
Americans must be prepared for great complexity and diversity in Europe, both
among different countries and within a single country. Europe now comprises
45 (NOT 43) sovereign states, including The Vatican, San Marino and Andora.
•
Americans have little knowledge of things European, and much of the information
they think they have is based on stereotypes. Europeans expect Americans to
have some knowledge of their countries, and they are critical of the typical
American’s ignorance. Knowledge of Europe is essential to establishing
good relationships with Europeans. Europeans perceive George W. Bush as an “ignorant,
parochial cowboy,” and he is the least popular post-war U.S. president
among Europeans.
Jeremy provided a handout containing, among other things, a list of typical values for five European countries – the UK, France, Germany, Netherlands and Italy. He asked the audience to divide into five groups, one for each country, and use the typical values to discuss each nation’s reaction to the speech President Bush made in response to revelations of prisoner abuse in Iraq and to the U.S. conduct of the Iraq war and its Middle East policy in general. Each group then reported its insights to the audience as a whole.
Jeremy concluded his presentation by asking the audience to consider the principal influences with regard to society, politics and economics that have shaped relations between the U.S. and Europe since the end of World War II, dividing that time into five periods – 1945 to 1969, 1969 to 1981, 1981 to 1993, 1993 to 2001, and 2001 to 2004. Following a brief discussion of this subject, he left us with two questions:
• How does this bode for the future, with particular reference to the
upcoming presidential election?
•
What can we do as members of SIETAR to improve relations between the U.S. and
Western Europe? Can SIETAR really make a difference?
* The term Americans is used here for convenience to designate citizens of the United States OF AMERICA. Jeremy noted the inappropriateness of this term in its common usage, i.e., “citizens of the U.S.,” and prefers the geo-politically correct term “U.S. Americans.”
Submitted by Chuck McCabe
A panel discussion facilitated by Mr. Chuck McCabe
Panel: Simon El Hage, Lopez Negrete
Saadat Syal, Greater Houston Partnership
Brad DeLoach, Stewart Title (International)
Right off the bat attendees were intrigued by the fact that the panel members did not fit the visual “boxes” that one would first mentally assign to them. Mr. DeLoach, who one might think would be a specialist on European activity for Stewart Title, was actually deeply involved with their Hispanic and Asian accounts. Mr. El Hage, of middle eastern heritage was an expert in Mexican/US commercial activities. Mr. Syal also of middle eastern heritage was very experienced in the Japanese commercial activities.
With such a broad background of personal and commercial experience each of the panel members was able to offer his own insight and professional experience in addressing the various cultural aspects brought up by audience questions. Many of the questions dealt with economic considerations across US borders, and how to appeal to positive perceptions of the cultures concerned. It was brought out that in marketing products and services one must not only consider the broad ethnicity of the target clientele, but must be alert to colloquial perceptions within ethnic cultures. The panel addressed both well known trade issues, and offered some forethought towards economic considerations into the future based on demographic trends in the US. Each panelist commented on the importance of recognizing the “individualism” of the cultural subgroup that makes up the target customer. In many areas symbolism is extremely important. In each area the “affective” nature of the desired customer must be considered even over the “effective” nature. There is no substitute for “attention to detail”. And in most societies the perceptions of the “mid-level” decision makers overweigh even the executive levels.
The general impression by the end of the presentation was that one did not necessarily have to agree or subscribe to another group's perceptions, but a well founded understanding and acute awareness of those perceptions was paramount to success in the ever increasing globalization of our economy.
Brad DeLoach talked about the importance of contextualizing the product and
message to the needs and cultural preferences of the target audience and
educating the audience about the product's value. He noted also that
cultures differ greatly on the respective weight or value they assign to
the form or appearance of a marketing message as opposed to the substance.
One
issue Stewart has encountered is selecting the right message medium or
channel in a particular culture to get the attention of the target audience
and trigger the desired response.
Simon El Hage stressed that the Hispanic market is not monolithic and can be divided into segments in a number of ways. The most important segmentation factor Lopez Negrete has discovered among U.S. Hispanics involves the extent of acculturation of a group or an individual. The main categories in this "Spectrum Acculturation Model" are 1) the new arrival (1-5 years in U.S.), 2) the emerging (5-18 years in U.S.), the established (1st - 3rd generation in U.S.), and the Hispanic-centric (20+ years in U.S. but trapped in Spanish language and culture, very limited acculturation). Mr. El Hage also noted that in hanging on to their cultures of origin Latin American Hispanic immigrants differed sharply from various European immagrant groups, which placed high vlaue on assimilation. Biculturalism is a unique aspect of the Hispanic experience in the U.S.
Saadat Syal discussed the necessity of recognizing culturally based
behaviors, preferences, and organizational or institutional characteristics
when attempting to do business with people of another culture. Questions
to be asked include: 1) Who is the decision maker? 2) How long does it take
to reach a decision? 3) How much detail do you have to provide? 4) How important
are matters of form and symbolism? It is necessary to learn and observe specific
behaviors and actions for each different country.
All panelists agreed that an understanding of the other culture was critical to a successful cross-cultural marketing program and to the overall success of overseas business initiatives. They also tended to agree that the white / Anglo population of the U.S., and especially the business community, is becoming more culturally aware in response to economic globalization and increasing domestic diversity. But they also noted that this trend was developing rather slowly in response to business opportunities and was not reflected in the U.S. government's current policies toward the rest of the world.
The session was very well received by the attendees, and seemed to be a topic that could be addressed again and again with similar audience appreciation.
Kelli McLoud Schingen entered the room singing a beautiful and moving spiritual.
As she moved up the isle, she set the tone for an honest and revealing look
at the personal journey of one black woman. The audience stayed riveted on
her story, empathizing with her growth from childhood innocence to modern
personal awareness of the path of black women of the 21st century.
Kelli’s insightful presentation was an opportunity for everyone to
experience first hand the limitations that can be the burden of race. She
described a
side of racism that is rarely visible to members of the white community. Many
of us in the audience did not know that there can be a pecking order within
the black community that uses external factors as yard sticks to judge the
worth of individuals. Kelli called this internalized racism.
Internalized racism within the black community can be an insidious and unexamined
burden to development of healthy, self loving human beings. Kelli gave examples
of every day expressions that are used to label and identify black children
based on the “brightness” of their skin or the “rightness” of
their hair. She introduced concepts and words that were new to many listeners,
including the word “color stuck” which is used to define a person
who places a great deal of emphasis on having light colored skin (lighter than
a paper bag) and fine hair (which you can comb easily).
Kelli invited open discussion at the conclusion of her presentation. Many people
in the room were able to speak from their own experience of racism. Others
were able to ask questions that rarely have a forum in polite society. Kelli
gracefully facilitated the sometimes awkward but always well-meaning discussion.
Through out the two hour presentation and discussion, Kelli provided an opportunity
for us all to grow in knowledge and understanding. She allowed us to walk a
mile in her shoes and to see how her world, and the world of many like her,
had been shaped.
Kelli McLoud-Schingen is an independent consultant who specializes in Domestic
Diversity. She has studied theatre at the Oxford School of Theatre, Roosevelt
University and Aurora University. She holds an M.A. in Cross Cultural Studies
from the University of Houston, Clear Lake, and a B.A. in Communications
from Aurora University. She can be reached at:
Email: Travelstar13@aol.com
Website: www.treasureculture.biz
Dr. Deepa Reddy discussed the caste system in India. She pointed out that caste and class are intertwined. Ethnicity is defined around culture. Dr. Reddy discussed the classic definition of caste which includes three markers –, you are born into your caste, you marry within your caste, and everyone knows the hierarchy. In India, everyone knows the Brahmins and the untouchables. However who is at what level in the middle is unclear. Dr. Reddy provided information on the origins and background of various words related to caste. In the past, caste generally had local significance, but no national significance. India is a very diverse country with 22 languages, 800 dialects, and many religious groups. Dr. Reddy provided a brief history of various moments that indicate the transformation of caste that has taken place. Of particular note is the First and Second Backward Commissions, which created a new nomenclature using national categories based on caste. This new nomenclature began to change the way Indians think about who they are in relation to the system. Caste became a way to organize politically and to demand a share of the redistributed resources. In addition, the concept of “reservations” was created, which is the Indian equivalent of the U.S. affirmative action. Reservations (quotas) enable class mobility, greater education, and employment opportunities for the backward and untouchable castes. Thus the social reality and political reality is changing, as is the concept of caste.
Mohamed Zainuba spoke on “The United States and the Middle East: Where We Go From Here”. This was a very thought-provoking session. Dr. Zainuba started with the statement that the U.S. has underestimated the significance of the economic, social, spiritual transformation that has taken place in the Middle East. In addition, a series of internal and external problems have created conditions that have caused people to revert to the traditional religious support system.
Dr. Zainuba then cited two factors in the region that contribute to the current
state of affairs. One factor is the political instability of the region, which
is influenced by:
•
the state of Israel--a central issue
•
the rebirth of Islam which is particularly embedded in young people who are
disillusioned by the failure of the government to provide economic opportunity
•
technology and telecommunications, which provide a broader view via the internet
and Al-Jazeera, which provides information on current events
•
the European Union and Asia, which are seen as increasing viable alternatives
to the US and are gaining market share in the region
The second factor is the need to build economic opportunity in the region,
which is driven by:
•
the highest birth-rate and youngest population in the world
•
In some part of the Middle East, unemployment reaches as much as 40% among
young people.
Because of the magnitude of impact of these two factors on life in the Middle East, an improved political life (democracy) has no value. The factors mentioned above need to be understood and economic opportunity must be of prime consideration in helping address the issues.
In concluding, Dr. Zainuba encouraged us to: learn as much as possible about
Islam, remember that the Middle East is a high context culture; be aware that
the oil ministries are considered a part of national security; understand that
the Middle East has mixed feelings toward the US; and listen more to common
sense and less to governments.
On Saturday, October 11, 2003, Carol M. Archer, Ed.D. of the University of Houston’s Language and Culture Center presented an overview of the “Culture Bump Toolkit” for the SIETAR Houston’s monthly meeting. Dr. Archer is a founding member of SIETAR.
“Culture Bumps” are different ways of doing things. By presenting these differences in a new and positive way, it acknowledges differences while creating community. The toolkit is a resource for developing effective communication skills across cultures. It is meant as an intervention of the development of stereotypes. The questions to be answered are: why are we different and how are we the same.
This is a multi-media program based on knowledge and skill development. The version that she brought for the meeting is appropriate for middle and high school teachers. The toolkit includes videotapes, interactive games, cartoons, workbooks, role playing guides, and instructor guides.
There are six modules:
Perception
Cultural bumps
Behavior and values
Communication
Commonalities
Adjustment cycle
While the participants were not able to go through an entire program, they were able to experience selected activities with partners or trios. There were four activities: recognizing values through a walk; describing emotions evident in photographs; identifying map makers; and defining personality traits in descriptions of people and activities. The utlimate goal is self-reflection and self-knowledge.
After discussing the variety of activities in which the group had participated, the video was viewed, stopped and discussed. The uses of this toolkit are not limited to schools or the US. It can be adapted for business, universities, and a wide range of groups who wish to move beyond diversity and into community.
For further information about the Toolkit visit www.culturebump.com or contact:
Wendy M. Fitzgerald, Technology
Licensing Assistant
713-743-9185
Wfitzger@Central.uh.edu
Or
Carol M. Archer, Ed. D
carcher@uh.edu
Based on her book, “The Yin and Yang of American Culture: A Paradox (Intercultural Press, 2001), Dr. Eun Y. Kim shared many enlightening and amusing anecdotes from her personal experiences of coming from Korea to the United States to study and work. She then went on to discuss the Chinese principle of yin and yang. The symbol of yin is dark with a bright spot, whereas the symbol for yang is light with a dark spot. These two symbols coexist together as complementary opposites. They create, coexist, and transform each other. The yin and yang must be in balance. Examples given of their complementary opposites were:
Yin Yang
Moon Sun
Feminine Masculine
Cold Heat
Dark Light
Rest Movement
Gentle Strong
Yielding Dynamic
Then the principle of yin and yang was applied to some American virtues, which if taken to extremes can become vices. And as was also pointed out that vices, if tempered, can become virtues. Some examples that were discussed included:
Virtue Vice
Dreaming the impossible (i.e. knowing your limits Reckless risk-taking
and ignoring them)
Seeing everyone as equal Sense of entitlement
Competitive spirit (leads to customer service) Winning at all costs
Openness and friendliness Perceived as insincere
We were left with this thought:
The Chinese character for the word “busy” is a combination of 2
Chinese characters—one meaning “destroy” and the other meaning “your
heart”.
by Federico Salas-Isnardi
Director, North Harris College Center for International
Education, Languages, and Literary
Federico Salas-Isnardi is a Spanish, Argentinean, and American citizen who teaches ESL. His passion is his children.
To begin his presentation, the attendees participated in Exercise 35. Each was asked to answer the question, “What do I consider makes a good interculturalist?” The answer was written on a card and the cards were traded around the room. The trading stopped and the cards were scored by pairs. This trading occurred five time after which the scores were totaled. This exercise allows trainers to determine what the group knows about interculturalists; it avoids the waste of time covering ground with which the group is already familiar. Participants enjoyed the exercise and the time together.
When the scores were tallied, various statements were read starting with the cards that had the highest scores. Trainers must validate everyone’s statement, even if the card is difficult to read or understand. The exercise gives the trainer an understanding of the audience, speeds up the various activities, and acknowledges the knowledge of the group.
The next step was a task analysis. This is an intercultural job: to compare the traditional multicultural education with multicultural education in a global society. Multicultural means different groups of cultures or the exchange of information among cultures; intercultural is the interaction between cultures. Diversity can be the integration of some differences.
The presentation was then opened to the floor asking: what knowledge (K), skills(S), attitudes(A) are necessary in a multicultural environment? After the responses were written down, they were analyzed to determine in which category to place each response: open minded (A), empathy (A), non judgmental (A), self knowledge (K), flexible (A), patience (S), knowledge of self (K). Information does not equal knowledge.
Knowledge includes aims and goals, historical background, customs, and values. Skills include listening, communication, and language. After considering these, the question then can be asked, “Are you ready to handle multicultural situations?”
Traditional multicultural education might include an ethnography; cultural information; cultural stereotypes which might result from generalizations; acculturation - functioning in other cultures; and assimilation - giving up of one’s own culture, beliefs, and values.
Multicultural education in a global society reaches deeper. One has to have self-awareness born of reflection and development. One has to accept conflict as an educational tool, using the critical incident. One needs to learn one’s own reality as different from “their” reality. There has to be an improvement of cross-cultural communication. There is a universality of multiculturalism. Finally, there has to be equity pedagogy in the use of a variety of methods to help all participants learn.
The session began with words of welcome from Jan O’Brien, President, to both the presenter, to SIETAR Houston members and to the approximately fifteen visitors who attended. Among the announcements was one that Marjolijn Ave Lallemant had volunteered to run the silent auction for the Sietar USA conference in Austin, and there was a call for donations of treasures or skill-time to be auctioned.
The presenter began with a question: How many of you believe there a relationship between how people are treated and how they perform? Every hand went up. He soberly stated that this was the response he got to the question, regardless of country or location. He used role simulation, discussion and allowing participants to interact and relate their personal stories of denial of inclusion, to illustrate the many dimensions of inclusion. In the role simulation activity a manager given a new project and a team to work with butters up the subordinate who is most like him, ignores one, and denigrates a third. Their reactions were visible and generated much discussion on productivity.
The card game required participants to look for the number of letters “f” in a given sentence. Range of answers was 3-8. Eight was correct. Most participants did not count the f in of which occurred four times. The presenter pointed out that children usually get it right, they are not trying to read the sentence, just counting “Fs”. The f he said, represents those employees in a corporation who are ignored all the time but who are important to the organization.
A model of the house was used for ingroups and outgroups, each represented by colored dots. About forty percent of each organization forms the in group. The others are out in the cold. J Howard and Associates believe, he said, that diversity is any dimension that can be used to differentiate groups. Race, age , sex and gender preference are the most frequently used four.
Why is diversity and inclusion training necessary?
1. The US workforce is less than 50 percent white male, for the first time
ever.
2. One state, California, has no clear -cut majority race. The same is true
of Harris County.
3. Seventy percent of all job applicants are women.
Alternate terminology to diversity training include valuing differences, celebrating differences and inclusion.
The important thing is the behavioral changes made as we mouth diversity and inclusion. People who hit the corporate targets most often are those who are continually educating themselves. Successful companies have no end to the continuing education that they do. They reward the ones who do well by giving them more chances to do well.
At the conclusion, he told a story of an eagle who caught a badger in its claws and flew away with it. As two birdwatchers admired the majestic bird’s flight, it suddenly veered off and crashed into a mountain side. On investigation they found that the badger, which had only been stunned when the eagle caught it, had recovered and clawed out the entrails of the bird in flight. The eagle was dead. All it had to do was change its behavior, and drop the badger, but it held on till death came.
The meeting ended in a flurry of exchanged business cards.
Dr. Daniel L. Creson, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Texas-Houston Health Science Center, is also an anthropologist, and a consultant to humanitarian aid agencies. Dr. Creson drew on his vast personal experience in the Balkans, Africa, and Asia for this fascinating presentation to SIETAR-Houston.
In his discussion, Dr. Creson caused us to look at the inevitable complexities of communication and how the perception of reality in different parts of the world affects the cultural interface between expatriate humanitarian workers and indigenous populations in the midst of military conflict or natural disaster.
When working across cultural lines, the answers to the questions are likely to be different, so we must understand that we are novices and be prepared to learn, rather than teach. Just because people look or act like us does not means that they think like we do, nor does it mean that they are wrong. All interventions, cross culturally, are times of communication. The effectiveness of that communication is tempered by the reality experienced by the cultures involved. When we go into other countries intent on teaching, what we may be communicating is that we think the ideas of the indigenous population are just plain stupid, and that we know better.
Constructivism means that we human primates fashion reality and meaning for ourselves-our brains turn raw sensation into meaning. There is no right or wrong in this-it is just what we do. The meaning we derive from that sensation will vary in accordance with the worldview of our cultures.
There are only three possibilities regarding reality.
Dr. Gary Weaver created a model which views reality as an iceberg. The tip of the iceberg represents behavior. The portion of the iceberg below the tip, but above the waterline, represents expressed belief. Below the waterline is the bulk of the iceberg, which represents thought patterns, how we have constructed reality-our world views. The stuff below the iceberg creates the collision between cultures.
We can use a continuum as a tool for differentiating the reality of different cultures. "To do" cultures like the United States, are on one end of the continuum, while "To be" cultures, like Sierra Leone are on the other end.
| To DO | To BE |
|
|
Sometimes, intervention, rather than solving the problem, actually exacerbates it or creates new problems. The Hutterites are an Anabaptist sect from Germany that came to the US Midwest in the 1800's by way of Russia. Their communes still exist in the Midwest today. The Hutterites recognize that people sometimes behave in very strange ways, but they do not see this as illness-they see it as Satan attempting to capture a person's soul-episodic rather than chronic behavior. Given their beliefs, the Hutterites deal with this situation entirely differently than western medicine might-the result is that studies have shown that in Hutterite communes in the US, there is a very low level of debilitative mental illness.
Not all terrible events, like wars and earthquakes, are followed by emotional distress. If we insist that people must be emotionally distressed based on our view of what people are supposed to feel following such events, we can sometimes cause people to internalize our belief-which they look to as the reason for lots of other problems. In other words, treatment can create illness or pathology where none existed.
Paul Watzlawick says that our everyday traditional ideas of reality are delusions, which we spend substantial parts of our lives shoring up. He holds that what's dangerous is when we think there is only one reality, and that what's even more dangerous is when we impose that version of reality, with missionary zeal, on the rest of the world.
Dr. Carrie Cameron of Culture and Communication returned to SIETAR to present the ideas of two of the more influential schools of thought on culture and societal development, and led an open discussion on the subject.
Questions raised included: What do these ideas mean and why are they important to us as practitioners of intercultural communication? How can we more adequately respond to the questions of those we teach and train? What are the implications for our field as a whole, and how can we grow and develop in response?
Dr. Cameron's presentation was primarily based on two texts: Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs and Steel, and Lawrence Harrison and Samuel P. Huntington's Culture Matters.
Yali's Question: "Why is it that you white people developed so much cargo and brought it to New Guinea, but we black people had little cargo of our own?"
The purpose of this session is first to examine a few of the influential ways that culture is being talked about by scholars and policy makers as a driver of economic development, and second, to develop our individual positions on these theories as interculturalists.
"But are they competent?" What is the perspective of the interculturalists? High context/low context, individualist/collectivist, task-oriented/relationship-oriented…the Bread and Chocolate dilemma. Material prosperity vs. social connectedness? Wealth vs. psychological well-being?
Where does culture come from? Does culture matter in a society's
well-being?
There are three main theories:
a. Geography determines development (J. Diamond)
b. Culture determines development (Harrison & Huntington)
c. It's something else, such as institutions--rule of law, property rights,
etc. (Easterly & Levine)
Examples of the arguments
Geographic Theory (Diamond) A society's geographical endowment
(location, physical resources, and flora and fauna) has a primary influence on
the future development of that society.
Convergence/neoclassical theory (Harrison, Huntington, Landes, Porter)
'The chief problem for many anthropologists…is the tradition of cultural
relativism that has dominated the discipline in this century.' (CM, Landes,
xxv)
'Development-prone' and 'development-resistant' cultures
'Because culture and economic performance are linked, changes in one will work
back on the other' (CM, Landes, 3)
'The people who live to work are small and fortunate
elite…self-selected… [They] accentuate the positive.' (CM, Landes,
13)
'Economic culture is no longer a matter of choice…It has become a question
of when and how fast a country's economic culture will change, rather than
whether it will change…We are witnessing the emergence of the core of an
international economic culture that cutes across traditional cultural divides
and will increasingly be shared…The clearly unproductive aspects of
culture will fall away under the pressure, and the opportunity, of the global
economy…An important role for culture in economic prosperity will remain,
but it may well be a more positive one [Emphasis is Dr. Cameron's] (CM, Porter,
26-27)
Multifactor view (Jeffrey Sachs): Geography + Social Systems +
Increasing Returns to Scale (the rich get richer) 'Economic growth has been
intimately connected with…states[s] subject to rule of law; a culture that
supports a high degree of social mobility; and economic institutions that are
market-based and support an extensive and complex division of labor. Few
societies have displayed this combination of political, cultural, and economic
institutions. Moreover…there is no strong tendency for societies to
develop such institutions through internal evolution.' (CM, p 35)
'Controlling for [other] independent variables sharply reduces the scope for an
important independent role of culture.' (CM, p. 42)
The fundamental questions:
a. What is the yardstick?
b. What are the logical and political implications of each argument?
c. What does that mean for us as interculturalists?
d. What is the way forward? How do we escape the Bread and Chocolate dilemma?
Some key texts:
The popular Dr. Jill Carroll made her third presentation to SIETAR Houston to discuss illness, dying and death across religious cultures. Dr. Carroll is a Lecturer in Humanities and Religious Studies at Rice University. She also lectures at the Women's Institute and will be teaching next spring at The Jung Center. She also works as a corporate trainer for Conscious Pursuits, Inc., a Houston-based consulting firm which focuses on integrating spirituality in the workplace.
Dying and death may be universal human phenomena, but the ways in which people think about them is anything but universal. Most often, when faced with death and dying. people look to their religious traditions and beliefs for information about how to think or act. In this presentation, Dr. Carroll explored the ways in which some of the major world religions interpret dying and death and, how given these religious beliefs, how such life events should be handled in a medical setting.
In terms of future trends, the 21st century is when spirituality and science will coalesce together.
People come to hospitals at to be born and to die, and also when they are experiencing physical suffering. These are potentially very meaningful times. Unfortunately, sometimes well-meaning, but uninformed medical professionals can unknowingly steal these opportunities from their patients.
There is tremendous diversity across patients, and patients want healthcare providers to be aware of their spiritual concerns. Nurses tend to be the medical practitioners who spend the bulk of their time with them, dealing with people from every culture on the planet at a time when people need their own spiritual traditions to deal with what they are facing. Nurses try to be sensitive to patients' spiritual needs, but have to balance them with their own, western training.
It is important for healthcare practitioners need to understand patients' spiritual beliefs, because those beliefs influence patients' medical decisions.
The following high level worldviews were developed by Dr. Carroll for use in medical settings. These models are based on surveys, interviews, and other assessment tools, and show how religious traditions may impact how people view illness, death, and dying. These very general statements suggest possible interventions for dealing with spiritual concerns, and each has a specific medical model associated with it. The concern here is to provide better, non-judgmental care.
-Characterized by Karma (action with moral worth), a belief in reincarnation, Atman (individual soul) and Brahman (world soul). In this tradition, Atman is part of Brahman. The various gods are different incarnations of Brahman. Those from this tradition believe we are propelled from life to life by Karma. Karma determines what kind of rebirth a person will have. The goal is to escape Samsara (the cycle of life, death, and rebirth). When this is accomplished, the Atman merges again with Brahman.
The medical model of this worldview is Ayurvedic medicine (ayur = life, and veda=knowledge). Ayurvedic medicine is a comprehensive medical system that is over 2000 years old. There are three basic body or physical types in this model. Everyone has some combination of the properties inherent in these three types, but each person has a dominant type:
When there is an imbalance in these properties due to improper diet, pathogens, etc., the imbalance can be treated by various methods, including purging (vomiting, sweating, elimination, etc.), rejuvenation through herbs, minerals and exercise, and meditation, chanting, and prayer.
Yoga is an example of a medical tradition which is primarily a way of preventing illness by aligning the charkas, or energy centers, of the body.
-Similar in some ways to the Indian/Hindu tradition, Buddhism derives from Hinduism. Karma and reincarnation are also part of this belief, but Buddhists don't believe in the existence of the soul. This tradition is nontheistic, but Buddhists may pray to gods in the same way that Catholics pray to saints-as enlightened beings who can provide guidance. This spiritual tradition is characterized by Four Noble Truths:
In this tradition, nothing is permanent except impermanence. There is no point in resisting what is inevitable. (For this reason, a patient may elect not to fight death, and the patient's relatives might seem strangely matter-of-fact about the whole issue.) Buddhists believe that we can have a better rebirth by ceasing resistance and we can also make more progress on our spiritual path. The catchphrase for this tradition might be "free your mind".
Native Chinese tradition ('the Dao" means "the way"). Dao is the way of the cosmos-everything that is, is in the way of Dao. The goal is to achieve harmony on a cosmic level. We can try to impose another way on Dao in order to control things, but doing so will cause disharmony and conflict. There is a strong mind/body connection in this tradition. (For this reason, a patient might resist surgery or drugs to correct a medical condition or to prolong life). We are all in touch with Dao at birth, but then we forget it. Yin and Yang, the powerful interplay of opposites is at work in this spiritual tradition. Death is the way of all things. It doesn't mean anything bad--it is just the way of the world.
A virtue in Daoism is naturalness. The preference is to use the body's natural defense systems or to appropriate whatever else there is in nature to address a medical concern. Acupuncture or acupressure is a way of managing the body's energies.
The catchphrase might be, "go with the flow".
In summary, healthcare practitioners must learn how people want to be treated when they are ill or dying. Rather than proselytizing or preaching, or ignoring the issue altogether, they must learn how to treat patients in ways that honor their spiritual traditions and make a difficult time more comforting.
David C. Wigglesworth, PhD presented an enjoyable session that addressed our multiple identities and their inter- and intra- relationship to our cultures. The session was an exploration of the factors and kinds of identity we have and how we decided who we are as individuals and as groups. In a series of interactive exercises, we looked at what we believe makes up our individual identities, identified those aspects of our selves we are most passionate about, and gave thought to those aspects of our identities that are so important to us that we would be willing to die for them. We then discussed those identities and looked at them in the context of cultural differences and globalization.
We sometimes give other people an identity based on what we believe about them. Behavior different from our own is often characterized. For example, we might say, "That's the way Americans are" or "Interculturalists just think differently". Identity plays a big role in how we do things. In order to accept another culture as different from ours without making value judgments, we have to understand that different cultures have different value systems.
How has the world changed?
According to Longitudes and Latitudes, Exploring the World after September 11 by Thomas L. Friedman, the latter half of the 20th century was dominated by the Cold War. The Cold War was characterized by one overarching feature-division, which was symbolized by the Berlin Wall. In the 21st century, globalization dominates. Its one overarching feature is integration, symbolized by the World Wide Web. While the cold war system was built primarily around nation-states, the globalization system is built around the traditional balance of power between nation-states, the balance between nation-states and global markets, and the balance between individuals and nation-states.
Understanding who we are, understanding our identities, now takes place in an era of globalization where states are bumping up against states, states are bumping up against super markets, and super markets and states are bumping up against super-empowered individuals -- many of whom, unfortunately, are super-empowered angry men.
Whereas the 20th century was dominated by the politics of ideology, the 21st century may be dominated by the politics of identity.
When any system gives precedence to identity, it does so by defining an "us" and in contradistinction, to a "them."
Ethnocentrism is the notion that one's culture (identity) is more sensible than or superior to that of others. It can contribute to the integrity of culture because it affirms people's shared beliefs and values in the face of the other, often contradictory, beliefs and values held by people of other identities or cultural backgrounds. At its worst, ethnocentrism has led people to commit ethnocide, the destruction of cultures, and genocide, the destruction of entire populations.
In his book, In the Name of Identity: Violence and the Need to Belong, Amin Maalouf says "We must act in such a way as to bring about a situation in which no one feels excluded from the common civilisation that is coming into existence; in which everyone may be able to find the language of his own identity and some symbols of his own culture; and in which everyone can identify to some degree with what he sees emerging in the world about him, instead of seeking refuge in an idealised past.
In parallel to this, everyone should be able to include in what he regards as his own identity a new ingredient, one that will assume more and more importance in the course of the new century and the new millennium: the sense of belonging to the human adventure as well as his own.
Difference is the precondition of the complex society in which we live. So rather than tribalism or universalism, we need a new paradigm which we can call the dignity of difference. This option values our shared humanity and creates that shared humanity in terms such as the American Declaration of Independence and the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. But it also values our differences for what makes us unique.
Books:
Friedman, Thomas L. Longitudes and Attitudes, Exploring the World after September 11. Farrar, Straus, Giroux, New York: 2002.
Bennett, Milton J. (Editor) Basic Concepts of Intercultural Communication. Intercultural Press, Yarmouth, ME: 1998.
Maalouf, Amin. In the Name of Identity, Violence and the Need to Belong. Arcade Publishing, New York: 2002.
Paige, R. Michael (Editor). Education for the Intercultural Experience (2nd Edition), Intercultural Press, Yarmouth, ME: 1993.
Seelye, H. Ned and Jacqueline Howell Wasilewski. Between Cultures, Developing Self-Identity in a World of Diversity. NTC Publishing, Chicago: 1996.
Trompenaars, Fons and Charles Hampden-Turner. Riding the Waves of Culture, Understanding Diversity in Global Business (2nd Edition), McGraw-Hill, New York: 1998.
Weinberger, David Small Pieces Loosely Joined {a unified theory of the web}. Perseus Publishing, Cambridge, MA: 2002.
Web Sites (www.):
How is China's continuing integration into the international economy affecting its political, economic and social systems? Dr. Steven W. Lewis, Senior Researcher in Asian Politics and Economics at the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy and Director of the Transnational China Project, led a spirited discussion about the many ways that China's gradual liberalization of its political and economic systems is creating new challenges and opportunities for a quarter of humanity. The focus was on the recent policy reforms necessary for membership in the World Trade Organization.
Recent newspapers have been full of information about the globalization of China and its recent entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO). The conditions under which China joined the WTO were somewhat harsh, certainly more so than that of the countries that preceded it into this organization, and this may set the stage for other countries, like the Soviet Union, that may join the WTO in future.
Among the concessions that China agreed to in order to become part of the WTO were an initial decrease on average tariffs on agricultural goods to 15%, and later reductions on industrial tariffs down to 8.9% down from an average for other countries of 30-50%; a binding of new tariffs beyond 2005; elimination of all quotas, licenses, tendering requirements and other non-tariff barriers no later than 2005; opening of such services as banking, telecommunications, insurance, securities, and professional services to direct foreign investment; and, granting of trading and investment rights, including import, export, wholesale and retail trade to foreign firms and individuals.
What's unique about these concessions is that, although distribution of chemical fertilizers, petroleum, and refined products will not be liberalized until 2006, the opening of the distribution system is revolutionary in comparison to other WTO members. Additionally, the average tariff on industrial products is much lower than for other countries, and China is bound to these new low rates-few others have agreed to this.
What's unique about these concessions is that, although distribution of chemical fertilizers, petroleum, and refined products will not be liberalized until 2006, the opening of the distribution system is revolutionary in comparison to other WTO members. Additionally, the average tariff on industrial products is much lower than for other countries, and China is bound to these new low rates-few others have agreed to this.
Some unique rules-based issues are very favorable for the US and other countries already in the WTO. China acceded under a unique transitional products-specific clause that allows other members to impose restrictions on goods from China for 12 years. A lower "market disruption" standard is being applied to China, which is easier to prove than a "serious injury" standard and quotas may be imposed on Chinese imports even when the import of the same goods from other countries has increased. China's central government promises to provide a mechanism by which foreign individuals and firms can protest when provincial local governments don't apply WTO commitments and has agreed to set up tribunals completely independent of administrative agencies enforcing WTO commitments. Further, China agreed to annual review meetings for 12 years.
The WTO's expectations for China's membership can be summed up as a "wake up call" for Southeast Asia, especially Thailand, which needs to accelerate construction of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) Free Trade areas and ASEAN Investment Area by 2005, and not 2010. The WTO expects that its membership will add growth to China's GOP and help it attract $50 billion in investment each year, and that those countries which produce capital goods, petrochemical products, and electronic components should stand to benefit from rising demands as China expands her domestic production.
But why would China agree to such harsh concessions?
Its official position is that membership in the WTO will boost exports, attract foreign capital, promote reform of the domestic economic system, and accelerate economic restructuring. President Jiang Zemin stated that the reasons for supporting the accession is to allow equal emphasis on "bringing in and going out", domestic government restructuring, enterprise restructuring, to allow for training of competent personnel specializing in the WTO to protect China's interests. Chinese industry leaders look forward to the accession. As Haier Electronics CEO, Zhang Ruimin stated, "To dance with wolves, we must first become one". Chinese economists and officials stress the need for the development of protections, though. One stated, "Globalization is an inevitable tidal wave, binging with it the sharks of transnational enterprises. We need shark-proof nets so that we don't get bitten". Another said, "We shouldn't close the market or leave it open and unguarded-we should remember that not all transnational enterprises are our foes or friends."
There are obstacles to WTO implementation due to conflict between central and local governments. China has a regionally planned economy, which has fiscal decentralization and autonomy. It is characterized by a reduced central government and 5-year plan investments in infrastructure developments and hard budgets for local governments. Incremental informal privatization by local governments in agricultural, light industrial and service sectors has created diverse, sophisticated administrative ownership, and regulatory and judicial institutions at a local level. The central government also lacks accurate and credible data-this is one of China's biggest problems.
There are additional obstacles. WTO member governments may be reluctant to press China on the commitments, especially given new international security relationships. China's central government may be reluctant to press local governments during the restructuring period and unable to live up to its WTO commitments on trade administration, judicial review, and states' information provisions. Local governments have a mixed record on enforcement of arbitral awards for disputes with foreign firms and individuals. Finally, maintenance of the Communist Party nomenklatura system through the leadership transition period prevents separation of government and enterprise, establishment of independent regulatory and judicial institutions, including tribunals.
Recommended readings:
Summary: Global Ethics
Presenter: Jeremy Solomons
Ethics and morals have always been prominent issues in both the working and private lives of many US Americans. However, the tragedy of September 11, 2001 and its aftermath have forced a much broader population to consider the weighty matters of Right and Wrong and Good and Bad, not just on a national level but on a global one as well. International business consultant and SIETAR USA board member, Jeremy Solomons, led a thought-provoking and spirited interactive discussion of how this year has changed US Americans' views of Global Ethics.
Participants were asked how and in what ways they have changed since September 11, 2001. All were encouraged to consider the hours, days, and months following the event, to identify our biggest challenges and most powerful learnings since that tragic day, and to reflect on how that event has changed our perceptions of right and wrong. The group discussed how the event led to a better understanding of how United States is viewed by the rest of the world.
It was acknowledged that the difficulty in defining global ethics is complicated by the vast differences between cultures. Solomons pointed out that in many cases, those in power have been the ones who made the rules about what is or is not ethical. This means that often, what is ethical and what is not is determined by a minority of the society-these rules are often not the result of consensus, as we might first believe.
The "Golden Rule" or "do unto others as you would have others do unto you" was presented by several in the group as an example of a value that might represent a basis for global ethics. However, it was pointed out that "as you would have others do unto you" has cultural implications. The "Platinum Rule" or "Do unto others as they would have you do unto them" might be more culturally sensitive. This led to a discussion of the Global Corruption Report, published by Transparency International, and Rushworth Kidder's Global Values survey.
Rushworth Kidder, founder and president of the Institute for Global Ethics, and William E. Loges developed and conducted a Global Values Survey at the State of the World Forum's annual meeting in San Francisco in 1996. Respondents from 40 countries chose the moral values that were most important to them from a list of 15. Based on the results, Kidder and Loges postulate that there is a small set of core moral values that is cross-cultural and universal. The most frequently selected values of those in the survey, in descending order, were:
The researchers stated that "… Such knowledge can provide a framework for proposing values-based social change that, because it accords with shared values, stands a better chance of acceptance…Finally, it can combat the ethical and cultural relativism of those who insist that each individual has his or her own unique set of values.
" As interculturalists, a vocation which is more a way of doing and being than a matter of education, we are in a unique position to promote these values. Only 10% of US citizens have passports, and so very few Americans have the opportunity to interact with and understand different cultures and their values. Solomons challenges us to continue to learn and grow and shift to an attitude of service. In this way, interculturalists can continue to play a vital role in helping to shape globally ethical practices in future.
Police Officers and the International Experience Walter B Redman of the Houston Police Force and John L Young of the Pasadena Force discussed their experiences in Bosnia-Herzegovina during 1998/99. During that time period they were members of the International Police Task Force (IPTF), part of the United Nations Peace Keeping Force. The IPTF was composed of domestic police officers from the USA, France, Germany, Pakistan, and Canada . Their goal was to share with the Bosnians/Herzegovinians successful techniques used by ITPT officers in their own countries. These techniques were intended to control criminal elements, including the reduction of police physical abuse and monetary corruption.
The USA has been sending police officers to other countries since 1998. They have worked in Haiti, East Timor as well as Bosnia. Most local police departments are reluctant to allow their officers to join the IPTF because of fear that the officers will not return and the inconvenience of operating with a smaller number of staff during the absence of the officers. Pasadena to date has sent three officers and Houston has sent twenty-five to work with the IPTF. The Los Angeles Police Department has also sent officers.
The geographical area occupied by Bosnia and Herzegovina includes people of Serb, Croat and Bosnian ethnicities. The three groups have been living side-by-side since 1389. Before 1989 the land was called "Yugoslavia". It included six states, five cultures, three religions and two alphabets. Intermarriage occurred among the groups. The three lived peacefully for 57 years under the communist dictatorship of Tito. Tito was a master of juggling the politics and needs of the divergent groups. With the fall of communism, Yugoslavia splintered into groups based on ethnicities. Each ethnicity moved to establish its own nationhood. During the 1990s, all groups engaged in ethnic cleansing. Atrocities occurred on all sides. The Dayton Accord sought to end the strife in the area. The Dayton Accord was the "treaty" which laid the plans for the former Yugoslavia. Richard Holbrook was the primary architect of the Dayton Accord, with Madeleine Albright introducing the concept of domestic US police officers working in Bosnia.
Redman and Young perceived the Croats and Bosnian Moslems police officers to be receptive to help from the IPTF Serb police officers, however, often were unreceptive. A possible explanation for the Serbian behavior might lie in the fact that before the Dayton Accord, the Serbs were the most powerful group; they controlled the Army. Because of ethnic tensions, the background of interpreters became of great importance. American Serbs interpreters, born in Chicago or Pittsburgh USA, would be treated suspiciously by Bosnians because of the Serbian surname. Likewise interpreters with Bosnian backgrounds, were not trusted by the Serbs.
The communist history of Yugoslavia contributed to behavior of the local police officers. Previously officers behaved to please the Politburo; officers didn't care what the public thought. The role of Redman, Young and the IPTF was to refocus the Serb, Bosnian and Herzegovinians attention to serving the public.
Although most official classroom work taught by the IPTF focused on techniques, the most enriching portion according to Redman and Young occurred after the day's schedule was completed. When the day's topics finished, informal discussion about culture flowed between the groups. Often individuals from all three groups stayed late into the night learning about each others' values, attitudes, beliefs and behaviors. The effect of these discussions was to relax the Serbs, Bosnians and Herzegovinians as well as the multicultural IPTF. Young and Redman have concluded that the work of the IPTF contributed greatly to, "Bosnia being a success story."
Roger N. Blakeney, PhD, of the C. T. Bauer College of Business, University of Houston, conducted MAC, an interactive workshop dealing with how culture impacts management. It utilized a one-page case to engage the audience in discussion. It focused on Germany, France, Spain, the UK, and the USA, but discussion expanded the interaction to include other countries and cultures, including China. Two dimensions of culture, power distance and uncertainty, were used to help explain how culture impacts management with special attention to the organizing function.
Power distance is the extent to which less powerful members of institutions and organizations within a culture expect and accept that power is distributed unequally. Small power distance involves limited dependency, whereby the subordinates are encouraged to approach their superiors for discussion. There is also small emotional distance.
Here, inequality is a necessary evil to be minimized. Large power distance, on the other hand, involves considerable dependence, meaning that the subordinates depend on their supervisors, but they are unlikely to approach their supervisors because of large emotional distance. The Power Distance Index (PDI) ranks a country based on the fear of disagreement with superiors; superiors' actual style of decision making; and subordinates' perception of superiors' style of decision making. Examples of high PDI countries are France, Spain, Latin American, Asian, and Arab countries. Low PDI countries include the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Austria, and Scandinavia.
Uncertainty avoidance is the extent to which members of a culture feel threatened by uncertain or unknown situations. In other words, it is the tolerance of ambiguity. The Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI) is measured by rule orientation, employment stability, and nervous or tense at work. Uncertainty avoiding cultures tend to shun ambiguous situations; members seek more structure; and laws and rules prevail.
Strong uncertainty avoidance and small power distance cultures rely on systems and procedures. Weak uncertainty avoidance and large power distance cultures have more reliance on the power of their superiors.
Strong uncertainty avoidance and large power distance usually go together. Examples of this are France, Spain, and Italy. Weak uncertainty avoidance and small power distance usually go together. Such examples include the US, UK, and Australia.
Strong uncertainty avoidance and small power distance does occur. Examples are Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Weak uncertainty avoidance and large power distance also occurs in such places as Singapore, Hong Kong, and Africa.
Applications of these concepts to organization, leadership and motivation were discussed. The way these cultural also influence management theory from various cultures was also discussed.
Judith Morris, Associate Regional Director for Medical Social Services at the Texas Department of Health (TDH), Region 6/5S, led a panel of health professionals from the Texas Department of Health in a discussion on some of the health concerns affecting diverse populations in the Houston area. Cultural issues involving education, treatment and prevention were addressed. Childhood immunizations, HIV/STD (Sexually Transmitted Disease), dental care, childhood obesity and tuberculosis were some of the concerns discussed.
Texas ranks as the state with the worst record of immunizing young children. Some of the reasons for this may be that many young parents do not take their children for immunization because they are either unaware of the existence and severity of the disease or they do not want their baby to cry. Pictorials of babies with defects resulting from a disease help to convince parents to immunize their babies as a preventative measure.
Houston was ranked as the fattest city in the United States in 2001. Childhood obesity is a growing problem. It leads to the development of diabetes at a very young age which affects the heart, eyes, legs, and can shorten the lifespan of the child.
Tracking the disease chain to see how a person became infected with HIV or STD's (Sexually Transmitted Diseases) requires the understanding of the social and cultural stigma associated with STD's rejection.
Most Americans are aware of STD's (Sexually Transmitted Disease) infection and AIDS, the most deadly of all STDs. But, for much of society, the other serious risks related to unsafe sexual behaviors may have been forgotten. There are over 20 diseases that are transmitted sexually. Many have serious and costly consequences.
When dealing with different cultures, unrecognized social and sexual networks of persons at high risk for HIV and other STD's exist even in remote areas where STD's/HIV prevalence is relatively low. Missing a good communication and understanding with these networks can facilitate the rapid spread of STD's infection. It is important for public health to deliver effective STD/HIV prevention services to individuals exposed to STD's.
The openness and receptiveness of people who are willing to share information regarding their sexual activities varies. A probing strategy called "clustering" is used for disease intervention/prevention; by interviewing sex partners, suspects, or associates who after examination are found not infected.
Clustering involves interviewing those who know that a subject might be infected with HIV/STD's to gather more information about the subject's sexual partners.
One must be careful of imposing stereotypes simply because of people's ethnicities. There tends to be more open communication between the interviewer and the subject when they share the same cultural barriers.
The Regional TDH office encourages its employees to learn about different cultures through a group called PEACE (Proactive Employees Appreciating Cultural Exploration). It opens the doors for people to be more aware of their peer-to-peer relationships and client-to-client relationships. Each month celebrates a specific culture: February is African-American month; May is Asian Pacific Islander month; November is Native American month. Once a year, they have lectures from different staff members so that the other employees can learn about the culture of those with whom they work.
Cultural Competency Training is mandatory for TDH's staff. It is an eight-hour course, with a follow-up at three months and six months. Cultural competency is a goal that is never arrived at. It is always something to strive for.
Intercultural consultants Camilla McGill and Joyce Zafar will demonstrated a variety of interactive exercises, which build intercultural communication skills and understanding. Effective methods of presenting and debriefing interactive exercises were modeled and discussed as well as how to select and adapt each exercise for use in intercultural training programs.
There are four steps to cultural competence: awareness, knowledge, emotions, and skills. Adults learn differently than children. Adults want to use the information that they learn immediately. Their motivation to learn stems from a personal need. Teaching adults, the instructor assumes that a foundation is already in place. To conduct a successful interactive exercise, consider the following tips:
Methodologies for conducting an interactive exercise include:
When choosing experiential exercises, one should consider the following:
Stages of debriefing should involve these questions:
Syed Zafar has now presented the third in a series describing three salient dimensions of cultural difference: collectivism versus individualism, time perspective, and high and low context communication. In "Going Beyond Words", Syed employed wonderful humor and interactive exercises to enable us to experience the difficulties in communication that occur across the barrier created by our depending upon or ignoring cultural context in the search for the meaning in verbal messages. The essence of high-context communication is that the meaning in messages from that perspective depends much more upon the context (situation, body language, tone of voice, facial expression, emotion expressed) than upon the actual meaning of the words employed. Those of us who have primarily experienced low-context communications depend upon the actual meaning of the words employed to code the message; we often even ignore the emotion with which the message is transmitted. This predisposition is apparently a cultural thing, with Japan, Africa, China and Southeast Asia being at the extreme of high context cultures. Germany and the U.S. are at the opposite extreme of the continuum, where every element in socialization conspires to train us to fit the cultural dependence on literal interpretation of words, limiting our ability to communicate across the context barrier. Unfortunately, people who look to the context for the meaning of the message may read a lot into the message; whereas, those of us from low-context cultures take the words at face value without realizing how much the context adds to the dictionary definition.
“Fundamentalism” is a new term and a 20th century phenomenon, only about sixty years old. It’s an American term, first applied to American Christians who wanted to return to the fundamentals of Christianity. Presently, the term is applied worldwide to groups from various religions that form in reaction to certain social trends. When identified initially, fundamentalist groups were not treated seriously by scholars. Scholars viewed fundamentalists as “whackos” who would burn themselves out if ignored and who wouldn’t be able to sustain the movement in light of the continuing spread of secularism. But those assumptions proved wrong. Contrary to initial assumptions, fundamentalist groups are not “personality cults”. As science and secularism have more thoroughly permeated the world, fundamentalist groups have flourished and grown in number, not died out as expected. Thus, scholars now take these movements as serious subjects for research. Fundamentalism has been studied as a global phenomenon at University of Chicago.
Fundamentalist groups and individuals cannot be stereotyped, due to the great diversity among them. There is no agreement among the various fundamentalist groups concerning what the true fundamentals are, not even among those from the same religion. Individual fundamentalists do not belong to a certain personality type, contrary to initial assumptions that all were poor, oppressed, and uneducated. In reality, fundamentalists represent a huge cross section of people, crossing all socio-economic, racial, gender, and other boundaries.
Having said that, here are the five characteristics that fundamentalist groups (not individuals) share:
Two final points: first, that talks about fundamentalism always end up being about Islam, yet should not. Islam has no monopoly on fundamentalism; ALL religions have fundamentalist factions. There is damage control work to be done for Islam. Second, that scholars give the religious element in fundamentalist movements the short shrift. Scholarship shows that it is wrong to reduce causes of fundamentalism to primarily only religious or mainly political or mainly social. This kind of reductionism is almost always wrong. Still, today’s scholars do not give enough consideration to real, sincere religious beliefs and devotion as an important factor for understanding movements and cultures. It is NOT TRUE that fundamentalist leaders only mask themselves as religious in order to get the masses behind their political causes. These people are deeply religious, and we must take people’s religious passions and beliefs seriously. Sociopolitical activism can be fuelled by religious convictions; not all people divide these as we tend to in the U.S. where church and state are separated.
Conflict is inevitable; however, there are three ways to deal with conflict: avoid it, confront it or resolve it. "The first step in anything is to know thyself, know where you are coming from and the positions you are looking from along with what prejudices you have," said John A. Elsner an expert in cross-cultural consulting, focused on conflict-resolution in his speech on Nov. 3 at the monthly meeting for the Society for Intercultural Education Training and Research, or SIETAR.
Elsner defined prejudice as "how you gain knowledge and categorize things." The negative connotation appears when "we start lumping people together saying people will act in a certain way because they are this or that; putting everyone in boxes."
When in conflict some suggested questions to ask are: Where are the parties from? What is their background? Do they hold a community mentality vs. an individual mentality?
By answering these questions, you have begun to understand the interest for the other party, Elsner said. "When cultures collide, conflicts occur all the more, " Elsner said, defining cultures as "how we do things around here." Identifying the "here" or location aids in understanding. Elsner is certain to note that, It's not all cultural that influences conflict. Some issues might be economies, status, personality, religion, age, communication (verbal and non-verbal), gender, experience, societal levels, etc."
Elsner said there are two traditional ways to resolve conflicts, legal and non-legal. The legal system is relatively new in comparison to humanity.
Historically, there was a big focus on community due to limitations of transportation, commerce and people you could marry. As a result, Elsner said, "You've got to get along; resolve conflicts in amiable ways."
Elsner speaks on how Chinese people have a long tradition of community and deciding for themselves through "mediation boards that resolve 85 percent of conflicts." When both parties can live with usually means that neither walks away with everything they wanted.
The Japanese negotiation style was mentioned as "amazing in how it is largely influenced by building relationships. Once a bond is created, people seem to get along better." Elsner said, " This ideology of relationship-building being interdependent seems to counter American ideology.
"America's focus is individualism. This developed as the western world adopted a codified system, making us egalitarian by downplaying community, status, wealth, etc.," he said. Elsner explained that society changed from community-oriented to an individual focus when we became mobile, expanding commerce, experience, societal levels, personalities, etc.
This idea of individualism relates to another trait Elsner attributes to Americans, having a sense of "risk-analysis."
"Americans don't do anything without thinking how they are affected," he said. "When we as Americans encounter people who don't practice risk-analysis, we find it difficult to understand them, " said Elsner.
This idea was shown through examples such as the Vietnam War and the terrorism attacks on Sept. 11.
Perception matters when dealing with conflict because people act on their perception of things or people, Elsner said. How are perceptions corrected and how is a more realistic picture attained? To answer that, Elsner said, refer back to the first step, "know thyself" and then attempt to answer the suggested questions like: Where are the parties from? What are their backgrounds?
By thumbing through newspapers or flipping through the television channels it has become easier to locate forums, programs, interviews, meetings and lectures all based to understand.
Cultural and ethnic differences can play major roles in dispute resolution such as formalized mediation. Asians, the newer Texans, have introduced a variety of cultures, languages, and religions to the already-diverse Texan cultures. Enhanced understanding of basic priorities of these newcomers can make mediators better facilitators and employers more effective managers. Presenter Saadat Syal is an independent mediator, diversity trainer, and marketing consultant to foreign companies and agencies.
Mediation is the inclusion of a neutral third party in a dispute to help facilitate discussion. It is not the role of the mediator to make a decision for either party. The parties involved in a caucus, or a mediation meeting, will often act based on their cultural framework. Some parties speak continuously, while others remain quiet until prompted to speak. Asian men and women in the workplace, like their Hispanic counterparts, place emphasis on restoration of face and dignity more than they seek vindication by a jury of their peer, public exoneration or vengeance in the event of a dispute.
Of the 21 million people in Texas, Asians account for 2.7% of the total Texas population - as compared to the national average of 3.6%. Of the 567,000 Asians in Texas, most of them originate from India, Pakistan, China, Vietnam, Philippines or Korea. About 5% of the greater Houston metropolitan area is Asian. Sugarland is approximately 25% Asian. Stafford is 15-18% Asian. Missouri City's total population is 11% Asian. Austin also has Asians comprising 5% of its total population. Asians tend to live in pockets. They are likely to move into a neighborhood with a significant number of Asians.
Mr Syal concluded by explaining the priorities of Asians during a conflict. In general:
Nearly 60% of all mergers and acquisitions are viewed as failures. One of the principal reasons for this is cultural differences, both organizational and national. A panel of experts, with direct experience in a variety of industries, was asked to discuss the processes of preparation, negotiation, and implementation affecting international mergers and acquisitions.
Moderator:
Chuck McCabe - Instructor of Managerial Communications, Rice University
Panelists:
Patrick Giroir - Managing Director Valuation and Analysis, El Paso Energy
Cheyenne Currall - Senior Consultant, Towers Perrin
Tami Joslin - Engineering Recruiting Manager, BP
Hideaki Sato - VP and Senior Japanese Relationship Manager, JPMorganChase
Cultural differences are most commonly cited as the reason for merger and acquisition failures either before or after the M&A actually occurs. 70pc of M&A fail to shareholders' expectations.
1. Chuck McCabe: What level of intercultural preparation have you observed?
Cheyenne Currall: The pre-deal preparation involves distance - physical and industry business (Is the merger same industry-to-same industry or is it same industry-to-different industry?), market infrastructure, and cultural distance. In theory, everyone knows that cultural distance is important, but most do not perform the "due diligence" adequately. This process is often postponed and never dealt with. In most cases, the senior management positions receive the most thorough cultural evaluations.
Hideaki Sato: The speed and volume of acquisitions is accelerating. In Japan, many M&As are underway. Mizuho is a Japanese company that is currently going through a merger. In its US offices, JPMorganChase went from the announcement of the merger to the integration of the merger in a mere four months. In their Japanese offices, Mizuho went from the announcement of the merger to the integration of the merger in three years. US M&As are much more dynamic than Japanese M&As.
Tami Joslin: With the BP Amoco Arco merger, cultural discussions were held about British culture versus US culture. Country versus country was not a major focus. There was more focus on British management style versus US management style. During the cultural orientation process, BP managers were sent into traditional Amoco sites and vice versa.
Patrick Giroir: Each of the companies in a M&A usually has competing objectives. In the US, it is culturally acceptable to offer a severance package to employees after cutbacks due to a M&A, but it is often anathema to others outside the US.
2. Chuck McCabe: What is involved in the "due diligence" process?
Cheyenne Currall: The focus was "How can I keep the key talents in each of these countries even after the M&A? How can I attain critical market share?"
3. Chuck McCabe: Has there been a change in approach when non-US companies are merging with a US company?
Patrick Giroir: The US is too well-known for taking a US approach to something and then trying to push it on others, despite the fact that other party may have had a particular model in place for over 5,000 years. It is crucial to remember a people's history when dealing with international M&As.
1.Chuck McCabe: What cultural differences have you observed and how have they affected the M&As?
Hideaki Sato: In a particular Japanese merger, the M&A process took 30 years to complete. This same process took only three years in the US. This is, in part, because of the Japanese lifetime employee system. The labor market is limited, elder people are in positions of seniority (an employee will never be working for someone younger than themselves), and harmony and equality are given precedence over innovation. In no major Japanese company is there a female president. In job descriptions and job opportunities, advertisements are gender-specific and age-specific.
Tami Joslin: The negotiation process carries on long after the announcement of the M&A. Every process has to be reviewed to determine which one (from which company) should be used in the future and this occupies considerable time at all levels. Different corporate language has proven to be a barrier in any of the negotiations.
Cheyenne Currall: Valuation is the process of evaluating how to assign or measure the worth of an attribute. The process of valuation varies among companies. Different people have different communication styles. Senior management ego interplay is the most crucial factor in a M&A. Different cultures also have different communication styles.
Cheyenne Currall: In the US, people are eager to cut a deal. In Japan, people want to get to know you before cutting the deal.
Hideaki Sato: The US use of language and concept of a contract are different from those of the Japanese. The Japanese use of "yes" means "I'm listening," not "I agree" or "I've decided to go ahead with it."
Cheyenne Currall: Many companies agree on the objectives and expectations of the M&A. Ideally, the companies will have several negotiation meetings. US companies involved in a M&A should limit the number of representatives from outside the company when negotiating a deal. Lawyers, accountants, and financial consultants should be kept to a minimum.
Hideaki Sato: The US possesses a top-down corporate philosophy. Japan operates on a bottom-up philosophy. In an initial M&A meeting, a manager in a low position will attend the meeting and then draft a summary that is read by the decision-maker. If the decision-maker wants to further develop relations, then he will attend the next meeting. Americans often become frustrated when interacting professionally with the Japanese because their Japanese counterpart is not often present.
1. Chuck McCabe: How do different cultural perspectives affect synergy?
Patrick Giroir: Despite the safety factor, workers in Tamil Nadu factory wore slippers, not steel-toed boots. The company that took over the factory promptly ordered 5,000 boots for the workers, but the company soon learned that the workers were selling the boots instead of wearing them in order to get some extra money for food. The workers were eventually told that the factory would be shut down if they did not wear their steel-toed boots. It was only then that the workers finally complied.
Cheyenne Currall: There are three important factors to implementation:
- Communication and crisis management. Each company needs to answer the question "How should we deliver the message?" This is especially important when multiple nations are involved.
- Leadership. Focus of melding the CEOs, top leaders, and key talents.
- Reward. Find out what motivates people to stay with the new company and work hard after the M&A has gone through.
Hideaki Sato: In Japan, there is much loyalty to former leaders. For example, the president of a certain Japanese car manufacturer could not cut back even though everyone within the company knew it had to be done. The president of could not bring himself to fire employees out of respect to the former leader. An outside president was brought in to do it.
Hate has been described as intense animosity or aversion toward an object, comprising simultaneous feelings of disgust, fear, and contempt. Clint Stevens, a Doctoral Student in Community Health Sciences at the University of Texas ― Houston School of Public Health, explored hate and hatred as part of human existence and history, and examined the contemporary issue of hate and bias crimes, using a context of ingroups and outgroups. The perpetration of hate by "hate groups" on the internet was scrutinized, and educational programs which have been developed to counter hatred and prejudice were presented.
Hate is described as an emotion or extreme dislike or aversion; detestation; abhorrence (noun); to hold in very strong dislike; to bear malice to (transitive verb). Mr Stevens added a new dimension to this traditional definition, describing hate as an emerging adjective and a modifier of nouns including crime, group, speech, violence, vandalism, and graffiti.
Precursors of hate include fear, disgust, contempt, anger, and ultimately "difference." Cumulative feelings of hate are often based on preconscious thoughts and cognitive distortions involving overgeneralizations, misinterpretations, irrational beliefs, previous experiences, learned fear/prejudice, and perceptions of individual or group deviations from cultural, societal, and/or traditional norms that are threatening to the "status quo." Mechanisms of hate are ideas (latent or not) of being wronged or threatened based on injunctive prohibitions (e.g., No one should…), rigid expectations (e.g., Everyone should…), and a compulsive need to control. This can lead to contempt and anger because of an apparent difference, which can eventually turn to hate.
Hate is a battle between the self and the "other," with the "other" being constructed as dangerous and threatening to one's self-esteem. As hatred and anger intensify, one's ability to reason decreases, while potentially catastrophic distortions increase, as do oversimplified, projected negative images. Favorable aspects of the "other" are ignored and blocked out. This process can lead to violent hostility.
A hate crime is a crime motivated by prejudice against a social group. In these cases, individuals, groups, or property are singled out for a perceived characteristic or group affiliation because of hatred and bias. Hate crimes are overwhelmingly committed by strangers and are far more likely than other crimes to result in an aftermath of riots and other conflict with severe socioeconomic consequences in the community where the hate act occurs. The acts are usually committed by more than one individual or an individual acting whose behavior is in tandem with the beliefs of a larger group. The method of attack in a hate crime is more violent than those of non-hate crimes. The recovery time for a victim of a hate crime can exceed more than twice that of a non-hate crime. And hate crimes increase terror and anxiety in the group to which the victim of hate is perceived to belong.
Before committing a hate crime, the attacker(s) may use a variety of psychological mechanisms to disengage him(her)self or themselves from the victim. These include moral justification, palliative comparison, euphemistic labeling, displacement of responsibility, diffusion of responsibility, minimizing consequences, dehumanization, attribution of blame, cumulative effect, and less resistance to peer pressure. This behavior can produce irrationally reprehensible and violent conduct, which ultimately leads to detrimental effects for the victim.
The challenges of hate crimes include the underreporting of hate crimes, increasing population diversity, whites becoming increasingly a minority in more locations of the U.S., religious fundamentalism, non-scientific claims made by both professionals and lay groups, women's classification within the law, political bigotry, community segregation, media irresponsibility, and a lack of bona fide research and education. The "good news" is that an increasing number of US states are passing hate crime laws. There are more school initiatives, web-based "hate watches", foundations and institutions, governmental initiatives, university courses and research, hate crime seminars, and less tolerance by the average American for violence and bigotry.
In the US, the ultimately ingroup consists of individuals who possess all of the following traits: males of European-descent, healthy (vs. infirm), heterosexual, Christian, US citizen, educated, married or partnered, not a felon, not on public assistance, and either employed, retired, or a student. Mr. Stevens has hypothesized that the fewer of these characteristics a person possesses, the greater his/her chances of being victimized.
Mr Stevens recommended the following reading: History & Hate: The Dimension of Anti-Semitism by Berger, "The Rising Tide of Bigotry and Bloodshed - Hate Crimes" by Levin and McDevitt, "Justice and the Politics of Difference" by Young, "Theory of Moral Disengagement" by Bandura, "Hate Crimes - New Social Movements and the Politics of Violence" by Jenness and Broad, "Punishing Hate - Bias Crimes under American Law" by Lawrence, "Hate Crimes - The Global Politics of Polarization" by Kelly and Maghan, "Creating Citizens" by Callen, "Stigma" by Goffman, "Pedagogy of the Oppressed" by Freire, "Critical Social Theories" by Agger, "The Terms of Political Discourse" by Connolly, and "Hate Crimes - Criminal Law & Identity Politics" by Jacobs and Potter.
Dr Stephen Klineberg, Professor of Sociology at Houston's Rice University and author of Houston's Ethnic Communities (1996) summarized the central findings from two decades of systematic survey research conducted annually in Harris County. Dr Klineberg presented a compelling picture of a city in the midst of fundamental redefinition. The findings helped to clarify the challenges and opportunities inherent in Houston's expanding ethnic and cultural diversity in the new century.
Dr Klineberg spoke of Houston's economic boom throughout the twentieth century, which can be attributed to the development of the oil and gas industry in this port city, but that era came to a halt with the oil bust of 1982. Houston has since recovered into a new kind of economy and society. Because of worldwide competition and advances in computers and robotics, the many good blue-collar jobs that Houston's oil-based economy generated for almost a century have largely disappeared. In the new two-tiered, "hourglass" economy, income inequalities are widening predicated primarily on access to technical training and higher education.
Under the notorious National Origins Quota Act in effect from 1924 to 1965, immigration to America slowed to a trickle, Asians were effectively banned entirely, and 98% of all new visas were allocated to Europeans. In 1965, the law was finally changed. Far more generous limits were established and visas were now allocated not by national origin, but on the basis of family reunification, occupational skills, and proven vulnerability to persecution. After 1965, the number of immigrants to America grew rapidly, and the proportions among them who were Europeans fell precipitously.
As a major destination for the new immigration, this city has become one of America's most ethnically and culturally diverse metropolitan regions. Houston's rapid population growth in the 1960s and 1970s was brought about largely by Anglos (non-Hispanic whites) streaming into this booming region from other parts of the country. By 1981 Houston had become the fourth largest city in America, with a population that was still almost two-thirds Anglo. After the collapse of the oil economy in 1982, however, the Anglo population of Harris County stabilized and then declined. Yet the region grew by another 17% during the 1980s and by 21% in the 1990s.
In the census of 2000, Harris County was only 42% Anglo. The Houston area was now 33% Hispanic, 18% African-American, and 7% Asian. The city of Houston in the year 2000 was 37% Hispanic, 31% Anglo, 25% African-American, and 7% Asian.
These ethnic transformations are particularly dramatic when age is taken into account. The "aging of America" has turned out to be an ethnic divide as well as a generational one. Of all the respondents in the 2001 Houston Area Survey who were sixty or older, 74% were Anglos. In contrast, more than 70% of those aged eighteen to twenty-nine were black, Hispanic, and Asian. Almost two-thirds (65%) of these young adults, who will comprise the Houston workforce in the twenty-first century, were African American and Hispanic.
These are also the populations that have been the least well served historically by Houston's educational institutions and its social-service and health-care delivery systems. Clearly if this community's "minority" youth are unprepared to succeed in the knowledge economy of the twenty-first century, it is hard to envision a prosperous future for the city as a whole.
The "good news" in the survey findings is that area residents in general are increasingly prepared to accept and even to celebrate the city's expanding pluralism. There was a jump from 39% in 1997 to 54% today in the proportion believing that "the increasing immigration into this country today mostly strengthens American culture" (rather than: "mostly threatens American culture"). The percent saying they would like to see the US admit more or about the same number of legal immigrants during the next ten years as were admitted in the last 10 years increased from 37% in 1995, to 51% in 1999, to 61% today. The numbers believing that "the increasing ethnic diversity in Houston brought about by immigration is a good thing" (rather than: "a bad thing") grew from 54% in 1994, to 63% in 1999, to 69% in 2001.
The findings also indicate that the old-fashioned, traditional, "redneck" racism (the belief that minorities are inferior and segregation is good) has unmistakably declined among Anglos in Houston. It has been replaced by often well-meaning, but stereotypical perceptions, born primarily of the dearth of honest and trusting interactions between the different ethnic communities in this sprawling, low-density, still segregated city.
Thus the growing tolerance is accompanied by deep divisions between the various ethnic communities in their beliefs about the nature of the world itself, especially with regard to the continued realities of discrimination, of equality of opportunity, and of support for affirmative action remedies. In the 2001 survey, for example, 69% of the Anglo respondents agreed with the assertion that "Blacks and other minorities have the same opportunities as whites in the U.S. today"; but 76% of the black respondents disagreed.
The census data indicate that residential segregation in Harris County has actually increased during the past decade. Anglos are less likely today than in 1990 to have black or Hispanic neighbors, even as the proportion of Anglos saying that they would personally prefer to live in a fully-integrated neighborhood grew from 40% in 1991, to 43% in 1998, to 60% in 2001. The data make it clear that beneath the surface calm, there are many signs of mutual misunderstanding and feelings of alienation, and that lingering prejudices are now less conscious and thus more difficult to address.
Dr Klineberg also spoke about the changing nature of the assimilation process itself (from "subtractive" to "additive" assimilation), in a global economy based upon inexpensive transportation and instantaneous communications. In addition, he noted the rapid growth in rates of intermarriage across all ethnic communities -- a process that is gradually transforming America into a "transracial" society.
SIETAR Houston's Intercultural Career Development Workshop was a huge success! It was held in Houston, Texas on April 27 & 28, 2001. Special thanks to our presenter, Jeremy Solomons! Mr Solomons, of Solomons and Associates and Board member of SIETAR USA, is a cross-cultural coach, consultant, speaker, trainer, and writer on international business and intercultural career/life planning issues. Thanks also to all of our participants, organizers, and sponsors! Our participants came to Houston from cities all over Texas, and even as far as British Columbia, Canada!
The objectives of the two-day workshop were to help both new graduates and career changers within the intercultural field as well as new or experienced trainers in other fields to: · Reflect on the functional and ethical responsibilities and duties of intercultural trainers.
A panel, consisting of experienced intercultural employers as well as trainers, spoke each day and presented their thoughts on working in the intercultural field. Employers addressed qualities that they require trainers to have before hiring them.
Mr Solomons demonstrated the importance of a resume, CV, bio, and cover letter in acquiring a job within the field. Additionally, Mr Solomons shared his thoughts on well-respected institutions in the field of intercultural training for those in pursuit of higher education. Ultimately, he stressed, it is imperative for interculturalists to network and build team partnerships with other associates within the field. Mr Solomons and the panelists encouraged workshop participants to keep current in the field by reading publications such as: Harvard Business Review, Harvard Management Update, First, Break All the Rules, The Dance of Change, The Fifth Discipline, Building Cross-Cultural Competence, Riding the Waves of Culture, Understanding and Changing Your Management Style.
Photos from the workshop can be found in the Members Only section.
In their presentation, "Generation X as Consumers of Intercultural Services," Edward Retta and Cynthia Brink, both cross-cultural writers and trainers of Cross Culture Communications, questioned how educated young professionals respond to traditional training practices. The presenters also promoted discussion of possible modifications to training methods, tools, and models to connect with this new audience.
Historically, intercultural training methods in the US were generally designed for and by White male baby boomers who dominated the US business sector. In the past, the typical client of intercultural products and services was a White male, between 35 and 45, married with children, and the sole income provider in the family.
Mr. Retta and Ms. Brink began by explaining that the client profile of the consumer of intercultural products and services has shifted to include those of Generation X. Generation X-ers are those who were born in the 1960's and 1970's. This age group is currently emerging as corporate leaders in today's global marketplace. Generation X priorities include experiencing community, valuing relationships over results, finding fulfillment in friends and family, working in a team, and establishing an identity different from that of their parents' generation. Consumers of intercultural services are increasingly female, younger than 35, a minority, single, and high-tech users. Yet the resources available to this group have typically been designed by an older generation who have been influenced by traditional Western values and have not adapted their products, which were originally intended for Whites, to meet the need of Generation X consumers.
Through their research, which included focus groups and a live training seminar, Mr. Retta and Ms. Brink discovered that Generation X-ers are tired of traditional intercultural communication approaches. They seek a real and straightforward treatment instead of the traditionally "canned" method of approach. Many Gen X-ers feel that the training materials and methods presented to them are outdated in their teaching approach. Most prefer live training to web-based training, and admitted to be likely to download free information from the internet. The cross-cultural industry must watch these trends and adapt, or risk disconnecting with clients.
For a complete copy of the findings resulting from this market study, please contact Mr. Retta and Ms. Brink at eretta@flash.net and cbrink@flash.net, respectively.
Dr. David Wigglesworth addressed the cultural determinants of team building within organizations. This presentation was directed to the variations of western business culture----Work teams that are formed within a mixture of European and North American multinational corporations.
Wigglesworth began with audience participation exercises to describe a team and then state the necessary characteristics of a multinational team. All of the responses leaned toward the ones provided by Dr. Wigglesworth who stated that a transnational corporate team consisted of people thrown together to accomplish a particular goal; and to do that team members needed to have the requisite skills to achieve that goal, a willingness to communicate as well as an awareness of others.
Next, he showed a video, "Building the Transnational Team" that illustrated how things can go wrong very easily and very quickly within a transnational team. The video used humor and exaggerated nationalistic characteristics to demonstrate culture clash. As the video progressed, it depicted three techniques to manage culture clash:
Dr. Wigglesworth concluded by stating that Awareness was the key to transglobal team building. He further stated that culture (cultural differences) is a problem only if it is a problem. If such a problem arises, it is likely to be due to differences in Communication, Leadership, or Organization. Once the area of culture clash is identified, Tactical changes and Strategic changes can be used to achieve resolution.
In his presentation, "Time Orientation Across Cultures," Syed Zafar, a speaker and trainer on intercultural understanding and president of Cultural Diversity Group, discussed two cultural concepts of time, monochronic and polychronic. Through examples and personal stories, Mr. Zafar explained these terms as well as their cultural implications.
Mr. Zafar began by defining cultural concepts of time. Monochronic time involves compartmentalization and people schedule one event at a time. In a monochronic time culture, time is perceived as a linear progression that travels from the past to the future. People tend to organize their activities using a clock and place high value on calendars, appointments, and schedules, and these plans are not easily changed. Time is perceived as a limited resource that must be rationed wisely. On the other hand, people in polychronic time cultures engage in several activities simultaneously and place more value on human interaction rather than schedules or appointments. Here, there is more emphasis on the activities that are occurring in time rather than on the clock itself. People tend to be more flexible with spontaneously scheduling activities for the present because time is perceived as an abundant commodity. Polychronic cultures are more focused on the present. A polychronic time person is more willing than a monochronic time person to sacrifice the next scheduled activity to complete something important.
By telling us of his personal experiences, Mr. Zafar illustrated the benefits of freely moving between the worlds of monochronic and polychronic time. Understanding whether another party operates on monochronic or polychronic time, and cultivating an appreciation for that cultural practice , can lead to fewer misunderstandings and more successful intercultural communication. Mr. Zafar is a member and past officer of SIETAR Houston.
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