Cross-cultural training activities, Joseba Arregi, Dmitrii Enygin, Venera Midova [books to get back into reading TXT] 📗

Incident One - Ronald

Incident Two

Recognize the cultural dimension.

The misunderstanding took place in a situation in which people from different cultural backgrounds came into contact. Ronald felt that he was acting in a courteous and constructive fashion, yet his behaviour was seen in a different way by his British counterparts. This suggests that cultural differences played a part in what happened.

Analyse what caused the misunderstanding.

The misunderstanding occurred as a result of a presentation given by Ronald. The Dutch tend to value communication that is direct and explicit. In contrast, the British often value communication that does not rock the boat or expresses criticism in quite ambiguous terms. The British may therefore have misperceived

Ronald’s considered and polite presentation as overtly confrontational and critical.

Decide what options are available.

Ronald could choose not to interact with the British again, or simply change his communication style to suit his audience. Alternatively, he could make differences in

communication styles explicit

and work with his counterparts to find a style of communication that suited everyone concerned.

Act on the best option(s).

The best option in the short term is probably for Ronald to adapt his communication style to suit his audience. This is most likely to enable him to get the response he wants from his communication. In the longer term, addressing cultural differences in the organization will probably be beneficial.

Review what happened.

Reviewing the response to his next presentation will enable him to decide what effect changing communication style has had.

Publication Date: 06-06-2021

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