Cross-Cultural Communication in Business

This morning, I was at the Sydney Markets in Flemington. For those of you who have not been there, it is similar to the wet markets or “pasar borong” in Malaysia. Sydney Markets are opened to the general public for small purchases on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. On other days, Sydney Markets are more relevant to retailers as you can only buy items in bulk and not in small quantities. This is an interesting place to visit as there are many people from different cultural background purchasing and selling their products. I can hear many languages spoken here. Some of the languages which I recognised are Arabic, Russian, Cantonese, Mandarin and Tagalog. Needless to say, English Language is widely spoken here as well. Most of the trading and business transactions that took place proceeded smoothly with smiling and friendly faces. Since there are so many customers from different cultural background, some of the sellers applied some marketing techniques which I thought were quite clever. For example, there was this Caucasian fruit seller who addressed his Asian elderly customers “Uncle” and “Aunty” whenever they approached his stall. This simple respectful way of addressing an older person certainly endeared him to the Asian customers. In case some of you are not aware, calling an elderly person “Uncle” or “Aunty” is a form of respect which you give the elders in Asia. It has got nothing to do with whether you are related to the person or not!

On the flip side, this morning I also had the opportunity to witness an incident which I can only termed as “Cross-Cultural Miscommunication in Business”. The scene that I saw involved a Caucasian lady selling peanuts. There were 3 elderly Asian people comprised of an elderly man and two ladies. The elderly Asian man was trying to bargain the price of the peanuts with the seller. It was obvious that the man and the 2 ladies did not speak much English. I heard the man said $8.00 to the lady seller and pointed to another seller. I interpreted his gesture and message as saying that he used to buy the peanuts for $8.00 from the other seller. The lady seller just shook her head and said $10.00 and asked for the money. The man just paid the lady $8.00 and was laughing. The two ladies were also laughing. I have to say here that the elderly Asian man never raised his voice nor was he ever rude throughout this whole transaction. He was smiling all the time. As for the Caucasian lady seller, she was also not rude but firm and at times exasperated. I could empathised with the Caucasian lady seller as she didn’t understand the Asian man as to why was he not paying the full price of $10.00. To make the matter even more complicated, the Asian man and the 2 ladies left the $8.00 on the table and walked away. The Caucasian lady seller who was now really exasperated raised her voice and said, “Hey, you need to pay me the $10.00. You have only given me $8.00”. By this time, people nearby were paying attention to the scene. The Asian man and the 2 ladies knew something was not right and they looked rather confused. They said, “we paid already”. The seller said, “you paid me less”. As they didn’t quite understand English, this made them even more confused. Finally, the lady seller took out a $2.00 token and showed them and said, “I need this”. One of the ladies took out the $2.00 and gave it to the seller. The seller finally felt relief while the man and the 2 ladies still looked confuse. Okay, let’s discuss this scene and analyse what had just happened?

First of all, it is obvious there is a language barrier here but remember, we can still communicate through gestures and the “language of money” is quite universal if you know how to count! If we look at the Caucasian lady seller’s perspective, she felt (I am of the opinion quite rightly too), that she has been short changed by the customers. The fact that the Asian man pointed to the other seller and said $8.00 did not alter her position in this business transaction. In Western society, things are handled mainly in a straightforward manner, it is either this or that. For example, if you are dealing with the seller, she will probably say to you, “This is my stall and this is my price. It is not relevant how much the other person sold the item to you. You can either buy it from me or you can buy it from the other person”. The fact that the Asian man and the 2 ladies laughed throughout the transaction did not help the situation either. From the seller’s perspective, the customers are making fun of her and this irritated her even more. One of the things that most people find rather difficult to handle (irregardless of whatever cultural background you are from) is when the other person is being disrespectful or rude.

Now, let’s look at the Asian man and ladies’ perspectives. Being an Asian myself, I can understand the cultural aspect of it as well. You see, I remember when I was a young boy in Malaysia, I used to follow my mother to the wet market. It was very common for people to haggle the price or bargain when they are in the wet market. One of the common methods that I have observed was when the customer would bargained with the seller until it came to a deadlock. The customer would then just leave the amount of money equivalent to the customer’s last offer on the table and take the items which are already packed by then. When the items are packed, it is indication (as least in my culture) that the seller has accepted the offer. The seller would then accept the money and go on with his next customer.  Why did the seller accept a lesser amount? I don’t have an answer for that but my opinion is that the seller was looking at retaining long lasting business relationship with the customer. The seller would still profit from the transaction but not as much as he hoped he would get. Sometime the haggling or bargaining becomes so intense, the customer or seller or even both would just laughed to break the tension but they continued to haggle anyway. If we take this scenario and apply it to the scene at Sydney Market which I described earlier, could it be that the Asian man and the 2 ladies were using the similar haggling technique? If they were, the response they got from the Caucasian lady seller was not one that they expected. When the seller did not accept their offer, the Asian man and the ladies were probably laughing thinking that the seller was just kidding with them and thought that this could be easily settled by just giving $8.00 to the seller and that will be that. Also, the fact that the peanuts were already put in the plastic bag indicated to the Asian man and the ladies that the seller had accepted the offer. However, when the seller raised her voice, they were confused and that led to an awkward and perhaps, an even embarrassing situation.

In today’s world, many countries are becoming multi-cultural due to migration and technology. Why technology? The reason is because people are finding it easier to travel from one place to another which makes everything closer together. For migrants, as much as they want to assimilate into the local community, it is not easy for them due to spending many years in their own country and having practiced their local culture ever since they were born. It will take some time for them to adopt to the new culture in their new country, especially when it comes to everyday dealings and business. The new migrants should not ignore the culture of their new country especially when it comes to dealing or doing business after they moved to that new country. Some new migrants felt that since they would be transacting and doing business with people from their country of origin, there is no need to learn the new culture. Well, in my view, that should not be the correct mindset. In order to be competitive in this world or in the new country for that matter, we need to learn and understand business practice of different cultures - that will give us the edge and make us competitive.

We will be staying in the beautiful City of Kuala Lumpur in the Business Culture Tour

We will be staying in the beautiful island of Penang

The beautiful island of Penang

We will be having dinner at the revolving restaurant in KL Tower while admiring the beautiful City skyline

Night scene in Kuala Lumpur

This is one of the main reasons why the Australian Dispute Resolution Centre (“ADRC”) organises “Business Culture Tours” to different countries where English is not the native language. The objective of the “Business Culture Tour” is to learn and understand the people of that Country’s approach in conducting business, decision making process, negotiation methods and approach in resolving conflicts. In collaboration with the Government of Malaysia, the ADRC is organising a “Business Culture Tour” to Kuala Lumpur and Penang from 12th October till 19th October 2014. Malaysia is a multi-cultural country and it will be a fun learning experience. If you need further information about the Malaysian tour or future tours, please send an e-mail to st@adrc.net.au .

Culture shock - then and now (Part 1)

The Australian Dispute Resolution Centre (ADRC) in carrying out its research on cross cultural relationships will produce a series of articles examining people who had undergone cultural shock 30 years ago compared with today. It is hope that this research will help people from different cultural background who have moved to a new country, to adapt better and live a happier life. In this article we will look at Culture Shock - then and now. As we all know, the effect of Culture Shock on people who recently moved to a new country compared to 30 years ago is very different due to modern technology and an almost borderless world. So now sit back and enjoy the first installment of this series.

Culture shock used to be one of the main concern whenever a person migrates or leaves for overseas for a long period of stay. Back in the 1980s before I left for the United States of America for my studies, I was given a pamphlet by the “Malaysian American Commission Educational Exchange” (MACEE) on how to deal with culture shock. This is especially true for people for has never left his or her country of origin, let alone moving to another country. I know a few friends who have never flown in an airplane until that fateful day when they left to further their studies in overseas. I remember the pamphlet talked about the 3 phases that the students would most likely go through. The first phase is the “honeymoon phase” where the student would be excited and fascinated with the new country and culture. Everything is new, therefore the student can’t wait to experience and explore life in this new country. It is like having a holiday in this new country. The second phase is the “negotiation phase” or “awareness phase” where usually after a few months, the student began to feel homesick due to the difference between the student’s culture and the culture of the new country. This could also be due to the familiarity which the student misses (eg: family, loved ones, friends, familiar places), language barrier, availability of food from the country of origin and the system and manner the way things are carried out in the new country. Sometimes, this may lead to the student being frustrated, anxious and angry. This is a crucial stage for the student. As this stage will determine whether the student has the ability to adapt or “throw in the towel” and to return to his/her country of origin. There are people who persevere and they are those who call it quits and willing to forego everything to return to the comfort of his/her home country. The third phase is called the “adjustment phase” or the “acceptance phase” where the student began to adapt and accept the new culture and develop his/her routine. The MACEE pamphlet also states that part of the adjustment is that the student began to realise that he/she is going to spend only a small part of his/her life in the new country and should take the opportunity to experience as much as possible. Keeping in mind that MACEE’s pamphlet was meant for students who would eventually return to their country of origin, therefore there were only 3 phases which were highlighted. However, for people who are migrating to a new country, there is a fourth phase known as the “mastery phase” where the person has adapted very well and has assimilated and able to participate in the new country’s culture. By adapting well to the new culture does not mean that the person has lost his/her identity of his country of origin. The person may still speak with the same accent, practised his/her religion, recognising his/her culture and still enjoying food from his/her native country. However, the person can now experience two different cultures. The person is in a good place called “bicultural” stage.

When I went to the US for my studies back in 1980s, technology was not as advanced as today. Computers, mobile phones and e-mails were very rare. As for Skype, Facetime, Tango and Viber, they were not in existence. I remembered at one time, AT&T (an American telephone company) was promoting their services on campus, especially to the foreign students. They were allowing people to make 1 minute phone call at no charge to anywhere in the world. Foreign students were queueing up, making long lines, just to get that rare opportunity to talk to their loved ones back home for free. As for me, I was fortunate as my brother and I lived in the same apartment and we get to speak to our parents at least once a week. We have to be mindful of the time difference as well. Living in different time zone also contributed to culture shock as well. When I was living in the US, I was yearning for news from back home, anything familiar that I thought would help me to adjust to life in this new country without losing the familiarity. My father would from time to time, cut interesting articles from various Malaysian newspapers and snail mail them to me. I was also in touch and corresponded with few of my classmates back in Klang at that time including a person by the name of Andrew Gerard Nathan whom unfortunately, I have lost in touch as time goes by. Each letter which I mailed to Malaysia, I would be anxiously waiting for a reply. It became such an obsession that I actually calculated that it will take 14 days to get a reply from Malaysia provided that the person reply to my letter almost immediately! My apartment had posters from beautiful holiday places in Malaysia pasted on the walls (courtesy of Tourism Malaysia) and not forgetting a Malaysian flag as well. There wasn’t any web surfing then, so I would frequently flipped through the Malaysia Year Book (there used to be a Year Book for every year) and reminiscing everything about Malaysia. So, as you can see, by not letting go, I am burying myself deep into culture shock.

Luckily for people like us who were in the US, we had a rough idea on how the life in the US was going to be, thanks to the Hollywood movies and TV shows shown in Malaysia at that time. The shows did not reflect the actual life in the US but were close enough. So, in that sense, the culture shock was cushioned slightly. I was in my second phase, “Negotiation Phase” when I realised that I needed to get my degree by hook or by crook. I was very fortunate to be studying at one of US top universities and I was going to make the best of it. Those days, to have a degree was a major thing. There was no such thing as twinning programme or degree mills. The only way to get a degree was to undergo a four year programme. The perseverance and the motivation kept me going and I was able to overcome “the negotiation phase”. The third phase of “adjustment” came quite easily when I made new friends not only with Americans but people from other countries such as Honduras, Guatemala, etc and found that they were all humans and have their own challenges. In other words, they were no different from you or me. The 4 years spent in the US were wonderful and it enriched me in more ways than one. Stay tune for the second part to this series.

Building rapport in cross-cultural communication

When we talk about Mediation, we talk about meeting the parties’ needs. In other words, what do the parties really want and how do we satisfy those needs. However, in cross cultural negotiations, we have to look beyond the parties’ needs in order to obtain a positive outcome. We have to understand the parties’ culture to build rapport. Growing up in a multi-cultural country like Malaysia, we are frequently exposed to different races and cultures. From the Western world’s perspective, they could all be lumped into one group and simply labelled as “Asians” but one needs to understand that within “Asians”, there are many other sub-groups of people such as Japanese, Koreans, Indians, Chinese, Malays, Thais, etc. Each group may have their own different cultural values where the other groups may not be aware of. Therefore, doing a bit of homework and getting to know the person’s culture will do wonders.

However, I wish to caution that understanding the other person’s culture does not mean that you have to be that person of that particular culture. Let me give you an example, I have come across people who have tried to imitate the person of that different culture when they speak. For instance, a non-Chinese person imitates a Chinese native speaker when he speaks English to the former. The person’s intention may be good, in the sense that he wanted to make the Chinese person feel comfortable but at the same time, it could also be perceived as an insult when everyone knows that the non-Chinese person could speak English really well. So, in my opinion, do not overdo it. If you want to make the person feel comfortable, speak slowly and whenever possible, use simple and proper language. If you know certain Chinese words (as in our example) or phrases, use them by interjecting them into your vocabulary when you speak to the Chinese native speaker. I can say with confidence that the Chinese native speaker would be pleased and perhaps even put a smile to his or her face. 

I remembered some years ago in an industrial relations case, my client who is the employer attended a tribunal where an ex-employee claimed that he was wrongfully dismissed. The ex-employee was a European man married to a Malay lady. On the day of the hearing, my client’s Human Resource Director who was dressed in his usual office wear was taken by surprise when he saw his ex-employee wearing an elaborate Malay traditional costume. From the way he wore the traditional costume, it was obvious that this was not his usual dressing. It was safe to assume then that the ex-employee was simply putting on a “show” at the tribunal and perhaps, hoping to score a few points with the Chairman of the Tribunal. Well, the HR Director told me that the Chairman of the Tribunal was not impressed and proceeded to hear the case without being swayed by the person’s dressing. Apparently, at one stage the Chairman of the Tribunal enquired from the ex-employee who was clearly uncomfortable and sweating profusely whether he would want a short adjournment so that he could changed to something more comfortable. However the European man declined. So there you have it, this was clearly another act that had gone overboard. When you want to create rapport with a person of different culture, both parties must be comfortable, do your homework to learn more about the person’s culture and do not go overboard.

At the Australian Dispute Resolution Centre, we are constantly researching and finding ways that can help to create rapport amongst people from different cultural background.  We are looking at verbal or physical gestures that will create better understanding amongst people of different races and cultures. Hopefully, we will be able to compile a list that will help to create a world of tolerance and friendship.