Cross-cultural Understanding — Three Traps

Start here Your brother hits a cyclist while driving too fast. The police ask you how fast he was going. Do you protect your brother, or tell the truth? Your answer depends a lot on your culture.

Think of a culture other than your own. Write down 5 things you don’t understand about it. Three or seven is also fine.

The professor’s own list:

• Why are weddings in Kerala done differently from weddings in Tamil Nadu?
• Why do some rituals in Karnataka happen the way they do?
• Why do some offices abroad start at 7 a.m. in winter, when it is cold?

Why do this? When you say “I don’t understand”, you become ready to listen and learn.

This is a famous example from a cross-culture expert, Fons Trompenaars. He starts his workshops with it.

Lecture example — the speeding brother Your brother is driving his new car. You sit next to him. He drives at 70 km/h in a 30 km/h zone. He hits a cyclist. The police want you to say in court how fast he was driving. What will you say?

In the professor’s IIT classes, many students choose each answer. From a cross-culture view, neither side is wrong.

Lesson: Different cultures think differently about the same situation.

Stereotyping means using “mental files” from the past to understand new people. We compare them with what we already know.

Examples: “People of that state only eat rice.” “Final-year students always submit late.” “Second-year students are always on WhatsApp.”

The problem is not that stereotypes exist. The problem is how you use them.

Everyday example You think, “People from the US are very direct.” That helps you prepare. But then you meet an American colleague who is very polite and slow to say no. If you still treat her as “direct”, you are misusing the stereotype.

Ethnocentrism is the belief that my culture’s values, beliefs and norms are better than other cultures’.

• In a way, all of us are a little ethnocentric.
• Stereotyping + ethnocentrism together are very destructive. “They are like this, and my way is better.”
• No one set of beliefs, values and norms is better than another.
• We each have one set we are familiar with, so we feel comfortable with it. That is all.
• Other ways of thinking and acting may be equally effective and valuable.

So don’t say “my culture is better”. Say “I am more familiar with my culture.”

Parochialism means being very narrow in outlook. You are not open to new views. You look only at your local or regional world, not the bigger picture.

Lecture example — the football fan The professor supports Manchester United. They lost 6–3 to another team, which scored some beautiful goals. But he could not appreciate a single one, because his team was losing. “That is me being parochial,” he says.

In one line: Avoid putting groups in boxes, believing your culture is superior, and seeing only your local world. Exam words: Did the Pedestrian Die, stereotyping, mental files, ethnocentrism, parochialism.

1. People may not fit the stereotype. Not every American, Japanese or Mexican behaves the same. Know the general culture, but keep your eyes open for the person in front of you.
2. Not every difference comes from culture. Two people from the same city can still see the world very differently.
3. Understand your own culture first. That gives you a base to understand others. The professor suggests making a presentation on India, because many of us don’t know our own country well.
4. There are no extremes, only gradations. A culture or a person is not “fully” one way. Think 6, 7 or 9 out of 10.