| Communicaid Blog | Cross Cultural Training and International Communication Skills

Feb 22

Camels on a Catwalk: Cultural Differences in the Concept of Beauty

A recent BBC news article describes how in the Middle East whole families attend beauty contests held in the middle of the desert. These, however, are not beauty contests as you might know them where glamorous models parade on a catwalk like in Paris, London or Milan. Instead, these are beauty contests attended by Saudi families who come to admire camels.

These camel beauty contests, also known as camel competitions, can be huge events which attract hundreds of families in the Middle East who all come to watch, buy or sell camels. This year the competition was so big there were over 28,000 camels being presented.

istock 000003344979small1 300x199 Camels on a Catwalk: Cultural Differences in the Concept of Beauty

©istockphoto.com/Klaas Lingbeek- van Kranen

Owning camels in the Middle East can be a sign of prestige and wealth. This is particularly true if the length of the camel’s neck, the firmness of its ears or the colour of its skin are right making it worth more than $2 million in some cases.

At such a price, camels can unsurprisingly be considered a status symbol for whoever can afford one. As such, Saudi families fiercely bid against each other to buy the most beautiful camel on display in the same way Europeans might bid for a Van Gogh canvas.

Understanding cultural traditions like this and being aware of the impact they may have on individuals is extremely important when doing business in the Middle East. If your Middle Eastern colleague proudly tells you his brother or uncle is the owner of a herd of camels, it’s important you recognise this is as a marker of status and wealth. In hierarchical societies like Saudi Arabia or the UAE, respect is an invaluable asset shown to those with status gained through wealth or family connections.

This is just one Middle Eastern tradition that might impact your business counterpart’s behaviours and attitudes. A cross-cultural training programme such as Doing Business in the Middle East will help you understand a plethora of other cultural customs. By simply being aware of some of these cultural customs, your ability to build relationships with your counterparts in the Middle East will improve and your understanding of the culture will help you be more successful doing business in the Middle East.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

Tagged with: beauty • camels • cross-cultural awareness • cross-cultural differences • Culture • doing business in Saudi Arabia • doing business in the Middle East • doing business in the UAE • hierarchical societies • status symbol • training

Feb 15

Cross-Cultural Concept of Time: Chronemics

Cross Cultural Training, Cultural training for Relocation, Culture, Culture training for Business & Management, Culture training for Human Resources, Culture training for the Public sector 3 Comments »

The terms polychronic and monochronic are used to describe how we understand and use time as well as how time affects our attitudes, behaviours and communication. In The Silent Language (1959), Edward T. Hall used the term polychronic to describe the preference for doing several things at once. Conversely, monochronic refers to an individual’s preference to do their activities one by one.

People in monochronic cultures such as the U.S. or Germany prefer promptness, careful planning and rigid commitment to plans. They also tend to be task-oriented whereas people from polychronic cultures are people-oriented. Cultures such as Italy or Brazil are considered to be polychronic since they prefer to have multiple things happening at once. Polychronic cultures tend to prioritise relationships over tasks and do not consider time commitments to be binding.

The table below highlights some of the key differences between monochronic and polychronic preferences.

Monochronic	Polychronic
One thing at a time	Multiple activities at once
Rigid approach to time	Flexible approach to time
Strict agenda	No strict agenda
Focus on task	Focus on relationship
Completion of job most important	Relationships more important than the job
Emphasise promptness	Promptness based on relationships

Cross-cultural training will provide you with a more comprehensive understanding of different approaches to time, including your own, and the impact this can have on doing business internationally. Whether intercultural training focuses on one specific culture such as Doing Business in India, or how to be more effective in any global context such as Communicating across Cultures, the concepts monochronic and polychronic are key to improving your ability to build strong relationships with your international colleagues.

While doing business in other countries, you should consider the different perceptions of time people might have. Everyday global business activities such as scheduling meetings, participating in conference calls or planning a project can be affected by attitudes to time.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

Tagged with: chronemics • Cross Cultural Training • doing business in • Doing business in Brazil • Doing business in Germany • doing business in India • Doing business in Italy • Doing business in the U.S. • Edward T. Hall • monochronic • polychronic

Feb 12

Cross-Cultural Communication Styles: High and Low Context

Cross Cultural Training, Cultural training for Relocation, Culture, Culture training for Business & Management, Culture training for Human Resources, Culture training for the Public sector 1 Comment »

The concepts of high context and low context refer to how people communicate in different cultures. Differences can be derived from the extent to which meaning is transmitted through actual words used or implied by the context.

High context implies that a lot of unspoken information is implicitly transferred during communication. People in a high context culture such as Saudi Arabia tend to place a larger importance on long-term relationships and loyalty and have fewer rules and structure implemented.

Low context implies that a lot of information is exchanged explicitly through the message itself and rarely is anything implicit or hidden. People in low context cultures such as the UK tend to have short-term relationships, follow rules and standards closely and are generally very task-oriented.

Understanding whether your international colleagues are high context or low context will help you to adapt your communication style and build stronger relationships with them. These concepts are covered during cross-cultural training programmes such as Communicating across Cultures and Managing International Teams. Cultural awareness training which focuses on one or more specific cultures like Doing Business in India or Living and Working in China will also address these concepts.

When doing business in a high context culture such as Mexico, Japan or the Middle East, you might encounter the following:

Misunderstanding when exchanging information
Impression of a lack of information
Large amount of information is provided in a non-verbal manner, e.g. gestures, pauses, facial expressions
Emphasis on long term relationships and loyalty
‘Unwritten’ rules that are taken for granted but can easily be missed by strangers
Shorter contracts since less information is required

When doing business in a low context culture such as Germany, Switzerland or the US, on the other hand, you might find the following:

All meaning is explicitly provided in the message itself
Extensive background information and explanations are provided verbally to avoid misunderstandings
People tend to have short-term relationships
People follow rules and standards closely
Contracts tend to be longer and very detailed

High and low context cultures usually correspond with polychronic and monochronic cultures respectively. The table below shows some general preferences of people from high context and low context cultures.

High Context	Low Context
Indirect and implicit messages	Direct, simple and clear messages
Polycrhonic	Monochronic
High use of non-verbal communication	Low use of non-verbal communication
Low reliance on written communication	High reliance on written communication
Use intuition and feelings to make decisions	Rely on facts and evidence for decisions
Long-term relationships	Short-term relationships
Relationships are more important than schedules	Schedules are more important than relationships
Strong distinction between in-group and out-group	Flexible and open

Participating in a cross-cultural training programme such as Doing Business with India and Doing Business in the UK, you will gain a comprehensive understanding of the high or low context preferences in the country or countries where you are working and the impact these preferences have on doing business with them.