Intercultural Communication and Translation News

With all the talk of layoffs and company closings, it’s easy to forget that most work-force-ready Americans are not unemployed, however tenuous their jobs may seem. After all, the corollary to a 7 percent or 8 percent unemployment rate would have to be an employment rate in the 90s. That’s a lot of people who would like to keep their jobs, and Mary Beth Lamb, a Minneapolis-based consultant, believes she knows how they can do it. In two words: cultural competence.

Or global competence, if you prefer. Lamb, who has worked on five continents, says the key to future employment lies in developing a global mind-set. “We need to recognize that people from different cultures think differently,” she said. “There is a diversity of thought, language, style, behavior. Awareness is really the first step, and then acceptance and skill building are next” in the process of building such a mind-set.

Why should anyone go to this trouble when the United States has been the dominant force in business worldwide? The obvious answer is that dominance is not guaranteed; some would say that it is already waning. On the other hand, even a scenario where the United States maintains its leadership places us squarely in the world marketplace, where the need for cultural competence seems only to grow.

Read more > AMY LINDGREN

What is Cultural Competence?

As a company involved in cultural awareness training, we are often asked for a definition of intercultural competence. In short, there is no one answer that can be given to this question. Intercultural competence is a term that can be applied by many different people for many different reasons. As a result the definitions change depending on the angle at which people are looking at it from.

In essence intercultural competence can be summed up as the ability to work well across cultures. Yet, many will not agree with such a simple definition. As a way of presenting all the different opinions on the matter, we scoured some sources to see how others define intercultural competence. Here are the results:

>> “..the overall capability of an individual to manage key challenging features of intercultural communication: namely, cultural differences and unfamiliarity, inter-group dynamics, and the tensions and conflicts that can accompany this process.”

by staff at Universität des Saarlandes

>> Intercultural competence “.means that a student understands a variety of significant cultural experiences and/or achievements of individuals who are identified by ethnicity, race, religion, gender, physical/mental disability, or sexual orientation; the cultural history of various social groups within a society; the interrelations between dominant and non-dominant cultures, either in the United States or elsewhere, and the dynamics of difference.”

By Penn State

>> “A simple definition, however, might be: the abilities to perform effectively and appropriately with members of another language-culture background on their terms.”

By Alvino E. Fantini, Ph.D., School for International Training, Brattleboro, Vermont

Read more about > Intercultural Competence

News in that For Chrysler has created an alliance with Fiat.  The American car maker is under pressure by the U.S. government to restructure in order to save the company and jobs in the wake of the credit crunch. An alliance with Fiat holds the promise of more attractive small, fuel-efficient cars for Chrysler down the road as well as better access to important global markets. Up to now, Chrysler hasn’t been competitive in either area.

On Tuesday, the companies announced the basic terms of a tentative “global strategic alliance”: Fiat, Italy’s largest automaker, will provide no cash of its own to the struggling American automaker. Instead, in exchange for a 35% equity stake, Fiat will provide Chrysler with “technology,” including the engineering underlying some of Fiat’s small cars, which have proven popular in Europe.

“They’ve got some beautiful stuff over there,” said Magliano, “and a lot of these things can be sold in the U.S.”

Unlike Chrysler, Fiat is known to specialize in small, fuel-efficient cars that are popular in Europe. But the sort of “platform sharing” envisioned for Chrysler and Fiat takes years to bear fruit, so don’t expect to see a Dodge version of the Fiat Punto at your Chrysler dealer anytime soon, said Magliano.

“It’s difficult to have cross-cultural alliances like this,” Magliano said, adding that language and cultural differences, as much as anything else, can hamper progress.

Read more > Fiat-Chrysler

A thought provoking talk hosted by the Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung fur die Frieheit entitled ‘The Shift of Power from West to East’ attempted to address and challenge how emerging powers and global trends are influencing the Western world’s ability to consolidate its values.

“Who runs or owns the world today?” began guest speaker Mr. Rolf Timans, Directorate-General of External Relations for the European Commission and head of unit for Human rights and democratisation.  A most poignant question as all present were provoked to thinking about those phenomenons which are influencing the distribution of power, and more importantly for the talk, the faltering power of the European Union (EU).

Mr. Timans practised caution when reflecting on the topic, believing the title to have been inaccurate since the shift for him is more from South to North. Furthermore, “Western values” can be better encapsulated as “universal values”; universal standards of human rights formed the platform of Mr. Timans’ speech as he outlined cultural relativism, religion, individual and social actions as key arguments which the West would need to confront if hoping to encourage universal human rights.

Cultural relativism was acknowledged by Mr. Timans as influencing the way nations perceive and prioritise human rights. Religion was also considered a hindrance to the application of human rights, specifically when looking at the laws of Saudi Arabia as a poignant example. The distinction between the individual versus the prerogative of societies and attitudes which guide them is a division that needs to be addressed, should universal human rights hope to be maintained.

Read more > Western Values

What is Cultural Relativism?

Cultural relativism is the principle that an individual human’s beliefs and activities should be understood in terms of his or her own culture. This principle was established as axiomatic in anthropological research by Franz Boas in the first few decades of the 20th century and later popularized by students. Boas himself did not use the term as such, but the term became common among anthropologists after Boas’ death in 1942. The first use of the term was in the journal American Anthropologist in 1948; the term itself represents how Boas’ students summarized their own synthesis of many of the principles Boas taught.

Cultural relativism involves specific epistemological and methodological claims. Whether or not these claims necessitate a specific ethical stance is a matter of debate. This principle should not be confused with moral relativism.

A bus company is attempting to accommodate the religious views of an employee who refused to drive vehicles displaying atheist advertising.

A Christian bus driver Ron Heather, from Southampton, Hampshire, has refused to drive a bus with an atheist slogan proclaiming “There’s probably no God”. He responded with “shock” and “horror” at the message and walked out of his shift on Saturday in protest.

His employer, First Bus, said it would do everything in its power to ensure Heather does not have to drive the buses.

When he returned to work last Monday, he was called into a meeting with managers and agreed to go back to work with the promise he would only have to drive the buses if there were no others available.

Audrey Williams, head of discrimination law at Eversheds, said: “The employer has been pragmatic and accommodating in its approach.”

Read more > Bus Driver

What Kwintessential says:

Religion in the workplace is of great importance today, especially in the UK with the passing of the The Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003. This story portrays nicely a case where the employer used common sense to bring about a positive outcome for the employee.

For more information about this topic read > Religion and Belief in the Workplace

Manners maketh the businessman, with a global survey finding Americans and Britons to be the most easily insulted by lack of workplace etiquette, while Australians are among the most offensive.

The survey, by Australian-based international office space provider Servcorp, listed the top five most offensive workplace behaviors as not saying hello or good morning, not offering office guests a beverage, speaking loudly across the room, using swear words and taking calls on mobile phones.

The use of stationery without permission and asking colleagues about their personal lives were also deemed insulting.

The poll then revealed the United States and Britain to be the most sensitive nations in the world, despite 60 percent of respondents believing Japan has the strictest work etiquette.

English and American businessmen were also more easily offended than their colleagues in the Middle East, Japan and China, nations with cultural traditions spanning centuries.

Almost 25 percent of Australians, however, thought it was perfectly acceptable to swear — something the majority of Japanese and Middle Easterners found deeply offensive.

Read more > Yahoo

What Kwintessential say:

Etiquette is no longer about the rules and protocol of dining, invitations, dress and what kind of flowers to buy people. Displaying good manners is now an essential part of learning to do business on a global level.

At Kwintessential we provide international etiquette courses aimed at helping individuals fit in more comfortably when working in foreign environments or offices.

For more information please visit > Business Etiquette Training

As the credit crunch continues to bite with vengeance, business across the globe are assessing how to use 2009 in order to be prepared for a possible up-turn in 2010. For many the answer will lie in working more internationally. However, a survey released today shows that businesses not only need to pay attention to costs, business processes and the like but also to the cultural awareness of their personnel.
Most analysts and business leaders acknowledge that 2009 will be a difficult year. With the flow of credit at an all time low and government policies needing months in order to take any affect, people and businesses are gearing up for a rocky year. However, businesses worldwide are approaching the downturn with a strategic response and analysing how to consolidate market positions in order to take advantage of the awaited up-turn. One strategy being implemented is to look abroad.
Looking beyond national borders offers many advantages in terms of reducing costs, finding new revenue streams and increasing market coverage. However, although going global seems an attractive proposition businesses must be aware of potential pitfalls. Apart from red-tape, local business conditions and the complexities of setting up operations, cultural awareness is critical for personnel working in foreign countries.
A survey released to today by the cross-cultural communications consultancy Kwintessential reveals at a whopping 88% of their internationally-savvy respondents agreed that cultural awareness training would have been of benefit to them prior to doing business in a foreign country. The results clearly demonstrate that businesses and their decision makers are not considering the impact sending their personnel into different cultural climates can have on the success of their operations. It could be assumed that a “we all do business the same” mentality guides such decisions.
The survey asked visitors to the Kwintessential website: “If you have worked abroad before, do you think cultural training would have helped you?” The question was posed in a manner that would only elicit responses from people who had actually been abroad for work in the past, and now using hindsight understood whether or not cultural differences had an impact on their trip.
Cultural awareness (or intercultural) training at a personal level is about helping people understand how their own values, assumptions, perceptions and ways of working can be challenged when working in another culture. Cultures differ in many ways whether it is in communication styles, how trust is built, how meetings are conducted and how people are motivated. By helping people understand themselves better as well as appreciating the culture(s) they are about to work in/with the result is greater synergy, better success rates and stronger relationships.
Cultural awareness training is a simple, cost effective and long term solution and something businesses should invest in for 2009. As part of a properly prepared international business strategy the provision of such training to staff can reap excellent rewards.
“Now is the time to invest in a business and invest in its people. Looking internationally is vital now and we all need to make sure that cultural awareness is at the top of our list as this is what can really give you a competitive advantage as well as improve chances of success,” commented Neil Payne, the company’s Director.

by Hans Durrer

Returning from an extended stay in Brazil, I started to read Tracy Novinger’s Communicating with Brazilians: When „Yes“ means „No“ (University of Texas Press, Austin, 2003) with great interest. Already after the first few pages I decided to like this book. Because of sentences like these:

„Beyond focusing attention on a nation’s characteristics that seem exotic and foreign to outsiders, to communicate successfully across cultures it is sometimes important to just rely on common sense. Small towns in both the United States and Brazil, for example, are more conservative than are large cities, as is generally true throughout the world.“

„Most of us think that we act through our own free will. But think again. For the most part, we do not.“

„Culture is the logic by which we give order to the world … Put simply, culture is the way we do things around here.“
Given that, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of “culture” (in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions) this is a refreshingly succinct and useful statement.

Now let’s have a look at the Brazilians who Darcy Ribeiro characterises as „better than others because bathed in black and Indian blood, a people whose role from here on will be less a matter of absorbing European things than of teaching the world how to live with more joy and more happiness.“ I think Darcy Ribeiro is right, I do indeed believe that Brazilians live with more joy and happiness than others. All others? No idea, really, but definitely with more joy and happiness than the Swiss. Needless to say I can already hear some protests so let me hasten to add: save for one or two exceptions.

Read more > Communicating with Brazilians

The majority of executives around the world indicated that they are willing to relocate internationally for job opportunities in today’s tumultuous economy, according to Korn/Ferry’s latest Executive Quiz. The Executive Quiz released by The Korn/Ferry Institute focused on perceptions about the labor market. The online survey was conducted in September and October, just as volatility in the financial markets elevated concerns surrounding unemployment around the world.

According to the survey findings, 85 percent of respondents said that they expect more job losses in the global labor market in 2009, and 78 percent expected unemployment to rise in Q4 2008.  Given the perceived volatility in the labor market, executives report an extreme willingness to chase job opportunities around the world; a surprising 84 percent of executives say they are willing to consider relocating, with 55 percent willing to move internationally for their next position.

“This is a very dynamic time in the global labor market, and while the overall demand for talent will certainly rise over time, job creation may be in different locations than today’s talent pools are clustered,” said Sergio Averbach, President of Korn/Ferry International, South America.  In countries such as Brazil, Russia, India and China the world’s “fastest growing economies” it’s not uncommon to see unemployment temporarily increase as labor supply and demand find a new equilibrium in such geographies and different industries.”

The results showed a contradiction when respondents were asked about their own company’s hiring plans. Nearly half “ 47 percent“ said their companies were hiring even in the current economic environment. Another 27 percent said their companies were in a hiring freeze. Only 26 percent stated that their company was currently downsizing.

Read more > Survey

In a recent Accenture study, cultural issues were listed as one of the main reasons for problems in offshore outsourcing deals and over half of National Outsourcing Association (NOA) members surveyed recently also said cultural differences are still an issue in offshore outsourcing deals.

Two factors that are rarely present in any domestic projects, but cannot be avoided when going offshore, are geographical distance and cultural differences.

Geographical distance might be a factor in terms of unfavorable time zone differences but today most of the offshore service providers ensure that their business hours are adjusted to ensure that you have several hours of overlap per day in common.

However the impact of cultural difference is something that should not be ignored when going offshore. Depending on the location you are offshore outsourcing to, cultural differences can vary from minor if you nearshore, for instance in Ireland or Eastern Europe to a real cultural clash if you offshore to low cost countries in Asia such as India or China.

Read more > Offshoring

The Diploma Development Partnership for Languages has launched a new website, providing information and advice on the innovative new qualification for students aged fourteen to nineteen: www.diploma-in-languages.co.uk

The Diploma in Languages is due to be launched in schools from 2011, and will blend theory and practice, showing how languages can be applied at work and at leisure. CILT is project partner in the development of the new Diploma, led by GoSkills, the Sector Skills Council for passenger transport and travel.

Anyone who would like to contribute to the development of the new Diploma is invited to attend one of four regional consultation events taking place in London, Birmingham, Newcastle and Leeds between 9 – 23 February.