Archive for July, 2009

Bridging Cultural Barriers, by Boyé Lafayette De Mente

In my book, There’s a Word for It in Mexico, I note that one of the first things foreigners in Mexico — whether businesspeople or tourists — should know about Mexicans is that their behavior, both private and official, is generally controlled by their code of personalismo (pehr-so-nah-LEES-moh), which results in them personalizing everything.

Broadly speaking, personalismo embodies the Mexican belief that personal dignity and self-interest take precedence over all other considerations, including the ethical and moral. And as always in the character and personality of Mexicans, this cultural trait originated during the 300-year reign of Spanish overlords.
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Global Chameleon, by Vincent Daniels

Whenever we prepare for a negotiation, we concentrate on strategies and tactics. How can we win the most in the negotiation? We sometimes lose sight of the fact that negotiating is really about people. People have moods, goals, fears, dreams, egos and much more. Understanding people and all the things affecting them is the key to being a good negotiator.
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By Karen S. Walch

Dr. Eileen Borris is an adjunct professor who teaches conflict management and social change at Thunderbird. She will be giving a talk for the Arizona Department of Peace Campaign at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 5 at the Brother Anthony Room of the Franciscan Renewal Center, 5802 E. Lincoln Drive, Scottsdale. Everyone is welcome and admission is free. Dr. Borris is the director of training for the Institute for Multi-Track Diplomacy, where she develops peace building and conflict resolution training programs for countries emerging from conflict and civil war. She is the author of “Finding Forgiveness: A 7 Step Program for Letting Go of Anger and Bitterness.”

Bridging Cultural Barriers, by Boyé Lafayette De Mente

TOKYO — Amae (ah-my) is a word of extraordinary importance in Japan’s traditional culture. It subsumes the fundamental principle underlying the traditional, idealized behavior of the Japanese, and although significantly weakened by cultural changes that have been going on in Japan in modern times, especially since the mid-1900s, it is still a vital factor in the overall mindset of the Japanese.

Amae, from the verb amaeru (ah-my-rue), refers to presuming upon the love and indulgence of others when speaking or behaving in a manner that will cause some level of inconvenience, irritation or some other form of friction … and not expecting any negative feedback.
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By Harrison Snow, 1982 Thunderbird graduate

When I attended Thunderbird in the early 1980s, I knew I was with a group of smart and ambitious young people. I did not realize, however, that we were actually a prototype for the future. Let me explain. As a leadership and performance consultant, I’ve worked in 23 countries over the past 23 years. I’ve also consulted extensively with firms and government agencies in the United States.

One of the differences between organizations with an international versus a domestic agenda quickly stood out. Here’s how: Over time, there has been the rise of what I would call the global professional. Besides fluency in the English language, global professionals share traits such as: being comfortable with diversity and ambiguity, appreciating context and process, being self-aware and introspective, relating well to people, and being task focused, cross-culturally competent and willing to take measured risks and to learn from mistakes.
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By Karen S. Walch and Denis Leclerc

In early June, global business leaders from diverse industries and locations came to Thunderbird for three days of intensive coursework on Communicating and Negotiating with a Global Mindset.

Joe Patterson, assistant vice president of Thunderbird’s executive education programs, and Thunderbird Dean of Research Mansour Javidan, Ph.D., worked with us to develop the negotiation program, which was the first of its kind for global negotiators in the school’s 63-year history. The next program will be Sept. 29 to Oct. 1, 2009.

During the highly interactive program, each executive takes part in discussions, case exercises and debriefs concerning cultural implications and relevance for developing influence in multicultural negotiation situations.
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Bridging Cultural Barriers, by Boyé Lafayette De Mente

In societies that do not have laws governing the way people deal with each other in relationships — business, personal, political, etc. — the relationships must be based on trade-offs of one kind or another. This system, which prevailed in China until recent times, opens the door for those who are in positions of power to take advantage of those who are less privileged, and makes it imperative that people in general become skilled in developing and maintaining relationships that are based on arbitrary factors rather than principles of honesty, fairness, and so on.
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By Denis Leclerc, Thunderbird professor

In my negotiation seminars and classes, we talk about asking prices, strategy and walking away – processes that all good business persons follow in order to keep their business alive. It always surprises me that while people negotiate their business contracts in great detail, they are reluctant to do the same in their personal life. One of the first questions I ask participants in my classes is: “Do you ask for better prices when you go shopping?” Immediately the class divides itself into two groups, the “yes” group and the group that looks at me in total puzzlement. The split is usually along cultural and experiential lines.
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Global Chameleon, by Vincent Daniels

I grew up in the Bronx, New York City, so the only contact I had with Hispanics was through a couple of Puerto Rican friends. But even they were second generation and very much New Yorkers. It was only when I joined the Army and was stationed in Fort Bliss, Texas, that I had any direct contact with Hispanics or with Latin Americans. It was a very pleasant awakening. I very much enjoyed the flavor of life South of the Border. And I do mean “flavor” literally as well as figuratively. The food was excellent. But also the people were kind and friendly. Like many norteamericanos, I assumed that this was Latin America; that everyone South of the Border ate tacos and burritos and loved Mariachi music. I was in for another major awakening.
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Bridging Cultural Barriers, by Boyé Lafayette De Mente

One of the elements of the Korean mindset that often poses a special problem and danger for Westerners is the role of changpi (chahng-pee), or shame, in the culture — a role that is so deeply ingrained in Korean attitudes and behavior that it is one of the primary foundations of their national character.

Instead of being programmed by a religion to feel guilt as a result of wrongdoing, and being subject to punishment by the creators and keepers of this method of social control, Koreans have traditionally been conditioned to feel intense shame when they are guilty of or are accused of wrongdoing, as well as when someone fails to follow the institutionalized rules of etiquette and morality in their relationships with them, thereby damaging their “face.”
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