Case study: Intercultural Experiences

On the next pages you will find the intercultural experiences of German managers working in different countries! Choose one of the pages and compare these experiences with the cultural dimensions we have studied today Which dimensions are mentioned? Show the accordance and differences to the results of the surveys ! (of Hall Hofstede Tompaneers or the Globe study) Hall, Hofstede, Maybe you will find some explanations! You can work together in groups of up to three three.

Prof. Dr. Barbara Winckler-Ru

Intercultural Management

Intercultural Experiences
Name: Manfred K. Company / Position: Daimler AG /Senior Manager Experience in: Barcelona and Madrid / Spain Year: 1984-1988

Interpersonal aspects Most critical / remarkable; Very proud of their country and their culture, but some feelings of inferiority, easily offended Most amusing: For people from Barcelona, Madrid is the worst place on earth (and vice versa) Barcelona Professional aspects: Reasons for successful negotiations: Good G d personal relationship, negotiations i S l l i hi i i in Spanish, patience i h i Reasons for failed negotiations: Insufficient emotional approach, impatience, arrogance Recommendations: Engage in land and people, learning Spanish language very important

Prof. Dr. Barbara Winckler-Ru

Intercultural Management

Intercultural Experiences
Name: Manfred K. Company / Position: Daimler AG /Senior Manager Experience in: Tokyo and Okazaki / Japan Year: 1985-1988

Interpersonal aspects p p Most critical / remarkable; Strongly focused on rituals and etiquette, considerable danger for making many mistakes as an European Most amusing: The first meal with chopsticks, singing German Christmas songs Professional aspects: Reasons for successful negotiations: g Extremely good preparation, objective and calm argumentation, the same hierarchical level and similar age of the negotiating parties Reasons for failed negotiations: Impatience, Impatience too low level of hierarchy, fast shooting hierarchy fast shooting Recommendations: Intercultural training p g prior to first visit ist recommended, business cards are very important y p (never forget them)
Prof. Dr. Barbara Winckler-Ru Intercultural Management

Intercultural Experiences
Name: Manfred K. Company / Position: Daimler AG /Senior Manager Experience in: Seoul / South Korea Year: Early 90s

Interpersonal aspects p p Most critical / remarkable; Koreans are very open and curious, but nevertheless rituals and etiquette an very important Most amusing: Drinking rituals, singing and dancing live on stage in front of colleagues and business partners, visiting a Korean opera Professional aspects: Reasons for successful negotiations: Patience, perseverance, good contacts on a personal level Reasons for failed negotiations: Non-transparent decisions, fast shooting Recommendations: You have to like garlic and spicy foods.
Prof. Dr. Barbara Winckler-Ru Intercultural Management

Intercultural Experiences
Name: Manfred K. Company / Position: Daimler AG /Senior Manager Experience in: Buenos Aires / Argentina Year: 2008-2011

Interpersonal aspects Most critical / remarkable; Open, friendly, but you have to be suspicious and avoid certain neighborhoods in bigger cities Most amusing: Embracing of male colleagues and business partners is widely used and normal (unlike Germany) Professional aspects: Reasons f successful negotiations: R for f l i i Patience, good argumentation, supporting documentation for explanation of facts (Argentines like to talk a lot without being concrete) Reasons for failed negotiations: Unclear guidelines, lack of regular monitoring of progress Recommendations: As A a vegetarian it i not easy i A t i is t in Argentina, j i t di ti joint dinner with b i ith business partners are i t important t t (means huge portions of beef)
Prof. Dr. Barbara Winckler-Ru Intercultural Management

Intercultural experiences
Name: Peter K. Company / Position: Daimler AG; employee Experience in: South Carolina / USA Year: 2010

Interpersonal aspects Most critical / remarkable; Most people have insufficient knowledge about foreign people/countries Most amusing: Definition of good meal Professional aspects: Reasons for successful negotiations: Open to new people Reasons for failed negotiations: g Live life/work to easy (to little focussed on processes) Recommendations: US citizens need to be more interested in foreign people and work processes
Prof. Dr. Barbara Winckler-Ru Intercultural Management