The Hindu Business Line : How's your cross-culture quotient?

Not enough that you have IQ, EQ, SQ, TQ, PQ and a lot more in queue to deal with, here's yet another ... CCQ (Cross-Culture Quotient). And in case you don't know what all the others stand for, they are: intelligence, emotional intelligence, social, thought and practical intelligence quotient.

People are the same everywhere; it is the habits that differ. When doing business beyond borders, it is this small difference that needs to be most understood. This means you pay close attention to brushing up your CCQ.

Anytime you work or deal with another culture, the first thing to do is to learn more about it. Talk to informed colleagues, read, search the net, prepare! You certainly don't want to be like the American MNC manager in India who almost got himself disgraced.

In Asian countries, bowing is an art and very elaborately done to show respect.

At an office party thrown to get to know his Indian colleagues and their families, he circulated with drink in hand from group to group. Quite the extrovert, he made small talk with ease, cracked jokes and was quite certain he would make an impression as a nice guy to work for.

But as the evening wore on, he began to figure out that something was not going right. Groups broke up nervously at his approach, and some people even began leaving. Alarmed, he called aside his next in line and asked him what the matter was.

After much hemming and hawing, the visibly embarrassed Indian choked out: "Please don't wink so much, Greg, if you don't mind. And not at the wives."

The gregarious American had been accompanying his completely kosher jokes with winks and hearty laughs, in a perfectly acceptable American manner. But the poor Indian wives only saw this large, loud American, drink in hand, winking broadly at them. Quite unsettling. Well, Greg survived that one, but only nearly.

Here are some broad areas to watch out for when operating in other cultures.

What to say, when and how

Communication styles vary from more or less direct to the reverse depending on the culture we are operating in. American culture is very direct whereas Japanese culture is most indirect. `Onamae o oshiete kudasaimasen ka?' This is a very polite phrase while asking for someone's name. It broadly means: "Would you not do me the favour of teaching me your name?" This translation reflects the level of formality and politeness and the indirectness of this culture.

In American culture, it would be enough to say, "Your name please?" In India, even more abrupt usages are seen. For example, "Name?" This would not be meant to offend, but would definitely do so in both the US and Japanese cultures.

So, learn to avoid the `foot-in-mouth' disease through cultural sensitivity training and adapting communication styles.

First Impressions

You never have a second chance to make a first impression! Trite, but true. An amazing statistic that changed my life was that the moment you walk in the door, over 55 per cent of an impression is already made by the way you look. Another 38 per cent depends on the way you speak and only 7 per cent based on the actual words. So, if you are not blocked out by the way you look and speak, you would have already scored 93 per cent right away.

Proper Greeting

Bow, shake or keep your own bugs to yourself - the choices are many! In Asian countries, bowing is an art and very elaborately done to show respect. Hands on sides for men, held in front for women, bending waist down, eyes going down to the floor, is the rule in Japan. Shake web to web, firmly and just a couple of times before letting go for a Western handshake, between men or women. The Indian joke about greetings, however, is: "My bugs are my bugs and your bugs are yours!" So traditionally people never shook hands, but simply folded their hands in greeting. Though not in modern business circles anymore. Knowing whether to greet with a bow, handshake or namaste is one thing, but only practice makes perfect and then it comes naturally. Trust me, handshakes and everything else improve on practice, including your CCQ. Just 21 days of practising a new skill lets you retain learning up to 80 per cent. So, happy practising.

(The writer is founder-director of Global Adjustments, the Chennai-headquartered cross-cultural training and services company.)

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