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Jim Brantley Business Specialist |
Jim Brantley is a Business English specialist from Port Saint Lucie in Florida, USA. The next goal on his horizon is to bring his cross-cultural communications consultancy to Russia. |
| Making the most simple things sound like rocket science is a great way to command ridiculous fees. Jim Brantley explains. | ||
Complicating Culture
I suppose it all started with the invention of the radio. In those days it was common practice for a soundman to double talk his way into job security. Since just about anyone could perform the same task with minimal training, making the chore sound complicated and involved was a way of insuring, and justifying, a rather healthy weekly paycheck.
The procedure was amazingly simple, especially in a world full of executives who didn’t have a clue about the concept of broadcast radio. During the bustling glitz of live radio performances, the soundman would wait, fidgeting with the controls, checking and rechecking the wires, while constantly scrutinizing the equipment with an intense eye. Of course, it was just a performance on his part. All he really needed to do was turn it on and adjust the volume.
As air time drew closer, the producer would run over and ask if he was ready. "Almost," the operator would reply, "I just need to initiate the proper amount of amperage to the amplitude modulator and fine tune the VU meter." In other words, he just needed to turn it on and adjust the volume. I am sure you will not be amazed if I tell you that many companies still do business in pretty much the same way.
In the modern world, complicating things is practically a way of life. If something is relatively straightforward, someone might not be willing to pay a small fortune for it, so put an academic spin on it. Properly phrased, even serving a cup of coffee can be made to sound like advanced theoretical physics.
Here’s a typical example:
"Intercultural Management: This includes intercultural sensitivity assessment, measurement, training and education, using a phenomenological approach, which is a formal qualitative methodology to identify the essential constituents of intercultural environments. (It) is also IDI-certified, and therefore, as an alternative, the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) test suite can be used as a statistically-reliable measure of intercultural sensitivity."
We have all seen the same professorial style of writing used in everything from mission statements to job descriptions. Although this style may very well be in vogue, when it comes to data acquisition and analysis I still prefer the tried and proven method. I sit down and talk. I elicit information to get a sense of what the company wishes to achieve. I evaluate the company’s selected team through what appears to be casual conversation and observation. The process is open, informal, and supplies me with more information than any survey developed to date.
In fact, I shrink at the thought of asking any group of corporate employees to expose their deepest beliefs, values, and perceptions of another culture by filling out a form. First; if the questionnaire is not anonymous, the answers, and resulting data, would be highly suspect, and second; if it is anonymous, the data has limited value beyond the academic community. The investigation may disclose thirty percent of the group is culturally biased, but it can’t tell you which thirty percent.
In either case, it is doubtful that a true measure of honest responses can be attained in an environment where jobs, reputations, and chances for future advancement weigh heavily on the respondent’s mind.
The truth is; it’s not about science, or statistics… it’s about people. Except in the broadest terms, science cannot quantify values, prejudices, assumptions, ideas, norms, and perceptions, all of which are key obstructions to effective cross-cultural interactions. The core of the problem is rooted in human terms, not academic jargon, and must be approached from a human perspective. One should understand that reducing bias and remolding perceptions is much more than a science; it is also an art.
Although proven methodologies are integrated into the training program, the cultural consultant must rely on his ability to perceive where the students are in human terms, and guide them to a successful transition, culminating in an open-minded, highly adaptive and effective team. The process can be fun, emotional, aggravating and even confrontational.
Why? Because adults may acquire information through lectures; but they attain change through experience.
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