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An Australian manager prepared himself for each of the countries he was going to visit during a two-week business trip by memorising his substantial list of “Do’s and Don’ts” about China, India and Japan: he was going to meet with a project team in Shanghai, negotiations for a new subsidiary in Bombay, and introduced to a new business partner in Tokyo.

Do’s and Don’ts China

He responded to – what he thought to be the most important – ‘Do’ applying to China: “The Chinese consider it is important to establish contacts before investing in a trip”; he had called ahead to a number of team members about his arrival. For India he had prepared a list of questions to counter-attack the Indian ‘Don’t’: “If you are part of a negotiating team in India, be aware that a ‘Yes’, might not mean Yes”. He didn’t quite yet know how to tackle the Japanese concept of ‘saving face’, which he knew was very important, but decided to be very sensitive in his use of language.
All in all he was not too worried as he felt he had things under control: isn’t it always important to establish prior contacts wherever you intend to do business, and not only in China? Isn’t it critical to ask the right questions wherever you go during any negotiation around the world, not only in India? And, don’t we all loath being embarrassed in meetings?

Upon arrival in China there was nobody to welcome him at the airport, nor was he expected at the office. Later he found out that he had not informed the appropriate people in the hierarchical project team; instead he had spoken to those people he was comfortable with (those whose accent he could best understand). Unintentionally he had shown disrespect for people in power positions and it took quite a while to re-establish his contacts. He misunderstood that ‘establishing contacts’ is far more complex and requires the right contacts at the right hierarchical levels.

Do’s and Don’ts India

In India he wasn’t even able to use his extensive list of questions as the negotiations only started at the last minute as he was due to leave for Tokyo. After days of back-to-back meetings with seemingly irrelevant partners, clients and governmental people, in order to negotiate the conditions of the new subsidiary, he pulled out. He could no longer afford to give-in to the requirements of the Indian negotiation team as it was taking far too much time. Apparently negotiations in India are not only about what is being said but also about the process of actions leading up to the negotiations.

Do’s and Don’ts Japan

Finally, when he landed in Tokyo – tired from the stress caused in Shanghai and Bombay- the trip was showing signs of a disaster. However, the Japanese welcomed him at the airport, wined and dined him for three days non-stop and over the weekend he played golf with the CEO of the future partner organisation. It was only then that the Australian began to relax. Although he was not a great consumer of ‘Sake’, nor was he a fan of raw fish, and was forced to order ‘steak the Australian way’ a number of times, he did produce his best score ever on the golf course and beat the Japanese CEO! Everybody congratulated him and smiled ever so friendly. He showed them that he was a genuine and tough competitor; the perfect set up for a partnership! The Australian manager had redeemed himself- or so he thought…

When the Australian manager arrived back at the Sydney office, he boss asked him what on earth had happened… The Chinese had asked for a new contact person, preferably with Chinese experience; The Indians had negotiated the best contract ever – for themselves! – and the Japanese had called off the partnership all together. And, only much later the Australian manager found out via a Japanese colleague – that he had caused loses of face by not consuming a drop of alcohol, not eating the exquisite food and much worse… he had not given appropriate face to the CEO who was known as a very bad golfer… 

No Magic in Do’s and Don’ts

Thinking that insights into cultural differences can be summarised as a magic list of “Do’s and Don’ts” can cost you business and integrity – often without your knowledge. Differences between cultures are often subtle but can have major consequences for business relationships. Organisations which invest in understanding the cultural make-up of a country, while at the same time developing competencies to deal with cross-cultural situations, will have the leading edge.

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Joost Thissen, Partner & Interculturalist
joost@cultureresourcecentre.com.au
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