Managing Cross-Cultural Differences in International Projects

by Lionel Laroche, Ph.D., P.Eng.

President, ITAP Canada

Differences in approaches, values and expectations between customers, suppliers and team members with different cultural backgrounds have lead to many project failures. By understanding the impact of cross-cultural differences, engineers can increase the probability of an international venture’s success—from setting up a new plant abroad to selling advanced equipment, products or services to non-Canadian clients.

The rapid globalization of the world’s economy has had a significant impact on the way Canadian engineers work, bringing them more frequently in contact with non-Canadian clients, suppliers and peers. While offering opportunities, globalization also poses significant challenges for Canadian engineers.

Engineers are trained to focus on technical data, scientific evidence and hard facts. Because the laws of physics are universal, they tend to expect that nationality and cultural differences will not play a significant role in the practice of engineering. After all, a car is a car and it performs the same transportation function the world over.

Yet car designs differ significantly from country to country. For example, the models sold by General Motors and Ford in Europe are quite different from their North American counterparts. Few people mistake cars designed by such Italian manufacturers as Ferrari and Lamborghini with cars designed by such Swedish manufacturers as Volvo and Saab. The unique characteristics of these car models are the result of differences in the approaches, values and preferences of both engineers and consumers. In fact, cross-cultural differences have a significant impact on the engineering profession as a whole, which goes well beyond the design, development and manufacturing of products.

Communication

Miscommunication across cultural lines is usually the most important cause of cross-cultural problems in multinational projects. Miscommunication can have several sources, including:

• differences in body language or gestures. The same gesture can have different meanings in different parts of the world. For example, Bulgarians shake their heads up and down to mean no. In addition, the way people count on their fingers is not universal: The Chinese count from one to ten on one hand, and eight is displayed by extending the thumb and the finger next to it. The same gesture is interpreted as meaning two in France and as pointing a gun in North America.

• different meanings for the same word. Like gestures, words can have different meanings or connotations in different parts of the world. The French word "char" means Army tank in France and car in Quebec. The word "exciting" has different connotations in British English and in North American English. While North American executives talk about "exciting challenges" repeatedly, British executives use this word to describe only children’s activities (children do exciting things in England, not executives).

• different assumptions made in the same situation. The same event can be interpreted many different ways depending on where one comes from. For example, although the sight of a black cat is considered a lucky event in Britain, it is considered unlucky in many other countries. Dragons are viewed positively in China, but negatively in Europe and North America.

These examples illustrate dissimilarities between cultures that are both large and simple in the sense that they focus on a single cultural aspect that keeps the same meaning regardless of context. As a result, such variations in communication will often be identified on the spot. By contrast, subtle or complex differences are often identified much later in the communication process, when corrective action requires considerable effort and money. Sometimes, this realization takes place so late that there is not enough time to address it, resulting in a missed deadline.

In extreme cases, miscommunication can lead to casualties. For example, a few years ago, a plane crash in the northeastern United States was caused--at least in part--by miscommunication between the pilot and air traffic controller. The plane was running short on fuel. But somehow the pilot did not manage to communicate the urgency of the situation to the air traffic controller, who put the plane on a holding pattern because of airport congestion. The plane then crashed when it ran out of fuel.

Standards

Different countries use different standards and measurement systems. These differences are well known in the case of measurements for temperature (Fahrenheit versus Celsius degrees) and pressure (pound per square inch versus Pascal). Other variations in the use of standards are not as well known and can result in significant difficulties. For example, differences in power frequency have led European users of high-tech American equipment to purchase dedicated power generators that deliver the right voltage frequency for the equipment, i.e. 60 Hz versus 50 Hz.

In another case, a British pulp and paper mill sent back to a United States manufacturer a set of right-handed motors, even though they were the correct ones for the intended use. The British engineers were expecting a set of left-handed motors, and therefore rejected the motors without opening the crates. Eventually, the British and American engineers working on this project realized that the reference directions for the motors are the exact opposite in the British and American pulp and paper industries, thereby creating the problem.

Approaches to Problem Solving

The approaches used by engineers of different cultural backgrounds to tackle the same technical problem are likely to differ widely. The type of approach used to solve engineering problems is often a reflection of what is emphasized in educational curricula leading to engineering degrees in various countries. In France and Greece, for example, engineers tend to emphasize theoretical or mathematical approaches over experimental or numerical ones. Other countries, such as Canada and the United States, tend to favor experimental or numerical approaches.

Although there is no absolute "right way" to approach technical problems, issues are likely to arise when engineers with different inclinations work together to solve them. A French engineer is likely to approach a new problem by writing down all of the relevant differential equations and then trying to simplify them to obtain an analytical solution. Meanwhile, a Canadian engineer is likely to start from the simplest expression of the problem and build a model (either physical or numerical) of it. When French and Canadian engineers work together, they are both likely to feel that the other is wasting time by approaching the problem from the wrong angle.

On a practical basis, the approaches used by engineers in different countries can also depend on the types of resources available. For example, high labour costs and the availability of skilled workers make process automation and the use of heavy equipment valuable in developed countries, while using large numbers of unskilled workers may be a preferred approach in some developing countries.

Cross-cultural Differences & Engineering Firms

Cross-cultural issues also arise at the organizational level, because companies in different countries organize their daily business differently. Some of the most noticeable differences include the:

• relative hierarchy of departments. The relative power of the various departments within a corporation is often a function of the country where the corporation has its headquarters. For example, the manufacturing departments of German-based companies have influence over their marketing and sales counterparts that many Canadian and American manufacturing departments can only dream of. German manufacturing departments are often able to limit the number of products offered to a few options, thereby optimizing production and improving the quality of the products offered. By contrast, Canadian and American manufacturing departments tend to follow the lead of marketing and sales departments, which tend to favour a larger number of product options since this increases the probability of attracting a broader group of customers.

These differences in the way products are manufactured and marketed create the need for different approaches to selling products and services. The same type of argument cannot be used to win customers in North America and Germany – whether through sales presentations or general marketing efforts. While North American customers look for flexibility and response speed in the products and services they purchase, German customers want durability, reliability, and quality.

• way information is shared and distributed. The way information moves within a company varies significantly from country to country. For example, in Germany, the flow of information tends to be fairly compartmentalized. Information flows within departments along hierarchical lines, and does not flow easily within a given hierarchical level or from department to department. In addition, Germans tend to share information with only those people they believe need to know the information. In Canadian companies, information tends to move within departments and to cross departmental boundaries more freely. It also tends to flow along the lines of communication networks used by individual employees.

As a result, when working with German engineers as suppliers, partners or customers, Canadian engineers are likely to receive less information than they would generally expect. A Canadian engineer supplying products or services to a German company may not receive all of the information he or she believes is necessary to fulfill orders or complete projects on time, resulting in either missed deadlines or incomplete orders.

• hiring process. Cross-cultural differences are fairly significant in this area. For example, people interviewed for positions in France will be asked personal questions that are considered illegal in Canada, such as their age, marital status and number of children, while German interviewers routinely ask candidates for the profession of their parents.

More importantly, there are significant differences in the types of skills that companies in different countries look for in candidates. In France, for example, large corporations expect their engineers to work for them throughout much of their careers. They therefore tend to hire graduate engineers who appear to have long-term potential and create jobs for these engineers. As a result, large French companies tend to emphasize specific technical knowledge less and soft skills more than Canadian ones.

For their part, Canadian companies tend to look for engineers who have the technical skills required to fill an existing vacant position. They also do not expect their engineer employees to remain with the company throughout their careers.

These differences in the hiring process for engineers can lead to frustration. When Canadian engineers interact with French engineers who are fresh out of school, they are likely to feel that these engineers do not have the same level of knowledge as Canadian engineers with a similar level of seniority. This impression is often justified. However, it’s best to keep in mind that these engineers were not hired for their specific technical knowledge, and that allowances will have to be made to keep a project running smoothly.

Avoiding cross-cultural pitfalls

Canadian engineers working with foreign clients, suppliers or peers can prevent many cross-cultural issues from turning into problems by paying an unusual amount of attention to proper communication. Here are a few tips that will help avoid miscommunication:

• Clarify: When in doubt, ask; if not, ask anyway. It’s important to ensure that your foreign colleagues have understood everything you meant to say and nothing else. Ask them to feed you back what you have told them in their own words. This will help you discover and address any major misunderstandings.

• Get into the details: Although it’s often tempting to agree on general principles and leave details to further discussions for brevity’s sake, this can create major problems at later stages. Indeed, an agreement on general principles may turn out to be empty, if it is not tested through negotiation on the finer details.

• Summarize: The time taken to summarize the decisions made during a meeting and to issue minutes to all participants is often a good investment. It helps to prevent future challenges of decisions reached at meetings and to ensure that action items agreed to at meetings are actually implemented.

• Simplify: Use simple words that are easily understood and be consistent. Using synonyms can confuse your non-Canadian counterparts unnecessarily, particularly if they are not native English speakers. For similar reasons, technical jargon should be avoided where possible and explained clearly when it must be used.

Breaking into Foreign Markets

Strategies that engineering firms can use to avoid cross-cultural problems while breaking into foreign markets include hiring foreign engineers, which can be very effective when a company has decided that a given country or countries will play a major role in its future. In this case, hiring engineers with the right technical background who have lived and worked in the targeted country or region, and therefore understand the culture, can be a tremendous asset to a company. Indeed, these people have the knowledge and experience needed to understand how to handle delicate cross-cultural situations and avoid faux pas.

This solution has some possible limitations, however. Important business transactions are often handled at high levels within the company. Although it is relatively easy to locate and hire entry-level engineers from a given country or region, finding engineers with many years of experience in a given field can be quite challenging. In addition, depending on the circumstances, people who have the appropriate cultural experience may not be able to share their knowledge with others in the organization, thereby reducing the speed of organizational learning.

Cross-cultural training organizations can also shorten the learning curve by delivering training to companies in a timely and targeted fashion. The necessary cross-cultural information should be shared with all employees involved in international ventures, rather than being limited to those who have already had experience with them. Cross-cultural training organizations are experts in the area of cross-cultural relationships and can provide training on many topics, including how to:

• do business in a given country or region;

• make presentations in a given country of region;

• select the right people for international assignments;

• prepare employees for expatriate assignments; and

• improve the productivity of multinational teams.

Finding Local Partners

Setting up agreements with local partners, in the form of joint ventures or licenses, or purchasing a local company can be effective ways of combining strengths. This approach can be very effective when your firm is trying to break into a new market quickly, since it will enable your company to benefit from the knowledge and experience of its partners. In many cases, this approach works best when combined with one or more of the strategies mentioned above, since finding and working with the right partners often requires knowledge about the targeted country and its culture.

Patent protection

To achieve the desired level of protection for their intellectual property, engineering firms need to be aware of the differences in patent systems that exist around the world. For example, the United States have a "first-to-invent" policy, while the Japanese and the Europeans have a "first-to-file" policy.

The "first-to-file" patent system does not require the company that files the patent to be the original inventor of the technology for which the patent is being sought. As a result, a company can receive a patent for an invention that was made in another country, but is not protected by patent in the country where the company is located. This situation occurred in the case of the invention of high temperature superconducting materials. Although the initial discovery was made in the United States, the Japanese patent is held by two Japanese researchers who obtained enough information about this invention to file a patent application in Japan.

Taking Advantage of Cultural Diversity

When managed effectively, the diversity of approaches that exist around the world can lead to significant improvements in both work processes and outputs. One way to take advantage of cross-cultural differences was devised by a captain of the French Foreign Legion. When faced with significant problems, he would pair someone from a northern European country (like Germany) with someone from a southern European country (like France or Italy). The south European individual would take the lead during the brainstorming part of the problem-solving process, when potential solutions are generated and compared. The north European person would then take the lead during the implementation phase. This strategy enabled the captain to take advantage of both the "theoretical" bent of French and Italians and the attention to detail and execution typically shown by Germans.

References

1. Ricks, David A. Blunders in International Business, Blackwell Business Press, 1993.

2. Hall, Edward T. and Mildred Reed. Understanding Cultural Differences: Germans, French, and Americans, Intercultural Press, 1990.

3. Boils-Boissier, Danièle, Personal Communication, 1998.

This article first appeared in the November / December 1998 issue of Engineering Dimensions, the magazine of the Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario and is reprinted with their authorization.

http://www.itapintl.com/mngdifintproj.htm