Intercultural Management Quarterly
Integrating Culture and Management in Global Organizations
In This Issue...
Spring 2007 Vol. 8, No. 2
Softco v. Okura: A Clash of Legal Cultures .................... 3 by Robert MacDonnell Enterprise Resource Planning Software in China ...... 7 by David Avison and Julien Malaurent Dissonance and Resolution: Cross-cultural Encounters in Thai and Western Music ........................ 10 by Morgan Lake Engaging Religion in Global Development ................ 13 by Mark Hamilton The Central Liberal Truth by Lawrence Harrison ..... 15 reviewed by Manuela Campbell
Intercultural Management Quarterly: www.imquarterly.org Intercultural Management Institute: www.imi.american.edu
From the Editor
IMQ STAFF
Publisher: Dr. Gary R. Weaver Managing Editor: Chris Saenger
Editorial Review Board
Sometimes the title Intercultural Management Quarterly doesn’t do justice to the breadth of subject matter that we attempt to explore. People ask why there are articles about film, about “military brats,” about the way mothers and daughters communicate (or fail to communicate). “That’s not management,” they say. But management is not simply a tool for enhancing a firm’s bottom line. We take a broad view of management and use the term to think about artistic and religious phenomena as well as business, law and academia. Anyway, even if one considers management to be “strictly business,” the savvy businesswoman will consider art and religion alongside language and business etiquette. I hope that interculturalists of all stripes will welcome the blend of “standard” management fare (legal and cultural norms in Japan, enterprise resource planning software in China) with explorations of music, religion and development in this issue of IMQ. A review of Lawrence Harrison’s most recent book concludes this edition with an interpretation of culture that may confound widely held notions of both culture and management. Harrison, a keynote speaker at the Intercultural Management Institute’s annual conference in March, examines not the intersection of management and culture but rather the management of culture as a means of social and economic development.
David Bachner, Annmarie McGillicuddy, Adam Mendelson, Darrel Onizuka, Karen Santiago, Gary Weaver, Sherry Zarabi Intercultural Management Quarterly (IMQ) is published by the Intercultural Management Institute at American University. IMQ combines original research conducted in the field of interculutral management with the applied perspectives of industry experts, professors and students.
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Intercultural Management Quarterly © 2007 Intercultural Management Quarterly
Softco v. Okura: A Clash of Japanese and U.S. Legal Cultures by Robert MacDonnell
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he expansion of global business in recent decades has led to a subtler, and more real, “clash of civilizations” than that envisioned by Samuel Huntington in his now famous article and book. This clash takes many forms, from the manners of meeting and negotiating, to the methods of resolving disputes in business transactions. The clash is heightened for U.S. businesspersons because of the range and depth of U.S. business interests and the de facto adoption of U.S. contracting and dispute resolution practices in many international transactions.
As U.S. business interests continue to play a dominant role in many aspects of the global economy, many nonU.S. businesspersons either study in American universities or work for U.S. entities. When they return to their native countries to work for or run local businesses, they often bring with them a veneer of American business practice. Thus, on the surface they seem to have adopted U.S. business practices and legal norms. In most instances, however, the perception that dealing with these businesses will be akin to dealing with a U.S. business will lead to misunderstandings and difficulties. Despite the appearance of adoption of U.S. business practices, the strength of local business culture and practices will offset the superficial aura of adopted methods. One example of these difficulties is the apparent acceptance of lengthy contracts and formal dispute resolution practices that are standard fare in American business, but in many cultures run against the grain of traditional business practices. This article will discuss some of the consequences of understanding or more importantly, not understanding, this clash of cultures in representing do-
Robert MacDonnell, Esq. has a Masters Degree in International Relations and a Law Degree from The University of Pennsylvania and has practiced business law for over 30 years. He has represented companies from Japan, the U.K., Switzerland, Mexico, Iran and China in transactions in the U.S. and U.S. companies in transactions in many other countries.
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mestic or foreign interests in business transactions. The article will focus on transactions involving Japanese and U.S. entities and will draw on the author’s experience as a lawyer representing the Japanese firm. The Japanese commercial legal system is, on the surface, similar to the American. This is the result of the traditional Japanese legal system being replaced by one based on the Anglo-American tradition after World War II. That being said, the cultural interpretation and implementation of the American and Japanese legal systems is considerably different. Dispute resolution in the United States is generally based on formal procedures and litigation. The fundamental governing concept of the American system is one of “rights,” which pertain to an individual (or entity) and are to be enforced by the courts. Thus, it is not unusual for parties to commercial transactions to resort to the courts for a decision regarding their rights in a particular dispute. There are generally no negative connotations to being involved in a lawsuit in the U.S. and indeed in most cases the parties believe that the court system will vindicate their rights and thus their resort to the court system is almost an obligation on their part. The Japanese implementation of a similar legal system differs dramatically. Japanese social structure is based much more on “obligations” than “rights” and thus the approach to the legal system is markedly different from that in the U.S. Traditionally, Japanese contracts, if they exist at all, are much shorter documents than those used in the U.S and generally avoid the discussion of potential disputes. Possible disputes would be avoided or resolved when and if they ever arose. It was seen as inappropriate to place the parties in a position of developing a resolution to a dispute when no such dispute had arisen or was anticipated. One important factor in this inappropriateness was that the negotiated resolution to a possible dispute could involve a “loss of face” to one of the parties. This concept has important negative connotations in Japanese culture and thus participants in commercial transaction saw no need to risk these connotations in a theoretical setting. Thus, the traditional contract left most disputes for a later day.
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Softco v. Okura... Even if that day arrived, the Japanese response to the swer sessions in front of a court reporter during which dispute is typically very different from that of American attorneys attempt to elicit information from potential parties. Once again the concept of “face” and “loss of witnesses and determine how those potential witnesses face” is important in understanding the typical Japanese will react to different questions. Depositions involve reaction. Unlike the U.S., there are negative connota- the parties’ attorneys, the potential witness and a court tions to being involved in a formal legal dispute in Japan. reporter (usually a private service) and do not occur in The obligation-based social system stresses the avoidance court, but usually in an attorney’s office. They can range of disputes, which are seen as a breakdown of the proper from being fairly benign meetings to contentious disfunctioning of both parties’ obligations to each other. putes depending on the personalities and strategies of Thus the traditional Japanese methods of resolving dis- the parties. They do, however, involve placing the poputes are much more informal than American methods tential witness under oath and subjecting him to quesand typically do not involve courts except as a last resort. tioning by attorneys for the other side of the case. The One manifestation of this system is the number and in- Japanese legal system does not have a “discovery” process. volvement of lawyers in society’s operation. The U.S. has The litigation between Okura and Softco occurred under over 1,000,000 lawyers, or 1 for every 288 citizens (by an “alternative dispute resolution” (ADR) process, simifar the largest number in the world). Japan, by contrast, lar to the court litigation process but more streamlined. has only 1 lawyer for every 7,325 citizens, one of the Part of that streamlining was a limitation on the number of depositions that each side could take. Thus, it was imlowest ratios in the developed world. portant to choose those to be deposed carefully.
Every person in the room would be expected to “fall on their sword” rather than subject Mr. Mitsui to a deposition.
Given the deeply different implementations of what on the surface seem to be similar legal systems, it is important for those representing parties to a typical crosscultural commercial transaction to understand these differences and embed them in their advice and strategy in order to effectively represent their client. I will use an example of a particular commercial dispute to show the workings of these different social-legal systems and the tactical issues they present. This transaction involved a contract dispute between a Japanese computer manufacturer and a U.S. software company. I will call the Japanese company “Okura Co.” and the American company “Softco.” In the typical U.S. lawsuit, after the initial pleadings are completed, the parties engage in what is called “discovery.” This process involves the submission of written questions to the other side and the taking of depositions of potential witnesses. Depositions are question and an-
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One of the key issues in the case was determining whether or not a particular contract had been signed by Okura. Okura denied having signed. Softco announced its intention to depose an Okura executive who would have signed the contract.
This potential deposition sparked the first “clash of cultures” since this executive, Mr. Mitsui (not his real name), was at a senior enough level in Okura that participating in the deposition and being subjected to questions regarding whether he had signed the contract, something Okura had already denied, would subject him to a severe “loss of face.” Thus, Okura took the position that it would refuse to produce him for a deposition. Since Okura had submitted to the jurisdiction of the U.S. legal system in the contract, this position presented severe problems for its U.S. attorneys (me). It was decided to have a strategy meeting with all of the Okura representatives. The meeting occurred on a snowy Saturday morning in the New Jersey offices of Okura’s U.S. subsidiary. In
Intercultural Management Quarterly
the discussion it was readily agreed that Mr. Mitsui was After much further discussion, it was agreed that we the Okura executive who would have signed the contract would propose another less senior executive who had and the most effective person to state that the contract been an assistant to Mr. Mitsui at the time of the conhad not been signed. The Okura executives steadfastly tract’s presentation to Okura to sign. The rationale for took the position, however, that Mr. Mitsui would not this change was that this lower-level executive, Mr. Nabe deposed and implored the U.S. attorneys to make kamura (not his real name) was now stationed in the this request “go away.” At a break in the meeting I dis- U.S., thus avoiding the need to bring Mr. Mitsui to the cussed the situation with one of my litigation partners, U.S., spoke English well (Mr. Mitsui did not) and was in who had not previously had much contact with Okura a position to comment on the relevant issues, i.e. the exor Japanese companies. His position was that we could ecution or not of the contract. Of course the other side not refuse to produce Mr. Mitsui because he was a relThe attorney spent a great deal of time attempting to underevant potential witness and if we did refuse we would stand how it was that Nr. Nakamura’s job was to present conbe subject to sanctions that tracts for signature, but he did not know if they were signed. could hurt our case. He did not see any problem with Softco’s deposition request and could not understand would have to agree to this change. As events turned out, the position of the Okura executives. I told him that the the other side did agree and Mr. Nakamura’s deposition Okura position was based on fundamental Japanese cul- was scheduled. tural norms and said, not entirely in jest, that he should look around the room and understand that every person The lesson to be learned from this part of the story is in the room would be expected to “fall on their sword” that it is essential to understand the cultural system of rather than subject Mr. Mitsui to the deposition process. those you represent in an international business transWe had to come up with another way to deal with this action, or indeed other types of transaction, in order to problem. We agreed that the only way out of our prob- best serve them and their interests. Absent the underlem was to focus on another solution rather than try to standing that the Okura position regarding Mr. Mitsui convince the Okura executives that they had no choice was real and founded on strong cultural imperatives, but to produce Mr. Mitsui. which were significantly different from U.S. cultural imperatives, this situation might easily have resulted in our This situation presented one of the inconsistencies in taking an untenable legal position resulting in serious what appears to be two similar legal systems. The de- negative consequences for Okura’s interests. position would in all likelihood have been fairly benign and straightforward. However, the process itself clashed The second “clash” in this story relates to the actual with the traditional social mores of Japanese society and deposition of Mr. Nakamura and the consequences of would have subjected a person of high status to a “loss not knowing the employee protocol of Japanese busiof face” that was not acceptable to the Okura executives, ness entities. Mr. Nakamura’s deposition took place in even if it may have had severe consequences on the liti- the offices of Softco’s attorneys. It became clear that gation. Our understanding of these forces and the real- Softco’s attorney was not familiar with the workings of ity and severity of their conflict allowed us to focus on a Japanese company such as Okura and much time was an alternative solution rather than try to force a change spent defining Mr. Nakamura’s role in the company and of position by Okura or submit to possible sanctions by his position at the time the contract was in Japan to be signed. standing fast in our refusal to produce Mr. Mitsui.
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Softco v. Okura... In the process of the deposition it was made clear that Mr. Nakamura had in fact been an assistant to Mr. Mitsui at the relevant time and indeed one of his duties was to present contracts to Mr. Mitsui for signature. At this point Softco’s attorneys believed they had the right person to answer the question they were pursuing. Unfortunately for them things did not turn out that way. Mr. Nakamura stated that he had in fact presented the contract to Mr. Mitsui but that the decision as to whether to sign it or not was Mr. Mitsui’s alone. Mr. Nakamura’s job was to present contracts for signature and the fact that he did so indicated to Mr. Mitsui that the contracts were in proper order to be signed, but said nothing about whether Mr. Mitsui should sign them or not. Mr. Nakamura did not know whether the contract had been signed and had not discussed it with Mr. Mitsui. The Softco attorney spent a great deal of time in the deposition attempting to understand how it was that Mr. Nakamura’s job was to present contracts to Mr. Mitsui for signature but he did not know if they were signed nor did he talk to Mr. Mitsui about the contracts.
Judge presiding over the case. Additionally, an understanding of the workings of a Japanese company would have spurred Softco’s attorneys to ensure that their last deposition was of someone in Okura who had knowledge of the facts they were seeking. With U.S. businesses interacting with an enormous variety of societies and cultures, many of which seem to have adopted familiar U.S. business practices, it is essential that parties to these interactions understand the reality of each other’s norms and how those norms may diverge from what appears at first sight. i
In the end Softco did not get an answer to their question and had to rely on the written responses of Okura without the benefit of probing those answers. Since the Nakamura deposition was their last permitted deposition, Softco was unable to depose anyone else from Okura. The result of this situation was a continued position on Softco’s part that the contract had been signed and that Okura was hiding it for some conspiratorial purpose. This tactic required Softco to speculate on the nature of Okura’s supposed conspiratorial designs, to the detriment of their case. In the end Okura won the case. One conclusion from these examples of cross-cultural relations is that it is essential to understand and react to the differences in societies’ cultural and business norms, especially in situations where it may appear on the surface that the societies’ norms are similar. Had Softco’s attorneys understood the strength of the imperative not to subject a senior Okura executive to the inevitable “loss of face” of a deposition they could have used that knowledge and leverage to put Okura in a position of either producing Mr. Mitsui or suffering sanctions from the
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Intercultural Management Quarterly
Enterprise Resource Planning Software in China: A Disaster Story by David Avison and Julien Malaurent
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nformation and communications technology soft- been successful in American and European organizations. ware pervades organizations everywhere. Since the This is true in spite of the great complexity of integratmid-1990s, enterprise resource planning (ERP) soft- ing many or most of the organization’s systems and the ware packages, such as those developed by SAP, Oracle, consequent cost in terms of money and time. Many orJD Edwards, Baan and PeopleSoft, have been imple- ganizations have found the process to be convoluted and risky. The long implementation time span, the huge inmented widely. vestment, the impact of everything changing at the same ERP systems form a complex series of software mod- time and the sheer direct and indirect financial costs are ules used to integrate many business processes. Original- just some of the potential pitfalls. But from a managely, these included production, inventory management, ment point of view, the buzzword is control. ERP sysand logistics modules for manufacturing organizations. tems enable central control of organizational activities: Later, they supported all the basic financial applications how business activities are conducted, what is measured, and other organizational functions, including strategic how organizations are structured and how work is manplanning, sales and distribution, marketing, financials, aged. controls, quality management, supply management, It is therefore not surprising that organizations running materials management, plant maintenance, production planning, workflow and human resource management. successful ERP systems in America and Europe wish to These cover all the standard business processes and func- extend their ERP systems to include foreign subsidiaries tions of the organization (information, people, money, and other linked companies. Without such links, managproducts, services and equipment). More recently still, ers have only partial control and a subset of information. modules have been incorporated that provide the capa- Adding the overseas companies to the overall system will bility for e-commerce, customer relationship manage- give managers the total picture and it is surely a simple ment, call centers and their implementation in small and task—“if it works here it will work there.” medium-sized enterprises. In this way, ERP systems impact outside the organization as well as within it, as they I (J.M.) worked as an internal ERP consultant for a Euallow for communication with suppliers and customers ropean company that had successfully implemented an all along a global supply chain. Indeed, they attempt to ERP system in its European, North American and South provide a complete technology solution for businesses. American companies and expected similar success in its The industry’s largest company, SAP, has around 40 per- Chinese companies. I was coordinator for the data colcent of the overall market, with over 15,000 installed lection of the legacy systems and also acted as a project sites worldwide and over $6 billion in development. manager. The global ERP system was to be implemented in the Chinese units by using a worldwide template deThe potential advantages are obvious. The business signed by teams of information systems engineers based gains from a fully integrated system that enables visibil- in the European headquarters. ity and integrity of data throughout the organization. Indeed, perhaps unusually for information and comWhatever could go wrong in this process did go wrong, munications technologies, such systems have frequently but we wish to mention here those factors which relate particularly to cultural aspects. To state the problem simply, it was arrogant to assume, as this company did, that David Avison is distinguished professor of inthe successful implementation of ERP in Europe could formation systems at ESSEC Business School, be reproduced in China without anything other than toParis, France. Julien Malaurent has had experiken attention to cultural differences. ence implementing ERP systems internationally and is now a research student at ESSEC.
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ERP Software in China... The usual procedure for this kind of ERP implementation was to send ERP consultants from headquarters to the local site for a two-week period in order to communicate the basics of the global template to the local project team. The consultants then managed the project from Europe through daily conference calls. The local project team was composed of project managers (three European expatriates), key users (local staff) and also external local ERP consultants. One of the first difficulties in this project was limited employee involvement due to poor communications. Local employees did not feel invested in the project. They had the feeling that only top management (meaning primarily European expatriates) was concerned with this project. Not enough time was spent with locals to ensure the backing of the whole company staff. The support and “buy-in” of the local staff are vital to the success of such projects: they are the future users of the system. A second problem concerned language difficulties. The official language of the project team was English, but for some Europeans on the project, English was a second or third language and came with accents that were difficult for the Chinese to comprehend, especially where their own level of English was not good. It is another obvious pitfall, but one that seems to have been ignored since “officially” everyone spoke English. This oversight led to many key people being pushed to the margin of the project. Even worse, the software’s worldwide template had not been translated into Chinese and the English version was implemented. The company’s technical team determined that the current version of the ERP system would not support Chinese characters. They made this discovery only after the project was launched, making a difficult situation almost intolerable for those key users whose English was poor. Local suppliers, customers and administrators required documents in Chinese only. The only way to address the need for Chinese-language documents was to keep using the older “legacy” system in addition to the new ERP software. This necessitated a duplicate entry procedure for the operational staff. Not
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only did this mean that many advantages of the ERP system were lost, it meant that additional errors were likely to enter the data. Yet another pitfall related to the assumption that laws and regulations were standard. The team at headquarters did not take local Chinese regulations and official reporting requested by the Chinese government sufficiently into account. In fact, those laws and regulations relating to accounting and bidding processes proved particularly difficult. Once again, the only solution was to keep using the legacy system in order to be consistent with local administration requirements. Other cultural differences that made an impact concerned attitudes and values concerning control, management and communications. One aspect that proved important concerned “losing face.” European headquarters staff did not hesitate to expose weaknesses of Chinese managers in front of the managers’ subordinates. In China, respect for the hierarchy is still strong and external consultants have to understand this in order to avoid crises. This potential obstacle is well-known, indeed almost a cliché, yet seemed to be ignored in this case. Another attitudinal factor concerns the “patience” required by Chinese culture. The European staff expected problems to be raised, whereas Chinese staff adopted a fairly passive attitude. The Asian “yes” may also not be as frank and wholehearted as was assumed by headquarters staff. In all the above, the parties assumed (and we have assumed to some extent) that there are “Chinese characteristics” that are held by all, whereas of course there are many differences within both Chinese and European peoples that complicated communications even further. One of the weaknesses of Hofstede’s famous study on cultural differences at IBM and his cultural dimensions theory is its assumption of generalized national characteristics. The assumption that cultures are separate, distinct entities that identify and distinguish one group from another is too simplistic. Cultures are contested, ever-changing and emergent; they are invented and reinvented in social life.
Intercultural Management Quarterly
As a result of the problems encountered in this case, it is not surprising that the attempt to extend the ERP system to Chinese subsidiaries was seen by the company as largely a failure, with parallel legacy system still running. The organization is now planning a second attempt. What are the lessons from this experience that it needs to take into account?
Intercultural Management Institute
• Good communication is essential—spending time with the local employees and managers is a considerable expense, but one that cannot be left aside; • Top managers need to be involved and esteemed for their potential contribution;
Skills Institutes
• Governance issues require special attention for international ERP implementation; and
and
• Training needs to be well planned and effective and potential language difficulties must be addressed.
Symposia
Most of all, parties to an international partnership need to be aware of cultural differences and difficulties and ensure that they are addressed. Chinese ERP vendors are becoming more and more active and attractive to businesses operating there because they understand the Chinese business environment and cultural context. We are still in touch with this firm and the scope of our research will expand as we follow the second phase of its ERP project. We will conduct an ethnographic study of this new phase of ERP deployment and extend the study to include related cultural differences concerning religion and myths. We have received permission from the firm to carry out the study. Indeed they were enthusiastic, as they seek to improve their track record on global implementation of their ERP system. However, we are already aware of one piece of evidence that the their cultural learning has not been as deep as necessary: their second implementation will still use an English version of the software. i
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www.imi.american.edu for schedule and registration
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Dissonance and Resolution: Cross-cultural Encounters in Thai and Western Music by Morgan Lake
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hat would happen if you sat down with a dozen fearlessly well-spoken artists, musicians, musicologists, thespians, historians, architects, literary critics, museum curators, educators, arts administrators and multi-cultural scholars from Thailand, Singapore, Switzerland, Australia, Britain, Germany and America and invited them to voice their understanding of other cultures? Such conversations, using topics in the fine arts and architecture as springboards for intercultural criticism, took place in 2005 under the aegis of the Thailand Research Fund’s project on criticism and were led by multi-cultural scholar Prof. Dr. Chetana Nagavajara. I was their rapporteur with a tape recorder. I focus here on the discussion titled Music as Cross-cultural Encounter. If music reflects the nature of a society, then westerners could more clearly understand Thai people if they knew more about the nature of Thai music. All the discussion participants agreed that classical Thai music is characterized by idiomatic heterophony, by contrast classical western music, especially 20th century western music, is characterized by harmony and polyphony. The presenter claimed that these forms in music were metaphors for social behavior that reflect the differing ways of being in the East and West. But what are polyphony and heterophony? Western polyphony is achieved when more than one melody is played at the same time. Grand examples are Bach’s inventions for piano and his fugues. As many as four different melodies are played simultaneously. When the notes of the different melodies combine, a chord is cre-
Morgan Lake, M.F.A., is an instructor in the MBA, Chinese Studies and Thai Studies programs at Prince of Songkla University in Phuket, Thailand. His recent publications include: Criticism as Cross Cultural Encounter, References to Kwan in World Literature, The Meaning of Prehistoric Art at Pratupha Thailand and the forthcoming English for Intercultural Communication for the Thai Ministry of Education.
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ated and the listener hears harmony, be it consonant or dissonant. This may reflect how western individuality works in social situations. Westerners achieve social harmony even though each member of society is singing their own unique melody because each unique melody synergizes with others to create harmony. The musical or social goal in the West is not unison (everybody doing the same thing), but harmony (individual views). Thai heterophony is achieved by playing variations of the same melody at the same time. Occasionally throughout the piece, and always at its conclusion, all instruments play the main melody in unison. What happens in between those moments of unison could be individual improvisations on the main melody or a calland-response conversation between instruments. The goal is not harmony, even though obviously harmonic chords are created when more than one tone occurs simultaneously. In fact, the harmony, even if dissonant, seems to be ignored because the goal is unison—after all the “conversations” have been improvised, everyone plays the same theme. This may reflect how individuals operate in Thai society. Thais achieve social efficacy through each individual playing their own unique version of the main melodic theme. Their individuality is expressed through their improvisations and their membership in a unified society is confirmed when all play the same melody together in the end. This has the result of resolving the tension that may have been created by the dissonances or musical “arguments” during improvisation. Traditional Thai melodies and their variations are idiomatic. That is, they are unique to and reveal essentials of Thai culture. One can hear the origins of the now-famous Bat Eats the Banana pop song in numerous classical Thai works that came hundreds of years before the modern hit. Likewise in the West we can hear the ideas of Beethoven’s Overture to Egmont revisited again and again in rock music chord progressions.
Intercultural Management Quarterly
Art Encounters Life Fifty members of the Keystone State Boys’ Choir stamped to the dining room under an awning. Walls of rain and pangs of hunger kept them on course. I didn’t want to be the Thai singer and guitarist who were to perform for the choir as they ate dinner before the evening concert. Many of the boys were not only skillful singers, but also played at least one musical instrument.
are resolved when everyone plays the theme in unison at the end and all instruments play the same final tone together as one. In western music, as in western societies, we are able to resolve conflicts differently, because our goal is not unison, but harmony. In the end there are many voices singing different pitches, but the pitches, although diverse, together shape a chord with consonant overtones. Unison is not required to resolve conflicts in the West while in Thailand conflicts seem to persist if unison cannot be reached. What would happen to the political process in Thailand if harmonic conflict resolution were demonstrated in Thai ensemble compositions and a generation of Thai children were exposed to these non-verbal forms demonstrating a multitude of ways to resolve conflicts?
I came early and listened to the Thai duo warm up and do their “sound check.” Although the singer and guitarist were extremely skillful and talented, their warm up was painful for my western ears because the guitar was amplified and way, way out of tune—an excruciating combination. I was confident that the band producer would fix the problem as he stood in the middle of the dining hall and balanced the volume between singer and As it happens, Thais do experience harmonic tension guitar. Satisfied with the sound of the duo, he It wasn’t long before the rhythm of the Thai ensemble began to made no more changes. Why doesn’t he tell the “breathe” and the clapping of the Americans went out of sync. guitarist to tune the guitar? We all knew the night’s audience would be talented western musicians. and resolution. King Rama VI may have already underDidn’t he know they would suffer through the out of stood and initiated this process in 1888 when he commissioned the composition Sa-sern-bra-ma-ne, known tune guitar even more than I did? to all Thais as the “King’s Song” (it is played to a standThe Thai guitarist was young, so I assumed he didn’t ing audience before every film shown in Thailand). The know how to tune a guitar using the harmonics of the composition integrates traditional Thai ensemble instru5th and 7th frets and the overtones of two open strings ments and western orchestral instruments. The final coda plucked simultaneously. I have taught this advanced is a cliché western melody with harmonic resolution, not tuning technique to my guitar students quite often, so I Thais’ typical unison resolution. When the Thai-style offered to help. I tuned the guitar for the boy and asked goal of unison cannot be reached, perhaps the King has him to check it. I was shocked to see that he checked offered to his culture and society an alternative method the tuning with expert skill using harmonics! He could for conflict resolution—harmony. have tuned the guitar himself, but he didn’t. Why? Certainly he could hear the painful dissonance in the chords After dinner, we gathered in the auditorium for an inhe was playing. Certainly he wanted his performance to ternational concert as our Thai school’s ensemble played and the choir from America listened. At one point the sound pleasing to his audience of western musicians. American Choirmaster began clapping to support the The only explanation I can think of is the one offered Thai ensemble’s percussion section, and the rest of the by the presenter of Music as Cross-cultural Encounter: boys joined in. It wasn’t long before the rhythm of the Thais tend to ignore dissonances, or “acoustic conflicts.” Thai ensemble began to “breathe” and the clapping of Conflicts in the convivial counterpoint of Thai music the fifty boys went out of sync. They struggled to catch
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Thai and Western Music... the new rhythm but as soon as they did, the rhythm changed again (in a way they could not predict) and they finally realized they were hurting more than helping and stopped clapping. The Western choir boys did not know that the ranad (a type of xylophone) leads the rhythm of a Thai ensemble, not the percussion section as in the West, and they also did not know that rhythm is elastic and constantly changing at the caprice of the master playing the ranad-ek (whose lead role is roughly equivalent to the first violin of western orchestras). The Thais may likely have though the American choir can sing but is seriously lacking in rhythmic ability. The Western choirboys may have thought the Thais can’t “keep a beat.” The Thai ensemble ignored or did not even perceive the dissonances created when Western melodies were played on the ranad (the instrument cannot play the semi-tones needed to render the melody perfectly). The American choir thought the harmonic collisions were simply the result of the Thais lacking skill on their instruments and hitting the wrong note by mistake (as is the case when they make a mistake on their Western instruments). Nevertheless, the choir was impressed with the improvisational skill of the Thai musicians as so many melodies and melody fragments danced through the air. The American Choirmaster, sitting next to me, said he was impressed with the complexity of Thai improvised counterpoint. He may have thought that Thai culture had adopted American jazz, when in fact Thais began improvising hundreds of years before the “invention” of jazz in America. As intercultural educators and trainers, we value diverse cultural richness and know that conflicts often arise from differing ways of enacting common core values. We must remind ourselves that in some instances our “performed values” do differ and we must confront that fact in order to resolve conflicts. We must accept fundamental value differences that result in collisions and find the combination of harmony and unison that can lead to resolution. i
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IMQ publishes articles, book reviews, case studies and other writings that explore culture and management in global organziations.
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Intercultural Management Quarterly
Engaging Religion in Global Development
by Mark Hamilton
Q
uestions of religion and cultural values per- and cultural themes. Questions of religion were buried meate international issues and debates. These by both Capitalist and Marxist policymakers. Decried as issues are reflected in newspaper headlines, “traditional society” by the former and “false consciousbest-seller lists and international symposia. ness” by the latter, religion lost salience as secular develStill, most scholars and practitioners continue to operate opment patterns took shape. from a secular frame of reference, perceiving an impasse Today, though, global citizens and policymakers face between a community’s “development” potential and commitment to “traditional values.” This brief article civil conflicts and insurgencies that are increasingly explores an alternative development scenario relevant couched in ethnic and religious terms. Meanwhile, many to our diverse global community. It calls us to engage, national reconciliation efforts—as seen in post-apartheid challenge and learn from citizens who are guided by South Africa—feature strong religious elements. Cerfaith traditions on their own terms, by means of com- tainly the public roles of culture and religion have not munities’ sacred values, shared stories and social and dissipated as many development theorists of the late 20th spiritual dynamism. Such engagement, while treading in century would have expected. the same value-filled arenas that have produced conflict and bloodshed both past and present, nevertheless offers potential for deepening ownership, moral accountability Conflicting or Complementary? Religious people—who make up the vast majority and cross-cultural understanding in development processes around the globe. of global citizens—are likely to be alienated by secular development paradigms that focus on growth and per capita income to the exclusion of social, cultural and reThe Need to Pay Attention ligious facets of well being. Global aid and development As globalization and consumer integration increasingly institutions—dominated by economists’ logic—are espedefine the post-Cold War world, many perceive a choice cially prone to this way of thinking. World Vision’s Brybetween the need to juggle identities or to abandon local ant Myers writes of a common development blind spot: culture, with both options meeting significant resistance. “We fail to hear the community’s story about the unseen Rapid changes have left everyday people from Iowa to world and we fail to have answers that, in their minds, Indonesia looking for a more secure sense of communi- actually take this world into account.” ty identity and many (especially outside the West) find their solace and liberation in the arms of religion. Since the 1990s, international development scholars and practitioners have come to recognize the need for During the Cold War, development debates focused participation and local ownership in development promore on political and ideological factors than religious cesses. Robert Chambers, Arturo Escobar and William Easterly, among others, have critiqued “professional” development institutions as out of touch, out of date, and Mark Hamilton is a Ph.D. student at Amerioften wrong. They document an array of damaging incan University’s School of International Service, terventions committed by “outsider” organizations due with dissertation research focused on the roles to an ignorance of local contexts and blindness to community power dynamics and belief systems. of youth in conflict, development and peacebuilding. Mark has study and work experience in Latin America and South Asia and has reParticipatory methods demand greater attention to losearched themes related to religion and developcal cosmologies. In much of the world, religion provides a crucial framework, cultural lens and organizational ment, transnationalism, fair trade, and the links between popular and political culture. structure within which practitioners and communities
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Religion and Development... negotiate local development efforts. Religious institutions and discourses are critical to community action and can be mobilized for and against development interventions. Religion, of course, can be a roadblock to societal change and transformation. Across global cultures and faith traditions, religious messages have been manipulated by institutional elites and power brokers, too often employed to control and censure women, minorities and dissident thinkers. Within every faith tradition, though, there are those whose religious convictions have motivated them to reorient and challenge the social and political establishments that comprise the status quo. Men like Moses, Muhammad, Buddha, Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. occupy history’s limelight, but women and men from time immemorial have harnessed the strength and organizing power of their religious faith to affect community mechanics underlying social and economic development. For example, in their day-to-day experience with poor women in South Asia, leaders of SEWA—an NGO focused on women’s advocacy across distinct cultures— have come to appreciate the role that religion plays in women’s lives. Faith provides them with the strength to continue amid domestic and community struggles and provides creative outlets for expression via religious rituals and festivals. Savvy organizations like SEWA intentionally and authentically incorporate religious language and trust networks in their development interventions, even as their leaders challenge certain religious and cultural forces that they consider maladaptive. Speaking the Language In the realm of religious dialogue and engagement, former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey calls for “honest brokers”—people from diverse cultures and religious backgrounds who examine their own faith traditions (including the shortcomings), foster education and cross-cultural appreciation and act together on commu-
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nity issues while understanding the integrity and uniqueness of each faith. Development and social change initiatives are best communicated by those familiar with a community’s cultural and religious realities if they are to garner local “ownership” and participation. According to William Vendley, a sort of “bilingualism” is necessary, one for insiders that utilizes a “primary language” rich in shared meaning along with a “secondary language” (like the speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr.) that can transcend particular cultures and engage a broader secular realm. Vendley warns, though, that this “secular language is dangerously weak” in forming a coherent community and in sustaining ethical stances across time. Religious people tend to respond to religious language. A secular “secondary language” and ethos may not be the best format to introduce development initiatives in particular contexts. In many Muslim societies, for example, a “primary language” related to the Qur’an and sacred traditions may be the most effective and participative way to approach such policies. There is a need for development practitioners who effectively translate between secular donor institutions and the everyday believers within Islam and other faith traditions. The intersection of development paradigms with religious and cultural values is an important and complex reality in the 21st century. There are multiple linkages and leverage points for development actors to tap into individual and community stories of faith, to establish trust across civilizations and to work together towards more comprehensive social change. Challenges abound, of course, but as religious communities claim institutional space for dialogue and everyday leaders are empowered to articulate their own visions and values for social change, we all have potential for enhanced learning, growth and development. i
Intercultural Management Quarterly
IMQ Book Review The Central Liberal Truth: How Politics Can Change a Culture and Save it from Itself by Lawrence Harrison reviewed by Manuela Campbell
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awrence Harrison has successfully created a controversy with his book The Central Liberal Truth: How Politics Can Change a Culture and Save it From Itself (Oxford University Press, 2006). Harrison draws from his experience working with USAID in Latin America to provide academics and practitioners with a new approach to development. Harrison is not shy about the fact that what he has been saying for over a decade now is outside the borders of political correctness. It is fortunate that he is willing to cross this boundary to communicate his point, otherwise he would have nearly nothing to say. Harrison introduces his book by stating what he does not believe, namely “dependency theory,” the belief the troubles of the developing world are explained by the fact it has not recovered from the imperialist exploitation of the past. His primary argument is that culture is the vital factor in the progress of a society and that, to the detriment of those living within these societies, its role has been largely ignored. Concerns of cultural sensitivity should be pushed aside for the sake of evaluating a culture’s potential for progress without rose tinted glasses. Finally, not only should cultures be scrutinized by a single objective standard, but ineffective cultures should fix their underdevelopment by changing in their core values. In moving from this somewhat antagonistic introduction to the body of the piece, the bulk of which is a series of case studies and excerpts of his colleagues’ research, Harrison becomes less combative in his approach.
Manuela Campbell is currently working toward a Graduate Certificate in Cross-cultural Communication at American University’s School of International Service where she received her BA in International Studies in 2004. Her focus is on cross-cultural negotiation and mediation.
Spring 2007
In his second chapter, Harrison introduces his typology of “progress-prone” and “progress-resistant” elements of culture. Cultures that view destiny as being within one’s own control are progress-prone, whereas those that view it as “fatalism, resignation, or sorcery” are progress-resistant, for example. Harrison also covers instruments of change, which he names as child rearing, education, media and leadership. Practical guidelines for policy in the final chapter tie together all the lessons that the reader has hopefully learned up to that point. Harrison aims to convince the reader that culture is the primary determinant in the progress of a society, and that it can be changed for the better. Cultural Relativism From the beginning Harrison opposes “cultural relativism.” In an earlier piece of his, Harrison defines this term as: “[the viewpoint that] argues that cultures can be assessed only on their own terms and that value judgments by outsiders are taboo.”1 He quickly dismisses this as a flaky, if not entirely useless, approach. However, the development that Harrison has in mind goes beyond basic needs. Harrison is actually discussing so-called “high order” needs (i.e. democracy, rule of law, fair elections, etc.) versus “low order” needs such as food and physical security. Harrison may see some societies as progress-resistant because they are still addressing their low order needs. This does not mean that they will not eventually work toward democracy or that they cannot progress. How are you to tell the difference between a progress-resistant society and one that is preoccupied with the need to provide potable water? This is precisely why we cannot hold all cultures to the same standard. Cultural relativism helps to assess societies that are in vastly different stages of development within their own context.
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Central Liberal Truth Review... Ethnocentric, Not Racist Harrison is quick to explain that his approach does not make him a racist because culture not genetic but, “acquired.” Unfortunately, Harrison also misguidedly quotes a Cameroonian economist, Daniel Etounga-Manguelle, thinking that perhaps it is OK to criticize African culture harshly because an African happens to agree with the assertion. This is tokenism, and makes Harrison appear not racist but ethnocentric. Ethnocentrism, as defined by Nancy Adler, is the mentality that there is “one best way” and “other ways are inferior.”2 The very premise of The Central Liberal Truth is that there is a best way to achieve democracy and development: through superior (progress-prone) values. Harrison’s less provocative use of the 1948 United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights as the standard of “progress” appears fair. However, the portion of the Declaration that states that “prosperity is better than poverty,” seems to be all he has retained. Harrison praises the Protestants’ fixation on accumulation of wealth and claims that Buddhists who believe that “small is beautiful” are hindered because they do not possess a progress-prone value regarding wealth. If a society does not emphasize the accumulation of wealth but rather charity or humble means are they too “progress-resistant” to realize they need progress? Harrison appears ethnocentric for presuming that all cultures should share a Protestant emphasis on wealth. Harrison does not seem to think that white Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASP) values, more specifically American WASP values, can be improved upon and, aside from the occasional nod to Confucianism and Judaism, he consistently promotes them. Harrison fails to consider the possible drawbacks of American WASP culture, such as the harmful effects of too much individualism on the family structure that Fukuyama warns against.3 To Forget or Not to Forget? Harrison flatly rejects the argument that the history of colonialism in Latin America explains why it has not developed into a continent of first world nations. Harrison
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argues that this approach leads to a “victim self-image” and “paranoia,” precluding the possibility of a productive solution. To dwell on and hide behind victimization is not healthy and it will not repair the damage. Harrison is correct in this. But to disregard it completely is to whitewash the records of those nations who have a history of brutal imperialism. This kind of dwelling on hardships may be what Harrison is referring to when he says that a progress-prone culture emphasizes the future rather than the present or past. Though Harrison does not advocate a complete disregard for history, his advice is careless nonetheless. To place no importance on remembering the past can lead to historical amnesia, a condition that is decidedly progress-resistant. Interestingly, in his guidelines for cultural change, Harrison recommends linking reforms to a “prosperous past,” creating “at least the appearance of continuity.” This useful guidance seems to contradict his thoughts on future focus. By recommending that societies use the positive aspects of their past to promote behaviors conducive to progress Harrison has identified a way to move a society forward with its preexisting traits and not the imposition of foreign values. This creative idea has universal potential. But Harrison neglects to mention that you must remember the good and the bad in order to progress rather than regress. Harrison is emphatic that cultural change cannot be imposed by outsiders but rather must come from within, otherwise it is likely to fail. While he is not wrong, what seems to contradict this assertion is that the values he thinks cultures should be instilling in themselves are WASP values. How will underdeveloped societies come to organically develop progress-prone values that are completely alien to the native culture? Harrison credits Botswana’s good performance in part to “an enlightened, constructive colonial administrator.” And, under the cover of discussion about the importance of foreign investment, he notes the contentedness of the employees of the United Fruit Company in Costa Rica. Positive results or not, this contradicts his statement that change
Intercultural Management Quarterly
must come from within. Harrison’s real point is that enlightened leadership is key. But where does enlightenment come from if not outside influence? Women and Children First It is nearly impossible to disagree with the value Harrison is most passionate about changing: education. Harrison refers to illiteracy as the “greatest obstacle to progressive cultural change.”4 Educating children and maintaining the promotion of knowledge is fundamental to the success of every society. Harrison is deeply passionate about reforming education systems to ensure the inclusion of women, promote new ideas and other progress-prone values. Harrison states that women need to be literate because they are primarily responsible for child rearing and therefore need to demonstrate, and pass on, respect for education to their children. This is true, a child can only benefit from an educated mother, but how encouraging is it for young girls to see that education did not bring their mother out of the home and into the work force? With education, women will have the ability to work and contribute to the community in a larger capacity. Harrison neglects the point that women should be educated because they are a valuable economic resource. Another interesting aspect of Harrison’s argument for education is his endorsement of international schools. This is a creative solution for exposing students to diverse cultures and thoughts, but Harrison appears to endorse the use of international schools on the basis that they will teach the students in English and to think like Americans. Harrison provides an example of how he found it easy to communicate with his South American colleague because “she thought like an American—practical, pragmatic, a problem solver.” International schools are great for many reasons, such as forging lasting international bonds and exposing youth to new ideas, but his example detracts from this argument by implying that an “American” thought process is the key to progress, another ethnocentric moment. Not Just the Tip of the Iceberg Spring 2007
Harrison is to be commended for seeking a real solution with a concrete set of guidelines. Rather than going for the quick fix by promoting superficial or short-term programming, he proposes an entirely new way of thinking about development. Whether or not you agree with his belief that some cultures must be altered, Harrison does understand how to go about cultivating real change. In the terms of Edward Hall’s cultural iceberg model, Harrison’s recommendations go beyond external culture (the tip of the iceberg), deeper into the internal culture (the base of the iceberg) of these societies. Harrison understands from his field experience that removing leaders from power, writing constitutions and holding elections are not enough. These are external actions that affect the tip of the iceberg and guarantee no long-term effects without substantial change in the belief systems of the people. Cultural relativism aside, this is the harsh truth. Harrison recognizes this and takes it a step further by offering his solution for change in the core values of a society. Not How but What Harrison’s book manages to give cultural relativists a mental workout as they attempt to find the exact fault in each of his arguments. The foundation of his argument, that culture matters, is correct. But Harrison only briefly discusses the other important factors in development, e.g. geography, climate, ideology, government policy and visionary leaders, to name a few. In his view these variables matter but only culture is “crucial.” What he seems to miss, or simply ignore, is that these variables are actually parts of a culture. They are end products and catalysts of cultural formation and should not be so easily dismissed. The next level of his argument is that cultures ought to be changed. What is troubling is not so much how he thinks cultures should be changed, but rather what he believes they should be changed to. Cultural relativists are likely to be thrown off by this book because the change he advocates is not the usual “cultural imperial-
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ism,” but rather what could be called the cultural cloning of WASP values. Harrison does not want Americans to force their values onto underdeveloped societies, but he does want such societies to turn themselves into cultures that closely, if not entirely, resemble that of the USA. With this is mind it is difficult to praise even his good ideas.
References 1 Lawrence E. Harrison, “Culture Matters,” The National Interest, No. 60 (Summer 2000): 3. 2 Nancy J. Adler, “Domestic Multiculturalism: Cross-Cultural Management in the Public Sector,” in Culture, Communication and Conflict, Readings in Intercultural Relations, Revised 2d ed., ed. Gary R. Weaver (Boston: Pearson Publishing, 2000),114.
Harrison’s approach on how to create change is not entirely misguided. He understands that if you are to create sustainable change in a culture you cannot sim3 Francis Fukuyama, The Great Disruption: Human Nature ply impose or alter behavior, that you must go deeper and the Reconstruction of Social Order (New York, NY: Touchinto the core values of a society. He has the best of intentions and wants nothing but positive progress for all, stone, 1999). even if he defines it in narrow terms. But you cannot get 4 Lawrence E. Harrison, “Hearts, Minds and Schools,” The around the fact that Harrison is seeking to change the Washington Post 17 December 2006, sec. B, p.3. internal values and belief systems of entire societies. This is frightening enough, but what is even scarier is what he wants them to change into: us. i
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Intercultural Management Quarterly
IMI Skills Institutes Summer 2007 Intercultural Training and Facilitation Ray Leki, Director Transition Center of the Foreign Service Institute, U.S. Department of State. July 14-15 2007
Fall 2007 Multinational Teambuilding Lance Descourouez, CEO Lance Consulting September 29-30, 2007 Programming for International Education David Bachner, Scholar-in-Residence School of International Service, American University November 3-4, 2007 Understanding Cultures: Negotiating Eectively J.P. Singh, Associate Professor Communication, Culture and Technology Program, Georgetown University November 10-11, 2007 Creative Arts and Intercultural Conict Resolution Michelle LeBaron, Director Program on Dispute Resolution, University of British Columbia November 17-18, 2007
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Spring 2007
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