Country Insights (intercultures.ca/cil-cai/countryinsights-apercuspays-eng.asp) is a product of the Centre for Intercultural Learning (intercultures.gc.ca), a part of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, formerly Canada's Department of External Affairs. The Centre provides intercultural and international training to personnel in government departments and agencies, NGOs, and private sector organizations. For more than 200 countries of the world, the Country Insights website offers a short factual Overview, Country Facts, and Cultural Information. Cultural Information is the heart of the site, with data provided in these categories:
Conversations
Communication
Styles
Display of Emotion
Dress, Punctuality
& Formality
Preferred
Managerial Qualities
Hierarchy and Decision-making
Religion, Class,
Ethnicity, & Gender
Relationship-building
Privileges and
Favouritism
Conflicts in the
Workplace
Motivating Local
Colleagues
Recommended Books,
Films & Foods
In-country
Activities
National Heroes
Shared Historical
Events with Canada
Stereotypes
In each category, a "local" perspective is
offered, followed by a "Canadian" perspective. Background information
about the individual authors is given at the end of each Cultural Information page;
usually the local interpreter was born in the named country or lived in it for
many years, and also has living, study, and/or work experience in Canada.
Likewise, the Canadian interpreter most likely is a Canadian native who has
spent substantial time in the named country.
North American
Perspectives
For some Cyber
readers, a Canadian perspective is natural, but the majority are located in the
U.S.
Are there important differences between these two perspectives that will affect
interpretation of the entire site? To find out, I selected United States of America
from the dropdown list of countries. The United States of America page (intercultures.ca/cil-cai/overview-apercu-eng.asp?iso=us)
immediately revealed, in the Overview section, the diversity of the country.
Factual information is given for Language(s), Religion(s), and Ethnic Group(s);
there were multiple entries in all categories.
I clicked on Conversations, the first category of Cultural
Information, and the full cultural page was revealed (intercultures.ca/cil-cai/ci-ic-eng.asp?iso=us#cn-1).
The question posed in Conversations is, what is safe to talk about when meeting
someone for the first time? I was relieved to read that "At first meeting
in a business setting the standard topics of conversation that are acceptable
in Canada would apply in the US—likewise for social first encounters."
Communication Styles covers how much space is usual between two people,
handshaking, kissing, eye contact, facial expressions, and tone of voice. The
Canadian interpreter says that "In the US, much like in Canada, the personal bubble seems to range
between 2 to 3 feet" and that "As in Canada, people are not very tactile
at first encounter." Both the local and Canadian interpreter commented
that Americans are direct and want you to come to the point and not beat around
the bush. Both interpreters also indicated, in the Display of Emotion section,
that norms for display of affection and anger are similar in the U.S. and Canada.
Dress, Punctuality & Formality concentrates on the
workplace environment; both interpreters noted that requirements vary greatly
depending on the size and type of workplace, but that use of first names is
common. I was surprised to read that "many people will consider you late
if you don’t arrive 15 minutes early," but then decided that in a work
situation where people do coffee, Facebook, and personal email before starting
work, that may be true. Sections on Preferred Managerial Qualities and on
Hierarchy and Decision making follow; here it is good to scroll down to read
the background of the interpreters, in order to understand more about the
environments they have worked in. A Disclaimer at the bottom of the page
remarks that "Although cultural informants were asked to draw on as broad
a base of experience as possible in formulating their answers, these should be
understood as one perspective that reflects the particular context and life
experiences of that person."
Subsequent sections give perspectives on religion, class, ethnicity,
and gender in the workplace and on work environment questions including these:
How important is it to establish a personal relationship
with a colleague or client before getting to business?
Would a colleague or employee expect special privileges or
considerations given our personal relationship or friendship?
I have a work-related problem with a colleague. Do I
confront him or her directly? Privately or publicly?
What motivates my local colleagues to perform well on the
job?
The greatest revelation here was the surprise displayed by
the Canadian perspective on encountering the U.S. health insurance "system"
and the lack of a one-year paid maternity leave.
Further questions ask the two interpreters to recommend
books, films, television shows, foods, and websites to learn the culture of the
country, activities to pursue while in the country, who are the national
heroes, whether there are shared historical events that might influence the
relationship between the two countries, and what harmful stereotypes Canadians
might have about people in the named country. The dual answers to these
questions, while often too specific to draw generalities, do reveal individual
opinions and suggestions. The site recommends cultural triangulation, which it
defines as "using a variety of media (people, print, literature,
television) and several different sources of each before deciding the meaning
of something in another culture" to develop your own picture of the
culture.
Beyond North America
Probably the greatest value of this site is for those
cultures that are much more different from the one you come from than are the
differences between two North American countries. It is easy to browse full
reports by country, using the country name dropdown and then clicking any
Cultural Information link.
In a lengthy Communication Styles section, for example, the Saudi Arabia
page details appropriate and inappropriate distance and touching norms and practices between men and
men, between women and women, and between women and men. I was rather
distressed to learn that in China
women are expected to "dress up," wearing heels, for work, and in Mexico
they not only dress up, but make up heavily. On the Vietnam page it says "Vietnamese
prefer to speak in a very indirect manner.… This is different from Canada
where, in work situations, it is better to get straight to the point." On
the issue of punctuality: "Vietnamese use what translates roughly as 'rubber
time'. For example, if you expect people to come to a meeting at 8am, you
should invite them for 7.30am."
Time and Time Again
Making comparisons between cultures can be simply done
because the subcategories are the same for all countries. I checked Dress,
Punctuality & Formality for several.
South Africans also do not follow "first world
standards" of punctuality and deadlines. "Many meetings do not start
(or end) on time. Allow enough time in your daily schedule to take care of each
event running over by at least an hour." In Mexico, the local interpreter
advises one "to set up deadlines a week before the 'real' deadline"
but the Canadian one says that "The … mañana
mañana approach to life does not
apply to deadlines, and while meetings might start 10 minutes late, much later
than that is not the norm. It is considered rude, however, to show up for
social engagements on time." And then, "there is always regular time
and "Afghan time" which is 30–45 minutes after the designated time.
The Afghan people generally are very hard workers but deadlines are really not
of high importance. They may start 30 minutes late but rarely leave on time and
often work 2-3 hours overtime." In Finland, on the other hand, "Lateness
in attending meetings is not well received. Punctuality is a virtue. Deadlines
are taken seriously. Working overtime is almost a norm in some sectors (but be
mindful of the unionized work environment).
Always inform if you will be late."
Country Insights is a wonderful site to find the
"soft" but vital information on how to deal with people from
different countries, whether you are working with them or just visiting. There
are some disappointments: a few of the countries are missing the Cultural
Information (they do have the Overview and Country Facts, which assembles
external links to History, Geography, Culture, Politics, Economy, Media, and a
Map). Many pages have not been updated in three or four years. I would love to
see a section added that gave suggestions for email communication with the
culture in question.
Susanne Bjørner
provides editorial services to publishers, librarians, authors, and researchers.
Contact her at bjorner@earthlink.net or www.bjorner.info.
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