- INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATIO N PROFESSIONAL CUlTURES
Case study
One face to the customer?
What do you thiok the problem is here? What solutions
would you suggest? You will find our comments on this
case study 00 page 30.T
he atmosphere in the (oom was 1.e.a.s..e.: no ODe likes
"Iessons-Iearned" workshops when the subjeet is why
the deal was lost. There were nearly equal numbers of
projeet managers and salespeople, with a few engineers
and contract lawyers; there was one lonely HR manager.
EOIjljneeriog eomplained that .s.aJ.e.s. had promised some-
thing thai could not possibly be delivered, the parts had
not been fully tested in field conditions. and that would
take at least another six months. PM (Project Manage-
ment) complained that Engineering was not keep!ng 10 the
agreed deadlines. The contract lawyers stressed the impor-
tance of acting within the LOA (Limits of Authority). What
they saw as an important aod clear process seemed more
like a slrajtjacket to the others. The HR manager com-
plained that Ihe requests for new staft 10 be hired always
came at Ihe last minute and didn't leave time for a proper
recrujljog process 10 be followed. The final word ca me
from the manager of the group, who had just lalked to the
customer. The customer had explained why he had dropped
the deal: " I just get contradictprv messages trom the dif-
ferent people I meet from your organization. The left hand
doesn't seern 10 know what the right hand is doing. I really
don't know who to believe."28 BusinessSpotlightTense situation:
who do you thlnk
Is responslble1I
likely ro be reinforced through his or her participarjoo
in external professional acrivities, the reading of ~
sional journals and the expcctations of fellow profession-
.a1.s.. According ro Austratians Geoffrey Bloar and Patrick
Dawson, peopte are likety ro have stronger profession-
al values when the job group rhey belong ro makes what
the experts call "Iarge trans-situationat demands" that
influcnce an individual's non-work life - as is the case
in sacial work and medicine. Let's took at some estab-
tished professions and their professional cuttures.Diplomat s
Diplomats have a particularly strang professional cut-
ture. By definition, (hey are permanenrty living in dif-
ferent countries and deating wirh pcople from other na-
tional backgrounds. T hey nced to mainrain support
from their horne and host counrrjes, and they need ro
have a high level of social sk ills. While politicians often
express strong opinions, diploOlats must try to witbhold
judgcmenr. In an artide on international etiquerre and
cultural differences, tbc governmcnt of Taiwan tists the
fotlowing as core comperencjes of diplomats: lin2uisric
Ijrcracy, puncruatity, coyrresy, etegance. positive body
tanguage, dress sense and risk managemenr.Engineers
Ned Batchelder, who is an cngineer himself, provides his
vicw of the culture of engineers in his blog (sec " For
more information", page 3 1). " I think too ofren, engi-
neers iOlagine that soft people skWs can be ignored.4/2 010