Reconciling Cultural Dilemmas

Nancy Adler described different strategies for negotiating cultural differences:

·         Cultural domination and cultural accommodation are essentially about assimilation. I assimilate your beliefs, or you assimilate mine.

·         Cultural compromise involves both sides giving up some values in order to meet in the middle.

·         Cultural synergy involves creating a third way-finding what works well in each culture and removing barriers to communication and collaboration, including language and policies.

Trompenaars and Hampden believe that organizations that are synergistic are more flexible, adaptive, and resilient. They are skilled in the process of charting a course through cultural differences, a process Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner call dilemma reconciliation.

Dilemma reconciliation has four steps:

·         Recognize. (Create awareness of cultural differences.)

·         Respect. (Appreciate the value of difference.)

·         Reconcile. (Resolve differences by finding a common path.)

·         Realize. (Implement solutions and institutionalize them in the organization.)

In a synergistic solution, managers consider to what degree an organizational conflict is cultural in nature and identify the assumptions that may be contributing to the dilemma. Alternatives are then crafted by leveraging points of cultural similarities. Feedback from both cultures is collected to check and adjust the solution as needed.

The path to cultural synergy begins with managers who have a global mindset. They appreciate that everyone, including themselves, has a culture that shapes their perceptions and values. Global managers then seek to understand more fully their own cultures and, with the same depth, the other cultures in which they interact. Differences and similarities are identified and appreciated. They avoid stereotyping.

Cultural differences should not be a barrier to a globalization strategy but a factor that will contribute to global standards and facilitate alignment of local practices with these standards. Managing cultural differences will require global HR professionals who are literate in cultural theory and differences and who understand what to do when faced with a cultural dilemma that threatens a global strategy. The first step in achieving cultural literacy is to internalize the importance of mutual understanding, learning, and training. Turning to focus groups, employee resource groups, and reverse mentorship can help in achieving this goal.

·         Focus groups. By bringing together team members from different groups across the organization, you can create a safe space to air opinions and criticisms and generate diverse ideas and solutions.

·         Employee resource groups. Employee resource groups (ERGs) are centered around certain shared characteristics (for example, gender, race, or nationality). ERGs can help empower and support communities within the organization, and they can be a useful source of information and feedback to help HR devise plans and proposals to realize benefits from cultural differences.

·         Reverse mentorship. Reverse mentorship redefines the mentor-mentee relationship into one that goes both ways. Each individual can teach the other about their own cultures, acting in the role of cultural intermediary or coach. These relationships build trust and enhance effective collaboration and can help instill a global mindset as employees are exposed to more diverse viewpoints.

Analyzing feedback generated by these practices, HR can develop and implement appropriate procedures and protocols aimed at addressing cultural differences. For example, performance appraisal systems can be chosen to reflect the needs of different cultures and groups. The organization can also invest in identifying and developing high-potential employees who can become truly multicultural, for example, by pairing them with a mentor from a culture in a growth market or region. Cultural awareness and sensitivity, and diversity training programs can be designed and carefully implemented across the global organization. These procedures should be revisited frequently to ensure that they remain effective.