[Excerpt] How you say it can matter as much as what you say

Margolies, Ken

English

[Excerpt] How you say it can matter as much as what you say.Margolies18_Bridging_Cultural_Differences.pdf: 724 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020

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Bridging Cultural Differences

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Articles and Chapters ILR Collection 
9-2008 
Bridging Cultural Differences 
Ken Margolies 
Cornell University, kam47@cornell.edu 
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Bridging Cultural Differences 
Abstract 
[Excerpt] How you say it can matter as much as what you say. 
Keywords 
cultural difference, stewards, management, communication, labor unions, communication across cultures 
Disciplines 
Communication | International and Comparative Labor Relations | Labor Relations | Unions 
Comments 
Suggested Citation 
Margolies, K. (2008). Bridging cultural differences. [Electronic version]. Steward Update, 19(5). 
http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/articles/209/ 
Required Publisher Statement 
Copyright by Union Communication Services. Published version posted with special permission of the 
copyright holder. 
This article is available at DigitalCommons@ILR: https://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/articles/209 
STEWARD UPDATE NEWSLETTER 
Bridging Cultural 
ifferences 
How you say it 
can matter as 
much as what 
you say. 
At a union convention some years ago two delegates from New York arrived at an available pay 
phone at the same time. Both were des-
perate to make a call After some harsh 
words were exchanged one of the dele-
gates kept the phone and the other 
walked away to look for another one. 
A delegate from Texas who observed this 
exchange remarked aloud: "If two Texans 
had talked to each other like that some-
one would be dead now." 
I laughed and said that New Yorkers 
were more willing to tolerate frankness 
(some would say rudeness) and conflict 
without taking it personally. 
This is just one 
example of how different 
cultures deal with issues 
like conflict. 
There are other areas 
where cultures often dif-
fer, and knowing about 
them will help stewards 
in their dealings with 
members and manage-
ment from different parts 
of the country or the world 
and who have grown up in 
cultures different from your 
own. Among those area are: 
Directness 
When I was in Mexico for an extended 
period of time I learned that it was quite 
rude to ask a stranger a question (like how 
to find the bus station) without taking 
some time and first saying "buenos dias." 
Going back to the way it is in New York, 
most strangers would appreciate you not 
taking more of their time than necessary 
by getting right to your question without 
small talk. 
Likewise, people differ in how they 
feel about how near another person 
should get when talking to them. One 
person's attempt at showing friendship 
and trust by huddling close to others may 
cause them to feel their personal space is 
being invaded. 
While these kinds of things may 
seem trivial, they could make getting the 
facts of a grievance or getting a settlement 
with management more difficult if the 
person you are dealing with feels insulted 
or "invaded." 
Gett ing and Valuing Information 
Some people are "facts and figures" kinds 
of people. When faced with an issue they 
go on the Internet to find statistics and 
suggested solutions. Others put more 
importance on getting a "feel" for the 
issue and ways to approach 
the issue and may want to 
talk to others who have expe-
rience dealing with similar 
situations. Both kinds of 
information need to be con-
sidered for good problem 
solving and decision making, 
but people working together 
on a problem may butt heads 
over this unless they are con-
siderate and respectful of the 
other's style and find room for 
I both approaches. 
w
 Concepts of Time 
Have you ever noticed that not everyone 
means the same thing when they say, 
"that never happens" or "I'll be there 
soon" or "yes, that happenssometimes." In 
an exercise we do in classes, students rate 
on a numerical scale what they mean by 
words like never, soon and sometimes. What 
we find is that when some people say "it 
never happens," what they mean is it hap-
pens zero times. Meanwhile, others in 
the same class might say "it never hap-
pens," but what they mean is that it hap-
pens 30 percent of the time. 
The wide range of meanings people 
have for words like these demonstrates 
that we have to be more precise and ask 
for clarification and definitions. 
Imagine trying to process a grievance when 
all the grievant tells you — and therefore 
all you can tell management about the case 
— are statements full of ambiguous words 
like those mentioned above. You have to 
find out more specifically what people 
mean by the words they use. 
Working on Tasks w i t h Others 
Some people want to get right to work on 
a task and figure they will get to know 
others as they work together. Others may 
only be comfortable starting on the task 
after some time has been spent getting to 
know the others they will be working 
with. What kinds of conflicts and misun-
derstandings do you think are likely to 
happen if these two types try to work 
together without, at the first sign that 
something is wrong, discussing their dif-
ferent styles and reaching an understand-
ing on how to proceed? 
Reveal ing Feelings and Opinions 
Some people are readily willing to share 
their feelings or opinions with others, 
even those they just met. Others are more 
reserved and only reveal this more slowly 
and after they trust the person they are 
telling. 
This could be a real problem in an 
investigation if you are asking lots of spe-
cific questions and the member is reluc-
tant to tell you everything right away. In 
cases like that you need to be aware that 
you may have to build your relationship 
with the member and raise his or her com-
fort level before you can get the real story. 
Likewise, if you are trying to make a 
decision and some people are freely giv-
ing their opinions while others are remain-
ing silent, don't assume you know what 
the silence means. You need to create an 
atmosphere where everyone is comfort-
able sharing their feelings and thoughts. 
It's not realistic to think you can 
bridge all cultural gaps effortlessly just by 
reading a few helpful tips. Doing so takes 
time, good listening and awareness skills 
and lots of practice. 
— Ken Margolies, The writer is on the Labor Extension faculty 
of Cornell University. 


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