Navigating the cultural minefield
Meyer, E. (2014), Harvard Business Review
Stereotyping people from different cultures on just one or two dimensions can lead to
oversimplified and erroneous assumptions.
Culture is too complex to be measured meaningfully along just one or two dimensions.
The Culture Map
Tool to help managers negotiate the complexity of culture.
8 scales representing the management behaviours where cultural gaps are most common. By
comparing the position of one nationality relative to another on each scale, the user can decode
how culture influences workplace dynamics.
1. Communicating
High-context
Sophisticated , nuanced, and layered
Messages are understood at face value
Repetition is appreciated for purposes of clarification, as is putting messages in
writing
Low-context
Precise, simple, explicit , and clear
Messages are often implied but not plainly stated
Less is put in writing, more is left open to interpretation, and understanding may
depend on reading between the lines
1
Meyer, E. (2014), Harvard Business Review
Stereotyping people from different cultures on just one or two dimensions can lead to
oversimplified and erroneous assumptions.
Culture is too complex to be measured meaningfully along just one or two dimensions.
The Culture Map
Tool to help managers negotiate the complexity of culture.
8 scales representing the management behaviours where cultural gaps are most common. By
comparing the position of one nationality relative to another on each scale, the user can decode
how culture influences workplace dynamics.
1. Communicating
High-context
Sophisticated , nuanced, and layered
Messages are understood at face value
Repetition is appreciated for purposes of clarification, as is putting messages in
writing
Low-context
Precise, simple, explicit , and clear
Messages are often implied but not plainly stated
Less is put in writing, more is left open to interpretation, and understanding may
depend on reading between the lines
1
