"Generally, Western cultures tend to gravitate toward low-context starting points, while Eastern and Southern cultures tend to use high-context communication," so a nation such as Saudi Arabia or Thailand, for example, would stress the need for an organization to speak the same language, and to minimize conflict through respect and deference within the organization so the organization could be cohesively united against outsiders (LeBaron, 2003).
Question
Dealing with customers in a strategic, cool fashion is at the heart of American marketing. However, a culture that depends upon a sense of trust and familiarity would stress the need to get to know the customer and to tailor the marketing to his or her specific desires. Connecting with the customer, even beyond the immediate benefits of the product is important in a high-context culture. For example, in a high-context culture, simply talking about the opponent's family can break an impasse. Thus, a marketer in a high-context Eastern culture such as Turkey, where there is also a long tradition of personal selling in the one-on-one atmosphere of a bazaar might benefit from talking to the customer face-to-face, rather than using marketing...
Americans also trust individual autonomy, so the subordinates are trusted and individually empowered in their role to fulfill the leader's vision and address customer needs. However, a nation such as Japan that is less individualistic would prefer more hands-on managerial leadership in achieving an objective. A subordinate taking the lead would be frowned upon, and deviating from the leader's set mission and the organization's stated objectives, even if it was successful, would be seen as hostile and possibly an act of insubordination and arrogance ("Japan: Core Cultural Concepts 2006, Cultures at Work).
Works Cited
Japan: Core Cultural Concepts." (2007). Cultures at Work. Retrieved 8 Mar 2007 at http://www.culture-at-work.com/japancore5.html
LeBaron, Michelle. (2003). "Communication Tools for Understanding Cultural
Differences." Beyond Intractablity.org. Retrieved 8 Mar 2007 at http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/communication_tools
