4.4 How do we want to engage with others?

An important element in mapping investigates the question of how we want to work together. Lane et al. (2019) introduce five cultural dimensions, developed in conjunction with GlobeSmart, which they consider to offer a good combination of validity and practical relevance. These are: Task versus relationship, independence versus interdependence, egalitarian versus status, directness versus indirectness and risk versus certainty. The dimension of time was added in this context because it plays such a vital role in a business context.

If we use these six dimensions to map our cultural profile, then we are encouraged to acknowledge individual orientations and also the image people have of us in a specific context. Mapping occurs by locating each individual between a high and low orientation on each scale. This, of course, can never provide a completely accurate reflection of a person’s behaviour. One reason for this is that when we place ourselves on a scale, we necessarily implement our own unique understanding of the particular concept. I may or may not share some of this understanding with others. Nevertheless, it does provide us with a basic orientation.

First, we will examine the cultural dimension task versus relationship. This dimension refers to the fact that people who work together must complete a particular task, while at the same time taking care of relationships with their team members. In any team there are likely to be people who primarily want to focus on the task and the production of results. Consequently, these people will place a lot of emphasis on goal setting and planning. There may be others, however, who consider it vital to establish good relations with their work colleagues before and while performing the task at hand. These team members will be focused on interactions and fostering positive relations as well as taking care of the well-being of their colleagues.

Both relationship and task-focused people are usually committed to completing the task and get the work done. However, their way to achieve this goal may be quite different. Task-oriented people tend to get started with their work quickly and consider relationship-building to be something which may develop as work progresses. They are likely to be the ones who develop a step by step plan and concentrate on meeting deadlines and achieving milestones. They are interested in task efficiency. For relationship-oriented people it is important to familiarise themselves with the people they are working with, and this is likely to include getting to know them more personally. Building good relationships first not only shows them whether the person is trustworthy but also lays the groundwork for good communication. Socialising is therefore an important part of work, which might involve drinking tea or coffee or eating together. It may even mean that part of the task is completed outside the office and office hours, for example during dinner or over a drink. Relationship-oriented people are likely to view a good relationship with co-workers and a positive work atmosphere as vital to achieving the necessary results.

The second dimension, independent versus interdependent, refers to the preference of working on our own versus coordinating with and helping each other with tasks. Independent entails giving more emphasis to  the pursuit of our own ideas and personal goals and staying in control of events. In contrast, interdependent people share an understanding that the task can only be accomplished through mutual reliance. These people are highly responsive to the needs and expectations of others as well as being ready to support the people you are working with. In order to achieve this, a positive working atmosphere is vital, as well as a sense of loyalty and duty towards others.

This shows that colleagues who value interdependence and independence are likely to approach working together very differently. Interdependently oriented colleagues, for example, are likely to require frequent interaction, assign roles as necessary and are quite flexible in their approach, whereas independently oriented colleagues are likely to be confident working on their own and subsequently reporting back to others when a scheduled task has been completed. For them it is important that roles, once assigned, remain constant and that rescheduling and flexibility is kept to a minimum.

Interactions are important for both independently and interdependently oriented people alike. However, the extent to which they value collective effort differs and this will influence their assumptions with regard to the best way to work together.

The third dimension, egalitarianism versus status, refers to how power and responsibilities are allocated and distributed. An egalitarian-oriented colleague is one who believes that all are more or less equal and power and responsibilities should therefore be shared as evenly as possible. The assumption is then that issues should be discussed and decided upon together and that everyone is expected to contribute towards the task at hand. Organisations who have an egalitarian-orientation have flat hierarchies, which means that employees generally have a great deal of independence and are allowed to make high level decisions. The objective of this kind of environment is to maximise employee motivation and commitment, thereby bringing out the best in everyone.

In more hierarchy and status-oriented work environments, people tend to expect that decisions will be made by superiors. Subordinates show engagement inasmuch as they follow instructions and do not necessarily make suggestions or provide relevant information. Power and responsibility are distributed vertically rather than horizontally and subordinates often find it difficult to approach their superiors when problems arise. 

Status and hierarchy-oriented people tend to value formal forms of address and titles when communicating. They also tend to emphasise protocol, such as where people sit at a meeting, in which order they speak and how a meeting is run. Highly status-oriented people are also likely to have privileges such as larger and better equipped offices, membership cards or reserved parking lots. In contrast, egalitarian-oriented people are more likely to use and expect first names, speak and interact with the boss in a similar way as one would with a peer. They would also assume that people should receive the same benefits. In this way of thinking, for example, parking spaces would be allocated randomly.

The following short case illustrates the unease of an international student who is invited for a cup of coffee by her professor.

The excerpt from an internship report indicates how power distance can influence work processes and be perceived by someone who is not used to a hierarchical system.

"My boss tells me exactly how I have to do my work without allowing me to question or influence his decisions. It therefore sometimes seems to me like I am being controlled. For instance, I had to create an excel-sheet, whose formatting I had to revise approximately ten times before it was suitable. This is new and unfamiliar to me, owing to the fact that I have previously worked for superiors who wanted me to be self-reliant and work independently."

The fourth dimension, directness versus indirectness, relates to a team member’s communication style. Somebody who values a direct communication style has a preference for frank, concise and straightforward communication. The aim is to be as clear as possible, leaving very little room for interpretations and ambiguity, thus ensuring communication that saves time. This is also the case when addressing difficult or critical issues, e.g. when giving feedback or finding errors in work submitted. Direct communication is based on the understanding that the person and the message can be separated. This avoids embarrassing people and threatening their face. Short and precise messages are typical for this kind of communication style, as well as written minutes of meetings and detailed instructions, with little attention to non-verbal cues and reading between the lines.

People who have a preference for indirect speech use different ways to express the message and tend to communicate in a way that leaves room for interpretation. Pauses, silence, tone of voice, and body language are important parts of overall communication. When communicating the focus is on the receiver of the message and the understanding that other people may have different views of the subject. It acknowledges that everybody operates within a certain context and that reading between the lines might open up avenues for exploring common ground and points of view without pinpointing. In this way embarrassment is avoided.

The fifth dimension, risk versus certainty, relates to the amount od information that is needed before acting. Of course everybody plans his or her actions, but how many details do they require and how much room are they able to leave for unforeseeable and unpredictable circumstances. Risk-oriented team members value quick actions and are ready to go ahead on the basis of information that only provides them with a rough orientation. They trust that by being flexible and by monitoring the process and being flexible they will be able to make the necessary adjustments as they go along. They are therefore fairly tolerant to change and do not consider rules and regulations to be of paramount importance.

The following example illustrates how this difference may surface in behaviour: 

Robert is an engineer who is due to hold a presentation for an international group of colleagues. He spends a lot of time and effort working on his presentation because he wants to give his colleagues all the technical details of the new software necessary for them to implement it. After about an hour into his presentation, Jenny raises her hand, and points out: “Richard, many thanks for your presentation, but it is possible that you could just tell us what time it is rather than explaining to us how the whole clock works?”

For certainty-oriented people, giving and receiving detailed information is crucial order to ensure that everyone is prepared for all possible scenarios. However, for risk-oriented people, this can seem much too detailed as they would prefer to simply learn from experience and make adjustments when necessary.

People who have a preference for avoiding uncertainty require a thorough and detailed stock of information as well as a detailed plan before they feel comfortable committing themselves. This might include an intensive and detailed analysis of the issues at stake considering different aspects and points of views in order to avoid possible risks and eventualities. During the implementation phase the focus then switches to staying on track and following the agreed plan rather than adjusting it ad hoc. Having a detailed and agreed plan is perceived as creating transparency for all stakeholders. Milestones are understood as anchors that help to visualise the progress of the project and rules and regulations make it clear which actions are expected from everyone involved.

The last dimension is the monochronic versus polychronic notion of time. This influence of this dimension on teamwork is often underestimated. Indeed, especially in the light of the increasing urgency and time pressure that organisations and societies feel, the fact that people may experience time differently has a crucial impact on the flow and coordination of work and how we can best work together.

The following quote from a learning journal indicates a rather time conscious and structured working style.

"It bothers me when I run out of time, that’s why I like to start immediately after getting the task. Especially when we started our teamwork, one of my major personal needs was to clarify which member is responsible for keeping our timetable and work efforts updated so that we all have a kind of a structure which displays our progress and helps us to reach the goal. My personal preference of getting things done immediately and in the best case, being ready at least a few days prior to handing in the task also effects my course of action."

Source: Learning journal, 2020

Within our relationship to time, an important differentiation can be made between monochronic and polychronic time orientations. This refers to whether we feel comfortable multi-tasking, i.e. juggling several things at once or whether we rather have a tendency to schedule our tasks sequentially, accomplishing one task after another. The following is a good illustration of the difference between a monochronic and polychronic working style.

The work of a hairdresser illustrates the polychronic orientation nicely. Especially in smaller salons, hairdressers need to maximise their time. This is why they are likely to attend to several clients at once. One might be having their hair coloured, while another sits under the dryer or is asked to go to the shampoo basin. In between, the hairdresser takes phone calls and makes appointments. A mail courier, on the other hand, needs to behave quite differently, completing one transaction before moving on the next one, since most of his tasks cannot be intermeshed.

Source: cf. Ballard, D. I., & Seibold, D. R. (2003). Communicating and organizing in time. Management Communication Quarterly, 16 (3), p. 387.

The quote also indicates that in addition to the cultural element of monochronic and polychronic time orientations, they can also simply apply to different work contexts.

Another aspect of time could be seen as the notion of event versus clock time. The 'event time orientation' views time as cyclical and a continuous flow, where tasks are planned relative to other tasks and activities take place in succession from the past to the present and into the future. This means that you ‘call it a day’ not at a specific time but when the work you felt needed to be completed is actually finished. Clock time in contrast works according to precise schedules and activities anchored to time slots. This also means that days, for example, might be compartmentalised into when they begin, what happens after breakfast at a certain time etc., as the picture below indicates.

Photograph by Adelheid Iken

Closely linked to time orientation is the question of flexibility with regard to work schedules as well as our understanding of punctuality and deadlines. This is highlighted by the following case study.

Photograph by Adelheid Iken

Using cultural dimensions as a framework can support our understanding of possible behavioural differences. They can also help us to understand which type of behaviour we display and expect when working with others, and this insight promotes self-awareness. It also helps us to see differences in behaviour from other perspectives.

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