KelTrust Systems Inc.

“Slang” creates confusion for offshore, onshore, nearshore or any individual who arrives in the U.S. from another country

Have you ever tried to explain a “slang” word to an individual who is visiting our country?
It’s not an easy task. I’ve worked with individuals from India, China, Russia, Pakistan, Italy, France, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Bahamas, Columbia and Canada, to name a few. Let me give you a few examples of how an associate and I tried to do this.

An IT Director once explained the word “hot” to a young IT Individual from China. The basic definition he was aware of was, “the warmth as to temperature”. The IT Director then continued to explain hot could be used to explain an item or an observation, to mean it looks fantastic or
cool. He also went on to explain hot can be something he may want to say to his own wife when romance is in the air. The young individual from China asked if he could say his boss was hot, the Director shook his head and said, it’s something a man would say to his wife or girlfriend, but not to his boss. I was the audience on this discussion and I was glad the IT director was explaining this to a man than I.

Another story, which caused great confusion for an IT individual from India, was an email he received from his U.S. associate. It seemed the associate send out an email with the subject line, “To all my peeps”. The individual from India had asked me when I arrived in the office if Mr. John lived on a farm and I stated there aren’t any farms within the Chicago borders. So I asked him why the question, he showed me the email which actually was sent to at least 10 people. I explained the word “peeps” was a slang word that meant to all his buddies/friends. These are only two examples of many similar discussions about slang in the U.S.

As most of us who have worked with teams from other countries have observed, in written correspondence the issue with correct spelling for a word. The meaning/definition of the word may be correct but the spelling may be wrong. Here is an example of a correspondence I received from a
team member in India. “I have red all the requirements”. As you can see, the meaning is correct but the spelling pertains to a color, not the action of reading. The English language can be very confusing, add spelling and slang and you may find yourself proofreading each document as it is sent to you.

When executive management states they have contracted with an organization that writes and speaks English that may be true, but to what extent? In my research of offshore teams, it was stated by 40%, people in other countries are less willing to respond in writing or even verbally if they feel their English may be hampered by a deep accent or their spelling may be less than accurate. I know in my writings I always have spell check on since no one can be prefect every time.

The Hidden Culture/Race

Our society has changed drastically over the past ten years, based on a story and video piece on ABC International news, which I have attached. It has been reported that our society has increased in multi mixed races/cultures. The piece shown on ABC News explained how corporations are focusing their marketing at multi mixed cultures/races for products/services.

This story on the news made me think about how some people can still make disheartening and racial remarks in public and yet they can be speaking to someone who may be interracial and/or intercultural and the individual speaking does not visually see this because the culture may be “hidden” due to the mixture of both cultures. Depending upon the cultural/racial mixture one culture/race may supersede the other by enhanced features or tone of skin.

I found myself asking a young African American college student if President Obama would be telling the truth if he stated he was white. The young man bent over laughing so hard stating President Obama’s statement would not be a true statement. A woman of Middle Eastern ethnicity promptly replied, “Yes, he could state that, his mother was white”. The young man looked surprised and stated, “Say what?” I explained to the young man that since his mother was white and his father was black, he could very easily categorize himself as either when a survey asked for his race. This is the most difficult thing for multi mixed races/cultures. Which one should you enter? I myself being multi-cultural have seen on many surveys to state race, and my choices were white or Hispanic. According to my father’s birth certificate, he was born white, but was of Mexican ethnicity, so who determined Hispanic culture(s) is a race? I found this to be frustrating when asked to categorize myself. How do I determine which category to choose? Do I state “Hispanic” when I am filling out a small business document? On the other hand, do I choose “white” when completing a survey regarding my education? I realize stating more than two on a survey would make it difficult to give a fair representation, but then isn’t the survey looking for categorization when asking the question? According to Yahoo, Hidden Culture is defined as culture that you have to be in to know. People can't come and observe it because there are certain "cues" if you will, that are only recognizable at face value if you have a deep understanding of said culture. So in conclusion, if you’re a multi mixed culture/race choose the answer that gives the most weight to the person (s) who are asking the question since you will be counted as only one, no matter what you are.

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/interracial-marriages-reach-time-high-couples-record-us-15701646

 

 

Chicago Welcomes NATO Summit

On May 20th & 21^st, we here in the Chicago area experienced a unique event, the gathering of many countries to discuss various topics of importance from the troubled economy that has impacted many countries to the middle east withdrawal of troops. Most of those who work in the downtown area of Chicago decided to work from home or given the option to take the day off so employees would not have to deal with the crowds of people who wanted to protest their views.

The planning of this event was so detailed it included protocols, those being how to show appropriate respect for each country leader by name and visual respect. As Chicago was on display to world leaders, it became evident that world leaders should only see the “best “of what we have to offer. During the week prior to the summit, many of us watched from our computers, smartphones and TVs, those who felt angry and wanted to voice their opinion.

I spoke with many individuals regarding this event and asked how they felt about those world leaders, who were invited. Many were concerned about security and of course the cost of such an event when Chicago and its surrounding suburbs are in financial strains. What I did not hear and I of course was waiting to get feedback on were the protocols the Chicago summit team had in place for each of the dignitaries. Many of us live and work in diverse cultural settings and yet that same respect for one’s cultural is never a concern while working in an actual office or through a global team. The point I am making is cultural protocols are so critical to world leaders when we are talking economics and war, and yet this same concept is not as critical in a side-by-side working relationship.

articles.chicagotribune.com/.../ct-met-nato-protocol-20120518_1_nato- summit-protocol-specialists-plane-lands

Do you know your culture well enough to manage other cultures in a global environment*?

This question though general was posed to a large global organization of professionals who work with and/or collaborate with other countries and cultures on a daily basis. This question did not offer a robust sense of where these managers’ reside or what their homeland country is. The question is to determine if those who manage such teams feel confident of their own culture and its traditions to perform their job successfully.

• 90% of those who responded to the poll stated, “Yes” they do know their culture
  well enough to manage other cultures in a global environment.

You may be wondering why this may sound so important. Let me explain. When working with a team of individuals, having a knowledgeable understanding of the individual is just as important as the skills; each member brings to the global table. The United States as an example is a fully diverse country in cultures. No one culture states you are an American.

The next question of curiosity is why does it matter if you know your own culture. When working with global teams you will be working with individuals who may or may not be of your ethnicity, some cultures find it customary to know more about you as an individual and would expect the same courtesy regarding them. As some team members, may work different hours based on global locations, emails and scheduled conference calls are the only means to any contact with their fellow team members. The managers of these teams would find it beneficial to take 5 or 10 minutes of their scheduled conference calls to talk to their team members and get to know them a little better. If you were to ask team members at the beginning of a project to send you a short and general bio of themselves, you as the Project Manager could send this out as a prelude to the project.

The benefits:

• Team members are aware of the skill sets brought to the project.


• Team members may find out they have things in common.


• Personal favorites such as foods, movies and pets can be a point of discussion.


• Gain knowledge of the various environments team members may reside in,
  especially when weather conditions can be extremely hot or cold.


• Team members, who know more about their associates, are stronger in
  collaboration.

A study I performed with an offshore team was asked, “If you knew more about your team embers, would it improve their working relationship?”

• 64% of
  those who participated in the survey stated it would definitely improve
  the relationship of the members.

A unified team will only be as strong as the Project Manager creates. A team must know they are supported and respected for what they bring to the global table, since their cultural heritage cannot be left at a global door.

*Global environment – team members who may not be
sitting in the same office, floor or physical location as the manager.