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DIFFERENT LANGUAGES, DIFFERENT WORLDS 5

Closer to Home
In our world, there are others who are more like us. They have modern civiliza-
tions, political parties, industrial complexes and stocks and shares. Their clothes
resemble ours. We appear to have similar concepts and values. Yet for some rea-
son, the French and Germans don’t always get on. In Belgium half of society dis-
likes the other. The Chinese and Japanese are wary of each other, to say the least;
neighborly Swedes and Norwegians snipe at each other, and the mutual exasper-
ation that British and American cousins experience is only too well documented.

Truth. The concepts are shining and clear; our notions of them are different. The
German notion is that truth, absolute honest truth, even if somewhat unpalat-
able, will allow participants to achieve a successful outcome to a business meet-
ing. “Die Wahrheit ist die Wahrheit,” say the Germans. Not so, the Chinese would
argue—there is no absolute truth. These two conflicting views may both be cor-
rect. Many Americans, Norwegians and Finns would agree with the Germans;
most Asians and many Italians would agree with the Chinese.
In Germany, Sweden and Finland, where people are generally concerned
about what the neighbors think, the drive toward conformity imposes checks and
constraints on a person’s ability to refashion veracity. The French, Italians and
other Latins are not famous for their candor, which might interfere with the
smooth social intercourse they are so fond of. In Japan, where no one must face
exposure, be confronted or lose face, truth is a dangerous concept. In Asia, Africa
and South America, strict adherence to the truth would destroy the harmony of
the relationships between individuals, companies and entire segments of society.
Only in Australia is a spade called a spade continent wide, and even there truth
often occasions dismay and leads to fistfights.

Contracts and Ethics. As the globalization of business brings executives more fre-
quently together, there is a growing realization that if we examine concepts and
values, we can take almost nothing for granted. The word contract translates eas-
ily from language to language, but like truth, it has many interpretations. To a
Swiss, Scandinavian, American or Brit, a contract is a formal document that has
been signed and should be adhered to. Signatures give it a sense of finality. But a
Japanese businessperson regards a contract as a starting document to be rewrit-
ten and modified as circumstances require. A South American sees it as an ideal
that is unlikely to be achieved but that is signed to avoid argument.
Members of most cultures see themselves as ethical, but ethics can be turned
upside down. The American calls the Japanese unethical if the latter breaks a