Generalizations & Their Place In Intercultural Training

Every once in a while someone posts an article or comment on how putting people into certain cultural groups (Chinese, Brazilian, Nigerian) when describing values, behaviors, and work-styles is stereotyping.

Well...like most things, it depends.

The biggest danger I have (and I would argue all intercultural trainers have) is the danger of stereotyping. As a profession, we must always take care not to over-generalize about certain groups.

That said, in order to help people understand other national cultures and groups, I feel that generalizations are needed, and in fact, can be useful.

Allow me to stretch the idea of correlation and causation and apply them to intercultural theory.

If someone is Chinese, they may have a higher tendency to be an indirect communicator. This is not a stereotype. This is a generalization based on cultural norms.

"But not all Chinese are the same," you say. You're right! They aren't.

"We need to take into account gender, age, and regional differences." Yes, yes, and yes!

However, there is a general tendency, when compared to all cultures around the world, for the Chinese (as a whole) to fall more on the indirect side of the communication scale. 

It's akin to correlations. There is a high correlation between being Chinese & being an indirect communicator. This does not infer causality. In other words, this doesn't mean that your "Chineseness" will cause you to be indirect. It's not an If, Then statement - If you are Chinese, Then you are indirect. There is simply a positive relationship (correlation) that exists.

In intercultural training, if we completely remove the idea of certain groups sharing similar characteristics, then how can we help our clients build better relationships overseas?

Some seem to think that the answer lies in personality tests and assessments - that each person is unique and we should find out what their individual preferences are to know how to better interact with them. "Evaluate each person on the individual level," you say. "Look at their personality, not their culture." In an ideal world that would be great, but it's not realistic or practical.

Sure, for a team, perhaps. But if you are a businessperson traveling around the world selling your product, you won't be able to assess each person you meet. You can't just hand out a DISC assessment before every sales call 😊.

Isn't saying someone is Si (DISC) or INTJ (Myers-Briggs) akin to putting them into a cultural group with certain tendencies and preferences? They both are generalizations. No one behaves the same way every time in every situation.

Generalizations in intercultural training are extremely valuable - and so are assessments. Both just need be talked about intentionally and with care.

For more information on the future of global work and how to prepare your organization, contact me at hello@nicolebarile.com .

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