A Sexual Harassment Case

We recently came across a situation in a multi national corporation in New York that involved a sexual harassment case. We were not asked to consult in the matter, as it is not our mission to solve such cases, but I felt that it would be a good subject for this month's newsletter as it reflects the importance of communicating across cultures, and the gaps that exist due to different paradigms.

The Setting

The setting was a multi-national organization; the alleged offender was a gentleman from Kazakhstan, (former Soviet Union republic) who was supervising the alleged victim, a woman of Filipino origin. The organization tried to settle the matter internally before the matter was litigated and a Japanese manager was assigned to arbitrate in the matter.

The abuse was in through a hand gesture, with the Kazakh supervisor criticizing the work of the Filipino employee and making a hand gesture (incidentally the same hand gesture means different things in different countries). The woman protested that she did not deserve such a comment and asked for an apology, and when that was not forth coming, launched a formal complaint.

After the formal complaint, the Japanese manager and the Kazakh supervisor tried to work things out in a number of meetings before things went to a tribunal and failed to do so. The Japanese manager felt abused and threatened by the confrontational and loud communication style of the Kazakh. The Japanese manager henceforth declined to meet the Uzbek supervisor, and refused to take his calls. The Japanese manager then moved to suggest that a tribunal decide on the matter.

Each of the individuals had 10-15 years of work experience, were University graduates and were used to working in multi cultural settings. The outcome of the tribunal is not clear, but what is important in the case is to understand the cultural paradigm's of the different individuals as one of the reasons why the matter escalated.

Management Science

Hofstede and Trompenaar's are the two guru's of cultural diversity and its effects on the workplace. Both have undertaken research in numerous countries of the world. I prefer the work Trompenaars who based his findings on mid level managers. ( Hofstede's sample consisted of entry level employees)

Trompenaar's uses 7 different cultural aspects to view the differences between people. The subject matter is lengthy and deep and this newsletter is not the place to discuss the matter in detail, but the parameters are as follows:

• Relationships and rules
  The universal versus the particular



• The group and the individual
  Concepts of individualism and collectivism



• Feelings and relationships
  Affective versus neutral cultures



• How far we get involved
  Specific versus diffuse cultures



• How we accord status
  Status by ascription or economic development



• How we manage time
  Orientation to past, present or future



• How we relate to nature
  Controlling nature or letting it take its course

The cultural gap and paradigms of individuals of different cultures
The cultural paradigm's of each of the individuals differs greatly and has to be considered in great detail. Below are some of the characteristics of the different nationalities:

The Kazakh Supervisor:
Kazakhstan is a male dominated culture. Kazakh women are not expected to shake the hands of Kazakh men. Hard talk, gestures, touching and back clapping between men, loud speech, display of manliness in confrontational and direct approaches are the norm. Sexual remarks, cursing and hand signs are not uncommon.

The Filipino assistant
Filipino's do not like to be confrontational. Messages are given indirectly. Personal space is very small. Touching between genders and amongst themselves is common. Raising ones voice is considered impolite and rude. It is impolite to say 'no' to someone. The Filipino will come up with numerous ways to tell you 'no' without actually saying 'no' directly.

The Japanese manager
Japanese do not like to be confrontational. Direct confrontation is avoided, with messages given indirectly or through use of different means. Dignity and respect are very important.

Perception of the individuals:

• The hand gesture made by the Kazakh was a reflection of the quality of the work performed by the Filipino assistant and was his way of voicing dissatisfaction.



• The way it came across to the Filipino assistant was that she was being intimidated and invited to have sexual intercourse with her supervisor.



• The interaction between the Kazakh supervisor and the Filipino assistant broke down, because the Kazakh could not apologize to a female junior employee, for a comment he made, which he viewed as normal venting of frustration.



• The problematic interaction between the Kazakh supervisor and the Japanese manager was a result of the Kazakh's demonstration of manliness when in exclusively male settings, confronting the Japanese manager in a direct and loud mode. The Japanese manager felt threatened and intimidated by the Kazakh's style and felt that he had lost face.

Based on their cultural paradigms, the 3 people involved were not able to communicate and resolve the issue on hand. Multi cultural settings can be most challenging and sometimes frustrating. It takes long years of experience to bridge the cultural gap and manage across paradigms successfully.

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