Decision Tips
Don’t assume people from other countries make decisions the same way you do.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
—St. Ambrose
Now semiretired and living in Florida, Chris Reed reflected back to 2008. At the time, except for vacations to Canada and Mexico, Chris had never been out of the United States. That changed when his employer, Exxon-Mobil, assigned him to Saudi Arabia.
Chris joined Exxon as a geologist in 1991, and all his projects with Exxon had been in the area around Midland, Texas. Born and raised in Dallas, Chris’s adjustment to Midland was easy. But in 2008, the company asked him to head up its exploration team on a $15 billion natural gas project in South Ghawar.
Chris quickly learned that he wasn’t in Midland, Texas, anymore. “People in South Ghawar were very different, and it was hard to adjust,” Chris says. “The company provided us with all the amenities of home, so I had nothing to complain about with my accommodations. But the Saudis I worked with weren’t at all like my coworkers back in Texas. Trust is very important in interactions with Saudis. In the U.S., we rely less on trust and more on contracts and legal documents. Saudis also seem to worry a lot about how a decision outcome will reflect on their family. That’s not a very big concern back home. And Arabs put a great emphasis on honor. You don’t want to cause an Arab to lose face. Dignity and reputation are very important. But probably nothing was harder to adjust to than the Saudis’ approach to time. Unlike Americans, they have great patience. Saudis are very flexible when it comes to time and schedules. Decision deadlines have little meaning to them. I was told it has something to do with their culture’s pattern of fatalism.”1
We are all products of the culture in which we were raised, and cultures differ. Studies indicate that cultures vary along a number of dimensions, for example, assertiveness, future orientation, and individualism versus collectivism.2 Americans, for instance, are more assertive than Swedes, more future-oriented than Russians, and more individualistic than the Japanese. In many Middle Eastern countries, people see life as essentially preordained (per Chapter 7, ‘Who Controls Your Destiny?” they would have high external locus of control scores). When something happens, they tend to see it as God’s will. In contrast, Americans and Canadians believe they can control nature. Western cultures also perceive time as a scarce resource. Because “time is money,” it needs to be used efficiently. So Americans, as a case in point, obsess with making and keeping appointments and are enamored with timesaving devices—such as day planners, overnight mail delivery, cell phones, DVR players, and remote control devices. Most people from Middle Eastern and Latin American countries don’t share this fixation with time and schedules that is so prevalent in North America.
The message of this chapter is that culture shapes decision making. Although many aspects of decision making are affected by culture, I limit our discussion to just a few. Let’s look at how culture influences problem solvability, rationality, consistency, goals, and risk propensity.
Some cultures emphasize solving problems, while others focus on accepting situations as they are. The United States falls in the former category; Thailand and Indonesia fall into the latter. Thais, for instance, may be slower to identify a problem and more reluctant to initiate change than their British or American counterparts.
The rational process described in Chapter 2, “The Search for Rationality,” makes no acknowledgement of cultural differences. Although rationality is valued in North America, Western Europe, and some other parts of the world, we can’t generalize around the globe. In the United States, for instance, a good decision is arrived at by ensuring that it is consistent with a person’s goals. To achieve that end, Americans are encouraged to set clear goals, identify all viable alternatives, carefully and thoughtfully evaluate those alternatives, and select the choice that best optimizes the goals. However, in countries such as Iran, where rationality is not deified, a good decision is likely to be made intuitively and to be judged against its alignment with Islamic tenants. In some parts of the world, spirituality, religion, or superstition is the driving force behind making choices—not rationality.
Cultural differences—specifically collectivism versus individualism—shape willingness to take risks. For instance, the Chinese have been found to be more risk seeking than Americans, particularly on investment decisions.3 Why? This seems to be the result of the fact that people in collectivist countries such as China are more likely to receive financial help from family members and relatives if they suffer a setback. If your culture provides a broader safety net, you’re more willing to take daring risks.
The dominant decision making style and practices in any given country reflect that country’s national culture.
The dominant decision making style and practices in any given country reflect that country’s national culture. Therefore, the process that defines a good decision in Canada may not be considered appropriate in China. As a result, don’t assume people from other countries make decisions the same way you do and don’t assume that because their decision process differs from yours that it is somehow inferior. Although rationality is idealized in decision making theory, this theory is culturally biased because most research and writing on the subject has been conducted by people from countries where goals and consistency are valued—like the United States, Canada, Western Europe, and Israel. Where good decision making is not judged by rationality, you should adjust your practices to reflect what is valued.
While rationality is idealized in decision making theory, it is culturally biased.
Where good decision making is not judged by rationality, adjust your practices to reflect what is valued.