Archiv der Kategorie: Communication

Communication consists of perception, thought models and communication behavior.

Culture – the essential information bubble

A look at cultures always takes place from the individual perspective of the own origin. The description uses words, associations and beliefs that are unconsciously determined by the culture in which you have grown up. This begins with the filtered attention that only notices aspects for which the viewer is accustomed to – are individuals or groups at the center of interest? This continues with the world view, which provides explanatory patterns for the observed facts, e.g. religious or secular convictions. The words that are used by the observing culture are available for the description, e.g. the interpretation of terms such as freedom, work, and government. If it is followed by an action, then this act is based on the possibilities of one’s society, e.g. imprisonment vs. corporal punishment. Already Ludwig Wittgenstein mentioned “Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent.” This turns our personal culture into the essential information bubble.

The following examples are cultural dimensions that hold this information bubble together.

  • Socialization
    One focal point of growing into the world is the social focus on oneself versus on one’s own group. The emphasis on independence and one’s own needs is an individualistic orientation. If, on the other hand, the group is the center of attention, then the affiliation and subordination of one’s own interests to the group determines one’s own identity.
    When different points of view come together, the participants focus on their learned standards. For example, while the collectivists ignore the desire for personal freedom, the individualists are missing the need for affiliation. This blind spot is preserved by the constant exchange of already familiar ideas. Socialization stabilizes the information bubble that is isolated from otherness and results in the known exclusions – e.g. Xenophobia, nationalism, and racism.
  • Hierarchy
    The relationship between people is essentially determined by the understanding of the position, the influence and the responsibilities. Hierarchical societies quickly accept the claim to power and the decisions of superiors. At the same time, this view relieves the burden of responsibility, because the higher-ranking persons naturally take over their responsibility. Egalitarian societies, which practice a flat hierarchy with group members of equal rank, are skeptical about power claims. Since they meet at eye level, they do not understand when they are presented a fait accompli without asking and then are still expected to be committed. The understanding and acceptance of a stratification of society and the associated roles can quickly lead to tensions between different cultures – e.g. lack of or too much respect, required decisiveness.
  • Time
    Differences in culture are often attached to the dealing with time. This begins with the division of time into fixed sections or flowing transitions. With the introduction of ever more accurate clocks, the day could be split into finer and finer segments. Nevertheless, cultures differ in the handling of appointments – e.g. Punctuality, duration, timeliness. This includes the use of time for one or more tasks at a time – e.g. multitasking, single tasking. Strongly internalized is the division into past, present, and future. Past-oriented people value experience and established approaches. In the here and now it is all about short-term, quick outcomes. Future-oriented people are not interested in the current situation and Quick-wins, but in long-term, sustainable results. You can easily determine the view on time with the following questions for oneself and others: Where do you see the future? Where do you point, if you indicate the past? In most parts of the world it has become accustomed that we find the future ahead of us and that we point backwards into the past. There are, in fact, nations, where it is the other way around. The past is visibly in front of them and the future lies invisibly behind their back. The cultural sense of time results in filtered reports that hide other perceptions of time.

Bottom line: The few examples should make it clear that we all float in an information bubble that distorts or at least burdens our look at other areas. Our socialization has made us personalities shaped by the surrounding. The responsibility is determined by our understanding of hierarchy. Dealing with time determines the perspective of the information bubble. So today, when we talk about the information bubble and alternative facts, it is not necessarily a matter of populists, but a necessary understanding of the cultural differences. Long before the political opinions of lobbyists we are already caught up in our cultural information bubble. We only overcome the limit, when we try to break free of it and behave openly and tolerantly towards the unknown and the strange. Culture is the essential information bubble that limits us.

Game rules – the ideal metaphor for the elements of Governance

All team sports have the playing field, the types of player, and the rules of the game in common. From the beginnings of football in China, 4000 years ago, rules are not passed on. However, it is believed that it was initially a training program for soldiers. From less than 1800 years ago, rules are known, which had to get control on the physical powers of the players’. Then, for over a thousand years, the game was forgotten in Europe. The restart in 1848 began immediately with the establishment of football rules, which are refined until today. They include a specific culture, the distribution of the playing field, general parameters and possibilities for sanctioning, as well as clear roles. The actual game is developing within this framework in thrilling variants – the same way as the business in the framework of the governance. This text also expands the purpose of the Governance!

The governance provides the following elements: the principles, the business alignment, various definitions and above all defined roles.

  • Principles
    In soccer the fair play, the compliance, as well as the aggressive and defensive strategies are common principles. In business they define the culture and the self-understanding of a company. They should answer the following questions: Where are we within 10 years? What are our characteristics? Where are we from? What is our history? Why do we exist? What’s our purpose? What makes us successful? What’s our USP? How do we see ourselves? What are our values and beliefs? What are the attributes of our products? The principles behave like cement that stabilizes the mortar in a way that it holds together.
  • Business alignment
    The teams agree on which half of the playing field is assigned to which team. The objective is to score a goal. Also in business the areas come to an agreement – endorsed by the leading team. The following aspects are important: What is the purpose of the unit? How do we exchange our ideas? How do we cooperate? Which roles (TAR) are available? How to find an agreement? The business alignment works like the mixture ratio of sand, lime and water that depend on the usage.
  • Glossary
    The different sports have comprehensive, special jargons, which one has to learn. The business also uses a special vocabulary. The glossary determines this terminology of the company. Therefore the following questions are important: Which terms are crucial for the cooperation? How do we get clear formulations? How do we guarantee completeness? When is a term described correctly? Also mortar consists of a set of terminology that describes the variants (e.g. masonry mortar, plaster mortar) as well as the components (e.g. sand, lime).
  • Critical success factors (CSF)
    The game is determined by factors that the coach wants to improve through intensive preparation, e.g. passes, goal accomplishment and other standard situations. In business the CSFs are the key figures of the success that are crucial for surviving and which improve the competitive ability. In the following areas the threatening aspects can be found: within the processes, in the market, at the customer side, within the applied technologies, within the information, within leadership etc. You also have to take care of certain CSFs, when you use mortar, e.g. the temperature or the mixing ratio.
  • Metrics
    In team competitions the scored points, i.e. goals or baskets, are the ultimate measure. The more comprehensive metrics in business provide generic metrics. Based on a Balanced Scorecard the growth, customer and financial perspectives as well the internal perspectives such as status of the life cycle, the processes, the quality and the governance are described. The relevant metrics are for example the individual mixings of the mortar.
  • Guidelines
    The rules of the game in football are globally valid and evolve continuously, as one can see in the video replay referee. The guidelines in the company are more extensive, cover all fundamental regulations and are reachable to all members of the unit. The older the enterprises, the more rules have been accumulated concerning organization, personnel, report system, laws, values, and the management of IT, risks and changes. The same way various use cases determine the composition of the mortar.
  • Roles
    Striker, goalkeeper, referee and linesman are an extract of the roles in soccer. In business, the roles provide a generic approach to individual job descriptions. They consist of tasks, authority and responsibility. Tasks are well defined, if the functions, goals, processes and available resources are clear. The authority regulates the powers concerning decision, control, information etc. The responsibility determines the qualities that should be fulfilled, like completeness, correctness or timeliness. There are also various roles when you use mortar: brick layer, master of concrete, foreman, etc.

Bottom line: Governance, with its principles, business alignment, general determinations and roles, provides a simple basis for the interaction of the different areas. Game rules, as in football, provide similar definitions like e.g. the marked out playing field and the roles of the different participants. For that reason, the game rule is an ideal metaphor for the components of governance.