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Whether or not alliance managers are aware of cultural differences in an alliance, they almost always exist. Individuals and companies from different regions of the world can have vastly different styles of communication, decision making, goal setting, and personal interaction. Even alliance partners from the same region can demonstrate such cultural differences. This session will explore the concept of culture as applied to managing alliances in the high-tech industry. The presenters have direct experience across both corporate and geographic cultural differences, and will provide specific examples of how they have managed alliances for success across cultural divides. This session will expand on the following premises: •Organizational culture can have a significant impact on alliance success rates •Identifying and managing alliances across cultural differences is fundamental to good alliance management practice •Alliance ecosystems are likely to fail if cultural differences are not taken into account
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Managing Alliances for SuccessAcross Cultural Divides
Andrew Masland (NEC)Judy Mirkin (Riverbed Technology)
What’s Different About This Session?
Not about building a culture of alliances in your organization
Rather, what if your culture is different from your alliance partner’s culture?
Country/Region Company Stature/Establishment
Stories convey culture and we will use them What are your stories?
Possible Cultural Divides
Across geography North America, Europe, Japan, Asia-Pacific What about South America and Africa?
Across company NEC, Microsoft, and more Hardware, software, and services
Across industry IT, education, healthcare
Within company, across geography
Cultural Divides Are Not New
Why can working across cultural differences be so hard?
We don’t notice our own culture and assume too much Intangibles Subtle differences
Not necessarily the organization’s alliance culture
Getting in Taxis
In the Business Meeting
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12
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3
Guest
Host
Making It Work … Embrace the Differences
Do your homework to understand your partner’s culture along all dimensions
Time
Food & Drink
Physical presence How is a room arranged? Who sits where? What do you wear? Is he/she really asleep? Physical characteristics
Making It Work … Communications
Language Written Spoken Real-time
‘Just because you don’t speak the language, don’t stop listening’ Non-verbal cues Verbal cues Approach
Style and usage
Non-verbal Body language Is it hard to verbalize certain topics?
Ambiguity
Making It Work … Decision Making
Who makes decisions? Individual vs. consensus
When & where are decisions made?
What’s the process? Time to decision
When “no” isn’t an option
Dealing with ambiguity
Making It Work … Alliance Goals
What’s the metric? Sales/revenue Product development? Marketing? Relationship?
What’s most important Quality Cost Time-to-market
Making It Work … Relationships
Are relationships important?
Executive relationships are important but not sufficient
Step out of your comfort zone Meals Onsen
Team building Break down cultural barriers Non-threatening exercises
Making It Work … Build Relationships
Where have you been?What was your favorite foreign country and why?Where do you want to go and why?
http://www.worldmapmaker.com/
In Conclusion … It’s Not Rocket Science
Identify and manage Stories illuminate culture
What works for this alliance? Face-to-face meetings Regular conference calls Is email easier?
Solicit help Co-workers Tutorials ASAP colleagues
Use culture to your advantage
Questions & Discussion
