2. Bio - Raj Mudhar
Cultural: Born in Leeds, England, Father from Uganda,
Mother from India, live in Canada and work
around the world.
Employer: Alcatel-Lucent - 70000+ employees operating in
100+ countries. www.alcatel-lucent.com
Job: Agile Servant Leader - helping our Wireless
business transform, serving 9000+ employees.
Career: 16+ years in telecom as a programmer,
manager, cross-company partnership leader, and
head of R&D for the Korean 3G telecom market.
Interests: Culture, food, music.
Blog: http://rajile.com - Twitter: rmudhar
LinkedIn: http://ca.linkedin.com/in/rajmudhar
E-mail: raj@ripnet.com - raj.mudhar@alcatel-lucent.com
2011, Raj Mudhar - rajile.com
3. Acknowledgements
Linda Robinson, Nirmal Kaur Mudhar, and Kanwal
Mudhar-Graham - who tested my thinking.
Chitra Kasthuri, François Morin, Yong Wang, Lv Yi,
Robert Tingaud, and Catherine Louis who shared their
perspectives.
All the people on every international project I ever
worked on who taught me to be culturally aware.
2011, Raj Mudhar - rajile.com
5. The True Story of a
Cartesian Thinker
Part #1
2011, Raj Mudhar - rajile.com
6. “The way I was...“
Cartesian thinker - linear, abstract,
command & control mindset
History of success in the past using
traditional methods
Experienced and respected
Plan-driven Waterfall as the default
2011, Raj Mudhar - rajile.com
7. Now...
Lead an Agile program, using Scrum &
some XP (12 teams and growing)
Adopting Servant Leader principles
Aggressive impediment remover
Trust in teams
2011, Raj Mudhar - rajile.com
8. Exercise
List one cultural stereotype from your
own culture or one that you know well.
2011, Raj Mudhar - rajile.com
9. Artifacts & Products
The visible signs of culture.
This is the WHAT of culture - What you
see, hear, taste, smell.
The source of cultural stereotypes
Misunderstanding happens when you
apply your own rules and filters out of
context.
2011, Raj Mudhar - rajile.com
11. Exercise
List a value and a norm from a culture you know.
Value = How I aspire to behave
Norm = How I am expected to behave
2011, Raj Mudhar - rajile.com
12. Values & Norms
Values are the WHY of culture
Norms are HOW we live the values
2011, Raj Mudhar - rajile.com
13. Exercise
Ask yourself the five-why’s of a cultural value.
How long did it take before you arrived at a
point that defies explanation?
2011, Raj Mudhar - rajile.com
14. What is Culture?
What you see, taste,
Artifacts and Products smell, visible signs,
source of stereotypes
Norms and Values
Norms - how I should
Basic behave, Values - how I
Assumptions aspire to behave
Implicit
Like breathing - you
don’t even think about
it.
Explicit
Culture directs our actions
Source: Trompenaars/Hamden-Turner 2011, Raj Mudhar - rajile.com
15. Korean/French Team
Ok! We have a decision
A B
Time passes...
French - let’s see Korean -
where we are on the path to B. let’s see where we are on the
path to C.
A B
C
2011, Raj Mudhar - rajile.com
16. Exercise
Create a narrative of what you think
could have happened to cause the
disconnect between the French and
Korean team members.
What rules and filters did you apply?
What values and norms were at play?
2011, Raj Mudhar - rajile.com
17. Culture Map
Egalitarian Hierarchical Structures
Informal Formal Style
Individual Group Interests
Transactional Interpersonal Relationship
Direct Indirect Communication
Fluid Controlled Time
Internal External Control
Balance Status Motivation
Source: ALU CUlture Wizard 2011, Raj Mudhar - rajile.com
18. Exercise
A Scrum team does not have healthy conflict.
The team exhibits a lack of commitment and
finger-pointing. Consider a:
French Scrum team
Chinese Scrum team
American Scrum team.
Use the culture map for help.
What “could” be the problem?
M.C. Escher
2011, Raj Mudhar - rajile.com
19. Cultural Dimensions
Universalism versus Particularism
Rules Relationships
Communitarianism versus Individualism
The Group The Individual
Neutral versus Emotional
The range of feelings expressed
Diffuse versus Specific
The range of involvement
Achievement versus Ascription
How status is accorded
Source: Trompenaars/Hamden-Turner 2011, Raj Mudhar - rajile.com
20. Grey Zone
Each cultural dimension is a continuum
There is no one right place to be on the
continuum - all is dependent on the context
We run into trouble when we attempt to
simplify... stereotyping
Context is everything
2011, Raj Mudhar - rajile.com
21. The True Story of a
Cartesian Thinker
Part #2
2011, Raj Mudhar - rajile.com
22. Triggers for Change
Failure - a sense of urgency.
Simple, testable methods.
Recognized my culture, background,
education was getting in the way.
International experience taught me to keep an
open mind.
2011, Raj Mudhar - rajile.com
30. Universalism
Apply rules and
procedures universally
to ensure equity and
consistency although...
We do not want to Central
We do not want to
drown in chaos or lose Guidelines
degenerate into rigidity
our sense of central with local
and bureaucracy so we
direction so we must... adaptations
must...
and discretion
Encouraging flexibility
by adapting to particular
situations. However...
Particularism
Source: Trompenaars/Hamden-Turner 2011, Raj Mudhar - rajile.com
31. Individualism
Encourage individual
freedom and
responsibility, however...
Give clear
objectives that
We need to avoid We do not want to
need
conformism and slow degenerate into self-
individual
decision-making so centeredness or forced
initiative and
we must... compromise, so we must...
accountability
to succeed
Encourage individuals to
work for consensus in the
interest of the group,
although...
Communitarianism
Source: Trompenaars/Hamden-Turner 2011, Raj Mudhar - rajile.com
32. Specific, Low Context
The quality of the
product
can be developed
needs to be developed
because it ultimately
so that eventually
is a guarantee for
The quality of the
relationship
Diffuse, High Context
Source: Trompenaars/Hamden-Turner 2011, Raj Mudhar - rajile.com
33. Achievement
We need to reward
what our people achieve
based on skill, but...
Respect what
We do not want to be We want to avoid the
people are so we
hindered in our achievement instability that comes
can better take
by not challenging the from only valuing recent
advantage of
status quo, so... performance, so we must...
what they do
Respect who our people are
based on their experience,
although...
Ascription
Source: Trompenaars/Hamden-Turner 2011, Raj Mudhar - rajile.com
34. Patterns of Speech
Anglo-Saxon - silence is uncomfortable
- take turns speaking, interrupting is
rude
Latin - interrupt often to indicate
interest and engagement
Asian - Silence to process what is said is
a sign of respect
2011, Raj Mudhar - rajile.com
35. Showing Emotion
French, Italian, Spanish - showing
emotion is prevalent - words are not
enough
American - show emotion but separate it
from rational, objective argument
Korean - within “clans” emotion is ok
but with outsiders, it is not
2011, Raj Mudhar - rajile.com
36. The Boss Outside
Work
China - the boss is the boss outside work
- significant influence
France/USA/Finland - the boss is just
another person outside work - limited
influence
2011, Raj Mudhar - rajile.com
37. Corporate Culture
Hierarchical
Family Eiffel Tower
(Latin) (German)
It’s who you know -
Structure, titles
your network
Expertise
Power oriented
Person Task
Incubator Guided Missile
(Silicon Valley) (Anglo-Saxon)
Management by passion
Mgt. by Objectives
Controlled Chaos
MBAs
Driver to work here is
Not people focused
learning more than money
Egalitarian
Source: Trompenaars/Hamden-Turner 2011, Raj Mudhar - rajile.com
38. Corporate Culture
Hierarchical
Person Task
our
does y re
Where s cultu
y’
compan gle or
n
fit? Si ltures?
cu
m ultiple Egalitarian
2011, Raj Mudhar - rajile.com