Cultural issues

An in-company international project differs from an external international project such as localization. The language of the host country is spoken for the in-house project, and team members know each other and the corporate style.

However, a corporate culture does not mean exactly the same thing in all countries. Localization is needed for the corporate culture too. Especially when things go wrong, cultural values become a significant factor. In addition, different legal systems prevail in different parts of the world, and different ethical codes apply.

Building relationships among team members is important. The facilitator must provide biographical information on team members in advance, and clear background information. The leader and facilitator can build rapport by meeting with members individually. All team members need the chance to establish their identity and reputation or "face." This is critical for team members from Asia and Latin America.

Both spoken and written communications benefit from being concise and polite, according to the expectations in all cultures.

In some cultures, people are more reserved than in others, so the team must take care to elicit participation from everyone.

Editorial issues

Incomplete information is a common problem in international projects. Team members may seem to be saying "yes" to an assignment, but mean "no." Some participants do not want to say they can not meet a deadline. Sometimes deadlines are interpreted differently in different cultures. Sometimes participants will discuss an issue, but not commit to the points in writing. The order in which information is presented often varies from the agreed-upon style.

While all teams have members with various writing styles, the differences are more evident in international projects. All participants may speak the host country's project language, but there will be variations in fluency. In addition, ability to speak the host country's language in a technical or business context is different from ability to write a polished report. For some review sessions, it is advisable to have an in-house interpreter.

Non-native speakers of the host country language who are living in the host country (for example, Chinese people living in the US), typically are more fluent in writing than non-native speakers who are not living in the host country, (for example, Chinese people living in Singapore). In addition, people living in the host country are likely to allow the editor greater freedom to make changes.

The editor must adopt the appropriate tone with each author. In some cultures, a direct manner is offensive. In other cultures, it is required.

If the economy, political issues, or local circumstances beyond the control of team members are barriers to a successful project in a particular country, the editor must help the team show the problems while reflecting positively on the people involved. This requires a lot of diplomacy and tact.

Resolving editorial issues

An interpreter or non-host country team member can help with review sessions. The person can explain the conduct and purpose of the review session, detect any hard feelings before the meeting, and advise the editor how to deal with them.

Informal conversation can be used to open the meeting and establish the atmosphere. The editor can express concern for any misunderstanding about what was written and reassure participants they can speak their mind and say what the issues are.

The editor must diplomatically keep the focus on the goals of the project and painstakingly work on the language and content. Some points may not be clear to participants, or may be subject to misinterpretation. Other points may be clear and correct, but the participants may not like the tone.

Review sessions must continue until all participants are satisfied. More than one review session may be required. The team must balance meeting deadlines with resolving hard feelings, which dissipate over time, but linger long after a deadline has been met.

At the time of writing, Carolyn Luttrell was manager of the International Technical Communication SIG. Carolyn is a senior technical writer and instructional designer. She may be reached at the_oboist@yahoo.com.

 

Copyright © 2008 Society for Technical Communication. Site initially posted May 12, 2008. Items are dated when posted with the month and year. Find new items with Ctrl F; enter the month and year, for example, June 2005.