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</head><body text="#000000">A very accurate summation in my opinion.<br>
<br>
Thank you<br>
<br>
John<br>
<br>
<span>Imre Samu wrote on 5/3/2023 1:03 PM:</span><br>
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<div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr">Courtney <<a
href="mailto:courtney.williamson@gmail.com" target="_blank"
moz-do-not-send="true">courtney.williamson@gmail.com</a>> ezt írta
(időpont: 2023. ápr. 30., V, 19:06):<br></div><div class="gmail_quote"><blockquote
class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px
solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr"><div>This
conversation has opened up important new questions. Why is the main
"Talk" channel the only one that is producing pushback? Why is it
the only one that is producing such a negative tone? </div></div></blockquote><div><br></div><div>Hi
Courtney,<br></div><div><br>I think it's important to mention the
problems arising from <b>intercultural differences</b> </div><div>in
your SOTM US - OSM Communication Presentation, as the OSM community
currently struggles with misunderstandings between different cultural
groups.</div><div><br>Although the "OSM Diversity Statement" has been
accepted, its practical implementation isn't fully successful yet. <b>Ethnocentric
attitudes</b> need to be addressed, and we must be more open to other
cultures. However, this is easier said than done.</div><div><br></div><div>IMHO:<br>Most
conflicts within the OSM community and on the OSM-Talk mailing list are
due to <b>intercultural differences,</b> and there's no current
mediation or conflict resolution in place. It might be helpful to have
"intercultural mediators" who can bridge the gap between cultures and
help understand other cultural groups. </div><div><br></div><div>I
mainly notice the clash between American and EU/German cultures, but
other cultural conflicts are likely as well.</div><div><br></div><div>Probably
the EU/German OSM community needs to learn how to wrap their raw,
honest messages in a sugar coating, making it more palatable for those
with an American cultural background. Conversely, the American community
should strive to be less sensitive towards differing norms from other
cultural communities, embracing the deep-level diversity that comes with
global collaboration. ( [1], [2] )<br></div><div><br></div><div>Unfortunately,
the current OSM Etiquette Guidelines [ <a
href="https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Etiquette/Etiquette_Guidelines"
moz-do-not-send="true">https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Etiquette/Etiquette_Guidelines</a>
] do not provide much assistance in understanding and resolving
intercultural issues. To improve the guidelines, it would be beneficial
to incorporate information on intercultural communication and provide
resources to help community members navigate these challenges
effectively. This would promote a more inclusive and harmonious
environment within the OSM community.</div><div><br></div><div>In
addition to this, new OSM community members should be prepared for the
potential culture shock they may encounter, especially those who come
from a top-down corporate environment. It's important to remember that
OpenStreetMap is characterized by a bazaar-style, bottom-up
communication approach, which may be an adjustment for some. Embracing
this unique aspect of the community will help newcomers adapt and thrive
in the OSM environment.<br></div><div><br></div><div>In fact, this is a
big topic, and when I consider the OSM community problems from the past
few years through the viewpoint of cultural differences, it gives me a
good understanding of the reasons. <br></div><div><br></div><div>Generally,
the OSM Talks mailing list is characterized by <b>"deep-level
diversity," and as a result, more productive conflicts are expected than
usual,</b> which is normal based on some diversity research [3]. This
means that diverse perspectives and experiences can lead to more
engaging discussions and ultimately result in innovative solutions and
ideas for the community.</div><div><br><div>I would be curious about
others' opinions as well. To what extent can cultural diversity be a
problem? And how can we alleviate conflicts and amplify the advantages
arising from cultural differences?<br></div><div><br></div></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>contexts:</div><div>[1]<br></div><div><i>""According
to Hofstede, a typical conversation in a German cultural context is
characterized by a large degree of honesty, even if it hurts.</i><br></div><div><i>Consequently,
Germans are perceived to be among the most direct communicators in the
world (Yin, 2002).<br>Presumably, the strategy “be honest even if it
hurts” offers the other party the opportunity to understand and learn
from possible mistakes.<br>In a qualitative study, Yin (2002) explored
the concept of German wahrheit (truth), in terms of a German standard
for communicating in public.<br>She describes wahrheit as expressions of
an individual’s personal opinions, using the first pronoun: “The
wahrheit can be displayed in a manner that implicitly or explicitly
indicates the rightness of one’s own opinion. In public talk, as one
German informant put it, ‘Telling the wahrheit hurts a little bit, but
it’s okay’” (Yin, 2002, p. 249). As a result, frank and forthright
discussion with open disagreement for the sake of the discussion is
preferred" Indeed, not directly telling the wahrheit was perceived as
hiding personal opinions or lying by the German participants in Yin’s
(2002) study.<br>...<br>Additionally, Yin’s (2002) findings suggest that
German and U.S.-American meetings might differ in terms of the
frequency of counteractive meeting behaviors. Her finding that Germans
were more outspoken, cared particularly for telling the honest truth
(even if it hurts), and expected others to do so as well, could imply a
higher tendency to show counteractive behavior. For example, complaining
as one type of counteractive behavior can also be an expression of
honest criticism of the current situation. Similarly, complaining can be
used as a means to “vent” about the current situation of a team (cf.
Lehmann-Willenbrock & Kauffeld, 2010). We argue that these behaviors
will only occur if they are socially acceptable. According to Yin
(2002), open and honest criticism is far more likely among Germans
compared to U.S.-Americans.<br>"""</i><br></div><div>Observing Culture:
Differences in U.S.-American and German Team Meeting Behaviors<br></div><div>March
2014 Group Processes & Intergroup Relations 17(2):252-271<br>DOI:10.1177/1368430213497066<br></div><div>read
more:</div><div><a
href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/260425358_Observing_Culture_Differences_in_US-American_and_German_Team_Meeting_Behaviors"
target="_blank" moz-do-not-send="true">https://www.researchgate.net/publication/260425358_Observing_Culture_Differences_in_US-American_and_German_Team_Meeting_Behaviors</a></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>[2.]</div><div><i>"Generally
speaking, Americans do not like to directly disagree with another
person. They are more harmonious in negotiating and like to find a
“Win-Win” solution. Therefore, Americans don’t usually use the word
“No”. When disagreeing they may say, “I see your point, however you
might want to consider…” or “Additionally, I would add…” or “Perhaps we
might want to look at this way…”</i></div><div class="gmail_quote"><i><br></i></div><i>Germans
prefer to debate a point to find the best option, and this debate can
be quite direct, and even hurtful for Americans. When Germans disagree
they will start a sentence with, “No, I think…” or directly say, “I
disagree.” Or even, ‘That idea doesn’t make any sense.’<br><br></i></div><div
class="gmail_quote"><i>Americans interpret “No” as a blocking the
conversation. It ends the conversation for them. As well as seeing it as
rude and potentially harming the relationship. Germans interpret
someone agreeing all the time as weak and not able to make a good point.
“No” for Germans is making a good argument by offering another idea.
But it does not necessarily mean they have made up their mind in a final
manner. Additionally, the American subtle (positive) way of disagreeing
is misunderstood by Germans and they can walk out of a meeting thinking
they have agreement when they don’t.<br><br></i></div><div
class="gmail_quote"><i>Another word that is different is “problem”.
Germans use problem to describe any issue, concern, worry, difficulty,
and obstacle or possible mistake. To an American’s ears everything is a
problem to Germans and again they interpret this as a block to a
solution. The word “problem” for an American is usually a crisis. It is
something that may not be easily solvable. For a German a problem is
something that can most likely be solved. It does not sound as negative
to a German as to an American. Americans use “issue”, “concern”,
“challenge”, or “opportunity” for the word “problem”. And in turn, these
words may be confusing to the German who again may think there isn’t a
problem."</i></div><div class="gmail_quote"><i><br></i></div><div
class="gmail_quote">read more: <a
href="https://blogs.sap.com/2006/07/24/german-american-cooperation-unexpected-cultural-differences/"
moz-do-not-send="true">https://blogs.sap.com/2006/07/24/german-american-cooperation-unexpected-cultural-differences/</a><div><br></div><div>[3.]
<br>"Team creativity/innovation in culturally diverse teams: A
meta-analysis"</div><div>First published: 27 February 2019 <a
href="https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2362" moz-do-not-send="true">https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2362</a><br></div><div>PDF: <a
href="https://gwern.net/doc/sociology/technology/2019-wang.pdf"
moz-do-not-send="true">https://gwern.net/doc/sociology/technology/2019-wang.pdf</a></div><div><i>"This
meta-analysis investigates the direction and strength of the
relationship between diversity in culturally diverse teams and team
creativity/innovation. We distinguish the effects of two diversity
levels (i.e., surface level vs. deep level) in culturally diverse teams
and examine the moderators suggested by the socio-technical systems
framework (i.e., team virtuality and task characteristics in terms of
task interdependence, complexity, and intellectiveness)...."</i></div><div><br></div><div>Best
regards, </div><div> Imre</div><div>From the Hungarian culture, which
might be closer to the German culture than the American one.<br></div><div><br></div></div></div>
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<pre wrap="">_______________________________________________
talk mailing list
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:talk@openstreetmap.org">talk@openstreetmap.org</a>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk">https://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk</a>
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