跨文化商务沟通
培训
人民大学商学院
双语培训师：张初愚
跨文化商务沟通（Intercultural Business
Communication）是近期向中国读者引入的一门
新学科，它以新的概念，从新的视角探讨如何在
经济全球化背景中把跨文化商务沟通学科应用到
国际商务活动及跨国管理中，使跨文化交际能为
我国的改革开放与经济建设做出贡献。
跨文化商务沟通就是把文化、沟通与商务三
个变量整合为一体而形成的新的学科。跨文化沟
通学是一个新的概念，是不同文化背景的经营管
理者之间的交流。跨文化商务沟通学综合了跨文
化交际学、管理与经营学科的优势，弥补了单一
学科的不足，并随着经济全球化的深入而不断发
展。
跨文化交际学现在已经成为一门成熟完整的
科学体系，在其发源地美国，有一百三十多所大
学开设跨文化交际学课程，不少学校开始授予跨
文化交际学硕士和博士学位。美国跨文化交际学
的发展历程值得我们借鉴，因为我国现在所呈现
出的跨文化问题与美国社会当初发展时出现过的
跨文化问题有相同之处，尤其在沿海城市和大城
市这些跨文化问题更为突出。
跨文化商务沟通可以从文化价值观、思维的
方式、交际策略出发，也可以从经营理念、管理
模式、人力资源及企业文化的角度来分析跨国公
司经营中的各种问题和现状，并提出行之有效的
解决和管理方案。
推荐教材
《全球化工作环境中的跨文化沟通》（英文版）Intercultural
Communication in the Global Workplace 作者: Iris Varner & Linda
Beamer
上海外语教育出版社 ISBN 7-5446-0046-7 / H - 0014
《跨文化沟通》（中文版） 作者: Iris Varner & Linda Beamer 译
者：高增安等
机械工业出版社 ISBN 7-111-17623-5
《中西文化之鉴》（英文版）作者：Linell Davis
外语教学与研究出版社 ISBN 7-5600-1767-3
《国际商务误区》（英文版）Blunders in International Business
作者：David Ricks
出 版 社： John Wiley & Sons ISBN 9781405134927
国际经理人由于不了解其它文化，造成的笑话和犯的错误
不胜枚举，对此，美国国际商务学者David Ricks特意把许
多大公司在国际商务中因对它国文化不了解而酿成失败的
事例编撰成《国际商务误区》（International Business
Blunders）一书，以警世人。在外交上，最大的跨文化错误
莫过于尼克松在第一次访问巴西时所犯的，如果了解尼克
松的人都知道他最喜欢的手势，也是他的代表手势，就是
高举双手做ok状，这一手势在美国文化里是代表胜利和友
好，然而，在巴西就不然了，在巴西文化这是最下流的手
势，等于美国文化里竖起中指的手势。可以想象一下这么
一幕，尼克松在巴西首都机场走出机门，面对全巴西人民
和世界煤体，高举他那双手，打着ok手势，还不断前后摇
摆，就像他赢得竞选胜利一般。第二天，巴西所有的煤体
的头条都是尼克松这一手势的相片，尼克松这一错误所造
成的影响，不言而喻。
跨文化沟通是20世纪末在欧美西方国家为了适应国际
商务活动的需要而兴起的一门新兴学科，在研究跨国
企业的过程中应运而生，主要研究和比较在不同国家
和文化中的组织行为。跨文化沟通能力的提升，可以
有效地协同不同文化对组织行为的影响，可以有效地
与来自不同国家和文化背景的人员交流互助。
我们应当提高对文化的认知，培养深厚的文化意识。
文化是和民族的形成密切相连的。
中国与西方文化有着巨大的差异，我们以德国为例做
个比较。
民族的形成
无论古代中国还是古代的希腊和罗马，最初出现的史前民族或
者原始人群都不是一个人类集团，而是多个人类集团。这用一
些学者的话来说，就叫做“多元格局”。更为类似的现象还有，
在这几个地区，至少参与创造历史的人类恰好都有三大集团。
古代中国的三大人类集团，按照徐旭生的看法，分别是指华夏
集团、东夷集团和苗蛮集团。其中，华夏集团最初活动在西北
（陕西），东夷集团居于东方（华东），苗蛮集团居于南方
（江汉）。这三大集团实际上主要集中在中原地区，他们共同
构成了后来的汉族，或是后来汉族的共同来源。
古代希腊和古代罗马（确切地说，应该是古代意大利），也有
他们各自的三大人类集团或种族。与希腊人相比，古意大利的
原始人群更多也更复杂，他们分别是指拉丁人、萨贝尔人和埃
特鲁斯坎人。
奴隶制社会后期，罗马人建立了一个横跨欧亚的大帝国——
罗马帝国。罗马人把居住在罗马帝国北方的外族部落称为“
蛮族”。这些外族部落人数最多的是克尔特人、日耳曼人和
斯拉夫人。而这时的日耳曼人，还处于氏族社会末期。到了
公元1世纪至3世纪，各日耳曼人部落开始结成联盟，其中较
大的一支就是法兰克。
这时的罗马帝国已从奴隶制社会发展的顶峰衰落下来，罗马
帝国摇摇欲坠。与此同时，被当时中国汉朝打败的匈奴人的
一部分，经中亚向西迁徙入侵欧洲，引起了连锁反应式的“
民族大迁徙”，很多外族部落纷纷迁移到罗马帝国境内。外
族人在罗马帝国境内建立了自己的王国，将罗马帝国瓜分。
作为日耳曼人一支的法兰克人，也乘这个大动荡的机会，侵
入罗马帝国境内，建立了法兰克王国。这时的法兰克王国，
正在瓦解过程中的氏族制度同原罗马帝国境内日益发展的封
建因素相结合，形成了西欧的封建制。
以法兰克王国为主要代表的日耳曼人建立起来的各个王国，
在公元5世纪将过去的不成文的习惯法编纂为成文法典。由
于日耳曼人各部落的习惯大同小异，所以各王国的法律的基
本精神也是大体相同的。日耳曼法同罗马法一样，对近代资
本主义法律也起着相当大的影响。日耳曼法强调个人服从集
体，个人的权利义务要受到家庭和氏族的制约。后来的法学
家称日耳曼法的这个特点为“团体中心”，以区别于尊重个
人意志，严格保护私有财产。以个人为中心的罗马法，这种
“团体中心”的倾向，在日后的日耳曼民族的历史上，仍可
见到它的踪影。
日耳曼法中没有抽象的法规，只有针对具体生活关系规定解
决具体案件的规则。一个案件的判决不仅解决这个案件，而
且也是以后审判同类案件的根据。这些判例汇集起来，就构
成了日耳曼法的法典。
法兰克王国连年不断地发动战争，使自己的领土扩张得很
大，几乎相当于现在的西欧。但好景不长，这个建立在武
力征服基础上的王国，于公元843年分裂成三个部分：法兰
西王国、德意志王国、意大利王国。
法兰西王国是西欧封建制度的中心和典型代表。在法国，
封建庄园代替了过去的农村公社，成为封建社会的基层组
织。庄园土地属封建领主所有，国王、教会或大领主拥有
几百个甚至上千个庄园。
盎格鲁-萨克逊人的祖先来自欧洲大陆，是日耳曼人中的盎
格鲁人、萨克森人。今天的英国人称他们是盎格鲁-撒克逊
人的后代，这些来自欧洲北部的人说的就是最早的古英语。
大不列颠岛的土著居民是来自比利牛斯半岛的伊比利亚人，
他们以创造了巨石文化而著称。后来，克尔特人中的不列
颠人、别尔格人等从大陆进入大不列颠岛，同化了土著居
民。从公元5世纪起，盎格鲁人、萨克逊人进入不列颠。他
们同化、消灭了一部分克尔特人，将另一部分克尔特人驱
赶到西南和西北部的山区。他们是今天苏格兰人、威尔士
人和爱尔兰人的祖先。9世纪，丹麦人对不列颠的侵略，促
进了盎格鲁-萨克逊人的形成。1066年，来自法国的诺曼人
征服了不列颠，他们在英法百年战争后融合在盎格鲁-萨克
逊人中。
《周易》塑造了中国人的思维结构和思维模式
中国的思想文化渊源离不开儒释道。释，即佛，是外来的。
儒道是本土的。佛家讲“出世”，儒家讲“入世”。道家一半“出
世”，一半“入世”。儒家和道家的观点尽管不同，但他们的思
维模式却是相同的，即都是一种以阴阳为代表的辩证思维。南
怀瑾先生认为，中国各朝代在鼎盛时期的政事治理上，有一个
共同的秘诀，即“内用黄老，外示儒术”。也就是说，自汉唐以
来，内在的真正实际的领导思想，是黄老之学，来自《易经》。
《易经》以阴阳的变化来解释世界，并称 “一 阴一阳谓之
道”。这就是把阴阳的矛盾看成是变化发展的根本之道。。清
朝的大学士纪小岚在编纂《四库全书》的时候，经反复思虑，
还是把《周易》放在“经部”的首位，即《易》《书》《诗》
《礼》《乐》《春秋》。因为《周易》代表了“中国式的思维”
，渗透到了 文化的各个领域。中国人的人生、交际、谋略、
兵法、管理、政治、中医、艺术，无一不打上了《周易》的痕
迹。翻开《论语》、《道德经》、《孙子兵法》、《黄帝内经
》、《鬼谷子》，我们都能从中嗅到《周易》的味道。
老子在《道德经》中提出了一系列
相互对立又相互维系的概念：如有
无、阴阳、大小、强弱、静燥、正
反、生死、存亡、兴衰、美丑、善
恶、攻守、治乱、古今等等。这种
阴阳矛盾的根本之道用太极图形象
地展现了出来。
直到今天中国人的传统理性思
维仍是“阴阳鱼”式的，一分为二，
相对相合，互有掺混，此长彼消，
福祸相依，成败相随，物极必反，
否极泰来，办事讲究迂回进入、张
弛有度、过犹不及、以退为进、内
方外圆、刚柔互济……
子贡救鲁
子贡姓端木，名赐，春秋卫国人，生于公元前
520~456年，孔子高徒之一，小孔子三十一岁，
辩才出众，善外交与经商。
《史记·仲尼弟子列传》记载了孔门弟子这样一
段史实，齐国的田常想作乱夺权，因而生计伐鲁。
“孔子闻之，谓门弟子曰：‘夫鲁，坟墓所处，父
母之国。国危如此，二三子何为莫出?’子路请出，
孔子止之。子张、子石(公孙龙)请行，孔子弗许。
子贡请行，孔子许之。”孔子知道，子贡有这个才
能解救鲁国的这场灾难。“故子贡一出，存鲁、乱
齐、破吴、强晋而霸越。子贡一使，使势相破，十
年之中，五国各有变。”
子贡受命，先到齐国，说服田常，使之放弃伐鲁。【鲁，
国小，城低，地贫，君愚，民厌战---难攻；应攻吴，国大，
城高，物丰，粮足，兵精，将强---易攻。内有忧患打强国，
外有忧患打弱国。田常三次分封未成，皆因其他大臣反对。】
田常按约定下先按兵不动，然后去攻强吴。子贡乘机又跑到吴
国，告诉吴王这个消息，并说服吴王要以救鲁为名，先发制人，
出兵齐国。但吴王顾虑对齐用兵，担心越国背后攻吴，只同意
先攻越国，然后再去伐齐。【明援鲁，实弱齐。存越显仁德，
伐齐震诸侯。让越出兵助伐齐，实使越兵内空虚。】子贡救鲁
心切，连忙赶到越国，告知吴国的想法，越王勾践大惊，同意
派军队随吴伐齐，解除了吴王之忧。【无心复仇而被疑，愚蠢；
复仇之心被人知，大难； 未作之时而泄露，危险。助吴伐齐，
攻晋必能弱吴。出兵三千。】之后，子贡又到晋国，告诉晋国，
吴胜齐后，必然加兵于晋，让晋军随时备战。后来，吴国伐齐
成功，转而攻晋。晋国有备，大败吴军。越王趁吴军大败，从
背后伐吴，一举灭掉吴国而北上争霸。。
# 子贡救鲁
晋
齐
鲁
吴
越
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CULTURE AND
COMMUNICATION
Culture
is a coherent, learned, shared view of a group
of people about what is important and what
attitudes and behaviors are appropriate; it is
expressed through various sets of symbols (such as
language) used by the group.
Values
are the bases for assessing what ranks as important,
for judging what has priority, and which values
determine attitudes and shape beliefs, as well as
which values motivate behavior and underlie why
people act the way they do.
Attitudes
are learned tendencies to respond to situations or
objects or ideas or people in a certain way.
Beliefs
are convictions people hold based on subjective
ideas and inferences rather than on fact.
The Opening Case
* Walpert Industries is an international company,
and needs to be sensitive to the needs of
international markets, since it markets its crackers
to many countries;
* As many international companies do, Walpert
Industries outsourced the production of the
novelties in its Christmas crackers to China;
•In this complex international business
environment, where a company in one country has
its products made in another country for sale in yet
other countries, communication becomes much
more complex;
•In December 2002, some Canadian families found
surprisingly, in their opened Christmas crackers
there are tiny plastic panda bears wearing caps with
swastikas.
* The swastikas are the symbol used by Hitler's Nazi
party in Germany and are associated by North
Americans, Europeans, and many others around the
world with the horrors the Nazi perpetrated against
Jews. On the other hand, the swastika is a very old
positive Buddhist symbol and has been used by many
ancient culture.
* When intercultural miscommunication occurs, it is
important to look for many reasons why, not simply
make an assumption about why;
* The introduction in China of the swastika symbol
cannot be assumed to have been done in order to
make customers of Walpert Industries shocked or
angry;
* Symbols communicate meaning powerfully, may be
as strong as language or even stronger,
A number of symbols that are viewed positively
on one culture but might be received negatively
in another culture:
Santa Claus images in Saudi Arabia,
the Red Cross in many Islamic nations,
bats in European cultures (compared with
China where it symbolizes prosperity),
the Pepsi symbol in India;
brand images and company logos may “speak”
in some cultures but not resonate at all in others.
Onstage, Backstage, and Transactional Culture
This is a good way to distinguish early in the course the
distinction between what is observable to an outsider
and what the real meaning is in a culture. The opening
case offers an opportunity to discuss the visible, onstage
artifacts of culture versus the invisible meanings attached
to them: at first glance, the people (in Canada) who
opened their Christmas crackers and found swastika-
decorated panda bears immediately interpreted them as
some kind of reference to Nazism that was a bad-taste
joke. Backstage cultural meanings for Asians of the
symbol reveal that it was a positive image around
centuries before Nazis hijacked it. Walpert Industries
involved transactional culture when it sought to explain
the meaning of the swastika symbol in Asian terms to
the North American press.
Culture Shock
is the term for the cycle of responses to a foreign culture that
comes from trying to make adjustments to it. Culture shock
has four stages: euphoria, disillusionment, adjustment, and
integration.
Reverse culture shock is the term used to describe re-entry
responses when someone tries to readjust to his or her own
culture after having lived in a foreign culture.
Cultural Change
Do cultures change? We believe culture changes very, very
slowly over centuries.
Cultural Change
occurs very, very slowly over centuries. It is not to be confused
with changes in taste or fashion (which by definition change
quickly). One useful way to distinguish between the enduring
values, attitudes and behaviors of culture and the fads that come
and go is "deep culture" and "popular culture."
Cultures are converging around the world, becoming more and
more similar as values from one culture are adopted by another.
Fads come and go in the market because that's something drives
the market, the change in popularity of consumer goods. (In
the United States, for instance, the hula-hoop was popular for a
brief time in the late 1950s and is not popular today.)
While Coke and McDonald's may be visible emblems of the
United States and its culture around the world, countries where
billboard ads for these products abound do not necessarily
embrace the values of the United States. Students' comfortable
assumption that if they live long enough everyone will be more
or less alike just isn't rational.
Popular culture is a useful term for the constantly evolving social
responses to events. This includes general social opinions
about behavior, events, people and things. Popular culture is
usually what people mean when they use the term "culture" in
the popular press. In contrast, culture as we've defined it--deep
culture--changes very little. Most of us have considerable
experience with changes in popular culture; everybody has
limited experience with changes in deep culture.
Examples of cultures' constancy are:
* The willingness of countries to go to war over protection
of culture, as in the former Yugoslavia or in Chechnya,
rather than lose their cultural heritages
* The continued practice of cultural behaviors among
descendents of immigrants and the tendency of offspring to
parent their own children according to the values they were
taught as children by their parents
* The insistence on cultural identity by geographically
defined societies that are threatened by assimilation into
larger societies, even when technology is advanced (as in
French Canada and Flemish Belgium, as well as former
Soviet Asian countries such as Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan)
The more the world is shrinking through
technology, the more cultures demand recognition.
A popular theme is that as technology spreads
separate cultures are blended and lose their
difference. People who have traveled will have seen
cities in many countries that look very similar to
cities in other countries. Cell phones are popular in
virtually every sector of the globe. Satellites
expedite communication worldwide. Every student
can log onto the Internet and connect with someone
thousands of miles away.
But does the implementation of technology
mean cultural values no longer have potency?
Of course not. Technology may in its most
engineering sense be value-free, and
independent of culture (although one can argue
that the technology's design and purpose arise
out of cultural values). But the use of
technology is never value-free. Email messages
from members of high-context cultures spend
more time building and nurturing relationships
than email messages from members of low-
context cultures.
German will be the most low-context culture; Japanese will
be the most high-context. The United States is lower-
context than Canadian, Australian, Dutch or Swedish, but
higher-context than the Israeli culture. Korean and Thai
will be almost as high-context as Japan.
Higher-context cultures
are those whose members share a large number of experiences,
values, attitudes, beliefs and behaviors; because of the
homogeneity of the culture, communicators can rely on the
communication context to convey the message, and they enjoy
a degree of ambiguity in their words which is resolved by the
context of situation. They tend to be collectivist cultures.
Lower-context cultures
are those whose members do not share a large number of
experiences, values, attitudes, beliefs, nor do they behave in the
same way. In order to ensure the meaning is communicated,
communicators prefer to spell out their meanings in explicit,
clear language and to avoid ambiguity. They tend to be
individualist cultures.
Bias, Discrimination and Prejudice
Everyone has biases; discrimination is not necessarily bad
when it refers to an informed or educated judgment about
what is preferable; prejudice is often unconsciously held.
Bias is a preference, usually for something but
occasionally against something, that may be based on fact
but is not necessarily based on fact.
Prejudice
is the act of making judgments according to bias.
Prejudice
is a judgment that is not based on fact; it is often not
recognized as unfactual by the person who holds the
judgment. Both discrimination and prejudice can lead to
actions that injure others.
Multi-level Messages
Multi-level messages
transmit meaning encoded in words (and often nonverbally
as well); the words may be opposite to the intended meaning
or may refer to the intended meaning through quotation,
allusion or example so that more than one meaning is
communicated and the receiver must decide which is the
primary meaning. English-speaking people understand puns,
visual or nonverbal symbols that contradict the worded
messages, and literary devices such as litotes, metaphor and
oxymoron. These are messages that operate on more than
one level. But English-speaking people come from lower-
context cultures. People in higher-context cultures use even
more sophisticated multi-level communication.
A Chinese woman may speak of her "worthless son" while she
is in fact reporting on his outstanding achievement. A Japanese
businessman may respond to a request that it will be difficult
but he will try his best--and his meaning is "no, this cannot be
done." A businessperson's request for a meeting with a high-
level official in Korea may be slipped into a discussion about an
order for products from the high-level person's family business.
The story about the Chinese neurologist and the peanut butter
illustrates more than multi-level communication in the
reference to a thief as a three-handed person. It also shows how
encoding messages in words (low-context behavior) rather than
suffering in silence can help clear up cross-cultural
misunderstandings when dealing with a member of a low-
context culture. This point is helpful to Asian students whose
cultural practice is to respond to insult or injury with silence.
吉尔特·霍夫斯特德
Geert Hofstede（1928）是
荷兰的Maastricht大学
(University of
Maastricht)的名誉教授，
从事组织机构人类学和国
际管理(Organizational
Anthropology and
Internataional
Management)。1993年退
休以后，他依然是香港、
夏威夷、澳大利亚的一些
大学的客座教授。
关于民族文化差异的一些看法
霍夫斯特德
这些想法最初基于对一个跨国集团（IBM）的分布于64个
国家的子公司的民族文化差异的一项大型研究项目。此后的
后续项目涵盖了23个国家的学生，19个国家的社会精英，23
个国家的商业航空公司飞行员，15个国家的高档消费者，以
及14个国家的市政服务管理人员。所有这些研究项目的结果
发现并验证了民族文化差异的5个独立维度：
1、权力距离是组织和团体（比如家庭）中的弱势群体接受与期
待权力不平等分配的程度。它代表了不平等（多与少），但
是是由下向上定义的（译者注：表示权力距离指数低，社会
不平等程度低），而不是由上向下。它显示出，下层人民对
于一个社会的不平等程度的接受程度与领导阶层地接受程度
是一样的。显而易见，权力与不平等是任何社会的最基本现
实，任何具有国际经验的个体都会意识到“所有社会都是不
平等的，但是一些社会比其他更为不平等”。
2、个人主义的对立端是集体主义，表示个人与群体的联系程度。在个人
主义一端，我们发现在这样的社会，个体之间的联系是松散的：每个
人倾向于关心他（她）自己和他（她）的直系家属。而在集体主义一
端的社会，人们一出生就被结合到了坚固，有凝聚力的内部集团中，
经常是延伸的家庭（叔叔，阿姨和祖父母），这个家族将会持续不断
的保护它的成员们，并要求对之不容置疑的忠诚性。“集体主义”这
个词从这个意义上来说没有政治色彩：它指的是群体而不是政府。同
样地，这一维度所提出的议题也是世上所有社会的最基本的一点。
3、男性特质的对立面是女性特质，指性别间的角色分布，是任何社会的
另一个基础议题，从中能发现许多问题的答案。IBM的研究发现（a）
妇女在不同社会的价值差异性比男性要小；（b）男性在不同国家的
价值变化幅度具很大多样性。一方面与女性极大的不同，武断并具竞
争性，另一方面温和并关心人，与妇女的价值特质类似。武断的一极
被称作“男性特质”，而温和的一极被称作‘女性特质’。妇女在女
性特质国家和男性一样的具有温和关心的价值标准；而在男性特质国
家中她们在某种程度上具有武断和竞争性，但是没有男性的程度高。
因此这些国家在男性与女性价值标准之间会表现出差距。
4、不确定性规避是衡量一个社会对于不确定与疑问的容忍程度；它根
本性地指向人们对真理的探询。他显示出一种文化指导它的成员在
非结构化情形下感到不舒适或者舒适的范围。非结构化情形是异常
的，未知的，令人惊奇的，与通常情形不同。不确定性规避文化试
图通过严格的法律与规则，保险与安全措施，以及在哲学与宗教层
面绝对真理信仰，来最小化非结构化情形的发生；‘真理是唯一的
而我们已经拥有了它’。不确定性规避文化国家里的人们也更情绪
化，为内部的神经力量所驱动。相反的类型，不确定性接受文化，
更容忍和常规不同的选择；他们尝试拥有最少的规则，在哲学和宗
教层面他们是相对论者并容忍许多现状共存。这种文化下的人们更
冷静与富于思考，不会因为环境而表达情感。
5、长期取向与短期取向：第五个维度从对于世界各地的23个国家的学
生的研究中得出。这项研究使用的是由中国学者设计的调查问卷，
可以说是注重德行而不是真理。长期取向的价值观注重节约与坚定；
短期取向的价值观尊重传统，履行社会责任，并爱‘面子’。这一
维度的积极与消极的价值取向都可以在孔子的教义中找到，他是最
有影响力的中国哲学家，生活于公元前500年；然而这一维度也适用
于没有儒家传统的国家。
德·波诺博士被誉为20世纪改
变人类思维方式的缔造者，是创
造性思维领域举世公认的权威，
被尊为“创新思维之父”，欧洲
创新协会将他列为历史上对人类
贡献最大的250人之一。他发明
的“水平思考法”一词被收入
《牛津英语大词典》，德·波诺
博士已出版的著作有62种，其代
表作《六顶思考帽》和《水平思
考法》被译成37种语言，行销54
个国家，诸多著名跨国公司总裁，
三位诺贝尔奖得主及世界各个领
域的精英对他的著作推崇备至。
水平思考主要的特性就是毫无拘束、海阔
天空、天马行空地自由联想、自由跳跃，
无需讲求道理或逻辑，只要想到就好，不
要问为什么会想到这个或那个，也不用问
想到的点子好不好。
所谓「自由联想」就像是，暂时松开支配
一匹马的缰绳，让想法像马一般在草原上
自由地驰骋着
非逻辑的思考方式
有时我们会遇到瓶颈，原来的解题方向似乎走不有时我们会遇到瓶颈，原来的解题方向似乎走不
下去。这时我们可以运用「水平思考」来寻找其下去。这时我们可以运用「水平思考」来寻找其
它的思考方向。它的思考方向。
有时我们会突然想到某一个想法，然后转换到完有时我们会突然想到某一个想法，然后转换到完
全不一样的思考方向。全不一样的思考方向。
一旦我们跳跃到那个方向时，我们又要回到严谨一旦我们跳跃到那个方向时，我们又要回到严谨
的垂直思考的垂直思考((即逻辑分析、推理或计算即逻辑分析、推理或计算))上。上。
垂直思考时，必须一步步地进行，每一个步骤都垂直思考时，必须一步步地进行，每一个步骤都
必须说得出原因，而且要正确。必须说得出原因，而且要正确。
相对而言，水平思考则是一种非逻辑的思考方式，相对而言，水平思考则是一种非逻辑的思考方式，
不用考虑意念的顺序或逻辑关系，也不用考虑意不用考虑意念的顺序或逻辑关系，也不用考虑意
念的合理性念的合理性’’更不用遵循一定的思考规则，只要更不用遵循一定的思考规则，只要
联想到就好，不用管如何想到的。联想到就好，不用管如何想到的。
水平思考与垂直思考是相辅相成
水平思考是一种孳生型的思考，而不是一种选取水平思考是一种孳生型的思考，而不是一种选取
的过程，选取的过程要依靠垂直思考。的过程，选取的过程要依靠垂直思考。
因此，水平思考之运用，不见得会损害垂直思考因此，水平思考之运用，不见得会损害垂直思考
的效力。的效力。
水平思考只是提供一条路线，让垂直思考去深人水平思考只是提供一条路线，让垂直思考去深人
发展。发展。
逻辑是创造性思考的重要道具，特别是在评价创逻辑是创造性思考的重要道具，特别是在评价创
意、实践创意的阶段。意、实践创意的阶段。
然而，在寻求创意的时候，如果过分使用逻辑性然而，在寻求创意的时候，如果过分使用逻辑性
思考，可能会成为头脑的硬块，阻碍创意的产生。思考，可能会成为头脑的硬块，阻碍创意的产生。
如何使用「批判性思考」来判断创意如何使用「批判性思考」来判断创意`̀选择创意、选择创意、
改进创意。改进创意。
水平思考与垂直思考相辅相成
一个非常传神的比喻
爱德华爱德华•波诺曾经对于「垂直」和「水平」思考提波诺曾经对于「垂直」和「水平」思考提
出一个非常传神的比喻，也可以凸显这两种思考出一个非常传神的比喻，也可以凸显这两种思考
方式的差别方式的差别: :
逻辑是工具，用来把洞钻得愈深、愈大、愈好。逻辑是工具，用来把洞钻得愈深、愈大、愈好。
但是如果挖的地方不对，那么不管怎样改善这个但是如果挖的地方不对，那么不管怎样改善这个
洞都于事无补。洞都于事无补。
尽管这是个显而易见的进理，许多人却似乎仍觉尽管这是个显而易见的进理，许多人却似乎仍觉
得在同一个地方挖下去，比挖个新洞容易得多。得在同一个地方挖下去，比挖个新洞容易得多。
垂直思考就是把原来的洞挖深垂直思考就是把原来的洞挖深;;
水平思考就是另外再挖个洞试看看。水平思考就是另外再挖个洞试看看。
过程非常动态、变化、出乎意料
懂得水平思考法的人能把握任何可能的想
法，有时甚至一个失误也可能成为转机。
水平思考的过程非常动态、变化、出乎意
料，思考的结果也充满了机遇性、任意性
与随意性。
亚历山大••格拉罕••贝尔发明电话就是源自一
个误解。他读到一篇发明文章时，以为讲
述的是具有传音功能的工具，于是受到启
发，开始制造电话。后来才发现那项发明
与电话毫无关系。但是此时他的发明电话
的创造力已经被一种信念——这是可能的
——所激发出来了。
《六顶思考帽》被誉为全球创新
思维训练第一书，被全世界54个
国家和世界500强企业争先引进
的思维模式！《六顶思考帽》在
亚马逊商业类图书排行榜停留数
载，畅销不衰，后被译为德、法、
日、韩等语种，全球销量超过了
3000万册，一直是世界出版业争
夺的焦点。西门子公司在欧洲的
全部37万员工都接受了德·波诺
思维课程训练，《六顶思考帽》
几乎人手一册；在日本，有统计
显示，平均每10个商务人士中有
4个都曾阅读过《六顶思考帽》。
白帽子白帽子
信息依据信息依据
型型思考思考
红帽子红帽子
直觉情绪直觉情绪
型型思考思考
黑帽子黑帽子
评审批判评审批判
型型思考思考
黄帽子黄帽子
积极建设积极建设
型型思考思考
绿帽子绿帽子
创造变革创造变革
型型思考思考
蓝帽子蓝帽子
控制全局控制全局
型型思考思考
=现场练习=
1、当代青年的热门话题：结婚
好，还是不结婚好？
2、女性当第一把手好不好？
人体动作学
大多数亚洲文化用鞠躬来表示尊重年长人或地位较高的人，
地位较低的人鞠躬的角度必须低于地位较高的人。
身体动作的含义在所有的社会中并不存在通用的准则。美国
人“把脚抬起来”表明放松气氛，将脚放到桌子上的经理等
于在说“我放松，你也可以放松”。来自许多其他文化的人
们却认为这种行为是粗鲁的或甚至带有侮辱性。多数德国经
理认为将脚指到桌子上是不文明的，对大多数阿拉伯人来说
亮出脚底是最令人愤怒的侮辱性行为之一。
文化准则决定了人们站与坐的方式以及行走步法的速度和节
奏。 体态语言包含内容很多，如站相、坐态、敲手指、二
郎腿、绷紧脸颊等等。不同文化间这些细小而重要的体态信
息很难“翻译”。跨国经理们需要仔细学习当地如何走进房
间、打招呼、就座等体态语言。这些细小的社会礼节和习惯
做法对于商务活动十分重要，这是由于这些细节为交谈定了
基调和场面。
相同的手势在不同的社会经常表达不同的意思。将母指和食
指连成一个圆圈的手势在北美意味“OK”，日本意味着钱，
巴西意味着淫秽。母指头翘起对北美人和很多欧洲人来说意
味着一切正常进行，但在澳大利亚和西非则是一种粗鲁的手
势。将两个手指向上而代表胜利的“V”字型手势是二战期
间英国首相丘吉尔所推动流行的一种手势，但如果手掌向内
则对英国人和法国人来说具有粗鲁的含义。点头在世界上大
多数国家意味着“是”，在保加利亚意味着“不是”。稳妥
的沟通战略是尽量减少使用手势。
在国际商务交往中，仅仅懂得外语是不够的，还要了解不同
文化之间的差异，接受与自己不同的价值观和行为规范。成
功的国际化人才应该做到在任何文化环境中能够游刃有余。
文化源远流长，包罗万象，无处不在，很难有统一的定义。
根据世界著名跨文化与管理专家Geert Hofstede的定义，文化
是一个人群的成员赖以区别于另一人群成员的共同思维方式，
文化包括价值体系，价值观是文化的基石。
为了让人们更好地了解文化，Hoftsede把文化比喻成洋葱，
有很多层。最外表的一层称象征物（Symbols），如服装、
语言、建筑物等等，人的肉眼能够很容易看见；第二层是
英雄人物性格（Heroes），在一种文化里，人们所崇拜英雄
的性格代表了此文化里大多数人的性格，因此, 了解英雄的
性格, 很大程度上也就了解英雄所在文化的民族性格；第三
层是礼仪（Rituals），礼仪是每种文化里对待人和自然的独
特表示方式，如中国文化中，主要场合吃饭时的位置安排，
很有讲究，又比如日本人的鞠躬和进门脱鞋；最里面的一
层是价值观（Values），指人们相信什么是真、善、美的抽
象观念，也是文化中最深邃、最难理解的部分。
Marketing Translation Mistakes
Texin
People forward translation and cultural mistakes to me, and I
love them. I hope you enjoy these as well. Please provide a
reference with your submission. I try to research and confirm
these before posting. Also, take these with a grain of salt...They
may be contrived and not true, or if true, unrecognizably
transformed.
I suspect reality lies somewhere in between total truth and total
falsehood.
Translations That (Allegedly) Embarrassed Their Marketing
Departments
Samarin
Lars Bergquist tells us: Samarin is a Swedish over-the-counter
remedy for upset stomachs. (Like Alka-Seltzer.) A few years
back they used ads that looked like comic strips with no text.
There were three pictures. The first was a man looking sick,
grasping his tummy. On the second picture he drank a glass of
Samarin and on the third picture he was smiling again. The ad
campaign was a success in Europe.
However, when the company ran the ad in Arabic-speaking
newspapers they did not do too well. I guess that they didn't
know that in those countries people read from right to left....
Rolls Royce Silver Mist, Silver Shadow
Rolls Royce changed the name of its car the Silver Mist to the
Silver Shadow before entering Germany. In German, "Mist"
means manure (to put it nicely).
Pope T-shirt
An American t-shirt maker in Miami printed shirts for the
Spanish market which promoted the Pope's visit. Instead of the
desired "I saw the Pope" in Spanish, the shirts proclaimed "I
saw the Potato."
Andrew Sheh explains: Capital P "Papa" means "Pope". "papa"
means potato. Finally, "papa" with an accent on the last "a"
means father.
Beardo writes: el Papa (masculine) is the Pope; la papa
(feminine) is the potato. VI EL PAPA. VI LA PAPA.
Parker Pen, Parker Quink Ink
When Parker Pen marketed a ballpoint pen in Mexico, its ads
were supposed to say "It won't leak in your pocket and
embarrass you." However, the Spanish word "embarazar" was
used by mistake to mean embarrass. The ads actually said: "It
won't leak in your pocket and make you pregnant."
Recent versions of this story claim it was an ad for Parker's
Quink Ink.
Orange Juice
To boost orange juice sales in predominantly continental
breakfast eating England, a campaign extolled the drink's eye-
opening, pick-me-up qualities with the slogan, "Orange juice.
It gets your pecker up."
Nicholas Shearer counters "... it's a perfectly good slogan and
statement. 'keep your pecker up' is a traditional positive get-
up-and-go statement in Britain. Unlike the . 'pecker', it has
no other connotations (other than maybe a birds beak). So the
statement is perfect for the English market..."
I concede, since I don't want to start comparing peckers. Call
me chicken but I don't want to have a cock fight over it.
Nike Air
Nike offended Muslims in June, 1997 when the "flaming air"
logo for its Nike Air sneakers looked too similar to the Arabic
form of God's name, "Allah". Nike pulled more than 38,000
pairs of sneakers from the market.
Mazda Laputa, Laputa: Castle in the Sky, Laputa (1819)
Mazda's Laputa seems like an odd name for a minivan. The
Mazda Laputa was introduced in Japan in 1991. Spanish
speakers immediately think of "puta", the word for
prostitute. With that in mind the ads claiming that
"Laputa is designed to deliver maximum utility in a minimum
space while providing a smooth, comfortable ride" and "a
lightweight, impact-absorbing body" are humorous. Distributors in
Santiago, Chile asked Mazda to rename the vehicle.
Japanese speakers are likely unaware of this meaning and more
likely associate "Laputa" with a popular 1986 animated film:
"Laputa: Castle in the Sky". However, the film could not be
marketed in either Spain or Italy because the word "Laputa"
appears onscreen and would offend.
Was it a fan of Swift's fiction, one of the many that adores Hayao
Miyazaki's animated film, a minivan enthusiast, or someone that
just had an interesting evening out? Inquiring minds want to know!
Kentucky Fried Chicken, KFC
Also in Chinese, the Kentucky Fried Chicken slogan "finger
-lickin' good" came out as "eat your fingers off."
Gerber Baby Food
When Gerber started selling baby food in Africa, they used the
same packaging as in the US, with the beautiful Caucasian baby
on the label. Later they learned that in Africa, companies
routinely put pictures on the label of what's inside, since most
people can't read.
Snopes dismisses the African baby food story as an example of
"cultural prejudice". I am a big fan of Snopes, but in this case I
am a little disappointed. I don't mind if the story is totally false
and completely fabricated, but it would be nice if Snopes offered
some evidence such as interviews with someone(s) from Africa,
or perhaps a statement from Gerber or other companies selling
baby food in Africa, that they continue to market the product
with baby pictures on the label. Hmm. OK I'll write to Gerber
and see if I can get a statement from them and post the result
back here.
Coca-Cola, Ke-ke-ken-la, Ko-kou-ko-le
The name Coca-Cola in China was first rendered as
Ke-ke-ken-la. Unfortunately, the Coke
company did not discover until after thousands of
signs had been printed that the phrase means
"bite the wax tadpole" or "female horse stuffed
with wax" depending on the dialect. Coke then
researched 40,000 Chinese characters and found a
close phonetic equivalent, "ko-kou-ko-le,"
which can be loosely translated as
"happiness in the mouth."
Chevy Nova, Vauxhall Nova, Opel Corsa Updated 2004-
01-19
When General Motors introduced the Chevrolet (aka Chevy)
Nova in South America, it was apparently unaware that "no
va" means "it won't go". After the company figured out why it
wasn't selling any cars, it renamed the car in its Spanish
markets to the Caribe.
This one is untrue.
Steven Marzuola wrote me: "I grew up in Venezuela, and there
were Novas all over the place. I have also learned that it did
rather well in Mexico. It was not offered in many other
countries, for a variety of reasons, but none of them having to
do with the name."
American Motors Matador
The Matador did not do well in Puerto Rico where "matador"
has the connotation of "killer". (Bull-fighting was abolished
on the island more than 100 years ago, when the . took
control of Puerto Rico.)
Honda Fitta/Jazz/Fit 2003-04-06
Car maker Honda introduced their new car "Fitta" in the Nordic
countries during 2001, only to find out that "fitta" is an old word,
currently used in vulgar language to refer to a woman's genitals
in Swedish, Norwegian and Danish. It was renamed to "Honda
Jazz" for the Nordic market.
According to newspaper articles, Japanese ads said that "[Fitta] is
small on the outside, but large on the inside". It's now called the
Honda Fit in Japanese markets.
My thanks to Peter Karlsson for this report!
Pizza Hut P'Zone 2003-06-23
Pizza Hut is advertising their new dish, a calzone they named the
P'Zone. It is pronounced like "pezón", the Spanish word for
"nipple". Susana says the Pizza Hut PR dept. in Texas told her
they knew about this before launching the campaign.
Maybe we shouldn't file this under mistakes then, and instead put
it under interesting marketing strategies!
Muchas gracias to Susana C. Schultz of Strictly Spanish for this
report!
General Motors Buick LaCrosse 2003-10-22
Reuters reports: General Motors Corp. will rename its Buick
LaCrosse in Canada because the name for the car is slang for
masturbation in Quebec, embarrassed officials with the .
automaker said on Thursday. GM officials, who declined to be
named, said it had been unaware that LaCrosse was a term for
self-gratification among teenagers in French-speaking Quebec.
GM officials in Canada are working on a new name for the
car...
Hong Kong Tourist Board 2003-12-20
According to in April, 2003 the Hong Kong
Tourist Board tried to either pull their ads or have their slogan
changed. But it was too late to change the campaign that was on
billboards throughout Hong Kong and in British versions of
Cosmopolitan and Conde Nast Traveller.
The slogan that was running "Hong Kong: It will take your
breath away." unfortunately coincided with the SARS epidemic
that resulted in numerous deaths. Shortness of breath is one of
the main symptoms of SARS.
(OK, I know it is not a translation mistake, just bad timing, but it
caught my attention anyway.)
Hoover Zyklon, Umbro Zyklon, Siemens Zyklon
2003-12-20
Hoover, maker of vacuum cleaners, sells a model on
the European market, including Germany, called the
Zyklon. Zyklon is the German word for Cyclone, so it
is a seemingly sensible choice for a powerful vacuum.
However, Zyklon B is the lethal gas used by Nazis in
concentration camps. I would think that the name
would draw protests, but I see German web sites
currently selling the vacuums for less than 200 euro.
Perhaps, if readers are aware of either protests or
reasons that it is not considered offensive, they will e-
mail me.
Irish Mist Liqueur 2003-12-27
Bad translations using the word "Mist" in Germany
keep coming my way. (See Mist Stick and Silver
Mist.)
D. Fleming reported that Irish Mist didn't do well
in Germany either. Other sources claimed it was
marketed with the semi-Germanized Irischer Mist,
which would translate back to English as Irish
dung. (Babelfish translated it kindly as "Irish
muck".) (German Customs should just turn "Mist"
products back at the border!)
Wang Cares 2004-1-10
In the late '70s, the American computer company Wang was
puzzled why its British branch refused to use its latest motto
"Wang Cares". However, to British ears the motto sounds
too close to "wankers". (masturbaters)
Götzen 2004-1-10
The european hardware store chain "Götzen" opened a mall in
Istanbul. "Göt" means "ass" in Turkish. They changed the
name to "Tekzen".
Thanks to Hakan Turan!
Liebfraumilch Wine 2004-1-10
Several people wrote me about Germany's most exported wine:
Liebfraumilch. "Lieb" means "dear" or "beloved" sometimes
a reference to "God" or "holy". "Frau" is "woman", and
"Milch" is "milk". Hence "beloved woman's milk", also
translated as "Milk of the Virgin" or "Milk of Our Lady". E-
mails also offered translations of "women love milk", and
"loves woman milk".
The name comes from its origins in about the 16th century in
the vineyards of the Liebfrauenkirche ("Church of Our Lady")
in Worms, Germany. (Worms Wine would also have been a
Marketing Mistake!)
IKEA FARTFULL 2004-3-8
IKEA sells this workbench as the FARTFULL. Although
IKEA's web page says FARTFULL is not for sale on the
web, I still enjoy recommending it as the perfect gift
suggestion for various people.
Swedish is a Germanic language, and "Fährt" is German for
travel, so I am sure "fartfull" is being used here to suggest
mobility, given the desk's wheels and design. Swedish has
several words for fart, but one of them is "Fjärt", which
strikes me as close enough that their marketing department
knew what it was doing. If even bad press is good public
relations, then this is a case of allowing an ill wind to blow
some good.
Binney & Smith Crayola 2004-11-06
Crayola has changed color names over time due to
the civil rights movement and other social
pressures. In 1962, Binney & Smith replaced flesh
with peach, in recognition of the wide variety of
skin tones. More recently, in 1999, they changed
indian red to chestnut. The color was not named
after Native Americans, it was actually named for a
special pigment that came from India. But school
children often assumed the incorrect origin of the
name. There are many sites listing the history of
Crayola colors.
PepsiCo India 2004-10-06
I was visiting Bangalore, India when the local news (for
example, rediff india) was widely reporting the legal
consequences of a marketing mistake by Pepsi. Pepsi is being
sued in a Hyderabad, India city court in a public interest
litigation for glorifying child labor in a television ad. In the
ad, the Indian cricket team is in a celebratory huddle when a
young boy serves them Pepsi.
在跨文化沟通中，信息源和编码使用的是一种语言，解码和
接受者使用的是另一种语言，有如下的原因会导致解码的失
真：通道太复杂；二次编码和解码的存在；编码者或解码者
对相关问题的知识水平和理解能力不同；非语言因素的错误
理解。在中西文化沟通中，西方文化的一些东西在中国文化
中很难找到对应物，反之亦然。因此，沟通双方都是对方文
化的旁观者，它们之间深刻的文化差异常被表面的语言不通
所掩盖。深刻的文化差异表现在感知，价值观，信仰，心态，
世界观等方面的差异。这种差异的客观性需要管理者和被管
理者有清晰的认识，并有良好的心态去看待并尊重这种差异，
同时在日常沟通中对这种文化差异体现出来的冲突进行分析
并进行相应的改进。沟通失真的另一方面来源于对非语言信
息的错误理解。非语言信息包括视线接触、姿势、面部表情、
身体距离、语调等。非语言信息本身就包含了许多经文化编
码后的信息，双方只有互相了解对方文化的“禁忌”，则跨
文化沟通才会从“冲突”走向“交流”。
管理中的文化冲突与困惑源于工作团队的文化差异，因此务必
使内部员工了解多元文化之差异，尊重并包容文化之间差异，
将多元文化认同之理念列于项目管理的信条中，例如：「四海
之内皆兄弟」、「四海一家」、「尊重他人文化价值」等。
扫除障碍的基本技巧
1.互相了解对方的文化、历史背景，熟悉对方的风俗习惯，
相互体谅。不论是中国员工还是外国员工，无论是上级还是下
级，都应该主动了解对方的文化，这样才能较好地沟通和交流。
相互的了解是沟通的基础。
2.要注意沟通技巧。在沟通和交流的过程中，注意沟通方
式、方法，会减少摩擦。
3.欧洲企业非常人性化，私人时间和工作时间分得非常清
楚。不论公司有什么事，哪怕是天塌下来也好，只要是在非工
作时间，都不允许工作打扰员工的私人生活。假如你的老板是
欧洲人，那么下班后、休息日都不要因为工作问题而找他；假
如你的下属是欧洲人，也不要在非工作时间指派他们干什么活。
4.美国人同样也是公私分明，但是他们的公私分明和欧
洲人完全不同。美国人绝对不会在工作时间内、在公司里，
向一个同事说有关个人的事情。假如，你与美国人共事，
那么收起你的好奇心，不要打探他们的私事；也不必关心
他们的家人、家事，否则关心换来的是敌意。
5.德国人工作作风严谨。在工作场合，开玩笑、打打闹
闹的事千万别做。老板的命令，必须服从。
6.在日本企业，压抑的工作氛围较之德国企业，有过之
而无不及。你最好不要高声喧哗、放声大笑。连两个人对
话的声音，都必须控制在不影响第三个人工作的范围内。
