What is Quality?

Mr. Stevens smiled as he took in a sip of his piping hot coffee through the slit in the plastic lid of his paper coffee cup while cruising down the Pennsylvania highway on his way to work early Monday morning.

He wanted to get a jump on his busy day and didn't have time to brew his own coffee. Thankfully, there was no line at the local bagel shop, so he slipped in quickly and grabbed a cup of cinnamon hazelnut flavored coffee to go. He dumped in a packet of sugar and a tiny splash of cream, gave it a quick stir with the plastic spoon, tossed away the empty containers and hit the road. What a great concept!

In Paris, Mr. Perrault's day also was off to a great start. His favorite caf� had just opened for business. His preferred seat was vacant and his favorite waiter was on duty. The morning was his favorite time of the day because he could sit near the sidewalk and savor every taste of his fine espresso from a pristine white porcelain cup.

He sat back and enjoyed the warm atmosphere, chatted with his server, and watched the Parisians go by before heading into the office. What service! Nothing could be better.

The "perfect" cup of coffee is served a different way in virtually every part of the world. Each person's definition of high quality is determined by their home culture.

Mr. Stevens would consider Mr. Perrault's casual breakfast stop to be a waste of valuable time. He wants his coffee quick, fresh, and hot. Efficiency and practicality make him smile. Mr. Perrault, on the other hand, would be insulted if a server gave him coffee in a paper cup.

Cultural adjustment is something all international transferees and corporate human resource managers must recognize and accept if they want a relocation assignment to be successful and productive. The "golden rule" is to not assume anything and to expect the unexpected.

Understanding and appealing to a particular culture's definition of quality can make or break a first impression. It can mean the difference between conducting a positive business transaction or spending time asking yourself: What went wrong?

Just as important is identifying the method in which people of a particular culture achieve what they consider to be high quality. Taking these myriad attitudes into account is crucial in order to succeed in the global arena.

Cross-cultural training greatly prepares international transferees for their assignment and significantly reduces any cultural anxiety they might encounter abroad. There is a significant cultural adjustment for employees who enter any country for the first time. Following are descriptions of cultural climates found in some of the most familiar destinations.

The Great American Experiment

In the United States it is very simple: If it works, it's quality. If it doesn't work, we fix it. Trial and error is a common and acceptable method in business and production.

Americans "tweak" until they get it right. They get the "bugs" out. They take risks. They experiment. No pain, no gain. If at first you don't succeed, try, and try, again. Creativity is applauded.

An American strives to meet and beat the personal goals created by his boss. The individual, not necessarily the team, is rewarded for a job well done.

Japanese "Save Face''

In Japan, the highest form of quality is found in perfection. To produce anything of less quality is sinful.

Many Japanese willingly spend long hours of overtime working as a team to make sure a product is right the first time.

Any product made with a trial-and-error mindset might risk bringing shame to the typical Japanese company. And shame is disgraceful in Japan.

In Japan, you must honor those with whom you interact. Never make others look bad, no matter what the situation, or no matter who is at fault. And never let anyone feel embarrassed.

When doing business with Japanese companies, deadline-conscious U.S. businesses sometimes grow impatient because the Japanese may be hesitant to promise any service by a specific time.

The Japanese do not want to make a promise they cannot keep. Because if they fail to meet a deadline (or promise), they will have "lost face" because they feel as if they have "lied" to their business partner. Additionally, by failing to keep that promise, they might cause embarrassment to their client, and thus the client might "lose face''.

Germany: Quality, Precisely

In Germany, an item of high quality means it was built with precision. To many Germans, it is mandatory to follow the instruction manual, a proven recipe, or an established procedure.

For example, Germany has brewed beer using the same recipe for almost 500 years. Why change it? Their best cheeses are made with milk fat. They wonder, how can Americans produce no-fat cheese? That kind of a product would not appeal to most Europeans.

Lego, a company that manufactures children's building blocks, recently studied children of different cultures playing with a Lego kit. The first thing German children did after opening the box was read the directions. They then built accordingly.

The American child, on the other hand, ripped open the box and immediately discarded the instructions. They went on to create something on their own (and their parents applauded this because the child was showing signs of creativity).

France

In France, a product's quality is measured by how useless it is. Meaning, if it is something that has aesthetic appeal rather than functionality, it is of highest quality.

For example, a beautiful silk handkerchief, which most Parisians would not think of blowing their nose into, is of highest quality. Its only purpose is to adorn an outfit. It is a class statement.

Unlike Americans with their "got to have it yesterday'' attitude, many French feel that the longer it takes to produce something, the better it is. That is why items such as wine and cheese grow in value with age.

It is not that the French are snobby; it is simply that many of them do not equate practicality with quality--as many Americans do.

So, executives need to focus on differences in quality as perceived by other cultures. The quality quotient in something as basic as a cup of coffee or as complex as the construction of an office building will differ greatly from culture to culture.

~ By Paul Bergeron III ~

Paul Bergeron III is Mobility's staff writer. He can be reached at pbergeron@erc.org
Website: www.erc.org

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