Читать книгу An Introduction to Intercultural Communication - Fred E. Jandt - Страница 117

The examples so far have been of practices that could offend some English speakers. Let’s turn that around with an example of what speakers of English do that could be offensive to others. Johnston Pump Company, a U.S. company now based in Brookshire, Texas, has been doing business with Saudi Arabia for more than 70 years. By the 1930s, Johnston Pump was well established in California, its pumps having helped change California’s arid lands into a leading agricultural area. Johnston’s general manager at the time was a world traveler. During a trip to Saudi Arabia, he noted how similar the climate was to areas of California and convinced the Saudi government that vast wastelands could be turned into fertile farmland through the use of Johnston pumps. The first pump was installed in the king’s palace.

Over the years, Johnston’s success in the kingdom has largely been due to its respect for the country’s strict religious customs. All personnel in its international division receive cultural training.

“Making the deserts bloom for 50 years” was Johnston’s advertising campaign in 1986. Ads in English and Arabic began appearing in various Middle East publications early in the year. With the success of the campaign, Johnston made large posters of the ads to be distributed throughout the kingdom.

Johnston Pump poster.

Copyright © Johnston Pump Company. Reprinted with permission.

Study the Johnston Pump poster and see if you can tell why a Saudi customs inspector would not allow it into the country. Saudi Arabia allows no public worship of any religion other than Islam. No churches, temples, or symbols of other religions are permitted. To the customs inspector, the weather vane in the poster (see circled area on the right side of the image) looked like a Christian cross and would therefore be prohibited from being displayed. It took intervention by the minister of customs to allow the posters into the country.

Years later, 10 million bags of potato chips from Thailand were confiscated by the Saudi Ministry of Commerce and Investment because toys inside each bag were adorned with crossed triangles that were perceived to be the Star of David. With the perception step of categorization comes a culture’s values, and it is those differing categorizations that can so often impede communication, particularly when one group believes its perceptions are right and any other’s wrong.