Working in countries where the practices and behaviours are different to your own creates opportunities for misunderstandings, and with them inconvenience, damage to relationships, obstacles to project progress and sometimes, lost business.

In the oil and gas industry this is particularly important because you have to interact with government institutions and national oil companies (NOCs), and you need to recruit, develop, work with and rely on local staff. Your organisation’s way of operating may create some commonality but there remain times when you wish you understood what was going on.

Some difficulties arise due to cultural differences that we are not fully aware of or sometimes totally oblivious to. Having worked in many countries, I have come to the realisation that you can never fully comprehend another culture â“ those values, attitudes, beliefs and assumptions that make up the way people (including ourselves) see the world, sometimes without realising it. But by making enquiries you can increase your chance of understanding, and then adjust your response a little so there are fewer crossed wires.

Making enquiries

Why is this taking so long? By the time the Westerner ahead of me had got to the passport counter after an hour of waiting in the hot, mosquito-infested immigration hall of Luanda airport, he was agitated and angry. The Angolan official checking his visa and typing with one finger, looked up momentarily, and I think I detected in his glance: "So, you want to see really slow?" I soon learned, when in Rome (or Luanda, or Bogotá, or Jakarta), be ready to do it their way, or at the very least, be patient. In Ho Chi Minh City, the Vietnamese HR Manager, observing my Herculean efforts to complete a report on localising the workforce, commented: "We want to learn how to do business and be successful, but to your companies everything is about profit. We still have values."

In the oil industry, we are used to managing large projects in a performance-focused way, but we need to recognise that in some places people have other priorities. We need to consider ‘What do they value most?’ and, because activities may take longer, build additional contingency time into the project plans.

How do relationships work? I wondered with annoyance why, after several e-mails to people in the retail and refining teams, no one had responded. My South African boss said: "Have you met any of them, spoken to them?" I admitted no, and after a number of
one-to-ones, communication improved. In cultures that place high importance on relationships, face-to-face contact is an important way to start. And you have to give this time, as I found in Angola when after what seemed like an age making introductions (about five minutes) I said: "Right, let’s talk about the project." The Angolan manager from the NOC said: "Wow, too fast. I don’t know who you are!" Her candidness was a little perturbing, but later I realised very good advice. In oil and gas, good relationships with the NOC (and other foreign oil companies â“ FOCs) are crucial for obtaining access, working together as partners, and resolving operational problems.

How is power perceived? Having set up a project with my Indonesian colleague in Jakarta, I realised that it needed adjustment. He told me this would be impossible as he had already agreed it with his boss, the Exploration Manager. I thought, well just go back and say it’s changed. But of course, that would have been to show disrespect and something he would never do. So we went with the original plan, and I learnt in that culture to respect people’s views of hierarchy. You may have noticed in meetings with some NOCs, their representatives will remain quiet and defer to their senior person? Such organisations have large power distances between levels, are low on delegation, and can be bureaucratic and slow at decision making. Taking initiative, a virtue in my culture, can be risky because it can be perceived as threatening by those higher up if not undertaken with their backing. So in your dealings with NOCs and other national institutions, respect the power structures, build relationships at appropriate levels, and keep senior players informed.

Is loss of face an issue? Why did the Angolan Controller say "Yes" to my request for the report even though he knew he couldn’t deliver it? Probably because he wanted to please me, his Western boss. Also, perhaps he didn’t want to lose face at that time by saying he couldn’t do it. How could I have handled this more effectively? Instead of asking "Will the report be ready by Monday?" (a closed and leading question, to which a loyal subordinate will want to respond positively), I could have asked "When will it be ready?" (a more open question), which would have given the opportunity for an affirmative but realistic response. Having a non-patronising, confidence building approach will help national staff develop the skills to perform well. This is particularly important in the oil business where employment and development of local staff is necessary to resource activities and keep expatriation costs down, and is sometimes a legal requirement.

Do values clash? The joint venture (JV) meeting was dominated by Brits, and I couldn’t help thinking that our Norwegian partners didn’t contribute. However, over dinner (at which we had dressed down, and they had dressed up), one of their team told me that in Norway it is a virtue to listen to multiple views and find consensus, and seen as arrogant, even rude to vigorously champion your own position. In my Anglo-Saxon culture we are encouraged to stand out from the crowd, so no wonder wires were crossed â“ what we valued they saw as a vice and visa versa! The next day we held ourselves back a little, they did some of the facilitating, and the atmosphere improved. If values clash where you work, can move towards each other? When your company is not operator, you will need to find ways of influencing decisions without causing offence. Oil and gas JVs have foundered on less.

How can you handle dubious requests? A government official telephoned the Exploration Manager and requested that the company employ his son. The manager was able to say (politely): "We have process for hiring students, I’ll forward him an application form." When managing a project with an NOC, I was approached to divert funds for ‘out of scope’ purposes. I pointed to our regular steering committee meetings as the agreed method for allocating monies. In both these cases involving dubious requests for favours or money, not uncommon in the oil industry where there is lot at stake, difficulties were avoided by relying on robust and transparent processes.

What about teamwork? A young Vietnamese geologist from the exploration team said: "The expats never come to lunch" and I realised this was having a negative impact on the team. In Sharjah, it was an away-day that helped to build bridges between local and expatriate staff. A social event involving families and food in Angola helped the operations team come together. It was the use of personality profiles that gave the oil trading team in South Africa a method for exploring their similarities and differences. In an industry that relies heavily on multi-disciplinary teamwork, what can you do to break down barriers in your team?

The pay off

Interacting well across cultures can, in the oil and industry with its dependence on government and NOC relations, make the difference between project success and failure. It will also improve your relationships with national staff, helping them to develop and enhancing teamwork. And understanding the culture will make your work more enjoyable and less frustrating. You can accelerate your process of learning by attending a briefing, reading about the country, learning some language, making a reconnaissance visit and, when working there, enquiring of the other expatriates, and especially of the local staff. Rather than remaining baffled or becoming angry, ask: "What is really happening here?" and you may discover some curiosity, or perhaps even a treasure of that culture that yields helpful insight. o

Peter Curran, Consultant at Farnham Castle International Briefing & Conference Centre, Farnham Castle, Surrey. www.farnhamcastle.com. Farnham Castle is an International Briefing and Conference Centre, specialising in cross cultural management development programmes and international assignment briefings for every country in the world in addition to those coming to live and work in Britain.