Frequently, the two sides agree on crosscultural perceptions. In this case, Company B
had a behavioral norm of confronting people head-on over disagreements. They cited this
norm as “push back required.” Executives from A described B’s style as “in your face”
and “decisions don’t hold—need to argue and revisit.” Interestingly, executives from B
knew this behavior irritated the “too polite” A group. In their list of how they think A views them, the Company B executives unambiguously reported “rude, in your face.”
When this cultural distinction was aired, itled to a discussion between the two groups
regarding the desired norms for their combined culture. Both sides agreed that A’s style was too reserved and polite; a faster-paced style of decision making and more head-on debate of the issues were required. But A’s executives felt that B’s style went too far in the other direction. Together, the two groups settled on a desired endstate of “polite confrontation”: speak up and challenge, but not rudely