In an experiment in which 30 German and American teams comprising university students attempted to reach consensus on a complex task, the German groups generated 30pc fewer statements focused on possible solutions than the American teams and more than twice as many statements focusing on various problems, such as inadequate information, say Nale Lehmann-Willenbrock of VU University Amsterdam and colleagues. The findings suggest that culturally, Germans tend to desire a substantial amount of background information before making decisions and prefer clarity over uncertainty, whereas Americans tend to quickly come up with solutions, often without having a complete and thorough analysis of the problem.

(Source: Group Processes & Intergroup Relations)

Published in Dawn, Business & Finance weekly, November 23rd, 2015