Lest we be judged
Humans are emotional beings through and through, despite our pretensions about "logic" and "rationality." Still, now and again a logic presents itself that is so compelling that it forces us to take notice. One such logic revolves around how we judge ourselves and others, with culture winding up, per usual, at the center of things.
Each of us is the only one with access to our intentions. In the moment we might not always know exactly why we're doing something, but when pressed to introspect we've still got an infinitely clearer picture than anyone else does. When we do something that upsets someone else, we can easily take refuge in our intentions: we didn't mean to hurt anyone's feelings. If the people involved in this kind of upset are willing, dialog can happen, misunderstood intentions can be clarified, and relationships can deepen.
The rub is that we have no access to anyone else's intentions. All we have to go on is behavior. We observe a behavior, and attribute an intention, whether it's accurate or not. The result: we make a lot of mistakes, often assuming evil intent where intent was either good or, at worst, indifferent. Whether we like it or not, we are wired to judge those around us based only on their behaviors, while at the same time judging ourselves based mostly on our intentions. That's the cold, hard logic I'm talking about: I can't see a way around it.
This finding is not my own, nor is it new. And it's a profoundly useful finding for intercultural understanding. Think of the staggering amount of miscommunication that happens every day among members of (roughly) the same cultural group speaking the same language. Now imagine a "typical" Westerner and a "typical" Chinese person. Both behave in ways deeply conditioned by their very different cultures; neither is familiar with the other person's cultural habits; neither speaks the other's language. How could they not judge each other? And what hope have they got of working things out, given the cultural and linguistic barriers?
My own answer is that they've got plenty of hope. What it takes, though, is hard work, commitment, and the involvement of experts with the tools to build the necessary bridges. It just won't happen reliably on its own. It may happen here or there, but for most organizations that's hardly what you'd want to stake your future on.