Cross- cultural Communication This page intentionally left blank

The ‘Mole Map’
Mole has developed a schema, the ‘Mole Map’. The relative position on the 
map of various countries is more meaningful than their absolute position on 
the axes. Countries which are close together have such similar cultures that 
some organizations within each may be interchangeable on the map. The 
further away countries are from each other, the less likely it is that there will 
be this overlap. Mole contends that no position is better or worse than any 
other; the problems arise when two extremes meet and their cultures are 
significantly different.
Individual
Group
Organic
Organization
Systematic
Spain
France
USA
Belgium
Portugal
Germany
Luxembourg
Ireland
UK
Denmark
Italy
Greece
Netherlands
Leadership
Figure 3.1 The ‘Mole Map’ (Mole, 2003: 39)
When working internationally, Mole advocates posing a number of 
questions:
How does it affect me?
Is there, in fact, a problem?
If so, is it culture-related?
Is it related to:
a) communication: mainly language or non- verbal communication?;
b) leadership: who has power? How is power obtained and exercised? 
What is authority based on and who takes decisions?;
c) organization: how is work organized? How is information gathered 
and filtered down? How are forecasting and planning carried out and 
results assessed?
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56 Cross-Cultural Communication
If so, does it need:
a) cultural awareness? If so, the time horizon is immediate;
b) tactical change? If so, the time horizon is short term;
c) strategic change? If so, the time horizon is long term.
With the fall of communism, the growing effects of globalization and the 
new independence of countries of Central and Eastern Europe who are now 
members of the EU, there is room for further research in this area.