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1、Case 1 A CanadianThe shipping agent is serving the customers in the way that is considered efficient in Venezuelan culture. To the Canadian, however, this is unfocused activity that is not nearly as efficient as it would be 一 particularly from her point of view if the agent simply dealt exclusively
2、with her scheduled appointment./ In Canada, businesspeople typically write appointments and activities into the days agenda every day. They then work sequentially through the agenda until they have completed each task or the day is over. In other words, Canadians prefer to do one thing at a time, wh
3、ile the South Americans, including Venezuelans, tend to do a few things simultaneously.Case 2 A dozenAs a Westerner, the American visiting professor does not quite understand the collective ownership of information in some other cultural environments. What made her annoyed is a different attitude to
4、ward information about people. In the United States, it is generally assumed that personal matters are private. Teachers go through elaborate procedures to assure that students do not have access to each others grades. In business it is the same. Evaluations are confidential.Case 3 WhenAs a matter o
5、f fact, the American woman was not being disrespectful. However, it is clear that her way of showing respect and welcome was different from the ancient tradition of keeping physical distance from superiors, which is still widely observed, especially when royalty is involved.Paul Keating, the Austral
6、ian prime minister, may have intended to suggest by his gesture that Australia would no longer accept the queen as head of state but just as one of their honored guests. Obviously, the British would not like it at all.Sometimes, such seemingly trivial things can influence relations between countries
7、. Thats why protocol is taken seriously and people who are to hold diplomatic posts will be given detailed and careful instructions.Case 22 An AmericanPeople from different cultures may consider their own communication style to be natural and normal, and therefore tend to evaluate other styles negat
8、ively. In this case, both people are unaware of the American preference for a direct and explicit style in contrast to the more contextual African style. Both these communicators are likely to leave the situation less inclined to ask or answer questions of each other again. Case 23 A FrenchIn France
9、 it is required that all calls begin with an apology for disturbing the answer. They are also expected to begin the call by checking that they have reached the right number, identifying themselves, and then chatting with whoever has answered the phone, if this person is known to them. Only after som
10、e conversation may callers indicate their wish to speak with the person they have actually called to speak to.In contrast, callers in the U. S. A. apologize only when they feel they have called at an inappropriate time; they often ask for the person they want without identifying themselves or conver
11、sing with the answer, even when that person is known to them; and they behave, in general, as though the person who has answered the phone is just an extension of the instrument itself.Case 24 At a 1970The Japanese have a strong dislike of entering into direct confrontations and placing others in an
12、 embarrassing position. It is very difficult for a Japanese to respond to any suggestion or request with a definite no”. What the Japanese will often do instead is resort to a vague sort of reply to the effect that the matter needs further study and consideration. They do this to save face for the p
13、erson who has made the suggestion or request, but Americans may not properly understand it and may completely misinterpret the vagueness as compliance and assume that the proposition has been accepted. But this was apparently never made clear to Nixon. That is why he included that he had been double
14、-crossed.Themisunderstanding had serious adverse consequences for Japanese U. S. relations.Case 9 In a cross-culturalWhen they are being scolded by the trainers for being repeatedly late for afternoon sessions, the Chinese trainees felt bewildered because they thought it is inappropriate for the Can
15、adian trainers to become so angry about it. In their opinion, one should not let him- or herself behave as emotionally like this. The appropriate way to deal with such a person would be to become cooler toward and more distant from the person who behaved so irresponsibly. It was understandable that
16、one would feel angry in this situation but it was not appropriate to show anger, for the other person would certainly lose face if anger were directed toward him or her, and the angry person would look foolish and childish and therefore also lose face.Canadians see such situations in a very differen
17、t way. They tend to explicitly express how they feel and openly criticize the person who they think has been wrong or irresponsible. It seems to them that this has little to do with face.Case 18 Ted WashingtonTed Washington, the marketing manager, rejected the sale proposals of both the American, Da
18、le Peters and the Japanese, Hideo Takahashi, without considering who made the proposal. While the direct and outright rejection is O.K. with Peters, for he and the manager are from the same culture, to Hideo, it means something beyond the rejection of a proposal itself. Therefore, the two people res
19、ponded to the rejection in quite different ways.In this case, the American believes the root of the conflict lay in different goals and objectives, therefore, Peters entered into a heated discussion with Ted, trying to get his proposal accepted by producing facts, figures, and graphs to illustrate h
20、is case. But the Japanese believes the conflict was not in the rejection of the proposal but rather in the way it was communicated, so he thinks of it as a personal attack or a sign of mistrust. In short, Americans tend to be more task-oriented while the Japanese are more likely to focus on interper
21、sonal relationships.Case 7 A femaleWhen the Canadian young man said, “Who took my peanut butter?”, what he really meant was “Where is my peanut butter? I cant find it. The Chinese doctor felt upset because in Chinese culture questions like this, especially expressed in the way the young Canadian man
22、 did, often imply that someone is to blame. Chinese culture prohibits direct accusing unless a person has been targeted for shame. However, true to her learned cultural behavior of never showing anger in public, the Chinese doctor didnt say anything, though she was deeply distressed.Later, the physi
23、otherapist was making a joke when she said the Chinese doctor had “three hands”. She wasnt serious, of course, and expected the patient to be amused by her explanation for his pain: that the doctor on the other side of the room could have reached an imaginary hand out to touch him. She didnt know th
24、at in Chinese a three-handed person“ is a slang for a thief.Case 17 TomIt is customary in China and many other Asian countries for hosts to ask their guests again and again to take more. Tom didnt have to eat extra food if he didnt want any more.In the U.S., a host will offer more food usually only
25、once. And the Americans will take a no to mean “no”, whether it is the first, second or third time. However, in many other parts of the world it is considered good manners for guests not to accept an offer at first. Sometimes one mustnt accept food the second time it is offered. Therefore, hosts try
26、 to repeat an offer until they are sure that their guests really want to decline.Case 25 A JapaneseNonverbal behaviors such as smiles seem to cut across cultural lines. But in reality, they are often found to be not universal. To most Americans, a smile is the most common nonverbal behavior to bridg
27、e gaps that may exist between strangers (including foreigners) and themselves. It is natural for them to be smiling and friendly when they come across strangers. But in eastern Asian countries like Japan, smiles are used differently. Japanese do not readily show their feelings. In Japan, people do n
28、ot usually smile at a stranger. If you do, you might be considered impolite.Case 8 Brent WeberIn American culture, peoples personal goals take priority over their allegiance to groups like the family or the employer. The loyalty of individuals to a group is usually weak. Americans are apt to change
29、their relationship if it suits their individual needs, and they are not likely to be emotionally dependent on organizations and institutions.In Japanese society, the relationship between an employee and the firm is much more interdependent, somewhat similar to a child-mother relationship where the m
30、other (firm) is obliged to take care of her children (employees) and children (employees) have to obey and follow the commands of their mother (firm). It is not surprising for an American to try to find another job before he or she leaves his or her present employer if he or she consider it necessar
31、y for him- or herself. However, this action was regarded by the Japanese firm as disloyal, undermining the trust between the two parties. In spite of this, the manager of the firm did not like the parting to be understood as Brent being fired, because the appearance of harmony and agreement within t
32、he group (the firm in this case) is important in Japanese society.Case 16 A missionWhat went wrong in this case? Contrary to general American perception, it is considered proper behavior for Japanese to be silent. It is a discreet way to show respect if he listens to others speak rather than speakin
33、g out. So the Japanese delegates did what they considered proper, i.e., listen quietly to what the Americans had to say. Silence often means that they are seriously thinking about the subject at issue. But many Americans will interpret silence in a conversation to mean disapproval, disagreement, or
34、even arrogance. This is an example that illustrates the problem of the so-calledperception-gap”.Participants in communication perceive each other 9s behavior in very different ways, which often results in misunderstanding or conflict.Case 26 Wang PingChinese people seldom hug each other, particularl
35、y in public places. If people do, a romantic message is usually conveyed. Go to any airport or train station in China, and you will see scenes of greeting and good-bye with all the feeling expressed in the eyes and the face and in the practical things family members and relatives and friends do for
36、each other, but it is unlikely people will hug, with only younger ones as an exception.In contrast, people of Latin American cultures touch each other in communication much more than people of some other cultures, especially Eastern Asian cultures. At a time of meeting a friend or upon departing, hu
37、gging each other is very natural for Latin American people. On such occasions, hugging has no sexual connotation; it is just like a handshake in China, but warmer and more enthusiastic. Women tend to hug each other more than men hug women, but both are common. Ones discomfort at hugging in such situ
38、ations may be interpreted by Latin American people as unfriendliness.Case 27 The otherAs with smiling, laughing does not always serve the same function in different cultures. Interestingly, for us Chinese, laughing often has a special function during tense social occasions. People may laugh to relea
39、se the tension or embarrassment, to express their concern for you, their intention to put you at ease or to help you shrug off the embarrassment. In this case, the people there actually wished to laugh with the American rather than at him. Their laughing seemed to convey a number of messages: dont t
40、ake it so seriously; laugh it off, its nothing; such things can happen to any of us, etc. unfortunately, the America was unaware of this. He thought they were laughing at him, which made him feel more embarrassed and angry, for in his culture laughing on such an occasion would be interpreted as an insulting response, humiliating and negative.