Business 10th Edition by Ferrell,Geoffrey Hirt,Linda Ferrell

Exercise 24

Global Awareness
Background
As American businesspeople travel the globe, they encounter and must quickly adapt to a variety of cultural norms quite different from the United States. When encountering individuals from other parts of the world, the best attitude to adopt is "Here is my way. Now what is yours?" The more you see that you are part of a complex world and that your culture is different from, not better than, others, the better you will communicate and the more effective you will be in a variety of situations. It takes time, energy, understanding, and tolerance to learn about and appreciate other cultures. Naturally you're more comfortable doing things the way you've always done them. Remember, however, that this fact will also be true of the people from other cultures with whom you are doing business.
Task
You will "travel the globe" by answering questions related to some of the cultural norms that are found in other countries. Form groups of four to six class members and determine the answers to the following questions. Your instructor has the answer key, which will allow you to determine your group's Global Awareness IQ, which is based on a maximum score of 100 points (10 points per question)
Match the country with the cultural descriptor provided.
A. Saudi Arabia
B. Japan
C. Great Britain
D. Germany
E. Venezuela
F. China
G. Greece
H. Korea
J. Mexico
I. India
____ 1. When people in this country table a motion, they want to discuss it. In America, "to table a motion" means to put off discussion.
____ 2. In this country, special forms of speech called keigo convey status among speakers. When talking with a person in this country, one should know the person's rank. People from this country will not initiate a conversation without a formal introduction.
____ 3. People from this country pride themselves on enhancing their image by keeping others waiting.
____ 4. When writing a business letter, people in this country like to provide a great deal of background information and detail before presenting their main points.
____ 5. For a man to inquire about another man's wife (even a general question about how she is doing) is considered very offensive in this country.
_____ 6. When in this country, you are expected to negotiate the price on goods you wish to purchase.
_____ 7. While North Americans want to decide the main points at a business meeting and leave the details for later, people in this country need to have all details decided before the meeting ends to avoid suspicion and distrust.
_____ 8. Children in this country learn from a very early age to look down respectfully when talking to those of higher status.
_____ 9. In this country the husband is the ruler of the household, and the custom is to keep the women hidden.
____ 10. Many businesspeople from the United States experience frustration because yes does not always mean the same thing in other cultures. For example, the word yes in this country means, "OK, I want to respect you and not offend you." It does not necessarily show agreement.