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meet diverse customer needs on a global basis. Succeeding in the global market today requires the ability to communicate sensitively with people from other cultures, a sensitivity that is based on an understanding of cross-cultural differences.
6. What are the serious problems that countries throughout the world are confronted with?
Countries throughout the world are confronted with serious problems such as volatile
international economy, shrinking resources, mounting environmental contamination, and epidemics that know no boundaries.
7. What implications can we draw from the case of Michael Fay?
This case shows that in a world of international interdependence, the ability to understand and communicate effectively with people from other cultures takes on extreme urgency. If we are unaware of the significant role culture plays in communication, we may place the blame for communication failure on people of other cultures.
8. What attitudes are favored by the author towards globalization?
Globalization, for better or for worse, has changed the world greatly. Whether we like it or not, globalization is all but unstoppable. It is already here to stay. It is both a fact and an opportunity. The challenges are not insurmountable. Solutions exist, and are waiting to be identified and implemented. From a globalistic point of view, there is hope and faith in humanity.
Writing
Read the following and then try to write a short essay on what one has to learn to get prepared for working and living in a new cultural environment.
There seems to be so much that one can do to get oneself well prepared for working and living in a new cultural environment. Apart from what is mentioned in the passage, the following may be what a person in Anna‘s situation should also try to do:
1. Learning the language that is used in the new cultural environment.
2. Learning about the history and present social situation of the area or the country. 3. Learning about the dominant religious belief and some important social customs. 4. Learning about the cultural uses of nonverbal means including time and space for communication.
5. Learning to look at things and people in new perspectives that are different from what one is accustomed to.
6. Developing a more tolerant attitude toward any unfamiliar phenomena.
7. Becoming aware that problems and misunderstandings are inevitable in intercultural communication.
8. Learning about how foreigners are usually perceived and treated by the local people.
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Identifying Difference: How We Address Each Other
Questions for discussion
How do you address a friend from an English-speaking country? And how should we do it if he or she knows our culture very well or if we speak Chinese to each other?
Usually we can address a friend from an English-speaking country by his/her first name without mentioning his/her surname or title out of respect for his/her culture. Because people from
English-speaking countries attach great importance to casualness in addressing each other in order to form a relatively intimate and equal relationship. But if he or she knows our culture very well or if we speak Chinese to each other, we can address him/her in the Chinese way. Just as the old saying goes, ―When in Rome, do as the Romans do‖, it‘s better for our friend to learn more about and become better acquainted with the Chinese culture. In this way, when addressing him/her, we can add ―xiao‖ (young) or ―lao‖ (aged) before his/her family name according to his/her age so as to create an amicable atmosphere. We can also address him/her by using his/her title in a humorous way, or by inventing some nickname for him or her in either English or Chinese, depending on the degree of intimacy.
Survey
Conduct a survey among some Chinese students to find how much they know about the possible cultural differences between Chinese and English-speaking people in the speech behaviors listed below.
Speech behavior Greeting China When greeting each other, the Chinese often begin with ―Have you eaten?‖, ―Where are you going?‖, ―What are you doing?‖, ―Long time no see.‖ and so on. English-speaking countries People from English-speaking countries usually say ―Hello.‖ ―Good morning/afternoon /evening‖ ―Nice to meet you. /Glad to see you.‖ or ―How do you do?‖ Apologizing Chinese people seem to apologize less often than English-speaking people. The Chinese apologize only when they think it is about something that really matters. People from English-speaking countries often apologize in their daily life even for the most trivial things.
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Making requests Chinese people tend to make requests in indirect ways, especially when the people involved are not on intimate terms with one another. People from English-speaking countries tend to make requests directly and openly. Expressing gratitude Chinese people often express their gratitude not just by what they say, but also by what they do and what they give to others who have done them a favor. People from English-speaking countries tend to show their gratitude more verbally to others who have helped them. Expressing disapproval Chinese people are reluctant to express their disproval openly for fear of making others lose face. If they have to express disapproval, they often prefer to do it in a very indirect way. People from English-speaking countries are more likely to express their disapproval freely and directly. Leave-taking Chinese people tend to excuse themselves by claiming that the others must be tired or busy, etc, using the expressions that impute the motive of tiredness or business to the other party when parting. People from English-speaking countries would usually find reasons to part related to themselves rather than to others. Intercultural Insight
Exploration
Try to describe and explain the possible similar experiences in your use of English as a foreign language in communicating with native speakers.
What a student tells us below can further illustrate the point that how we communicate appropriately in intercultural encounters may not be as simple as we tend to assume:
I remember in the first class of oral English when I was a freshman at university, we students habitually addressed our amiable foreign teacher as ―teacher‖ as we did to the other Chinese teachers. But he asked us to call him by his first name instead. Since he seemed more than fifty years old we were embarrassed but gradually we learned that was the suitable way to address a teacher in the United States, for teachers in the United States generally prefer to be seen as equal and like a friend to their students. However, when I was already a junior, to our great surprise, one of our foreign teachers who taught us intensive reading told us that he
preferred to be called by us as ―Professor White‖ or ―Doctor White‖. The reason was simply
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that he wanted to be properly respected in China.
Translation
纵观历史，我们可以清楚地看到，人们由于彼此所处地域、意识形态、容貌服饰和行为 举止上存在的差异，而长久无法互相理解、无法和睦相处。在这种情况下，跨文化交际作为 一个特定的研究领域得以形成和发展。值得注意的是，人类文明在发展过程中所遭受的许多 挫折，既是个人的，又是全球性的；人类历史进程总是充满了个人间的直接冲突和民族间的 误解——从骂骂咧咧到孤立主义直至到武装冲突，大大小小争端不绝。
很显然，文化间以及亚文化间的交往比以前多了，这迫切要求我们共同努力，去理解有 着不同信仰和文化背景的人们，并与之和睦相处。通过加深认识和理解，我们能够与生活方 式、价值观念不同的人们和平共处；这不但有益于我们周遭环境的安定，也是维护世界和平 的决定性因素。
Case Study Case 1
In this case, there seemed to be problems in communicating with people of different cultures in spite of the efforts made to achieve understanding.
We should know that in Egypt as in many cultures, the human relationship is valued so highly that it is not expressed in an objective and impersonal way. While Americans certainly value human relationships, they are more likely to speak of them in less personal, more objective terms. In this case, Richard‘s mistake might be that he chose to praise the food itself rather than the total evening, for which the food was simply the setting or excuse. For his host and hostess it was as if he had
attended an art exhibit and complimented the artist by saying, ―What beautiful frames your pictures are in.‖
In Japan the situation may be more complicated. Japanese people value order and harmony among persons in a group, and that the organization itself－be it a family or a vast corporation－is more valued than the characteristics of any particular member. In contrast, Americans stress individuality as a value and are apt to assert individual differences when they seem justifiably in conflict with the goals or values of the group. In this case: Richard‘s mistake was in making great efforts to defend himself. Let the others assume that the errors were not intentional, but it is not right to defend yourself, even when your unstated intent is to assist the group by warning others of similar mistakes. A simple apology and acceptance of the blame would have been appropriate. But for poor Richard to have merely apologized would have seemed to him to be subservient, unmanly.
When it comes to England, we expect fewer problems between Americans and Englishmen than between Americans and almost any other group. In this case we might look beyond the gesture of taking sugar or cream to the values expressed in this gesture: for Americans, ―Help yourself‖; for the English counterpart, ―Be my guest.‖ American and English people equally enjoy entertaining and
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being entertained but they differ somewhat in the value of the distinction. Typically, the ideal guest at an American party is one who ―makes himself at home,‖ even to the point of answering the door or fixing his own drink. For persons in many other societies, including at least this hypothetical English host, such guest behavior is presumptuous or rude.
Case 2
A common cultural misunderstanding in classes involves conflicts between what is said to be direct communication style and indirect communication style. In American culture, people tend to say what is on their minds and to mean what they say. Therefore, students in class are expected to ask questions when they need clarification. Mexican culture shares this preference of style with American culture in some situations, and that‘s why the students from Mexico readily adopted the techniques of asking questions in class. However, Korean people generally prefer indirect
communication style, and therefore they tend to not say what is on their minds and to rely more on implications and inference, so as to be polite and respectful and avoid losing face through any
improper verbal behavior. As is mentioned in the case, to many Koreans, numerous questions would show a disrespect for the teacher, and would also reflect that the student has not studied hard enough.
Case 3
The conflict here is a difference in cultural values and beliefs. In the beginning, Mary didn‘t
realize that her Dominican sister saw her as a member of the family, literally. In the Dominican view, family possessions are shared by everyone of the family. Luz was acting as most Dominican sisters would do in borrowing without asking every time. Once Mary understood that there was a different way of looking at this, she would become more accepting. However, she might still experience the same frustration when this happened again. She had to find ways to cope with her own emotional cultural reaction as well as her practical problem (the batteries running out).
Case 4
It might be simply a question of different rhythms. Americans have one rhythm in their personal and family relations, in their friendliness and their charities. People from other cultures have
different rhythms. The American rhythm is fast. It is characterized by a rapid acceptance of others. However, it is seldom that Americans engage themselves entirely in a friendship. Their friendships are warm, but casual, and specialized. For example, you have a neighbor who drops by in the
morning for coffee. You see her frequently, but you never invite her for dinner --- not because you don‘t think she could handle a fork and a knife, but because you have seen her that morning. Therefore, you reserve your more formal invitation to dinner for someone who lives in a more distant part of the city and whom you would not see unless you extended an invitation for a special occasion. Now, if the first friend moves away and the second one moves nearby, you are likely to reverse this --- see the second friend in the mornings for informal coffee meetings, and the first one
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