Intercultural Communication Scenarios

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Intercultural Communication Scenarios

Lingyu Wang (Louis)

Directions: Read the following scenarios about cross-cultural miscommunications, and answer the questions. Make sure to refer to the “Core Cultural Values” worksheet, as well as to the article, “The Values Americans Live By” and the Cultural Values Presentations in class. Type your answers and submit this to the D2L Drop box by Monday, November 11.

Scenario #1

Thin Lo, who is from Vietnam, has lived in the U.S. for four years. For the past year and a half, she has been working as an assembly worker for the ACP Electronics Company. Her supervisor is an American named Jim Smith.

Thin likes her job and is a very good worker, but she is upset with her supervisor. Jim continues to have weekly meetings with the 12 assembly people in his department. All of them are from Asian countries. He keeps asking them for suggestions for increasing production and for better work conditions. She thinks this is a waste of the company’s time because this is the supervisor’s job, not the workers’ job.

On the other hand, Jim has been increasingly discouraged lately. He wants his workers to feel a part of a team. But when he tries to include them by asking for suggestions, usually no one says anything.

Questions:

1. What are Thin Lo’s thoughts and feelings about this situation?

I think she will feel strange about this situation. As an ordinary worker, she will just consider that it’s enough that she finishes her own work, and her opinions about how to increase production are not important. However, the supervisor always did what she thinks is unnecessary.

1. What are Jim’s thoughts and feelings about this situation?

He will also feel confused about this situation. In American culture, teamwork spirits are very important and everyone is equal. As a manager, Jim will consider it’s necessary to ask employees’ opinions, because on one hand, it’s respectful for employee’s rights and on the other hand, sharing suggestions is a teamwork spirit. However, the workers seem not to understand and cooperate.

1. What is the problem?

These two people come from different countries that have different cultural values.

1. What do you think are the cultural values at play here? In other words, what assumptions and behaviors helped create this miscommunication?

I think it’s because of different cultural value in Equality and Hierarchy. Workers just think there is a hierarchy between the manager and workers. So workers just need to finish their own work and can’t intervene manager’s work. In contrast, the manager from U.S pursues equality between them. He considers each one in the company is equal, and everyone can express opinions. Meanwhile Jim thinks that this way can create a team atmosphere.

1. What suggestions would you give to Thin Lo for resolving this problem?

I think she needs to study this different cultural value, and because she’s working in U.S so she needs more to adapt American cultural value, which can help her work better. She can express directly her opinions that can really help the company to Jim.

1. What suggestions would you give to Jim for resolving this problem?

Jim also needs to understand workers’ hierarchy value, and expresses his thoughts to workers and encourages continually them to say suggestions. Even he can enact punishment regulations, forcing employees to express their points. Over time, employees will form this habit, and adapt American culture better.

Scenario #2

Hiroshi is a junior at a small U.S. university. He studied English for many years in Japan, and how he speaks the language very well. He is a very good student and enjoys most of his classes. But there is one class he is taking this semester that has upset him.

In the class, there are only 14 students, and they are all American except for Hiroshi. They spend most of the class time in discussions led by the professor. Hiroshi wants to drop this course because the students seem impolite and self-centered. They aren’t interested in the ideas and opinions of each person because they interrupt and argue with each other. Also, they don’t try to reach a group consensus.

The American students in the class are beginning to think that Hiroshi either can’t speak English very well or that he doesn’t have many ideas because he never says anything in class. They don’t want to be rude, but they are starting to ignore him in their discussions.

Questions:

1. What are Hiroshi’s thoughts and feelings about this situation?

He will feel uncomfortable, because the teaching way or classroom atmosphere are total different with Japanese way.

1. What are the American students’ thoughts and feelings about this situation?

American students will think it’s normal, and they enjoy this teaching way. Meanwhile, they will feel strange about Hiroshi’s performance. And over time, they will consider Hiroshi doesn’t have many interesting opinions. So they will not pay attention to him any more.