Intercultural Interactions
Adapted from
Intercultural Interactions: A Practical Guide, 
ed. Kenneth Cushner and Richard Brislin
 
 
The Shopper and the Vendor 
 
Brian Shige, an American of Chinese-Japanese heritage, was visiting 
in Singapore from Hawaii. In shopping around, trying to buy some fruit and souvenirs, he was trying out a few local words he had learned from the tour guide. He noticed many people staring at him as he walked along in the marketplace. As he was bargaining with a vendor, the, vendor asked, "You from Filipine?" "No," Brian replied, "I'm from Hawaii!" "Oh, Hawaii, you Hawaiian!", the vendor commented, very pleased with himself. 
"No, I'm Chinese-Japanese," said Brian. 
"Oh? You Chinese?" repeated the vendor in a questioning manner. 
"No! Actually I'm Chinese-Japanese, my mother is Chinese and my 
father is Japanese!" replied Brian, beginning to be irritated.
"Oh! You Japanese!" the vendor stated definitely; Frustrated, Brian 
shrugged his shoulders and walked off without getting the fruit he was 
 looking at." What might best explain this situation?
 
1. The vendor did not understand much English, and so did not really understand what Brian was saying.
 
2.The vendor was tired of visitors haggling over his wares and was trying to tease Brian. 
 
3. The vendor was trying to find out more information from Brian to see if he was rich so he could charge him more for the fruit. 
 
4.The vendor was not used to mixed races, and because Brian had familiar features, the vender identified him with some of the local people. 
 
 
The Delay
 
It may not have been love at first sight, but the romantic relationship between Junko and Robert had developed quickly. Robert was a 25 year-old businessman on assignment to Tokyo to develop joint ventures in the electronics industry. Junko was a language interpreter who had accompanied Robert, early in his sojourn, when he had been asked to give a public presentation about his company. After the speech, Robert had asked Junko out to dinner, and the romance proceeded from that point. 
  
After they had been dating for about 6 months Junko (who originally had come to Tokyo from a rural community 300 miles away) wanted Robert to meet her parents. Although not overjoyed at the idea, remembering clumsy meetings with parents of college girlfriends in the United States, Robert was  culturally sensitive enough to realize that Junko had to show respect to her parents by introducing him  to them.  The couple traveled by train to Junko's home community and were entertained by her parents. Robert thought the visit went well, even though the parents asked him a large number of questions about himself.
 
About 3 months later, Junko and Robert discussed the possibility of marriage. Again, Robert realized that  Junko would have to discuss the matter with her family. Junko called her parents, informed them of her plans, and asked for their approval. The parents did not agree right away, but promised to call Junko back as soon as possible. Weeks passed, with no call from the parents. What might be a likely reason for the delay? 
 
1. Junko's parents were checking into Robert's family background 
 
2. The telephone system is poor in Japan and Junko's parents would have had a hard time making a call from their rural community.
 
3. Junko had been seeing Robert in Tokyo without a chaperon. 
 
4. Junko had an unmarried older sister, and this sister had to be married before Junko would be allowed to become engaged. 
 
 
The Unsuccessful Dinner Party 
 
Having been treated to a wonderful time by Mei-ying's family on her first visit to the Orient, Alice  wanted to return their hospitality. She invited them out for a meal, but they politely refused, knowing that her travel budget could not afford it. Being aware of the Chinese emphasis on food, Alice volunteered to make the family a genuine American meal. They agreed to this, saying that they would get whatever she needed. Alice made a list, and Mei-ying took her to the marketplace. There seemed to be a horde of people pushing and grabbing at the various items displayed in every available spot, right therein the street. Mei-ying attempted to maneuver Alice to the meat section, where she could get some steaks. However, as she neared the area, 
Alice spotted a man who had just wrung a chicken's neck and then hung it up to bleed it. Alice was aghast but continued on, her gaze now directed to the street they, were about to cross. There in the gutter, a man was scaling and cleaning out a large fish. At this, Alice remarked on the unsanitary conditions of the place. She nonetheless made her way to the booth with the beef, where she was met with the blank stare of a dead steer's head. Totally repulsed at this, she queasily asked Mei-ying to take her to another market, preferably one that was indoors. Mei-ying hesitantly agreed, saying that there was a Western-style supermarket on the next block, but that she rarely went there as she was unsure of the freshness of the items. To her delight, Alice found all the items she needed. However, she noticed Mei-ying poking and pinching and squeezing items, with a worried look on her face. When all was prepared and served, Alice noticed that Mei-ying's family just picked at the food. 
 
How could you help explain the family's reluctant feelings? 
 
1. Mei-ying and her family were unaccustomed to eating American food, and they really did not want Alice to cook for them. 
 
2. Mei-ying's family thought that Alice should pay for the items she needed to cook the treat for them. ,
 
3. Alice had insulted Mei-ying's family by suggesting that she cook for them, I implying that their manner of cooking was not really acceptable. 
 
4. Mei-ying and her family and Alice have different ideas about sanitary, conditions and freshness of food. 
 
 
 There Ethical Issues Involved? 
 
 Jack Williams and Herb Edwards had come tb Shanghai to discuss a joint venture with a Chinese electronics firm. Jack and Herb had been struck by the numbers of Americans who owned personal pagers, and, they thought that they could compete, in the American market given low labor costs in China. They also had in the backs of their minds that personal pagers might be attractive to consumers in China. 
 
Jack and Herb met with executives and engineers in a large electronics firm. Many meetings were scheduled, and Jack and Herb conscientiously gave presentations on their ideas at all the meetings. At about the seventh meeting, Herb noticed that different engineers seemed to be attending the meetings. At about this same time, Jack noticed that the questions from the Chinese engineers were becoming more and more technical, and that the Americans found it difficult to answer them without giving away trade secrets. After the twelfth meeting, Jack  and Herb went out for a drink. Herb said, "I realize that the books with titles such as Guide to Doing Business in China say that the Chinese schedule meetings to gain specialized information about technology, but this is getting ridiculous. I should think that scheduling all these meetings would go against their ethical code. How do they sleep at night?" If you were asked to help Herb deal with his frustration, what you say to him?
 
1. The engineers who began attending at about the seventh meeting needed to catch up on the basics of the technology with their colleagues who had attended since the first meeting. 
 
2. Herb was incorrect: The Chinese were looking for something else besides specialized information on the technology surrounding the manufacture of personal pagers. 
 
3. The Chinese were setting aside any guilt they were experiencing in their quest for advanced technological information. 
 
4. The Chinese did not view their behavior as unethical, and they might point out that there were aspects of Jack's and Herb's behavior that could be looked at as ethically troublesome. 
 
5. The Chinese were trying to continue negotiations with Herb and Jack as they weighed the men's proposal against those of other companies interested in doing business in China. 
 
 
The Shinto Priest 
 
The U.S. branch of a Japanese manufacturing company had been operating successfully for some years, but in recent months a series of seemingly unrelated incidents had caused concern. First, there was a rash of accidents in the plant itself, then one of the Japanese executive's children died of a rare illness and another executive's car caught fire, severely burning him. Rumors of a jinx on the company began to spread among the employees, and morale lowered. Consequently, the management called a meeting of the executives to decide how to react to the situation. The, American managers suggested that all safety and quality control procedures be reviewed so as to reassure the workers that their welfare was taken seriously. The Japanese managers, however, held that this had already been done; they felt that other forces were at work. They wished to bring in a Shinto priest to bless the company and protect it against evil spirits-this', was the only course of action that would reassure them. The Americans were reluctant to adopt such an action and preferred the idea of seeking solutions from the employees. The meeting ended in disagreement. What was the underlying reason for the disagreement between the American and Japanese managers? 
 
1. Many of the American managers were probably Christians and objected to Shinto rituals being performed on company property.
 
2. The Americans regarded the Japanese proposal as based in mere superstition. 
 
3. The Japanese were unwilling to admit that their safety procedures were at fault and sought to blame other forces. 
 
4. The Japanese managers did not like the idea of calling for employee' suggestions as this would undermine their authority.