Cultural Dimensions Worksheet Name: Complete the exercises on this sheet and e-mail your completed worksheet to the instructor and your classmates via Blackboard e-mail. Individualism/Collectivism Type in your responses to the questions below. 1. Place your culture on the individualism/collectivism scale, giving your culture a score from 1 to 10. 6 2. Based on your observations so far, where does your CCP’s culture fall on the scale? 6 3. Indicate where you fall, personally, on the individualist/collectivist scale. 5 4. If there is a significant difference in your personal score on the scale and the score for your culture, share in two or three sentences why you think this is so: Mark your responses on the scale above and write a brief paragraph explaining what consequences you can foresee, given the differences between these two cultures and your own personal preference. High Context/Low Context Consider the following example of how context plays an important role in communication and respond to the question that follows: Max, a missionary from a low context culture, is explaining the principles of discipleship to Joonu, who is from a high context culture. Every so often, Max says to Joonu, “Do you understand?” And Joonu, believing he is responsible for grasping the message, nods “yes,” even though he doesn’t understand. Max leaves the conversation feeling accomplished; meanwhile, Joonu remains as clueless as ever about what Christian discipleship means.i What could Max do to ensure that this type of miscommunication does not occur? (Share your response in about 200 words.) Time vs. Event Are you clock-oriented or event-oriented? Do you tend to oscillate between the two views of time? Briefly share an anecdote of a past experience you have had that demonstrates your view of time. (Respond in about 250 words). Task vs. Relationship You recently received the following e-mail from your friend, Meghan, who left the U.S. as a missionary about a month ago to help run a school in the village of San Fernando, Bolivia. Dear Friend, Thank you for your last e-mail. I meant to write you earlier, but Internet access has been limited. I hope your new semester got off to a great start. My host family has been very gracious, and they are so concerned about making sure I am comfortable—sometimes it’s a little annoying, to be honest. I’m just not used to having people in my space 24/7. I love my students. There are sixty of them in one small room (that’s the entire school)! But they never complain, and they treat me as if I’m the best thing since sliced bread. ☺ Something has been bothering me that I wanted to ask your thoughts on. You always have good advice, and since you’re taking that cross-cultural course at DBU, you might have some helpful suggestions. I’ve been having trouble with my teaching assistant, Sara. First, I should say that she’s a really sweet girl. She grew up here in San Fernando with her abuelita (grandmother), and she can be hard- working when she decides to be. Since she’s a local, I depend on her for a lot of things—translation, showing me where things are, introducing me to people in the community, and helping me prepare and explain lessons to the students. But Sara seems more interested in socializing than working. She’s always trying to make conversation with me during classes, even when there is a lot to do, and I’m feeling overwhelmed. Last Saturday, I was waiting on her to help me prepare for a science lab for Monday, and she never showed up. I did the preparation all by myself and it took up most of my day. On my way home, I ran into Sara’s abuelita and I asked if Sara was sick. She told me they had visitors from out of town and Sara was at home taking care of them. When I saw Sara at church the following day, she acted as if nothing had happened and just asked if we were still going to have the science lab. I told her I’d had to do the lab preparations all by myself since she didn’t show up. Instead of apologizing, she said she thought we might move the lab to a later date since she had not been able to help me prepare for it. I was pretty upset but tried not to show it. I don’t know what to do. I’m thinking of asking for a replacement for Sara, but word gets around pretty quickly around here. Soon, the whole village would be asking me what Sara did to offend me. They all think she’s great. Any thoughts? How can I make Sara see that there’s a time for work and there’s a time for play, and those two should be kept separate? Sorry about my ranting. I don’t mean to complain, but I just needed to share this frustration with someone. Miss you dearly! Love, Meghan Write a response to Meghan (no more than one page) addressing the situation she shared with you and responding to the questions she raised. Power Distance Imagine you have been living in a new country for a week, and you have been enjoying meeting the locals in your village. One day, you walk into your home to find your “host mother” waiting for you with a serious look on her face. “I hear you have been talking to those people who live by the nursery school and eating with them. You must never do that again! They are bad people! Bad!” she warns, hands moving expressively to demonstrate the seriousness of her point.ii 1. How do you respond? (Give your answer in no more than 100 words.) You ask around later and find out that the people to whom she is referring are considered to belong to an “inferior” caste within your host culture, and to associate with such people would make you “unclean.” 2. What is your response, then? Do you say anything to your host mother? Do you continue to stop visiting with the “bad people?” (Give your answer in no more than 200 words.) i ii Hypothetical scenario based on author’s cross-cultural experiences and observations. The author had a similar experience while traveling in Saudi Arabia.
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