跨文化交际案例分析-1.ppt

Case study More exercises Case 1 Jim Ellis, vice president of a North Carolina knitwear manufacturer, was sent by his company to observe firsthand how operations were proceeding in their Korean plant and to help institute some new managerial procedures. Before any changes could be made, however, Jim wanted to learn as much as possible about the problems that existed at the plant. During his first week he was met with bows, polite smiles, and the continual denial of any significant problems. But Jim was enough of a realist to know that he had never heard of any manufacturing operation that didn’t have some problems. So after some research, he uncovered a number of problems that the local manager and staff were not acknowledging. None of the problems were particularly unusual or difficult to solve, but Jim was frustrated that no one would admit that any problems existed. “If you don’t acknowledge the problems”, he complained to one of the managers, “how do you expect to be able to solve them?” And then to further exasperate him, just today when a problem was finally brought to his attention, it was not mentioned until the end of the workday when there was no time left to solve it. Case study Typical sections: case summary Cultural reasons alternatives conclusion Suggested answer Jim was sent to Korean plant to help people there with some new managerial procedures, though Jim was welcomed with great hospitality, only to find that his Korean colleagues tried to avoid acknowledging any significant problems, let alone solving them. Jim couldn’t understand the way that Korean solved the problem. To his exasperation, a problem was mentioned when there was no time left to solve it. Cultural Analysis High-context/ low-context culture Individualistic/ collectivistic culture Attitude towards bad news In individualistic culture, they view conflict as fundamentally a good thing. Working through conflict can gain new information about members, defuse more serious conflict, and