Instructions: Read the following case study and discuss it in your groups (maximum 5 members) and answer the questions below the case study for presentation in the tutorialduring the Wednesday 21 March 2012 BM102 lecture.
Communication across cultures
A man from the green people, fancying himself as a world traveler,paid a visit to the country of the orange people. Now green people spit as a sign of friendship and show their dislike by smiling. Moreover, green etiquette demands that green people should always show friendship on greeting a stranger for the first time. It is also courteous to conceal dislike as much as possible, even when the cause of one’s dislike is quite dreadful and deserves to be smiled at for a whole week.
Orange people, on the other hand, like to show friendship by smiling, and disapprove of spitting unless one has eaten something really disgusting and simply has to get rid of it. Then the spitting should be done as discreetly as possible. The green man, who wished to make most of his staying in the new country, was in a very short time, truly alarmed, for every time he met an orange person, the latter would smile at him, even though the green man spat in the friendliest way. He could not imagine what he had done to cause such open dislike.
Determined to win over the orange people, the green man engaged in a great deal of spitting. Fortunately, the strategy was quite successful, for very soon, the orange people’s smiles faded. However, try as he might, the green man never received any friendly spitting in return of his efforts. Then, one night, an orange man came out of a rather rowdy place and, to the green man’s delight, the orange man started to spit. Joyfully, the green man spat back a gleaming arc of saliva that landed on the orange man’s face; truly a mark of the greatest respect. So the green man was utterly dumbfounded when the next moment, the orange man knocked him to the ground. The green man got up and resolved to leave the orange country immediately. He would go far away from this place where he would never be happy.
(Adapted from Cleary S et al (2005), The Communication Handbook, Juta and Co.)
Questions
- Using your knowledge of intercultural communication, explain what has caused the breakdown in communication between the green man and the orange people.
- Translate the behaviour of the green man in business language.
- Suggest possible strategies the green man could have used to ensure a far more pleasant stay in the land of the orange people.
- It is important for all managers to be knowledgeable about, and comfortable with people from different cultures. Explain how cultural differences affect the following:
- Gift giving in business
- Corporate colours
- Genders issues
- Branding
- Time management
- Language differences