Going international

Going International: Part 1 - “Bridging the Cultural Gap”

Student A
1. Give three examples from the video of how different cultures do fundamental things in different ways.
2. Howare these things done in Norway?
- Greeting each other
- How we dress
- How and what we eat
- E.g., Norwegians (both men and women) greet each other by shakinghands.

Student B
1. Why does the video say that stereotypes can be dangerous?
2. Come up with the stereotype description for TWO of the cultures we focus on in the course.
-Stereotypes take a few group characteristics and then apply them to individuals.
- Stereotypes are only partially accurate; they are not the whole picture.
- Stereotypes are toonarrow.
- Individuals don’t like being categorized. They may be offended.

Student C
1. According to the video, how does the American orientation to time differ from some other cultures?2. How might you explain the American orientation to time?
- The Americans are rigid-time oriented, while many of the cultures portrayed in the video were fluid-time oriented.- One explanation might be that the American business culture is deal-focused. For Americans time is money and a quick decision is a good decision.

Student D
1. What criticisms did peoplemake about American business people?
2. What might be the reasons for these “cultural clashes”?
- When they are abroad they forget that they are the foreigners.
- They wanteverything done instantly.
- They overstate their accomplishments.
- They don’t mix the feelings of the heart with the feelings of the head.
- They think that what you cando in the US you can do all over the world.
- One reason might be that all cultures are ethnocentric; we all think our own way of doing things is best.
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“Going International:...