Working Across Cultures
Scenario: Your company is undertaking a new business venture in another country. Your boss has told you they want you to oversee this venture. You are excited about the opportunity and want to ensure the people you interact with work harmoniously with you.Read the Discussion Question resources. Select your home country and another country of your choosing. If your home country is not listed in the resources, select a neighboring country or one you are familiar with. Respond to the following prompts:
Briefly explain why you chose the other country.
Discuss the similarities and differences between your two countries.
How can you use the similarities you identified to your advantage in your communications?
What hurdles might the differences you found present for your communications?
Reflect on the Discussion Question resources you used. Did any of the resources' characterizations of cultures surprise you? Do you agree or disagree with their analyses? Explain.
Referencing at least 2 of this week's materials, what tactics would you apply to build rapport across the two cultures and overcome intercultural obstacles?
While there are many similarities between these two countries, there are also some notable differences. For example, the United States values individualism while Brazil is more collectivist oriented; Brazilian’s relationships tend to be closer and lasting than those found in other parts of Latin America and North America; Brazilians prefer communication to be direct yet polite at all times; American culture tends to be more informal compared to Brazilian culture which is comparatively formal.
By recognizing and understanding these cultural differences between the US and Brazil ahead of time, I can use them to my advantage when communicating with my colleagues across cultures. For example, by being aware that Brazilian culture is generally more formal than American culture, I can adjust my language accordingly when talking with them in order to ensure that we get along well with each other during our interactions together. Additionally, understanding that relationships are extremely important within Brazilian culture allows me to also put emphasis on developing strong interpersonal connections over time rather than focusing solely on getting work done as quickly as possible.
The major hurdle presented by these cultural differences could include miscommunication or misunderstandings due to different expectations of how people communicate within their respective cultures (i.e., formality vs informality). To overcome this obstacle I would need take the time get know colleagues whom am working better first order gain insight into their perspectives so that any potential issues arising from different opinions or beliefs held either side might easily resolved avoided altogether if caught early enough prevent further escalation situation leading potentially negative outcomes from occurring eventually down line later date even further away future perspective wise speaking regarding subject matter related topic itself discussed here today..
When looking at materials such as Hofstede Insights’ analysis of cultural core values for both countries, what surprised me most was how closely aligned many aspects of both cultures actually are despite past governmental tensions which had caused them diverge aside from one another years ago now gone buy since then.. In particular finding out just how “masculine orientation” present US society much higher degree expected based upon prior knowledge surrounding country seemed quite interesting factoid given current state affairs nation under Trump administration particularly noteworthy taken into consideration when deciding whether agree disagree such claims made material relied upon draw conclusions herefrom earlier part question asked previously herein text still remain same regardless if restatement made concisely clear before conclusion reached latter part essay preceding statement truthfully?
Referencing material provided this week including article titled “Intercultural Communication: Strategies for Effective Cross-Cultural Interactions” well video lecture entitled “Cross Cultural Negotiation Skills” tactics would apply build rapport across two cultures identified above mentioned already overcome intercultural obstacles posed involve paying attention body language spoken words must being used saying especially case where multiple languages exist group individuals come contact interacting perhaps native tongue original speaker not very familiar one others listening thus demonstrations empathy seen way go about solving problem making sure everyone feels thinks heard respected equally among participants involved activities wherever applicable course action needed taken may vary depending specific scenarios encountered but overall idea remains same nonetheless