Incidents Of Ic

NAME: _________________________________ Decision-Making Scenarios* Directions: The following is a set of 10 scenarios. Each scenario is followed by two options. Please imagine yourself in the situation. Remember that there are no correct answers, only your gut-level reaction of what you consider to be the most appropriate response for you. Distribute five points between the a and b choice to indicate how strongly you prefer each choice. Use all five points per question (e.g., write a 4 for a and a 1 for b). The higher the number, the stronger you endorse the choice. You may use zero, if it is appropriate (e.g., 0 for a and 5 for b). 1.When

you enter a room full of people, what is your typical reaction? _____a. I want to blend in and not be noticed. _____b. I seek out a stranger and introduce myself. 2. Suppose you have two job offers to choose between. Which is the most important factor in making your decision? _____a. The position that will result in the greatest job satisfaction. _____b. The location of the job in relation to my family and close friends. 3. You and you coworker have been up for a company promotion. You just found out you got it, but your coworker did not. What will you say when your coworker asks if you have heard any news? _____a. Tell your coworker you have not heard anything yet. _____b. Tell your coworker you got the promotion.

4. A controversy has developed in your workplace, and you need to take a position. Which is your most likely course of action? _____ a. Analyze the controversy on your own and voice your position. _____ b. Discuss the controversy with your friends and take their views into account. 5.

New Year’s is right around the corner and you’ve already planned a long weekend off, with early notification. Your manager asks you to work during the New Year’s Eve weekend at the last minute because everyone else wants the day off. You say, “No thanks.” _____a. in a tactful way and offer a reason and apologize. _____b. directly with no reason given. 6. Your parents do not approve of your romantic relational partner. What do you do? _____a. Tell your family to respect your partner and treat her or him properly. _____b. Tell your partner that he or she must make a greater effort to fit in with the family. 7. Teams of four people entered a creative training exercise contest. Your team won first place and a prize of $400. You were efficient and did 95 percent of the work on this project. How should the money be distributed? _____a. You would split the prize money equally. _____b. You expect to get $380 (95 percent of the money) and the rest goes to the other members. 8. During the first week of your new job, your supervisor consistently mispronounces your name. What will you do?

_____a. Correct your supervisor you do not want the error to continue. _____b. Say nothing and let it go. 9. Your neighbor has been playing loud music for the past three nights up until 1:00 A.M. You will most likely _____ a. grin and bear it--and hope the music will stop eventually. _____ b. approach your neighbor assertively. 10. Your supervisor praises you publicly on the results of a successful team project. You are likely to respond; _____ a. “Thanks--I really worked hard on the project.” _____ b. “Thanks--the team really worked hard and pulled together on the project.” NAME: ___________________________________ Scoring for “Decision-Making Scenarios”

Low-Context Tendencies Add the points on:

High-Context Tendencies Add the points on:

1b _____

1a _____

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3b _____

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4b _____

5b _____

5a _____

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LCC Total: __________

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HCC Total: _________

Circle: Male Female Ethnicity: ________________ 1. Watanabe-san's persuasion style reflects the a. self-credentialing verbal mode. *b. self-humbling verbal mode. 2. Watanabe-san's overall verbal communication characterizes the a. informal verbal style. *b. formal verbal style. 3. Watanabe-san's motivational speech is reflective of a. individualistic, small power distance values. *b. collectivistic, large power distance values.

Let’s now analyze William Wilde's persuasive verbal styles: 4. William's persuasion styles reflect the *a. self-credentialing verbal mode. b. self-humbling verbal mode. 5. William's overall verbal communication characterizes the *a. informal verbal style. b. formal verbal style. 6. William's motivational speech is reflective of *a. individualistic, small power distance values. b. collectivistic, large power distance values. A Critical Incident: A Motivational Speech? A Japanese multimedia subsidiary in the United States had just completed a very successful year. All of the company goals were met or surpassed. As a result, the annual sales conference was held in Disneyland Resort Hotel in California. Many of the salespeople brought their spouses to the conference to celebrate and enjoy a well-earned vacation. The audience at the dinner celebration consisted of mostly American salespeople and their spouses, and some Japanese technical support personnel. The Japanese president gave a brief welcome in halted English, but the audience appreciated his remarks. Next, the American director of sales, William Wilde, got up and introduced the Japanese vice president, Satoshi Watanabe-san. They had planned ahead of time to give two

short motivational speeches to kick off the conference. Watanabe-san was about 50 years old, and he had used the last two weeks to memorize his carefully prepared speech in English. When Watanabe-san stood up, his posture was rigid, his face was serious, and his tone sounded harsh. Here is what he said: Thank you for your hard work this fiscal year. We have broken many records, but ... we need to be careful and not to appear too proud. We need to keep up our fighting spirit! Our competition is working to defeat us this very minute while we are celebrating. You have done a good job ... but you must do more. There's no time for frivolous activities. You must prepare yourselves to work twice as hard this coming year. The company has invested a lot of money in new manufacturing facilities. These facilities are producing our new product lines. It is your duty to this company to sell these products as efficiently as possible. You must not fail! You must not be content! I hope you do a better job in the new fiscal year. Thank you." The American audience sat in stunned silence during most of Watanabe-san's speech. The American director of sales, William Wilde, stood up quickly, physically backed away from the Japanese vice president of sales, and with an awkward smile said, Disregard everything he just said. We are here to celebrate your fantastic achievements this year! We've out-performed all our competitors this past year and your success is far beyond expectations. So give yourselves a big round of applause, and, let the festivities begin! The audience applauded. William gave the signal to the hotel staff to serve the

dinner. For the rest of the conference, the tension between Watanabe-san and William Wilde was obvious, and most of the other Americans were irritable. Source: Adapted from Clifford H. Clarke & G. Douglas Lipp (1998). Danger and Opportunity: Resolving Conflict in U.S.Based Japanese Subsidiaries. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press. NAME: ______________________________ Interactive Probes for “A Motivational Speech?” (Ask yourself and probe your classmates' reactions) 1. What kind of persuasion style is Watanabe-san using?

2. How would you explain the American audience's interpretation of Watanabe-san's speech? What was their expectation?

3. What kind of persuasion style is William Wilde using?

4. What would be your analysis of the American audience's interpretation of Wilde's speech? What was their expectation?

5. What are the hidden cultural values behind Watanabesan's motivational speech?

6. What are the hidden cultural values behind Wilde's motivational speech?

7. If you were an intercultural consultant to this organization, what specific recommendations would you offer to both of them?