Unit 3 – Socializing

What do you think is happening here?

Hans Braun is on a business trip to the USA, and things seem to be
going well. In fact, it looks like he will have some time to relax at the
weekend before returning to Germany. He asks his American
colleague, Joe Webb, for some tips on what to do. Joe immediately
offers him the use of the family cabin in the mountains, as well as his
car. Hans Braun is amazed at the generosity of his colleague, who he
only met a few days before, but says he can’t possibly accept. He hires
a car and books into a hotel. Joe can’t understand this behaviour. Hans
Braun is surprised.
How do you understand these models?
• Which one do you think USA and Germany (Hans Braun) belong to?
• What are the positive and negative aspects when one model may see
the other ?
Read the following incident:
Following the takeover of a British car manufacturer by a leading
German company, Gunther Hoffmann has been sent to Britain to find
out why productivity in the plant in the Midlands is so low. The
managers seem to work long hours—many are still in the office at 7.00
pm, but they waste their day in endless meetings. They don’t seem to
take work that seriously, and every phone call ends up in small talk
about what they did at the week end. It is the final straw when one of
the British managers, having failed to give Dr. Hoffmann the
information he wanted, suggests talking about the problem in the pub
after work. No wonder they’ve got problems with productivity!
• What do you think is happening?
• Which culture would you prefer?
• Why ?
How would you cope with this situation if:
- you were the German?
- you were the Japanese?
• ‘When I arrived in Tokyo everything was well prepared. But two
comments ofmy predecessor puzzled me. First, westerners have
almost no chance of understanding Japan, and they will always be
treated as unwelcome for eigners. Second, in any case Iwould have to
change my lifestyle completely. IfI wanted to get familiar with our
Japanese car dealers, I would be obliged to drink at least 70 to 80
glasses of sake with each of them. Additionally, I would have to be
out each night. Let me put it this way: intercultural com petence
through drinking.’
What do you think is wrong to the US couple
here?
• Craig Storti tells the story of a US couple invited to a Moroccan family
home for dinner:
• Having pressed their host to fix a time, they arrive half an hour late,
and are shown into the guest room. After a decent interval, they ask
after the host’s wife, who has yet to appear, and are told that she’s
busy in the kitchen. At one point their host’s little son wanders in,
and the couple remark on his good looks. Just before the meal is
served, the guests ask to be shown to the toilet so they may wash
their hands. The main course is served in and eaten from a large
platter, and the couple choose morsels offood from wherever they
can reach, trying to keep up polite conversation throughout the meal.
Soon after the tea and cookies, they take their leave.