Answer the questions

Situation 2

Answer the questions

1. Do you feel surprised or offended? Why?

2. Why do you think your colleague behaved this way?

3. What would you say to the colleague in this situation?

4. Do you believe the success of the team guarantees the well-being of the individual members? Do you think that a group of people is more likely to succeed if they work as a team than if they work independently? Can you prove it with any example?

5. Do you believe it is reasonable to depend on yourself and succeed or fail based on your own individual actions? Why?

6. What culture – collectivist or individualist – would you prefer to live and work, if you had choice? Why?

You are working in a culture where people tend to be more collectivist, especially in the sense that group harmony and saving face are highly valued. You, on the other hand, feel that while harmony and saving face are good things in general, they can sometimes be more trouble than they're worth. You've noticed, for example, that people tend to tell you what they think you want to hear rather than the truth, especially if the truth isn’t particularly pleasant. This bothers you because you take people at their word; you assume they mean what they say, or they wouldn't say it. You're not sure anymore if you can trust what people are telling you, if you can act on what they say. At the same time, you're beginning to sense that you may be rubbing some people the wrong way by "telling it like it is." Today, any doubts you had about this were removed when your manager called you into his office. He said several colleagues had complained that you weren't "very careful" in how you spoke, that you said things "more strongly" than was necessary, and that you didn't take people's feelings into account. What would you do if you were in this situation?

1. Do you feel surprised or offended? Why?

2. What would you say to the manager in this situation?

3. What do you prefer – to tell people the truth in any situation or to tell the truth omitting strong words?

4. How would you continue the conversation with the manager? Would you argue or confess your impoliteness?

Part 5. All cultures can be subdivided into two types: monochrome and polychrome cultures.

Monochrome: Time is a commodity; it isquantifiable and there is a limited amount of it. Therefore, it is necessary to use time wisely and not waste it. There is a premium on efficiency, hence a sense of urgency in many matters. Time is the given and people are the variable; the needs of people are adjusted to suit the demands of time (schedules, deadlines, etc.). It is considered most efficient to do one thing at a time or wait for one person at a time. As far as possible, you shouldn't let circumstances, unforeseen events, in­terfere with your plans. Interruptions are a nuisance.

Polychrome: Time is limitless and not quantifiable. There is always more time, and people are never too busy. Time is the servant and tool of people and is adjusted to suit the needs of people. Schedules and deadlines often get changed. People may have to do several things simultaneously, as required by circum­stances. It's neither necessary to finish one thing before starting another, nor to finish your business with one person before starting it with another. You always have to take circumstances into account and make adjustments. Strictly speaking, there's no such thing as an interruption.

Дата добавления: 2014-12-29