In my opinion, a possible intercultural scenario is when people from different countries meet at a common place. I define it as such because many people from different countries have various cultural norms and practices that may differ from the other. When there is a lack of understanding of different cultures, conflicts can easily happen.
Here is one intercultural scenario that I have experienced during my first year of study in NUS.
I was attending a tutorial for my first arts module and was really surprised at the variety of students there. There were those who came from Hawaii, Japan, America and many more. This was not something I would commonly encounter in a Science tutorial.
For this module, we were required to break into groups to do a project. One of my group members was an American Exchange student. She was a really nice and outspoken person. However, my displeasure with her started when she told the group she would be touring the different countries in South-East Asia during her time of study here. All her lessons were arranged on Monday and Tuesday so that she could visit other countries for the rest of the week.
When I heard this, I wondered how she could contribute to the project when she was not in Singapore most of the time. However, my opinion changed when I got to understand her more. She would still do the work assigned to her but chose to do it on the sunny beach in Bali using her laptop. In addition, she planned her schedule in such a way that we were able to have group project meetings together. Through her, I realized that American students know how to learn and play hard. They enjoyed their lives without disrupting the progress of their work with proper time management.
With a different culture, many Singaporeans tend to think work is only done when they can actually see the person working there physically. In addition, if I had clarified with her more regarding her style of working, that would have spared the unpleasant feelings on my part.
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This is a very interesting post, Gillian. You very honestly describe your initial assumption that because the American girl said that she would be off campus, she wouldn't be able to complete her work. (I guess she did, right?)
ReplyDeleteI see that attitude even among some colleagues. They seem to think that a person has to be in a campus office for work to get done. In this day in age, however, when many of us have computers and Internet access at home or in wifi situations, work can be done
easily out of the box. I'm not sure that this is purely a cultural issue, but I agree that for many Americans, "flex time" --as such an approach to work has been called -- is now routine.
Thank you for sharing this with us!
Hi Gillian,
ReplyDeleteOverseas students and Singapore students are so different! They carry their countries' culture into our culture. The problem arises when what their culture deems as good and normal is exactly what our culture sees as bad and something to be avoided. We might tend to pass a judgement internally if we don't try to understand their norms. Looking from their perspective instead of just others would actually help us more than them. Like you said, less unpleasant feelings would be spared.
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ReplyDeleteHi Brad,
ReplyDeleteshe completed her work and did it splendidly. I guess the sunny beaches and breathtaking views really help her in a positive way.
Seriously, if it is not a culture then what possible factors could have attributed to this phenomenon?
Hey Gillian,
ReplyDeleteMaybe she's just being very professional in her work, and has been exposed to such working conditions. I guess the cultural difference here is the attitude towards studying/working, locals don't tend to work when they're having a holiday (though I know some Singaporeans do so anyway!).
Culture is one explanation, but personal style is another. Some Americans I know would not have done the same thing as your group-mate. They would have stayed and slogged through the assignments on site.
ReplyDeleteHi all,
ReplyDeleteI guess this post is not exactly about intercultural behavior since not all Americans actually do something like what my friend did. She is an exceptional case. However, I believe one thing that I have pointed out that is accurate. Many Singaporeans require visual proofs to know that you are working.I guess it is more of a stereotype than the cultural aspect.
I guess a key thing in every successful group project might very well be to communicate effectively right from the start, stating each member's capacity to contribute to the project. Only then can the parties involved set realistic goals and expectations of one another, preventing misunderstandings.
ReplyDelete