Deck 5: Communicating Across Cultures

Question 1

Which of the following strategies is it NOT a good idea to adopt in a multicultural, Canadian workplace?

A)Attempt to memorize the nonverbal characteristics of your co-workers' cultures.
B)Assume that co-workers will adhere to the nonverbal characteristics of their ancestors' cultures.
C)State interpretations of co-workers' nonverbal behaviour, in order to check if the interpretations are correct.
D)State observations of co-workers' nonverbal behaviour, in order to elicit an explanation of the behaviour.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

When you are speaking to one of your subordinates, she always drops her eyes.Which of the following is probably true?

A)She has vision problems.
B)She does not understand the instructions.
C)She is embarrassed.
D)She is deferring to a superior.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

What should you do to appear more authoritative in a speaking situation?

A)Lower the pitch of your voice.
B)Raise the pitch of your voice.
C)Use a sing-song pattern.
D)Avoid stressing syllables.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

According to Ray Birdwhistell's research, how many gestures or body motions have the same meaning in all societies?

A)None
B)Two: "yes" and "no"
C)Five
D)Twenty-three

Question 5

Which of the following is a common misconception about the Middle East?

A)The majority of people are Muslim.
B)Over half of the population is under 15 years old.
C)There is great economic opportunity in the region.
D)Women are successful entrepreneurs in the region.

Question 6

When were the members of Generation Y born?

A)1945-1964
B)1965-1980
C)1981-1999
D)2000-present

Question 7

Which approach is best if a business associate refuses to look you in the eye while you and he are speaking?

A)Ask why he won't look you in the eye.
B)Realize that he's probably not telling you the truth.
C)Keep moving until you force him to look you in the eye.
D)Realize that he may have learned that constant eye contact is not appropriate in a business situation.

Question 8

You ask a friend at work at your firm's Greek office if she will send you a copy of a confidential memo.She says nothing.You are surprised it never comes.Which of the following is the BEST explanation of your friend's reaction?

A)She enjoys making you wait.
B)She is disorganized.
C)She intended her silence to mean "No."
D)She intended her silence to mean "Yes, when I get permission."

Question 9

Which of the following is NOT generally true of Canadian businesses?

A)Increasing shares of profits come from outside Canada.
B)The majority of businesses have some kind of stake in international business.
C)They are extremely accomplished at leveraging international experience and cross-cultural training.
D)Exports are often viewed as essential.

Question 10

Which of the following is NOT a good strategy for communicating with international audiences?

A)Realize that organizational patterns in Canadian messages may not work elsewhere.
B)Make sure requests are direct, so that even people who aren't entirely fluent in your language will recognize them.
C)Make a special effort to avoid phrases that could seem uncaring.
D)Pay even more attention to written than oral messages, since written cultural mistakes are permanent.

Question 11

Business communication practices in Canada place the importance on the written words.What does this indicate?

A)Canada has low-context preferences.
B)Canada has high-context preferences.
C)Canada is polychronic.
D)Canada is monochronic.

Question 12

Which of the following statements is a correct description of ethnocentrism?

A)It is a means of resisting stereotyping
B)It refers to natural pride in one's culture
C)It is a useful tool for successful decision-making
D)It is a tendency to judge others based on one's own cultural norms

Question 13

Some Europeans see North American business people as overly time-conscious.Why?

A)North Americans tend to schedule multiple people in the same appointment time.
B)North Americans usually show up about five minutes late for appointments.
C)North Americans expect others to show up at about the scheduled time for appointments.
D)North Americans schedule more events in a period of time than Europeans do.

Question 14

Which of the following is NOT a good strategy for communicating with aboriginal peoples?

A)Follow the lead and instructions of the aboriginal peoples involved in the exchange
B)Focus on the importance of the written word, in order to overcome any language barriers
C)Be sensitive to the importance of trust and relationship building
D)Understand that the aboriginal peoples involved may favor a leisurely approach to negotiations

Question 15

John has noticed that Cindy tends to frequently punctuate her conversations with nods, "yes's," and "mm hmms." Which of the following explanations should he adopt for her behaviour?

A)She has a debating conversational style, and is trying to interrupt him.
B)She is impatient.
C)She is signaling that she's listening.
D)She is signaling agreement with his statements.

Question 16

You are in a meeting with an international executive at his office.A colleague comes in to talk to him during your appointment, and he accepts two phone calls.Which of the following is most likely true?

A)He thinks you are less important than the other callers.
B)He is disorganized.
C)His culture is monochronic.
D)His culture is polychronic.

Question 17

Which of the following is NOT generally a North American preference when conducting business online?

A)An expectation of immediate or rapid feedback
B)A priority given to reading and responding to e-mail
C)A relationship-oriented style
D)A clear, concise, and direct style of writing

Question 18

Which of the following is most true of the multigenerational workplace?

A)Generation Y has yet to truly grow up.
B)There are more similarities than differences between age groups.
C)It is unusual for different generations to work well together.
D)Age is often the most important predictor of how an employee will behave.

Question 19

You are speaking to a group of 20 people for 20 minutes.Which of the following strategies will improve the effectiveness of your voice quality?

A)Avoid changing pitch, volume, and tone throughout the presentation in order to sound consistent.
B)Vary pitch, volume, and tone throughout the presentation in order to sound alert and intelligent.
C)Speak loudly enough to be heard by all, and with as high a pitch as possible so that your voice will carry through the room.
D)Speak as softly as possible so that the audience will be forced to concentrate on what you say.

Question 20

Which of the following would normally NOT be a mindset that would make an employee a good candidate for an overseas position?

A)Knows her values are influenced by her culture
B)Knows the host culture should be more competitive to succeed in business
C)Knows she needs to be aware of religious practices in the host culture
D)Knows she needs to be flexible

Question 21

Which of the following statements about personal space is correct?

A)People within the same culture may have different preferences about personal space.
B)North Americans tend to prefer less personal space than Italians and Arabs.
C)Women tend to prefer more personal space than men do.
D)In many cultures, people who are of the same age and sex will take more personal space than people in mixed-age or mixed-sex groups do.

Question 22

Which of the following is NOT a trait of our cultures?

A)They are logical and learned.
B)They are complex and contested.
C)Cultures are inherently decorative, masking universal human behaviour.
D)Cultures are often the source of our priorities, and our values.

Question 23

Would the sentence "Time is Money!" be a good opening line for a letter urging a group of international business executives to come to an immediate decision about an investment opportunity?

A)Yes, because then they would realize that a delay could hurt them financially.
B)Yes, because it shows that you have a reason for pushing them on their decision.
C)No, because it emphasizes that you are asking the group to spend money in the first place, and their reluctance to do so could be the cause of the delay.
D)No, because people in other countries often take a much more leisurely approach to negotiations.

Question 24

Confirmation bias is a useful phenomenon that consists of being open to confirming the positive qualities in others.

Question 25

Where you place stress in a sentence profoundly influences the meaning of that sentence.

Question 26

Which of the following statements about Asia is NOT correct?

A)Talking about "Asian culture" is flawed because it obscures the diversity of cultures in Asia
B)Japanese workplace behaviour is far less influenced by economic and organizational factors than workplace behaviour in North America
C)Culture alone does not explain Asian economic success
D)Geographic factors and previous disasters play a role in Japan's cultural characteristics

Question 27

Which of the following statements about women in the Middle East is NOT correct?

A)In some countries, more women than men are enrolling in university
B)Women were among the leaders in recent protests in the region
C)Female entrepreneurs in the region still employ a high proportion of male managers and professionals
D)There is little difference between male- and female-owned businesses in the region

Question 28

Which of the following statements about diversity in the workplace is NOT true?

A)Employees who are visual minorities face "unconscious bias" in the workplace.
B)Employees who are visual minorities complain of being asked to explain the behaviour of anyone else who belongs to their racial and/or cultural group.
C)Employees with disabilities feel they need to educate their colleagues, while "keeping it light" with humor.
D)The glass ceiling is no longer a problem for female employees.

Question 29

Women and youth play very insignificant roles in Middle Eastern cultures.

Question 30

Why may Americans negotiating with Chinese make costly concessions?

A)It is very difficult for them to overcome language barriers.
B)Americans tend to use holistic thinking, which leads them to overlook important details.
C)Chinese tend to be inflexible.
D)Chinese are in less of a hurry, while Americans get nervous at delays.

Question 31

Non-verbal communication is a universal language that people from all cultures can understand.

Question 32

High context cultures are likely to view indirectness as dishonest or manipulative.

Question 33

Why can colour be important in international business?

A)People in other cultures tend to be more fashion-conscious than those in Canada.
B)Business executives in other countries may prefer working with quite conservative or quite extroverted people, depending on culture, and colour is a good sign of these personality traits.
C)People usually take pride in the colours on their national flags.
D)Individual colours carry meaning in a culture.

Question 34

Which of the following is NOT a good guideline to follow when writing to international audiences?

A)Write in the reader's language if you have any knowledge of the language at all; doing so greatly increases goodwill, even if you make mistakes.
B)Write using familiar terms (e.g."agree" instead of "concur").
C)Avoid slang, contractions, and sports metaphors.
D)Make requests more indirect, unless you know that your reader understands North American behaviour.

Question 35

Which of the following is a characteristic of communication in high-context cultures?

A)Written agreements are binding.
B)High-context cultures rely on non-verbal signs to communicate.
C)Oral agreements are not binding.
D)They prefer direct communication.

Question 36

The Confucian work ethic alone explains East Asian economic success.

Question 37

Which of the following is an open body position?

A)Leaning back with hands behind the head
B)Keeping arms close to the body
C)Leaning forward
D)Keeping hands in pockets

Question 38

Learning to communicate with people from different backgrounds requires learning each culture's rules.

Question 39

The differences between high-and low-context cultures are rigid.

Question 40

It can be helpful for managers working overseas to have a basic understanding of the religion observed by workers in that company.Why?

A)Then the manager knows when to buy gifts for his or her employees.
B)A superior should always seem knowledgeable to his or her employees.
C)Ordinary business days in Canada may not be the same in another country.
D)Most international companies insist that managers adopt all the customs of the host country.

Question 41

Low-pitched voices are usually considered more authoritative than high-pitched voices.

Question 42

Research shows that trustworthy people maintain eye contact throughout a conversation.

Question 43

The circle and the medicine wheel tend to reinforce social hierarchies in aboriginal cultures in Canada.

Question 44

Latin American countries are usually good examples of monochronic cultures.

Question 45

Our value, priorities, and practices are shaped by the ____________ in which we grow up.

Question 46

In many cultures, people of the same sex stand closer together than do people of the opposite sex.

Question 47

_____ is the emphasis given to one or more words in a sentence.

Question 48

The Canadian workplace can be less welcoming of diversity than Canada's multicultural reputation suggests.

Question 49

In North America, speaking in a monotone makes a person seem engaged and focused on business.

Question 50

It's often best to write in English to other countries and cultures, unless you're completely fluent in that group's language.

Question 51

The colour black signifies death in all cultures.

Question 52

Loud voices are problematic in all cultures.

Question 53

Diversity is important only for businesses dealing with people outside of Canada.

Question 54

In international business correspondence, list the month before the day.

Question 55

Residents of small towns and rural areas have different notions of friendliness than do people from big cities.

Question 56

Most cultures are more formal than Canada, and this should be taken into account when writing to international audiences.

Question 57

Canada is arguably the most culturally diverse country in the world.

Question 58

When tone of voice and content of speech (the words spoken) conflict, people believe the content.

Question 59

_____ is the judgment of others by norms specific to one's own culture.

Question 60

Effective oral communication abroad requires an understanding of the host culture.

Question 61

The term _________________________ denotes our conversational patterns and the meaning we give to them (for instance, the way we show interest, politeness, or appropriateness).

Question 62

List five sources of workplace diversity, and explain why it is important for businesses to be aware of them.

Question 63

______ body positions suggest that a person is accepting and welcoming of new ideas, whereas ___________ body positions suggest that a person is uncomfortable or shutting another person out.

Question 64

Explain how the use of eye contact can cause miscommunication.

Question 65

When writing for international audiences, use __________ instead of first names.

Question 66

Explain why we need to read Edward T.Hall's distinctions between high-context and low-context cultures with caution.

Question 67

_____ space is the distance someone wants between him-or herself and other people in ordinary, non-intimate interchanges.

Question 68

_____ refers to the rising or falling inflection that tells you whether a group of words is a question or a statement, whether the speaker is uncertain or confident, whether a statement is sincere or sarcastic.

Question 69

_____ is what occurs when people see what they expect to see, and are blinded to the positive attributes of others.

Question 70

Seeing questions as a way to keep a conversation flowing is an example of a(n) ____________ conversational style.

Question 71

In Aboriginal cultures, the _______________ emphasizes interdependence and the mental, spiritual, physical, and emotional, and may be followed in consensus decision making.

Question 72

A(n) _____ chronic culture focuses on relationships, rather than clock time.

Question 73

Explain how immersion in local cultures can help a global business.

Question 74

In North America, people like to be touched if the person who does the touching is _____ powerful than the person who is being touched.

Question 75

_______-pitched voices are usually perceived as being more authoritative, sexier, and more pleasant to listen to than voices with other pitches.

Question 76

______-context cultures infer information from the context of communication, whereas _____-context cultures see context as less important and focus on information that is explicitly conveyed.

Question 77

Imposing unfair generalizations and labeling people with unjust images is called _____.

Question 78

Laura's grandfather has always been wary of making business deals with Italians, since he believes they all have ties to organized crime.When Laura confronts him on this issue, he merely points to a recent high profile arrest of an Italian member of organized crime in Montreal.Laura wants to figure out a way to explain to him how his thinking is wrong; how should she approach this topic?

Question 79

___________ communication is communication that doesn't use words, but that is often crucially important.

Question 80

Offering advice and solutions to someone who shares a problem with you is an example of a(n) ______________ conversational style.