Case Analysis: Unnecessary Anxiety or Not?

Sugawara (1993) surveyed 168 Japanese employees of Japanese companies working in the United States and 135 of their U.S coworkers. Only 8% of the U.S. coworkers felt impatient with the Japanese coworkers’ English. While 19% of the Japanese employees felt their spoken English was poor or very poor and 20% reported feeling nervous when speaking English with U.S. coworkers, 30% of the Japanese employees felt that the U.S. coworkers were impatient with their accent, and almost 60% believed that language was the problem in communicating with the U.S. coworkers. For some Japanese workers, anxiety over speaking English properly contributed to avoiding interactions with the U.S. coworkers and limiting interactions both on and off the job to other Japanese only.

7.1.2 Assuming Similarity Instead of DifferenceTo assume people know how someone else is thinking based on how they see things is called projected cognitive(认知的,认识的)similarity. It occurs when they think they know someone else’s perceptions, judgments, attitudes, and values because they assume others are like their own. Assuming similarity instead of difference refers to the assumption that people are more similar to you than they actually are or that another person's situation is more similar to your own situation than it in fact is. It reflects both a natural and a common process. For instance, a Chinese assumes his or her Japanese colleagues are more like Chinese than they actually are. Based on this assumed similarity, one often acts inappropriately and ineffectively in intercultural situations. When communicating with people from other cultures, the individual, assuming similarities when differences exist, is likely to treat them as "my people" and to assume there is only one way of doing things: that is "my" way. The basis of assumed similarity is a subconscious parochialism (乡土观念,狭隘), related to ethnocentrism. Assuming similarity particularly handicaps people in intercultural communication. This can lead to disrupted communication and even conflict. In 1997, a Danish woman left her 14-month-old baby girl in a stroller(婴儿车)outside a Manhattan restaurant while she was inside. Other diners at the restaurant became concerned and called New York City Police. The woman was charged with endangering a child and was jailed for two nights. Her child was placed in foster care. The woman and the Danish consulate(领事), explained that leaving children unattended outside cafés is common in Denmark while parents were eating inside. The Danish woman had assumed that Copenhagen(哥本哈根)is similar to New York, so that what is commonly done in Copenhagen is also commonly done in New York.

Case Analysis: Cultural Misinterpretation

Mr. Wang, the Chairman of Board of Directors of a Chinese firm, told a story on CCTV program "Dialogue" of how he once almost lost a valuable Canadian employee working for him in Vancouver. He emailed every day to the Canadian, inquiring for the index number he was most concerned about. To his great astonishment, his Canadian employee turned in his resignation after a week. Mr. Wang was puzzled how he could do that to him as he gave such great attention to his job. A Chinese employee would have been more than happy if his or her boss had showed such great concern for him or her. He then found out that, unlike Chinese employees, the Canadian took what meant great concern to Chinese as distrust. But Mr. Wang assumed unconsciously that the Canadian was more similar to his Chinese employees than he actually was and treated him just as he treated any Chinese employee.