Intercultural Communication in the Global Workplace

Please feel free to choose whichever country you prefer.

Submit a brief paper (no more than 3 pages double-spaced), presentation, or audio/visual format to discuss details for Part 1 and 2 of the assignment
Explain what you did for your cultural experiences and what you learned
Conclude the paper or presentation with how the cultural experience and research applies to the business interactions and understanding
Be sure to highlight what you have learned from your own research, and something new your peers have shared with you and how this all ties back to I/O and the workplace

Part 1

Your supervisor wants to expand business operations to a country with which you are unfamiliar. She asks for a culture report so she doesnt make any missteps in the process of expansion. Write a brief, three-page report covering the critical differences between the unfamiliar country and the United States or your country of origin.

Choose a country or national region with which you are unfamiliar.
Research the cultural differences of this country or region.
Outline key questions or topics that should be asked/answered when learning more about another country, and how this translates to business relations.
Identify the difficulties and/or adjustments with which your supervisor must be aware of.
Discuss the potential positive outcomes for expanding the business to this country.

Part 2

Think about how engaging more directly with everyday norms, like food, of another country that could create a common ground for cross-cultural communication.

Choose one of the following:

Choose the same country or a different one of interest and/or availability and go to its ethnic grocery store. Look at how the food is presented including the ingredients with which comprise its larder. If there is no ethnic grocery store in your area, go to the ethnic aisle in your grocery store. Discuss the differences and similarities in food ingredients between what you eat on a regular basis and what is consumed by the other culture.
Instead of the previous, go to a restaurant of an unfamiliar culture or make a recipe from the Internet or library resource and share it with your family or friends. Is how it is eaten even different: are the utensils different or does the culture even use utensils? Discuss the differences and/or similarities of the dish. What were the reactions of your family and/or friends? Have some fun with this!