Cultural Different Frames of Reference

(2-11) CULTURAL DIFFERENT FRAMES OF REFERENCE

A cultural misunderstanding nearly derailed an Indo-Japanese bridge-building project. An Indian firm sent a detailed list of technical questions to its Japanese counterpart. The Indian engineers panicked when they receivedno rely. They wondered what had happened. Was the deal off? A week later, the Japanese engineers responded. Unlike in India or in the United States, the Japanese encourage input from everyone involved in a project. The queries probably went to the heads of various departments so that a complete picture could be presented in response. In the United States and in India, businesspeople expect an immediate response of some sort from e-mails.

Your TASK

Discuss how differing frames of reference affected this misunderstanding. How could such misunderstanding be averted?

Your response should be typed in MS word in no more than two paragraphs, use Chapter 3 Power Point Presentation to help you;