re: Clemson - expecting people to be on time is culturally insensitive.

Dude. The question says that it's visiting people from other countries who don't know better. And that in their countries it might not be bad form to socialize and/or be late. Etc. so the course is trying to explain how to handle that situation.

That when you're dealing with visiting GUESTS from other countries, as a host and faculty member, you try to accommodate the cultural norms of the GUESTS.

and you don't necessarily need to make some guest apologize to others for doing what is normal and natural to them, nor do you need to enforce your own cultural norms on them, but that you should try to accommodate the diverse needs of your guests.


If you invited a carnivore to your house and a vegan. would you make either one of them try to eat the others food? Would you just say "you're eating what I cook" regardless of their beliefs? if the answer is yes then you're not being a good host.

Go back and read the question.

Group one Germany arrives at 845.
Teacher arrives at 9.
Group two Greece arrives at 910 and expects to socialize.

the answers for the multiple choice are:

1- make Greek group apologize to Germans
2- explain how we do things in MURKA
3- allow for the fluidity of the differing culture's times and try to adjust accordingly.

how can you not see the answer as to not offend guests is 3? There is not a 4- attend to the Germans and ignore the Greeks.

The Germans are not right showing up 15 minutes early. The Greeks are not wrong to show up ten minutes late expecting to talk. Both are entirely consistent and polite within their cultures.

I understand all of this

It is a no win situation for the person who arranged the meetings

I think you are going to piss off one regardless

I think the first come first serve would work best in adjusting accordingly

Take away is not to double book meetings by the hypothetical genius

But why are the Greeks not wrong for being late but the Germans are not right for showing up early? That is quite cultural insensitive to the German way of life.

Let's see how fluid time is when you get a job...

Guarantee you are annoying as hell when traveling abroad with your friends and they are clumsy about other countries' cultures.

quote:

---

it's not being "sissified" to say that there is not one way to do things and that the way our corporate culture operares is based on one of a very diverse range of cultures that exist here.

---

While I am 100% behind the rest of the post and get the first part of the statement, I disagree strongly with the second and saying it's not "sissified"

It's one thing to be mindful of other cultures. It's another to be bound by them. Especially in a management style position. If you are trying to run a system a certain way, either by trying to establish a corporate culture or demanding a certain level of results, that is your right.

Understanding goes as far as not assuming everyone is following your definition/perspective of things, and politely and professionally share expectations.

That's not what is here. Clemson's administrative policy is that the superior is directly subject to their subordinate's feelings as long as they can make a case in terms of culture. It is then the superior's job to revise his vision to accommodate the subordinate's wants.

And that's fricking stupid.

I've been the primary trainer in my department for some time, and recently we were in an assembly line of trainees to accommodate a period of very high turnover. It's a highly communal, fast paced environment where the tasks at hand are tackled by a team, not individuals. As a result, expectations are made to work at a certain high skill level, which the position pays considerably more than market to reflect.

These expectations are defined, and codified, and while highly daunting at first (requiring a gentle easing into the ramped workload and expected rate), everyone in the department meets or exceeds the standards.

One trainee in particular, who was foreign, originally from Ghana, sticks out in this conversation. Typically, if I sense incredulity in the trainee, I'll ask them to simply shadow me for a day, and I demonstrate that the expectations, while challenging, aren't impossible. Then I get to work on coaching specifics of thought processes of workflow, with an emphasis on adapting principles to the situation to come to a decision rather than a set procedure.

This individual simply didn't care. During a same day paperwork audit pretty far into his training, I asked him why did he miss a required test window by 3 hours. His defense was that he needed to take a break. When pointing out that would explain a 15-20 minute miss (still not acceptable, but I typically give a lot of latitude for trainees), not a 3 hour one, he replies with something right out of the Clemson book apparently: "I don't have to be fast. I simply have to work as well as I feel able and that is enough."

Worth noting that this individual was eventually cut loose primarily because he went MIA multiple times when he was on duty: long lunches, and running errands such as going to the barber shop or grocery shopping: all while on the clock.


But I'm sure all that was cultural and I should have been more sensitive.

frick. I need to get a new role. I'm a white heterosexual male in dominant role with insufficient white guilt apparently. HR PC bullshite is only a matter of time if these are the tides.

sigh. This question is posed about visiting professors and students. Not just Clemson students. They're visiting. This is not superiors and subordinates but guests.

Also that situation sounds frustrating. I wouldn't say to keep him.

But you understand the purpose of the course is to prevent responses like 1 and 2, both of which would be disrespectful to the other visiting cultures right?

2 would be less terrible than 1.

So you get that 3 in this case is what they'd try to get you to say. Not 2 and def not 1?