EXPERIENTIAL EXERCISES FOR IMPARTING CROSS-CULTURAL APPRECIATION Developments In Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 20, 1993 168 EXPERIENTIAL EXERCISES FOR IMPARTING CROSS-CULTURAL APPRECIATION William E. Stratton, Idaho State University ABSTRACT This paper describes a workshop presenting several short exercises requiring minimal instructor preparation for imparting an appreciation of the issues and problems encountered in cross-cultural settings. INTRODUCTION The increasingly global scope of business has resulted in the internationalization of the curriculum in business schools. Courses must not only deal with the essentials of business in the domestic setting, but must consider the implications of doing business in a worldwide arena. One result of this trend is the need for courses in organizational behavior to foster appreciation for the impact of cross-cultural differences on the conduct of business in international settings. Another reason for emphasizing cross- cultural awareness is the increasing cultural diversity of the domestic environment, which also requires an appreciation for cultural differences to manage a diverse workforce effectively. STUDENT LEARNING OBJECTIVES When teaching courses dealing with global issues in organizational behavior, I attempt to meet four major objectives: 1. Increasing Cultural Self-Awareness To deal effectively with another culture individuals must first appreciate their own culture, its implicit assumptions and distinctive practices, and its value biases. 2. Developing Cross-Cultural Awareness Students need to gain some understanding of the myriad ways that other cultures vary from their own, and gain some ability to appreciate these different perspectives. 3. Understanding the Management Implications of Cultural Differences Managers need to be able to perform a cultural analysis so that approaches to the achievement of organization goals elicit minimum disruptions due to cultural conflicts. 4. Developing Trans-Cultural Skills and Approaches Knowledge of cross-cultural differences is helpful, but students also need to develop an understanding of the situation faced by the individual actually bridging the culture gap. The processes of cultural adjustment and culture shock should also be understood. Over the years, as I have taught cross-cultural issues as part of my courses in organizational behavior, I have developed a number of short but effective exercises that attempt to achieve the objectives listed above. THE EXERCISES These exercises help students appreciate some of the issues and problems encountered in cross-cultural settings. They are simple exercises requiring minimal instructor preparation and can be conducted in class using little time. Yet these exercises manage to move most students outside their comfort zone to actually experience the feelings of discomfort often encountered in cross-cultural settings. The space afforded here does not permit me to go into detail concerning these exercises. Those who are interested may contact me for copies of the exercises and the teaching notes that accompany them. Briefly, I will describe four of these exercises. One deals with the culturally-determined “natural” speaking distance and the problems created when one deals with another person who prefers to converse at a distinctly different distance, either much closer or farther away. The second deals with how a group treats a co-worker who performs at a level, which is much lower than that of other group members. There are major cross-cultural differences in how such an individual is treated. The third deals with the “manana” attitude and the distinctly different perceptions that an Anglo-American and a Latin American have of this concept. Finally, the fourth exercise deals with differences in perception even with such amorphous stimuli as Rorschach inkblots, and the implications of this finding. CONCLUSION I frequently use these and several similar exercises in my introductory course in individual and organizational behavior. They are short enough to be woven into my lecture material on international and cross-cultural management issues, and provide students some actual experiences with what the lectures and assigned readings typically discuss. These materials can usefully supplement whatever text materials are used in dealing with cross- cultural/international issues. I think they would be of use to many instructors as they introduce global issues in their classes in response to trends in management education and the changes in business school accreditation requirements. Many textbooks have not yet responded very adequately to these new demands. Table of Contents Volume 20, 1993 Dominant Personality Types and Total Enterprise Simulation Performance Shelf Wars: A Grocery Channel Simulation Shared Cultural Perspectives: An Experiential Exercise Utilizing International Students to Globalize the Classroom An Instrument for Investigating the Effectiveness of Teaching Methods in the Business Policy and Strategy Formulation Course Providing Better Trained Graduates for Accounting Employers The Ambition Gradient Approach to Evaluation of Computer Simulation Game Team Performance Alphatec: A Negotiation Exercise with Logrolling and Bridging Potential Using the Ideafisher Idea Generation System as a Decision Support System in Marketing Strategy Courses A Dynamic Market Share Allocation Model For Computerized Business Simulations Multi-Cultural Adaptability Using Experiential Learning in a Graduate Course Development of Experiential Applications in HRM: Practicing What Preach and Preaching for Practice Linking Students and Business Leaders Through Portfolios Debriefing International Experiential Learning Exercises: Road Signs for Effectiveness Sales Manager: A Simulation Modeling Interactive Effects in Mathematical Functions for Business Simulations: A Critique of Goosen's Interpolation Reducing the Complexity of Interactive Variable Modeling in Business Simulations Through Interpolation Antecedent Biases of Experiential Learners: Trainee Occupation and Subgroup Diversity Pax in Terra Sancta: Simulating the Middle East Peace Negotiations A Multiple Regression Case In Experiential Learning Changes in Ethnocentric/Geocentric Orientation by Business Students after Exposure to a One Summer Course in International Marketing's A Systematic Approach to the Development and Evaluation of Experiential Exercises Entrepreneurs Evaluate Experiential Education A Linear Programming Approach to Open System Total Enterprise Simulations Reflecting Leader Behavior from the Looking Glass, Inc. Simulation Linking Cognitive Styles, Teaching Methods, Educational Objectives and Assessment: A Decision Tree Approach Restructuring Management Education in Post-Communist Countries: How Western Experts Can Help Managerial and Cultural Pre-Conditions for Superior Performance in a Global Setting: An Experimental Study with the Aid of Business Games Multiple Industries in Computerized Business Gaming Simulations Content or Process? - Content and Process! Some Observations and Reflections About Management Education in Central Europe Out-of-Class Experiences to Promote Volunteerism Enacting the Linguistic Consciousness of the Modern Managerial Mind: Post-Modernism and Experiential Learning Intergrating Experiential Exercises into the College Curriculum: The Case of Internationalizing the Business Curriculum Simulation Marketing Oversights Incorporating Advertising Creative Strategy into Computer-Based Business Simulations The Dynamics of a Partnership Between Business and Education Collaborative Education Done Globally Experiential Systems Analysis CADPLAN: A Simulation for Comparative Advertising A Doctoral Symposium: Preparing Students for Conference Behavior Comparing the Simulation with the Case Approach: Again! Total Quality Management: A Model for Continuous Quality Improvement The Quality Audit: An Experiential Exercise for Business Students Extending the Reach of Simulations: DECIDE Heads for the Inner City Lessons Learned from a Customized Management Development Simulation The Foreign Exchange Spot Trading Simulation Using Lotus 1-2-3 to complete a Triple Play in a Simulated Competition International Business Education: Is Enough Being Done? Matching of Student-Teacher Cognitive Style as a Factor in Student Success in an Introduction to Information Systems Course Breathing (More) Life into the Case Approach Lord of the Flies: A Live Case Approach to Leadership Cooperative Case Studies: Experiential Tools for Teaching Business Problem Solving Tools Strategy Simulations in Context: An Evaluation of Key Dimensions The Distribution Channel Game Evaluation of a Simulation Game as an Education Tool for Utility Professionals The Relationship Between Total Enterprise Simulation Performance and Learning Total Quality Management does not Happen by Magic, but it can be Taught Using a Pedagogical Methodology that Utilizes Magic Effectively Preparing Students for Careers in a Global Environment by Integrating Total Quality Management Thoughout the Business Curriculum An Empirical Investigation of Cognitive and Performance Consistency in a Marketing Simulation Game Environment Using MARSGAP with LAPTOP: (A Marketing Simulation Game Analysis Program) with LAPTOP: A Marketing Simulation Adapting TQM Implementation to Organizational Level An MBA Business Simulation: Executive Interaction Experiential Exercises and Pedagogy Track Workshop: Experiencing Cultural Diversity in the Classroom (and the Hotel Meeting Room) Closing the Gap between Corporate and National Culture The Dynamic Manufacturing Company The Use of Experiential Techniques in Corporate Training The State of Simulation Gaming in Easter European Countries- Principally Russia An Experiential Exercise in Cross-Cultural Training Valuing Differences: A Conceptual Framework Demonstration of an Experiential Exercise Effectively Using Experiential Learning to Impart TQM Concepts in a High Technology Environment The Older Worker Questionnaire: An Exercise Concerning Older Worker Stereotypes and Behaviors The Crime Fighting Task Force: An Exercise in Organizational Politics Welcome to the Party! An Expression of Vocational Preference Experiential Exercise for Imparting Cross-Cultural Appreciation Six Swift Simulations on Globalization Overview of BASF Delegate Program