#4 Evaluating Intercultural behaviour

I will be talking about an intercultural scenario that occurred in the movie, Japanese Story http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UPP9cTQ5Ps&feature=related

Please watch the link above for a clearer picture. I can assure you that this well-filmed clip is thought-provoking. You may want to watch the entire movie too, like me. If you do own a VCD/DVD or download of this movie and don’t mind lending it to me, I will be very grateful=).

In this video, you will first see a flushed-face Japanese man standing beside his luggage. After pacing around for a while, he finally leaned against his luggage, probably out of exhaustion for having to stand rigidly in a suit under the hot sun. Apparently, his host, Sandy was late. Being punctual is highly important in Japan, as it indicates respect for the other party.

When his host finally arrived, he went back on his feet with his back straight, portraying a graceful and respectful figure. He allowed his host to approach him and start the conversation before offering his business card politely. In the Japanese business etiquette, exchanging business cards is de rigueur in formal introductions. You should extend your card to the other person with both hands and with the card positioned in the right side up to him (upside down to you). You should receive cards with both hands too. Be sure to look at the card and not just pocket it. Never put it in your pants pocket and sit on it in front of the guest, which is, unfortunately, what Sandy did in the clip.

Also, Sandy placed her hands on her hips while speaking to her guest, which is a sign of anger or discontentment in most cultures. In addition to the hands-on-hip gesture, she made other huge body gestures, which may seem unfeminine to Hiromitsu. Also, it was rude of her to flick Hiromitsu’s name card on her hands after receiving the name card from him.

As the more expressive party of the 2, Sandy was obviously offended that Hiromitsu took no initiative to load his luggage into her jeep. His lack of sensitivity towards women is born of Japanese male chauvinism, a norm in the Japanese society. There is no “ladies first” custom in Japan.

Hiromitsu then went into the back seat, clearly mistaking Sandy for his chauffer. I felt that he could have been less assuming and spoke more to Sandy to clarify the situation.

In the car, Sandy tried to hold a casual conversation with Hiromitsu. She was making an effort to entertain the guest and reduce the tension that was built up earlier by a poor first impression of each other. On the contrary, Hiromitsu seemed reluctant to chat with her. I found out that Japanese use silence as a form of communication as much as speaking. Sandy’s question “Is it hot enough for you?” was met with a direct “yes” from Hiromitsu. Japanese style of conversation is very direct, without any irony or sarcasm. In contrast, Sandy’s question borders on a playful context and gives room for a creative reply. This cue was not taken up by Hiromitsu though. He was reticent, which did not go well with the more outgoing and expressive nature of Australians.

Moreover, Japanese think that multi-tasking is rude when one is in a conversation. Thus when Sandy spoke, he immediately turned his attention to her and lowered his camera.

In addtion to all the cultural taboos she had committed against the Japanese, Sandy's brusque and unfeminine body language, together with her talkative nature seemed to have repulsed Hiromitsu. Concurrently, Sandy is put off by Hiromitsu’s reticent, uptight and ungentlemanly behavior. Both parties seemed ignorant of each other's culture. Their inflexibility to adjust to the situation and understand each other may be due to pride.

There is no definite right or wrong when it comes to intercultural communication because either party will be acting a manner that he has been brought up to recognize as the most polite or appropriate way to behave. The question is which cultural milieu should you adopt in a cross-cultural meeting? I always believe that I should adopt the etiquettes and practice of a nation that I am visiting. If I am hosting in my country, I will still learn the cultural and social etiquettes that my guests practice. However, I will gradually and patiently introduce them to my nation’s way of doing things.