Reference no: EM132387958

Cultural Sensitivity Case Studies

Case study: 1

CULTURAL AWARENESS
1. How do you proceed to get to known Toya?

2. Does the fact that Toya is an American Indian play a role in her shyness? How can you learn more about the American Indian culture?

3. What topics must you bring up to encourage conversation?

Case study: 2
The new & young worker

As a group, discuss the following:

1. Until what age are you considered a young worker, under WSBC Regulation?

2. If an employee - who has worked for a company for many years - is relocated to a different department, are they, by WSBC definition, considered a new worker, and should they have to undergo safety orientation and safe work procedure training again, and why?

3. If you leave a company, and a few months later get re-hired for the exact same job position, are you considered a new worker, and what type of training should follow?

4. As a group, discuss the importance of young worker training, and list how and why it differs from the mature worker's needs?

5. When putting together a training plan for new or young workers, what topics should be included in the training?

6. What is the KEY takeaway your group has learned from this case study?

Case study: 3

The disengaged worker

As a group, discuss the following topics:

1. When training a group of workers, what are some of the physical indicators that tell you whether or not a group is no longer attentive?

2. What can you do as trainer when you notice the workers attention span is waning?

3. List several reasons why workers may not be engaged in a training session

4. As a trainer, list the different methods you can use to facilitate a successful group training session.

5. What are the main differences between a training session and a lecture?

6. How important is it to "train the trainer??

7. What is the KEY takeaway your group has learned from this case study?

Case Study: 4

Sandeep is out of the office
• What cultural and/or personality traits are influencing the communication?
• What is Sarah likely to be thinking/feeling?
• What is Sandeep likely to be thinking/feeling?

Case Study: 5

Culturally Appropriate Responses

QUESTIONS

1. In terms of global business communication, what does this case help teach us? What is this case about?

2. Babcock (2015) stated that "global business communication is going in the direction of increasingly more complexity and diversity...which results in ‘competency levels' of familiarity and knowledge regarding how to communicate with others." How do these concepts relate to the cultural repercussions of the girls holding hands? In China? In North America? Other places in the world?

3. Face saving is a significant issue in Chinese culture. Cardon (2009) reported about the role of face in Chinese business culture, such as giving face, protecting face, vying for face, and not considering face. Cardon also included dominant face practices and related strategies based on business relationships. How could the young women manage face saving in this particular situation?

4. What judgments were made about a non-verbal action? What could have been done to prevent these judgments?

5. How did the perceived judgments impact the young women's behavior for the rest of the weekend and well-beyond?

Case stydy:6
The Ethnically Dressed Lawyer

QUESTIONS

1. In terms of global business communication, what does this case help teach us? What is this case about?

2. Did each party have an open mind and work through any differences? What would be the role of a neutral third party?

3. Victor (1992) includes an entire section on appearance, noting that "an individual's general appearance is a strong nonverbal communicator, both within a culture and across cultures." He cited numerous researchers who "demonstrated that an individual's overall appearance in the workplace has an impact on how others evaluate that person's work-related behaviour." Victor (1992) emphasized that the choices people make regarding how they clothe and groom themselves communicates powerfully on a nonverbal level." From a communication point of view, what misinformation, fear of the unknown, and pre-existing ideas were evident in the situation with the lawyer? Once the situation developed, what communication process could have helped the parties recover from a situation of cultural intolerance? How could each party have communicated during the situation to correct that intolerance?

4. In general, how can intercultural communicators with good intentions recover from a mistake or faux pas? Why did pre-existing cultural stereotypes inhibit rather than help communication situations?

5. What could the law firm do in general to reduce such situations in the future? What can be done when cultural differences are identified? What type of support systems do people have when cultural intolerance is first experienced (Trompenaars & Woolliams, 2004, p. 318)?

Interpersonal Skills Case Studies

Case study: 1
Michael is an intern at a law firm. He is hired for a two-month internship programme which includes assisting advocates, interacting with their clients and attending court sessions. However, after a few days, Michael's performance suffered greatly which led to inefficiency and client dissatisfaction. Upon examining Michael's work habits closely, the manager realized that he lacked interpersonal skills.

Case study: 2
FEAR OF SPEAKING
1. Would you encourage Chen to turn down the promotion if he doesn't feel comfortable with accepting all of the duties of the position?
2. Who could Chen talk with about his concerns about speaking to groups?
3. What suggestions and support would you give Chen if he came to you for help?

Case study: 3
Jim's Mistake
A case study on virtual teams, hierarchy, and direct versus indirect communication styles.
1. Should Aruna have informed Jim of his mistake? Why or whynot?

Case study: 4 Rebecca
Reflection... 1 .Did Abhinav agree to the initial timeline requested by Rebecca?

2. What might Rebecca be thinking aboutAbhinav?

3. What might Abhinav be thinking aboutRebecca?

Case study: 5
1. Did Lydia (who needed the job) do the rightthing?
2. Was the new method of sorting a good idea? Why or whynot?
3. How could Lydia have gained acceptance of the newidea?
4. What steps could Lydia have taken to be accepted again as a part of the salesteam?

Case study:6
Communication gap

Questions:
1. What is the problem in this case?
2.Who is responsible for this episode?
3.Do you feel that the workers would have not agitated if there were two-waycommunication between the management and the workers

Attachment:- Cultural Sensitivity Case Studies.rar