Thinking about Cultural Miscues
Question
The scenario presents ethnocentrism when the Venezuelan businessmen discuss their families and weather in front of Steve who expected his contract to be the main topic. Steve is also invited to dinner and still, no business is discussed. Steve expected that the Venezuelan culture would be similar to the US culture and talk about business in the first meeting. Cultural relativism serves as a cognitive tool that helps comprehend why other people act and think the way they do. Therefore if Steve practised cultural relativity, holism or a cross-cultural perspective, he should have realized that in Venezuelan culture, people first familiarize and build trust talking about their families before any business talks occur. From the case study, Venezuelan culture requires people to create a friendly atmosphere before discussing business. As such, cultural issues arose when Steve expected the Venezuelans to act the same way as the Americans. However, it is the responsibility of visitors like Steve to first learn how the Venezuelan people culturally behave. All in all, different countries have their own cultures and traditions that should be respected.
Reply One
Your post presents a clear explanation of how ethnocentrism is presented in the case study. I can add that Steve had a culture shock after meeting the Venezuelans since he had expected them to behave the same as Americans. I agree with your assessment that Steve should have been patient and tried to comprehend the characteristics of a new culture by practising cultural relativism (Chapter 1, slide 24). When Steve returned to the United States, the Venezuelans signed with another company since they felt disrespected culturally and as businessmen.
Reply Two
One of the things that made Steve angry is indeed the Venezuelans not keeping time on the first meeting. To Steven, this indicated a lack of willingness from the Venezuelans on working with Americans. Culture, however, is learned through interacting with other people in a different environment. As such, Steve being invited to dinner represented the perfect opportunity for him to learn about the Venezuelan culture. All in all, the Venezuelans were seeking to build trust and a relationship with a potential business partner.