Cross-cultural Misunderstanding in the Business World

劉瑩

It is very important to understand cultural differences in the business world.

An important meeting can be unsuccessful because of misunderstandings. For example， in the West， when someone is talking to you， it is important for you to look at him， but maybe in other cultures it can be quite rude （無理的）. In a meeting， a Chinese businessman may not say anything for a long time. He wants to show he is thinking carefully.

In Japan people may say “Yes.” to mean “Yes， I understand”. But a westerner may think this means “Yes， I agree”. This can also cause problems.

Today， many companies provide cross-cultural training for their workers to make the work better.

根據短文內容回答下列問題。

1. 判斷正（T）誤（F）。

When someone is talking to you， it is important in all cultures to look at him.

2. When a person doesnt say anything for a long time in a meeting， ____.

A. a Chinese person will think he is thinking carefully

B. a westerner may think he is very interested

C. aA Chinese person will think he is very interested

D. a westerner may think he is thinking carefully

3. ____ when he says “Yes.”.

A. A Japanese means “Yes， I understand.”

B. A westerner thinks it means “Yes， I understand.”

C. A Japanese means “Yes， I agree.”

D. A westerner thinks it can cause problems

4. What can we know from this passage？

A. People from different areas have the same culture.

B. When a westerner is talking to you， you don't need to look at him.

C. The manner of westerners is rude.

D. In order to work better， many companies provide cross-cultural training.

Reading for pleasure. —Maugharm

為樂趣而讀書。——毛姆