跨文化大赛丨优秀案例分享第二期：商务沟通主题（中南大学团队）

2016年，承载着美美与共的人文交流愿景，“外教社杯”全国高校学生跨文化能力大赛在上海启航。多年来，大赛逐渐从上海走向全国，社会影响力越来越广，而今已是第九个年头。大赛列入《2023全国普通高校大学生竞赛分析报告》竞赛目录，覆盖全国26个省（区、市）近1000所高校。11月29日，第七届“外教社杯”全国高校学生跨文化能力大赛全国决赛总决赛将正式拉开帷幕。

距离全国决赛总决赛开幕还有9天，WExpress精心推出跨文化大赛冲刺系列推文，设“跨文化交际案例开发与展析”优秀案例分享专栏，提前为参赛选手与对跨文化学习感兴趣的师生答疑解惑。

案例与开发

跨文化交际案例的开发与展示是跨文化大赛复赛环节权重最大的比赛项目，要求三人小组基于自身经历，或通过阅读学习和社会观察，通过讨论交流，自主开发具有原创性的跨文化交际案例，在现场展示案例中的故事内容，并结合跨文化交际相关概念和理论，对案例中的跨文化冲突现象或成功的跨文化交际行为进行分析。

在历年跨文化大赛中，许多优秀案例视野广阔，涉及世界很多民族文化，涉及衣食住行及各个社会领域，触及社会规范、信念价值等各个文化层面，分析所用的概念和理论丰富多元，体现了选手们很强的跨文化意识和分析问题的能力。

在跨文化大赛优秀案例分享系列推送中，我们将从公共外交、商务沟通、多元文化生活三个主题中，分别精选一个历届大赛中的优秀案例进行展示，希望能够为大家的跨文化案例开发设计带来启发。每个案例分享都包含Case Description, Analysis等多个板块，并附有评委专家的详细点评，以便于广大跨文化交际学习者和教师深入理解“外教社杯”高校学生跨文化能力大赛的理念和评价标准。

今天为大家带来的是商务沟通主题的A Coffee Machine，来自中南大学团队。

团队信息

学校：中南大学

学生：陈诺 李雨辰 吕芳婷

指导教师：傅晓燕 周觉知 李瑶

中南大学团队

案例开发与展析精彩瞬间回顾

案例述评

I. Case Description

Chen is a newly recruited Chinese employee of a German company, who is very enthusiastic and always ready to help others. It had not been long before she came to Germany. And she was looking forward to working with her new German colleagues.

One day at work, she suggested having a cup of coffee with her German colleague Hannah after long hours of working. When they got to the pantry, they found the coffee machine didn’t work. Since Chen learned a little about machine-repairing, she thought it was not too difficult to repair it. After checking the coffee machine carefully, she offered to help fix it with confidence. However, Hannah disagreed with her and said, “You are not obliged to do this. We need to report it to the maintenance department.” Chen wanted to explain more but Hannah got a call and left the office. Before leaving the office, Hannah didn’t forget to remind Chen of reporting it to the maintenance department.

Chen felt confused and puzzled. She thought to herself why she had to report it to the maintenance department and wait for others to fix it, instead of doing this by herself. On her way home, she got a phone call from her mother in China. She mentioned the broken coffee machine in their chat. Chen’s mother advised her to repair it, for she had always been helpful. “That’s what I am thinking about,” Chen replied.

The next morning, Chen came to work early with her toolbox, and when she was eagerly repairing the coffee machine, Miss Mueller, the German director, came in. She was surprised at Chen’s behavior, and said to Chen, “You should report it to the maintenance department.” Chen was more confused, “Reporting it will take too much time and since I am capable of fixing it, I assumed that I could be helpful as coffee is so indispensable for us.” Hearing this, Miss Mueller felt it necessary to have a talk with Chen in her office.

In the office, Miss Mueller offered Chen a seat and said, “You know you should have reported it to the maintenance department, right? This is one of the regulations of the company.” Chen didn’t argue because she felt it was wrong to contradict her director, although she wanted to explain. “The coffee machine is a public equipment rather than a personal item. It is not your responsibility to repair it,” said Miss Mueller. “What you should do is to act in accordance with the rules instead of following your own wish.” Chen finally understood the problem but she felt sad because she repaired the coffee machine out of goodwill. In her opinion, the earlier the coffee machine was fixed up, the sooner the employees could have coffee.

2024年7月23日，在第八届中国—南亚博览会咖啡产业馆现场，全自动咖啡机器人正在制作咖啡。新华社记者 王静颐 摄

When leaving Miss Mueller’s office, Chen met Hannah in the pantry. Hannah noticed her sad look and asked her what had happened. Chen told Hannah that her act of repairing the coffee machine instead of reporting it brought about Miss Mueller’s misunderstanding. Hannah wondered why Chen didn’t follow the rule and acted so casually. Chen shared her thought that if she could fix it, they didn’t need to bother the maintenance department staff. Hannah corrected her view, “It is not bothering them. It is their job. We need to observe the regulations, even though it’s a small thing.” Chen told Hannah that she knew rules were important, but in China, there was a saying, ‘Rules are rigid, but people are flexible.’ (规矩是死的，人是活的) and further explained, “Rules are important, and that’s for sure. But sometimes we need to treat them differently according to different situations to achieve higher efficiency. For this issue, if in China, it is acceptable, because I used the fastest way to deal with the trouble, which avoided a lot of procedures and brought everybody convenience.”

After Chen’s explanation, Hannah could understand Chen’s act of repairing the coffee machine. In the end, they reached an agreement that could be concluded in a sentence: “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” Since Chen worked in a German company, she should adapt to the “German style”. Finally, they went together to report the broken coffee machine to the maintenance department.

2023年9月4日，在国家会议中心拍摄的2023年中国国际服务贸易交易会北京中德产业园展位。新华社记者 任超 摄

II. Analysis

Section A Major Issues & Theoretical Explanation

1. The conflict over who is supposed to fix the coffee machine

·The Chinese view:

Chen could not understand why Hannah and Miss Mueller refused her “good will” to repair the coffee machine. As a Chinese, she was taught that one should help others as much as possible and she believed that leaving the coffee machine to other staff to repair was not appropriate. Criticism from Miss Mueller made her feel wronged. All she wanted was to be kind and helpful, even at the cost of her personal time. She could not understand what was wrong with that. What’s more, rules were flexible in Chen’s view. They were not rigid and unchangeable.

·The German view:

From the German’s point of view, in order to avoid potential problems, detailed regulations and rules should be set for everyone to follow without exception. In the case, the staff who found the coffee machine broken should report it to the maintenance department rather than repair it by themselves. That’s why both Hannah and Miss Mueller thought that Chen didn’t follow the rules of the company. They felt Chen should act as the company’s rules required. Moreover, they thought this act of not obeying rules might lead to more serious problems in the future. That is why Miss Mueller clarified this point to Chen and told her that no such act would be tolerated in the future.

·Theoretical explanation:

This conflict can be first related to the value systems of collectivism and individualism.

In a collectivist society, members have close and cohesive in-group relationships. China is a typical collectivist society. Collectivism and dedication are highly-praised traditional virtues in Chinese culture. Chen, as a relationship-oriented Chinese, was often encouraged to be helpful to her colleagues and her company. She believed it was more important to build harmonious relationship and bring convenience to her team than to follow some rigid rules. That is why she would rather repair the coffee machine herself instead of reporting it to the maintenance department.

In an individualistic society, people pay more attention to individual goals, rather than collective goals. Germany is a country of individualism. The connections between members are relatively loose in individualistic culture. People have clear lines between personal relationships and work. Furthermore, Germans follow regulations strictly. If regulations have been formulated, they should be observed and respected. In terms of this, both Hannah and Miss Mueller thought that reporting was the best and the only method to deal with the broken coffee machine.

2. The conflict over whether to explain it or not

·The Chinese view:

When in the office of Miss Mueller, Chen really wanted to explain why she repaired the coffee machine herself instead of reporting it but she did not explain eventually, because she felt it was impolite to contradict her director. In her culture, it’s not a tradition to doubt and question the superior even in cases of doubts. That’s why she felt depressed when she left Miss Mueller’s office.

·The German view:

Miss Mueller was waiting for an explanation from Chen in the office. However, Chen was silent and did not respond effectively. In Germans’ view, an explanation is necessary here and it does not mean challenging the superior.

·Theoretical explanation:

This conflict reflects the difference between high- and low-context cultures, which was put forward by Edward T. Hall. It shows how much information of the communication is included in the context. People from most Asian countries, such as China, are involved in high-context cultures. They value close relationships and tend to be more implicit in communication. Chinese people would not speak out everything in details. On the contrary, Germany is a typical representative of low-context cultures. They express themselves much more explicitly. In this case, it was Miss Mueller’s direct words that made Chen upset. But in fact Miss Mueller just wanted to tell Chen what was correct and didn’t mean to hurt Chen’s feelings. Chen’s silence at the very beginning also reflected that she would rather use nonverbal communication to avoid conflict with Miss Mueller.

Furthermore, power distance can be used to explain the situation here. A culture displaying high power distance would value hierarchical status and authority. This means members at the lower levels in such a society or an organization tend to accept their subordinate status, and they are expected to conform to authority enjoyed by members in superior positions. In these societies, people respect hierarchy and authority. Employees seldom disobey command or openly question decisions made by their superiors. In this case, Chen came from a high power distance country which values obedience towards superiors. That is why she did not object to Miss Mueller’s criticism. In a culture demonstrating a low power distance, leaders readily accept subordinates’ views. And the subordinates have the courage to raise suggestions and doubts. In case of ambiguity, they approach their superiors for inquiry. Miss Mueller expected Chen’s explanation because in Germany, subordinates can raise their dissenting opinions.

Section B Resolution

Process Outline

1. Hold a desire for communication: The first step toward a successful intercultural experience is holding a desire for communication. No matter how skillful we are, if we don’t have the willingness to communicate, all efforts will be in vain. Driven by the desire to create a wonderful intercultural experience, we will listen to others attentively and express ourselves bravely.

2. Recognize the cultural differences in advance: People from different cultures have different ways of organizing their lives, perceiving the world, expressing ideas, dealing with daily matters, etc. If we are familiar with these aspects of our partners’ culture, it will help us reduce friction and achieve better communication. We can enrich our cultural knowledge by searching on the Internet, visiting the country, browsing travel books and other materials as well as talking with foreigners. We can learn foreign cultures and prepare for future interaction with foreigners through various ways.

3. Avoid assumptions: Assumptions are ideas that are taken for granted, which are usually influenced by subjective factors. Everyone may have assumptions about those with whom they are communicating. Whenever we rely on our assumptions, we first need to reflect on why we think this way and openly discuss the assumptions with others to verify the accuracy. We should bear in mind that people from other countries probably speak, act, dress, or even eat differently. We should not take it for granted that we all share the same values and attitudes, even if we strongly believe in them.

2024年3月21日，中德学生在山东省青岛第九中学共同体验泥老虎彩绘，了解和学习中华传统文化。新华社记者 李紫恒 摄

4. Be polite when countering intercultural conflicts: Conflicts are normal when we encounter a new culture. The attitude we take towards these conflicts matters a lot. When frustration happens on one side or both sides, or when things don’t go as we expect, we should not exhibit an arrogant or indifferent attitude. Rather, we need to be patient and try to overcome the problem. We should show our tolerance and patience.

5. Self-reflection: There are two aspects in terms of self-reflection. The first reflection includes being aware of our own values, beliefs and social norms, and how these cultural phenomena influence our way of thinking and behavior. In this way, we can try to avoid stereotypes and ethnocentrism in intercultural communication. The second aspect concerns reflecting on ourselves in a cross-cultural context. Every culture has its distinct sensitive topics and rules of etiquette. We need to act properly when interacting with others and reflect on ourselves when things go oddly. We can reflect on the way we speak, our body language and general manners, etc., and adjust ourselves in different situations.

6. Cultivate cultural awareness: We all belong to a certain cultural system, which is quite different from others’. As soon as the differences are identified and understood, we should try to find suitable ways to adapt to them. However, it is not necessary to fully adapt ourselves to the other side’s culture and we should avoid losing our own cultural identity by being drawn too deeply into another cultural system. It is wise for us to respect and appreciate others’ culture.

7. Avoid arrogance and ethnocentrism: Cultural superiority and arrogance must be avoided. Cultural differences should be tolerated and respected. Ignorance of the customs of other cultures will lead to failures in cross-cultural experiences.

2024年7月13日至14日，第三届“文化遇见园林”活动在柏林世界公园举行。图为游客参与太极拳体验。（图片来源：柏林中国文化中心）

Detailed Resolution

In the first conflict, Chen didn’t notice the different attitudes she and Hannah took towards repairing the coffee machine. From the perspective of Chen, she wanted to develop a harmonious relationship with her colleagues by voluntarily helping them. While in Germany, people separate their personal relationships from work and place more emphasis on following regulations. They prefer to use detailed regulations to make things clear so people can act accordingly. Thus, Chen should be aware of the local culture and act in accordance with the rules.

In the second conflict, Chen should switch from a high-context culture to a low-context culture. She should not keep silent when she was asked by Miss Mueller, but explain her view in an objective way. Miss Mueller, the director, then could understand the new foreign employee who came from a high-context culture. If she had known relationships were prioritized in Chen’s country, her words might have been less harsh and Chen would have been less upset. For example, she could affirm Chen’s intention was good first, then explain to her the importance of rules in German companies, so as to avoid confusion and misunderstanding.

In the future, we may come across similar problems when we enter the workplace. It is important to cultivate intercultural awareness and sensitivity first. Next, we should have positive manner and attitude when cultural conflicts arise. What’s more, we should analyze and understand conflicts from different cultural perspectives, so that we can communicate effectively across cultures.

2024年4月5日，在德国斯图加特拍摄的2024“投资中国”系列活动德国专场。新华社记者任鹏飞摄

案例点评

该案例设置在跨文化商务场景中，围绕是否修理办公室坏掉的咖啡机展开，以小见大，探讨了如何在多元文化的工作环境中建立和谐的人际关系。

案例主人公是一位在德工作的中国员工Chen，案例中的矛盾主要体现在两个方面：一是咖啡机坏了，这位中国员工应该按规定报修还是发挥特长自行修理，尽快让同事们喝上咖啡？二是和同事、领导出现意见分歧时，是沉默不语，还是据理力争，或者随波逐流？案例利用霍氏文化价值观理论中的个人主义/集体主义以及权力距离进行分析，还探讨了不同的交际风格。案例中穿插了一段中国员工与妈妈的远洋电话，妈妈对其选择的肯定体现了中国的家庭教育价值观念：依靠自己，为他人减少麻烦、提供方便是一种美德。

该案例的亮点在于探讨了中德双方在协商过程中求同存异的过程，强调了跨文化交际的互动性。虽然公司的规章制度不能轻易更改，但是通过Chen的解释，她的德国同事Hannah也理解了Chen这么做的原因，更好地了解了这位中国同事的内心世界。在多元文化的环境中，创造一个大家都能接受的共享文化是和谐共处的基础。

在现场展析中，三位参赛选手分别扮演新进中国员工Chen、德国公司领导Miss Mueller和同事Hannah。三位选手分工合作完成案例分析，语言流畅，展演自然，观众能够体会到原本的“热心相助”变成“违规操作”所带来的无奈和无助，也能够意识到“入乡随俗”并不代表着对自己文化规则的否定。

该案例可以针对多元文化商务场景再进行深挖，避免文化本质主义（essentialism）的影响，避免脸谱化。例如，在德国公司的工作人员不一定都是德国人，在欧洲多元文化背景的常态下，德国公司的企业文化应该更具包容性和多样化。