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1.      Evaluate your own learning in this module by reflecting on all the intercultural trainings and lectures. Mention at least two topics, which you experienced as helpful in your learning on intercultural management and explain why. Mention two topics, which you found less relevant and explain why.
•The first topic I found useful is The high and low context communication. From the beginning, I found something my friends said were offensive, like they would turn down my invitations straight to my face only with a few words and they didn't always explain the reasons to me. After I had this lecture I learned that is how people here communicate with each other.
•I found the topic of iceberg is close to my life as well, I haven't give much thought about it before, then i ran into some bottlenecks while doing it. And l realize I don't know my own culture well enough, now I am in a different country, sometimes I stand for my country and my culture. I need to present it to people here without giving them wrong ideas of my culture.
•For culture and identity, i found it less useful than those two I mentioned above. I get the idea of this lecture, but everyone has different way of identify themselves. And it isn't what we need in daily life.
•The ballon factory is less helpful for me, I admit the lecture itself is attractive and fun. But in the end of this lecture, the most important thing is to learn from it ,and I feel like it took too much time to get to the real point.

2.    Determine for yourself two personal strengths and two challenges in dealing with different cultures. Formulate two personal goals with specific, measurable and time-framed activities for the next semester to improve your intercultural competences.
•I know i will live in the environment which has multiple cultures, so my strength is being open-mined.
•The other strength I think i have is like to make as much friend as possible.
•The challenge is telling and remembering the differences of different cultures.
•Another change is having different opinions with friends from other culture.
The first personal goal for me is trying to learn about different cultures can be a great way of developing an understanding of cultural diversity. Engage in a bit of research either online or through books and study some of the history and traditions of other cultures, especially those cultures now are close to my life such as Dutch culture and Vietnamese culture, maybe even learn more about religions as the Netherlands is a place with multiple religions. I plan to achieve this goal before next semester ends.
Another goal for myself is going traveling in a place with different culture background.I think one of the best ways to experience and understand other cultures is to actually live among them. I am planning a trip overseas to a country you’re interested in learning more about can be the best way of opening yourself up to new cultures. I plan to put this trip in actual movement in next summer.

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1 . Analyze the cultural elements in the case by using Hofstede, Trompenaars, Hall and Kluckhohn.  Which 5 dimensions influence people’s behaviors and thoughts most? Explain how and when each dimension comes in. Use the lecture book, internet and other resources.

As it was mentioned in the case, Philip Kolman and Mr. Kolman spent the rest of the evening talking, and then they found they seem to have a lot in common.  After a while's waiting, Mr. Kolman was getting a little bit confused and impatient so he called Mr. Quang Dũng Đinh to confirm if he still wants to work together. By taking initiative and calling Mr. Quang Dũng Đinh,  Mr. Kolman showed his feeling of wanting to work with Mr. Quang Dũng Đinh. I don't think it is nice to show a person's feelings especially in business matters, your partners or your competitors can make use of it, in other words, they can take advantage of your feelings.
•Neutraloremotional/affective
In my point of view, Mr. Kolman wants to work with Mr. Quang Dũng Đinh not only was balance what is good with his company, but also wishing to have a lasting relationship with Mr. Quang Dũng Đinh. But Mr. Quang Dũng Đinh's way of behaving, somehow shows he isn't as interested in working with Mr. Kolman as Mr. Kolman, Mr. Quang Dũng Đinh only wants the best for his company. I would say business men should keep private and business separated, so business men won't have false expectations or make the wrong decision for business.
•Uncertainty avoidance
We have an uncertain situation in this case, Mr. Kolman waited 2 weeks for Mr. Quang Dũng Đinh for any reply, but eventually he got nothing from Mr. Quang Dũng Đinh. I think Mr. Kolman has wasted 2 weeks' time, he could have use this time to find better opportunities for his company instead of waiting for something so uncertain. A lot of things can happen within 2 weeks for a big business, unnecessary uncertainty should be avoided for the best of a business, so the business can be more steady and has less problems to worry about.
•Achievement- Ascription
Mr. Kolman got this company from his father, which is the original founder of the company. It is understandable that  Mr. Kolman wants to make it himself and he has put too many expectations on Mr. Quang Dũng Đinh. I don't think there is a big chance in the end that Mr. Quang Dũng Đinh will work with him.
•Universalismvsparticularism
For this case, how things would go eventually is not fixed,Mr. Quang Dũng Đinh might change his mind due to Mr. Kolman sincere and their company will collaborate after all, but still there's chance that Mr. Quang Dũng Đinh has no interest in doing so. I assume both endings are possible, and it all depends on how Mr. Kolman would do afterwards.
2. Propose an effective strategy to reconcile the conflict described in the case, by using the conflict styles of Kilmann.
My idea is Mr. Kolman should dig deeper into their collaboration, give Mr. Quang Dũng Đinh's business more chances to develop. Mr. Kolman can make another trip to Vietnam to negotiate with Mr. Quang Dũng Đinh, in the meanwhile Mr. Kolman can build a strong bond with Mr. Quang Dũng Đinh. Later on, Mr. Kolman can offer a chance for Mr. Quang Dũng Đinh to come to German, so that Mr. Quang Dũng Đinh are able to have a field research himself, him might see more opportunities as well. I offer this strategy based on the Compromising of the conflict styles of Kilmann.
3. Include your Thomas Kilmann profile. Describe a conflicting situation in your own life and analyze which conflict style(s) of Thomas Killmann were used by you and the other people involved.

Wehad a task given by one of our lecturers, we divided tasks shortly after it was given and we even set a deadline. Everything seemed to be perfect by that time, but one of my group members did his part completely wrong, which led to a serious problem in our presentation and it also had a big impact on our scores. We had a bit of a fight in our group chat, some of us got really annoyed said something aggressive, we pointed out the problem of that boy and asked him to finish . his work.But I believe we made peace in the end , and even found a time to have one extra meeting to figure out our problems. In this case, two of styles of Thomas Killmann were used, which are Accommodating and Collaborating. Apart from that boy the rest of us are beingtolerate and we accepted the fact he made one mistake this time, we have faith in him in the future. All of us worked it out in the end can reflect on Collaborating.

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1)  Your name and name of student you are interviewing
Spencer Wu Konstantin Wehnhardt

2)  Date, place and time
December 20, Han University, 14:00

3)  Interview questions (open and follow-up questions) and answers
1.     How important would you say about family?
Family is what is most important for me as I can always rely on them and I know that they will always support me no matter what I do.

2.     How is your parents’ parenting style?
I was mainly raised by my mum and she was and still is very trustful with everything I do so she never really forbid me to do anything.

3.     Is there any rule in your family?
There is no rule in my family.

4.     Do you have any family tradition? A nd why is that?
Apart from Christmas which we celebrate together we don’t have any traditions going on. my grandpa is old, big activities won't be so appropriate.

5.     How often do your whole family come together?
About once in 6 weeks time, sometimes more often.

6.    What do you and your family like to do together?
As I mentioned above, my grandpa is old already, so we don’t do big activities but we always meet and have a nice meal together and sit down and talk.
what do you talk about?
Mainly about each other's current life or some problems of us.

7.    Are you pressured by your family to act in a certain way?
Not at all, I can develop myself freely and I can go the way I want to in my life.

8.    Do you often argue with your parent? What about?
Sometimes I argue with my mum, usually we form a pretty good team,  I love her . It's more about some small things.

9.    Do you usually have any influence on family matters?  And Why?
Depends on what happens but if there is something important or serious going on everyone is being asked for their opinions.

4)  Personal reflection:

-         How did you experience interviewing your classmate (behaviour, thoughts, feelings)?
My interview was relaxed as the topic is family which is a relaxing and loving topic, the whole atmosphere between us was pretty good.
I like the way his parent's way of parenting, his parent doesn't give him much pressure and allow him to do almost everything he wants. I believe I should have a chat with my parents about this and let them have a general idea of european parenting style. By doing this I have seen some differences between my parents and european parents, I tend to like their way of parenting.
-         What is similar and what is different between you and your interviewee?
We both have a nice relationship with our family, and we don't do big activities with our family, we also have dinners together and talk about each other's life. Generally speaking, we have more differences than things we have in common. Considering growing up in China, I had a lot of pressure from my parents when I was young. And I was always told what to do instead of doing things I want. I don't really have any influence on family matters, my father hardly ever tells me about the current status of my family, as they always treat ma as a children so that explain it, but for my interviewee, it is a completely

different case.

-         What did you learn from conducting an interview?
First of all, I learned that you need to have a nice and relaxing atmosphere in order to make sure the interview going well, and I need to think and listen in the same time so I can come up with follow up questions for the interviewee.Second, it is important to be well prepared so even if any emergency happens I can deal with it easily.

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Answer the reflection questions and explain each answer.

1.     Which role did you have in the balloon factory?

I was one of the staffs in the factory, and I have to tell those rich landers that everything is good here, while talking to them I can not look at them in the eyes.

2.     How did you experience to be in this role (feelings, thoughts, behavior)?

I feel really uncomfortable during the whole conversation with the rich landers, not looking at the in the eyes but staring at their belly seems rude. They seemed to know that something was wrong and they kept pushing us to get the answers making me feel like not being respect. Their behaviour were strange as well, they even used money on us so that we can give them some different answers.

3.     How were you approached by the other group members (feelings, thoughts, behavior)?

At first they all were wandering around to find a person to talk to, once anyone one of them found out that we were looking at them, they would come right to us. I thought they might want to find someone seemed to be interested in them. The way they walking around and observing as did make them felt like rich landers to me.

4.     What did you learn from this simulation game?

Sometimes cultural differences can create a huge gap between people, if everyone just keep acting like themselves, the problems will only go bigger in our relationship. We all need to have some changes in order to find a place in this society, in this case communication can be more efficient and easier.

5.     Take a personal real life cross-cultural example, in which you were wondering, confused or frustrated about someone else’s behavior. Apply the four steps of responding appropriately to culturally different people in this situation. What does it tell you?

To be honest, we don’t really even give people feedback, if we need to do it then we would just probably tell the others their advantages. That is how we works in high context country like China. So first time I had to give feedback about the others, I was so worried that I might upset somebody if I only told them things the should improve. Later on, I realize that people here in Netherlands would tell you exactly what the had in mind, they would have told you both your advantages and disadvantages. I guess this difference is more about our culture, we tend to act more in a high context way in order to avoid hurting people, but the truth is it’s better just tell people your advice so that they can be their better self. For example, we had another talk with our SCC about other group menbers. This time,I said my personal opions about them,and it turned out everyone is happy with it.

One more real life experience, When I first took the bus in the Netherlands, I didn’t really know how it works. So I prepared the coins and ready to get to the bus. When I was on the bus, I saw there is a box full of coins, so I thought I’m supposed to put the coins on the box, and I did it, but the bus driver got really angry, then he pushed my hands away. I was really shocked, because I was just trying to pay for the bus, I feel like that maybe in the Netherlands it’s rude to touch other people’s stuff. Then I watched how other people pay for the bus, I realized that I only need to put the coins near the box, and when the driver finishes counting the coins, he will put the coins in the box by himself. Since that time, I just did in that way and say “Thank you” all the time, and it’s fine now.

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1.a. my country is a very high context country, but as now i live in the Netherlands, i am learning to behave more in a low context way.

b.I will just use the example we had in class,if we Chinese people simply tell our boss or superior that she/he is wrong,there’s a big chance we will be fired.Because saying things like that doesn’t show your honesty ,it’s just a fact that you have no idea how to respect the others.Maybe people from other culture background find it hard to understand,but i have to say this is actually a pretty good way to express yourself  and avoid hurting people’s feeling. Now i live in a   context country,I feel like there’s no harm being straight forward a little bit.
2. a.I believe my cultrue doesn's have any certain opinions for this, but it can be nice yo be multitask. Personally speaking for myself, i like it more focus on one thing at a time.
b.I can’t say for sure how my culture is about this question,cause I feel it’s a question based on people’s different lifestyle.For me,I don’t see anything wrong in doing one thing once a time or try to finish several tasks in a period of time.And our education system didn’t have a purpose to rise us in a certain way.
3.a.I don't have certain rules aginst personal space and i think I have the same with most people in my country, that's why i put myself and my country together.

b.Chinese people tend to be more shy comparing to other people in different area, so normally we need more space when we face people that aren’t very close to us.For family or our closest friends ,that’s a whole different story.
4..a.I witnessed some nature disasters, some were caused by damaging the nature. So i don't support dominating the nature, and as i everything i know in my coulture, my country doesn't do much to change the nature.

b.China is a really big country geographically speaking,we face lots of natural disaster than most countries.And the eager for developing faster caused some serious problems with nature,now we are trying our best to find the balance between human and nature.With things I witnessed,I don’t think we can gain any thing out of fighting nature.
5. a.I would say the same thing for this, that in my culture we don't have any specific rules about it. And i feel people around me are doing the same for me.
b. In my perspective,the best way to accomplish any goal is to start doing immediately,other than that it’s definitely not the right answer.

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3)  Have a BSP meeting and compare personal scores of all your BSP group members by making a group profile, adding it to this portfolio. Answer the following questions in your BSP group meeting:

a.   on which two dimensions you have the biggest similarities?

Time and orientation

b.   on which two dimensions you have the biggest ‘gap’ to bridge?

High/low context and the way of treating nature

c.   how do you deal with those differences in your group?

We all agree to accept each other’s way of thinking and be tolerate.

Are your strategies effective until now?

Yes,it worked out perfectly.We actually appreciate different ways ofdealing things,it’s one of the reasons that we make a really great team.

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1)  Make your personal profile of the dimensions we discussed in class of Hall and Kluckhohn (by putting an “I” where you prefer to be). You can use the format below. Justify each dimension with your own real-life examples.

2)  Put in the same personal profile the scores for your country (with a “C”) Reflect on the following questions:

a.   Where are you not in line with your national culture? Reflect why you differ.

b.    Where are you in line with your national culture? Reflect why you are in line.

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4.conception of beauty(for people:integrity honesty kindness tolerance）

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5.various social context(56 nations stay as one big community in peace)

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1.traditional philosophy(confucianism)

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2.tradition(we maintain having traditional Chinese festivals and words and so on)

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1.concept of time(being on time is a significant lesson for us all,if you are a business man, being late can lead you to lose your entire business. As a student, being late can be a serious matter. This is how important time is for us.)

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1.child raising(grandparents from both mother and father would help,a very serious thing in the whole family)
2.respect for people(be respectful for the disable,the old,the pregnant people. In public, such as bus and subway, you can always find sign about it.
3.We don't really like to give feedback to bosses or the people in the high position than us, because we are worried about lose our job, which makes people are afraid of speak up. That’s why Chinese people are less straight forward.
4.Spring festival, aka Chinese new year, is one of the most important festival in China. Millions of people take different transportation to go back to the family reunion and  we have many Chinese new year customs, like wearing red colours clothes, light up fire crackers and parents give “lucky money” to their kids…, which all shows that traditions are playing such an important role in Chinese culture.
5.conception of beauty(for people:integrity honesty kindness tolerance）

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4.industry(fast developing country, big cities like Shang hai and Hongkong are known in world wide for its induties and shipping. For the city I lived in, it is developing even faster tha some other countries, and in the near future it will become a great cith like Shanghai)

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2.literature(ancient poetry confucianist taoists )
3.history(5000years history :start from Xia dynasty, so that's why we have so much acient books and saying left)
4. Family hierarchy is one of the most important components of Chinese culture, which makes people follow what their parents and grandparents want of them and not what they actually want, but it also makes the younger generation care for their parents when they are old, so there is lots of respect for their elders.
5.We’d love to be friends with anybody, no matter what their social levels are or if they are work at the same place.  We like to meeting new people and be friends with them.

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1.food(saying:民以食为天 means food always comes first for people. rice noodle)

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I was born and raised in China,I lived in the capital city of Sichuan province for 14 years of my life,everything I encountered is more modern comparing to some people relatively speaking. In China,family is the most important concept for us,as the only child in my family,I was surrounded by love of my family during the time i grow up.None of my family members believe in any religion, I am a atheist as well,some might find it strange,but actually I would say being an atheist is rather common in China. My parents and my grandparents think getting good education is really important,that is why i get to come to Netherlands.Speaking of education,I had six years of highly intense school life in two great schools.The education system in China has its own pros and cons,it gives us great ability in calculating and the habit of finishing the work on time,and under that system we knew exactly what we need to learn.Unlike here,we are just given the book and what we should do is read everything,to be honest it is kind of a challenge to me.