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Interviewer: Abbas Barak- 20 Years old from the Netherlands

Interviewee: Huy Duong- 19 Years old from Vietnam

Date & Time: 12.00 / 19-12-2016

Place: Arnhem Business School

1.     Tell me about your childhood home.

In a family of Vietnamese, the youngest will be the center of the family. So in my childhood time, even though I was raised with discipline, the other family members always take good care of me. Especially my grand parents, they just gave me whatever I like, for example toys or comic books.

2.     Are you a religious person?

I am not a religious person, I am an atheist. Religious is a very complex topic to discuss because each religion has their own point of view.
3.     Does anyone in your family follows a certain religion?
Only my sister is Christian. My father and mother is spiritual but not religious. And I am an atheist.

4. Describe the personalities of your family members.

Firstly, my mother is a loving, enthusiatic woman as she is a teacher. She travels alot, she went to the US, to India just to learn new things about teaching and managing her school. At home, she is a loving and caring mother, she always take care not only me but also my sister and my father. She always ask question about how is my day and stuff

My father is a strict but loving father. He gives me advices and encourages me to do a lot of things. I can literally share my thoughts with him.

My sister is kind of annoying sometimes but she is loving also. She misses me went I left home to go study abroad.

5.     Describe a typical family dinner. Did you all eat together as a family? Who did the cooking? What were your favorite foods?

The normal family dinner of mine is when every member of my family sitting together in a table and start the meal at the same time. Usually the oldest person will start eating first and then the younger one. Both my parents can cook. The one who have time in that day can do the cooking. My favourite food is fried rice that cooked by my mother.

6. What did your family enjoy doing together?

We dont have much things to do together because we dont share much of a interest. Sometimes I watch football games with my father. The only thing that we do toghether maybe going on a vacation so we can enjoy that time together.

7.     Since u are in the Netherlands now for a couple of months, what do you like/dislike the most about the culture?

The thing I like the most about the Dutch culture is it is a multi-cultural country. So everyone from any culture can come here and have a fair chance to develope themself. People from any culture are being treated equally.

Analyze:
This was also a very interesting Interview, because Interviewing some one who grew up with different norms and values is interesting. He was being very nice and open towards me. I felt our conversation was very useful for both sides. Because i learned about his culture and family, and he asked me also things how it was in my family during the interview.
A different between us is that I am a religious person, he isn't. And he grew up with less people than me, I grew up with 4 children in total. I see a similarity when it comes to eat food with the family on the table. In our culture (Afghan) it is also that firstly the older people gets the food and than the younger people of the family, we see it as a sign of respect.
I learned that we are living actual in a very multicultural country if I compare it with Vietnam, that's something where we dutch people have to be proud of.

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My personal goal is to identify if someone's style is more typically masculine or feminine―assertive and competitive or modest and caring respectively. This will affect the style of negotiation and the type of relationship. An assertive approach in times of conflict may be greeted positively in the U.S. but negatively in Sweden. In a more feminine culture such as Sweden, a modest approach at a presentation may be viewed very positively, whereas in the U.S. the same presenter may be viewed as lacking commitment, passion or drive

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My personal goal is to expect differences. Different cultures will speak at different volumes, be more or less direct in showing emotion, may or may not expect to engage in “small talk,” and exhibit other dissimilarities in communication. When communicating with people from other cultures, i will try to be prepared to encounter such differences, including ones that i wasn't aware of. Because there are people from low and high context.

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Interviewer: Abbas Barak- 20 Years Old from the Netherlands

Interviewee: Anass Hatim

Date & Time:  14.30 / 18-12-2016

Place:  Veenendaal

1.     Could you introduce yourself?

Hello, yes I am Anass hatim, 37 years old and I am a refugee from Syria.

2.     How long are you in the Netherlands?

I came last year here with my family, which consist of my wife and 3 children, 2 boys and 1 girl.

3.     What was for you the main reason to come to the Netherlands

We have young children and it’s no option for them to grow up in a country as Syria. I lost almost everything, my house, my work, I had nothing.

4.     So, when that happened, what did you do?

Luckily I have a big family; my brother took care of me and my family. We could stay at their house.

5.     What kind of work did you have?

I worked in a bank, I studied 3 years for my job. I was also taking English courses so I could be more flexible.

6.     Oh, what do you expect of your stay in the Netherlands?

I want somewhere to stay, where my family can be save. I want to learn the language so I can take part of the society.

7.     I can understand that, is it hard for you to adjust yourself to the Dutch society?

Well I see a lot of differences, people over here have more freedom than in Syria, because of religion, we can't be that free as here.

8.     How do the Dutch people behave towards you?

That is also very different, I’ve met a lot of people which are very helpful, but I’ve also seen some angry faces. I try to forget those angry faces, and try to see it positive. I hope one day to take part of the Dutch society, and that my children can go to school and learn the language.

9.     Thank you for the information! It was a pleasure to interview you

U are welcome, it was nice to speak to you, I like express my positive feeling, towards the rest.

Analyze:
I experienced the interview as very interesting, because it was a person which had a very hard past. I feel very sorry for him, because I can’t imagine to lose my house and work. The past was very hard for him; I could see that on his face when he was talking about Syria. The similarity between me and the interviewee was that we both believe in the same religion. I learned from the interview that I can’t complain about my life. If I compare it with the people of Syria and how they suffer, it’s unbelievable. Having a home and a family, means for me now that I am rich forever.

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Last year I had almost the same course at Hogeschool Utrecht. Things about differences between cultures were not so surprising. But I still find it a very interesting course, because u can always explore your knowledge about the different cultures, and how it is measured. I recognized a lot of models which were also explained to me last year, but I also learned a new one for example, the Thomas-Kilmann conflict mode. This was also one of the topic which I liked very much and was very interesting. Because I learned who I was during a conflict, and I could recognize it during my real-life situation.
The lecture about the dimensions of Hall and Kluckhohn was also very interesting, because I could see how I differ from my fellow BSP group members, and that is also a useful tool to know how your BSP group member behaves. For example, we have someone in our group who is more polychromic, so we could keep that in mind whenever we had a deadline for handing a task in.

The first topic which I found less interesting was the lesson about the balloon factory. Because I didn’t understand it all in the begin, and when I started to understand It I was not convinced at all. So, that lesson was a little bit confusing.
The topic about the Vietnamese and German company was also a topic which I found less interesting, well of course it is interesting to get know these cultures more, but I think it would be more interesting if there are more cultures which are taking part of such kind of case.

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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.

Based on the Thomas Kilmann conflict mode questionnaire, I got a result as a collaborating person.

Collaborating is both assertive and cooperative—the complete opposite of avoiding. Collaborating involves an attempt to work with others to find some solution that fully satisfies their concerns. It means digging into an issue to pinpoint the underlying needs and wants of the two individuals. Collaborating between two persons might take the form of exploring a disagreement to learn from each other's insights or trying to find a creative solution to an interpersonal problem.

Real Life:
I recently had a conflict with my manager at work. I am a team leader in a supermarket (Albert Heijn). One of my function the last few weeks was to make a schedule for the busy Christmas period and the busy New Year’s Eve. People will visit the supermarket more often because of the Holidays, the shelves must be well stocked so the customers can get their product. That is also why we are receiving more products than usual. As I am responsible to make sure there are enough people working to fill those products in the shelves, I planned more people, than usual.

And that is why I faced a conflict with my Manager. He said that I am using too much working hours, which costs the company a lot of money. I didn’t agree with him, because it would be very terrible to have the products in the storehouse and having empty shelves just because of having less people in the store to fill those products. This will also lead to angry customers, because they can’t get their product. But it might be even in the store house, so that is a lose-lose situation.

Firstly, I removed some people of the schedule, because I followed the instructions that my manager gave me. He was being very competing towards me. I wasn’t feeling good about it, because it was my responsibility, and if I fail, I will feel very disappointed. So, I decided to contact my co- team leaders, and the assistant manager of the store, which were acting with a collaborating behavior. I explained the problem, and they agreed with me. After discussing it, I decided to make an appointment with the Store Manager and the Assistant Manager. I explained the issue and the Assistant Manager was supporting me. We talked about the options, and we came to a conclusion where both, me and the manager were satisfied with.

I did not schedule more people but we decided to make an optional list, with the names of people who are available to work during the busy holidays. And if it would get too busy for the working people in the store, the team leader has the option to call the people from the list who were available to work, to avoid a storehouse full of products.

In this case I was in my opinion a very collaborating person, because I contacted my co- team leaders and the Assistant Manager to help me with this schedule. And together we came to a decision where every party is satisfied with. Even though my manager is a competing person, I am glad that he was open for a solution.

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Propose an effective strategy to reconcile the conflict described in the case, by using the conflict styles of Kilmann.

As described , Mr Kollman and Mr Dinh were facing a lot of cultural differences. The unclearness is simply caused by differences in personality, attitudes, values and beliefs. Mr Dinh was way more relaxed than Mr. Kollman. This led to a frustrating Mr Kollman. This could also affect the contract which they wanted to make, because it can have bad consequences if they are not at the same line.

An effective way to prevent those problems is to have at least some knowledge of people’s cultural backgrounds. It is important to understand the way people comprehend, communicate and make decisions across different type of cultures. Alongside establishing effective communication within the workplace, expressing interest in aspects of an employee’s life outside of the office can create a strong relationship. Regardless of cultural differences, people want to feel like they are a part of a community.

As you read, the German and Vietnamese cultures were facing a lot of problems. They both didn’t know much about each other’s background. This caused to a frustrated Mr Kollman because he expected more from Mr Dinh. But Mr Dinh, was just being himself because that is the way how he handles in his own culture.
Mr Kollman wanted to be more straight to the point and Mr Dinh sees to build a personal relationship as a important thing, this is also where they face a clash. If both people show interest to each other they will feel better toward each other.

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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.

Powerdistance ( Geert Hofstede )

Vietnam is a social republic state and has a high-power distance (Scores 70).  The power in Vietnam is not distributed equally but this is accepted as part of the culture from all ends of the social classes. High power distance means that all individuals accept the power distance as a way of life.

Though German society is hierarchically structured, it is a low-power-distance culture (scores 35).  Germans respect power that is earned rather than positional power, and emphasize hard work and effort especially in business situations.  In Germany, subordinates are expected to be consulted.  The ideal boss is a resourceful democrat, privileges and status symbols are frowned upon, and inequalities should be minimized.  Salaries ranging from the top to the bottom of the organization are only narrowly different.

Case:
In the country of Mr Phillip Killman’s the power distant is relatively low, but, he can make the decisions because it is a part of the task of a CEO. Mr Dinh, is just a representative of the Vietnamese company, he is not considered having the permission to do more in the business of 2 companies. This should be decided by the Vietnamese company’s president and Mr Kollman. This was also frustrating for Kollman, because he didn’t expect that.

Doing or being ( Hall and Kluckhohn)

If you compare Germany with Vietnam, Germans are in general people who like to be doing and not to be being.  Vietnamese people are in general people who are being people. If you have the doing culture, personal relationships don’t say anything. The people are very task-orientated.
The being people in experience this in another way. When you have a status, it is appreciated by the rest of the people, and you will earn a lot of respect. Relationships are very important.

Case:

Mr. Killman is the doing in this case, and Mr. Dinh is the being person. When they faced each other, it was recognizable. Because Mr. Killman was straight to the point and started talking about the business. This is a cross between the culture of Mr Dinh, he would like to build a relationship with Mr. Killman. So, the procedure would be that they first would get to know each other better and then proceed to the business part. Thus, Mr. Killman didn’t like the way of handling at all.

Uncertainy avoidance (Hofstede)

If you compare the both countries on this dimension; there is a huge difference. Vietnam scores 30 on this, and Germany scores 65.
In Germany, there is a slight preference for uncertainty avoidance. In line with the philosophical heritage of Kant, Hegel and Fichte there is a strong preference for deductive rather than inductive approaches, be it in thinking, presenting or planning: the systematic overview must be given to proceed. This is also reflected by the law system. Details are equally important to create certainty that a certain topic or project is well-thought-out.

Vietnam's low score of 30 means that the society is relatively relaxed about facing the unknown, believing that there should be no more rules than necessary. Work schedules are flexible and hard work is undertaken when necessary but it never comes naturally.

Case:
Mr dinh and the president of the company also has a low preference for avoiding uncertainty. The mindset is different. Mr killman reflects the high score on the uncertainty avoidant index. Mr Dinh was more thinking about to be part of the business, he did not care about further actions, such as set a date to visit. While Mr Kolman is expecting to set a date, and communicate about a clear contract. This was not happening; this is a cross in the cultures.

Monochrinic – Polychronic (Hofstede)

Germans have the monochromic culture, while Vietnam has a polychromic culture.
For the Germans time is very important, they value a certain orderliness and sense of there being an appropriate time and place for everything. They do not value interruptions. They like to concentrate on the job at hand and take time commitments very seriously.

Vietnamese culture is the opposite; Scheduling and being on time is less important in their culture, which often leads to meetings starting and ending later than scheduled. They also handle interruptions and changes to plans and schedules easily, as these are characteristic of their culture

Case:
There is a culture contract about this dimension. The German and Vietnamese company wanted to cooperate with each other. Mr. Killman had to take responsibility to make any progression. Because he was waiting on an answer from Mr. Dinh, but he did not receive anything. Mr Kilman felt that he loss time, which has a lot value for him.  For Mr dinh the time is less important. So, he did not take any action yet. At the end Mr Killman decided to contact Mr Dinh to make things clear.

Individualism – collectivism (Trompenaars)

Score 67: In Germany people stress on personal achievements and individual rights. Germans expect from each other to fulfil their own needs. Group work is important, but everybody has the right of his own opinion and is expected to reflect those. In an individual country like Germany people tend to have more loose relationships than countries where there is a collectivism where people have large extended families.

Score 20: Vietnam is considered a fairly collectivist culture.  Because of their Confucian roots, their culture is strongly orientated around family and community.  Family comes before oneself. Therefore, they value the collective whole rather than the individual. To bring pride to ones family is the ultimate goal.

Case:
Mr Killman and Dinh were in this case reflecting their culture. Mr dinh is a collectivist and Mr Kollman is a indivualist. Mr dinh is loyal to his company, and follows the company’s rules. He listens to the president and let him make the decisions. Mr Kollman is responsible for the decisions, so he can make choices by himself.

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My name is Abbas Barak, 20 years old and i am born in the Netherlands.
My parents were born in Afghanistan, even so are my brother and sister. They came to the Netherlands because of the war. Because my parents have both nationalities, dutch and Afghan, i am raised with 2 different cultures. At home we use more of the Afghan culture, because my parents still have it. But because other norms and values over here, we also make us of the dutch culture. There is a big gap between those cultures because the Afghan culture is often related to the religion. The religion is Islam, which i grew up with. I am very proud to say that I am muslim.

I decided to use the culture of the Netherlands, because i have the feeling that I am more connected to the Dutch culture than the Afghan culture. Because I spent most of the time at school or at work, so only when I am home, i recognize the Afghan culture.

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567860
A.Barak@student.han.nl
Group Number 4
Rob Warmenhoven
IFA-05

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My role in the balloon factory was a trainer of Richland. The tasks which were given to us, seemed to be easily done. But when we talked with our teacher in a private room, I realized that is harder than I expected. It was hard for me to think about an Idea, but then I followed the plan of other Trainers, to first enter the factor, then we should observe what they are actually doing. If it seemed that they were doing something wrong, we would anticipate and try to improve it. This did not work out; the employees did not take us seriously.  So we came back with the Trainers in the room. We discussed about a new plan, because a couple of trainers recognized that there was a leader. We thought that the employees were afraid of her. We tried to fix that problem, but that did not work out. At the end we made a final decision with the Trainers, that was to fire the Leader, so that the employees could improve their work.

The thing that I have learned in this case, that I even as a trainer can feel so powerless, even though my function is higher than theirs. Because none of the employees were taking me seriously, and they were lying to me. So whenever I have a higher function I will keep in my mind, that the people below me not always will listen to what I say, or take me serious.

Cross Cultural example

Interpretation:

When I was on vacation in Afghanistan, I went to visit my family. We were having dinning together. When I arrived I saw that everyone was sitting on the floor. The food was ready and served on the floor. I was looking very amazed to my parents, because I did not know that we will eat on the floor

Wonder about cultures:

In the Netherlands we have dinner at a table, and we use a knife and fork to eat our food. We think that it is unclean to eat with our hands.

Inquire first, then interpret:

I asked my parents what was going on because this was totally new to me, they said that I just have to adjust myself to it. It was normal for them. I think it is common in middle eastern countries to eat on the floor and use your hands instead of a knife and fork.

Explore new response and behavior:

At the end it was a good thing to experience such a thing with my family, because if it was with people I did not know, I would feel embarrassed.

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Hall:

High context                                      Communication                               Low context

I                                                   C

Monochronic                                   Time                                                  Polychronic

I C

Close                                                 Personal Space                                Distant

I                                                                            C

Kluckhohn:

Nature

Dominating                                        In Harmony with                               Subjugated to

C          I

Doing  (task)                                      Orientation                                       Being (relation)
C                                        I

1)
- I am in the middle of High and Low context, my parents are born in Afghanistan, and raised also with their norms and values. Personally I am raised in the Netherlands. In the Netherlands we are low context, in Afghanistan the people are high context

- Time is very important, so i have to follow my agenda everyday, otherwise i will lose the program of my day. For example, i have to be on time at work and school.

- My personal space differs in some situations, whenever i am with my friends I do not care about the personal space.

- The Nature of my is very dominating, because whenever there is a problem, i want to fix it as soon as possible.

- The orientation of me is more doing, because whenever i am busy with a project, for example BSP, i like to be active and creative.

2)
A: I am not in line with the personal space of the national culture, because Dutch people value their privacy, so they need a lot personal space. For me personally, i do not feel offended when people stand near by me.

B: With the time i am the same as my national culture. The result is Monochronic. Because I grew up in a culture where it is important to do everything on time, and to be on time at your appointments.

3)
1. Within the monochronic and Polichronic dimension, we had the most similarities. That is also for the dimension doing or being, because all of us are people who are actually doing.

2. There were not a lot of differences between the group members, we are very close to each other.

3. Our strategy which we use is effective. Because we do not face any problems, that reflects on some one's culture.

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First Row: Above the water
Second row: Below the surface
Third row: Deep under water

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The Dutch love time off to spend with their partner, kids and friends, for vacation or to study. Therefore they will prefer to reduce working hours instead of having an increase in salary.

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Being very organised and time conscious, one may have to plan business appointments up to four weeks ahead, with bosses, clients and colleagues.

As for your private agenda, with some friends you may be expected to plan an evening at the cinema six weeks from today

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The Dutch expect others to be open and direct like them. They will tell you what they think of you and criticise your work indifferent of your status if you are a superior or a subordinate.

n some cases, they expect you to be honest and direct in return. If you detect mistakes in their work and you do not inform them about these mistakes, they might get disappointed with you.

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The Dutch value privacy and seldom speak to strangers. It is more likely that they will wait for you to make the first move. Don't be afraid to do so.

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The Dutch are reserved and don't touch in public or display anger or extreme exuberance.

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When we face a problem, Dutch people in general wants to solve the problem. We will not hide away from the problem.

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Dutch people are very direct and use a lot of eye contact when they are speaking to each other.
So they expect you to look in their eyes if they are talking to you.

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In the Netherlands it is normal to have a pet, we are very careful towards animals. The most popular pets are dogs and cats.

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Dutch drug policy is directed by an idea that every human being may decide about the matters of its own health.

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A waiter or waitress is beckoned by slightly raising a hand, making eye-contact or calling "Ober" ("Waiter"), "Mevrouw", (literally "Madam", meaning "Waitress") or "Meneer" (meaning "Sir"), but not too loudly. Snapping fingers is considered very rude.

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‘Sinterklaas’ (Saint Nicholas) is a very Dutch character loved by children and adults alike. His annual arrival and parade in Amsterdam and the traditional festivities that follow are a real treat!

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When you think of the Netherlands, it is easy to picture never-ending fields of brightly coloured flowers. Many of the country’s most famous artist have portrayed the flower fields of the Netherlands in their work, and these fields are just as spectacular when they are seen in real life. However, these flower fields are more than just aesthetically beautiful: they are also economically important to the country

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Whatever you may think of them, traditional Dutch wooden shoes or clogs (klompen), are an important part of Dutch heritage and are still worn in rural parts of the country today. Dutch language has many idiomatic expressions associated with wooden shoes. Clogs are still popular with people working in agriculture as they’re great for walking on muddy ground and can easily be removed. Dutch clogs are made from different types of wood – poplar and willow being favourites – and are often painted.

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In the Netherlands it is considered quite normal for Dutch people to greet each other with three kisses on the cheek. It is also customary to do the same again when saying goodbye. It’s just a friendly way of saying hello and farewell. It’s not limited to the Dutch either.

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On King’s Day there are celebrations throughout the Netherlands.
King's day is known for its nationwide free market, at which the Dutch sell their used items. It is also an opportunity for "orange madness" a kind of frenzy named for the national colour.