A cultural misunderstanding nearly derailed an Indo-Japanese bridge-building pro

Question

A cultural misunderstanding nearly derailed an Indo-Japanese bridge-building project. An Indian firm sent a detailed list of technical questions to its Japanese counterpart. The Indian engineers panicked when they received no rely. They wondered what had happened. Was the deal off? A week later, the Japanese engineers responded. Unlike in India or in the United States, the Japanese encourage input from everyone involved in a project. The queries probably went to the heads of various departments so that a complete picture could be presented in response. In the United States and in India, businesspeople expect an immediate response of some sort from e-mails. Your TASK Discuss how differing frames of reference affected this misunderstanding. How could such misunderstanding be averted?

Explanation / Answer

Different frames of reference are troublesome sources of miinderstanding. People interpret messages based on their own experience and may see the same situation quite differently . These are culturally based and people from different countries and even from different parts of the same country have different assumptions about time and the spatial distance between people when they speak . The ability to view others with your frame of reference is what leads to confusion and misunderstanding . The moment you interpret others point of view from your angle , you allow your preconceived notions and prejudices start working for you . An individuals frame of reference is based on his experience , exposure , education , personality and several other elements specific to the individual .

The Indian engineers experienced the same i.e they expected the Japanese counterparts to immediately respond to the detailed set of questions sent by them . The work culture of India is different from the work culture prevalent in Japan . In India people are individualistic and take decisions at an individual level . People in India do not discuss the issue with others before taking a decision . Hence the Indian engineers expected the same from Japanese counterparts and expected a quick reply . When the reply was not received within the expected time frame , Indian engineers panicked . Hence different frames of reference contribute to the misunderstanding .

Such misunderstanding can be averted by being sensitive to the fact of the differences to other cultural backgrounds and try to put onself into other person's position .

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