David Langley Brief
Problem: David Langley is experiencing difficulties due to the cross cultural differences between his national culture and that of Santa Neuva.
• Uncertainty avoidance
o Langley- he is demonstrating high uncertainty avoidance. In dealing with customs and attempting to get the greenhouse materials from the loading dock to the site he was very focused on how to quickly deal with customs in a clearly, well-designed manner.
o Santa Neuvans- are demonstrating lower uncertainty avoidance. They have a much more laisse-faire attitude, they trust that eventually the task will be accomplished though they may not be able to attach a specific time table to it.
• Masculinity/femininity
o Langley- would prefer the phone conversations, as well as other interactions, to be quick and to the point without the “flowery” additions
o Santa Neuvans- are more focused on the human interaction, they prefers negotiations and conversations to be leisurely and focused on building relationships
• Individualism/collectivism
o Langley- as an American, is demonstrating a high level of individualism
o Santa Neuvans- demonstrating a higher degree of collectivism
o This leads to such incidents as Langley’s description of the need to structure tasks step-by-step. “You don’t just walk out and say ‘clean’. You’ve got to say, ‘clean this table, clean that table, clean this.”
o Another example of this is the negotiations for the land, it required not only Langley and the landowner, but the entire family to participate in the negotiations. This shows how the Santa Neuvans depend upon the collective consensus to make decisions versus Langley’s more individualistic decision making style.
• Power distance
o Langley- used to clearly delineated chains of command and bureaucracy
o Santa Neuvans-have a bureaucratic structure but it is very fluid and changes according the person with...
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