Germans, like Americans, have very loosely defined gender roles in modern society. Women wear pants, work in high-level positions, and some men even stay home on "paternity leave." As such, there is no shock when men and women interact if a woman gives orders or suggestions to men. With a very conservative Mexican man with well-defined gender roles, they are foreign concepts to him and would be cause for discomfort.

The project manager wanted to have interaction and take direction solely from the client's husband. Once It was clear what the issue was, having a group status meeting, which included the husband, brought about a change in the project manager. Once he was able to see that the husband viewed this remodel as the wife's project, the project manager was then able to see that she wasn't trying to take over or control her husband, but in essence, was driving her vision to fruition.

Issue two: timing

In Germany, time is greatly valued, and punctuality is expected. Conversely, in most of Mexico, there exists a loose concept of time. While schedules can be made, it's best to deal with the general instead of the specific.

Plans are made around the day, not the hour, as is the case in America.

When the project manager explained that the remodelling project would take two weeks to complete, his clients were pleased. The problems arose when the clients misunderstood how the two weeks would play out.

Instead of the project manager and team arriving 2-3 days a week, the clients assumed the team of workers would be there literally every day for at least 8 hours a day for two weeks.

As a result, the clients felt as if the team was taking advantage of them, and wasting their time. To reduce the diminishing trust, it was imperative to clear up this misunderstanding. A schedule for the day was outlined, and the clients felt at ease.

1. As you know, the iceberg and the onion are metaphors for culture. Provide examples from the case study that indicate how the behavior of German customers, employees, management, etc., (the outer layer of culture) is reflective of German cultural values (a deeper layer of culture). Use appropriate headings and/or illustrations to organize your answers. Be sure to explain what the German values are. Cite your sources if some are beyond the case. (10 marks)

For a long time, our building company had finished an important project concerning a new major route in Kenya. However, not all the money had been paid by our customer. Therefore, the managing director of the Kenyan subsidiary of the building corporation organized a meeting with the representative of the respective Kenyan government agency. The meeting was scheduled for the next Friday at ten a.m.

The meeting started and the representative was very polite and friendly. However, at the same time, he also seemed to be quite nervous. Every few minutes he received a telephone call or had to initiate a telephone call himself. All phone discussions were carried out in the local language. Despite the interruptions. I tried to explain the reason for my visit - the outstanding account balance. Of course, the government representative apologized for every interruption. However, after 15 minutes we were both extremely tense because the conservation did not advance at all.

Eventually, I said that I was sorry that my counterpart has so much to do and asked for another meeting the next Tuesday. Instantly, the government representative relaxed again and happily confirmed the new meeting.

Now he could finally concentrate on the preparation and organization of his big family meeting this weekend, which is typical for large Kenyan families.

Questions:

1. Relate the described situation to one of the cultural dimensions identified by Hofstede. How can you explain this? (10 Marks)
2. How does this situation compare to comparable situations in your home country? Please explain. Where are the limits of the cultural explanation? (10 Marks)