What Is The Theme Of Silent Bo By Erin Meyer Individual Differences

According to Erin Meyer being open to individual differences is not enough, you need to have an appreciation for cultural differences as well as respect for individual differences. I absolutely agree with this because it is through culture that an individual gets a deeper understanding of the other person. It is true that we should not judge people based on where they come from and instead get to know the individual you are working with on a personal level. On the other hand, we should not neglect the cultural differences. Often, these cultural differences lead to stereotypes. Moreover, by understanding the cultural background as well as getting to know the person on a personal level can enhance your ability to work with different people

One example that Erin Meyer gave in the introduction was about the “Silent Bo.” I found that very interesting because it is true that if you do not know the culture of an individual you will see everyone through your own cultural lens and that is exactly what happened in the story of silent bo. She thought Chen was not prepared for the presentation, however, he never got the opportunity to speak up because in Chinese culture, the person has to clearly say when it is his turn to speak. Cultural relativism is the idea that a person’s norms, values, beliefs, and customs should be understood based on where the person originates from and relative to their culture. For example, in Thailand, many people eat scorpions and even cockroaches in some poorer areas. On the other hand, it is uncommon to see such food such as scorpions being served as food in Malaysia. I often face many people who have a lot of misconceptions about my country (Iran) and I am judged very quickly when I say where I come from. It is not surprising anymore to hear the misconceptions over and over again. For instance, the first thing they ask me is “why are you not wearing a scarf?” well that being said means that they already assumed some general traits of Iranian

In some countries such as Germany, Singapore, and the United Kingdom; punctuality is highly appreciated. There is always a possibility of having some troubles in some days of life, if you happen to be in any of these countries and you might be late for a meeting, it is very important to make a call and let them know exactly when you will arrive. In contrast, if you are running late for a meeting in the Middle East, Africa, South America, and Malaysia; delays are generally accepted and it does not matter if you are either five minutes late or forty-five minutes late. In some other cultures such as France and northern Italy, being five to ten minutes late is not a big deal because it is within the time frame of what is considered to be on time. During the study abroad program we were often late for the tours and buses. In the Canary islands and Spain even if we were ten to fifteen minutes late, the tours always waited on all the students to arrive and it seemed to be normal. However, in Rome we actually faced more than one incident where being late was not acceptable at all. First incident that happened was a miscommunication between the bus driver and our appointment with Boeing’s sale office. We ended being one hour late and at first they were not willing to accept our tardiness which was an incident. The second incident happened in Rome as well. The bus arrived at our hotel 2:55 PM sharp and I was downstairs exactly at