An example of intercultural ‘misunderstanding’
3 July 2007
A Japanese manager is complaining about her French boss “What I expect from him is to be an example, guide me, inspire me in my job life”. My reaction to her “Well, I for one don’t expect any of these from a boss… and it seems to me you have Japanese expectations towards a French boss, which might explain a lot of your mishaps!”
Among other things, a culture deals a lot about expectations. Maybe we should introduce this as a cultural awareness tool: what do I expect from this or that situations? What do I deem normal?
When do I think “I shouldn’t have to explain this in the first place”?
