[A] Cultural Behaviour in Business

LET'S UNLOCK WORDS AND PHRASES 🔐

idiocy

[ 'id-ee-uh-see ]

noun

- a stupid action, or stupid behavior

It was complete idiocy to leave your laptop unattended in a public place.

mundane

[ 'muhn-deyn ]

adjective

- very ordinary and therefore not interesting

She found the tasks at her new job to be mundane and lacking in excitement.

pompous

[ 'pom-puhs ]

adjective

- feeling or showing that you think you are better or more important than other people

His pompous speech about his achievements annoyed everyone in the room.

pigeonhole

[ 'pi-juhn-howl ]

verb

- to put someone or something into a group or type, often unfairly

He was pigeonholed early on in his career as a gospel singer.

break the ice

idiom

- to do something that eases tension and makes interactions smoother, especially in new or awkward situations

To break the ice at the party, John started with a funny story about his recent vacation.

LET'S READ! 📖

Direction: Read the passage aloud. Then, read it silently.

Cultural Behavior in Business

COMPREHENSION CHECK 🧠 A. Directions: Identify if the statements are TRUE of FALSE. If the statement is FALSE, provide the correct answer.

COMPREHENSION CHECK

Eye contact across genders is considered inappropriate in South America.
Americans prefer to be addressed with a title such as Mr. or Ms. and their surnames.
Unfair judgements, misunderstandings and breakdowns in communication are the results of a lack of understanding of the cultural norms and practices of our business acquaintances.
Looking the client in the eye might be awkward or even disrespectful for the Japanese or Korean.
Smiling is often interpreted as a sign of openness, friendship, and respect by Russians and Germans.

B. Direction: Answer the following questions based on the article.

What does eye contact between gender in the Middle East signify?
How do Americans or British people perceive eye contact with the client?
Why should those who have earned a PhD be given the right to expect to be addressed as "Dr." according to the German trainee?
How do Russians perceive the so-called 'smile of respect'?
What is the benefit of having an increased awareness of the possible differences in expectations and behavior?

C. Direction: Match the words in column A with their synonyms in column B.

A	B
1. detrimental	a. important
2. acquaintance	b. clear
3. stark	c. manners
4. vital	d. harmful
5. etiquette	e. friend