CHAPTER 3

What Are the Essential Cultural Value Patterns?

CHAPTER 3 OBJECTIVES AND OUTLINE
Chapter 3 Objectives:
As a result of reading Chapter 3 and participating in related class discussions and activities, you
should be able to:
(1) Describe the different functions of cultural values;
(2) Describe the difference between ingroup and outgroup attitudes;
(3) Explain and use examples to illustrate the four key cultural value dimensions;
(4) Identify and use examples to illustrate the three additional cultural value orientations;
(5) Develop a fuller understanding of how cultural values shape human behaviors;
(6) Understand more deeply how individual personality traits and life experience shape personal
value systems; and
(7) Describe and apply the mindful O-D-I-S method.

Chapter 3 Outline:
I. Functions of Cultural Values
A. Values: shared ideas about what is right or wrong, fair or unfair, etc. (NOTE: this is a
brief description; see textbook for actual definitions.)
B. Identity meaning function: frame of reference to answer fundamental question: Who
am I?
C. Explanatory function: implicit understanding of commonly shared values
D. Motivational function: internal drives for rewards or punishment for norm violations
E. Ingroup-outgroup evaluative function: shapes ingroup and outgroup attitudes
1. Attitude: predisposed learned tendency that influences our behavior
2. Ingroups: share interdependent fate and feel emotionally close
3. Outgroups: feel no emotional ties, experience psychological distance and even
competition
II. Analyzing Cultural Value Dimensions
A. Discovering Cultural Values
1. Cultural value analysis highlights patterns in cultures
2. Variety of individual differences within a culture

B. Identity: Individualism-Collectivism Value Pattern (most important)

1. Individualism
a. Emphasizes individual identity, rights, and needs over groups
b. Most northern and western Europe and North America
c. Top individualist values: freedom, honesty, social recognition, etc.
2. Collectivism
a. Emphasizes we identity over I identity, group rights, in-group needs
b. Asia, Africa, Middle East, Central and South America, Pacific Islands
c. Top collectivist values: harmony, face-saving, respecting parents, etc.
C. Power: Small-Large Power Distance Value Pattern
1. Small power distance cultures: equal power distributions, rights; rewards and
punishments based on performance
2. Large power distance cultures: accept unequal power distribution, rights, role
relations; rewards and punishments based on age, rank, status, title, etc.
D. Uncertainty: Weak-Strong Uncertainty Avoidance Value Pattern
1. Weak (or low) uncertainty avoidance cultures encourage risk taking and
conflict-approaching modes (e.g., the United States)
2. Strong (or high) uncertainty avoidance cultures: clear procedures and
conflict avoidance behaviors
E. Sex Roles: Feminine-Masculine Value Pattern
1. Femininity: social gender roles are fluid and can overlap
2. Masculinity: social gender roles are complementary and distinct
a. Men: assertive, tough, task-based accomplishment concerns
b. Women: more modest, tender, quality of life concerns
III. Additional Value Orientation Patterns
A. Meaning: Activity Value Orientation
1. Doing solution: achievement-oriented activities
2. Being solution: living with emotional vitality, relational connection
3. Being-in-becoming: spiritual renewal and connection
B. Destiny: People-Nature Value Orientation
1. Controlling or mastering their environment: control over natural environment
2. Harmony-with-nature or flowing: emphasize spiritual transformation or
enlightenment over material gain
3. Subjugation-to-nature or yielding: nature is beyond control of individuals
(includes fatalism: karma)
C. Time: Temporal Value Orientation
1. Future-oriented time sense: emphasizes planning and clear objectives
2. Present-oriented time sense: valuing here-and-now, especially relationships
3. Past-oriented time sense: honor historic and ancestral ties and elders
Iv. Individual Socialization Development
A. Independent versus Interdependent Self-Construal
1. The independent construal of self
a. Views self as distinct, unique; values personal achievement, selfdirection, and competition
b. Predominates in individualistic cultures or ethnic groups
2. The interdependent construal of self

a. Emphasizes ingroup connectedness; fitting in, acting in proper manner

b. Predominates in collectivistic cultures or ethnic groups
B. Horizontal versus Vertical Self-Construal
1. Horizontal self-construal: prefers informality, equality, directness
2. Vertical self-construal: prefers formality, respecting roles
C. Internal versus External Locus of Control
1. Internal locus of control: emphasizes free will, personal responsibility
(parallels mastery-over-nature value)
2. External locus of control: emphasizes fate, external forces shape a
persons life events (parallels subordination-to-nature value)
V. Intercultural Reality Check: Do-Ables
To be a flexible intercultural communication at the values clarification level, practice
O-D-I-S:
A. Mindful observation (O), description (D), multiple interpretations (I), suspend
ethnocentrism (S)
B. Observe a wide range of people and situations before making generalizations

CHAPTER 3 CHECK-UP
Check out the following self-assessment and cultural literacy questions:
Self-Assessment Quiz: Use this to learn about individualism-collectivism value patterns.
Answer the following question. Can you identify the value pattern reflected in each answer?
You have two hours to prepare for an examination for one class and an oral report that
you and several fellow students will present in another class. The exam score is your
own; the oral report earns a group grade. Both are worth 25 percent of your grade in each
class. In the two hours, you can only do one well. Which would you choose?
a. Study hard for the examit reflects your individual achievement.
b. Prepare for the group reportdont let down your team members.
POP-UP INTERPRETATION:
a. This answer expresses an individualistic value pattern.
To take an assessment of the rest of your value patterns, check out my.blog 3.1 in the
text on page 45.
POP-UP INTERPRETATION:
b. This answer expresses a collectivistic value pattern.
To take an assessment of the rest of your value patterns, check out my.blog 3.1 in the
text on page 45.

Table Quiz: Use this table quiz to learn about your cultural or ethnic communitys value
tendencies. Complete each sentence by choosing the phrase which best reflects your cultural or
ethnic communitys tendencies.
1. The instructors in a college classroom should:
a. actively solicit students input.
b. lecture and impart their wisdom.
2. The manager in an organization should:
a. manage by giving firm, clear guidance to employees.
b. manage by actively consulting with employees about their ideas.
The answers to these questions indicate a cultures power distance value characteristics.
POP-UP INTERPRETATION:
1a. This answer reflects a small power distance value pattern.
To see the rest of the descriptions for these different cultures, check out Table 3.2 in the
text on page 49..
POP-UP INTERPRETATION:
1b. This answer reflects a large power distance value pattern.
To see the rest of the descriptions for these different cultures, check out Table 3.2 in the
text on page 49.
POP-UP INTERPRETATION:
2a. This answer reflects a large power distance value pattern.
To see the rest of the descriptions for these different cultures, check out Table 3.2 in the
text on page 49.
POP-UP INTERPRETATION:
2b. This answer reflects a small power distance value pattern.
To see the rest of the descriptions for these different cultures, check out Table 3.2 in the
text on page 49.

Table Quiz: Take this quiz to learn about your cultural or ethnic communitys value tendencies.
Complete each sentence by choosing the phrase which best reflects your cultures or ethnic
communitys tendencies.
1. In my cultural or ethnic community, conflict is viewed as:
a. positive.
b. negative.
2. At school in my cultural or ethnic community:
a. challenges are welcome.
b. routines are welcome.
The answers to these questions indicate a cultures uncertainty avoidance characteristics.
POP-UP INTERPRETATION:
1a. This answer reflects a weak uncertainty avoidance value pattern.
To see the rest of the descriptions for these different cultures, check out Table 3.3 in the
text on page 51.
POP-UP INTERPRETATION:
1b. This answer reflects a strong uncertainty avoidance value pattern.
To see the rest of the descriptions for these different cultures, check out Table 3.3 in the
text on page 51.
POP-UP INTERPRETATION:
2a. This answer reflects a weak uncertainty avoidance value pattern.
To see the rest of the descriptions for these different cultures, check out Table 3.3 in the
text on page 51.
POP-UP INTERPRETATION:
2b. This answer reflects a strong uncertainty avoidance value pattern.
To see the rest of the descriptions for these different cultures, check out Table 3.3 in the
text on page 51.

Table Quiz: How does your cultural community view the roles of males and females? Complete
each sentence by choosing the phrase which best reflects your cultural communitys tendencies.
1. In my cultural or ethnic community, those who are expected to take initiative are:
a. both genders.
b. only males.
2. In my cultural or ethnic community, the most critical aspect in school is:
a. social adjustment.
b. academic performance.
The answers to these questions indicate a cultures masculinity or femininity.

POP-UP INTERPRETATION:
1a. This answer reflects a feminine cultural value pattern.
To see the rest of the descriptions for these different cultures, check out Table 3.4 in the
text on page 52.
POP-UP INTERPRETATION:
1b. This answer reflects a masculine cultural value pattern.
To see the rest of the descriptions for these different cultures, check out Table 3.4 in the
text on page 52.
POP-UP INTERPRETATION:
2a. This answer reflects a feminine cultural value pattern.
To see the rest of the descriptions for these different cultures, check out Table 3.4 in the
text on page 52.
POP-UP INTERPRETATION:
2b. This answer reflects a masculine cultural value pattern.
To see the rest of the descriptions for these different cultures, check out Table 3.4 in the
text on page 52.

Self-Assessment Quiz: Use this quiz to learn about the being, doing, and being-in-doing
value orientations. Which of the following options sounds most like your own value preference?
Can you identify which one reflects a being, a doing, and a being-in-becoming value
orientation?
a. I feel useless if I am not doing something constructive every day.
b. I prefer to enjoy life with my full five senses present in each waking moment.
c. Developing an inner understanding of who I am is more important than any other
tangible accomplishment.
POP-UP INTERPRETATION:
a. This preference reflects a doing value orientation.
To quiz yourself on the rest of the personal value orientations such as destiny, time, and
space, check out my.blog 3.3 in the text on page 53.
POP-UP INTERPRETATION:
b. This preference reflects a being value orientation.
To quiz yourself on the rest of the personal value orientations such as destiny, time, and
space, check out my.blog 3.3 in the text on page 53.
POP-UP INTERPRETATION:
c. This preference reflects a being-in-becoming value orientation.
To quiz yourself on the rest of the personal value orientations such as destiny, time, and
space, check out my.blog 3.3 in the text on page 53.

Self-Assessment Quiz: Use this quiz to learn more about independent and interdependent selfconstruals. Choose whether you tend to agree or disagree with the following statements.
1. I often consult my close friends for advice before acting.
a. Agree
b. Disagree
2. I prefer to be self-reliant rather than depend on others.
a. Agree
b. Disagree

POP-UP INTERPRETATION:
1a. Agreement on the first statement indicates a tendency toward an interdependent selfconstrual.
To take the full assessment, check out my.blog 3.4 in the text on page 58.
POP-UP INTERPRETATION:
1b. Disagreement on the first statement indicates a tendency away from an
interdependent self-construal.
To take the full assessment, check out my.blog 3.4 in the text on page 58.
POP-UP INTERPRETATION:
2a. Agreement on the second statement indicates a tendency toward an independent selfconstrual.
To take the full assessment, check out my.blog 3.4 in the text on page 58.
POP-UP INTERPRETATION:
2b. Disagreement on the second statement indicates a tendency away from an
independent self-construal.
To take the full assessment, check out my.blog 3.4 in the text on page 58.

Self-Assessment Quiz: Take this quiz to learn about vertical and horizontal personality traits.
Choose whether you tend to agree or disagree with the following statements. Can you identify
which statements reflect a horizontal personality trait and which reflect a vertical personality
trait?
1. I think older siblings should take care of their younger siblings.
a. Agree
b. Disagree
2. I respect people who are competent, not their roles or titles.
a. Agree
b. Disagree

POP-UP INTERPRETATION:
1a. Agreement on the first statement reflects a tendency toward a vertical personality
trait.
To take the full assessment, check out my.blog 3.5 in the text on page 60.
POP-UP INTERPRETATION:
1b. Disagreement on the first statement reflects a tendency away from a vertical
personality trait.
To take the full assessment, check out my.blog 3.5 in the text on page 60.
POP-UP INTERPRETATION:
2a. Agreement on the second statement reflects a tendency toward a horizontal
personality trait.
To take the full assessment, check out my.blog 3.5 in the text on page 60.
POP-UP INTERPRETATION:
2b. Disagreement on the second statement reflects a tendency away from a horizontal
personality trait.
To take the full assessment, check out my.blog 3.5 in the text on page 60.

CHAPTER 3 GLOSSARY-MATCHING QUIZ

Match the following five terms with their respective definitions:
a. Values
b. Uncertainty avoidance
c. Identity meaning function of values
d. Power distance
e. Self-construal
___ 1. The extent to which individuals subscribe to the ideology of equal power distributions and
the extent to which members adhere to unequal power distributions.

___ 2. Provides the frame of reference with which to answer the fundamental question: Who am
I?
___ 3. The extent to which members of a culture do not mind conflicts or uncertain situations
and the extent to which they try to avoid those uncertain situations.
___ 4. Shared ideas about what is right or wrong, what is fair or unfair, what is important or not
important.
___ 5. The degree to which people conceive of themselves as separate or connected to others.
POP-UP ANSWER:
1. d
2. c
3. b
4. a
5. e

Match the following five terms with their respective definitions:

a. Attitude
b. Outgroups
c. Harmony-with-nature value orientation
d. Cultures high in uncertainty avoidance
e. Subjugation-to-nature value orientation
___ 1. Belief that nature is a powerful force beyond the control of individuals.
___ 2. Belief that we should all live harmoniously with each another because we are all
creatures of the same universe.
___ 3. Groups with whom one feels no emotional ties, and from whom one may experience
psychological distance and even feel competitive against.
___ 4. Prefer clear procedures and conflict avoidance.
___ 5. A predisposed tendency that influences thinking patterns.
POP-UP ANSWER:
1. e
2. c
3. b
4. d
5. a

CHAPTER 3 REVIEW QUIZ

Multiple Choice: Select and click the BEST ANSWER from the choices available.

1. This is a common cultural pattern found in most northern and western regions of Europe and
in North America.
a. Being activity value orientation
b. Collectivism
c. Subjugation-to-nature value orientation
d. Individualism
POP-UP ANSWER:
d. Individualism (p. 47)

2. A flood has hit a small town in England, where Carly lives. She responds to the flood by
viewing it as something that is beyond the control of her or her town, and in fact, was
predestined. Which destiny value orientation is she endorsing?
a. Controlling the environment
b. Harmony-with-nature
c. Subjugation-to-nature
d. Internal locus of control
POP-UP ANSWER:
c. Subjugation-to-nature (p. 55)

3. Cici is most often concerned with her personal achievements, and is rather competitive with
classmates. She would tend to have a(n) _____________ construal of self.
a. internal
b. external
c. independent
d. interdependent
POP-UP ANSWER:
c. independent (p. 59)

4. A culture which confronts a natural disaster, such as floods, by building dams, bridges, and
other water-control features, is operating from which people-nature value orientation?
a. Controlling their environment value solution
b. Harmony-with-nature or flowing value solution
c. Subjugation-to-nature or yielding value solution
d. Being value solution
POP-UP ANSWER:
a. Controlling their environment value solution (p. 54)
5. On Carlos first day as a study-abroad student, he was surprised to find that his instructor
asked for student feedback and that at the end of class, the instructor went to lunch with
some of the students. Having paid attention in his intercultural communication class, Carlos
understands that the culture in which he is now living is a ____________ culture.
a. future-oriented
b. past-oriented
c. large power distance
d. small power distance
POP-UP ANSWER:
d. small power distance (pp. 48-49)
6. Caitlyns father always decides where to go on vacation and Caitlyn is expected to accept the
decision without complaint. Caitlyns mother does the packing and is concerned with the
quality of the hotel. Caitlyn is in a _____________ family situation.
a. masculine
b. feminine
c. being-in-becoming
d. being
POP-UP ANSWER:
a. masculine (pp. 51-52)

7. Which group or nation is most likely to emphasize individual initiative and achievement and a
future value solution?
a. Saudi Arabia
b. Saudi Arabian upper class
c. U.S. middle-class European Americans
d. All Japanese classes
POP-UP ANSWER:
c. U.S. middle-class European Americans (p. 57)

8. Camille and Chika have different reactions to their equally poor performances on the first
exam of the semester. Camille believes that it is her responsibility to do better and that she must
make extra effort on the next exam. Chika believes that destiny or fate was involved and that
sometimes external forces shape ones life events. Camille has a(n) _____________ locus of
control and Chika has a(n) ____________ locus of control.
a. internal; external
b. external; internal
c. vertical; horizontal
d. horizontal; vertical
POP-UP ANSWER:
a. internal; external (p. 60)
9. A culture which answers the question of the relationship between people and the natural by
being more fatalistic and acting humbly in the face of cataclysmic external forces, is
operating under which people-nature value orientation?
a. Controlling their environment value solution
b. Harmony-with-nature or flowing value solution
c. Subjugation-to-nature or yielding value solution
d. Doing value solution
POP-UP ANSWER:
c. Subjugation-to-nature or yielding value solution (p. 55)
10. Cristina is a study-abroad student who moves to the United States to live in a college
apartment in California. She notices that her roommates dont knock before entering her
bedroom; they just open the door and walk right in. Rather than decide that U.S. Americans
are rude, she practices the O-D-I-S method from her intercultural communication class.
Which letter represents her efforts to be more open-ended in evaluating her roommates
behavior and to refrain from her initial ethnocentric evaluation of the behavior as rude?
a. O
b. D
c. I
d. S
POP-UP ANSWER:
a. S= Suspend ethnocentric evaluation and perform open-ended evaluation (p. 62)

True/False: In order to identify the best answer, consider whether each statement is true (i.e.,
accurate) or false (i.e., inaccurate). Click either a for True or b for False.
1. The most important value dimension that shapes our sense of self is the individualismcollectivism value dimension.
a. True
b. False
POP-UP ANSWER:
a. True (p. 44)
2. Individuals with an external locus of control tend to emphasize free will, individual
motivation, and personal effort and responsibility.
a. True
b. False
POP-UP ANSWER:
b. False (p. 60)
3. People with a vertical self-construal emphasize informal interactions and a direct approach to
resolving problems.
a. True
b. False
POP-UP ANSWER:
b. False (p. 59)
4. People operating under a future-oriented time sense are concerned with fixed schedules and
short- to medium-term planning.
a. True
b. False
POP-UP ANSWER:
a. True (p. 57)
5. All individuals from Asian countries operate from an interdependent self-construal.
a. True
b. False
POP-UP ANSWER:
b. False (p. 59) Variety exists within the culture; not all individuals from Asian countries
have interdependent self-construals.

CHAPTER 3 INTERCULTURAL WEB SURFING

Check out the following Internet sites and other resources that are relevant to this chapter:
Hofstedes value dimensions provide country specific data, allowing for comparison and contrast
value tendencies of different countries:
http://www.clearlycultural.com/geert-hofstede-cultural-dimensions/masculinity/
The video of the 2008 Winter Olympics, when a Japanese snowboarder received a large backlash
from his home country after wearing his countrys uniform inappropriately:
http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/sports/2010/02/18/lah.japan.snowboarder.cnn.html
This CNN article explains the cultural reasons behind the orderly reaction to the earthquake and
tsunami in Japan:
http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/03/12/orderly-disaster-reaction-in-line-with-deep-culturalroots/?hpt=C2
Taking It Global: A web page designed to explore cultural diversity, values, and expression:
http://www.tigweb.org
Read about the GLOBE project (Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness),
mentioned in Chapter 3:
http://business.nmsu.edu/programs-centers/globe

Films:
Men of Hula (Documentary, Hawaii, 2006) is a stunning look Robert Cazimero and his vision to
bring reclaiming the masculine side of the ancient dance.
Dances With Wolves (1990) A U.S. lieutenant in the Civil War is exiled to a remote Sioux
territory. He must learn to adapt to those whose ways are different from his.

Book:
Amy Chua (2011). Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. In this controversial book, read Ms. Chuas
values on parenting that caused much discussion during early 2011.

CHAPTER 3 INTERCULTURAL TOUR

Check out the following intercultural scenario:
A CRITICAL INCIDENT: TRANSMITTING
INFORMATION ON TRANSMISSION SYSTEMS*
Adjustment to Japan has been much easier than I thought it would be, Karl Ruch told his wife
about a year after their move from Germany. Karl had been sent by an automobile company in
Frankfurt to see if he could establish production facilities for transmission systems that would be
built in Japan and imported into Germany. Having been told that negotiations take a long time in
Japan, he was not disappointed that it had taken a year for a major meeting to be set up with his
key Japanese counterparts. But the Japanese had studied the proposal and were ready to discuss it
this morning, and Karl was excited as he left for work. At the meeting, people discussed matters
that were already in the written document that had been circulated beforehand.
Suddenly, it occurred to Karl that there was an aspect of quality-control inspection that he had
left out of the proposal. He knew that the Japanese should know of this concern because it was
important to the success of the project. Karl asked the senior person at the meeting if he could
speak, apologized for not having already introduced the quality-control concern he was about to
raise, and then went into his addition to the proposal. His presentation was met with silence, and
the meeting was later adjourned without a decision having been made on the whole manufactureimportation program. Because Karl thought that a decision would be made that day, he was
puzzled.
What was the reason for Karls difficulty?
*Source: Adapted from K. Cushner and R. Brislin (1996). Intercultural Interactions: A Practical Guide, 2nd ed.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

INTERACTIVE PROBES
(Ask yourself and probe your classmates reactions)
(NOTE: See Chapter 3 Class Handouts for a printable form containing these questions.)
Click the number with the best analysis and write down the reason for your choice.
1. Karl had brought up quality control, an issue about which the Japanese are very proud. The
Japanese thought that Karl was questioning their commitment to quality control.
2. Expecting a decision in a year was still unrealistic; Karl should have been more patient.
3. Karl had brought up an issue on which there had not been prior discussion among the people
somehow involved in that special issue.
4. Karl had asked the senior person about speaking; in actuality, there was a younger person
present who was in charge, and Karl should have deferred to that person.

POP-UP EXPLANATION:
1. Although the Japanese are very proud of their success in the area of quality control, it is not
automatic that they would be upset if an issue concerning quality control were raised. If well
handled, it would be an opportunity for the Japanese to make a good presentation. Providing
a time to discuss quality control might well help the progress of a proposal. The key is the
phrase if well handled. Please choose again.
POP-UP EXPLANATION:
2. It does take a long time to develop new business ventures and production export-import
projects, but the Japanese have slowly become accustomed to working with Germans and
have made some concessions to German sensitivity to time. The project involving Karl
seemed to be proceeding reasonably well in a realistic time frame (expectations of
completion in three months would be the sort of mistake German companies have made in
the past). Karl made a mistake at the meeting discussed in the story. Please choose again.
POP-UP EXPLANATION:
3. CONGRATULATIONS! This is the best answer. The big cultural mistake on Karls part was
in his method of introducing the new issue about quality control. In Japan (and, in general, in
Southeast Asia), people do not like surprises at meetings. Most information sharing and
introduction of new ideas takes place in one-on-one meetings between the parties involved in
the decisions to be made. After all corrections, modifications, and additions are made in these
interactions, an addition to a proposal can be put on the agenda of a later meeting at which all
the people involved in the project will be present. By that time, everyone in the meeting will
have had extensive opportunities to study the addition to the proposal and no one will be
embarrassed or lose face by an aspect of the proposal that might affect his or her
responsibilities but about which he or she is unprepared to comment.

POP-UP EXPLANATION:
4. Even if this were the case, the Japanese would probably have sensed that Karl was being polite
in deferring to the senior person. Attempts to be polite, even if they do not exactly meet the
norms in a given situation, are often taken as indications of good will. There is a better
answer that focuses on a mistake Karl made in style rather than in exact substance of his
remarks. Please choose again.

CHAPTER 3 CLASS HANDOUTS

Note: Your instructor may ask you to download, print out, and/or e-mail the following class
handouts for this chapter.
THE PARABLE
THE PARABLE EXERCISE: INSTRUCTIONS TO PARTICIPANTS
THE PARABLE EXERCISE: REFLECTIVE ANALYSIS
VALUE ORIENTATION EMPHASES
FOUR-DIMENSIONAL VALUES INVENTORY (DVI)
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS ON DVI
INTERACTIVE PROBES FOR TRANSMITTING INFORMATION

THE PARABLE
ROSEMARY is a young woman about twenty-one years old. For a long time she has
been engaged to a young man named HERNANDO, and she is coming from a great distance to
meet him for their scheduled wedding. The problem she faces is that between her and her
betrothed there lies a river. No ordinary river, mind you, but a deep, wide river infested with
hungry crocodiles.
ROSEMARY ponders how she can cross the river. She thinks of a man who has a boat,
whose name is SVEN. She approaches SVEN and asks him to take her across the river. SVEN
replies, Yes, Ill take you across the river if youll spend the night with me.
Shocked at this offer, she turns to another acquaintance, LEE PAI, and tells him her story.
LEE PAI responds by saying, Poor ROSEMARY, I understand your problem, but I dont see
how I can help. Its really your problem, not mine.
ROSEMARY, in desperation, decides to return to SVEN, and spends the night with him.
In the morning SVEN takes her across the river. She completes her journey and arrives in time.
Her reunion with HERNANDO is warm, but on the evening before they are to be
married, ROSEMARY feels compelled to tell HERNANDO how she succeeded in getting across
the river. HERNANDO responds by saying, I cant believe you would do such a thing. I
wouldnt marry you if you were the last woman on earth. And he banishes her as a soiled
woman.
Finally, at her wits end, ROSEMARY turns to our last character, SEIICHI. He listens to
her story and says, What a terrible thing to happen. Rosemary, I dont love you, but I will marry
you. And thats all we know of the story.

NAME: _____________________________
The Parable Exercise: Instructions to Participants
1. Write down, in rank order, the character whose behavior you MOST APPROVE to LEAST
APPROVE, plus a brief sentence explaining your first choice, second choice, and so on.
2. Split into groups of four or five. Each group member should take turns to share his or her first
choice, second choice, then third choice, and so on. Probe each other for the reasoning behind the
rank-order decision-making process.
3. Discuss and arrive at a group consensus of the rank-order choices. One member of the group
should be responsible to record group choices and report back to the entire class.
Individual Rank-Order Choices
MOST APPROVE:

1. ___________________________
2. ___________________________
3. ___________________________
4. ___________________________

LEAST APPROVE: 5. ___________________________

Source: Adapted from William Weeks, Paul Pedersen, & Richard Brislin (1979). A Manual of
Structured Experiences for Cultural Learning. LaGrange Park, IL: Intercultural Network.

NAME______________________________
THE PARABLE EXERCISE: REFLECTIVE ANALYSIS
1. On the individual level, who was your top-ranked choice? What values were you defending?
Who was your bottom-ranked choice? What values were you rejecting?

2. Where did you learn your cultural/personal values? Identify some influential sources.

3. Did you change your rankings to the group consensus rankings wholeheartedly? Explain your
decision or dilemma.

4. Recommend two or three constructive ways to understand your own values and/or other
peoples values mindfully.

NAME: _____________________________
VALUE ORENTATION EMPHASES: What value orientation emphases are embedded in the
following list of statements or proverbs?
1. The person who has achieved success has lived well, laughed often, and loved much.
Value emphasis:
2. The person who stands alone excites our imagination.
Value emphasis:
3. One finger cannot lift a pebble.
Value emphasis:
4. We will be known forever by the tracks we leave.
Value emphasis:
5. Walk lightly in the spring; Mother Earth is pregnant.
Value emphasis:
6. One arrow can be broken easily, but three arrowsbundled togethercannot be broken
lightly.
Value emphasis:
7. Sour, sweet, bitter, and pungentall must be tasted.
Value emphasis:
8. In youth, we learn; however, it is really in old age that we finally understand.
Value emphasis:
9. If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow.
Value emphasis:
10. When spider webs unite, they can tie up a lion.
Value emphasis:

NAME: _________________________________

FOUR-DIMENSIONAL VALUES INVENTORY (DVI)

Instructions: With a mark (X), indicate the predominant values of your cultural/ethnic group,
workplace, family, and your own personal orientation on the continuum. (If you are not working
right now, think of your college or university environment.) For example,

Cultural Value: Individualism <------------------------X---------> Collectivism

I.

Identity Dimension - Individualism/Collectivism

Cultural Value:

Individualism<-------------------------------------> Collectivism

Workplace Value: Individualism <------------------------------------> Collectivism

Family Value:

Individualism <------------------------------------> Collectivism

Self Value:

Individualism<-------------------------------------> Collectivism

II.

Power Distance - Small Power Distance/Large Power Distance

Cultural Value:

Small P.D. <---------------------------------------> Large P.D.

Workplace Value: Small P.D. <---------------------------------------> Large P.D.

Family Value:

Small P.D. <---------------------------------------> Large P.D.

Self Value:

Small P.D. <---------------------------------------> Large P.D.

III.

Uncertainty Avoidance - Weak U.A./Strong U.A.

Cultural Value:

Weak U.A. <--------------------------------------->Strong U.A.

Workplace Value: Weak U.A. <--------------------------------------->Strong U.A.

Family Value:

Weak U.A. <--------------------------------------->Strong U.A.

Self Value:

Weak U.A. <--------------------------------------->Strong U.A.

IV.

Sex Roles - "Feminine"/Fluid vs. "Masculine"/Distinctive

Cultural Value:

Feminine <-----------------------------------------> Masculine

Workplace Value: Feminine <-----------------------------------------> Masculine

Family Value:

Feminine <-----------------------------------------> Masculine

Self Value:

Feminine <-----------------------------------------> Masculine

NAME: ______________________________

Discussion Questions on DVI

Jot down some of your reflections and talk to a friendly face right next to you. Compare the
differences and similarities between your value rankings and your classmate's value rankings.
Have a good conversationask some probing questions and practice some attentive listening
skills.
1.

How are your family value patterns different from or consistent with the larger cultural
and/or ethnic value patterns?

2.

How are your personal value patterns different from or consistent with the larger cultural
and/or ethnic value patterns?

3.

Which value dimension has the most influence on your everyday communication
behavior?
How so? Give a clear communication example.

4.

Who is the "real you" in terms of your value systemyour personal self, your workplace
self, your family self, and/or your cultural self?

5.

Think about a specific region of the world you might be visiting for an extended period of
time or doing business with in the future. Identify the specific value dimension
differences you might find between your cultural values and the cultural values in the
region.

6.

If you have to work with other students with diametrically opposite values on a team
project, how would you manage the differences in a competent manner? Recommend
three ideas you can practice or apply in order to manage possible value clashes.

A CRITICAL INCIDENT:
TRANSMITTING INFORMATION ON TRANSMISSION SYSTEMS
Adjustment to Japan has been much easier than I thought it would be, Karl Ruch told
his wife about a year after their move from Germany. Karl had been sent by an automobile
company in Frankfurt to see if he could establish production facilities for transmission systems
that would be built in Japan and imported into Germany. Having been told that negotiations take
a long time in Japan, he was not disappointed that it had taken a year for a major meeting to be
set up with his key Japanese counterparts. But the Japanese had studied the proposal and were
ready to discuss it this morning, and Karl was excited as he left for work. At the meeting, people
discussed matters that were already in the written document that had been circulated beforehand.
Suddenly, it occurred to Karl that there was an aspect of quality control inspection that he
had left out of the proposal. He knew that the Japanese should know of this concern because it
was important to the success of the project. Karl asked the senior person at the meeting if he
could speak, apologized for not having already introduced the quality control concern he was
about to raise, and then went into his addition to the proposal. His presentation was met with
silence, and the meeting was later adjourned without a decision having been made on the whole
manufacture-importation program. Because Karl thought that a decision would be made that day,
he was puzzled.
What was the reason for Karl's difficulty?

Source: Adapted from: Kenneth Cushner & Richard Brislin (1996). Intercultural Interactions: A
Practical Guide, 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

NAME:____________________________________
INTERACTIVE PROBES FOR TRANSMITTING INFORMATION
(Ask yourself and probe your classmates reactions)
Click the number with the best analysis and write down the reason for your choice.
1. Karl had brought up quality control, an issue about which the Japanese are very proud. The
Japanese thought that Karl was questioning their commitment to quality control.

2. Expecting a decision in a year was still unrealistic; Karl should have been more patient.

3. Karl had brought up an issue on which there had not been prior discussion among the people
somehow involved in that special issue.

4. Karl had asked the senior person about speaking; in actuality, there was a younger person
present who was in charge to whom Karl should have deferred.