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Unit10

Do you want to know their culture?

Jingle: Hi Marie! You look serious. What are you doing?
Marie: Oh, it’s not that serious. I’m just trying to research Japan’s culture and customs.
Jingle: I didn’t realize you were interested in that.
Marie: It’s turning out to be quite interesting, but I wasn’t actually just doing this for fun.
Jingle: Oh, what is it about?
Marie: My boss said that we will be forming a virtual team including some participants from
Japan.
Jingle: I’m sorry but I’m not familiar with the concept of a virtual team.
Marie: It’s a team composed of members from different countries who won’t be meeting person-
ally.
Jingle: Oh, I see.
Marie: We will be communicating through audio, video and data conferencing.
Jingle: Won’t that be hard?
Marie: Well, it would be significantly harder to build rapport and to get each member’s trust.
Jingle: That’s for sure! It’s already hard when you get to meet personally with them.
Marie: You’re right. That’s why I expect that we have to put even more effort.
Jingle: If it’s that hard, is a virtual team practical?
Marie: If executed properly, it can be economical. We don’t have to fly across continents to meet.
Jingle: That is true.
Marie: We can also use our travel time for other more important matters.
Jingle: I see! It does seem to be advantageous.
Marie: It is, but cultural differences might be magnified because we get our sole impression of
the team members virtually.
Jingle: Oh, I see. So you’re doing this research in order to be able to relate to your Japanese
team members better.
Marie: Exactly! I really want to make things work!
Jingle: Well then, I wish you luck!

1. Aside from your own culture, are you familiar with those of other coun-
tries?

Sample answer:
Although I don’t have in depth knowledge, I am familiar with the culture of a few other
countries such as Japan, Thailand and U.S.A. I make it a point to know conventions

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