Differing Frames of Reference: E-Mail Cross- Cultural Misunderstanding
A cultural misunderstanding nearly derailed an Indo-Japanese bridge- building project. An Indian firm sent a detailed list of technical ques- tions to its Japanese counterpart. The Indian engineers panicked when they received no reply. They wondered what had happened. Was the deal off? A week later, the Japanese engineers responded. Unlike in India or in the United States, the Japanese encourage input from every- one involved in a project. The queries probably went to the heads of various departments so that a complete picture could be presented in the response. In the United States and in India, businesspeople expect an immediate response of some sort from e-mails.
Your Task. Discuss how differing frames of reference affected this mis- understanding. How could such misunderstandings be averted?