18th International Congress of the International Association
for Cross-Cultural Psychology
July, 11 - 15 2006, Isle of Spetses, Greece
Complex Problem Solving in Chinese, German and Indonesian Workgroups:
Cultural Differences or Performance Issues?
Hora TJITRA
(Symposia Paper) The modern
management challenges are increasingly complex and
dynamic. A number of cross-cultural studies in the
area of complex problem solving showed significant
behavioral differences between the participants from
different cultures (Ramnarayan et. al., 1997;
Strohschneider & Guss, 1998; Zeutschel, 1999).
This study focused to elaborate systematically not
only the influence of culture but also the effect of
performance as well as the interaction between
culture and performance in the complex problem
solving styles of Chinese, German and Indonesian
workgroups. Seventeen Chinese, fifteen German and
seventeen Indonesian workgroups were studied in
laboratory settings using business simulation
SYNTEX. SYNTEX is a computer simulated dynamic
system where participants have to manage a textile
company in a fictive country Teams of three persons
took the role as the general managers. In two
intensive working sessions, they had to manage the
company according to three predefined objectives. An
enhanced cross-cultural analysis technique was used
to elaborate if the differences of the management
behaviors in Chinese, German and Indonesian
workgroups are influenced by their culture or are
the effects of their performance. The results showed
seven different factor types of culture and
performance in complex problem solving in the
Chinese, German and Indonesian workgroups.
Intercultural Communication Competence for an Excellent Tour Guide: Comparative Studies of Expectation from American, Chinese, German, Indonesian and Taiwanese Tourist
Hora TJITRA & Li GAO
(Oral Presentation) In the rapid
expansion of global tourism, tour guides play an
important role in bridging cultures. Having an
excellent intercultural communication competence
(ICC) will be critical for their success. Based on
the behavioral expectation model (Pavitt &
Haight, 1985), Leclerc & Martin (2004) showed
cross-cultural variations of the tour guides’ ICC
among the American, French and German travelers.
However this study also raises question about the
appropriateness of applying ICC frameworks,
developed in the US, to other cultures. This study
pursues to develop more cultural sensitive tour
guide ICC model, especially from Asian perspective.
At first, eleven group discussions were conducted to
elaborate the expectation of an excellent tour
guide. Sixty-two participants from China, South
Korea, Germany, Australia, Pakistan and Malaysia,
were taken part. The whole discussions were video
recorded, fully transcribed and then analyzed using
content analysis. Secondly, based on the ICC model
generated in the group discussion, a fifty-one items
questionnaire was developed. The questionnaire was
distributed to around 400 travelers from China,
Germany, America, Indonesia and Taiwan. The results
showed significant cultural differences in the
expectations from the international tourist. Further
it also demonstrated that the developed ICC model is
culture sensitive in capturing the different
expectations of the international travelers.
