GUIDE 7 CULTURES

1.2 Interactive activity #1 (objeto de aprendizaje No. 1): Matching game: flags and countries! 

2.1 Listening activities I
Open your Market Leader book on page 55. Do the listening activities (CD 1, track 7.1 to 7.3).
2.2 Listening Activities II 

a. Go to the following website and practice listening to interesting cultural facts about several countries: http://www.geobeats.com/videoclips/alldestinations// 

 

b. Choose 3 different countries and write a summary of the facts you find curious. Post the summary on your portfolio. 

ALASITA FAIR, IN BOLIVIA

In Bolivia, each year, take place a fair of "Alasita", an event where everything is in miniature.

This fair is in honor of god of abundance named Ekkeko and in this festival are buying miniature replicas of good stuffs that, according to beliefs, when you buy them  to convert in real thing.

Colombia: World Day of  Sloth

In Itagui, Colombia, each year is celebrated the World Day of  Sloth, a curious event opposed to Labor Day.

Each year the people of this town go out in pajamas and put  beds in the streets.

The leaders of this event want that people recognize the  importance to sleep more and better.

United States, Hot Dog Eating Contest

Each July 4, New York (EU) carries out the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, an eating competition. This contest has attracted the attention of the world and has been seen by several sports channels.

3.1 Grammar activities
a. Open your Market Leader book on page 58 and do exercises A and B. from Unit 7.

3.2 Interactive activity #2 (objeto de aprendizaje No. 2): Should? Could? Would? Fill in the blanks!

4.1 Reading and Writing activities I

a. Open your Market Leader book on page 57. Work on the reading activity in Market leader, Unit 7 Cultural advice. Do the exercises to find out 2 important facts of those countries.

b. Complete the quiz you will find in the following website:
http://www.gradview.com/articles/careers/etiquette.html

Test Your Business Etiquette

Social and business etiquette can be tricky, and making the right moves can make a big difference. Take this quiz and see how you fare in the following business situations. The answers are at the bottom of the page.

1. Your boss, Ms. Alpha, enters the room when you're meeting with an important client, Mr. Beta. You rise and say "Ms. Alpha, I'd like you to meet Mr. Beta, our client from San Diego." Is this introduction correct?

No, the correct is to introduce Ms Alpha to Mr. Beta.

2. At a social function, you meet the CEO of an important Japanese corporation. After a brief chat, you give him your business card. Is this correct?

Yes. 

3. You're entering a cab with an important client. You position yourself so the client is seated curbside. Is this correct?

No, the client must enter first.

4. You're hosting a dinner at a restaurant. You've pre-ordered for everyone and indicated where they should sit. Are you correct?

No.

5. A toast has been proposed in your honor. You say "thank you" and take a sip of your drink. Are you correct?

Yes.

6. You're in a restaurant and a thin soup is served in a cup with no handles. To eat it you should:

pick it up and drink it

X use the spoon provided

eat half of it with a spoon and drink the remainder

7. You're at a dinner and champagne is served with the dessert. You simply can't drink champagne yet know the host will be offering a toast. Do you:

tell the waiter "no champagne"

X turn over your glass

ask the waiter to pour water into your champagne glass instead

say nothing and allow the champagne to be poured

8 You're at a table in a restaurant for a business dinner. Midway through the meal, you're called to the telephone. What do you do with your napkin?

Take it with you

Fold and place it to the left of your plate

X Loosely fold it and place it on the right side

9. You're hosting a dinner party at a restaurant. Included are two other couples, and your most valuable client and his wife. You instruct the waiter to:

serve your spouse first

serve your client's spouse first

X serve you and your spouse last

10. You're invited to a reception and the invitation states "7:00 to 9:00 PM." You should arrive:

at 7:00 PM

anytime between 7:00 PM and 9:00 PM

X between 7:00 PM and 7:30 PM

11. You're greeting or saying good-bye to someone. When's the proper time to shake their hand?

X When you're introduced

At their home

At their office

On the street

When you say good-bye

12 You're talking with a group of four people. Do you make eye contact with:

just the person to whom you're speaking at the moment?

X each of the four, moving your eye contact from one to another?

no one particular person (not looking directly into anyone's eyes)?

13 The waiter's coming toward you to serve wine. You don't want any. You turn your glass upside down. Are you correct? 

YES

14. When you greet a visitor in your office, do you: 

say nothing and let her sit where she wishes?

X tell her where to sit?

say "Just sit anywhere"

15. You're invited to dinner in a private home. When do you take your napkin from the table and place it on your lap?

Open it immediately

Wait for the host to take his napkin before taking yours?

XWait for the oldest person at the table to take his?

Wait for the acknowledged head of the table to take hers before taking yours?

16 You're scheduled to meet a business associate for working lunch and you arrive a few minutes early to find a suitable table. 30 minutes later your associate still hasn't arrived. Do you:

order your lunch and eat?

X continue waiting and fuming that your associate isn't there?

tell the head waiter you're not staying and give him our card with instructions to present it to your associate to prove you were there?

after 15 minutes call your associate?

17.  You've forgotten a lunch with a business associate. You feel terrible and know he's furious. Do you:

X write a letter of apology?

send flowers?

keep quiet and hope he forgets about it?

call and set up another appointment?

c. Open your Market Leader book on pages 60 and 61. Analyze the case study and do the activities. 

CASE STUDY
Visitors from China
For planning the visit is important keep in mind the schedule, arrive, the departure, but above all the visitor’s objectives.
For this reason, after to create the plan, I will enumerate the principal aspects of the visit:
1. The visitors will arrive at 9.10 am on Monday and leave on Thursday. Thus we have to plane a visit for four days.
2. We have to include a meeting, morning or afternoon, between visitors and our executive team.
3. The plan must include a meeting with all staff.
4. We have to choose some social and cultural activities.


PLAN
After studying these aspects we will show the plan to visit on the next chart:
Hotel information:
We choose The Hotel Seattle. It is just blocks from Pike Place Market, Washington Convention Center and the Seattle Waterfront. This hotel is steps from the Seattle Art Museum in a central location.





DAY	ACTIVITY	PLACE	OBJETIVE	COMMENTS
MONDAY 9.10	Welcome at the airport	Airport	To do a warm welcome to the country	A delegation of our company will be at the airport. Please remember to say hello with a nod and to give a company's card with both hands. Please don’t forget to print cards in English on one side and Chinese on the other.
TUESDAY 8.00 AM	Introduce meeting	Company building	To introduce all staff to visitors	-Please, have on mind don`t use informal clothes and the woman avoid the short skirts for this meeting. -For this meeting we have a interpreter but we think important that the staff to learn basic words in Chinese to say hello, good bye or please. -Punctuality is important.
TUESDAY 9.00 AM	Formal meeting, morning or afternoon	Company building	To discuss business plans.	For this meeting we have a interpreter but we think important that the staff to learn basic words in Chinese to say hello, good bye or please.
WEDNESDAY	Social Activity: Informal meeting with executive team	Blake Island’s Tillicum Village	To do a meeting to strong the relationship.	We have a informal meeting on Blake Island’s Tillicum Village, where the visitor will enjoy a fresh salmon dinner. Please, have on mind don`t use informal clothes and the woman avoid the short skirts for this meeting.
THURSDAY	Giving a gift to visitors	Hotel	To give a gift to our visitors.	We are going to give state of art cellular phones. Please don`t forget to give to both hands and remember is possible they refuse it in a firs time, thus offers on second time.
THURSDAY	Farewell	Airport	To say good bye	A delegation of our company will be at the airport. Please remember to say good bye with a nod and to give a company's card with both hands.





1. Which country you would rather do business with and why.?


We prefer to do business in Centromerican countries like Panamá because these places have a lot of stuff in common with us and is located near our headquarter.
However, is important keep in mind that Panamá is an “international” country, it means that is a place where come and work people from all world.
It characteristic forces us, for example, to have a bilingual staff, with commercial skills and, above all, to know all cultures of world because we will talk with Latin-american, American, Asiatic and European people.
If we decide entering on Panamá market, we need to create a strong public relations office that knows the culture, traditions, etiquette and correct behavior to do business with foreign companies.
Also, we think on Panamá we can offer better commercial conditions because it is a central and strategic location, with access to two oceans and the best infrastructure to do business like hotels.

5.1 Speaking activities
a. Based on the information you got about the different countries, discuss with your team what country you would like to visit and why. Discuss what cultural or social aspects you found interesting. Record the conversation and post it on your portfolio.