Turning the Tables

PART ONE

To be effective working in another culture, it is useful to understand how you are being seen by your colleagues and counterparts. In the first part of this activity, you are asked to imagine that the tables are turned, that you are in the position of HCNs who are about to have a PCV join them in the workplace. To help put you in their place, imagine that you work in a typical American office, with ten or so coworkers, a supervisor, and an office head to whom the supervisor reports. All of you have worked together for at least a year and know each other and your respective jobs quite well. Now imagine that one day a person from another country shows up and begins working with you, someone who:

1. doesn't understand English very well, and speaks broken English that you can't always understand;

2. doesn't understand American culture or customs and is always making embarrassing mistakes;

3. doesn't understand his/her job very well and is not especially competent, at least in the beginning;

4. doesn't understand how things work around here; and

5. frequently behaves in ways that are insensitive, frustrating, or just plain rude.

How would you react to having such a person suddenly working in your office? Answer the following questions quickly and honestly:

1.	I would often find it frustrating.	Yes	No
2.	I would wonder why this person was sent to work here.	Yes	No
3.	I would not trust this person with anything important to do.	Yes	No
4.	I would assume this person didn't understand our system very well.	Yes	No
5.	I would imagine that working with this person would be more difficult than working with my own coworkers.	Yes	No
6.	I would be irritated at some of this person's behavior.	Yes	No
7.	I would think this person was insensitive.	Yes	No
8.	I would think this person had bad manners.	Yes	No
9.	I would fid some of this person's behavior very strange.	Yes	No
10.	I could never be sure what this person was thinking.	Yes	No
11.	I could never be sure how this person would react to something I might do or say.	Yes	No
12.	I would worry that this person could embarrass us.	Yes	No
13.	I would feel very sorry for this person.	Yes	No
14.	I would find talking to this person frustrating and want to end the conversation as soon as possible.	Yes	No
15.	I would occasionally be hurt, insulted, or frustrated by this person's behavior.	Yes	No

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