Making Acquaintances: Differences and Similarities.
Please review the samples posted on Blackboard before starting your work.
1. Each student will provide a brief two-page cultural write-up relating to his/her representative country (chosen for
Making Acquaintances Part 1: Do’s and Don’ts): (20 points)
a. Historical background
b. Communication styles (language, both verbal and non-verbal)
c. Beliefs (religion, family, nature, etc.)
d. Society structure (gender equality, role of children, family, ethnic groups, leaders, government, political
ideologies, hierarchies)
2. Each student will provide a two-page list of ‘Reasons for Codes of Cultural Behavior’ for tourists visiting his/her
representative country. This list will explain to tourists why it is important that they follow each of the Do’s and
Don’ts (that you listed in your Making Acquaintances: Do’s and Don’t’s assignment), from the hosts’ cultural
(values of the culture) perspective, and should include the following: (40 points)
a. Five major ‘Do’s’ for tourists
i. At least one appropriate value orientation of the culture for each ‘Do’ (20 points) (Describe in detail
one distinct value orientation for each Do. Do not repeat value orientations for the items on the list of
Dos.)
b. Five major ‘Don’ts’ for tourists
i. At least one appropriate value orientation of the culture for each ‘Don’t’ (20 points) (Describe in
detail one distinct value orientation for each Don’t. Do not repeat value orientations for the items on
the list of Don’t’s.)
3. Each student will provide APA-style citations within the text whenever applicable and compile a list of APA-style
references (reference page) for all resources used in his/her write-up (5 points)
4. On the ‘Making Acquaintances Part 2’ discussion forum, each student will post his/her findings about the
representative country in a thread by the Submit ‘Making Acquaintances: Differences and Similarities’ due date,
August 4.
5. Each student is required to read the findings of one other student and reply to the posting of the other student by
identifying the following, on or before the Submit Reply to ‘Making Acquaintances: Differences and Similarities’ due
date, August 8: (10 points):
a. One major cultural value commonality between his/her country and the other country (5 points)
b. One major cultural value difference between his/her country and the other country (5 points)
NOTE: Students’ responses to the postings should consist of complete sentences. In the response, each
student should compare the other country with their country in terms of value orientations mentioned above
(Section 2) as well.
VERY IMPORTANT – your final score will greatly depend on this.
In the next two sections, associations SHOULD be made with the value orientations addressed in the
Values portion of this course:
! Human Nature (Universalism-Particularism, Good/Evil, High-Context/Low-Context,
Uncertainty Avoidance)
! Relation to Nature (Subjugation, Harmony, Mastery, Inner-/Outer-Directed)
! Activity Orientation (Achievement/Ascription, Doing-Being-Being-Becoming)
! Human Relationships (Affectivity/Affective Neutrality, Instrumental/Expressive, Self
(Individualistic)/Collective (Collateral)/Linear, Egalitarian/Hierarchical, Power Distance)
! Relation to Time (Past-Present-Future, Monochronic/Polychronic, Low-Context/HighContext
