| The Project Demonstrating Excellence (PDE) deals with intercultural communication in the context of international business. It focuses on the interpersonal skills needed to succeed in living and working in the cultures of China, Malaysia and the United States.; The Asian economic crisis (1997) indicates how tightly economically and politically linked the United States is with China and Malaysia. This new paradigm of global markets propel international managers to a deeper understanding of the different cultural values and how it impacts negotiation, decisions and the building of business relationships.; The PDE approaches the complex cultural issues based on the research of Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck's (1961) Value Orientations Theory, Hofstede's (1981) Four Cultural Dimensions Theory, Hampden-Turner and Trompenaars's (1993) Capitalistic Cultures and Values in Tension Theory, E. T. Hall's (1959) High and Low Context Communication Theory and Ting-Toomey's (1988, 1994) Facework Negotiation Theory. In the context of international business and day-to-day interactions, the PDE explores six key cultural concepts: individualism versus collectivism, hierarchy versus equality, control versus harmony, face (identity), communication and cooperation versus competition.; The vast number of scholarly reports emphasize only the cultural concept. However, without understanding the definite patterns of cultural behaviors and the thinking process behind local cultural behaviors the incoming international manager struggles with the acculturative process. A unique feature of the PDE is that each chapter incorporates theoretical reflections and analysis as well as cultural narratives/stories. Oral narrative forms (Olrik, 1992) provide insight into the thinking of the local culture by simplifying culture through material things and behaviors observed. Cultural narratives and stories also show the definite patterns of cultural behaviors in China, Malaysia and the United States. |
