Chapter 2: Intercultural Dimensions
1. Introduction to Intercultural Dimension
Experience of an international Student in Bremen, Germany
Natalia from Brazil had an important exam at the university in the morning. However, because there had been an accident with the bus on the way to the university, she was 40 minutes late. The exam was scheduled for 90 minutes, and after that time, the lecturer wanted her to hand in the exam. However, since Natalia could not use the full time, she was not yet finished with the exam. She explained the situation to the lecturer and asked him to let her write longer so that she could use the 90 minutes allotted because she was not to blame for her lateness. She assumed that it was not a problem because, after all, her tardiness was neither intentional nor controllable. She expected the lecturer to put himself in her situation and show understanding, which would be natural in Brazil. Natalia said that in such a case, the lecturer in Brazil would show understanding in every way. Even if he did not have the time, he would ask another lecturer to supervise so that the student's grade would not suffer and she could take advantage of the time she was entitled to. However, the lecturer's response was very harsh. He insisted that she had to turn in, just like everyone else, and he could not make an exception. She should have just taken a bus earlier to make sure she arrived on time, now she had to follow the rules and hand in the exam in the given time. Natalia took this incident very personally and was offended that the lecturer showed so little understanding and goodwill.
This example is about a culture-specific rule orientation. Some cultures, like Germany, tend to orient themselves rather strongly to universally valid and culturally generally accepted rules or to submit to them when evaluating and deciding situations. Other cultures, on the other hand, tend to make decisions based on situations and rather, emphasis on the relational level between people and the situation at hand. Since there is a rather relaxed and friendly atmosphere between students and lecturers in Brazil and a great deal of value is placed on interpersonal relationships in particular, Natalia's disappointment was understandable. After all, in her culture, personal relationships and a subjective view of the respective situation take precedence over general norms.
Source of Information (Berninghausen 2012)