Self-study activity:
Watch this video from the series Business Result Intermediate, Oxford University Press.
Say which of these topics Michael talks about.
1 Avoiding misunderstandings between different cultures.
2 Speaking English and German.
3 Talking to students.
4 Paying bribes.
5 Being polite and punctual.
6 Disciplining people who are late.
7 Voicing your opinion to your boss.
8 Objecting to power distance.
9 A hamburger approach.
10 Taking your boss to lunch.
Watch the video again and answer the questions.
1 What can cause misunderstandings between cultures?
2 What two things are immediately noticeable in a business context?
3 What is ‘power distance’?
4 What is the phrase ‘a hamburger approach’ used to describe?
5 Match the country to the Hamburger Approach.
a USA 1 no meat, just the bun
b Japan 2 meat no bun
c Germany 3 typical hamburger – bun, meat, bun
You can read the transcript here.
Key:
The topics mentioned are:
1 Avoiding misunderstandings between different cultures. / 3 Talking to students. / 4 Paying bribes. / 5 Being polite and punctual. / 7 Voicing your opinion to your boss. / 9 Taking a hamburger approach to performance
management.
1 The way people communicate i.e. language misunderstandings and cultural misunderstandings.
2 How polite you are, and how punctual you are.
3 It is the relationship between the boss and the staff. In high power distances you wouldn’t criticise your boss, but in a low power one you need to speak up.
4 The phrase ‘hamburger approach’ is used to describe a way of evaluating / giving feedback to an employee.
5 a USA – 3 typical hamburger – bun, meat, bun
b Japan – 1 no meat just the bun
c Germany – 2 meat no bun
