We have some insights on the importance of intercultural communication in the various contexts during class. So I am here to blog on some intercultural experiences I have gone through.
I used to work in an "authentic" Japanese restaurant and it was a real culture shock to me. I meant authentic because this particular Japanese restaurant (Santouka) is owned by the Japanese people and they have came all the way down to search for manpower for their first outlet in South East Asia. Nevertheless, the experience in Santouka was an unforgettable one.
Having worked various restaurants, I was impressed and sometimes found it awkward while working with the Japanese. There are times I was asked to do what the Japanese usually do back home. For example, the workers have to come half an hour earlier before work starts to begin greeting cheer as a form of encouragement. The Japanese also have a habit of slurping loudly during their consumption of food. Sometimes I found the habits redundant and could not understand the importance of practicing such routines in the local context.
However, I was pretty impressed by the Japanese's relentless attitude to maintain good food hygiene practices. The Japanese believe serving fresh food is the way to keep the restaurant running. To achieve the ideal temperature of the food, they actually monitor the temperature to maintain the standard they have set in Japan. So for example, if a bowl of soup was left for quite some time and the server was late to retrieve it, they would replace another bowl of soup instead. This was in contrast to many typical profit-driven companies found in Singapore where food wastage should be kept minimised.
Intercultural communication involves adjustment to other habits and culture. This is because people from different cultures use different signals to signify quite different things. So perhaps the Japanese feel that by coming early for greeting cheer is a form of motivation for workers but the locals may perceive as a waste of time and loss of payment which did not serve any motivation at all. Thus it is important to recognise that each culture has its own rules and customs to better improve intercultural communication.
Ting Ting! I think you're supposed to write about a specific encounter/situation! Do check the instructions at the intercultural lesson again :)
ReplyDeletethanks alvin~!
ReplyDeleteO dear, I nearly forgot about the commenting!
ReplyDeleteI am still quite surprised about the janpanese habits of slurping loudly while eating, considering that they are such discreet and cautious people, hehe. I agree, intercultural communicaition definitely involves compromising and adjusting. It is tricky though when your beliefs or customs are in conflicts with another culture. It is then important to also preserve your own customs while not to disrespect the other's. Understanding and respects are the keys.
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ReplyDeleteHi Ting Ting,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing.
As you mentioned that the restaurant was truly authentically Japanese, it could be the reason why they requested for their staff to follow their "unique" practices - to provide customers that exact authentic feel of dining in a Japanese restaurant and in a sense enlighten them to these cultural differences to make them more sensitive and aware.
Likewise, I felt that by practicing these customs, the restaurant has given you a more intrinsic feel of Japanese culture by understanding the rationale behind the practices.This is perhaps not available through other avenues and in a way, it has provided you a lesson on intercultural communication.
These reasons highlight a basis for better intercultural communications - to understand individuals of a different culture better.
I am certain you would be less surprised about noisy slurping and loud greetings the next time you are in a Japanese restaurant!
Consequently what you mentioned made me feel that while foreign individuals gain a better understanding of a country through its customs and cultures, a country's cuisine definitely contributes as well - the perfection demanded of Japanese cuisine is trademark of their work attitudes.