- Find someone living in the U.S. who is originally from a country other than the U.S.
- Been here for longer than one year
- Set up a face-to-face interview
- Find out about cultural difference
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- Ask questions about cultural differences experienced in their travel experience to the U.S.
- Questions should reflect Hofstede’s cultural model
- Individualism vs. collectivism
- Masculinity vs. femininity
- Large vs. small power distance
- Strong vs. weak uncertainty avoidance
- Need the following information:
Questions asked
What you learned (based on responses to questions)
Does the Hofstede model seem valid? (tie in responses)
How would you categorize the culture of the country that your interviewee is from? Use the Hofstede model
Name and contact information of interviewee - Write as a discussion (not a list) of differences
4 pages double-spaced (approx.)
Good excuse to buy someone a coffee and talk!
- Interview Format:
Structured – Set of pre-established questions
Semi-structured – have questions in mind but allow new questions to arise
Unstructured – open ended, in depth
* Have to indicate in paper what kind of interview format you used, and list of example questions
- I chose to interview Maria Garcia, a member of my intermural badminton team who I have known for five months. Maria is originally from Panama City, Panama, and has been living in the U.S. for a total of three years. On January 30th, I conducted a 30 minute interview with Maria about the cultural differences she has experienced during her time here using a semi-structured format. A sample set of the questions posed to Maria appear at the end of this paper.
Overall, I learned a great deal from Maria regarding her perceptions of U.S. culture, and how these perceived differences have impacted her work and social lives. For example, when asked about the collectivism vs. individualism dimension of Hofstede’s model, Maria indicated that one challenge has been writing self-reflective essays in her Sociology class. She said that in Panama, people usually don’t single themselves out in their own mind, and so learning that it’s OK to think in these terms is acceptable and even expected in the U.S. was a challenge. This and some of her other responses seem to help validate the Hofstede’s individualism/collectivist cultural dimensions. Clearly Panama is a more collectivist culture, and so this internal aspect of Maria’s culture has shaped her interpretations of her experiences here.
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