Vignette Three : Thai Student Tour in the united Tnited stares
A group of ten doctoral students from kasetsart university spent asemester at a major California university in the United states. During their vist, they conducted researcg, sat in on classes, and studied American culture. They also participated in several field trips designed to give them a first-hand feel of the united stated.
The head of the university’s continuing education program invited the thai group to tour the facilities. One of the major purposes of the continuing education program involvea the recruitment and training of foreign students day, the thai group arrived and was taken on an extended on an extended tour, and the most advanced training tour, the Thai group assembled in the faculty lounge where they met a university representative planning to leave for Thailand on a student recruiting journey.the recruruiter told the students that he had not beendescribed his anticipated schedule while in Bangkok,the only he planned to visit. He informed the Thai students that he would arrive late on a Sunday evening and that his first appointment was scheduled for Monday morning. He would stay in Bangkok for six days and had at least four appointments scheduled each day. He did not ask the Thai students for any advice or counsel, rather he simply told them what he would do while in Thailand. His presentation lasted for about thirty minutes and consisted of a self-important explanation of his recruiting strategy and a detailed description of the Bangkok hotel where of his guests, he simply left the room with the comment, “Nice to have met you. I have another meeting.” The Thai doctoral students sat in stunned silence as the university’s representative left the room.
This Vignette illustrates a profound lack of intercultural sensitivity on the part of the American university representative. The problems arose due to a failure to accommodate the long-term/short-term differences between Thais and American. There was also a failure to deal with the individualism-collectivism variation. While the tour facilities were very interesting to the Thai students, they were more interested initially in someone who would visit their country for purposes of recruiting Thai students to study English in the United States. After having spent about three months on the American university campus, the Kasetsart students felt a loyalty to the institution and anticipated providing some assistance in attracting Thai students to the States. The failure of the American university representative to recognize the benefit of Thai advice before visiting Bangkok can probably be attributed to an exaggerated self-importance or individualism. In any event, his behavior was that of the noble self, a condition not contributing to communication effectiveness.
With respect to long-term/short-term orientation, scheduling so many appointments per day seriously inhibits the development of the relationships key in any Thai business venture. Bu seeing so many people per day, the American university representative virtually insured his failure in attracting students to visit the States. Thais prefer establishing a relationship before doing business and the university representative had no idea of the importance of that relationship. The short-term goal is preferred by the Thais creates a loyal clientele upon which one can be confident of future dealings.