Evaluating Intercultural Behavior

Ling worked in a multi-national corporation in Shanghai and happily married to her superior a few months ago. Her husband Raphael was from Germany. Being young and capable, he was assigned to Shanghai branch to assist in company’s expansion in China. Over there, he met his dream girl and decided to settle down in this strange city. While enjoying the marriage, the newlywed already had conflicts due to cultural differences.

One day, the light in the kitchen was not working. Raphael was going to replace the bulb. Since the light was quite high, he moved a chair over and stood on it. Afraid that Raphael might accidentally lose his footing, Ling ran over to hold the chair and his legs.

“What are you doing?” Raphael asked with astonishment.

“I’m trying to help you. Just in case you lost your balance.”

“What?” Raphael said angrily, “You think your husband can’t even change a light bulb?”

Ling felt wronged and upset. Being a traditional Chinese girl, she was just trying to show her care. But her behavior, which was quite common in Chinese culture, turned out to be an insult to her husband.

In this generation of globalization and migration, it is no longer difficult to observe different cultures in one society. Not only for the newlywed in the story, we all experience intercultural differences in our lives one way or another. Thus, it is important to understand and adapt to various cultural behaviors in order to avoid conflicts and misunderstandings.

Biodata

(juz realized you guys could not comment on my profile, so i copy and paste it here.)

I am a final year Statistics student from the National University of Singapore. Though interested in Economics, I was not able to specialize in it due to the limitations of my scholarship. Nevertheless, four years of studying with numbers made me a person with strong quantitative and analytical skills. Meanwhile, I still fulfill my interests by pursuing double minors in both Economics and Financial Mathematics.

Being an adventurous person, I left my home and started my life alone in Singapore at the age of 17. Though suffered from cultural shocks and homesickness, I quickly adapted to the new environment and made many new friends here. In addition, I had an opportunity to study in the United States as an exchange student during my second year in university. Over there, I met students from all over the world. Although we all came from different backgrounds, we shared and appreciated our differences in culture; we partied and traveled together, and became lifelong friends.

After studying abroad alone for almost five years, I am now an independent and resilient individual who will never surrender to difficulties. Just as my favorite saying: "When there is nothing left to burn, you have to set yourself on fire."

Application letter

Banking Associate Program (Citibank)

- Good Honors Degree (minimum 2nd Upper Hons) or a Master degree

- No more than one year of work experience if you have graduated

- A genuine interest in financial services sector

- A highly motivated and results-oriented individual

- Strong analytical and quantitative skill

- Excellent communication and quantitative skill

- High commitment to integrity and ethical decision making

- A creative individual who can execute innovative ideas successfully

- Flexibility, adaptability and resilience to work in a challenging and fast-paced environment

Miss Wu Xiaoyu

Block 22, #05-21-J

35 Prince George’s Park

Singapore 118429

30 August 2009

Recruitment Manager

Citibank

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to apply for Management Associate Program with Citibank Consumer Banking. I came to know this program through Citibank on-campus recruitment talk and the requirements of the program appealed to me immensely.

As an Honors year Statistics undergraduate at the National University of Singapore, I have strong analytical and quantitative skills. It was sufficiently shown during my summer internship at Singapore Pools, where my statistical analyses and models were adopted in making business decisions. On the other hand, I also have keen interest in financial services sector, which led me to pursue duo minors in Economics and Financial Mathematics, and enroll in qualification tests of Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).

Being a foreign student, I am very adaptable to new environment. Five years of living in a foreign country made me an independent and resilient person who is capable of overcoming obstacles and making things happen. My consistently above par grades are a good indication of my motivation and perseverance. In addition to my academic competence, I have cultivated great interpersonal skills during my previous internships and displayed excellent teamwork during co-curricular activities.

Citibank is a world’s leading bank with well-established international presence. Its dynamic and meritocratic working environment provides an excellent platform for career development, which further motivates me to join this organization. It would be a great privilege to work with Citibank, and I believe my abilities and qualifications would be a good fit to the company.

I have a positive attitude and would be delighted to meet up for an interview. Please do not hesitate to contact me via my email address at xiaoyu@nus.edu.sg or my mobile phone number at 90923953 for further discussion.

Thank you very much for your attention. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely yours,

Xiaoyu