Evaluating Intercultural Behavior

I was in Japan for a holiday. When I went shopping, I realized that almost all the shop attendants were polite and helpful. My sister wanted to buy a bag but was vacillating among the colours available. The sales attendant was still smiling, waiting patiently and not looking irritated at all. After my sister made a decision, the sales attendant brought her to the counter to make payment. The sales attendant wrapped up the bag nicely and walked out of the counter to pass the merchandise to her personally. I feel that the Japanese treasure good customer service and they are also proud of their jobs. Regardless of the things you are buying, the shop attendants will treat you politely and with respect. However, in Singapore, I observed that it is difficult to find such good customer service. If the same situation occurred in Singapore, the sales attendant would most probably get restless and frustrated with my sister. In Singapore, good customer service may probably only be seen in shops selling branded or expensive goods or when the customer is dressed up to the nines.

To communicate effectively with people from a different country, being able to speak their language is important but it is not the only means of communication. Understanding each other’s cultural norms and values is also essential to ensure effective communication. For example, good customer service may be treasured in Japan but it may not be the same in other countries. If we know that some people do not like us to take so long to decide what item to buy, we should not waste their time and only return to the shop when we have made up our minds. This applies to other types of cultural values too. We should respect other people’s values because we want others to respect ours too.

Potential Research Project Topics

There are many efforts made in NUS to protect the environment, such as reducing the usage of paper by setting printers to print double-sided, cutting down on the use of plastic bags by charging 10 cents each, and increasing the temperature of the air conditioners. I would like to investigate how much NUS students know about protecting the environment, given the numerous measures that NUS groups have taken. This is important because I believe we should know about the effects of our actions on the environment, instead of following or acting according to the measures. For example, some people print double-sided because the printers are set to default mode, but not because they understand the importance of reducing paper usage to save trees. Hence, my research question is: “How much do NUS students know about protecting the environment?”

The objective of this research is to determine the level of understanding of NUS students on protection of the environment. The target audience of the report is NUS students. Through the report, I hope that NUS students understand the importance of protecting the environment and knowing the rationale behind the various green efforts. Also, potential readers of the report, such as the school management or lecturers, may be able to take action on educating the students through publicity campaigns or by setting up modules regarding protection of the environment.

For this study, an attitudinal survey is important to find out the opinions of students on the green efforts in NUS, whether they feel these measures should be implemented, and also test their knowledge about protecting the environment. From the results, we can gauge the level of understanding NUS students have on the topic of protecting the environment, and how important they think protecting the environment is.