At the end of last semester, I packaged all my belongings and prepared for leaving for China for December Vocation. My flight was at 5am early in the morning, which means I can only check out around 3am. However, the office of hostel would be closed at that time so no officer would be there assisting me to check out. (For checking out, some officer need to be there to make sure the room is clean and none of the furniture is damaged. I am also required to return the key to office as well as to sign a form) So I went down to the office and asked them weather I could check out on that afternoon but continue to stay in my room until 3am in the morning when I leave for airport. I also explained to the officers my situation and promised them that I would keep the room clean and everything in good condition when I leave. Unfortunately, they answered "no" firmly and told me I must check out at the moment I left and I was not allowed to stay in my room once I checked out. Their explanation was "I trust you but we have to follow the rules". After considering the condition, they decided to assign one residence assistant (who was also a student) to help me to check out at 3am. The troublesome thing was the student happened to have exam at 8am on that morning. So he complained a lot about the assignment.
From my point of view, I think it is acceptable for me to stay another few hours after I check out because I definitely will do what I have promised them, which is to make sure the room is clean and properties are not damaged at all. They also have all my particulars recorded and they can even fine me if some property is missing. Furthermore, I will continue to stay in the same room after I come back from vocation. However, they just follow the rules although the rules do cause some inconvenience. Actually I do understand that regulations must be implemented strictly else the world will be out of order.
This may not be a typical culture difference, but personally I feel it acceptable to break some rule if it can help others while not having a clear sign showing your action may cause potential problems.
During our conversation, I explained my concern politely and they also replied me in a respectful manner by telling me their concerns. So a solution was found and agreed by all of us.
Actually I believe the only way to deal with intercultural communication is to be respectful and sincere. A good intercultural friendship can be achieved by sincerely explaining your perspectives, your feelings, and your concerns to others, as well as respecting others' habit and belief.
Blog Post #7: Reflections
15 years ago
Dear Zaizhi,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that cultural differences would determine how we view a problem and our benchmark for a rule to be broken. In some cultures, they may be more flexible when it comes to rules and regulations and allow some exceptions to meet a customer’s demand. However, in most Asian countries, sometimes we places more importance on rules rather than a customer’s needs and satisfaction, partly because of our emphasis on efficiency, transparency and reputation. Therefore, if we are able to have a deeper understanding of such cultural differences, we would be able to understand their rationale for sticking to the rules despite the difficult situation we faced. At times, we can also reflect on the conservative beliefs we hold on our part.
Thanks for the insightful post!
Cheers,
Jie Li
Hi Zaizhi,
ReplyDeleteYou have done a very detailed story. Just remind you the word limit is 200 tp 250.
I think in Singapore, people more likely follow the laws set up by authorities. Singapore is famous not only because of its clean and beatiful environment, but also its strict rules and heavy punishment. People are scared to break rules; to protect themselves, the best they can do is just follow the black and white. I have watched a Singapore movie, named Just Follow Law. It is a comic movie, but reflect the current Singaporeans' perspectives.
In China, people treat rules and laws flexibly to maximize their benefits or minimize the conflicts. Most of time, however, not following the laws results in huge loss in terms of money and lives.
It is very difficult to distinguish what is the right time to follow or break laws. For safety consideration and the purpose of protecting ourselves, it is right to just follow the laws.
Dear Zaizhi,
ReplyDeleteI have also often gotten frustrated at inflexible administrators. I feel that this legalism is both a strength and a weakness of the Singapore system. Singapore is well-known for its efficiency and its low levels of corruption, and these are some of the inconveniences that come along with the reputation.
I am glad that the administrators tried their best to help you while still keeping to the rules. This is one way in which the Singapore system has been improving, even as the government tries to emphasize the need for good service and attempts to inculcate graciousness in our society.
Personally, I dislike trying to negotiate with people to bend their rules. I would have simply checked out earlier, bringing all my luggage with me to the airport. But your technique of polite negotiation works as well.
Thanks for bringing up this subject. I think it will become more relevant as Singapore continues to build closer ties with China.
Regards,
Benjamin