Reference no: EM133026125

Bao-Zhi walked home feeling disappointed yet again. He was sure the interviewer would not be calling him back for a second interview. He could tell she had been disappointed with his responses. But he was not sure why. The same thing had happened twice before, and he had trouble understanding it.

Bao-Zhi had immigrated to Calgary with credentials as a mining engineer. He had earned a master's degree in engineering from the second-highest-ranked school in China and had worked for a Chinese mining company for over a decade. During that time he had received excellent performance ratings and three promotions, an unusually fast career progression in his firm.

Once he had arrived in Canada, it had taken a full two years for his engineering credentials to be recognized. During that time he had taken on a series of temporary jobs doing simple tasks like packing orders in warehouses and cleaning offices. Now, his credentials recognized, he was eager to get back to his real career. He found it easy to get interviews; people with his skills were in high demand. But at the interviews, though, things seldom went well.

Bao-Zhi thought back to the questions he had been asked today. The interviewer had wanted to know about his achievements as a mining engineer back in China. Bao-Zho knew it would be rude to brag about how quickly he had been promoted, instead he talked about a team he had worked on. The entire team had reengineered some processes in a manner that had reduced pollution by 12.3 percent. Some of the key ideas had originally been Bao-Zhi's, but since modesty was important he had talked about the performance of the whole team and did not single himself out. The interviewer had not seemed as impressed by their remarkable achievement as Bao-Zhi thought she would be.

Next the interviewer asked what he would do if he saw his manager making a mistake on some paperwork. This question concerned Bao-Zhi. Didn't they hire competent managers? It seemed a strange thing to ask, but Bao-Zhi reiterated how important it was to support a manager. The mistake, if not crucial, could be ignored in order to save face. Once again the interviewer did not seem impressed. Bao-Zhi felt defeated. He thought getting his engineering credentials recognized would launch a great career in Canada, but there were barriers he never expected. The interviews were so different from what he expected. Would he ever give answers that made them want to hire him?

Answer the following questionsbased on the case above:

1. Why is Bao-Zhi struggling in his interviews?
2. Using Hofstede's cultural values as a frame of reference, what cross-cultural communication barriers do you see operating here? Be specific.

Is there a way the interviewer might phrase her questions that would minimize cultural misunderstandings or biases? Explain your answer.