We met the students in our groups briefly and talked about possible topics for our presentation. My group had 4 French students, 1 Polish student and 1 student from Madagascar. I could tell that I was going to have to lead this group. Their all seemed pretty shy and not willing to take the lead. I tossed out several ideas and asked them to think about which one they wanted to cover for our presentation so that we could decide the next day. They seemed most interested in the topic of dating and relationships, but wanted to think on it overnight.
We also had a short lecture by John Cassini and John Webb on living in France as an American. They focused on cultural differences between Americans and French and on living in France as Americans. Interesting points were the differences between the two cultures with respect for being one time. The French are habitually late, while Americans stress being on-time. Another major difference which the French students reinforced on our project, is the idea that the French focus on what they believe is good for their society as a whole, while Americans are most interested in what is perceived as best for themselves individually and for their small communities or neighborhoods. Americans are influenced and want to respect and be respected by family and neighbors. French could care less what their neighbors think about their actions or political views, but focus on their national identity. This is probably because their country is so much smaller than the US. French in general are more liberal on social views.
We then had lunch with the French students at the school cafeteria. George, a student from Ecuador, escorted us through the lunch line and paid for our lunch. We had a interesting lunch with him as he told us about his studies and career plans. He is studying Chinese and very interested in International business. He doesn't plan to stay in France after he graduates. He explained that getting a job in France as a new university graduate is very difficult. You basically need to know someone to get your foot in the door. He doesn't really have good connections in France. He was hoping to find an internship in the US at a large bank, like BofA. He told us that the French students pay only 250 euro per year to attend university and he was able to go for that little as well. He didn't think it made much sense for the French to subsidize the foreign students educations as well, but they do, so it's a good deal for him.
After lunch, we took a tour of Giffard a local liquor and syrup company. They explained the process of fermenting the fruits and herbs to make various liquors. We then took a tour of the plant and had a tasting. The original mint liquor, MenthePastille, was very good.
Later, we had a lecture by Jean- Claude Fetteira from Countreau on doing business internationally. He had a heavy accent and wasn't talking very loud, so I missed a good bit of what he was saying. He did talk about working for Countreau around the world and the cultural differences in doing business in different countries. Here are a few of his suggestions on doing business in different cultures:
Doing business in US- professional approach, confident, process approach not favored
China- get to know one another- drink together, relationships matter, save face, results focus, most be part of good network in China, "yes" must be verified
Singapore- very smooth, very professional, no personal relationships, "yes" means yes
India- everything is possible, but you will not know when, lying is not lying
Russia- wild world, rules not defined
UK- know English language well, shades of meaning
Japan- Lost in translation, very difficult to communicate, 20 ways to address people, very complicated
We did a quick dinner at a local cafe so we could get home early.
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