The Purdue University Passport to Intercultural Learning (PUPIL)

The Purdue University Passport to Intercultural Learning (PUPIL)

Purdue has many nationalities, cultural and ethnic backgrounds. The goal of this assignment (in addition to providing an opportunity for MGMT 200 bonus points) is to increase your curiosity and knowledge about other nationalities and ethnic groups. This assignment takes the form of a 3-part project and is designed to facilitate reflection upon your intercultural curiosity. While this assignment involves 3 separate parts, it is actually the final part, the Reflection essay, which will be submitted and graded. The reflection should address the questions from part one – The Observation – as well as those in part three. While you do not have to submit part two, the memo will prove helpful when writing about your experiences.

Many of these assignments have multiple parts or projects, designed to be completed in order. It is a good idea to read through all parts or projects of each assignment as one part or project may be dependent on another. This assignment should be between 250 and 500 words.

Assignment One: Surface Culture – Food

Project Part One – The Observation

Eat at an authentic ethnic restaurant different from your own with a classmate of a different cultural background. This means that someone who has lived in America for his or her life cannot prepare a write up about another student who is from America. Thinking about which restaurant to go to, try to pick a place that neither person has been to and that is culturally distinct from each person’s cultural heritage. Spend as much time as you would like, but no less than 30 minutes together observing the culture of the restaurant as well as that of the other student. Below are some good conversation starters about culture. Remember to always respect one another’s cultures and to be polite in your questions!

1. How do people of your culture dress? Is there a typical formal/informal attire?
2. What is your favorite childhood food? What are popular foods in your home region?
3. What is similar about this restaurant and those in your home country?
4. What is different between this restaurant and those in your home country?
5. How does the service at this restaurant compare to those in your culture?

Understanding each other’s culture, discuss how accounting works in your partner’s home culture. Maybe accounting is viewed differently or done differently there? As you work through these questions, be prepared to answer knowledgably on how accounting is done in your country. You don’t need to be an expert, but you should know something about it. Here are some questions to help guide discussion:

1. What is the governing body or organization for accounting in your country (like the SEC or the FASB in the USA)?
2. How is accounting viewed in your culture?
3. What are the largest accounting firms in your home country?
4. What certification exists in your country for accounting (CPA)?
5. How does your culture affect how accounting is carried out or viewed?

Project Part Two – Capturing the Observing: Taking Notes

Create a record of what you observed both in the restaurant and in how your partner acted. Takes notes over what you discuss to help you in your write-up. Remember to keep an open mind when comparing your culture to your partner’s. Be sure to take as detailed notes as you can as this will help you to remember the event and what was discussed.

Within no more than 48 hours after your observation, create an observation memo; an observation memo is a narrative of your observation. This time frame is critical so that your observation experience is still fresh in your mind. Begin creating your observation memo by reading through the observation notes and adding as much descriptive detail as possible based upon what you remember. Someone reading your description should be able to get a sense of the other person’s culture and accounting system.

Bracket your impressions or interpretations. In other words, identify your opinions about what you observe and find a way to distinguish them (impressions or interpretations) from the observed content. For example, if you observe that most of the people in the restaurant have very tanned skin, have dark hair and speak with an accent, that is the content of what you have observed. If in your field notes you write that most of the people in the restaurant are Italian based on what you observed – this is your interpretation of impression of the content. Find a way to distinguish those impressions; maybe you can underline them or italicize them – whatever works for you.

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One way to help you structure your memo is to divide your writing into two sections: 1) the context and 2) the themes that emerge from your field notes. Within the “context” section you will want to include the description of where you did your observation; be sure to include the logistics such as the date and time. Within the “themes” section you will want to include any recurring themes you identify within your field notes, interpretations, and impressions. For example, if in your field notes you notice that you mention people speaking in a language other than English more than once, perhaps language becomes a theme. Your observation memo should not be longer than three pages. This part of the project is one document, you will want to save it separately from your field notes.
Project Part Three – Reflection on the Observation

Write a reflection of this observation project. Since this part of the project is a reflection, there is no right or wrong response. Include the following three sections as well as answering the above questions from part one. Each person must submit his or her own project to get the extra credit.

How this Project Made Me Feel

1) How did you feel while doing this project and what sorts of things went through your mind?
a. Focus on the observation.
b. Then focus on capturing field notes and writing the memo

What I Learned About My Partner’s Culture

2) What did you learn about your classmate’s culture that you didn’t know before? How is accounting in their country different from yours?

What I Learned About Myself

3) What have you learned about your response to different cultures, or at least the culture you observed, from completing this project?

Questions I Have Now

4) What questions do you now have about the culture(s) you observed and to what degree do you think this observation project which focused on food has given you access to another culture?

Rules for Submission:
- Each individual must submit his or her own project.
- You must meet with a student from Mgmt 200. Be sure to include the other student’s name(as it appears in Bb) and section on your submission. Consider meeting with a student from your case teams!
- Multiple people may interview the same person if he or she is still of a different culture than the interviewer.
- Make sure to address the questions from Part 1 as well as Part 3.
- You will be submitting solely the reflection essay.
- Copy and paste your essay into the submission box as well as attaching the file.

How to submit:
-Go to Blackboard. On the left column there is a link titled “Intercultural Curiosity”. Click on this.
-When you pull up the tab, click on the name of the assignment for the link to the submission page.
-Here you will find the submission box that you should copy and paste your essay into as well as the link to attach an electric version of your paper. Make sure you do both of these for full points!
See the below rubric for grading criteria and remember to have fun with this assignment! This is meant to be as enriching an experience amongst cultures as it is to learn about the various accounting bodies and structures across the world.

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