...The Cultural Influences on the Interpretation of Non-verbal Communication “The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t said” (Peter F. Drucker, n.d.). Non-verbal communication is the key aspect of communication as a way of sending and receiving messages in various ways without the use of words/verbal codes, be it intentional or unintentional. These wordless cues comes from our non-verbal behaviours; body movement, gestures, eye contact, personal space etc. (Richard Nordquist, n.d.). Although words are usually used to express our thoughts, we still convey most of the meaning through nonverbal codes. The world’s vast cultural diversity influences the way each culture interprets these non-verbal messages whereby a non-verbal expression is considered to be fine at one place but not at another. Touching perspectives are culturally determined as each culture has a clear view on when and where one may touch or not. In year 2009, as the First Lady of the United States briefly laid her hand on the back of Queen Elizabeth II at a reception, it sparked a global debate as etiquette is stern about this matter as rules are set in stone regarding one’s touch towards the queen (NYDailynews.com, 2009). In the United States, handshakes are common even towards strangers while hugs and kisses are exchanged between the opposite gender in the family or close acquaintance. Another example would be an African-American male who came across a Korean female...
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...Kevin Coen Professor Langston ENGLISH 1301 9/29/2015 The Land of Smiles I stepped off a Thai Airways “Golden Jet” into the tropical air. I instantly react to the temperature, smells and sights of Thailand all at once. Sweat broke out on my brow, my nostrils crinkled, and my head spun around as if on a swivel to take it all in. I remember smelling a mixture of jet fuel, damp air, and grilled chicken. Several airport workers gathered around food vendors congregated outside of the open-air fence, smiling, talking, and enjoying a snack on their break. Big puffy clouds moved swiftly overhead, unlike anything I’ve ever seen in Houston. There were big jets everywhere. I looked up and there stood my mother and 5-year old little sister, waving at me. We gathered up our bags and piled into a taxi bound for Sukumvit Soi, an area in Bangkok, where our family waited for us to arrive. My mother being a Thai immigrant, we often visit her side of the family in Thailand, some of them located directly in the heart of Bangkok. I can remember Bangkok being alive, vibrant, and full of traffic. The sacred temples are found all over the city and one could spend a whole trip just taking in the structures and feel the serene calm of the temple grounds; many times I rode the packed city busses to these places as a boy. Movie theaters, shops, and the markets were always accessible by klong boat or bus, a favorite destination being Sanam Luang, where the weekend market was. One of my favorite things...
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... The story “Eating sugar” starts in medias res. it does not present us for the characters or the surroundings. He places us in a scene where Suzanne and her parents are on the road to the waterfall. Soon after we get the impression of something is wrong, they have lost the way back and Eileen start panicking. We find out that Alex and his wife Eileen is visiting their daughter Suzanne there live in Thailand. They are have visited a tourist attraction, a waterfall, and they want to get back to the flat. But fact that they wanted the waterfall for themselves has result in other tourists have left and now there are no cars, busses or taxies to get them home again. Eileen is quite upset by the situation, and Suzanne is trying to calm her down. The story is told in third person narrator, she use words from the Thai languages and when the persons talk to each other it´s manuscript. It makes the story feel more real. Alex is a normal English man; he is not really excited about being in Thailand in April, he actually says it´s “idiocy” because the temperature is about 100 degrees. I act scared and shy when they are lost...
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...Intentions of expanding a company into an Asian country such as Thailand certain cultural difference should be considered. There are multiple areas of differences between Western and Eastern cultures that should be researched such as: language, communication, religion, political structures, social structures, aesthetics, material culture, attitudes, and beliefs. Most of these areas overlap and can impact cultural interactions. The primary spoken and written language in Thailand is Thai. Consideration of the language written and spoken would require a translator to ensure what is said or written is understood appropriately. Simple United States terminology could be translated incorrectly causing major misunderstanding causing conflict with expansion. In addition, Thailand natives are personable desiring established relationships other than “business” relationships as in the United States. Another aspect of language and communication is body language. Understanding the unspoken language and how it is received in Thailand can greatly impact relations and businesses. In Thailand a simple smile can have one or more meaning as well as the action of not smiling. The United States has a tendency to not socially interact with strangers much less smile back. Other unspoken gestures regarding parts of the body such as the head and feet have symbolic meaning in Thailand and no value in the United States. The head in Thailand should be respected and not touched. The feet can show...
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...– Class B Group Members: Domenic Kortmann, Jenny Hert, Mariella Azizian, Nils Knickenberg, Gloria Neuwinger Topic: Tourism Industry in Thailand Introduction Thailand is a wondrous kingdom, featuring Buddhist temples, exotic wildlife, and spectacular islands. Along with a fascinating history and a unique culture that includes delectable Thai food and massage, Thailand features a modern capital city, and friendly people who optimize Thailand’s “land of smiles” reputation. Thailand has rich sources for travelling and therefore deeply attracts people from all over the world. Each year, around 11 million visitors go there. Actually, tourism in Thailand plays an important role in the Thai economic structure and even in the whole Thai society, and it has a profound effect on Thai economy. This study concerns the background information of tourism in Thailand and will analysis certain problems that come along with it. Tourism is becoming the pillar industry in Thailand. In the last 20 years, tourism in Thailand developed rapidly. According to a survey done by ESCAP,” domestic tourism was able to contribute 29695 million baht to GDP, which was 3.7 per cent of total GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in 1983.” According to another statistic, in 2009, tourism was contributing 14.7 % to Thai GDP. According to the government’s data, in 2010, Thailand attracted 15.8 million tourists, and it generated about 19 billion dollars of revenue. Sisdivachr Chevaratanaporn, the president of the Association...
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...Overview McDonald's Corporation is one of the world's largest chains of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving nearly 47 million customers daily. According to shareholder.com, in addition to its signature restaurant chain, McDonald’s Corporation was a major investor in the Chipotle Mexican Grill until 2006, owned the restaurant chain Boston Market until 2007 and held a minority interest in Pret A Manger until 2008. McDonald's restaurant is operated by either a franchisee, an affiliate, or the corporation itself. The corporation's revenues come from the rent, royalties and fees paid by the franchisees, as well as sales in company-operated restaurants. McDonald's generally sells hamburgers, cheeseburgers, chicken products, French-fries, breakfast items, soft drinks, milkshakes, and desserts. In response to obesity trends in Western nations and in the face of criticism over the healthiness of its products, the company has adjusted its menu to include healthier alternatives such as salads, wraps and fruit. Countries with McDonald’s stores: History Birth of McDonald’s McDonald’s was founded as a self-service drive-in restaurant by Dick and Mac McDonald in 1948. There were only nine items in the menu at that time and the highlight menu was 15 cents hamburger. Opening a drive-thru restaurant in San Bernardino, California was one of the first steps which Dick and Mac McDonald cooperated, and after a while, McDonald's gradually gained more and more reputation and captured...
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...Eating Sugar It has always been easy to judge other people before you know them – much easier than it is to open up to a complete stranger. Every day we judge other people by the way they look, and especially people with different backgrounds than ourselves. But isn’t it wrong to make first-hand impressions before you know the person? It might turn out that it is a nice person with a great personality hidden under a different appearance. The short story Eating Sugar, written by Catherine Merriman,_ _describes the meeting between two different cultures; how their first-hand-impressions on each other are and how this impression develops over time. The story takes place in Thailand in the month of April. We are in the deserted rainforest where an English family, consisting of Alex, Eileen and their twenty-one-year old daughter Suzanne, have been on a trip with other tourists and guides. But they decide to stay a little longer than the other, so they can enjoy the waterfall alone and end up getting lost. After a while - and many thoughts about the situation, they meet a group of Thai men. Suzanne and her parents have very different views on strangers. Alex and Eileen are very suspicious about the Thais, and they do not feel safe among them. They do not trust them, and especially Alex is sure that they have met someone who might be dangerous as he states: “...Christ, they could be up to anything” (_page 5, line 125)_ Unlike her parents, Suzanne is very cool about...
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...The emergence of the Child Sex Market: The market for children prostitutes has been created by a number of factors. During the 1970"s pedophiles from Western countries were attracted to Thailand because of its lenient laws against prostitution and the high currency exchange rate (Jubilee, p. 3). The supply of customers caused pimps to acquire children through sale and through kidnapping to meet their demand. Widespread rural poverty and the low socioeconomic status of children caused the influx of a large supply of rural children that could be acquired relatively cheep. To prevent the interference of the government Thai officials were bribed or in some cases offered a portion of the profits of the trade. When the AIDS epidemic severely hit the sex industry during the 1980"s many sex tourist began to engage in child sex tourism because children were seen as a safe alternative to adults. Child prostitutes were seen as being less risky due to their young age. Contrary to this notion sex with child prostitutes actually increases the likelihood of the transmission of AIDS due to the immature bodies of children (Jubilee, p. 4). In the past decade the media, most specifically the travel industry, has developed a taste for women with "girly" qualities. The result of this trend is a steadily increasing demand for underage prostitutes as well as the continual decline in the desired age for child prostitutes. Due to these unfortunate circumstances the child sex trade has steadily grown...
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...and mentally. Throughout history this has resulted in more or less dramatic events, stretching from the Spanish General Cortez’ annihilation of the Inca-empire in South America, to the joyful re-union of East and West Berlin in Germany. Today, the possibilities of exploring different cultures are limitless – with a sufficient amount of money and a valid passport, one could be sitting on an airplane flying to any destination in the whole world. In the short story, “Eating Sugar”, we are introduced to Suzanne and her parents, Alex and Eileen. An omniscient 3rd person narrator tells the story, which is set near a tourist attraction somewhere in Thailand. The omniscience of the narrative role is seen several places throughout the story and is intensifying the tension, as both parents’ feelings are revealed instantly; “Eileen found Thailand stressful, and wasn’t ashamed to show it. Alex was grateful to her.[1]” However, the narrator takes point of departure in Alex, which is seen, when his memory of his and Eileen’s LSD-trip is described in detail (l. 1, p. 4/10). In “Eating Sugar” there are a lot of contradictory conditions. The most dramatic one is when the family is concerned about how they will come home and four native Thais ‘emerge’ from the forest path. Already before engaging in a conversation, the narrator uses Alex to make a difference between Thais and Westerners, by stating that it is “…difficult to tell the ages of Thais…” Although the possibility that it could...
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...appear unfamiliar, and look at them as primitive and hostile. We are, through a third-person, non-omniscient narrator presented to a family of three, the father Alex and the mother Eileen, who are visiting their daughter Suzanne who works as a teacher in Thailand. The narrator is non-omniscient, as the story is told from Alex’s perspective, and the reader therefore does not become aware of neither Eileen nor Suzanne’s thoughts. The story starts in medias res, as it begins in the middle of the action, when the family comes back from a trip to the waterfall, and realizes that they are lost. They have been down at a waterfall, and Alex suspects that they might have taken a wrong turn, hence “three hours ago, this forest clearing had been a busy market…”and it becomes apparent, that they are not aware of their location, and they need help to get home, which they come to receive from 4 Thai-men who randomly walks by. Eileen, as well as Alex, seems to possess a dislike of Thailand, as seen in the quote “Eileen found Thailand stressful, and wasn't ashamed to show it. Alex was grateful to her. Her constantly-expressed anxiety kept his own fear suppressed.” This quite clearly illustrates that they are uncomfortable in Thailand, and feel insecure here. The dislike towards their foreign surroundings also becomes apparent in the descriptions of the environment in the text, as Alex has a very negative attitude towards the environment in the start of the text, for example: "All that...
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...with the other”. We all tend to create “others”, when we meet walls of difference, built by race, culture, and language. This view on tourism by William Cannon Hunter is also apparent in the short story “Eating Sugar” by Catherine Merriman, where the meeting of two different cultures creates precisely this “us versus them relationship”. The story takes place in a rainforest in Thailand where an English family, consisting of Alex, Eileen and their twenty-one-year old daughter Suzanne, has been on a trip to a tourist attraction along with many other tourists and guides. When the others go home, the small family decides to stay a while longer, drawn by the opportunity to have the small paradise to themselves. When they decide to leave, the rainforest is deserted and what earlier has been a busy market, has now vanished. It seems as if this stressful situation is a mere continuation of this somewhat trying trip for Alex and Eileen. They feel lost in Thailand when Suzanne isn't by their side. Nobody speaks English, and Alex compares their helplessness to the kind that children must feel. Being in Thailand has reversed the roles in the family: “Suzanne, their brave twenty-one-year old daughter transformed this side of the world to a competent, patient, encouraging parent. He and Eileen, her anxious, fractious, dependent charges.” Page 3, line 40-42. After a little while four Thai men approach the family. They too have been at the tourist attraction. Suzanne and her parents look...
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...[pic] THAILAND [pic] Ana Sofia Da Silva Justo Pedro Renato Da Costa Faria Joao Miguel De Carvalho Iglésias Killian Belleil Introduction Recognized as one of the most beautiful country in the world, Thailand attracts both tourists and foreign investors. Its landscape, history, culture and hospitality of Thais make this country very attractive. That’s why we call Thailand : « The Land of Smiles ». Of many reasons foreign investors want to do business in Thailand. However, the famous Thai hospitality can quickly become a problem for those trying to break into the closed sphere of Thai trade. Indeed, many investors who have tried have failed because of the many administrative tasks. On top of that, many sectors are reserved for work by Thai nationals only if foreigners are restricted in the types of activities they can perform. It would seem that the best way to start a business in Thailand is to know someone on the territory that is able to help us. But we behave as ambitious entrepreneurs. So let’s make our own idea with this following market analysis. First, we will focus on the country's history and key events that affected its economy. Then we look at the factors affecting the development of the country through two analysis tools. We will discover the culture and ways to behave to do business. We’ll end our analysis by doing an analytical report on a mega-size environmental challenge. ...
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...defeated the Portuguese and reigned until 1815 when the British Empire took over. After World War II, there was a resurgence of Malayan nationalism leading to the Declaration of Independence for the Federation of Malaya from the British Empire on August 31, 1957. Malaysia at the time was comprised 13 states, including Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak. In 1963 two federal territories were formed. Singapore later withdrew from the Federation in 1965. COUNTRY DESCRIPTION Malaysia has 13 states: 11 in Peninsular Malaysia and two, Sabah and Sarawak, on the island of Borneo (East Malaysia). View Larger Map GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION Malaysia lies at 7° North of the Equator and consists of West and East Malaysia. West Malaysia is bordered by Thailand to the north, Singapore to the south, the South China Sea to the east, and the Straits of Malacca to the west. East Malaysia shares its southern border with Indonesia, its northern border with Brunei, and is cradled by the South China Sea to the west and north, and the Sulu Sea to the northeast. CLIMATE Malaysia is pampered with a warm tropical climate, with general temperatures ranging from 70° F to 90° F. The weather is strongly influenced by the Northeast and the Southwest Monsoon. The period of May to September is usually a drier...
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...BANGKOK GUIDE YOUR FREE BANGKOK GUIDE FROM THE ASIA TRAVEL SPECIALISTS www.asiawebdirect.com Cultural phenomenon, shopping haven and tourist treasure. Welcome to Bangkok; one of the most cosmopolitan, contrasting and, above all, compelling of Asian cities. A steamy, pulsating, yet smiling metropolis of more than ten million souls – intense at first, but addictive as anything. Come find your niche among dazzling temples, hotels of every type and size, eclectic markets, gleaming palaces, ritzy shopping malls, a famous nightlife and the many things in between. Enjoy a memorable dinner cruise along the Chao Phraya River. Bask in the city’s warm, affluent glow at a skyscraping rooftop bar. Experience all the things – a tuk-tuk ride, a ladyboy show, Muay Thai (kickboxing) match, Thai massage – everyone always comes home talking about. WEATHER Bangkok has a tropical monsoon climate and holds claim to being the hottest city in the world. Sitting close to the equator, it is both hot and humid in equal measure, is unrelenting simply because it doesn't cool significantly at night. The period between April and May is the steamiest (avg. 25-35° C). The Southwest monsoons arrive between May and October, and with it pouring rain and thunderstorms – for many, though, this is a welcome respite. http://www.bangkok.com/weather.htm SIM CARDS AND DIALING PREFIXES Pre-paid SIM cards are available for purchase at most convenience stores (you will find 7-Elevens everywhere) as well as the...
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...TOURISM IN THAILAND WITH REGARD TO SERVICES PROVIDED BY HOSPITALS A CASE STUDY TO UNDERSTAND THE FACTORS THAT PROMOTE AND FACILITATE MEDICAL TOURISM IN THAILAND WITH REGARD TO SERVICES PROVIDED BY HOSPITALS Tejasvi Vasudevan An Independent Study Presented to The Graduate School of Bangkok University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Business Administration 2014 2014 Tejasvi Vasudevan All Rights Reserved This Independent Study has been approved by The Graduate School Bangkok University Title: A case study to understand the factors that promote and facilitate medical tourism in Thailand with regards to services provided by hospitals Author: Ms. Tejasvi Vasudevan Independent Study Committees: Advisor Dr. Sriwan Thapanya ………………………………………………………………………… Field Specialist …………………………………………………………………………… (Asst. Prof. Dr. Sivaporn Wangpipatwong) Dean of the Graduate School Tejasvi Vasudevan. Master of Business Administration, May 2014, Graduates School, Bangkok University Title: A case study to understand the factors that promote and facilitate medical tourism in Thailand with regards to services provided by hospitals (72 pages) Advisor of Independent Study: Dr. Sriwan Thapanya ABSTRACT The aim of this study is to understand reasons behind the growing medical tourism industry in Thailand. By studying the attributes that make the hospitals in Thailand more attractive...
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