Stefan Phillips, a manager for a large U. S. airline, was transferred to Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, to set up a new office. Although Stefan had had several other extended overseas assignments in Paris and Brussels, he was not well prepared for working in the Arab world. At the end of his first week, Stefan came home in a state of near total frustration. As he sat at the dinner table that night, he told his wife how exasperating it had been to work with the local employees, who, he claimed, seemed to take no responsibility for anything. Whenever something went wrong they would simply say "Inshallah" ("If God wills it"). Coming from a culture that sees no problem as insolvable, Stefan could not understand how the local employees could be so passive about job-related problems. "If I hear one more inshallah," he told his wife, "I'll go crazy."

Where did Stefan go wrong?

How could you help Stefan better understand this cross-cultural problem?

Use intercultural theories to explain it and support your discussion.

What would be your advice to Stefan