Bringing the World Together One Question at a Time

Model the interpretation of the GAPtest profiles by preparing your own profiles (or sample versions) on an overhead or slide. Explain that the colored profile provides the individual with a picture or model of his or her awareness of six global geographic areas, six life contexts , and general global awareness. While it is desirable to have as high a score as possible in each section of the profile, the purpose of the GAPtest is to identify for the participant those areas that appear to be weakest.

In the geographic profile example, the test taker had a score of 15 for Asia and 6 for Africa, indicating that the student’s awareness of Africa was considerably less than of Asia. Incidentally, Africa consistently appears as the lowest of scores. One reason for this is that Africa (and South America) are under reported in the American and world press.

Ask participants to speculate on why they did well in their highest area. Was it the result of reading? Broadcast news? An extensive sojourn? Ask why they believe they scored poorly in other areas.

In the context profile example, the individual scored 12 on environment and 6 on religion, indicating less awareness of religious issues than environmental ones. Awareness of this contextual gap could be significant.

For example, in the 1940s a British engineer was sent to Bagamoyo, Tanganyika (now Tanzania), to build a water line from a new well source to the city center. An expert water specialist, he carefully calculated the location of the well and the route the water would take to its destination. However, when the local people he had hired to work on the project arrived at the site, they refused to dig. This might have been an economic issue (they were not being paid enough) or a political problem (they did not want to work for a British supervisor). As it turned out, the difficulty lay in cultural and religious customs and beliefs. The proposed location of the well was a sacred site believed to harbor evil omens. The engineer, aware of the importance of respecting his hosts’ beliefs, called in the local spiritual leader who agreed to perform a cleansing ritual. Work started the next day.

As the preceding example illustrates, one can see potential consequences in problem solving if the problem is viewed from only one perspective. In another case, a college professor was invited to teach at a school in Myanmar. His subject was world religions, and he was particularly interested in Buddhism and Southeast Asian cultures. He had corresponded extensively with his local contact, a teacher at the school, about the teaching assignment and about transportation, living conditions, and costs. The local contact’s son was a student at the professor’s college and, overall, their relationship was quite friendly. Then, suddenly, the local contact stopped writing. When asked about the silence, the son merely said that things were “not good right now.” At first, the professor attributed the problem to a cultural issue, in other words, face-saving, since he knew the father made little money from teaching and could not help support the professor once he arrived in Myanmar. As it turned out, the problem was political rather than cultural. Recent riots by anti-government groups and the closing of schools had forced the local contact out of his job and had placed him under suspicion by the authorities. Since the U.S. government, along with the press in the United States, had voiced what amounted to support for the dissenters, any contact by the father with an American professor could signal involvement with the rebels and have severe consequences, including imprisonment or death.

Being aware of the geographic and context areas as embodied in the GAPtest does not guarantee success in dealing with every cross-cultural issue, nor does it mean that one “knows” everything about a context or region. It does, nevertheless, increase one’s awareness of categories of information and enhance the possibilities for success when combined with appropriate attitudes and behaviors. In short, one has more options for processing new information.

Group Aggregate Profile. For general teaching purposes, creating an overall profile of the class or training group allows you to build on strengths and improve weaknesses throughout the course or training session. Participants often like to compare their scores with class averages. Those who are strong in some of the low aggregate areas may feel more empowered about contributing to group projects and discussions once they see the group aggregate profile.

Below is a model grid for a group aggregate profile. While the compilation of the profile may be done by an assistant, it also works well as a class exercise. Prepare a wall chart or overhead of the group aggregate profile grid. Then tabulate the group scores, If done verbally, have the participants call out their scores in a particular area. Add the scores and then divide by the number of respondents to get a group average. If there is some timidity or reservation about verbal reporting, have participants temporarily pass their answer sheets to assistants who can tabulate the results while you continue the discussion. The total represents either the geographic or context scores added to the general awareness (GLB) score.