Inform participants that they will be involved in a ninety minute simulation. Instead of describing the objectives of the simulation before it takes place, mention that the goals will be become clear by the end of the simulation. Allow participants to experience the simulation without many expectations. As Shirts (1975) mentions, "It's quite possible that an idea might develop which does not meet the objective, but is so valuable that is it worth changing the objectives to fit the idea." Simulation objectives are an organic phenomena which arise as the simulation unfolds. Moreover, the insights arising during simulations vary from group to group.
Divide the participants into two groups of equal size. Half receive Na membership badges and half Za badges, then they proceed to separate rooms. (Those who come slightly late can join the Na culture, since the rules of that culture take less time to learn. Persons who are over ten minutes late, however, should become non-participant observers during the entire simulation since they will not have adequate time to master the rules of a target culture.)
Na members receive copies of the Secret Rules of Na Culture from their leader, who explains the rules and answers questions. In a different location, Za members receive the rules of their culture from their leader, who also explains them and answers questions. Since Za culture has a unique language, it is essential for Za members to understand the six gestures, five words, and one linguistic rule of their language.
Na and Za members practise doing business according to the rules of their cultures in separate settings. The Na and Za leaders make sure participants adhere to the norms detailed in Appendix 2 and 3. By twenty minutes, most participants are functioning in their own cultures.
Three observers from each group visit the foreign group to see how people from that culture interact. These observers may not ask questions or attempt to do business with the aliens they observe - they must figure things out on solely by observing.
In this phase, observers return to their original groups, then attempt to explain the rules of the foreign culture to their group members. Questions are asked about the alien group. To the best of their ability, observers explain how the foreign culture operates. An interesting feature of this stage is that the observers often have many misconceptions about the foreign culture. Participants receive misinformation and impressionistic stereotypes. Culture leaders should not attempt to correct the misinformation or reveal what the actual rules of the foreign culture are. Dealing with misconceptions is part of the simulation process.
25% - 30% of the members from each culture next become visitors to the foreign culture. (If possible, these visitors should not be the same persons who were observers 10-15 minutes before).
Visitors are given whatever is used in that culture to "do business" by each culture leader, then – without benefit of knowing the explicit rules of the alien culture - attempt to interact with its participants. Invariably, a number of etiquette breaches occur. Some observers may appear to adapt well to a foreign culture, often for reasons they do not comprehend. For example, Za members with long hair visiting Na culture may have pleasant experiences. However, those with short hair may find their sojourn less comfortable.
Finally, participants return to a large discussion area and the simulation organizer asks them to talk about these inquiries -
* What was the foreign culture like? Describe each foreign culture. * What did the foreign culture members seem to value? What did their rules seem to be? * How did the first observers feel in the foreign culture? * How did the native culture participants feel about the visitors who attempted to do business? Did they do anything which upset you? * What seemed to help the communication process? What hindered it? * What were the rules and values of your native culture? * How did you feel about your native culture? * Did you like one culture more than another? Why? * In what ways might this simulation be similar to visiting a foreign country? * In what ways is it probably different?
