I conducted the “power distance case study” exercise with students in my AAE450 Spacecraft Design course.  All were seniors majoring in Aeronautics and Astronautics.  The short case study and related questions were able to motive some very interesting discussions with active participation by all students in attendance.  We discussed the power-distance differences exhibited by the example chat log, both within the group (i.e. deference to the group leader, Wang, to represent them to Prof. Pierre) and their perceived relationship to the professor (e.g. debate about using her first name).  This motivated a broader discussion of power-distance relationships and how one’s background may inform their understanding of these relationships.  One student shared their experience in the military as a very high power-distance relationship and how this relationship with superior officers has change from when they were a student in ROTC to when they were on active duty. Another student explained their youth experiences participating in the Scouts in which all members on a team were expected to work together with a lower power-distance relationship.  Finally, one student described how growing up in an Asian American family instilled a strong respect for their parents and others in authority, particularly as the need to show respect for people with more experience.  I shared my own experience from early career as a federal employee in a national laboratory and how the power-distance dynamics in that work environment differs from that as a graduate student and later as a faculty member.  Although the exercise is short, based on only one conversation, it did help elicit some engaging conversations among the students, drawing upon their own experiences.  The class discussion largely did not center around the specific characters in the chat log. Rather, it was mostly focused on differences between the various students’ own perceptions of the power-distance relationship in the own lives.  I think that this exercise works well to inspire these kinds of discussions and introspection among the participants.