OLEAD 410: Leadership in a Global Context

Cultural Leadership blog

Reading Between the Social Cues

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We are all individuals, and although you can’t assume that two individuals from the same culture will respond in precisely the same manner, generalizations are valid to the extent that they provide hints on what you will most likely experience during an intercultural exchange. Not only do we face language barriers, but assumptions in behaviors and mannerisms can lead to further errors in the communication process. Egocentrism, assuming others will interrupt your actions in the same cultural context as your own, is a source of the breakdown in message creation and interpretation (PSU WC, 2020, L.4).

Cultural differences influence global Communication; even the choice of medium used to communicate may have cultural overtones. While there are many models of Communication, the basic process involves encoding and decoding a message through a channel between a sender and a receiver (Moran, Abramson, & Moran, 2014). The determining factor in medium preference is depended on whether the country falls into a high-context or low-context culture. High-context cultures leave much of the message undefined; to be interpreted through context, nonverbal cues, and between-the-line interpretation of what is verbally communicated (Moran, Abramson, & Moran, 2014). High-context is looking for meaning and understanding in what is not said, observing body language, in silences and pauses. Japan is one country that uses high-context Communication, and when speaking to a low-context communicator, it can be perceived that they are leaving out information. In contrast, low-context cultures expect messages to be explicit and specific, emphasizing the sending and receiving of accurate messages directly and by being precise with spoken or written words (PSU WC, 2020, L.4). The United States is a low-context communication country, and such can appear to be speaking down to a high context communicator.

Adding to the complexity of intercultural communications, you may consider the sense of time. Running late in some countries isn’t seen as rude, but as a given; in these cultures, time is polychronic. Polychronic cultures approach time as flexible, and the quality of the work outweighs the timeframe (Moran, Abramson, & Moran, 2014). On the other hand, monochronic cultures view time as rigid and emphasize promptness(Moran, Abramson, & Moran, 2014). They also tend to be task-oriented, whereas people from polychronic cultures are people-oriented. Cross-cultural methods to time influence doing business internationally and should be an important consideration before seeing another’s action as inconsiderate. 

In summary, communicating in one’s own culture can be complex, add to this another language and learned a set of behaviors and you see you are navigating a minefield of social misunderstandings. As we will further explore the differences between cultures in this course I hope to learn how to properly interpret intercultural communication, as it is a large part of what I do every day.

References

Moran, R. T., Abramson, N. R., & Moran, S. V. (2014). Managing cultural differences. London: Routledge.

Pennsylvania State University. (2020). Leadership in a global context – OLEAD 410. Lesson 4: Global Communication, Penn State World Campus. Retrieved from

https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2041071/modules/items/27977836

A Global Chatroom Called Discord

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Discord is a chat app, similar to programs such as Skype or TeamSpeak, or professional communications platforms like Slack. It’s geared specifically toward video game players, providing them with ways to find each other, coordinate play, and talk while playing. It supports video calls, voice chat, and text, allowing users to get in touch however they please. (Hornshaw, 2018)

While reporting 90 million users with 14 million people logging on every day. Discord has rapidly become one of the most popular apps used to talk to friends while playing games. However, it is also a great place where people can congregate, meet up to find other people and socialize. Basically, lots of people use it not only for talking to each other while playing games, but as an organizational and social tool. While most servers on Discord are used for gaming, other servers can be found that cater to other online cultures like cryptocurrency, e-trading, unreleased music, etc.

Discord was brought to my attention due to a Reddit user sending me an invite after noticing my Mac Miller appreciation posts on Reddit’s Mac Miller subtopic page. Upon accepting the invite and proceeding to download the app, I seemingly stepped through the doors to a community around the music artist which had formed soon after his passing in September of 2018. This community consists of individuals all around the globe ranging from the ages of 18-35. This Mac Miller “Most Dope Fam” essentially grew into a culture [because] it consisted in patterned ways of thinking, feeling and reacting, acquired and transmitted mainly by symbols, constituting the distinctive achievements of human groups, including their embodiments of artifacts; the essential core of the culture consists of traditional (i.e., historically derived and selected) ideas and especially their attached values. (PSU WC, L2, 2020); stemming from the value in the artist’s message in his discography.

The Most Dope Fam Discord server itself, consist of approximately 300 individuals from all across the globe who chat with one another on a daily basis. Ultimately what keeps the conversation so lively every day is the diversity of race, gender, ethnic group, age, personality, cognitive style, tenure, organizational function, and more. […] also, the fact that the diversity not only involves how people think of others, this affects their interaction and how they conceive of themselves. (PSU WC, L4, 2020) Oftentimes, due to the nature of the communication that take place mostly through messages rather than a voice chat, the encoding and the decoding of messages between senders and receivers can be misconstrued. For instance, a sender from Australia normally causes error in communication due noise/bias that is normal to Australians but abnormal for a receiver anywhere else in the world. Although, we have the ability to communicate with people all over the world immediately, in the end, it pulls the physical distances and differences a little bit closer just through an app on the internet.

 

 

 

References

 

Hornshaw, P. (2018, May 10). Discord, the chat app for gamers: Everything you need to know. Retrieved from https://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/what-is-discord/

Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2020). OLEAD 410 Lesson 2: Introduction to Culture. Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2041071/modules/items/27977821

Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2020). OLEAD 410 Lesson 3: Defining Diversity. Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2041071/modules/items/27977828

 

What are Errors in Communication? Why is communication so difficult?

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What are the errors in communication? How are errors in communication made even when speaking to someone face to face? Errors in communication are sometimes called noise or bias. Examples of communication errors include conveying too little information to a receiver or even things like technology issues that can create communication errors.   The lesson commentary defines technology issues that contribute to errors in communication as the character limit allowed on a text message, or a wrong cell signal during a phone conversation (PSU WC, L4, 2020).

Effective communication is a must-have skill for any leader, but equally as important in our everyday relationships with our significant others, children, family, friends, and acquaintances. So why do we have such a hard time communicating in a way that will be understood in the way we would like to be perceived? Let’s take, for instance, our relationships with our partners.   I’ve been in my relationship for over fifteen years, and to think that communication gets easier has been one of the greatest misconceptions of my adult life. I think we are met with the reality that we all change and, more specifically, change over our lifetimes to meet others’ expectations of us. Perhaps, this is the beginning of our issues with the errors in communication we face with our everyday relationships at home, in the office, or just in general.

As significant others, we are expected to be in a monogamous, understanding, respectful, loving, and supportive role. As parents, we are expected to be responsible, dependable, financially stable, a provider, caretaker, fun maker with endless amounts of energy. As a family member, we are expected to jump in whenever needed by our family members, to participate in every birthday, anniversary, reunion, or maybe that’s my family of which is ridiculously large. As for being a friend, the expectation is to make time for our friends between school plays, soccer games, work deadlines or events, and family. But people grow, change, and so do their expectations of each other.

As a leader, one is expected to understand and know the differences within and between teams or groups to lead and influence them towards a single goal effectively.   In an article by Overall & McNulty (2017), there are many reasons why communication errors occur in relationships with our partners, coworkers, followers, family, and even children.   The authors of this article discuss communication errors or issues between partners; however, I feel strongly that these issues can be applied to any and all the relationships listed above.   So, let’s discuss the issues that may lead to these communication errors. Things like expectations or better yet those expectations that were unmet, preferences or preferences that changed overtime, lack of intimacy or time spent together, financial problems, parenting, family responsibilities, and even things like bad habits. Like all relationships, personal or professional, the answer is effective communication. So again, why is it so tricky to communicate effectively in any of these relationships or about any of the issues listed?   It’s our inability to identify what constitutes effective communication (p. 1).   This, unfortunately, leads to errors in transmission, where the sender may not be familiar with the best way to communicate.

Let’s throw in cultural differences and imagine how much more challenging communication becomes in this context, especially when we tend to experience communication errors in our language.     This is where we discuss ethnocentrism as a potential communication error in that the less we know about other cultures and how those cultures communicate, the more likely we are to misunderstand communications in a global context (PSU WC, L4, 2020).     Moran, Remington Abramson & Moran (2014), state that we are the most comfortable communicating with those who are the most similar to us.   The more differences there are between us, the more the comfort level of communication decreases, and therefore communication errors increase.

In conclusion, communication errors result from differences within and between groups. Those differences happen to be about culture, gender, age, education, beliefs, and religion.   If we learn to open our minds to understand these differences, perhaps we will be well on our way to being more effective communicators.

References

 

Moran, R., Remington Abramson, N., & Moran, S. (2014). Managing Cultural Differences (9th ed.). New York: Routledge.

Niler, A., Asencio, R., & DeChurch, L. (2019). Solidarity in STEM: How Gender Composition Affects Women’s Experience in Work Teams. Sex Roles, 82(3-4), 142-154. doi: 10.1007/s11199-019-01046-8

Overall, N., & McNulty, J. (2017). What type of communication during conflict is beneficial for intimate relationships? Current Opinion In Psychology, 13, 1-5. doi: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2016.03.002

Pennsylvania State University. (2020). Lesson 4: Leadership in Global Context. Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2041071/modules/items/27977839

 

 

Intercultural Communication in the Context of the Hospitality Industry

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With the emergence of technology and widespread cultural diversity, we have come to a point where communication throughout the world is made easier than ever before. In fact, it is advancing rapidly to the point that there are voice translation applications out now in order to circumvent possible language barriers. Although this level of communication brings about a more inclusive and connected society especially in the business environment, the issue of communication errors still, and will always exist. It currently exists within our own social structure, as well as those around the world; however, there are strategies to avoid these errors.

“The most basic skill that global leaders must cultivate is learning how to effectively communicate and listen cross-culturally” (Moran et al., 2014, p. 66). The term to consider here is ‘listen.’ There is quite the difference between ‘hearing’ what someone has to say, and actually ‘listening’ to them, even though there may or may not be a barrier between them, and their conversational target. This is especially important within a business context, of which is quite common now and in the coming years.

Something to consider is when corporate culture mixes with local culture, that is when issues such as miscommunication have the capacity to take place, or deliberate value changes are made. “As companies institute rules about communication and inclusiveness, they often run into a third problem. Consider the Dutch shipping company TNT, which has long put a premium on task-oriented efficiency and egalitarian management. When it moved into China, it found that neither of those values fit with local norms” (Meyer, 2015). The values of the company, and the values of the individuals can actively clash depending on the environment the company is in, and the leadership styles involved.

In my case as I currently work in the hospitality industry, communication is of utmost importance. It is actively encouraged by management in a variety of ways because interacting with guests daily is the norm, especially when one considers the environment that I am in, as Florida is a tourist-heavy state. These guests come from all over the globe, and as such, I have applied what I have learned thus far in order to provide a worthwhile service. The company understands that communication issues have the capacity to bring about negative outcomes, as speaking with guests and having employees around the world have likely brought forth a multitude of miscommunication scenarios.

As such, there are several rules in place in order to minimize them. For example, the company that I work for already encourages positive listening behaviors, and a unified corporate culture for all employees, which translates to the guests as well. According to Moran et al., there are two positive listening behaviors, the first one being information gathering. “Information gathering is a form of listening. Its purpose is the absorption of information, both stated and nonverbally signaled”  (2014, p. 39). Information gathering focuses more on cues that one must be observant of, while still not losing focus on what is actually being said. The second positive listening behavior is active listening. “Active listening requires that the listener demonstrate to the speaker that he/she really understands what is being said” (Moran et al., 2014, p. 40). These strategies have likely come from a place of experience, as cultural and communication barriers have lessened quite a bit. Although there are many more strategies in place, communication issues do occur; however, there is a clear goal surrounding management, and that is to provide a bridge between culture and communication.

References

Meyer, E. (2015, October). When Culture Doesn’t Translate. Retrieved February 9, 2020, from https://hbr.org/2015/10/when-culture-doesnt-translate

Moran, R. T., Abramson, N. R., & Moran, S. V. (2014). Managing Cultural Differences (9th ed.). Oxford: Routledge.

Communication Challenges between China and the U.S.

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In recent months, we have been witness to the growing tensions that exist between the U.S. and China as it pertains to trade and their agreements.   It is apparent that the renegotiation of these existing agreements will be the final outcome and resolution that will lead to future harmony between these two trade giants.  Some of the challenges that the negotiating teams will be facing will be the cultural divide that exists between the two nations as well as the complexity of the language barrier that exists.

Even though China has made it a practice to educate themselves in order to be able to converse in English, therefore, that particular aspect won’t be as critical. (Moran et al., pg. 53) The cultural piece of communication is where there can be a significant gap.  The Chinese prefer to develop the relationships that they have with the people that they do business with, which can take prolonged periods of time. (Moran et al., pg. 49) Whereas Americans are more inclined to work on a linear basis when it comes to the relationships they have with potential business partners. (Moran et al., pg. 48)  Also, if Americans wish to be ingratiating to their potential Chinese trade partners, they need to be able to relate more with the collectivism that the Chinese tend to have towards their countrymen.  (Moran et al., pg. 59)

The relationship that exists between the U.S. and China is one that has taken years to develop.  The language barrier does continue to be an issue.  Not surprising when you consider the fact that China experiences that very same issue within its own borders.  China currently has approximately 56 ethnic groups as well as over 80 dialects still being used today.  (Li, Y., pg. 115) So, as Americans, we shouldn’t expect to be able to walk into negotiations without expecting some form of barrier when it comes to language.  It is likely that translators would be used in order to help overcome the language as well as the cultural divide that exists.  Translators aren’t always the best tool to use, as they cannot translate word for word, however, their insight into the cultural inflections could prove to be invaluable for each side so as to be able to interpret the progress that is being made throughout the negotiations. (Moran et al., pg. 75)

There are other elements that will prove to be hurdles throughout the negotiation.  Cultural prejudices will definitely rise to the surface immediately as the Chinese tend to view Americans as individualistic and overly tolerant to open criticism of their own society, not to mention their view on external cultures is that of superiority.  As for the Americans, they will most likely approach the Chinese contingent as being a group of individuals that have no concept of market freedom and freedom of speech, without considering the fact that the Chinese culture is probably more suited to communist rule than any other on the planet, cue to their collectivism and desire to care for their own within a family. (Li, Y., pg. 121)

Cultural differences will always be a factor when it comes to the ongoing relationship between the U.S. and China, especially as the world seems to get “smaller” on a daily basis with the internet and communications developments that continue to push the envelope of our understanding.  Even now, we have students from China who are able to attend American colleges and universities through the use of the internet and satellite technology.  The barriers seem to be breaking down, but it is important to realize that our individual cultures should not be sacrificed for the sake of expediency and our culture is what distinguishes us from one another.  Something that should not be taken or disregarded lightly.

 

References:

Moran, R. T., Abramson, N. R., & Moran, S. V. (2014). Managing cultural differences (9th ed.). Oxford: Routledge.

Li, Y., Cross-Cultural Communications within American and Chinese Colleagues in Multinational Organizations, Proceedings of the New York State Communication Association: Vol. 2010, Article 7. Web. Retrieved: February 7, 2020. Link: https://docs.rwu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1015&context=nyscaproceedings

Understanding Intercultural Communication and Human Dynamics

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Society and the business environment we live in today are more complex than ever before.  Intercultural communication is growing at a rapid pace in the world, and it’s not slowing down.  “Intercultural communication is a process whereby individuals from different cultural backgrounds attempt to share meanings” (Moran, Abramson, Moran, 2014, p. 40).  As a global society, people come together across divisions of culture, religion, race, age, gender.  It has never been more important for humans to understand each other for interpersonal development (Seagal, 2018).

The growth of society and businesses today has forced us to pay more attention to intercultural communication and human dynamics.  How and what we communicate is an essential piece for successful intercultural communication.  Intercultural communication is relevant for society, since many cultural groups around the world have different patterns of behavior, belief, values and norms (Moran, Abramson, Moran, 2014).  We as a society need to acquire the necessary knowledge to understand, communicate, and physically interact with people who are different, in order to benefit from intercultural communication and human dynamics.

The world consists of many different countries, so it’s vital to understand the details behind human dynamics.  In order for societies to interact effectively, we need to understand the human systems. Human dynamics provides the necessary framework of human understanding.  It enables society to recognize, appreciate, and optimally utilize their diverse capacities, and work together productively (Seagal, 2018).  Human dynamics contains three principles mental, emotional, and physical (Moran, Abramson, Moran, 2014).  These three principles are the fundamentals that cross culture, age, race, and gender to unify us.  As we learn to appreciate similarities and differences, we use these principles and apply new understandings to enrich our cultural relationships, communicate more effectively and work together more productively.

I would like to share a personal life event that involved intercultural communication and human dynamics.  This is a small-scale example, but an important one.  I communicate frequently both verbally and non-verbally with my colleagues in China.  Together we have positive intercultural communication.  We communicate about 2-3 times per week.  As I mentioned earlier, having an understanding of intercultural communication and human dynamics is essential for society.  Intercultural communication is communication across different cultures.  Human dynamics involves mental, emotional, and physical mindsets that are all needed in the functioning and development of a person.  I would describe myself and my colleagues in China as having a physically centered mindset, because we process information in a systemic way and gather large amounts of data.  Moran, Abramson, Moran, 2014, explains that physically centered people use words such as (we, us, our), focus on the (past, present, future) and gather detailed information systematically.  By working together and making a diverse connection, we are quite successful within our organization.

Having an understanding of intercultural communication and human dynamics is significant for developing successful and effective human relationships of all kinds.  It helps to builds trust, strengthens relationships, and results in simplifying the complexities of intercultural communications (Moran, Abramson, Moran, 2014).  “The most basic skill that global leaders must cultivate is learning how to effectively communicate and listen cross-culturally” (Moran, Abramson, Moran, 2014, p. 66).

References:

Moran, R. T., Abramson, N. R., & Moran, S. V. (2014). Managing cultural differences (9th ed.). Oxford: Routledge.

Seagal, S. (2018). Human dynamics for the 21st century. Retrieved from https://thesystemsthinker.com/human-dynamics-for-the-21st-century/

 

 

 

Communication and Biases

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Communication Errors and Unconscious Biases: Egocentrism, Overconfidence, and Closeness-Communication

By Amelia Young | February 5, 2020

Intercultural communication can be difficult for multinational enterprises and for individuals who communicate cross-culturally. The purpose of communication, whether cross-culturally or not, is “to create shared meaning (mutual understanding)” (Shockley-Zalabak, 2016, p. 100). To be effective, we must work to build “a bridge to the world of the receiver” (Moran, Abramson, & Moran, 2012, p. 39). When crafting messages, we must consider the perspective of the receiver, which “involves learning to use flexible approaches to listen, observe, and speak according to the specific situation at hand” (p. 38).

First, let’s talk about the process of human communication, which is a circular interaction where a sender encodes a message using words, symbols, or nonverbal language. The sender then chooses a channel to transmit the message to a receiver; this could be accomplished through face-to-face interactions, email, text, phone calls, business proposal, or other forms of transmission. When received, the message is decoded, and the receiver ascribes its meaning, then provides feedback (Shockley-Zalabak, 2016). In general, the human communication process sounds simple, but communication is susceptible to multiple sources of errors. Common errors can result from egocentrism, overconfidence, and closeness-communication biases.

Now let’s talk about these unconscious biases that often get in the way of effective cross-cultural communication. Egocentrism creates an inability to see another persons’ point of view. This leads us to become overconfident in our judgments of our understanding of message meaning and can affect both the sender and the receiver (Bazerman & Moore, 2012). The closeness-communication bias is a phenomenon where people think they are better able to communicate effectively with friends than strangers. A 2010 study found that “people engage in active monitoring of strangers’ divergent perspectives because they know they must, but that they ‘let down their guard’ and rely more on their own perspective when they communicate with a friend” (Savitsky, Keysar, Epley, Carter, & Swanson, 2010, p. 269). Egocentrism, overconfidence, and closeness-communication biases are common. We all tend to interpret, judge, and perceive information from an egocentric perspective, that is, we apply meaning to a message using our own “self-image, needs, values, expectations, goals, standards, cultural norms, and personality” (Moran et al., 2012, p. 39).

Intercultural Communication

Morguefile (2017)

Global business leaders and their employees may spend a significant amount of their days engaged in intercultural communication, “which seeks to understand how people from different countries and cultures act, communicate and perceive the world around them” (Moran et al., 2012, p. 41). When communicating cross-culturally, individuals must be conscious of their communication biases and take the time to consider the other person’s intangible culture, including their “language, customs, beliefs, values, and mores [that have been] passed on from generation to generation” (p. 41).

It’s not just business leaders engaging in intercultural communication who must be aware of the communication biases. Individuals who communicate cross-culturally must also consider these communication biases. In a recent documentary, Meghan Markel, the Duchess of Sussex, shared with us some of the difficulties she has faced since her 2018 marriage to Prince Harry. When asked about how she’s been doing personally since marrying the Prince, the Duchess hesitated, carefully considering her response, then told us it’s been hard. Being a new wife and mother under the scrutiny of British tabloids has been difficult, but she also acknowledged she didn’t “think anyone [could] understand that” (FFTV, 2019, 42:00). She admitted she had no idea how difficult life would be as the wife of a Royal, although she was warned. Her British friends told her the British tabloids would try to destroy her, and there’s no doubt her husband would have attempted to prepare her for Royal life. Egocentrism and closeness-communication biases may have affected how her friends and husband crafted their messages, and her own biases likely influenced how she decoded those messages. The intercultural communications may have seemed clear as day to the senders, but as an American, the Duchess’s intangible culture, her values, beliefs, language, and norms, would have played a significant role in how she decoded those messages. The Duchess is berated continuously by those who would say she knew what she was getting herself into. However, it is more likely that the Duchess decoded messages based on the limits of her own cultural frame of reference.

To become effective intercultural communicators, we must learn to recognize our biases and adopt “flexible approaches to listen, observe, and speak according to the specific situation at hand” (Moran et al., 2012, p. 38).

References

Bazerman, M. H., & Moore, D. A. (2012). Judgment in managerial decision making (8th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

FFTV. (2019). Harry and Meghan an African journey: Full documentary. [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_c7ZhK0AKA

Moran, R. T., Abramson, N. R., & Moran, S. V. (2014). Managing Cultural Differences (9th ed.). Oxford: Routledge.

Morguefile. (n.d.). Global communication image: Source-inderjeetsingh. [Image]. Retrieved from https://morguefile.com/photos/morguefile/2/communication/pop

Savitsky K., Keysar, B., Epley, N., Carter, T., and Swanson, A. (2010). The closeness-communication bias: Increased egocentrism among friends versus strangers. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. 47(1). pp. 269-73. Retrieved from https://uploads-ssl.webflow.com/5c484e0f4aa6f839dc553c45/5c9529b0c2075bc4df1ae46c_Savistsky%20et%20al%202011.pdf

Shockley-Zalabak, P. S. (2016). Fundamentals of organizational communication: Knowledge, sensitivity, skills, values (9th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.

Power Distance | Why is it so important to acknowledge?

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Photo from Easysmallbusinesshr.com

All cultures differ in how they show respect for authority. These behaviors are ingrained in all of us by the society we are each raised in. For instance, in Asia, the degree of respect is high, whereas, in Germany, it is lower. When it comes to relationships at work in Asia, it is viewed as unacceptable for an insubordinate to challenge their manager or boss, while in Germany, it is acceptable for employees to speak up when they disagree with their boss. 

Professor Geert Hofstede calls this event power distance. When leading multicultural teams, it is critical to understand the idea of power distance. A global leader may have a person from Asia, Mexico, and Germany on their team. The person from China or Mexico, two countries that measure high on the Power Distance Index (China, 80 and Mexico, 81!), will be more likely to go with whatever the global leader says during a meeting (Clearlycultural, 2019). This is the case even when the leader is wrong. The team member from Germany, a country with a 35 on the Power Distance Index, would be more likely to challenge an idea or new process introduced by the global leader. 

Why is of importance to the leader? Well, diverse teams are known to spur debate and dialogue (Gamble & Gamble, 2013, p.204). Through debate and dialogue, we uncover innovation. New ideas are born when team members ask, why or why not (Nalebuff and Ayres, 2006). If the leader uses strategies to shift the behaviors of the team members with a high power distance mindset, they might open up to sharing new ideas with the group. Who knows they might even create a groundbreaking new solution to an organizational problem. It boils down to the leader being aware of concepts such as power distance to unleash the performance power of their team.

Clearlycultural.com. (2019). Power Distance Index – Clearly Cultural. [online] Available at: https://clearlycultural.com/geert-hofstede-cultural-dimensions/power-distance-index/ [Accessed 4 Nov. 2019].

Gamble, Teri Kwal, and Michael Gamble. (2013). Leading with Communication: A Practical Approach to Leadership Communication. SAGE Publications.

Nalebuff, Barry, and Ian Ayres. (2006). Why Not? How to Use Everyday Ingenuity to Solve Problems Big and Small. Harvard Business School Press.

Encoding and Decoding

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Communication is a highly studied, yet under practiced skill set in most organizations and even in daily society. We’ve benefited from a global development in the way people are able to connect; what would take several months for a letter to be received can now be done in several seconds though the use of email and fax. Despite this, digital media given us a new way to mix messages, reaffirming that the encoding and decoding process is only as good as the communicators make it. This can be seen in the suggestion: “let’s eat, grandma” or “let’s eat grandma” (unknown, n.d.). Words, and more specifically their meaning matter. That being said, the encoding and decoding process can be navigated with greater ease when the type of communicator you’re messaging with is identified.

Marcel Schwantes, founder and CHO of Leadership to the core; and INC. contributor identifies 4 personality types of communicators. The leader communicator is identified as being results driven, and while sometimes abrasive is necessary to a group because they don’t fear failure. The free-spirited communicator that serves as an adaptive and joyful addition to the team. The no-nonsense communicator that serves in a very passionate and highly-motivated role, and lastly the social communicator; they identify as being the facilitator and is highly in tuned to other’s feelings and are self-aware (Schwantes, 2017). Marcel goes on to state that the social communicator is the best communicator of the 4 styles based on their drive to develop, nurture, and connect with others.

This is important to note because when you’re focus is on people rather than just the message, less of the data is to be lost so long as the communicator resists an egocentric bias. Such can be seen in the Kruger, Epley, Parker, and Ng study in 2005. The researchers found that there existed a 13% difference in what participants had thought would be received from a message and what actually was received. This effect is greatly multiplied when outside cultural elements are introduced. Abbot and Costello’s famous “Who’s on first” routine would be far harder, if not impossible to understand if the decoder of the message was unfamiliar with American humor or the sport of Baseball.

So, what remains the best method to become a more efficient encoder within a global context? I believe Marcel Schwantes gives us an excellent framework to work from. Working to focus on people and bring them together to solve issues and communicate is the first step on working to be an excellent communicator on a global scale. The second part of that is working with the team you’ve developed to create a diverse and constructive environment, where people can use their strengths and culture to help facilitate when a leader is unsure. The lesson reinforces this point when it points out that “even a small team of you and someone who will proofread your e-mail, or a colleague you trust who will play devil’s advocate to give you the other side of the story, will aid in shaping a more effective message for global communication” (OLEAD 410, 2019).

Communication will continue to be an under practiced skill set. In order to be great communicators, it will be something that we will have to continually work on, utilizing the tools we seek out such as Marcel Schwantes’ classification of communication personalities. These tools will help us transition to a more effective communicator. We must also use these tools to build teams that will help us interact with those that are culturally diverse from us or think differently than we do. In closing, there’s a simple and pure reminder from Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu reminding us not to be frustrated in times when communication gets difficult; “don’t raise your voice, improve your argument”. If we can consider people first, the message will follow because we’ll know the heart behind it.

 

Citations:

Movement, R. S. (2015, December 2). 21 Famous and Funny Communication Quotes. Share Away! Retrieved from https://redshoemovement.com/communication-quotes-famous-funny/

Schwantes, M. (2017, January 31). Which of These 4 Personality Types Are You? Retrieved from https://www.inc.com/marcel-schwantes/4-communication-styles-of-super-successful-teams-which-are-you.html

Kruger, J., Epley, N., Parker, J., & Ng, Z. (2005). Egocentrism over e-mail: Can we communicate as well as we think? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89(6), 925–936. doi:10.1037/00223514.89.6.925

Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2019). OLEAD 410 Lesson 4: Global communication. Retrieved September 13, 2019 from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2008449/modules#module_3363596

Stephanie Snyder – Blog #1

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Throughout my career, I have communicated with international clients primarily through email. For these clients, in particular, I choose email because it is an efficient way to communicate across time zones, and because it allows me to keep a record of conversations for future reference (Frost, 2018).

Communicating through email has worked well for me; however, occasionally, there is an inadvertent error in communication. As an example, I was working with a client in Italy via email to set up an international teleconference. After I confirmed the date, time, call-in information and attendees through another email, I sent my usual calendar invite. I was not concerned about an error in communication because I was confident that the date, time, call-in information and attendees was communicated clearly and properly. Everything looked good on my end, and I thought everything was fine, especially since I did not hear back from the client. It was not until I reached out to confirm the teleconference later in the month that we realized something was wrong. The calendar invite I sent to the client did not reflect properly on his calendar, and he was now scheduled to travel on that particular day. “The problem between anticipated understanding and actual understanding persists even when people know each other” (PSU WC, 2019, L. 4, p. 3). Thankfully, I had an established relationship with him, and I believe because of this he was very understanding of the need to move the teleconference. Moran, Abramson and Moran notes “When communicating across cultures, communication misunderstandings can occur, but they are usually not serious and can be rectified” (Moran, Abramson & Moran, 2014, p. 45).

This breakdown in communication was not intentional and may have ultimately been the result of a software glitch, but it made me realize that I needed to fine tune my own communication skills and not assume that everyone is on the same page. It is my responsibility as the communicator to make sure the international teleconferences are set up properly, and not to depend completely on technology to get it right (Hu-Chan, 2016). Up until then, I was very confident that my communication style was working, but it was clear that I could do better. “By now you are probably getting the point; being overconfident about one’s ability to communicate leads to an egocentric point of view when one creates and sends a message” (PSU WC, 2019, L. 4, p. 3). I knew going forward that I needed to stop depending so heavily on email, and needed to start verbally confirming the details of international teleconferences whenever possible (Frost, 2018). Markman says “When taken literally, as a communication problem, managers look for new modes of communication to ensure information is provided” (Markman, 2017).

References

Frost, S. (2018, December 10). Top ten communication problems in the workplace. Biz Fluent. Retrieved September 20, 2019 from https://bizfluent.com/info-12099516-top-ten-communication-problems-workplace.html 

Hu-Chan, M. (2016, August 19). 5 ways to avoid awkward mistakes when doing business across cultures. Business Insider. Retrieved September 20, 2019 from https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-avoid-awkward-cross-cultural-business-mistakes-2016-8 

Markman, A. (2017, February 22). Poor communication is often a symptom of a different problem. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved September 19, 2019 from https://hbr.org/2017/02/poor-communication-is-often-a-symptom-of-a-different-problem 

Moran, R., Abramson, N.R. & Moran, S. (2014). Managing cultural differences (9th ed). Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.

Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2019). OLEAD 410 Lesson 4: Global Communication. Retrieved September 21, 2019 from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2008449/modules/items/27026965 

 

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