Evaluating Intercultural Behavior

This scenario occurred when I was doing a vacation job overseas during my summer vacation. The work environment was quite diverse, with employees coming from different parts of the world.

It was a busy workday and everyone was busy. As such, we were required to prepare food efficiently such as ensuring a constant supply of ready-made fries by frying them regularly. As the staff were from different countries, there were some staff who were not proficient in speaking and understanding English. And so it happens that this Western manager told one of the less proficient in English staff to prepare the fries by dropping them into the frying oil. However, as the staff did not understand what the manager said, she did not do as told and proceeded on her other duties. Enraged by what was not done, the manager proceeded to scold her stupid in front of other colleagues. Viewed by her friends as a personal attack due to their nationality and their inability to understand English well, they wrote to a local newspaper complaining about this injustice.

From my understanding, a Westerner is direct in verbal communication. Hence, they will be more inclined to voice their opinions out as shown in the scenario above. A Westerner is also inclined to voice out his agreements or disagreements. An Asian on the other hand usually responds in an indirect manner and is not likely to voice their opinions out.

The fundamentals of effective communication involves being able to understand and distinguish between universal signs which may or may not have similar meanings across different cultures. In this scenario, it seems that the Western manager was not able to handle the situation effectively and can do it better. As the employee at fault is of Eastern origins, he could have repeated his instructions again to her when she did not respond to his instructions. Even if he was agitated or angry at what was happening, he could have adapted his style accordingly and speak to the employee in private. Labeling the employee as stupid is insensitive universally and should not be mentioned in the first place. This will reduce any potential disgruntlement amongst the foreign staff who may find offense with his handling style.

In the case of the employee and her friends, they could have approached another manager to report about this apparent injustice instead of choosing the method of reporting to a local newspaper as the best possible mode of communication. Furthermore, as Westerners are more open to communication, it would have been a better alternative for them to approach other staff or even the manager himself.

Hence, the basic concept involving effective communication is about keeping communication channels open and resolving any issues in an amicable manner.

Cover Letter

Job Advertisement: http://www.ihgplc.com/index.asp?pageid=809


Dear Recruitment Manager,

I hope you will consider me for the position of a Management Trainee in InterContinential Hotels Group (IHG) South East & South West Asia I-Grad Future Leaders Programme, as advertised on IHG website.

I desire for this position as I have always dreamed of working in a hotel, managing its key operations as the team strives to enhance the reputation and revenue of the hotel by providing excellent service and value propositions to customers and corporate partners. It brings great joy to me, envisioning people being surprised by excellent service, enjoying their stay in hotels, which I feel is the closest thing to home. With IHG, I believe I have this opportunity to fulfill this dream because I share the same goal, which is making IHG the First Choice for Guests and Hotel Owners.

I will receive my Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from the National University of Singapore this June. My studies have honed my critical thinking and analytic skills, which will benefit IHG in decision-making, ideas creation and problem solving.

I held various leadership positions such as Vice Project Director and Secretary of my Co-Curricular Activity, which trained my management and interpersonal skills. Additionally, I have worked efficiently and effectively with people of different cultures, most notably in New York with people of different nationalities. While hospitality internship opportunities were hard to come by for an Electrical Engineering student, I made it up by embarking on vacation work which focuses on the fundamental of the hospitality industry; Service.

           

I believe my skills are an excellent match with what you are seeking, and I am excited about the opportunity to work with you.

With your permission, I will like to contact you in the next few weeks to see if we can meet in person. For your review, I have enclosed a resume. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Lee Jin Yuan

Resolving Interpersonal Conflict

The Conflict

James, Alfred and Timothy are project team-mates. As they are good friends, it was ideal for them to work on the project together.

During the initial phase of the project, they were open with each other, providing various ideas during the brainstorming period. However, James and Alfred soon discovered that Timothy was critical about their ideas and was insistent on his idea. James, being one who does not like conflict, tried to compromise. Alfred, on the other hand is more vocal and voiced out his displeasure as Timothy seem to be insistent on his idea and is not open to any other ideas.

As the project continued, Timothy decided to do the project according to his idea while James and Alfred did their respective portions according to their idea. However, being the compromising team member, James took the initiative to link the different ideas together and recommended that should anyone has ideas, they can put it into the document. But Timothy never added any ideas until the submission date of the project proposal. He took out a section of James' portion and added in his portion, which was not being discussed with the group and submitted the proposal.

When James and Alfred found out, they confronted Timothy and got into a heated argument.

Main Problem
The main issue in this interpersonal conflict stems from the lack of open communication between the members in the group. All 3 members are guilty of at least a communication problem. James, was too compromising and did not verbally communicate his disagreement. Alfred, being vocal, did not adapt his choice of words and tone appropriately, hence intimidating Timothy into making a drastic action at the end. Timothy, being insistent on his idea throughout the project, did not exercise good listening skills.

Possible Causes

1. Misperceptions
    Timothy assumed that James agreed with his idea due to Timothy's silence. As such, he decided to
    continue to build on his idea despite Alfred's disagreement.

2. Power Struggle
    It is possible that Timothy is seeking to be the leader of the group. However, given that the group is
    inclined towards a team leadership, Timothy's inclination to be the leader closed him off from the
    group, creating the problem as mentioned above

3. Unwillingness to Disengage
    Alfred's vocal approach at all times towards Timothy might have lead Timothy to adopt the last
    minute change to the proposal because he felt that he was not being heard and his views would
    be rejected.

4. Lack of Compromise
    While James did his best to compromise, the other 2 members did not attempt to do so. Instead, they
    are caught up in their idea and unhappiness respectively. This did not solve any problem but instead
    aggravate it further.

Suggestions
So, if you are in one of this scenario, what is a better option which you will take to remedy the situation according to your personality?

Why Effective Communication Skills are important for You

Communication skills are a language, which includes both verbal and non-verbal means. Verbal means include voice tone, volume and choice of words where non-verbal means include body language, choice of communication channels and etc. Effectiveness is achieved when the receiver and sender of a message communicates on similar understanding of the message.

As the world becomes more and more inter-connected with more human-human interactions, it is essential that one is equipped with effective communication skills, which can reap potential benefits.

      1.     It Eases the Path to Achieving your Professional Goals

Forget the qualifications. Research has found out that communication skills are cited as one of the decisive factors in choosing managers and a main factor attributing to career success. Hence the ability to communicate ideas clearly and effectively allows one to compete effectively, aiding in the progression in one’s career. Furthermore, it allows for effective propagation of ideas to one’s team as one motivates and inspires them to achieving their goals.

      2.     Fosters Good Relationships

Understanding of messages does not only rely on verbal communication but non-verbal communication too. Developing a good awareness of non-verbal communication such as body language results in a better understanding of other people. By determining a suitable tone and communication channel to communicate a message or task, it potentially reduces conflict occurrences and uneasiness, which can promote better relationships between the receiver and the speaker.

      3.     Reduction in Misunderstandings

Effective communication assures that the accuracy and meaning of messages sent to a receiver. An open communication channel between the sender and receiver allows clarification of messages. This results in a reduction in misunderstood messages or unnecessary misunderstandings, which would otherwise be detrimental either on a personal or professional level.