tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22253658520408300472024-03-12T16:17:09.949-07:00Intercultural MagicPost your intercultural experiences here. Feel free to share insights. Find out a bit about yourself in the process and how other cultures tick. That’s the magic and beauty of experiences that educate and enrich.
Visit my website: http://www.cross-culturalsynergies.com/
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14430564786686588913noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2225365852040830047.post-53029105633517006092014-08-18T08:51:00.000-07:002014-09-15T06:19:35.237-07:00Leading and Motivating across Cultures - are leaders ready to deliver?<div>
<span style="size: 2;"><span style="color: magenta;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium;"><strong>A
topnotch HR Survey reports that only 1/3 of leaders reported
</strong></span></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Palatino Linotype;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="size: 2;"><span style="color: magenta;"><span style="color: black;"><strong>being
effective </strong></span></span></span><span style="size: 2;"><span style="color: magenta;"><span style="color: black;"><strong>in
leading across countries and cultures. </strong>Despite this
</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Palatino Linotype;"><span style="font-size: medium;">being
one </span></span><span style="font-family: Palatino Linotype;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="size: 2;"><span style="color: magenta;"><span style="color: black;">of
two skills ranked by HR professionals as most critical
</span></span></span><span style="size: 2;"><span style="color: magenta;"><span style="color: black;">for
the future, </span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Palatino Linotype;"><span style="font-size: medium;">organizations
are not focusing on it in </span></span><span style="size: 2;"><span style="color: magenta;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium;">current
leadership development programmes. </span></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="size: 2;"><span style="color: magenta;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="size: 2;"><span style="color: magenta;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium;">In
fact, only 1 in 5 organizations emphasize development in global
leadership.</span></span></span></div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.slideshare.net/ddiworld/critical-leadershipskills-glf20142015" title="http://www.slideshare.net/ddiworld/critical-leadershipskills-glf20142015"><span style="font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium;">http://www.slideshare.net/ddiworld/critical-leadershipskills-glf20142015</span></a><span style="font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium;"> </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium;"><em>Global Leadership Forecast
2014/2015 </em></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium;"><em><br /></em></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9IDeyoY59mVzyI012yVEEAM9QawluwtivT62qn_4X5meS5GJlhjC3PqeLdxyT-e7bPxCVRGuP4Aw02aDo84_DddBfN3nDcoRQEFzysjNwNAUrV30uExb57vsCt8vdgRtTfg4iTaGeLeuf/s1600/LeadershipAcrossCultures.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9IDeyoY59mVzyI012yVEEAM9QawluwtivT62qn_4X5meS5GJlhjC3PqeLdxyT-e7bPxCVRGuP4Aw02aDo84_DddBfN3nDcoRQEFzysjNwNAUrV30uExb57vsCt8vdgRtTfg4iTaGeLeuf/s1600/LeadershipAcrossCultures.jpg" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium;"><em><br /></em></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium;">A serious situation given that
<u>those that invest in building leaders’ skills</u> in </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium;">the critical areas and whose leaders
are more effective as a result, <u>are 3 times </u></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium;"><u>more </u></span><u style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype'; font-size: large;">likely to rank in the top 20
percent for financial performance.</u><br />
<u style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype'; font-size: large;"><br /></u></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium; size: 2;">In order to lead, a person must be
able to understand the basic motivation </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium; size: 2;">of those being led – their
willingness to exert effort towards a goal. Patterns </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium; size: 2;">of
motivation vary both between individuals and across cultures. </span><span style="font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span style="size: 2;"><u><span style="size: 2;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium;"><em>A case
study (adapted from HBR)</em></span></span></u></span></div>
</div>
<span style="size: 2;">
</span>
<br />
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<u><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium; size: 2;"><em></em></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium; size: 2;"><em>Akito, a Japanese teacher with
an outstanding track record of teaching </em></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium; size: 2;"><em>in a Japanese primary school,
won a scholarship to study at a well-known </em></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium; size: 2;"><em>university in New York. This
included the opportunity to teach part-time, </em></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium; size: 2;"><em>at a local high school,
conducting conversational Japanese lessons with </em></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium; size: 2;"><em>a tenth-grade class of
American students. </em></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium; size: 2;"><em>Being well educated in
Japanese culture and fluent in English, he reasoned </em></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium; size: 2;"><em>that he would be able to
<strong><span style="color: #333333;">get on the same wavelength</span></strong> as the
American teenagers. </em></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium; size: 2;"><em>However on his first day of
teaching, he had difficulty maintaining discipline </em></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium; size: 2;"><em>and getting their attention
when communicating clearly structured class objectives. </em></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium; size: 2;"><em>Transferring his Japanese
teaching experience to the American classroom, </em></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium; size: 2;"><em>he noticed that the teenagers
seemed bored and unwilling to participate. </em></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium; size: 2;"><em>On the way out of class, he
heard one student remark: “Boy, is he uptight! </em></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium; size: 2;"><em>He ought to chill
out.”</em></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium; size: 2;"><em>The problem Akito faces is one
of leadership. <strong>Leadership is the ability to </strong></em></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium; size: 2;"><em><strong>influence other people
to strive willingly to reach common goals</strong>. </em></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium; size: 2;"><em>Akito as the teacher of the
class, is also its leader. It is his job to get the class </em></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium; size: 2;"><em>interested in the common goal
of learning Japanese and influence them to </em></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium; size: 2;"><em>“strive willingly” toward the
goal. </em>To do this, he needs to show them that</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium;">he cares about and understands them, that their success
will also be his. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="size: 2;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Palatino Linotype;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>Why hasn’t he
succeeded?</strong> It seems most likely that his style of leadership
</span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium; size: 2;">was too Japanese to achieve a good
fit with the culture and expectations </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium; size: 2;">of his American students. Japanese
have a <em><strong>higher level of power distance</strong></em> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium; size: 2;">than </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium; size: 2;">Americans and Japanese teachers
very naturally exercise authority over </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium; size: 2;">students. </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium; size: 2;">Japanese children
are much more respectful of their teachers </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium; size: 2;">and more willing to pay attention
without questioning. </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium; size: 2;">American children </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium; size: 2;">expect their </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium; size: 2;">teachers to earn
respect through their actions. </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium; size: 2;">Akito might have </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium; size: 2;">succeeded better </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium; size: 2;">with them had he
been less formal and </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium; size: 2;">taken time to get to </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium; size: 2;">know them before </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium; size: 2;">launching into his
firmly-fixed class </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium; size: 2;">agenda. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="size: 2;"><br /><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium; size: 2;">In the multicultural workplace,
more and more managers find themselves </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium; size: 2;">dealing with followers
</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium; size: 2;">who
are culturally different from themselves (and often </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium; size: 2;">culturally different from each
other). </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium; size: 2;">Using a structured framework
designed to support international teamwork step-by-step, </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium; size: 2px;">I help </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium; size: 2px;">managers to
develop the mindfulness and adaptability skills needed to delegate </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype'; font-size: medium;">tasks, taking into account</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium; size: 2px;"> the diverse
characteristics </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium; size: 2px;">of their followers. By varying </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype'; font-size: medium;">their leadership styles accordingly, they will in the
process acquire the cultural </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype'; font-size: medium;">intelligence necessary to drive and motivate
high-performing teams.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium;">If you would like me to review how your team works,
please feel free to </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium;">contact me.</span></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium;"> We will walk through some of
the </span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype'; font-size: medium;">current challenges you may be facing in leading your
international teams and I will </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype'; font-size: medium;">try to </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype'; font-size: medium;">give you my best</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype'; font-size: medium;"> tips and ideas.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype'; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype'; font-size: medium;">Christina Kwok</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium;">www.cross-culturalsynergies.com</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino Linotype; font-size: medium;">ckwok@bluewin.ch</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14430564786686588913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2225365852040830047.post-69651326020963566702014-08-11T12:09:00.003-07:002014-08-20T07:19:15.060-07:00Getting dysfunctional teams back on track<h2>
<b><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><i>.......................... here's what you can do</i></span></b></h2>
<br />
In business just as in football, great teams know that their performance is not only the result of the individual talents of each team member but is also down to the team captain’s ability to harness the combined skills of the team and to motivate each and every player to capitalize on their strengths while managing their weaknesses. Brazil’s humiliating defeat in the 2014 World Cup Semi-final against Germany is a serious reminder of the havoc that dysfunctional teams can wreak.<br />
<br />
Star attacker Neymar’s inspiration may have been lacking but what hurt even more was the absence of Thiago Silva their captain, without whom the team acted like a ship adrift without a compass with no sense of purpose or direction, mercilessly thrashed around by the wind and waves of unrelenting assault and precision from the German team who with their clear and persistent game plan simply took advantage of the Brazilians as their defense started to crack ...................... In the words of the BBC commentator, <i>“Thiago is the glue that keeps everyone together..................”</i><br />
<br />
How do your teams measure up when it comes to delivering on and exceeding customer expectations? <i>Do you have the 'glue' it takes to get everyone pulling on the same rope? </i>If you have a dysfunctional team, here’s what you need to think about to get your team back on track:<br />
http://www.inc.com/matthew-swyers/7-reasons-good-teams-become-dysfunctional.html<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF6m1mi0ICajDjy1rhROH87W00miCnG7xNR8hTm4ejRk2nxLxylpahoNBxO97ArYenAirw0m2RK-EmFn4dU7svN8i5ZMvNw6ucsDfhJvvCh-6C5oULtybtYjv36Oj81yX2MAWEtDMhieYG/s1600/rowing-pano_16689.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF6m1mi0ICajDjy1rhROH87W00miCnG7xNR8hTm4ejRk2nxLxylpahoNBxO97ArYenAirw0m2RK-EmFn4dU7svN8i5ZMvNw6ucsDfhJvvCh-6C5oULtybtYjv36Oj81yX2MAWEtDMhieYG/s1600/rowing-pano_16689.jpg" height="185" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14430564786686588913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2225365852040830047.post-68131438337544706712014-06-13T07:21:00.001-07:002014-06-13T07:55:52.798-07:00High Context (Western) versus Low Context (Asian) communication Part 2<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: magenta;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: large;">High Context (Western) versus Low Context (Asian) communication Part
2</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em>Implicit communication occurs often in what the anthropologist<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></em></span></span><a href="http://edwardhall.com/"><b><span style="color: windowtext;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><em>Edward Hall</em></span></span></b></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em> </em></span></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em>referred to as <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">high-context
cultures</b>. In such cultures, people leave many things unsaid.
</em></span></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em>The context, made up of the environment, the situation, and the
parties involved, itself </em></span></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em>carries messages that complement the spoken word and make up for the
things that are left </em></span></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em>unsaid. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Malaysian culture
</b>is a <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">high-context culture</b>, as
are the cultures of many Asian and </em></span></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em>Arab nations. <o:p></o:p></em></span></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em>In <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">low-context cultures</b>,
such as <st1:country-region w:st="on"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Switzerland</b></st1:country-region><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>and much of <st1:place w:st="on"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Europe</b></st1:place>, communication is
</em></span></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em>more explicit. Expectations, relationships, and knowledge are
typically made more explicit </em></span></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em>in such cultures. There is less that is assumed to have been
communicated in low-context </em></span></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em>cultures. Thus, an inverse relationship exists between the level of
context and the level </em></span></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em>of verbalized communication<span style="background: white;">.</span></em></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em><span style="background: white;"><br /></span></em></span></span></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://laofutze.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/high-context-low-context-schema.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="288" src="https://laofutze.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/high-context-low-context-schema.gif" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="text-align: center;"> </span><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></i></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
The response of the Malaysian government to
the present MH370 missing plane crisis is a case in point. Australian Prime
Minister Tony Abbott chose to come forward with</div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;">information about satellite imagery of
debris almost immediately, even before it was </span></span></span>confirmed to be relevant to the missing
plane. This alacrity and transparency of response associated with <i>‘low context’ </i>stood in contrast to
<st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Malaysia</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s actions which invited
criticism.</div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;">The way the Malaysian authorities have
handled the communication crisis is in no small </span></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;">part the result of long standing political,
social as well as cultural factors. Typically print </span></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;">and broadcast media channels are tightly
controlled <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and the need to ‘maintain
face’ did </span></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;">not allow <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Malaysia</st1:place></st1:country-region> to
admit how little information it had and its inability to handle such
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;">an unprecedented situation. Malaysian
Airlines has been accused of lack of transparency </span></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;">on various counts: withholding of critical
information about the plane’s course deviation </span></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;">in a timely and relevant manner amongst
others. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: maroon; font-size: small;">In the global business arena,
communication differences also come to the fore. Business
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: maroon; font-size: small;">practices are shaped by
deeply-held cultural attitudes toward work, power, trust, wealth and
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: maroon; font-size: small;">communication. Business
collaboration on complex product specifications and production
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: maroon; font-size: small;">schedules must be mutually
understood and intricate deals between trading partners must be
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: maroon; font-size: small;">negotiated. To overcome the
staggering variety of business styles and conduct successful
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: maroon; font-size: small;">business requires that all
parties recognize the importance on intercultural communication
</span></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: maroon; font-size: small;">skills as we conduct business
in an increasingly multi-polar world economy. </span></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">If you would like to know more about how I can
help your company overcome </span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">hurdles in intercultural communication with your
key Asian business partners,</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">
</span>
</span><br />
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">please feel free to contact me for a free
non-obligatory consultation. </span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">ckwok@bluewin.ch</span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">www.cross-culturalsynergies</span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14430564786686588913noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2225365852040830047.post-73745269724144045392014-06-13T07:16:00.001-07:002014-06-13T07:47:42.337-07:00High Context (Western) versus Low Context (Asian) communication Part 1<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
In a global economy,
understanding and embracing cultural differences is </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
more than a good idea. It’s a
competitive advantage. From sales to </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
manufacturing and customer
service, it’s no secret that better communication </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
equals better business. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
People of western heritage tend to believe that words
are the most </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
important part of a communication
process and are said to belong to a </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<i>‘low context’</i> culture where the mass of
information is vested in the </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
explicit code or the actual
spoken words. But in a <i>‘high context’
</i>culture, </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
words alone do not convey the
whole meaning to a spoken message, </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
most of the information is
embedded in the speaker or the circumstances </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
(context) of the situation and
remain implicit or unspoken.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://assets02.blog.usabilla.com/wp-content/uploads/img3.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://assets02.blog.usabilla.com/wp-content/uploads/img3.png" height="181" width="400" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<em><br /></em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<em><br /></em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<em><br /></em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<em><br /></em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<em><br /></em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<em><br /></em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<em><br /></em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<em><br /></em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<em><br /></em>
<em>Example
dialogue:</em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Four weeks ago, I talked to my
brother, living in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Penang</st1:city>,
<st1:country-region w:st="on">Malaysia</st1:country-region></st1:place> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
on the phone and we discussed
puzzling aspects of the missing </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Malaysian Airlines plane MH 370.
Naturally, I checked with him to see</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
if anyone we knew (relatives,
friends, acquaintances) might have been </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
on that fateful plane.
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Me: <span style="color: blue;">So
do you know if anyone we know was on that flight?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Brother: <span style="color: blue;">No</span>. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Me: <span style="color: blue;">You
don’t know?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Brother: <span style="color: blue;">None, no one we know. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Me: <span style="color: blue;">And
how can you be sure of that?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Brother (<i>surprised at this question</i><span style="color: blue;">): What ………the newspapers are full of it.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Me: <span style="color: blue;">Oh,
you mean the airline has released the
names of people on that plane?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Brother: <span style="color: blue;">Of course.</span> <span style="color: blue;">All the names of
passengers have been published. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: blue;">I’ve
looked through the full list. No one we know. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Me: <span style="color: blue;">I
see ……………..good that they’ve done that. Watching it on CNN, </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: blue;">I had
no idea the local papers had released the names of the passengers. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: blue;">I’m
relieved to hear you say that. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
My brother being typically <i>‘high context’ </i>didn’t offer complete
information up </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
front until he was prodded to do so. He seemed to
assume that the plane’s list </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
of passengers would have been
released around the world. It was up to me to </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
elicit the additional information
with a couple of extra questions. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><strong>Training </strong></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><strong>Cross-Cultural Synergies</strong> combines global
cultural awareness of communication </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">differences such as described above, with proven adult
learning methods to </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">deliver immediate results in the workplace. There is a
growing body of data to </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">support what we see time and time again: diversity
training has the potential to </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">increase productivity, sales, retention and customer
satisfaction. And these </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">benefits ultimately translate into a stronger top and bottom
line. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">ckwok@bluewin.ch</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">www.cross-culturalsynergies.com</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14430564786686588913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2225365852040830047.post-78080959686953657032014-06-13T06:15:00.003-07:002014-06-13T07:46:51.011-07:00Intercultural competence - an integral component of global leadership skills<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">
</span>
<br />
<h3 style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #6a7180; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: grey;"><em>“In addition to extraordinary business
leadership skills,</em></span></span></span> <span style="background-color: white; color: #6a7180; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: grey;"><em>a leader now
</em></span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #6a7180; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: grey;"><em>needs cultural intelligence.</em></span></span></span> <span style="background-color: white; color: #6a7180; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: grey;"><em>Cultural intelligence requires
transcending one's own cultural</em></span></span></span> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #6a7180; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: grey;"><em><span style="font-size: small;">background to interact with diverse
and unknown intelligences”</span></em></span></span></span> </h3>
<h3 style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #6a7180; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: grey;">(E. S. Wibbeke, leader of Fortune 500
firms, in <em>Global Business Leadership, 2009)</em></span></span></span></span></h3>
<h3 style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></h3>
</div>
<h3>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial;"><em>As an intercultural trainer
targeting Swiss multinationals active in China,</em></span><span style="color: blue;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">helping to bridge gaps in
</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">communication styles and values, I
occasionally</span></em></span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial;"><em>run into senior managers who say:
"Leadership training is our top priority</em></span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial;"><em>at the moment, come back to us
later".</em></span></span></h3>
<div>
<b>
</b>
<br />
<div>
<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">
</span></b>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: large;">Become a better leader through
cross-cultural awareness</span></b></span></b></div>
<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">
</span></b></div>
<b>
</b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">Our world is
changing rapidly. You can choose to watch </span></span>from the sidelines, </div>
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">let your competition
steal the march on you or you can decide to actively shape </span><span style="font-size: small;">what will be. To
meet the unique challenges of the 21st century workplace </span><span style="font-size: small;">and remain
competitive, managers need to have the skills necessary to leverage </span><span style="font-size: small;">diversity as a
strength.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.redcliffe.org/Portals/0/Content/Images/Study/Global%20leadership%20190.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.redcliffe.org/Portals/0/Content/Images/Study/Global%20leadership%20190.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;">In making the change
from a functional leadership to a business </span><span style="font-size: small;">leadership position, </span><span style="font-size: small;">managers will need to:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.3in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .3in; text-indent: -0.3in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font-size: small;">Þ</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: small;">develop and implement business strategies </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.3in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .3in; text-indent: -0.3in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font-size: small;">Þ</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: small;">integrate the work of multiple functions to achieve superior business
results </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.3in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .3in; text-indent: -0.3in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font-size: small;">Þ</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: small;">design and structure business units and build cross-functional teams to
deliver results. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The majority of
these teams are likely to be cross-cultural in nature given the </span><span style="font-size: small;">increasingly diverse
workforce, and the fact that diversity brings innovation, </span><span style="font-size: small;">fresh perspective
and creative problem-solving to a dynamic workplace.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;">In order to take
advantage of these cultural synergies, managers need to examine </span><span style="font-size: small;">their own frame of
reference through which they view the world and actively seek </span><span style="font-size: small;">to broaden it in
order to build effective work groups and create an inclusive work </span><span style="font-size: small;">environment. This
contributes to better employee relations and happier employees.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Ability to assess
the competitive environment and take account of multiple stakeholders </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">(governments,
regulators, customers, suppliers, employees) of necessarily different </span><span style="font-size: small;">cultural backgrounds
and value systems, is necessary to create a vision and strategy </span><span style="font-size: small;">for a complete
business. Benefits to customers and stakeholders ultimately spill over </span><span style="font-size: small;">into top as well as bottom line
results for your organization.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;">As a CEO, leading
change in your organization and developing capabilities to influence, </span><span style="font-size: small;">negotiate,
communicate and manage conflict can only be effective if employees and </span><span style="font-size: small;">stakeholders feel
listened to, respected and valued for their diverse contributions. </span><span style="font-size: small;">This is all part and
parcel of developing your strengths in personal leadership </span><span style="font-size: small;">and becoming a 21st
century business leader that inspires change in others.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;">ckwok@bluewin.ch</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">www.cross-culturalsynergies.com</span></div>
</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14430564786686588913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2225365852040830047.post-52699672685354184062014-04-28T11:03:00.004-07:002014-04-28T11:05:50.798-07:00Task before relationship or relationship before task?<h2>
<span style="color: magenta; font-size: 19px;">Task before relationship or relationship before task?</span></h2>
<h2>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">In the era of global
business, cultural insensitivity is not only foolish, it’s expensive. We may
hide behind the notion that </span><i style="font-size: 14pt;">“business is
business”</i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> the world over but in an increasingly crowded marketplace, the
seller who doesn’t understand how his or her customers think doesn’t stand a
chance.</span></span></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjofGeViyrwLHzPP8n5tSfJMlCLq226fZsGDf_Ar4r8gw1N13_8qGO7Y_0tDjjIsveZWguKiGqACbt3Oc3R0N6rFbjhUEM4VdslrsbddHu8_gh3nBsSSgAa1kL2cF6tl0VoL2kAcKLBUML1/s1600/TASK+AND+RELATIONSHIP+CONFLICT1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjofGeViyrwLHzPP8n5tSfJMlCLq226fZsGDf_Ar4r8gw1N13_8qGO7Y_0tDjjIsveZWguKiGqACbt3Oc3R0N6rFbjhUEM4VdslrsbddHu8_gh3nBsSSgAa1kL2cF6tl0VoL2kAcKLBUML1/s1600/TASK+AND+RELATIONSHIP+CONFLICT1.jpeg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">A tight schedule</span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Mr. Abu Bakar: Mr. Müller,
how good to see you. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Mr.
Müller: Nice to see you again, Hassan.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Mr. Abu Bakar: Tell me, how
have you been?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Mr. Müller: Very well, thank you. And you?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Mr. Abu Bakar: Fine, fine.
Allah be praised. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Mr.
Müller: I really appreciate your
agreeing to see me about these<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> distribution
arrangements.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Mr. Abu Bakar: My pleasure.
So tell me: how was your trip? Did you <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> come direct or did
you have a stopover?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 93.75pt; text-indent: -93.75pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Mr. Müller: No
stopover this time. I’m on a tight schedule. That’s why I’m so grateful you
could see me on such short notice. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 93.75pt; text-indent: -93.75pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Mr. Abu Bakar: Not at all.
How is my good friend, <st1:city w:st="on">Mr.</st1:city> Wilson?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Mr. Müller: Oh, fine, fine. He’s been very busy with
this distribution <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">
problem also. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Mr. Abu Bakar: You know, you
have come at an excellent time. Tomorrow<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> Is the
Prophet’s birthday – blessings and peace be upon Him – <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> and we’re having a special feast at my
home. I’d like you to be <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> our
guest. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Mr. Müller: Thank you very much. Now about these
plans ……. ?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Mr. Müller has a rather
narrow notion of what one talks about at a “business meeting”. He tries to come
right to the point – the question of the distribution arrangements. Mr. Abu
Bakar seems to be more interested in the social side of things - there’s more to meetings than doing business.
For him, after all, building strong personal rapport with partners is the
essential foundation for a successful business undertaking. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">From Mr. Müller’s point of
view, business is business and should not be mixed with socializing activities.
From the Arab point of view though, a firm distinction between the professional
and the personal is <i>unnatural. </i>An
increase in cultural sensitivity and change in attitudes on both sides will
certainly help to alleviate a potential conflict from further escalating. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14430564786686588913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2225365852040830047.post-45166377617917763002013-11-21T07:32:00.000-08:002013-11-21T07:32:54.721-08:00Pedestrian crossings in Shanghai are not for the fainthearted …….<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4bpMrWDnCBRr9Pj_cd47ZPn4BDAGdV1K_0Nc-yRHAT7J6htqhZYbSfGqBRbj-5xeBSpkACu7KOOAqS3-jAOaJbPZnpzXNDBr_4lntTYNT_FJsbZ9_gAa8UZij3X_BIn88I2L7emY552Qs/s1600/New+Picture+(1).png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4bpMrWDnCBRr9Pj_cd47ZPn4BDAGdV1K_0Nc-yRHAT7J6htqhZYbSfGqBRbj-5xeBSpkACu7KOOAqS3-jAOaJbPZnpzXNDBr_4lntTYNT_FJsbZ9_gAa8UZij3X_BIn88I2L7emY552Qs/s400/New+Picture+(1).png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial;">There are lots of zebra crossings on busy roads in </span><st1:city style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial;" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Shanghai</st1:place></st1:city><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial;"> and it was an experience in itself,
crossing them safely. Legally, pedestrians have the right of way on crossing,
however few drivers will actually go the mile and stop for them. As a pedestrian,
I am outraged that traffic police are remiss in reminding inconsiderate
motorists that people have right of way at the crossings, not cars!! That they
are supposed to slow down, yield and avoid us, </span><b style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial;">not</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial;"> us them. Establish a regime of severe fines and tough penalties,
I say, to make the roads safe for us all and to make drivers think twice about
their selfish and reckless behavior that puts us all at risk. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial;">
<span style="background: white;"> </span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Mustering up my courage one afternoon, I decided
to put what I believed into practice: just like any well-trained citizen in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Switzerland</st1:place></st1:country-region>, I
was going to put first one foot on the crossing, then the other foot to signal
to oncoming motorists of my intention to cross and expect that they would slow
down and stop for me. I told myself it’s my right to adopt a leisurely pace of
crossing without cowering in fear as to whether they would actually stop nor
should I be racing across to the other side worrying about being run over by
cars that didn’t slow down. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial;"><span style="background: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial;">Well …………I survived to tell the tale but the truth is that, they didn’t
stop, they barely noticeably braked ………
they would have run me right over if my sister, a 3-year resident,
hadn’t simply grabbed my arm and dragged me across the road with her each time
I chose to linger …………</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial;"><br />
<br /><span style="background: white;">It is no wonder that road accidents are
the highest cause of death in China!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial;">Footnote: <o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial;">Admittedly the above image is showing something a bit different from
what I described, it seems to suggest that pedestrians themselves are breaking
the law crossing against a red light (which does happen too often enough) but
actually there are not always traffic lights at crossings in Shanghai or if
there are, motorists ignore them at the expense of pedestrians crossing on
green. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Visit my website: </span><a href="http://www.cross-culturalsynergies.com/"><span style="font-size: medium;">www.cross-culturalsynergies.com</span></a></span></span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14430564786686588913noreply@blogger.com0Neuenhof, Switzerland47.449546899999987 8.327458999999976247.406590899999991 8.246777999999976 47.492502899999984 8.4081399999999764tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2225365852040830047.post-5969305252381769222013-08-24T08:41:00.002-07:002013-11-21T07:32:19.646-08:00Travel touts in Beijing City<span style="font-size: 14pt;">I stayed at the Novotel
Beijing Hotel, which is supposedly a stone’s throw from TianAnMen Square and
the </span><st1:place style="font-size: 14pt;" w:st="on">Forbidden City</st1:place><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> (both are side by side) so
I thought I would brave the busy streets to get there on foot. But after
walking for more than half an hour, my destination seemed to be still out of
sight. A man on a scooter pulling a tiny one-seat wagon (resembling a tut tut
in </span><st1:place style="font-size: 14pt;" w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Bangkok</st1:city></st1:place><span style="font-size: 14pt;">) beckoned
to me to ask me where I was</span><br />
<div>
<span data-mce-style="color: #0000ff;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span data-mce-style="color: #0000ff;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBJMrKlvC9aIPcoJX8MnPAJREw91FIVZQ09-QQUXAv_8CZk3y93KFvrCaFCiQCfBpHT3VYtEzSXVWhUQ2M4hd3K8ZEvLK0C8lDbbOVkWw3OX7DY9Q36LR_vcotayH-N289bn-i1Ry93-cP/s1600/New+Picture.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBJMrKlvC9aIPcoJX8MnPAJREw91FIVZQ09-QQUXAv_8CZk3y93KFvrCaFCiQCfBpHT3VYtEzSXVWhUQ2M4hd3K8ZEvLK0C8lDbbOVkWw3OX7DY9Q36LR_vcotayH-N289bn-i1Ry93-cP/s1600/New+Picture.png" /></a></span><br />
<br />
<span data-mce-style="color: #0000ff;">
going. As soon as I told him, he offered me 30 Yuan
to take me there. It seemed like a reasonable price so I agreed and hopped onto
the vehicle although not without some apprehension as I wondered how this
flimsy contraption would manoevre itself through the heavy traffic of cars,
trucks and other vehicles which crowded the streets. Then I realized he was
taking us through a bunch of back alleys and smaller streets and I heaved a
sigh of (<i>unsuspecting</i>) relief. All
roads lead to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Rome</st1:city></st1:place>
and as long as he gets me there in one piece …….. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Finally he stopped in the
middle of a back street and indicated to me I was to get out here while he
waved with his hand in the not too far distance as to how I would arrive at the
Square the rest of the way. I got off and proceeded to pay him the 30 Yuan.
With a look of utter disbelief, he gave me to understand that the fare was 300
Yuan. I was aghast and started to argue in Mandarin, hoping to impress upon him
that I was part local. Unperturbed he held out a card on which was printed
prices for various destinations and he pointed to the fare of 300 Yuan listed
for the <st1:place w:st="on">Forbidden City</st1:place>. Now I started getting
angry and insisted that he had offered me 30 Yuan earlier. He remained adamant
and I could see that he was getting angry with me too and he threw out some
broken English expressions to indicate that I had misheard him. Not to be
outdone, I reminded him that perhaps he should have shown me the fare card
earlier to avoid any serious misunderstanding.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">I considered paying him the
30 Yuan and walking away but worried that he might chase after me and that he
might get violent. Then I looked down the backstreet and noticed a couple
walking towards us. I ran up to them to beg them for help after explaining what
had happened. By now, the driver had miraculously dropped his price to 100 Yuan
and insisted that was what he was wanting me to pay. The man and woman who were
trying to intercede on my behalf, suggested to me that it was not an
unreasonable price to pay after all. Tired of all the squabbling, I finally
gave in and paid the driver 100 Yuan. A lesson learnt indeed, next time, I
would best take a cab (20-30 Yuan) or jump on a bus (1 Yuan) instead. Through
the internet, I understood later that an American male tourist had suffered the
same fate and gotten roughed up a bit by the driver before he finally parted
with 300 Y.<span style="color: blue;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Visit my website: </span><a href="http://www.cross-culturalsynergies.com/"><span style="font-size: medium;">www.cross-culturalsynergies.com</span></a></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14430564786686588913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2225365852040830047.post-77188544195503145922013-08-24T08:36:00.000-07:002013-11-21T07:32:41.406-08:00STORIES STORIES ADVENTURES IN CHINA STORIES STORIES<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7ybQv9bTSUCCjcY9cCgEMoRS1X8GarRPlPyEO6GsvrTrvTc-cpwN96ljLnZASAf6uIYSmC_d2Unz3XNygyKQz7BbGqo5mjJ8wXXsVimQ0iKrxUT-6GcQ6V8HvEOsdDizJEiDWsC4drx6u/s1600/IMG_0413R.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7ybQv9bTSUCCjcY9cCgEMoRS1X8GarRPlPyEO6GsvrTrvTc-cpwN96ljLnZASAf6uIYSmC_d2Unz3XNygyKQz7BbGqo5mjJ8wXXsVimQ0iKrxUT-6GcQ6V8HvEOsdDizJEiDWsC4drx6u/s320/IMG_0413R.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Forbidden City, Beijing</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b><i><span lang="EN-GB">STORIES
STORIES <span style="color: red;">ADVENTURES IN <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">CHINA</st1:country-region></st1:place> </span>STORIES STORIES</span></i></b><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">My
summer holidays<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This summer on my way back to <st1:country-region w:st="on">Malaysia</st1:country-region> where my family lives, I decided to
first spend 2 weeks visiting my sister in <st1:city w:st="on">Shanghai</st1:city>
and take the opportunity to do some further sightseeing in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Beijing</st1:place></st1:city> and Xian. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">It’s also partly about reconnecting with the language
and my Chinese heritage and perhaps getting to see how the Chinese live their
daily lives. Are the jokes and stories they tell, the values and wisdoms they
cherish or the customs and traditions they practise, in tune with that of
generations of Chinese who emigrated and now live in southeast Asia? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">It has always been a big surprise to me to discover
that China celebrates all the same major festivals as we, Malaysian Chinese do,
such as the Spring Festival or Chinese Lunar Year, QingMing to honour our dead
ancestors, Dumpling festival or Dragon Boat festival and the Mid Autumn
festival, all of which are occasions surrounded by rich legends, folkloric
tales and accompanied by unique features and celebration forms. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" class="MsoNormalTable">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><b>Shanghai</b></st1:place></st1:city><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I had previously visited <st1:state w:st="on">Guangdong</st1:state>
and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Shanghai</st1:city></st1:place>
many years ago. This time around, I can see that the skyline of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Shanghai</st1:place></st1:city> has changed
dramatically. T<span style="background: white;">he days of opium dens and trading
houses on the Bund have been replaced with a modern, supersized metropolis
whose skyline reaches higher every day.<span class="apple-converted-space"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">There are hundreds of new skyscrapers everywhere with
25+ story apartments or office blocks containing new malls, clubs, boutiques,
offices and new ones are sprouting up all the time. It feels like <st1:place w:st="on">Hong Kong</st1:place> all over, (at least three times more), what
with a population of 23 million people, of whom 90 percent live in officially
defined urban areas. The rising population density makes Shanghai now one of the
most crowded megacities in the world. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><st1:city w:st="on">Shanghai</st1:city> is
<st1:country-region w:st="on">China</st1:country-region>’s financial and
cultural powerhouse, and being located where the Yangtze Kiang flows into the
sea, has made it an important trading and commercial port for <st1:country-region w:st="on">Great Britain</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">France</st1:country-region>,
US and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Germany</st1:place></st1:country-region>
since the 19<sup>th</sup> century. This frontier and commercial spirit is still
alive and attracts people to live and work in this vibrant, ever-expanding
megalopolis.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeOoBxV-gQCezjpKcFpEEFD_lBvBfPMQbDzv3btLZJcqVAMNDtkNH_ln6B50JRkN6CZAv6Oq4JWw50h3BRxKlrP5EvOlWSwGUVXIdoZtBKUbqvsoYORXeWa5PGGj9sztIqI80J7DLkswTM/s1600/IMG_0843r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeOoBxV-gQCezjpKcFpEEFD_lBvBfPMQbDzv3btLZJcqVAMNDtkNH_ln6B50JRkN6CZAv6Oq4JWw50h3BRxKlrP5EvOlWSwGUVXIdoZtBKUbqvsoYORXeWa5PGGj9sztIqI80J7DLkswTM/s320/IMG_0843r.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The picturesques Bund, Shanghai</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Efforts have been made to protect ancient historical
parts of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Shanghai</st1:place></st1:city>
such as Zhujiajiao, Xintiandi and Tianzifang so as to preserve the charm of the
old city. However the city is generally vast and dense and open, green space is
becoming a premium. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.45pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The historic city of <st1:city w:st="on">Hangzhou</st1:city>, a popular summer residence for emperors, is a popular weekend getaway only 45 minutes
from <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Shanghai</st1:city></st1:place>
on the high-speed train. The area near the city’s famous <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">West</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Lake</st1:placetype></st1:place>
was made a Unesco World Heritage site in June. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.45pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.45pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Escaping the smog and urban
stress of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Shanghai</st1:place></st1:city>,
we spent a nice and relaxing afternoon there, against the backdrop of a gorgeous lake ringed by lazy willows and bamboos, surrounded by gardens laid
out in imperial grandeur interrupted by shady pavilions and pagodas.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5OYr22S8IR7oBt7IhXNhiiKIYSUrhmTAGbPEHik4dXaROyKxYllNp-a5F6kWh8fPTMkHJZIjxyapl-aFbyCvcKlpFnITSdjfD6h9tYRikQj6LkR-1olGY9wIc5EJjyxMpsmEKnVNq3Dl9/s1600/IMG_0765r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5OYr22S8IR7oBt7IhXNhiiKIYSUrhmTAGbPEHik4dXaROyKxYllNp-a5F6kWh8fPTMkHJZIjxyapl-aFbyCvcKlpFnITSdjfD6h9tYRikQj6LkR-1olGY9wIc5EJjyxMpsmEKnVNq3Dl9/s200/IMG_0765r.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Imperial Gardens, Hangzhou</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.45pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.45pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Shanghai</st1:place></st1:city> didn’t make it into the Top 50 cities in the Mercer
Quality of Living Study 2012. The city is struggling with problems typical of
life in other Chinese megacities such as that of Beijing (popn: 18 mil.) and
Xian (popn: 8.5 mil.): smog & haze (40 times the limit deemed safe by WHO),
acid rain, water pollution, noise, housing shortage, exploding real estate
prices and gridlocked traffic most times of the day in spite of an extensive
public transport network. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.45pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.45pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Additionally, there is much
public anxiety over food safety and environmental pollution which are chronic
problems in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region>.
In March, 20,000 dead pigs were found floating in the Huangpu river, a source
of drinking water for <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Shanghai</st1:place></st1:city>.
Days later, thousands of dead ducks were washed up on the Nanhe riverbank in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Sichuan</st1:place></st1:state>. Then in May,
authorities arrested 900 people on suspicion of spicing up and selling rat, fox
and mink meat as fake lamb rolls at markets in Shanghai that are frequented by
tourists. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.45pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.45pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s
food-safety problems highlight both the collapse of the country’s business
ethics and the failure of government regulators to keep pace with the expanding
market economy. Yet an excessive focus on poor government oversight often means
that the much graver problem of disintegrating civic morality is neglected.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.45pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.45pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Confucianism
and Communism acted as restraints on commercial dealings in the past and served
as a moral check on people’s behavior. Researchers suggest this has now been
replaced by materialism, a consequence of the Cultural Revolution on the former
and the effects of the Reform Era on the latter. The revival of capitalism
ushered in by Deng Xiao Ping has been driven entirely by the unrelenting
pursuit of wealth and even led to short-term interest in profiteering at the
expense of community welfare. (Never mind, what Geert Hofstede says about <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region> being top
of the list for longterm orientation) This single-minded pursuit of material
interests in the absence of a well-developed regulatory framework and the rule
of law, is now threatening <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s
moral baseline. In a recent online survey, more than half the respondents said
that they did not think that complying with ethical standards was a necessary
condition for success. <span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.45pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.45pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Icons of Chinese civilization,
Beijing</span></span></b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<b><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.45pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.45pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGQnF58mNj7iEY0K29f7u1n6JtKXhSmY9yMj4JhiOLKvnFfU12lv5R0YBT56ZDyb50OCLyxhEdUusuGMZJf35lICgBF2Iv_y54CftU1LLSQY4n_4vIDI1QgAsYPMYWyzSdZX0NcqWI9p28/s1600/IMG_0274r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGQnF58mNj7iEY0K29f7u1n6JtKXhSmY9yMj4JhiOLKvnFfU12lv5R0YBT56ZDyb50OCLyxhEdUusuGMZJf35lICgBF2Iv_y54CftU1LLSQY4n_4vIDI1QgAsYPMYWyzSdZX0NcqWI9p28/s320/IMG_0274r.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Great Wall Pagodas and courtyard</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Climbing
the Great Wall of China was an extraordinary experience when you consider that
this bastion of defense has stayed intact in many places since it was built
around 250 BC and stretches over 5,600 km. However it did not succeed in
keeping out the Mongols and the Manchus from the north in the 13<sup>th</sup>
and 17<sup>th</sup> centuries. Unfortunately it was a foggy morning and the
wall quickly disappeared in a shroud of thick mist by mid-day, denying us the
much vaunted panoramic view for miles around.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9LpkjW_KmSslPNJcrtfdshI_Jrsni7KHse1agZqi2dMY0RvRLd-NfBnk5mgS8RyYTyM6OvCkJ65X9urVh1vjckmvw4kEbl9oFvSSsD-kBf-4kIrHakxrQ4By-ku_953GkGeeEhR0DObei/s1600/IMG_0243R.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9LpkjW_KmSslPNJcrtfdshI_Jrsni7KHse1agZqi2dMY0RvRLd-NfBnk5mgS8RyYTyM6OvCkJ65X9urVh1vjckmvw4kEbl9oFvSSsD-kBf-4kIrHakxrQ4By-ku_953GkGeeEhR0DObei/s320/IMG_0243R.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A misty morning at the Great Wall, JuYongGuan Pass</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.45pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The
<st1:place w:st="on">Forbidden City</st1:place> with its cluster of ancient
buildings and 10,000 rooms containing priceless furniture and works of art is
another sight to behold, representing the largest and best-preserved imperial
residences of the Ming and Qing dynasties between 1368 – 1911.</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.45pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.45pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Across
from the Forbidden City, we walked over to <st1:place w:st="on">TianAnMen
Square</st1:place>,</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">a vast desert of paving stones at the heart of <st1:city w:st="on">Beijing</st1:city> and a poignant epitaph to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">China</st1:country-region></st1:place>’s hapless democracy movement
of 1989.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1w7QKQFyBzLlX4v5D8it7LlRSjvdxqK29AL1GR_ifGRchnw7DWDgIMLW-LvPsS6G41EIZ5yrJ65eZPnEVhxIEIa10LmqjGZ4akaQxrCxCAl-yF91BrBFMReZR6n7x0dDU7n1j91-BoBeY/s1600/IMG_0227R.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1w7QKQFyBzLlX4v5D8it7LlRSjvdxqK29AL1GR_ifGRchnw7DWDgIMLW-LvPsS6G41EIZ5yrJ65eZPnEVhxIEIa10LmqjGZ4akaQxrCxCAl-yF91BrBFMReZR6n7x0dDU7n1j91-BoBeY/s320/IMG_0227R.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">MaoZeDong Mausoleum at TianAnMen Square</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Terracotta
army, Xian<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Known as the eighth wonder of the world, this Qin Shi
Huang Mausoleum is located at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">Mount</st1:placetype>
<st1:placename w:st="on">Li</st1:placename></st1:place>, Lintong District,
Xian. The emperor having united <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region>
for the first time wanted to distinguish himself from his ancestors and so
singled out his tomb and ordered all of his belongings to be buried with him.
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuSCssGQb5cOUo9AvUW787w-xR86dgCMUySdxB3nmG-1z2g4EHgxDuh5C62S66rNUXQLEoMPuXhYHrm98jq7iK492QLJVpOOOPR7YmNDod8PilMFYtHAprjMvxrxaQVs3SNQVhbkGwKwGP/s1600/IMG_0502R.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuSCssGQb5cOUo9AvUW787w-xR86dgCMUySdxB3nmG-1z2g4EHgxDuh5C62S66rNUXQLEoMPuXhYHrm98jq7iK492QLJVpOOOPR7YmNDod8PilMFYtHAprjMvxrxaQVs3SNQVhbkGwKwGP/s320/IMG_0502R.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stepping 2300 years back in time</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The relics in the mausoleum, with over 7000 warriors, horses and 90 bronze
chariots, are estimated to be 78 times the size of the <st1:place w:st="on">Forbidden
City</st1:place> and represent the finest aspects of the Qin civilization as
well as the largest collection of its kind in the world.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVZA3uq6PjkswFYTRt7CK9q4pOm_58XN4_KM53yEufPajYuLO5HPWF9pVNpPe7Iz9f_G9uQzNX0BBUsTx7ImKWueTMzj1CdI6vgqnXTPT410i4DKzXVdqqC39CSqkHuUHyi-5jt_A8DeYv/s1600/IMG_0587R.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVZA3uq6PjkswFYTRt7CK9q4pOm_58XN4_KM53yEufPajYuLO5HPWF9pVNpPe7Iz9f_G9uQzNX0BBUsTx7ImKWueTMzj1CdI6vgqnXTPT410i4DKzXVdqqC39CSqkHuUHyi-5jt_A8DeYv/s320/IMG_0587R.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sights & Sounds of Tang Dynasty</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Given the chance to grab a snapshot amongst these
soldiers dating from the late 3<sup>rd</sup> Century BC, I could not resist.
The momentary feeling of walking back several centuries in time and imagining
various epic battle scenes, is as overwhelming as viewing the Pyramids of Egypt
or the Valley of the Kings and <st1:place w:st="on">Queens</st1:place>.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.45pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Challenges of urbanization<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.45pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">From <st1:city w:st="on">Shanghai</st1:city>
to <st1:city w:st="on">Beijing</st1:city> to <st1:city w:st="on">Kuala Lumpur</st1:city>
and <st1:place w:st="on">Penang</st1:place>, our cities are becoming
increasingly urbanized and being transformed to concrete jungles, compared to
20 or 30 years ago. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.45pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.45pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The rapid process of
urbanization brings with it different ecological, economical and social
problems and risks. These impacts cause challenges for urban policies and urban
planning strategies to manage the development in a sustainable way, when
populations double every 10 to 15 years as in many Asian cities. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.45pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.45pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Studies predict that by 2025,
our Asian cities which presently house a quarter of the world’s population and
around half its urban population, would contain around a third of the world’s
total population. The increase in the number of automobiles has made the
simplest and shortest of trips by car, a stressful and time-consuming journey
wherever we go, it seems.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: 15.45pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Like a lot of people, I
wonder if the mad race to catch up with the rest of the developed world in
terms of economic prosperity and modern lifestyle isn’t exacting a huge price
on our resources, quality of life and our ability to achieve sustainable
growth. Will it be possible to reverse course and favor a saner approach to
planning and growing before it’s too late?</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Visit my website: </span><a href="http://www.cross-culturalsynergies.com/"><span style="font-size: medium;">www.cross-culturalsynergies.com</span></a></span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14430564786686588913noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2225365852040830047.post-13931546458383693872013-08-23T12:04:00.001-07:002013-08-24T09:30:39.101-07:00Taxi Mafia in Xian<div class="MsoNormal">
<strong><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;">Taxi Mafia in Xian</span></strong><strong><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial;"> </span></strong></div>
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial;">After spending 2 days in Xian, on my way
back to the airport, I had figured out that I could take the airport shuttle
bus which stopped outside the Melody Hotel downtown, opposite the stunning <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Drum</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Tower</st1:placetype></st1:place>
for 27 Yuan. With a flight at 11:30 AM, I had allowed myself plenty of time to
get to the airport, only an hour’s ride from town centre. So arriving at the
bus stand at 07:30 that morning, I was about to get in line in the queue of
passengers waiting to board the next bus leaving for the airport.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial;"><br />
<span style="background: white;"> </span><br />
<span style="background: white;">I was stopped by a woman and a man who asked me
what time my plane was. I told them and the woman wrung her hands in
desperation as she informed me that the shuttle bus would never get me there on
time, that it took the better of 2 hours at the very least to arrive at the
airport and that traffic was very bad THAT morning. I was stunned as I was sure
I had allowed plenty of time, from having talked to the staff at my hotel
earlier.</span><br />
<span style="background: white;"> </span><br />
<span style="background: white;">The woman then signaled to a plain vehicle
standing nearby, suggesting that I HAD better take a cab instead for 50 Yuan,
sharing with 3 others. Thoroughly confused and bewildered at this turn of
events, I didn’t think to walk back up to the people handling the shuttlebus
passengers to get their version of things. I just stood by the roadside,
forlorn and dismayed, at the thought of having to take a cab which was not only
more expensive but less interesting for me than to be with a bunch of
passengers in a big bus.</span><br />
<span style="background: white;"> </span><br />
<span style="background: white;">After much hesitation and reflection, I decided
it was best to take the woman’s advice and headed over to the unlicensed cab
which was waiting with 2 other Chinese passengers who had also been fed the
same story as me, that they wouldn’t arrive at the airport in time for their
flights. I found it quite difficult to believe that the 2 chinese locals were
not more discriminating or skeptical about the story we had been fed. We were
being scammed, I was sure of it but what could I reasonably do about it?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">As it finally turned out, we got to the airport
in just under an hour, which meant I had a 2-hour wait before my domestic
flight back to <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Shanghai</st1:place></st1:city>.
I have posted my experience on the internet to warn unsuspecting travellers for
the future. </span></span><b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 28px; text-align: justify;">Visit my website: </span><a href="http://www.cross-culturalsynergies.com/" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.3s; background-color: #fafafa; color: #009eb8; display: inline; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 28px; outline: none; text-align: justify; transition: color 0.3s;">http://www.cross-culturalsynergies.com/</a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14430564786686588913noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2225365852040830047.post-50602043400126424892013-02-14T16:05:00.000-08:002013-08-23T12:17:23.036-07:00Chinese New Year 2013<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Chinese Lunar New Year of the Snake went off with a bang around the world on Sunday February 10 as fireworks erupted with furious intensity and filled the sky. This occasion is notably celebrated not only in <st1:country-region w:st="on">China</st1:country-region> but by millions of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>overseas Chinese residents from North America to South America, and from <st1:country-region w:st="on">Australia</st1:country-region> to <st1:place w:st="on">Asia</st1:place>. </div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">But in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Beijing</st1:place></st1:city> the celebrations were notably muted, following government appeals to reduce air pollution which had risen to near catastrophic levels in recent weeks in the run-up to the annual Lunar New Year fireworks. <br /><br />Setting off fireworks to celebrate renewal and ward off evil spirits is a traditional part of the celebration that marks <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">China</st1:country-region></st1:place>'s most important family holiday. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Also known as the Spring Festival, which is based on the Lunisolar Chinese calendar, the Chinese Lunar New Year of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the Snake is celebrated from the first day of the first month of the lunar year and ends with Lantern Festival on the 15th day. In countries like Malaysia, Indonesia or Vietnam where Chinese count as ethnic minorities, the celebrations are officially recognized with one or two public holidays although Chinese-owned businesses will normally shut down for a week to ten days, this being the most significant festival of the year. </span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;">What will the New Year bring for Chinese?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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In <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region>, snakes tend to end up in medicine cabinets or on the dinner table. If you are interested in knowing what the year brings for you, you can consult an astrologer who referring to the Five Elements (Metal, Water, Wood, Fire and Earth) theory, will predict your fortune and fortell what will happen in your life in the Water Snake year.</div>
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According to various fortune tellers, 2013 is a year of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">yin Water </i>over <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fire,</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fire </i>is the element of happiness so that will bring confidence to people and facilitate an economic recovery. It’s also said to be a good year for starting families as snake babies will find it easier to make friends or work for a good boss. </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">How to greet Chinese friends and visitors</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></div>
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The traditional greeting is: <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Xing Nian Kuai Le </i></b>(Mandarin) or <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Gung Hei Fatt Choi</i></b> (Cantonese) to kick off the Year of the Snake. It means: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">May the New Year bring you joy, happiness and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>prosperity. <o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">Demonstrating sensitivity<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: 'ITC Franklin Gothic Std Book';">These days, managing successful partnerships with Chinese companies requires continued engagement, pragmatism and focus. Differences in culture, experience, and management practices mean that each side needs to pay systematic and explicit attention to clarity of communication and trust-building between the partners. Many partnerships have foundered and others will certainly do so in the future—be it from conflicting objectives, lack of mutual understanding, sheer cultural distance, or lack of effective follow-through on change management. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: 'ITC Franklin Gothic Std Book';">If you are a global team leader, show sensitivity towards your Chinese colleagues when organizing phone conferences or international meetings at Headquarters and make efforts not to schedule them during important holidays like Chinese New Year.</span><br />
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<u><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">A case in point</span></u><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">: a well-established global company with significant presence in the Chinese market, decided to hold one of their global meetings at a time coinciding with the Chinese New Year celebrations. Apparently they had checked with their Chinese colleagues who numbered about 10 in all whilst the rest of the global managers numbered about 30. The Chinese had not raised any public objections about the date to HQ but it was learned in private that not all participants were happy about having to travel to <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New York</st1:place></st1:state>, spending the most important holiday of the year away from their families. </span><br />
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">There are numerous incidents where team members located in Asian countries routinely attend phone conferences late into their evenings. Why? Because their colleagues in headquarters are located more than 10 hours behind. Wanting to maintain politeness and harmony means that they will almost always acquiese to the inconvenient scheduling. At the same time, they are most likely to accompany that willingness with an exasperated shake of the head and ‘but-I-can’t-really-believe-they’re-actually-asking-me-to-do-this’ type of disbelief.</span><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;">What to do different<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">If China is indeed one of the critical parts of your organization, isn’t it about time you do something about Chinese New Year as the Chinese have done for you on Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving or <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Halloween? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Extrapolate the same spirit to your day-to-day interaction with your Chinese counterparts.</span><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Respect differences and cultivate knowledge of your teammates’ cultures<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Whilst different cultures vary in how they show respect, following some general rules for leading and managing cross-cultural teams should help you to score points and lead to positive results:<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">Þ<span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Learn at least one fact about every team member’s culture<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">Þ<span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Acknowledge cultural differences and remind teammates to respect them<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">Þ<span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Do not overgeneralize or attribute characteristics of a given culture to individuals<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">Þ<span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Demonstrate flexibility and try to find middle ground and compromise when potential points of conflict surface<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">Þ<span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Watch or read the news from your team members’ countries of origin. Discuss cultural topics with your teammates to better understand different viewpoints<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">Þ<span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Become aware of the traditional festivals of your virtual teammates. Send an e-card or e-greeting to convey your well wishes. Send virtual gifts. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">Þ<span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Respect different time zones when scheduling virtual meetings. Honor as much as possible everyone’s availability and time preferences. </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14430564786686588913noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2225365852040830047.post-2882346471677006642012-09-29T15:08:00.001-07:002013-08-23T12:17:55.496-07:00Plane crashes linked to a cultural dimension?<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Can cultural issues cause planes to crash?</b> <span class="googqs-tidbitgoogqs-tidbit-0"><span style="color: black;">Malcolm Gladwell — </span></span><span style="color: black;">the wild-haired pop intellectual of “Tipping Point” fame — says yes, and dedicates a whole chapter to the subject in “Outliers: The Story of Success,” the book he<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>published in 2008. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihwfAPInoyXvOlmAE3zshnWAyibpTKlUjMdEHH54fExc_09JwGpSfv7MP0XhXt6LsS8IM9X9AokUempCBMNATWsMfrZVp44PUN_wUOtV3CorJEJKqVLcB_nvxWu96ayPw8gwSXU7NFGXRe/s1600/korean+airplane.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" kea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihwfAPInoyXvOlmAE3zshnWAyibpTKlUjMdEHH54fExc_09JwGpSfv7MP0XhXt6LsS8IM9X9AokUempCBMNATWsMfrZVp44PUN_wUOtV3CorJEJKqVLcB_nvxWu96ayPw8gwSXU7NFGXRe/s1600/korean+airplane.bmp" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhykJK2nh9n_0xZcvab_NUWJMbiC2FH0D3k-KXiUEeKyrS5GE2qMRCixc2CnyBwfbhU_ecPgZhf5ub4gkm6jgQow0mN1cTZ5eYqVOVQ2eXAhtl9yDJY7hhmHYr6P88dGVTEENrF-l_09VWS/s1600/Gladwell_CV_20081203144106.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" kea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhykJK2nh9n_0xZcvab_NUWJMbiC2FH0D3k-KXiUEeKyrS5GE2qMRCixc2CnyBwfbhU_ecPgZhf5ub4gkm6jgQow0mN1cTZ5eYqVOVQ2eXAhtl9yDJY7hhmHYr6P88dGVTEENrF-l_09VWS/s1600/Gladwell_CV_20081203144106.jpg" /></a><span style="color: black;">In an <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/middleseat/2008/12/04/malcolm-gladwell-on-culture-cockpit-communication-and-plane-crashes/" target="_blank">interview </a>with Fortune Magazine , Gladwell, a British-Canadian journalist, bestselling author and speaker, said:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;">‘Korean Air had more plane crashes than almost any other airline in the world for a period at the end of the 1990s. When we think of airline crashes, we think, Oh, they must have had old planes. They must have had badly trained pilots. No. What they were struggling with was a cultural legacy, that Korean culture is hierarchical. You are obliged to be deferential toward your elders and superiors in a way that would be unimaginable in the US’</span></i><span style="color: blue; display: none; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-hide: all;"> <v:shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"><v:stroke joinstyle="miter"></v:stroke><v:formulas><v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"></v:f></v:formulas><v:path gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect" o:extrusionok="f"></v:path><o:lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit"></o:lock></v:shapetype><v:shape alt="" href="http://www.google.ch/imgres?hl=en&sa=X&qscrl=1&rlz=1T4SUNC_enCH413CH434&biw=1024&bih=543&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=8A5eVSStRtvNLM:&imgrefurl=http://ns.gov.gu/guam/press.html&docid=6U2mPwaMQfoJBM&imgurl=http://ns.gov.gu/guam/korea/crash3.jpg&w=549&h=356&ei=2xdmULy9HMbSsgbq-YGQBQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=528&vpy=154&dur=6859&hovh=181&hovw=279&tx=147&ty=85&sig=109068929499735835446&page=4&tbnh=148&tbnw=200&start=32&ndsp=13&ved=1t:429,r:6,s:32,i:268" id="rg_hi" o:button="t" o:spid="_x0000_i1025" style="height: 135.75pt; width: 209.25pt;" type="#_x0000_t75"><v:imagedata o:href="https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSTpX4J3jPmM2RnvqiJ89FqFPWwtiPC-qyn6qEWVFs9WTxP7kTNVA" src="file:///C:\DOCUME~1\CHRIST~1\LOCALS~1\Temp\msohtml1\01\clip_image001.jpg"></v:imagedata></v:shape><v:shape alt="" href="http://www.google.ch/imgres?hl=en&sa=X&qscrl=1&rlz=1T4SUNC_enCH413CH434&biw=1024&bih=543&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=8A5eVSStRtvNLM:&imgrefurl=http://ns.gov.gu/guam/press.html&docid=6U2mPwaMQfoJBM&imgurl=http://ns.gov.gu/guam/korea/crash3.jpg&w=549&h=356&ei=2xdmULy9HMbSsgbq-YGQBQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=528&vpy=123&dur=31&hovh=181&hovw=279&tx=168&ty=119&sig=109068929499735835446&page=4&tbnh=148&tbnw=200&start=32&ndsp=13&ved=1t:429,r:6,s:32,i:268" id="_x0000_i1026" o:button="t" style="height: 135.75pt; width: 209.25pt;" type="#_x0000_t75"><v:imagedata o:href="https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSTpX4J3jPmM2RnvqiJ89FqFPWwtiPC-qyn6qEWVFs9WTxP7kTNVA" src="file:///C:\DOCUME~1\CHRIST~1\LOCALS~1\Temp\msohtml1\01\clip_image001.jpg"></v:imagedata></v:shape><v:shape alt="" href="http://www.google.ch/imgres?hl=en&sa=X&qscrl=1&rlz=1T4SUNC_enCH413CH434&biw=1024&bih=543&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=8A5eVSStRtvNLM:&imgrefurl=http://ns.gov.gu/guam/press.html&docid=6U2mPwaMQfoJBM&imgurl=http://ns.gov.gu/guam/korea/crash3.jpg&w=549&h=356&ei=2xdmULy9HMbSsgbq-YGQBQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=528&vpy=123&dur=31&hovh=181&hovw=279&tx=168&ty=119&sig=109068929499735835446&page=4&tbnh=148&tbnw=200&start=32&ndsp=13&ved=1t:429,r:6,s:32,i:268" id="_x0000_i1027" o:button="t" style="height: 135.75pt; width: 209.25pt;" type="#_x0000_t75"><v:imagedata o:href="https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSTpX4J3jPmM2RnvqiJ89FqFPWwtiPC-qyn6qEWVFs9WTxP7kTNVA" src="file:///C:\DOCUME~1\CHRIST~1\LOCALS~1\Temp\msohtml1\01\clip_image001.jpg"></v:imagedata></v:shape></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;">‘But Boeing and Airbus design modern, complex airplanes to be flown by two equals. That works beautifully in low-power-distance cultures [like the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region>, where hierarchies aren't as relevant]. But in cultures that have high power distance, it's very difficult.'</span></i></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Gladwell explores two plane crashes—one Colombian (Avianca Flight 52) and another, South Korean (Korean Air Flight 801)—and how the culture of the pilots perhaps contributed to each disaster. He focuses on how well the pilots communicated with each other and with air traffic control. Poor communication in these examples, he argues, has to do with something called a culture’s Power Distance Index (P.D.I.)—the term and concept come from psychologist <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Geert Hofstede</b>—which is a measurement of “how much a particular culture values and respects authority,” as Gladwell defines it. Countries with a high P.D.I. generally value being more deferential towards authority, and thus not contradicting a superior (the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region> has a low P.D.I. of 40). Gladwell argues that since both Colombia (67) and South Korea (61) rank towards the top of the P.D.I. list, the subordinate members of their cockpit crews were unable or unwilling to speak up as assertively as they should have about safety concerns. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><em>What’s your take on this?</em></span></b><span style="color: black;"> The next time you take a flight, are you going to check on the nationality of the pilots before flying? Is the airline owned and managed by a hierarchical culture such as Thai, Chinese or Mexican?<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 28px; text-align: justify;">Visit my website: </span><a href="http://www.cross-culturalsynergies.com/" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.3s; background-color: #fafafa; color: #009eb8; display: inline; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 28px; outline: none; text-align: justify; transition: color 0.3s;">http://www.cross-culturalsynergies.com/</a><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14430564786686588913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2225365852040830047.post-36853083817093520752012-09-03T11:30:00.000-07:002013-08-24T09:45:32.641-07:00Going for gold in emerging markets<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 2;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Winning the $30 trillion decathlon: Going for gold in emerging markets</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJFwq_6ZmwuEFnUqmpmOMmQToaMo2s_WVkNjTUpjWmG-K2fFyRbk_rvYPY-eiZSoeyICV_ntkNFJuBifozP5SYbylNojvBCsTvMsVl6Ybm5a9mghiOPWjVQr-c0Ma4m5FfI9bvnl_zZbnh/s1600/mckinsey+quarterly.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJFwq_6ZmwuEFnUqmpmOMmQToaMo2s_WVkNjTUpjWmG-K2fFyRbk_rvYPY-eiZSoeyICV_ntkNFJuBifozP5SYbylNojvBCsTvMsVl6Ybm5a9mghiOPWjVQr-c0Ma4m5FfI9bvnl_zZbnh/s320/mckinsey+quarterly.png" width="320" /></a></span></b></div>
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">McKinsey Quarterly, August 2012</span></b><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">By 2025, annual consumption in emerging economies will rise to $30 trillion, nearly half the global total. Yet today, the developed world’s largest companies get only 17 percent of their revenues from these new markets. Despite advantages in scale, technology, and access to capital, multinationals risk missing out on the century’s defining growth opportunity. McKinsey has identified 10 key capabilities that companies must develop to seize this opportunity. </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Amongst them, ……………….. the urgent need to develop, recruit and retain local talent by portraying themselves as the ‘employer of choice’. Firms like L’Oreal, Motorola and Nestle have been successful at branding themselves as desirable employers. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">They must also learn to build and manage effective relationships with key local stakeholders in government, civil society, and the local media to harness their support for market access, merger and acquisition activity and reputation enhancement. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Not to mention the fact that understanding the cultural characteristics of the emerging market consumer will have significant implications for brand and marketing strategies. </span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia;"><a href="http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Winning_the_30_trillion_decathlon_Going_for_gold_in_emerging_markets_3002" target="_blank">Read the whole article</a></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia;">Watch this <a href="http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Winning_the_30_trillion_decathlon_How_to_succeed_in_emerging_markets_3022?pagenum=1#video" target="_blank">video</a>: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">McKinsey experts</span> </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 11.5pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">highlight a number of business disciplines where global companies need to raise their game in order to compete effectively, ranging from brand building, innovation, sales and distribution to the development of local leadership. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 11.5pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 28px; text-align: justify;">Visit my website: </span><a href="http://www.cross-culturalsynergies.com/" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.3s; background-color: #fafafa; color: #009eb8; display: inline; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 28px; outline: none; text-align: justify; transition: color 0.3s;">http://www.cross-culturalsynergies.com/</a><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14430564786686588913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2225365852040830047.post-67712419359820233042012-01-31T07:32:00.000-08:002013-08-24T09:48:59.690-07:00<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Britain’s Tiger Mums or tough love, chinese style</span></b><br />
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<span style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; font-size: 14pt; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">A few weeks back, I watched a programme on BBC Channel 4 titled, <country-region w:st="on">Britain</country-region>’s tiger mums, which revealed that immigrant Chinese mothers in <country-region w:st="on">Britain</country-region> were practicing draconian and grueling child-rearing measures to ensure their children’s place under the sun, similar to that practiced by American-Chinese immigrant, Amy Chua, controversial author of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Battle</city></place> hymn of the tiger mother. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Tough discipline and extreme child-rearing practices have often been used to explain the reason why <span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">American</span> kids are falling behind in school whilst Asian immigrant kids <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">excel scholastically and are widening the gap in <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">America</place></country-region>’s ability to compete globally. </span>Amy Chua's book unleashed an uproar around the world amongst Western mothers, who called her such names as <em>nuts, Hannibel Lecter, erudite serial killer, </em>accused her of abusive perfectionism and overpressuring her children. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">My own take on this: the answer probably lies somewhere in the middle of this great big controversial divide. Perhaps Western-style parents should toughen up and worry less about hurting their children’s self-esteem and Asian-style parents should soften up and show more care about how they treat their children who come home from school with unsatisfactory report cards. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">My own parents (2nd generation immigrants from <state w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Guangdong</place></state>) understood the importance of hard work and discipline but they were not sufficiently educated themselves to enforce academic discipline upon me and my 7 other siblings. They left the task of monitoring our school work and exam studying to the older siblings, and I haven't turned out too badly, if I do say so myself. On the other hand, various of my classmates from more privileged backgrounds did receive ample doses of training and monitoring in their academic life from their parents as well as disciplined musical instruction and practice from professional teachers. One of these classmates is today a well-adjusted wife/mother and head of dentistry at an Ivy League school so yes, the results of tiger parenting are there to behold. </span> <br />
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" 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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amy Chua on her day off</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><a href="http://www.npr.org/2011/01/11/132833376/tiger-mothers-raising-children-the-chinese-way"><span style="color: purple;">http://www.npr.org/2011/01/11/132833376/tiger-mothers-raising-children-the-chinese-way</span></a> - audio critique by Maureen Corrigan</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/ideas-market/2011/01/18/the-tiger-cub-roars/-">http://blogs.wsj.com/ideas-market/2011/01/18/the-tiger-cub-roars/-</a> daughter of Amy Chua responds to readers’ questions about life in the tiger’s den.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/372153/january-25-2011/the-battle-hymn-of-the-tiger-mother-controversy" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Video</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">: comments made by The Colbert Report, an American satirical television programme. </span></div>
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<city w:st="on"><place w:st="on"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Battle</span></place></city><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> hymn of the tiger mum:</span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704111504576059713528698754.html" target="_blank">Article in Wall Street Journal</a></span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">A lot of people wonder how Chinese parents raise such stereotypically successful kids. They wonder what these parents do to produce so many math whizzes and music prodigies, what it's like inside the family, and whether they could do it too. Well, I can tell them, because I've done it. Here are some things my daughters, Sophia and Louisa, were never allowed to do:</span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">• attend a sleepover</span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">• have a playdate</span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">• be in a school play</span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">• complain about not being in a school play</span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">• watch TV or play computer games</span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">• choose their own extracurricular activities</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Of all the responses to Amy Chua’s essay on </span><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704111504576059713528698754.html"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, perhaps first and foremost you’d like to hear from one of her daughters. Well, Sophia, the older daughter, wrote </span><a href="http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/why_love_my_strict_chinese_mom_uUvfmLcA5eteY0u2KXt7hM"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">a letter to her mom in the New York Post</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">:</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Tiger Mom,</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">You’ve been criticized a lot since you published your memoir, “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother.” One problem is that some people don’t get your humor. They think you’re serious about all this, and they assume Lulu and I are oppressed by our evil mother. That is so not true. Every other Thursday, you take off our chains and let us play math games in the basement.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">But for real, it’s not their fault. No outsider can know what our family is really like. They don’t hear us cracking up over each other’s jokes. They don’t see us eating our hamburgers with fried rice. They don’t know how much fun we have when the six of us — dogs included — squeeze into one bed and argue about what movies to download from Netflix.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">I admit it: Having you as a mother was no tea party. There were some play dates I wish I’d gone to and some piano camps I wish I’d skipped. But now that I’m 18 and about to leave the tiger den, I’m glad you and Daddy raised me the way you did. Here’s why.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">A lot of people have accused you of producing robot kids who can’t think for themselves. Well, that’s funny, because I think those people are . . . oh well, it doesn’t matter. At any rate, I was thinking about this, and I came to the opposite conclusion: I think your strict parenting forced me to be more independent. Early on, I decided to be an easy child to raise. Maybe I got it from Daddy — he taught me not to care what people think and to make my own choices — but I also decided to be who I want to be. I didn’t rebel, but I didn’t suffer all the slings and arrows of a Tiger Mom, either. I pretty much do my own thing these days — like building greenhouses downtown, blasting Daft Punk in the car with Lulu and forcing my boyfriend to watch “Lord of the Rings” with me over and over — as long as I get my piano done first.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Visit my website: <a href="http://www.cross-culturalsynergies.com/"><span style="color: #009eb8;">http://www.cross-culturalsynergies.com/</span></a></span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14430564786686588913noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2225365852040830047.post-7447195896538245912012-01-31T06:52:00.000-08:002012-01-31T07:07:08.196-08:00Are you a universalist or a particularist?<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Radio broadcast by</span> <b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Fons Trompenaars </span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">and<b> Charles Hampden Turner</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><strong>Are you a universalist or a particularist? </strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">Consider for a moment this dilemma: You are a passenger in a </span><span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">car driven by a close friend, and your friend's car hits a </span><span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">pedestrian. You know that your friend was going at least thirty-five</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">miles an hour in an area where the maximum speed was </span><span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">twenty miles an hour. There are no witnesses. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">Your friend's lawyer says that if you testify under oath that the speed was only twenty miles an hour, then you would save your friend from </span><span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">any serious consequences. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><strong>What would you do?</strong></i> Would you lie to</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">protect your friend? What right does your friend have to expect</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">your help? On the other hand what are your obligations to</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">society to uphold the law?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">This is the sort of question that Fons Trompenaars and Charles</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">Hampden Turner asked 15,000 managers in 28 countries around</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">the world. They were interested in exploring the cultural</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">difference between what they called universalist societies and</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">particularist societies. <strong>Universalist societies</strong> follow the rules and</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">assume that the standards they hold dear are the correct ones.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">They try to get everyone to conform to them. That way, they</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">believe, society works better. <strong>Particularist societies</strong>, on the other</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">hand, believe that particular circumstances are more important</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">than general rules and that your response depends on the</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">circumstances and on the particular people involved.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">Going back to the car and the pedestrian, Trompenaars and</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">Hampden Turner discovered that <strong>North Americans and North</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;"><strong>Europeans were almost totally universalist in their responses.</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>They would put the law first.</strong> Only 70 per cent of the French and</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">the Japanese would do so, however, while, in <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Venezuela</place></country-region>, two</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">thirds would lie to save their friend.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">Does this matter for managers? Listen on to find out more. </span><br />
<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/work/handy/trompenaarsturner.shtml" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Episode 13: Fons Trompenaars and Charles Hampden Turner</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Or read the transcript here:</span><br />
<a href="http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/handy/trompenaarsturner.pdf"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/handy/trompenaarsturner.pdf</span></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Visit my website: <a href="http://www.cross-culturalsynergies.com/"><span style="color: #009eb8;">http://www.cross-culturalsynergies.com/</span></a></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14430564786686588913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2225365852040830047.post-3272293862783410842012-01-16T14:20:00.000-08:002012-02-02T12:55:19.501-08:00Ushering in the Year of the Dragon 2010<div style="background: white;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Chinese New Year is the longest and most important celebration in the Chinese calendar, and falls this year on January 23, 2012.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">New Year festivities traditionally start on the first day of the month and continue until the fifteenth, when the moon is brightest. In <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">China</place></country-region>, people may take weeks of holiday from work to prepare for and celebrate the New Year. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Immigrant Chinese communities throughout <place w:st="on">Asia</place> (Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos) also take part in this celebration. Being 30% Chinese in population, Malaysia is no exception and Malaysian Chinese also embrace this as the most important festival in the whole year. Many throw an 'open house' on the 3rd or 4th day to receive friends and colleagues from the other 2 races, Malays and Indians.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Legend has it that in ancient times, Buddha<a href="http://www.infoplease.com/id/CE007897.html" jquery1710670193774279063="64"><span style="color: #003399;"></span></a> asked all the animals to meet him on Chinese New Year. Twelve came, and Buddha named a year after each one. Actually one of these creatures is mythical, the dragon. He announced that the people born in each animal's year would have some of that animal's personality. Those born in dragon years are innovative, brave, and passionate. Examples include </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.infoplease.com/biography/var/salvadordali.html"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Salvador Dali</span></a></span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"> and </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.infoplease.com/biography/var/johnlennon.html"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">John Lennon</span></a>.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #333399;">Fireworks and Family Feasts</span></span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Chinese New Year celebrations are a time of family reunion and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>people wear red clothes, decorate with poems on red paper, and give children "lucky money" in red envelopes. Red symbolizes fire, which according to legend can drive away bad luck. The fireworks that shower the festivities are rooted in a similar ancient custom. Long ago, people in <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">China</place></country-region> lit bamboo stalks, believing that the crackling flames would frighten evil spirits. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #333399;">The Lantern Festival</span></span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">The lantern festival is held on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. Some of the lanterns may be works of art, painted with birds, animals, flowers, zodiac signs, and scenes from legend and history. People hang glowing lanterns in temples, and carry lanterns to an evening parade under the light of the full moon. As a child, I remember trotting around the neighbourhood with other children, eating New Year candy and carrying a lantern to light up the streets as dusk fell. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt;">Another important custom is the performance of the dragon dance. The dragon—which might stretch a hundred feet long—is typically made of silk, paper, and bamboo. Traditionally the dragon is held aloft by young men who dance as they guide the colorful beast through the streets. Many Chinese families hire these dance companies who are traditional martial arts or kung fu experts to come dance in front of their homes, believing that it chases away evil spirits and paves the way for good luck and prosperity for the New Year. </span></div>
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<br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14430564786686588913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2225365852040830047.post-91029577022244187462011-12-09T16:30:00.001-08:002012-01-31T08:28:31.576-08:00Have I lived too long abroad ? Part 2<div class="article-content entry-content">
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 14pt;">You know you've been in <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Switzerland</place></country-region> too long when:</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL2sLfMSovRSrxrt1DWLksSrGXQyE5TqFm9ZaoZ10tfw8ILwsITX9AZ7H0MM_bpzcfZsH5cPnt-dpB8jJ5HXaUdCisHnyhWEN1k0AO1nAlgJhIACpo2mrR3UBD1MzfqTrLCp49SNKLBGRQ/s1600/mountain+horns.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL2sLfMSovRSrxrt1DWLksSrGXQyE5TqFm9ZaoZ10tfw8ILwsITX9AZ7H0MM_bpzcfZsH5cPnt-dpB8jJ5HXaUdCisHnyhWEN1k0AO1nAlgJhIACpo2mrR3UBD1MzfqTrLCp49SNKLBGRQ/s1600/mountain+horns.bmp" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10pt;"> ..you start studying for a Nachdiplom.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>..you get annoyed when the car ahead of you doesn't turn off it's</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>motor at a traffic light.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>..you look forward to Wildsaison.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>..you're prepared to pay for a local dentist.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>..you're not upset when a public holiday falls on a Sunday.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>..you try to defend cartel based economics to a visitor.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>..you think that plaid jackets with flowery ties don't look that bad.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>..you think it's fair that you can only wash clothes once a month.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>..you wonder why anyone would want to shop outside of working hours.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>..you buy Swiss.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Visit my website: <a href="http://www.cross-culturalsynergies.com/"><span style="color: #009eb8;">http://www.cross-culturalsynergies.com/</span></a></span><br /></div>
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14430564786686588913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2225365852040830047.post-22205573016928412822011-10-17T03:30:00.000-07:002012-01-31T08:34:34.277-08:00Have I lived too long abroad ? Part 1<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 14pt;">You know you've been in <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Switzerland</place></country-region> too long when:</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"> ..you think it's economically wasteful to have more than one brand of</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a product in a store.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>..you think spontaneity is OK, as long as it's planned.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>..you think getting up early is good.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>..you get upset in the train when a foreign tourist opens the window</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>causing a draft to go down your back.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>..you actually get interested in the local elections.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>..you know the words to the Swiss national anthem.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>..you expect the shop clerk to say goodbye after you purchase</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>something.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>..you wait for the shop clerk to open the door to let you out of</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>their shop.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>..you prefer to buy in small shops even though its more expensive.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>..you think joining clubs is an acceptable way of meeting people</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>socially.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Visit my website: <a href="http://www.cross-culturalsynergies.com/"><span style="color: #009eb8;">http://www.cross-culturalsynergies.com/</span></a></span><br />
<br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14430564786686588913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2225365852040830047.post-35452326183378470462011-09-15T10:52:00.000-07:002013-08-24T09:42:01.723-07:00The magic of intercultural encounters<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">If you have any ideas or thoughts to share about your intercultural encounters, please feel free to post a comment. Perhaps we can share knowledge and gain some useful insights into what makes other cultures tick, that’s how I hope we’ll come to appreciate the beauty and magic of intercultural encounters.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Visit my website: </span><br />
<a href="http://www.cross-culturalsynergies.com/" style="font-size: x-large;">http://www.cross-culturalsynergies.com/</a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Clean jokes and stories of an intercultural nature are also appreciated. I'll get the ball rolling ...................</span></div>
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<em>The first version that we heard is believed to be told by Belgians who are customarily the butt of all too many French jokes. It goes like this.</em><br />
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God is very busy creating the earth. One day he calls the Angels over to take a look at the masterpiece that the divine power has just brought into being. It is a stunning piece of land with beautiful coastlines sandy beaches rich forests green plains steep mountains and verdant meadows. <br />
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The Angels have a look and then flutter off to a corner by themselves where there is much heated discussion. A bit later one of the archangels comes back to God and says "You've really outdone yourself today. This is one of the most beautiful things you've ever made. What are you going to call it?" God says well "I've been toying with the idea of calling it France." <br />
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The Archangel flutters his wings nervously and then says as respectfully as possible, "Well that's a very nice name, but we Angels have been talking it over and were concerned that this piece of land is so beautiful that all the other nations are going to be very, very jealous. We humbly suggest that you should do something to make it at least a little bit less desirable..." <br />
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"Hmmm..." God ponders the advice of the Archangel and thinks quietly for what seems like an eternally long a minute or two. Then with bright eyes, looks triumphantly, at the Archangel and says, "I've got it! I'm going to create the French!"<br />
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<em>The identical joke has been told about Ireland being created at God's hands in all its emerald splendor. However the punch line this time is, </em>"Well, wait till you see the neighbors I'm going to give them!"</div>
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