Professional
Communication
American Studies 3rd year
Optional Course
Rzvan Sftoiu & Stanca
Mda
What do you expect from this
course?
To find out about workplace culture?
To raise awareness upon professional
communication skills?
To understand why do people spend time in
meetings in the workplace?
To gain knowledge useful for managing PR and HR?
To practice speaking and writing skills for
professional settings?
To master strategies of effective communication in
the workplace?
And more...
What is this course about?
Preparing YOU to become good
communicators in various
(multi)national workplace settings,
with a view to understanding the
complexity of professional culture
and of the variety of techniques and
strategies useful for an efficient
workplace communication.
The exam
- 10% attendance to at least 2/3 of the courses
and seminars
- 20% preparation and contribution to seminars
- 70% final exam:
-a theoretical topic comment upon
smth.;
-a practical one write a piece of
formal text specific to professional
settings (letter, report, invitation, press
release, etc.)
THEMES
1. Workplace culture(s)
2. Gendered communication in the workplace
3. Power and politeness in managerial
communication (informing, negotiating, and
moderating meetings)
4. The importance of IMAGE for professionals
and organisations a few PR skills
5. Communicating effectively in workplace
settings pragmatic strategies for speaking
and writing.
Workplace culture(s)
What is culture?
How can we define organisational culture?
Can organisational culture be multinational?
We have multiple cultures in an organisation
depending on hierarchical level, on specific
branches or on various services.
e.g. hospital, production plant, tourism agency
Can you mention a few
features/dimensions
of national cultures?
(Hofstede)
Power Distance Index (PDI)
This dimension expresses the degree to which the
less powerful members of a society accept and
expect that power is distributed unequally. The
fundamental issue here is how a society handles
inequalities among people. People in societies
exhibiting a large degree of power distance
accept a hierarchical order in which everybody
has a place and which needs no further
justification. In societies with low power distance,
people strive to equalise the distribution of power
and demand justification for inequalities of power.
Individualism versus Collectivism
(IDV)
The high side of this dimension, called
individualism, can be defined as a preference for a
loosely-knit social framework in which individuals
are expected to take care of only themselves and
their immediate families. Its opposite, collectivism,
represents a preference for a tightly-knit
framework in society in which individuals can
expect their relatives or members of a particular
in-group to look after them in exchange for
unquestioning loyalty. A society's position on this
dimension is reflected in whether peoples selfimage is defined in terms of I or we.
Masculinity versus Femininity (MAS)
The masculinity side of this dimension
represents a preference in society for
achievement, heroism, assertiveness and
material rewards for success. Society at large
is more competitive. Its opposite, femininity,
stands for a preference for cooperation,
modesty, caring for the weak and quality of
life. Society at large is more consensusoriented. In the business context Masculinity
versus Femininity is sometimes also related to
as "tough versus gender" cultures.
Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI)
The uncertainty avoidance dimension expresses
the degree to which the members of a society feel
uncomfortable with uncertainty and ambiguity.
The fundamental issue here is how a society deals
with the fact that the future can never be known:
should we try to control the future or just let it
happen? Countries exhibiting strong UAI maintain
rigid codes of belief and behaviour and are
intolerant of unorthodox behaviour and ideas.
Weak UAI societies maintain a more relaxed
attitude in which practice counts more than
principles.
Long Term Orientation versus Short
Term Normative Orientation (LTO)
Every society has to maintain some links with its
own past while dealing with the challenges of
the present and the future. Societies prioritize
these two existential goals differently.
Societies who score low on this dimension, for
example, prefer to maintain time-honoured
traditions and norms while viewing societal
change with suspicion. Those with a culture
which scores high, on the other hand, take a
more pragmatic approach: they encourage thrift
and efforts in modern education as a way to
prepare for the future.
Indulgence versus Restraint (IND)
Indulgence stands for a society that
allows relatively free gratification of
basic and natural human drives
related to enjoying life and having
fun. Restraint stands for a society
that suppresses gratification of needs
and regulates it by means of strict
social norms.
What are the dimensions of Romanian
workplace culture? (think of a
Romanian company whose values
demonstrate this)
Power Distance
90
Individualism
30
Masculinity
42
Uncertainty Avoidance 90
Long Term Orientation 52
Indulgence
20
Romania
Power Distance 90
Romania scores high on this dimension (score of 90) which means that
people accept a hierarchical order in which everybody has a place and
which needs no further justification. Hierarchy in an organization is seen
as reflecting inherent inequalities, centralization is popular, subordinates
expect to be told what to do and the ideal boss is a benevolent autocrat
Individualism30
Romania, with a score of 30 is considered a collectivistic society. This is
manifest in a close long-term commitment to the member 'group', be that
a family, extended family, or extended relationships. Loyalty in a
collectivist culture is paramount, and over-rides most other societal rules
and regulations. The society fosters strong relationships where everyone
takes responsibility for fellow members of their group. In collectivist
societies offence leads to shame and loss of face, employer/employee
relationships are perceived in moral terms (like a family link), hiring and
promotion decisions take account of the employees in-group,
management is the management of groups.
Masculinity 42
Romania scores 42 on this dimension and is thus considered a relatively
feminine society. In feminine countries the focus is on working in order
to live, managers strive for consensus, people value equality, solidarity
and quality in their working lives. Conflicts are resolved by compromise
and negotiation. Incentives such as free time and flexibility are
favoured. Focus is on well-being, status is not shown.
Uncertainty Avoidance 90
Romania scores 90 on this dimension and thus has a very high
preference for avoiding uncertainty. Countries exhibiting high
uncertainty avoidance maintain rigid codes of belief and behaviour and
are intolerant of unorthodox behaviour and ideas. In these cultures
there is an emotional need for rules (even if the rules never seem to
work) time is money, people have an inner urge to be busy and work
hard, precision and punctuality are the norm, innovation may be
resisted, security is an important element in individual motivation.
Long Term Orientation 52
Indulgence20
Long Term Orientation 52
Romania has an intermediate score of 52 on this dimension.
Indulgence20
With a very low score of 20, Romanian culture is one of
restraint. Societies with a low score in this dimension have a
tendency to cynicism and pessimism. Also, in contrast to
indulgent societies, restrained societies do not put much
emphasis on leisure time and control the gratification of
their desires. People with this orientation have the
perception that their actions are restrained by social norms
and feel that indulging themselves is somewhat wrong.
(think of a Romanian company whose values demonstrate
these scores)
What are the dimensions of American
workplace culture? (think of an American
company whose values demonstrate this)
Power Distance 40
Individualism91
Masculinity 62
Uncertainty Avoidance 46
Long Term Orientation26
Indulgence68
Homework 1 for the next
seminar
Search for 3 mission and vision
statements of well-known
international companies (from their
respective websites) and identify
key-words for the values and cultural
dimensions they promote.
Intercultural competence
... is the ability to communicate effectively and appropriately with people
of other cultures. By effectively, we mean that the values goals or
rewards (relative to costs and alternatives) are accomplished, while by
appropriately, we mean that the valued rules, norms, and expectations
of the relationship are not violated significantly. In interactions with
people from foreign cultures, a person who is interculturally competent
understands the culture-specific concepts of perception, thinking, feeling,
and acting.
Cultures can be different not only between continents or nations but also
within the same company and even within the same family. The
differences may be ethical, ethnic, geographical, historical, moral,
political, or religious.
The basic requirements are:
empathy;
an understanding of other people's behaviours and ways of thinking, and
the ability to express one's own way of thinking.
The most important issues to be highlighted in intercultural
communication in professional settings are:
national identity,
cultural identity, and cultural identification,
nonverbal communication,
perceptual differences (time, status, trust),
gender identification (masculinity/femininity),
experiences of discrimination,
individualism vs. collectivism,
a sense of "otherness" when interacting in unfamiliar
cultures, religious and ideological differences,
negotiation of friendship and kinship,
ethical questions,
linguistic differences,
code switching, and others.
For a person interested in culture in
general, any of these issues (or a
combination of them) might provide a
valuable lens through which to understand
the cultural norms and values of those from
another region, country, or cultural group.
Discussion: - according to your own
experience and considering the given
issues, provide examples of culturally
sensitive issues in professional
communication.
