Professional Communication

American Studies 3rd yearOptional Course

Răzvan Săftoiu & Stanca Măda

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 workplace3. 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 people’s self-image 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 consensus-oriented. 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

• Individualism 30Romania, 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 employee’s 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 52Romania has an intermediate score of 52 on this dimension.• Indulgence 20With 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• Individualism 91• Masculinity 62• Uncertainty Avoidance 46• Long Term Orientation 26• Indulgence 68

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.