Jun
17

Effective Business Writing: Letters, Reports, Memos and Emails the B and C of the ABC Method, Brevity and Clarity

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to continue Effective Business Writing… b) Brevity As with speaking one of the quickest ways to lose your audience ti to circle around the topic or by indulging in the proverbial ‘beating-about-the-bush’. There is an old sales letter adage that if you don’t capture your audiences attention in the first ten words you have lost… Continue reading »

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Jun
17

Effective Business Writing: Letters, Reports, Memos and Emails – Overview and Accuracy

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Effective business writing skills in my experience are still one of the most difficult competencies for young employees to master. Here are a few rules that may help. Rule 1. Write like a journalist, or as some call it the A:B:C way Obviously good journalists are experts at getting their message across so the skills… Continue reading »

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Jun
13

Leader or Despot Which Management Style is More Like You?

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Sometime back a friend asked me if I could come up with a leadership anagram. Bearing in mind that in reality our leadership or management style is probably somewhere along a continuum between despotic through democratic to laissez-faire perhaps the following anagram extremes can at least serve as reminders of the best and worst of… Continue reading »

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Jun
08

Working in a Multicultural Environment “Back to Business” final

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After Hofstede first formulated his cultural dimensions, work by Michael Bond convinced him that a fifth dimension was needed. Long-Term Orientation seemed to play an important role in Asian countries that had been influenced by Confucian philosophy over many thousands of years. Hofstede and Bond found such countries shared the following beliefs: A stable society… Continue reading »

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Jun
08

Working in a Multicultural Environment “National and Family Influences” part 5

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Hofstede’s findings in full can be found on the web and I recommend them as a great way to start thinking about the differences you may encounter in a multicultural or international workplace. In a particular it can explain why many around us (that come from high uncertainty avoidance societies) show anxiety about an uncertain… Continue reading »

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Jun
06

Working in a Multicultural Environment “National Influences” part 4

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Culture on a national level: Individualist and Collectivist Societies What are the differences between individualist and collectivist societies? Well it is “I” v.’s “We”. In individualist societies the wife and kids need me to support them v.’s in collectivist, the ‘extended’ family, parents, uncles, aunts etc., who will protect me in exchange for my loyalty.… Continue reading »

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Jun
04

Working in a Multicultural Environment Predispositions continued part 3

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As I mentioned a study by Hofstede perhaps it wise to at least look at his work on cultures. Although I think it is best to make judgments on individuals as individuals it is at least worth considering the issues that give each of us a propensity to behave in a certain manner. Again I… Continue reading »

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Jun
03

Working in a Multicultural Environment: Continued part 2

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NATIONAL PSYCHE EXISTS… MAYBE Admittedly it is dangerous to comment or make judgments regarding another’s culture however sometimes I believe it is necessary. With that said did I once have the misfortune to listen to a young American professor while he advised a willing audience of ‘expats’ and ‘locals’ on the intricacies of dealing across… Continue reading »

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Jun
03

Working in a Multicultural Environment: An Introduction

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With the fluidity of borders and the rapid migration of workers from country to country there is today more than ever a pressing need in many organizations for us to work effectively with people from many cultural, ethnic and religious backgrounds. Even if we work with those from similar backgrounds professional and personal characteristics mean… Continue reading »

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