ion that rela- 8. Do you believe global managers must speak multiple languages to succeed? created and Why or why not? ear daunting 9. Studies have found that verbal communication typically carries less than hich cultural 35 percent of the meaning in two-way conversations. Why is this percentage ractions is an so low? What can be done to increase it? lieve that, in 10. Why do you think some cultures seem to emphasise high-context communi- : some initial cation, while others seem to emphasise low-context communication? al communi- 11. How would you organise a workshop on the topic of increasing people's 1. Above all, nonverbal communication skills? What would you do? lo reportedly 12. Do you believe it is possible for most people to recalibrate their perceptual and he ear." 18 critical analysis skills, as discussed in the Manager's Notebook section of this chapter? Provide an example of how this may be accomplished. onment . urally CASE: ROOS DEKKER, GLOBAL HEALTHCARE structures . Roos Dekker works in Rotterdam, Netherlands, for Global Healthcare, a major iticity . global leader in home and business healthcare electronics. Her responsibilities include coordinating global logistics for the company's healthcare products, including supplies and product deliveries. In this regard, she must coordinate her efforts with other logistics managers around the world, including Javier Gutierrez. Gutierrez works in Buenos Aires for Global Healthcare Argentina (GHA), which represents the manufacturing, import and export, and distribution operations of iterpersonal Global Healthcare throughout South America. Operating through about a dozen plants in the region (mostly Brazil and Argentina), GHA makes components and in cultural products specialising in consumer electronics, small appliances, lighting equip- ment, and electronic medical equipment, which are then distributed and sold under : for a series the Global Healthcare brand. Although Dekker and Gutierrez are both logistics coordinators, they report to ated cogni- different supervisors in different divisions of the company, Global Healthcare and why is it so GHA. Organisationally, they are on the same level in the company hierarchy. Still, ny screens? they must coordinate their efforts and work together to achieve maximum results ens may be for the entire enterprise. Dekker and Gutierrez both speak fluent English, and have . make this worked together several times, although they have never met in person and each knows very little about the other. 168 Management Across Cultures Recently, Roos Dekker was given an assignment involving major product deliver- labour ies from South America to the European Union. For reasons she did not know, these helps r deliveries arrived in Europe at a slower pace than was scheduled, and she was under In ac considerable pressure to catch up. Her point of contact for this problem was Javier to mak Gutierrez. Dekker tried several time to contact Gutierrez, mostly by e-mail, but failed EU and had in to get any definitive response regarding the late shipments. additio Finally, out of desperation, Dekker sat down at her computer and wrote one more are sho e-mail to Gutierrez expressing her frustration. When she finished writing the outside message, she realised that she had to cool off a bit before sending it, and put the I dor message away for one hour. When she returned, she decided that she should edit makes the message so it was just the facts. Still, she needed to express her sense of urgency. I don't She edited his message as follows and sent it to Gutierrez: the pro To: Javier Gutierrez, GHA, Argentina togethe I am From: Roos, Global Healthcare, Netherlands that we Re: Recent shipments to Global Healthcare-Europe to be pa Dear Javier I just had a conversation with Mr. Van den Berg (my boss) about the late shipments from Sincerel Javier C Argentina and Brazil. He is concerned that this delay may have significant impact on our division results as we are losing sales. He blames us for these delays and asked me to provide a report justifying the delays as soon as possible. CASE I need the following information from you today: 1. Wh . A full explanation for the cause of the shipment delays, this . A detailed timetable with a realistic forecast of when the shipment will arrive, 2. Usi . A specific plan of action to get GHA back on track and avoid these delays in the future. con From now on, I would like to receive a copy of all shipment reports coming out of Brazil 3. Iny and Argentina. mes Regards, 4. Whi Roos Dekker com 5. In v The next day, Gutierrez sent his response to Dekker: serv To: Roos Dekker, Global Healthcare, Netherlands 6. Is ei From: Javier Gutierrez, Global Healthcare Argentina cols c/c: Antonio Rodriguez, Global Healthcare Argentina 7. Afte Re: Shipments to Global Healthcare-Europe Dek Dear Ms. Dekker: 8. (Opt I am not surprised that your boss is upset. However, I think you may have misunderstood com the situation. I do not wish to be rude here, but you leave me no choice but to be frank. I am man the logistics coordinator here, not the boss. The management of GHA schedules both any, production and deliveries, and several people are involved in these decisions, including the one'Regards, Roos Dekker The next day, Gutirrez sent his response to Dekker: To: Roos Dekker, Global Healthcare, Netherlands From: Javier Gutirrez, Global Healthcare Argentina /c: Antonio Rodriguez, Global Healthcare Argentina Re: Shipments to Global Healthcare-Europe Dear Ms. Dekker: I'am not surprised that your boss is upset. However, I think you may have misunderstood the situation. [ do not wish to be rude here, but you leave me no choice but to be frank. I am the logistics coordinator here, not the boss. The management of GHA schedules both production and deliveries, and several people are involved in these decisions, including the 5 Communicating across cultures deliver- g . labour unions. If we push the workers too hard, they will shut down entire plants and this w, these ] helps no one, as you would agree. as under In addition, GHA has many recipients within Global Healthcare, not just your division, and 15 Javier 4 . to make matters more complicated, our Asian markets are growing faster than those in the ut failed 1 EU and they, too, are demanding more product. And you know of all the customs issues we had in the last few weeks due to the new regulations regarding medical equipment and the additional paperwork required to satisfy safety requirements that came at a time in which we are short staffed. And should I remind you that this particular order is a special order that was outside the original forecast and has been accommodated as a special case. put the I don't understand how you can blame me for the delays? Can't you see that this just uld edit makes things worse? And how can you expect me to provide you with information that wgency. ] I'don't have? I can't provide you with the information that you requested until I hear from 3 the production and legal departments. We work for an international firm and should work together to resolve issues, not just blame others for our problems. That is what I most believe. Tam sending a copy of this message to Mr. Antonio Rodriguez (my boss) as it is important that we all become aware of what is happening. I suggest you inform your boss that he needs to be patient and learn to respect his colleagues and partners in other countries. ne more ing the Sincerely, Javier Gutirrez nts from t on our ovide a CASE QUESTIONS What are the key cultural, organisational, and situational context variables in this case? Using the AIA model of interpersonal communication (see text), diagram the communication episode (or cycle) involving Roos Dekker and Javier Gutirrez. of Brazil E - Inyour view, what was Roos Dekker's principal intention in sending her original 4 : message? What cultural assumptions did she make about Gutirrez or South America in composing her message? Were these accurate? In what ways might the cultural backgrounds of both Dekker and Gutirrez serve to reduce message clarity in this exchange? Is either party in this exchange of memos violating any communication proto- cols? If so, where? After reading Gutirrez' response, what are Dekker's options? If you were Dekker, what would you do? (Optional research question) Explore some of the various types of cross-cultural communication training programs that are available (online or onsite) for managers. What is the basis of these programs how do they work? Which, if any, of these programs do you believe might be the best approach to improving one's communication abilities in foreign environments? Why? future