2.10 A Checklist of Little Differences for Business

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來自 University of Pennsylvania 的課程

The Power of Team Culture

142 個評分

University of Pennsylvania

The Power of Team Culture

142 個評分

課程 1（共 5 門，Specialization Culture-Driven Team Building）

Behind the success and failure of teams lies team culture. But what exactly is culture? How and why does it contribute to success and failure? In this course, you learn how to recognize aspects of team culture of which most people are typically unaware. It is often these seemingly unimportant aspects that have the greatest effect on the outcomes of group tasks. Your recognition of them enables you to form, join and lead teams more effectively. You also come to appreciate the role of ritual and symbols in the daily operation of teams, as well as in situations of change and crisis. Knowledge of the ideas and information in this class enables you to be a better team player and a more effective team leader.

從本節課中

Crossing Cultural Boundaries

Sometimes we must take a step back and view cultural differences from perspectives different from what we're used to. Cultural boundaries exist everywhere. Differences can be found within one culture as well. Have you ever considered that a smile isn't just a simple natural response? In this unit we delve deeper into culture and the differences amongst various cultures, including corporate culture.

2.1 Two Examples of Cultural Boundaries5:16

2.2 Why Police Boundaries4:26

2.3 Culture in Motion4:52

2.4 Golden Arches East4:20

2.5 The Art of Smiling5:32

2.6 The Right to Fire4:41

2.7 The Law of Jante5:16

2.8 Cultural Relativity and Ethnocentrism4:59

2.9 Avoid Stereotyping5:12

2.10 A Checklist of Little Differences for Business4:30

2.11 Gestures as Boundary Marker4:49

2.12 Corporate Personhood4:54

與講師見面

Greg Urban, Ph.D.
Professor
Anthropology

In the introductory video to this course, I told you not to bother to read my books

and articles, they're way too dense and technical.

But there are some good books out there that are intended for

a general audience and that are actually fun and easy to read.

If you're especially interested in business in the international context,

one book I recommend is by Andy Molinsky.

It's entitled Global Dexterity,

How to Adapt Your Behavior Across Cultures Without Losing Yourself in the Process.

It includes some nice observations about the kinds of

small cultural differences that nevertheless affect business outcomes.

I'll review some of them in this video.

By the way, just so you know, I've never met Andy Molinsky, and

I have no financial or other stake in recommending his book.

In his book, Molinsky does a good job of teaching you

how to better adapt to the teams you join and to assimilate new cultural routines.

I won't go into that here.

Instead, let's just take a look at some of the little aspects of business culture

he suggests you pay attention to.

I have to admit here that I'm changing around

a bit what he has to say in order to make it better conform to my own scheme.

So you'll want to go back and

read the original if you're really interested in the subject.

One area of variability he suggests you pay attention to is formality.

He emphasizes the amount of deference and respect you are required to exhibit.

I would include under formality, questions like these.

How formally or casually should you dress?

Is it customary to engage in small talk?

Or should you confine your interactions just to the business at hand?

How much personal information about yourself can you reveal?

For example, is it appropriate to talk about your family or your hobbies and

interests?

What about asking questions of others?

Is it acceptable to ask personal questions,

such as whether they have children or is it too intrusive?

Molinsky refers to these latter kinds of variability under the separate heading of

personal disclosure.

All of these are subject to cultural variation.

It will help you to pay attention to how things are done in the business world

of which you are a part.

Another area of variability concerns speaking your mind.

Molinsky refers to this as directness.

Should you only hint at your meaning or should you come right out and say it?

What is the conversational style?

I remember as a college student meeting a man from the Ho-Chunk or

as they were called then the Winnebago tribe of Native Americans from Wisconsin.

He told me about an incident from his childhood.

He and his brother, he says, were always fighting, but

his parents never said a word about it.

One day, his dad told him a story, perhaps part of the tribal lore of the group,

I'm not sure.

The story was about two brothers.

Hmm, as you might guess, the two brothers in the story had been fighting.

Now, I don't recall the details, but

I do remember what the man who was telling me the story said.

He said, it got him to stop and think.

Could it be that my father was talking about me and my brother?

The situation he described is one of highly indirect communication.

The hearer had to make inferences to connect the story to his own life.

But the communication was effective.

It even got the man to stop quarreling with his brother or so he claimed.

A third area of variability is expressing feelings.

What kinds of feelings can you openly express in business interactions?

Is it okay, for example, to appear enthusiastic?

Two other areas mentioned by Molinsky are self-promotion and aggressiveness.

We've already talked about self-promotion in connection with the Danish Jante Law,

and you can probably imagine for yourself what he means by aggressiveness.

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