How to effectively handle employee termination
An effective termination process maintains a positive employer-employee relationship. Just as a company considers employees’ job performance for future roles, employees’ opinions of a company shape pu…
How to correct someone professionally
It’s possible to point out errors respectfully without undermining a colleague’s credibility. Choosing the right words can help correct mistakes, preserve dignity, and maintain professional relationsh…
Apologizing for your mistakes
Mistakes happen and it is only natural to find yourself in situations where you have to apologize or face someone who is trying to apologize to you. Apologies can be formal, semi-formal, or informal. …
Masculinity and Culture
In a masculine society, power tends to be distributed unevenly. Therefore, it may be smart to spot the decision maker and address them. A presentation that disregards the person with more power or und…
Indulgence vs Restraint
The preference of duty over freedom is a characteristic of societies which practice restraint. In such cultures life is considered to be hard and having fun or enjoying life is less encouraged. Accord…
Cultural Differences: Business Etiquette Part 2
Flexibility and adaptation is key to successfully managing relationships in an international environment. Although domestic cultures may dominate certain aspects of business communication, organizatio…
Give Your Audience A Voice
Addressing an audience large in number affects the type of the communication in terms of interactivity. As discussed in the previous post, a one-sided message better suits one-to-many communications. …
Power Distance Index
A society with a low score on this dimension tends to fight for equality. Therefore, the environment is more democratic and peaceful conflict resolutions are practiced. The members of this society or …
Affects and Emotions
Emotions are inseparable elements of our lives. They help us survive and thrive, but they can also be detrimental to our health and relationships. Affects are the emotional reactions to the experience…
Hofstede’s long term orientation
A society that scores low on this index is considered to have short term orientation, also known as being a monumentalist. Such societies look to the past to solve the problems they face in the presen…
Sender: the initiator of communication
As the initiator of communication, the sender is the creator of the message and one who validates or jeopardizes its credibility. A message is a vehicle that carries the sender’s idea, opinion, values…
Understanding Communication
Like any other phenomenon, communication also consists of several components. When they work effectively together, they lead to successful communication. Every communication consists of three main com…
Individualism vs Collectivism
As explained above, individualism is related to the level of interdependence vs independence of the members of a society or organization. A high score on individualism in Hofstede’s research indicates…
Murray’s Psychogenic Needs
What is the depth of your knowledge in terms of your needs and those around you? Perhaps this is the question to which the answer reveals why and how people communicate. Our very existence is dependen…
uncertainty avoidance and culture
Uncertainty avoiding cultures are unwilling to let go of their adherence to their codes and happen to be more rigid. While principles are central to high uncertainty avoiding index societies, experien…
Conflict Management from EI Point of View
People interact in various situations and under different circumstances. Conflict may rise in an informal discussion or a formal business meeting. From personal relationships to the professional ones,…
Message components
In communication, the message conveys the sender’s thoughts and intentions through language. It is shaped by how the sender prioritizes the components discussed previously. While the core idea often s…
Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions
Hofstede identified six categories through which cultures can be more easily analyzed and understood. These categories are known as cultural dimensions. Hofstede’s six cultural dimensions are: power d…
Cultural Differences: Business Etiquette part 1
It is not uncommon to experience conflicts due to cultural differences. People of different nationalities tend to have their own business communication styles and habits. The best way to avoid miscomm…
Basic Psychological Needs
Glasser maintains that people have four basic psychological needs apart from survival. These are the need for love and sense of belonging, the need for power, the need for freedom, and the need for fu…
The Johari Window
The Johari window is introduced as a complementary tool to communication components. This window allows for the enhancement of self-discovery and quality communication.…