3.4. JUDGING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF GLOBAL COMMUNICATION

Beyond developing cross-cultural competence at an individual level, communicating effectively in a global arena requires attention to the three Ps of organizational functioning—practices, procedures, and policies (see the model) regarding communication. Practices encompass the behaviors of managers in cross-cultural interactions and the national, corporate, and personal norms that govern interpersonal relations. Can managers shift styles to deal with a range of differences among multinational employees? Are staff members knowledgeable about civilizational and national differences influencing communication? Are managers and employees fluent in the languages needed to conduct business with clients/customers and colleagues around the world?

Corporate and departmental procedures must also contribute to effectiveness through methods and formats that facilitate communication, from meetings and presentations to written communication and conference calls. Do meeting formats vary to accommodate different national cultural preferences? Are conference calls scheduled taking into account the convenience of those in different national or worldwide time zones?

Finally, organizational policies need to support the exchange of information and the building of relationships among staff members. Are language policies clear and conducive to effective information flow? Do policies about meetings, e-mails, conferences, and telephone usage contribute to effectiveness?

The "Global Communication Effectiveness Checklist" will give you an opportunity to assess your organization in light of these three dimensions of global communication.

The more points you have in each section of the checklist, the more effective your organization is in communicating globally. First, look to see which categories have the most and least points to find overall strengths and weaknesses. Then pay particular attention to specific items that were checked "Almost Never." These may indicate issues to address and actions to take in order to increase effectiveness. Discuss these with leaders in your organization to determine the best ways to address these communication saboteurs.

3.4.1. Suggestions for Using the "Global Communication Effectiveness Checklist"

Objectives

• To identify practices, policies, and procedures conducive to effective global communication

• To assess global communication practices, policies, and procedures

• To identify obstacles to be addressed in order to strengthen global communication

Intended Audience

• Leaders and policymakers in global organizations

• Managers of global teams, departments, divisions, or units

• Human resource managers in global organizations

Time

• 45 to 60 minutes

Materials

• Copies of the "Global Communication Effectiveness Checklist"

• Easel and flip chart

• Markers

Global Communication Effectiveness Checklist Directions: Check the appropriate column for each statement with regard to your organization. Practices Almost Always Sometimes Almost Never 1. Managers are assisted in developing crosscultural awareness, knowledge, and skills.       2. Managers are skilled in style shifting, using different communication styles appropriately.       3. Managers are effective in giving feedback to employees of a wide range of backgrounds.       4. Managers are able to write clear, understandable memos, letters, and reports in the language(s) of the organization.       5. Managers are able to use interpreters effectively to communicate across language differences.       6. Managers are skilled in building productive relationships with colleagues and clients of a wide range of cultures.       7. Managers are sensitive to and knowledgeable about cultural differences influencing communication.       8. Managers are able to examine their own assumptions, interpretations, and behaviors and assess their impact on business interactions.       9. Managers are skilled in listening, hearing both the stated and unstated messages.       10. Managers have developed multiple methods for dealing with cross-cultural communication obstacles.       11. Managers seek to learn about the national cultures and styles of those with whom they need to communicate.       12. Managers and international employees are fluent in the official corporate language and at least one other language.       13. The organization has a clear policy about which language(s) are to be used for official communication.       14. Corporate/organizational language policy distinguishes between different types of communication (such as internal/external, employee/client, corporate/local).       15. The organization encourages the sharing of information among different locations.       16. The organization has a clear policy about the format, style, and use of written communications, including e-mails, which contributes to effectiveness.       17. The organization encourages employees to share their cross-cultural experience and learning.       18. The organization has a clear policy about socializing among employees outside of the office, which contributes to effectiveness.       19. The organization subsidizes the cost of learning other languages.       20. The organization has a clear policy about meetings and conferences, which contributes to effectiveness.       21. The organization promotes cross-cultural learning.       22. The organization has a clear policy about translation and interpretation, which contributes to effectiveness.       23. The organization has a stated policy about inclusion.       24. The language policy allows for the use of the most appropriate language for each situation.       25. Meeting formats vary in order to be appropriate for the national cultures and preferred styles of participants.       26. Feedback is a regular aspect of meetings, conferences, and presentations.       27. Presentation styles vary according to the audience.       28. Interpreters are selected according to guidelines that ensure effectiveness.       29. Professionally trained interpreters are used when needed.       30. Conference calls are arranged taking into account different time zones and the convenience of all participants.       31. Written communication (memos, reports, letters, e-mails) is used effectively.       32. Face-to-face meetings are held in different locations on a rotating basis.       33. Some time is spent on relationship building during meetings and conference calls.       34. Inconveniences in scheduling and location caused by meetings and calls are shared among participants.       35. Adaptations and flexibility are required only for the good of the organization, rather than for any particular individual's convenience.       36. Different communication formats (e-mail, phone calls, meetings, videoconferences) are used appropriately.       Scoring Add the number of points in each category.

Directions

• Explain the Three Ps of Global Communication Effectiveness: practices, policies, and procedures, giving examples of each and soliciting examples from the group.

• Ask members to respond to the checklist, checking the appropriate column for each statement.

• Ask members to tally the number of points in each category.

• Conduct a group tally of the highest and lowest scoring categories.

• Have members focus on the items scoring zero, then in small groups share the most needed growth areas noted on their checklists, charting the group's agreed-on top three areas to target for improvement.

• Have each group report its top three global communication areas for development, charting responses.

• Lead a group discussion of areas for development, honing the total group list down to three or four.

• Assign one area needing development to each group and have members brainstorm possible ways to strengthen that aspect of global communication in the organization.

• Have groups report their most workable suggestions.

• Summarize and indicate next steps.

• Ask each member to commit to one action he or she can take to strengthen some aspect of communication that is currently presenting an obstacle in global business communication.

Questions for Discussion/Consideration

• Which areas for development most hinder effective global communication in the organization?

• What is the cost of these hindrances to the organization?

• What needs to be done to address these areas?

• Which suggestions are we willing to undertake?

• What can you do individually to improve communication in one of these areas?

Cultural Considerations

• Some members may be reluctant to surface any "bad news" for fear of disrupting harmony and causing embarrassment. Explain that improving communication is everyone's responsibility and that pointing out areas for development helps the organization improve in those areas.

• Some members may be more comfortable discussing without a checklist. In those cases, use the items as questions to stimulate discussion. Or put group members at three charts and ask each to discuss and list the helping and hindering factors in one of the three aspects, practices, policies, or procedures. Then have groups prioritize hindering factors, sharing the top three with other groups. If time permits, have groups brainstorm suggestions for improvement.

Caveats, Considerations, and Variations

• Have members fill out the checklist anonymously and turn it in. Then tally scores and present data to the group for discussion.

• Send and have members respond to the checklist electronically. Tally responses and present for discussion at a teleconferenced meeting.

• Checklist items can be changed to focus practices on "international employees" or "multinational team members" rather than "managers."

• Members can pair up with a partner from another location to discuss responses.

• Data from checklists can be separated by group (for example, by location, national culture, or language). For example, do headquarters-based staff rate the organization's communication practices, policies, and procedures differently than do staff in other countries? Do managers from some regions or national cultures rate the organization differently from those of other regions or national cultures? Results can then be compared to see if practices, policies, and procedures are experienced differently. Such data could be presented to the team, unit, division, or organization for discussion.

All corporate practices, policies, and procedures have a cultural heritage, generally growing out of the culture of the organization's leaders and the national culture of its origin. Those practices, policies, and procedures may mesh or clash with the national cultures in which the organization operates or with individual employees' orientations. The "Global Communication Analysis" gives you an opportunity to consider the cultural orientations that may underlie some of your organization's practices, policies, and procedures. For example, having a policy that prohibits managers from socializing with their subordinates outside of work may come out of a highly task-oriented culture and may inhibit communication with Japanese employees, who expect to go out drinking with the boss in the evening and who use this time to freely express what they might never disclose in a meeting during working hours. Or a clearly stated policy about memos and e-mails requiring direct, explicit messages might come out of a low-context cultural orientation needing some high-context augmentation, such as pictures of each employee on the organization's intranet directory, bios introducing new team members, or individuals' pictures included in the tag line at the end of e-mail messages, to help employees connect to one another. Analyzing where any clashes might be hindering effectiveness, then taking steps to address them, moves the organization forward.

Consider the specific communication practices, policies, and procedures in your organization and the cultural orientation they reflect. For example, written performance evaluations would come out of a low-context orientation. Guidelines that state that meetings must be scheduled or approved by managers would emerge from a hierarchical orientation. Note your examples on the "Global Communication Analysis." Then consider individual and national orientations that may differ from the organization's.

3.4.2. Suggestions for Using the "Global Communication Analysis"

Objectives

• To raise awareness of the cultural orientation of the organization's practices, procedures, and policies

• To surface conflicts between organizational practices, procedures, and policies and those of employees of different civilizational and national cultures

• To stimulate discussion about cultural orientations and their influence on communication within the organization

Intended Audience

• Executives in a global organization

• Managers of global or international divisions or teams

• HR professionals engaged in setting and modifying communication policies

Time

• 60 minutes

Materials

• Copies of the "Global Communication Analysis"

• Chart paper, markers, and tape

Directions

• Give, or solicit from the group, a few examples of communication practices, procedures, or policies that are followed in the company and discuss which cultural orientations they follow. For example, written performance evaluations would come out of a low-context orientation. Guidelines that state that meetings must be scheduled or approved by managers would come out of a hierarchical orientation.

• Have group members fill in the analysis by jotting down specific examples of practices, procedures, and policies that demonstrate the influence of each cultural orientation.

• Form participants into six groups, each group addressing one of the cultural orientation ranges. Each group discusses and charts examples of both organizational and individual/national orientations.

• Each group reports out examples, with other groups suggesting any additions.

• Groups then brainstorm suggestions for modifying policies to make them more effective with a wider range of employees.

Questions for Discussion/Consideration

• What are the biggest differences between organizational practices, procedures, and policies and the individual and/or national preferences of employees in the organization?

• What are the consequences of these differences?

• What challenges do they present to the organization?

• What can the organization do to modify or augment policies to address these challenges?

Cultural Considerations

• Some members may be reluctant to surface any "bad news" for fear of disrupting harmony and causing embarrassment. Explain that improving communication is everyone's responsibility and demonstrates loyalty. In addition, pointing out potential obstacles and areas for improvement helps the organization deal with them.

• Some members may be more comfortable with discussion without anything in writing. In those cases, use the categories as questions to stimulate discussion.

Caveats, Considerations, and Variations

• It may be helpful to have the group brainstorm communication practices, procedures, and policies by giving them topics such as time, meetings, feedback, e-mails, conference calls, or memos and charting responses. For example, ask them "How do we give and receive feedback?" "What are the norms and rules about schedules, deadlines, and appointments?" or "What are the unwritten rules about meetings, such as, who calls them, how are they conducted, and who talks and who does not?"

• Bring copies of existing policies for the group to examine in order to stimulate thinking about specific rules, guidelines, and requirements.