In modern business, cross-cultural communications problems are a big deal. Time zones, language, holidays, concepts of authority, non-verbal communication and more influence how people interact, react and participate.

...consider an open discussion focusing on an issue of future development, with various positive and negative comments being exchanged. Yet, the participants proposing the project are unaware who at the remote end is being positive or negative, and in particular whether the one with spending authority likes the proposal or not. This severely hampers the discussion, because the participants do not know whether to dismiss the negative comments (if they are from someone not in authority) or to argue more strongly for the case (if they are from the authority). The need to know the speaker's position is enhanced in cultures where authority is solid, less so in cultures that are more egalitarian, democratic, and where everyone's opinion needs to be considered [ACM Queue].

The article discusses quite a number of issues and scenarios related to how people from differing cultures interact in a work context. Certainly worth a perusal for anyway who works with in a cross-cultural environment. 7:05:38 PM    comment []