Second WU Symposium on International Business Communication

Linguistic approaches to intercultural business communication

WU 2009

Renate Rathmayr

Linguistic approaches to intercultural business communication WU 2009 2

Progress in Transition: Results of 2007Composed Index (R. Springer 2009)

33 3742

44

46

47

48

49

50

5151

52525456

75

7678

74

72

69

69

66

64

6159

3226

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

TurkmenistanBelarus

Uzbekistan

Tajikistan

Serbia

Moldova

Kyrgyzstan

Mongolia

Azerbaijan

Bosnia&H.

Georgia

Ukraine

Albania

ArmeniaMacedonia

Kazakhstan

Russia

Romania

Bulgaria

Croatia

Latvia

Poland

Lithuania

Slovakia

Estonia

Slovenia

Hungary

Czech Rep.

EBRD Transition Indicator 2007 benchmark: 4,25 / weight 40%

GNI per capitabenchmark: High Income Countries 200532.550 PPP-$ / weight 40 %

Privatization 2007benchmark: 90 % share of private sector in GDP / weight 20 %

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Two levels of analysis

• the level of discourse practices – realized in job interviews

• the level of attitudes– expressed in personnel interviews and

questionnaires

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Corpus

– recordings of 18 job interviews– 23 interviews conducted with personnel

managers, company directors, consultants and agents of recruiting companies and job agencies (expert-interviews)

– 99 questionnaires filled out by personnel managers and successful applicants after a job interview in eight Russian cities

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Focus

• Social roles of employer and employee

• Interview macrostructures:especially dealing with topics concerning privacy

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2. New norms for employers / HR managers / recruiters and job applicants

• Distribution vs. performance

• HR managers / recruiters and job applicants → in the role of learners

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HR managers/ recruiters and job applicants in the role of learners

“Americans are convinced that trainings are useful and help to gain prestige. Russians, on the contrary, consider them redundant (unnecessary), because they don’t have to learn how to talk, they are able to communicate”.

(Koltunova 2005,6)

“About 10% of candidates have specially prepared for the job interviews, but he himself prefers candidates without special trainings, because it’s easier to understand, who the candidate really is, you don’t need to take a special effort to take off the veneer.”

(Company director from Moscow)

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Results of the questionnaires

• Out of 50 respondents who succeeded in the job interview:– only about 35% prepared themselves by reading special

literature (7: 3 m, 4 f) or training (7: 2 m, 5 f).

• Out of the 49 HR managers and employers: – about 58% prepared especially: 20 (5m, 15 f) by reading special

literature, 9 (4 m, 5 f) by a special training.

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3. New social roles

• Power distribution

• Russia is a market of employees: → the HR manager has to sell the job.

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Examples

(1) Job applicant (student):

“Yes, I understood. In principle I heard all I was interested in. It was a pleasure to meet you. To communicate with, you left a positive impression on me.“

(2) Personnel director of a big company in S.:

“What do you know, the first years I got baskets of letters every day, saying whom I should take, friends, relatives, friends of mayors. This was strenuous. Now it still happens, but only rarely.”

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Examples

(3) Personnel Director of a big company in S.:

“It was very difficult to ensure, that people understood, that this is no more possible (she said). In the past they called from the police, from the administration, from everywhere, and then they got the job. But now this is not possible anymore. We didn’t exactly make ourselves popular through this new practice, you can believe me. It took some time till people understood that they have to write a letter of application, to take part in the selection procedure. Only then it is possible to work for us, and not after a telephone call from the administration. And this new system is very efficient.”

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3 types of HR managers, recruiters, employers and job applicants

„integrators“ „adopters“„traditionalists“

innovation

tradition

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3.1. Traditionalists: Examples(4) Director of a factory in S.:“Whoever reads these manage-ment books is an idiot. Before implementing this success-fully in Russia you have to change Russians first. And they are good actors; it will be difficult to handle them by management tools. If they do not get a salary increase, they will work less, and Increase their salaries this way. To control Russians is simply not realistic.”

(5) Director of a factory in S.:

“It’s only words, only words. I need results. Two or four weeks I observe what the candidate is able to do. If it is good, I take him, if not, away with him. One out of ten coming to me is competent.”

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3.1. Traditionalists: Examples

(6) Director of a publishing house in M.:

“If they say I can do this and that and the other that’s the end for me. He completely follows his intuition, it’s connected with language use, I intuitively understand, if someone fits into the team, that he will integrate well. It’s like love, difficult to explain.”

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3.2. Adopters: Examples

(7) Personnel Manager in M.:

“In the company all elements of western win-win management are implemented, (she said)the management style is characterized by partnership and positive thinking, …”

(8) Personnel Manager in M.:

“The shining examples to her are bosses who present a high degree of professionalism, adequacy, positive orientation, constructive approach and intelligence.”

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3.2. Adopters: Examples

(9) Personnel Manager in M. about others:

“Traditional motto: ‘you are the boss, and I am an idiot.’…but: people like it when they are respected, it’s a human desire to be considered ‘important and appreciated’.”

(10) Marketing Manager in S.:

“The dress code, which requires wearing uniform on 4 out of 5 days, and the principle to move to another depart-ment, when the team members get too used to each other and internal competition between the members of a team disappears.”

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3.3. Integrators: Examples

(11) Personnel Director of a big company in S.:

“Tell us what is more important for you, career oppor-tunity, good relations in the team, good salary or perhaps something else”.

(12) Personnel Director of a big company in S.:

“Don’t be afraid, continue telling us…”

(

13) Personnel Director of a big company in S.:

“They have to motivate employees to do more effective /efficient work and offer many trainings and courses to tie the employers to the company.”

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3.3. Integrators: Examples

(14) Personnel manager in M.:

“We have other things for staff, we celebrate New Year, the 8 of March, the 23 of February and the birthdays of staff members etc. From time to time we go bowling or watch football, as the employees prefer.”

(15) Director of a company in X.:

“Why should I take precisely you among the 9 applicants?”

(16) Director of a company in X.:

“There is no time to prepare; you have to act quickly, to be the first.”

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3.3. Integrators: Examples(17) Job applicant (student) in M.:

“You know, I simply went from your site to the French site, with which you work together (…) No, your site is excellent, only the white signs are a little hard to read for the eyes. But other than that, that’s ok, everything very good, intelligible, what kind of company, about personnel and so on.”

(18) Job applicant (student) in M.:

“No, purely by chance, I went to the dean’s office to do some errands there and they told me that there was a telephone call and that there is somebody needed for a job and they gave me your advertisement and I read it.”

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4. Dealing with problems concerning privacy

• Traditional Russian style– in the Russian tradition private and professional

sphere were not strictly separated

• Market-economy style– private and professional sphere are separated

– law prohibits certain questions (e.g. concerning family planning and child wishes)

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4.3. Integrative speaking about private matters- Examples

(25) Job interview with a company director in S.:- “And where is your wife working? In the questionnaire you did not say.”- “My wife, she is an entrepreneur.”- “What is she doing?”- “It’s household chemistry, perfumery, the company “D”.”

(27) Company director in S.:“People are more open, not used to hiding private things; they lightly answer questions like this.”

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Conclusion

„integrators“ „adopters“„traditionalists“

innovation

tradition