Asha Kaul

Gender and Workplace Experience

“Men are dominant, women are subservient;” “Men are aggressive, women are passive;” “Men are agentic, women are communal;” “Men are power-centric, women are person-centric;” “Men are single-focused, women are multi-focused;” “Men are bread winners, women are home makers.” The list of differences identified by researchers is seamless. Similarities have, rarely if ever, been recorded or found their space in research journals. Questions that readily come to the mind are: Does biological difference transcend all boundaries and get reflected in attitudes and behaviours clubbed under binary heads as “male” and “female?” Or is it that when the “difference” hypothesis yields null results, interest in the research topic wanes?

Social Media: The New Mantra for Managing Reputation

In a world where “one angry tweet can torpedo a brand,” 1 corporations need to embrace all possibilities. Social media2 have transformed the business and communication landscape and organizations appear to, reluctantly or willingly, recognize this change. Evolving patterns of communication, collaboration, consumption, and innovation have created new domains of interactivity for companies and stakeholders. In this changed scenario, there are opportunities for experimentation and correction, yet challenges abound. As on date, there are no definitive methodologies nor there is a ‘one-size-fits-all’ formula that can be applied to all situations for optimum results.

Man and Woman Talk in Indian Organizations: Grammatical and Syntactical Similarities

The article examines grammatical and syntactical forms in reported speeches of men and women in the Indian work environment. Until recently, there has been little or no study on the linguistic performance across genders in the Indian setting. However, the recent advent of women in the organizations indicates that an understanding of the linguistic similarities or variances is required and will aid collaborative communication. Based on an empirical study, the article posits that linguistic variances in the organizational setup begin to fade at the middle management level. Communication and styles of communication are organization and not gender specific. Additionally, the article argues that organization-fit language is more masculine in nature and hinges on aggression and assertion rather than nurturance or submission. Findings of the research may be of significance to academics and corporates in the business scenario who review the process of communication in same- and mixed-gender groups from the lens of organizational requirements rather than gender specifics.

The Effectiveness of Knowledge Visualization for Organizational Communication in Europe and India

In recent years we are witnessing a growing interest and use of knowledge visualization for communicating ideas and insights. Companies are deploying diagrams and knowledge maps to convey crucial business concepts. Scholars are reporting successful company cases, theorizing on the topic and compiling classifications and best practices. Yet few studies have attempted to prove the effectiveness of visualization, nor have they based their hypotheses on theories with predictive power. We aim to provide a contribution for the advancement of the field of knowledge visualization by testing the effects of different visualizations on the attitude toward its content. Second, we assess if visualization effectiveness is universal or culturally-bounded. We have conducted an experimental study, comparing text and two knowledge visualization types. The results of 231 subjects in Europe and India demonstrate that knowledge visualization has the power to increase the effectives of the message compared to text, and that these benefits replicate across different cultures.

Do Celebrities Have It All? Context Collapse and the Networked Publics

With the advent of social media and increase in networked publics, context collapse has emerged as a critical topic in the discussion of imagined audiences and blurring of the private and the public. The meshing of social contexts portends problematic issues as messages inadvertently reach unimagined audiences causing shame and leading to loss of ‘face’. In this article, we specifically study the impact of context collapse on some celebrities ‘who had it all’ yet, lost ‘it some’ to the world of networked public. The article examines celebrities sharing identity information across multiple contexts and explores situations of lost fame when ‘face’ is threatened, usage falters and breaks some of the well-established norms of interactivity. It concludes that lack of prudence in separating social contexts, loss of ‘face’ and social approval can dampen online celebrity presence. It proposes the use of ‘polysemy’ to simultaneously appeal to audiences from different contexts.

All Aboard the Metro Rail? LTMRHL’s Campaign for Stakeholder Support

On March 6, 2015 the Brand Ambassador campaign by L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad Ltd. (LTMRHL) had taken place for a little over two years. Launched in 2013 to bring about awareness and dispel negativity...

Building Reputational Bridges Over Crises Situations

This chapter examines the impact of cultural attributes (Hofstede 2001, 2009) on crisis communication through a study of four companies across two cultures (Eastern and Western) and two sectors (Automobile and FMCG) embroiled in a preventable crisis (Coombs 2007). The authors analyzed secondary data comprising newspaper reports to determine the type and sequence of crisis communication strategies for image repair using the Situation Crisis Communication Theory (Coombs 2007). The findings indicate that crisis communication varies across cultures. While companies of Eastern origin or operations, more specifically Indian, during and post-crisis, attempt to remedy and subvert the impact using strategies such as scapegoat and justification, companies originating or operating in the West, more specifically the USA, resort to strategies of defense and attack through a variety of responses such as denial, scapegoat, justification, compensation, and apology. The authors analyze these choices in the context of Hofstede’s five cultural dimensions and argue that cultural differences impact the choice of strategies used for image repair.

Corporate Reputation Decoded

Corporate reputation is a complex subject, and this book attempts to do justice to it by being expansive in its scope. Corporate Reputation Decoded covers a wide range of concepts and practices associated with reputation building, including reputation measurement, corporate governance legislation, leadership issues, government lobbying, crisis management, media handling and digital influencing, while situating it in the Indian context, illustrating the antecedents, processes and consequences of corporate reputation. Even as it provides an overview of key concepts and tactics for building, maintaining and restoring corporate reputations, the book refrains from drawing a road map of the process, allowing readers to assess and evaluate for themselves the benefits and drawbacks of various tactics.

Creating Synergies for Business Transformation: Brigade Enterprises Limited

119 I t was 7 pm on May 10, 2012 and Mr. Prabhakar Jadhav, Head, Planning, Quality and Change Leader had just finished going through the report on Sampoorna Parivartan (SP), the change initiative introduced by the Chairman & Managing Director, Mr. M R Jaishankar at Brigade Enterprises Limited (BEL). The report clearly indicated that SP had not been able to get the buy-in of all stakeholders and its lack of consistent application across departments was a major cause of concern. Getting up from his chair, Jadhav pondered over the next steps to be taken in order to ensure success of the change programme.

“Doing” the act: Lenovo and corporate reputation

Title – “Doing” the act: Lenovo and corporate reputation.Subject area – The case is positioned in the domain of building, managing and communicating corporate reputation. It discusses the entry of Lenovo in the Indian market where the company faced reputational challenges. Definition of a corporate reputation strategy which was aligned to the overall strategy of the company, helped Lenovo traverse difficult terrains. The case would be relevant for courses on corporate reputation, communication and strategy.Study level/applicability – The case is targeted at MBA students, corporate and PR professionals. The case can be used for MBA courses or management development programmes on corporate reputation, communication, and strategy.Case overview – The case brings out key elements of entry into an emerging market flooded with international, well‐positioned players and discusses the entry of Lenovo in the Indian market where the problem was compounded by perceptions of Chinese origin. How does Lenovo bring about...