James Calvert Scott

Chinese Business Face: Communication Behaviors and Teaching Approaches

Chinese businesspersons are extremely sensitive to protecting and enhancing face. The Chinese sensitivity to face is a result of their emphasis on enduring relation ships and social networks. The hundreds of phrases in the Chinese language describing face demonstrate the sophistication of the Chinese conceptualization of face and related behaviors. For the businessperson, saving face and giving face are the most important face-related skills. Chinese businesspersons use various com munication strategies in order to save face and give face, including indirectness, intermediaries, praising, requests, and shaming. Western businesspersons can pre pare to operate effectively in the Chinese business environment by learning about the Chinese conceptualization of face and related communication strategies.

Developing Cultural Fluency: The Goal of International Business Communication Instruction in the 21st Century

Abstract Developing cultural fluency, the ability to cross cultural boundaries and function much like a native by regularly matching the receivers decoded and the senders encoded message meanings, is the goal of international business communication instruction in the 21st century. Cultural fluency, which is rooted in partially understood but powerful culture-communication relationships, can be developed through a variety of instructional means. Developing cultural fluency will help the business community cope with such important communication-related challenges as growing workforce diversity, increasing globalization, and the need to select appropriate communication technologies.

Differences in American and British Vocabulary: Implications for International Business Communication

American English and British English vocabularies have diverged over time, result, ing in lexical differences that have the potential to confound English-language intercultural communication. The differences derive from the need to adapt the meanings of existing expressions or to find new expressions for different things and to borrow expressions from different cultures. Separation and slow means of com munication also cause differences and encourage one side to retain archaic expres sions that others have abandoned or modified. The differences in vocabulary can be grouped into four categories: the same expression with differences in style, con notation, and/or frequency; the same expression with one or more shared and dif ferent meanings; the same expression with completely different meanings; and dif ferent expressions with the same shared meaning. These differences in vocabularies affect understanding of all varieties of English. To bridge differences in Enghsh language vocabularies, international business communication teachers and trainers must devote more attention to English as the dominant language of international business, create awareness of important vocabulary differences that have the potential to confound intercultural communication, and develop and teach strate gies for bridging the vocabulary differences of English speakers.

British Perspectives on Organizing Bad-News Letters: Organizational Patterns Used by Major U.K. Companies.

news is conveyed. Even when two distinct cultural groups use the same language, they may organize bad news in different ways. Although the business subcultures of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (U.K) and the United States of America (U.S.A) both use the English language for conveyingbad news, both do so with primarily different subculturally endorsed organizational patterns. Consequently, it is necessary that business writers understand the business-writing organizational patterns of these dominant English-writing subcultures and craft bad-news messages that are acceptable within the receiver’s subculture. While most of the attention in the international busi-

Enriching International Business Faculty Exchanges with the Library Connection.

Abstract An innovative way to enrich international business faculty exchanges is by developing a strong library connection. This article presents a model in which the exchange of business librarians with their peers abroad complements and facilitates the internationalization of business faculty, instruction, and research. Benefits from enriched faculty exchanges accrue to faculty, librarians, their respective institutions, and students.

Planning and Implementing a Sabbatical Leave Abroad

Abstract A business educator can convert the dream of a sabbatical leave abroad into reality with proper planning and implementing. Major dimensions of planning that deserve attention include securing the opportunity abroad, assessing the financial implications, getting the sabbatical-leave approval, and resolving professional and personal obstacles. Major dimensions of implementation that deserve attention include traveling to the opportunity abroad, acquiring the necessities of life, becoming adjusted while abroad, and recognizing the leave-related consequences. The business educator who carefully plans and prudently implements a sabbatical leave abroad will enjoy a richly rewarding experience, the experience of a lifetime.

Dear ???: Understanding British Forms of Address

Since Britons historically have placed a high value on the use of correct fortns of address, those who write to and speak with them should be familiar with their generally accepted address-related customs. In relatively formal commu nication settings, the use of titles and surnames is generally sanctioned, although there are some notable exceptions. In relatively informal communi cation settings, the use of first names or appropriate substitute expressions is generally sanctioned. Business communication teachers can incorporate infor mation about British forms of address into both general business communica tion and specialized international business communication courses as the provided examples suggest.

Perceptions of Experts about Business Teacher Education

Abstract A three-round Delphi process was used to gather perceptions about what major actions have the potential to influence positively the direction of business teacher education and how important those major actions are. The reliable collective judgments of 21 nationally prominent business teacher education experts were used to identify 21 major actions with consequential potential and 40 other actions with lesser potential to influence the future of business teacher education. These actions were grouped through factor analysis into nine factors, of which four—Redirection of the Discipline, Configuration of the Curriculum, Ideals of the Discipline, and Enhancement of the Discipline—should be given highest priority by the business education community.

The Rising Tide of Estuary English: The Changing Nature Of Oral British Business Communication:

Estuary English is a combination of nonregional and local southeastern English pronunciation and intonation that lies between R. P. English and London street speech and is sweeping across the United Kingdom, including its business community. This article identifies characteristics of Estuary English, documents the usage of Estuary English within the British business community, describes the milieu that causes Estuary English to be acceptable in the British business community, speculates about the future of Estuary English in the British business community, identifies the implications of Estuary English for business communicators, and discusses the implications of Estuary English for business communication teachers and consultants.

Preparing Business Correspondence the British Way.

as knowing the legal formalities&dquo; (1987, p. 48). Thus, those who correspond with British businesspersons should comply with British expectations for business correspondence; to disregard or to defy the expected standards or rules is to risk the business relationship. To allow American business writers to conform to the business-correspondence expectations of the British business community, this article focuses on four key aspects of the British business message: organization, style, mechanics, and format. With information about these matters, American business writers can prepare culturally sensitive business correspondence for British audiences.