WEEK 9 LESSON 2

COMMUNICATION STYLES AND CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS

Read the following case carefully and answer the questions that follow in your own words.

SUCCEEDING IN A DIVERSE WORKPLACE

A lot of Malaysian companies are moving towards globalization and are able to operate
internationally either by phone, fax, e-mail, and internet, or actually by sending employees to work
in other countries. Also Malaysian workforce is becoming more multicultural as thousands of
people from other countries immigrate to Malaysia each year. Unfortunately, people – and the
companies they work for – do not always recognize the value of training employees function in
multicultural situations. Misunderstandings arise, not because two parties cannot agree on
business terms, but because they simply do not understand each other.

A highly successful German automotive company recently merged with a Malaysian automotive
company after a few quality control meetings. The main focus was more on lorries, buses and
coaches for Light Railway Transit. Members of the German team met with Malaysian staff
members in Shah Alam. This meeting was two weeks after the final signing of the treaty between
both parties.

Justina Wang and Hazita Azman had been employed at the Shah Alam site for more than eight
years, moving from management assistant to manageress and assistant manageress
respectively. As a result of the merger, both Justina and Hazita’s new supervisor would be a newly
relocated German manager, Marc Lutzgen. Both Justina and Hazita were very comfortable in the
relaxed atmosphere of the office in Shah Alam but were a little nervous about meeting the German
visitors.

Both, Justina and Hazita felt that they there would be internal barriers in communication since
there may be differences in personalities, educational backgrounds, experiences, cultures,
statuses and biases. Therefore, these internal barriers would definitely affect their communication.
They were worried that the German staff members’ English language would not be good enough
for Justina and Hazita to understand easily.

The first meeting between Mr Lutzgen and Justina and Hazita was set for a Saturday – a casual
half day at the Shah Alam office. Justina chose a pair of black slacks and a floral blouse instead
of jeans and Hazita wore a pair of blue jeans with the Company T-shirt. Traffic was unusually
heavy so Justina and Hazita were a few minutes late for the meeting. The door was closed. They
knocked once and went in. The staff members from Germany, all dressed in conservative
business suits, were sitting at a conference table. Justina and Hazita reached out their hands to
Lutzgen and said with a smile, “Good morning, Marc. It is good to meet you! I am Justina Wang
and this is Hazita Azman. It’s a pleasure to have you as part of our team”.

©P.Gopala Krishnan/ CTS/CSA/2020

A few weeks later, the company offered some sessions on cultural orientation. Justina and Hazita
learned that the German business people have a high regard for authority and structure.
Therefore, they greet each other formally using titles such as “doctor” or “professor” when
appropriate. Other than that they enjoy working with data and other concrete “evidence”. They
also tend to separate business and pleasure, saving humour and social talk until after the
business is done.

After participating in employee training on the differences between German and Malaysian
cultures, Justina and Hazita learned that Germans do not tend to mix their social lives with
business. Over time, Justina and her colleagues in Shah Alam developed a friendlier relationship
with the staff members from Germany. But first they had to establish respect to one another. So,
they learned to behave more formally at work and to save informality for activities after work with
their new German co-workers. They found that many of these colleagues enjoyed warmth and
friendliness of the Malaysians as long as business and pleasure are kept separate.

(Adapted Davis, K. et. al Language and Intercultural Communication, 2019)

Questions:

1. What assumptions do Justina and Hazita make about their new supervisor and German
business people in general? Why are those assumptions inaccurate?

2. How is Hazita and Justina’s situation typical, given the current trend in business in
Malaysia? Explain.

3. What potential communication barriers exist in this situation? Did Hazita and Justina do the
right things to overcome those barriers? Illustrate your answer.

4. How can Justina , Hazita and Marc Lutzgen learn from each and hence work better as a
team despite their differences?

5. If you were Justina and Hazita how would you have handled the meeting?
Justify your answer.

©P.Gopala Krishnan/ CTS/CSA/2020