August Articles 2011

The Articulate CEO

Cultural Differences – Monochronic versus Polychronic

Continuing our series looking at cross-cultural communication issues we now turn our attention to monochronic versus polychronic cultures and the impact that can have on communication.

Monochronic cultures like to do just one thing at a time. They value a certain orderliness and sense of there being an appropriate time and place for everything. They do not value interruptions. They like to concentrate on the job at hand and take time commitments very seriously.

In addition monochronic people tend to show a great deal of respect for private property and are reluctant to be either a lender or a borrower.

Cultural Differences – High Context versus Low Context

In an increasingly connected and interdependent world effective communication not only becomes more important but also much more difficult.

Ironically, it is often not dissimilar languages that cause the greatest problems but rather much more mundane and harder to detect cultural differences. One such difference is that of a high context culture versus a low context culture.

A low context culture is one in which things are fully (though concisely) spelled out. Things are made explicit, and there is considerable dependence on what is actually said or written.

The London Riots – A Knee-Jerk Reaction to Social Media

In light of last weekend’s riots in London, UK Prime Minister David Cameron is considering banning individuals from social media if they are suspected of plotting criminal activity.

Soon after the riots subsided, it became clear that Blackberry Messenger played a role in how the rioters organized themselves.

UK authorities also believe that Twitter and Facebook played a role as well.

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