Question

Abby Saavedra works in Thorton Corporation Manila a media empire with more than 45,000
employees worldwide operating in more than a hundred countries. The company provides critical
information to business and professionals on financial, legal, tax and accounting, scientific,
healthcare and media markets which are keys to quality decision making. For faster, efficient, timely
delivery of services to its clients, Thorton Corporation uses the latest technologies in information
and communication.
In Manila, majority of its more than 1,500 employees are millennials. They provide knowledge-based
support for content, customer and consulting services to clients around the world. Its employees
have strong backgrounds in banking and finance, economics, accounting, business, media,
communications, law, marketing and some of them possess multi-language proficiency.
One fine day, Abby was looking forward to her day in the office. While on her way to work, she
already had her day planned, nothing new or unusual or so she thought. Just a few hours in the
office, Abby was called by her immediate boss. As she made her way to the office of her boss, she
was wondering what additional work will be assigned to her. But she was wrong. Abby was called for
a different reason.
Days ago, Abby had a problem meeting the deadline for a book which they need to send to their
publisher. They were running after the production time which was critical for the book to be
published as scheduled. She attributed the delay to unclear instructions from Joy who is her US
counterpart. Considering that the problem does not only involve their team but will also affect
manufacturing, she decided to inform her immediate boss about it. In turn, her boss informed the
manager in the US who is his counterpart.
In the US, Joy was called by her boss to be clarified on the matter. However, she obviously did not
like what Abby did. She did not take it lightly as she felt offended. Joy believed that Abby should
have talked to her first and not bring the issue to her boss. Joy’s reaction reached Abby through her
boss.
During the discussion, Joy told Abby that she should have clarified matters with her only as the
problem can still be threshed out at their level. Abby explained that as it is their practice, she also
sent an email to her to inform her what happened but at the same time she also told her manager
about it. She said that it is common practice in their team to let their boss know whatever work-
related problems they have so that he will be able to address and solve them together with his US
counterpart.
According to Abby, her decision to tell her boss was perceived by Joy as kind of complaining. Abby’s
understanding is that it seems that in the US, employees do not usually escalate problems to their
boss as they settle the matter by themselves first. But in their office, she said that the norm is to
inform the managers because it is their job to solve problems within the team. Abby said that it was never her intention to put Joy in a bad light. She was just concerned with the production deadline so
she deemed it necessary to inform her boss which she didn’t know would bring the matter to his US
counterpart in the first place. She also believed that what she did was nothing unusual as it was for
her the normal thing to do.
Because of this incident, Abby realized how culture can serve as a major barrier in effective
communication. To better understand what happened, she also checked a tool in their office called
culture calculator. Based on the tool, Abby learned how different cultures work. She found that
Americans are egalitarian at work while Filipinos are hierarchical. The different ways of working
based on one’s culture explains the behaviour of both Joy and Abby. Moreover, Abby also realized
that sometimes email is not enough to fully convey one’s message as there are no emotions to it.
She said that when she finally had a teleconference with Joy, everything was settled as their face-to-
face interaction cleared her of any ill motive. According to Abby, her sincerity as shown in her facial
expression and her manner of speaking were keys to being able to fully impart her intentions. Lastly,
since then, whenever she tells her boss of any issue or concern at the office, she would ask him not
to tell his US counterpart for the meantime. *This case is based on actual events, but the institution’s
name and some of its characteristics have been changed.

Discussion Questions
1) Was Abby right in informing her immediate boss about the problem she had?
2) In this case, how does culture affect the reaction of both Abby and Joy?
3) How do communication technologies affect behaviour?
4) What is the role of communication in ensuring smooth interpersonal relations at work?
5) Cultural differences in communication is difficult to deal with in a global organisation. What
should organisations do to lessen if not avoid conflict that will arise from it?

Answer 1

1. Yes, Abby was right in informing her immediate boss about the problem she had because it is the work culture in the office she works in. She faced a work-related issue that she conveyed to her boss through the right means.

2. Different cultures shape different people and their way of working. Abby contacted her boss because she faced a work-related issue and Joy took it in a negative manner which is all due to the differences in culture. Just as stated in the case above, Americans are egalitarian at work whereas Filipinos are hierarchical.

3. Communication technologies affect behavior in the following manner-

• Smooths out communication
• Builds relationships
• Motivates the staff

4. Communication makes sure that everything is being conveyed in the right manner, to the person, by the right medium, at the right place, and at the right time. It builds strong relationships based on trust and honesty which increases the efficiency and productivity of the workforce, as well as the organization.

5. Global organizations should do the following-

• Accept the cultural differences
• Train the employees to deal with such differences
• Ensure smooth communication
• Regular feedback from the employees

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