On Nov 14 2009 at the imperial palace in Tokyo, President Obama made a bow which sparks some criticism. Conservative commentators accuse the president of groveling to a foreign leader.
According to Japan custom, it is a respectful tradition for visitors to bow to the emperor in a formal setting. As we are in a 'hypersensitive' environment now, there will be various interpretations for every different type of movement. There was greater controversy when critics juxtapose a serious of upright handshakes between the emperor and various world leaders. Is the bow necessary to begin with?

There's this saying "When in Rome, do what the Romans do". It's the safest so as not to cause any sensitivity uproar and this displays a willingness to understand the culture. Culture sensitivity is an important aspect in today's context due to globalization and we cannot be negligent about it.

In a typical team scenario these days, it’s quite common for people to work with different nationalities. Although cultural diversity enhances the creativity, it is often tough due to the varied opinions in beliefs and cultural working practices. The westerner likes creativity while the Chinese may choose a practical approach instead. We may have to set aside our differences, be professional and think in the position of others, as to what is the best for the organization or team as a whole.

We have to take note of the audience in which message is targeting at. Perhaps the President could just do with a handshake or a slight bow to minimize misunderstanding. In particular, we have to be mindful of the parties involved. Body language, the words used represents where we are coming from. For effective communication to establish, we could just put in the extra effort to understand and engage in their practices and not forgetting our cultural customs.

8 Comments:

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By  Roger Ng, at February 1, 2010 at 5:08 PM  

Hi Alden,

I enjoyed reading your post as it is rather interesting with the use of a quote. The flow of your post is also very smooth. I like how you have contrasted a possible difference in the approaches between the Asians and the Westerner as it is definitely something that is happening in the real world today.

Perhaps you could have relate more on your views pertaining to the Obama incident and link it to effective communication.

Nevertheless, it is definitely a well-writtern post=)

By  Roger Ng, at February 1, 2010 at 5:11 PM  

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By  Krithika, at February 3, 2010 at 10:36 AM  

Hey!

The best part about your post, according to me, is the quote! It’s such a common saying. Yet, it sounds all the more nice when you’ve fitted it in the right place and makes your post enjoyable.

I also like the way your post begins – with a controversial example having its roots in culture differences. And as you say, in a team, we have to set aside our differences and think about what is good for the team’s progress. It is also true that we have to be mindful of the audience when communicating with another person which includes verbal communication as well as non-verbal cues.

But I feel you could’ve stated something about your personal experience. Other than that, I think it’s a well analysed writing.

Krithika

By  Krithika, at February 3, 2010 at 10:37 AM  

Hi Alden,

Once again, I feel that you have selected a great picture to illustrate the theme of your post. I feel this is a good example to highlight the difference in Western and Asian cultures.

Perhaps, you could talk about more of your intercultural experiences.

Regards,
Ying Cong

By  AkiraP, at February 3, 2010 at 10:27 PM  

Hey Alden!

Once again, I really enjoyed reading your post. I liked the way you start off with a general issue and zoom into our topic.

You managed to include everything inside your post, quotes, pictures, examples and also nice points to think about.

However, I feel that one thing you want to include is personal experience. I know it may not be applicable for all topics but if you do have something to share that your make your post even more interesting.

Preeti

By  preeti, at February 4, 2010 at 8:34 AM  

Dear Alden

What about the foreign students who study at NUS? Should they do as Singaporeasn do when they are here?

Should they accommodate us or should we have more tolerence?

Regards
Happy

By  HappyGoh, at February 24, 2010 at 12:36 PM  

Dear Ms happy,
in response to your remarks, I feel that both party, that is we, Singaporean students and the foreign students have a part to play in the issue of being accomodating.

Firstly, as local ourselves, we do not want our culture to be changed as this is our very home and we do not want others to alter our way our life. Hence, it is natural for the locals to want others to accomodate to us instead. Nontheless I won't deny this seems to be rather thoughtless nor am i saying this is appropriate, but it's happening all around the world. What's happening recently in Australia is evident in my point, are the locals not accomodating to the foreign students or does the problem arise from the foreign students themselves?

My principles follow according to my quote - When in Rome, do what the Romans do. This ensures that the locals won't feel threatened due to the influx of foreigners for fear they will change their very way of life. Adapt to another's culture is something all of us should learn in a foreign land.

Nontheless, we also have to be more tolerant with each other because we need to maintain this diplomatic relation with one another. Scientifically saying, we are still one big family afterall.

By  al, at March 13, 2010 at 1:38 AM  

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Henry Ford once said, "Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success." This quote describes the transition of human interaction, from group to teamwork. People coming together can be seen as a group, and they are interdependent of each other. Working together, which is teamwork, contributes to success as it involves reliance as well as dependence on others.

In the book “The Wisdom Of Crowds” by James Surowiecki, his research states why the many are smarter than the few, and how group wisdom is often greater than individual intelligence which shapes business and nations of today. Likewise, teamwork is a very important to me. In schools, we are tasked with many projects and committee participation which involves teamwork. It focus on the importance of dependence and trust, as it forms the basis of human reliance on each other, so that we would be more susceptible to views, opinions and hence broaden our individual wisdom and perception. Without teamwork, events would not be held successfully, projects would be more individualistic and opinionated. Diversity of thought, perception, background and experience enhance the creativity and innovation. Teamwork made me realized that I’m not always the centre of the world and it trains this aspect called “social intelligence” which allows one’s ability to persuade, negotiate and make others feel important which is crucial for the society.

Communication is important to me as well as it is the foundation of teamwork .Through effective communication one can truly work and interact well with others. We ought to possess a certain level of understanding of the people we are interacting with so when appropriate style, tone is applied in communication, there will be lesser conflicts and misunderstandings. Communication also trains our level of empathy. We will tend to be much more sensitive towards other’s feelings. Besides that, having a good tactic of communication will allow me to be able to give criticism to others so they would not feel offended and this, provides improvement for the individual or possibly a team as a whole.

6 Comments:

Hey Alden!

I really loved the way you had written your post. Starting off with a quote was very innovative also, it had perfect relevance to our topic.

I liked the fact that you included your personal opinion at the end of each paragraph, and gave clear examples to illustrate your point. Your post was to the point and covered several aspects of both communication and teamwork.
Great job:)

preeti

By  preeti, at January 28, 2010 at 1:05 AM  

Hi Alden,

I like your quotes as I find them very meaningful and inspiring.

Your second paragraph pertaining to teamwork makes sense in every aspect as I also personally feel teamwork is critical in this post modern era where scales of many projects are certainly beyond the magnitudes of the individual and this is where effective teamwork distinguishes the good projects from the bad ones.

Also with regards to your stand on communication, I certainly agree that communication is a subset of teamwork without which the team will definitely be a fragile one. Good communication skills also allow us to be more tactful and considerate, using appropriate tones under different circumstances.

In all, I feel that it is definitely a very insightful post!

By  Roger Ng, at January 28, 2010 at 1:06 AM  

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By  AkiraP, at January 28, 2010 at 2:35 AM  

Firstly, I enjoy the cute picture of the child at the beginning of your post. I feel that image of the the puppies supporting one another, to push the baby up illustrates the importance of team members working in union to achieve a common goal. With it, I think you set a good start for the topic.

Also, I strongly agree with your view that having good communication skills can help us to give less offensive criticism, and bring up the effectiveness of the individual or even the whole team. I feel that as team mates, we understand each other very well. Hence, if we are able to learn from each other, we can overcome some of our weaknesses that we cannot see by ourselves. This would definitely make the team more effective as a whole.

Insightful and inspiring post. Good job!

By  AkiraP, at January 28, 2010 at 2:36 AM  

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By  Roger Ng, at January 28, 2010 at 10:09 AM  

Hey Alden!

I think your post has a good balance between personal views and quotes by famous men which I think is very important. The second paragraph especially is very good. You have given a very personal touch to it which is more like – ‘sticking to the topic’ or rather ‘not deviating from the topic and answering to the point’. I guess you could’ve mentioned something about Communication in the first paragraph and that would’ve made this a bit more coherent (not that it is not otherwise). But on the whole, good job! 

Krithika

By  Krithika, at January 28, 2010 at 12:28 PM  

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