Hello everybody. As I have mentioned before I work for this INGO in Malaysia and I had a remarkable week, since I learned a lot, but I will focus on one point here which is as follow:
"If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at YOURSELF and then make the change."
YES! I work in this remarkable ‘professional environment’ where colleagues don’t even bother to greet each other in any ways. That is to say, there neither is a simple ‘Hi’ nor a plain ‘Bye’ going on in the beginning or end of any day. And if you do so- I mean greet your colleagues-, they will stare at you like a dead soul really.
That’s not the end of story: Forgive me but burping openly in the public is not a matter of concern here and it is not uncommon in Malaysia to ‘burp’ in the middle of discussion with someone, even if that person is a representative of a famous media outlet chatting with you in the refreshment area of a media conference- personally observed BTW. Now thinking about other side of the story… imagine how much my colleagues are proud of themselves and their NGO’s CSR code in providing ‘us’ the chance to work in this ‘professional’ environment! The truth is that they are not aware of the impressions, the negativity and the bad memories which they can bring on for their international interns simply because most of these fellows are not even graduated in social science or anything even close to PR or any sort of these combinations and yet they are so confident doing it!
“You are a sensitive boy, Ali” someone may say after reading all this, but let me bring forward an excerpt of a book called Global business etiquette: a guide to international communication and customs to show the importance of the issue:
“Many international guests in united states find the question “how are you?” to be insincere. As one Israeli women observed “no matter if your children are on drugs, you spouse is leaving you, and you have just declared bankruptcy, you are expected to smile and say ‘everything is great!’ Why do Americans ask if they don’t really want to know?” Americans do not mean to be insincere. The question “how are you?” is simply a pleasantry and an example of the greeting rituals typical of people in the United States. (p.25)“
The truth of matter is, business etiquette is not a marginal issue in global communications. It is a crucial one indeed and it can turn communications into grave crises in a blink of an eye. I suggest you to check out this online book where you can find superb examples of wonderful opportunities that turned into nightmares, due to the lack of PR etiquette.
PR, like all communication activities, is a sensitive activity and etiquette is a part of PR’s ‘adaptation’ principle. In other words, etiquette is a gauge or I would call ‘a motif’ towards harmony between an organization and its internal or external publics and it shows how successful your organization has been in making hits. No global PR etiquette, no hit, no outcome. Above all etiquette is part of professionalism too.
This week’s experience proved to me that if Int’l organizations can’t establish effective communications with their own staff and their internal desks, they should not expect to see success in other aspects of their communication activities. And my future post would be a case study of such failure.
Best regards,
Ali (LUCT)
1 comment:
Hi Ali,
You're so cynical! But its great that you have such a keen, critical eye. I think not enough of us stand up to injustices in the workplace, of which there are usually plenty.
Keep up the criticism, but remember that it is just as important to be open-minded. No one's perfect after all - I'm sure you can help them see the error of their ways.
All the best,
John.
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