POLITENESS AS A UNIVERSAL VARIABLE IN CROSS‐CULTURAL MANAGERIAL COMMUNICATION
The International Journal of Organizational Analysis
ISSN: 1055-3185
Article publication date: 1 January 1996
Abstract
Training programs designed to enhance managerial effectiveness at cross‐cultural communication tend to be directed at specific target cultures. This paper argues that an etic approach, one based on universal variables that occur in every culture and that vary across cultures, comprises an important alternative. This paper reviews anthropological/sociolinguistic research on one universal variable, “politeness.” Politeness, or linguistic indirection used to show social consideration, is a crucial element of interpersonal communication in all human cultures, yet it has received little mention in the literature. Implications of politeness for managerial cross‐cultural communication are explored. The implications of a universalistic approach to cross‐cultural communication training are discussed.
Citation
Morand, D.A. (1996), "POLITENESS AS A UNIVERSAL VARIABLE IN CROSS‐CULTURAL MANAGERIAL COMMUNICATION", The International Journal of Organizational Analysis, Vol. 4 No. 1, pp. 52-74. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb028841
Publisher
:MCB UP Ltd
Copyright © 1996, MCB UP Limited