Citation
(1999), "It's no joke", Work Study, Vol. 48 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/ws.1999.07948baa.005
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 1999, MCB UP Limited
It's no joke
It's no joke
Quite often when watching TV, you realise that one person's hilarious comedy is another's mindless rubbish. For example, US TV shows like Frasier and Seinfeld have become "cult" viewing but only amongst a relatively small part of the audience. There does appear to be some form of cultural barrier to comedy, although the very best does seem to transcend it. The point of this observation is to ensure that those of you in global organisations remember these cultural differences and take them into account in improvement programmes, training programmes, negotiations and other forms of interpersonal communication. It might seem, on the face of it, to be inefficient but sometimes it is necessary to wrap the same message in different packaging to be effective to different audiences. A blanket message from "Head Office" may be counter-productive.