Chapter 8: Communicating Across Organizational Boundaries
Chapter Summary
Today’s managers are involved in a variety of boundary-spanning activities: supervising units in different nations or cultures, negotiating agreements with offshore partners and working in cross-functional teams. Boundaries inherently create communication challenges that effective managers need to understand and master.
The chapter presents strategies and related tactics that help managers encourage more effective boundary spanning. Examples include: selecting and training the right people (e.g., creating awareness of one’s personal culture and focusing on the communicative style of the other culture), implementing error correction processes (e.g., using quizzes and tracking organizational processes), encouraging activities that promote shared experiences (e.g., holding company-wide seminars, developing links between role counterparts) and integrating boundary spanning into the structure of the organization (e.g., supporting job switching and job shadowing, redesigning the physical environment).
Outline
Case Study
Case 8.1: Spanning Boundaries
Purpose:
The purpose of this case is to learn how to effectively span international boundaries.
Situation:
You have been invited into Riccardo Bisconi’s office, who was recently promoted to a new position as VP of International Development. For three generations this construction, architecture and design company has grown into a major player in the U.S. market. Bisconi has been tasked with expanding the company into Europe. His first expansion is to open a small new office in Poland. Three architects and two designers who currently work out of the Chicago market will be moving to Poland for a 5-year stint to get the office up and running. They are excited because of their Polish ancestry and the opportunity to work overseas. However, these employees are neophytes when it comes to international business experience: they have only traveled overseas on vacation and they do not speak the language. Bisconi has called you into his office to set up a coaching program for these employees to ease their transition into this new culture. His charge: “You know I’m a big fan of puzzles. I can’t think of a better puzzle than figuring out how to quickly integrate these people into the culture and quickly getting the new division profitable. I don’t want these employees to feel like they are out there all alone like the adventurers aboard the Endurance.”
Your objectives:
- Describe the differences between the communicative cultures of Poland and the U.S.
- Develop a coaching strategy.
- Suggest some sample tactics that could be used to implement the strategy.
Video Resources
Intercultural Challenges Video
- What key ideas in the chapter does this clip illustrate?
- If you were asked to improve this clip, what images and ideas would you use?
- Does this video enhance the creator’s credibility? Why or why not?
- What key ideas in the chapter does this clip illustrate?
- What surprised you the most about the cultural barriers?
- What cultural boundaries will be the easiest to traverse? Most difficult?
- How does the firm challenge conventional notions about office design?
- What specific ideas does the clip suggest that could help bridge organizational boundaries?
- What would be some barriers to successfully implementing the designs the firm recommends?
Flashcards
Self-Tests
Learning Objectives
- describe the nature and potential problems of boundaries
- identify factors that accentuate the inherent problems with organizational boundaries
- identify strategies and related tactics that encourage more effective boundary spanning
- identify a boundary-spanning challenge in an organization and suggest a strategy to improve the situation
Drill Down Exercises
- Isolate a boundary spanning challenge you see in your organization. Select one strategy that you think would have the most impact on the situation. Provide your rationale.
- What physical features have seen enhance interdepartmental communication? Hinder?
- Construct a dialogue between managers of two different cultures who were charged with developing a new organizational policy about “working from home.” Use Table 8.1 to identify and highlight different cultural dimensions that come into play during the dialogue.
Deep Dive Study Questions
- What communication problems are manifested in this clip?
- What principles about boundary spanning does this clip expose?
- If you were advising Splint about boundary spanning, what would you tell them?