COMMUNICATING ACROSS CULTURES AT WORK 3RD EDITION COMPANION WEBSITE

Glossary of Terms as Used in this Book Notes on terms used in the text but not explained in the Glossary Work roles: For any organisational position there is a work role, which is an accepted pattern and set of expectations about how the work will be done and about related aspects of behaviour. There is pressure on position holders to conform to roles; role ambiguity, role conflict and role overload can make working life stressful. Norms: Work behaviour is influenced by the pressure to conform to norms, which are implicit rules governing how to behave. In most work organisations there are norms about fairness, reciprocity and reasonableness; role expectations also function like norms. Many of the norms applied by co-workers have been found to be directed towards sustaining co-operation. Work behaviour: Work behaviour can be classified as co-operative, competitive or conflictive. Co-operative behaviour means trying to assist others with task completion, to avoid impeding them and improve working relationships. Competitive behaviour means trying to win, to gain personally, if necessary oat others expense and at the expense of task performance and working relationships. Conflict behaviour means trying to inflict harm on others while avoiding being harmed oneself. Another way of analysing work behaviour is as task or maintenance (relationship) oriented. Both these approaches are used in the text. Power, authority and responsibility: Power is the probability of influencing another person to do your will despite their resistance; it depends on those others believing, for whatever reason, that they have or need to comply with your demands, requests or wishes. Authority is legitimated power usually, in an organisation, conferred on a position holder by virtue of their office; its concomitant is responsibility for the work of others. Organisations generally, especially traditional organisations, are hierarchies of working relations whose structure is delineated by power, authority and responsibility relations. Manager/subordinate relations: These are asymmetrical. One person, the manager, has responsibility for the work of the other and normally also has formal authority, higher status and higher power. Other work relationships, such as those between lateral colleagues, have different structural features.