2022_심화영어독해와작문

49 Latin countries In Latin countries, including Italy and Spain, family is the priority — and business is also very focused on relationships. People in Latin countries love engaging in small talk, asking sincerely about families and weekend activities. They communicate with more emotion, using lots of hand gestures and personal expressions, compared to people in many other places. According to Cotton, presenting decisions or ideas subjectively with phrases such as “I feel” mixed in with research is acceptable and often well received. People from Latin countries also have a great respect for authority figures and honor them. One Swedish person working in Mexico told Meyer he realized he needed to change his communication approach after he voiced disagreement in meetings— intending to contribute to the conversation—and the group went silent. But “when he voiced an opinion, people automatically lined up behind it,” she said. “And he realized he needed to get the dialogue going in another way.” United States Independence and personal initiative characterize the U.S. communication style, Cotton observed, because U.S. work culture is very focused on results. People of varying status are given the authority to make decisions, and they are expected to speak up. “In the U.S., we wouldn’t hesitate to say, ‘Sure, I can do it’,” Cotton said. “There’s more pride involved in that ‘I’ than in other countries.” When she works with non-Americans who will be working in the U.S., she always urges them to be assertive. U.S. communication style also prioritizes clarity, Meyer said. “We tell them what we’re going to tell them, we tell them, and then we tell them what we told them,” she said. “And that style often comes off as condescending to other cultures.” But feedback is given in a very distinct way in the U.S., too, Meyer said. A negative is often heavily sandwiched between multiple positives. Meyer tells a story of a French employee, recently transplanted to the U.S. His boss informed him that his performance needed to change. But because she delivered the negative feedback by first explaining what she appreciated about his work—and he was generally unaccustomed to receiving positive feedback—he floated out of the meeting thinking it had gone well. Germany, Scandinavia, and the Netherlands Germanic, Scandinavian, and Dutch communication styles can be traced to the languages themselves, which are very precise and direct, Cotton explained. “They are frank, serious, direct, and detailed.” These cultures also tend to be very objective. When topics are presented, they want facts and research as support. Meyer said, in particular, that the Dutch give and receive very honest and direct feedback—and it’s appreciated as a sign of respect. The Law of Jante, which is little known outside of Scandinavia, offers 10 rules to live by, such as “you’re not to think you’re anything special”. The law, which emphasizes the collective over the individual, is pervasive in Scandinavia, according to Meyer. As a result, the region is likely the most equal place in the world. “In fact,” Meyer says, “it’s often difficult for an outsider to pick out the boss when watching people in a meeting in Scandinavian countries.”