Comparing Perceived Listening Behavior Differences Between Managers and Nonmanagers Living in the United States, India, and Malaysia

Abstract

Many managers and employees work in multinational organizations, but know little about what constitutes good or bad listening skills from a cross-cultural perspective. Little literature exists concerning the listening behaviors of managers and nonmanagers or the impact of national culture on listening skills. No clear understanding of what constitutes effective and ineffective listening across various cultures and organizational positions is known. Therefore, this study examines the listening skills of both managers and nonmanagers from India, the United States, and Malaysia. A total of 513 managers and nonmanagers from these countries completed a survey measuring self-perceptions of their engagement in four listening behaviors: distracted listening, empathetic listening, judgment rushing, and conclusion jumping. An analysis of variance procedure, with a 2 × 3 factorial design, was used to ascertain whether differences existed when each of the four derived factors was used one at a time as a dependent variable. The two independent variables were managers/nonmanagers and country of residence. The means differed on the main effects of managers/nonmanagers (p < .001) and country of residence (p < .001) and interaction between managers and nonmanagers across the United States, India, and Malaysia (p < .001) on all four factors. Therefore,

Cultural Characteristics and Their Connection to Increased Risk of Software Project Failure

“…Roebuck et al [14] found that the national culture is a primary determinant of communication behaviors, in particular with respect to listening. Listeners from high-context cultures, such as India and Malaysia, are more likely to respond to their gut-level reaction (the implicit message) than to the actual facts in the message.…”

“…The authors argue that managers who listen effectively benefit not only their employees but also all stakeholders within and outside an organization. Moreover, Roebuck et al [14] state that: as organizational structures become flatter (i.e., decreased power distance) managerial roles will focus more on coaching and collaboration, activities in which listening skills will be essential to achieving individual, team, and organizational goals hinting that communication skills manifested in low-context cultures, and lower power distance come hand-in-hand, and they can decrease the risks of project failure. This supports our finding that good client countries were low on power distance, high on individualism and using a low-context communication style.…”

Empathy Competencies and Behaviors in Professional Communication Interactions: Self Versus Client Assessments

“…Ramos Salazar (2017) distinguished between content listening (focusing on facts and figures) and people listening (focusing on feelings and emotions), arguing that only the latter relates to compassion. Roebuck et al (2015) investigated four types of listening behaviors of managers and nonmanagers—empathetic listening, distracted listening, judgment rushing, and conclusion jumping—claiming that the latter three types reflect a view on listening as a waste of time, with many potentially negative consequences. Golen (1990) identified six listening barriers, which can be seen as immediate threats to empathic behavior: being lazy, closed-minded, opiniated, insincere, bored, and inattentive.…”

Conceptualizing Empathy Competence: A Professional Communication Perspective

“…Empathy has been found to be an asset during negotiations and to increase creativity in teams, enhance cooperation, raise employee commitment, and strengthen leadership abilities (Carmeli, 2003; Galinski et al, 2008; Gentry et al, 2010; Hoever et al, 2012; Morelli et al, 2014; Ruderman et al, 2001). It is especially crucial for professionals working in intercultural settings, conducting difficult workplace conversations, or working in turbulent environments such as organizations in times of crisis (Alon & Higgins, 2005; Bradley & Campbell, 2016; Claeys et al, 2013; Roebuck et al, 2016). But even in routinely short-term interactions between customers and call centers, empathy plays an important role (Clark et al, 2013).…”