When East Meets West: Polish Business Communication from a Cross-Cultural Perspective

Abstract

This paper investigates how foreign nationals living and working in Poland evaluate Polish colleagues’ communication in English and its effectiveness in international business. It identifies features of linguistic behaviour attributed to Polish business interactions. Five dimensions of cultural variability (directness, emotionality, power distance, confrontation, critical evaluation) are used as benchmarks and offer an observational framework for examining Polish communication patterns. The attitudes that foreign business professionals expressed towards their Polish colleagues’ style of interaction are measured using a Likert scale and interpreted based on the results of qualitative interviews and secondary research. The article highlights the pragmatic dangers of misunderstanding or underestimating culturally-driven behaviours in the global setting.

Western Balkans: It’s Complicated An Inter-ethnic Communication Interdisciplinary Examination

“…To overcome the existing contradiction in the accession process, policymakers from both countries need to reimagine what it means to co-create better social worlds for all involved stakeholders. However, we argue that this does not seem to be a priority for policymakers in the Western Balkans (Bulawka et al, 2023;Li & Chow, 2023).…”

Black Women’s Lived Experiences of Informal Street Trading in East London, South Africa

“…Moreover, the theory allows informal women street traders to voice the challenges they face in their efforts to join the working class within a male-dominated society. Bulawka, Molek and Wozniak (2023) maintain that accommodating such forms of interaction is crucial to understanding culturally driven behaviours. Tshuma and Jari (2013) indicate that the informal sector is characterized by income not recorded in the formal national economy.…”