During a regional management meeting several years ago, Donald (an Australian manager working in Singapore) delivered his progress update and unashamedly claimed full credit for the data gathering and completion of a particular project. The irony was that the actual contributors (Malaysians and Singaporeans) to the project of whom he was taking credit away from […]
Dealing with Conflict Across Cultures Read More »
After a month of waiting, my car is finally back in commission following a replacement of a defective automotive part. My customer service experience was fraught with long waiting periods, lack of progress updates, unanswered calls and the general we-can’t-help-you-much-and-you-will-just-have-to-wait attitude. Even though my car was finally ready for collection, I had to personally follow
Leveraging Our Treasured Malaysian Cultural Values to Elevate Customer Service Standards Read More »
Ronald requires a third-party reviewer to provide feedback on his recent evaluation report for a construction project. He sent the documents via email to his peer, Thomas, two weeks ago but has not received a response. He decides to send a reminder email to Thomas. When Ronald returns to the office the next day, there
Are You Known for Responding in a Timely Manner? Read More »
For the past two years, Amanda had enjoyed working in an administrative personnel role alongside five other colleagues. Recently, her supervisor resigned and after a few days of deliberation, Amanda was appointed as the successor. A few weeks into her new role, Amanda’s manager noted a drop in her performance and found that a major
Sarah, an expat from Canada, was expecting a visit from her family during the upcoming week. She went to her usual supermarket located near her home to stock up on groceries and was in the midst of loading them all into a taxi when the driver unexpectedly drove off before she could get in. Flabbergasted,
3 Reasons Why Expats Need to Learn Some Malay Read More »
For most of us, an important aspect of our daily lives is the making and answering of telephone calls. We make and receive calls for a variety of reasons – to make appointments, to enquire about something or simply to connect with our friends and loved ones. Telephone calls are also an essential part of
Malaysian Telephone Etiquette Read More »
Have you ever briefly interacted with someone new and deduced that the individual must be in some form of a leadership role? Even though you hardly know that person, you connect some of the attributes displayed by that individual to what you view as good leadership qualities. Such a phenomenon is known as Implicit Leadership
Implicit Leadership Theory – What Makes a Good Leader, to You? Read More »
Ever been stuck in an elevator ride alone with the big boss, nervously wondering if you should engage in small talk or give in to your instinctive desire to whip out your phone and pretend to be busy? Or seated at a friend’s wedding dinner amongst strangers who were as awkwardly silent as you were?
Small Talk in Malaysia Read More »
As a non-Malaysian, have you ever conversed with a Malaysian in English and found yourself confounded? You thought you heard some English words used, but couldn’t understand what was being said? Well, don’t be too quick to dismiss us as uneducated and backward for you have just been exposed to an entirely unique version of
Manglish – A Truly Unique Malaysian Language Read More »
Your boss has given you an important project with a set deadline. In the days that follow, would you prefer if your boss touch base with you periodically or would you rather your boss frequently drop by your desk to check on your progress and direct your every move? No doubt most people’s first inclination
Do Malaysians Like To Be Micromanaged? Read More »
