Sarnoff Symposium: Telecom’s Future
Corrections or additions?
This article by Bart Jackson was prepared for the March 5, 2003 edition of U.S. 1 Newspaper. All rights reserved.
Am I Bowing Low Enough?
Why do Americans park on the driveway and drive on the
parkway? For the same reason that Japanese subtly scratch the tablecloth
to order more tea. Each culture is merely expressing the idioms of
its own communication. For the temporary tourist, learning such linguistic
and cultural anomalies can be fun, even part of the trip’s excitement.
But for the businessperson laboring hard to get the job done, a wacky
language like English, laden with slang, sports metaphors, and a mongrel-bred
vocabulary of half a million words, communication at warp speed can
prove to be, well, a real twilight zone.
To bring folks in from left field and help them learn a little international
sensitivity, the Human Resource Management Association (HRMA) of New
Jersey is sponsoring “Communication Across Cultures” on Monday,
March 10, at 11:45 a.m. at the Yardley Inn in Yardley, Pennsylvania.
Cost: $40. Call 609-883-6327. This HRMA meeting features Catherine
Mercer Bing of ITAP International, a firm with offices at 268 Wall
Street in Research Park. In a fun but poignant way, she puts forth
the specific problems and solutions faced by both employees and entrepreneurs
dealing in a foreign land.
“So the British executive turns to his new American co-worker
and asks her to give him a rubber,” laughs Bing. “The lady’s
stunned silence could have shattered glass.” Unsnarling such little
unintentional gaffs (she finally gave him the eraser he sought) and
has been the goal of ITAP International since Bing’s husband, John
Bing, founded it back in the early 1980s.
Raised in a globe-trotting family, John Bing grew up in a series of
exotic locales, including Africa and Japan, before serving as a Peace
Corps volunteer in Afghanistan for three years. Thus his international
education and government degrees — from the University of Massachusetts
— seem appropriate.
Catherine Mercer Bing, also a veteran traveler, brought business expertise
to their firm. Trained as a New Jersey teacher, she also worked for
Chase Manhattan Bank and Lockheed prior to founding her own Princeton
business, Mercer Communications. The couple’s mutually run business,
which began as International Training Associates of Princeton, has
expanded globally to help bridge the cross-cultural gap and thus has
more aptly shifted to ITAP International.
Whether you are bringing aboard an employee from a new culture, or
taking your business onto strange new soil, learning and sensitivity
are essential to success. “There are many hurdles to cross cultures,”
insists Bing, “only one of which is our spoken language.”
Yada, yada, yada. Yada, yada, yada translates roughlyinto “all that jazz,” but neither expression means much tothat Greek shipping firm representative whose contract you would kissthe Blarney Stone to win. “Language truly is the mirror of theculture,” says Bing, “but the global businessperson must adjust.”This entails retraining your working vocabulary to eschew our richsports, music, and even computer metaphors.Remember that your new employee with the foreign accent probably learnedEnglish as a second language in an academic setting. Thus certainwords and phrases should be used (not utilized) to facilitate communication.For example, saying that a task is “difficult” is better thansaying it is “hard” — a word with many meanings.It is easy to forget that the United States and otherEnglish-speaking countries are separated by a common language. Justbecause you deal with an English-speaking New Zealander does not meanyou’ll have the faintest idea what to do at a “compulsory halt.”(Hint: it entails an octagonal red sign with four white letters.)On the other hand, boredom is never a communications goal and yourlanguage need not be dust dry. The occasional idiom delivered witha broad smile, then quickly paraphrased in a more prosaic way canadd stimulation. It gives the speaker an out-of-the-box, truly originalfeel, yet maintains sensitivity.Jargon. In addition to making us feel smugly elite, jargonoften provides communication shortcuts. Interestingly, much professionaljargon is now more global than the most familiar slang English. YourGerman human resource consultant may well chat knowledgeably aboutan employee’s “high-pot quotient,” but beware. His definitionof high potential may differ from yours.Sensitivity. Nema, from Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia, speakssuch amazingly correct English, with scarcely a trace of an accent.It is a shame that she is such a sluggish worker. “How well anindividual speaks,” explains Bing, “in no way indicates theirEnglish reading speed.” Almost invariably the foreign worker willneed more time to struggle through the same work in this second, non-nativelanguage. He will also have to suppress the very natural tendencytoward jealousy and resentment of his English-speaking cohorts, whocan breeze through written tasks more quickly.Supervisors can help by avoiding comparisons and by diverting time-crunchsituations. Co-workers can add precious clarity by backing up conversationswith brief, tersely worded (but not condescending) memos as a handysummaries, which can be reviewed at leisure. Morale can be greatlyimproved if supervisors learn a few words of employees’ native languages.If, for example, you ask over lunch for the word for “tasteless”in Turkish, your visitor will find a relief from being the constantstudent and for a moment take on the role of teacher.Negotiations. Americans are individualists who tend tothink that time and personal pride are prime. While these are admirabletraits, they are not universal. Lone American entrepreneurs frequentlyfumble when faced with a vast panel of Chinese all trying to negotiatethe same simple deal. “To the Japanese,” says Bing, “along conversational pause is a sign of respect. It signifies that”`I appreciate your point and want to consider it.’” The American,however, is more likely to view such a pause a merely an annoyingsign of short term memory loss.”Negotiating involves language, of course,” says Bing, “butother factors, such as non-verbal cues and national values, must beequally considered.” Non-verbal negotiating signals may includegestures, seating, and the proper cultural distance. It takes a fullday to purchase a rug — let alone landing space — in Turkey,whereas in the United States we would do business swiftly with thedevil if he could supply our needs at five cents a widget cheaper.In China, it may take three months of interchange to determine thatyou personally exhibit sufficient character to make you a trustworthysupplier.New language skills. When an insurance firm was takenover by a German business, nearly everyone grumbled and then quietlywinced, expecting a pink slip. Many got them. Yet one executive, forsome reason, seemed to get along well with the new bosses. In fact,he flourished and was promoted, then offered a plum job in the Munichhome office. Of course, he was the only one in the office who racedto Berlitz and blitzkrieged a mastery of German.In addition to showing some obvious initiative, the Germans greatlyappreciated the executive’s welcoming accommodation. “It can belittle things like translating measurements into metric or arrangingmore complex logistics,” Bing explains. She cites an instancewhere an American, an Englishman, and a Japanese manager held periodicconference calls. Somehow the scheduling fell so that the call cameat the start of the American’s day and late afternoon for the Englishman.The Japanese had to roust himself out of bed in the middle of thenight. “How do you think that would make him feel about the entirebusiness relationship?” asks Bing.No one can deny that business is going global, for companies of allsizes. Even if your product is locally produced and never leaves thestate, the odds that you will hire foreign employees are great. Thoseenergetic enough to seek out global markets and transcultural humanresources are finding tangible rewards. Yet to make the most of thisdiversity, domestic firms will have to twist into a new mold and blenda little accommodation and a little cross-cultural sensitivity intothe work day. It is, after all, in the interest of the American dream,capeesh?— Bart JacksonTop Of PageSarnoff Symposium: Telecom’s FutureElectrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) holds the2003 Sarnoff Symposium on Advances in Wired and Wireless Communicationson Tuesday and Wednesday, March 11 and 12, at the College of New Jersey.Tuesday’s sessions begin at 2:30 p.m. A reception and dinner followsat 6:30 p.m. at the Princeton Hyatt. Satyam Cherukuri, presidentand CEO of Sarnoff gives the dinner address. Wednesday’s sessionsbegin at 8 a.m. and continue through 6 p.m. Cost: $230 for symposiumand tutorial and $55 for the dinner. Students pay $20 for the symposium.Call 732-280-2020 or visit www.sarnoffsymposium.comThe Sarnoff Symposium has for many years been the premier telecommunicationsevent in New Jersey, attracting technical and industry experts fromthe United States and from overseas demonstrating the globalizationof the telecommunications industry and the importance of New Jerseyfor this high tech industry.”We strive to present a comprehensive survey of the innovativework in the field,” says Peter Zalud, general symposiumchair and a senior researcher at the Sarnoff Corporation.The keynote presentation on March 12 by Bruce Friedman, managingdirector of Sprint’s Mobile Computing Services Group, explores theeconomics of interoperability of mobile phone companies’ networks.A panel of telecom executives give the audience a glimpse at the futureof the industry. Speakers include Janet Boudris, CEO of BroadbeamCorporation at 2540 Route 130 in Cranbury, a leading company deliveringmobility solutions to enterprises; Markus Kommenda, managingdirector of the Telecommunications Research Center, Vienna, Austria;and Karl Kjellberg, president of Fortune Consulting, a New Jerseyprovider of communication networks. Gerhard Franz, presidentof A. G. Franz Associates, a Plainsboro-based management consultingfirm, and the symposium’s technical program chair, moderates.The technical program reflects the growing importance of wirelesscommunications and network security. It includes 34 papers exploringtechnical advances in software radio and microwave devices, 3G mobilesystems, voice-over-IP, optical networking, military communications,signal processing, modeling and simulation.Top Of PageCorporate Angelsd>Janssen Pharmaceutica Products and Ortho BiotechProducts are major sponsors of a Leap Into Spring, an event toraise money for CancerCare. Leap Into Spring takes place on Tuesday,April 15, at 5:30 p.m. at McCarter Theater. The Mark Morris DanceGroup performs at 8 p.m.Leap Into Spring honors Mary Ellen Rybak, vice president of oncologyat Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development. Rybakis being recognized for her long-standing commitment to CancerCareof New Jersey as well as for her work in the field of oncology research.As the largest national non-profit organization of its kind, CancerCareprovides free professional support services, including counseling,education, financial assistance, and practical help to people acrossthe country. The organization operates counseling offices in Princetonand Trenton.Tickets for Leap Into Spring are available for $125, and sponsorshipsare being sought. Call 609-924-8752.RE/MAX of New Jersey has raised $283,133 for the Children’sMiracle Network (CMN). CMN is a national charity which improves healthcarefor children by generating funds and awareness for programs for 170affiliated hospitals. Funds raised benefit the Children’s Hospitalof Philadelphia, Children’s Specialized Hospital, an affiliate ofRobert Wood Johnson Hospital, and Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’sHospital at Robert Wood Johnson University in New Brunswick.The hospitals affiliated with CMN treat children with all types ofafflictions, including cancer, heart and muscular diseases, birthdefects, AIDS, and injuries incurred as a result of accidents.Top Of PageCalling AstronomersThe 3M Foundation has given a $30,000 grant tothe planetarium at Raritan Valley Community College in North Branch.The funds will go toward providing tools for New Jersey astronomers,and will enable the planetarium to expand its educational servicesby helping astronomers to become better teachers.The idea for the new program comes from two current programs at theRVCC planetarium. For years, the planetarium has conducted Starlabworkshops for teachers and Project ASTRO for teachers and astronomers.Starlab is a portable planetarium that is easily transported and setup in schools. More than 350 teachers have attended workshops at RVCCto learn how to use Starlab in their classrooms. Project ASTRO matchesvolunteer astronomers with teachers in grades 2-12. The astronomersact as a resource to the teacher and his class, making at least fourvisits a year to help teach astronomy with hands-on activities. Morethan 100 astronomers are involved with Project ASTRO.The purpose of the new initiative is to develop and conduct workshopsspecifically for astronomers. Starting with Project ASTRO’s networkof astronomers, workshops will train astronomers in the use of Starlab.The program is being designed to accommodate the time commitment andrestrictions of the astronomers’ work schedules.Anyone interested in taking the workshops can call 908-231-8805 orcan E-mail to jvinski@raritanval.edu.Previous StoryNext StoryCorrections or additions?This page is published by PrincetonInfo.com— the web site for U.S. 1 Newspaper in Princeton, New Jersey.
