Bulletin Autumn‧Winter 2001

Evidence-based Research P r o f . F u s o l i c i t e d t h e h e l p o f 10 researchers f r o m t e r t i a ry i n s t i t u t i o n s i n Eu r o p e , N o r t h Ame r i c a , A s i a , a n d L a t i n A m e r i c a t o c o n d u c t a q u e s t i o n n a i r e s u r v e y o n i n f l u e n c e t a c t i c s i n t h e w o r k p l a c e , w h i c h i n v o l v e d s ome 1,700 m i d d l e- a n d l owe r - l e v e l manage r s i n the t e l e c ommun i c a t i on s, finance, a n d service i ndu s t r i es of 12 c u l t u r a l regions ( T a b l e 1). U s i n g her p r e v i o u s researc h o n US a nd Ch i na as a b l u e p r i n t , Prof. F u a n d her p a r t n e r s d e v e l o p ed six w o r k scenarios managers c o mm o n l y encounter, i n w h i c h the other p a r t y is respectively a superior, a c o w o r k e r , a n d a s u b o r d i n a t e. T h e scenarios i n c l ude r e q u i r i ng a s ubo r d i na te to take o n a d d i t i o n a l or u nwe l c ome w o r k , seeking assistance f r o m c owo r k e r s of the same grade, a n d requesting a s upe r i or to increase the b u d g et a n d a p p r o ve a n e w project. She also l i s t ed 16 tactics t ha t can be u s ed to i n f l uen ce or persuade, a n d asked the pa r t i c i pan ts to rate the effectiveness of each tactic i n the different scenarios. To f i n d out wh e t h e r factors besides culture hav e any influence o n the beha v i ou r of office wo r k e r s, she i n c l u d e d questions o n p e r s o n a l c o n v i c t i o n s i n the questionnaire. She said, 'Social values ar e different cross-culturally wh i l e personal inclination a nd beliefs are not.' The respondents h a d to give thei r v i ews o n such beliefs, i n c l u d i ng ' Wh en there's a w i l l , there's a w a y ' , ' p owe r c o r r up t s ', 'religious beliefs h e l p p r o d u ce g o o d citizens'. Table 1: Cultural Regions Country/Region Language Continent Mainland China Chinese Asia Hong Kong Chinese Asia Taiwan Chinese Asia Japan Japanese Asia Thailand Thai/English Asia India Hindi/English Asia Turkey Turkish/English Asia, Europe France French Europe The Netherlands Dutch/English Europe New Zealand English Australia USA English North America Mexico Spanish Latin America Rational Persuasion the Most Effective Prof. F u g r o u p ed the 16 tactic s u n d er three b r oa d categories: rational p e r s u a s i o n ( g i v i ng j u s t i f i c a t i o n f or w o r k a n d the benefits that w i l l entail), e x e r t i ng pressur e (seeking s u p p o r t f r o m a h i g h e r a u t h o r i t y, t h r ea ts of r e s i g n a t i o n , etc.), a n d s o c i a l i z i ng ( g i v i n g g i f t s , b u y i n g m e a l s ) . P r e l i m i n a r y a n a l y s es s h o w t h a t r a t i o n a l p e r s u a s i o n r e c e i v e d h i g h effectiveness r a t i ng s i n a l l c u l t u r e s , t h o u gh to v a r y i ng extents ( F ig 1). 39