Presenting bad news is common in the world of business and has been the case for years. Obviously we as Canadians have a way of conducting bad news which we feel is right, but in reality if we were to present it the same way in China, well let's just say it wouldn't go as smoothly. These are some examples on how bad news is conducted:
- In North America, we prefer to minimize disappointment by presenting negative messages indirectly. Other cultures treat bad news differently.
- In Germany, business communicators tend to use buffers, but do present bad news directly.
- British writers also tend to be straightforward when they present bad news, as they see there is no reason to soften its announcement. Both Germany and Great Britain are considered to be low-context nations.
- In Latin nations they usually don't ask the question of how to organize negative messages but whether or not to present them at all. It is considered to be impolite and disrespectful to report bad news to superiors.
- Asian cultures promote peace and harmony throughout all relationships. Disrupting this harmony is best to be avoided.
- In Thailand the negativism represented by a refusal is completely unheard of; the word no doesn't exist. Subtle meanings must be interpreted carefully.
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