Cultural Communication & Education » Working Environment

The Working Culture of Stock Trading Community

Admin — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 17:40:06 +0000

Stock Trading Community is the most important trading community all over the world. Major global businesses are controlled by this community. And with the upcoming of internet facilities stock trading has become easy and faster. Gone are the days when a trader had to make multiple calls to get the quote from the brokers. Now-a-days, a person sitting at his home can watch his growth at the stock market. Due to this convenience the stock trading community is growing massively. In other words, we can say that this community has revolutionised the whole stock trading fashion.

As everybody knows what kind of work takes place in the stock market. It is quite easy to comment about this community that they only do buying and selling of stocks, products, bonds, mutual funds etc. However, the trading community has got a very hectic and chaotic working environment. There’s much to learn about the working culture of stock trading community. We often find many researchers doing research work on these communities and in their studies they have found that it is the result of this trading community which has formed the current “Day Trading Stocks and Indices”. Day Trading refers to buying and selling of stocks or securities within the same day.

Some of the other trades generated by the stock trading community are betting trade,forex trade etc. People in these communities are always busy. Many of them win as well as others loss. Brokers in this field are the strong mediators who carry out the process of trading between the participating investors. It is always good for traders to have experience brokers for the investment procedure. Brokers make the necessary arrangement for buying or selling of commodities. They also provide support and assistance to traders. However, it is suggested that traders should also keep proper observation at the broker’s work. For this purpose traders can use their personal computers to keep track at the brokers and stock market.

Hence, the working culture of stock trading community contributes much to the growth of our economy and we can learn much from it.

By: David Jose

Don’t Make a Mountain Out of a Molehill!

Admin — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 01:54:59 +0000

Hi! Cheerio! Bloke. Tube. Boxing day, Bangers & mash. Yorkshire pudding. It’s my round, what’s your poison and do you fancy a Chinese later?

Driving regulations… The National Health Service… Dentists… Political parties…. National and Local Government… Council Tax… Water Rates… Primary and Secondary schooling, GCSE’S and A-levels… hospitality… pubs… the obsession with the weather… dry humour… leg-pulling… the reaction when someone from Glasgow is called English!

How many of the above words or issues would you understand if you were newly arrived in the UK?

And that is not all, how about the working environment, business customs and ethics, meeting and negotiation protocol, communication styles, formality and informality, power structures and hierarchies, flat management structures, empowerment?

Things that the British all take so much for granted are confusing and sometimes frightening to someone newly arrived in the UK. Even those who believe that their English is good enough find themselves totally confused on a personal level and quite out of their depth in the working environment.

Getting briefed

For this reason, Farnham Castle has developed an English Language Plus programme to cover all aspects of living and working effectively in the UK as well as concentrating on key areas of terminology and specific skills-related vocabulary in use in the particular working environment that the assignee will be operating. Being fully briefed on current living conditions and working practices at the outset avoids many difficulties and misunderstandings and makes the settling in period much more enjoyable for both the working and non-working partner. Having a neutral and unbiased introduction into British working practices, political and economic structure, working relationships and attitudes to foreigners enables the working partner to adapt to the workplace far more easily without making mistakes and avoiding loss of face.

Word power

Effective communication is vital in settling quickly and effectively. Our experience shows that the first few weeks of an assignment is the key learning period when the assignee is required to assimilate hundreds of different systems, words and terminology and working practices and if their English is not of a high standard, much of this valuable learning period will be wasted. The British use so many colloquial or slang expressions in the working day without realising how strange and confusing these words are to a foreigner and the fear of losing face or slowing up a meeting in progress prevents them from asking for an explanation at the time.

Original article at www.intercultural-training.co.uk

By: Matthew MacLachlan

Intercultural Communication and Globalization

Admin — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 03:13:03 +0000

Today’s governments, organisations and companies are dealing more and more in a global scenario. We are no longer constrained by borders or distance and as a result globalization has meant a fundamental change in who, where and why we do business. The people that make these organisations tick, from the workers, to bosses to suppliers, are increasingly based in remote locations in foreign countries or drawn from a rich mix of cultural backgrounds. The need for effective and clear intercultural communication is becoming vital in securing success in today’s globalized workplace.

What is intercultural communication? In short, it has many definitions but fundamentally it looks at how people, from differing cultural/national backgrounds, endeavour to communicate or work together. It draws on areas within academia such as cultural anthropology, sociology and business studies to provide it with a basic framework. Notable academics that have become specialized in intercultural communication are Hall, Hofstede and Trompenaars. At its foundation, intercultural communication’s objectives are to establish and understand how people from different cultures behave, think or do. Once this is appreciated it is then possible to help people overcome intercultural differences and make for a better (working) environment.

Within the context of the globalized business or organisation, intercultural communication looks at how people communicate (verbally and non-verbally), manage, work together, approach deadlines, negotiate, meet, greet, build relationships, etc. These topics are becoming much more relevant now on two fronts. 1) for businesses with a mix of cultures working together and 2) for businesses wanting to trade successfully abroad. In both situations if individuals are unaware of how best to get along and get business done, it can and does lead to poor performance and lost deals. Greater understanding of intercultural communication differences, manners, etiquette, protocol and communication styles certainly leads to a much higher probability of achieving business goals.

Ultimately intercultural communication today means getting a competitive edge. Why? We all know that business today is highly competitive and fast changing. People need to get it right, and get it right the first time. Whether someone is looking for a new supplier, giving a presentation, or negotiating a contract intercultural communication can, does and will play an important role. It impacts our ability to communicate effectively within a culture as well as how we are perceived.

Working in the globalized world economy is proving to have a positive effect on individuals and companies. As people are forced to think outside the box they develop greater interpersonal skills, flex their creative muscle and learn news ways of doing things. In conclusion, the need for intercultural communication skill is obvious – we are all working in an interconnected global economy and it is important to build good relationships with people from other cultures. This leads to better business.

For those interested in learning a bit more about intercultural communication, why not try some of these books?

Mind Your Manners (Managing Business Cultures in Europe)

By John Mole, Nicholas Brealey Publishing

Riding The Waves of Culture: Understanding Cultural Diversity in Global Business

By Fons Trompenaars, Nicholas Brealey Publishing

Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind. Intercultural Cooperation and Its Importance for Survival

By Geert Hofstede

Building Cross-Culture Competence

By Charles Hampden-Turner & Fons Trompenaars

Beyond Culture

By Edward T. Hall

By: Dalvin Rumsey

Directive Communication Psychology in the Work Place to Enhance the Workforce and Develop Positive Traits in the Employees

Admin — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 12:58:04 +0000

How did you feel the last time someone blamed you for something that went wrong? Did it actually solve a problem, or just make you resent people and circumstances?

When was the last time you blamed someone? Did it really solve the problem?

Have you ever really been passionate to achieve great things for an organisation, only to be brought down be the people around you, the “working environment”?

But even if an individual is affected by such a “blame” dynamic, it could hardly affect the rest of the staff or organisation, OR COULD IT?

The fact is that the actions and reactions of every individual in a group affects the rest of the members of that group to form a unique culture. And that culture drastically affects the bottom line.

If there are 100 employees in an organisation with a poor corporate culture, they will produce the work of 68. In an average work culture, they will do the work of 100, but in a leadership enriched or brand congruent culture, they produce the work of up to 159 employees – so what is the savings potential of creating a superior a superior culture? What would be the behaviours required to cultivate a positive culture. Or, will creating the culture nurture the behaviours and the workforce?

According to Directive Communication™ Psychology (DC), Enhancing a workforce and developing positive traits in your employees is a product of “Culture Evolution”. One of the five pillars** essential to breeding an effective, passionate workforce is a methodology that helps your people achieve something greater than themselves. This requires 3 fundamentals:

An awareness of how and why people are reacting to each other

The ability to apply this awareness to take more intelligent actions and less “reactions”

The ability to see the working environment and the people in it as a means to achieving something bigger in their lives.

In DC, awareness is initiated by realizations about the effects of your own communication and reactions that not only cause the others to treat you the way they do, but cause your own inefficiencies and disorganization. There are three conditions that are addressed to nurture this realisation:

The Mental, which uses the Colored Brain Communication Inventory (CBCI) to determine the way a person processes information and the world around them. This is a genetic process and cannot be changed.

The Emotional, which applies a fundamental Eight Emotional Drivers and their ranking that establishes motivation in various settings. This is environmental and changes as a person evolves emotionally.

The Physical, which identifies the five postures we all use and misuse in our effort to achieve our goals.

The point of this awareness is a consciousness of the affects the environment has on you and the affects you have on it. When you make realisations about yourself, you can see how you are being influenced and how you are influence others. You get a clear picture of where conflict and low cooperation really come from and how to prevent it. You identify the factors that have preventing greater leadership and inspire others to greater competence. You discover the gaps in customer service and sales success and how to overcome them.

But this is all just part of the system. Practitioners of Directive Communication™ Psychology apply two primary methods of influencing an organisations culture.

Method #1: Breaking tradition

Traditionally training for leadership, customer service, communication, sales, project management, etc. is all separately conducted and all applying independent methodologies. Courses usually last 2 days each and while people do take back some skills, they cannot fully understand each other’s roles and how those roles can connect to achieve Cooperative and competent execution of a common goal.

The Directive Communication™ Solution – One Language, One Vision

The system uses a “Common” methodology across the organisation, this not only allows organisations to save time by simplifying planning and centralizing soft skills competency with a process that is adapted across most people disciplines, but saves time with less training days required to achieve higher levels of competency. It is designed from the beginning for cross-organisational implementation and result measurement. The byproduct is an organisation that is more cooperative because employees are speaking the same language and cultivating a culture to reinforce the greater abilities of the workforce.

How it works

When an organisation is trained in the Fundamental DC Methodology with a 2 day course, they are primed to take specialized “Application Modules” that only last 1 day (instead of the traditional 2days). This allows Training and HR managers to maximize the training effect and still keep their workforce working. The DC methodology itself promotes a better culture and gets 42% better implementation results than traditional training. This is due to its unique psychology base that puts everyone in the company that is learning different skills, on the same page. Each application module builds on the Core DC psychology foundation – and all DC accredited practitioners are experts in their specific fields and apply their expertise in shorter times for a diversely competent and cohesive workforce and more effective culture.

Method #2: creating a revolution

This strategy is based on U.S. Special Forces PYOPS tactics for creating revolutions in countries combined with DC Corporate Re-Culturing strategies and psychology. When a core group has internalized “Directive Communication foundations” the psychological weapons of workforce enhancement are systematically applied across the organization. The key influencers (core group attending the workshops) within the organization are simultaneously trained in “Force Multiplication” tactics.

From the core group, individuals create DC A-teams incorporating different organizational hierarchies (i.e. management, supervisors, front line, and support). They then become the strike force that ignites culture enhancement from within, they are the force for the good of the organization and infect the rest with the same vision (usually suggested by senior management). They gain a strong sense of purpose because they fulfilling their own needs through the organization, not just doing the job.

The key influencers or “informal leaders” of an organisation are chosen to be internal consultants (one person for every 35 in the company) their purpose is to multiply the effects of DC Psychology and direct enthusiasm and action in the groups and teams they interact with uniting them in one direction.

The process is a 6 day interactive DC “Revolution” program spread out over 2 to 4 weeks (including the discovery and strategy component), and applicable Projects implemented in between the workshops. After each workshop, these Key Influencers involve a sub-group, which includes their managers as well as senior management, of about 5 or 6 individuals in immediately implementing what they have learned. That sub-group in turn involves a secondary sub-group and staff and management alike make realizations that influence their perspective of their place in the organization, and the fulfillment they gain from what the organization can bring to their own lives.

In one recent case study in creating the culture for the new Emirates Hotel & Resort chain, Directive Communication Practitioners from Singapore and Malaysia used the “revolution” process together with 22 Emirates staff and 2 midlevel managers, to cultivate powerful perceptions that created an almost instant energy that spread throughout the entire Hotel. It literally changed the way managers and staff alike treated and cooperated with each other. According to Bruno Hivon, the Emirates Marina General Manager, “The whole hotel is teaming with an energy that is truly exhilarating. I think the program is so successful because it calls on the significance and substance of people rather than on material things and that is what service is all about. The revolutionary attitude and group dynamics that came out of this program can put into every aspect of our work across all departments and every stage of the operations.

All of us have been channeled in one passionate direction and one focus, and this has been achieved in quite a dynamic and fun way that got buy in at all levels. Even the management team here we have discovered quite a bit about ourselves that will certainly make a difference in our directions.

As for our Patriots and their revolution, this is so different from other service concepts that they will definitely set the path for things to come.”

The revolution, measured by the Emirates head office against pre-revolution assessments, yielded substantial improvements in various areas:

Working with and Developing Others – up 54.64%,

Leadership – up 48.2%,

Communication – up 65.38%

Productivity – up 42.71%

Both methods require a “Buy In” from senior management because a letting go of Ego with a focus on results is required. In each method, the driving force comes from the employees, and cooperation and personal effectiveness is inspired from a self interest and development perspective. When employees feel their place in the organisation makes a significant difference and they discover how to gain more from work than just money, they create an environment that reinforces teamwork, creativity, passion and the emotional levers (outside of ego) that will lead to the improvement in their quality of life in and out of work.

While DC is not the only Psychology based methodology that affects individual perceptions, Steven Covey’s Seven Habits and P.E.P. have also proven successful in this area, the byproduct of culture and workforce enhancement is the premise for long lasting retention and consistent application of these perceptions. The reason? This can be answered with a question: Have you ever really been passionate to achieve great things for an organisation, only to be brought down be the people around you, the “working environment”?

**The Directive Communication five pillars are the foundational conditions of culture change, they are as follows: The group must have a greater purpose, The group must speak a common language, The group must have a technology or a structured approach which they believe will help them achieve that greater purpose, The group must have an integral support system, The group must have a unified identity.

By: Arthur F Carmazzi