Parental Speech and Gesture Input to Girls Versus Boys in Singletons and Twins

Journal of Nonverbal Behavior - Children show sex differences in early speech development, with girls producing a greater number and variety of words at an earlier age than boys (Berglund et al. in...     

Change of attitude toward culture: pre- and post-expatriation experiences of managers

Cultural adjustment and intercultural effectiveness strongly influence international managerial issues, such as organizational success in a local firm, assignment completion, cost of expatriation, and repatriation. Therefore, employees assigned to work in another country need to prepare by learning about that country’s culture before expatriation. Much research has been conducted in the last few decades on the role of culture in expatriation. This study examines how the attitude of expatriate managers toward the importance of culture changes between the pre- and post-expatriation periods. This study is structured as a two-step investigation: (1) pre-expatriation cultural preparation and (2) thoughts on the importance of culture after expatriation. The research sample was South Korean expatriate managers working in Turkey or the US. All participants were reached by the trace method, and the interview data were analyzed in QSR NVivo software with content analysis. The results showed that expatriate managers’ attitude toward the importance of culture changed as a result of expatriation. Pre-expatriation, some participants did not prepare for the new culture. However, after the expatriation experience, all agreed that an understanding of the host culture was important during the assignment. An overseas experience allowed participants to understand the significant role played by culture in their adjustment to the new environment.     

The meaning of bad news management for managers: an explorative research through metaphors

It is a known reality that managers often encounter bad news, and this study explores the question “What is the perspective of managers on bad news management?” in the context of a developing country with rapidly changing conditions. To answer this question, in-depth interviews were conducted with 32 top and middle managers. The results reveal two root metaphors about bad news management in managers’ minds. Managers focus on the past with the “lesson” metaphor and focus on the future with the “opportunity” metaphor. While managing bad news, they draw meaningful inferences from prior experiences and thus become careful and ready. After managing bad news, they have new opportunities to make their organization more mature, developed, and recovered.