When I first moved to the Netherlands and was dating my current Dutch husband, I kept noticing things which were unusual to me. I often asked, “Why do the Dutch do this?” and “Why do the Dutch do that?”. He was surprised by all my questions as, for him, it was normal. Living in his
Loes Tenniglo was in a tough situation that many of us recognize – the frustration of trying to implement changes in another country. Loes, from the Netherlands, is smart and personable, so what was the problem? Here is her story: “I had just started a one-year project to improve the productivity at our plant in
Creating a Transactive Memory System Here is the scenario: Bill in London needs information. Ivan in Moscow is the expert. Bill goes down the hall to Thomas for an answer, even though his information is less complete. Bill does not contact Ivan at all. Sound familiar? Yes, and research proves it. Why doesn’t Bill go
You have a request to a colleague in a different department which is in another country. Essentially, she must do some work for you and send you the results. You have written an email, with background details and clear instructions. Your request is not unusual and in the normal scope of her position. You address
You are attending a meeting with your virtual team. Everything seems to be going well, and then the team leader mentions a decision she recently made about an interface element with another team. She had attended a regular meeting of the other team and provided them with an update on the progress of your team.
