An exploratory study of listening skills of professionals across different cultures

The significance of listening skills for the efficiency and effectiveness of individual and organizational success is starting to be recognized around the world. This study sought to explore the listening skills of working professionals from three countries – India, Malaysia and the United States of America (USA). A total of 633 completed surveys were received from working individuals within the three countries. The results show the respondents from Malaysia have lower self-perceived listening competencies compared to India and USA. The study found no significant difference on listening skill due to age differences. However, respondents within the age group of 61 to 65 years old were found to be better listeners

The effects of home country, gender and position on listening behaviors

Regardless of national culture, often listening is mentioned as an important component for effective business operations. In addition, understanding how individuals of different national cultures perceive and process listening is fundamental to our global world of work. The present study used Glenn and Pood (1989) Listening Self-Inventory to examine the distracted and attentive listening behaviors of male and female managers and non-managers who worked full time inthe countries of India, Malaysia, and the United States of America (USA). Findings in this study suggest USA females and males, in general, are less likely to be attentive listeners than the Indian and Malaysian respondents are. USA and Malaysian managers are less prone to be attentive listeners than non-managers while Indian managers are more likely to be attentive listeners. Regarding distracted listening behaviors, males are more prone to engage in distracted listening than females while managers are less likely to engage in distracted listening than non-managers. USA managers are more distracted in their listening than non-managers while Indian and Malaysian managers are less distracted listeners than the non-managers are. This study indicates differing national cultures, organizational position and gender can affect listening in the workplace

Comparing perceived listening behavior differences between managers and nonmanagers living in the United States, India, and Malaysia

Many managers and employees work in multinational organizations, but know little about what constitutes good or bad listening skills from a cross-cultural perspective. Little literature exists concerning the listening behaviors of managers and nonmanagers or the impact of national culture on listening skills. No clear understanding of what constitutes effective and ineffective listening across various cultures and organizational positions is known. Therefore, this study examines the listening skills of both managers and nonmanagers from India, the United States, and Malaysia. A total of 513 managers and nonmanagers from these countries completed a survey measuring self-perceptions of their engagement in four listening behaviors: distracted listening, empathetic listening, judgment rushing, and conclusion jumping. An analysis of variance procedure, with a 2 × 3 factorial design, was used to ascertain whether differences existed when each of the four derived factors was used one at a time as a dependent variable. The two independent variables were managers/nonmanagers and country of residence. The means differed on the main effects of managers/nonmanagers (p \u3c .001) and country of residence (p \u3c .001) and interaction between managers and nonmanagers across the United States, India, and Malaysia (p \u3c .001) on all four factors. Therefore, perceptions of engaging in distracted listening, empathetic listening, judgment rushing, and conclusion jumping are different for managers and nonmanagers living in the United States, India, and Malaysia. This study’s findings will help both managers and nonmanagers from these countries understand the positives and negatives of these four listening practices and the influence of national culture on listening behaviors

The effects of home country, gender, and position on listening behaviors

Regardless of national culture, often listening is mentioned as an important component for effective business operations. In addition, understanding how individuals of different national cultures perceive and process listening is fundamental to our global world of work. The present study used Glenn and Pood (1989) Listening Self-Inventory to examine the distracted and attentive listening behaviors of male and female managers and non-managers who worked full time in the countries of India, Malaysia, and the United States of America (USA). Findings in this study suggest USA females and males, in general, are less likely to be attentive listeners than the Indian and Malaysian respondents are. USA and Malaysian managers are less prone to be attentive listeners than non-managers while Indian managers are more likely to be attentive listeners. Regarding distracted listening behaviors, males are more prone to engage in distracted listening than females while managers are less likely to engage in distracted listening than non-managers. USA managers are more distracted in their listening than non-managers while Indian and Malaysian managers are less distracted listeners than the non-managers are. This study indicates differing national cultures, organizational position and gender can affect listening in the workplace