challenges in international business communication: a study of … · challenges in international...

Challenges in International Business Communication:

A Study of Language, Culture and Inter-Cultural Issues in

Malaysian-Australian Business Discourse

Jumiati Ismail

This thesis is presented for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in

Education (Applied Linguistics) at the

University of Western Australia

Graduate School of Education

2007

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Abstract

This study aims to explore communication deviances and strategies in the negotiation

discourse of Malaysian-Australian business encounters, from both a linguistic and non-

linguistic perspective. Specifically, it sees miscommunications/deviances as factors that

may hinder the business communication process and prevent the negotiators from

achieving their objectives. The study also focuses on strategies, or those discourse skills

which promote successful business negotiation. The research method is based on the

analysis of discourse generated from initial ‘perception’ interviews, business meetings,

and post-meeting ‘follow-up’ interviews. The research involved a cross-section of

Malaysian and Australian business people from various industries; such as tourism,

information technology, hospitality and financial services. The initial ‘perception’

interviews were intended to gather data on the prior experiences of Malaysian and

Australian businesspeople, both in terms of the reported difficulties and strengths in

their business interactions and dealings in Western Australia. In the second stage of the

analysis, the deviances which signalled miscommunication in the negotiation were

identified in the recorded meeting data. Also identified were the strategies which were

used by the negotiators to increase the likelihood that their goals will be achieved. The

objective of the research was then to interpret why these strategies were being used, and

their influence on the negotiation process. From the data a pattern emerged in the way

that deviance occurred, and the way that strategies were being performed. This has

made it possible to group deviance and strategies and present the findings thematically.

Altogether, five themes identified, these were: Management of topics, Building rapport;

Ethical business conduct; Building recognition; Styles in business practice. The study

has shown that business communication discourse reflects the embedded culture of its

speakers. Topic management was also found to play an important role in the business

meetings as it enabled the participants to more effectively lead their discussion towards

its intended goal. Both the deviance and strategies have been managed by the business

negotiators in the way they select the appropriate topic categories in order to effectively

maintain the discussion throughout the meeting.

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Table of Contents

Abstract ............................................................................................................................. ii

Table of Contents ............................................................................................................. iii

List of Figures .................................................................................................................. ix

List of Tables.................................................................................................................... ix

List of Acronyms .............................................................................................................. x

Declaration ....................................................................................................................... xi

Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................... xii

Chapter One ...................................................................................................................... 1

INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................ 1

1.0. Aims of the research............................................................................................... 1 1.1. Significance of the study ........................................................................................ 2 1.2 Defining key terms in the study .............................................................................. 5 1.4. Historical context of language reform in Malaysia ................................................ 8 1.5. The Transition Phase – linguistic challenge......................................................... 11 1.6. The global evolution of the English language...................................................... 15

1.6.1. History of English as a global language ........................................................ 15 1.6.2. The global spread of English......................................................................... 17 1.6.3. Kachru’s concentric circles ........................................................................... 18

1.7. Major debates in global English ........................................................................... 20 1.7.1. Non-native speakers ...................................................................................... 20 1.7.2. Ownership ..................................................................................................... 20 1.7.3. Standard English ........................................................................................... 21 1.7.4. Macroacquisition ........................................................................................... 23

1.8. Positions taken in the debates .............................................................................. 24 1.8.1. World Englishes (WE) .................................................................................. 24 1.8.2. Current debates on issues of World Englishes .............................................. 26 1.8.3. Current views on English as an International Language (EIL) ..................... 29 1.8.4. The dilemma of EIL ...................................................................................... 30 1.8.5. English as a lingua franca (ELF) ................................................................... 32 1.8.6. Postmodern Globalization (Canagarajah) ..................................................... 34

1.9. The localization of Englishes .............................................................................. 35 1.9.1. Australian English – History ......................................................................... 35 1.9.1.1. English in Australia .................................................................................... 35 1.9.1.2. The Australian English variety................................................................... 36 1.9.1.3. Distinctiveness of Australian English ........................................................ 38

1.10. Malaysian English .............................................................................................. 39 1.10.1. History of English in Malaysia ................................................................... 39 1.10.1.1. English use in the Malaysian business context ........................................ 41

1.11. Mutual intelligibility .......................................................................................... 43 1.12. Accommodation strategies/awareness ............................................................... 44 1.13. Malaysia in the international business arena ...................................................... 46 1.14. The Malaysian economy: 1985-1995 ................................................................. 48 1.15. Malaysia and the international market: 1995-2005 ............................................ 49 1.16. History of Australia/Malaysia relationship ........................................................ 50

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1.17. The current relationship between Australia and Malaysia ................................. 52 Chapter Two .................................................................................................................... 54

LITERATURE REVIEW................................................................................................ 54

2.0. Introduction .......................................................................................................... 54 2.1. Cultural and inter-cultural issues ......................................................................... 57

2.1.1. The limits of language ................................................................................... 57 2.1.2. Language reflects the culture of its speakers ................................................ 57 2.1.3. The use of English as a lingua franca in an international business context . 60 2.1.4. Areas of miscommunications in cross-cultural interactions ......................... 63 2.1.5. Models of business meetings and business discourse in an cross-cultural context ..................................................................................................................... 66 2.1.6. Cross-cultural business negotiations in the Asian context ............................ 69 2.1.7. Studies of Malaysian-Australian business encounters .................................. 77

2.2. Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 82 Chapter Three .................................................................................................................. 83

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY .................................................................................... 83

3.1. Introduction .......................................................................................................... 83 3.2. Research design .................................................................................................... 83

3.2.1. Justification for the use of a qualitative research methodology .................... 84 3.2.2. Data sources .................................................................................................. 85

3.3. The three major phases in the research design ..................................................... 87 3.3.1. Perception interviews (Phase 1) .................................................................... 87 3.3.2. Phase 2: meeting analysis ............................................................................. 93 3.3.3 Individual follow-up interviews (Phase 3) ..................................................... 96 3.3.3.1. Participants ................................................................................................. 97 3.3.3.2. Site selection .............................................................................................. 97

3.4. Summary of the procedures to collect data .......................................................... 97 3.4.1. Step 1 ............................................................................................................. 97 3.4.2. Step 2 ............................................................................................................. 98 3.4.3. Step 3 ............................................................................................................. 98 3.4.4. Step 4 ............................................................................................................. 98 3.4.5. Step 5 ............................................................................................................. 98 3.4.6. Step 6 ............................................................................................................. 99

3.5. The use of field notes ........................................................................................... 99 3.6. Transcribing the recorded interviews and meetings........................................... 100 3.7. Problems in implementing the study design and their solutions ........................ 101 3.8. Major frameworks and approaches .................................................................... 104

3.8.1 Marriott’s approach to discourse analysis .................................................... 104 3.8.2 Management of structural elements (Ventola, 1987) ................................... 104 3.8.3. Topic development of spoken interaction (Gardner, 1987) ........................ 106 3.8.4. Neustupny’s model of language management (Neustupny, 1985b; 1988) . 106 3.8.5. The influence of deviance/miscommunication and/or strategies on topic development .......................................................................................................... 107 3.8.6. Summary: How strategies influence topic development ............................. 108

Chapter Four ................................................................................................................. 111

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION ...................................................................... 111

4.1. Introduction ........................................................................................................ 111 4.2. The approach for identifying miscommunication or deviances ......................... 111 4.3. The approach for identifying strategies for successful communication............. 112

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4.4. Analysis .............................................................................................................. 113 4.5. Analysis of meeting 1 and 2 ............................................................................... 113 4.6. Meeting 1 (Presentation Meeting) ...................................................................... 114

4.6.1. Introduction ................................................................................................. 114 4.6.2. The context of meeting 1............................................................................. 115 4.6.3. Analysis of structure of meeting 1 .............................................................. 116 4.6.4. Analysis of themes in Meeting 1 Data: ....................................................... 118 Miscommunications identified in business meeting 1 .......................................... 118 4.6.4.1. Theme 1: informality ............................................................................... 118 4.6.4.1 Analysis: .................................................................................................... 118 4.6.4.2. Banter ...................................................................................................... 118 4.6.4.2.1. Excerpts from meeting data: ................................................................. 118 4.6.4.3. Colloquial Language ................................................................................ 119 4.6.4.4. Muffins ..................................................................................................... 120 4.6.4.4.3. Analysis from follow-up interviews: Ms Aiman ................................. 120 4.6.4.5. Researcher’s interpretation of miscommunication that occurs ................ 122 4.6.5. Theme 2: Ethics........................................................................................... 122 4.6.5.1. Analysis of the meeting data: ‘Conflict of interest’ ................................. 122 4.6.5.2. Excerpts from the meeting data................................................................ 123 4.6.5.4. Analysis from the follow-up interviews: Ms Aiman................................ 124 4.6.5.5. Researcher’s interpretation of miscommunication.................................. 126 4.6.6. Theme 3: Building rapport .......................................................................... 126 4.6.7. Theme 4: Non-verbal cues/behavior ........................................................... 131

4.7. Analysis on strategies identified in business meeting 1 ..................................... 134 4.7.1. Strategies performed by the Malaysian relationship manager: Ms Aiman . 134

4.8. Meeting 2 ........................................................................................................... 140 4.8.1. Introduction ................................................................................................. 140 4.8.2. Context of meeting 2 ................................................................................... 141 4.8.3. Analysis on the structure of meeting 2 ........................................................ 142 4.8.4. Topic Management as an additional analysis ............................................. 145 4.8.4.1. Analysis of Data Meeting 2: Identifying the use of Topics as Strategies 146

4.9. Analysis in using topic change as a strategy ...................................................... 148 4.9.1. Excerpts showing the flow of topic shifts as strategy of building rapport .. 150 4.9.2. Structural element 13: ‘identifying problems’ ............................................ 153 4.9.3. Analysis using topic recycling as a strategy ............................................... 153 4.9.4. Analysis of strategies in meeting 2 ............................................................. 155

4.10. Meeting 3 (Negotiation Meeting)..................................................................... 163 4.10.1. Introduction ............................................................................................... 163 4.10.2. Analysis meeting 3 and meeting 4 ............................................................ 164 4.10.3. Context of meeting 3 ................................................................................. 164 4.10.4. Analysis of the structure of the meeting ................................................... 166 4.10.5. The analysis of topic management: Relationship between miscommunications, strategies and topic development ........................................ 169 4.10.6. Analysis on Topic Shift as strategy ........................................................... 171 4.10.7. Analysis of Topic Reintroduction as strategy ........................................... 173 4.10.8. Analysis on instances of miscommunication in meeting 3 ....................... 176 4.10.9. Analysis on instances of strategies in meeting 3 ....................................... 183 4.10.13. Researcher’s interpretation of the strategy ............................................. 186 4.10.14. Conclusion .............................................................................................. 186

4.11. Meeting 4 (Negotiation Meeting)..................................................................... 188 4.11.1. Introduction ............................................................................................... 188 4.11.2. Context of meeting 4 ................................................................................. 188

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4.11.3. Analysis on structure of meeting 4............................................................ 189 4.11.4. The list of topics: an analysis showing the relationship of topic development and structural elements with the structure of meeting ..................... 190 4.11.5. Analysis on the topic recycling and relationship between miscommunications, strategies and topic development ........................................ 192

4.12. Analysis on instances of strategies in meeting 4 .............................................. 199 4.12.1. Strategy 1: Reemphasizing key information related to service ................. 199 4.12.2. Strategies employed by the Australian representatives to ensure Mr Ahmad understood the service which they marketed or offered. ...................................... 199 4.12.3. Strategy 2: Building recognition and demonstrating authority: Mr Ahmad ............................................................................................................................... 201 4.12.4. Researcher’s interpretation........................................................................ 202 4.12.6. Conclusion ................................................................................................ 203

Chapter Five .................................................................................................................. 204

DISCUSSION ............................................................................................................... 204

5.1. Introduction ........................................................................................................ 204 5.2. Topic Management as a Skill ............................................................................. 206 5.3. Topic change ...................................................................................................... 206 5.4. Topic shifts ......................................................................................................... 207 5.5. Topic recycling................................................................................................... 210 5.6. Building Rapport ................................................................................................ 211

5.6.1. Malaysian Perceptions on rapport building................................................. 212 5.6.2. The Tradition of ‘Lobbying’ in Malaysia ................................................... 213 5.6.3. Australian Perceptions of Building Rapport ............................................... 216

5.7. Intercultural Competence Skills ......................................................................... 218 5.8. Ethical Behaviour ............................................................................................... 220

5.8.1. The Concept of ‘Budibicara’ ....................................................................... 224 5.8.2. Ethical behavior in rapport building ........................................................... 226

5.9. Corruption in the Malaysian business context ................................................... 227 5.10. The (Malaysian) practice of ‘shopping around’ ............................................... 229 5.11. Work Ethics: Procrastination ........................................................................... 231 5.12. Perception of ethical behaviour of the Australians .......................................... 233 5.13. Intercultural competence Skills ........................................................................ 235 5.14. Building Recognition ....................................................................................... 236 5.15. Intercultural competence skills ........................................................................ 239 5.16. Style of Business Practice ................................................................................ 239

5.16.1. Introduction ............................................................................................... 239 5.16.2. Protocols .................................................................................................... 240 5.16.3. Meeting protocols ..................................................................................... 240 5.16.4. Status Protocol .......................................................................................... 242 5.16.5. Religious protocol ..................................................................................... 243 5.16.6. Adapting: formality and informality ......................................................... 246 5.16.7. Concept of time: Procrastination ............................................................... 248 5.16.8. Politeness systems ..................................................................................... 249

5.17. Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 250 Chapter Six .................................................................................................................... 252

CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................. 252

6.1. Introduction ........................................................................................................ 252 6.2. Strategies for Increasing ICC skills in Malaysian-Australian Business Encounters ................................................................................................................................... 253

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6.3. Topic Management............................................................................................. 254 6.4. Rapport Building ................................................................................................ 256 6.5. Ethical Behaviour ............................................................................................... 257 6.6. Issues relating to building recognition and credibility ....................................... 259 6.7. Section on issues relating to style in business practice ...................................... 260 6.8. Teaching Pedagogy ............................................................................................ 261 6.9. Limitations of the research ................................................................................. 264 6.10. Future research ................................................................................................. 265

REFERENCES .............................................................................................................. 266

Appendix 1 .................................................................................................................... 277

Structural Elements in Meeting 2 .................................................................................. 277

Appendix 2 .................................................................................................................... 291


Appendix 3 .................................................................................................................... 292


Appendix 4 .................................................................................................................... 304

English for civil servants (Cruez, 2002) ....................................................................... 304

Appendix 5 .................................................................................................................... 305

Transcription Symbols .................................................................................................. 305

Appendix 6 .................................................................................................................... 310

Meeting 1 ...................................................................................................................... 310

Appendix 7 .................................................................................................................... 334

Meeting 2 ...................................................................................................................... 334

V009.Mtg2 Tourism ...................................................................................................... 334

Appendix 8 .................................................................................................................... 349

Meeting 3 ...................................................................................................................... 349

Appendix 9 .................................................................................................................... 362

Meeting 4 ...................................................................................................................... 362

Meeting Hotel 2: IT ....................................................................................................... 362

Appendix 10 .................................................................................................................. 389

Follow up Interview Meeting 1 Australian ................................................................... 389

Appendix 11 .................................................................................................................. 400

Follow up Interview Meeting 1 Malaysian ................................................................... 400

Appendix 12 .................................................................................................................. 413

Example of Perception Interview Australian Participant .............................................. 413

Appendix 13 .................................................................................................................. 429

Example of Perception Interview Malaysian Participant .............................................. 429

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Appendix 14 .................................................................................................................. 437

List of Questions for Semi-structured Perception Interview......................................... 437

Appendix 15 .................................................................................................................. 439

Summary of tendencies from interview data ................................................................ 439

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List of Figures

Figure 1. Kachru’s three-circle model of World Englishes (B. B. Kachru, 1992, p. 356) ......................................................................................................................................... 19

Figure 2. Modiano’s centripetal circles of international English (1999, p. 25; M. Modiano, 1999, p. 25) ..................................................................................................... 31 Figure 3. Modiano’s English as an international language (EIL) illustrated by those features of English which are common to all native and non-native varieties (1999, p. 10). .................................................................................................................................. 32

Figure 4. A summary of events that impacted negatively upon Australia-Malaysia Business relations. ........................................................................................................... 80 Figure 5. The management of topics (as strategies) by Australian participants: .......... 148

Figure 6. International business negotiations influencing factors ................................ 206

Figure 7. The emphasis of building rapport .................................................................. 218

List of Tables

Table 1. Approaches to World Englishes (Bolton, 2005) ............................................... 26 Table 2. Source: adapted for this research from Bauer, Gaskell and Allum (2000), Creswell (1998), Denzin and Lincoln (1998), de Ruyter and Scholl (1998) Aand Miyauchi (2002) .............................................................................................................. 85 Table 3. The Participants................................................................................................. 90 Table 4. Categories of topic and the comparative production by participants ............. 109 Table 5. Structural elements in business negotiation meeting 2 ................................... 143 Table 6. Structural Elements in Meeting 2.................................................................... 145 Table 7. Topic change in the data ................................................................................. 149 Table 8. Examples of Topic Recycling as a Strategy: Long term commitment ........... 154 Table 9. Structural elements in business negotiation meeting 3 ................................... 167 Table 10. Frequency of structural elements .................................................................. 168 Table 11. Topic organisation in meeting 3 ................................................................... 171 Table 12. Showing total number of categories of topics ............................................... 171 Table 13. List of topics.................................................................................................. 192 Table 14. Topic recycling ............................................................................................. 194

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List of Acronyms

AE Australian English

AFTA ASEAN Free Trade Area

AMBC Australia-Malaysia Business Council

AMBC Australia-Malaysia Business Council

ASEAN Associate of South East Asia Nations

BE Business English

CA Conversational Analysis

DA Discourse Analysis

DFI Direct Foreign Investment

EFL English as a Foreign Language

EIL English as an International Language

ELF English as a Lingua Franca

ELFA English as a Lingua Franca in Academic

ELT English Language Teaching

ENL English as a Native Language

ESL English as a Second Language

IATEFL International Annual Conference for Teachers of English of Foreign Language

IB International Business

ICC Inter-cultural Communicative Competence

IJV International Joint Venture

IMP Industrial Master Plan

LOTE Language other than English

MATRADE Malaysian External Trade and Development Corporation

MBEs Malaysian Business Elites

ME Malaysian English

MITI Malaysian International Trade and Industry

MPGSAWA Malaysian Postgraduate Student Association of Western Australia

MSC Multimedia Super Corridor

MUET Malaysian University English Language Test

NEP New Economic Policy

NESB Non-English speaking background

NNS Non-native Speakers

NS Native Speakers

SAE Standard Australian English

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TESOL Teaching English to Speakers of Other Language.

UiTM University Technology MARA

VOICE Vienna Oxford International Corpus of English

WE World Englishes

WSSE World Standard Spoken English

WTO World Trade Organization

Declaration

I declare that this dissertation does not incorporate, without acknowledgement, any

material previously submitted for a degree or diploma in any university and that, to the

best of my knowledge and belief, it does not contain any material previously published

or written by another person where due reference is not made in the text.

Jumiati Ismail, 6 July 2007

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Acknowledgements

This study would not exist without the help of many people. To them, I wish to express my deep gratitude. Foremost among them is Dr Michael Azariadis, my mentor and best friend, whose contribution ranged from confidant to proof-reader and whose sustained support and faith have seen me through the inevitable crises. Dr Penny Lee, Dr Mark Pegrum and Dr Marie-Eve Ritz, whose full support and constant encouragement have made these last 5 years a pleasure and a rewarding experience. Special thanks also go to Professor Bill Louden, Dean of the Graduate School of Education (GSE); Professor Robyn Owens, Pro Vice Chancellor (Research and Research Training); and Dr Sato Juniper, Manager of Graduate Research, whose support has enabled me to complete and submit this thesis. Dr. Cameron Richard who had offered to read my thesis, your contribution has been greatly appreciated. My office colleague, Anne-Marie Chase, I would like to say thank you so much for the time spent during weekends, in helping with the formatting of my thesis. Not forgetting also my group of close friends, Param Rasiah, Thanh, Suzieleez Syrene, and Asriyanty. I also would like to thank all my business participants, both Malaysian and Australian who participated so willingly in my research. Their cooperation and good will have turned my data collection into a very enjoyable and unique experience, even though it has been full of challenges. Thank you to all members of the research committee at GSE who provided advice and encouragement before that dreaded ‘oral defense’. In particular, I wish to thank David Malthouse and John McKenzie who provided advice on recording equipment and a transcriber machine and of course with the computers as well. Thank you all for your help. Specially to my brother Ishar and my good friend, Fauzieh Hanim who have supported with the scholarship. I would also like to thank University Teknology MARA and the Malaysian Government for the scholarship award. Finally a very special thank you for all the sacrifices, are my family, in particular, my mum Hajah Khatijah , my late father Haji Ismail, my husband Abdul Rashid Osman, my sister Herny Izety and my four brothers who have given me the encouragement I needed to complete this undertaking. Specially to my five lovely children, Titania, Tashreeq, Teartika, Tasneem and Thaqif, this is the final word from mama: TERIMA KASIH DI ATAS SEGALA PENGORBANAN SEPANJANG MASA MAMA BELAJAR DI WESTERN AUSTRALIA, MAMA AKHIRNYA HABIS PHD INI ………………….. SYUKUR ALHAMDULLILLAH….. AMIN.

Chapter 1 – Introduction 1

Chapter One

INTRODUCTION

1.0. Aims of the research

The primary aim of this thesis is to uncover the linguistic and non-linguistic features

which either promote, or hinder, the success of cross-cultural1 business negotiations

between Malaysians and Australians. This study has analyzed negotiation discourse

between Malaysians and Australians, using the English language as the medium of

communication, in business meetings in the city of Perth, Western Australia (WA). The

research has been undertaken with the objective of looking into how Malaysian-

Australian business people might develop a greater awareness of the importance of

intercultural competency2 in order to build on or improve their current strategies of

business negotiation discourse. With the different linguistic and cultural backgrounds,

there is a possibility for Malaysians and Australians to confront mismatches in business

interaction. This research will make sense of the discursive aspects of Malaysian-

Australian business negotiations. The main focus is to be able to recognise and

understand the sources of miscommunication so that strategies can then be applied to

enhance the effectiveness of the negotiation process. Cross-culturally this study looks at

the two different cultural groups’ interactions and inter-culturally, and this study

examines the way the discourse is being analysed. In other words, the study attempts to

identify the skills or know-how which business practitioners can employ to increase the

likelihood of a successful outcome in Australian-Malaysian business dealings.

This chapter incorporates nine sections which provide the background to the current

study. The first section has already briefly outlined the principal aims of the research.

The second section will proceed to explain the significance of the study in terms of its

contribution to scholarship and to pedagogy in international business studies. Section

three is dedicated to providing initial definitions for three of the key concepts which are

used in, and elaborated on, throughout the course of the thesis. The fourth section

provides an overview of the historical context of language reform in Malaysia, both pre-

and post-Independence. This section highlights the impact of the policy to make English

the official language during the colonial period, and the subsequent linguistic challenges

1 The term ‘cross-cultural’ is defined in detail in section 1.2 – Defining key terms. 2 The term ‘intercultural competency’ is defined in detail in section 1.2 – Defining key terms.


that have emerged from the substitution of Bahasa Malaysia during the late 1960s to the

present. The fifth section deals with the historical development of English as a global

language. This section includes a discussion of Kachru’s concentric Three Circles

Model which divides World Englishes into their diverse cultural and multilingual

contexts. The sixth section gives an overview of some of the major debates surrounding

the process of pluralisation of the English language as it becomes the lingua franca of

business around the world. Various scholars have argued for diverse understandings as

to how English varieties are being transformed through their increasing adoption by

non-native speakers. Section seventh looks in more detail at the positions which are

being taken in the debates. Section eight examines the process of localization of English

in the Australian and the Malaysian contexts. This section highlights the distinctiveness

of both the Australian and the Malaysian varieties of English, and the ways in which

speakers reach mutual intelligibility through the use of accommodation strategies.

Section nine explores Malaysia’s place in the international business arena especially in

terms of the government’s strategies to create a favourable environment for foreign

investment. The final section provides relevant background information on the socio-

political events which have shaped bilateral relations between Australia and Malaysia.

1.1. Significance of the study

Whilst many cross-cultural studies of business negotiation discourse have focused on

the Asia region, typically among non-native speakers of English, this study provides

specific insights into cross-cultural business communication discourse between

Malaysian and Australian business people. Because of the increasing numbers of

Malaysian international business players now operating through English as a second

language3, insights into the specific linguistic and cultural aspects that may cause

problems in the process of business negotiation with speakers of English need to be

investigated. The significance of this study is that by exploring the process of

negotiation discourse, detailed information regarding any difficulties and differences

experienced by the interacting parties can be identified. At the same time, strategies for

overcoming these difficulties and achieving successful negotiation outcomes will also

be formulated. In these ways, a contribution can be made to the existing body of

linguistic knowledge regarding (cross-cultural) discourse analysis in business contexts.

3 In Malaysia, Bahasa Malaysia is the official language of the nation. English is the second language and is used extensively in the education system and in business.


Another way in which the study will make a significant contribution to research in this

field is that the methods will build on, and extend, Marriott’s (p. 78; 1995b) framework

for analysis.

In this regard, the main contribution of this research to the field of cross-cultural

business communication studies is that it provides detailed, salient features of

specifically Australian/Malaysian business discourse in a context different to that

investigated by previous works in the tradition of a socio-cultural perspective of cross-

cultural business discourse.

A contribution will also be made in relation to the Malaysian Government’s Ministry of

Malaysian International Trade and Industry (MITI) concern that Faculty of Business

graduates throughout Malaysia should be able to enter the business world with a high

level of intercultural competency so that they are able to interact successfully with their

native English speaking counterparts in countries such as Australia. Therefore, the

results of the present study will have practical value for both MITI and Business

university students in Malaysia, as well as the potential to make a scholarly theoretical

contribution to knowledge about cross-cultural business negotiation. The practical

relevance is that the study will suggest an intercultural pedagogical approach for

business courses within Malaysian universities.

According to Peter Varghese, the Australian High Commissioner to Malaysia in 2001,

trade ties between Malaysia and Australia were very positive, with strong growth in

imports and exports in both directions. For instance, bilateral trade then stood at AUS

$6.62 billion in 2000. In 2003, Australia’s two way trade with Malaysia was valued at

AUS $8.6 billion4. In 2005-6, bilateral trade has again further increased to AUS $11.5

billion5. Malaysia has now, in 2007, grown to be Australia’s second largest trading

partner in ASEAN and ninth largest trading partner overall. Further promotion of

business opportunities through business missions continues to spur trade and investment

growth. There are an increasing number of Malaysian business people who are now

operating in Western Australia.

4 Australia-Malaysia Free Trade Agreement: Australian Scoping Study p. iv (Report coordinated by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade). 5 Australia’s Relationship with Malaysia: Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade, Foreign Affairs Sub-Committee (March 2007) Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra.


This rapid entry of Malaysians into the international business arena has raised many

concerns. For instance, the Malaysian External Trade Development Corporation

(MATRADE) has, as one of its functions, to improve the international business skills of

Malaysian business people. Indeed, the Malaysian Government is keen to improve

negotiation skills both in the business and political domains. As long ago as 2002, the

Deputy Prime Minister (at that time, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) had expressed concerns

that civil servants, as well as professionals in the private sector who are engaged in bi-

lateral and multi-lateral negotiations, should upgrade their negotiation, communication

and language skills (what is often termed ‘interpersonal skills’) (See Appendix 5 for

newspaper article, Cruez, 2002). During this time it was recognised that the

consequence of not addressing interpersonal skills in multi-lateral negotiations in the

global context was that Malaysian businesses would either miss out on lucrative

business opportunities, or ‘be swallowed by giant transnational companies under the

guise of globalisation and trade liberalisation’ (Cruez, 2002). In fact, this concern was

the impetus for the researcher deciding on this topic for her doctoral research.

Despite the fact that these concerns were being raised several years ago, they are still

highly relevant, as has been recently confirmed by the (now) Malaysian Prime Minister,

Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, on an official visit to Malaysia by Australian

Prime Minister John Howard6. Datuk Seri Badawi expressed the desire that bilateral

relations should be strengthened, and emphasized that both countries should work

toward increasing trade and investment by encouraging interaction between the private

sectors of both countries ("Focus on collaboration," 2006). The success of this project

relies on developing competencies in the art of (cross-cultural) negotiation. Equipped

with an understanding of both cultures, and the intercultural competence skills that

increase favourable outcomes in business negotiations, trade between the two countries

will be enhanced to its optimum level.

The findings of this research suggest that linguistic elements are not the only contributor

to effective communication. Just as important are the non-linguistic or cultural elements

that emerge between participants in cross-cultural interactions. Both linguistic and non-

linguistic elements define the character of the negotiation discourse. Ultimately, a set of

five communicative domains of business discourse emerged from the data in this study,

6 The Prime Minister of Australia made an official visit to Malaysia from 29 November – 1 December 2006. The visit is to reciprocate the official visit undertaken by the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to Australia in April 2005. They discussed a wide range of mutual interest to further enhance and deepen the existing bilateral relations, exchanging views on both regional and international issues of mutual interest.


these are: building rapport, building credibility/recognition, presentation style,

behaviour and ethics. The intention has been to focus on these communicative domains

and analyze the patterns of interaction, most significantly in terms of the deviances and

strategies that emerge in the discourse during the interaction process.

1.2 Defining key terms in the study

This research has, at its core, four concepts which underpin the analysis and

interpretation of the data; these are the terms culture, cross-cultural, intercultural, and

intercultural competence. As these are used extensively in the thesis, it is important to

clearly define them from the outset.

Definition of Culture

The meaning of culture in the context of this study is particularly useful for

businesspeople that come from different cultural backgrounds. It refers specifically to

cross-cultural communication that takes place during international business transactions.

In order for this cross-cultural communication to be effective, the definition of culture

has to be clear.

There are two kinds of definitions of culture, the popular or common definition that

involves music, theatre and art – things that enrich one’s life and another which is

invisible but structure one’s life. For businesspeople, the structure is more significant, as

this will be the cultural self-knowledge that businesspeople need to understand in order

to communicate in such diverse contexts (Reynolds & Valentine, 2004). Reynolds and

Valentine (pp. xv-xvi) propose a useful definition of culture that comprises of four

elements. These are

• Culture is acquired – The concept of culture is acquired within the community

that one is raised. This includes all behaviours that people do unconsciously

such as when to speak, when to listen, modes of respect, modes of time,

idiomatic expressions and slang, and ways to address people.

• Culture is shared – People are expected to behave and think in certain ways that

may appear similar or different, ‘culture does not exist in a vacuum’ (Reynolds

& Valentine, 2004, p. xv).

• Culture defines core values. Core values are those that the community hold dear.

It reflects their attitudes towards things they do and believe.


• Cultures are not static. Culture does not remain static, it changes over time, but

these changes generally take place gradually.

Definitions of Intercultural and Cross cultural business

Both terms have been used by people to mean a number of different things. Sometimes

they are used interchangeably; sometimes they are given distinct definitions. It depends

very much on the study undertaken. In this thesis, in order to avoid confusion, cross-

cultural will describe any interaction that involves representatives from more than one

culture. Therefore the term cross-cultural, in this study, refers to the meetings of two or

more individuals (or groups of individuals) from different cultures that are interacting

within in a particular business encounter. The Malaysian-Australian interactions in this

study are cross-cultural; however, the intercultural aspect is the way discourse is

analysed, which follows the concept introduced by Byram and Kramsch.

The term intercultural is reserved for that particular paradigm promoted by Kramsch

(1993) and Byram (1995) which relates to the concept of ‘bridge-building’ between

cultures. According to Kramch (1993), whenever a non-native speaker of a language

interacts in the target language, the non-native speaker performs a cultural act that

involves two cultures: one’s own, and that of the target language. It is, therefore,

important for the speaker to develop a cultural position which mediates between these

two cultures. Byram (1995) (as cited in Crozet & Liddicoat, 1999, pp. 115-116)

provides a comprehensive definition of a competent intercultural speaker:

An intercultural speaker is someone who can operate their linguistic competence and

their sociolinguistic awareness of the relationship between language and the context in

which it is used, in order to manage interaction across cultural boundaries, to anticipate

misunderstandings caused by difference in values, meanings and beliefs, and thirdly, to

cope with the affective as well as cognitive demands of engagement with otherness (pp.

115-116).

Definition of Intercultural Competence

Finally, it is important to understand that, Intercultural Competence (IC) is the ability

to create for oneself a third space (Kramsch, 1993, p. 13), between one’s first

‘linguaculture’ and the target ‘linguaculture’. This involves a creative process where

there is an instance of ‘negotiation of the differences which allow both parties to be

comfortable’ when interacting (Crozet, Liddicoat, & Bianco, 1999, p. 118). The third

space signals intercultural competence. Intercultural competence is the ability to resolve


communicative difficulties arising from distinctions in culture. Referring to Byram and

Kramsch’s third space, it is a repertoire of strategies. IC however, is not a set of

strategies; it works at a meta level in order to accomplish its objective. It is meta-

awareness that is, being able to see and identify them and at the same time having the

understanding of how and why these strategies are being used. In other words, IC is a

meta-awareness ability to see what and to identify whether they are successful or

unsuccessful. In situations where they are unsuccessful, they are able to intervene in

order to get the conversation back on track. In this study, the analysis focuses on what’s

happening. Prescriptively, the focus is on what should happen. IC is against the

essentialist concept; it is not the study of any particular group of people but being able

to look at any negotiations that are taking place. It is not for any specific cultural group.

The three main aspects are seeing, identifying and intervening.

Intercultural Competence, therefore, relates to the notion of strategies through teaching

and training. People need to acquire these skills to communicate successfully.

Communication will be better, probably with a set of strategies. Then, looking at this

research, one may be able to identify the strategies that are working or not working and

that one who has the ability to identify these strategies may avoid unsuccessful

communication. In order to fit these strategies into IC, the IC idea in the beginning deals

with training and teaching, then it moves away into strategies. Strategies are one of the

Discourse Analytical tools, IC deals with these pedagogical and training tools.

1.3 The Researcher

This doctoral study has been undertaken by a researcher who has sixteen years

experience as a lecturer at the largest university in Malaysia, the University Technology

MARA7. This particular university is specifically for the bumiputra (or ‘sons of the

soil’)8. In Malaysia, it has long been the policy of the Ministry of Education to send

academics to overseas universities to gain higher degree (PhD) qualifications and

exposure to research cultures and networks in, primarily, Australia, the United Kingdom

and North America. In addition, the research topics these doctoral students select should

be deemed of benefit to the social, political and/or economic development of Malaysia. 7 UiTM is the largest university in Malaysia in terms of intake numbers. The student population now exceeds 100 000, with campuses in all 13 states of the country. For these reasons it is considered to be a ‘mega’ university. 8 The term Bumiputra is used to designate the indigenous Malay people residing in the nation of Malaysia. It excludes ethnic Chinese and Indian citizens of Malaysia, but includes the indigenous people of Sabah and Sarawak. The term Bumiputra is applied specifically to Muslim Malays (according to the Constitution, a Malay must be a Muslim) and the indigenous Sabah and Sarawakians who can be Christian.


As a Malaysian researcher, living and conducting doctoral research in Western Australia

for a period of four years, it is hoped that the extensive exposure to both cultures over

an extended period of time has brought to the work in-depth insights, perspectives and

language abilities not accessible to others. As a result of being awarded a Malaysian

government scholarship in 2002, the researcher is obligated and pleased to share her

expertise with her home university, especially in terms of developing a syllabus for

courses addressing cross-cultural business negotiation skills.

1.4. Historical context of language reform in Malaysia

Since this study focuses on the Malaysians using English language as a medium of

business interaction, it is therefore important to understand the historical context of

language reform in Malaysia. The modern, post-independence nation of Malaysia was

formed in 1957. It comprises a population now approaching twenty four million people

who speak more than one hundred languages (Bhopal & Rowley, 2005, p. 561).

Geographically, Malaysia is constituted by three primary land regions: the Malay

Peninsula, Sabah and Sarawak. There are three main ethnic groups in Malaysia, these

are the Malays, known as the bumiputras, who at 65% of the total population are the

majority ethnic group; the Chinese, who comprise 26% of the population; and the

Indians, who make up the remaining 9% of the population (Khoo, 1991, p. 40). These

ethnic groups display a variety of languages and dialects. The British came to Malaya as

a colonial power in the late eighteenth century. This period saw the development of an

export economy focusing on the production of tin and rubber (Montesino, 2005). Both

products were highly valued and in demand in the West, to such an extent that it caused

a severe labor shortage which began to stunt the development of both industries. The

labor shortage drew waves of immigration from China, India, Sumatra and Java, as well

as other islands of the Malay Archipelago. This immigration, in fact, has resulted in the

ethnic (and linguistic) divisions that now characterize contemporary Malaysian society.

Prior to independence, ethnic divisions were strongly drawn along the lines of

occupation. For instance, Indians were first brought to Malaya to work in the rubber

plantations, in railroad construction, the civil service and security. The Chinese initially

found work in tin mining. The Malays, on the other hand, were heavily involved in

agricultural production, although they still held political power through the

constitutional monarchy, with a Sultan in each state (excluding Malacca and Penang). In

time, the Indians moved to the professions – especially in law, medicine and the

engineering fields. The Chinese became engaged in commercial activities in urban


centers; whilst the Malays became increasingly politicized. As Bhopal & Rowley (2005,

p. 250) suggest, in many ex-colonial countries, the division of labor created by

industrial colonization conditioned the future ethnic configuration of the population.

In order to uphold the economic development of Malaya, and to facilitate imperial

domination under the recognized strategy of ‘divide and rule’, the British encouraged

the separation of the three ethnic groups (Montesino, 2005, p. 6). Part of this plan

involved the introduction of a language program that would help facilitate the operation

of the colonial administration. In essence, only the so-called ‘elite Malays’ and the

Chinese, who were located in the urban areas, were privileged to receive extensive and

no cost English language instruction. For instance, the British colonial government set

up education programs which, according to Santhiram (as cited in David, 2004):

[s]uperimposed a vernacular primary terminal education in Malay for the indigenous

Malay masses within the Islamic traditions as a form of social control over the Malays,

English education based on the principle of user fees for the immigrants and the Malay

masses, but free for a select nobility and royalty [and] exemplify the classic ingredients

of a divide and rule policy. For the immigrant populations, the colonial power tolerated

an ethnically inspired and financed vernacular education for the Chinese; and an

employer-initiated Tamil vernacular primary education for the Indians.

However, post-independence - that is after 1957 - a change occurred when the

Malay nationalists felt that the time had come to build a unified national identity

by increasing the status of the Malay language and decreasing the status of the

language of the colonial power, that is, English. One of the principal

manifestations of national identity, then, was a change in language policy (Gill,

2002, p. 37). It was deemed an effective way to replace the language of the

former colonial power ( Asmah, 2000, p. 15). Thus, during the post-

independence era, ‘the national language played a dominant role in establishing

and enhancing feelings of nationalism’ ( Gill, 2002, p. 37). According to

Santhiram, ‘[e]ducation in Malaysia is [still] looked upon as playing an

important role in nurturing national consciousness, molding national identity,

and achieving national unity in a multiracial society’ (1999, p. 20). This view

was reflected in the pronouncement of Malaysia’s first Prime Minister, Tengku

Abdul Rahman, when he said that:

It is only right that as a developing nation we should want to have a language of our

own. If the national language is not introduced our country will be devoid of a unified


character and personality – as I could put it, a nation without a soul and without a life.

(Wong & Hong, 1975, p. 79)

The objective of the post-independence language policy in Malaysia was ‘to make

Malaysians proficient in at least two languages, Malay, as the national language, and

English as an important international language’ (Mansoor, Meraj, & Tahir, 2004, p. xv).

On the 31st of August 1967 Bahasa Melayu was officially proclaimed as the national

language. Malay was the chosen language at the time because of:

its indigeneity, its role as a lingua franca [of trade in the region], its possession of high

literature, and the fact that it once had been an important language of administration and

diplomacy in the Malay archipelago ( Asmah, 1997, p. 15).

As for English in Malaysia, however, according to Gill ‘[t]here was no drastic severing

of English from the official linguistic scene – it was done gradually and pragmatically.

The ultimate aim was to reduce the prominence of English and replace it with Bahasa

Malaysia’ (Gill, 2002). In schools across the country, the transition process from

English to Malay - as the main medium of instruction in the classroom - began in

earnest in 1969. However, it was not until 1983 that English was completely replaced as

the language of instruction within the country’s universities.

The steps taken to replace English with Bahasa Melayu were significant for two primary

reasons. Firstly, Malaysia is a multi-racial country and, in the early days, the non-

Malays held partisan views, which were biased towards English rather than Bahasa

Malaysia - the language of the Malay majority in the country. In other words, non-

Malays saw the imposition of the Malay language (as the official language) as a

potential threat to their cultural distinctiveness. Also, the non-Malays very much

viewed language policy as an instrument of increased political power for the Malays.

Any measure of change in the political sphere which weakens the relative

distinctiveness of ethnic minorities naturally brings along with it feelings of anxiety. As

a result, there was an exodus of middle-class non-Malays from the country during the

period of language change due to the fear that Bahasa Malaysia, as the language of

education and the national language of the country now replacing English, would cause

Malaysians to be at a disadvantage in global competition.


Second, there was no doubting that English was a strong language as the language of the

former colonial power. The combination of this fact, and the fact that it was now the

language of international economic and technological strength, meant the Malay

language had to be preserved so that its growth and development could be safely

nurtured in the face of this strong ‘external’ cultural force. Therefore, for Malays to

secure a more prominent status, English had to be relegated to a less dominant role in

favor of Bahasa Malaysia (Gill, 2000, p. 109). However, as has been indicated, English

was not completely relegated or ignored. Asmah, for example, observes that:

[e]ven at the height of nationalism English was given a role to play, that of official

language until ten years after Independence [1967] and after having fulfilled this role, it

was to become Malaysia’s second language. ( Asmah, 1997, p. 15).

The Third Malaysia Plan 1976-80 emphasized that ‘Bahasa Malaysia (Malay) is the

basis for national integration’. However, the plan also stated, quite assertively, that

‘[m]easures will be taken to ensure that English is taught as a strong second language’

Government of Malaysia, 1976, (as cited in David, 2004, p. 386). English, it was

argued, had to be retained in order ‘to keep abreast of scientific and technological

developments in the world and to participate meaningfully in international trade and

commerce’ (David, 2004, p. 384). Of most importance was the recognition that, because

of the nature of international trade, the nation could not completely sever itself from the

English language.

1.5. The Transition Phase – linguistic challenge

During this transition phase, most Malaysians experienced some difficulty in reaching

levels of required competency in both English and Bahasa Malaysia. Maya Khemlani

(David, 2004, p. 85) states that ‘all Malaysians, irrespective of ethnicity, faced

difficulties when the medium was changed to Malay’. In fact, Malaysians had already

been through a similar historical experience when English was first introduced to

replace Malay in the (urban) school system during the colonial administration. During

both phases of language implementation, concerns were consistently raised about the

linguistic ability of the Malay teaching staff (Mahmood, 1980; Salleh, 1980). Maya

Khemlani David (2004, p. 85) further points out that the setbacks for all students then,

regardless of ethnicity, were that they were being taught by less-than-fluent speakers of

the target language. The primary reason for this being that, in the early stages of the

implementation of Malay in particular as the medium of instruction, all students - and


even teachers - were disadvantaged because of the problems of coinage of Malay lexical

items and standardization of the Malay spelling system. Similarly, textbooks in various

disciplines had to be translated and, in some instances, new terminology had to be

coined.

Another consequence of language reform was that, as English was downgraded to an

‘important’ second language, proficiency levels declined. This was exacerbated by the

fact that language teachers were themselves not adequately competent in English (Pillai,

2001). It is still being reported that many young teachers still do not have the

proficiency or the confidence to teach, (Gaudart, 2001) . Language teachers have the

tendency to use a code-mixed variety of Malay and English (Malaysian-English)

discourse when they teach English which has resulted in students not being instructed in

‘proper standard English’ (Pillai, 2001). The practice of code-switching even in a

language teaching environment reflects the difficult transitional phase that students have

had to go through, particularly in reference to the shift from one medium of instruction

to another (David, 2004). The challenge of trying to be proficient in two languages has

negatively impacted students, especially when the society places a high expectation on

students to master the language.

The negative attitude many Malay students hold toward learning English has been

shaped by the obstacles and difficulties in learning the language. However, others also

feel that they are being unpatriotic in refining their English language skills to the

detriment of Malay. The Malaysian Prime Minister, for instance, argues that ‘[M]alay

students themselves think that by learning English, they are not being nationalistic, and

they are not supporting Bahasa [Malay]’ (Sivabalan, 2000). This phenomenon has led to

a situation whereby graduates from public universities have become victims of the

universities’ adherence to nationalistic language policies. Professor K. S, Jomo, a

leading political economist from University of Malaya, laments that:

Ironically, the main victims of the slide have turned out to be the Malay students. They

are the ones being punished when it’s time to enter the job market. Non-Malays are

basically trilingual and tend to cope slightly better; it is a tremendous disadvantage for

the Malays (Tan, 1994, p. 8).

Abdullah Hassan (2005, p. 7) claims that the implementation of the national education

policy - which was the primary target of language reform - had some unexpected and


undesirable side-effects. The process of national integration through making Bahasa

Malaysia the official language disadvantaged the Malays by creating an almost

monolingual community in comparison to the Chinese and Indians who were at least

bilingual (speaking Malay, Chinese or Tamil, as well as English to some level of

proficiency). The Chinese and Indians eventually became bilingual and even trilingual

by mastering the National Language, together with their respective mother tongues, and

English. Malays, on the other hand, became increasingly monolingual, especially as the

majority of Malays are traditionally from rural areas. They received a greater

proportion of their education in Malay, often failing to achieve even a basic level of

English. They became seriously handicapped in this way and missed out on good

employment and higher education. This language policy has caused Malays to be

‘disenfranchised and disadvantaged, both professionally, if they work in private sector

and socially, if they belong to certain socio-economic group’ (David, 2004, p. 87).

This situation is further complicated by the fact that two of the major ethnic groups in

Malaysia, the Chinese and Indians, have access to their own schools that teach in

Mandarin or Tamil. There are two factors then that have contributed to the polarization

of the major ethnic communities: the Malaysian policies of language reform which have

been described above, plus the situation of schools which have a curriculum

incorporating the teaching in languages other than English or Malay. According to Gill,

(2004, p. 88) this has created limited opportunities for cross-ethnic interaction and

consequently of acceptance and use of the target languages. The limited opportunities

created by the educational system led to a situation where there is ‘an unwillingness

[between ethnic groups] to engage in honest discussion about race at societal level’

(Montesino, 2005, p. 12).

The New Economic Policy (NEP) of the 1980s, however, even though its aim was to

create a large middle class of ethnic Malays, to some degree also helped in the

acceptance of English (David, 2004, p. 88). One of the ways of improving the English

proficiency of Malaysians is by providing scholarships to qualified Malaysians to study

abroad (often in the United States or the United Kingdom) as a way of gaining greater

exposure to English and returning to Malaysia with language competence and the ability

to work in the private sectors in various positions dealing in international trade.


In 1993, ten years after conversion to the Bahasa Malaysia medium of instruction was

completed, there was again a rising concern that Malaysians needed to acquire greater

competency in English to be able to compete globally. The Malaysian Cabinet took

measures to address what it saw as shortcomings in the language policy and took action

to try to improve the English language skills of Malaysians. This was supported and

encouraged by the Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamed (1993, December 28) with his

pragmatic point of view:

We need to do it. It is the Government’s opinion that once we have become a successful

race, our language will gain the respect of others. On the other hand, a race which is not

successful, will not be able to gain respect for its language even though they hold strong

to it (p. 2).

This concern was further strengthened by his then Deputy Prime Minister,

Anwar Ibrahim (1993, December 31) who took the view that if Malaysians did

not support the change in linguistic policy, they would lose in the international

race in the fields of industry, science, and technology. The Malaysian

government came to the conclusion that, as English is the lingua franca of

international business, if its citizens did not have an adequate command of

English, the country would be less likely to be globally competitive(Gill, 2004).

The former Prime Minister of Malaysia Mahathir Mohamed argued that in order for

Malaysia to be competitive in the global arena, the nation must work towards its

aspiration of becoming a fully industrialized nation by 2020. He declared that science

and mathematics subjects should be taught in English, not only at tertiary levels, but

also during the early years of schooling (Mohamed, 2002, p. 1). Unlike 1983, there was

this time minimal resistance to changes in language policy. Malaysians began to take a

more pragmatic attitude, recognizing that these language policy changes had little to do

with monopolizing power for one ethnic group (ie. the Malays) but was aimed at

keeping pace with rapid advances in technology (Gill, 2004, p. 150).

Finally, in the year 2000, English as medium of instruction was reintroduced in pre-

university classes and pre-university students are now required to sit for a compulsory

Malaysian University English Language Test (MUET) for entry into local universities.

In addition, at around the same time, the Malaysian government liberalized education in

the country. Private institutions of higher learning mushroomed, especially those with

English as the medium of instruction. There was, and still is, an increasing number of


twinning programs with foreign universities in United Kingdom, United States, and

even Australia. The globalization factor has compelled the Prime Minister to stress the

importance of English in Malaysia once again. Schools are required to teach Science

and Mathematics subjects in English, so as to prepare the younger generation for the

challenges of globalization.

This section of the Introduction chapter has highlighted the nature of language reform in

Malaysia from the colonial period to the present. It has briefly traced the impact that

English has had in the education system, and in particular how ordinary Malaysians

have struggled to adjust to the vacillations between two official languages. It is

important to understand this process in order to appreciate the factors which have

conditioned levels of English language proficiency of businessmen and women

originating from Malaysia. The following section discusses the relationship between

globalization, international trade, language and culture.

1.6. The global evolution of the English language

1.6.1. History of English as a global language

David Crystal, one of the leading experts on global English and the author of the

Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, has commented that English was,

quite accidentally, ‘in the right place at the right time’ (1997, p. 110). The history of the

expansion of the English language began in the late 15th century, when (for business and

commercial reasons) it was being taught to people whose mother tongue was not

English. During this time, a lingua franca was needed, primarily for facilitating

migrants’ and refugees’ daily interactions (Jenkins, 2000). The English language was

also associated with Great Britain, the leading industrial power in the nineteenth

century, and the United States, the leading economic and technological power in the

twentieth century. In addition, (Fishman, 1977) also observes that global English

emerged alongside rapid advancements in education, economic development and

urbanization in the West. Colonial expansion has also played a major role in the

propagation of the English language. What is more, English is poised to continue to

spread worldwide. There seems to be no stopping the growth in the number of its

speakers.

Recently, the global functions of English have moved into a new phase. The late 1980s

and early 1990s was conceptualized as an era of linguistic imperialism, through the


spread of American popular culture. During this time researchers were still focused on

the integrity of the traditional native speakers’ English (Canagarajah, 1999; Pennycook,

1994, 1998b.; Phillipson, 1992). However, with the approaching of the 21st century,

scholars shifted toward a a kind of functional realism, adopting more pragmatic views

about the increasing diversity of English (Brutt-Griffler, 2002; Jenkins, 2000, 2002;

McKay, 2002; Seidlhofer, 2001; Skutnabb-Kangas, 2000) Seidlhofer & Jenkins (2003)

points out that the attitude embedded in current work in this area is devoted to

acknowledging the global impact of English as an International Language (EIL) and to

debating the ways in which it can be represented both descriptively and pedagogically.

Some scholars use the term ‘Global English’ interchangeably with ‘English as an

International Language’ (EIL) and other terms such as ‘English as a lingua franca’

(Gnutzmann, 2000), ‘English as a global language’ (Crystal, 1997), ‘English as a world

language’ (Mair, in press), ‘English as a medium of intercultural communication’

(Meierkord, 1996) and more recently, as ‘World English’ (Brutt-Griffler, 2002).

Seidlhofer & Jenkins (2003) point out that,

…what they [all these terms] have in common is that they signal some sort of

recognition that in the use of EIL conditions hold which are different from situations

when a language is clearly associated with its native speakers and its place of origin,

whether it is spoken by those native speakers or by people who have learnt it as a

foreign language: different attitudes and expectations prevail, and different norms apply

(p. 9).

Yano (2001, p. 120) asserts that EIL users must have the ‘ability to use [their] linguistic

resources in ways that are socially and culturally appropriate among speakers of that

language’. This means that non-native speakers of English have a dependency on their

own language system as a framework or filter to communicate in English. In addition,

Seidlhofer (2003) also argues that these EIL users play an active role as ‘agents’ in the

spread of global English and in its linguistic development. At the same time, they

contribute to shaping the language and the functions it fulfils. There is a realisation that

there is now a shift in the use of the language from ‘correctness’ to ‘appropriateness’

and ‘intelligibility’, where ‘intelligibility means to be intelligible to the native speakers,

and being able to understand native speakers’ (Seidlhofer & Jenkins, 2003). This can

also be extended, of course, to non-native speakers.


1.6.2. The global spread of English

The global spread of the use of English has been an area of interest for a number of

applied linguists (Brumfit, 1995; Crystal, 1997; Jenkins, 2000; for example Kachru,

1992; Phillipson, 1992; Sridhar, 1996; Widdowson, 1994). The global spread of the

English language has not only been rapid, but also extensive. Yano (2001) observes that

English has been able to expand quickly because of its hybridity and permeability.

English changes its form whilst spreading, because of its contacts with other languages,

at the same time freely borrowing from them.

However, ‘[n]umbers and geographical spread alone do not define global English’

(Sonntag, 2003, p. xi). In reality, the global spread of English has created three

different groups of users. These are speakers of English as a native language (ENL),

speakers of English as a second language (ESL) and speakers of English as a foreign

language (EFL).

Today, English has changed substantially from its early history. In this era, English has

spread globally to the extent that the majority of its users are non-native speakers of

English (either English as second language speakers or English as foreign language

speakers) (Graddol, 1999; Jenkins, 2000).

With so many different English language groupings in existence, there are new varieties

within these groupings which are not only continuing to emerge, but also are expanding.

The increased diversification is inevitable. As Crystal (2002) argues:

The growth in diversity is noticeable at both national and international levels. […]

Because no language has ever been spoken by so many people in so many places, it is

difficult to predict what will happen to English as a consequence of its global

expansion, but increasing variation, extending to the point of mutual unintelligibility, is

already apparent in the colloquial speech of local communities […] such as the code-

mixed varieties now found all over the world, and identified by such names as Singlish,

Taglish, and Chinglish (McArthur, 1998). Nor do current models yet allow for what is

going to happen to English in communities where new types of social relationship have

linguistic consequences – such as the thousands of children being born to parents who

have only English as a foreign language in common, and who find themselves growing

up with this kind of English as the norm at home. In such cases, non-native English is


being learned as a mother-tongue, and new kinds of non-standard English must surely

be the outcome (pp. 241-242).

This diversity, according to Crystal, can be found in the lexis, pronunciation and

grammar, illustrating the regional distinctiveness which has been increasing steadily and

widening the gap between standard and non-standard Englishes. Crystal observes that

speakers of World Englishes use their local English dialects in their own countries, but

will speak a new form of English, when they communicate cross-culturally. As a

consequence, because the focus is no longer on the ‘correct’ version of near-native

English, the centre of authority may shift from the native speakers ( Brumfit, 2001, p.

116; Graddol, 1999, p. 7; Seidlhofer & Jenkins, 2003; Toolan, 1997, p. 3; Widdowson,

1997, p. 144).

1.6.3. Kachru’s concentric circles

Kachru (1992, p. 356) places English speakers into three concentric circles. He

designates native English speakers as those who belong to the Inner Circle countries

where English has historically been the first language (these countries are the UK, USA,

Canada, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand). Together, these countries form ‘the

traditional cultural and linguistic bases of English’ (Jenkins, 2003, p. 14). English as a

Second Language speakers are predominantly from countries that were once colonised

by the British. These Outer Circle countries include India, Singapore, Malaysia,

Bangladesh and Nigeria. English as Foreign Language speakers are located in the

Expanding Circle and derive from countries where there has been very little penetration

of the English language (such as China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, and

Philippines).

As English spreads outwards from the Inner circle, several changes take place. The ESL

varieties of English become institutionalized and develop their own standards. However,

EFL varieties are still dependent on the standards set by NSs of the Inner Circle.

Kachru’s (1992) model has become the standard framework for understanding the

global spread of English in the early 21st century. More recently, Kachru has proposed

that the ‘inner circle’ should no longer contain only NS from countries where English

has historically been the first language. Rather, the inner circle should surround those

who have what he terms ‘functional nativeness’ (Graddol, 2006, p. 110), which refers to


those who are highly proficient speakers of English regardless of how they learned the

language.

Figure 1. Kachru’s three-circle model of World Englishes (B. B. Kachru, 1992, p.

356)

This section has reviewed the reasons for, and the implications of, the global spread of

English. Industrialisation and colonialism had initially impelled this growth;

globalisation, in all its forms, including international trade and the spread of popular

culture has further attributed to its expansion. Braj Kachru has traced this expansion into

ESL and EFL countries. As a result of his work, scholars are recognizing that English

varieties are emerging as indigenized forms of the language. The inherent hybridity and


permeability of English has allowed for its absorption into local contexts. In the context

of the current study, which is language or discourse based, it is important to understand

that different speakers of English will bring to the business negotiation their own variety

of English, with its own unique characteristics. The following section, however,

problematises this notion of English varieties. It examines the diverse positions taken by

scholars in regards to the pluralization of English(es). The section focuses primarily on

questions of legitimacy, ownership and macroacquisition (the process of appropriation

of a language).

1.7. Major debates in global English

1.7.1. Non-native speakers

Graddol (1997) predicts that, by the year 2050, the speakers of English as an additional

language would number approximately 668 million; whereas the total population of

native speakers would be roughly 433 million. This means that the numbers of non-

native speakers of English will surpass that of native speakers. This prediction is

supported by Jenkins (2003) whose recent statistics show that native-English speakers

number around 350 million. For those speakers of English as a Second Language

located in countries once colonised by the British, their number will be approximately

be 350 million. However, there are roughly one billion speakers of English as a Foreign

Language who come from countries where English rarely serves any practical function

within the country, but is only used with other non-native speakers of English or native

speakers of English. According to Jenkins figures, Graddol’s estimate for EFL speakers

is too conservative, although his estimate for NS is aligned with Jenkin’s.

1.7.2. Ownership

With the spread of English as a global language, native speakers, according to Graddol

(1999, p. 58) ‘lost their majority in the 1970s’. This, evidently, might imply that the

English language has a new ownership. Warchaur (2000, p. 511) argues that an increase

in ‘[g]lobalization will result in the further spread of English as an international

language and a shift of authority to non-native speakers and dialects’. It is now being

understood that English is used more for interactions between NNSs within NNS

communities, than between NS within NS communities. This carries with it the

implication that English is becoming ‘deterritorialised’ (Canagarajah, 2005, p. 18) from

its traditional geographic base. The English language is losing its identity as ‘belonging’

to the UK or US. It is losing its identity as a language belonging to the traditional NS


communities. One of the consequences of this is that when NNS of English are

communicating, they no longer dependent on NS norms (Jenkins, 2000; Seidlhofer,

2004).

In the case of Global English, Toolan (1997)similarly observes that the NNS majority of

English speakers are increasingly claiming ownership of the English language.

However, at the turn of the 21st Century, Erling (2000) emphasizes that it is simply

irresponsible and dishonest to claim that international English has no direct and

historical connection to British or American culture. Crystal, in support of Toolan’s

(1997) view, argues that English is no longer anchored in specific national of cultural

contexts. Rather, it has become internationalised to the point where NNS feel they have

the right to legitimately use the language without being judged. For instance:

Not only has ‘English’ become international in the last half century, but scholarship

about English has also become international: the ownership of an interest in English has

become international. We are no longer a language community which is associated with

a national community or even with a family of nations such as the Commonwealth

aspired to be. We are an international community (cited in Brumfit, 1995, p. 16).

Therefore, there is a good argument to suggest that the new ‘ownership’ of English

seems to be gradually shifting to the NNSs from both the Outer and Expanding Circles

who seem to enjoy more currency in the use of the language. In short, the current reality

is that the Inner Circle no longer is the sole point of reference for worldwide English

speakers. At least this is an academic viewpoint, and the reality in everyday life may

differ. Language learners, teachers, parents and politicians, for instance, might

experience this very differently. NNS, in some instances, may be disadvantaged by

those who apply a NS standard in evaluating their competence.

1.7.3. Standard English

In order to understand the term standardised language, (Trudgill, 1992) defines

standardisation as the process of language determination, codification and stabilisation.

He explains that language determination refers to the ‘decisions which have to be taken

concerning the selection of particular languages or varieties of language for particular

purposes in the society or nation in question’ (p. 71). Codification is associated with the

process whereby a language variety ‘acquires a publicly recognised and fixed form’.

The results of the process of codification ‘are usually enshrined in dictionaries and


grammar books’ (p. 17). Finally, the formerly diffused variety will enter into a

stabilisation process. That is, it ‘undergoes focussing and takes on a more fixed and

stable form’ (p. 70).

Standard English is a language variety which is easily recognizable ( Jenkins, 2003).

There are several acceptable definitions of Standard English. They either refer to British

English, or to the Inner Circle Englishes. Hugh and Trudgill (1979), for example, define

Standard English as the dialect of educated native speakers throughout the British Isles.

The term Standard English, however, refers solely to grammar and vocabulary (dialect)

and not pronunciation (or accent) (Strevens, 1985; Trudgill, 1984; Trudgill & Hannah,

1994). Crystal (1995) also defines Standard English as a minority variety, used by only

a small sub-set of English language speakers, which is not only prestigious but also

widely understood. He refers to it as a minority variety because it belongs to the Inner

Circle speakers (speakers whose first language is English) which is a much smaller

group compared to the Outer Circle, prestigious as it is the native language of the

speakers and this variety is expected to be used internationally.

Peter Trudgill’s (1999) recent definition, however, states that Standard English is not a

language, but one variety of English which is popularly considered to be the most

important. It is important because it is the variety of English that is used in writing; it is

taught in the education system of all English-speaking countries (examples include

Britain, US, and Australia); and it is also the variety taught formally to non-native

learners, (both EFL/ESL learners). The irony is that ‘most native speakers of English in

the world are native speakers of some non-standard variety of the language’ (Trudgill,

1999, p. 117). An example of this is Malaysia where speakers use a hybrid form of

English known as ‘Manglish’; and Singapore where speakers have their own variety of

English, popularly known as ‘Singlish’. The reality in such cases is that there are native

speakers of English in countries such as India and Malaysia. The English they speak is

not the same English as those from Kachru’s inner circle. They are native speakers of

English, but it is not the same English Variety as that spoken in Kachru’s inner circle.

In contrast, all regional native speaker dialects of English, which include the ‘New

Englishes’ are labelled as non-standard, which implies that they are ‘sub-standard and

incorrect’ ( Jenkins, 2003, p. 32). In fact, Australian English had formerly been part of

this category; it was only in the 1970s that it was recognized and ranked as Standard


English. Still, distinctively, the Australian language forms are often referred to as ‘bad’

English (Jenkins, 2003, p. 32). Australian English developed its own linguistic identity

when its first dictionary was published in 1976. However, there was, at this time, still a

general lack of acceptance by the Standard native-speaker variety of English in the

United Kingdom.

Currently, the ‘New Englishes’ are considered to fall among the non-standard varieties

of the Inner Circle Englishes. Examples include sub-standard Singaporean English,

standard Malaysian English and standard Indian English. These have all undergone the

standardization process described by Trudgill ( 1992) and have codified their own

standard. However, they are still being conceptualised as ‘non-standard’ and ‘second-

best’ when compared to the Standard English of the Inner Circle ( Jenkins, 2003, p. 33).

1.7.4. Macroacquisition

Brutt-Griffler (2002, p. 136) proposes that macroacqusition is the spread of a language

to new speech communities [of NNSs] via a process of language acquisition. As a

result, macroacquisition gives rise to a new language variety. In an international

business environment, macroacqusition ‘takes place in a multilingual setting in which

the acquired language serves as a unifying linguistic resource [or a common second

language]’ (Brutt-Griffler, 2002, p. 138) because the speakers are of different mother

tongues. Linguistically, this an additive process which creates a new speech community,

primarily because the ‘language goes through a process of ‘decolonization’ and

develops into the notion of ‘indigenization’ (Canagarajah, 1999, p. 144). Potentially,

this conceptualisation could be the key to understanding, in the context of World

English, how language is ‘appropriated’ by its speakers.

One may assume that, in Brutt-Griffler’s (2002) ‘Macroacquisition model’, there will be

large-scale bilingualism among speakers(McKay, 2002). Occurring largely in the Outer

Circle and some Expanding Circle countries, the current spread does not involve

speaker migration, but the development of a bilingual speech community.

This section of the literature review has investigated the ‘dilemma’ posed by the

proliferation of English varieties across the globe. On the one hand, there is the

existence of World Englishes, the heterogenous forms of ‘localised Englishes’ (these are

described by a number of terms). On the other, the legacy of ‘Standard English’


remains. The debate focuses primarily on the issue of legitimacy. Given that there are

now more NNS of English than NS of English in the world can the Standard English of

NS sustain its privileged status? In the context of globalisation and the global spread of

English, a number of scholars are suggesting that more acceptance and legitimacy

should be given to non-standard varieties of English (World Englishes). The following

section examines proposed solutions to this predicament. It outlines the work of

scholars in the field from the late 1970s to the present.

1.8. Positions taken in the debates

1.8.1. World Englishes (WE)

The terms ‘world Englishes’ and ‘new Englishes’ have been widely used to refer to the

‘localized forms of English found throughout the world’ (Bolton, 2005, p. 69). With the

paradigm shift in English studies, numerous academic articles focusing on the related

issues in the field of world Englishes have been published. At least four major academic

journals are dedicated to the study of non-standard English varieties; these are Asian

Englishes, English Today, English World-Wide, and World Englishes. The disciplines

which are associated with the study of non-standard English varieties include, English

studies, sociolinguistics, applied linguistics, lexicography, and critical linguistics. A

number of scholars have participated in the debate over the status of WE, these are

illustrated in Table 1. Approaches to World Englishes . The following discussion

analyses the position of some of the key scholars and their views on WE.


Table 1. Approaches to World Englishes (Bolton, 2005)

The use of the term ‘World Englishes’ has been closely associated with the work of Braj

Kachru (1990; 1996; 1997a; 1997b). The term ‘World Englishes’ was first identified in

two conferences on ‘English as a world language’ in 1978. The first of these

conferences took place in the East-West Centre in Hawaii, the other, at the University of

Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. The two key figures in both conferences were Braj Kachru

and Larry Smith. Throughout the 1980s, more conferences were held by organizations

such as International Annual Teaching English as a Foreign Language (IATEFL),

Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), the Georgetown

University Round Table, and the East-West Centre (Bolton, 2005). By the mid-1980s,

the term ‘World Englishes’ had become commonly used by scholars in the field.

Consequently, much of the work focused on the spread of world Englishes derives from

Kachru. Though the concept of World Englishes had by the 1990s made inroads into

scholarship, there was by no means a universal acceptance among scholars.

1.8.2. Current debates on issues of World Englishes

In the first instance, the current debates on World Englishes have centred on the

numerous terminologies used to describe this concept. Researchers realize that there has

been a growing recognition and acceptance of ‘Englishes’ in the plural. This has


generated a number of labels which describe this process of pluralization. They include

terms such as ‘varieties of English’, ‘new Englishes’, ‘international Englishes’, ‘English

languages’ and ‘world Englishes’. These have been widely used throughout the world to

refer to the ‘localized forms of English’ (Bolton, 2005). These heterogeneous terms

reflect the diverse conceptualizations that scholars hold about the emerging phenomena

of world Englishes.

Bolton (2005) highlights some of the debates pertaining to the progress of world

Englishes from the late 1970s and early 1980s. The focus of these debates revolves

around not only the changing discourses of World Englishes, but also the corresponding

paradigm shifts. What Bolton suggests is that researchers focusing on localized forms of

English have moved from utilizing a prescriptive linguistic approach to analyses which

are sociolinguistic in orientation. The shift from the 1970s onwards is illustrative of the

growing recognition that the imperative of linguistic correctness should no longer be the

central focus. Rather, researchers should take into account the communicative

effectiveness of diverse and local forms of English.

Throughout 1980s, linguists such as Braj Kachru and Larry Smith began to look into the

study of World Englishes, this time using a comprehensive ‘global framework

analyses’. Although this approach remains linguistic in orientation, it includes

sociohistorical, socio-political and ideological aspects in the analysis of the discourses

of World Englishes. By using a ‘socially-realistic’ approach to World Englishes, Kachru

(1992), constructed several models of World Englishes, these include the ‘three circles

of English’; ‘bilingual creativity’; ‘multi-canons’; and ‘power and politics’. These

models were constructed as a means to explain both the existence and functions of the

world Englishes. He further constructed an inclusive theory of world Englishes which

involves a metasociolinguistic conceptualization linking the spread of world Englishes

to ‘issues of multilingualism, language shift and language maintenance, language and

nationalism, and language and race’ (Kachru, 2005, p. 73).

In the 1990s, Phillipson (1992)addressed the notion of ‘linguistic human rights’ to

support arguments relating to the negative consequences of ‘English linguistic

imperialism’. His book, entitled Linguistic Imperialism (1992) highlights a of number

debates on the politics of English language around the world. The main argument in

Phillipson’s theory of ‘linguistic imperialism’ involves the political and economic


power relations that exist between the ‘core English-speaking countries’ (Britain, the

USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand) which are very economically developed, and

the ‘periphery-English countries’ where English is a second language (Singapore,

Malaysia, India, Nigeria). These are typically countries which formerly were colonised

by Britain and currently are developing economically. Phillipson (1992) also shows that

linguistic imperialism also penetrates those countries in which English is a a foreign or

‘international link’ language (such as Japan and Scandinavia) (cited in Bolton, 2005, p.

73; Phillipson, 1992, p. 17). In his book he argues that English Language Teaching

(ELT) can potentially be used to create ‘greater linguistic and social equality’ (p. 74).

Pennycook (2001a; 1994) adds to Phillipson’s critique, arguing that applied linguistics

and ELT has a role to play in ‘helping to legitimate the contemporary capitalist order’

(1994, p. 24). In other words, Pennycook (2001a; 1994) is arguing that teaching English

in periphery English countries perpetuates the asymmetrical political and power

relations between developed and developing countries. Pennycook asserts that the

Anglophone countries have their own agenda in promoting English to the world ‘for

economic and political purposes’ and, by doing so, they ‘protect and promote capital

interests’ ( Pennycook, 2001, p. 22). Both Phillipson and Pennycook continue to give

their critical perspective on World Englishes. Pennycook (2001a; 2003) for instance,

turns his attention towards what he considers to be the inadequacies of the World

Englishes paradigm. In his 2001 publication, under the discussion of ‘frameworks for

understanding the global role of English’, he identifies the ‘politics, problems and

pitfalls’ of the World Englishes approach. Pennycook points to two main reasons why

the World Englishes approach is inadequate: These are that the World Englishes

concept is ‘blind to global forces’; and that it is based on a ‘weak theorization of

hybridity’ (cited in Bolton, 2005; Pennycook, 2001a, p. 59).

Widdowson (1998) argues against claims that the spread of English represents a form of

linguistic imperialism. He contends that because English varieties have become

internationalised, and are used ‘across communities as a means of global

communication’ (p.399), the political and cultural power of standard English has been

weakened.


1.8.3. Current views on English as an International Language (EIL)

The spread of English worldwide, well beyond a second or additional language has

resulted in it being an international lingua franca by many countries, particularly in

business encounters. The spread of English has historically been linked to the

development of international commerce and trade. By the mid-twentieth century,

English became established as the world’s main language in facilitating the various

functions of international business and trade. Crystal (1995) supports this contention

when he states that:

The present-day world status of English is primarily the result of two factors: the

expansion of British colonial power, which peaked towards the end of the 19th century,

and the emergence of the United States as the leading economic power of the 20th

century. It is the latter factor which continues to explain the position of the English

language today (p. 196).

Telma Gimenez expresses positive and optimistic views with regard to English as an

international language:

[H]aving a common language helps us to see ourselves as human beings who live on the

same planet, and to that extent can be said to form one community. The value of

knowing English lies not only in the ability to access material things, but also in the

possibility it offers for creating acceptance of, and respect for, the World’s diversity.

English allows us to advance toward global exchange and solidarity among the

institutions of civil society, extending bonds between citizens far and wide across the

globe. For this reason, considering English as an international language can also bring a

sense of possibility in terms of strengthening what might be called ‘planetary

citizenship’ … (Gimenez, 2001).

In contrast, Robert Phillipson (1992), argues that the spread of English as an

International Language (EIL) will hinder the learning of other languages, and threaten

the existence of smaller languages (cited in Jenkins, 2003). Nevertheless, the reality

remains that the English used by NNS is becoming more influential across the globe,

whether this has an effect on speakers’ competence in their native language is a matter

for debate. EIL or English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) exists as the language of (cross-

cultural) communication in the world today. ‘[I]nstead of being considered ‘erroneous’

wherever they [localized varieties of English] differ from native varieties of English’

(Jenkins, 2003, p. 35), new versions of English are gaining international acceptance


amongst the majority of the users of the English language. It is interesting to note that

even Tony Blair [the British Prime Minister] in his ‘Blair initiative’ has not only

acknowledged, but also encouraged, ‘the drive to make English the global lingua

franca’ (cited in Jenkins, 2003). What these differing views suggest is that there are

opposing views about the positive and negative implications for the global spread of

English. This might be thought of as the dilemma of international English.

1.8.4. The dilemma of EIL

A number of linguists have formulated ‘solutions’ to the dilemma of international

English, caused by the eclectic varieties of English which are now circulating

worldwide. David Crystal, in his book Global Language (1997) expresses his concern

by introducing World Standard Spoken English (WSSE) as a proposed solution. He

argues that with the spread of English varieties around the world, there is a need to

establish a world standard for the purposes of international communication across

cultures. Crystal (1997, p. 265) outlines this proposition when he states that:

[w]e may, in due course, all need to be in control of two standard Englishes - - the one

which gives us our national or local identity, and the one which puts us in touch with

the rest of the human race. In effect, we may all need to become bilingual in our own

language.

World Standard Spoken English (WSSE) is a label coined by Crystal (1997, p. 137) to

indicate a new form of English which reflects local English dialects of one’s country

spoken in an international situation. He sees that ‘local Englishes as becoming

increasingly divergent while international Englishes increasingly converge to the point

of merging into a single world variety based on American English’ ( Jenkins, 2003, p.

91). Crystal (1999) hopes that WSSE is a possible development to tackle the issues of

international intelligibility.

Marko Modiano (1999) also suggests another solution to circumvent the problems

caused by the plurality of English varieties. He stresses that the concept of Standard

English would be more appropriate if it is replaced with English as an International

Language (EIL). EIL would not have to be based on any single native variety of

English, instead, it would be comprised of ‘a composite of the features of English which

are easily understood by a broad cross-section of native and non-native speakers’ (1999,

p. 27).


Modiano’s (1999) model is adapted from Kachru’s (1992) three-circle model of World

Englishes. The centre is made up of all ‘competent speakers’; however, these speakers

do not necessarily equate to Kachru’s (1992) ‘inner circle’ members. Modiano (1999)

argues that the standard for this centre will be based on a mastery of the common core

which lies at the heart of all the varieties of English. His proposals for EIL appear in a

series of articles9. Both Crystal (1997) and Modiano (1999) envision that, regardless of

whether we call them WSSE or EIL users, speakers will be able to communicate using

their regional variety of English as well as in an internationally comprehensible variety

of English (Erling, 2000).

Figure 2. Modiano’s centripetal circles of international English (1999, p. 25; M.

Modiano, 1999, p. 25)

9 (1999a.) ‘International English in the global village’, English Today , Vol. 15, No.2, pp. 22-28; (1999b) ‘Standard English(es) and educational practices for the world’s lingua franca’, in English Today, Vol. 15, No. 4, pp. 3-13; and (2000) ‘Rethinking ELT’, in English Today, Vol. 16, No.2, pp. 28-34.


Figure 3. Modiano’s English as an international language (EIL) illustrated by

those features of English which are common to all native and non-native varieties

(1999, p. 10).

Modiano’s initial centripetal circles of international English (figure 2) are innovative in

that it disregards the conventional historical and geographical considerations in English

language use. Instead, he posits as the core those speakers who are proficient in

international English (these are those speakers who function well in Cross-cultural

encounters) regardless of whether they are NS or NNS speakers. There is one exception

in that those who occupy the centre should not have a strong regional accent or dialect.

The next band consists of both NS and NNS of English who have a limited knowledge

of international English. The outer band is those who are learning to speak English.

Modiano’s second model is intended to address some of the criticisms that were

directed at the original model. In the second model Modiano abandons his emphasis on

regional accent and dialect. He also greatly expands the core to include those language

features of the different English varieties which are comprehensible to all speakers.

There is no distinction, therefore, on NS or NNS. He is only concerned to highlight the

core of comprehensibility which all English speakers can understand.

1.8.5. English as a lingua franca (ELF)

Since mid-1990s, it has been common practice for English as Foreign Language (EFL)

speakers to be referred to as EIL speakers, or, more recently as speakers of English as a


Lingua Franca (ELF). These English speakers tend to use the English language more

frequently as a contact language among themselves and other non-native speakers (ESL

speakers). English as a lingua franca (ELF) is referred to by Seidlhofer (2005, p. 339)

as ‘communication in English between speakers with different first languages’.

Effectively, the concept of ELF is an umbrella term which covers various other labels

used by scholars in this discipline. These include ‘English as an international language’

(EIL) or World Englishes (for comprehensive overviews see Jenkins, 2003; McArthur,

1998); ‘English as a global language’ (for example, Crystal, 1993; Gnutzmann, 1999);

‘English as a world language’ (for example Mair, 2003) and ‘World Englishes’ (Brutt-

Griffler, 2002). Most ELF interactions involve non-native speakers of English

(Seidlhofer, 2005) but do not exclude NS participation. Firth (1996, p. 240) shows that

ELF is very distinctive, defining it as a ‘contact language between persons who share

neither a common native tongue, nor a common (national) culture, and for whom

English is the chosen foreign language of communication’. ELF, according to

Seidlhofer (2005) is primarily being shaped not by native speakers of the language, but

by its non-native speakers. The emphasis is on the international intelligibility of

English, rather than on ‘correct’ pronunciation or voice corpus (i.e. EFL speakers often

do not use the third person singular present tense ‘-s’ marking the verb). These do not

usually have an impact on listener comprehension. Therefore, the development of EFL

is taking place independently of the standard set by native speakers of the inner circle.

ELF has arisen to its current status in the world mainly because of its two main

functions. Firstly, it is a ‘vehicular language’ for international communication, and

second, it forms the basis for cultural identities (Graddol, 1997). In regards to the

former function, the use of English as a language of wider communication means that it

is referred to as a lingua franca. However, internationally, speakers use English as a

lingua franca in their local forms and hybrid varieties. It is for this reason that localized

forms of English have become cultural identity markers in many instances. Realizing

that it is very difficult for global speakers to learn a single world standard English, it is

expected that the future trends will continue towards localization. This is due to the

continuing development of differences between varieties of English (Graddol, 1997).

Nevertheless, Graddol (1997) foresees that English as a lingua franca will continue to

increase in popularity. He argues that ELF will retain its privileged position as Asia’s

preferred language of international communication because it is the most common

shared language.


The paradoxical situation, according to Seidlhofer (2005), is that despite the majority

participation of NNS using English of one or another variety as a language of

communication, what is ‘acceptable’ usage is still being determined by the NSs.

Considering this, steps have been taken to legitimate the concept of ELF, and have it

gain acceptance alongside English as a native language. In other words, there are moves

to accord equal status and worth to both. To this end, researchers have conducted

empirical work on the linguistic description of ELF at a number of levels. These include

level of phonology (Jenkins, 2000), pragmatics (Meierkord, 1996) and lexicogrammar

(Seidlhofer, 2004). In addition, ELF corpora are also compiled and analysed. Examples

include English as a Lingua Franca in Academic settings (ELFA), Corpus (Mauranen,

2003) and the Vienna Oxford International Corpus of English (VOICE) (Seidlhofer,

2004). The ultimate aim of this research is to gain a better understanding of the nature

of ELF. Seidlhofer (2005) points out that by being familiar with the features of non-

native English varieties, misunderstandings are likely be minimised. This is crucial for

improving international intelligibility. The insights gathered from such research would

create the language awareness and communication strategies for effective

communication and later pedagogical decisions.

1.8.6. Postmodern Globalization (Canagarajah)

In the context of postmodern globalization, English has a special role to play in

economic and work relationships for the mutual benefit of countries worldwide.

Canagarajah ( 2005), highlights this through the example of US companies outsourcing

work to offshore agencies in order to take advantage of cheaper labour and overhead

costs. Today, the Indian personnel in Bangalore or Madras handle the marketing,

technical assistance and customer service for the people in the US. Therefore, NS

clients who speak American English will have to negotiate transactions with those

Indian English speaker employees of US companies operating off-shore.

English is becoming a dominant vehicle for transnational flows. According to

Canagarajah (2005), in the context of postmodern globalization, communicative

competence means that one should be proficient in more than one variety of English. It

is a necessity to be able to recognize and accept English varieties in the context of

transnational relations. The challenge is to be able to relate to a diversified World

Englishes community. Only then can one develop ‘a sense of belonging and

connectedness to a global English speaking community’ (Lam, 2000, p. 46).


This section has reviewed the theories of scholars working on the problematic issue of

World Englishes. At this present juncture, in the context of globalisation and

transnationalism, the purposefulness and legitimacy of non-standard English varieties is

being espoused by many influential researchers. The dominant view among these is that

research should focus on how to improve the workability and communicative efficiency

of World Englishes.

1.9. The localization of Englishes

According to Yano (2001) the NNSs who are situated in the Kachruvian Outer and

Expanding circles have developed a ‘glocal’ language. This notion of glocal (coined

from a compound of ‘global’ and ‘local’ by Okushima, 1995, p. 2) reflects the concept

of openness and internationality, whilst at the same time, gives recognition to the

presence of local self identity. Pakir (1999) refers to this type of English as a ‘glocal

language’ because of its combination of international relevance and local influence.

Yano suggests that glocal English will prevail in the future, regardless of whether the

language is ENL, ESL, or EFL. The key feature of a glocal language is both the proper

use of the acrolect, as its standard and formal language, and basilect for local and

intimate social dialect.

Higgins (2003) focuses on what she terms ‘nativeness’ in the Outer and Expanding

Circles of English Language use. Here, Higgins (2003) looks at how a nativised variety

of English develops with its own unique and style types and functions, conditioned by

local language and cultural environment. Higgins (2003) argues that nativised varieties

of English are not ‘simply deficient versions of the inner circle Englishes’ but is a form

which is most conducive to effective communication in the local milieu.

1.9.1. Australian English – History

1.9.1.1. English in Australia

As this study is undertaken in Australia, with participants who are themselves

Australians, it is appropriate that we should understand the historical development of

English in Australia. According (Guy, 1991) ‘The English language is now completing

200 years of continuous usage in Australia’. Since British colonization, over 200 years

ago, English has been the national language of Australia. English dominates the

linguistic landscape, both demographically and functionally (p. 213). It is both the first

and only official language, being the ‘language of government, education, the courts,


business, and public life generally’ (p. 214). Languages other than English (LOTE)

which are spoken in Australia, are heading towards linguistic decline in the face of

assimilatory pressures from English. Immigrants who came to Australia from a non-

English speaking background (NESB), have slowly followed this pattern of linguistic

assimilation. Whilst many at least increase their use and mastery of English in the first

generation, most adopt English as their main language of communication in the second

and subsequent generations. Therefore, the status of English in Australia is similar to

that of English in the United States, as it ‘commands the linguistic landscape, [and is]

the language of virtually all public and most private life, co-existing with the immigrant

LOTEs and the indigenous [languages]’ (Guy, 1991, p. 215). English has taken root and

flourished in Australia, developing into a distinctive and unique variety.

1.9.1.2. The Australian English variety

Standard Australian English (SAE) has experienced language and dialect contact over

the last 200 years. This is despite the fact that for the last two centuries, Australia has

had the highest proportion of monolingual English speakers of any country in the world

aside from England (Guy, 1991). According to Newbrook (2001) Australian English

does not differ markedly from other standard English varieties. However, he also argues

that those linguistic forms which are divergent can be explained ‘in terms of non-

nativeness or Aboriginal background’ (Newbrook, 2001, p. 114). Early in the period of

British colonization, the principal sources of language contact were the indigenous

languages of the Aboriginal people. There has been clear Aboriginal language

influence from a number of language varieties used by Aboriginal speakers. This has

been mainly in the case of place names and names of flora and fauna. Language contact

forms only a modest contribution to the distinctive character of AE, instead it is dialect

contact which is the principal determinant.

It is necessary to understand the history of AE through its origins as a ‘colonial variety’

of English (Trudgill, 1968, p. 127). Most English dialects were represented among the

early settlers and convicts during the early years of colonization. The linguistic

characteristics, however, derived predominantly from Southeastern England in the late

18th century (Trudgill, 1968, p. 217). In fact, many features of working class AE are

reminiscent of Cockney (Trudgill, 1986). The emergence of contemporary AE does not

reflect the transformed equivalent of any single English dialect. Rather, this nativised

Australian variety of English, although it incorporates some traceable dialects from


England, has developed a predominantly original character of its own (p. 218). Perhaps

the very commonly used diminutive forms of common nouns and adjectives can be

viewed as a legacy of the regional dialects of England. For example, nouns such as

afternoon (arvo), servive station (servo), ambulance officer (ambo), biscuits (bikkie)

bookmaker (bookie) and beautiful (beautie).

Codification strengthens the locus standi of a variety of English, which in turn builds

the confidence and acceptance of the variety in the speakers (D'souza, 1999). Therefore,

Australian English represents a case where codification has played a central role in the

standardisation process. In order for a non-standard variety of English to be accepted as

a standard variety, it needs to go through the codification process.

Today, Australian English has been acknowledged as one of the accepted native

varieties of English (McArthur, 1998). AE has gained acceptance to this status only

after dictionaries, handbooks and materials were produced (D'souza, 1999). The first

all-Australian dictionary, the Macquarie Dictionary, was published in 1981 (this is a

relatively recent event when compared to Webster’s US dictionary which was first

published in 1841). In fact, AE has been ‘both derided as crude and admired as

unaffected and earthy’ and ‘mixed with lingering doubts about the unsuitability and

‘goodness’ of AE’ (Guy, 1991, p. 224).

In terms of identifying the diversity of SAE, the most influential work derives from

Mitchell & Delbridge (1965). These scholars divide SAE into three relatively discrete

varieties, which they label, ‘Broad’, ‘General’ and ‘Cultivated’. The principle criterion

for differentiating these varieties is vowel quality in pronunciation. In terms of the

cultivated variety of Australian English, the vowels display phonetic values which are

relatively close to British English Received Pronunciation (RP). In terms of the broad

variety of AE, the pronunciation is highly dipthongal. The General Australian

pronunciation falls somewhere between the two extremes (Guy, 1991, p. 220).

In conclusion, it is clear that SAE is an autonomous national English variety. It has been

influenced by contact with indigenous languages and regional varieties of English

dialects predominantly in the colonial period. SAE acquired its unique national

character through dialect contact and leveling in the early years of European settlement.

Although it remains distinct from other major varieties of English around the world, it


does not differ markedly from other standard varieties of English. Clearly, it is still

going through internal developments (See Mitchell & Delbridge, 1965). Internally, SAE

shows a relative absence of geographic differentiation, however, this does not preclude

the presence of social differentiation (Guy, 1991, p. 224). Being a national language, it

is dominant in both the public and private domains. Its language features are traceable

to various aspects of the nation’s social history; whilst the populations’ high internal

mobility and its distance from England have contributed to its geographic homogeneity.

1.9.1.3. Distinctiveness of Australian English

According to Cox & Palethorpe (2003), speakers of English who are not Australians

often find it difficult to communicate with Australian English speakers. These

difficulties stem from the distinctiveness of its (linguistic) features, which include both

unfamiliar words and idiosyncratic speech. The key factor that differentiates AE from

other forms of English can be found in the pronunciation of the vowel sounds;

particularly the aspects of consonantal modifications and suprasegmental effects (Cox &

Palethorpe, 2003, p. 17). Australians, however, often assume that their pronunciation is

easy to understand. Their fluent speech, which is typically delivered in a relaxed and

informal manner, often includes the extensive use of idiomatic expressions and

colloquialisms, many of which are unfamiliar to speakers of other English varieties

(even those that lie in Kachru’s (1992) inner circle). Colloquialisms, by definition,

belong to the realm of speech; at least more so than to printed words. Therefore, some

degree of miscommunication and misunderstanding are likely to occur in

communication that involves Australian English speakers with NNSs and even NS of

other English varieties.

These difficulties are compounded when we consider that a single colloquialism may in

fact have several different meanings. A colloquialism may change its meaning

according to shifts in context; or its meaning may be dependent upon subtle changes in

the intonation of the speaker. Australians are known for inventing new ways of saying

what they mean through the use of a single colloquialism. These are ways that can

alternatively be hilarious, serious, cynical, amusing, disrespectful, and/or vulgar and

abusive. In light of this, the number of ‘ordinary’ Australian words that create

misunderstandings often cause amazement, in fact, on both sides. For instance, NNS


and NS of other varieties of English do not often know what ‘dinkum’ means10. This

would also be the case for words such as: ‘arvo’, ‘beaut’, ‘whinge’, ‘snags’ and

‘bugger’. Many Australians use colloquial expressions in their conversation which are

either unique to Australia, or judged by many non-Australians to be peculiarly

Australian in origin. The use of colloquialisms is also tied to factors such as social class

and the rural-urban divide. The educated elite are less likely to use colloquialisms, or

view them negatively. The language of rural people similarly may be characterised by

colloquialisms and idioms that are not prevalent in the (sub)urban environment.

1.10. Malaysian English

1.10.1. History of English in Malaysia

The English currently spoken by Malaysians is called Malaysian English (ME). ME is

gradually gaining recognition as one of the new varieties of Englishes (Norrizan, 1995).

Malaysian English (ME) began to develop during British colonization, from the late 18th

century, until mid 20th century in Malaya (the present Malay peninsula with Sabah and

Sarawak). The British administration established schools in the urban trading centers of

primarily West Malaysia. English was the medium of instruction ( Platt, Weber, & Ho,

1983). Those who benefited were overwhelmingly the wealthy indigenous Malays and

the Chinese. The Chinese had long held an economic advantage over the Malays

(Hirschman, 1984). Since this time, English has been the language of power and

prestige, and it has also been used as an inter-ethnic link language ( Platt & Weber,

1980). In 1957, at the time of Independence, the Federation of Malaya adopted English

and Malay as the official languages. The official rationale for this policy was to solidify

the national aspirations of then the new nation (cited in Hassan, 1975; Lowenberg,

1991). At the same time, the objective was to improve the status of Malays, the largest

and politically most powerful ethnic group in the country, in order to address the

economic imbalance that existed between the bumiputras and the Chinese and South

Asian immigrants (Hua, 1983; Le Page, July 16-211962). In the late 1960s, a more

radical policy was introduced to replace English with Malay as the sole official

language of the expanded nation of Malaya11. In 1969, the Ministry of Education

introduced a new policy whereby all English medium schools had to use Malay as the

primary language of instruction. By the early 1980s, the implementation of Malay in the

10 The term ‘dinkum’ means to be genuine or authentic in character. 11 In 1957, at the time of independence, the Federation of Malaya consisted of the Malay Peninsula and what is now the nation of Singapore. In 1963, the Federation of Malaya was expanded to include Sabah and Sarawak. However, in 1965, Singapore seceded from Malaya.


education system was completed nationwide from primary through to tertiary levels (Le

Page, 1984; Watson, 1984). English, however, was still retained as a compulsory second

language, but only in relatively few settings did it become the medium of instruction 12

(Augustin, 1982; Le Page, 1984; Platt & Weber, 1980).

The use of English has declined in Malaysia as a result of the adoption of Bahasa

Malaysia as the national language and medium of education. English retained its

usefulness during this period of time for international communication. Still, the

diminishing use of English resulted in a decline in the general level of English

proficiency among Malaysians. Due to the lack of exposure to English, Malaysians’

proficiency standard appeared to be seriously declining ( Omar Asmah, 1983; Platt &

Weber, 1980). As a result, the competence level in English of most Malaysians shows

numerous deficiencies.

Recently, however, there has been a change in policy in Malaysia. In 2003, English as a

medium of instruction in the country’s educational system was reintroduced. With the

success of the nationalist project and growing confidence in the citizens’ mastery of

Bahasa Malaysia, English once more was promoted in the Malaysian Education system.

However, as a legacy of the previous decline in English use, there is presently a great

divergence in the competency of speakers of English. The most competent are the

Malaysian elites who have been exposed to English medium education. Kachru (2005)

explains this as the as the ‘reincarnation’ of English, where the language has slowly

acquired important roles after various phases of declining importance. In Malaysia,

English has gone through this reincarnation phase. English used to be important during

the colonial days, being the official language, and then it becomes the nation’s second

language, albeit declining in significance. Only currently has it returned and gained

importance in terms of the globalization and modernization of the country. Malaysians,

however, have realized that the main value of the English language is for internationally

mutually intelligible and synergistic relationships in a business context.

12 English remained the medium of instruction in business courses in universities. A special case is MARA Institute of Technology, an educational institution solely for bumiputras. This institution kept English as the medium of instruction throughout this period and to the present day.


English, once known as the Colonial Language when it first came to the Malay

Peninsula, is currently the second most important language after Bahasa Malaysia (the

national language). Second Language, according to Asmah (2000), means;

[s]econd in importance in the hierarchy of the Malaysian languages, seen in terms of the

official recognition given to the language, its importance as a language of educational

instruction, as well as its position as an important language in the professions (p. 12).

It is not an unusual phenomenon in Malaysia, however, that English, although it is now

the official second language, is still widely used as a medium of communication in both

professional and business settings (Azlina, 2000; Nair-Venugopal, 2000b; Nurahimah,

Abd Malek, & Syaharom, 1994).

1.10.1.1. English use in the Malaysian business context

Asmah (1994) summarizing her research in the Malaysian context, reports that both

multinational and local firms strongly preferred, in their employees, fluent English

language speakers (multinationals 98.1%, locals 94.7%). Therefore, English retains its

significance as the nation progresses towards industrialization and moves towards

international competitiveness. This concern has also been expressed by the former

Prime Minister, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, who argues that this is essential, in the context

of the country’s rise to become a developed and industrialized nation, to take its place in

the international arena by the year 202013. With such a concern, the emphasis in using

English as the language of communication in the Malaysian business context needs to

be given a priority.

Despite the consensus that the role of English is important in both business and the

professions in the Malaysian context, studies still indicate a general decline in

proficiency levels. This is a direct result of the Education Policy implemented after

1970, which replaced English with Malay as the medium of instruction in schools and

all institutions of higher learning. The normative status of English in Malaysian

business, according to Nair-Venugopal (2000), was challenged because a vast majority

of employees were products of the national education policy of that era and they were

not proficient in English.

13 See Introduction Chapter for a description of Vision 2020.


Many Malaysians who were educated prior to 1970, however, have a better

understanding of ME, together with their native language as well as dialects (Nair-

Venugopal, 2000). Malaysians in general, regardless of their ethnic background and the

era in which they were educated, speak English using a wide linguistic repertoire, which

includes both code-switching and mixing verbal modes as a means to sound fluent and

confident (Jayantilal, 1998). The speech of ME speakers shows significant linguistic

differences which create a Malaysian sociolect or speech variety. Morais describes the

nativised features of the ME as:

[p]articularly pronounced in the colourful colloquial variety which vividly reflects the

diverse cultural identity of its users. In other words, the nativised features found in this

variety shed considerable light on the linguistic, ethnic and socio-economic background

of the speakers (Morais, 1994, p. 90).

Morais further describes the distinguishing features of ME as ‘innovative and creative,

rather than erroneous and unacceptable deviations from, the standard British or

American variety’ (2000, p.92). This description reflects the arguments of Kachru,

Jenkins, Seidlhofer, and others, who, in the World Englishes debate, contend that non-

standard varieties of English should not be judged according to criteria set by native

speaker standards, but should be valued for its practical use in allowing for cross-

cultural communication. Educated Malaysians have, in their repertoire, both the

standard and the nativized varieties of ME. Morais (1997) describes ME Type 1 (ME I)

as a high variety, and ME Type II (ME II) as the colloquial variety. The continuum of

usage ranges from formal interactions to informal contexts. The vast majority of

Malaysians use the ME II variety. The ME varieties spoken by Malaysians shows

integral features of both basilectal and mesolectal forms The English words spoken by

Malaysians provide evidence of the simplification processes of omission and reduction,

as well as the localization affect of an acculturated variety (Nair-Venugopal, 2000;

Morais, 2000). These distinguishing features of ME display ‘Malaysianness’; which is

reflected through their ethnolects and discourse accent features when they speak (Nair-

Venugopal, 2000). In this sense, ‘ethnolects’ refer to the accented ethnic speech variety

(Appel and Musyken, 1987) and ‘discourse accent’ refers to the conversational features

of speakers’ native language, rather than the conversational features of the target

language, in this case, English (Scarcella, 1983 cited in Nair-Venugopal, 2000). ME has


its own uniqueness, yet displays commonalities with larger categories of Asian

languages. Part of the reason for this is the frequency of contact for trade.

1.11. Mutual intelligibility

Kirkpatrick’s (2004) pilot research project into the use of lingua franca English, as used

by speakers from ASEAN countries, focused on the extent to which the participants

found each other mutually intelligible. His aim was to identify how the speakers

adopted communicative strategies to help mutual intelligibility. His findings show that

lingua franca English is characterized by variations or deviations against idealised

norms

Empirically, Kirkpatrick’s findings show that there is an extremely wide range of

variation in ASEAN lingua franca English. This variation also includes several

instances of grammatical, lexical, and phonological deviations. According to Jenkins

(2006), ‘actualusefulness’ is very limited; however, successful communication can be

achieved without it. Some sounds, such as /th/ are not communicatively crucial, and

speakers only tune into them when they speak to NS.

Studies by scholars such as Seidlhofer (2003), Kirkpatrick (2004), and Jenkins (2006)

have found that there are communicative strategies of tolerance of variation and

participant cooperation. The focus of these studies has been on both mutual cooperation

and intelligibility. There is also awareness that in such a diversified linguistic context,

participants need not have to produce an English variety that conforms exactly to NS

norms. There is the realization that the model of NS norms is not important. In the

opinion of these scholars argue that there should be an acceptance of a model of norms

in lingua franca communication. In fact, variation against native speaker’s norm is not,

in itself, any hindrance to mutual intelligibility. The nativized or localised varieties

spoken are actually perfectly appropriate models for such diverse communities.

Seidlhofer’s studies and current research, in which she compiles a corpus of

interactions in English from fluent speakers in a variety of L1 (first language English

speakers) shows results similar to Jenkin’s study on pronunciation, where the focus

involves features regarded as ‘typical’ Native English. An obvious similarity is the fact

that communication flows well even though speakers committed ‘grammatical sins’

(Kirkpatrick, 2000).


1.12. Accommodation strategies/awareness

Jenkins (2006, pp. 45 -48) recommends to both NSs and NNSs a strategy in helping

with their spoken interaction. Speakers should adjust their speech to employ a strategy

that involves a particular kind of motivation called ‘convergence’. Convergence

involves an affective motivation where it relating to the desire to be liked, and a

communicative motivation which can be linked to the desire to be easily understood.

Convergence, therefore, arises subconsciously as people typically are motivated by the

desire to be liked; yet it can also be used consciously as a strategy to enhance the quality

of communication. Jenkins further proposes that convergence can be done in three

ways. Firstly there is convergence towards one another’s forms. This is usually achieved

by adjusting the pronunciation of words to be able to communicate more efficiently.

Secondly, there is convergence toward a more target-like form where the aim is to be

understood rather than to be ‘native like’. The way this is done is by using forms that

are not standard in NS English but communicatively efficient in NNS interactions. This

is done, for example, by disregarding function words such as prepositions and

conjunctions; and emphasising content words which conveys meaning. Thirdly, Jenkins

suggests that convergence can be achieved by avoiding certain forms This is another

type of accommodation which includes, according to Seidlhofer (2001) avoidance of

‘unilateral idiomaticity’ or the use of idioms or expressions which are not known to

others and cause difficulties and breakdown in communication. In short, Jenkins

suggests that the three strategies of convergence involve adjusting, adopting and

avoiding.

Jenkins strongly believes that accommodation plays a significant role in language

change, because, with an increasing growth of NNSs, new varieties of Englishes

proliferate. Accommodation is considered relevant for international needs. In fact, the

move of codifying Outer Circle varieties has already started. This is a transition era

towards accepting ‘NNS-led change in practice’ (2006, p.48).

As evidence, scholars such as Jenkins (2000), Seidlhofer (2001) and Mauranen (2003)

have shown that successful communication between NNSs, rather than between NNS

and NS can be achieved. Therefore, these scholars suggest that it is time that ELF

criteria should be acknowledged as an important area of research. The NNSs variants, as

potential ELF varieties, should not be ‘penalized’ or considered as ‘incorrect’, as long

as communication is achieved. For example, the focus should not be directed at


correcting items such as substitution of ‘the’, uncountable nouns used as countable

nouns, the omission of articles and the use of all purpose question tags (such as ‘isn’t

it’). Instead, any focus on error correction will be directed toward any forms which are

not mutually intelligible in ELF (such as NS idioms). Accommodation strategies are,

therefore, highly recommended by Jenkins in order to deal with the reality of varieties

of Englishes and the plural centric approaches of today.

This section entitled ‘The Localization of Australian and Malaysian English’ has

examined the distinctiveness and development of these two varieties of English. Both

varieties have differing statuses; the former is a thought of as an established, native

variety of English; the latter a local, non-native variety of English. When they meet, in a

cross-cultural encounter, there is the recognition that miscommunication can occur. For

this reason, scholars such as Kirkpatrick and Seidlhofer suggest possible approaches for

mutual intelligibility; these include the accommodation of linguistic deviance by the

avoidance of certain grammatical structures, adjusting pronunciation, and avoiding

idioms. The following section analyses the impact of non-linguistic (i.e.cultural)

features on communication. Communication involves not only the linguistic, but also

cultural elements of its speakers. The purpose of this section is to establish the

interdependence that exists between language and culture, manifesting in discourse.

With particular reference to this study, one of the most common causes of

miscommunication that occurs when a Malaysian English speaker interacts with an

Australian English speaker is the presence of colloquialisms in the Australian’s speech.

Curtain (2001, p. 260) supports this contention when he states that ‘[d]espite Malaysia’s

close geographic proximity to Australia, little Australian idiom appears to be recognized

in the country’. As a Malaysian doctoral researcher, I can attest to having a great degree

of difficulty in comprehending AE colloquialisms, sometimes to the point where I had

difficulty in following conversations. My responses during interviews were indicative of

the difficulty I was experiencing, I found myself asking similar questions repeatedly to

the Australian respondents, or responding inaccurately to their given information. In

fact, as a Malaysian English speaker, there were a number of linguistic challenges to

overcome, such as accent, slang, the use of idioms and colloquialisms and the rapidness

of speech. My own anxieties can be confirmed through research by (Daim, 1997)

focusing on the acquisition of colloquialisms by non-native speakers, reports that certain

colloquial expressions, particularly the traditional Australian colloquialisms, have


significantly contributed to the language barriers between NS and NNS of Australian

English.

1.13. Malaysia in the international business arena

As has been mentioned, the decline of English language proficiency among Malaysians

over the last thirty years has become a major concern of the Malaysian government.

This concern emerges from the desire that Malaysia should become an important

regional hub for international trade and investment in the Asia region ("Malaysia an

important regional hub for many companies," 2005). Malaysia is, geographically,

recognized to be a ‘springboard’ for launching into the Associate of South East Asia

Nations (ASEAN) and Asian markets (Cheang, 1997, p. 105): has a high degree of

political stability, economic development and a skilled workforce (Jantan & Honeycutt,

2002, p. 2). Malaysia also has an extensive, proactive external trade development

corporation (MATRADE)14; has low tariffs for foreign investments; and is an active

member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and of regional economic

arrangements, including the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) and the Asia Pacific

Economic Cooperation’ (Coppel, 2005, p. 9). The industries which are now successfully

expanding in Malaysia include information technology (in particular the Multimedia

Super Corridor, MSC Malaysia15); telecommunications; furniture and halal food

products. Along with the structural ‘pull-factors’ which make Malaysia an attractive

centre for global business in the 21st century, there is the recognition that Malaysians

need to be well prepared to face the challenges that exist in the international business

environment. One way of achieving this is to equip Malaysians with the communicative

skills and intercultural competencies to face the challenges of economic globalisation.

Tan Sri Razali Ismail (1999), for instance, the former United Nations Special

Representative, strongly asserts that:

[we] must realise that we have no choice but to strive to operate in a world shaped by

globalization and the information and computer revolution. Based on that premise, I

believe that we have two options: adapt or die. We can either resist and rail that the

pressures of globalisation – through trade and investment liberalisation – could lead to

global domination by the fittest or prepare ourselves to face the challenges (Ismail,

1999) .

14 MATRADE, which has 23 representative offices worldwide, is a focal point of information for foreign importers wanting to source Malaysian products. 15 Conceptualized in 1996, MSC Malaysia is a dynamic information technology hub now incorporating over 900 multinational, foreign owned and local (ie. Malaysian) companies.


With the increasingly dynamic pace of cross-cultural exchanges, Malaysians must

prepare themselves by acquiring competencies for effective inter-cultural

communication. According to Gill ‘[i]ntercultural [business] communication skills are

critical tools for success, even survival in ‘real world’ environments’ (2002, p. 14).

Malaysian economic managers recognise they are operating in a highly competitive

international environment and that besides trying to master the English language -

which is widely used as the lingua franca of international business communication -

business practitioners need to acquire intercultural communicative competence skills.

The development of intercultural communication skills can occur independently of

specific contexts such as business. Intercultural communication competency is

important in that it will benefit cross-cultural interactions in all fields. The challenging

business environment requires individuals to have the ability to communicate

effectively across cultures (Gill, 2002, p. 15). Therefore, intercultural skills can be

applied to the business world to improve the effectiveness of business communication.

Porter and Samovar, in their seminal book on cross-cultural communication argue that:

The increased contact with other cultures and domestic co-cultures makes it imperative

for us to make a concerted effort to understand and to get along with people who may

be vastly different from ourselves. The ability, through increased awareness and

understanding, to coexist peacefully with people who do not necessarily share our

background, views, beliefs, values, customs, habits or life styles not only can benefit us

in our own neighbourhoods but can also be a decisive factor in forestalling international

conflicts (Samovar & Porter, 1991, p. 2).

A discussion of the socioeconomic context and sociopolitical factors impacting on

business in Malaysia is necessary to appreciate the need for the study and its aims

Malaysia is a country which is making steady progress in economic growth. In fact, one

of the major political goals is to achieve ‘developed country status’ by the year 202016.

Malaysia’s pro-business government not only encourages entrepreneurship and

innovation, it also actively seeks to attract foreign investment. The following overview

of the recent history of the Malaysian economy, and the Australian-Malaysian trade

relationship, will provide for the reader a better understanding of the context in which

this study has been undertaken, and the significance the findings will have in the future. 16 ‘The ultimate objective that we should aim for is a Malaysia that is fully a developed country by the year 2020 …. We should be a developed country in our own mould’. Prime Minister Mahathir Muhamad, 1991.(cited in Yip, George.S. (2000) in Asian Advantage: Key Strategies for Winning in the Asia-Pacific Region).


1.14. The Malaysian economy: 1985-1995

With considerable transformation and expansion of the economy after 1985, Malaysia

entered one of the fastest accelerating phases of economic growth since Independence in

1957. A rapid turnaround of the economy occurred after the recession of 1985 on the

basis of these initiatives. As a result, Malaysian society in general experienced greater

wealth and an improved standard of living.

Rapid economic growth in Malaysia really began in earnest in 1989. This was a result of

structural adjustments undertaken to bring the economy out of an unprecedented

recession in the mid 1980s. These adjustments were part of Malaysia’s Vision 2020

plan, initiated by the former, long ruling Prime Minister of twenty two years, Dr

Mahathir Mohammad. The successful IMP (Industrial Master Plan) was introduced

during the period from 1985 – 1995. This Plan was aimed at transforming Malaysia’s

economy from a rural based to manufacturing based economy. The focus was especially

on higher value manufactures such as the electronics sector, yet targets were eventually

exceeded for almost all industries (Cheang, 1997). Economic diversification also

increased through this rapid program of industrialization.

These structural adjustments were made possible by the support from the private sector,

high national savings and a large inflow of direct foreign investments, especially from

Japan, the United States, Taiwan and Singapore. All of these countries saw Malaysia as

a favorable location for off-shore investment, because of the nation’s lower business

and production costs (Cheang, 1997) . Besides these lower business and production

costs Malaysia also had political stability and foreign investment incentives. As a

consequence, the principal source of economic growth became the rapid inflow of direct

foreign investments (DFI) from East Asian economies, as well as North America. DFI

further escalated with liberalization and deregulation measures undertaken in the late

1980s.

Post-1985 there was also an evolution in the national economy, from one with a high

public sector presence, to one which emphasized the greater role of the private sector

(Cheang, 1997). The Malaysian Government reduced public sector spending and

strengthened its long term plan for privatization (including education), and

simultaneously strengthening its finances to achieve a balanced budget. During this


period, there was also a concerted effort to enhance the role of science and technology

in order to further modernize the economy and give strength to the industrialization

process.

In the period after 1995, the government realized it needed to actively implement a

second phase of the IMP, one which would cover the period from 1996 to 2005. Both

public and private investment expenditure during this period continued to play an

important role in aiding the process of growth. With Malaysia’s open economy, there

further liberalization and deregulation would be required in the future, with foreign

trade continuing to play an important role in the country’s development, and with both

exports and imports contributing significantly. In 1995, Malaysia was the 19th largest

exporter in the world and 17th largest importer (Cheang, 1997). Foreign investment and

the internationalization of the Malaysian economy, therefore, are particularly

significant, as Malaysia is committed to becoming an industrialized nation in pursuit of

its Vision 2020.

1.15. Malaysia and the international market: 1995-2005

The growing strength of Malaysia’s international participation in the world economy

was supported by the Global Competitiveness Report conducted by the World

Economic Forum in 1997. The Report ranked Malaysia 9th among 53 countries,

indicating, perhaps, that the country’s trade policies were contributing to the success of

long term international activities of companies in Malaysia (World Economic Forum,

1997, p. 26). In June 1996, Malaysia concluded trade agreements with 42 countries

including Australia (Cheang, 1997). With more and more multinationals setting up their

regional headquarters in Malaysia in order to take advantage of fiscal incentives, and to

launch their businesses into ASEAN and Asia, they also began to locate their

manufacturing bases in Malaysia. Some examples of these companies include Unilever

and Texas Instruments. During the mid 1990s, there were over 3000 international

companies representing more than 50 countries which had invested in Malaysia

(Cheang, 1997). Cheang further argues that Malaysia had a strategic advantage for

marketers because of its:

political and economic stability, a social and judicial system based on English principles

of law, good infrastructure, a productive and adaptive labour force and dynamic and

innovative entrepreneurs. English is practically used in all business transactions

(Cheang, 1997, pp. 109-110).


The current market situation in Malaysia is buoyant and economic growth continues.

Evidence of this can be found in the presence of mega-corporations in the country -

such as IBM. The Malaysian government is aware that the drive for privatization is vital

for growth efficiency, and that it has been a vital element in the country’s remarkable

economic success since 1995. It is clear from this discussion that, with the adoption of

an open economy policy and free trade, Malaysia has developed to become, above all, a

trade-oriented nation. It is also an important member of the World Trade Organization.

Malaysia is seen as a model economy for other Asian nations because of its openness to

trade and DFI and its continued liberalization efforts in these areas. The WTO is

particularly pleased with Malaysia’s move to reduce protective industry tariffs and

abolish local content requirements. The creation of the Asian Free Trade Area (AFTA)

is demonstrative of its credibility and confidence.

1.16. History of Australia/Malaysia relationship

Australia’s longstanding commercial links with Malaysia began with a Trade

Agreement which was originally negotiated in 1958 between Australia and the then

Federation of Malaya. On 1st January 1998, this Agreement was replaced with the

Trade and Economic Cooperation Agreement signed during the 1997 meeting of the

Australian-Malaysian Joint Trade Committee. This Agreement provided for a

deepening of the bilateral commercial relationship, giving new impetus to both sides to

explore opportunities for collaboration in industry, science, technology, trade and

investment. In fact, it encouraged the intensification of trade promotion efforts for both

countries (Trade, February 2005, p. 23).

Malaysia’s former Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamed, known for his outspoken and

sometimes authoritarian ruling style (Crouch, 1992), is widely credited with engineering

Malaysia’s rapid economic growth since the mid 1980s and procuring a number of

international trade agreements such as those described above. He was successful in

bringing rapid change to the country’s economic policies, based on corporate

nationalism, a programme which is spelt out in the various Malaysia Plans. Whilst

spearheading the rapid growth of the Malaysian economy, Mahathir was remarkably

successful in creating a sizeable Malay or Bumiputra (indigenous group) middle class.

This aggressive and pervasive racial policy was achieved through the New Economic

Policy (1971-1990) which served to further institutionalize positive discrimination. This


was an attempt to bring the Malay people into the main stream of business; a domain

which had always been Chinese dominated.

During Mahathir’s tenure as Prime Minister, however, Malaysia’s relationship with the

West faced many challenges. This was particularly so in the context of Mahathir’s

relationship with Australia. Australia is the closest country in the ‘Anglo sphere’ to

Malaysia, and the one whose foreign policy is most concentrated on the South East Asia

region. Australia’s political leaders were rarely on good turns with Mahathir. Recently,

Abdul Razak Ahmad Baginda, executive director of the Malaysian Strategic Research

Centre, stated that ‘[e]veryone knows that relations between Malaysia and Australia

were [during the time of Mahathir] lukewarm to say the least,’ (2005). Most of these

problems stemmed from a perceived lack of cultural sensitivity and respect (on the part

of the Australian government) emerging from the interaction between the two cultures

(Muthaly & Zaman, 1998; Woolcott, 1991)17. The tense atmosphere was at its lowest

ebb in the early 1990s, when Mahathir called Australian soldiers ‘high handed and

belligerent’ and Australian journalists ‘congenital liars’; and, in 1993, when Paul

Keating called Mahathir (for not attending the APEC summit) ‘recalcitrant’ and ‘a

barbarian’. The situation was further soured when Mahathir in 2000, was quoted as

saying:

If Australia wants to be a friend to Asia it should stop behaving as if it is there to teach

us how to run our country. It is a small nation in terms of numbers and it should behave

like a small nation and not be a teacher (New Straits Time, 2000).

Mahathir also argued that, ‘[t]his country stands out like a sore thumb, trying to impose

its European values in Asia as if it is the good old days when people can shoot

aborigines without caring about human rights’ (New Straits Time, 2000). Mahathir also

made remarks to the effect that John Howard, the current Prime Minister of Australia,

was trying to be America’s ‘deputy sheriff’ in the Asia-Pacific region. This was in

response to Howard’s statement, post 9/11, that the Australian military would actively

pursue terrorists across the borders of neighboring sovereign countries.

The relationship between Malaysia and Australia, however, has improved significantly

since Abdullah Badawi became Prime Minister in 2003. However, the current

17S. K. Muthaly & Zaman (Muthaly & Zaman, 1998) outlines the major rifts between the two countries from 1986 to 1993 (see detailed table in Chapter 2).


Malaysian leader, ahead of his official visit to Australia in 2005, still felt compelled to

criticize Australia’s foreign policy was focused to greatly on the United States, and not

enough attention was being paid to Australia’s relationship with its Asian neighbours.

He also, like Mahathir, questioned Howard’s threat to take unilateral action against

extremists based in the region. The tense situation between Australia and Malaysia

began to subside in recent times with high level visits of the current Prime Minister,

Abdullah Badawi to Australia in 2005.

1.17. The current relationship between Australia and Malaysia

Despite the history of political differences between Australia and Malaysia, particularly

with regard to the political role Australia should play in the Asian region, these

differences currently do not seem able to disrupt the general warmth of the relationship?

Several Australian political leaders, including the Australian Deputy Prime Minister

(Mark Vale), Trade Minister (Warren Truss), and Foreign Minister (Alexander

Downer), have given considerable attention to Australia’s relationship with Malaysia.

Seminar series, meetings and social functions are organized on a regular basis by the

influential Australia-Malaysia Business Council (AMBC), while national President,

Robert Webster, actively promotes bilateral trade and investment in Australia. Slightly

earlier, the then Australian Trade Minister, Mark Vale, emphasized that, in 2004, trade

with Malaysia reached almost 10 billion dollars. He also commented that a trade

agreement with Malaysia could boost the Australian economy by 1.9 billion (AUS)

dollars per year (Malaysia an important regional hub for many companies, The Star,

2005).

The recent visit of the Malaysian Prime Minister to Australia, the first prime minister of

Malaysia to visit in twenty one years, marked a significant step up in relations between

the two countries. Abdullah Badawi’s visit focused on increased economic activities and

better bilateral ties between the two countries. Both Prime Ministers agreed not to allow

any political differences to disrupt bilateral ties between the two countries. Abdullah

was also firm in declaring that any enduring political differences will eventually be

solved. In fact, Abdullah regarded the highlight of his visit to be the agreement to

expand both economic and education co-operation between the two countries (The Star,

2005).


1.18. Conclusion

This chapter has served several purposes. The first was to outline the aims and

significance of the research. Primarily, the present research is aimed at understanding

the linguistic and non-linguistic features which promote or hinder the success of cross-

cultural business negotiations between Malaysians and Australians. The significance of

the research is evidenced in the contribution it will make to an understanding of

intercultural communicative competence (ICC). Secondly, the chapter has highlighted

and defined the key concepts that will appear throughout the study; these include

culture, cross-cultural, intercultural and intercultural competence. Third, this chapter

has outlined the historical context of language reform in Malaysia. The shifts in official

language policy in Malaysia since the colonial era have had a significant impact on the

English language competence of Malaysians. Fourth, this chapter has analysed the place

of Malaysia in the global business arena. It has been shown that Malaysia’s government

has created an economic environment which is conducive to foreign investment. The

following sections provide more detailed discussion of the evolution of domestic

economic reform which has led to the present situation. Fifth, the chapter has touched

on the history of the political relationship between Australia and Malaysia. This section

has highlighted some of the events that have shaped the nature of the relationship

between the two countries under the Mahathir regime, and more recently under

Abdullah Badawi. The final section of this chapter has reviewed some of the limitations

surrounding the research. The following chapter is a literature review outlining the most

significant published works by scholars doing research in the field.

Chapter 2 – Literature Review 54

Chapter Two

LITERATURE REVIEW

This purpose of this chapter is to situate the present study within the context of existing

published work which has been conducted in this field. It is envisioned that this

literature review will reflect the researcher’s intention to employ scholarly theoretical

frameworks to analyze and interpret business negotiation discourse. The following

literature review is divided into three sections.

• Cultural and cross-cultural issues

• Business negotiations

• Theoretical frameworks

Because (speakers of) diverse varieties of English typically involve non-native speakers,

the following section, that is the first section; it will then incorporate a discussion of

cultural and inter-cultural issues. This takes into account not only linguistic features, but

also emphasizes the impact of culture on business encounters. Section two, deals

specifically with studies which have been undertaken in business negotiations. It pays

particular attention to cross-cultural studies which have been conducted with Asian

business participants, including studies of Australian and Malaysian business

encounters. Section three looks at the major analytical frameworks that have been

developed in the study of cross-cultural business negotiations. These studies have

particular relevance as this research utilizes Marriott’s (1995b) approach to discourse

analysis.

2.0. Introduction

Cross-cultural communication is a crucial area of research, particularly in the context of

international business ventures. The role of cross-cultural communication in business

transactions has been the focus of past research projects. Many of these studies have

shown that when the cultural component is disregarded, this will result in business

losses or business failures (Hinner & Rulke, March 2003). Elashmawi & Harris, (1993,

p. 49) for instance, argue that ‘[t]he failure of many of these [international] ventures is

not usually due to the lack of money or technology, but rather to the cultural differences

and misunderstanding of the values of the person, company, or culture’. Furthermore,

according to Gudykunst & Kim (1984, p. 193), ‘[i]f we know nothing about the

stranger’s culture, it is highly probable we will make inaccurate predictions and


interpretations of their behavior’. Hinner & Rulke ( 2003, p. 11) add that, ‘[b]ecause

attitudes, norms, and values are to a large degree culturally based, the proper

interpretation of any message communicated across cultures can easily result in

miscommunications and misunderstandings’. Negotiating cross-cultural business

communication is a challenge faced by international business people the world over.

Business players must rethink their strategies to cope with the dynamic globalization

process. Language teaching, therefore, needs to be aware of these changes and to

respond accordingly.

Cross-cultural communication is a complex phenomenon. Even communication

attempts between two individuals from similar cultural backgrounds are open to

misunderstanding; and when cultural differences are introduced, the likelihood of

miscommunication is even greater (Hinner & Rulke, 2003). It should not be taken for

granted that when two people are engaged in cross-cultural communication, they will

understand each other (Gudykunst & Kim, 1984, p. 14). Business players need to have

the ability to be aware of the key features and biases of their own culture, in order to

respond and act positively (Hiebing & Cooper, 1997). This study, therefore, aims to

identify the cultural and linguistic features that hinder or enhance cross-cultural

business communication between Malaysian and Australian business people. In

addition, the study seeks to formulate aspects of intercultural communicative

competence which will positively contribute to improve international cooperation in

Malaysian-Australian business, and the teaching of cross-cultural business

communication within Malaysian and Australian universities. In this sense, insights will

be provided from an cross-cultural language pedagogical perspective.

Cross-cultural issues are beginning to be the subject of extensive research in Applied

Linguistics. Scholars such Bargiela-Chiappini & Harris (1997); Scollon & Wong-

Scollon (2001; 1991); Marriott (1995a; 1995b; 1997) and Firth (1995a; 1995b) were the

early initiators of movement towards highlighting the importance of culture in studies of

Applied Linguistics. This literature review will focus on the close connection between

language and culture. Research on cross-cultural communication, so far, has also

focused on different though interwoven aspects of the business discipline and practice.

For example, negotiations have been investigated as ‘cross-cultural interactional events’

(Boden, 1995; Firth, 1995a, 1995b; Graham, 1983; Marriott, 1997; Wagner, 1995), as

‘speech events’ (Julian, 1990; Mulholland, 1997; Neumann, 1997; White, 1997), as


‘pragmatic realizations’ (Julian, 1990), and as ‘discourse shaped by its extra-linguistic

context’ (Charles, 1996; Galvioli, 1995; Scollon & Wong Scollon, 1995; Yamada,

1997).

Negotiation skills are recognized as critical in the study of Business English (BE). Most

Business English textbooks at the higher and post-intermediate level, (for example

Gibson, 2002; Hendon, Hendon, &Herbig, 1996; Hollett, 1991; Taylor, 1997) and

books for trainers (Brieger, 1997; Ellis, 1994) also include in them negotiation skills.

Most research into cross-cultural negotiations has focused on how a native speaker of

English interacts with a non-native speaker of English. Most of these studies have

focused on real life or ‘authentic’ business negotiations between, for example,

American and Japanese negotiators (Graham, 1983; Tsuda, 1984; White, 1995) between

American and Brazilian negotiators (Garcez, 1993), between American, Japanese and

Brazilian negotiators (Graham, 1983) and between Australian and Japanese negotiators

(Marriott, 1997). The trend in cross-cultural research reflects the dominance of North

American business management theory (Boyacigiller & Adler, 1991).

With the spread of English as the lingua franca of business, there is a growing number

of non-native speakers of English in the international business arena, seeking greater

business opportunities. The challenges faced by non-native speakers both linguistically

and culturally, can be identified in the work of researchers such as Bargiela-Chiappini

and Harris (1997), Bilbow, (1997); Marriott (1997); Neumann (1997); Mulholland

(1997); Yamada (1997); Galvioli (1997); Grindsted (1997); and Collins and Scott;

(1997).

The following section in the literature review describes the history of English as a

global language. As a context to this present study, it is important to understand how

and why English has become the dominant language of international commerce. What is

more, it is important to recognize the implications of its expansion and absorption into

countries which speak English as a foreign language.


2.1. Cultural and inter-cultural issues

2.1.1. The limits of language

Drawing from the work of Scollon and Wong Scollon (1995), one of the limitations of

language is that on its own it is fundamentally ambiguous. The ambiguity lies in the

issue of pragmatics, where the meaning of what is being said depends on the contextual

situation of the speakers. To illustrate this, Scollon and Wong Scollon (1995) use the

example of a discussion between a Western businessman and his Chinese client to show

that the literal presentation of language seems on the surface to be unambiguous, in

reality, what is being understood does not coincide with the intention of the person who

is transmitting the information. Scollon and Wong Scollon (1995, p. 7) highlight the

miscommunication that takes place in Mr Wong and Mr Richardson’s conversation. Mr

Richardson, upon departing, invites Mr Wong to lunch, but without giving a specific

time and place. Mr Wong, being an Asian, thought that Mr Richardson was seriously

making an invitation to lunch, because he mentioned it at the end of the conversation.

To the Chinese, it is common to announce important points nearer the end of a

conversation. However, Mr Richardson did not consider this to be a specific invitation,

only a conventional way of parting with good feelings. All in all, he took the situation as

something insignificant. As a result, it created some confusion on the part of Mr Wong.

This demonstrates the limitation of language and the fact that an understanding of the

cultural context of the speakers must taken into account. Scollon and Wong Scollon,

therefore, argue that context influences the true meaning of the interactions. Users of

language are often oblivious to the hidden meaning which often relates to cultural

components embedded in the language of its speakers. By saying that language is

ambiguous by nature, it means that, in cross cultural encounters one can never be in full

control of the meaning of the conversation or discourse.

2.1.2. Language reflects the culture of its speakers

In this study, culture refers to those cumulative deposits of knowledge; values and

behaviors acquired by a large group of people and passed on from one generation to

then next, both in conscious and unconscious ways (Samovar, 1988, p. 82)

One of the earliest researchers to recognize the link between language and culture was

Sapir-Whorf (1940). Their hypothesis emphasizes the interdependence of language and

thought. The claim was that the structure of the language one routinely employs informs


the way in which one thinks and behaves (cited in Kramsch, 1998). This view confirms

the fact that language reflects the cultural preoccupation and the conscious way people

think. It highlights the notion that context influences the meanings encoded in the

language (Kramsch, 1998, p.14). Cultures are either semantically encoded in the

language, or expressed through the actual use of the language through the encoding of

meaning (Kramsch, 1998, p. 23). However, nowadays the hypothesis is rarely accepted

in its strong form, but it is found in its weaker form. The weaker form of the hypothesis

claims that “different languages encode different categories and that speaker of different

languages therefore think about the world in different ways” (Fromkin et al, 2007,

p.26). This is found to be significant and relevant in the cross and inter-cultural context

of communication as reflected in this study. The interdependency of language and

thought can be seen when individuals shape their ideas and program their mental

activities as well as in their choices of interpretations. Language is used as the ‘medium

of expression for the society’ ( Fromkin et al, 2007, p. 27).

David Crystal (2000, pp.35-36) similarly recognises the link between language and

culture by arguing that language contains history. Every language is historically

multilingual, in the sense that it includes words, idioms, loan words and metaphors from

different historical periods in its vocabulary. Language reflects the state of mind of its

speakers and the cultural contacts they have had over time. The usage reflects the

unique circumstances of social history, points of cultural contact with others, and, at the

same time, their influence. Language reflects how its speakers look at and understand

the world.

In this way, language reflects the attitudes, values, norms, and behaviors of its speakers

(Gudykunst & Kim, 1984, p. 4; Kramsch, 1998, pp. 3-6). Language simultaneously

expresses cultural reality, and embodies cultural diversity. People express and create

experience through language. In verbal and non-verbal ways, meanings are created and

made understandable. In addition to that, language conveys meaning through the way it

is being spoken; including the ‘speaker’s tone of voice, accent, conversational style,

gestures and facial expressions’ (Kramsch, 1998, p. 3). This is, therefore, related to the

notion of linguistic relativity, whereby according to Kramsch (p. 11), importance is

given to the diversity of the world’s languages and cultures. Ultimately, the contention

is that ‘different people speak differently because they think differently and that they

think the different ways of expressing the world around them’ (p.11).


Native speakers usually carry with them the twin concepts of authenticity and

appropriateness of culture (Kramsch, 1998, p.80). Non-native speakers who desire to

learn the language of others also have to learn cultural appropriateness, which is a skill

that is often difficult to acquire. The difficulties come with the idea of ‘what is

authentic in one context might be inauthentic in another’ (Kramsch, 1998, p.81).

International business people often find themselves in an ambiguous situation with

regard to cultural authenticity. Therefore, ‘cultural appropriateness may need to be

replaced by the concept of appropriation’ (Kramsch, 1998, p.81) whereby people will

have to make the foreign language and culture their own by adopting and adapting it to

their own needs and interests . The ability to acquire another person’s language, and

understand someone else’s culture, while retaining one’s own, is what cross-cultural,

inter-cultural, or multi-cultural communication is all about. To be able to mediate

between several languages and cultures is a unique skill to be acquired.

The following section reviews theory and previous empirical research on business

negotiation. It begins with a section on negotiation in cross-cultural encounters which

focuses on negotiation as a process. The following section focuses on the role of

English as a lingua franca in an international business context. This is followed by an

analysis of miscommunications in cross-cultural interactions. The fourth section looks

at business meetings and business discourse in a cross-cultural context. The fifth section

investigates language use in negotiation studies. In the following section the focus

narrows to examine specifically business negotiations. This will incorporate an analysis

of Asian business negotiations, before looking more closely at studies of Malaysian-

Australian business encounters

2.6 Business negotiations

2.6.1 Negotiation in cross-cultural encounters

Negotiation is a process which involves the meeting of two parties with common or

conflicting interests, who try to reach agreement on matters of mutual interest (Bichler

& Kersten, 2002). In this study, negotiation is defined as ‘a discourse-based and situated

activity ….. [which is] interactionally constructed in concrete social settings’ (Firth

1995, p.3). According to Ghauri (1996), the negotiation process is divided into three

stages: pre-negotiation, negotiation and post-negotiation. The content of these stages is

informed by factors such as culture, strategy, background and context. Using these three


phases of negotiation, negotiation episodes can be identified and recognized. (For a

detailed description of the methodology used in this study see chapter 3).

A meeting becomes a cross-cultural encounter when the parties have different cultural

backgrounds. In such situations, both parties may have different ways of understanding

the negotiation process as their norms, values systems and attitudes may differ. When

negotiating with someone from one’s own cultural background, making reasonable

assumptions about the other party based on one’s own experience generally makes

successful communication possible (Firth, 1990, 1996). There are, of course, limits to

this if one takes into account, for example differing socio-economic status, gender, age

and regional variations. However, this situation is likely to be more complex when two

cultures are involved. Often misunderstanding and miscommunication occurs in an

cross-cultural negotiation, even though the language of communication is a lingua

franca, such as English.

2.1.3. The use of English as a lingua franca in an international business context

Research focussing on spoken discourse and, in particular, business language, has

become increasingly important. Furthermore, many researchers have become interested

in business language in the international context. This review of literature will

investigate the role of spoken communication in English in a business context. The

research identified reflects a variety of different business encounters, such as joint

venture negotiation, buying selling negotiation and inter organizational management

level business meetings. The following section initially and concisely surveys some of

the work that has been done in this area. This is followed by a more in-depth discussion

of some of the most significant research undertaken.

Seidlhofer (2004) notes that researchers who are involved in the field ‘illustrate the

potential that empirical research holds for a better understanding of how English as a

lingua franca (ELF) functions in international business setting’ (pp. 221-222). Maggie-

Jo St. John, in her introductory paper to the 1996 Special Issue of English for Specific

Purposes in Business English has commented that, ‘[t]here is a definite need to

understand more of the generic features of different events, such as meetings, to identify

common features of effective communications, to understand the role of cultural

influence and the way in which language and business strategies interact’ (1996, p.15).

Researchers like Marjiliisa Charles (1996) have pioneered work in negotiations as


spoken discourse. Meetings have been investigated by researchers such as Francesca

Bargiela-Chiappini and Sandra Harris for British and Italian meetings (1997); by

Grahame Bilbow (1997) and Pamela Rogerson-Revell (2002) in Hong Kong, and most

recently by Gina Poncini (2004) in her account of the types of multicultural and

multilingual meetings. Most of the findings are related to this research and will be

discussed in the following sections.

Because English is an intrinsic part of communication in multinational settings, it has

meant that researchers have examined many different international perspectives. These

perspectives include, for instance, the European business context (Bargiela-Chiappini &

Harris, 1997; Charles, 1996; Poncini, 2002; Rogerson-Revell, 1998), the North

American business context (Rogers, Wong and Connor, 1998); and in Asia (Bilbow,

1997; Marriott, 1997; Mulholland, 1997). There has been a shift in focus from language

skills, which was formerly the driving force in research, to an increasing concern with

language strategies associated with effective communication in business, regardless of

whether the speaker is a native or a non-native speaker (Nickerson, 2005). The

remainder of this section on ELF in international business contexts examines more

closely the work of those scholars whose research involved cross-cultural business

encounters, which is similar to that being undertaken in the present study. All but one of

these studies involved Western (NS) and Asian (NNS) business negotiations. In

addition, these are studies in which both negotiation parties are using English as the

medium of communication. The work of Charles (1996); Bargiela-Chiappini & Harris

(1997); Bilbow (1997) and Rogerson-Revell (1998) will be considered.

Charles (1996, p.20) drawing both on discourse analysis and studies of business

negotiation, has convincingly demonstrated how the linguistic choices made in

negotiation situations are determined by the nature of the relationship between the

participants involved. The data were based on six authentic, audio-recorded British

negotiations, divided into two categories, New Relationship Negotiations and Old

relationship Negotiations. In the first instance, Charles was able to identify whether the

participants’ relationship was already established, or whether it was relatively new. By

introducing the concept of ‘professional face’, which may be either threatened or saved

by the action taken by the participants involved in the negotiation, Charles highlights

the strategic nature of communication. Charles’ influence can be seen in an exemplary

work by Spencer-Oatey (2000) on cross-cultural negotiations, whereby she provides a


comprehensive framework accounting for the processes involved in the management of

rapport between participants. This again has been extended by Vuorela (2005) where

the focus is still strategic in nature, but as it is realised by both native and non-native

speakers of English.

The work of Bargiela-Chiappini and Harris (1997) has been influential because they

were among the first linguists to study how business people ‘operate linguistically

[particularly in relation to discourse] in order to achieve particular goals’ (Bargiela-

Chiappini and Harris, 1997, p.2) within cross-cultural encounters. Their work has

focused primarily on British and Italian business meetings. The research included a

cross-cultural analysis of both the structural and pragmatic properties of British and

Italian business meetings. The study also included an cross-cultural analysis of the

specific meetings that took place in an Anglo-Italian joint venture, one which revealed

countless examples of the mismatch between the language taught for meetings, and the

language actually used in meetings.

Bilbow (1997) applies speech act theory to look for specifically commissive speech acts

in a range of business meetings between Western expatriates and local Chinese staff at a

large corporation in Hong Kong. The aim of the study was to investigate the processes

of self-presentation and impression-formation through spoken discourse in inter-group

meetings. His definition of commissives refers to those speech acts such as promises

and statements of commitment, in which a speaker expresses an intention to undertake a

commitment associated with the action specified in the proposition (Fraser 1983: p.36).

In this study, Bilbow finds that there were differences in the way commissive speech

acts were used and how they were realised, both between Western and Chinese

participants, as well as between the different types of meetings. The author observes

that national culture and organizational practices may be factors that determine the

strategic choices of speakers, and the linguistic realizations they choose. The findings

suggest that different cultural groups interpret ‘discoursal features’ differently. For

example, Bilbow’s research suggests that Chinese and Western speakers hold different

values when it comes to speaking out. The attitudes of the Chinese are influenced by

Confucian philosophy. Bilbow identified five aspects of Confucianism which he claims

inform the behaviour of the local Chinese participants in his study. These aspects

include collectivism, the importance of social relationships, face, obligations, and a

negative attitude towards conflict. This study also recognizes that other socio-cultural


factors, such as corporate culture and the individual’s level of power within the

organization, have a role to play in determining the outcome of inter-group

communication.

Similarly, Rogerson-Revell’s (1998) study, set within a Hong Kong based international

airline corporation, investigated a series of four internal-management meetings. Three

of these meetings were considered to be cross-cultural in that they involved Asian

(Hong Kong Chinese, Singaporean, Malaysian and Indian) and Western (British, Irish,

Australian, American and Canadian) participants. Rogerson-Revell looked specifically

at interactive strategies and interactive style. The former refers to the linguistic choices

used to negotiate rapport. Specifically in terms of facework, Rogerson-Revell asserts

that positive face strategies are employed to heighten social cohesion and

‘interdependence between speakers’ (1999, p.346); whilst negative face strategies serve

to create ‘social distance’ or a sense of ‘independence’. Interactive style is a term used

to encompass the sum of practices and various categories of interactive strategies.

Rogerson-Revell found that differences in interactive style are dependent upon what

each individual considers being ‘appropriate’ interactive behaviour. Her study was

designed to determine the ‘appropriate’ interactive strategies that were used depended to

a certain extent on factors which have some influence on one’s behavior. What is

appropriate is determined not only by culture, but also a mixed of socio-cultural factors

including gender, rank, and status. In this regard, Rogerson-Revell’s conclusions are

congruent with those of Bilbow.

This Section has provided a survey of some of the most significant research conducted

on English as a lingua franca in international business contexts. An analysis of the

principal works shows that communicative styles and strategies are to some extent

culturally determined. The works also demonstrate that because of this,

miscommunication or mismatches can be expected to occur regularly.

2.1.4. Areas of miscommunications in cross-cultural interactions

A large number of studies on cross-cultural interaction in business have focused on

miscommunication or differences in discourse conventions. Gumperz (1982a, 1982b)

discusses the possibility of negative effects resulting from differing discourse strategies,

which can also be considered as communication difficulties. However, not all

miscommunications are problematic, and ‘trouble spots’ (Ulichny 1997) are often


repaired. Firth (1996) has also identified three strategies to handle any deviant linguistic

behaviour that may lead to miscommunication, these are: the ‘ignore or let it pass

principle’; pretend to understand; or, attend and resolve it. With these strategies, some

conversations can be rendered comprehensible. This can be seen in Marriott’s (1997)

study on norm deviation between a Japanese buyer and an Australian seller. Marriott’s

findings show that in cross-cultural contact situations participants are able to suspend

the cultural assumptions to accommodate the communicative deviances which regularly

emerge in the discourse. One example of this is the slowing of speech to accommodate a

greater degree of understanding. This correlates with two of Firth’s theory of three

strategies to handle deviant linguistic behaviour (these two are the ‘ignore or let it pass

principle’ and the ‘pretend to understand principle’). This was evaluated positively

rather than negatively. This reflects the convergence and the accommodation strategies

that have been were business, despite the differences in national cultures and

competence in using English.

Gumperz (1982a) identifies an associated factor which contributes to

miscommunication in cross-cultural interactions. Gumperz argues that contextualization

cues can cause miscommunication and misunderstanding in cross-cultural interactions.

He defines contextualization cues as those:

[f]eatures of linguistic form that contributes to the signalling of contextual presuppositions depending on the historically given linguistic repertoire of the participants. The code, dialect and style-switching processes,…prosodic phenomena…as well as choice among lexical and syntactic options, formulaic expressions, conversational openings, closings and sequencing can all have similar contextualising functions (Gumperz 1982, p.131).

When both interactants share contextualization cues, subsequent interactions are likely

to proceed smoothly. This is because the shared meaning is discovered during the

process of interaction. In such instances, the interpretive process during communication

is relatively unimpeded, expectations are fulfilled, the interaction is more manageable

and, therefore, positively contributes to understanding (Gumperz, 1981a). Often, in an

cross-cultural setting, what is revealed in the interaction is misunderstanding and

misconception between the interactants from the different cultural groups as they do not

share contextualization cues, and are not able to retrieve the contextual presupposition

about meaning. From the interactional, sociolinguistic perspective, these interactants do

not share a similar social construction of meaning.


Chick (1996) also highlighted a source of cross-cultural miscommunication known as

sociolinguistic transfer. Sociolinguistic transfer refers to ‘the use of the rules of

speaking of one’s own speech community or cultural group when interacting with

members of another community or group’ (p.332). This usually happens in interactions

involving two interlocutors who are using a foreign or second language, and who are

applying the rules of speaking their native language. Thus, the interactions are found to

be inappropriate. For instance, Wolfson pointed out that the high frequency with which

Americans pay compliments leads to it being perceived by members of other cultures as

‘effusive, insincere and possibly motivated by ulterior considerations’ (1989, p. 23).

Another area in which miscommunication emerges is in the use of speech acts in an

cross-cultural setting. Cohen (1996, p.384) defines a speech act as a ‘functional unit in

communication’. The cause of miscommunication is derived from problems in

‘interpreting the true intentions of the speaker’ (Cohen, 1996: 384). It is possible to

categorise the various functions of speech acts, these include: representation (assertions,

claims, reports), deviations (suggestions, requests, commands), expression (apologies,

complaints, thanks), commissives (promises, threats) and declaratives (decrees

declarations). Cohen stresses that appropriate speech acts can be determined only if one

has both sociocultural ability, which refers to the respondents’ skill at selecting speech

act strategies which are appropriate, and sociolinguistic ability, which refers to the

respondents’ skill at selecting appropriate linguistic forms in order to express the

particular strategies used to realize the speech act. For instance, the expression of regret

in an apology can be the cause of miscommunication between interactants of different

cultural backgrounds.

This section has investigated areas of miscommunication in cross-cultural interactions.

Three of the scholars surveyed, namely Gumperz, Chick, and Cohen provide theories as

to what may bring about miscommunication. These include an inability to understand

contextualisation cues, the practice of using one’s own sociolinguistic framework to

interpret and convey messages in another language, and the inability to select

appropriate speech act to convey one’s intention. Firth, on the other hand, suggests three

strategies that speakers use when they encounter linguistic deviance.


2.1.5. Models of business meetings and business discourse in an cross-cultural

context

There are many types of business meetings which occur in a variety of settings.

Investigations have been carried out to analyse internal corporate meetings (Bargiela-

Chiappini and Harris, 1995, 1997; Bilbow, 1995, 1997), inter-organizational meetings

(Collins and Scott, 1997) as well as business meetings with multicultural participation.

These studies have investigated discourse and the nature of business relationships

between the participants (Poncini, 2002). Face-to-face negotiations are a common

practice in inter-organizational meetings; for example, the negotiations analysed by

Charles (1994) take place in the simple context of a meeting between a buyer and the

seller.

The importance of investigating how business interactants communicate successfully in

business meetings has been identified by Firth (1990, pp. 277-278). Firth points out that

an ‘orderliness’ is achievable in cross-cultural interactions, that is, by those who do not

share either linguistic knowledge or sociocultural norms of interaction. This is achieved

through participation in what Firth describes as an (international business) ‘network’, a

community which shares ‘norms, standards and interpretive procedures’ (Firth, 1990;

p.277). Firth contends that the discourse of negotiation has given rise to a set of

meanings which transcends linguistic, cultural and national differences. Therefore,

despite the fact that a network can consist of non-native speakers who use English as the

language of communication in business, effective communication is achievable as long

as, collectively, the participants have a shared understanding of ‘standards of

appropriacy, norms of spoken interaction, perceptions of where negotiation ‘phases’

begin and end, and knowledge of the sequential ordering of specific negotiating actions’

(Firth, 1990; p.277). Even though non-native speakers of English in an international

business context may lack a mastery of the ‘rules’ of the language, as negotiators, it is

still possible for them to reach an agreement.

The importance of language use in negotiation discourse is discussed in detail by Firth

(1995) who reviewed negotiation research papers on intensive conversation analysis,

‘theory of negotiation’, and understanding the discourse of authentic negotiation. He

examined negotiation as a discourse phenomenon which is interactionally constructed in

real life settings. By reviewing a collection of papers from various scholars, he

categorizes the varieties of negotiation research into different disciplinary orientations


(these being prescriptive, abstract, ethnographic, experimental and discourse). The

prescriptive orientation focuses on the practical aspects of negotiation and is targeted at

business practitioners (this orientation, along with the discourse orientation – see below

– reflects my own study); the abstract orientation involved the formulation of deductive

models as in von Neumann and Morgenstern’s Game Theory and Zeuthen’s Bargaining

Theory (cited in Firth 1995); the ethnographic orientation relied on primary data

collections based on participant observations and interviews (e.g. Maynard, 1984); the

experimental orientation looks at re-enactments of negotiation (e.g. Lewicki and

Litterer, 1985; Fant, 1989 and Grindsted, 1989); and finally, the discourse orientation is

used specifically in the process of discourse negotiations (1995, p. 18). He makes a

significant contribution to the understanding of negotiation as a communicative event

by summarizing and highlighting the research findings from a variety of business

activities. In doing this, Firth is focusing on a relatively common communicative event,

this being business meetings, and applies analytical and theoretical concepts in order to

make people aware that effective communication can be greatly enhanced through a

scholarly understanding of the discourse process.

Firth has extended our knowledge of negotiation as a discourse-based communicative

process. At the same time, he establishes a discourse and interactional perspective on

the study of negotiation. This is of relevance to this thesis, as almost all of the authors

who contributed to the edited volume have drawn on relevant concepts from

Conversational Analysis (CA)18. In each of these studies, the authors are not only

formulating and categorizing, but also extending their use to the study of negotiation-in-

interaction. The collection has contributed useful insights to similar studies, and

becomes a valuable source of theoretical and empirical perspectives which further

enhance and advance our understanding of negotiation in interaction, particularly in a

cross-cultural context.

The present study combines both the prescriptive and discourse orientations as set up by

Firth. . The use of prescriptive knowledge is found to be important as it provides input

from other researchers’ experiences which could be drawn into the actual research that

is conducted. However, these prescriptive elements derived from the relevant literature

have been critically evaluated prior to it being used. Studies carried out particularly

18 Conversation Analysis is a method on analysis which aims to uncover the principles which govern naturally occurring speech.


focusing on the Eastern-Western contexts by scholars like Mulholland, Bilbow, Marriott

and Neustupny have evaluated and demonstrated that they have gained prescriptive

knowledge from conducting thorough research dealing with authentic business

discourse data. This study also based its research on authentic business negotiation

meetings and likewise critically examined the prescriptive elements important for the

study. Firth highlighted the use of ‘methods’, rather than the use of theoretical

foundations to review negotiation. This study will expand Firth’s work on discourse

orientation, as it has some insights linking linguistic features and non-linguistic features.

The use of non-linguistic features (cultural factors) in discourse analysis has also been

used effectively by Marriott and will be incorporated in the present study.

This current study seeks to identify those linguistic and non-linguistic features which

are present in the data, specifically in relation to the Malaysian-Australian business

meeting context. In terms of linguistic features, various other studies have analyzed

these in negotiation discourse. Linguistic features are embedded in the studies of:

competence (Mulholland 1991); language deviance (Marriot 1995); and various types of

speech acts such as refusal (Nelson, Batal & Bakary 2002); agreement and disagreement

(Salacuse 1997, Marriot 1997); request and acknowledgement (Mulholland 1997);

politeness, directness and request strategies (Neumann 1997); apologies (Holmes 1989);

and directing and suggesting (Bilbow 1997).

As the current research will also include an analysis of latent non-linguistic features of

language use, it is important to recognize the influence of non-linguistic features in

business negotiations. These emerge as ‘themes’ in the initial interviews of both

Malaysian and Australian informants. They also emerge as themes in the meeting data.

These themes include, for example, rapport building, ethics, informality, building

recognition and credibility, and style. Other researchers have also focused on the non-

linguistic features of language use, such as communication style (Graham 1983); levels

of directness (Gudykunst &Ting-Toomey 1988 cited in Nelson et al 2002); attitudes

(Salacuse 1998); values (Marriot 1997); and body language (Ekman, 1980, 1984; Lutz

& White, 1986).

Marriott (1995) focuses on communicative problems in cross-cultural business

encounters. She uses Neustupny’s (1985) taxonomy of deviations as the basis for

examining problems in negotiations between a Japanese buyer and an Australian seller.


Marriott explores and investigates ‘discord deviance’, which arises from mismatches in

sociocultural expectations of communicative situations. She has shown how

Neustupny’s taxonomy can be effectively used to account for embedded communicative

and sociocultural norms, which are the preconditions for effective miscommunication.

Marriott’s findings suggest that discord deviance can account for a great deal of

dissatisfaction experienced by Japanese and Australian businesspeople in their

commercial encounters. She also suggests that different cultural groups employ

different correction strategies to repair deviance. From these findings, she suggests that

the concept of deviance has important implications for understanding how international

negotiations succeed or fail.

Deviation is commonly the cause of breakdown in negotiation, specifically, in a cross-

cultural context. Neustupny (1985) proposed five different types of deviance;

propositional deviance; presentational deviance; performance deviance; correction

deviance; and discord deviance. Focusing on, and extending, Neustupny’s original

concept of discord deviance, Marriot (1995) concentrated on the communicative

behaviors of participants by analyzing them in terms of content, form and medium. The

present study is modeled on Marriott’s use of discord deviance. The notion of deviance

is an extremely effective method for the identification of rupture in the negotiation

discourse. As in this present study, the participants in Marriott’s study consisted of

Native Speakers (NS/Australian) and Non-Native Speakers (in Marriott’s case

NNS/Japanese). Marriott’s approach to discourse analysis is particularly relevant to the

present study. Further discourse analytic studies of cross-cultural business negotiations

in the Asian contexts have been undertaken by scholars such as Mulholland (1997);

Marriott (1997, 1995); Neumann (1997), Bilbow (1997) and Neustupny (1988). Some

of these have previously been discussed; others will be examined in subsequent sections

of the literature review.

2.1.6. Cross-cultural business negotiations in the Asian context

There are three prominent scholars working in the area of Asian-Western business

encounters, these are Francesca Bargiela-Chiappini (1997), Ronald Scollon and

Suzanne Wong Scollon. Bargiela-Chiappini and Harris’s (1997) edited volume first

broached the subject of business negotiation in the Asian contexts. The work

highlighted the then current state of cross-cultural business communication research

through a number of empirical studies carried out with Asians using English as the


language of interaction. Based from previous literature, many studies grouped all Asians

together representing the Easterners and respectively, all Westerners as another group as

they found that it was easier to communicate with groups of people with almost similar

identity. Although cross-cultural business communication was not a new phenomenon,

Bargiela-Chiappini and Harris were among the first linguists to focus on business

negotiation discourse in the Asia region due to the boom in many Asian economies.

This shift in focus was due to dynamic changes in international economies since 1990.

In Asia, this was a period of rapid economic growth and industrialization which lasted

until the slump of 1997 (Bargiela-Chiappini, 2005, p.207). The body of research on

Asian cross-cultural business negotiation flourished during this period (see Yamada,

1992; Clyne, 1994; Goldstein, 1997; Bargiela-Chappini & Harris, 1997a; Rogerson-

Revell, 1998; Li, 1999; Nickerson, 2000; Nair-Venugopal, 2000).

Even though most of the work on Asian business discourse was undertaken prior to the

economic downturn, Bargiela-Chiappini has continued her interest in this field of study.

The most recent work focusing on the use of English in Asian business discourse can be

found in a special edition of the Journal of Asian Pacific Communication vol.16, no.1

(2006), edited by Bargiela-Chiappini. The articles in this volume encompass a range of

issues including hybrid or ‘glocal’ forms of English; multiculturalism, multilingualism

and the emergence of new cultural subjectivities; the growing recognition of varieties of

Englishes (in the context of cross-cultural business discourse research these have

variously been referred to as the global language, the world language, the lingua franca

and the international language of business); the place of language in cross-cultural

encounters; and the growing awareness of linguistics and its application to cross-

cultural business research. The new perspective the authors have adopted is that no

longer is English a homogenous language; the importance, growing use and legitimacy

of ‘indigenous English(es)’ (Bargiela-Chiappini 2005) is increasingly being accepted

internationally. These researchers are creating an awareness of this new paradigm.

Marriott’s work (1995, 1997) has also been influenced by the increased participation of

Asian players in global business. Her research investigates the ways in which

differences in cultural predispositions and expectations affect business interaction

between Australians and Japanese. Her empirical data are collected from a variety of

situations which include business negotiations, courtesy calls and business luncheons,


using English as the language of interaction. She also makes reference to tourism

service encounters where the language used is Japanese. She finds that problems which

commonly take place subconsciously. In addition to this, they are not even able to

account for them. The value of Marriott’s research in this instance is that it draws

attention to the fact that miscommunication often takes place unconsciously, without the

participants even recognizing it. Intercultural competence skills, if they are brought to

the encounter, will contribute to a positive outcome by firstly allowing for a recognition

(or avoidance) of miscommunication, and then finding ways of resolving it.

Similarly, Mulholland (1997) proposes that Western business people make a number of

‘cultural assumptions’ which often lead to negative evaluations of interactive behaviour

in cross-cultural business negotiations. Mulholland specifically focuses on the function

of ‘request’, which, she argues, is a common element in most business negotiations. Her

purpose was to identify how the manner of making a request can be made more

effective, such that it can be clearly understood and acted upon. Mulholland investigated

the nature of request-making among Australian and Asian (Vietnamese, Koreans and

Japanese) business participants and found that, on the part of the Australians, requests

involve a four stage process including: pre-requesting (indicating/hinting that a request

is going to be made), requesting (the actual request), post-requesting (expansion or

elaboration of the request – as well as seeking confirmation the request will be met or

declined), and re-requesting (restatement of the original request). Mulholland found that

Australians use politeness tactics in the pre-request stage, and tend to be more direct at

the request stage. In the Asian cohort, Mulholland concludes that the act of request is

interpreted differently because they do not use the re-request stage, and if they receive a

re-request from an Australian, they are likely to perceive it as aggressiveness. In

addition, for the Asians, at the post-request stage - when the Australians are seeking

acknowledgement on the form of a direct yes or no - the response may be, at least on the

surface positive, but in fact could mean ‘yes’, ‘OK’, ‘I understand’, or it could even be a

polite, indirect form of refusal. It certainly does not automatically mean that they are in

agreement.

2.1.6.1. The work of Ron Scollon and Suzanne Wong-Scollon

Preceding the work of Bargiela-Chiappini, the researchers who originally gave attention

to Asian business discourse were Scollon and Wong-Scollon. After reviewing lots of

literature, Scollons’ work is particularly found to be relevant to this study and that the


focus is on Eastern-Western interactions. Their work is good and relevant to the context

of this study and that it covers lots of theories of others. These scholars identified the

existence of systematic differences in the way that Asians and Westerners communicate

(1991). The difference can be seen in the way the two broad groups of people introduce

topics into their conversation. According to Scollon and Wong-Scollon, Asians use an

inductive approach (or a delayed introduction of topics) which has led to a great deal of

confusion among Western negotiators. The inductive approach allows for an elaboration

of face-work prior to broaching the main topic. It also allows for a greater evaluation of

‘mood’ and rapport-building. Westerners, on the other hand, tend to follow a deductive

pattern of introducing topics, whereby the main topic is dealt with more immediately,

that is, early in the interaction. In the deductive approach there is limited opportunity for

the elaboration of face-work.

The authors point out that miscommunication is caused by the inherent differences in

discourse systems For instance; Asians have the tendency to unconsciously use bottom-

up structures in their business discussions, whereas Westerners tend to use top-down

structures. This simply means that Asians conduct their discussion inductively by

placing the minor points of the argument first, with the more substantial content of the

discussion being reserved for the last. Westerners, on the other hand, employ a

deductive approach by introducing the most substantial topic at the beginning of a

discussion and then providing support for the arguments afterwards. As has been

discussed, these patterns have led to the ‘stereotypes of the ‘inscrutable’ Asian or of the

frank and rude [blunt] Westerner’ (Scollon & Wong-Scollon, 2001, p.2). However,

Scollon and Wong-Scollon have identified that ‘there is nothing inherently Asian or

Western in either of these patterns … both patterns are used in all societies,

nevertheless, there is a strong probability that such a broad discourse pattern will

emerge in east-west discourse as a significant area of cultural difference and even

stereotyping’ (Scollon & Wong-Scollon, 2001, p.87). Even Westerners communicate

using bottom up structures in certain contexts. They then argue that ‘[v]irtually all

professional communication is communication across some lines which divide us into

different discourse groups or systems of discourse’ (Scollon & Wong-Scollon, 2001,

p.3). The Scollons here suggest that the existence of divergent discourse systems leads

to miscommunication.


Because inductive and deductive patterns constitute unconscious behaviour, the problem

then centres mainly on not knowing the source of the confusion. Therefore, by not being

able to locate the source of confusion, the confusion will be interpreted negatively as

stereotypes, ultimately leading to a breakdown in communication and failure to achieve

the set objective or purpose. These stereotypical attitudes of ‘East’ and ‘West’,

according to Scollon and Wong-Scollon, are derived from the unconsciously differing

discourse practices in the introduction of topics.

The Asian inductive pattern reflects ‘[a] chained series of lesser, non-binding topics,

broached, not for their own importance, but as hints or as preparation for the conclusion

in the main topic at the end’ (Scollon & Wong-Scollon, 1991, p.116). These topics exist

as ‘facework’ which sometimes, especially in the case of Western people, might be

viewed as trivial, unnecessary and even petty. However, this strategy has been

interpreted as a kind of extended facework (Goffman, 1967, p.167; Brown and

Levinson, 1987), where the topics are brought in as small talk which serves a specific

function. When the topics are introduced, the purpose is to trigger a response from the

other person. This means that it allows the speaker to gauge the other party’s moods and

attitude, prior to the introduction of the main topic of discussion.

The confusion is due, in large part, to the differing strategies relating to the placement

of the topic. Without any knowledge of the difference between inductive and deductive

patterns, the participants involved will have to work out the discussion based on mere

assumptions. This is pointed out by the Scollons who argue that;

‘[t]he Asian will generally assume that the first thing introduced WILL NOT be the main point [which will be] be safely relegated to the conversational backwaters, but he or she will be paying somewhat more acute attention later on as the conversation reaches its conclusion (from his or her point of view)’ (Scollon & Wong-Scollon, 1991, p.116).

Another instance of confusion that may occur is the difficulty of knowing exactly when

the conversation is coming to an end. Being unsure, the Westerner, when finally hearing

the main point the Asian has made, very often interprets it to be of lesser importance

than what it actually is, resulting in him or her not giving it the attention it deserves.

This may result in a recycling of the topic at this point. The Asian then realises that

there is a need of recapitulating some of the face work and proceeds to make a

summarization of some key points, before making a conclusion.


Another important aspect observed by the Scollons concerns hierarchical relationships

or the recognition of an ‘authoritative person’ (Scollon & Wong-Scollon, 1991, p.119).

This, in fact, determines who speaks first and who introduces the topic. This can be seen

in Malaysian culture. For example, people who are a in lower position are expected to

extend a greeting to those in a higher position, provided the individual in that higher

position shows that he or she is open to the greeting. However, the person who is of a

lower status ‘MUST NOT intrude upon the higher with a greeting’ (Scollon & Wong-

Scollon, 1991, p.120). With regards to topic introduction, however, ‘A topic can be

introduced by a lower person [a person of lower status] but only by the way or

incidentally’ (Scollon & Wong-Scollon, 1991, p.120). However, the relevant point is to

be aware that the Asian hierarchical structure leads Asians to act in deference to rank.

This, in turn, is communicated through the subtle manipulation of topics (p.122).

Ron Scollon and Suzanne Wong Scollon’s (2001) Intercultural Communication: A

Discourse Approach is a valuable source for investigating how aspects of cross-cultural

communication can be embraced pedagogically. Not only does it have a central focus on

communication in business contexts, but it draws on over twenty years of established

research. To begin with, Scollon and Wong-Scollon highlight the fact that cross-cultural

communication often leads to miscommunication. However, they argue against scholars

who suggest that miscommunication is simply a result of cultural differences. Rather,

they draw on a discourse analysis approach to uncover the real sources of

miscommunication that occur in cross-cultural contexts. They argue that ‘the major

sources of miscommunication in cross-cultural contexts lie in differences in patterns of

discourse’ (Scollon & Wong-Scollon, 2001, p.xii). Scollon and Wong Scollon’s

argument is that only analysing cultural differences in any cross-cultural context, would

not help in the understanding the cross-cultural communication. They believe that ‘there

is hardly any dimension on which you could compare cultures and with which one

culture could be clearly and unambiguously distinguished from another’ (Scollon &

Wong-Scollon, 2001, p.174). This view contrasts with the work of other researchers

who claim that language is very much a part of culture, such as Sapir-Whorf (1940);

Kramsch (1998) and Crystal (2000). Most other researchers working in this field take it

as a given that language is embedded in a specific cultural framework. The current

research also takes this view.


Scollon and Wong Scollon suggest that overcoming discourse barriers is a necessary

first step when working towards overcoming cultural barriers. It is this assertion that

has led these researchers to propose a concept called ‘envelope of language’. It is, in

fact, the envelope of language that differentiates one cultural group from another, and

makes communication more difficult.

The concept of an ‘envelope of language’ relates to the notion of a discourse system. By

discourse system, the Scollons are referring to ‘the study of the whole systems of

communication’ (Scollon & Wong-Scollon, 2001, p.107) which is the broadest concept

of discourse. Scollon and Wong-Scollon include four basic elements in this system of

discourse which ‘mutually influences one another to form an intact system of

communication or discourse’ (Scollon & Wong-Scollon, 2001, p.109). The more one

fits into the discourse system, the more one will feel identified with it and feel that they

belong to, or are a part of, that particular social group. Conceptually, it is easier to

understand Scollon and Wong-Scollon’s discourse system as a ‘discourse community’,

rather than a culture as such. Any communicator can and will simultaneously belong to

several discourse communities. For instance, if a person has recently joined an

international corporation in Hong Kong and is not a local person, he or she will feel out

of place until learning how to ‘fit into’ the new situation by learning the forms of

discourse that are specific to the company. This can be achieved through socialization in

the new environment, or by getting the information through various kinds of training

conducted by the company. Scollon and Wong-Scollon point out that there are three

more reasons why miscommunication occurs.

Firstly, the concept of context is explored. The authors’ argument that language is

ambiguous by nature has led them to closely consider the context in which

communication takes place. Communication is ambiguous because ‘we can never fully

control the meanings of the things we say and write’ (Scollon & Wong-Scollon, 2001,

p.7). This is justified because ‘[t]he meanings we exchange by speaking and by writing

are not given in the words and sentences alone, but are constructed partly out of what

our listeners and our readers interpret them to mean’ (Scollon & Wong-Scollon, 2001,

p.7). It is important that communicators have a shared knowledge of the context or

situation. This knowledge is what they call the ‘grammar of context’ (Scollon & Wong-

Scollon, 2001, p.31). These are highlighted as necessary elements enabling


communicators to interpret each other’s message and include such things as physical

scene, tone, medium of communication and sequence.

Second, Scollon and Wong-Scollon claim that an essential element in all

communication is face. The general definition provided by Scollon and Wong-Scollon

is that ‘[f]ace is the negotiated public image, mutually granted each other by participants

in a communicative event’ (Scollon & Wong-Scollon, 2001, p.45). According to the

authors, ‘there is no faceless communication’ (Scollon & Wong-Scollon, 2001, p.48)

because communicative activities will require participants to use either ‘involvement

strategies’ or ‘independence strategies’ to communicate. The paradox of face in

communication is that there are two ways in which face can be played out. One is being

in a state of involvement, signalling ‘what participants have in common’ (Scollon &

Wong-Scollon, 2001, p.46). The other is to have independence, that is, to be able to

acknowledge the individuality or difference of the participants. This is a complex

concept involving both power and distance. When an involvement strategy takes place,

the use of power comes in to play.

In view of the concept of Self, there is the possibility that people who are from a highly

individualistic culture (like Westerners) have the tendency to pay more attention to their

personal face needs; whereas those from a more collectivistic culture (like Asians)

would be more concerned with the face of others (p.134). On the functions of language,

Scollon and Wong-Scollon show that Asians place a high value on communicating

‘feeling and relationship’, whereas Western cultures focus on communicating

information.

Third is the idea of metacommunication. Borrowing on the anthropologist Gregory

Bateson’s work (1972), Scollon and Wong-Scollon show that ‘[e]very communication

must simultaneously communicate two messages, the basic message and the

metamessage’ (Scollon & Wong-Scollon, 2001, p.77). They explain that ‘[t]he

metamessage is a second message, encoded and superimposed upon the basic

[message]’ (Scollon & Wong-Scollon, 2001, p.77). This is reflected in the work of

Gumperz when he claims that, with each message, there is also a second, metamessage,

that is carried along and tells the listener how to interpret the basic message. This basic

message, by itself, will not reflect any meaning. Gumperz (1977, 1982, 1992) uses the

term ‘contextualization cues’. The recognition of a metamessage is highly relevant to


understanding the discourse of cross-cultural communication. It allows us to admit that

although language is fundamentally ambiguous, it is possible that people have the

‘innate capacity to draw inferences from ambiguous information’ (p.73).

The authors provide a new framework in the concept of a ‘discourse system’ based on

the four elements of discourse: ideology, socialization, forms of discourse and face

systems. They present a new perspective on discourse analysis in the study of cross-

cultural professional communication in Asia. The aim of this review has been to show

how Scollon and Wong-Scollon have gone beyond the boundaries of culture, to show

that there is a link between the discourse patterns and the strategies that people use to

communicate.

2.1.7. Studies of Malaysian-Australian business encounters

Fontaine & Richardson (2003) working in the field of cross-cultural management and

business suggest that, overall, research focusing on Malaysia is lacking. In fact, the

authors contend that the focus in Malaysia has primarily been directed towards research

in human resource management and leadership, rather than research in cross-cultural

management. The picture reported by Fontaine & Richardson is that even with the

limited number of studies that have been conducted in cross-cultural management in

Malaysia (see Mahmood Nazar 1990; Zabid et al. 1997; Mohamed Sulaiman, 1999;

Zohdi 1999; Kennedy & Norma Mansor 2000; Asma & Lim 2001; Khaliq 2001) there

is still little follow up on the research, making it problematic to formulate solid

theoretical frameworks for future research.19 According to Fontaine & Richardson

(2003, pp.81-82):

[T]here has been little effort to integrate the studies conducted in Malaysia since the 1980s. In the end one is left with a series of snapshots but no overall picture………… [s]urprisingly for a country where cultural differences between ethnic groups are so important, there is only a handful of cross-cultural management experts.

Fontaine and Richardson argue that there are several considerations which are not

being dealt with extensively in research in Malaysia, but which are critical in gaining a

holistic understanding of cross-cultural issues. Firstly, one of the concerns relates to the

19 Some of the existing studies that have been carried out are at the macro-level of analysis, (A Asma & Lim, 2001)(Kennedy & Norma Mansor, 2000; ); at the organizational level of analysis (Zabid, Anantharam, & Raveendran, 1997)(Zohdi, 1999;); and at the individual level of analysis (Mahmood Nazar, 1990; Mohamad Sulaiman, et al, 1999; Khaliq, 2001).


study of Malaysians by non-Malaysian scholars (for instance Hofstede, 1980; Smith,

Peterson and Schwartz, 2002). This present doctoral study is being undertaken by a

Malaysian researcher who has had almost ten years residence in the United States and

Australia. This long term exposure to both ‘Western’ and Malaysian societies allows for

a deeper insight into the complexities of cross-cultural interactions.

This contrasts with the majority of Malaysian scholars whose studies focus on, and

compare, the values and behaviours of the different ethnic groups in Malaysia; these

mostly deal with the Malays and Chinese (Asma & Lim, 2001; Lim, 1998, 2001;

Rashid, 1988; Zohdi, 1999); . In other words, Malaysian scholars have focused on inter-

ethnic relationships in Malaysia, but not extensively on cross-cultural relationships

concerning bi-lateral trade between Malaysia and foreign countries. This present

doctoral research aims to fill this gap in knowledge.

Another aspect not being adequately dealt with in Malaysian cross-cultural research is

religious issues (Asma & Lim, 2001; Lim, 2001; Zabid et al., 1997). According to

Schwartz, (1994), this area has not been fully explored. It is known that religion, for the

Malays, is an important part of life, even in the Malaysian workplace (Asma & Lim,

2001). For example, Muslim (and even non-Muslim) dress codes are influenced by

religious decree in Malaysia. On Fridays, Malaysian women working in the public

service, regardless of ethnic origin must wear the baju kurong or kebaya (conservative

Malay attire specific to Muslims). Similarly, business programs in Malaysia are nearly

always scheduled to accommodate prayer times; the momentum of the meeting is often

interrupted by breaks for prayers (which can frustrate non-Muslim participants).

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, according to Fontaine and Richardson (2003),

cross-cultural research in Malaysia has neglected the significant role of language. In the

business environment the ethnic composition of Malaysia means that most business

people are, at minimum bilingual; speaking Malay and English.20 By examining

discourse in cross-cultural interactions Fontaine and Richardson research explores the

strengths and weaknesses of current Malaysian English (ME) usage. The aim is also to

create awareness, globally, of the specific linguistic and non-linguistic aspects which

characterise Malaysian business practice. 20 The Chinese and Indians are trilingual in that they can generally speak three languages;

Malay (as the national language); English (as a second language and language of international business) and either Chinese or Indian as their own ethnic language.


Despite the shortcomings identified by Fontaine and Richardson (2003), two empirical

studies involving Australian-Malaysian business encounters remain significant to my

own research. These are Muthaly and Zaman (1998) and Styles and Hersch (2005).

Muthaly and Zaman (1998) identify, and then describe, the salient, culturally sensitive

events that impacted upon Australian-Malaysian business relations between 1987 and

1997. These scholars adopted a text analysis approach, basing their data on secondary

sources and information collected from daily newspapers, magazines, and journals

published in both Australia and Malaysia. From their findings, they have identified

specific areas of cultural sensitivity which, when transgressed, have had political and

economic implications. For instance, the authors highlighted the insensitivity of

Australian business people towards the cultural differences of Malaysians, which, in

fact, can potentially become an obstacle towards successful business relations. What

occurs in the political and economic domain has repercussions at the interpersonal level.

Muthaly and Zaman (Muthaly & Zaman, 1998)emphasized the importance of an

appropriate understanding of culturally sensitive issues between Australians and

Malaysians at a macro-level in order to achieve mutual benefit. The authors identified

three distinct stages within the ten year period which influenced business relations

between the two nations: (refer to Figure 4 on page 80)


Figure 4. A summary of events that impacted negatively upon Australia-Malaysia Business relations.

The second study was conducted by Styles and Hersch (2005) who took a case-study

approach using qualitative research methodology involving seven international joint

ventures (IJV) between Australian and Malaysian firms. In-depth interviews were

conducted with senior executives from both sides and from managers in the IJV. All the

participants took part in a minimum of three interviews; each interview lasting between

one, and one half hours. The researchers used a semi-structured questionnaire as a


guide. There were two main sections in the questionnaire; one addressed the process of

forming the IJV, the other considered the key variables that affected the success of the

process. The respondents were asked to identify critical events during the process of

forming the IJV. The object of the study was to measure the levels of trust and

commitment by the IJV business participants towards their international counterparts.

Each was required to explain their perceptions in detail. The interview procedure was

pilot tested with an Australian company involved in IJV. The questionnaire was

reviewed by two international business experts both in academia and in business.

The findings show that managers need to focus on several dimensions during the

formation stage to improve the likelihood of success. Among these are the four

dimensions of trust. These constitute the process of trust creation and include:

• Personal trust (which refers to the feelings of respect and honesty which are

established during the early stages of the negotiation).

• Competence trust (the feelings of confidence which are generated by the

reputation and demonstration of professional ability).

• Contractual trust (created through credible assurances that the partners will

deliver their contractual obligations), and

• Goodwill trust (the development of a mutual commitment toward a long term

relationship). All of these different aspects of trust, but collectively play

important roles in determining the success of a business venture.

This section has examined negotiation and miscommunication in cross-cultural

encounters more broadly, and also within the specific context of business encounters. It

has also reviewed some of the major works undertaken on Asian business negotiations,

including those between Malaysians and Australians. Since this current study utilizes

Helen Marriott’s framework of Discourse Analysis, the final section of the literature

review presents Marriott’s approach to Discourse Analysis. This approach draws on the

work of Ventola (1987), Gardner (1987) and Neustupny (1985; 1985b; 1988). In

conclusion, an overview of the present study will be provided, which explains how a

framework based on Marriott’s approach, with additional modifications, will be used to

investigate Malaysian /Australian business negotiations.


2.2. Conclusion

This literature review has surveyed some of the most important published work in the

field of cross-cultural business communications. The first section examined the

historical development of English as a global language. Here, we can see how the

English language has expanded and formed numerous varieties. The second section

looked at the concept of World Englishes and reviewed some of the scholarly debates

surrounding the acceptance and legitimacy of non-standard varieties of English. Section

three set out, in more detail, the positions of several key researchers who are involved in

these debates. Section four discusses research that has been undertaken on the

localization of Australian and Malaysian English. Part of this discussion sets out work

that has been done in mutual intelligibility and accommodation strategies. This is

important given the cross-cultural nature of business relations in general, but

particularly in the context of Australian-Malaysian business encounters. Section five

explores further research in cultural and cross-cultural issues. In particular, the aim has

been to investigate the interdependency between language and culture. This section

introduced some of the key scholars who bridge the disciplinary divide between applied

linguistics and cultural studies (and then apply it to the study of business discourse).

Section six looks more specifically at studies which have been conducted on business

negotiations, especially those of a cross-cultural kind using English the medium of

communication. The final section sets forth the theoretical frameworks that are being

utilised in this present study. The following chapter details the methodology used to

collect and analyse the data for this study.

Chapter 3 – Research Methodology 83

Chapter Three

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.1. Introduction

The current study is a qualitative analysis investigating the discourse interactions

between Malaysian and Australian business people through interviews and observations

of meetings in Perth, Western Australia. It uses a Discourse Analysis approach to

analyze the interaction data. Data collection took place in 2003 and 2004, during a time

when Malaysia was consciously attempting to build closer political and business ties

with Australia. This followed the installation of the then new Prime Minister, Abdullah

Badawi. Historically, the relationship between the two countries has, at times, been

strained. Recognizing this, the Malaysian government has deemed that the influence of

cultural differences on business communications should be priority for investigation

(see Straits Times article, July 2001 in appendices). The primary aim of this exploratory

study is to discover what, in the context of Malaysian-Australian business encounters,

are the discursive features that either hinder or enhance effective cross-cultural

communication. In other words, the study is aimed at exploring the cultural nuances

(differences) and language difficulties that might contribute to miscommunication,

misunderstanding and misinterpretation in the business interaction context.

The aim of this chapter is to explain in full the qualitative research methods that were

used to collect and analyze the data for this study. It includes the following sections:

Research design; Justification for the use of a Qualitative Research Methodology; Data

sources; Research questions; Major phases in the research design [Initial interviews

(Phase 1), Meeting sessions (Phase 2) and Individual follow-up interviews (phase 3)];

Summary of the procedures to collect data; The use of field notes; Transcribing the

recorded interviews and meetings; Transcription keys; N-Vivo software in managing

data and Challenges in interviewing business elites.

3.2. Research design

This section introduces the three phases of the present study, along with a justification

for their use. The first phase used initial (individual) interviews with participants as

exploratory instruments in the early stages of the research. The main aim of these

interviews was to uncover the perceptions and assumptions held by the participants as

they have been formed by their prior exposure to inter-cultural business interactions.


The participants, therefore, related their experiences in the international market, in

particular referring to either encounters with Malaysian or Australian business peoples.

The researcher conducted 25 of these ‘perception interviews’; of which 20 were with

Malaysians and another 5 were with Australians. From the 25 participants, 4 gave their

permission for the researcher to attend and observe subsequent meeting sessions with

their clients. The researcher considered this as the second phase of the data collection.

These meetings enabled the researcher to observe and record the speech interaction of

participants in a cross-cultural business setting. The intention here was to look closely at

the cultural and linguistic differences which may have caused difficulty and

miscommunication during their interaction in the meeting. On the other hand, the initial

interviews provided an opportunity to understand an individual’s views on international

business communication and negotiation, and to explore and question their assumptions

in more depth. In addition to the initial interviews (phase one) and the recorded business

meetings (phase two), a further follow-up interview was conducted by the researcher

with those who participated in the meeting sessions. The follow-up interview,

therefore, constituted the third phase in the data collection process. This provided the

researcher access to more in-depth information about the research problem post

meeting. The follow-up interview session was considered valuable as it provided the

researcher with further explanation of the discourse that had been generated, especially

that which the researcher had identified as containing dissonance. This ‘three phase

methodology’ proved effective in investigating the dynamic phenomenon of cultural

and linguistic difficulties within the real life context of inter-cultural business

communication. In brief, the three-stage research design allowed for the progressive

development of a theoretical framework to identify and make sense of cultural and

linguistic difficulties in inter-cultural business communications. Qualitative studies

based on data collected from in-depth interviews demonstrate strength in their ability to

‘examine dynamic, context-dependent and interactive phenomena’ which are the subject

of IB research (Parkhe, 1993, p. 234) (Boyacigiller & Adler 1991).

3.2.1. Justification for the use of a qualitative research methodology

Broadly speaking, social research can be either quantitative or qualitative (Bauer,

Gaskell, & Allum, 2000; Zikmund, 2000) Malhotra 1999; Zikmund 2000) or both

(Punch, 1998). The use of qualitative research methodologies for this research is

justified for three reasons. Firstly, the study focuses on human perceptions and their

associated meaning systems. Second, the investigation of the research problem is


context-specific. Thirdly, as the phenomenon and its relationships are not well

understood, theory building in relation to it is appropriate and timely.

The use of qualitative research methods is also justified as this research deals with

individuals’ perceptions of culture and language, in particular, the effect of these

perceptions on cross-cultural business communication. That is, qualitative approaches

typically use words and images to interpret social phenomena through ‘meanings people

bring to them’ (Denzin & Lincoln 1998, p.3). Moreover, qualitative research methods

are particularly valuable in exploring a research problem that is concerned with social

processes, an individual’s way of thinking and his or her perceptions, and, in particular,

why they think that way (Malhotra 1999; Minichiello et al. 1990).

The justification for using qualitative research is that its methods are amenable to

locating social phenomena within specific contexts (Denzin & Lincoln 1998; Guba &

Lincoln 1998). For instance, qualitative research methods allowed this researcher to

study cultural and linguistic features of discourse within the context of Australian and

Malaysian subjects operating in an international business setting.

Summary of qualitative research:

Research approach Qualitative approach 1. Type of data ‘Real’, ‘rich’ and ‘deep’ 2. Example of method Depth interviewing 3. Sample size Small 4. Types of questions ‘How, why’/more ability to

probe 5. Amount of information per respondent

Large

6. Type of analysis Interpretation of meaning of respondents

7. Orientation Process-oriented/dynamic 8. Flexibility within structure More flexibility/less

structured Table 2. Source: adapted for this research from Bauer, Gaskell and Allum (2000), Creswell (1998), Denzin and Lincoln (1998), de Ruyter and Scholl (1998) Aand Miyauchi (2002)

3.2.2. Data sources

The methodology adopted for this study was based on the classic interactional

sociolinguistic method of recording actual instances of language use. This research

utilised data from initial individual interviews, meetings between Malaysian and

Australian business participants, as well as individual follow-up interviews. The data


was transcribed and analysed and brought back to the participants where the researcher

would get further clarification about specific issues which occurred during the meeting.

The researcher found, for example, that many of the most critical insights evolved from

this final cross-checking or ‘the follow-up’ interviews; when the original participants

were able to discuss with the researcher their own interpretation of the situation in light

of the researchers’ analysis.

With a further data and analyses of interviews from 20 business participants (the same

interviewees in the perception interviews), the researcher was able to provide a second

level of perceptions which greatly enriched the interpretation of the data. This

methodology, in fact, went beyond linguistic analysis. In cross-cultural settings, even

though both parties (in this case Australian and Malaysian) are using English as the

medium of communication, participants are normally conscious of the difficulties they

typically encounter in communicating and interacting. This is possibly due to the

unfamiliar Australian-English accent and the slurred rapid speech of the Australian

participants (or, conversely, the particular idiosyncrasies of Malaysian-English or

‘Manglish’). Nevertheless, this cross-cultural communication research has shown that

more often problems arise from aspects of communication other than language itself.

The analysis of the participants’ normal business practice has shown that within an

interaction, particularly in a cross-cultural setting, there are differences in cultural

assumptions which inform business practice. This has been demonstrated by Rogerson-

Revell (1998) who puts forward the concept of interactive style, which refers to the sum

of practices and categories of interactive strategies used by speakers from a particular

culture.

The main sources of data consisted of audio-recorded English language interactions

between MBEs (Malaysian Business Elites) and Australian native speakers of English

who met with them for the purposes of business negotiation. These data were

transcribed and analysed according to conversation analysis conventions. Data was also

generated in the form of field-notes taken by the researcher whilst conducting the

interviews and observing the meetings of MBEs and their Australian counterparts

3.3. Research Questions

The research has been designed in such a way as to answer the three primary research

questions that are guiding this study. The first research question is ‘[h]ow do Malaysian


and Australian business participants describe their general experience in negotiating

with each other?’ The first phase of the research design specifically answers this

question. The first phase in the research design was aimed at uncovering the pre-

established opinions and beliefs that were already held by the participants. These had

been formed by their previous experience in cross-cultural business interactions.

The second research question is addressed in the second phase of the research design.

The second research question is ‘[w]hat aspects of a business meeting involving a

Malaysian and an Australian business participant show that communication between the

two parties has been either successful or unsuccessful? (what are the instances of

deviance and strategies that can be identified)’. In order to identify these, a series of

meetings between Australian and Malaysian business people were observed and

recorded by the researcher. The aim here was to collect data which would expose the

cultural and linguistic mismatches which may have caused difficulty and

miscommunication during their interaction in the meeting.

The third research question ‘[h]ow is topic development influenced by the instances of

miscommunication (deviance) and intercultural competences (strategies) of the

speaker?’ is also substantively addressed by the second phase in the research design.

The meetings exemplify the way in which topic development is being used by the

participants.

The third phase in the research design, the conducting of follow-up interviews is linked

to answering research questions two and three. The follow-up interviews provided the

researcher with an opportunity to explore, in greater detail, the perceptions of the

business participants involved in the meetings in phase two. How they interpret their

own actions/statements. How do they interpret the actions/statements of the other party.

The participants’ feedback in phase three also elucidates the way that topics were being

managed by the participants.

3.3. The three major phases in the research design

3.3.1. Perception interviews (Phase 1)

Face-to-face interviews are a very useful method for ‘accessing people’s perceptions,

meanings, definitions of situations and constructions of reality’ (Punch 1998:174). A

semi-structured interview schedule, involving a series of pre-determined questions, was


used to direct the discussion in phase one of the research design. This schedule was

valuable in that it ensured the discussion remained ‘on track’ and that relevant

information was being gathered. Audio taping was used to record the initial interviews

only after gaining written permission from the participants. In fact, the participants’

consent for the researcher’s presence was obtained even before the research activity per

se began. The initial interviews with all the Malaysian and Australian businesspeople

involved in the study were transcribed from these recordings. The interviews were

conducted either at the participants’ office, or at a place designated by the interviewees

so as to cause minimal inconvenience to the participant. In the interests of

confidentiality; all personal, business, product and location names were changed in the

transcripts and subsequently in the analysis and discussion chapters in the dissertation

proper.

It was found that the initial individual interviews with all businesspeople had provided

opportunities for open discussion of issues that might have been sensitive to the

business of the individual. In some cases, the tape recorder was turned off when so

requested by the participants. At such times, the researcher made summary fieldnotes.

The interviews complemented the data that was to be collected from the audio-taping of

business meetings.

3.3.1.1. The participants

The selection of participants was carried out over a difficult and challenging eighteen

month period. These difficulties, primarily in terms of gaining access, can be located in

the fact that those who were approached belong to a class of business elites. The

researcher had to cultivate a certain level of trust with them during the early stages of

the project in order to obtain their agreement to participate in the study. Elite

interviewees, according to Welch et al (2003) are defined as that category of individuals

who are usually in the upper positions of an organizational hierarchy; or those who

enjoy high status with extensive personal assets and corporate values and, often, have

had a considerable degree of international exposure. In order to identify potential

participants, the researcher had to ensure they fulfilled certain criteria. These criteria

will be elaborated on momentarily. However, to source participants for this study,

business associations and business community groups both in Australia and Malaysia

were approached using these criteria described below. Personal contacts and networks

were also used to identify possible participants.


Three basic criteria were used in the selection of the participants for the study. The first

criterion for selection was the participant’s nationality; that is, this should have been

either Australian or Malaysian. This criterion was in line with the research problem and

the justification for focusing on these two countries which was detailed in Chapter 1.

The second criterion used in the selection was that participants had to have had some

international business experience. Again, this was in line with the research problem.

The third criterion was that the selected participants should be business professionals

from a range of industries. Based on these criteria, a cross-section of individuals was

selected.

The participants for this study were comprised of twenty-two Malaysian business

people, of whom three were women and nineteen were men. Additionally, five

Australian business people took part in the study. This cohort consisted of one female

and four men. Therefore, in this study, the researcher engaged a total of twenty-seven

subjects (See Table 3. The Participants). These participants ranged in age from thirty to

sixty years of age. The twenty-two Malaysian participants were approached through the

researcher’s personal network of contacts in the city of Perth, Western Australia; and

also through a snowballing effect whereby these contacts recommended other potential

participants. These were invited to participate in the study and, upon agreement, signed

a letter of consent which provided adequate information about the nature of the

research.

Several industries were represented in the study. These include the meat export industry

(most notably in the provision of halal meat), the hospitality/hotel sector, the timber

industry, tourism, information technology, tertiary education, air travel as well as the

government sector (as shown in Table 3. The Participants). The participants were, for

the most part, business owners, directors, marketing managers, chief operating officers

and chief executives All represented established companies, although not all were

involved in regular international trade between Malaysia and Australia. Additionally,

some interviewees, although not currently engaged in business, had previously worked

for such companies and were able to reflect on their cross-cultural experiences in

dealing with either Australians or Malaysians in business contexts.


Perhaps as should be expected, the researcher was unsuccessful in getting an equal

number of participants from both nationalities (Australian and Malaysian). Because of

the researchers extended network of Malaysian business contacts in Perth, it was

somewhat less problematic to gain access to this particular cohort. It was, however,

decidedly more challenging getting permission from prospective Australian subjects.

This seemed to have much to do with their busy schedule, as they seemed to operate

under demanding time constraints and often were difficult to reach. The challenges in

interviewing business elites are dealt with in more detail in section 3.4.5 entitled

‘Problems in implementing the study design and their solutions’. In the end, a total of

only five Australians finally agreed to participate in the study.

Participants’ Code

Gender (M/F)/ Ethnicity

Nationality Mal./Aust. Age Industry

IM1 F/Malay Malaysian 32 Finance IM2 M/Chinese Malaysian 48 Tourism IA3 M/Australian Australian 45 Meat Export IM4 M/Malay Malaysian 36 Education IM5 M/Malay Malaysian 36 Air Travel IM6 F/Chinese Malaysian 46 Government IM7 M/Malay Malaysian 48

40 50

Hospitality

IM8 M/Malay Malaysian 48 Government IM9 M/Malay Malaysian 52 Independent

Business IA10 M/Australian Australian 60 Timber

(Ex-expatriate) IM11 M/Indian Malaysian 56 Hospitality IM12 M/Malay Malaysian 40 Tourism IM13 M/Indian Malaysian 30 Education IM14 M/Malay Malaysian 52 Government IM15 M/Malaysian Malaysian 46 Independent

Business IM16 M/Malay Malaysian 43 Tourism IM17 M/Australian Australian 48 Information

Technology Ex-expatriate

IM 18 M/Malay Malaysian 42 Tourism IM 19 M/Malay Malaysian 48 International trade IM20 M/Malay Malaysian 52 International trade IM21 M/Malay Malaysian 40 Food IM22 F/Indian Malaysian 56 Textile IM23 F/Indian Malaysian 45 Trading FIA1 M/Australian Australian 60 Finance FIA2 M/Australian Australian 35 Tourism

Table 3. The Participants


Of the 22 Malaysian business people who agreed to participate in the study, all agreed

to initial interviews. Out of the nine Australians who agreed to participate in the study,

only five agreed to initial interviews.

The following sample list of semi-structured interview questions were constructed for

the initial interview sessions with the Malaysian and Australian participants. These

questions were designed to enable the researcher to find out about the Malaysian and

Australian participants’ background, the difficulties they had encountered in previous

meetings with a counterpart from another culture, their perceptions of language and

cultural barriers, the way they approach rapport building and any comment they had

about non-verbal communication. The list of questions can be referred to in Appendix

14.

3.3.1.2. Site selection

According to Malhotra (1999), the physical setting for any meeting will have some

affect on the nature of the discourse generated within the discussion group. Ideally, the

venue should present a comfortable and informal atmosphere, whilst remaining

informal, so that the participants feel free to openly discuss their opinions and ideas

(Carson, Gilmore, Gronhaug, & Perry, 2001; Morgan, 1997) Malhotra 1999; It is very

important that participants should feel that they are in their own territory and that they

will be more relaxed and comfortable when responding to the researcher’s questions.

When suggesting the site for the initial interviews, the researcher also took into

consideration the venue’s proximity, especially in terms of its ease of access to

participants’ places of employment (as suggested in Stewart & Shamdasani 1990).

Furthermore, the sites were chosen on the basis of familiarity to the participants. For

example, the initial interview for two of the Australian business personnel was held at

their residence. This was also the case for one of the Malaysian business executives.

The rest of the participants selected their office premises or cafes for the initial

interviews. These were regular and familiar meeting places for the participants.

3.3.1.3. Role and background of researcher

The role and background of researcher could be an important factor so that the

information gathered could not influence the interpretation of the data. This point here is

that the background may have had an influence on the way data is interpreted. The

researcher, being a Malaysian and a non-native speaker, would face a situation where


there is a great possibility [and unintentionally] may demonstrate biasness in the

interpretation of the data. The background may have been as asset to the researcher

(guided researcher to make contacts, and understand the perspective of the Malaysians)

and a limitation (e.g. researcher may have had some difficulties to interpret the

Australian participants).

3.3.1.4. Phase 1: thematic analysis

This research uses the thematic analysis approach to analyse participants’ talk about

their experiences in international business negotiations (Spradley, 1979; Taylor &

Bogdan, 1984). Thematic analysis focuses on identifying themes and patterns of

behaviour from the interview transcripts. Themes are defined as units derived from

patterns such as ‘conversation topics, vocabulary, recurring activities, meanings,

feelings, or folk sayings and proverbs’ (Taylor & Bogdan, 1989:131). Themes are

identified by ‘bringing together components or fragments of ideas or components or

fragments of ideas or experiences, which often are meaningless when viewed alone’

(Leininger, 1985, p. 60). These themes in this study are known as ‘tendencies’ because

they are gathered from real experiences of participants which come in different forms

and perspectives. The researcher identified a list of patterns of experiences from the

transcribed conversations, either from direct quotes or paraphrasing of common ideas.

The list of emerging patterns from the transcripts was generated through the use of

NVivo software21. The next step was to then combine and catalogue related patterns into

sub-themes. This technique of analysis put together themes that emerge from the

participants’ stories to form a comprehensive picture of their collective experience. In

this manner it is possible to see how different ideas and components fit together in a

meaningful way (Leininger, 1985). Constas (1992) reemphasizes this point further by

stating that the ‘interpretive approach should be considered as a distinct point of

origination’ (p. 258).

After gathering further sub-themes and getting a clearer, more comprehensive view of

the information, the researcher endeavoured to obtain feedback from the participants

regarding the emerging patterns. This was carried out effectively in the follow-up

interviews. The feedback from the participants was then incorporated into the analysis. 21 The sorting and grouping (i.e. coding) of the transcribed data was done through the use of NVivo software. These sorted materials provided the basis for developing a summary report. Each topic is treated in turn with a brief introduction. The coded discourse is used as ‘supporting materials’ and incorporated within an interpretive analysis.


The researcher also drew on the relevant literature to build a strong, valid argument for

choosing the themes (Aronson, 1994). The collected themes and their literature will then

be linked and interwoven with the findings.

3.3.2. Phase 2: meeting analysis

The present study therefore focuses on interaction (in business meetings) rather than

solely discourse. What is more, the specific focus of interactional of this study of

miscommunication (deviance) between different cultural groups (Boxer, 2002, p. 14).

By looking at miscommunication, the researcher is here be able to ‘discover how it

comes about and how it can be avoided’ (2002, p. 15). The miscommunication that

arises will have implications for cross-cultural business negotiation meetings and will

inevitably have an impact on the outcome of cross-cultural business dealings.

In this study, business meetings were observed and recorded as a means to obtain

specific types of information from two, clearly identified cohorts of participants

(Australian and Malaysian business people). This meant that the individuals who were

invited to participate should have been willing and able to provide the desired

information and, as much as is possible, must be representative of the population of

interest. The necessity to base the analysis of business communications upon the actual

speech behaviour is essential, for without this type of data the difficulties of

communicative interaction in inter-cultural business encounters cannot be fully

understood.

This study also looks at the factors that make business negotiation effective. Therefore,

it also focuses on the strategies employed by these business participants in achieving

their business goals or objectives. At the same time, the strategies also demonstrate the

way the business players overcome and handled their difficulties effectively in such an

unpredictable cross-cultural context. It is interesting to identify these implicit processes

by analysing the meeting data.

Miscommunication can also take place with non-verbal behavior because there is a

potential that it may create misunderstandings, clashes of interpretation and barriers to

agreement. The miscommunication may be caused by the failure on the part of the

sender to get the intended message across as it has been incorrectly perceived by the

interacting party. This conflicting or mismatches in interpretation between intention and


perception may arise from the different cultural background and experiences of the

participants (Ronen, 1986). According to Hall, there is an estimation that

communication consists of 30 percent of information that is verbal and another 70

percent is essentially non-verbal (1973). Hall even labelled these non-verbal aspects of

communication as the ‘silent language’ (1973). In any interaction, there is a possibility

that there are instances where participants are not able to achieve the correct and

complete exchange of information between the speakers and the hearers [include non-

verbal cues] ( Gass & Varonis, 1991; Gass, 1985)(Bazzanella and Damiano, 1999;).

Successful communication is when the message encoded by the sender and the message

decoded by the receiver is in ‘symmetrical’ (Gass & Varonis, 1991, p. 127).

The analysis of meetings therefore includes an investigation of the way in which both

deviance and strategies influence the flow of topic development in the course of the

business meetings. It is also noted that, in this study, the focus is on spoken interaction,

therefore only noticeable non-verbal behaviour will be dealt with but without providing

analysis.

3.3.2.1. The approach for identifying miscommunication (deviance)

The method used for identifying miscommunication in the meeting data utilizes the

framework from Neustupny’s taxonomy of deviations. The basis of this taxonomy is the

concept of norm. Neustupny (1985b) argues that the concept of norm is useful in

explicating some of the processes found in interactive situations involving native

participants, as well as cross-cultural contact situations where native and non-native

participants interact. Neustupny (1985b) proposes five types of deviance: propositional

deviance, presentational deviance, performance deviance, correction deviance, and

discord deviance (see details in Chapter 2).

This study focuses primarily on discord deviance, also referred to as ‘dissonance’

(following Marriott, 1995b). It refers to the situation that arises when ‘participants feel

that a foreign feature of the situation does not match with a native means of

communicating about it or vice-versa’ (Neustupny, 1985b, pp. 50-52). In this study,

dissonance is discussed specifically in relation to the content of the discourse from the

recorded business meetings. In cognitive terms, dissonance can best be described as a

‘violation of expectation’; whereby the anticipated (or consonant) response to a

communicative act is withheld and an inconsistent response is given in its place. The


meeting discourse has been analysed to identify instances of discord deviance. These

instances have been interpreted in an effort to account for miscommunication(s) in

Australian-Malaysian business meetings.

Therefore, deviances are considered miscommunications in this study when both parties

are not able to receive the intended responses in the discourse. However, deviance

situations are realized as deviance when the party that received could not understand

what was being delivered and conveyed during that episode of interaction. An awkward

situation could have taken place for both parties. Deviance happens because the

response and reaction are not according to a familiar norm. The use of the term

“deviance” in this study thus implies some pre-established norm, which is typically not

present in mix-cultural exchanges. Therefore, deviance that occurred as such will be

considered deviance as per the definition. Otherwise, they would be categorized as some

kind of miscommunications.

3.3.2.2. The approach for identifying strategies

A strategy is a progression of discourse which underpins the ‘tactical patterns or

sequences created by negotiators’ ‘moves’ or ‘acts’ (Putnam, 1985, p. 228) which

contribute towards the achievement of a particular goal. In this study, both the

Malaysian and Australian participants used a number of discourse strategies to achieve

their intentions or objectives. These strategies were identifiable through their discourse

in each of the business meetings and otherwise, supported through their claims in the

follow-up interviews. Strategies are important as business participants bring them to, or

employ them within, cross-cultural negotiations in order to enhance effective business

communication and contribute to one’s intercultural competency.

3.3.2.3. Participants

Of the eighteen Malaysian business people who agreed to participate in the initial

interviews, four consented to allow the researcher access to business meetings with

them and their Australian counterparts. This means that the researcher was able to

observe and record four meeting sessions in total involving Malaysian and Australian

participants.



The researcher was invited to attend the four business meetings, all of which were

conducted at the informants’ place of work. These include:

• The office of an Australian finance broker

• The meeting room in a four-star hotel

• The office of a Malaysian inbound tour operator

• The boardroom of a city hotel

3.3.2.5. Recording of meeting sessions

After some initial trials, it was decided that audio, rather than video recording, would be

used for the collection of data at the meeting sessions. The use of a camera simply

proved to be too invasive. However, the researcher was able to successfully video-

record one of the meeting sessions. In lieu of being able to videorecord all of the

meeting sessions, the researchers took extensive field notes in relation to non-verbal

behaviour (refer to later section on ‘the use of fieldnotes’). Many of the Malaysian

business elites, in particular, were not in favour of having the camera lens directed on

them as they felt very uncomfortable interacting with the video-recording in process.

Although audio-recording had, in some instances, a similar affect, it was certainly much

less dramatic. Unlike the use of the video camera, the participants quickly became used

to being recorded on audiotape and seemed to adhere to their natural speaking practices

without being conscious of the presence of the audiotape. This may be because the

recording device is smaller, and perhaps audio recording is not perceived to be as

personally revealing or threatening as video recording.

3.3.2.6. Analysis of Phase 2

The analysis of phase two involved the identification of deviance and strategies in the

recorded discourse from the meeting sessions. This occurred after the recorded meetings

were transcribed. In addition to this, the researcher analysed the way topics were being

developed and managed in the course of the negotiation.

3.3.3 Individual follow-up interviews (Phase 3)

Immediately after transcribing the first business meeting, individual follow-up

interviews were conducted with the participants who had given their consent (both NS

and NNS) in order to gain further insights into their perceptions of the meeting. The

main objective here was to discover the participants’ perceptions of their own speech


actions as well as those of their interlocutor. Prior to these follow-up interviews, the

transcribed data was analysed so that specific questions could be addressed. These

follow-up interviews were also recorded. The follow-up interviews provided an insight

into the participants’ perspectives on the processes which occurred at the time of the

original business encounters. It also allows the researcher to clarify certain

communication problems and also to verify the participants’ perceptions of deviance in

communicating cross-culturally. This follow-up interview is a valuable method for

investigating the participants’ perceptions and evaluations, which are not encoded on

the surface of the discourse produced during the actual business encounter. According

to Silverman (Silverman, 2001), by interviewing the people involved in the meeting,

the researcher will be able to obtain an authentic and complete clarification of their

feelings and thinking at the time.

3.3.3.1. Participants

From the four meetings, the researcher was able to secure follow-up interviews with two

Australians and two Malaysians (two pairs from one meeting, and two pairs from

another meeting). This translates to half of the participants in the meetings.


The recording was carried out at diverse venues, at their office premises, homes, and

cafes. As was hoped, the participants quickly became used to having their interactions

recorded and the presence of the researcher, by their own admission, did not seem

obtrusive to them or alter their speech behaviour in any significant way. This, the

researcher believes, led to the collection of ‘authentic’ data.

3.4. Summary of the procedures to collect data 3.4.1. Step 1

After gaining the subjects’ consent to participate in the study, contact was made by the

researcher via telephoning the selected Malaysian and Australian business people to

schedule the initial individual interview (i.e. as a means to explore their perceptions and

assumptions about ‘doing’ cross-cultural business negotiations). This interview would

not only provided an opportunity to build rapport with the participants involved in the

study, but was also deemed useful in terms of introducing the researcher’s role in the

study, and to make arrangement for audio taping a business meeting between the


participant and one of his Australian or Malaysian (whichever the case may be)

counterparts.

3.4.2. Step 2

The researcher conducted the initial interview with the Malaysian business participant

by introducing, and then explaining in greater detail, the objectives of the study. This

interview was recorded. The researcher became more familiar with the Malaysian

participants during the course of the discussion. The duration of this initial interview

averaged one hour in duration. The researcher directed the interview with semi-

structured questions regarding his/her experience in negotiating with Australians

business people. A favourable outcome meant that the session ended by receiving the

agreement to cooperate further with the study and, after getting their formal consent, an

appointment to observe and audio-tape a business meeting between the Malaysian

business participant and his/her Australian counterpart was arranged.

3.4.3. Step 3

The researcher was invited for a business meeting session, arranged at either the

participant’s office or at a suitable venue appointed by them. The researcher audio-taped

the interaction of the Malaysian and Australian business participants in a business

meeting which lasted, on average, one to two hours.

3.4.4. Step 4

The recorded data was then transcribed and a first analysis was done by drawing

questions from the meeting to identify those issues or details which needed further

clarification from the participants who were present at the meeting. These questions

were different from the interview questions because they were designed based on

researcher’s analysis of the discourse in the meeting. Researcher’s intention was to get

some explanations and clarifications from the participants themselves. This is to make

sense of the discussion and matter discussed and hoped to understand speakers’ real

intentions [usually these are not spelt out]. The researcher constructed these relevant

questions which could be put to the participants at a follow up interview to draw out a

fuller understanding of the discourse that was generated at the meeting (i.e. their

interpretation of what occurred at different points in the meeting). Where possible, an

individual follow-up interview session was arranged with both the Malaysian and

Australian business participants.

3.4.5. Step 5

An individual ‘follow-up interview’ was conducted with both participants in an attempt

to gain an insight into their evaluative behavior, that is, their perceptions of the meeting.


During this interview, the researcher discussed important issues identified in the

transcriptions and then asked more general, as well as specific questions related to the

discourse. The objective of the interview was to discover the participants’ perceptions

of their own actions, and the actions of the other participant. This interview was again

recorded. The follow-up interview provided an insight into the processes occurring at

the time of the original interaction. Furthermore, this follow-up interview also

permitted the researcher to clarify certain communication problems and verify the

participants’ perceptions of ‘discord’ in communication. Therefore, it is most effective

to conduct a follow-up interview as soon as possible probably within the same week

when the first interview was conducted. In this study, there were only two out of the

four meetings that follow-up interviews were conducted.

This kind of retrospective method does have its limitations in that the participants may

either consciously or unconsciously report inaccurate information about their behavior

and the reasons for it, or they may remain unaware of some aspects of their actions.

However, Marriott (1995a) claims that the follow-up interview is a valuable method for

investigating the participants’ perceptions and evaluations, which are not encoded on

the surface of the discourse produced during the actual negotiation.

3.4.6. Step 6

The feedback gathered from the initial meeting of the researcher with the Malaysian

business participants was compared with the feedback gathered from the follow-up

interview. This is a way to identify if there are any mismatches involved in the process

of negotiation.

The following section outlines some of the qualitative methods and techniques that the

researcher has applied at every phase in the research design:

3.5. The use of field notes At all stages of the investigation the researcher recorded, in the form of field notes,

contextual detail, personal impressions and insights concerning the participants and

their interactions, as well as the contexts of each business encounter. In addition,

difficulties relating to arranging initial meetings, negotiations with gate keepers and

challenges related to conducting interviews with the elite participants in their homes or

business places were recorded in the form of field notes, as well as observations relating

to possible miscommunication events.


According to Bogdan & Biklen (1992: 107) field notes are ‘a written account of what

the researcher hears, sees, experiences, and thinks in the course of collecting and

reflecting on the data in a qualitative study’. In this present study, field notes were

crucial for the successful outcome of this research project. Observation of actual

business meetings between, and interviews with, Malaysian and Australian business

participants required that the researcher produce detailed, accurate and extensive field

notes.

Field notes written during the interviews or meetings were elaborated upon after the

event. The researcher kept a personal journal which was used to record descriptions,

visions, views, feelings, insights, biases and ongoing ideas about the study. Ultimately

this journal provided an important source of data. Bogdan & Biklen (1982) call it ‘data

about data’.. The journal allowed the researcher to separate what she observed, from

thoughts about what was seen. In other word, a distinction was made between the

descriptive and reflective parts of the notes, which greatly assisted in the process of

analysis. This method of collecting data was effective in that it allowed the researcher to

reflect on the day’s experience, speculate about theory, jot down additional information

and plan for the next interview or meeting. Field notes in a qualitative study are,

therefore, valuable, for the reasons above and as it allows for greater familiarity with the

data. The making of field notes not only encourages the observer to replay events in

their mind, it also intensifies concentration while gathering evidence (see Bogdan &

Biklen 1992).

3.6. Transcribing the recorded interviews and meetings The first step in most approaches to the analysis of interview and meeting data is to

have it transcribed in its entirety. Similarly, transcription is important for this study, as it

facilitates further analysis and it establishes a permanent written record of the interview

that can be shared with other interested parties.

In some instances, particularly in the case of discourse segments generated by the

Australian participants, editing was carried out by a native English speaker. It was felt

that because the researcher’s first language is Malay, a native speaker of Australian

English would assist in ‘filling in the gaps’ and explain the nuances of Australian

English colloquialisms. A reproduction of the transcription keys used in this study can

be found in Appendix 5.


Transcription also picks up incomplete sentences, half-finished thoughts, pieces of

words, odd phrases, and other characteristics of the spoken word in the interview and

meeting sessions. These characteristics are true to the flow of the discussion, but are

inevitably difficult for readers to follow in the text. The finished transcript will then

serve as the basis for further analysis. It is noted that transcripts do not reflect the entire

character of the discussion. For instance, non-verbal communication gestures and

behavioural responses are not reflected in the transcripts. Therefore, the researcher has

supplemented the transcript with some additional observational data that were obtained

during the interview. Such data may include notes that the interviewer made during the

interview, the systematic recording of specific events, and the content analysis of audio-

recorded tapes of the discussion. Analysis is then carried out but with the use of NVivo

qualitative software which the researcher found useful in managing the large amount of

qualitative data that was generated from the interviews and meetings.

After the transcriptions are complete the second stage is to read through the transcript

and identify the sections that are relevant to the search question(s). This is the process of

identifying the emerging themes (created as ‘nodes’ in NVivo). Based on this initial

reading, a classification system for major topics and issues is developed and material in

the transcript related to each topic is identified. Color-coded brackets or symbols may

be used to mark different topics within the text. The amount of material coded for any

one theme depends on the importance of that theme to the overall research question.

The coded material may be phrases, sentences, or long exchanges between interviewer

and interviewees (as identified in Stewart & Shamdasani, 1991). At this stage, the only

requirement is that the material be relevant to the particular category with which it has

been identified. This coding work may require several passes through the transcript as

categories of topics evolve and the researcher gains a greater insight into the content of

the data.

3.7. Problems in implementing the study design and their solutions The researcher experienced a number of challenges, obstacles, and difficulties in the

recruitment of business elite participants in order to collect data for her research project.

One of the challenges concern (conservative) attitudes toward Malay Muslim women.

Being a female Malay researcher who wears a head-scarf, the researcher experienced

specific challenges in conducting her research. She discovered that, in the case of Malay

Muslim businessmen, it was not deemed ‘appropriate’ to directly approach these


business elites. For the most part, she had to contact known business associates of these

elites in the hope that appointment could be set up through third parties. These were the

‘gatekeepers’; who were often the female personal assistants of these business elites.

The researcher was often required to get approval from multiple gatekeepers prior to

gaining direct contact with potential interviewees.

Another challenge that the researcher faced in getting an initial appointment was to

convince the participants of the value of their contribution to the study. It was necessary

to explain that, by providing the researcher with actual problems faced by these business

practitioners in the international scene, their contribution would benefit and further

enhance future business relations between Malaysians and Australians. In other words,

the researcher had to ‘package’ her research project so that it appeared relevant and non-

threatening to the industry, much in the way described by Yeafer & Kram (1995). She

found it effective to first share with these elite business people some information drawn

from academic literature on aspects of inter and cross-cultural business negotiations.

This strategy allowed the researcher to, at least indirectly; highlight her credibility as a

genuine researcher in the area. In most cases, this strategy eventually led to the

participants’ agreement. This strategy was necessary because, when first approached,

many potential participants quite naturally had concerns about the researcher’s status

and intentions. They also seemed reluctant to be interviewed. In several cases a first

appointment was granted, but the participant refused to be tape recorded. In such

situations, the researcher was allowed to write down notes whilst the interview was in

progress. There were also instances where information was not shared due to the

sensitivity of the topic being discussed. Participants were evidently unsure about the

security of their business negotiations; even though the letter of consent explicitly

guaranteed complete confidentiality (this was included in the attached information

letter).

The next significant challenge to the researcher in the data collection stage was in trying

to get the busy business elites’ time for an interview appointment; as well as a meeting

session time where the researcher was allowed to observe and record the proceedings.

This problem of accessibility was primarily due to their busy schedule. These

businessmen operate under demanding time constraints and are often difficult to reach.


In this research, it was felt that the researcher was ultimately able to get more

participation from her Malaysian subjects because of her Malaysian nationality.

However, initially, she did face some difficulties in trying to gain access to these

Malaysian businesspeople, many of whom could be categorised as ‘business elites’.

While trying to establish early contacts within the Malaysian business community, she

discovered that her interest in them was taken as an intrusion. As was later discovered,

these business people prefer to keep a low profile in the Malaysian community in

Western Australia. The initial few attempts to establish contact were not successful,

many had the impression that the researcher would probe into their wealth. Therefore,

the researcher had to be strategic in terms of gaining their trust and establishing rapport

with them, prior to requesting interviews with them. For example, the researcher

became involved in a number of social events with fellow Malaysian business people in

Perth. For instance, as a representative of the Malaysian Postgraduate Student

Association of Western Australia (MPGSAWA) the researcher attended festival events

such as the Malaysian Independence celebrations, and was a volunteer in the organising

committees. Similarly, the researcher also attended the Australian-Malaysian Business

Council (AMBC) conferences from 2003 to 2006. This allowed her to become familiar

with various business community members and make clear her intention for the study -

which was solely academic in nature. The feeling of trust that the Malaysian participants

have for the researcher is significant, without it there is no doubt that they would not be

willing to cooperate and allow the researcher to attend business meetings with their

Australian counterparts as an observer. This was not an easy mission for the researcher

as it was a very time consuming process.

The Malaysian participants were identified as business people who either owned a

business, or worked as business executives at either Malaysian or Australian companies

in Perth. The Malaysian government sector participants were Malaysian expatriates who

had been residing in Western Australia for a period of 3 to 4 years. Among the

Malaysian participants there were several experienced international businessmen who

regularly visit Perth seeking business opportunities (some also had children who are

studying in universities in Western Australia). These provided some valuable insights as

a number had undertaken business negotiations with other ‘Westerners’; most notably

Americans and British business people. Therefore, the researcher found their insights

particularly valuable as they were able to make comparisons between these native


speakers of English (Australian, American and British) in terms of their ways of doing

business with Malaysians.

The following section discusses the major frameworks and approaches used in the

analysis of this study.

3.8. Major frameworks and approaches

3.8.1 Marriott’s approach to discourse analysis

This present study will build on Marriott’s approach in studying and analysing the

management of discourse in real-life cross-cultural business negotiations. Marriott

draws on Ventola’s (1987) management of structural elements; Gardner’s (1987)

framework of topic development; and Neustupny’s (1985a; 1985b; 1988) model of

language management. Her integrative methodological approach, which has now moved

considerably from traditional conversation analysis, uses three perspectives: Ventola’s

function-topic or schema-oriented perspective, which is useful in analysing speech

events or encounters; Gardner’s management of topic model which demonstrates the

way in which interactants manage the flow of topic; and Neustupny’s model of

language management, which uses ‘the norm’ as a basis for a category of analysis

(Neustupny, in turn, talks about ‘norm-deviance’). This present research similarly

employs the three approaches above. However, the researcher has expanded this

methodology by incorporating the concept ‘strategies’. Strategies refer to the discursive

strengths of the participants in obtaining their objectives during the negotiation. The

details outlining the evolution of Marriott’s approach are as follows:

3.8.2 Management of structural elements (Ventola, 1987)

This analytic approach on cross-cultural studies, proposed by Ventola (1987) and

applied by Marriott (1995a; 1997) has been employed in this current study. This

approach examines the functions performed through talk and other non-verbal activities

in the data. By using this method of analysis, the researcher has identified several

linguistic and non-linguistic features. Firstly, these emerge from the speech activities

found within the interactions. Secondly, from the functions of the speech activities,

which are displayed in sequential form (examples of which are shown in appendices

1&2); and thirdly, the patterns of interaction through the features which constitute the

negotiation discourse of both Malaysian and Australian business interactants becomes

visible. For instance, Marriott (1995a) has identified some of the recurring structural


elements which became evident in one negotiation interaction which she attributed to

the cross-cultural difficulties of the foreign business interactant.

Marriott (1995a; 1997) uses structural elements to identify the speech functions

performed by linguistic realizations in business interactions. This study will also

employ a similar analytic approach as that of Marriott in order to identify both the

linguistic and non-linguistic features in the negotiation data of the Malaysian and

Australian business people. Marriott (1995a, p. 107) has identified fifteen structural

elements in her study of the negotiation between an Australian seller and a Japanese

buyer. The identified structural elements were: greeting, seating allocation,

introduction, display or inspect goods, seek information, proposal, support case, clarify

prior information, specify limited need, present and re-present goods, summarise prior

information, agreement, self-evaluation, maintain contact and closing. Marriott tables

the structural elements in the meeting in such a way that we are able to identify the

initiator of each new topic in the negotiation process. In this manner, Marriott is able to

get an overall picture of the flow of topic between the two business interactants. As a

result, Marriott provides a framework for the first stage of the topic development

analysis. This has to be established before we can come to any understanding of the

broad communicative strategies and patterns used by the participants in a cross-cultural

business meeting.

Marriott’s (1995a) data also provides some insights into the types of structural elements

that constitute negotiation discourse. Marriott categorises the speech acts performed by

the participants in their meeting, for example ‘seek information’, ‘clarify information’

and so forth (refer to the full list of structural elements above). In order for this to occur,

Marriott had to have an understanding of the overall context of the meeting. At the same

time, and in the course of this process, she unearths the ways in which the interactants

develop topics, and the underlying intentions and strategies of the speakers which

emerge in the flow of the discourse. This process is useful in that the researcher is able

to identify the miscommunication, mismatches, difficulties and state of confusion that

the participants are experiencing in the negotiation process. In adopting Marriott’s

analytic approach, this current study will examine the concealed, fine grained features

of discourse which emerge during the course of the negotiation interaction. Other

features that relate to the participants’ different communicative and cultural norms can

also be identified.


3.8.3. Topic development of spoken interaction (Gardner, 1987)

Marriott borrows and adapts Gardner’s (1987) analysis of topic development to

investigate the content of business negotiation interactions. This current study of the

negotiation interactions between Malaysian and Australian business people adopts

Marriott’s interpretation of Gardner’s topic development framework. This framework

will be used to uncover the intention of the interactants in the production of topics. The

methodology for this study also allows for the participants to provide, in post-meeting

interviews with the researcher, their own interpretation or evaluation of the topics as

they were presented during the course of the meeting(s).

A number of issues pertaining to topic management will be analysed, including topic

development; topic shift; topic change; topic reintroduction; and deviations in topic

development. The analysis will be taken from the data of audio recordings (all of which

were transcribed) and the follow-up interviews. For example, Marriott (1995a) has

examined how topic maintenance was achieved specifically through shading, a type of

topic shift, and occasionally through topic continuation or topic fading, an alternative

form of shift which leads to discontinuation of a topic (a fuller account of these,

including definitions, is set out in the Analysis).

3.8.4. Neustupny’s model of language management (Neustupny, 1985b; 1988)

This model focuses on what might be considered to be the ‘norm’ (the conventional and

accepted speech behaviour deriving from standard business practice in the ‘West’) as

the category of analysis and, in particular, investigates any deviations from the norm. It

is deviations that are evaluated and measured. Deviations can include adjustments,

which are enacted when there is a departure from set ways of speech interaction.

Adjustments are used in an attempt to cope with this situation of misunderstanding, and

(re)establish an adequate level of understanding. This model uses the approach of

productive, as well as evaluative or interpretative behaviour. The contribution of this

model is not only in the products of the interaction, but also the processes involved in

the interaction.

The following chapter is an analysis of the meeting data. The meetings are all business

communication meetings but of a different nature. They consist of, for instance, a

presentation, a meeting where a proposal for a collaborative effort is put forward, and

two seller-buyer meetings. Therefore, the analysis for each differs slightly according to


the nature and format of the meeting. The chapter also includes a thematic analysis of

the perception interviews conducted at the initial stage of the research.

3.8.5. The influence of deviance/miscommunication and/or strategies on topic

development

Topic development is a product of, or at least influenced by, the deviance and strategies

the speakers are implementing during the course of business discourse. In the business

meeting, the flow or development of topics is very much influenced by the deviance and

strategies which are performed by the participants. In other words, topic development is

shaped by the instances of deviance, and the strategies employed by the business

participants to realize their goals. For example, when deviance occurs, the speaker

might initiate a shift in topic in order to continue to communicate effectively. When a

speaker initiates a strategy, similarly this will signal an effect on the topic flow. Such

instances will be shown in the analysis to illustrate the process of how topics are

managed. In most of the interactive business meeting data (such as meetings 2, 3, and

4), the different types of topic movements, such as topic shift, topic change, topic

recycling, topic reintroduction, topic maintenance and topic continuation, were used by

the participants interchangeably and when deemed ‘appropriate’. The various types of

topic categories are characteristic of business communication and illustrate how

participants manage deviance when it occurs (as well as the strategies that they are

trying to accomplish). The following is a list of types of topic development along with

their respective definition (R. Gardner, 1987, pp. 138-139):

Topic introduction: takes place only once in any specific communication interaction. It

occurs at the point when the initial stages of greeting, identification and so forth have

concluded.

Topic continuation occurs when a speaker directly links his response to the

immediately preceding presupposition enacted by his interlocutor, followed by a

sequence of relevant adjacent exchanges.

Topic Shift takes place when a speaker does not directly link his response to the

preceding presupposition of his interlocutor. Instead, the speaker introduces a topic

which, although not directly relevant to the existing topic, does contain some relevance

in subject matter.


Topic Change is similar to Topic Introduction, except that topic change specifically

refers to the second or subsequent topics in the interaction. Topic Change must be a new

topic introduced by a speaker, which has no link to any previous exchanges of

discourse.

Topic Recycling: occurs when a topic which has been raised much earlier in the

discussion (but not fully developed) is reintroduced by the speaker, thereby ‘reviving an

aspect of the topic’ (cite source) again. It is important to note that Topic Recycling

occurs in the context of Topic Shift.

Topic Reintroduction is somewhat similar to Topic Recycling, whereby it refers to the

reinsertion into the discourse of a topic which has been raised, albeit one which has

been interrupted and subsequently dropped. Topic Reintroduction can also be equated to

Topic Change as it generally has no direct link (in terms of content or subject) to the

immediately preceding topic of discussion.

By relating the deviance and strategies to the topic movement, the business discourse of

the participants will be better understood, and the objectives that both the Malaysian and

Australian participants are trying to achieve will become much clearer. This analysis,

therefore, will uncover the significant role that deviance, strategies and topic

development plays in the overall effective business communication, particularly in its

cross-cultural context.

3.8.6. Summary: How strategies influence topic development

As outlined in Chapter 2, Research Methodology, Gardner’s (1985) framework of topic

development, consists of two broad categories maintenance (topic continuation, topic

shift and topic recycling) and change (topic reintroduction and full-blown change). In

narrower terms, topic development is shaped by the strategies employed by the business

participants to realize their goals. During meeting 2, it was discovered that the

Australian participants were more active than the Malaysian in the production of topics.

The Australians initiated 24 out of the total 30 topics which made up the business

discourse; that is, 80% of the topics during the entire negotiating process. Out of the 30

identified topics, there were 4 topic changes and 26 topic shifts. Overall, the

Australians’ controlled the flow of the meeting, generating 3 of the topic changes (only


one was derived from the Malaysian) and 21 of the topic shifts (the Malaysian initiated

only 5 topic shifts). One of the ways the Australians steered the meeting was to produce

consecutive topic shifts which were not influenced by the Malaysian participant (refer to

topic development chart meeting 2). The Australian initiated and continued with at least

five topic shifts consecutively and without interruption from the Malaysia. They

dominated the discussion in order to develop a point which is critical to their objective.

The Malaysian plays a more passive part in the negotiation process.

Category of topic

Australian

Malaysian

Total

Topic changes 3 1 4

Topic shifts 21 5 26

Topic recycling 4 3 7

Table 4. Categories of topic and the comparative production by participants

In this meeting, the researcher was able to identify the strategies set by the interested

parties. To a certain degree, these strategies influenced the flow or development of

topics throughout the business interactions. It is clear that the Australian participants

involved controlled the flow of discussion through the management of topics in their

discourse. The management of these topics was brought into the business discussion as

episodes or segments, which, overall, contribute to the strength of their presentation and

to ensure that they eventually lead to achieve a positive outcome. Delivering a sequence

of topics in a specific order, such that they build on each other in a ripple effect, can, not

only contribute to, but also strengthens, the overall strategy. One topic does not deliver

a strategy. For example, the Australian managers, when initiating the meeting, have

already in mind a strategy which focuses on building a relationship. Their purpose is to

work towards collaborating efforts between the Malaysian in-bound tour manager, and

their own company, Transit-tour. Therefore, the Australian Managers more frequently

engaged in topic shift (see Table 6 above). In contrast, the Malaysian manager was less

active overall in the development of topic shift; instead, he tended to contribute towards

the maintenance of topics.

One of the ways for participants to maintain the focus discussion in the framework of

topic development is to employ the use of topic shifts. Topic shift usually involves

shading and fading, where participants display their discussion of a certain topic by

logically expanding a domain of the prior topic and slowly moving away from it and

bringing it to a conclusion before starting another topic.


3.8.7. Conclusion

In conclusion, the following chapter is an analysis of the meeting data. The meetings are

all business communication meetings but of a different nature. They consist of, for

instance, a presentation, a meeting where a proposal for a collaborative effort is put

forward, and two seller-buyer meetings. Therefore, the analysis for each differs slightly

according to the nature and format of the meeting. The chapter also includes a thematic

analysis of the perception interviews conducted at the initial stage of the research.

The following chapter therefore, examines the instances of both deviance and strategies

performed by Malaysian and Australian business participants in the four business

meeting discourse. The analysis from the four business meetings will answer the three

guiding questions which direct the thesis. The objective of the analysis is to see how

deviance and strategies contribute to, or hinder, effective communication in the

Malaysian-Australian business context. The focus of the analysis is firstly to identify

instances of miscommunication and deviance; followed by identifying the strategies

employed by the participants during the course of each of the four meetings.

However, there are differences in the approach. This will be based on the type of

business meetings, whether it is highly interactive such as the business negotiation

meetings [meetings 3 and 4] or just presentation of products [meetings 1 and 2]. The

follow-up interview of participants was found to be necessary for low interactive

meetings as the researcher had to draw some information from the participants whose

spoken discourse did not show the intended meaning. Therefore, follow-up interviews

have to be conducted to get further clarifications of the ambiguous situations during the

presentation and discussions.

Chapter 4 – Analysis and Interpretation 111

Chapter Four

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

4.1. Introduction

This chapter examines four business negotiation meetings as well as the perception and

post-interview data. The analysis will answer the three guiding questions which direct

the thesis (see section 4.4). It examines the instances of miscommunications, deviances

and strategies performed by Malaysian and Australian business participants in their

business meeting discourse. The aim is to analyse how miscommunications, deviances

and strategies contribute to, or hinder, effective communication in the Malaysian-

Australian business context. Therefore, this analysis will focus, first, on the instances of

miscommunications, deviances and secondly, on the instances of strategies of the

participants during the course of each of the four meetings. Some sections will have the

dialogues highlighted in bold to show the emphasis on the content in discussion. From

this, some overall conclusions will be made. Finally, the analysis will also include an

investigation of the way in which miscommunications, deviances and strategies

influence the flow of topic development in the course of the business meetings.

4.2. The approach for identifying miscommunication or deviances

In order to identify the instances of miscommunication, deviance in the data, the

researcher will first categorize the structural elements present in the discourse through

an analysis of the content of the discourse. The next step is to identify the discord

dissonance (i.e. miscommunication) through the flow of discourse by the participants

and, thirdly, to identify the way the movement of topics reveals the miscommunication,

deviance that has occurred. This allows the researcher to closely examine the process of

interaction, where the two participants may encounter miscommunication and

misunderstanding during the business meeting or, alternatively, in the case of

‘strategies’ the participants manage the discourse as a means to obtain their goals or

objectives, where using Gardner’s ( 1987) schema for analysing topic development in

spoken interaction, this chapter will also analyse the influence of miscommunication on

the movement of topics when it occurs during business negotiation meetings. This

perspective focuses on the content of the business negotiation meeting. Specifically, a

number of aspects pertaining to topic management could be affected, including topic


shift; topic change; and topic reintroduction. The aim here is to examine the relationship

between miscommunication (and strategies) and the flow or development of topic. In

order to achieve intercultural competence and effective cross-cultural communication,

one must be aware of the underlying dynamic of miscommunication or deviance, as

well as being able to manage the flow of topic in a negotiation discourse. The results of

this analysis will show the actual process of interaction which is happening. This will

reveal when there is an instance of miscommunication or deviance, what the speaker is

doing with regards to the function of his speech, and the development of topic.

4.3. The approach for identifying strategies for successful communication

A strategy is a progression of discourse which underpins the ‘tactical patterns or

sequences created by negotiators‘ ‘moves’ or ‘acts’ ‘ (Putnam, 1985, p. 228) towards

achieving a goal. In this study, both the Malaysian and Australian participants use a

sequence or varieties of ways as strategies to achieve their intentions or objective. These

strategies are displayed through their discourse in each business meeting.

The analysis of strategies will begin by identifying the overall structure of the meeting

through the speech functions being performed by the participants. Speech functions can

be defined as ‘the functions performed [by speakers] through the talk and other non-

verbal activities in the data’ (Marriott, 1997, p. 107). The sequence of these speech

functions will be used to indicate the overall structure of the meeting. The selection of

speech functions used by the participants forms the discursive moves, which then,

characterizes the objectives or intentions of the participants. For example, the structure

of meeting 1 is characterized as business presentation, building rapport or relationship,

selling, and promoting self-credibility. By isolating speech functions the researcher is

able to discern the broad intention of the speaker and recognize the strategies they are

utilizing to achieve their desired outcome.

Strategies are important as business participants bring them to, or employ them within,

cross-cultural negotiations in order to enhance effective business communication22, and

contribute to one’s intercultural competency. In this study, intercultural competency

refers to one’s ability to strategise when communicating and negotiating with the

22 However, despite the fact that strategies are intended to achieve more effective communication, this is not always the outcome. If the business counterpart doesn’t accommodate those strategies or is not receptive to them, then the intended outcome may not be realized.


counterpart in a discussion. Knowing how to strategise in an intercultural situation is a

skill in itself. However, in the Malaysian-Australian context, strategies are not direct but

are weaved within the business discourse.

The researcher will analyse the topic development, or flow of topic, in meetings 2, 3,

and 4 (but not for meeting 1) because there was an active involvement of participants in

the exchange of discourse. These meetings were highly interactive in nature. The

exchange in responses indicates that there were discussions which involve various

topics of interest to both participants. Meeting 1, however, had a different approach

because it is a presentation. The presentation was dominated by the Malaysian

participant and the Australian client was taking a more passive role as a listener. There

was minimal interaction between them. Because of the low-level of interaction in the

discourse it was not deemed suitable for an analysis of topic management.

4.4. Analysis

The main research question is the overarching question which is the main focus of the

thesis (see chapter 3) and the second order questions are the following 3 guiding

questions which are the steps that need to be taken in order to answer the main or

central question. The analysis in this chapter therefore, will be presented in response to

the following guiding questions:

Question 1: In the Malaysian-Australian business encounters, what are the discursive

indicators of both miscommunication (deviance) and effective cross-cultural

communication (strategies)?

Question 2: How is topic development influenced by the instances of miscommunication

(deviance) and intercultural competences (strategies) of the speaker?

Question 3: What do Malaysian and Australian business participants say about the

problems that they encounter?

4.5. Analysis of meeting 1 and 2

Meeting 1 and Meeting 2 are business communication meetings (focussing on

negotiation). Both meetings are similar in their format or structure in that one party –

the interested party – is endeavouring to persuade the other to participate in a future

business relationship. The interested party, therefore, is the dominant party in the

interaction; trying to convince the other of the benefits of their products or services.


Both meetings, therefore, exhibit relatively low levels of interactions, as they, for the

most part, take the form of a presentation. Meeting 1, for instance, focuses on a

(Malaysian) representative of a large financial institution, engaging in the presentation

of a new financial product to an established and reputable senior (Australian) financial

broker; whilst meeting 2 involves two Australian representatives of a Queensland based

tour company, attempting to convince a successful WA-based to expand the Asian

tourist market.

The analysis will draw on the discourse generated during the actual business meetings

to identify instances of miscommunication and strategies. Based on this data, the

researcher will also utilize the follow-up interviews which were individually conducted

with the participants (see Chapter 3, Research Methodology for full description). These

are a useful source of information to make sense of the data, especially those subtle

insights which can easily be missed by the researcher during the meeting. The feedback

from the participants recorded during the follow-up interviews, therefore, allows for a

better evaluation of the non-verbal behaviour and discourse occurring during the

interaction.

4.6. Meeting 1 (Presentation Meeting)

4.6.1. Introduction

Meeting 1 will be analysed according to the following structure:

An explanation of the context of meeting;

An outline of the structure of meeting;

An analysis of identified instances of miscommunication occurring during the meeting

(this will be presented in four sections - firstly, an analysis of the particular instance that

caused the miscommunication; second, the presentation of excerpts from the actual

meeting data; third, an analysis of the participants’ claims drawn from the follow-up

interview data; and finally, the researcher’s own interpretation); and the analysis on

strategies identified in the meeting (by Malaysian participant).

In this meeting, there were five categories of miscommunication identified. These are

informality, ethics, building rapport, behaviour and non-verbal cues. It is important to

note that transcripts from the NNS’s data consisted of discourse which does not follow

the target language of Standard English. In this study, the referred NNSs are the


Malaysian business participants23. This has been mentioned because the excerpts have

been transcribed in such a manner which precisely captures the distinctiveness of the

NNS participants’ speech.

4.6.2. The context of meeting 1

The data for meeting 1 has been taken from an initial product presentation meeting

between a female Malaysian Financial Manager24, Ms Aiman, (who represents a large

Australian financial institution in Perth, WA) and an experienced, Australian25 male

independent financial broker agent, named Mr Edwards. The business interaction was

recorded on both videotape and audiotape, and both participants were met for follow-up

interviews within two weeks of the recording of the initial meeting. All follow-up

interviews carried out by the researcher on the participants were done with each

individual participant separately. Based on transcripts of the recorded data, the

researcher asked questions which led to responses from the participants about their

personal views on segments of the interaction.

The dyadic interaction (i.e. the actual business meeting) was one hour in length, and

took place at the Australian financial broker’s office. The interaction was initiated by

the Malaysian Financial Relationship Manager, Ms Aiman, who telephoned Mr

Edwards to arrange a meeting to discuss the possibility of either selling or

recommending her company’s new financial product to his clients. Ms Aiman had been

a Perth resident for almost four years at the time, and she had obtained her degree in

Finance from a university in the United States. Ms Aiman has been a financial broker,

both as an employee and as an independent agent, in Malaysia and Australia for over ten

years.

Mr Edwards, on the other hand, has been in the industry for more than twenty-five

years, and is considered to be an established, reputable and independent businessman

among fellow brokers in Western Australia (WA). His experience with particularly

Malaysian business clientele, however, has been minimal. Both participants, however,

have known each other through social meetings before the appointment; this is why Mr

Edwards felt obligated to agree to the meeting with Ms Aiman (this was mentioned in

his follow-up interview with the researcher). Generally, Mr Edwards only responds to

information relating to commercial properties, which is an aspect not covered in Ms 23 This applies to all the four meeting data in the Malaysian business participants’ discourse. 24 The official job title for Ms Aiman is ‘Financial Relationship Manager’. 25 All names of business participants and companies are pseudonyms.


Aiman’s financial product. Throughout the meeting, however, he apparently remained

focused and looked serious and attentive. He knew, after half an hour that he was not

interested in the plan, but stayed on to be polite. She was not aware of this situation.

The Malaysian participant, Ms Aiman is young, confident and very fluent in her spoken

English. She is currently working as a ‘Financial Relationship Manager’ in a financial

institution in Western Australia. She is now a Permanent Resident (PR) of Australia.

She claims to have adapted to the ‘Australian business meeting style’ and arrives at the

meeting with muffins for her clients. She appeared to be very relaxed in her manner.

She shared a few important tips during the follow-up interview about how to ‘handle’

Australian clients. One of these is to be able to understand the Australian sense of

humour and some common idiomatic phrases and colloquial language. She was very

relaxed during the meeting session, in contrast to the Australian participant who was

outwardly serious in his appearance.

Immediately after the meeting, Ms Aiman felt relatively confident that she could sell her

financial product (plan) to her Australian client. However, at the same time, she also

mentioned in the follow-up interview that she had a slight suspicion that Mr Edwards

was perhaps not overly interested, but she remained optimistic nevertheless. According

to Ms Aiman, the Australian client did not completely respond as she was expecting.

Even though he was very attentive, his body language, facial expression and passive

demeanour – especially at those critical points where Ms Aiman expected some form of

interaction - suggested he was being non-committal. Ms Aiman continued

enthusiastically with her presentation, however, and tried to conclude without taking

notice of his potentially disinterested manner.

The Australian client found out early that the company Ms Aiman represents does not

cover commercial properties, which he clearly had an interest in at the outset of the

meeting. From the follow-up interview, it became clear that the Australian broker was

not interested in the product presented to him, because, he concluded, that the

Malaysian manager ‘has no niche’ for her product in the market.

4.6.3. Analysis of structure of meeting 1

Meeting 1 was a meeting initiated by Ms Aiman with the objective of trying to convince

Mr Edwards to on-sell her product to his clients. Due to Mr Edwards’ twenty five years


of experience in the industry, she decided not to focus on the detailed features of her

financial product. Rather, she decided to use the meeting to focus on specific features

of miscommunication, for instance, Ms Aiman stated that ‘I’m not gonna go into…er

dwell into all those technical…you know, all the nitty-gritty stuff. I’m just gonna go in

[to the] basic stuff because the rest of it you probably can figure it out yourself, okay?’

Ms Aiman’s primary intention, in fact, was to lay the groundwork for a future business

relationship with Mr Edwards, rather than too immediately close a deal on the financial

plan then and there. Accordingly, for this meeting, Ms Aiman decided to structure the

presentation in a specific way. Her presentation emphasized three aspects:

Building rapport / relationship

Selected selling points to convince

Building self credibility

The above aspects shaped the overall structure of the presentation. They were identified

by the researcher from the sequence of structural elements which illustrate the speech

acts of the participants during the meeting (see sample of structural elements in

Appendices 1 and 2 [referring to business meetings 2 and 3]; as well as an explanation

in chapter 2). These distinguishing features of the negotiation meeting listed above are

derived from the following structural elements: seek information, clarify prior

information, presentation of product, seek credibility, business strategy, selling product,

selling point, target market, and clarify information and evaluation. Many of these

speech functions reflect the speaker’s intention during the negotiation26.

26 The use of structural elements as an analytical unit of study - introduced by Ventola (1983a, 1983b, 1987) and later Marriott (1995, 1997) - has been used to describe the ‘speech functions’ performed by the participants in the meeting. Overall, the perspective of the analysis focuses on the content of the business negotiation meeting. From the structural elements sequence in the meeting, produced by the respective business participants, the researcher was able to identify the different purposes of each meeting, so that they can be classified as, for instance ‘presentation’, ‘seller-buyer’, ‘negotiation meeting’ or ‘joint-venture’. The strategies and approaches can easily be made more explicit and the pattern of discourse, including building rapport, negotiation and marketing product, for instance, will emerge. The speech functions that were introduced during the discussion can, therefore, be thematically grouped.


4.6.4. Analysis of themes in Meeting 1 Data:

Miscommunications identified in business meeting 1

4.6.4.1. Theme 1: informality

4.6.4.1 Analysis:

The attitudes and understandings surrounding the concept of ‘informality’, emerging

from the interaction, were clearly divergent between Ms Aiman and Mr Edwards. Ms

Aiman came to the meeting with a preconceived understanding of what constitutes

informality, and how it should be used successfully in business interactions with her

Australian counterparts. For instance, in the actual meeting Ms Aiman did the

following: she brought muffins to the meeting, there were instances of light-hearted

banter which she initiated, and she used some colloquial language. With this sort of

behaviour, she claimed that she was adopting the ‘Australian-like’ informal way of

negotiating in business meetings. Ms Aiman acknowledged that she has to be in control

of not being ‘too serious’ when trying to be informal. Ms Aiman thus took a stand when

she claimed that her approach was most effective with Australians when she was able to

create a more relaxed environment.

4.6.4.2. Banter

4.6.4.2.1. Excerpts from meeting data:

M. /Okay?,/ (.) ↑Anyway (.) U:m how many- how much time do you have for me today? (.) I might actually just probably close the doors, A: Mh:m M: It's a little bit more ↑private. /((sound of door closing))/ A: /Ye:a:p./ As long as e:r I'm off by about four o'clock I'll be okay. M: Four o'clock? A: Mhm. M: Or else you will fall asleep?, (.) /((laughs))/ A: /O:h/ w- it'd be funny if I fall asleep before then! M: O:h God! /hopefully not./ A: /((laughs))/ M: Okay. .hh now. Um (.) what we're gonna do today is that er because you've been writing for quite a while, right?, yeah, you're not like one of those (.) fresh burgers27. I'm not gonna (.) er go: i:n, er dwell into all those technical (.) you know?, all the nitty gritty stuff?, A: Mhm hum. 4.6.4.2.2. Analysis:

27 This word is actually ‘broker’ however the pronunciation sounds like ‘burger’ and was transcribed as such.


Clearly, Ms Aiman used this opportunity, early in the meeting, to introduce some light

heartedness into the exchange as a means to create a more relaxed atmosphere, and to

try to re-establish a sense of familiarity with Mr Edwards in recognition of their prior

contact. This comment, in fact, typifies the Australian style of humour, which displays

irony and self-deprecation. By inferring that Mr Edwards might ‘fall asleep’, she is

inferring, jokingly, that her presentation might in fact be quite boring. Whether or not

Ms Aiman realizes this, she is still attempting to establish a sense of closeness and

acceptance to Mr Edwards through humour.

4.6.4.3. Colloquial Language

4.6.4.3.1. Excerpts from meeting data. M: Okay? When I say right type of client?, We: take main income, we don't take those bits. E:r. Family allowance, child maintenance, um, student allowance, and all those other /types of allowance./ A: /I don't play with that./ M; Ah, great. A; That's case /studies./ M: /A:h!/ You're my guy!* A: Well I don't play with /that./ M: /Yeah./ hh- we don't play with that either. You're my guy, John! Okay? So, what we're also wanting that you have to ↑remember, if- if the- your customer e:r pays off all his credit card at the end of every month, so pays in full , you don't need to include that in serviceability. /You/ A: /Mhm./ * Transcripts in bold (in all excerpts) indicate emphasis to the subject matter in discussion. 4.6.4.3.2. Analysis: Ms Aiman here attempts to use colloquial language to express her approval of Mr

Edward’s attitude to a particular business practice, and to acknowledge that there is a

match in the approach they have towards their clients. In the follow-up interview, Ms

Aiman was asked to relate some of the ways or approaches that she would use to adapt

herself to be more ‘Australian like’ .

4.6.4.3.3. Excerpt from follow-up interview: M: Ahm…I’d say try to act like they do, I guess. I guess first and foremost if you can

probably hear, sometimes I do have that Australian twang there, it is not conscious, I guess it’s just there because when you talk to them, I don’t know, I am that person when I’m in America, all of a sudden the ‘r’ the ‘water’ and ‘swallow’ and all that just comes into play, when I’m in America, I tend to do that. And when


I’m in Malaysia, if I’m in Trengganu, then I have that Trengganu slang [the dialectal], yeah the dialect. If I’m in Perak, I’ll say something else.

4.6.4.4. Muffins

4.6.4.4.1. Analysis: Ms Aiman brought to the meeting a basket of muffins which she had bought at a bakery

especially for the occasion. They were for Mr Edwards – so that he would remain

focused and comfortable during the meeting - and were available to be consumed during

the meeting. This can be interpreted as a non-verbal form of communication in which

Ms Aiman is purposefully endeavoring to create, in a peculiarly Australian way, an

atmosphere of informality. She also wanted to show Mr Edwards she was prepared to

outlay some money and make him feel comfortable during the meeting. In the follow-up

interview, Ms Aiman highlighted some of the reasons why she brought the muffins to

the meeting. She explicitly stated that this is a hospitable practice which does not

regularly occur in Malaysia.

4.6.4.4.2. Excerpts from follow-up interview:

I: You, you’re so comfortable you know that you wouldn’t mind to bring the snacks and some snacks…whatever.

M: Ahm…because only because I know they would welcome it and also when I was a broker last time, we like it, like there was this one lender we had to go to their place, when we go there, there were breaks between training and they will serve us coffee and give us muffins. So I said, I like it that we get to eat, we do not want to learn anything on empty stomach and then it actually goes to my advantage too, if I show that ‘Look if I don’t mind spending money, ah….just on muffins just costs a couple of dollars and then he can have it, because a lot of brokers, mind you they work long hours. They sometimes miss breakfast or lunch, right, that was in the morning. So if let’s say, he missed his breakfast he would be hungry and it is not polite or it is a bit embarrassing if you start listening to the ramble of your stomach. It’s embarrassing right, whether it is for me or for him. So what I do is , have that muffin, they can opt to have there and then [through experience] or after that , yes. Introducing that muffin means that ‘Look this is not formal because formal always means there’s no ….(?), again as I said, no matter how formal it is, whenever you go to any office, they would ask you whether you want tea, coffee or water, right, which tell you the truth I’ve never ever had that offered to me when I was in Malaysia, I go to scores of offices in KL and ahm…never had coffee or tea offered, right. Maybe now they are different but over here that will be one of the first few things that they offered. So, because you are a guest. So to me I’m just giving that reciprocity to have the muffins.

4.6.4.4.3. Analysis from follow-up interviews: Ms Aiman

According to Ms Aiman, in a cross-cultural encounters such as in the context of

Malaysian and Australian business meetings, Malaysians find that it would be advisable


to adapt to the ‘Australian style’ which, in essence, is to be more informal in their

business approach. For instance:

4.6.4.4.3.1. Excerpts from follow-up interview:

M: Ahm…I guess it’s just more so not to say changing my way but adapting my way to be Australian. And then I, I see there’s a difference, changing is like rather than I choose this way and I choose that way, I’m replacing the way. Now, what I’m just doing is to, to I guess adapting is more so ahm… shifting a little bit of those aspects, for example, if I, I still remember that in Malaysia protocol really, really matters like you know, you talk to a big MD, the protocol is there and you know [the way you address them…] the way you address them and everything. Over here [Australia] is more casual, so you change. But that doesn’t mean you don’t respect them, you still have that respect.

And:

M: Well, I am not sure if I can say that and generalize to all Australians, but as far as the brokers that I’ve come in contact with, yes. More often than not, they are the type that will relate to me better, if we be a bit more informal.

: ….. I mean it would be different if let’s say, if I’ve met him for the very first time, I’ll be a bit more formal in probably the first 10 to 15 minutes and then after that I just adjust myself to the way they respond. You can see the way they respond, they’re very laidback, you straight away become like that. So what people say ‘if you’re in Rome do then do what the Romans do’? 4.6.4.4.4. Analysis from follow-up interview: Mr. Edwards

This view was similar to Mr Edwards, to some extent, as he also thinks that Australians

are quite informal in their approach to business meetings. However, this informality, in

a cross-cultural context, only emerges as a result of Australians’ cultural insensitivity.

Mr Edwards observed that Ms Aiman was not convincing in her attempt to adapt to the

‘Australian style’ of informality, but rather, seemed ‘careful in her approach on things

and that she paid attention to detail’. Therefore, he referred to her as being ‘methodical

in her approach [so] as not to create any wrong atmosphere’. The contrasting views

from both Ms Aiman and Mr Edwards are illustrated in the following section.


A: We’ll, probably:/ the um (...) the Australian is probably a less formal approach.

I: Okay. Yeah, yeah. I noticed that. Yeah, alright. /Mhm./ A: /It's/ less formal because er (.) you’re not er you're not s- probably

so sensitive as to dealing er with the cultural difference. I: Yeah. Yea:h. /Alright./ A: /E:r/ so, you know, your approach is probably a bit more methodical,


you've researched it, .hh erm you're anxious not to um create any wrong atmospheres, /or you/

I: /Mhm hum./ A: She want to get the attention to detail correctly. .hh Er so it’s

probably a little bit more attention to detail, and (.) in that respect.

4.6.4.5. Researcher’s interpretation of miscommunication that occurs

There appeared to be contradicting views, Mr Edwards observed that Ms Aiman’s focus

or attention to details shows that she was more ‘methodical’ in her approach which,

ironically, indicates ‘being formal’. However, Ms Aiman on the other hand,

consciously tried to be more informal and relaxed when she joked around with Mr

Edwards and served muffins at the start of the meeting. Ms Aiman did employ a rather

‘mixed-style’, which demonstrates her cross-cultural difficulty or discomforts as a

presenter in the meeting. This also indicated her uncertainty of the most appropriate

style to deal with her Australian clientele.

During the meeting, Ms Aiman adopted what she perceived as an Australian approach

or manner of doing things. She was being informal and relaxed. This, however, was

‘unauthentic and unconvincing’ to a native speaker like Mr Edwards. Ms Aiman was

very confident that she could convince Mr Edwards of her financial plan through

projecting an informal, ‘Australian-like’ style. Mr Edwards on the other hand, was not

convinced by this. This is an instance of deviance which shows the conflicting

perception of both participants regarding the manner of doing things in a meeting.

4.6.5. Theme 2: Ethics

4.6.5.1. Analysis of the meeting data: ‘Conflict of interest’

The issue of ethics came about in the meeting when both participants were discussing

the topic of documents dealing with loan contracts. In particular, those documents

relating to customers’ loan contract prior to the loan submission. Ms Aiman stressed

that, when customers are faced with difficulties in understanding the content of the

contract, these difficulties should be handled by the broker. Mr Edwards, on the other

hand, disagreed with Ms Aiman’s view. He pointed out that such an act or procedure is

‘unethical’ in practice, as such action would violate the established legal procedure and,

by doing it, would be considered to be a ‘conflict of interest’ and therefore unethical.

Mr Edwards seriously affirmed that financial brokers should not take part or get

themselves involved in ‘witnessing or explaining documentation to clients’ who did not


understand the contract. These clients should be referred to another legal body, one

which is authorized to carry out this task.

Mr Edwards argues that the practice of loan contracts being managed by financial

brokers was unethical for two reasons. Firstly, because financial brokers do not have the

‘authorization’ to do so; and secondly, the practice has led financial brokers to charge

their clients for the service. This latter consequence – the charging of fees to clients for

advice – is something which Mr Edwards feels is particularly inappropriate in the

industry. Ms Aiman, however, could only agree with Mr Edwards to a limited extent.

She has a different understanding of the practice. She feels that it is justifiable for

financial brokers to manage their clients’ loan contracts and accept fees for this service.

She therefore suggests that the practice is ‘ethical’ in itself, yet she still has some

reservations about it. The following excerpts from the meeting data exemplify the

contrasting perceptions towards the ethics of financial broker procedures. The first

excerpt illustrates the point at which a divergence in opinion became evident:

4.6.5.2. Excerpts from the meeting data

M: let's say, for certain customers, .hh you know how certain customers will come back to you with a loan contract and say, ‘can you explain this, because it is all mumbo jumbo to me?’. .hh if you feel that it is better for you to actually receive the contract and go see your ↑custome:r. Let me know and er- before you submit that loan (.) then I will then arrange for the contract to be sent to you instead. A: Yea:h. I try and avoid that wherever possible. M: ((laughs)) A: Becau:se ethically e:r, you can record this or not, M: Yeah, that's alright. A: and then I bel- well I believe ethically, there is a conflict of /interest (.)/ M: /Oh. Conflict of interest,/ exactly. A: between finance brokers witnessing er o:r explaining documentation to /clients/ M: /Yeas./ A: and I prefer not to be involved. M: Yeah. (.) E:r if, I mean I (.) really complement you on that one. Personally .hh I: feel the same way too, plus we're not the best person to actually explain it. Be- er- as a broker we're not, because we have the incentive to tell them, this is it, because we are the ones who arrange the loan in the first place. .hh I understand that. But, because er there there is no legislation to bar that from happening here, especially in ↑WA. .hh Erm, like I said, certain brokers, they do have that (.) /erm-/ And:

A: /Well/ you have a tendency to gloss over everything because you see so many of them, you know what it's all about, you've set it up that way, .hh /so/ M: /Yeah./


A: you say, ‘Look. Okay. Sign this, sign this.’ And half of the time, most of your clients /if-/ M: /Don't-/ don't even /bother/ A: /They/ don't even query /anything./ M: /I know,/ they just sign. 4.6.5.3. Analysis: The above excerpts show that ethical behavior in the context of broker business,

according to Mr Edwards, is to be able to deliver a service without receiving or taking

any monetary benefits. He asserts that brokers undertake jobs for their clients by putting

aside the personal benefits they are going to receive, and should prioritize their loyalty

to the client. Mr Edwards claims that if ethics are not given significance the industry

will become disreputable. He therefore implied, during the meeting to the Malaysian

manager, his attitude towards the issue of ethics which, to some extent, she showed

disagreement. The focus of ethical issue in discussion was based on a more technical

matter with regards to the signing of legal contract for a loan. Ms Aiman’s view

becomes clearer in the course of the follow-up interview and will be discussed

momentarily:

4.6.5.4. Analysis from the follow-up interviews: Ms Aiman

4.6.5.4.1. Excerpts from follow-up interview: M: So, so among those features and service that I can provide him, I mentioned that if he wants

to, you see when a broker… typically again, this is a technical background ya, ahm…..when a broker sent in an application, we assessed it and we approved it, so once the loan approved, the bank will send what we call a loan representation to the borrower, his client. The client needs to sign it and send it back to us and then after that, money changes hands, the client has his or her loan. So the part that I was saying is that by right not to say by right, the standard in the industry is this, one the lender sends in the loan documentation, it is sent to the borrower directly, the borrower looks at it, sign it, but there’s a contract, a legal contract with a lot of legal technical terms, right [Right, mm]. So different states have different legislation. Just for your info Western Australia has the most rules and regulations as far as broking is concerned, ok. So what happens is this, ahm…. it is still permissible for the lender or the bank to send the documents to the broker and then broker bring it to the client and then broker explain the terms of it. It is legitimate, it is legal, there is no regulation which says that you can’t do that. It’s just that there are some schools of thought which argued that ‘Look if a broker brings a loan documentation to the client and say just sign here or this, and the client asks ‘What does this sentence mean?’, and then the broker explained it, there might be a conflict of interest there. Why? Because the broker is the one who arrange the loan, so let’s say, the broker arrange the loan, it is perceived sometimes that it there maybe conflict of interest when the broker is also explaining the legality of the document and the technical terms within it because the broker tend to gain something out of the client signing the contract, right,


because the broker gets paid by the bank, right. [Right] So, so some school of thoughts, they would say that those loan documentations, if they need any help, they should go to an objective party, like the lender or somebody else, ok. Some states which is not Western Australia, some lenders which is not AMP banking, stipulate that, ‘Ok, if there is a loan documentation, a broker cannot preside over that and sign.

M: But technically or legally I can charge you if I want to, but I feel morally I shouldn’t be doing that. That is what he’s trying to say, he is ethical, he wants to… because different workers have different, different stand on that matter.

4.6.5.4.2. Analysis: Malaysian and Australian differ in understanding Clearly, Ms Aiman has a different understanding of the notion of being ‘ethical’ in the

industry. What is claimed to be unethical to the Australian may in fact be ethical to her.

Although she suggests such behaviour may in fact be ‘ethical’, she concedes that it may

be considered ‘immoral’ in terms of a personal decision to take. She highlighted this

clearly in the follow-up interview, even going so far as to illustrate the situation with an

example.


M: Ok, right. Aaa .….now, how do I clarify this? You have to understand there is a bit of a technical background with that; it’s just both myself and Edwards was on the same page and I know what exactly what he meant. You see, he’s called a finance manager, a loan consultant, a finance broker or a mortgage broker, you see or mortgage writer what have you, it’s all of the above.[Alright] But the term regularly used in trying to explain his job is mortgage broker, so the word ‘broker’ has been I guess, abused so many times, it has its negative connotations [connotations, yeah]. At the moment, this has started few years back, that there are scandals in the broking industry whereby there are some unethical brokers who did some unethical things, right. What he’s trying to say is not to say ‘Look Aiman I’ve no part in this but it’s more so trying to make a statement that ‘Look, I am an ethical person’, right. But when he said that, that particular statement, I remember this that is more of what we call a moral rather than an ethical. To me that is how I decipher because we were talking specifically unless I’m wrong;

M: So, so some school of thoughts, they would say that those loan documentations, if they need

any help, they should go to an objective party, like the lender or somebody else, ok. Some states which is not Western Australia, some lenders which is not AMP banking, stipulate that, ‘Ok, if there is a loan documentation, a broker cannot preside over that and sign. But Company X has no problems with that because we have sought our legal opinion, here shouldn’t be any perceived conflict of interest. If there is, it’s just a moral one, you know, it’s just a moral one. [Ok] For example, like for example, you are having me as a what you call a study object for your paper, right. And I offer my time to you free of charge and I feel because I like to do this. Ahm…if I ask you to pay me, let’s say $20 an hour for my time sitting with you? Is that legal? That is legal. Is that ethical? May be not. Is that moral, absolutely not because I shouldn’t be gaining. To me, I feel I shouldn’t be gaining a profit because I’m giving my time. But technically or legally I can charge you if I want to, but I feel morally I shouldn’t be doing that. That is what he’s trying to say, he is ethical, he wants to… because different workers have different, different stand on that matter.


4.6.5.5. Researcher’s interpretation of miscommunication

The understanding of the concept of ethics between Mr Edwards and Ms Aiman can be

understood as miscommunication because they have different views about what is

‘ethical’ in business. Although they are both from the same (finance) industry, they

conceptualize ethics - or what is ethical behavior - differently. Mr Edwards understands

ethics to be in this context, as not to charge the service rendered to customers or clients

because it is their duty to deliver the service for them without charging an additional

fee. Brokers need to be ‘loyal’ to their clients. Ms Aiman, however, sees that if a broker

wants to render a service and charge an additional fee then legally it is permitted and,

therefore, it’s not unethical. She further explained that in a similar context, one may

rightly be of the opinion that charging a fee for this type of service that is expected to be

delivered could easily be considered immoral. It is ‘immoral’ because it is dependent on

the individual’s conscience rather than being based on company guidelines.

At the core of the disagreement is essentially a conflict of interest. The conflict of

interest is highlighted by Mr Edwards who feels that a broker might gain unfairly by

providing information or advice on completing a contract. Mr Edwards feels that this

duty should reside with someone who is more impartial or objective, regardless of the

whether one is charging a fee for the service or not.

4.6.6. Theme 3: Building rapport

4.6.6.1. Analysis of the data: Rapport

Rapport can be defined as the ability to nurture good social relations. Building

relationships between participants may lead to a more conducive and agreeable

communication climate (Planken, 2005, p. 381). Ms Aiman’s primary objective in the

presentation meeting has always been to build a business relationship with her client

(see excerpt from follow-up interview below). In fact, her designated job description in

the financial institution in which she is employed is as a Relationship Manager.

Therefore, she was never completely focused on closing a deal that afternoon. Her task

was to convince her client about the financial institution’s products and to pay attention

to certain details of her product features. Even though she claimed that her presentation

‘skipped’ the details that her standard presentation would have entailed, Mr Edwards

nevertheless came to the conclusion that Ms Aiman’s approach was overtly methodical

and formal. However, Ms Aiman’s primary objective was to build rapport with her

client. One way she sought to do this was by extending her official authority to assist

her client, even though the procedure she was advocating was ‘out of the guided policy’


(see excerpt). Ms Aiman was implying that if a ‘preferred’ client develops a good

relationship with her financial institution, she will be able to extend ‘special’ services

which will work to the advantage of both parties. This can only be achieved when the

rapport between them has been built. There is the obligation of wanting to help with the

rapport that has been established.

4.6.6.2. Excerpts from meeting data M: go and rebuild eight units on it. we can only at the most do two. (.) ↑Unless, unless what happened is this. If you a:re a prolific writer to ↑AMP, and er we've known your style, your way, how you put together your loans and all that. Once we er .hh we know that you're a sound writer, if let's say you do have those kinds of scenarios, with development finance with a certain niche that you do have, we are actually quite able to look into it and consider, even though it's actually out of our policy. [Willing to provide ‘special service’] M: Therefore er so much so that we've actually given them eighty percent without (.) er LMI. So only for that, you know?, and then we're er also con- consistently doing other ways, like, another broker group they request that all their contracts be sent to them rather than to the customer. We can do that also, once we- we have a good relationship going, so, so pretty much that's the kind of relationship that AMP is looking for. .hh um, I guess it's tit for tat. (.) [Focus on relationship building] M: At the end of the day, we're trying to actually create the best picture there so that the credit team can say ‘this is a good picture, we gonna approve this loan’. And I'm there to help you. Okay? (.) [Provide help]

4.6.6.3. Analysis from follow-up interview: Ms Aiman 4.6.6.3.1. Excerpts from follow-up interview: M: So, yeah, it is an ongoing thing that’s why we’re called relationship managers not business development managers because our approach is we don’t sell, it’s not a one selling proposition [on going,yeah] and there you go. M: You see, I guess you got to understand the, the way, this works, the way my interaction with the person works. This is not like you’re selling, I don’t know, [Tangible] yeah like selling a book, like this the book which you can see it, you want to take it or leave it , you know, like, like, the decision is quick, it’s swift, it’s either you want it, so you buy it or you don’t or you’ll think about it later , or you just don’t want to. So it’s not this, this is a whole different ball game, politeness is just a fact of the matter, the convincing, hopefully you can convince within that session that ‘Look, he should try to put some loans, the AMP way, right, but I can tell you this, sometimes I can go to a session, no matter how much I say it, they are not convinced. There are a lot of factors that can contribute to them not being convinced of it, but then when I work on the relationship later, they will give all their loans to me. So that happens, it’s just that, that session is but only one part of an ongoing interaction. 4.6.6.3.2. Analysis: Malaysian and Australian differ in views However, Mr Edwards did not have the same view about Ms Aiman’s rapport building.

From the follow-up interview, it is clear that Mr Edwards prefers to build rapport prior


to, rather than during, any discussion of serious business matters between the

participants. Becoming familiar with each other by frequently meeting on occasions that

are not designed strictly for business matters, according to Mr Edwards, will create a

bond of trust which is the core of the business relationship. In fact, he was not even

aware that Ms Aiman was not focusing on closing a deal but more in building rapport

and relationship. He believes that Ms Aiman should have been more persistent in trying

to get business from him by visiting his office, or contacting him more frequently to get

acquainted. He does not believe that with just a single presentation, she will be able to

get people in this industry interested in what she is offering. In the presentation and

throughout the meeting, Mr Edwards evaluated the proposed products and concluded

that he did not need them, as he claimed that ‘it’s not a niche product’. Therefore, Mr

Edwards was focused on the product, rather than the possibility of building of a

business relationship. The following excerpts illustrate Mr Edwards’ view on rapport

building.

4.6.6.3. Analysis from follow-up interview: Mr Edwards 4.6.6.3.1. Excerpts from follow-up interview: I: ((laughs)) Yeah, that’s what you’re trying to say. Ok, I could see that. .hh Yeah. Because I er well, the length of time, you know, taken for a presentation, was that too long?, that day? A: Yea:h. It- it went on. I think she’d do better if she called more often, shorter periods of time to discuss any- (.) the- the ones who get the most business from here are the ones that come here the m- most often. I: Oh okay, /yeah./ A; /And/ ask- and ask for the business and ask can they review cases for them, you know, /you've/ I: /A:ha:./ A: gotta do some of the hard yards. I: That means that- meaning that you, the best approach is to build rapport or you know, /to build up/ A: /Ah yes./ I: relationships /(.)/ A: /Yes./ I: then you go to the crux of the business. A: That’s right. I: A:lright. O:kay. So that’s the best approach, I mean that’s the best for this industry, I suppose. A: That’s the best in the /industry,/ I: /Yeah./ A: yeah. I: So it's not like a one time, you know,- A: No. I: presentation, and that’s it, you know. A: No, the product that she’s selling is not going to sell itself. I: O:h, /okay./ A: /Yeah./ It's the person that- I: It's the person, yea:h.


A: It’s the person that finishes up, establishing a rapport, /that/ I: /Ri:ght/ A: builds up trust, er and then if she keeps at it long enough, the ones that do the best, are the ones that come here the most often and keep /asking/ I: /Yeah./ A: for the business. I: Yeah. Is it because when you do that, it is more of the base of trust in that person or, you know, doing it one go may not actually give you the confidence of trust in (.) that particular person?, or?- A: It doesn’t really /establish it and/

4.6.63.2. Analysis:

Malaysian Australian differ in approach

Clearly Mr Edwards feels that the development of trust in business is a long term

proposition. On the other hand, Ms Aiman thought that building rapport could be

achieved solely during the business interaction. She does not think that this will be

difficult to achieve, because they have met briefly a couple of times prior to the meeting

and are somewhat familiar with one another. With this in mind, she adopted the

informal, so called ‘Australian like approach’; together with a bit of humor during the

meeting. From the follow-up interview, it was clear that Ms Aiman had a different

objective than what Mr Edwards was thinking when she came to the meeting. Her

intention was simply to build a strong relationship with Mr Edwards. She was hoping

to put her company in a position where Mr Edwards would consider doing business

with them in the future. She was not expecting to immediately close any deal on that

presentation. Mr Edwards, however, thought that this was not an appropriate forum to

begin to build a business relationship. In fact, he did not even recognize this as being an

attempt to build rapport.

4.6.6.4. Researcher’s interpretation of the miscommunication

Obviously, there is a mismatch in the way both parties perceive rapport or relationship

building. It is a miscommunication in approach. To some extent, Mr Edwards’ view

reflects his mindset which is practical, direct, and focuses more on the business deal

rather than rapport building. Mr Edwards’ notion of building rapport should ideally

involve the financial broker making frequent, yet brief, contact with his office. He

believes that business meetings per se are not the place in which to build relationships.

The follow-up interview illustrates that he really didn’t have any issue with her

approach, however, she wrongly targeted her client, primarily because she failed to


become familiar with him and his company’s needs on prior occasions leading up to the

presentation.


A: She needs to develop e:rm (..) an attitude or something along the line of, what has she got to do to get (.) some business. I: Right. A: What? You know?, She's got to- she's gotta develop an advantage for herself. I: Meaning that she can still be where she is, but er having a different approach?, /Is/ A: /But-/ I: that what you’re trying to say? A: Oh ye:s. Finding a- a different way in, /There's/ I: /Yeah./ A: nothing wrong with her approach, her manner's good, her product /knowledge is/ I: /Yeah, yeah./ A: good. /There's/ I: /Yeah./ A: no problems there. I: /Aha./ A: /But/ she’s just gotta be able to open that door.

4.6.6.4.2. Analysis:

The suggestion that Ms Aiman must be able to ‘open that door’ is a reference to the

necessity of building rapport in the style of Mr Edwards, as discussed above. The fact

that Ms Aiman came to the meeting with a product which is of no benefit to his

company, shows that she has mismanaged the relationship by not understanding that

rapport building should precede a formal presentation. Ms Aiman, on the other hand,

has a mindset that strongly focuses on relationship building during the business

presentation and believes that she can provide ‘good service’ while not really focusing

on getting the deal right away. This insight would not be known by either participant if

there were no follow-up interview data. The actual meeting data did not indicate their

differences.

In this context, there is a possibility that Ms Aiman has learnt that rapport building

should precede a formal presentation by demonstrating a certain degree of informality in

her behaviour. She’s seen as either someone being culturally (over) competent or she

might have misunderstood the meaning of ‘informality’ expected in Australian

interactions. A term known as ‘code hyper correction’ by Wardhaugh ( 2002:86) which

is an act of copying or overdoing more than what others are doing, is likely the situation

of Ms Aiman at that point.


4.6.7. Theme 4: Non-verbal cues/behavior

Miscommunication can also take place with non-verbal behaviour because there is a

potential that it may create misunderstandings, clashes of interpretation and barriers to

agreement. The miscommunication may be caused by the failure on the part of the

sender to get the intended message across as it has been incorrectly perceived by the

interacting party. This conflicting or mismatches in interpretation between intention and

perception may arise from the different cultural background and experiences of the

participants (Ronen, 1986). According to Hall, there is an estimation that

communication consists of 30 percent of information that is verbal and another 70

percent is essentially non-verbal (1973). Hall even labelled these non-verbal aspects of

communication as the ‘silent language’ (1973). In any interaction, there is a possibility

that there are instances where participants are not able to achieve the correct and

complete exchange of information between the speakers and the hearers [include non-

verbal cues] (Gass, 1985; Gass & Varonis, 1991) (Bazzanella and Damiano, 1999;).

Successful communication is when the message encoded by the sender and the message

decoded by the receiver is in ‘symmetrical’ (Gass & Varonis, 1991, p. 127).

4.6.7.1. Analysis of Meeting data: Non-verbal cues

Mr Edwards is not interested in Ms Aiman’s business plan because he does not deal

with commercial properties; this is not the type of business he deals with. He has limited

opportunities to deal in the areas that she and her company are promoting. The above

discussion of rapport building elaborates on the reasons for this. Therefore, the meeting

could not, in his view, be called a success. However, Ms Aiman did not realize that

what she was selling, and the financial institution she was representing, do not have the

distinct mark and advantages that are currently important to her Australian client.

According to Mr Edwards, there is no ‘niche in the market’ for her product. Mr

Edwards believes that there is no clear market advantage for what she is doing;

therefore, she needs to rethink the product she is offering and the approach she is taking.

Mr Edwards’ responses indicate that of Ms Aiman’s product which does not interest

him.

4.6.7.2. Analysis from follow-up interview: Mr Edwards Excerpts from follow-up interview: A: with what she’s trying to do. It- er we don’t do a lot of business together because that’s not the type of business that I focus on. I: Oh okay. Alri:ght. /Okay./ A: /And/ I have limited opportunies. I: I see, alright.


A: Limited opportunities to er deal in the areas that she deals in. I: Oh. Oka:y. So um (..) er a the follow-up from that, from that meeting, And: A: (.) hasn’t got distinct market advantages as far as we’re concerned. So: it's a little bit- it- it's a bit difficult for her. She’s gotta- she- she has to determine (.) which niche in the market /in/ A: the product that she is selling, e:r (..) we can get from- we can get from others /that/ A: /There’s no/ what we call um a clear market advantage. /She- she's/ A: Well. You sensed that erm you'd found as much as what she’s got to offer and there’s nothing really unique or different about this one, so, yeah. A: I didn’t, I didn’t now identify anything which particularly /appealed/ I: /Yeah./ A: to me which was different /from/ I: /Yeah./ A: anything else that had a strong appeal in it. 4.6.7.3. Analysis: Although Mr Edwards lost interest in Ms Aiman’s proposal and financial product at an

early stage, he nevertheless stayed through the whole presentation. The situation was

such that he did not want to disappoint Ms Aiman, and to be seen as being

‘unprofessional’ in business. He sat through the meeting because he was being polite,

and wanted to show respect to Ms Aiman. . He described his behaviour as ‘at least

pay[ing] the courtesy’ of hearing her presentation. He already knew, even in the earlier

stage of the proposal, that he could not find in his business dealings a ‘niche’ for Ms

Aiman’s product. By persevering with the presentation, and looking as though he was

very interested in the information being delivered, led Ms Aiman to believe that she had

been successful in convincing him of her product. Ms Aiman, however, did not know

that Mr Edwards was not interested in her products. This caused a miscommunication or

deviance in behavior, because the way that Mr Edwards behaved did not reflect his true

feelings. Mr Edwards, in the excerpts below, explained his supposed attentiveness and

his serious expression throughout the meeting:


A: /I/ mean if I am going to give my ti:me, /(.)/ I: /Mhm/ hum. A: e::rm (.) to:- listening to her, or pay her the courtesy of having a meeting?, I: Yeah. A: Er I want to get maximum value from it. I: Right. A: I’m not going to give up my time /a:nd/ I: /Mhm./ A: .hh just as importantly /I’m/ I: /Mhm./


A: not going to use her time /(.)/ A: Well, that’s what I say, I mean (...) e:r if you- if you give someone some time?, at least pay the courtesy er of- of hearing it out. /E:rm./ A: /I mean/ that’s the- that's the minimum courtesy I can- I can do. I- I take it very seriously. 4.6.7.4. Analysis from follow-up interview: Ms Aiman

Ms Aiman believed that Mr Edwards clearly showed interest in her presentation as she

observed that he was outwardly attentive and interested throughout the presentation. She

was convinced that Mr Edwards had some interest in her product when he wanted her to

view seven of his clients’ files. She took this as a display of interest in her proposal. Mr

Edwards’ seriousness further gave Ms Aiman the impression that he was doing a lot of

serious thinking about the product that she was presenting. To Ms Aiman, his looking

into the brochures and flipping through the pages reconfirmed his interest. The excerpts

below illustrate her impressions of Mr Edward’s non-verbal behavior during the course

of the meeting.


M: If he can see my confidence, if he can see I’m really there to help him, if I can show him the message that ‘Look the product is good enough for him to sell to his clients, that‘s all that matters. He might not remember all the features of the product, that does not matter, that’s only a call away, but the one you want to live with is that ‘Look this is a good person to work with, I want to work with her’. That’s what I want him to feel and [an ongoing relationship] and I feel that I, I did reach that objective ahm…because he was willing to actually have me look through some of his loans scenarios. Yeah…

M: Ahm…..I would say he was attentive most of the time and what he was doing, and I guess

quite typical of people in his genre which is in his category whereby they know a lot, ahm….they take the information that I’m saying and at the same time, they are thinking about a…other stuff within what I’ve said, you see. So they are listening and thinking at the same time. A lot of the less experienced broker or the ones which have with a few experience, when they listen they just listen, they will do the listening part and after that they will think when I ask for questions and all that. So yeah, I can see he was attentive and at the same time he was actually thinking. So when he thinks, you can see things like, [I: And he keeps looking at the pages…] yeah we were talking about one page and he is flipping to the other page. Yeah…so. [Hmm…mm..]

M: With Edwards, yes, what happened was, on that day itself and I’m sure you heard it, [yes]

we went to seven different submissions, as I said, he has a lot of files on his desk. So ahm…it means he was interested in giving AMP the business. I knew that I won him on that [Hm,mm..] I, I, did win him on that score but that doesn’t mean he’s convinced. Just means that he is willing to try AMP out.

M: On that day like I said, he was attentive because you can see his body was like hunching

over the thing, and he was doing, so it’s not, that that the I guess his facial expression is not that ‘I don’t understand it, this is not good, it’s more so I’m thinking, right’ and


then you can see that from the way he ask questions and all that, and then, but at the same time he was a bit relaxed because the way he was doing like, you know he was going back a little bit, I mean, you can see his [body posture] body posture and then yes,

4.6.7.5. Researcher’s interpretation of the miscommunication

From the excerpts above, it is clear that Ms Aiman has misinterpreted the external

behaviour of Mr Edwards during her presentation. She evaluated his behaviour as being

interested in her product. Instead, it was just the opposite (as explained by Mr Edwards

in the follow-up interview). For example, she received a positive cue from him when he

began flicking through his clients’ files. She interpreted this action as interest in her

products. She believed she had ‘won him’ and that, in fact, he might be already

convinced. Mr Edwards, however, was not convinced at all, as, according to him, there

is nothing unique about her financial product. Each participant is misreading the

message projected by the other.

Ms Aiman placed a lot of emphasis on her observation of Mr Edwards’ non-verbal cues

to interpret the potential outcome of her business presentation. For instance, she felt that

he was both ‘listening and thinking at the same time’; behaviour which, she asserts,

typically comes from an experienced broker. It is interesting to find that she is ‘correct’

in her interpretation or judgment that Mr Edwards was ‘attentive’ during her

presentation. This is, after all, the image that he wanted to present to her. However, the

miscommunication comes about when the correct interpretation did not match the final

outcome, which was ‘to secure a business deal’.

4.7. Analysis on strategies identified in business meeting 1 4.7.1. Strategies performed by the Malaysian relationship manager: Ms Aiman

In this data, various strategies are performed by Ms Aiman alone, as she conducted the

product presentation to Mr Edwards. Ms Aiman had to have strategies in place to reach

her objectives of firstly, convincing Mr Edwards of the benefits of her financial plan,

and second, she had to build a good relationship in order that there would be follow-up

business at a later time. Overall, Ms Aiman needed to make sure that her presentation

was as effective as possible, the assumption being that Mr Edwards’ would base his

decision on the effectiveness of Ms Aiman’s presentation. In contrast, Mr. Edwards did

not have any strategy as he was the recipient in this transaction. His role was more to

evaluate Ms. Aiman’s approach in convincing him of the product marketed.


4.7.2. Strategy 1: Assessment of the client’s background

4.7.2.1. Analysis of the strategy

Ms Aiman designs her approach by firstly gauging the background of Mr Edwards - or

indeed any of her clients. She claims to have ‘tailor-made or custom made’ her

approach in the presentation, in order to achieve the best possible outcome from the

meeting. For example, she omitted the formal introduction of her business, as she knew

Mr Edwards’ had 25 years of experience in the industry. She selected only a few loan

features which she thought would be important for him to know. Ms Aiman thought it

would be strategic to leave out standard details which she imagined Mr Edwards, with

his many years experience, would have prior knowledge.

4.7.2.2. Analysis of follow-up Interview on strategies

Ms Aiman has been working in Western Australia for more than four years in the

financial industry. She was very confident in her approach of dealing with Mr Edwards.

She claimed to have ‘custom-made’ and ‘tailor-made’ her approach and interaction

style. She did not feel inadequate in the shadow of her client’s seniority in age,

experience and expertise. She was optimistic and confident in her ability. In fact, she

was able to assess these criteria and adjust her approach by studying the clients’

background.

4.7.2.3. Excerpts from follow-up interview: Ms Aiman

M: Oh yes, what I do is that I always, I guess technically speaking, ahm… custom made my approach, my interaction and the way I communicate with them, it’s not so much the age, it’s more so the experience with regards to what we are doing that is lending. So ah…. for example, if somebody who’s younger who has much less experience than Edwards, then I would be more elaborate with the details, I won’t put too….ah… complicated a scenario, something like that. So, I will always tailor-made my interaction with the person I’m interacting with . Because at the end of the day, if you were to standardize whatever you tell them regardless of whether they’re young or old or whether they have been in the industry two years or twenty years, you won’t get the best results. Because [I: Mm,mm] Yea, it’s like with Edwards, he’s very experience and you’ve seen that and you’ve heard that. So I won’t waste my time talking about basic stuff, I go to the nitty, gritty of it. And with Edwards, it’s more so ahm….selling the product to him, it’s more ahm….so trying to convince him that he should try and sell home loan AMP product to his clients, rather than emphasizing the features or the nitty, gritty of the products itself. That one usually goes with a much younger audience. [I:Mm,mm…] So yes, to answer your question , yap, I do tailor-made them.

4.7.2.4. Researcher’s interpretation

Ms Aiman has intentionally come to the meeting prepared to build a relationship with

Mr Edwards, and to present her financial plan as convincingly as possible for future

business deals or transactions. The fact that Ms Aiman had ‘custom made her approach’


contributed to the feeling of confidence she had in coming to the meeting. She adjusted

her approach and did away with the normal or standard introduction of her plan, in light

of Mr Edwards’ vast experience in the industry. She had a clear vision of her task;

which was to build a closer rapport and to increase Mr Edwards’ interest in her product.

Due to her certainty in what she was expected to do in her task, she conducted her

presentation effectively, at least to her own thinking, and with a positive attitude. She

was not affected by the passive, yet accommodating response from Mr Edwards. As far

as she was concerned, her objective was accomplished.

4.7.3. Strategy 2: Building recognition 4.7.3.1. Analysis of the strategy

Ms Aiman uses the ‘complimenting tactic’ in order to build her client’s self recognition.

By acknowledging her client’s good standing and achievement in his professional

career, she creates a kind of mutual respect and ‘mutual dependency’ in trying to do the

best for each other. There is this ‘expectation to please’ obligation which is usually

unconsciously being performed by the party which receives the compliment. By

complimenting, Ms Aiman was attempting to boost Mr Edwards’ ego by recognizing

his achievement and outstanding ability in carrying out his task as a financial broker.

Ms Aiman claims that this strategy is useful, practical, and important in order to begin a

good atmosphere of respect.

4.7.3.2. Analysis from follow-up interview:

Ms Aiman uses the tactic of complimenting her client on his knowledge, respecting

his ability and his ‘reciprocity’. In this way, she feels that she is able to make him feel

comfortable, and at the same time, enlighten him with casual humour and casual

conversation. Her approach was very informal because she feels that Australians prefer

to be more relaxed and laid back. According to Ms Aiman:


M: It is nice to receive compliment from that person saying ‘Wow, so you’ve been around very long and you’re very credible, something like that. Then, it makes you feel good. So all that is part and parcel of [I: marketing] selling. This is sales. Marketing is a bit different. [I: sales] At the end of the day, you want the broker to write as many loans as possible to AMP, so it helps that if you were to compliment them on their knowledge, you respect their ability and its reciprocity. [I: Right] I mean you’re nice to them, they’re nice to you!



Complimenting her more experienced counterpart was a strategy adopted by Ms Aiman

in order to increase Mr Edward’s overall level of interest in her presentation. She chose

to compliment him in order to send a message to Mr Edwards that she acknowledges his

achievement and success in the industry over a twenty five year period. This is

considered to be a positive approach as Ms Aiman, who believes it will contribute to

effective communication and create a favourable environment which is conducive to a

positive outcome. The researcher feels that Ms Aiman’s recognition of his status in the

industry, in some way, did contribute to the professional respect he felt for Ms Aiman,

and the fact that he stayed on throughout the presentation, even though he could have

easily left the meeting much earlier

Ms Aiman knew beforehand that Mr Edwards is a ‘prolific writer’ (he signs many

clients to the financial institutions he represents). For this reason, she feels that she has

to take a ‘humble approach’; meaning, she is trying to create a clear distinction in status

based on reputation, achievement, experience and knowledge between herself and Mr

Edwards, so that Mr Edwards should feel some sense of recognition and esteem.

Creating ‘power distance’ (Guirdham, 1999, p. 193) would, in Ms Aiman’s view, instil

in Mr Edwards a sense of distinction and create an atmosphere of obligation. This can

also be described as an example of ‘negative politeness’ meaning that Ms Aiman is

willing to be humble and accede to Mr Edward’s seniority and expertise in the industry.

On the other hand, Ms Aiman also recognized that she too must maintain a certain

degree of credibility as a professional in the industry and, therefore, ideally would try to

maintain some level of equality.

4.7.3.3.1. Excerpt from follow-up interview:

M: Yes, yes, my I guess if at all ahm…struggle on the hurdle that I have to face with him is the fact that he is a prolific writer, he is very knowledgeable of what he does, I have to have that fine balance of not tell him, not showing him that I know more and he knows less, and telling him that this is the way to do things, no. I guess my approach would be, ‘Hey Edwards, I am just another BDM from another lender but on the same token, I would give, I am special because I can give you a better service than the rest of the lenders. I’m not here to tell you how to do your job, I‘m here to give you information and hopefully we can do something out of it. So it’s more of a humble approach trying to give him support.

4.7.3.3.2. Analysis:

Ms Aiman tries to be humble in her approach with Mr Edwards. She was being humble

by acknowledging his achievements in the industry. He should be respected as someone

who can be called an ‘expert’, or someone who could credibly be a mentor or role

model for young or new brokers. She was able to adjust her manner in such a way as to


explicitly recognize Mr Edwards’ achievements, instil in him a sense of distinction (at

least within the financial broker industry); yet demonstrate to him that she herself has

also achieved a certain status as someone who holds a management position in a large

financial organization.

4.7.4. Strategy 3: Making adjustments

4.7.4.1. Analysis of the strategy

Ms Aiman feels that the first ten minutes with her Australian client is the most critical

segment of the whole meeting. This is the time when she has to evaluate her client’s

style28. She may also need to make some ‘adjustments’, if necessary, in her approach.

She has to be conscious of her mannerism, language, and behaviour, in order to make

her client feel at ease with her, and to get the best possible result out of the discussion or

meeting. His frowning, at times, indicated, in her view, that he was thinking deeply

about the information she was delivering.

4.7.4.2. Analysis from follow-up interview: Ms Aiman

M: I guess always the first 10 minutes you are quite uncomfortable but in a way I’m so used to that discomfort, only because I am trying to, like I’m doing many things at the same time. Ahm…what I have to do is that in the first 10 minutes, I have to see what type of person is he and then should I use professional language, put it that way or should I use or should I be more laid back like ‘Oh come on mate , you know, that is really casual, isn’t it? Should I go one way, which is one extreme or should I go the other extreme, so in 10 minutes there are zillion things going through my mind , I have to[I: Evaluating.] yes, I have to evaluate him, I have to be conscious of what I’m saying, I don’t want to be trailing off talking nonsense, so I have to be concentrating of what I’m trying to say there, I have to make sure what I’m saying is concise rather than going the roundabout way. I also have to be conscious of how I present myself to him.

And: M: But that’s how I guess, at the end of the day, you have to understand, ahm…. The person’s, I

guess behavior or personality or gait. Edwards, the first few minutes when I was talking to him, you somehow source out that the…what I’m trying to say is that you somehow kind of decipher that he’s like that. You know how, like for me, if I frown that means I’m just thinking really hard but for some people that is just natural for them to frown because that’s their face (laughs), right. So with him, I take it that he’s like that but of course with somebody, I mean it’s just that with Edwards, I just happen to know him before that particular session. When I say know, I have met him on two occasions before that, briefly, so I had casual conversations with him. So that’s why when I went into the session, we didn’t have to really do more of a formal greeting because I’ve already done all that or beyond that

28 Style is sometimes referred to as the ‘how versus the what (content) of language use’. It is how (both users of language and discourse analysts) get from one type of content to another; doing something in a certain way makes it into another sort of thing (Wood and Kroger, 2000, p.7). In other words, it is the form used by interlocutors to present the content of discourse.


already. I mean it would be different if let’s say, if I’ve met him for the very first time, I’ll be a bit more formal in probably the first 10 to 15 minutes and then after that I just adjust myself to the way they respond. You can see the way they respond, they’re very laidback, you straight away become like that. So what people say ‘if you’re in Rome do then do what the Romans do’?

4.7.4.3. Analysis:

To adapt to be more ‘Australian-like’ when communicating is to Ms Aiman

important. She contends that one should be familiar with Australian English. Ms

Aiman’s view is that one will not perform effectively if one adheres to the Malaysian

style of doing business with Australians. Adapting to the preconception of being

‘Australian-like’ is necessary if business is to be done in Australia. This is looking at the

need to shift certain aspects of one’s style effectively, including aspects such as

language, formal addresses, protocols and bureaucracy.


M: More often than not, they are the type that will relate to me better, if we be a bit more informal. I mean we can’t be too informal-like mixed, you know because then you’ll loose that seriousness, you’ll loose that message that you are trying to give them which is ‘Look, I’m here to support, I’m serious about my work, I’d like you, I’d like to have some business done with you. You see, business is typically serious; business is not a joke, right. [I: Right] So you can’t really joke too much about it, but if you’re too serious about it as well, it won’t go very well with them. I guess to compare my interactions with Malaysians last time and my interactions now with the Australians, yes. If you want to generalize, typically Australians are a bit more laid back; a bit more informal with the way we do things. Even in business communications.


Ms Aiman uses a strategy of making adjustments whenever she finds it necessary, in

order to convince Mr Edwards and to be effective in her presentation. She prioritizes the

evaluation of her client by looking for early signals and cues from the interaction in

order to make adjustments in her style. This means that she makes an effort to

understand and study, in detail, her client’s manner, background, experiences, and

achievements. This, in turn, increases her confidence in dealing with a range of clients.

By making the adjustments, tailoring her approach and having a positive attitude, she

was able to overcome any uncertainties or doubts as to whether she was presenting

herself in the most appropriate style. These doubts would naturally manifest as Ms

Aiman is, firstly a NNS of English, and second, from a different cultural background.


4.8. Meeting 2

4.8.1. Introduction

Meetings one and two are both categorized as business communication meetings.

However, meeting one is a presentation style meeting, whereby the overall discourse is

less interactive. Meeting two, however, is more interactive in nature because both

parties come prepared with strategies to achieve certain objectives. Meeting two is an

example of a ‘successful’ business interaction between a Malaysian and two Australian

business participants. The researcher considers this to be a successful business

interaction as no deviance was identified in the discourse. One possibility for this

occurrence is that the Malaysian in-bound tour operator who participated in the meeting

had been operating a thriving business in WA for over fifteen years. Perhaps because of

this, he seemed to encounter few difficulties interacting with his Australian

counterparts. In addition to this, his role in the meeting was to listen to the Australians’

business proposal and evaluate its potential benefit to his business. Therefore, in this

meeting data, the focus of the analysis was directed primarily towards the identification

of strategies being utilized by both parties. The main goal of the Australian tour

company representatives was to convince the Malaysian manager to participate in a

collaborative effort with his in-bound tour industry which specifically focuses on the

Asian market in WA. The Malaysian manager, who was a well respected and successful

businessman in WA, on the other hand, accommodated the request of the Australians

for a meeting as he was always on the lookout for further business opportunities.

Therefore, both parties came to the meeting with some, at this stage perhaps not very

well defined, objectives in mind. The strategies that were embedded in the negotiation

discourse during the meeting reflect the desire to accomplish their predetermined

objectives.


• An explanation of the context of the meeting;

• An outline of the overall structure of meeting two which uses structural

elements to indicate the activities carried out by the participants;

• An explanation of the management of topics which illustrate how the

participants develop the flow of topics in their discourse;

• A discussion showing how these topics are used as strategies by the participants

to achieve their objectives;


• The strategies identified will be presented in the following manner; what are the

strategies, what is the context in which the strategies occurred, a presentation of

the extracts in the data as supporting examples, and finally, the researcher’s

analysis.

• In this meeting, there were four main strategies identified. These are rapport

building; building recognition; building credibility; and reciprocity.

4.8.2. Context of meeting 2

The data for the analysis of meeting 2 has been taken from a business negotiation

meeting between two Australian tour-travel managers, (Mr Gordon and Mr Clyne), and

a Malaysian Chinese tour-travel manager and owner of an established tour-travel

company, Mr Wong. The interaction was recorded on audiotape. The business

negotiation meeting was 90 minutes in length; it constituted the first meeting between

both the Australian representatives of a travel-tour company in Queensland; and a

Malaysian managing director of a travel-tour company which will be given the fictitious

name Tropicana Tour Travel. The interaction was initiated by the Australian Manager

located in Perth, who telephoned to arrange a meeting with Mr Wong to discuss the

possibility of working with him in organizing their clients in WA. The meeting took

place at the office of the Malaysian businessman, who had, at the time, been a Perth

resident for fifteen years. The Malaysian businessman had received his formal education

in Malaysia, and had been in the tour-travel business in Australia for fifteen years. The

Australian managers had little experience in dealing with Asian clients in WA. They

had just started their operation in WA, having been in business here for only six months

at that time. The primary intention of the meeting with Mr Wong was to develop a

sound relationship with him in order to be able to work together in handling tours in

WA. Mr Wong had a good reputation in providing excellent service among the travel-

tour operators in WA. With a number of branches in Australia, the Australian Company

represented by Mr Clyne and Mr Gordon was in the process of expanding aggressively

in Western Australia.

Mr Wong, and one of the Australian participants, Mr Clyne, were interviewed

separately in follow-up interviews conducted by the researcher one week later. In

meeting number two, the overall topic development was, at the broadest level, shaped

by the intentions of the participants who brought to the meeting their own pre-

established goals (as indicated above). On the part of the Australian managers of


‘Transit-tour’, their aim, coming into the meeting, was primarily to consolidate a

collaborative relationship with the director of one of the most successful Malaysian

inbound tour operator businesses in Western Australia. Transit-tour is an Australian

inbound tour company based in Queensland, one that wishes to focus more on the Asian

market and who had, prior to the meeting described here, within the last six months, set

up an office in Perth. The Malaysian director of Tropicana, well aware of the aims of

the Australian managers, was eager to explore any potentially favourable business

opportunities.

4.8.3. Analysis on the structure of meeting 2

In Meeting 2, the discourse throughout the business interaction was dominated by both

Australian participants. Mr Wong, the Malaysian participant, played only a passive role.

This is clearly shown in the analysis of the participants’ speech functions using the

structural element framework (details are provided in the following paragraph).

However, it was also obvious that Mr Wong was actively trying to explore potentially

favourable business opportunities during the meeting. Therefore, from these data, the

researcher finds it more relevant and appropriate to focus on the various strategies

which both the Malaysian and Australian negotiators adopted in order to achieve their

goals.

In these data, there were eighteen structural elements that were identified (refer to

Table 5. Structural elements in business negotiation meeting 2, below) these are:

greeting, seating allocation, pre-meeting activities, seek information, show interest in

Asian market, identify problems, build rapport, digress issues, present objective of

meeting, discuss competitors, introduce company, provide information, set strategies,

provide encouragement, problems with local operators, insecure feeling, plan for

expansion, maximize service and closing. These structural elements and their

sequencing are shown in Table 5. The structural elements in this meeting have

additional elements due to the nature of the meeting which focuses on building rapport

and to agree in collaborating work in the tourism industry.

MALAYSIAN AUSTRALIAN 1. GREETING GREETING 2. SEATING ALLOCATION 3. OFFER COFFEE/TEA 4. SEEK INFORMATION 5. SHOW INTEREST IN ASIAN MARKET 6. PROVIDE INFORMATION


7. SEEK INFORMATION 8. IDENTIFY PROBLEMS 9. DISCUSS GENERAL ISSUES 10. DIGRESS ISSUES 11. PRESENT OBJECTIVE OF MEETING 12. SEEK INFORMATION 13. IDENTIFY PROBLEMS 14. AWARE OF COMPETITION 15. SEEK INFORMATION 16. INTRODUCE COMPANY 17. DISCUSS GENERAL ISSUES 18. SEEK INFORMATION 19. SEEK INFORMATION 20. PROVIDE INFORMATION 21. AWARE OF COMPETITION 22. SEEK INFORMATION 23. SEEK INFORMATION 24. DISCUSS FEATURES OF FLYERS 25. SEEK INFORMATION 26. SET STRATEGY 27. PROVIDE ENCOURAGEMENT 28. NEED LOCAL OPERATORS 29. SHOW UNCERTAINTY 30. PLAN FOR EXPANSION 31. SEEK INFORMATION 32. SEEK INFORMATION 33. MAXIMISE PLAN 34. CLOSING

Table 5. Structural elements in business negotiation meeting 2

The distinguishing features of this meeting include; seek information, provide

information, build rapport, identify problems, proposal, discuss competitors, present

objective, set strategies, digress issues, plan for expansion, maximize service and

specify limited need. The presence of these particular structural elements show that the

meeting that took place can be classified as an attempt to establish a collaborative effort

between two independent companies. The remaining structural elements exist as

standard speech events which can be located in most meeting procedures (i.e greeting;

seating allocation and closing).

From the structural element

Table 5, we can see that each speech function indicates the speaker, and the topics of

discussion that took place. With the topics identified, the flow of topics, and the way

these were developed and managed by the speakers can be traced and analysed. The

way that the topics were managed and developed reflected the purpose or intention of

the speaker in the meeting. The following section will illustrate how, from the structural

elements table and in relation to topic management, deviance and strategies can be


analysed. However, for meeting 2, only strategies will be discussed, as for the reasons

previously mentioned.

The following table illustrates the flow of discussion between the Australian and

Malaysian participants at the introductory stage of the meeting. This is being placed

here to illustrate the relationship between structural elements and the flow of topics in

the meeting negotiation discourse. The identification of this relationship allows the

researcher to recognise the strategies used and deviances occurring in the discourse. The

structural elements identified are capitalized and numbered from 1-6. They include:

Greeting, seating allocation, pre-meeting welcome, seek information, interest in Asian

market, and focus on Malaysian market. Listed under the structural element headings

are the sub-components; (listed a to g) that is the subject matter or content which comes

under the specific structural element. Topic change (reintroduction and full blown

change) signals a change in structural element (or speech function); topic maintenance

(shift, recycling and continuation) signals the maintenance of a structural element.

LINES MALAYSIAN MANAGER AUSTRALIAN MANAGERS

PRE-MEETING STAGE

1. GREETING GREETING 1a. Introduce Regional Manager from Eastern State

1b.. Present business card Present business cards

2. SEATING ALLOCATION

1 - 12 3. OFFERING MORNING

COFFEE/TEA

3a. Informal meeting at M’s office (Relaxed approach)

13 - 30 4b. He indicates he’s happy to receive them.

4. SEEK INFORMATION 4a. Trying to recapitulate the kind of business relationship they used to have in Queensland 4c. They were referred to see him in Perth 4d. Will get further clarification


LINES MALAYSIAN MANAGER AUSTRALIAN MANAGERS from manager in charge who’s away at the moment

31 - 51 Topic maintenance 5b. Support that Asian market is a big growing market Topic maintenance 5e. Clarify prior information - Confirm their seriousness of getting agents 5f. Commented that MATA Fair in Singapore indicates market is slow

TOPIC INTRODUCTION ……… 5. INTEREST IN ASIAN MARKET 5a. Company focus in Asian market and A2 is put in charge Topic continuation 5c. Company started focusing for past six months 5d. Went around Asia to explore agents, attending trade shows everywhere in Asia such as MATA Fair in Singapore 5g. Reply – agreed on the negative growth

52 - 57 TOPIC SHIFT 6. MALAYSIAN MARKET 6a. Suggested that focus should be at Malaysian market because it has come up last 6 months

Table 6. Structural Elements in Meeting 2

4.8.4. Topic Management as an additional analysis

There was another element for analysis that emerged as important between Malaysian-

Australian participants, the element is topic management (refer chapter 3, section

3.8.3.). Topic management is mostly a strategic tool, especially in negotiations and

meetings. This analysis is important because it has something to reveal that is the way

how people manage topics through patterns of discourse that can be identified. In this

study for example, some of the emerging patterns used by Malaysians are topic

recycling and topic shifts.

One of the ways for participants to maintain the focus discussion in the framework of

topic development is to employ the use of topic shifts. Topic shift usually involves

shading and fading, where participants display their discussion of a certain topic by


logically expanding a domain of the prior topic and slowly moving away from it and

bringing it to a conclusion before starting another topic.

4.8.4.1. Analysis of Data Meeting 2: Identifying the use of Topics as Strategies

Both parties in the meeting engage in topic shift as a strategy, but the Australians were

dominant because, besides wanting to present their company in a more impressive way,

they were hoping to achieve a certain degree of agreement from the Malaysian Manager

in terms of joining a collaborate effort with their in-bound business. In the data, the

Australian Managers were found to be very active, as they produced 21 out of a total of

26 topic shifts. The way the Australians monopolized the meetings was to present a

sequence of specific and related topic shifts, which built on, and strengthened, their

proposal.

Mr Wong, however, produced only 5 topic shifts, which might have been expected as

his role was primarily to receive the proposal and to provide the information sought by

the Australians. This information included some professional advice based on his

experience as an in-bound tour operator in Western Australia (see earlier section,

‘context of the meeting’). In fact, through maintaining the topics introduced by the

Australians – through the provision of information enquired by the Australians - Mr

Wong was also contributing towards the realization of his objective. The provision of

information or advice on his part reaffirms the Australian’s perceived need for his

services, and placed him in a unique position to fulfil the role of a key player in any

future collaborative effort. He sets himself up as someone quite indispensable to their

future business plans.

One example of how the Malaysian participant initiates a topic shift can be located in

the following excerpt (refer to element 12 below). The excerpt opens with the

Australian acknowledging Mr Wong’s successful business practices. They were giving

recognition to his good service. Mr Wong used this platform to initiate a topic shift

within the same structural element 12 (seek information). He enquires about the number

of buses Transit-Tour intends to bring into WA. The Australian participant contributes

to the development of the topic by giving assurance that they are serious in the business

and indicates that there would be six brand new buses. In the extract below, the

Malaysian Manager links the new, yet related topic on the number of buses with the

prior one. The Malaysian manager’s topic shift was enacted in order to confirm or probe


the real financial commitment of the Australians in light of their assertions that they are

serious about investing in tourism in WA. The question posed by the Malaysian

manager, together with the elaborate explanation of assurances from the Australian

manager, is as follows: (see example below)

* Segments of excerpts are indicated with line number to indicate that each speech

function can take place at several points in the discussion.

4.8.4.2. (Structural Element 12) - Seek Information *(lines 219-266)

A2: So your business, what’s it looking like now, by April? M2: Oka:y. (.) /Steady./ A2: /Quiet?/ M2: No:, cannot be quiet. It's never quiet otherwise I will have to go bust already! A2: Never quiet! A3: ((laughs)) Hh- No. One morning I seen him in the restaurant across the road with (.) .hh twenty people, and the next though he’s down there in the morning with tweny seven other people M2: I couldn’t come over to you because too many eyes was watching me. (...) A2: So does this look like- M2: Too many eyes was watching me, /right./ A2: /on a tour ((unclear))/ (.) I thought- thought, Gerry and I knew a little bit- about, you know how Sato’s booking some of it with us? M2: Mhm /hum./ A2: /Yeah,/ all year. Like your group stuff’s going with (.) Ian, M2: Mhm hum. A2: well may be down the track we can (..) M2: Anything's possible- A2: Build a relationship and work a bit with the customers- M2: Are you all, are you all thinking of bringing more buses into Perth? [Topic Shift] A3: Will we? M2: Are you thinking of bringing more buses /in?/ A3: /((coughs))/ (.) I mean ((laughs)) (.) we’ve got /various- various ways to proceed with our business./ /((phone rings))/ A3: A:h, now, if we need to bring over the six buses, (.) to: establish ourselves in the market, we’ll do /that./ M2: /So/ be it. (.) A3: So be it. (.) We’re not afraid to do that. U:m. We’re here, we’re here to ↑stay, U::m (.) we are (.) the number one sight-seeing day tour operator in Australia?, (.) Um and we’re not here to (.) as a joke (.) o:r temporary, we’re here to stay. We’ll be here in twenty years time. Now whether we have one coach, whether we have ten coaches?, (.) ah, it’s neither here nor there. We- we try and work- we- (.) try and work closely with the people that are around?, (.) but if that gets to a stage where we can’t, then we will


bring over six brand new buses, not a problem, (.) not a problem.

After every topic change, the Australians would typically initiate a series of consecutive

topic shifts. For instance, the Australians initiated three topic changes throughout the

course of the meeting. Below are two of these topic changes, followed by the specific

sequence of topic shifts which were predominantly managed by the Australians. These

topic shifts are purposeful in that they contribute to the strategy of the Australians which

is to build rapport (2) and build recognition (in Mr Wong) and credibility (in their own

company i.e. Transit- Tours) – (see Appendix 7, Meeting 2)

(2). TOPIC CHANGE (A3) – CURRENT ISSUES 6. Topic Shift (A) – World situation 7. Topic Shift (A) – Terrorists’ attack a) STRUCTURAL ELEMENT b) BUILDING RAPPORT 8. Topic Shift (A) – Locations of incidents c) OBJECTIVE - STRATEGY 9. Topic Shift (A) – Religion 10. Topic Shift (A) - Beliefs 11. Topic Shift (M) – Laws/ISA (3). TOPIC CHANGE (A2) - PROBLEMS 13. Topic Shift (M) - Competition 14. Topic Shift (A) – Feeling insecure a) STRUCTURAL ELEMENT 15. Topic Shift (A) – Proposal b) BUILDING RECOGNITION /CREDIBILITY 16. Topic Shift (A) – Operation/Service c) OBJECTIVE - STRATEGY 17. Topic Shift (A) – Company’s profile Figure 5. The management of topics (as strategies) by Australian participants:

4.9. Analysis in using topic change as a strategy As mentioned earlier, topic management is mostly a strategic tool, especially in

negotiations and meetings. Topic change has been identified through the boundaried

movement in the data, which shows that a closure of one topic is followed by an

initiation of another. There are, altogether, four topic changes in the data, in particular,

the Australian participants engage in much of this activity (in fact, three out of the four

topic changes). The three topic changes initiated by the Australians can be located in

structural elements; 9 ‘Building Rapport’, 12 ‘Building Recognition’, and 19 ‘Retail

Planning’. The Malaysian initiated only the one topic change; this was in structural


element 13 ‘Identify Problems’. The following section describes two episodes of the

four topic changes that were present in the discourse.

T.Change Iniator/Speaker Element Topics 1 A3 9 Current

Affairs/building rapport

2 A2 11 Business talk/building recognition

3 M 13 Identify problems 4 A2 19 Retail Planning Table 7. Topic change in the data

The data contain four instances of topic change, where new topics introduce information

which is valuable, significant or important for the participants. In this business

negotiation, the most important information for the Australian managers was, ultimately

whether or not the Malaysian Tour-Director was willing to collaborate and work

together with their new in-bound tour business in Western Australia. With this objective

in mind, the Australian managers sequentially presented their topics in such a way

which, to them, most logically would lead to the fulfilment of this goal.

The first example of topic change is located in element 9 (building rapport), where the

participants, prior to this topic change29 were setting the context for a discussion of

tourism in Western Australia as it is related to the Asian market. The topic introduction

was in the fading phase and the significant change of topic was realized when the

Australian manager began to talk about the Madrid bombings in line 118. It is obvious

that this new topic is only very tenuously related to the previous one (the Asian tourism

market). The purpose of introducing the new topic was to create an opportunity to show

Mr Wong that, as representatives of a business that will be dealing with clients from

culturally diverse societies; they hold an attitude of respect and tolerance for the

religious beliefs of others. However, they do condemn acts of radicalism and violence

which threatens individuals’ rights to freedom of belief. They perhaps realize that this

view is broadly accepted by the vast majority of people and is likely to elicit agreement

from Mr Wong.

29 The first topic change occurs after the initial topic. Refer to page 6 (definitions).


After the topic change (line 121), there were a chain of related topic shifts being

introduced by both Australians. These include related remarks on current affairs such as

various bombings by terrorists, religion, beliefs, and the Internal Security Act (ISA) in

Malaysia. The topic shifts, if analysed, were purposeful as they collectively general

issues which concern everybody regardless of nationality. The Australians were keen to

establish some form of common ground with Mr Wong in terms of their individual

viewpoints on global cultural and social issues which might impinge on business in the

future. In fact, the Australians specifically stated that regardless of cultural and religious

differences these shouldn’t affect business dealings in the future. In a way they are

allaying any fears in Mr Wong that they are people who can work with a partner from a

different culture. In fact once this was established to their satisfaction, they proceeded

with a topic change to structural element 11, ‘Business Talk’. Therefore, the instance

below, which is contained in element 9, illustrates a strategy of building rapport and

relationship management, which is intended to create a bond of trust between them. It is

hoped that this would contribute to a greater possibility for a follow-up business deal in

future.

4.9.1. Excerpts showing the flow of topic shifts as strategy of building rapport

A3: it drops back to sixty. But you know, every country’s the same, but- A2: Well, same as Singapore market, Aus- Eur- Europe will become very attractive again. (.) M2: Mhm. A2: Cheap! A3: Mhm. (.) Make the change too. e:rm, (..) God willing, A2: /Mhm./ A3: /it/ won’t happen but maybe, anothe:r er Madrid /er/ [Topic Change] M2: /bombing-/ A3: bombing, /yeah/ A2: /d'you/ see what happened in London today? M2: The building?, Ye'ah. The- the- A3: There London today? They- /they/ M2: /They/ come from a town just near Madrid (.) ((unclear- problems with tape?)) A2: I think they arrested about five- /five/ M2: /Eight./ A2: The world has /gone/ M2: /Eight./ A2: The world has just gone crazy. A3: Eight Pakistanis. A2: Yeap. M2: Eight /Pakistanis b-/ A3: /background/


M2: -background but British citizens. A2: British citizens, British citizens?, Pakistani background. and they try to find out if they’ve linked to ↑Al Qaida, but (.) .hh half the time it’s I- I s'pose similar to what happened- what they had in Bali. Imagine that in London. (.) Oh, oh ((Laughs in disbelief)). (..) A3: Hell yeah, just- the whole world’s gone crazy. A2: If something like that, if- if something like that, yeah, you’re right that’s all you need /though/ A3: /You-/ you need another Madrid bombing somewhere else in /Europe,/ A2: /In Europe./ A3: In Europe- A2: somewhere like France, or- (.) or England? A3: You're safe though for now though. the- e:rm they were yesterday in Manila! M2: Yeah. they brought something to- A3: to Manila. A2: was it eighty?, e:rm (.) eighty kilos of TNT? A3: In Manila! A2: (...) .hh yeah well, you see, yeah, it’s- it’s crazy, isn’t it? (..) M2: The thing, I think one day, everybody will be unite just to get rid of this terrorism. /But-/ A2: /You’/ve got it, it’s the only answer! M2: And the only answer to get these terrorist is the harsh, (.) whatever you are we catch you, that’s it, end of the story. A3: And you can’t do any more. A2: (.) Paul, how many people- protestors in (..) overseas after the Madrid bombings? A3: E:r, I dunno, but- M2: /-((unclear))/ A3: /I'll-/ I’ll tell you what’s the biggest problem is. until people can get over this question of religion?, and just forget about the religion?, A2: just have- A3: eh? (.) until people get over this: (.) question of religion?, there will always be problems, always be problems (..) Ahh, crazy. I mean, I can see that this young lady’s Moslem. To me, whether she’s a Muslim, a Christian o:r (.) Jewish or whatever, wha- whatever difference is it to me? Know what I mean?, A2: /Yeah./ M2: /no/ difference. A3: You know, you’re entitled to your beliefs, I’m entitled to my beliefs- A2: There’s four different- different religions in one /room!/ M2: /That’s/ right. A3: Who cares! A2: ((laughs)) A3: Cra:zy. A2: Ah, fantast/ic./ A3: /And/ until, the people of this world get over this religion thing?, G: Coffee? A2: Thank /you very much./


A3: /It's becoming-/ (.) They won’t fix it, I’m telling you now, the won’t fix it, they won’t fix it. (.) M2: Unless they have very harsh la:ws, that once you’re a terrorist, Bang Finish. A2: /Finished!/ M2: /That’s it,/ end of the story. that is the one. You see Malaysia, I mean we are- even though people criticize our- our I- I- ISA, I think that’s good. R: mhm hum. M2: (.) once they kidnap you, Internal Security Act, that’s it! end of the story! A2: Good. M2: You are left sitting down! A2: Yep. M2: nothing you can do, A3: Mhm. M2: No, trial, you got- n:- you- you have- A3: No trial, no nothing. M2: No trial, nothing, /that’s it./ A2: /No, straight/ into jail you're left in there. throw away the key. M2: Mhm.That is the best! (..) A2: You- you'll never never hear a peep from them again. M2: And then you see, you see what happens- A3: I'll tell you what happens- M2: You just catch them and then you got lawyers representing them and all these hua:h, (.) just makes things worse! A2: There’s got to be harsher laws, ay?, M2: I think /so./ A3: /But/ there’s getting to be no laws. (.) If you’re- if you’re one, if you:'re one of them, that’s it, you’re finished. ((sniffs)) It’s just crazy absolutely crazy! (..) A2: So your business, what’s it looking like now, by April? [Topic Change]

Another example of topic change can be found in the following excerpt in structural

element 13 (‘identify problems’). The previous topic was fading after an elaborate and

lengthy discussion by the participants on buses and coaches for their in-bound tour

business in Western Australia. The new topic change occurs because Mr Wong changes

the focus of the discussion by talking specifically about the Australian’s problems with

another Australian tour company with whom they used to share office space. From the

discourse, Mr Wong seems to have already known the nature of the problem faced by

the Australians (line 273). Mr Wong acknowledged their problem, and realized that they

were not only uncomfortable in running their business in a shared premise, but at the

same time, he also thought that sharing in this way was ‘unworkable’. However, Mr

Wong then initiated a topic shift to ‘competition’ whereby he reminded the Australians


that the consequences of the situation might simply manifest as healthy competition in

the industry. This situation is illustrated in the following:

4.9.2. Structural element 13: ‘identifying problems’

A2: Mr Wong I mean, you- you know the problems, you- you can see- M2: Yeah, the problem, the problem is there. I mean, I- I- I can see that. .hh T:wo of you s:haring the same office running the same thing, right?, You look into his-, his manifest, he look into your manifest, ((laughs) hh- I mean, if you put me into that situation, I (.) it is unworkable /for me./ A3: /Yeah, you/ don’t feel comfortable. Yeah, you'll feel uncomfortable. But I:- I understand that. Changes /mean-/ A2: /Cos/ we have to do special deals sometimes hh- ((laughs)). M2: That's right, hh- like we do backdoor deals man ((laughing)). A2: h-yeah, ike the Criterion, ay? W- we had six people in the Criterion, yeah?, M2: Mhm. A2: So I print the ticket, go over to the Criterion, give them the ticket (.) and come ba:ck, and then put them on- on the coach and then give them a seat, you know?, A3: Yeah. But- M2: /ah-/ A3: /and/ an- it must be difficult for you guys too:. (.) and we er recognize that. (.) Things may be changed, we recognize that also. (.) u: m (.) M2: But I said at the end of the day, at the end of the day, you are giving a bit of competition to ↑hi:m. (.) And in any business (.) aspect, it's good to have ↑competition.

By bringing in the topic change, Mr Wong displays his inside knowledge about the

nature of doing business in tourism in WA, the major players and the internal dynamics

that occur in working together in a relatively small market. He can show to his more

inexperienced counterparts that he already has knowledge that they have already run

into some problems in becoming established in Perth. Mr Wong discloses his position in

doing business with them, which is delicate, given he already has a business relationship

with the company the Australians have been in conflict with. In the end, however, Mr

Wong gives tacit approval to working with them, stating that ‘at the end of the day, you

are [just] giving a bit of competition to him’.

4.9.3. Analysis using topic recycling as a strategy

Topic recycling usually takes place ‘[w]hen a line of topic continuation is exhausted,

and the participants pick up a point from earlier in the development of the same topic,


thereby reviving an aspect of the topic that has already been discussed’ (R. Gardner,

1987, p. 139). In the data, there are a number of instances showing the recycling of

several topics which were intentionally employed by the Australian Managers as a

strategy to indicate to the Malaysian their seriousness in operating an in-bound tour

business in Western Australia. Topics which have been recycled include their intention

to be in WA long term; brochures; other operators and new companies; and buses or

coaches. To illustrate the phenomena of recycling of topic, the following 5 excerpts

have been selected because these were spoken at different segments of the meeting

session. To illustrate the recycling strategy, lines of dialogue need to be provided in the

example, in order to show the number of times it occurred. The following excerpts

illustrate how one topic was recycled five times, this being ‘long-term commitment’.

However, the content of the discourse indicates one major point, that is, how serious

and totally committed they are to being successful in the WA tour industry. This is a

strategy of the Australians in building credibility:

Topic No of time recycled Long term commitment 5 Brochures 2 Other operators/new companies 2 Buses/coaches 5 Table 8. Examples of Topic Recycling as a Strategy: Long term commitment (Topic Introduced – Line 258) A3: So be it. (.) We’re not afraid to do that. U:m. We’re here, we’re here to ↑stay, U::m (.) we are (.) the number one sight-seeing day tour operator in Australia?, (.) Um and we’re not here to (.) as a joke (.) o:r temporary, we’re here to stay. We’ll be here in twenty years time. Now whether we have one coach, whether we have ten coaches?, (.) ah, it’s neither here nor there. (Recycle 2 – Line 354) A3:So er, yeah, basically, yeah, let me assure you that we’re here to stay. We’ll be here in twenty years time. Others might not be. (Recycle 3 – Line 451) A3: /and/ would’ve tried to put everyone else out of business because we’ve got the money in the East Coast. That’s not what we do. We’ve come in here because we’ve got a vision of being Australia wide?, So that anybody from anywhere can just ring one number and /go-/ (Recycle 4 – Line 465) A3: /you/ know I- I- you’ve gotta try (.) and, we do, we try an- and work with the local people (.) all that. I mea:n, and they’ve got every right, we don’t- (.), everybody’s got a right to conduct their business, but so have we. And if we can work together, it’s better for ↑everybody, but if we find that they’re working against us, well then, it changes (.)


↓again. But er yeah, we’re here- we’re here to stay. Er. (...) So, no- no, I can understand you know, all of a sudden this Transit-tour, (.) is over here, (.) so even people with:in the agencies and who er- (Recycle 5 – Line 473) A2: /And that’s/ why, we came here. I mean you came to the launch and you could see, I mean with the launch (.) e:rm (.) we didn’t have the launch a little hall, we had the launch at Frasers, you know, we just- to make a statement, we’re serious players. (.) We’re not here for the short term, we’re here for the long term, that’s why we’ve brought one of our new coaches over from Melbourne, you know, otherwise you wouldn’t have had a coach out here but people will sit here and be like but don’t have coaches you know, we’ve got a coach like ((unclear)) but if we have to bring another two or three coaches, we’ll bring em. 4.9.4. Analysis of strategies in meeting 2

4.9.4.1. Theme 1: Building rapport strategy

Building rapport refers to a situation whereby participants engage specifically in

building a relationship of trust between potential business partners. In this instance, it

was the Australian business managers who were intent on increasing the level of trust

and commitment that hopefully Mr Wong would feel towards them in any future

business deal. On the other hand, the Malaysian was found to be quite receptive, and

also displayed some rapport building strategies as well. Their strategy for rapport

building differs from that of Ms Aiman in meeting1. The Australians tried to achieve

this through simultaneously eliciting from Mr Wong his local knowledge, identifying

his public relations skills and at the same time providing him with recognition. There

were two primary instances that show strategies of rapport-building. These are the

introduction of current affairs, and what the researcher terms ‘light hearted banter’.

4.9.4.2. Analysis on segments illustrating strategies: Non-essential issues; current

affairs

(Lines 118-218) – These excerpts appear in ‘Topic Change as a Strategy’

Topics on current affairs were initiated and led continuously by the Australians. Every

issue that was brought up for discussion had been received well by the Malaysian and

each topic were discussed with great interest by both parties. The discussion on current

affairs took place only after a few topics were briefly touched upon at the initial stage of

the meeting. For instance, they were talking about the Asian tour market and how the

Australian representatives were looking for agents to work with them in WA. Prior to

meeting Mr Wong they had attended a trade fair in Singapore. Mr Wong, on that note,

commented that the Singaporean market was rather slow, and that this market was

showing negative growth at the time. Mr Wong then emphasised the strength of the


Malaysian market, which he was then seriously focusing on, by mentioning how he

wanted to have his ‘claws on them’ (he uses this metaphor here to indicate his intention

to exploit this market). At that point, the Australian shifted the discussion by

introducing the European market, followed by a discussion of the strength of the

Australian currency before shifting back to the Asian market.

Topics on current affairs initiated by the Australians were analyzed by the researcher as

being purposeful. Firstly, these topics, which include the recent bombings in Europe,

terrorism, religion, beliefs and laws, were topics of general interest appearing in the

media. Therefore, both parties would not find them difficult to relate to or have an

opinion about. Secondly, the topics were a platform for both parties to demonstrate their

attitudes towards internationally sensitive issues. The Australians were able to illustrate

their tolerance towards religion and give their opinion that they are not at all supportive

of terrorist activities, that there should be stricter laws to handle such matters, and to

imply that these issues are not going to have a negative effect where business is

concerned. The Australians were creating some kind of common ‘bond’ with the

Malaysian, and that regardless of the differences in people’s culture; they were still

interested in working together in accomplishing their business in WA tour industry.

After talking in great length from one issue to another, and getting some sense of trust,

familiarity and confidence between both parties, again the Australian began his business

talk (which was the core of the meeting). The segments above were considered well

placed as building rapport because both parties became more relaxed and comfortable in

continuing their business talk.

Light-hearted banter and ‘teasing’ were demonstrated by the participants and was a part

of their communicative repertoire showing that they were quite comfortable with one

another. This can be considered to be part of building rapport because it served to create

a more relaxed atmosphere. Such instances took place several times throughout the

meeting. In this data, the banter was mostly carried out by the Malaysian, which

indicates that he was already connected with the Australians.

4.9.4.2.1. Light-hearted banter (lines 357-375)

M2: You won’t be surprised if there'll be another company opening up a day tour here, ok?, (.) A2: Don’t be surprised? M2: Yea:h, it’s already cooking, cooking, cooking,


A2: Tropicana's is it? [teasing the Malaysian manager] M2: No!

And; 4.9.4.2.2. Light-hearted banter (lines 353-369)

M2: /That’s/ right. A3: So er, yeah, basically, yeah, let me assure you that we’re here to stay. We’ll be here in twenty years time. Others might not be. A2: hh- A3: But we will be. A2: I will be. A2, A3 & M2: ((laughs)) M2: How old are you now? [teasing] A2: Oh you know /((unclear))/ A3: I'll be /((unclear))/ M2: /((unclear))/ A2: so yeah M2: You made a mi:stake sending him to Perth, you know. [teasing] A3: Yeah, M2: Ah? Sorry /((unclear))/ A2: /I was saying to Gerry, the other day/ A2: /((unclear -laughs

4.9.4.3. Researcher’s interpretation of the strategy

Building rapport was the main strategy of the Australian participants as they would like

Mr Wong to be comfortable in entering into a collaborative effort in the in bound tour

business. They were trying to develop trust and confidence so that they could achieve a

positive working relationship in the future. At a much earlier stage of the business

interaction, even before the serious business talk began, they prefaced their business

conversation with a discussion of general issues such as current affairs, which is likely

to be of common concern to both parties. This was effectively handled by the

Australians, as they were able to continuously maintain the discussion with little

disagreement from Mr Wong. The atmosphere was well received and positive, and they

eventually agreed that they could work together in the industry. As a researcher, being

present at the meeting, it was observed that the light hearted and congenial atmosphere

that was being created has contributed, to a certain degree, a positive outcome for both

parties.

4.9.4.4. Theme 2: Building recognition

4.9.4.4.1. Analysis of data:


The Australian managers appreciate that entering into the Asian tourist market in WA

requires some local business skills and know-how. They recognize also that Mr Wong

has been extremely successful in the provision of touristic services to this market.

Having worked briefly and informally with Mr Wong in the past, the Perth Regional

Manager, Mr Clyne, has some background knowledge on the way Mr Wong operates

his business. The Australian managers ensure that they communicate the fact that they

admire his business acumen and compliment Mr Wong accordingly. The following

excerpt (coming after the segment of rapport-building, and at the commencement of

‘Business talk’) shows that the Australians want to show Mr Wong that they have taken

notice, or have invested their attention in him, in regards to his high client demand for

his services. They are subsequently intent on complimenting him for this as a means to

build recognition.

4.9.4.4.1.1. Initial stage of serious business talk after rapport is established (Line 219) A2: So your business, what’s it looking like now, by April? M2: Oka:y. (.) /Steady./ A2: /Quiet?/ M2: No:, cannot be quiet. It's never quiet otherwise I will have to go bust already! A2: Never quiet! A3: ((laughs)) Hh- No. One morning I seen him in the restaurant across the road with (.) .hh twenty people, and the next though he’s down there in the morning with tweny seven other people.

In the above excerpt, the Australian initiated the business talk by seeking information

about the current tourism industry from Mr Wong. His response of ‘never quiet’ shows

that he is currently actively involved in the business, and always in demand. At this

point, both Australians immediately supported him by informing him of their

observation of the way he handles his clients. The strategy of recognizing MrWong’s

good service allowed Mr Wong several opportunities throughout the meeting for him to

elaborate on, or spell out, his expertise in the tour business which perhaps made him

more amenable to working together with the Australians.

4.9.4.4.1.2. Acknowledgement of the Malaysian’s customer service practice (Line 330)

A2: Yes, it's a little bit different to the other guys but, (.) probably better service?, I mean, you’re known for the good service. M2: Once I go over four people, I just send my own coach to the airport, (.) even though I- I- I- I break even, A2: /yeah/


M2: /it’s/ still good that (.) at least- at least those, those that come back- those people that come in, (.) i- is met on arrival?, A2: Yes- M2: -and they know who we a:re, (.) from there we can approach them and said ‘Hey, you want any- any special (.) services which we can provide here? Yeah, yeah, da, da, da, da down the road, rather than somebody /else (.)/

In the above context, the Australians acknowledged Mr Wong’s good customer service

in meeting his clients at the airport upon arrival. This was considered quite unusual,

because it is not a normal practice of a company’s owner to receive clients upon their

arrival. Mr Wong explained that meeting his clients upon arrival is a good opportunity

to explore further business opportunities, especially in providing other services to the

clients. It would be a much more effective way of getting further businesses because the

first encounter will build an immediate feeling of trust and confidence from the newly

arrived clients upon the tour officers who are receiving them in the country they are

visiting.

This was with the intention of showing to the Australians that his approach is more

practical and effective when a more ‘personal touch’ is employed with his Asian clients.

This excerpt shows that Mr Wong does not depend on his staff to meet clients at the

airport on their arrival. It is rarely the case for an in-bound tour manager or owner of the

tour agency to handle clients directly. Mr Wong, however, as a Malaysian himself,

knows that this sort of personal attention from the higher hierarchy of the Company’s

personnel, would give an impression of good service to them (his Asian clients) and

automatically, trust is built. This kind of special service and attention which have been

the practice by Mr Wong has contributed significantly to his good reputation from his

customers.


The Australians were strategic in that they acknowledged Mr Wong’s good service to

his clients and made him aware that they recognized his good reputation amongst

international in-bound tour operators in WA. This was an effective strategy, because Mr

Wong increasingly became open to them and began offering advice and information as

to how he handles his Asian clients. This strategy was an advantage to the Australian

managers, as they were able to get as much valuable information about Mr Wong’s

effective approach to doing business. As a result, the Australian managers gained more


confidence in presenting to Mr Wong a business proposal which would see Transit -

tours work collaboratively with Mr Wong’s inbound tour operation.

4.9.4.6. Theme 3: Building credibility

4.9.4.6.1. Analysis of data: However, to compensate for the fact that they at times downplay their own knowledge

in order for Mr Wong to highlight his expertise, the Australians had too, at certain

points, assure their Malaysian counterpart that they too are credible and professional

players in this industry. Therefore, in order to increase the likelihood of Mr Wong

accepting the offer, the Australians stressed their company’s own strengths, such as its:

• Financial security

• Ownership of vehicles (coaches and buses)

• Success in the Eastern states

• Long term plans for WA

• Selectivity in approaching and/or doing business with local agents

4.9.4.6.1.1. Admission that resources are needed (indirect) (Line 310) A3: We w- we recognize that the model that we’ve got at the moment (.) isn’t ideal. M2: Isn’t ideal, no it’s /not./ A3: /So:-/ but (.) we’re well aware of that. (.) Behind the scenes (.) we’re working on it. (.) A:nd I’d be surprised if: the model in three months time?, is the same as you see here.

4.9.4.6.1.2. Building of credibility and confidence (indirect) (Lines 255, 258,352,354,379-380,451,457,465, and 473) 255 A3: A:h, now, if we need to bring over the six buses, (.) to: establish ourselves in the market, we’ll do /that./ 258 A3: So be it. (.) We’re not afraid to do that. U:m. We’re here, we’re here to ↑stay, U::m (.) we are (.) the number one sight-seeing day tour operator in Australia?, (.) Um and we’re not here to (.) as a joke (.) o:r temporary, we’re here to stay. We’ll be here in twenty years time. Now whether we have one coach, whether we have ten coaches?, (.) ah, it’s neither here nor there. We- we try and work- we- (.) try and work closely with the people that are around?, (.) but if that gets to a stage where we can’t, then we will bring over six brand new buses, not a problem, (.) not a problem And: 352 A3: B- but, yeah, you know we’re- we're- we’re only in our infancy here in ↑Pe:rth, but we’ll evolve, and we’ll grow and (.) let me assure you that were we’re here to stay. ((knocks on table)) U:m, (.) we started as a very small (.) company?, and we’re now by far the largest day tour company, (.) a:nd just shows that, really, we know what we're doing.


We know what needs to be done and we know how to do it. U:m, you don’t get to our size, without knowing what you're /doing./ M2: /That’s/ right. 354 A3: So er, yeah, basically, yeah, let me assure you that we’re here to stay. We’ll be here in twenty years time. Others might not be. A2: hh-

The Australian manager asserted that his company’s growth in Perth would eventually

lead to the company becoming very strong, just as it was in the Eastern States. Based on

their proven track record in the Eastern States he was very confident that the company

would be successful in WA. He suggested that Mr Wong would benefit in this growth if

he could work together with the company. In this segment, the Australian was

specifically giving his assurance of the company’s seriousness in building itself in WA.

The ‘twenty years time’ mentioned in his discourse signified the long term

establishment that had been planned for WA.

379-380 A3: Yeah, I was in Adelaide yesterday, and er (.) I’ve still, gotta run to Victoria as well, so, (.) um and Victoria’s our biggest market, s:o (.) yeah, got to go there. A2: Yeah Gerry’s office is in Victoria but still (.) comes in to Adelaide, Sydney, a- a- and Perth to see if he can give us a hand with anything, maybe give some suggestions whether it’s, um, running more cruise agents, hotel calls, 451 A3: /and/ would’ve tried to put everyone else out of business because we’ve got the money in the East Coast. That’s not what we do. We’ve come in here because we’ve got a vision of being Australia wide?, So that anybody from anywhere can just ring one number and /go-/ 465 A3: /you/ know I- I- you’ve gotta try (.) and, we do, we try an- and work with the local people (.) all that. I mea:n, and they’ve got every right, we don’t- (.), everybody’s got a right to conduct their business, but so have we. And if we can work together, it’s better for ↑everybody, but if we find that they’re working against us, well then, it changes (.) ↓again. But er yeah, we’re here- we’re here to stay. Er. (...) So, no- no, I can understand you know, all of a sudden this Greyline, (.) is over here, (.) so even people with:in the agencies and who er- 473 A2: /And that’s/ why, we came here. I mean you came to the launch and you could see, I mean with the launch (.) e:rm (.) we didn’t have the launch a little hall, we had the launch at Frasers, you know, we just- to make a statement, we’re serious players. (.) We’re not here for the short term, we’re here for the long term, that’s why we’ve brought one of our new coaches over from Melbourne, you know, otherwise you wouldn’t have had a coach out here but people will sit here and be like but don’t have coaches you know, we’ve got a coachlike ((unclear)) but if we have to bring another two or three coaches , we’ll bring em.


In the excerpt above the Australian representative relates to Mr Wong the nature of

Transit-tours expansion in various parts of the Eastern States. In line 451, Mr Clyne

emphasized the company’s secure financial status and its vision for expansion in WA.

He stressed the point of seeking local agents which could work synergistically with

Transit-tours to produce a beneficial business outcome. He acknowledged the fact that

there may be challenges received from the local in-bound operators that could go

against or hinder their expansion in WA. The ‘locals’ here refer to the local competitors

in the tourism industry. Therefore, the Australians believed that the way to show that

they are ‘serious players’ as claimed, was to have the company’s launch in WA, on a

grand scale. Their strength was further emphasized with the number of coaches to be

brought for the company’s operation in WA.


The above strategies, adopted by the Australian representatives, were targeted towards

Mr Wong. They would like Mr Wong to know that they are interested in building and

expanding into business in the in bound-tour industry in Western Australia. Their main

purpose is for Mr Wong to have a clear picture of their vision of growth in Western

Australia, and to provide him with the confidence that he can be a part of this growth

and business success. The information that they provided about their company was

provided to demonstrate strength of the Company’s operations in the Eastern States, and

their intention to grow steadily in Western Australia. They hoped that Mr Wong, being

one of the most reputable in bound-tour companies in Western Australia, would be

willing to give his full support to working with them in WA. During the business

interaction, they already recognized that Mr Wong does have the potential in helping

their company to be successful with the Asian market.

4.9.4.8. Theme 4: Reciprocity

4.9.4.8.1. Analysis of the data: Reciprocity, in this context, refers to the shared or mutual return both parties might

receive by exploiting each other’s strengths through working cooperatively in a

‘collaborative effort’ in the in-bound tour industry. Their strategy of eliciting

information from Mr Wong relies on the seeking of ‘expert knowledge’ for a niche

market in a local context. The Australians have made it clear that they are capable of

supplying the infrastructure which includes finances, coaches, depot and offices;

however, they need a local agent with operational skills specifically in handling Asian


clients. Mr Wong, being a reputable in-bound tour manager with the requisite

experience, was able to reciprocate by identifying the operational needs of the

Australian company. Mr Wong was wise enough to use the platform of providing the

required information. Implicitly, he was successful in conveying the message that his

company would be the ideal working partner to accomplish Transit-tour’s growth in

WA. However, Mr Wong illustrated this indirectly, by building his own credibility,

thus, making the Australians more convinced in his capabilities and success.

Mr Wong also has his strategy of looking for potential business opportunities from the

Australian company. He knew the intention of the Australians (from the follow-up

interview) that they would like to have a joint effort in the in-bound tour business. He

was not sure, in the beginning, whether or not he would like to work with them. After

listening to the Australians, Mr Wong was convinced that they had a good chance of

achieving success in Western Australia. Mr Wong then provided as much information

about the situation of the in-bound tour business as he could, particularly with regards to

the Asian market. Indirectly, both the Malaysian and the Australians have the intention

to highlight their business strengths, and to prove to each other that they can work

together.


It is clear that during the business interaction, Mr Wong gradually became aware of the

viability of the Australian manager’s proposal. In an attempt to place himself and his

company in a position to take advantage of profit from Transit tours plans for growth in

WA, he becomes more animated in highlighting his strengths. Mr Wong offers specific

advice or tips on how he has successfully handled his clients. His hope is to convince

the Australians that his skills will be an indispensable part of the success of Transit

Tours in WA. This meeting can be considered to be successful because both parties

were able to complement each other in many ways.

4.10. Meeting 3 (Negotiation Meeting)

4.10.1. Introduction


• Overall explanation of analysis of Meetings 3 and 4;

• An explanation of the context of meeting 3;


• An analysis of the structure of the meeting – the use of structural elements to

indicate the activities carried out by participants;

• The analysis on management of topics and how these relate to the deviance and

strategies in the discourse;

• Identified instances of deviance occurring during the meeting (this will be presented

in four sections – firstly, an explanation of the particular instance that caused the

deviance; second, the presentation of excerpts from the actual meeting data; third, a

discussion of the identified instances; and finally, the researcher’s own

interpretation);

• Identified instances of strategies in the meeting;

• Summary or conclusion (based on the findings in the data).

In this meeting, there were only two categories of deviance identified. These are

business meeting protocol and differing operational methods. As for strategies, there

were three categories; these are interruptions by the Australian, building rapport and

avoiding commitment mechanisms.

4.10.2. Analysis meeting 3 and meeting 4

Meeting 3 and 4 both represent business negotiation meetings with a focus on selling

and buying. The data from these meetings show a pattern of discourse which is more

explicit, where instances of miscommunications and strategies could be more easily

identified than meetings 1 and 2 which were ‘presentation style’ meetings. No follow-

up interviews were required, as the nature of these meetings (buying and selling) meant

that the negotiations were highly interactive; the intentions of the speakers were less

ambiguous and clearly developed.


This business meeting was conducted in one of the four star hotels in Perth. The

meeting is between Mr Raj, the Malaysian hotel manager, who is also the shareholder of

the hotel, and Ms Browne, an Australian sales representative from a national food

distributor company dealing mainly in potato chips. The meeting was held in a medium

size seminar room at the hotel. Other than the researcher, Mr Raj also invited his

marketing executive, a Chinese Malaysian man named Mr Pang, and one of his

Australian female chefs, Ms Jones. The nature of the meeting is a buyer-seller business

meeting, where the buyer is the Malaysian manager and the seller is the Australian sales

representative.


From the Australian sales representative’s perspective, this meeting provided an

opportunity to promote her company’s products, and hopefully convince Mr Raj that he

should change from his existing supplier of potato chips to her company. Therefore, Ms

Browne’s intention was centred on making a deal with Mr Raj, to become the sole

supplier of potato chips to this hotel.

The meeting began with the standard introductions and exchange of business cards.

Then everyone was allocated a seat. Ms Browne outlined her position in the company

and introduced the products that she is trying to market. Ms Browne then proceeded to

introduce the first of what would eventually be nine topics unfolding during the course

of the meeting. These topics are the key topics that play a role of shaping the meeting

towards achieving the goal of its participants.

The key topics are the topics discussed which eventually lead to an agreement or

dealing at the end of the meeting. These key topics were: mini-bars, price of products,

operation of mini-bars, vending machine, shelf life, flavours, wholesale price,

advertising and promotions, and outsourcing. These topics have been identified through

the following process. In order to identify the key topics that were initiated by the

respective speakers during the course of the meeting, a structural element table was

constructed. These structural elements represent the speech functions that took place in

the meeting. Each speech act was identified from the spoken discourse of the

participants in the meeting. By categorizing them as structural elements, researcher was

able to identify the topic reflected in the discussion (See

Table 5. Structural elements in business negotiation meeting 2).

During the course of the meeting, Mr Raj did most of the talking. This was after Ms

Browne started the meeting with a brief introduction about herself, and the company she

is representing. Two of the hotel staff also took the initiative to participate by either

supplying information to their manager when required or by supporting the objective of

their manager. Ms Browne chose a strategy which deviated from the normal product

proposal. The normal product proposal here refers to the standard practise of marketing

of products to clientele. She started the meeting by trying to create a niche for her range

of products to be put into the hotel mini-bars. This obviously was her intention, as she

started the meeting with this concern, hoping that Mr Raj was able to agree to it.


Unfortunately, this did not take place, as Mr Raj responded very much later in the

meeting.

During this business meeting, which lasted for an hour, there were a lot of topics

initiated by Mr Raj (the Malaysian manager) and Ms Browne played a role of

maintaining these topics introduced by him. The business discourse was unfolding

through the different topics introduced and initiated by the participants.

4.10.4. Analysis of the structure of the meeting

Therefore, Meeting 3 is a business communication meeting focusing on the selling and

buying of products. The meeting is structured in a way where participants are involved

in doing the following:

• Proposal of product

• Suggesting or exploring other options

• Marketing and promoting product

• Ways of operating business

• Negotiation

The above aspects of the meeting are derived by the researcher by thematically putting

together related elements from the structural elements table (as shown below). They are

important because they reflect the participants’ purpose, as well as their intention to be

involved in the meeting.

MALAYSIAN MANAGER AUSTRALIAN SALES REP . 1. GREETING GREETING 2. ROOM ALLOCATION 3. SEATING ALLOCATION 4. INTRODUCTION/PROPOSAL 5. INSPECT PRODUCTS 5. DISPLAY PRODUCTS 6. SEEK INFORMATION 7. CLARIFY PRIOR INFORMATION 8. SUPPORT CASE 9. SEEK INFORMATION 10. SEEK INFORMATION 11. SEEK INFORMATION 12. SEEK INFORMATION 13.CLARIFY PRIOR INFORMATION 14. RE-PRESENT PRODUCTS 15. SEEK INFORMATION 16. CLARIFYPRIOR INFORMATION 17. PROPOSAL 18. RE-VISIT PRIOR INFORMATION 19. SUPPORT CASE


20. CLARIFY PRIOR INFORMATION 21. RE-CLARIFY PRIOR INFORMATION 22.CLARIFYPRIOR INFORMATION 23. AGREEMENT 24. OFFER 25. CONFIRM DEAL 26. SEEK INFORMATION 27. SEEK INFORMATION 28. SEEK INFORMATION 29. SEEK INFORMATION 30. SEEK INFORMATION 31. OUTSOURCING PRODUCTS 32. CLARIFY PRIOR INFORMATION 33. SEEK INFORMATION 34. PROPOSAL 35. NEGOTIATION 36. AGREEMENT 37. RE-CLARIFY INFORMATION 38. CONFIRM DEAL 39. SEEK INFORMATION 40. SEEK INFORMATION 41. PRE-CLOSING 42. SUMMARIZE PRIOR INFORMATION

Table 9. Structural elements in business negotiation meeting 3

However, in the process of trying to achieve their objectives through a number of

strategies, there are instances of deviance which occur due to the cross-cultural context

of the negotiation. These instances of miscommunication will be discussed in the later

section (see section 4.10.8).

In the data derived from Meeting 3, eighteen structural elements, or speech functions,

were identified. These were; greeting, room allocation, seating allocation, introduction,

display products, seek information, proposal, support case, clarify prior information,

specify limited service, re-present products, agreement, disagreement, offer,

confirmation, outsourcing, negotiation, and closing. These structural elements and their

sequencing, which are numbered for easy reference, are shown in Table 9 (refer page

173). This table also identifies the initiator of the speech function.

It is noted here that structural elements such as greeting, introduction, room and seating

allocations, and closing are common elements that can be found in most meeting

situations. Some of the specific features identified in the discourse are indicative of a

business meeting and include proposal, seek information, clarify prior information,

summarise prior information, support case, specify limited service, agreement and

disagreement. Additionally, other elements have also been identified which typically


involves the marketing and buying of goods, these include display products, present

products, and outsourcing products.

It is clear from the structural elements identified, and the way the topics are being

developed by the participants, that this meeting reflects the typical nature of business

discourse in a buyer-seller negotiation. The data also shows that the participants

involved possess different communicative and cultural norms. The focus for the analysis

of the data in this meeting will be, firstly, on the production of topics and the flow of the

interaction. The following sections, therefore, cover a number of issues relating to topic

management. Secondly, the instances of miscommunications and strategies, performed

by both the Malaysian hotel manager Mr Raj, and the Australian sales representative,

Ms Browne will be explored.

As has already been established, there are 12 structural elements which indicate that a

business transaction is taking place in this meeting (this excludes the ‘standard’

structural elements found in any meeting such as seating allocation etc.). Each segment

of speech discourse reflects its function in the interaction. Below are the identified

speech functions (or structural elements) which have been selected by the researcher as

directly contributing to the business discourse.

Structural Elements Number of instances Malaysian Australian

Proposal 2 1 Seek Information 9 3 Clarify Prior Information 5 3 Summarize Prior Information 1 0 Agreement 2 0 Disagreement 2 0 Display Products 0 1 Inspect Product 1 0 Re-Present Products 0 1 Outsourcing Products 1 0 Negotiation 1 1 Confirm Deal 0 2 Table 10. Frequency of structural elements

Each speech act was identified from the spoken discourse of the participants in the

meeting. By categorizing them as structural elements, the researcher was, most

significantly, able to identify the flow of topics in the discussion. These topics are

developed and managed by the speakers according to the intention and objective they


wish to accomplish. The manner in which these topics are being developed is

influenced by the strategies that the speaker is trying to achieve, and the difficulties or

instances of misunderstanding (or misinterpretation) that occur.

4.10.5. The analysis of topic management: Relationship between

miscommunications, strategies and topic development

The overall topic development in meeting 3 is presented below. This table shows the

flow of topic occurring during the course of the business interaction:

Proposal (A) Minibar – line 5 Topic Introduction (5 Clauses) Non-essential topic Minibar (M) – line 34 1. Topic Shift Price mark-up (4 Clauses) Both have different understanding of price mark-up. Disagreement takes place (with A’s advice) Topic Shift Topic Continuation Operational Strategy (line 55-90) (26 Clauses) Again M has different views in the operation Disagreement semantics used from ‘clever’ to ‘economical’ Topic Maintenance Agreement (line 71-90) (13 Clauses) 2. Topic Shift Flavors (M) line 91-99 (5 Clauses) 3. Topic Shift Whole sale price (M) line 100-113 (7 Clauses) Misunderstanding (line 111) (Room and Price) Other products in general (A) line 114- 133 (10 Clauses) 1. Topic Change Vending machines (M) –line 134-146 (20 Clauses)


4. Topic Recycling Shelf life (M) line 147-174 (12 Clauses) 5. Topic Shift Price list (A) line 175-178 (3 Clauses) 6. Topic Topic Change Reintroduction Vending Machine (M) – line 179-214 (24 Clauses) 7. Topic Recycling Shelf life (M) line 215- 240 (18 Clauses) 8. Topic Shift NEGOTIATION Initiate a Deal (M) – line 241-288 (25 Clauses) 9. Topic Shift Promotional items (M) – line 289-311 (14 Clauses) Proposal (M) 10. Topic Shift Alternative Products [Biscuits](M) – line 312-385 (43 Clauses) 11. Topic Shift Outsourcing Supply (M) – line 386-446 (27 Clauses) 4. Topic Shift Negotiation of Products (M) – line 447-500 (24 Clauses) 10. Topic Shift Non-essential topics (Chit-Chat) Pre-Closing (M) Line 543 Summarizing what needs to be done (10 Clauses) Topic Change 11. Topic Reintroduction Vending machine (M) – Line 571-606 (21 Clauses)


Table 11. Topic organisation in meeting 3 Topic change

3 (M)

Topic shifts 12 (10 M and 2 A) Topic recycling 2 (M) Topic reintroduction 2 (M) Table 12. Showing total number of categories of topics In this meeting, there were, altogether, 15 topic changes and topic shifts introduced into

the discussion. All of the topic changes, and 10 of the topic shifts were initiated by Mr

Raj. This clearly shows that Mr Raj was the person who exerted the greatest amount of

influence or control over the meeting (he controlled the management of the topics). He

‘dominated’ the meeting, by initiating topics that were of interest to him. This situation

is unusual in that Ms Browne, the sales representative from the food distributor

company, could have dominated the presentation, as it was her role to present

information about her products in a systematic to Mr Raj. She could have led or directed

the meeting through the presentation of a prepared sales format. What follows is an

analysis of topic shifts, changes, reintroduction and recycling that were identified over

the course of the meeting.

4.10.6. Analysis on Topic Shift as strategy

Mr Raj uses topic shifts as a means to control the meeting. To illustrate this, the

following example shows an early segment of the meeting in which the topic of mini-

bars had been introduced by Ms Browne. Mr Raj was not showing interest in the topic

of mini-bars and eventually initiated a topic shift which occurred in line 91. Before

reaching that point, however, Mr Raj engaged in topic fading, which can be seen

leading up toi the topic shift in lines 86-90. Here, at the closing stage of a discussion on

the mark up of the price of products in the mini-bars, the discussion was ‘fading’, just

prior to Mr Raj initiating the next topic shift (occurring in line 91). The topic shift

occurs when Mr Raj attempts to enquire about the product range, specifically by asking

about other flavours.

Excerpt 1 86 Ma: It w- would be good on the bar but then you have to open them and put 87 it er (.) on a plate you know?, 88 Fb: but they do that with nuts. 89 Ma: yeah that's what they do with the /nuts/ and everything you know


90 Fb: /mhm/ 91 Ma: what are the other flavours that you have on the-? [Topic shift] Ms Browne shows her interest in this enquiry (lines 92-97) as she is able to take this

opportunity to promote the full range of her products, and thus fulfil her marketing role.

However, Mr Raj, in line 100, again proceeds to initiate a topic shift, this time enquiring

about the wholesale price of her company’s products. In this instance, Ms Browne

brings up a question concerning the number of rooms in his hotel. Mr Raj, however, was

not able to comprehend Ms Browne’s enquiry regarding the number of rooms in the

hotel. He provided her with the answer, but quickly questioned her reason for asking. At

this juncture, he could not understand where she was heading with this enquiry. The

Topic shift initiated by Ms Browne occurred as a product of deviance. In line 111, there

was a sense of discord when she initially assumed that the products were meant to be

placed in all the rooms in the mini-bars. Mr Raj, however, confirmed that they were not

for this purpose at all. At this point, Ms Browne shifts the topic again in order to

provide detailed information about the company’s premium product.

Excerpt 2 92 Fa: in the: Tang Tang? we do salt and vinegar and sour cream and onion, (.) so 93 there's three- three flavours in the fifty gram range /.hh/ 94 Ma: /uh huh/ 95 Fa: in the two hundred gram there's (.) cheese and onion, sour cream and 96 onion, salt and vingear, the original (.) .hh e:rm babeque, hot and 97 spicy, so there's more variety in the two hundred. 98 Ma: two hundred? 99 Fa: yeah (.) .hh /e:rm/ 100 Ma: /what-/ what is your whole sale price? [Topic shift] 101 do you have a whole /sale price?/ 102 Fa: /I have. I've/ got all that here with me .hh how 103 many rooms /.hh/ [Topic shift] 104 Ma: /er/ 105 Fa: are we talking here? 106 Ma: e:r (.) we are talking about ninty four rooms 107 Fa: oka:y (.) okay (.) uhm (.) 108 Ma: does the rooms got anything to do with the price? 109 Fa: .hh not at all /no:./ 110 Fb: /((laughs))/ 111 Fa: ((laughs)) .hh it was just that uhm (.) I er (.) just initially thought that 114 Ms Browne: but s- (.) n- no that's fine we can (.) um and anyway I've got some 115 other- we do er the Cambell line with all those varieties, and the Kettle 116 (.) that's the other one I wanted to talk to you about, basically it's a bit 117 more of a premium product that ha- also has a better quote on 118 /it/ [Topic shift]


Of significance is the fact that the topic shifts initiated by Ms Browne (lines 102/3 &

114-118) were the result of misunderstanding or dissonance. This shows the causal link

between misunderstanding and topic management.

4.10.7. Analysis of Topic Reintroduction as strategy

Topic Reintroduction can be defined as the ‘revival of a topic already dropped in the

conversation’ (Marriott, 1997, p119). It is a sub-component of topic change. The

Malaysian hotel manager initiated topic reintroduction when he brought up the topic of

vending machine and shelf life. As an example, Mr Raj, the Malaysian hotel manager,

first introduced vending machine as a topic change in structural element 15 (lines 132-

150) through ‘seek information’ and later reintroduced the topic at two other different

segments of his discourse. Altogether he touched on the topic three times. These

occurred in structural element 18 (lines 179-195) and structural element 42 (lines 571-

606). The excerpts are shown below:

Excerpt 1: a) Structural element 15 (lines 132-150): Topic introduction 132 Ma: d- do you do it on a machine? 133 Fa: pardon /me?/ 134 Ma: /you/ know a machine where you can put all- 135 Fa: vending machines? 136 Ma: uhm 137 Fa: we: have a separate business that actually takes care of all /our/ 138 Ma: /all/ this 139 stuff you know 140 Fa: yep (.) vending .hh uhm (.) it's a bu- it's nowhere near a:s profitable 141 for you .hh to go through a vending machine outlet. but it obviously 142 depends on /where you want to go./ 143 Ma: /we- we are just wanting/ to look at options because 144 of er inavailability. 145 Fa: I can get someone to get in contact with /you/ 146 Ma: /in/ contact with this one. 147 (.) the more the variety there is (.) and er otherwise we end up .hh 148 holding different- different stock on our own, and then controlling it, 149 and yeah, dispensing it, (.) this also has got a one year shelf live has 150 it? ((pointing to sample))

The first time the topic of vending machine was introduced, it was a topic change

initiated by Mr Raj. At that point, Ms Browne made it clear that she had nothing to do

with the business of vending machines, and that it would not be profitable and so she

tried to dissuade him from this idea. When Mr Raj mentioned that he was looking at an

‘alternative option’ to the mini-bars (Ms Browne’s preferred option), the researcher

realized that, in this instance, it is a more direct way of avoiding commitment.


Excerpt 2: b) Topic reintroduced, structural element 18 (lines 179-195) 179 Ma: /but/ I'm also looking at- at the other options we talked about, about the 180 vending mach /ines/ 181 Fa: /the/ vending machines .hh I can get Eagle Vending to 182 contact you. .hh you can not put Tang Tang? in a vending machine?, 183 Ma: /yeah/ 184 Fa: /.hh/ as you probably gathered u:m as I said because (.) if you go 185 throu:gh um vending it becomes a third person?, involved in the 186 transaction and like anything, once a third party becomes (.) it costs 187 more so that's why the cost it's like going through a distributor. .hh 188 whereas if you go through (.) Latte we're um direct to you. it's a- a 189 direct service (.) so that- that's something else you have to keep in 190 mind about the cost factor. .hh I can't talk cost with you with regards to 191 vending .hh because it's a totaly different cost. 192 Ma: the vending comes into:: (.) into play only when (.) customers come in 193 and they want to have (.) some snacks here in the middle of the night, 194 about twelve o' clock. 195 Fa: yep. The second time the topic of vending machines was brought up (this time as a topic

reintroduction), Mr Raj again emphasized that he was looking for various options

through the use of vending machines. On this occasion, Ms Browne accommodated him

by suggesting she would contact Eagle Vending Company on his behalf. At this point,

she strategically leads the discussion back to the Tang Tang product. She told Mr Raj

that Tang Tang products are not meant for dispensing from a vending machine, and

explained in detail that the business is not cost effective. She made a comparison with

her product, which is directly marketed and as a consequence are more profitable (lines

184-191). There followed an elaboration on the topic of ‘vending machine’, such as

how conveniently hotel clients can get snacks in the middle of the night. However, one

of Mr Raj’s staff, Ms Jones, opposed to the idea of having to put a vending machine in

the entrance to the hotel. Mr Raj decided not to pursue his idea by admitting that it is

not appropriate to put a vending machine at the front of the hotel.

Ms Browne, at this point, recognised that Mr Raj’s frequent topic shifts and topic

reintroduction was preventing her from delivering a coherent presentation. Her tactic

now, rather than to simply dismiss the idea as she did initially, was to accommodate his

enquiry about vending machines, by highlighting the advantages of her product which,

she argues, is most profitably dispensed directly rather than through a vending machine.

This is clearly a strategy in that Ms Browne, to this point deprived of the space to

expand her proposal as a result of Mr Raj’s frequent topic shifts, used his enquiry about


vending machines to emphasise, convince and educate Mr Raj as to the advantages of

her product over others which are dispensed in by vending machine.

Excerpt 3: c) Topic reintroduced second time, structural element 42 (lines 571-606) 571 Ma: we could put the vending machine he:re. 572 Fa: pardon me? (.) .hh yeah. there's a beaut place for a vending machine 573 there. if you decide that you want me to get you in contact with our 574 vending- 575 Ma: no I'm just going with the idea /(.) because e:r/ 576 Fa: /yeah, that's/ fine 577 Ma: it's better for me to get something out (.) rather than not getting 578 anything. 579 Fa: m hum 580 Ma: e:r (..) that's why I'm just trying to look at things (..) 581 Fa: yeah 582 Ma: yeah, we could put a vending machine corner somewhere, you know?, 583 Fa: yeah 584 Ma: ((laughs)) 585 Fa: well there are times of the day when people want to eat, and they're 586 really odd hours, and there's no-one here. so: (.) do you have someone 587 on. wh- what time do (..) yo- your (.) room service close? 588 Fb: midnight. 589 Ma: eleven. 590 Fb: in there, the restaurant itself closes at /eleven/ 591 Ma: /but if/ they need some service 592 my ((vice – unclear)) will do it er twenty four hours. but e:r we ha- 593 have the time off at eleven o' clock. 594 Fa: yeah. I er- , if you're only talking about a couple of (.) clientele, you 595 could even leave a couple of packets at reception?, 596 Ma: ye- yeah we have 597 Fa: yeah? /you do?/ 598 Ma: /we/have some of the- we have some of the staff that er we do 599 the room service in the front office. 600 Fa: yeah 601 Ma: and send it all- 602 Fa: and thinks that- what, yeah it's just a bit off. I mean if- if someone has- 603 Fb: can we have a packet of potato chips? desparate for (.) hh- a packet of 604 chi:ps hh- 605 Fa: ((laughs)) (.) .hh look, you know, when they need a fix, well I guess 606 they need Mr Raj’s final mention of vending machine was at the pre-closing stage of the meeting

(line 571). Ms Browne was becoming more aware that Mr Raj was still interested in the

vending machine business. Again, he was indicating that vending machine still

remained an alternative business option for him. Ms Browne, finally, in line 585,

showed that she does agree with him. This, in turn, was supported by Mr Raj’s staff that

the restaurant service was usually closed before midnight. Ms Browne again pushed her


product by suggesting the hotel keeps a few of the snacks at the reception. Overall, she

was able to do her marketing quite successfully. One of the reasons why Ms Browne

and Mr Raj’s staff finally give their tacit consent to his idea about vending machines is

that, by this stage of the meeting, a deal had already been negotiated on the quantity and

price to be supplied to the hotel. On the other hand, the ‘vending machine’ topic shift

possibly is a way of exerting power over the interaction in order to extract a better price

from Ms Browne. This could have been Mr Raj’s strategy in trying to get a good deal in

price from Ms Browne by insisting something that she could not provide such as the

vending machine.

It is interesting to note that in this extract, there were other staffs of Mr Raj who could

be considered as the guests in terms of their role in the meeting. The guests’ role in the

meeting has been observed as one that was intentionally a power or status symbol for

Mr Raj. Mr Raj has been authoritative in the way he presented himself with his staffs’

attending the meeting. This was demonstrated in a number of instances here.

4.10.8. Analysis on instances of miscommunication in meeting 3

Miscommunication, in this meeting, refers to the discourse performed by participants

which, broadly, does not follow the ‘norm’. These situations are often signalled in the

flow of interaction, which is evident in the participants’ responses and reactions during

the process of interaction. In fact, meeting three displayed an overall lack of structure

and coherence when considering the normal pattern or flow of a buyer-seller business

meeting. Ms Brown, whose role was fore mostly to present a formal business proposal

to her potential customer, struggled to fulfil her marketing function in a proper manner.

Although she was quite skilful in taking the opportunity to market her products when

the opportunity arose, the situation was certainly not amenable to the smooth delivery of

relevant information.

Much of this had to do with the Malaysian hotel manager, who did not conform to his

anticipated role as buyer. Mr Raj did not respond as he should in regards to the products

proposed to him by the Australian. For instance, instead of focusing on the product

presentation, he made a number of other proposals which were not appropriate to her

capacity as a sales representative’ or to the products supplied by her company [these

instances are apparent in 2 segments – lines 420 and 325; one is for her company to

supply bakery products and another is for company to supply products for hotel


functions]. Throughout the meeting, Ms Brown deflected Mr Raj’s enquiries, but did it

tactfully by responding to the issues that he raised, but all the while managing to pull

back the discussion to her products (see lines 140-142 and lines 184-191; both on

vending machines). Obviously, what have been demonstrated here are the Malaysian

participant’s own norms (which in other words it is more of his style or mannerism).

The analysis and selected excerpts below have been selected to illustrate the major

instances of miscommunication that took place during meeting 3.

4.10.8.1. Miscommunication 1: Business meeting protocol In structural element 4 (which was the sales proposal initiated by the Australian Seller at

the beginning of the meeting), the researcher identified three instances of deviance

relating to business meeting protocol (lines 7, 20 and 27).

Excerpt 1: 2 A: .hh I'm from the Tang Tang brand, (.) Sigmas, (.) and we now 3 distribute Tang Tang. (.) Tang Tang products have a twelve to eighteen month life on 4 the product, (.) s- so obviously for establishments like yourself (.) 5 where you have minibars .hh it becomes very labour intensive when 6 you're rotating your stock every six to seven weeks and have to be- as 7 you would probably know (.) do you work in the /.hh?/ (Mr Raj fails to introduce staff) In this instance, Ms Browne’s attention was disrupted immediately after she started her

introduction. This took place at the beginning of the meeting, when Ms Browne realized

that she did not know some of the people who were present. Mr Raj, in fact, had

brought in his key staff members, but had failed to introduce them to Ms Browne. This

is a deviance because Ms Browne’s discourse (in line 7) did not fit with her previous

discourse in terms of content. Clearly, this was a point at which miscommunication

occurred, causing her to shift away from her proposal. In the middle of her explanation,

Ms Browne instead of continuing on the subject of discussion, she acknowledged a staff

of Mr.Raj who was present then. This was found to be awkward and not a situation

which was expected.

Excerpt 2: 8 Staff: /no/ 9 A: no? oh /okay/ 10 Staff: /unclear ((laughs))/ 11 A: (.) I thought you were from here /unclear/ 12 M: /((laughs))/


13 A: I understand now what you-yeah oka:y. (.) ((click)) so that was why we 14 thought we'd approach (.) you .hh with the er- regards to this idea 15 [unclear] (.) we'll move on (.) 16 I do have your morning- your lunch /for you/ ((unpacking samples)) 17 Fb: /((laughs))/ 18 A: ((click)) .hh so um (.) I'm- I'm sure you /((unlear))/ 19 M: /.hh at/ the moment we are 20 buying most of the snacks from P company isn't /it/? (Introduction of competitor Porter Supplier)

In the second instance, Mr Raj’s response (line 20) regarding his current supplier of the

snack products to his hotel is inappropriate. This is because he did not answer, or relate

his response to Ms Browne’s concern in line 2-7 (her attempt to understand who Mr

Raj’s accompanying staffs were, or their role at the meeting). Instead, he diverted or

shifted the focus of the discussion to something which is not really related to the Ms

Browne’s proposal at this point.

Excerpt 3: 21 Fb: /ye:s/ 22 S (.) yeah /yep/ 23 Ma: /.hh/ and it's nearby your place also you know?, 24 Fa: that's- that's our major opposition .hh they don't have anything that- 25 Ma: in the Tang Tang (product) line no? 26 Fa: in the Tang Tang (product)- they have nothing that compares to that product. 27 Ma: /wh- wd-/ (Comparing Companies) The third instance is also a miscommunication, because Mr Raj has steered the focus of

the meeting away from Ms Browne’s product presentation by mentioning Ms Browne’s

competitor company. Ms Browne was clearly in an uncomfortable situation, and she

indicated that she was not interested in pursuing the topic by emphasizing that her

company’s product is much better than the ‘opposition company’.

4.10.8.2. Researcher’s interpretation of miscommunication Ms Browne’s and Mr Raj’s roles as seller and buyer are performed very differently

during the business negotiation; in fact, they are quite the opposite of what they should

be. The Malaysian hotel manager attempted to elicit a great deal of information which

was not relevant to Ms Browne’s proposal. As a result, she was not able to conduct a

proper presentation to her client. She could only begin the meeting session with a brief

introduction of her role, product and company, which was not well received by her

Malaysian counterpart. She received a delayed response by the Malaysian buyer which

made her feel awkward (from the research’s observation). What can be seen in the data


is representative of ‘role-reversal’. The predicted behaviour in the context of a buyer-

seller meeting was not adhered to, especially on the part of the Malaysian.

Ms Browne, however, in spite of these difficulties, remained active in her role as seller,

even though she did not conduct it in a normal seller-buyer negotiation environment.

The researcher observed that the Australian seller was unclear as to the Malaysian

manager’s approach. Even at the end of the interaction, Ms Browne was unsure of his

intention. Mr Raj diverted Ms Browne by talking about other aspects which seemingly

are not relevant at that point. However, Ms Browne adapted her approach to provide

adequate information about her products and company. Therefore, even though Ms

Browne responded to Mr Raj’s diverse enquiries, she always followed up with some

information on her company’s products. She did this in a very indirect manner.

4.10.8.3. Miscommunication 2: Differing operational methods

Mini-bars

The excerpt below indicates an instance of deviance relating to differing operational

methods. Mr Raj enquired as to the wholesale price of the product (line 100). His aim

was to get for himself the cheapest possible price. However, Ms Browne’s response was

puzzling in that she, in turn, enquired about the total number of rooms in Mr Raj’s hotel

(line 102). This disturbed Mr Raj. Mr Raj’s response (in line 108) shows an obvious

deviance, and Ms Browne’s response to that was not appropriate either, because she was

caught in a state of denial, even though getting her products into the mini-bars in every

room was her real reason for initiating the meeting in the first place. She later confirms

this in line 111.

Excerpt 1: 100 Ma: /what-/ what is your whole sale price? [Topic shift] 101 do you have a whole /sale price?/ 102 Fa: /I have. I've/ got all that here with me .hh how 103 many rooms /.hh/ 104 Ma: /er/ 105 Fa: are we talking here? 106 Ma: e:r (.) we are talking about ninety four rooms 107 Fa: oka:y (.) okay (.) uhm (.) 108 Ma: does the rooms got anything to do with the price? 109 Fa: .hh not at all /no:./ 110 Fb: /((laughs))/ 111 Fa: ((laughs)) .hh it was just that uhm (.) I er (.) just initially thought that 112 you would be putting them into all rooms 113 Ma: no (.) no no.


At this point in the meeting, Ms Browne sensed that Mr Raj was not going to commit to

ordering any significant quantities of the Tang Tang product, at least not for the mini-

bars30. When this occurred, she steered the discussion to an alternative product (Potato

chips K), one which her company sells, but is actually more expensive than the Tang

Tang product, and would not interest a buyer who is looking for the cheapest possible

option. It does not seem logical for Ms Browne to do this, but she was caught in a state

of confusion and uncertainty about what to do. Mr Raj was behaving as though he was

interested in the Tang Tang product, but was hedging for a better price. However, none

was offered by Ms Browne. The following excerpt demonstrates this situation:

Excerpt 2: 111 Fa: ((laughs)) .hh it was just that uhm (.) I er (.) just initially thought that 112 you would be putting them into all rooms 113 Ma: no (.) no no. 114 Fa: but s- (.) n- no that's fine we can (.) um and anyway I've got some 115 other- we do er the Robinson line with all those varieties, and the Kettle 116 (.) that's the other one I wanted to talk to you about, basically it's a bit 117 more of a premium product that ha- also has a better quote on 118 /it/ 119 Fb: /yeah/ 120 Fa: yeah they've got the- 121 Fb: they're more expensive though/aren't they?/ 122 Fa: /they are./ (.) they are more 123 expensive but the: (.) but they're the winning one at the moment. 124 Fb: oo:h yea:h. 125 Fa: .hh and then we have .hh your kids would love (.) they're fr- all the old 126 names ((unpacking samples from bag)), Cheezels, (.) uhm (.) uhm and 127 the Thins (.) 128 Fb: Cheezels ((speaking to herself)) 129 Fa: so that's just a- 130 Ma: okay 131 Fa: we also do nuts. In the excerpt below, Ms Browne shows her appreciation of the way Mr Raj operates

the mini-bar, by describing him as ‘clever’. However, Mr Raj was not happy or in

agreement over the word choice used by Ms Browne, and stresses to her that it should

be ‘economical’ instead. This is another instance of deviance because Ms Browne

interprets Mr Raj’s way of handling the operation of mini-bars as ‘clever’, yet this has

30 Mr Raj went on to explain to ms Browne that his hotel operates the mini-bar in a different way than is usual. To avoid the cost of the labour to stock each and every mini-bar in the rooms, his way of doing things is to have the guests pre-order the items they would like placed into the mini-bar. Then, whatever they consume is charged for.


not been accepted well by Mr Raj. There is a conflict of perception in the way things are

being done. This is illustrated as the following excerpt:

Excerpt 3: 63 Ma: /and/ then we send it up to them you know (.) so at the end of 64 the day (.) we don't have to count for what they took (.) it's all just paid 65 for already for the minibar /((unclear))/ 66 Fa: /that's a clever/ way of doing it isn't /it?/ 67 Ma: /er/ 68 it's not clever it's a little bit more economical /you understand/ 69 Fa: /yeah yeah cause-/ 70 Ma: many hotels are (.) going in that direction- 71 Fa: I have got a- a customer that is (.) asking me at the moment how- er 72 how the er other um hotels are doing it and most of them are (.) .hh 73 purely honesty (.) factor?, and they're losing .hh but that w- that's a 74 great idea to do it- do it like a room service order. 75 Ma: yeah so- because they look at the list and they say oh ok I want 76 /a Coke,/ 77 Fa: /yea:h yep/ 78 Ma: and I want some (.) um (.) mineral water, /and/ 79 Fa: yeah/ 80 Ma: and then some snacks with it, and it- and it /e:r/ 81 Fa: /it's all/ automatically 82 Ma: and then we send it up to the room and it's paid for whether they only 83 want to take it away or finish it you know it's up to /them./ Although Ms Browne’s intention was to compliment Mr Raj on his method of operating

the mini-bars, she was surprised by his response. Instead of receiving her comment

favourably, Mr Raj was clearly annoyed by the suggestion that he was being ‘clever’,

rather than simply ‘economical’. Ms Browne was taken aback by his response, and in

particular his stern tone of voice (and the fact that he followed up with the retort of ‘you

understand?’), and proceeded to try to explain what she meant by describing him as

‘clever’. Mr Raj obviously took the term to mean something negative; perhaps thinking

she was being cynical or sarcastic, prompting him to interpret the compliment in a way

that was certainly not Ms Browne’s intention.

4.10.8.4. Vending machines

Mr Raj repeatedly returns to the issue of vending machines through the course of the

meeting, a topic he actually shows more interest in than Ms Browne’s presentation of

the Tang Tang product. Clearly, however, the vending machine idea is of no interest to

Ms Browne, because dispensing in this way translates into a smaller, less profitable,

quantity of orders for her products. In this respect, the interlocutors are at odds with


each other. The issue of vending machines occurred twice during the meeting in the

form of topic recycling (after Mr Raj initially introduced it as a topic shift).

Excerpt 4: 179 Ma: /but/ I'm also looking at- at the other options we talked about, about the 180 vending mach /ines/ 181 Fa: /the/ vending machines .hh I can get Eagle Vending to 182 contact you. .hh you cannot put Tang Tang?, in a vending machine?, 183 Ma: /yeah/ 184 Fa: /.hh/ as you probably gathered u:m as I said because (.) if you go 185 throu:gh um vending it becomes a third person?, involved in the 186 transaction and like anything, once a third party becomes (.) it costs 187 more so that's why the cost it's like going through a distributor. .hh 188 whereas if you go through (.) Latte we're um direct to you. it's a- a 189 direct service (.) so that- that's something else you have to keep in 190 mind about the cost factor. .hh I can't talk cost with you with regards to 191 vending .hh because it's a totaly different cost. 192 Ma: the vending comes into:: (.) into play only when (.) customers come in 193 and they want to have (.) some snacks here in the middle of the night, 194 about twelve o' clock. 195 Fa: yep. It is obvious that both Ms Browne and Mr Raj were in disagreement with the vending

machine issue. Ms Browne initially shows that she acknowledges Mr Raj’s interest,

informing him that she could possibly contact Eagle vending machine company on his

behalf. She still, however, took the opportunity to market her products (lines 188-191)

by maintaining the vending machine topic, yet educating Mr Raj on the economic

disadvantages to using them (lines 184-187). Ms Browne goes on to explain the

rationale (from her point of view) for not going with vending machines; whilst Mr Raj

explains the rationale for wanting to use the vending machines in his hotel (lines 192-

194).

4.10.8.5. Researcher’s interpretation of the miscommunications

From the above it is clear that differing operational methods reflect the participants

preferred conduct of practice in the industry. For this reason, both parties inevitably

have different intentions or goals that they desire to achieve through the course of the

meeting. In this data, Mr Raj attempted to exert control over the meeting, perhaps due to

his position as manager and shareholder of the hotel. Perhaps for this reason, he felt

compelled to steer the meeting in his own unpredictable style. Due to the

unconventional, ‘unstructured’ business approach from Mr Raj, Ms Browne was put in

many an awkward position as a seller. Due to her determination to market her product

and secure a deal with Mr Raj, she was willing to adapt her marketing approach. What

Ms Browne did might also be considered ‘unstructured’ as her proposal in this meeting


did not fall within marketing style that she has been conducting. It is obvious that she

took up the challenge of handling Mr Raj by firstly accommodating his concerns, and

then, secondly, providing him with relevant information specifically relating to her

company’s products. Ultimately she directly linked Mr Raj’s requests to information

about her company’s products.

4.10.9. Analysis on instances of strategies in meeting 3

4.10.9.1. Strategy 1: Interruptions by the Australian

In the excerpt below is an example of an instance of interruption by the Australian sales

representative. Ms Browne initially comments to Mr Raj that it is perfectly alright to put

mark up the price of the Tang Tang product when it is being sold in the hotel (line 45

and 46). However, Mr Raj is defensive in saying that this practice does not take place in

his hotel (line 47). Clearly the term ‘mark up’ holds a negative connotation, similar to

that of the word ‘clever’ in deviance 2 excerpt 3. Ms Browne, sensing she is losing

control of the topic she wants to pursue – the marking up of snack products in hotels -

interrupts Mr Raj (line 50) with the intention of clarifying why she initially suggested he

mark up the price of the product (line 52). This strategy serves to smooth any misgiving

(in this instance, Mr Raj is clearly sensitive to Mr Browne’s suggestion to ‘mark up’ the

price of the product), and keeps the discussion focused on the topic that she wants to

pursue.

Excerpt 1: 45 Fa; yep so in an establishment like this where your (.) mark up is (.) that 46 much higher you'd be- 47 Ma: no nowadays we don't do that /kind/ of mark up you know?, (.) [Disagreeement] 48 Fa: /no?/ 49 Ma: we pay about /((unclear))/ 50 Fa: /that's fine then/ /yep/ 51 Ma: /yeah/ 52 Fa: a lot of hotels .hh minibars do that though ay? 53 Fb: yeah 54 Fa: because /because/ 55 Ma: /no a/ few- a few hotels like me, we operate the 56 minibar in a different way. (.) the fridge it should be empty you 57 know (.) er the cost of labour to manage it is /actually/ 58 Fa: /mhm/ 59 Ma: quite expensive and that's why the mark up is there. 60 Fa: right /yep/ 61 Ma: /at/ the moment we give them a: minibar list you know?, then they can order what they want. 62 Fa: /o:h:/ 63 Ma: /and/ then we send it up to them you know (.) so at the end of 64 the day (.) we don't have to count for what they took (.) it's all just paid


65 for already for the minibar /((unclear))/

4.10.10. Researcher’s interpretation of the strategy The strategy of ‘interrupting’ is being used by the Australian purposefully. The

technique of interrupting, which normally has a negative connotation, was being used

by Ms Browne to redirect Mr Raj’s attention and keep him ‘on track’. In this sense, Ms

Browne has a better chance of maintaining the basis of her proposal and achieving her

objectives. Mr Raj also ‘interrupts’, however his communicative style displays

impatience, and an unwillingness to listen to Ms Browne’s proposal. Mr Raj showed

little regard for Ms Browne’s presentation, or the conventional protocols for business

meetings, choosing instead to interject a whole range of diverse enquiries in the form of

topic shifts. This behaviour, even with the moderating effect of Ms Browne’s

interruptions, leads to a situation when topics are initiated, but not fully developed. As a

result, Mr Raj often has to reintroduce the incomplete topic of interest at different points

of the interaction.

4.10.11. Strategy 2: Building rapport Although she was cheerful and relaxed, it was apparent that Ms Browne did not have

any structured, rapport building strategy prepared for the meeting. With this in mind, the

conclusion that can be drawn is that rapport building is, overall, a relatively marginal

concern. Ms Browne took, as her primary focus, the provision of information about her

company’s products. Even though she recognised quickly that Mr Raj would be difficult

to handle, she remained determined to carry out her marketing function as effectively as

possible. In fact, the only identifiable segment of rapport building, in the form of the

introduction of non-essential topics, occurred at the pre-closing stage of the meeting.

This took the form of some light-hearted joking about Ms Browne’s appearance.

Excerpt 2: 528 Ma: you- you seem more like a New Zealand accent /though!/ 529 Fa: /aft-/ do I? hh- 530 Ma: ((laughs)) 531 Fa: look, a- I've been told I'm Indian, I've been told I'm from New Zealand! 532 /((laughs))/ 533 Ma: /((laughs))/ 534 Fa: hh- I've been told a lot! 535 Fb: I fail to see where the Indian bit came from. 536 Fa: .hh someone said ' Northern Italy', I've also been told that. (.) I know, I 537 don't know about the Indian too /actually/


538 Fb: /erhum/ 539 Fa: I stopped and thought (.) 'I've been sunbaking too much, I think'. 540 ((laughs)) hh- it must have been in Summer! .hh 541 Ma: maybe having a mixed lot of friends ((laughs)) 542 Fa: hh- yea:h. (.) okay /then/ 543 Ma: /okay/ it was nice of you to call /on us/

4.10.12. Strategy 3: Avoiding commitment mechanism Avoiding commitment mechanisms are used as a strategy by Mr Raj to indicate that he

is not interested in the Tang Tang product. Instead, he shows more concern with other

aspects of business, such as the operational aspect of selling (see line 147 – 150). In

fact, most of the time, Mr Raj is intent to avoid talk on any specific product. He is

generally trying to shift the focus of discussion to mechanisms for delivery of the

product to the consumer.

Excerpt 3: 143 Ma: /we- we are just wanting/ to look at options because 144 of er inavailability. 145 Fa: I can get someone to get in contact with you 146 Ma: /in/ contact with this one. 147 (.) the more the variety there is (.) and er otherwise we end up .hh 148 holding different- different stock on our own, and then controlling it, 149 and yeah, dispensing it, (.) this also has got a one year shelf live has 150 it? ((pointing to sample)) 151 Fa: no

Excerpt 4:

173 Fa: yeah so um .hh (.) Tang Tang though we (.) um hoped there was 174 something.hh (.) we'd like to give you, you know, 175 /the price list ((unclear))/ 176 Ma: /I- I can look at it if you want/ you know if you mean the price list and 177 everything .hh 178 Fa: /Yeah/

Excerpt 5:

98 Ma: two hundred? 99 Fa: yeah (.) .hh /e:rm/ 100 Ma: /what-/ what is your whole sale price? 101 do you have a whole /sale price?/ 102 Fa: /I have. I've/ got all that here with me .hh how 103 many rooms /.hh/

Excerpt 6: 130 Ma: okay 131 Fa: we also do nuts. 132 Ma: d- do you do it on a machine? 133 Fa: pardon /me?/ 134 Ma: /you/ know a machine where you can put all- 135 Fa: vending machines?


136 Ma: uhm

Excerpt 7: 210 Ma: No I'm just looking at the optio/ns/ first 211 Fa: /yeah/ 212 Ma: and then to try and see /to try and decide

4.10.13. Researcher’s interpretation of the strategy

Avoiding commitment mechanism is one of the strategies Mr Raj to evade being

‘pinned down’ by Ms Browne who is trying to convince him to place an order for her

snack products. He used this strategy a number of times, primarily by attempting to shift

the focus to other aspects of business, such as the outsourcing of products; wanting to

order bakery products which Ms Browne’s company does not supply; and the subject of

vending machines; which is not all directly relevant to the actual context of the meeting.

4.10.14. Conclusion

Meeting 3 was a very unusual business meeting where the norm is to have the seller to

present, and the buyer to decide whether to commit to a deal. Instead, this data

presented a complex, unsystematic, and confusing situation. The buyer is the one who

led, and demanded the seller toward what he wanted or desired to achieve for the hotel.

The seller, at least initially, did not show a pro-active behaviour in communication and

negotiation, she was, most of the time, accommodating the flow of interactions led by

the Malaysian. Topic shifts are being controlled by the Malaysian, with very few

initiated by the Australian. There was no full presentation from the Australian seller.

She seemed confused at the outset, and not in control of the meeting, mostly because of

her inability to develop and expand her discourse into a presentation. The whole

business meeting was meant to be directed by the Australian, instead, it became a

meeting controlled by the Malaysian.

From the beginning of the meeting, the Australian was not able to get an opportunity to

present or to deliver her intention of promoting and selling her products efficiently. The

Malaysian did not show any interest in her products. She was interrupted many times,

and, therefore, could not support her proposal effectively. Mr Raj has contributed to her

undeveloped presentation by diverting and digressing into either non-related or non-

essential topics. Sometimes, he might have brought in intentionally, issues which have

no relevance to support his own decision-making process. In fact, his participation was

not focused towards the purpose of the meeting at all.


In this data, Ms Browne was put in a number of awkward situations. For example, when

there was a disagreement over semantics used by her (element 8), Mr Raj corrected her

by emphasizing his disapproval towards the word ‘clever’ preferring ‘economical’

instead. Another instance was in element 13, when Ms Browne enquired about the total

number of rooms in the hotel (when, at that point, the discussion was found on the topic

of the ‘price’ of the products). This kind of discomfort, in fact, took place right at the

beginning of the meeting, when Ms Browne experienced a state of confusion and

uncertainty when she initially proposed the products for the mini-bars. Although she

assumed her proposal would be taken up by Mr Raj and he would respond immediately.

Ms Browne, when she did not receive the expected response from Mr Raj, sensed that

there was a rupture in the predicted flow of discourse. As a result, she was left to

stumble for an appropriate response which would allow her to refocus on her proposal.

At this point, Ms Browne realized that she had lost her position as the key player in this

particular business meeting, by not knowing what and how she should respond.

The next encounter which demonstrated a state of awkwardness was during the recycled

topic of vending machine. Normally, when one indicates that one has no interest on a

topic, it is very unlikely that the topic will be mentioned again. In this data, however,

Ms Browne made it clear from the first mention of the vending machine topic that her

company does not deal in this business. However, despite dropping the topic; in the first

instance, Mr Raj reintroduced the topic at two further instances during the discussion.

Only in his final attempt did the Australian accommodate him by engaging in a lengthy

discussion, more so summarising her earlier points in regards to why she thought that

vending machines are not the best business practice. During the meeting nothing was

resolved in regards to the topic of the vending machine, even though Mr Raj justified

his interest by ‘looking for options in businesses’. This was partly due to Ms Browne’s

reluctance in pursuing the business of vending machines as it would in no way benefit

her company. The unproductive discussion and elaboration on the topic of vending

machines might be thought of a strategy, employed by Mr Raj, as a way of avoiding any

commitment to the direct purchase of Mr Browne’s products. This practice lessens the

likelihood of achieving the objective of the meeting. This is obvious because Mr Raj did

not even receive support from his own employees (as seen in the structural elements of

Meeting 3 table, in the appendices). Being the most senior manager in the hotel, the

lack of coordinated effort between Mr Raj and his staff shows that the discussion was a


result of his own unstructured communicative style. This conclusion is based on his

typical pattern of interaction throughout the entire meeting.

4.11. Meeting 4 (Negotiation Meeting) 4.11.1. Introduction


• An explanation of the context of meeting 4;

• An outline of the structure of meeting 4;

• An analysis of how deviance and strategies influenced topic development in

meeting 4;

• An analysis of identified instances of deviance occurring during the meeting

(this will be presented in four sections – firstly, an explanation of the particular

instance that caused the deviance; second, the presentation of excerpts from the

actual meeting data; third, a discussion of the identified instances; and finally,

the researcher’s own interpretation);

• An analysis of identified instances of strategies in the meeting;

• And summary of the findings from the analysis of the data.

In this meeting, there were instances of miscommunication under the heading

misunderstandings in negotiation and two categories of strategies, which are

reemphasizing key information related to service and building recognition /

demonstrating authority.


The data in Meeting 4 were taken from an initial negotiation meeting. The interaction

was recorded on audiotape. The researcher was given the consent to attend the meeting

after her initial interview with the Malaysian businessman. The interaction was one and

a half hours in length, and involved two Australian IT representatives; Mr Barnes and

Mr Docherty (both are in Web design/Computer provider) and a Malaysian hotel

manager, Mr Ahmad. Mr Ahmad was in the meeting with two other administrative staff

from the hotel who were in charge of the Hotel’s computer system. The interaction was

initiated by the Australian, who telephoned him to arrange a meeting to discuss the

possibility of providing a service to upgrade the Hotel’s website to better promote it.

The meeting took place at the hotel conference room. Both Mr Barnes and Mr Docherty

were IT specialists, representing Rapunzel Web, an IT company in WA. The Malaysian

manager did not seem to be familiar with most of the IT terminologies mentioned by the


Australians. There were a lot of discussions and explanations on the part of the

Australians to make Mr Ahmad fully aware of the types of services that they wanted to

provide for the hotel website. With the assistance of his IT staff, Mr Ahmad was able to

understand the need for an upgraded of the website for the hotel. Mr Ahmad has always

been keen to improve the website of the hotel, and his areas of concerns can be seen in

the topics which he initiated and recycled throughout his discourse.

The primary objective of the Australian representatives of Rapunzel Web was to

convince Mr Ahmad that they would be the best people to redesign the hotel’s

commercial website to make it more appealing and user-friendly. Their desire was to

upgrade the entire existing site. However, Mr Ahmad was only focusing on upgrading

particular aspects of the existing site, rather than the whole site. The Australian IT

representatives were faced with the challenge of explaining to Mr Ahmad that

optimizing the effectiveness of the site - and thus maximize the potential for the site to

increase profit – required a complete upgrade.

As Mr Ahmad was not completely comfortable with many of the IT features that he

knew were going to be discussed at the meeting, he brought with him two of his staff

members (both Australians) whose knowledge of IT is greater than his own. Mr Ahmad

introduced both these staff members at the beginning of the meeting. There was the

standard exchange of business cards and invitations to sit at the conference table. At this

point Mr Ahmad outlined what h thought to be the inadequacies of the hotel’s website.

4.11.3. Analysis on structure of meeting 4

In order to describe the overall structure of Meeting 4, the data was first analysed to

identify the structural elements which represent the speech functions of the participants.

In the table of structural elements (see appendix 2), the flow of topics indicates the

nature of the meeting. For instance, this meeting was a seller-buyer type meeting; not

dealing with products, but a service. In Table 13 below, the initiator of the topic, as well

as the ensuing exchange of discourse, is clearly shown. The table shows the list of

topics which have been identified from the data. This table categorizes the relative

aspects of topic development, including topic introduction, topic change, topic shift,

topic continuation and topic recycling. From the list of topics, the researcher has been

able to further analyze the overall focus of the discussion, which constitutes the

overarching structure or pattern of the negotiation meeting.


The structure of this meeting, which is derived from the table below, includes the

following aspects. These represent the ‘global’ pattern which sets the framework for the

entire meeting:

• Business talk

• Concerns of Malaysian participant

• Service offered by Australian participants

• Agreement to a deal

• Negotiation of price

4.11.4. The list of topics: an analysis showing the relationship of topic development

and structural elements with the structure of meeting

Table 13 shows the list of topics, the aspects of topic development, the structural

elements of the meeting and the overall structure of business meeting

Topics Aspects of topic Element of meeting Overall Structure 1. Facilities of hotel for public knowledge – include room bookings, weddings, restaurants, function rooms

Topic Introduction (M)

Seek information Business Talk

2. Optimization – representation of code of the web site, browser, key words, search engines

Topic Change (topic development) – (A)

Provide Service Business Talk / Selling or promoting service

3. Functions – local clientele, target range, limited capacity, type of functions, focus on how to manage, venues

Topic shift (M) Seek information Business Talk

4. Search engine Optimization – attract clientele to your business, website, keywords, research on internet, home page, function page

Topic Development (Continuation) (A)

Provide Information Business / Selling or promoting service

5. Optimization – primary and secondary keywords, attract people to the

Topic Continuation (A) / topic recycling

Clarify prior Information

Business / Selling or promoting service


Topics Aspects of topic Element of meeting Overall Structure web site, body copy, sub page of the function, need changes. 6. Weddings Topic recycling (M) Seek Information Business Talk – to

maintain the high demand throughout the year

7. Search engine optimization and build more links, external links to the site

Topic Continuation (A) / development

Clarify prior information

Business promotion

8. Links – such as with touring stuff, tourist coaches, booking airline ticket, hotel list

Topic Continuation (A)

Clarify prior information

Business Talk/Promotion of service

9. Freedom of changing to his existing/version of account and additional facilities, giving customers freedom of choice

Topic shift (M) Seek Information Business proposal

10. Linking to existing web site – florists, staff, people, rental, limousine companies, yellow pages, Google search, city search

Topic Development (A)

Seek Information Business Promotion

11. Existing links with Yellow pages

Topic continuation (M)

Provide Information Business Talk / problem

12. Web statistics – provide reporting on who steering the traffic Enquire situation of existing web site

Topic development (A)

Suggestion / Offer Service Identify problems

Business Talk / Promotion/ Sales talk

13. Dissatisfied with existing web site

Topic Shift (M) Relating /Identify Problem

Business Proposal (indirect)

14. Enquire about concept concerning customers’ point of view

Topic continuation (M)

Seek Information Business Proposal

15. Invest in Optimization

Topic Recycling (A) Summarizing Prior Information

Business Promotion

16. Wedding Season – overflow of demand

Topic Recycling (M) Seek Information Business Concern


Topics Aspects of topic Element of meeting Overall Structure 17. Type of Cuisines Topic Shift (M) Provide Information Hotel Credibility 18. Optimization on target market

Topic Recycling(A) Provide Information Business Talk

19.Cross-linking idea Topic Shift (M) Provide Information 20. Presentation by using flash lights for special page

Topic Shift (A) Presentation

21. Optimization encourage interactive activity

Topic Recycling (A) Effectiveness

Table 13. List of topics 4.11.5. Analysis on the topic recycling and relationship between

miscommunications, strategies and topic development

Topic management has been presented as an additional method of analysis to identify

miscommunications in the negotiation discourse. It is an independent category in terms

of analysis of data. In topic management, the topic flow will be able to indicate if the

negotiation is achieved or one can also identify any misunderstanding that is taking

place during the discussion. The different categories of topics employed by participants

could track the flow of discussion and the difficulties which may have been caused by

either confusion or misunderstanding of the participants. Both Australian IT

representatives, with the strategy of promoting their web service to Mr Ahmad in mind,

employed topic recycling as a way to develop the topic of discussion in the meeting.

The need to recycle topics on important IT features such as the ‘optimization concept’

was found to be significant. Firstly, it was done in order to make Mr Ahmad aware of its

importance in his hotel business, and secondly, to familiarize him with the benefits it

will provide to the hotel’s clientele. Throughout the course of the meeting the

‘optimization concept’ recurred more than ten times. Even after the third mention of

optimization, Mr Ahmad still only had a partial understanding of the concept. The

Australians recognized that their best chance of convincing Mr Ahmad to overhaul the

entire web system was to have him understand the optimization concept. The

Australians were very confident when applying their strategy of topic recycling, because

at every stage they were able to ‘check’ or gauge Mr Ahmad’s understanding of the

concept. They were quite aware that initially Mr Ahmad did not have a good grasp of

the concept. Typically, these were instances where deviance occurred, because Mr

Ahmad still could not fully understand the optimization concept and he could not figure

out how optimization plays a role its role in web design. Eventually, however, when he

did fully appreciate or understand the concept, he felt more secure in making a decision.


In contrast, Mr Ahmad was also applying topic recycling, but his focus was on the topic

of ‘weddings’ (refer to excerpts below). This topic was recycled seven times. However,

his intention here was to have the IT representatives place their focus on the subject of

‘wedding’ receptions, as he felt that increased wedding reception bookings would bring

greater profitability to the hotel. By recycling the topic of weddings, Mr Ahmad was

trying to create awareness among both IT representatives. This awareness carries with it

an implied concern to make as much profit for the hotel as possible. This was well

received by the Australians, and they ‘tailored’ their presentation towards profit making

for the hotel. This included an appreciation of the importance of weddings to Mr

Ahmad.

4.11.5.1. Excerpts from ‘Wedding’ topic recycling:

Topic first introduced: 15. M: ((unclear)) check it now, basically go and clean it now .hh er (.) and 16. then the airlines have come ↑in. And we have exposed ourselves to 17. that. .hh er but (.) at the moment what we are trying to look at is: er for 18. functions, ↑weddings, and the /position/

Topic recycling 1: 201. M: Where you have about fifteen thousand weddings in WA every 202. . year. /And even- (.) / 203. A2: /I would've thought-/ 204. M: even if you can get there's no point you know- you know hh- 205. fighting /((unclear))/ 206. A2: /I was gonna/ say, yea:h. 207. M: It's not really worth putting the effort there. So: (.) that's one 208. area that erm people- I mean, at least we are targeted ((unclear: tape)) 209. We need at least the rest of the year to target. (.) If we do it now it will 210. probably take six months before, you know we start seeing people come 211. in. 212. A2: For the flow to /start-/ 213. M: /For/ the flow to come in /too./ 214. A2: /Yeah./ 215. M: So I think if we can target at least two months, you know, 216. because er: the financial year. (..) Then it would be a good effort. In that 217. one year there alone, you know. 218. A2: Yeah. 219. M: So. Er when we eventually come up on the bridal sites, the 220. bridal and er I think my: (.) 'My Wedding' /(.) and a couple of-/ 221. A2: /And those types of sites, 222. yeah./

Topic recycling 2: 617. M: /I understand the point/ you are trying to make there. I 618. have also looked at something else too at the same time. The wedding


619. season takes place only between er (.) from Spring right up to er 620. somewhere in erm (..) .hh 621. after December, you know? January, February, March, it's pretty quiet as 622. far as weddings is concerned. .hh and in nine months if you are taking e:r 623. ten thousand weddings (.) How many weddings sites er available? And 624. most people want to have their wedding on a Friday night, Saturday 625. night, Sunday night. .hh so you know?, we only have three nights 626. when people want to have their wedding, you know? So /I mean-/ 627. A2: /So you're/ saying there's 628. overflow there? 629. M: Oh there is overflow. Definitely there is overflow.

Topic recycling 3: 864 M: Okay. These are the ones that shows you all the facilities, you know? 865.Page- (..) e:r (.) and this is what that comes up with the restaurant, and 866.what specials we have in our restaurant, er and everything that we do. 867.(.) And this will give you the selection and look at all the various styles 868.for (.) room configurations that we have. (.) This one. (.) 869. A1: Yep. 870. M: (.) A:nd then this is the weddings a:nd functions package that 871. Ian and you were talking about, you know? 872. A1: Yep- 873. M: E:r (...) 874. A3: Conferences. 875. M: (..) This is conferences, wedding and functions, you know? But that's 876. just about-

Overall, even though Mr Ahmad, at the beginning of the meeting, was not IT literate,

towards the end of the meeting he felt more confident during the course of the

discussion and in closing a deal at the end. The Australians were successful in using

Topic recycling to achieve their objective that was to secure a deal through the

provision of an IT service to the hotel. The section on strategies of meeting 4 shows

samples of excerpts which illustrate the Australians use of topic recycling.

Topic Recycle No. of times recycle Participants Optimization 11 (I Introduction) Australian Wedding 7 (1 Introduction) Malaysian Table 14. Topic recycling

4.11.6. Analysis on instances of miscommunication presented as themes in meeting 4 Miscommunication, in this meeting, refers to an instance in which the researcher

recognizes the possibility of a misunderstanding through the discourse of the Malaysian

manager and the Australian IT representatives. The misunderstanding becomes

identifiable when there is a mismatch in the discourse content of the discussion. For

example, it is clear that Mr Ahmad only had very limited knowledge of IT, especially


web design, and so naturally the potential was there for confusion. However, how the

participants went about handling those instances of confusion gives us an insight into

the process of how the Australians had to handle Malaysians lacking in technical

knowledge in an intercultural context. There was a lot of patience and tolerance on the

part of the Australians as they have to repeatedly explain about the technical stuff to the

Malaysians. On the other hand, the Malaysians were not humble enough to admit that

they didn’t understand. Some of these instances were handled well by the Australians,

as it was their task to make Mr Ahmad understand a selected piece of information,

namely; the optimization of websites. Their intention was to make him see the

importance of their service to the hotel web site.

4.11.6.1. Theme 1: Misunderstandings in negotiation The following excerpts show segments of discourse which underscore Mr Ahmad’s lack

of IT literacy. These exchanges show a clear imbalance in technical knowledge levels

between the participants. Mr Ahmad, for example, was unsure about the whole concept

of ‘optimization’; he did not understand ‘template’, the process of editing, nor the idea

of ‘functions’ and ‘index’ pages. At no point, however, did he readily admit that he was

not very skilled in these matters. The Australians, on the other hand, used this situation

to try to provide Mr Ahmad with the relevant information on the technical processes

involved in optimizing a website. They took on the role of educator in this regard, albeit

imparting a specific type of knowledge which would benefit their business proposal. In

this manner, the fact that Mr Ahmad was not technically competent had an impact on

the linguistic strategies chosen by the Australian IT representatives. To their advantage,

they also took the opportunity to market their services, highlight their expertise in their

field, and instil in Mr Ahmad a certain level of confidence in their capability (i.e.

enhance their credibility and level of trust). The ultimate objective was to alter Mr

Ahmad’s initial view that it would be possible to upgrade only limited aspects of the

hotel’s existing website. Instead, their goal was to convince Mr Ahmad that the amount

of money quoted for the upgrade is reasonable for the features he would like in the

website (the cost compared to benefit is good).Cost is a factor that is continuously being

negotiated throughout the discourse. The following excerpts will exemplify the

instances of miscommunication in the meeting.

Excerpt (a): M: Why don't you do me e:r? (.) This. Thirteen hundred to do the five pages. A2: ((laughs)) A1: hh- there's just a lot more work in the um-


M: Er I mean you are just only editing everything. (.) A major part of the work you have already done, you know? A2: Er /not- not the- no I haven't./ A1: /Not for the optimization./ A2: No I haven't. This- this is all your original site. All that I've done is put it into a template for you, M: Yeah. A2: so that the editor can read it. I haven't done a lot of work on that. M: On that one, no? A2: Nup. A1: And definitely not for optimization. A2: hh- No. No. ((laughs)) A1: Um. So with the optimization wh- when I- wh- when I'm working out those keywords- A2: Look wh- what I am prepared to do, right, is to throw in the Stats Package, which we sell for four-forty, on its own. I'm prepared to put hat in and give you monthly reports on where your traffic and that is coming from, as part of the deal. I'm prepared to throw that in at no charge to you. That's what I'm prepared to do The miscommunication here is that Mr Ahmad thought that the charge of thirteen hundred to do

the five pages was too expensive and felt that he was overcharged by the Australians. He had

the impression that they have done a major part of the work already. However, the Australians

claimed that they have yet to do a lot more which included the optimization. There was a sense

of dissatisfaction on the part of the Malaysian due to the misunderstanding.

Excerpt (b): 128. A1: so it's a matter of- ((coughs)) it's a matter of er doing some 129. research on the internet to- to sort of see exactly which key words we're 130. going to go for. Um I generally suggest that we work with five pages?, 131. Um on the web site?, And with those five pages we obviously choose 132. different key words fo- for each page. Um and then obviously work that 133. through. .hh and I think working with Gary we can actually make that 134. web site um definitely attract that clientele er to your business. 135. M: How do you know if we have five pages? I don't know if we 136. have how many subjects. 137. A2: Yeah but wha- what he's saying there is, urm say the actual 138. functions page?, that would be a dedicated erm promoted page. 139. A1: Correct. 140. A2: Probably with this design. 141. M: Oh okay. 142. A2: So that'll target it straight to that. 143. M: Okay, yeah. 144. A2: That- that's the sort of thing he's saying. 145.M: Mhm. 146. A1: And- and then basically from the:- from your main- from your 147. main page like the index page?, 149. M: Mhm hum. 150. A1: er the home page?, er from that we can- we can make some 151. more generic erm sort of searches available?, erm on that?, And then as- 152. as Gary just said like the functions page, we can make that more specific. 153. And that's where it's really important to erm. to have a look at the body


154. copy that- that's written on the web site?, 155. M: Can you go print er before ((unclear)) print our web site, print 156. each of the pages? 157. A3: Okay sure. 158. M: Have it printed (.) and then bring it here? 159. A3: Yeah. 160. A1: Coz um- 161. M: You come back after and we can decide at the meeting. (..) In this excerpt, it is obvious that there was a miscommunication on the discussion of function

page, index page, main page and home page. Mr Ahmad could not differentiate the different

pages mentioned by the IT representatives. His dissatisfaction led him to get a print of his hotel

web-site because he wasn’t really sure what the real discussion was about.

Excerpt (c): 1213. A2: Yea:h. Well ou- our package is four-forty /and/ 1214. A1: /Yeah./ 1215. A2: you get a written report that would go directly to you or to Ian 1216 or both. .hh And it also u:m. (.) I could give you a sample report 1217. that um Federal Brewery are using. And er look, they swear by 1218. it, and they pay four hundred- 1219. M: Alright you kind of have ((unclear: mumbles)). I think 1220. seventeen hundred for me:, after spending I think of- . /e:r ((unclear))/ 1221. A2: /You- you can say that but the money-/ the money you spent, 1222. previously, is on the Web Editor, so now you're going to have to 1223. pursue, go in, and change the code, without happening to know 1224. anything about it. Y- you know, all of these are different- different 1225. areas, and an- it's a lot of work involved. It- you just can't afford to be 1226. doing things for nothing all the time. 1227. M: I'm not saying n:othing. Of- yeah, I call it something, you 1228. know? /((laughs))/ 1229. A1: /((laughs))/ Um- 1230. M: But that's why I er- 1231. A2: But that's what I'm saying. I'm prepared to go in and install the 1232. Stats Package code, now you're gonna get a lot of good reporting- 1234. M: No- 1235. A2: and work out- 1236. M: reporting and everything is only one aspect of it. I've got 1237. /to get the/ 1238. A2: /It's a very-/ 1239. M: results out of it. /(.) In terms/ 1240. A2: /Oh look, you'll get-/ 1241. M: of e:r- er patronising my:- my hotel, you know? /That's/ 1242. A2: /Yeah./ 1243. M: the only important thing for me 1244. A1: Of course. 1245. M: Er that- all the statistics and everything it just aids me just to 1246. see how things are coming, you know? 1247 A1: Mhm. 1248. M: But the most important thing is whether I- what I stand on


1249. getting by doing all of it, you know? By bookings (.) increase in terms 1250. of er weddings and functions. .hh 1251. /E:r/ 1252. A1: /Mhm./ 1253. M: I'm not ex- expecting, you know?, er it /going up/ 1254. A1: /A flood!/ [sarcastic response] 1255. M: by /twenty fold,/ 1256. A1: /((laughs))/ 1257. M: you know? But (.) a reasonable amount /(.)/ Again, both parties were not in agreement because they could not come to the same

understanding of the issue. Mr Ahmad felt that he could not get what he wanted in expectation

from the IT representatives. The IT people were trying their best to make Mr Ahmad understand

what they could do to help him with the whole set up and that their charges were very

reasonable. To a certain point in the negotiation, the IT representatives realized that Mr

Ahmad’s had a high expectation of the outcome and this was illustrated when they responded

sarcastically (see line 1254).

4.11.6.2. Researcher’s interpretation on the miscommunication Miscommunication in this meeting data occurs, in the first instance, because the

Malaysian manager is not at all familiar with regards to IT terminology and process that

are useful for upgrading the hotel web site. Secondly, due to his lack of self confidence

with the IT subject, he felt insecure and became unsure of the Australians’ offer to

produce a cost effective web site for his potential clients. However, these instances

provided the Australians with the opportunity to market their web design service to Mr

Ahmad. The gaps in Mr Ahmad’s understanding were willingly filled by the Rapunzel

Web representatives; in fact, they often found themselves repeating certain key points

several times. This was done deliberately as instances of topic recycling. For example,

the concept of ‘optimization,’ which was their main focus, was repeated and explained

many times throughout the meeting. This was thought to be both necessary and

important because, from the discussion, the Australians knew that Mr Ahmad, did not

have a clear understanding of the concept. Mr Barnes and Mr Docherty thought that the

most approach in achieving their objective was to educate Mr Ahmad in the intricacies

of Web design. Unlike the approaches taken in meetings one and two, where rapport

building played an important role in the negotiation, the Australians adopted a more task

oriented approach. The Australians realized that finding a ‘niche’ (the place where both

parties’ interests converge) for their service relied on Mr Ahmad understanding the

technical concepts they are working with.


4.12. Analysis on instances of strategies in meeting 4 4.12.1. Strategy 1: Reemphasizing key information related to service

In this meeting, the strategies identified relate particularly, but not exclusively, to the

Australian IT representatives, as they were present at the meeting to convince Mr

Ahmad to purchase their service. One of these strategies was to repeat or reemphasize

specific information which would contribute to Mr Ahmad’s understanding of IT

processes and ultimately contribute to Mr Ahmad’s decision to use Rapunzel Web’s

service. Because Mr Ahmad’s struggled to fully understand the concepts and services,

and to decide whether it would benefit the hotel web site, this meeting is quite lengthy.

Mr Ahmad was concerned to ensure the Australian IT representatives were directing

adequate attention to the wedding aspect of his business, and to ensure that the

Australian representatives were not being manipulative in light of his lack of technical

knowledge. Sensing Mr Ahmad’s anxiousness in regards to not fully understanding the

information technology concepts and ideas, as well as the pricing structure, the

Australians tried to convince him of their expertise in the industry, and that their price

is, in fact, very reasonable for the excellent service that he would receive. How they did

this was by enhancing their own credibility and increasing the level of confidence Mr

Ahmad might feel towards them. By continually feeding him information, and focusing

almost exclusively on the task at hand, they remain attentive to his needs and created a

feeling of competence. In addition, by continually feeding him information, the

Australians did not give Mr Ahmad any space for digressing and the meeting remained

focused.

4.12.2. Strategies employed by the Australian representatives to ensure Mr Ahmad

understood the service which they marketed or offered.

4.12.2.1. Excerpts from meeting data:

Example 1: A1: So: um when you actually look at a browser?, the browser is 31. actually giving you representation of the actual code of the web 32. /site?,/ 33. M: /Mhm./ 34. A1: A:nd so it's behind the scenes that the optimization really 35. works?, .hh u:m. there is generally some e:r er (..) the- there is some 36. indication on the website that optimization has- has er ↑occurred. 37. /Be/cause

Example 2: A1: Yep. (..) Okay. .hh Wi- with um (.) wi- with these areas that 123. we've identified?, look um it is possible with search engine optimization


124. to actually attract that clientele. 125. M: Mhm. 126. A1: U:m. It is just a matter of working as I said with your web site?, 127. and um .hh getting those- getting those key words decided on. /u:m/ 128. M: /Mhm 129. hum./ 130. A1: so it's a matter of- ((coughs)) it's a matter of er doing some 131. research on the internet to- to sort of see exactly which key words we're 132. going to go for. Um I generally suggest that we work with five pages?, 133. Um on the web site?, And with those five pages we obviously choose 134. different key words fo- for each page. Um and then obviously work that 135. through. .hh and I think working with Gary we can actually make that 136. web site um definitely attract that clientele er to your business.

Example 3:

A1: Coz it- the body copy, like what's written on the actual web site is extremely important?, when it comes to- to the optimization. Um whe- when we're looking at the optimization I like to find what I call primary and secondary key words, A1: Um just expanding on that, one other area that's extremely important to: search engine optimization is er links that- that you actually have?, [shows the desire to instruct Mr Ahmad]

Example 4: A1: /Okay./ Yeah. Coz really building that- building that base of external links to your site is extremely important?, U:m and- /(.)/ M: /Yeah./ A1: basically the more links we can build erm that come to your ↑ site, the (.) the more successful it's gonna make the- the optimization

Example 5: A2: well I'll tell you something though, regardless of what you decide to do with the make up of the site, I think you should put (.) web statistics into the site because /that's/

Example 6: A1: u:m as I was saying, we- with optimization we can get people to the site, but you've gotta get them interacting with you. /You've gotta/ M: /Mhm. Okay./ A1: get them giving you're- giving their details to you. .hh um and that's where, .hh you know?, whatever you do with Flash can actually encourage that? And U:m-

Example 7: A1: Well wha- what I was just thinking is um you could actually be asking?, You- you could say, look we've got a:- a document that outlines all of our room ↑ layouts ↓ um give us your email address and we'll pop it through to you. A3: Yeah. A1: There- therefore they're starting to interact with you?, M: Mhm /hum./


A1: /Um/ you've got their email, you can keep that and you can do some advertisements through to them as /well./ A3: /yeah./ M: Mhm. A1: (.) But that would be another way to do it. And then (.) we can actually utilise this space more to get relevant body copy for the optimization. And obviously also get some very nice sort of photos that you may /have/ 4.12.3. Strategy 2: Building recognition and demonstrating authority: Mr Ahmad

In order to compensate for his lack of IT knowledge, Mr Ahmad, as the manager of the

hotel and financial decision maker, felt he had to demonstrate his authority and convey

the feeling that he had some control over the direction of the meeting. Mr Ahmad

recognized that he was in a vulnerable position due to his limited knowledge and

experience in such matters. For this reason, he attempted to reassert some sense of

hierarchy to get the message across that he, as a purchaser, is ultimately the decision

maker in this process. He did this at certain points in the discourse, for instance:

Excerpt (b): lines 150-161 150. A1: er the home page?, er from that we can- we can make some 151. more generic erm sort of searches available?, erm on that?, And then as- 152. as Gary just said like the functions page, we can make that more specific. 153. And that's where it's really important to erm. to have a look at the body 154. copy that- that's written on the web site?, 155. M: Can you go print er before ((unclear)) print our web site, print 156. each of the pages? 157. A3: Okay sure. 158. M: Have it printed (.) and then bring it here 159. A3: Yeah. 160. A1: Coz um- 161. M: You come back after and we can decide at the meeting. (..)

Excerpt 3: Lines 1269-1292 1269. M: /Okay./ 1270. Well can you give me some- some sites that you have already done and 1271. /(.) e:r then we can have a look at it./ 1272. A2: /You can give him some references, can't you?/ 1273. A1: /er I- I- I ↓ can./ 1274. M: /I just want/ to get 1275. a feel of it, you know? 1276. A2: /Yeah/. 1277. M: /Because/ I am still- 1278. A1: But there's not much- there's not much really that you can get 1279. from it?, in that sense. U:m (.) I mean, I – I think, what looking at here, 1280 is we've got- we- we're looking at five pages for that- for that seventeen 1281 hundred. U:m I'm not seeing really five pages in /here-/ 1282. M: /No/ look 1283. you- you give me a few companies /that/ 1284. A1: /Ye:ah./


1285. M: you have done. I will go and look because e:r (.) and see, you 1286. know?, if- if this is their a company then how did you find it, 1287. definitely I understand that /some/ 1288.A1: /Mhm./ 1289. M: things are made for. .hh And then I can look on this and then 1290. see whether it's- er your price is fair, you know? 1291. A1: Okay. .hh Just- 1292. M: I have to look on something, you know?

4.12.4. Researcher’s interpretation

The strategies adopted by both the Malaysian and the Australian participants are

different in light of their roles in the business negotiation meeting. The Malaysian

manager is the buyer, and, as such, he was more interested in getting the best price and

most beneficial service out of the Australian IT representatives. He knew that his

knowledge in IT was insubstantial, yet he was bold enough to have the meeting with the

Australians. The Australians recognized this, and they provided an intensive explanation

of the service. This made Mr Ahmad feel slightly disempowered and, as a consequence,

throughout the meeting he tried to reinstate his position as the decision-maker by

punctuating the discourse with reminders to the Australians that he cannot easily be

manipulated. The Australians viewed this as an opportunity to achieve their objective.

Firstly, they accommodated his requests and needs. Secondly, they created an

atmosphere whereby Mr Ahmad finally came to grips with the services he was being

provided with, as well as the appropriateness of the quoted price. The Australians, in

educating Mr Ahmad, instilled in him enough confidence to finally come to an informed

decision. Even though the Australian IT representatives were successful in getting the

deal from Mr Ahmad, the whole process was not only stressful, but quite exhaustive.

They made a lot of accommodations to Mr Ahmad’s requests. The business transaction

was intensive for the Rapunzel Web’s representatives because first they had to identify

Mr Ahmad’s concerns about his existing web site. Through the identification of his

concerns, they were then able to promote their service. It was a very challenging task

for the Australians, especially as they had to explain the concept and operation of the

term ‘optimization’ a number of times, and also during meeting negotiate the cost of the

service.

4.12.5. Identification of themes from the perception interviews In qualitative study, searching for themes in the final analysis is an important approach

in order to identify the meaning of the data. A theme is defined as a statement of


meaning that (1) runs through all or most of the pertinent data, or (2) shows an

emotional or factual impact (Ely, 1984). Themes reflect on researcher’s inferred

statement that highlights explicit or implied attitudes toward life, behavior, or

understandings of a person, persons, or culture. They are usually phrases or even single

words and sometimes a form of statement. These identified themes can be organized in

categories. Categories give further understanding on the meaning of the findings

because of the supporting evidence that each category has and also the link that can be

determined. In this study, the categories that were created to organize data help the

researcher to discover themes by highlighting some relation between them. It is a

process of explaining one’s reasoning for whatever categories created. Thus, researchers

use a thematic analysis to present findings identified from interviews that were

conducted. However, in this study these are called ‘tendencies’ because of the extremely

limited data.

The tendencies (themes) identified in this analysis have been derived from the initial

interviews conducted by the researcher with experienced business people both

Malaysian and Australian in Western Australia. There were altogether 25 participants

who have given their cooperation. However, there were only 5 Australians and 20

Malaysians. The imbalance number of Australians and Malaysians participants was due

to the sensitive subject matter which this study is dealing with, apart from the researcher

who is a Malaysian, finds it easier to get fellow Malaysians to participate.

4.12.6. Conclusion

This chapter has analysed the data and presented some of the findings from the

perception interviews, the four meetings and the follow-up interviews conducted with

the participants. The following section provides an interpretation of these findings,

particularly in relation to topic management, miscommunication and strategies that were

identified in the analysis chapter.


Chapter Five

DISCUSSION

5.1. Introduction The primary aim of this research is to uncover the linguistic and non-linguistic features

which either promote or hinder the success of cross-cultural business negotiations

between Malaysians and Australians. In this chapter, key Malaysian concepts will be

introduced, and that these may be new to non-Malaysian readers. Also in this chapter,

the miscommunication/deviance, strategies and topic management features that were

identified in the four negotiation meetings are interpreted in order to answer the

following questions:

1) What are the instances of deviance and strategies that can be identified?

2) How is the topic development influenced by the instances of miscommunication

(deviance) and intercultural competence (strategies) of the speaker?

3) How do the Malaysian and Australian business people describe their general

experience in relation to business?

This study has identified some of the problems that emerge within Malaysian-Australian

cross-cultural business negotiations. This chapter will investigate these problems, and

offer an interpretation of why they have occurred, as well as suggestions as to how these

might be overcome. In this regard, the research creates an awareness of the importance

Chapter 5 – Discussion 205

of intercultural competence skills in a cross-cultural encounter. Such awareness may

benefit global integration more broadly, and certainly a by-product of this is that when

intercultural competence is applied to the highly competitive international business

arena it can potentially contribute to more successful business communication. The

research has been undertaken with the objective of investigating negotiation discourse

between Malaysian and Australian business people. From this investigation it was

found that miscommunication was occurring as a result of a lack of inter-cultural

competence in the current strategies of business participants. The study has allowed for

the formulation of some guiding principals that should improve cross-cultural business

negotiations between Australian and Malaysian business people. In essence the study

contributes to the development of Kramsch’s (1993) notion of a ‘third place’; an

intermediary place between two cultures in which one can comprehend the sensitivities

of the other, recognize dissonance in communication and understand how to resolve it.

This should enable relationships to evolve beyond cultural differences. The skill of

intercultural competence is to know ‘how to put yourself in the shoes of the other

person’. Then, on this basis, one may proceed from a comprehension of why

misunderstanding occurs, to the management and overcoming of this misunderstanding.

This research clearly shows that Malaysian business people see themselves differently

than do Australians, and vice versa. The question raised here is ‘why do these

differences emerge?’ It will be argued here that they emerge from cultural differences.

The following interpretation will draw on three forms of empirical evidence; perception

interviews, meeting data and follow-up interviews. The researcher’s aim was to identify

instances where miscommunication occurred, as well as instances of strategies which

could potentially contribute to the effectiveness of communication. From the analysis in

chapter 4 a pattern emerged in the way that miscommunication occurred, and how

strategies were performed. This has made it possible to group deviance and strategies

and present the findings thematically. Altogether five discursive strategies identified

were: Building rapport; Ethics; Building recognition; Style of Business Practice; and

Topic Management. These discursive strategies have been selected as they appear in

two or more of the Australian-Malaysian business meetings. The discussion of each

discursive strategy will constitute a separate section within this chapter. Within each

section, the discussion will also include an investigation of the importance of topic

development, as well as an assessment of the intercultural skills needed to overcome

cultural dissonance in Australian- Malaysian business meetings.


Malaysian Australian

International Business

Negotiations

Building recognition/Credibility

Rapport Building

Topic Management

EthicsStyle of business

Figure 6. International business negotiations influencing factors

5.2. Topic Management as a Skill According to Gardner (1987), the flow of topic in an interactional discourse can be

closely followed through the ‘communication of ideas’ and ‘intentions of the speakers’

(p.129). In this study, this communicative role can be achieved through the speakers’

management of topics rather it is a series of discursive moves or strategies. By

managing the topics in a discussion, one may be able to control the flow of the

discussion and increase the likelihood of achieving one’s goals or objectives. Topic

management is shaped by a number of categories, these are topic change, topic shift,

topic recycling, topic reintroduction and topic maintenance (see chapter 4 for full

definitions).

From the Analysis Chapter, it has been identified that topic management has a role to

play in structuring discourse. Particularly in cross-cultural context, the development of

topics is a useful and crucial strategy through which business negotiators might achieve

their goals. In this study, topic management has been used as an effective means to

structure the meetings by some of the participants. These meetings include two seller-

buyer negotiation meetings; one business presentation meeting and one joint-venture or

collaborative negotiation meeting.

5.3. Topic change Topic change occurs at the point when the speaker introduces a new topic. This is an

important juncture in the discourse, because the speaker who initiates the topic change

has an objective or purpose in mind. The initiators of the topic change will, ideally,

then develop the topic of discussion logically by employing a coherent sequence of

relevant topic shifts. For example, in meeting 2 an Australian representative of Transit


Tour initiated a topic change on rapport building and then employed a sequence of topic

shifts that served to strengthen the main discussion. His objective was to establish

between himself and Mr Wong common ground on global and social issues. By

managing the topics well, the Australians were able to convey their attitude of respect

and tolerance for diverse religious beliefs. They also condemned radicals and violence.

The rapport building was conducted strategically as the Australians were endeavouring

to portray themselves as being in favour of cultural diversity which they anticipate

would meet with Mr Wong’s approval. The Australians were found to be effective in

the way they dealt with the topic change. They developed each topic change until they

reached a point of satisfaction before initiating the next topic change. Ultimately, they

were able to instill confidence in Mr Wong in order to secure a business venture for the

future.

5.4. Topic shifts Topic shifts take place when the speaker responds to the existing topic of discussion by

introducing another topic which only has indirect relevance to the existing topic in

terms of subject matter. It broadens, expands or builds on the topic. The following will

highlight the ways in which the Australian Tourism and IT representatives (in meetings

2 and 4 respectively) managed topic shift as a means to build rapport with their

Malaysian counterparts. Meeting 4 also demonstrates the way in which topic shifts are

being used as strategy to educate or convince potential clients of the benefit of key

services. In meeting 4 there was no distinct ‘non-essential’ discourse embedded in the

meeting. However, this is not to say that the Australians did not build rapport. They

achieved this by delivering a tight, continuous sequence of topic shifts solely relating to

business content. This was designed to instil confidence in the Malaysian manager, that

they (the Australian IT representatives) have the best expertise to provide this service to

the hotel. In essence, they were able to achieve rapport without the discussion of non-

essential topics which are usually associated with rapport building: trust, comfort,

confidence and reliability. In this meeting, the Australians appeared to believe that

being knowledgeable, and showing one’s expertise, would suffice to build trust and

confidence in their clients. They believed in increasing their level of credibility towards

the counter part by reemphasizing the service that they are providing a number of times.

This finding reflects Spencer-Oatey’s (2000) assertion that rapport building occurs

within five interrelated domains. In this instance, rapport-building is being conducted in

the illocutionary (speech acts) and discourse (topic choice) domains.


Once again in meeting 4, the Australian IT representatives use topic shifts, this time as a

strategy to educate and provide the Malaysian manager with information about their

company’s services. They recognised that their primary task was to make Mr Ahmad

understand the benefit of the ‘optimization’ feature for his hotel’s website. Failing to

make Mr Ahmad completely understand its function, would almost certainly minimize

their chance of closing a deal with him. The Australians, therefore, used topic shift to

increase his technical understanding of this feature. The sequence of topic shifts

incrementally build Mr Ahmad’s knowledge to a point where he could be convinced

about its value, and feel confident in accepting Rapunzel-Web’s service. At the same

time, the Australian IT representatives were enhancing their credibility by displaying

their expertise and showing that they were attuned the needs of the hotel. Overall, the

Australians were successful in educating Mr Ahmad about the optimization concept

which convinced him to see the need for the product they were selling.

Meeting number 2 differed slightly in that there was talk involving non-essential topics.

For instance, the Australian tourism representatives utilized ‘current affairs talk’ as a

means to create an impression that we are ‘like-minded people’ who can find some form

of common ground outside the parameters of business matters. A substantial portion of

the discourse produced at the initial stage of the meeting was dedicated to rapport

building (begins line 118-218). After outlining, in general terms, the current destination

trends for Asian tourists, one of the Australian tourism representatives made a topic

shift to current affairs issues (specifically the Madrid train bombing) – see Chapter 4

section on rapport building, meeting 2.

A2: Well, same as Singapore market, Aus- Eur- Europe will become very attractive again. (.) M2: Mhm. A2: Cheap! A3: Mhm. (.) Make the change too. e:rm, (..) God willing, A2: /Mhm./ A3: /it/ won’t happen but maybe, anothe:r er Madrid /er/ M2: /bombing-/ A3: bombing, /yeah/ A2: /d'you/ see what happened in London today? M2: The building?, Ye'ah. The- the- A3: There London today? They- /they/ M2: /They/ come from a town just near Madrid (.)


From this point on, rapport building revolved around the development of a series of

related topic shifts which stemmed from the initial shift in line 112. The discourse

shows that the Australians gradually expanded on the topic of terrorism to include

religious difference, tolerance, security laws and the right to express one’s beliefs.

The introduction of topics surrounding the theme of current affairs served two purposes.

Firstly, the broaching of non-essential topics (as distinct from the business content

elements in the discourse) created a space for building comfort, togetherness,

confidence and complementarity; a synergistic basis for working together successfully.

Second, the nature of the topics they elaborated on enabled them to convey a positive

message to the Malaysian inbound tour operator. That is, religious diversity, and the

violence and the discriminatory beliefs associated with it, should not be an obstacle to

business. The message they were trying to convey is that they are tolerant, and that

working with tourists who hold a plurality of beliefs and values will not be an issue. In

such a discussion, both parties can potentially create a ‘spirit of openness’ (Chenail,

1995) where trust is built between them and the quality of the relationship will be taken

to another level. This sort of rapport building also serves as a ‘testing’ platform from

which both parties can gauge each other’s ‘receptiveness’.

In meeting 3, however, Mr Raj used topic shifts, but apparently without any clear

direction or strategy in mind. In this example, the management of topic was inefficient.

Mr Raj initiated topic shifts but failed to adequately develop them in the meeting.

Therefore, these topic shifts appeared more as interruptions in the business meeting,

because they basically represented a series of diverse enquiries which could not be

developed as a coherent discussion. On the surface it appeared that Mr Raj initiated

random topic shifts and a result his purpose for initiating these topics was ambiguous to

Ms Browne.

This demonstrated his lack of competency in managing topics. As a consequence, Ms

Browne became more confused and unsure of Mr Raj’s intentions. Through the

meeting, however, Ms Browne adapted to this, and developed a strategy to pursue her

marketing role by maintaining Mr Raj’s topic shifts, yet tying-in her marketing or sales

talk. She did this by accommodating Mr Raj’s requests for information. She then

continued to maintain the topic before shifting the discussion to her company’s product.


The conclusion drawn was that there were two reasons behind Mr Raj’s topic

management style. Firstly, it was partly undertaken with the intention of avoiding

committing himself to Ms Browne’s proposal. Second, his frequent use of topic change

and shift was used as a strategy to establish some form of dominance over the meeting.

Because his initial topic change occurred at a very early stage of the meeting, Ms

Browne became unsettled. To some extent, Mr Raj’s strategy was successful in that Ms

Browne took a less dominant role in the meeting than she would have otherwise taken,

given that she was present to market her products. However, she adjusted her style by

taking control of topic management in the manner described above (by accommodating

Mr Raj’s enquiries yet weaving into them elements of her proposal). In effect, she was

able to refocus on her proposal whenever she had the opportunity.

5.5. Topic recycling In meeting 2, the Australian in-bound tour representatives employed topic recycling as a

strategy to highlight their company’s strength. By highlighting their company’s

strength, their intention was to build their credibility and again enhance the level of

confidence Mr Wong had in their company. In particular, they sought to highlight the

company’s commitment towards expanding their business in WA. They recycled this

particular topic four times throughout the meeting.

Similarly, in meeting 4, the two Australian IT representatives used topic recycling (in

conjunction with topic shift as described in the previous section) as a strategy to educate

Mr Ahmad on the IT software and service which their company is promoting. Recycling

the topic of ‘optmization’ was found to be an effective strategy for the Rapunzel Web

representatives. This was because Mr Ahmad had great difficulty in understanding IT

specifications which had the potential to improve the profitability of his hotel. By using

the topic recycling technique, the Australians were able to continuously gauge Mr

Ahmad’s understanding. They had obviously anticipated that Mr Ahmad probably did

not understand the concept of ‘optimization’. Likewise, they perhaps also did not expect

that if it was only explained once during the meeting he would be able to adequately

comprehend this service. Topic recycling is a useful strategy in such a situation, where

success in a negotiation relies heavily on the understanding of a key idea or concept. As

it turned out, it was only after the fifth instance of topic recycling that Mr Ahmad began

to understand the concept.


However, in meeting 3, the recycling of topic in relation to vending machine by Mr Raj

was conducted for a very different purpose. Mr Raj used topic recycling as an avoiding

mechanism to divert the focus of Ms Browne’s proposal.

5.6. Building Rapport The building of rapport is recognised as an important element in the affairs of business

(Spencer-Oatey and Xing, 2005). Rapport building has the potential to contribute to a

successful outcome in business dealings. As stated in Chapter 4, rapport can be defined

as the ability to ‘manage social relations, by building relationships between participants

which may lead to a more conducive and agreeable communication climate’ (Planken,

2005, p. 381). Spencer-Oatey (2000, p.20) uses the framework of ‘rapport’, rather than

politeness, to investigate the way people manage social relationships when

communicating. She argues that rapport is managed across five interrelated domains:

The illocutionary domain (the performance of speech acts).

The discourse domain (the choice of discourse content which includes topic choice, the

management of the structure of an interchange, such as the organization and sequencing

of information).

The participation domain (the procedural aspects of an interchange such as turn-

taking, inclusion/exclusion of people present, and the use/non-use of listener response).

The stylistic domain (stylistic aspects, such as choice of tone, choice of genre-

appropriate lexis and syntax, and the use of honorific).

The non-verbal domain (non-verbal aspects, such as gestures and the other body

movements, eye-contact, and proxemics).

Building rapport in the context of business interactions is crucial as it is a determining

factor in the cultivation of qualities such as commitment, trust and reliability, as well as

preference and acceptance. If one is neither comfortable, nor confident, in the

relationship between business partners, it is unlikely there will be a commitment

towards the establishment of collaborative business dealings. With commitment, there

will be a degree of trust and reliability towards each other in accomplishing the business

objectives. It is important that, with successful rapport building, one will be able to

shape an effective relationship which will work towards the advantage of both parties.

Rapport is, therefore, a primary element in the success of any cross-cultural business

deal. There is a possibility that even if one company is known to be outstanding,


without the criteria of rapport building, it might not be selected as a preferred company.

As one Malaysian participant stated ‘[w]hat I believe is, if there is no rapport or

networking here, although you have a business I don’t think they [Australians] will

come forward to you, you see. So I always believe in building rapport first’. And

another, ‘[T]he more business you do with them [Australians], the more you see them,

the more tea breaks [you share] with them, the better they get. And, it doesn’t take long,

and it doesn’t take much’. Rapport, ultimately, contributes to the decision-making

process of business people, to the extent that one may be able to ‘close a deal’ with

greater confidence and ease. A synergistic collaboration of effort could be effectively

achieved with a ‘workable bonding’.

5.6.1. Malaysian Perceptions on rapport building

According to the literature, building rapport is a primary concern of businesspeople

from the Asia-Pacific region. This is in comparison to Western businesspeople who are

often more task focused. The data from this research confirms that rapport building, for

Malaysians, is clearly an important part of doing business. Often their focus, in initial

business encounters, is simply to begin to lay the foundations of a strong relationship

between themselves and their prospective business partner. If they are successful in

building a comfortable relationship, trust, they assume, will develop and business

dealings will follow with full confidence. However, rapport is not created naively, it is

done purposefully; as one Malaysian participant commented, ‘the close rapport which

we build together….[means that] we are able to control them in one way or another, or

manipulate them in one way or rather to, to make sure it is to our favour, rather than to

their favour’. Very seldom is it that Malaysians who come to Australia for business

would want, or expect, to close any deal with their Australian clients on the first, second

or even third meeting. This is a pattern which structures the Malaysian rapport building

approach.

From the analysis of data in chapter 4, it is clear that Malaysians, in the context of

business negotiations, have the perception that rapport building can be achieved during

the business meeting. This occurred in meeting 1, where Ms Aiman, the ‘Relationships

Manager’, came to the meeting with the primary intention of establishing a relationship

with Mr Edwards, rather than getting him to immediately consent to a deal (ie. to sell

her financial product to his clients). Ms Aiman felt that the best way to build rapport

was to present herself in a more relaxed and informal way (see chapter 4). Ms Aiman


suggested that Malaysians should adapt to ‘Australian-like ways’ which to her was to

avoid being ‘serious’ in her interaction with Mr Edwards. For instance, Ms Aiman’s

repertoire of rapport-building techniques included the provision of muffins, the use of

colloquial language and some light-hearted banter. The muffins could be conceptualized

as a ‘prop’ in her performance, one which would instill in Mr Edwards a feeling that she

is thoughtful and considerate. Ms Aiman readily admits this is a practice peculiar to

Australian business meetings. It is something that she had experienced at various times

in the four years she had been working in Australia. Never before had she heard of this

practice in Malaysia. Similarly, the use of colloquial language and banter is perceived

by Ms Aiman as being uniquely Australian and something that must be learnt in order

for it to be applied with any credibility. For instance, in her perception interview, Ms

Aiman comments that:

I try to [tell jokes] but I play it safe…if you don’t know how to tell a joke, I mean I’m

not a typical joker. I’m more so, I laugh together when somebody else gives the joke, I

guess I’m in the point of still learning all the jokes that they do and all that. That’s

actually quite interesting. I’d say, you would be really surprised if you have a ‘Mat

Salleh31’ giving a Malay joke. They can only do that when they understand the culture

of the Malay, right? So ya, there you go.

Although Ms Aiman’s strategies for rapport building are based on her perceptions of

what is typically enacted in Australian business encounters, her assumption of the

importance of rapport building is a reflection of her cultural background. Her rationale

for elevating the importance of rapport building is illustrated in the following quote

where she argues that ‘a bank is a bank is a bank, no matter how good the [financial]

product it ultimately depends on the relationship’. In other words, most products or

services are comparable; it is the bond between negotiators which will determine who

gets the deal. The following section offers a possible explanation as to why rapport

building is an integral part of the Malaysian business approach.

5.6.2. The Tradition of ‘Lobbying’ in Malaysia

‘Lobbying’ is a sub-component of building rapport and relationship management for

Malaysian business people. The lobbying process is aimed at ‘influencing [the]

decisions made by authorities on local, national or international levels (eg. politicians,

31 The term ‘Mat Salleh’ is a label often given to Westerners in Malaysia.


managers etc.) (Perjons, Bider, & Andersson, 2007). Lobbying, in the Malaysian

context, means to work towards building a closer relationship in order to be included in

the ‘preferred business circle’. Lobbying is a tactic to secure a business deal; it can be

done either through those who are directly involved in the decision-making process or

through indirect channels, via those who are not decision-makers but have some

influence over the decision-makers (Perjons et al., 2007). The term lobbying

emphasizes the fact that many large business projects need extensive bureaucratic

approval from the government. One way of achieving this is to develop strong networks

with people working in the public sector, including politicians. Lobbying generally

occurs prior to the submission of any formal business proposal. It is primarily

conceptualized as an act of ‘socializing’ with the intention of achieving, at some later

date, one’s business objective or goal. This is a common practice among Malaysian

business elites. These elites recognize that lobbying, in the same vein as business

advertising and promotion, almost always incurs a financial cost.

Lobbying can be conducted in several ways; these include going out to a restaurant for

coffee, lunch or dinner as social meetings (Abdullah Asma, 1996, p. 139); home

invitation for lunch or dinner; playing golf and going for arranged (and usually

company sponsored) holidays together. Home invitation is a common gesture which is

encompassed under the term lobbying among Malaysian businessmen. This is often an

invitation extended to potential business counterparts regardless of their nationality.

This involves entering into one’s private domain with the intention of developing

closeness. At the same time, it is a technique employed to impress, or to display to the

business counterpart one’s status in Malaysian society. Therefore, guests would

normally be lavished with food, often in the style of a barbeque. The intention will be to

put on ‘a big show’ in order to impress the invited guests. With an overt display of

hospitality, those doing the lobbying aim to create the impression of themselves as

credible elite businesspeople. For instance, one Australian businessman, married to a

Malaysian and with over ten years’ experience doing business in the halal meat

industry, was interviewed and reported the following:

Researcher: Do you think that building rapport will help you deal better with them? Australian participant: A lot of business we do with Malaysians, and also our clients that come from the Middle East, a lot of it [business is carried out] on a personal level now. It’s not like when they come down here we pick them up at the airport, take them out to dinner and then drop them at the hotel and bye-bye, see you later. I bring all my clients to my house to meet my family. We take them to picnics and barbeques. Because


that’s, you know, I think that’s better because you make them feel welcome. I think that’s more the Malaysian style. Researcher: What about the Australians? Australian participant: No, that’s typically opposite. Australians would never do that. They just pick them up [from the airport] and that’s it.

Golf has always been considered an elite sport within Malaysian society. It is the hobby

of successful and established businessmen. For a person to be able to play golf in

Malaysia, one must be a club member, which is very expensive. Not only that, one must

be selected and approved by the club’s board members. Acceptance into the club as a

member always includes the checking of one’s financial status. Therefore, golfers have

their own exclusive circle which includes elite businesspeople. Golf is inevitably

associated with people of high status. This contrasts somewhat to this sport in Australia,

a context in which - with the availability of public golf courses - it is accessible to the

masses. This fact contributes to misunderstandings between Malaysian and Australian

businesspeople. For instance, Malaysians sometimes come to Australia on business, yet

set aside a sizeable portion of their time to play golf. They envision this as being a

legitimate activity through which to do business. Australians, however, often do not see

it this way. For instance, one Australian participant during the perception interviews

commented that:

I always believe that, you know, when people come down to Australia to do

business for three or four days and you go to the airport to meet him and they

have golf clubs, my first attitude is that they are not serious. Because if you are

here for three or four days…are you here to do business or play golf? I know

they like golf, but you know, if they are going to be on the golf course for two

days, they are not serious. But I guess if you want to do the business first, and

then play golf, that’s OK.

Another act of lobbying which is specifically practiced among Malaysian business

people is the practice of going on sponsored vacations. These are often offered to

prospective business parties by companies eager to cultivate a ‘preferred status’ or

ensure a deal. If one comes from the corporate sector, this holiday is often financed

through a company budget which includes an entertainment allowance created

specifically for this type of rapport-building activity. This type of private arrangement

usually takes place after both parties have built an initial feeling of trust between them

and the holiday is used as a forum for further business discussions.


When lobbying takes place, discussions will focus primarily, but not exclusively, on

business matters. This is despite the fact that the environments in which lobbying takes

place are outwardly social. Not only that, these are forums in which hospitality and

expense are outlaid in order to solicit the favour of a prospective business partner.

Malaysians, in business, find it culturally acceptable to create an occasion which has

both a social and business function. In the process of doing so, both parties will,

ideally, seek to establish a level of trust and credibility. Very often, lobbying is focused

on top (higher ranking) decision makers of the targeted company. The result of lobbying

is usually expected to be promising and positive, especially in getting a contract, tender

or any kind of deal where the scenario is more competitive in nature. There are many

contrasts when compared with the Australian way of building rapport in business.

5.6.3. Australian Perceptions of Building Rapport

Australians tend to have a different view of how to build rapport. Perhaps the most

fundamental difference that was revealed in the data was that Australian businesspeople

prefer separate forums for building rapport and business talk. As has been discussed

above, the Malaysian style of building rapport has two primary dimensions: firstly,

rapport is established simultaneously with, or woven into, business dealings (in a

business come leisure scenario, such as might take place at the golf-course, on a

sponsored vacation, in a karaoke bar or home invitation). Furthermore, rapport-building

is seen as a relatively elaborate process typically involving multiple contacts over an

extended period of time. Second, rapport building, although it involves surface level

talk of business, precedes more serious and detailed discussions of business matters.

Malaysian business practitioners are ultimately trying to engender the trust and loyalty

of potential business partners. With an increase in the level of trust, there will be a

greater willingness to enter into a commitment towards a joint business task involving

both parties. This is the same for Australian business practitioners; however they go

about trying to achieve this in a different way.

The Australians who participated in the study prefer separate forums for rapport-

building and business talk. They did not think it appropriate to have a ‘leisure-come-

business scenario’. This view was confirmed in meeting 1, where Mr Edwards directly

affirmed that rapport building should not be carried out during a business meeting. In

meetings 2, 3 and 4, the Australians either did not attempt rapport-building, or it was


done very superficially. In all cases, rapport building by the Australians never drifted far

from the specific business task under discussion. For instance, Mr Edwards stated that

he is more likely to engage in business dealings with someone that he has had regular,

unofficial (primarily social) meetings with prior to entering into serious business

negotiations (see chapter 4). The implication here is that he envisions that there should

ideally be a distinction between business and social ‘talk’. Clearly, he did not appreciate

the fact that Ms Aiman endeavoured to build rapport during the meeting. At the

meeting, he was keenly focused on the business content of her proposal (which he

identified at an early stage, and came to the conclusion it was not viable). Mr Edwards

did not feel that a business meeting was the proper context for the type of informality

Ms Aiman displayed. Had she adopted this informal ‘Australian’ style outside the

business meeting, at, for instance an unofficial social event, perhaps he would have been

more receptive to Ms Aiman’s attempt at rapport building. In fact, Mr Edwards was not

aware that Ms Aiman’s intention was solely to build the foundations for future business,

rather than trying to immediately close a deal. This particular example is demonstrative

of the proposition that Malaysian business people, at least initially, prioritize

relationship-building over the business task. If the former is not done well, if they do

not feel comfortable, they will not have the confidence to proceed further in a business

transaction. This framework was perhaps residing in the mind of Ms Aiman as she felt

that prioritising rapport-building was the natural first step in getting Mr Edwards to

consider, at a later date, the details of her business proposition.

In meeting 2 the Australian in-bound tourism representatives did attempt to build

rapport during the meeting. It was purposeful in that they tried to cultivate a particular

image of themselves as tolerant of cultural diversity to gain Mr Wong’s confidence. In

meeting 3, Ms Browne, the food distributor representative, only indulged in some light-

hearted joking toward the conclusion of the meeting, after an agreement had been

reached. Likewise in meeting 4, it was only at the end of the negotiation that the

Australian IT representatives engaged in social talk. The data shows that Australian

attitudes towards, and practices of, building rapport are nowhere near as extensive,

elaborate or resource consuming as Malaysians.

A valuable insight taken from this meeting is the awareness that for Australian business

participants, unlike their Malaysian counterparts, rapport building is not the primary

determinant of whether a deal is successfully negotiated. They view rapport building in


a comparatively marginal or peripheral sense, compared to the substantive content of

the task at hand. The diagram below plots the relative importance given to rapport

building for both Malaysian and Australian business practitioners. The data suggests

that Malaysians place a greater emphasis on the importance of rapport building, whilst

Australians focus more intently on the task at hand

Malaysian Business Culture ← BUILDING RAPPORT ↔ TASK→ Australian Business Culture ← BUILDING RAPPORT ↔ TASK→ Figure 7. The emphasis of building rapport

In Malaysian business culture, the selection of a prospective business associate strongly

depends on the quality of the existing or emerging relationship. Thus, for example, if a

Malaysian buyer were to select from three suppliers with relatively equal product

quality and price, he or she would probably make a choice based on the degree of

rapport that has been established with one or another of these suppliers. Australian

business people, however, faced with the same circumstance, would probably base their

decision making process on the perceived efficiency, professionalism and potential for

profit-making of each supplier. The level of rapport might be an element taken into

consideration, but it is unlikely to be critical determinant in finalizing the choice of

supplier.

5.7. Intercultural Competence Skills Most of the Australian and Malaysian participants in the study feel that rapport-building

is an important element in contributing to a successful business negotiation or

transaction. However, this research has shown that unlike Australian business

participants, the Malaysians clearly place a higher regard on building long term


relationships, rather than pursuing short term gains (Cameron, 2000). Effectively, this

means that achieving a desired business outcome is dependent on participating in a

number of business meetings, in addition to forums which are designated specifically

for rapport-building (‘lobbying’) purposes. These might include playing golf, attending

invitations to a business person’s home, or a willingness to participate in a sponsored

holiday. Malaysians create a rich space for a distinctly social association which

contributes an overall desired (business) outcome. Australians, on the other hand, often

view this prioritization of relationship building as excessive, and the long-term process

involved as both demanding and redundant. For the Australians, who see rapport-

building as a briefer, less elaborate and more instrumental task, the approach of the

Malaysians might be interpreted as one of procrastination. The Australians’ approach to

rapport-building is more likely to be less personalized, the forums in which rapport-

building occurs more limited, and it is envisaged that rapport can be achieved within a

shorter time frame. As has been seen from the data, rapport building for the Australian

business participants is carried out in the ‘professional’ context of the business meeting

proper, often through an overt display of task expertise.

In terms of intercultural competency skills, it is now possible to identify some rapport

building guidelines which will increase the likelihood of achieving a successful

outcome in Australian-Malaysian business negotiations. An awareness of these

principles leads to intercultural competence by exposing the ‘cultural logic’ which

underpins the discourse interaction. The analysis of the data in chapter 4, as well as the

discussion in this section, indicates that when Malaysian business negotiators enter into

an cross-cultural meeting with their Australian counterparts, they might like to take into

consideration the following points:

1) Although rapport building may have been recognized as an element in business

negotiations, it is not necessarily a priority or core concern.

2) Rapport building doesn’t have to be elaborate, and can be achieved in the short term.

3) Australians place importance on loyalty, yet rarely see the need to cultivate (indeed

shy away from) deep, affective relationships in business.

4) The social forums in which rapport building takes place are generally more limited

than those displayed by Malaysians (i.e. generally in the context of the business meeting

proper).


The analysis of the data in chapter 4, as well as the discussion in this section, indicates

that when Australian business negotiators enter into a cross-cultural meeting with their

Malaysians counterparts the following may be useful to be considered:

1) Rapport building is often prioritized by Malaysians as an essential ingredient in

business.

2) Rapport building is often viewed as a long term, personalized process.

3) In Malaysia, there is a longstanding cultural tradition of ‘lobbying’; this is a

framework which could possibly be replicated in the cross-cultural context.

4) There are different (social) forums in which rapport building takes place; often these

are outside of the work environment. Participation in these forums may generally

require some commitment in terms of time.

The above points may provide an awareness of the culturally appropriate ways of doing

business for both the Malaysian and Australian participants. In same culture business

encounters, these culturally specific rapport building principals do not have the same

significance as in a cross-cultural setting. By having an understanding of the ways in

each party tries to create positive relationships in business, negotiators can avoid

making negative or stereotypical assumptions about the other. With an awareness of

these principals, cross-cultural negotiators may understand each others’ point of view,

and therefore eliminate potential misunderstanding. The intercultural competence skill

then involves the ability to participate in the culturally specific rituals of rapport

building, to recognize their significance and accommodate difference.

5.8. Ethical Behaviour Ethical behaviour can be defined as those standards or values that conform to acceptable

conduct in a given group or profession. Morality also broadly refers to the performance

of acceptable and correct behaviour. Because of this, they are often used

interchangeably. Nevertheless, a distinction can still be drawn between ethics and

morality. A course of action can be deemed ethical if it conforms to, or at least does not

violate, a set of formal rules or guidelines. Morality, on the other hand, relates to an

unwritten conduct which has been shaped by the traditions of a culture, society or

group. Morality requires the use of individual judgement. This makes it possible for a

person to act immorally but within a framework of formal rules. According to Buchholz

and Rosenthal, (1998, p.4, cited in Brinkmann, 2005),


Morality … generally refers to traditions or beliefs that have evolved over several years

or even centuries in societies concerning right and wrong conduct. Morality can be

thought of as a social institution that has a history and a code of conduct that are implicit

or explicit about how people ought to behave ….

Ethical behaviour in the business context refers to acts or behaviour conducted or

performed by businesspeople which fall within industry guidelines or established codes

of behaviour. In a business context, ethical issues often surround the way in which

profits are made. For instance, there are acceptable ways of making profits based on

reasonableness, transparency and honesty. These are, of course, culture or society

specific. On the other hand, there are more questionable means to make profit that

deviate from the guidelines or expected codes of behaviour. Often such acts cause

undue loss to one party. Therefore, ethical behaviour is expected to be in tandem with

some conceptualisation of social responsibility (or CSR) (Mahbob, 2004).

Chapter 4 analysis shows that ‘ethical behaviour’ is a concern for both parties,

Malaysian and Australian. That is, the subjects who took part in the study overtly

expressed (diverse) opinions concerning correct ethical conduct in business. Often, what

is viewed as unethical practice for an Australian businessman might be accepted as

ethical by a Malaysian. The possibility of a contrastive view needs to be highlighted as

it is important to create awareness so that business can be conducted effectively. An

investigation of their views is crucial for both parties, as it will assist in minimizing the

negative impressions which could bring failure to any potential deal. The following

section will identify and explain various instances in the data which show a clear

dissonance in what constitutes ethical behaviour on the part of both parties.

In meeting 1 Mr Edwards’ understanding of ethical behaviour in the broker industry is

quite clear. He argues that brokers should render their service without charge to their

clients. If brokers do charge for the service (of preparing legal documents for their

clients) then according to Mr Edwards this should be considered a conflict of interest

and hence an ‘unethical practice’. Therefore, by not charging, it indicates their ‘loyalty’

towards their clients. However, to Ms Aiman, charging additional fees for services

rendered to clients by the brokers is in fact ethical, because it is legally permitted to do

so. Because charging clients is a decision taken by the individual, the choice becomes

one of moral obligation rather than ethics. This is an important distinction. To Ms


Aiman, if a broker works within the legal framework (i.e. the rules) set by the industry,

then one is acting ethically. She admits that the practice of charging clients might be

construed as ‘immoral’, but the distinction she articulates is critical. In fact, Ms Aiman’s

interpretation of the distinction between ethics and morality aligns with that of

Buchholz & Rosenthal (1998), hence there is an argument which states that Mr Edwards

should have described this act as immoral, rather than unethical. Regardless of the

distinction, Ms Aiman and Mr Edwards clearly have an interpretation of ethical

behaviour in business which is at odds. Mr Edwards doesn’t see the distinction between

ethics and morality that Ms Aiman does (see section on Ethics in chapter four analysis;

meeting 1).

It is interesting to explore Ms Aiman’s understanding of the issue of ethics. Being a

Muslim, her interpretation of the concepts of ethics and morality may have been

conditioned by cultural upbringing. In Islam, ethics governs all aspects of life,

including the way one conducts business matters, and indeed the way one conducts

oneself in all daily activities. Regardless of the situational context, Allah (God) requires

humanity to achieve success by ‘inviting all that is good (khayar), enjoining what is

right (ma’ruf) and forbidding what is wrong (munkar)’32. In Malaysia, being a Muslim

country, business practice is carried out within the strict guidelines of one of the most

important concepts in Islam; this is the concept of halal and haram. Halal and haram

are part of the total legal system of Islam, known as Sharia. One of Islam’s initial

accomplishments was to establish certain legal principles and measures which represent

the determining criteria of what is halal and haram. Halal can be translated as

‘permitted, allowed, authorised, approved, sanctioned, lawful, legal or legititimate’.

Similarly haram could be interpreted to mean ‘bad’, unlawful or evil. The acts of halal

are made by Allah and revealed to humanity through Al-Qur’an. The principle is

designed for the benefit and welfare of humanity.

Having Islam as the official religion of the country, rules which govern business

practice will reflect Islamic rules or practice. The present Prime Minister of Malaysia,

Abdullah Badawi, for instance, has emphasized that the country must practice ‘Islam

Hadhari’ by inculcating Islamic values and attitudes into all aspects of public and

private practice. These values and attitudes, such as faith and piety in God and

32 Qur’an 3:104


embracing knowledge, skills and expertise, are inclusive in that they allow for

modernisation, nation-building and ethnic and religious diversity.

Beekun (1996) extends Buchholz & Rosenthals’ (1998) definition of ethics by arguing

that ethical behaviour depends on three main factors: legal interpretations,

organizational factors, and individual factors. Legal interpretations are based on certain

accepted values and standards; and in an Islamic country like Malaysia, these values and

standards are guided by the Shari’ah and the collection of previous judgements.

Organisational influence includes the degree of commitment that employees hold to

ethical conduct. This commitment is depicted through a code of ethics, policy

statements, speeches, and publications. Individuals carry with them different values

which may affect ethical behaviour with the following aspects: stages of moral

development, personal values and morals, family influences, peer influences, and life

experiences.

Bilbow (1997) has addressed the way in which religion informs the behaviour of people

in cross-cultural business interactions. In a study of local Chinese staff and Western

expatriates in a large corporation in Hong Kong, Bilbow showed how Confucianism

influenced the discourse of the Chinese participants. Similarly in this study it was found

that the concept of halal and haram serves to distinguish between what is permitted and

what is not. If an act, behaviour or practice is strictly prohibited, it is called haram. In

Islam there are established legal principals which relate to and identify what is haram.

Everything that is not stated as haram is halal, or permitted. However, certain things

may be permitted, but individuals might still be called upon to make judgements and

choices about their conduct. If a rule allows one to take a particular course of action

(that is, if it is deemed halal), then ethically one has justification for doing so (by

recourse to the rule of law, which in Islam is ultimately the Qur’an and Sunnah).

However, that particular course of action might be questionable, in a moral sense, and

attract the disapprobation of others in the group. In Islam, therefore, there is in one

sense a clear distinction between what is permitted and what is not. However, what is

permitted still requires moral discretion. Above all, in Islam there is a greater awareness

of the difference between ethics and morality; the former being rule based, the latter

based on the discretion of the individual. Ms Aiman’s awareness of the subtle

distinction between ethics and morality could be attributed to her socialisation into a

Muslim Malay culture; a culture whose foundation stone is Islamic precepts including


the halal/haram distinction. Mr Edward’s inability to recognise the distinction between

ethics and morality could similarly be culture based. Without the conceptual coordinates

of halal and haram, Mr Edwards simplistically conflates ethics and morality and leaves

no room for individual discretion. The above act would be deemed unethical if it

contravened the official rules set down by the governing body for this industry. If this

were the case, there would be no difference of opinion between Mr Edwards and Ms

Aiman.

This section has presented this study with very interesting discussion on ethical and

moral and the difference between the two, through a cultural lens. The conclusion seems

to be that evaluations are based on cultural norms that international negotiators need to

be aware of (even if they do not agree with them). The contrast between western (lay)

legal systems and Shariah law is particularly challenging and begs the question as to

whether the interpretation of the rule of law as enshrined in a printed contractual

agreement is binding over and above a divine law that one of the parties does not

recognise. Presumably, unacceptable conditions for Muslim signatories would be

addressed and resolved before reaching a formal business agreement.

5.8.1. The Concept of ‘Budibicara’

Budibicara is a Malay word which indicates a situation where a person (generally one

who holds a position of authority) is able to make a decision that involves making an

exception to the regulations or rule in order to achieve a particular outcome. This

directly relates to the concept of budi which has been defined as intellect or kindness

(Abdullah Asmah, 1996, p. 21). According to Asmah Aiman, it is part of the Malays’

ethical system which reflects their innate character and, in turn, influences the way they

relate to others. This concept was further supported by Dahlan (1991) from Universiti

Kebangsaan, as he describes budi as an ‘intuitive inner feeling’ (or rasa) over any

rational understanding. In other words, budi requires people to be rational, but with due

sensitivity and concern to rasa.

Most importantly, budibicara relates to what might best be thought of as the exercise of

discretionary power. An individual is required to be accountable, however, for his or her

use of discretion; the individual should be able to justify the use of discretion.

Budibicara refers to the exercise of one’s discretionary powers, working within the

legal framework, to facilitate a favourable outcome. It is important to recognise that the


practice of budibicara should be understood in the context of doing something which is

beneficial to another without the necessity of monetary gain, it is an ethical act. The

motivation for budibicara is not personal gain, so in essence it has little to do with

corruption. Corruption is an unethical act and officially condemned in Malaysian

society.

This behaviour relates to the Malay culture where budibicara is applied to illustrate the

flexibility in authority which is specially given to higher ranking designations.

However, this concept of budibicara does not take place all the time. It is only applied

when a special case arises. Outsiders, who perhaps do not understand the cultural

concept of budibicara, might interpret this use of discretionary power as unethical, or an

abuse of one’s power. Those who carry out the discretionary act of budibicara do not

see this as being unethical, in fact, just the opposite, for it is often employed to assist or

provide a solution to a dilemma that is not readily solvable within the established

framework of rules. In fact, the intention that is attached to the act of budibicara is

considered a noble one. It is noble because the person in authority is willing to be

responsible for bending the stated rule. The person who is conducting the act usually

has a very high and important position in the organization. Having the authority to

arbitrate a situation based on budibicara, confirms one’s status and position as a

respectable individual within the organization. Given this, when Malaysians do business

in Australia, they feel that Australians are sometimes excessively inflexible, to the point

where it becomes a stumbling block to successfully conducting business. The so-called

inflexibility of Australians may arise from the fact that Australians value egalitarianism

and individualism, in the sense that everyone should receive equal treatment regardless

of wealth and status distinctions (Phillips & Smith, 2000). This view was expressed by a

Malaysian participant during the initial perception interviews:

There are cultural factors, you see. For example, when we receive people at the airport. In the Malaysian context, when a VIP visits, we will, as far as possible, try to accommodate their requests. Of course, not putting aside our own procedures for security and so on. I find that in the Australian case, however, everything is very strictly enforced, whether you’re a VIP or not, you go through the same proceedings. So this may be difficult for us when we’re handling VIPs here in Perth, because they’re subjected to the same rules as would an ordinary traveller. To them everybody is the same, there are rules set, so you follow. In our case, VIPs are VIPs, they would be accorded VIPs status, they can go through some things, or by-pass others, not compromising on securities, ya. So that is one thing, here once I say they follow everything by the rule, this is what I mean (emphasis added).


In meeting 1, Ms Aiman’s offer to work with Mr Edwards outside the stated guidelines

and policy procedures to their mutual benefit ‘once we have a good relationship’ (see

chapter 4; meeting 1 – instance 3 ‘Building rapport’) was not received well by Mr

Edwards. This can be conceptualised as the use of budibicara on the part of Ms Aiman.

Yet for Mr Edwards, it was viewed as an unethical suggestion and contributed to his

decision not to use Ms Aiman’s financial product.

5.8.2. Ethical behavior in rapport building

Another area in which there is some divergence in the attitudes towards ethical conduct

is in the nature of Malaysian rapport building. Activities such as sponsored vacations,

playing golf and home invitation are often misconstrued by the Australians as being

inherently unethical. Australians are not only unfamiliar with these cultural practices,

they are not able to relate to or understand the relevance of such activities to business.

Australians, therefore, view such behaviour as inappropriate and a waste of time and

resources. It demonstrates giving something (usually monetary) to get a business deal. It

is not considered a genuine business dealing which is supposed to be based on merits

and expertise, not ‘favours’ or ‘obligations’. It is perhaps not surprising that the

practices of lobbying are (being) compared to the unethical practice of bribery. The

reason is that a bribe occurs when someone is provided with a monetary reward as a

means to persuade them to do something. If a company provides a holiday, lavish meal

or day on the golf course as a means to induce an individual or company to enter into a

business association, then this might not be conducive to a merits-based approach which

is the ideal or preference for Australian business practitioners.

The act of providing gifts of the kind described above might be conceptualized as a

form of corruption. This is because they are provided to a target organization or

influential individuals with the intention of getting the business deal. The selection of

who is to be given the deal (which is usually a competitive one) will here not be based

solely on an evaluation of their professional capabilities or expertise alone, instead, the

decision will be swayed by the nature of the relationship. To some (in particular

Australian businessmen) this situation might appear as a form of ‘cronyism’, that is,

unfair partiality to one’s friends in business dealings. Budibicara is practiced within the

parameters of legality or what is permissible. There is a limit, of course, to how far one

can go in practicing budibicara before one outside of the legal framework. This signals

the dividing line between budibicara and corruption.


5.9. Corruption in the Malaysian business context This view might have been shaped by the recognition that corruption is a very much a

reality in South-east Asian political and business life (Mahbob 2004). This fact has not

gone unnoticed by one Australian participant in the perception interviews. This

individual was a long-term expatriate in Malaysia in the IT field and had strong views

on the existence of corrupt behaviour in Malaysian business.

My Malaysian employees asked me to do certain things, to make contacts with certain people and offer them money and jobs and God knows what on the grounds that the company will win a nice big contract out of it. What I’m saying is, if you’re straight and not bent, its difficult to continue doing business in Malaysia. It’s because of the culture of nepotism and cronyism and connections and so on, you know….. it’s very political kind of environment, the business environment in Malaysia. The regulatory agency, such as they are, doesn’t really care. I mean as far as the Malaysian news, but nothing ever happens.

And:

As far as I’m concerned, Malaysian businesses are corrupt as hell, there’s no question. Political connections are essentially the bottom line on getting anywhere in Malaysia. I can’t say but it hasn’t, as far as I can make out, it hasn’t improved much. It’s the Malaysian companies trying to form partnerships and alliances, paying money to somebody to ensure that they get a contract. So the difference between the way it’s done in Malaysia, and the way it’s done by others visiting Malaysia, is that Malaysian business people don’t seem to get too upset about, it’s a normal part of doing business. And that’s true, not just in Malaysia but also other parts of Asia.

And:

You don’t have to follow, I mean I’m not saying everybody is corrupt in business in Malaysia but for the big ticket items maybe big structured building and information economy building, and that sort of stuff, I think there is a very, very large amount of corruption goes on and, and, and it’s the environment that, that actually attracts people from elsewhere, because they know that when they go there and if they can make the right contact, and play around with the right amount of money, and cut the right deal, they can do very well at it. But what I’m saying is, it’s not based on merits or objective criteria of delivering or assessing your proposal, is just too bad that business is done that way.

The reality of corruption in Malaysia cannot be dismissed. The above is not merely

stereotypical perceptions which have no basis. For instance, according to Mahbob

(2004) about 30% of those working in the private sector in Malaysia resort to bribery in

order to get things done. Further, a significant proportion of students surveyed displayed

an attitude of proneness to accepting bribery if they are in a position of power, such as

leaders of student organizations.


With the knowledge that corruption is present in Malaysian society, the Prime Minister

launched the National Integrity Plan (NIP) on 23rd April 2004. This included the need

‘to wipe out corruption, to enhance corporate finance, business ethics, corporate social

responsibility, and to create a working environment that is healthy for the shareholders,

management and workers of all levels’ (Mahbob, 27th October, 2004). The NIP was put

in place to reinforce the fourth challenge of Vision 2020; which is, primarily, to create a

moral and ethical society embedded with strong moral principles and ethics, as well as

good behaviour. This plan looks at the bigger picture where the country strives to build

and enhance integrity within its nation. There is a need to abolish the old practice of

corruption within society. Therefore, currently in Malaysia, NIP, having initiated the

action plan on integrity and at the same time contributing to the aspirations of the

Malaysian Prime Minister, ensures that the objective of enhancing ethics and integrity is

a combined effort and task of both societies and public sector. It is important that in

order to propagate ethics and good moral values for the future generation, an

environment of integrity is created through practice.

Given that it is common knowledge corruption is present in Malaysian business

dealings, it might be the case that Malaysian business people could be sensitive to any

perceived suggestion they themselves could be acting dishonestly in business. The data

in meeting 3, for instance, contains two segments which indicate that Mr Raj reacted

defensively and became indignant at Ms Browne’s apparently sincere remarks. The first

relates to Ms Browne’s suggestion that Mr Raj was being ‘clever’ in operating the mini-

bar in a particular manner. This was intended as a compliment; however Mr Raj

interpreted it differently. Rather than taking the compliment for what it was, he became

annoyed and disputed her choice of word, saying that he was being ‘economical’ rather

than clever. Mr Raj perhaps felt that the word ‘clever’ implied something more like

shrewd or cunning, with connotations that his ‘cleverness’ might be hiding some form

off impropriety or deception. In this instance it was obvious that Ms Browne did not

appreciate what Gumperz has termed ‘contextual cues’; the shared meaning that this

particular word has for Malaysians.

The second instance occurred during a discussion of the mark-up of the potato chips.

Ms Browne suggested that if Mr Raj were to order the Tang Tang product, he could use

his discretion to ‘mark up the price’. Mr Raj was emphatic in his denial that he does not

do this. This was his immediate response, although later he admitted he does mark up


the price, but went out of his way to justify why. Again the suggestion is that Mr Raj’s

over-reaction to these overtly benign comments indicates his sensitivity to any possible

accusations that he is, or might, be engaged in dishonest business practices.

In summary, then, it is evident that some of the Australian participants in the perception

interviews were of the opinion that corruption is not an uncommon occurrence in

Malaysian business practice. These assertions derive from individuals who have had

extensive business dealings in Malaysia. Furthermore, the Malaysian government,

through the (NIP) has taken steps to eliminate as much as is possible all forms of

corruption in both the private and public sector. Finally, Malaysians are aware of the

reputation the country has in regards to corruption and carry it as a form of stigma into

cross-cultural business encounters. This was evident in the reaction of Mr Raj who

perceived that his business counterpart was suggesting that he engages in questionable

business practices. On the other hand, participants also reported that corruption is

similarly present in the Australian business context, albeit in a more concealed way.

This will be discussed shortly.

5.10. The (Malaysian) practice of ‘shopping around’ The perception interviews clearly suggest that Malaysians have a bad name for

‘shopping around’. Shopping around refers to the practice of obtaining price quotations

from numerous suppliers prior to deciding on which Australian business partner to do

business with. For Australian business people, this practice suggests that they are not

genuine in building long term business relations, and that their future loyalty may be

questionable. However, for the Malaysians, this is simply a standard practice used to

initially shortlist some potential suppliers, from which further and more detailed

negotiation can be pursued. It is a practice which Malaysians use before outlaying the

expense of coming to Australia.

For instance, one of the Australian participants who worked in the livestock and meat

export industry told the researcher that it was common in that industry for Australian

company representatives to become very annoyed and irritated with the Malaysian style

of shopping around for the best deal through the internet before they decide on which

Australian partner to work with33. In reference to the five excerpts below, the Australian

participant indicated that Malaysians who solicit quotations by email are conducting

business in an inappropriate way:

33 The Ministry of Agriculture in Malaysia specifically issues permits to independent livestock traders in Malaysia who then attempt to engage Australian suppliers.


Excerpt 1: If you want to do business, you just know, press the internet and I’ve got to be honest about it, Malaysians have got a very, very bad name for shopping around. Excerpt 2: They have the internet or they pull up the list of all the Australian exporters and then just email everybody and ask for quotes, you’d never do business in Malaysia like that. Excerpt 3: This industry is competitive and we all know each other. So everyone knows all the companies. If any of us receive an email [asking for a quote] from overseas we don’t worry about replying. Excerpt 4: They [other livestock exporters] couldn’t be bothered replying. They can’t be bothered to make business with people like that because most of exporters here want a long term loyal alliance. Say, if you’ll be loyal to them, then they’ll be loyal to you. And if you shop around, like a lot of them do and it’s not just Malaysians, ….you buy one, one month you bought from this one and you go to the next one and you shop around, your business will never survive. Excerpt 5: It’s ‘diner price’ [the lowest possible price] anyway, ah … you know, so they want to shop around and get some, may be one or two cents cheaper.

The Australian exporters in this particular industry, being interconnected and

competitive, already know each other in the business circle and therefore contact and

inform each other about the Malaysians who send emails asking for quotations.

According to the participants in this study, most of the livestock exporters came to an

agreement that they would not enter into business with Malaysians who solicit for email

quotations. The exporters themselves are looking for what they term a ‘long term loyal

alliance’. Loyalty was conceived to be the primary ingredient in building a long term

business relationship. According to the Australian participant, there had been many

Malaysians who had failed in trying to secure a place in the livestock and meat business

with an Australian supplier because of this.

This situation further suggests that Australian business people do not see the

significance of the development of rapport. Loyalty is a primary concern, yet they

assume it can be attained in the short term and without participation in processes of

rapport-building. In the act of soliciting email quotations the Malaysian business people

are perhaps trying to shortlist potential suppliers prior to committing themselves to

building a relationship of trust and loyalty. Email quotations exist as a mechanism

within the selection process.

However, the practice of ‘shopping around’ on the internet continued as a practice by

Malaysians who did not understand its negative consequences. Malaysians had not


realized that emailed requests for quotes could create a feeling of mistrust. They felt that

obtaining a number of quotations would help them to decide who might be their best

choice as an Australian business partner, even before coming to Australia. On the part

of the Australians, however, they are only prepared to give what they call the ‘diner

price’ on such occasions (a standard, non-negotiable price agreed upon by all suppliers).

Because this industry is subject to price fluctuation, Australian exporters are very

interested in doing business with buyers who will not jump to another suppler when

there is a price increase. Loyalty is thus greatly emphasized. The Australians’

expectation is that if Malaysians are serious about doing business, they should come to

Australia and seek reliable contacts through industry networks in order to locate a

partner. Most importantly, research into the industry and detailed knowledge about

suppliers is more important than basing decisions solely on price (which is, in any case,

collectively determined by exporters in the industry). This approach was recommended

by most Australian meat exporters who wanted to establish long term business

relationships, with, as one participant reported, ‘no jumping here and there’.

The point that the Australian livestock exporter wanted to make was that the ‘shopping

around’ behavior suggested that Malaysians were not likely to be committed to one

supplier. Their loyalty was doubted. The Australians were concerned that although the

cattle market might be buoyant at one particular period, Malaysians would not stay with

a partner when the market went down. Their fear was that the Malaysian supplier would

simply buy livestock from the cheapest supplier. This scepticism about the true

intentions of the Malaysians has generated a lot of frustrations for Australians and has

also prevented Malaysians becoming successful in the industry. It is, therefore,

interesting to note that the seemingly standard practice of seeking price quotations via

email has generated a significant element of mistrust between Malaysians and

Australians in the livestock industry.

5.11. Work Ethics: Procrastination The data from the perception interviews also suggest that Malaysian business people are

often thought to not follow up effectively in their business dealings. As one Australian

participant argues, ‘you know, I’m not saying it’s a complaint… but there’s one

downfall with a lot of Malaysian Bumis (Malays), the ones that were here, they tend to

procrastinate too much’. It was, for instance, suggested that they take a long time to get

back to matters of business which have previously been discussed. They are also said to

take a long time to reach final decisions. Australians find this irritating and, in some


instances, intolerable. Business has been known to fail because of such delays, because

Australians have the impression that Malaysians are no longer interested in doing

business.

From data in the perception interviews it is evident that some Australian participants

feel that Malaysians procrastinate in several ways. For instance, they often take a long

time to follow up on a business deal. They are rarely able to give quick decisions, and

often come across as being indecisive and uncertain. And it is not often they are able to

deliver tasks as scheduled. To procrastinate, in this context, means that Malaysians are,

according to the comments of one Australian participant, ‘unassertive and are half-

hearted when doing business’. They are said take unjustifiably long periods of time to

come to any decisions. Malaysians, and especially the Malays, are said to be known for

such behaviour; which to the Australians is unethical because business may incur and

time and additional costs due to the delay.

Malaysians are known for delaying their response. As one Australian participant stated,

they ‘come down, have a look, come down again on a second trip, then four or five

times [after that]…’. Australians hold a negative perception towards the Malaysians’

way of delaying business matters. However, where Malaysian business people are

concerned, there might be three possible explanations for this situation. Firstly, their

attitudes towards building rapport, as has been mentioned, require elaborate and time-

consuming organisation. It is usually achieved progressively and gradually over a period

of time. Australians might envision the rapport building process to be an unnecessary

ploy to delay business proceedings, or they might not be able to read their Malaysian

counterparts that well, and be completely unaware that they are trying to build trust

before making any serious decisions. Second, doing business in Malaysia often involves

overcoming many bureaucratic hurdles. Delays are an unavoidable and accepted part of

doing business in Malaysia. Often, as is the case in the livestock business, Malaysian

businesspeople are at the mercy of government agency ‘red tape’ at home. Delays may

occur which they have no control over and which their Australian counterparts may not

be aware, or do not fully appreciate. For instance, one respondent stated:

I find that if I want to start a company here it is a routine thing, to fill in the forms and it passes through the government very quickly. That does not necessarily happen in Malaysia, you get bogged down with people thirty down the line who had that piece of paper that you


want to get to the top, that slowly ‘shutted up’, if they want to, when they want to, because that’s the attitude.

Australians, on the other hand, demonstrate (or at least expect) comparatively quicker

action towards business dealings. Therefore, they often appear to be pushy to their

Malaysian counterparts. This demonstrates that many Malaysians are unaware that

Australian business players are frustrated by what they see as unnecessarily lengthy

delays, just as the Australians, on the other hand, probably do not comprehend that they

are being thought of as pushy. Neither party fully understands the perceptions the other

party holds about them. Nor do they accurately interpret the behaviour of their

counterparts other than through stereotypical labels such as ‘procrastinating’ and being

‘pushy’. One very experienced Australian participant, however, offered an insightful

explanation of what was occurring:

Researcher: Have you noticed that they take a lot of time to make their decision? Participant: Yeah they take a lot of time. But the Australian can sometimes be overpowering, and they can be bold. They say ‘I want an answer straight away’. You try to work out a fair compromise, and we understand that they want to go back [to Malaysia] to consult with their Board. They have to come to a decision…but in most case this takes too long.

5.12. Perception of ethical behaviour of the Australians The Malaysian participants in the study also point to some apparent (un)ethical

behaviour among Australian business players. A variety of negative perceptions were

offered based on the respondents’ experiences. One of these was that Australians are

really only interested in Malaysians if they have money to invest; otherwise they show

no interest. Business, some assert, is ‘not awarded on merit or objective criteria of

delivering or assessing a proposal, instead their [the Australians’] decision is swayed by

the amount of money that you can offer’. One informant felt that most Malaysian

businessmen had been ‘played around by these Aussies’. He particularly stressed that

‘[e]thics are not really there when it comes to business’.

In the perception interview data there were suggestions that Australians are not always

trustworthy. One Malay respondent put it thus: tak boleh di percayai, which means they

‘cannot be trusted’. There were two instances in particular in which the Malaysian

respondents thought that Australians were not particularly trustworthy. The first

suggestion is that Australians ‘play’ or deal with documentation preparation which

usually becomes a trap for many Malaysians. Malaysians were being deceived in this


manner, because of what they perceive to be lack of transparency in contracts and

documentation. Reported instances of this include occasions when the text of a

document or contract deviates from the verbal agreements that arose from preceding

business meetings. Whether the document creator misinterpreted the verbal agreements

or whether the document is being misread is unknown, however, the Malaysians who

reported this were clearly left with the feeling that some sort of unethical behaviour was

occurring. The second accusation is that Australians tend to inflate prices for foreigners.

According to Mr Wong, the in-bound tour operator in meeting 2, one must be careful to

research prices before committing to a deal. Of course this practice is one that some

Australian businesspeople reject (see above).

You see, this is the first time she’s dealing with me; she has not had any experience with in-bound tours, which is why she came up with a different pricing. When I went back to tell her, that’s not the price, then she began to question me…what are you getting, how are you going, this and that. That means she is not really truthful in trying to get business, she’s just trying to give me a price and see if I will take it. So these are the things that we have to be very careful about, when we deal with Australians, we have to be on the ball all the time, we should know our stuff before approaching them, we should do some homework not just go there and say ‘Hey, we want this, we want that’ because at the end of the day, we will not get the genuine type of approach which you get from them, this is what I’ve learned over the years.

Australians are also said to be ‘corrupt’ but in a different way from Malaysians. Some

of the Malaysians report that the Australians’ corruption is subtle, not overt like in the

Malaysian context. Australians are ‘pretentious and hypocritical’; they pretend to be

clean and portray a highly ethical standard of business, but in reality they are not. The

business community in Australia generally adopts a high moral ground, with all the

rules and regulations put into the system. In reality, corrupt behaviour exists; contracts

go to people who are connected and lobbying goes on. The lobbying, however, takes a

different form. The suggestion was that in Australia, lobbying to government takes

place, but it is done collectively by like-minded business people as part of a business

organisation or association.

Everything might appear above board and fine, but in reality it is a boys’ club in Australia. Different groups lobby government, everybody knows that, and governments cave in to those lobbying. The whole thing is disgraceful, actually. So, Australia has its structures in place, they do it more subtly but, at the end of the day, if you can dig down, it is just about as corrupt.

Malaysian participants clearly feel marginalised by certain business practices in

Australia. This feeling perhaps stems from a lack of knowledge of compulsory business

procedures and legal requirements which must be adhered to. Australian business


people who operate locally are in a better position to the understand rules and

regulations associated with different industries. Malaysians doing business in Perth,

especially those who have limited experience doing business in Australia, may not fully

understand ‘the system’, and are therefore feel disempowered when they cannot

participate equally in all aspects of the negotiation process. This occurs when their

Australian partners are able to more competently navigate local procedures or take on

the lead role in executing the business project. Given this, Malaysians may feel

vulnerable, insecure or not in control of the business in which they are investing a lot of

money.

5.13. Intercultural competence Skills In terms of intercultural competency skills, it now becomes possible to highlight some

of the principal issues relating to ethical behaviour in the context of Australian-

Malaysian business negotiations. An awareness of these principles leads to a better

understanding of the cultural dynamics occurring during the interaction, and in turn

what might lead to more successful communication. The analysis of the data in chapter

4, as well as the discussion in this section, indicates that when Australian business

negotiators enter into A cross-cultural meeting with their Australian counterparts, they

should be aware that:

1) The concept of budibicara allows one to exercise discretionary power, or to be

flexible, when interpreting rules and guidelines on special occasions. As long as a

decision is taken for the greater good, one might make an ‘exception to the rule’.

2) The Malaysian rapport building style operates in a particular cultural framework

which might appear, to Westerners, as being akin to bribery. Gifts, golf, dinners and

vacations constitute the tradition of ‘lobbying’ in Malaysia. But for Australians

these practices can be perceived as being unethical.

3) Corruption, however, does exist in Malaysia (as attested by National Integrity Plan).

It is a sensitive issue which carries negative connotations, especially in the

international business arena. Australian business players should be aware that their

Malaysian counterparts could be sensitive to any suggestion that they might be

acting dishonestly. It would be advisable not to touch on this issue when dealing

with Malaysian business people.

4) The Malaysian practice of ‘shopping around’ for price quotations is a standard

practice used to initially identify a suitable supplier to establish contact with. It is


not an indication of the potential loyalty (or otherwise) of a business partner; it is

simply a way to pinpoint a supplier at the early stage.

5) It might not be accurate to interpret delays in business as acts of procrastination.

Rather, they might be attributable to elaborate and lengthy rapport building

procedures and/or bureaucratic processes, especially if any approval is needed in

Malaysia.

The analysis of the data in chapter 4, as well as the discussion in this section, indicates

that when Malaysian business negotiators enter into a cross-cultural meeting with their

Australian counterparts they should be aware that:

1) Australians, despite the fact that they are often laid back and informal in their

business approach (see section on behaviour) can procedurally be very rigid and

inflexible. This arises from, firstly, a more comprehensive understanding of local

requirements, and second, a strong egalitarian streak in Australian society.

2) Australians place a great deal of importance on decisiveness and the achievement of

tasks expeditiously. They assume that unexplained lengthy delays signal disinterest

in further negotiations.

3) Australians are often unaware of the extensive bureaucratic procedures that

Malaysians have to deal with in Malaysia. It is crucial to communicate this to one’s

Australian counterpart, and factor potential delays into the time frame set for

business.

4) An apparent lack of transparency in business dealings should not automatically be

interpreted as a disguise for unethical practice. It could be the case that Australian

business people have a better understanding of the local business context.

Australians may feel that involving their Malaysian partners unnecessarily in some

aspects of the business would only serve to complicate matters.

5.14. Building Recognition In the business context, recognition needs to be recognised as an important element

contributing to the success or otherwise of business negotiations. This criteria is used to

enhance the credentials of the negotiators, and influence the achievement of potential

and positive outcomes. Recognition is the quality of being appreciated by others due to

outstanding performance in an area of expertise. Complimenting is an act of giving

praise to a person with the intention of creating a good feeling between them, and in the

hope that the received party will reciprocate favourably in return. For instance in


meeting 1, 2, and 4, these elements of building recognition and complimenting are

employed by the participants as strategies to achieve their goals in the negotiation

process. The following section will analyse the meeting data and perception interviews

to interpret the strategies being utilised by the participants to further their business

objectives.

In meeting 1, Ms Aiman uses complimenting as a tactic to build the recognition of the

other party, Mr Edwards. She highlighted Mr Edward’s long standing in the industry

and his ability to write numerous financial proposals.

Ms Aiman: Okay. .hh now. Um (.) what we're gonna do today is that er because you've been writing for quite a while, right?, yeah, you're not like one of those (.) fresh brokers. I'm not gonna (.) er go: i:n, er dwell into all those technical (.) you know?, all the nitty gritty stuff?, Mr Edwards: Mhm hum.

M: I'm just gonna go in basic stuff because the rest of it you probably can figure it out yourself, okay?

Her intention was to create a positive atmosphere in the hope to gain positive response

in the business talk, that is, to increase his level of interest in her product. Ms Aiman

adopted the concept of negative politeness, by being humble and putting herself lower

in position in order to acknowledge Mr Edward’s achievement and reputation.

Brown & Levinson (1987) have noted the way in which politeness tactics, or at least

language intended to raise the self esteem of the hearer, can serve to reduce the chances

of confrontation in communication. These authors also claim that politeness tactics can

create an environment in which reciprocity of obligations are created (1987, p.103).

Further to this, negative politeness, according to Ting-Toomey (1988) occurs when the

speaker is willing to de-emphasise their own status in order to boost the self esteem of

the other party. The intention in doing this is to increase the likelihood that the other

party will feel more inclined to work positively together. Therefore, this study agrees

with Ting-Toomey’s theory of negative politeness as an intentional process which

‘smoothens’ interpersonal communication. In addition to the above, Ms Aiman was also

trying to show her respect towards Mr Edwards in terms of him being a reputable broker

in the industry. In this aspect, Ms Aiman unconsciously reflects her cultural values of

respecting someone elder than her. At the same time, she created some kind of power


distance which she expected would cause Mr Edwards to extend his obligation towards

her proposal.

In meeting 3, Ms Browne’s also attempted to build the recognition of her potential

client by using a complimenting tactic. However, she was unsuccessful as it was taken

negatively by Mr Raj. Ms Browne’s intention was to create a positive atmosphere when

she praised his way of dealing with the mini-bar operation, describing it as ‘clever’. She

was taken aback by Mr Raj’s response, when, in a tone of annoyance and irritation, he

corrected her choice of word, suggesting he was merely being ‘economical’ (see

meeting 3, strategy 2, in chapter 4). At that point, she was in a state of confusion as she

could not understand why her compliment, which was supposed to have a positive

impact, turned out to be a negative. Therefore, instead of a strategy, she has created a

deviance in her discourse. As has been explained earlier, the selected words’

connotations with corruption may have contributed to Mr Raj’s unexpected reaction.

In meeting 2, building recognition was a strategy employed by both Mr Gordon and Mr

Clyne to express their appreciation in being able to work as a team with Mr Wong. They

used the tactic of complimenting Mr Wong by highlighting his outstanding and

reputable business acumen. Mr Clyne observed that Mr Wong used special ways of

handling his Asian clients; these could be seen through his cultural connection with

them, his ‘personal touch’ when he delivered them the service, and he was always aware

of their needs such as their dietary need. Both Mr Gordon and Mr Clyne recognized Mr

Wong’s good service which, they said, made him so reputable and different from the

other existing inbound tour operators. They were able to convey their intention quite

effectively, because Mr Wong received them in a very positive manner. Mr Wong

willingly shared his operation method with his Asian clients with both Mr Gordon and

Mr Clyne without hesitation. In this context, the researcher concluded that Mr Gordon

and MrClyne’s strategy of building recognition was considered less necessary because

Mr Wong already had the motivation to look for his own business opportunity with their

company. With or without the recognition, he was remained very much interested in

identifying any potential benefits for himself, which became an overriding factor as to

why he was open and receptive to their proposal. In this meeting, besides

acknowledging Mr Wong’s business skills, Mr Gordon and Mr Clyne were willing to

lower their own status by admitting that they were not only in the ‘infancy stage’ of


business development, but were also lacking the skills in knowing how to deal with

Asian clients (see chapter 4, section on strategies, instance 2 and 3).

5.15. Intercultural competence skills In terms of intercultural competence skills, it now becomes possible to highlight some

of the principal issues relating to building credibility and building recognition in the

context of Australian-Malaysian business negotiations. An awareness of how to build

recognition and credibility as strategies in any business discourse may enhance the level

of success. The analysis of the data in chapter 4, as well as the discussion in this section,

indicates that the strategy of building recognition was conducted by participants in three

out of the four meetings. Two of these (Ms Aiman in meeting 1 and Mr Gordon and Mr

Clyne in meeting 2) used a strategy of negative politeness. Negative politeness involves

building the esteem of the counterpart by downplaying one’s status or credentials. This

is a strategy described by Rogerson-Revell (1998) who argues that negative face

strategies are used as a mechanism to create power distance; not to increase one’s own

standing, but to elevate that of the other. This is done in the hope that it will increase the

(self) confidence of the counterpart and create feelings of respect and perhaps

reciprocity. Particularly in the case of meeting 2, Mr Clyne and Mr Gordon

endeavoured to communicate to Mr Wong that his services and knowledge were integral

to the success of their future business plans in Western Australia.

The conclusion drawn was that the strategy of building recognition can be advantageous

in the negotiation process. In all the meetings in which it was used the strategy created a

more positive atmosphere. However, the researcher cannot conclude that building

recognition alone will alter the outcome of a business negotiation, particularly if the

product or service being offered does not meet buyers needs (as in the case of Mr

Edwards in meeting 1). If, on the other hand, the buyer can see the value of the good or

service, then the strategy of building recognition could contribute to a more positive

outcome.

5.16. Style of Business Practice 5.16.1. Introduction

The word ‘practice’ can be defined as the usual action and repeated performance of a

group of people. ‘Business practice’ can further be defined in this study as the routine

patterns of business performance of a group of people, in this particular case Malaysians


and Australians in a cross-cultural setting. Rogerson-Revell (1998) demonstrated this in

her concept of interactive style (refer chapter 3, page 85). In the analysis of data in this

study, several categories emerged in which it was possible to identify differences in

styles of business practice which have the potential to lead to miscommunication and

even a breakdown in the cross-cultural negotiation process. The data suggested that

there were instances in which one party caused the other to experience negative feelings

(of frustration, disappointment, irritation, annoyance and impatience) without realizing

it. There was also another instance where William Labov’s (1966; 1972)

‘hypercorrection’ phenomenon takes place with Ms Aiman’s way of interaction. The

linguist Labov introduced this concept even though in an entirely a completely different

context, it is still appropriate and it is interesting to use it here because Ms Aiman is

overdoing the Australian style more than the Australian people are doing. In this

section, the business practices of the Malaysian and Australian businesspeople are

discussed within the framework of ‘style’. Sheth defines style as ‘the format, ritual or

mannerism which [either] the buyer or the seller adopt in their interaction’ (cited in

William and Spiro, 1985, p. 433-34).The categories identified are protocol (meeting,

status and religious), adapting: formality and informality, concept of time

(procrastination) and politeness system.

5.16.2. Protocols

5.16.3. Meeting protocols

The issue of protocol specifically emerged in the analysis of business meeting number 3

(see Chapter 4). Firstly, a divergence from anticipated protocol emerged in Mr Raj’s

failure to introduce his accompanying staff at the outset of the meeting with Ms

Browne. Second, the issue of protocol was again highlighted in the delayed response of

Mr Raj towards Ms Browne’s proposal. Thirdly, expected protocol was similarly

contravened in the inappropriate response of Mr Raj when he highlighted Ms Browne’s

main competitor company, rather than focusing on the sample products that were the

centrepoint of her presentation. All three instances were identified as deviances in the

meeting procedure (see meeting 3, section on deviance 1). As a result, all three

instances created a situation whereby Ms Brown was confused or unsure of what to do

next.

In the first instance described above, Mr Raj neglected to introduce his accompanying

staff. Ms Browne began the meeting unsure as to the identity of all those present.


However, she interrupted her presentation early, as she obviously came to the

conclusion it would be inappropriate to conduct a meeting with people whom she did

not know. She finally felt compelled to enquire as to the role of the hotel staff who were

present. This firstly indicates that Mr Raj failed to follow ‘proper meeting protocol’ and

introduce all those present for the meeting. Proper meeting protocol in this context

derives from standard business practices in the West. This protocol has been established

by Marriott (1995) and includes elements such as greetings, introductions, seating

allocations and so forth. When Ms Browne indicated she felt anxious about not knowing

the purpose for having the staff in the meeting, Mr Raj still did not offer any

explanation. As a result, the flow of Ms Browne’s proposal was disrupted.

In the second instance, Mr Raj delayed his response to Ms Browne’s proposal. Instead

of engaging with her proposal at a critical point, that is when she presented him with

samples of her products, he initiated a topic shift which then diverted the focus of her

presentation. This led to the third break in protocol, when Mr Raj emphasized the

hotel’s current supplier of snack products, which was, in fact, Ms Browne’s company’s

main competitor. Mr Raj was supposed to respond to Ms Browne’s proposal, yet when

he mentioned the current supplier, the situation became awkward, for his response had

no relevance to the previous discourse. Ms Browne could not understand what was

happening at that point. However, she was assertive in abruptly pointing out to Mr Raj

that the company mentioned was an opposition company. Her tone indicated that she

was not interested and was disappointed with the diversion from the topic.

These divergences from meeting protocol norms (see Neustupny 1985a, 1988) show

that the Malaysian hotel manager did not follow the anticipated procedures expected in

a seller-buyer business meeting. He was obviously applying his own style of handling

the meeting. As has been suggested in the earlier section on Topic Management, Mr

Raj’s negotiation style was influenced by a desire to avoid committing himself to Ms

Browne’s proposal, and as a strategy to establish some form of dominance over the

meeting. The latter motivation resonates with Scollon and Wong-Scollon’s (1991)

recognition of an ‘authoritative person’. According to these authors, in Asian cultures it

is the person of higher rank or authority who generally introduces topics of discussion.

Therefore, Mr Raj’s manipulation of topics could indicate an attempt to stamp his

authority over the meeting. Alternatively, Scollon and Wong-Scollon (1991) also argue

that Asians use an inductive approach in which they delay the introduction of the core


topic of discussion. Therefore, Ms Browne’s attempt to deal with the core concern

immediately (i.e. her sales proposal) at the outset of the meeting was not directly taken

up by Mr Raj. His frequent topic shifts may have signalled an attempt to elaborate face-

work and negotiate rapport building.

5.16.4. Status Protocol

Another category of protocol relevant to interaction between Australian and Malaysian

business negotiators is ‘status protocol’. This specifically refers to the position or rank

that one holds in relation to others. It is typically based on business or academic

achievement, family prestige, gender and age (Kimble, 1992). In Malaysia, status is a

significant concern of society (Abdullah Asma, 1996) and is indicated by titles such as

Datuk, Tan Sri and Datuk Sri. These titles symbolize an individual’s status, and often

indicate that a higher level of respect should be given to him or her. They are titles

bestowed on people who have contributed to the country in a significant way, in the

fields of economics, politics and social services. Such titles are awarded by either the

Agong34 or the Sultan of each state.

In Australia, however, status rules are not as important, as the society as a whole values

the concept of equality (Connell and Irving, 1980, p.134). Australians place less

emphasis on protocols that make distinctions between people based on rank or status.

The rules and regulations which have been put in place are meant to be followed by all.

Everybody, regardless of their rank or position, is treated equally, with the same set of

rules applied and exceptions rarely made. According to Kimble (1992), Australians may

appear like conformists, ready to follow the direction of others. However, in actual fact,

they have a dislike of authority, and are much happier if they can ‘do things their way’

(see Phillips & Smith 2000). This contradiction is very apparent in a cross-cultural

encounter. The data suggests that Australians remain inflexible in making exceptions to

their established rules and regulations, whilst being less inclined to actively adapt to, or

converge towards, the cultural expectations of others. Malaysian society, however,

places an importance on adapting to different cultural environments (Mohd Salleh,

2005). This is reflected in the well-known Malay proverb: masuk kandang kambing

membebek, masuk kandang kerbau menguak (When you enter a cow’s barn; moo, when 34 Malaysia is a country with a constitutional monarchy. The Agong is the head of the country, and carries out his duties under the constitution, although on the advice of the Prime Minister and his cabinet. The Agong’s candidature lasts for a period of five years. The Agong is selected on a rotational basis from the ‘Council of Malay Rulers’, which is made up of the hereditary rulers, the sultans, of the nine states of Malaysia.


you enter a goat’s shed; bleat). This is a similar proverb to one that is common in the

English speaking world; ‘When in Rome do as the Romans do’. However, in the

Australian context it is less culturally prominent. One consequence of this that emerged

from the research was that some of the Malaysian participants were unable to

understand why Australians were so unwilling to accommodate even small divergences

from standard procedures.

Australians similarly rarely apply special status rules in business meetings (Kimble,

1992). According to the literature, this contrasts with a number of Asian cultures. For

example, in the Asian context, often the person of highest status will occupy a certain

seat in the room. However, in Australian meetings, participants select their seat out of

personal preference, or choose one that gives them direct visual contact with a key

participant. In Malaysia, at meetings where a high ranking government official is

present, one’s attire becomes strictly prescribed by national dress. That is, in Malaysia,

men should wear long sleeved batik, and women baju kurong. In Australia, meeting

attire is less strictly prescribed and often more casual. These customs regarding attire

represent the ‘general attitudes of formality…..of the society’ (Mills, 2006, p.3).

Malaysians are required by social conformity to observe certain protocols. This

translates into, or is expressed as, official formality or etiquette, particularly when

dealing with government officials. There is the ‘VIP treatment’ for Malaysians who

hold an honorary title to their names, or even with high positions in the public service.

Along with this special attention is the expectation that rules applying to most people

will be waived in order to accommodate requests or facilitate certain tasks. This is

reflected in the concept of budibicara which was discussed in the earlier section on

ethics. One particular example highlighted in the data and relevant to a business context

was the meeting and processing of higher status Malaysian visitors at the international

airport. In such cases such visitors expect to be given services that are different from the

‘normal travelers’. If these are not met they, and their hosts, feel that proper protocol is

not being observed.

5.16.5. Religious protocol

Another category of protocol relevant to interaction between Australian and Malaysian

business negotiators is ‘status protocol’. This specifically refers to the position or rank

that one holds in relation to others. It is typically based on business or academic


achievement, family prestige, gender and age (Kimble, 1992). In Malaysia, status is a

significant concern of society (Abdullah Asma, 1996) and is indicated by titles such as

Datuk, Tan Sri and Datuk Sri. These titles symbolize an individual’s status, and often

indicate that a higher level of respect should be given to him or her. They are titles

bestowed on people who have contributed to the country in a significant way, in the

fields of economics, politics and social services. Such titles are awarded by either the

Agong35 or the Sultan of each state.

In Australia, however, status rules are not as important, as the society as a whole values

the concept of equality (Connell and Irving, 1980, p.134). Australians place less

emphasis on protocols that make distinctions between people based on rank or status.

The rules and regulations which have been put in place are meant to be followed by all.

Everybody, regardless of their rank or position, is treated equally, with the same set of

rules applied and exceptions rarely made. According to Kimble (1992), Australians may

appear like conformists, ready to follow the direction of others. However, in actual fact,

they have a dislike of authority, and are much happier if they can ‘do things their way’

(see Phillips & Smith 2000). This contradiction is very apparent in a cross-cultural

encounter. The data suggests that Australians remain inflexible in making exceptions to

their established rules and regulations, whilst being less inclined to actively adapt to, or

converge towards, the cultural expectations of others. Malaysian society, however,

places an importance on adapting to different cultural environments (Mohd Salleh,

2005). This is reflected in the well-known Malay proverb: masuk kandang kambing

membebek, masuk kandang kerbau menguak (When you enter a cow’s barn; moo, when

you enter a goat’s shed; bleat). This is a similar proverb to one that is common in the

English speaking world; ‘When in Rome do as the Romans do’. However, in the

Australian context it is less culturally prominent. One consequence of this that emerged

from the research was that some of the Malaysian participants were unable to

understand why Australians were so unwilling to accommodate even small divergences

from standard procedures.

Australians similarly rarely apply special status rules in business meetings (Kimble,

1992). According to the literature, this contrasts with a number of Asian cultures. For 35 Malaysia is a country with a constitutional monarchy. The Agong is the head of the country, and carries out his duties under the constitution, although on the advice of the Prime Minister and his cabinet. The Agong’s candidature lasts for a period of five years. The Agong is selected on a rotational basis from the ‘Council of Malay Rulers’, which is made up of the hereditary rulers, the sultans, of the nine states of Malaysia.


example, in the Asian context, often the person of highest status will occupy a certain

seat in the room. However, in Australian meetings, participants select their seat out of

personal preference, or choose one that gives them direct visual contact with a key

participant. In Malaysia, at meetings where a high ranking government official is

present, one’s attire becomes strictly prescribed by national dress. That is, in Malaysia,

men should wear long sleeved batik, and women baju kurong. In Australia, meeting

attire is less strictly prescribed and often more casual. These customs regarding attire

represent the ‘general attitudes of formality…..of the society’ (Mills, 2006, p.3).

Malaysians are required by social conformity to observe certain protocols. This

translates into, or is expressed as, official formality or etiquette, particularly when

dealing with government officials. There is the ‘VIP treatment’ for Malaysians who

hold an honorary title to their names, or even with high positions in the public service.

Along with this special attention is the expectation that rules applying to most people

will be waived in order to accommodate requests or facilitate certain tasks. This is

reflected in the concept of budibicara which was discussed in the earlier section on

ethics. One particular example highlighted in the data and relevant to a business context

was the meeting and processing of higher status Malaysian visitors at the international

airport. In such cases such visitors expect to be given services that are different from the

‘normal travelers’. If these are not met they, and their hosts, feel that proper protocol is

not being observed.

The issue of religion appeared a number of times in the data, most frequently in the

perception interviews and follow-up interviews. Of most importance are those tenets of

religion which relate to the Islamic faith, especially as they impact upon or influence

business meeting protocols. Australians are generally not knowledgeable about, nor do

they understand, religious obligations of their Malay business counterparts. To Muslims

it is common that commitment to religious observance and practice should not be

foregone or compromised for other, more temporal concerns. In most Muslim countries,

including Malaysia, religious observance is accommodated in the day to day concerns

of the people. For instance, Friday prayer time (extending from 12pm-3pm) is

incorporated into the schedule of government and private sector work places. However,

in doing business in Australia no such accommodation usually occurs. Rarely does

religion have a role to play in directing business protocols, and Australians do not,

therefore, see the need to accommodate religious concerns in business meetings. In fact,


they may even view religion as an unnecessary obstacle to doing business and cannot

understand why religious duties should interrupt the flow of business negotiations.

Some of the concerns raised by Malaysian participants in the study related to the need to

make concessions for prayer times, the recognition that it is inappropriate to schedule

lunch meetings during the fasting month of Ramadan, and the need to understand

Muslims’ dietary constraints (halal food and avoidance of alcohol). The research

suggested that Malaysians recognize that such concerns will not readily be

accommodated in cross-cultural business meetings, as in the case with their Australian

counterparts. Malaysians further understand that overt expressions of religious identity

can potentially have a negative impact on the negotiation process. This was confirmed

by one Malaysian participant who stated that:

I try to limit the religious difference because it’s a risk, you never know what they might say and it could just be a hindrance. So I am certainly not going to play out the fact that I’m a Muslim.

Australians are often unaware that there is a certain etiquette which should be observed

when interacting, for example, with Muslim women. It is inappropriate to shake hands

with Muslim women, especially in the case of men. Doing so is haram or forbidden.

The issue of hand-shaking is particularly problematic for it is an act which in the West,

and especially in a business context, signals greeting, acceptance and willingness to

engage with the person. If a handshake is withheld or an extended hand rejected it could

easily lead to resentment. A lack of understanding about Islamic precepts and lifestyles

makes it difficult to appreciate the etiquette or protocols which surround cross-cultural

negotiations between Australian and Malaysian business people. Because Australians do

not sufficiently address religious protocols in business meetings, it leaves some

Malaysians feeling that they are not being respected and with the impression that

Australians are ‘culturally insensitive’36.

5.16.6. Adapting: formality and informality

In this study, it became clear that Malaysians did attempt to employ adaptability as a

strategy to more effectively communicate with a negotiator in a cross-cultural

encounter. Jenkins (2006) has argued that ‘convergence’ occurs in the communicative

process when people attempt to adjust their speech so as to be more readily understood.

36 See Zaman & Muthaly (1998) who highlight the insensitivity of Australian business people towards the cultural differences of Malaysians.


An extension of this is when communicators adopt a particular style which they feel to

be more acceptable to the person with whom they are interacting. As was explained

above, and in reference to the Malay proverb, it was not surprising that instances of

adapting were identified as strategies employed by Malaysian business practitioners.

Adapting in this context can be defined as the modification of one’s style to conform to

the expectations of one’s interlocutor. In the study there were a number of instances

where adapting was demonstrated by Malaysian participants in the data. For instance, in

the analysis of meeting 1, Ms Aiman, a Malaysian ‘relationship manager’ from the

finance industry, overtly attempted to present herself as a ‘typical Australian’ in order to

either gain a positive response from her Australian counterpart (Mr Edwards) or because

she felt the need to do so in order to make her Australian client better understand her

proposal. Ms Aiman felt that she would be more readily accepted by Mr Edwards if she

adopted what she perceived to be the routine mannerisms of Australians in a business

meeting. These included a laid back or relaxed (i.e. informal) style; a particular

construction of hospitality (which involved the offering of muffins); indulging in jokes

and banter; and using colloquial language. These elements were clearly identifiable in

the meeting data and articulated as important by Ms Aiman in the perception and

follow-up interviews. She felt confident in her knowledge of Australian manners,

stating that ‘if you are from one culture and are able to tell and appreciate a joke from

another culture, it means that you have actually achieved a good understanding of that

culture’. Ms Aiman, however, still remained a little insecure in her ability to employ

these in a meeting context.

Ms Aiman’s attempt to present herself in a ‘people-oriented way’ (see Sheth 1983, p.48)

did not go unnoticed by Mr Edwards. His reaction indicated that her style of

presentation was secondary and superfluous to the market advantage of the product (he

termed this the ‘product niche’). Although he thought Ms Aiman to be personable and

pleasant, he felt that she was drawing too much attention to herself to the detriment of

providing sufficient information about the financial product. In fact, he felt that the

financial product was of no value to him. Mr Edwards implied that Ms Aiman would be

better advised to target the needs of her clients so that she could provide them with more

appropriate financial products.

One of the conclusions drawn from a number of the business meetings which form the

basis of the research is that the Australian participants’ primary focus is on expertise,


professionalism and the perceived quality and relevance of the product or service. Style

is secondary to these concerns. Malaysian participants place greater importance on the

personal interests and background of the parties. This appears as one of the biggest

stumbling blocks to successful communication. In initial encounters between Australian

and Malaysian business negotiators, the parties are often at odds with each other. The

Australian participants in all of the meetings were most intently focused on gauging the

levels of expertise or efficiency, product relevance and quality or professionalism in

service. The Malaysian participants felt the initial meeting was not the correct forum for

elaborating on these issues. Rather, this was a time in which to gauge levels of personal

compatibility. Only later would discussions focusing solely on core business content be

held. Ghauri (1996) has constructed a three stage model which accurately describes the

preferred Malaysian approach in the negotiation process. These are: the pre-negotiation

stage which is designated for lobbying, presentation, informal discussion and trust

building; the formal negotiation which includes the task-related exchange of

information, persuasions, concessions and agreement; and the post-negotiation stage

which is designed to implement new rounds of negotiations. The Australian business

participants in the present study rarely saw the relevance of the pre-negotiation stage (or

at least did not recognize its importance).

5.16.7. Concept of time: Procrastination

The word ‘procrastination’ is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as ‘to put off

doing things’ and, in the Chambers Essential English Dictionary, as ‘to leave things

undone as long as possible’. An added meaning might be ‘to be very slow to act’.

Procrastination as a theme recurs in the transcripts of the Australian interviewees, who

consider that it is a quality prevalent among Malaysian businesspeople. According to

several of the Australian respondents, Malaysians are generally not timely in the follow-

up of their business dealings. They are thought to take a long time to get back to matters

of business which have been discussed in the initial stage of the negotiation process.

They also take a long time to provide their final decisions (see earlier section on work

ethics: procrastination). Many Australians reported that this type of behavior does not

contribute to a successful business outcome, or feel that the Malaysians may have

suddenly become disinterested in the business. In previous sections it has been pointed

out that the perception that Malaysians procrastinate derives from: the lengthy rapport

building process and the navigation of bureaucratic procedures, in particular in

Malaysia. Another factor which could contribute to the assumption that Malaysians


procrastinate has been argued by Munter (1993). Munter outlines a concept called the

‘locus of control’, whereby some cultures are deemed to have internal control over

destiny. By this, Munter means that its members, as a result of their individual behavior

and actions, feel they are in control of their own fate. On the other hand, some cultures

are said to believe in external control over destiny. In this instance, one’s fate is

predetermined. In Islam, the external control over destiny predominates. In Malay

culture, it is the norm to perform a task to the best of one’s ability. However, once this

has been done, there is the belief that the outcome will ultimately be determined by

Allah. The phrase insyallah (or ‘God willing’) epitomizes the belief that ultimately

events can only be determined by God. This often precludes behavior which is thought

to be pushy, aggressive or impatient. Yet, to a Westerner, this might also be interpreted

as disinterest.

5.16.8. Politeness systems

Style in the context of communication may refer to the way people communicate their

message either verbally or non-verbally. Cross-culturally, style may differ due to the

different cultural ‘baggage’ that speakers carry. For instance, Malaysians, and here

particularly the Malays, use a distinct system of politeness when interacting with others.

This system consists of specific codes of behaviour relating to both verbal and non-

verbal expressions. The Malaysians’ communicative style demonstrates the use of

appropriate and correct expressions which reflect the speaker’s ‘breeding and refined

(or halus) behaviour’ (Aiman, 1996, p. 75). According to Aiman, manners are an

essential ingredient in any successful relationship. Therefore, it is important to

understand ‘why someone does something (motivation) and the way in which the person

does it (manners)’ (p.75).

Firstly, the discourse of a Malaysian generally indicates speech patterns which denote

the nature of the relationship between the sender and the receiver. These forms are used,

for example, to show respect towards another person. Examples of these speech patterns

include the use of pronominal forms such as Cik, Puan, Tuan, saya, kamu. The selection

of which term of address to use primarily depends on one’s job position. There are

further distinctions based on gender and marital status. As has previously been

mentioned there are further terms of address that are used to acknowledge hierarchical

position (examples are the forms of address ‘Datuk, Tan Sri, Professor, Mr or Mrs).


It is interesting to explore some of this underlying rationale when interpreting the style

of the Malaysian participants across the four meeting data. In meeting 1, Ms Aiman’s

presentation is clearly formulated within a system of politeness. Firstly, she values the

notion of respect for elders and hierarchy. Mr Edwards was someone who is not only

very much older, but also a reputable and experienced finance broker. The specifics of

the Malaysian politeness system have caused her to be cautious in asserting her views

too directly with Mr Edwards. The nature of her proposal presentation might suggest

she is reluctant to forthrightly argue the benefits of her company’s financial product.

Because of the importance placed on hierarchy, Malaysians will tend to show respect by

the marked emphasis on politeness. As a result, their style of communicating will be

more passive, respectful, polite or subtle.

Malaysians are known to believe that being too assertive will probably work to one’s

disadvantage (Aiman 1996). In being humble, one preserves the dignity of the other

party and is more likely to achieve one’s objectives. This principal can be firmly located

in the Malaysian style of collectivism and the fact that it defines the decision-making

process (Lim, 2001, p. 220). Collectivism requires consultative decision-making style,

known as mesyuawarah’. According to Scollon and Wong-Scollon (2001), the emphasis

on face, as the means through which public image is communicated, is an integral

aspect of the collective decision making style. If one is disregarded or overlooked in the

decision making process there is the possibility that they will loose face.

In a discussion of the Malaysian politeness system, the concepts of rasa and perasaan

should be taken into consideration. Rasa. refers to one’s ability to care about the

feelings and welfare of others. Perasaan denotes the concern for how one’s actions

affect others. These concepts manifest in humbleness and is demonstrated, for instance,

by the use of proper intonation in talking and being well-mannered and not loud in

one’s verbal delivery (Aiman, 1996). When Malaysians want to avoid saying ‘no’, they

will respond by ‘making a point, elaborating on it and going off at a tangent’ (Aiman,

1996, p. 78). This was observed in meeting 3, when Mr Raj avoided responding to Ms

Browne’s suggestion that snacks be placed in the mini-bars. This appears to be an

indirect approach when compared with Westerners or Australians in this study.

5.17. Conclusion The purpose of this chapter has been to offer interpretations for the major

miscommunications and strategies that were identified in the Analysis Chapter 4. The


aim has been to make sense of what is occurring in the discourse of international

business negotiators, and identify the cultural bases for deviances, miscommunications

and strategies so as to suggest appropriate intercultural communication skills to make

negotiations more effective. The chapter considered five sections relating to topic

management, building rapport, ethical behaviour, building recognition and style of

business practice. The following chapter summarises the guiding principals for

intercultural competency in Malaysian-Australian business negotiations, as well as

outlining some pedagogical implications arising from the research.

Chapter 6 – Conclusion 252

Chapter Six

CONCLUSION

6.1. Introduction This purpose of this research has been to determine the linguistic and non-linguistic

features that hinder or enhance the success of cross-cultural business negotiations

between Malaysians and Australians. By doing so, the research addresses issues relating

to intercultural competency, namely negotiators ability to identify how

miscommunication occurs, and how to overcome miscommunication. In this regard, the

research extends current knowledge of the relationship between culture and business

discourse. Previous work has rarely attempted to formulate intercultural competence

guidelines that can be used to instruct negotiators in how to discursively overcome

cultural differences. Certainly this has not been attempted for Malaysian-Australian

business encounters. This study shows that intercultural competence is much more than

simply learning a collection of cultural facts – which was typical of previous

approaches. One of the disadvantages of the traditional, cultural framework approach

was that when target cultural knowledge is presented as a simple series of facts (which

one should ‘learn’ when dealing with members of that culture) stereotypes are

perpetuated. Thus, the present research has attempted to formulate specific discursive

skills to not only deal with, but to mimimise cultural dissonance.

Mismatches in this study have been represented as miscommunication or deviance,

whilst strategies are indicative of intercultural competence. The research has

endeavoured to identify instances of mismatches or deviance which have led to

miscommunication in the specific context of Malaysian and Australian business

meetings. It has also endeavoured to identify the strategies used by negotiators to

improve the likelihood of attaining their business goals. Further to this, the research has

attempted to explore the cultural bases for miscommunication. Ultimately, the purpose

of the research has then been to outline certain principles to successfully manage cross-

cultural business negotiations between Malaysian and Australian business practitioners.

It is crucial that business students in an increasingly globalized world acquire a high

level of ICC skills if they are to succeed in international negotiations. An important


consideration in the research has been to provide a resource for formulating a teaching

syllabus for business students, both in academia and vocational training for those who

are presently or would like to participate in international business negotiations.

Intercultural competence pedagogy for business studies can be enhanced through the

incorporation of a set of guiding principles deriving from this research. These principles

fall under the following categories:

• Skills relating to the management of topics – the ability to manage the flow of topics and control the discussion through the effective use of topic management, topic shift and topic recycling.

• Skills relating to the building of rapport – the ability to participate in appropriate, culturally specific modes of rapport building.

• Skills relating to ethical business conduct – understanding that the diversity in ethical behaviour in business is informed by, or based on, belief-systems and values.

• Skills relating to the building of recognition – appreciating that respect and esteem can be enhanced by acknowledging the credentials of the other party.

• Skills relating to style in business practice – having knowledge of the appropriate interactive strategies and behaviours used by speakers from a particular culture.

The advantage of applying these principles to a specific cross-cultural context is that

one can locate an instance of miscommunication or strategy within the parameters of a

known category. Once the category has been defined, one is then able to explore the

cultural basis for miscommunication and then formulate principals to deal with or

anticipate miscommunication in the future. Therefore, the ‘skills’ relating to each

category refer firstly to the ability to identify deviance, and secondly the skill to be able

to employ a strategy to overcome it. Although strategy in this sense is reactive, there is,

in addition, a pro-active aspect whereby strategy is not simply conceived as a

mechanism for the avoidance of miscommunication, but pre-determined discursive

techniques for the accomplishment of business goals. Effectively the above is a set of

guiding principles for the creation of intercultural competence skills in a business

context.

6.2. Strategies for Increasing ICC skills in Malaysian-Australian Business Encounters The study has crystallized a number of principals or key characteristics which would

guide intercultural competence learning for future or present cross-cultural business


negotiators in the Malaysian-Australian context. In summary, the conclusions drawn

from the study were that:

6.3. Topic Management More effective communication can be achieved through the management of topics by

the speakers. By managing the topics in negotiation, one will be able to control the flow

of discussion and work more effectively towards the attainment of business objectives.

Topic management is shaped by a number of categories which include: topic change,

topic shift, topic recycling, topic reintroduction and topic maintenance.

It has been identified that topic management is a crucial element in the structuring of

speakers’ discourse. As such, it is a useful principle for business negotiators to achieve

their goals, particularly in cross-cultural context. In this study, topic management has

been used effectively by some of the participants to structure their negotiation

discourse. An analysis of the following topic categories in the study has allowed the

researcher to explore the role of topic management and come to some conclusions about

its effectiveness in directing or steering the negotiation process.

Topic change

It was found that speakers who initiate topic change do so purposefully. From the

actual point of topic change, the way in which the topic is developed becomes crucial. A

topic can be developed through a series of sustained and related topic shifts, or, the flow

of topic can be obstructed by another topic change (which has no relevance to the

original topic), either introduced by the other party or by the original initiator of the

topic change. This will be explained in the following section on topic shift. The

Australian business participants in the study were found to be particularly effective in

the way they executed topic change. They developed each topic change until they

reached a point of satisfaction, before initiating the next topic change. This strategy

contributed to the success of the negotiation on their part.

Topic shifts

One of the conclusions drawn from the research was that those speakers who fully

develop a topic by employing a relevant and logical sequence of related topic shifts are

more successful in the negotiation process. The topic shifts must have relevance to the

initial topic change, and must be brought in in such a way as to strengthen and support

the content of the topic itself (or the episode or segment of discussion). It was found that

topic shifts which, when introduced, have narrative coherence which builds on the topic

and serves to convince the listener, constitute an effective negotiation strategy. An

instance which illustrates the effective management of topic shifts can be seen in


meeting 2. Here, the Australian negotiators initiated five topic shifts in an uninterrupted

sequence or consecutive links. By presenting topic shifts in sequence, they were able to

lead the discussion further to a point where the intended objective was achieved. In this

instance, the Australians used topic shifts as a strategy to establish rapport with Mr

Wong.

On the other hand, in meeting 3, the management of topic through the development of

topic shifts was absent and led to a less successful negotiation. In this case, Mr Raj

initiated topic change but failed to develop the topic through a logical and sustained

sequence of topic shifts. He also obstructed Ms Brown’s sequence of topic shifts with

his own topic shifts which broke the coherence of her presentation. This contributed to

the high incidence of deviance that was found in the meeting.

Another effective use of topic shifts was found in meeting 4. In this instance, the

Australian IT representatives used topic shifts as a strategy to educate the Malaysian

hotel manager about IT features. The Australian IT representatives recognized early that

their best chance of gaining a successful outcome was to make Mr Ahmad understand

the benefits of website optimization. Their topic shifts were designed to impart

information in stages that were readily comprehensible to Mr Ahmad.

Topic recycling Topic recycling was also a strategy that was used to some effect in the negotiation

process. Again, it was the Australians who used topic recycling to build their own

credibility during the discussions. In meeting 2, for instance, topic recycling was

employed to highlight the strength of the Transit-Tour company, their financial stability

and their commitment to becoming established in Western Australia. Their intention

was to inspire confidence on the part of Mr Wong, and convince him to work

collaboratively with them. Again, in meeting 4, the Australian IT representatives

employed topic recycling as a tool to educate Mr Ahmad on IT software and the

services which their company provides. Recycling the topic on ‘optmization’, for

example, was effective given Mr Ahmad’s limited understanding of IT.

However, in meeting 3, topic recycling by Mr Raj was conducted for a different

purpose. In this instance Mr Raj used topic recycling because, firstly, he was interested

in the subject of vending machines. Unfortunately, this subject was not of any interest to

Ms Browne, and had little to do with her presence at the meeting. Ms Browne, in fact,

had clearly stated her disinterest on the vending machine issue. However, Mr Raj, being

persistent, still brought up the topic another two times. Secondly, he used topic


recycling as a mechanism to divert the discussion whilst, at the same time, indirectly

implying that he was not interested in her proposal.

Overall, the research suggests that the skilful use of topic management is an aspect of

intercultural competence. The framework described above derived from the Australian

participants, and it is being suggested that they envision it to be an appropriate

negotiation technique. Interestingly, the effective use of these principles was not evident

in the Malaysian participants in this study. Therefore, Malaysian negotiators could

similarly use this as a more systematic framework for discussions with their Australian

counterparts.

6.4. Rapport Building Based on an analysis of the data in chapter 4, and the interpretation of the analysis in

chapter 5, the following conclusions have been drawn regarding processes of rapport

building:

• The Australian participants do not necessarily envision rapport building to be a core concern.

• The Australian participants feel that rapport building can be achieved in the short term.

• The Australians participants value ‘loyalty’, yet rarely construct affective relationships in business.

• The Australian participants assume the correct time for building rapport is after the key negotiations have been put in place, and generally within the confines of the work environment.

• Rapport building is by the prioritized by Malaysian participants. It is a central focus of initial business meetings.

• The Malaysian participants imagine rapport building as a lengthy, elaborate and personalized process.

• The Malaysian participants use the concept of lobbying to structure relationship management.

• The Malaysian participants report a a diverse number of (overtly social) forums in which rapport building takes place.

Rapport building is prioritized by Malaysians as an essential ingredient in business

dealings. The tradition of lobbying for Malaysians informs the nature of the rapport

building process. Malaysians view it as a lengthy, personalized process which often

takes place in forums that are outside of the immediate work environment, and


dedicated specifically to the purpose of creating a sense of familiarity. Participation in

these forums typically requires a commitment of time and resources. Australians, on the

other hand, recognize that building rapport is a part of the business negotiation process

but do not feel it to be a core concern. Certainly the Australian business negotiators in

the study felt that rapport building need not be an elaborate affair and could certainly be

achieved in the short term and within the context of the business meeting itself. In

addition, the Australian participants felt that rapport building could be achieved through

an overt display of one’s professionalism and competency, rather than through the

cultivation of a personal relationship.

In the rapport building process Malaysians might be advised to highlight the

professionalism and efficiency that they will bring to business relationship. They might

best do this at the initial negotiation stage, and then endeavour to establish closer

personal ties in later stages of the negotiation process. Australians planning to

participate in the Malaysian rapport building style must be prepared to attend

predominantly social forums which might seem, on the surface, to have little to do with

business per se. They should be prepared to develop affective relationships which act as

a platform for exploring potential business opportunities. Furthermore, Australians

might be advised to not interpret delays in business as acts of procrastination. Rather,

they might be attributable to elaborate and lengthy rapport building procedures (and/or

bureaucratic processes especially if any approval is needed in Malaysia).

6.5. Ethical Behaviour Based on an analysis of the data in chapter 4, and the interpretation of the analysis in

chapter 5, the following conclusions have been drawn regarding ethical behaviour in

business:

• For Malaysians, the concept of budibicara allows for a degree of flexibility in rule interpretation, especially where this facilitates the maintenance of respect and status hierarchy.

• The Malaysian rapport building style might appear (to Australians) to encourage

improper conduct such as cronyism.

• Corruption is a sensitive issue for Malaysians, especially in the international business arena. Australian business players should be aware that their Malaysian counterparts could be sensitive to any suggestion that they might be acting dishonestly.

• The Malaysian practice of ‘shopping around’ for price quotations is a standard

practice used to initially identify a suitable supplier to establish contact with. It


is not an indication of the potential loyalty (or otherwise) of a business partner; it is simply a way to pinpoint a supplier at the early stage.

• Australians should not immediately interpret delays by their Malaysian

counterparts as acts of procrastination, for they might be attributable to elaborate and lengthy rapport building procedures and/or bureaucratic processes, especially if any approval is needed in Malaysia.

• Australians can procedurally be rigid and inflexible. This arises from, firstly, a more comprehensive understanding of local requirements, and second, a strong egalitarian and individualist streaks in Australian society.

• Australians place a great deal of importance on decisiveness and the achievement of tasks expeditiously. They assume that unexplained lengthy delays signal disinterest in further negotiations.

• Australians are often unaware of the extensive bureaucratic procedures that

Malaysians have to deal with in Malaysia. It is crucial to communicate this to one’s Australian counterpart, and factor potential delays into the time frame set for business.

• An apparent lack of transparency in business dealings should not automatically

be interpreted as a disguise for unethical practice. It could be the case that Australian business peoples have a better understanding of the local business context. Australians may feel that involving their Malaysian partners unnecessarily in some aspects of the business would only serve to complicate matters.

Ethical behaviour is seen as deriving from distinct cultural frameworks. For Malaysians,

three issues relating to ethical behaviour were identified in the research. Firstly, the

concept of budibicara allows one to exercise discretionary power, or to be flexible,

when interpreting rules and guidelines on special occasions. As long as a decision is

taken for the greater good, one might make an ‘exception to the rule’. This has ethical

implications in that there is a greater scope for individual interpretation of rules.

Australians, on the other hand, despite the fact that they are often laid back and informal

in their business approach, can be procedurally be very rigid and inflexible. This arises

from a strong egalitarian streak in Australian society. Australians often perceive the

flexibility relating to budibicara negatively, in the sense that they imagine it as being

something done in return for preferential treatment in business. Second, the Malaysian

rapport building style similarly appears to Australians as being akin to bribery. Gifts,

golf, dinners and vacations constitute the tradition of ‘lobbying’ in Malaysia. But for

Australians these practices can be perceived as being unethical, rather than as a way to

nurture affective personal relationships. Thirdly, these assumptions on the part of the

Australians are strengthened by the fact that corruption does exist in Malaysia (as


attested by the National Integrity Plan). It is a sensitive issue which penetrates the

international business arena. Australian business players should be aware, therefore, that

their Malaysian counterparts could be sensitive to any suggestion that they might be

acting dishonestly. Some words might trigger connotations that one may be acting

improperly, as occurred in the meeting data. It would be advisable, especially in

discussions of business procedures and matters relating specifically to finance, to avoid,

even indirectly, any suggestion that even hints at improper conduct. It is important for

Australian business participants to recognize that what appears as unethical behaviour

may have a cultural foundation. The Malaysian participants point to a heightened sense

of awareness between morality and ethics. The former is based primarily on discretion,

the latter on stated rules (the suggestion in the study was that the conceptual blueprint

for this distinction was based on the Islamic distinction of halal and haram). Several of

the Malaysian participants pointed to the apparent lack of transparency in business

dealings when negotiating with Australians. Yet it was argued that this should not be

automatically interpreted as a disguise for unethical practice. It could be the case that

Australian business peoples have a better understanding of the local business context,

and may feel that involving their Malaysian partners unnecessarily in some aspects of

the business would only serve to complicate matters.

6.6. Issues relating to building recognition and credibility Building recognition and credibility were found to be features of the negotiation process

and can potentially contribute to a successful business deal. Recognition relates to the

acknowledgement and highlighting of the achievements or reputation of the other party.

Credibility refers to the enhancement of one’s own capabilities in the eyes of the other

party. Building recognition and credibility are components which highlight positive

values and achievement. The strategy of building credibility was found in all four of the

meetings. The strategy of building recognition was found in three of the meetings.

In terms of building recognition, Ms Aiman in meeting 1 recognised Mr Edwards’

achievement in the finance industry when, in her presentation, she decided to omit basic

financial procedures. In meeting 2, the Australian in-bound tour managers emphasized

Mr Wong’s good reputation by complimenting him on his personalized way of handling

Asian tourists in WA. In meeting 3, Ms Browne also tried to build recognition of Mr

Raj when she complimented his way of operating the hotel mini-bars. (However, Ms

Browne was not successful as it turned out to be taken negatively by Mr Raj).


Building credibility was found in all four meetings. In meeting 1 Ms Aiman stressed in

a number of segments her company’s reputation in servicing clients and brokers. In

meeting 2, the Australian in-bound tour managers recycled topics on the stability of

Transit-tour in the tourism industry and highlighted the expansion achieved in the

Eastern States of Australia. In meeting 3, Ms Brownes attempted to build the credibility

of her company by offering information on the company’s advertising in the media, and

by arguing that her company was superior to Mr Raj’s current supplier of snack

products. Finally, in meeting 4, the Australian IT representatives built their credibility

by focusing on the ‘optimization’ service which their company specializes in.

The Australian participants, in particular, made use of the building credibility technique

to intensively highlight their efficiency, expertise and professionalism. This suggests

that they are task-oriented, and assume that decisions made by the Malaysians will be

merits-based. Similarly, when Australians attempt to build recognition in the other party

it is done so based on the criteria of task performance. Ms Aiman, on the other hand, as

a representative of the Malaysian style of building recognition, was not as emphatic in

building recognition and this might have disadvantaged her in the meeting. The

Malaysian negotiators rarely attempted to intensively build their own professional

credibility, and if they did it was not performed directly. Overall, the analysis of

credibility and recognition building in the research demonstrates that Australian

participants focus keenly on task performance.

6.7. Section on issues relating to style in business practice The research found that several categories emerged in which it was possible to identify

differences in styles of business practice which are likely to lead to miscommunication

in the cross-cultural negotiation process. These categories were:

• Protocols (business meeting protocols, status protocols and religious protocols)

• Inclinations toward adaptability (formal and informal)

• Concept of time (procrastination)

• Politeness system

• Body language

The research suggests that standard business meeting protocols (see Marriott 1995) need

to be observed, as these very broadly structure the interaction. In meeting 3, for


example, some of the attendees were not introduced, which unsettled the presenter and

interrupted the flow of the meeting. In terms of status protocol, Malaysians were found

to be more sensitive to status distinctions, which were seen as expressions of respect.

Respect is symbolically bestowed in honorary titles, earned by virtue of contributions to

the country. Australians, on the other hand, have a more egalitarian and individualistic

outlook and are not as concerned with status protocol. Religious protocol presents issues

such as the reservation of prayer times in business schedules, dietary constraints and

greetings. As most Malaysians are Muslims who want to incorporate Islamic practices

into their daily routine, Australians should have an understanding of this and

accommodate these in the business negotiation process.

In terms of adaptability, it became clear that Malaysians are more inclined to adapt to

what they perceive as ‘Australian-like’ cultural characteristics. However, the meeting

data suggests that Australians are less concerned with presentation style than the

essential quality of the service or product being offered. The analysis of concept of time

has shown that Australians place a great deal of importance on decisiveness and the

achievement of tasks expeditiously. They assume that unexplained lengthy delays signal

disinterest in further negotiations. Malaysians, on the other hand, may not see the same

urgency. This might be due to rapport building concerns, dealing with bureaucratic

procedures, as well as the ‘locus of control’ concept discussed in Chapter 5.

The Malaysian politeness system dictates that there is a correct and appropriate way of

communicating with people which incorporates specific terms of address. These depend

on relationship, gender, age, hierarchical position and occupation. Humbleness is

similarly seen as virtue and preserves the dignity of the other party. The concepts of

rasa and perasaan illustrate the concern for others, especially the concern to have good

feelings.

6.8. Teaching Pedagogy The argument presented in this conclusion chapter is that previous studies of cross-

cultural business negotiations are simplistic in the sense that they are associated with the

traditional cultural framework approach related to language teaching (Hendon 1996;

Salacuse 1999; Peng 2003; and Duncan 2004). Here the assumption was that culture is

relatively static and that one could simply learn the characteristics of ‘Malaysian

culture’ (or any other culture for that matter). This approach tended to perpetuate

stereotypes, which often did more harm than good. The intercultural competence


paradigm argues against envisioning culture as a monolithic block. Rather it focuses on

negotiating the intersection between cultures. It recognizes that different cross-cultural

interactions require different intercultural competence skills. The traditional approach to

cross-cultural negotiation is often reflected in instructional texts. As an illustration, the

following quotations were found in cross-cultural business books. These kinds of ideas

reproduce cultural images that have been challenged and problematised in academic

discourse fifteen to twenty years ago, but these critiques have not filtered through to

business studies. For instance:

Hendon (1996) in Cross-cultural Business Negotiation: Australians are known to be rugged, direct, and tough-minded people, quick to assert what they perceive as their rights – occasionally, at the expense of others(p.199). Hardly anybody will work overtime – the high marginal tax rates leave little to take home. Instead, most people take the short route to more money by gambling on horse races, dog races, poker machines, and lotteries. When they want extra time off, they will duck some significant issue and simply go on strike (p.200). And, Duncan, Graham (2004) in Doing Business Next Door: Because religion is not important in Australian culture, Indonesians often think Australians lack moral values. However many Australians say they can be honest and caring people maintaining moral values without a formal religion. Some Australians think people who put great importance on religion are out of date and superstitious. (p.25) Privacy is important to Australians. Most don’t worry about what their neighbors think, and mind their own business. Some Indonesians say this means Australians are so individualistic they don’t care for other people. Australians say Indonesian interest in other people’s lives is rude and intrusive. (p.25)

The above quotations clearly send negative impressions to students of international

business. These show precisely what is wrong with some of the texts which are on the

market and being used in pedagogy. Primarily such studies perpetuate cultural

stereotypes. Therefore, there is a need for the type of study which has been presented

here, one that reveals the underlying rationale for behaviour and explains the source of

miscommunication. Scholars such as Byram and Kramsch have shown that in order for

people to communicate between cultures they need guidelines to sufficiently understand

the culture system of their negotiators as well as the intercultural competence skills

which allow them to recognize potential points of miscommunication and strategies to

overcome them.

In terms of language pedagogy in Malaysia, this research has provided a resource that

can be readily integrated into English language classes in the Business Faculty at

Malaysian universities. In light of the strength of the trade relationship between


Malaysia and Australia has been outlined in Chapter 1, and the fact that much of the

international business negotiation material is outdated and ineffective (see above); it

would be valuable to transmit the cultural insights and guiding principles for achieving

intercultural competence described in this research to students through their

incorporation into the syllabus. In a similar way the material generated from this

dissertation could be integrated into business communication courses in Australian

universities, especially those that have a focus on the Asia region. To strengthen the

teaching of the intercultural competence paradigm the work of scholars such as

Kramsch, Byram, Liddicoat, and Crozet should also be addressed in the business studies

curriculum at tertiary institutions, in particular in Malaysia. In these scholars we see the

emergence of a more subtle appreciation of the complexity of target cultures, as well as

a move away from the ideal of the monolingual native speaker, both as linguistic model

and as teacher.

It is important to develop a pedagogical practice which focuses on the development of

intercultural awareness and communication competence in the second language

contexts. Cross-cultural research brings along the idea that ‘culture underlies every part

of communication’ (Corzet & Liddicoat, 2000: 2). Kramsch (1993, cited in Crozet &

Liddicoat, 2000:2), for example, believes that ‘every attempt to communicate in another

language is a cultural act’. Crozet and Liddicoat (2000:1), suggest that Second

Language Education should focus to explore a ‘comfortable unbounded and dynamic

space which inter-cultural communicators create as they interact with each other in their

attempt to bridge the gap between cultural differences’. In addition, Nair-Venugopal

(2000: 205) explains that globally there is a tendency for people to demonstrate

‘localized speech variation’ when they interact using English. This is due to the

‘individual and institutional choices that locally motivated [their] pragmatic selections

within specific [business] contexts’. The situation reflects that it is highly influenced by

the social meanings that underlie the code and style choice of a business setting.

From a pedagogical perspective, the traditional approach to language and culture

learning is by imposing the native-like values and competencies but lacking to consider

how they should communicate across cultures (Language & Intercultural

Communication (LInc) Group, 23 March 2004). Zarate (1993) further explains, it is

how people ‘relate to otherness’ and negotiate their differences. In this type of

approach, intercultural skills apparently fail to develop.


Skills which can equip business students for successful interaction in a global context

particularly in preparation for interactions involving both native and non-native

speakers of English could only be integrated in the intercultural competence

components of teaching. This means that it is crucial to be sensitive to other cultures as

the need to be able to know how people think, interact and solve problems in culturally

specific ways (Briguglio 2001). This skill is not only difficult to achieve as it goes

beyond the surface or the explicit, which Verner (2001) describes this as ‘front stage’

cultural behavior and beyond stereotyping characteristics based on Hofstede (1980) and

Trompenaars (1998).

Besides, it is current awareness that the way English is used also differs across countries

and even regions. There can never be one standard model internationally. It will be

more advantageous for people to have learned the knowledge of the different ways of

English is used in different countries instead of trying to come up with an impossible

standard way especially the almost near-native style. Recognizing and familiarizing

with the different ways people of other cultures or countries speak English would be

more meaningful and effective. Therefore, it is timely that the pedagogical implication

is to develop Intercultural Communication Competence (ICC) which requires the skills

of becoming intercultural communicators when they are in Kramsch’s, ‘third place’ or

‘intercultural space’.

6.9. Limitations of the research One of the limitations of the research relates to the difficulty the research had in

recruiting Australian participants to the research. This is evident in that imbalance in

Malaysian interviewees when compared to Australians (the former are greater in

number – see Chapter Three, Research Methodology, for precise numbers and details).

The primary reason for this is that the researcher, being then a new arrival in Australia,

had no local Australian business contacts. Making initial contact with potential

Australian participants proved difficult because she had no referrals. A decision was

then made to approach Malaysian business people in Perth through Tourism Malaysia,

Malaysia Airlines, the Malaysian Consulate in Perth, and the MATRADE representative

in Sydney. These are all Malaysian organisations with, except for MATRADE, branches

in Perth. Through these organisations the researcher was referred to Malaysian business

people operating in Western Australia. Some, but not all, of these Malaysian business


people were prepared to refer the researcher to their Australian business associates, who

were much fewer in number.

Another limitation in the research again relates to an imbalance in informants, this time

based on gender. The research dealt with the discourse of men in business. Two reasons

might account for this. Firstly, the numbers reflect the general situation whereby men

hold numerical supremacy in terms of business participation. Second, the types of

business being conducted between Australia and Malaysia are traditionally male-

oriented industries such as livestock and primary resources.

6.10. Future research In the light of what has emerged from this study, there are some suggestions for future

research. Firstly, one suggestion is that the intercultural competence guidelines

(Australian-Malaysian context) identified in the study could be further refined, perhaps

even to the extent that a model and using it as an analytic tool for exploring cross-

cultural interactions outside the Australian-Malaysian context would provide a

significant contribution to knowledge. Another possible topic for further research is in

methodology. Again, further refinement of the framework for investigating topic

management is called for.

Appendices 266

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Appendices 277

Appendix 1

Structural Elements in Meeting 2

LINES MALAYSIAN MANAGER AUSTRALIAN SALES REPRESENTATIVE

1.GREETING 1.GREETING

2. ROOM ALLOCATION


3b. Present business card

3. INTRODUCTION 3a. Present business card

2 - 15 4e. Reply - The chef replied by denying she’s an employee

4. INTRODUCTION 4a. Introduce her position and the company 4b. Introduce product 4c. Create the need of product for hotel mini-bar 4d. Acknowledge a hotel staff (chef) 4f. Realize that she has to move on and change the topic quickly

16 - 28 5. INSPECT GOODS 5b. Provide information on current product and elaborate on company 5c. Seek confirmation about snacks from his staff 5d. Seek information company’s location

5. DISPLAY PRODUCTS 5a. A variety of different samples unpacked 5e. Provide information that it is a major opposition or a competitor company

Appendices 278

LINES MALAYSIAN MANAGER AUSTRALIAN SALES REPRESENTATIVE 5f. Stress company’s product is incomparable with others

29 - 33 6. SEEK INFORMATION 6a. Change topic – enquire about salsa (chef initiates) 6b. Enquire different sizes

6c. Inform the sizes 6d. Provide no samples

34 - 54 7. CLARIFY PRIOR INFORMATION 7a. Snacks for minibars 7d. Reply – Agree 7f. Deny about marking up price 7h. Fading off

7b. Show how hotel benefit 7c. Provide example 7e. Suggest hotel to mark up price 7g. Reply – Unaware of such practise 7i. Reply – Mention many hotels do them as a practise 7j. Tried to reason out but was interrupted

55 - 70 8. SUPPORT CASE 8a. Stress his different approach 8c. Support case – the reason

8b. Reply

Appendices 279


out why the mark up take place 8e. Mini-bar list for ordering 8f. Explain how operation is carried out 8h. Provide information that many hotels are doing it.

8d. Reply – Response indicates agreement 8g. Acknowledge his ‘clever’ way ( a strategy)

71 - 90 9c. Reply - Relate how mini-bar list apply and the normal operation done 9d. Chef enquire whether operation is effective 9e. Recommended but to an extent only – need to have them served.

9. SEEK INFORMATION 9a. Enquire how other hotels operate it 9b. Suggest ‘room service order’ 9f. Reply – Relate how nuts be served

91 - 99 10. SEEK INFORMATION – FLAVORS 10a. Reintroduce topic on product – other flavours 10c. Confirm number of flavours

10b. Reply – inform the variety of flavours

Appendices 280

LINES MALAYSIAN MANAGER AUSTRALIAN SALES REPRESENTATIVE 10d. Reply

100 -107 11. SEEK INFORMATION 11a. Wholesale price

11b. Reply – provide price list

2b. Reply 12d. Reply - mention 94 rooms

12. SEEK INFORMATION 12a. Number of hotel rooms 12c. Seek confirmation number of rooms 12e. Reply

108 -131 13. CLARIFY PRIOR INFORMATION 13a. Enquire relationship of the number of rooms and price 13c. Staff (laughs) indicating the awkwardness of the enquiry 13e. Reply – not in favour

13b. Reply –avoid the enquiry 13d. Clarify reason for asking number of rooms

14d. Reply – Response from chef 14e. Seek information – To reconfirm price more expensive 14g. Reply

14. RE-PRESENT PRODUCTS 14a. Repeat presentation of products – premium product promotion 14b. Elaborate goodness and popularity of products 14c. Details of varieties 14f. Clarify they are expensive but stress product is the better one.

Appendices 281


14h. Stress kids love them - unpacking samples - name other varieties

132 - 150 15. SEEK INFORMATION 15a. Enquire about machine 15c. Describe the machine 15e. Replay 15g. Reply 15i. Reply – interest as option 15k. Provide reasons for the machine - More variety, holding different stock, control and dispense it and shelf-life concern.

15b. Reply – not certain what machine he’s referring to. 15d. Confirm it’s a vending machine 15f. Explain it is a separate business 15h. Shows no interest 15j. Reply – Suggests contact person

151 - 174 16b. Reply – pointing to samples (shelf-life) 16e. Reconfirm length of shelf-life - seek clarification 16f. Support case 16h. Reply

16. CLARIFY PRIOR INFORMATION 16a. Disagree towards the understanding of shelf-life 16c.Support case (chef) 16d. Clarify shelf-life 16g. Reply – Refocus attention on products discussed (samples distributed)

Appendices 282

LINES MALAYSIAN MANAGER AUSTRALIAN SALES REPRESENTATIVE 16i. Re-emphasize shelf-life of products - explain itinerary of product distribution and in transit

179 -178 17b. Reply

17. PROPOSAL 17a. Give price list

179 - 195 18. REVISIT PRIOR INFORMATION 18a. Looking at other options 18c. Reply

18b. Reply - To get a contact - Stress cannot put

(company’s product in the machine

19f. Reply – Convenience for customers in middle of the night hours

19. SUPPORT CASE 19a. Involved third person 19b. Transaction 19c. Costs going through distributor 19d. Compare with present product selling direct – Direct service 19e. Cost factor not applicable with vending machine – totally different

196 - 213 20. CLARIFY PRIOR INFORMATION 20a. Chef giving opinion on location of vending machine which is not advisable for hotel image 20b. Support Case - Stress that looking at

options - Perspective is different

20c. Chef suggest to hide the machine indicating not in favour

20d. Reply – Agree machine

Appendices 283

LINES MALAYSIAN MANAGER AUSTRALIAN SALES REPRESENTATIVE does not look good in front location. 20e. Suggest the 214 options

214 - 233 21. RE-CLARIFY PRIOR INFORMATION 21a. Stress product’s shelve life 21b. Holding stock 21c. Costing 21g. Point to the dates on product –not clear

21d. Reply – explain but interrupted 21f. Reply – Clarifying there’s no minimum order

234 - 244 22b. Reply 22d. Seek information – product range - prices

22. CLARIFY PRIOR INFORMATION 22a. Regulation of health department (for the dates) 22c. Mention few product range

245 - 255 23. AGREEMENT 23a. Show interest (seek for a pen to write) 23d. Staff thanking the sales representative

23b. Present business card 23c. Price list and packages (offer a pen)

256 - 275 24b. Reply

24. OFFER 24a. Offers given to encourage business transactions

Form of offers: - Rebate cheque,

promotional spend, bring total amount

Appendices 284


25b. Reconfirm offers mentioned. 25d. Understood offers as royalty

25. CONFIRM DEAL 25a. Put in writing (felt it’s still not clear to the M) 25c. Reply – confirmation given 25e. Repeat offers detail/discounts

276 - 288 26. SEEK INFORMATION 26a. Volume 26c. Reconfirm the volume 26e. Elaborate what volume is

26b. Reply 26d. Do not understand what he meant by volume 26f. Clarify matters of volume, rebate cheque and better cheque

289 - 317 27. SEEK INFORMATION 27a. Promotional items of the company

27b. Range of items in promotion

28. SEEK INFORMATION 28a. Advertising materials/brochures/ anything (To know strength of company)

28b. Reply – Provide evidence by mentioning promotion on television

318 - 339 29. SEEK INFORMATION 29a. Enquire from staff orders made for function at hotel 29b. Replied they had stopped ordering and replaced with cookies 29c. Suggest staff to report the problems faced so far. 29d. Staff indicates actions have been taken

Appendices 285


29e. Insist to talk to the right representative and work out with company to be the supplier 29f. Complaining that cakes and cookies similar to supermarket production. Name of company noted.

29g. Reply

340 - 387 30. SEEK INFORMATION 30a. Enquire if the company does similar service 30d. Had experienced with packet ones 30e. Staff reported that customers weren’t too happy. 30f. To have the home made, cost will be higher 30h. Reply – Observed that presentation is more important 30j. Reply – conclude by talking about industry’s concern in cutting cost for eg. The purpose of a pastry chef is no longer there.

30b. Reply – claim they have own brand 30c. Packet individually wrapped 30g. Reply – Concern on the taste 30i. Support – agree that to have them beautifully made is important 30k. Reply – agreeing

388 - 410 31. OUTSOURCING PRODUCTS 31a. Refer to company that fulfil their need eg. Pastry chef 31c. Staff support 31d. Claim new move similar with supermarkets

31b. Reply 31e. Reply

Appendices 286


31f. Relate to Coles as example 31h. name other companies that become supplier

31g. Reply – surprise!

411 - 419 32. CLARIFY PRIOR INFORMATION 32a. Problem in supermarket, with pastry chef, still outsourcing from outside 32b. New direction

31c. Reply

420 - 444 33. SEEK INFORMATION 33a. To get the company as supplier 33c. Staff claimed she knew their product range 33e. Reply 33g. Persuade and negotiate for company to supply

33b. Reply 33d. Reply 33f. Stick to the proportion packs 33h. Reply

445 - 454 34. PROPOSAL 34a. Suggest that she talks to company 34c. Remind about prices 34e. Show interest to have the snacks in the bar 34f. Support case – Staff agreed to have products for bar

34b. Reply – To look into the matter 34d. Reply

455 - 467

Appendices 287


35. NEGOTIATION 35a. Price deal 35c. Reply 35e. Reply - Claim she should already know the price 35g. Reply – He does not believe her 35i. Not certain about the whole price discount

35b. Seek information – Price from S Company 35d. Reply – quoting the percentage which indicated that she knew 35f. Deny knowing the price as they are competitors 35h. Reply – Willing to come up with discount 35j. Claiming it’s a better deal

468 - 484 36. AGREEMENT 36a. Agreed to the discount given in discussion 36c. Agree with the discount and keen to commit the deal 36e. Request accountant to open a cheque 36f. Seek for a credit application form 36h. Digress – everyone is laughing and feeling comfortable with one another

36b. Good deal because attractive discount 36d. Reply 36g. Organised with the credit application for client 36i. Laughs

485 - 490

37. RE-CLARIFY INFORMATION 37a. Cash plan service with delivery 37b. Fax/phone through order 37c. Work out for a delivery day

Appendices 288


37d. Reply

491 - 500 38c. Reply – Direct email to be sent to his administrative officer

38. CONFIRM DEAL 38a. Writing in a proposal format the agreed decision 38b. Seek email address

501 - 513 39b. Reply – 3 to 4 years 39d. Reply – Reveal percentage of corporate deal

39. SEEK INFORMATION 39a. Length of time hotel in operation 39c. Enquire whether hotel is corporate 39e. Commented it’s a lot in percentage

514 - 542 40. SEEK INFORMATION 40a. Information on percentage

40b. Seek information about hotel being a part of Australian Hotels Association (AHA) 40c. Digress – she’s not talking about related matters

542 - 570 41. PRE-CLOSING 41a. Thanking them for contacting 41b. Mention about doing something 41d. Request that his staff took her to the bar 41f. Name range of products which were supposed to be there.

41c. Summarize – Stress on sending proposal , list of all range of products (inclusive of peanuts) 41e. Reply – Claimed that she’s already seen the bar when she came into the hotel 41g. Reply – reported she could not see the products

Appendices 289


41h. Reply – Explain that lady staff is her chef who replace his F & B manager who’s been ill for a month 41i. Staff digresses and re-introduce topic on product ‘Kettle’

41j. Reply- Look at samples to be left to the hotel staff

571 - 606 42. SUMMARIZE PRIOR INFORMATION 42a. Mention VENDING MACHINE again 42c. Pursued the idea but interrupted by the sales representative indicating she’s not interested to talk about it) 42d. Continued persistently talking about the topic as he needed to show his views. 42f. Vending machine location 42h. Staff mentioned the time it closes is midnight 42i. Manager corrected 11.00 pm 42j. Staff stresses that restaurant closes at 11.00 pm 42k. Showing authority – claimed staff provide service 24 hours, however, time off at 11.00pm. 42m. Claimed that leaving

42b. Reply – Follow through the conversation. - Getting contact for

them was repeated 42e. Reply 42g. Reply – Try to support the idea - Seek information about the time room service close 42l. Suggest leaving some packets at reception for a small number of clients.

Appendices 290


some packets at reception had been done. 42 n. Room service still being done

42o. Closing - Chatting

Appendices 291

Appendix 2


Appendices 292

Appendix 3


Lines Malaysian Participant Australian Participants

1. GREETING

1. GREETING

2. ROOM ALLOCATION

2. ROOM ALLOCATION



1-25 4. PURPOSE a. His main objective is to get a web designer who can put up hotel facilities to the public knowledge. b. List of areas, functions, room service, weddings, restaurants and bookings.

c. Reply –Listening and signalling that he’s able to provide the services required.

26-38 e. Reply

5. OPTIMIZATION a. Introduce and recommend a new service which is effective for web design b. Code behind the web c. Browser is the representation of actual code d. With browser it indicates that optimization occurs on the web

39-46 6. OPTIMIZATION PROCESS a. Occurs as code of website b. small changes can be

Appendices 293

Lines Malaysian Participant Australian Participants seen c. keywords important d. adjustments to keywords can be necessary e. clients registered to search engines with browsing

b. Reply – with a NO

7. SEEK INFORMATION a. clients that M focuses local or overseas d. Reply- he’s puzzled and confirmed it’s a NO (did not understand with the response and just continued to find out further)

46-55 8. CLARIFICATION ON PRIOR INFORMATION a. Explaining categories of FUNCTIONS, Perth based companies

b. Reply

55-66 9. CLIENTELE a. Concern on the number of clients for a function as target. b. prefers 30 to 300 where they can be accommodated d. Focus the locals

c. Reconfirm – Clientele targeted will be for functions

67-90 10. FUNCTIONS a. Different kinds – conferences, seminars or organizations b. Clienteles mostly from Eastern states, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane c. Usual time once every quarterly for 3 days seminar/ talkshow d. Elaborate on their focus – money talk – full occupants in hotel, product talk, less people e. 400 people is full target

Appendices 294

Lines Malaysian Participant Australian Participants f. Reply – all the way ‘yeah’ or agreed

91-118 11. HOTEL CAPACITY a. Realize hotel capacity has limitation in numbers b. Caution not to oversell d. Focus will be on house-based local business manufacturers e. Industry with product line

c. Reply – agree that it will create pressure f. Reply – agree s

119-129 12. SUMMARY a. Talking about industries and gatherings

b. search engines optimization able to attract clientele c. work with websites and key words

130-136 13. SUGGESTIONS a. research on internet for keywords b. 5 pages web sites

137-151 14. SEEK INFORMATION a. His enquiry shows that he did not understand the function of 5 page websites and the subjects / areas allocated in it.

b. Both As participants doing the explaining c. Use terms such as index page /main page

151- 162 c. while listening, he could not decide and requested that to re-examine the current website d. Request staff to print out the web pages before making any decision

15. HOME PAGE a. generic sort of searches b. more specific

Appendices 295

Lines Malaysian Participant Australian Participants e. Reply -

163-179 e. Reply

16. OPTIMIZATION REVISITED a. what’s written on actual website extremely important b. Primary and secondary keywords important esp. primary keywords c. The words attract people to look at the site d. It’s a body copy

180-198 g. Reply

17. SEEK ICONFIRMATION a. functions and accommodations b. wedding page c. sub-page d. changing of the page to avoid looking similar e. wedding pictures suggested f. tailored the page to its functions (Both As discuss)

199-233 (Negotiation does take place here when they both disagree with each other’s point of view but later Aust. Was able to persuade M to start off with the wedding site)

18. WEDDING INDUSTRY a. About 15000 in WA yearly b. target whole year d. Not certain to start on this area because one needs at least a year to target. f. Reply – agree that the flow has to come in g. Target to at least for a 2 months period h. bridal sites i. wedding planner j. function centres k. exposure is important

c. Reply - (there’s a disagreement here to M’s idea) e. Encourage for the flow to start ( ‘yeah’ here indicates a stage in the negotiation process hasn’t yet achieved what he wants)

Appendices 296

Lines Malaysian Participant Australian Participants 239-248

f. Reply

19. REMPHAZISE OPTIMIZATION a. website links b. associations c. bridal creation d. car rental companies e. florists

249-255 20. EXTERNAL LINKS a. extremely important b. optimization would be better c. more powerful

255-274 21. SEEK INFORMATION a. Enquire the number of links to be put into the web b. wedding links not included c. more web sites links

d. Reply - - WA Touring stuff - Not targeted wedding - can be organized e. Linking to tourism will be much stronger

275-366 22. INTERNET BOOKINGS a. facilities user friendly b. Looking for additional facilities c. flexibility of changing versions d. information on change of staff in functions e. renting of items for functions such as microphones f. bridal gowns g. florists h. limousines i. Options provided

j. Reply – giving commitment that it can be done (Deal)

367-409

23. YELLOW PAGES / OTHER OPTIONS a. eg, City Search b. recommend web statistics in order to know who’s steering the traffic c. Google search

Appendices 297

Lines Malaysian Participant Australian Participants d. Reply – acknowledge of Yellow Pages entry in internet

411-436 d. Reply - acknowledge he understands *line 419-422 shows he does not understand

24. WEB STATISTICS a. Suggest that one will be able to know who is steering traffic to website b. Offer service of reporting monthly c. Designing the site e. (line 426) A2 giving a summary of the service offered

437-450 24. AGREEMENT REACHED a. Everyone gets the exposure at the same time c. Agrees e. Agrees and admits not knowing about it at all.

b. Suggest focusing on this, providing a good guide on how money is spent and getting the report back to you from the sites. d. Mention it’s important f. Optimization mentioned again

451- 466 b. Reply -M views of the make up of the site is ordinary (staff view)

25. SEEK INFORMATION a. Whether make up of the site is satisfactory?

467 - 486 26. SEEK INFORMATION a.Customer’s view – concept offered the length of time to access the site, and the specials offered. c. Graphic as attraction

b. Reply

487 - 500 27. CONCERN

Appendices 298

Lines Malaysian Participant Australian Participants a. In how the website can attract people to look at hotel c. Suggests indulgence package e. Reply - Get bookings due to the specials offered with it

b. A2 concern that even after investing in optimization, people get to the web but still do not do any booking. d. Question the results

501- 541 28. DIFFICULTTIES a. Depending on target market and their preference of hotels for functions. b. Weddings throughout the year only 3 nights are in demand. c. Overflow of bookings takes place d. Limited capacity

e. Reply -acknowledgethe problems

542- 582 29. PROVIDE INFORMATION a. Hotel capacity b. Range of cuisines c. Use link due to limited number of expert cooks d. Aware that he is not capable to provide everything f. Satisfy customers is important, do not over claim g. Accepts the idea of optimization

e. Reply - Could identify that M is aware of his target group - Optimization and website construction are recommended -Presentation with graphics

583- 624 30. CHANGES a. A lot of negativity

b. Overall presentation suggests to be - more interactive -expect changes motion

Appendices 299

Lines Malaysian Participant Australian Participants - flash to attract people - enhance page

629-656 31. EXPECTATION a. Websites great, optimization poor

b. suggestions –use of small chunks of flash c. encourage interacting more with optimization

660-730 32. PROMOTION -optimization -advertising cut cost - promotional packages to attract -convenient -offers

732-752 33. UPGRADE FOR OPTIMIZATION

a. wedding focus on presentation

b. b. room layout c. c. email rooms online d. d. interactive e. advertisement (photos &

word by mouth)

f. service – to make a difference in presentation

753-771 e. Reply

34. OFFER SERVICE a. email addresss for feedback b. interacting c. advertise to customers d. utilize for optimization and photo

772-828 b. block bookings c. internet sites for room allotment an dothers such as weddings and functions e. make changes to web page

35. STRATEGY a. advertise by word of mouth d. pages to optimize

830-878 c. Reply

36. SEEK INFORMATION

a. budget allocated b. offer at $1350 d. service provided

Appendices 300

Lines Malaysian Participant Australian Participants e. –follow-up general

optimization tune-up

–ranking update f. Reply -agree but would like to be informed g. price between $1600-$1700 h. optimization

879-890 d. Reply

37. CLARIFY INFORMATION a. price $1700 on block b. require an hour per month c. $440 per block for 4 hours

891-899 c. Reply

38. SERVICE PROVIDED Optimization a. keep high rank b. keywords important from initial optimization d. choice of keywords

900-930 39. NEGOTIATION a. need recommendation b. negotiate price

949-987 40. CHECKING WEBSITES a. Holding its mark or not b. Recommend 15 minutes for 4 hour-block c. assessment done d. clear on optimization

988-1020 41. OPTIMIZATION PACKAGE a. pages b. words, changes, keywords, codes, graphic changes c. 4 hour block d. follow-ups e. optimization

1022-1034 b. Did not understand optimization and seek for explanation

42. CLARIFY PRIOR INFORMATION a. how optimization works with code behind website. c. Reply – summarise optimization - workwith codes behind

Appendices 301

Lines Malaysian Participant Australian Participants website -4 hour block maintenance - ranking of search engines depends on code - need tuning from time to time or as when needed

1035-1052 43. CLARIFY PRIOR INFORMATION -Describe service - Tune up - 4 hour block - 15 mins per month - High ranking back up - change of code - provide report

1053-1071 44. NEGOTIATING a. Request $1300 for 5 pages. c. observed the only editing to be done

b. Reply - reluctance claim, do a lot more work d. Denied optimization is not included yet - only template has been done - need to work with key words

1072-1100 c. Reply – willing to pay $1700 g. Reply- Malysian tried to clarify

45. COMMITMENT a. Stats Package price is $440 with monthly written report on traffic not charged b. quote on example of company’s charge that is $400 d. compromise, made claim to do more than what they’ve had previously wihich is web editor. e. cost goes along with the work f. Disagreement –Australian began to be annoyed and claimed that he could not do service for nothing

Appendices 302

Lines Malaysian Participant Australian Participants that he knew it was for something, indicating Australian misunderstood

1102-1138 b. Reply – Stress that it is only one aspect of the work - service that he needed -to have informed business that’s coming - would like to see increase in bookings -not a major increase but perhaps 20 folds, a reasonable amount -sites that provide information in 5 mins

46. SERVICE a. Reemphasized service of installing stats package code and good reporting c. Reply - admits he is not totally in charge of optimization

1139-1166 47. SEEK INFORMATION a. shows his level of trust on their service b. request for references d. Reply -Would like to check if price quoted is fair - Not certain that he’s been charged reasonable cost

c. Reply - gave price as $1700 for 5 pages

1167-1198 f. Reply - Both Australians got approval of the deal

48. CLARIFY PRIOR INFORMATION a. Offer to do 4 pages for $1350 b. Large amount of work and research on keywords c. optimization d. Web Stats Package e. All pages on weddings, conference, room functions

1199-1247 49. PRE-CLOSING

Appendices 303

Lines Malaysian Participant Australian Participants a. Stresses the importance of spending on advertising b. Internet site is also an exposure Optimization is something new c. Email response to A2 e. Reply-

- request the page set up for the hotel

- -to liase with hotel staff

- - need to view prior submitting to Australian

d. Reply - summarizing service for Malaysian

1248-1262 50. FOLLOW-UP a. Offer referrals indicating he’s satisfied with the service offered. c. Have an attitude of leaving from each other d. Does not look at it as a competition

b. - Reply

1263-1276 51. NON-ESSENTIAL TOPICS PRE-CLOSING a. Chit-chat

1276-1310 52. SEEK INFORMATION a.- 5 days process b. Experience problems with servers c. Time-scale of 5 days to do optimization

d. Reply

Appendices 304

Appendix 4

English for civil servants (Cruez, 2002)

Appendices 305

Appendix 5

Transcription Symbols

Appendices 306

Appendices 307

Appendices 308

Appendices 309

Appendix 6

Meeting 1

1. Data R – Meeting 1 (Financial Broker) 2. Participants 3. M – Malaysian Female AMP Relations Manager 4. A – Australian Male Mortgage Broker/ Mortgage Writer 5. A: So do you only do residen/tial?/ 6. M: /yeah/ we only do residential. (.) Ho:w do you do:

exclusively commercial properties?, or?, (.) 7. A: No: no (.) I just do er I've got e:r an urgent one that's all. 8. M: We used to six months ago but we don't /take/ 9. A: /mhm/ 10. M: commerical /(.)/ anymore 11. A: /yep./ 12. M: so: yeah, you might wanna go with ((laughs)) hh- the:- the ↑Westpac guy or

/wh-/ 13. A: /No,/ no, no, no, we- we portioned a er, it was just an asset lend. 14. M: Oh /na-/ 15. A: /Yeah/ f- five year interest only fixed on a commerical property. 16. M: ↑Oh right. 17. A: And /er/ 18. M: /wha-/ wha- 19. A: We used to do though. 20. M: We used to do that, ye:ah. 21. A: Yeah, it's only about fifty percent lend and /cash-/ 22. M: /Yeah,/ I know. 23. A: Cash flow neutral or- 24. M: It's- it's primarily because of our securatization profile?, we- we do securatize

some of our (.) properties so that we can you:- you know how it goes?, 25. A: Mhm hum. 26. M: We can actually lease some of the funds back and then (.) do some more lending

and borrowing?, so therefore ou:r commerical properties not part of our profile anymore, used to be as I said, yeah, not even the seventy, thirty rule, we would usually have about that seventy, thirty rule?, U:m but we don't have it anymore. Yeah, sorry about that.

27. A: Oh that's /alright./ 28. M: /Okay?,/ (.) ↑Anyway (.) U:m how many- how much time

do you have for me today? (.) I might actually just probably close the doors, 29. A: Mh:m

Appendices 311

30. M: It's a little bit more ↑private. /((sound of door closing))/ 31. A: /Ye:a:p./ 32. As long as e:r I'm off by about four o'clock I'll be okay. 33. M: Four o'clock? 34. A: Mhm. 35. M: Or else you will fall asleep?, (.) 36. /((laughs))/ 37. A: /O:h/ w- it'd be funny if I fall asleep before then! 38. M: O:h God! /hopefully not./ 39. A: /((laughs))/ [Banter] 40. M: Okay. .hh now. Um (.) what we're gonna do today is that er because you've

been writing for quite a while, right?, yeah, you're not like one of those (.) fresh brokers. I'm not gonna (.) er go: i:n, er dwell into all those technical (.) you know?, all the nitty gritty stuff?,

41. A: Mhm hum. 42. M: I'm just gonna go in basic stuff because the rest of it you probably can figure

it out yourself, okay? .hh now. Um today?, um I will break up the:, I guess our discussion or our meeting, into several different (.) ↑modules. The first one is to explain to you what AMP is all about, .hh and then how I'm gonna support you?, and after that we'll go through the products a little ↑bit, e:r the fees and charges, er the other bits and pieces like what's the LPR and er how- how do we do our work, serviceability and all that stuff?, and then the last bit would be on how do we use our serviceability to pick up ((unclear)). Okay? (.)

43. Alright. Um along the er along my mee- my conversation with you, stop me any time if you have any questions.

44. A: Mhm hum. 45. M: Okay? 46. A: /Yep./ 47. M: /.hh/ ↑now, who's AMP? AMP is a:, it is a bank, I am actually an employee of

the ↑banking division, .hh u:m we're not, don't put us in the same, I guess same like as the big four banks because we're not, /okay?/

48. A: No:. 49. M: Because of that, we do not have all the products for everybody. Okay? .hh er

we kind of target our market a little bit, we have a selected target market and our target- target market would be primarily (.) those .hh second or third homebuyers, kind of thing?, er we do a lot of free financing and also those who like to actually create wealth. So investor type kind of thing.

50. A: Mhm. 51. M: But, we do not do development finance. (.) er pretty much because ↑typically,

development finance in WA is somebody wh- who buy a block, subdivides it, and- or do strata thing on it /and/

52. A: /yep./ 53. M: go and rebuild eight units on it. we can only at the most do two. (.) ↑Unless,

unless what happened is this. If you a:re a prolific writer to ↑AMP, and er we've known your style, your way, how you put together your loans and all that. Once we er .hh we know that you're a sound writer, if let's say you do have those kinds of scenarios, with

Appendices 312

development finance with a certain niche that you do have, we are actually quite able to look into it and consider, even though it's actually out of our policy.

54. So we've done that, for example, .hh um there is one suburb three hours down South, whe:a- Collie. Okay? Technically it is in Zone Two of our product matrix, which means that er (.) er we can go up to maximum seventy-five percent, without LMI. Alright?, But there is actually a couple of workers there who's consistantly been giving .hh a lot of business to AMP, who understand the way, their criteria, they understand that .hh every- all the proposal they've submitted is really good?,

55. A: Mhm hum. 56. M: Therefore er so much so that we've actually given them eighty percent

without (.) er LMI. So only for that, you know?, and then we're er also con- consistently doing other ways, like, another broker group they request that all their contracts be sent to them rather than to the customer. We can do that also, once we- we have a good relationship going, so, so pretty much that's the kind of relationship that AMP is looking for. .hh um, I guess it's tit for tat. (.)

57. U:m if let's say you support us?, we'll support you back. (.) Okay? (.) .hh now. e:rm so having said that, that's the target market, .hh we are also looking for people who: is a little bit more sophisticated in thei:r, I guess in their ↑financing, they don't need to go: and see a bank officer in a branch?,

58. A: Mhm /hum./ 59. M: /So:/ er they must have a strong preference for branchless banking. (.)

Alright? (.) So: phone banking, internet banking, all there you go, it's all free anyway. Alright?

60. A: Okay. 61. M: So that's what AMP is all about. A:hm, in other words, to differentiate us e:r

(.) as compared to other lenders?, e:r we don't do ↑loan docks, we don't do loan conforming, .hhm a:h as you know, we don't /do commercial?,/

62. A: /we:'re going to be (.)/ looking at the: top end /of the/ 63. M: /yeah that's not-/ 64. A: market. 65. M: Yeah, /so/ 66. A: /yeah./ 67. M: top end of the market plus actually, as far as Lawfund though, as much as I

understand about Lawfund, the referrals that you ↓get, is from financial planners and accountants, right?, so those (.) clients that they have pretty much actually are the same target market that AMP has.

68. A: Okay. 69. M: Yeah. And they pretty much our again, our product is actually .hh eh created

beca:u:se um AMP, as you know, er have been in financial planning for a lo:ng time. So, er the banking division is just- er it's still young, it's just /about/

70. A: /just um-/ 71. M: six years old. 72. A: Yeah /it's-/ 73. M: /Yeah./ 74. A: only an add on to the other /services./

Appendices 313

75. M: /Add on/ to the other side, sure. Yeah, bu:t er because of that we've actually- we understand the financial planning ↑needs, so the:refore the product's actually done in such a way so .hh I would say there would be er, a good er opportunity for you to actually recommend the AMP home loans to your client. .hh at the end of the day you'll be the judge of it?, alright?, I'm here to actually explain to you, and help /you,/

76. A: /Mhm./ 77. M: and support you in any way I can. Okay? 78. A: Yeah, okay. 79. M: Ri:ght, so (.) ((clears throat)) 80. A: Where- e:r: who does the assessing? 81. M: .hh the assessment is actually done by the credit team in Sydney. But I I know

(.) a lot of brokers would say ‘Oh Sydney is too far away, and then the communication in the distance would just be really ↑ba:d,’ but so far, and a- as you know, and I have been a broker myself before?, So: (.)

82. A: Mhm /hum./ 83. M: /so/ far I- I actually .hh looked at er- looked at it as a negative point,

but we've actually done it such a way that even if we are in Timbuktu, we can still actually service you properly. For example, we do not need to: have you: submit the original forms?, alright? You just fax it in and that's all that we need. /(.)/

84. A: /Yeah,/ 85. M: /Okay./ 86. A: /you'd/ work- you'd do it all on fax. 87. M: Yeah on /↑fax./ 88. A: /Do-/ do you supply original before settlement? 89. M: No. 90. A: You don't even /bother for that?/ 91. M: /We don't need original/ at all, 92. A: Oh okay. 93. M: right? (.) So we don't need original at all?, .hh and then you just need to fax

us?, /a:nd/ 94. A: /And/ what about self-employed? 95. M: Yeah. That's right. Self-employed is- we are very good with self employed. 96. A: Yeah, that's: (.) yeah. ((speech trails off quietly)) 97. M Yeah. (.) A:re a lot of your clients self-employed /(.)/ /people?/ 98. A: /O:h/ /(.)/ yes. 99. M: Yeah?, (.) Why? Because .hh we don't have- our services are calculated- if

you see, it is simple in a sense that you just have .hh the income and the add-backs. So: you have a good hand in play, what the add-backs are?,

100. A: Mhm. 101. M: We just give you the guidelines. (.) bu- and then I'll go through the guidelines of

self-employed as we go along. In case one- in one of the hand-outs here, .hh u:m, but you: a:re in- (.) er you have more control in actually creating the picture. At the end of the day, we're trying to actually create the best picture there so that the credit team can say ‘this is a good picture, we gonna approve this loan’. And I'm there to help you. Okay? (.)

Appendices 314

102. A: /Yeap./ 103. M: /When/ I say picture it means for example, .hh u:hm:, e::r, what do you call?

(.) Let's say er a cust- er, a- a client, who's actually just been in that particular business for one and a half years, usually we need two years' returns and all that, right?, .hh but we know if there's- actually the figures are good, .hh /he's/

104. A: /Right./ 105. M: actually had other business before and all that. We can actually create that

picture, unless sometimes the add-backs. We: only take fifty percent depreciation, bu:t, (.) um, er, let's say, ahm, if that is wages and salary that husband and wife. We know u:m, so proprietorship?, husband and wife sometimes they take wages from there as well as a profit ↑distribution, we can take a hundred percent of the wages. You know?, those kind- those kind of things.

106. So you are actually able to, not to say play around, but .hh you have /more/ 107. A: /No:/ but I can income stream it if there's trusts and things involved. 108. M: O: h yeah. Yeah, we do /that/ 109. A: /Some-/ sometimes you've gotta do consolidation,

or let the accountant do a consolidation statement /.hh/ 110. M: /Mhm hum./ 111. A: if there's service trusts invovled, or if the /trusts-/ 112. M: /Oh ya/ we've done that. Service

trusts like fo:r dentists, and all those /people./ 113. A: /Yeah,/ yeap. (.) As long as

/you/ 114. M: /yeah/. 115. A: speak their language. 116. M: Yes we do! Yes we do. /So (.)/ 117. A: /Okay./ 118. M: So, we also actually e:r do bor- lending to trusts and companies. So that's why we

understand- 119. A: -Yeah. 120. M: ah how to look at /it./ 121. A: /So/ you'll- you'll lend to the trust, or the- or the

nominee company. before /((unclear))./ 122. M: /Exactly./ (.) Exactly. Alright? (.) So yeah, we do

all that. 123. A: That's good. 124. M: /Okay./ 125. A: /That's good./ 126. M: And then with the nominee company and everything, I'm actually learning (.)

myself in that area, because so far, the most complex stuff I have ever done is actually more so .hh a business, a:- a dentist, who actually have a ↑company, who actually employ ↑him, but then he also have a service trust, because they have it,

127. A: Yeap. 128. M: I think it is mandatory or something like that?, So we have actually two

channels of ↑income, 129. A: Ye:p.

Appendices 315

130. M: And then one actually co- comes out from the other in all that. But at the end of the day, we just actually pluck that whatever that we need, put it together, put it as add-backs and there you go!

131. A: Yep. 132. M: As long as the financials are there we know how to look at it. .hh but you

have to actually (.) paint the picture /first./ 133. A: /Ye:p./ 134. M: Yeah. 135. A: Oh good. Okay. That's /alright./ 136. M: /Okay?/ 137. A: Yeah that's /alright./ 138. M: /Alrgihty./ .hh now. u:m firs:t hand out. (.) ((gives A the hand-

out))That's yours so feel free to actually: um, scribble on it?, 139. A: Mhm hum. I: will. 140. M: Now. U:m the product type ↑’basic’, er which is AMP Advantage?, Forget

about it. Don't need to know about that. That's basic a:nd it's not very competitive and I must say (.) .h so myself. Okay? .hh so don't waste your time on it, /alright?/

141. A: /Mhm hum./ 142. M: Second is variable rate?, which i:s, we only have one product and the

product name is ‘variable rate loan’. (.) .hh A:hm, that is for the lack of a better word, our star product. Alright? (.) And I'll explain to you ↑why:. It is actually like the: all in one home loan, /alright?/

143. A: /Mhm hum./ 144. M: .hh u:m, if I ma:y (.) draw a ↑diagram, there. (...) Okay ((draws diagram)).

Alright? 145. A: Mhm hum. 146. M: Now (.) Let's say that's the loan. Okay? and lets say the loan is two hundred and

fifty K?, 147. A; Yea:p. 148. M: ((laughs)) hh- that is the loan as well, so: that is VRL. Alright? (.) So what

happens is that (.) it can take in free salary credit, so let's say our salary goes in there. Okay?, Is also have access to an ATM card?, and all transactions are actually free. EFTPOS, and ATM withdrawals are free, at /any/

149. A: /Mhm hum./ 150. M: ATM branches, anywhere in Australia. Okay? (.) .hh and it can also be used

with a credit card. .hh 151. A: O/kay./ 152. M: /Ah/ not only AMP credit ↑card, as well er is also other cards. Like, you

can ANZ or Westpac. So: this looks like a line of credit strategy, isn't it? 153. A: Mhm hum. 154. M: Alright? The only difference between that (.) ((draws)) and a line of credit,

let's say the line of credit is also two hundred and fifty thousand, .hh the only difference i:s (.) line of credit has a: (.) cheque book. This one doesn't. Okay? .hh But same thing, you can put in a salary in it, you can put in an ATM card in it, you can also have a credit card in it. Okay?

155. A: /Okay./

Appendices 316

156. M: /.hh now,/ what's the difference?, (.) Okay? All our products can be repaid by- er with PNI or with interest only. .hh if this is interest only you can go maximum five years for the initial ↑interim, .hh at the end of five years the customer can request (.) to actually /extend/

157. A: /ye:p./ 158. M: another five years. This one (.) e:r interest only is ten years. But same thing.

Okay? 159. A: Okay. 160. M: So: let me give you a scenario. (.) For example, (.) .hh this is Customer A, and

this is Customer B. He has a variable rate loan, he has a (.) line of credit. .hh at settlement bo:th settle at two hundred and fifty thousand, okay? So let's say er with interest only, the repayment i:s, let's say twenty five hundred per month. Okay? .h And (.) assuming line of credit interest rate is the sa:me. Because for this

161. /illustration it has to be-/ 162. A: /well it will be because it's the/ same amount. 163. M: No it should be- no- ah line of credit usually the interest rate is higher, isn't it? 164. A: Yeah /we:ll/ 165. M: /One/ point five percent /hi:gher/ 166. A: /the quote-/ the quoted rate'll be up to

half a percent /higher./ 167. M: /Yea:h./ Yeah, but for these illustration purp/oses,/ 168. A: /Mhm./ 169. M: let's say it's the same so you can see the difference. So it will just be better

for- for variable rate loan, /but/ 170. A: /Mhm./ 171. M: I'm just a:h (.) say- putting the assumption that it's actually the same. So let's

sa:y (.) er per month the interest repayable on it is twenty-five hundred. Because that's a salary credit?, let's say salary goes in at let's say three thousand. (.) So: the salary er credits has actually taken care of the repayment. Quote-un-quote. .hh And then the customer just uses the ATM or the Credit card to do his ex- his or her expenses. Right?

172. A: Yep. 173. M: A:hm. (.) Because there's a surplus, and plus the money's in their for

lo:nger, it actually reduces the principle, isn't it? .h So let's say (.) in a year's time, for example, the: (.) er balance of the loan is, let's say two hundred and forty thousand, this one is also two hundred and forty thousand. You follow me so far?

174. A: Mhm Hum. 175. M: Okay?, .hh Bu:t with line of credit, as you kno:w, the interest is actually

calculated every month, and charged to the account every month?, /Right?/ 176. A: /Yep./ 177. M: So at the end of the year for two- a two hundred and forty thousand dollar loan,.hh

the interest probably is, let's say two thousand three hundred. (..) Yes? 178. A: Well if they use it /properly/ 179. M: /Yeah, if/ they use properly hh- /((laughs))/ 180. A: /That-/ that that's a

daily- that's a daily /interest/

Appendices 317

181. M: /daily./ 182. A: /calculation,/ 183. M: /The: a:h (.)/ same thing with /this./ 184. A: /Or/ should- for that one. 185. M: Yes. 186. A: ↓Yeah. 187. M: Yeah, same thing. But- but on the surface of it, if let's sa:y they have,

because at the end of the day they do have a surplus there, 188. A: Mhm. 189. M: surplus between the repayment and the salary. ↑Plu:s, the twenty five

hundred stays in there longer because they are not using the money straight away, right? So therefore at the end of the year, their balance is two hundred and forty for example. /So/

190. A: /Mhm./ 191. M: therefore, this one should be two thousand three hundred, .hh this one the

customer still could- and could have to pay twenty-five hundred because it's a variable rate loan. /.hh/

192. A: /Yep./ 193. M: Bu:t, (..) at- in the background, what happens is that. that twenty five

hundred, (.) even though (.) at settlement, or in the loan contract it says they have to pay that, it is (.) actually twenty-three hundred just like that, .hh goes into the interest, the true interest portion. .hh and two hundred of it still goes to: (.) principle. So, the net effect is, even though they are paying interest-only repayment?, /(.)/

194. A: /Yep./ 195. M: part of that repayment is actually goes towards the principle. So actually they

are doubling the rate of them paying off the home loan sooner. 196. A. /Okay./ 197. M: /.hh/ So in other words, (.) the variable rate loan is better then the line of

credit because it can be used, like the line of cre:dit, but you have the properties of a variable rate loan.

198. A; Mhm kay. 199. M: Okay? 200. A: Yep. 201. M: So: u:m, you might ask then, ‘what if somebody needs an offset account’,

alright?, You can still use this, .hh e:r you know, as compared to offset account because offset account, we have actually two. We have the loan ↑account. And we have the transaction account. .h these can be used as that, it's just that what you do is that you don't choose interest only, .hh you choose PNI. /(.)/

202. A: /Yep./ 203. M: Okay? Cause when you choose PNI, (..) when the: loan balance after one

year reaches two hundred and forty thousand, .h they don't- they cannot go back up to two hundred and fifty because it's PNI. They might actually be able to go back up to two hundred and forty-five thousand a year or something like that. Okay? .hh and they will know all that because it will be printed on thei:r (.) .h er statements?, as well as it will be there on the internet site, when they /go/

Appendices 318

204. A: /right./ 205. M: into internet account. (.) Yeah? 206. A: Mhm /hum./ 207. M: /So/ it's all there. .h So: with one. loan. you can actually satisfy a

customer who needs a line of credit, you can also satisfy a customer who needs an offset account, you can also satisfy a customer who needs a normal, .h standard PNI loan. Okay?

208. A: /Okay./ 209. M: /.hh/ So you don't need to remember too many accounts, just one account. And

then they can use it- .hh er they don't need to do sw- er product switch at the end of three years and /incurr/

210. A: /Okay./ 211. M: the three hundred dollar switch or ↑whatever. Because it's the same account. The-

the only thing is the wa:y /that-/ 212. A: /So/ it's your standard variable. 213. M: Yeah. This is our standard vari/able/ 214. A: /Yeah./ 215. M: rate, okay? So that's the one. 216. A: Yeah. 217. M: Mhm kay? /.hh So:/ 218. A: /Alright./ 219. M: now. the interest rate is actually split into two. Either that, or that ((referring to

hand-out)), depending on the total loans submitted to AMP. Total loan /((unclear))/

220. A: /Yeah well/ that- that- do those figures work on loan volumes?

221. M: Yes. So loan volume, would be this. If let's say the particular customer for the who:le deal, /.hh/

222. A: /Mhm hum./ 223. M: er is borrowing less than two hundred thousand, they will- 224. A: It goes in ↑there. 225. M: Yeah, goes in- it doesn't matter whether- because you might split it, you

might split. Let's say he's borrowing a hundred and fifty thousand, er, you might not want to split it, you just do that. But let's say he's borrowing three hundred thousand?, /.hh/

226. A: /Mhm hum./ 227. M: A:nd you split it into let's sa:y, one hundred thousand variable rate loan, and two

hundred thousand is three year fixed. /(.)/ 228. A: /Yep./ 229. M: That one hundred thousand still gets that- (.) that discount rate there. Okay? 230. A: Yeap. 231. M: Because we look at the total. borrowing. (.) there. 232. A: O/kay./ 233. M: /Tot/al- Minimum total borrowing?, 234. A: /Mhm./

Appendices 319

235. M: /Is/ two hundred and above. This one is- I mean, de- you can still technically (.) go for that rate, even though the customer is borrowing three hundred. But why would you, right? Because /(.) that/

236. A: /mhm hum./ 237. M: is half a percent difference. .hh there i:s- I'll show you details about the

differe:nces in the package in the second page, but for the first page there that's it. Okay?

238. A: Yep. 239. M: Right, so that's variable rate. .hh Now. u:m. Fixed rate?, do you do a lot of

fixed rate anyway? 240. A: Yea:h. /a/ 241. M: /Yeah?/ 242. A: fair bit. 243. M: A fair bit?, .hh okay. Fixed rate I guess our version /of a-/ 244. A: /I/ do more than I want

to! 245. M: ((laughs)) hh- why is that? 246. A; O:h. (.) I:f you went ba- I graphed it once. I went back twenty-five years. To do

the comparison. Fixed rate performance against variable, /and/ 247. M: /Mhm./ 248. A: variable comes out in front every time. 249. M: Yeah, yeah. Because people- it's more of the feel /that erm/ 250. A: /People/ try to pick the

market, and then that costs /(.)/ 251. M: /Yeah./ 252. A: and they pay a premium for it, now this and that, /(.)/ 253. M: /Yeah./ 254. A: and rates fluctuate. 255. M: .hh Well, with ours?, if- this is I guess this is our version of a- the budget loan,

for those who's on a budget. Like, quote-un-quote, first home buyer, kind of /typical/

256. A: /Mhm./ 257. M: scenario. Because that wouldn't be er (.) a budget um rate for us, look at it six

point nine five, but that on would. Okay? 258. A: Yeah. 259. M: What happens is (.) er, we have one two, three, and five years. We do not

have any lock in fees, we do not have any monthly fees. /.hh/ 260. A: /Yeah./ 261. M: Mhm kay? (.) Let's say er this Sunday, (.) er today is (.) today is Thursday, so

let's say our er- our what d'you call? .hh this Sunday, the two year fixed rate is gonna change to seven percent.

262. A: Yeah. 263. M: But you have actually recommeded this loan to a customer. It doesn't matter,

as long as you actually submit he loan before Sunday ↑night, okay? And /then e:r (.)/

264. A: /you would get that rate./

Appendices 320

265. M: and then we actually formally approved it within five days as in, er last date would be Friday after that?, /you/

266. A: /Mhm hum./ 267. M: Still get the old rate. You don't need to pay anymore lock-in fees. (.) So what

you do is that, whenever you have a fixed rate loan?, 268. A: Yep. 269. M: You're going to submit it?, Give me a call, or send me an email?, /(.)/ 270. A: /Yep./ 271. M: and I will then monitor it and make sure that it is formally approved, .hh

within that five days. So I will talk to the valuers, I'll talk to credit people, /I'll/ 272. A: /Yep./ 273. M: say put in an urgent .hh note ↑on it. 274. A: Okay. 275. M: Oka:y? So so far, touch wood, we've actually done very well with that one. 276. A: Okay. 277. M: Okay? And then after .hh after formal approval you have sixty days to settle,

which is more than hh- enough. 278. A: Well it should be! 279. M: Sixty days, yeah. Okay? So, that's our fixed rate. 280. A; Ye/ah./ 281. M: /S/o: a good thing with this is that it doesn't have any monthly fees, so it 's

actually a free: very ba- you know, very basic loan for the customer. 282. A: Mhm hum. 283. M: .hh The not so good thing is that you can't put any lump sum repayments on

it. So: no extra two thousand /or whatever/ 284. A: /No extra pay/ments, 285. M: No. 286. A: no draw backs, /no/ 287. M: /no/ whatever. 288. A; Whatever. 289. M: No. Whatever extra payments, just put them in the savings /account./ 290. A: /Well you/ don't

get those with fixed rates anyway. 291. M: No you don't. 292. A: No. 293. M: Yeah. Okay? So there you go. 294. A; You don't- you don't get for fixed rate /accounts ((unclear))/ 295. M: /No you don't./ Okay? (.) So .hh

that's our actually, products, 296. A: Yep. 297. M: and u:m (.) that's actually the details on Classic Club and the Executive /Club,/ 298. A; /Yep./ 299. M: alright? .hh Classic Club for the variable rate and the line of credit, er we do

have the eight dollar per month, per account. 300. A: Mhm hum.

Appendices 321

301. M: E:r. Again, Classic Club is for total borrowing less than two hundred thousand. Okay? For Executive Club there is no eight dollar per month?, but there is the annual fee for the second year. First year is waived.

302. A: Oka:y. 303. M: Okay? .hh but. They do have that point five percent discount there. 304. A: Oka:y. 305. M: Alright? (..) Okay? (.) So that is that. Oh- I: also want to mention that over

this side?, ((refers to hand-out)) .h we have the split loan, or combo loan, or whatever you want to call it. Aright?

306. A: Mhm /hum./ 307. M: /So/ you can split up until four?, You can split it er- you can

combine any product that you want. It can be two of the same product, three different products, or whatever you- alright?

308. A: Okay. 309. M: The only: suggestion that I would like to make is this. If the total borrowing

/again,/ 310. A: /((clears throat))/ 311. M: is less than two hundred, try not to split because there are split fees invo/lved./ 312. A; /No:./ It's too small. 313. M: Okay? But if it's above two ↑hundred, split all you want, it's free. (.) 314. A: Okay. 315. M: Okay? So that's the product. 316. A; Mhm hum. 317. M: So far so good? 318. A: Yeap. 319. M: Okay. (......) We'll go fo:r (.) fees. 320. A: Kay. 321. M: That's the fees. Because at the end of the da:y, you wanna be telling your

customer what would be the fees that they would (.) be: looking at. Okay? Now. (.) That is special services fee which is not /the:/

322. A: /Y ep./ 323. M: daily fee. So a you can see it is- I was told, it doesn't come from me, I was

told by a lot of other brokers, .hh it is cheaper than most of the other banks. I don't know whether that's true or not, but that's (.) what they told me. Okay? So: we also published those fees which are not the daily fees. Now. That particular (.) box there, is a summary of um the er loan packages now. The Classic Club, and the E Club. So you can see the eight dollar a month the:re,

324. A; Yeah. 325. M: And then the line of credit and all that. Alright? So as I said .hh because of the

variable rate loan feature, .hh you don't need to actually know so much about the line of credit either because you can use the variable rate loan like line of credit.

326. A: Mhm /hum./ 327. M: /Then/ the only difference ↑is, .hh e:r the variable rate loan does not have

a cheque book accessory ther. So in other words if you have a customer who has- who does not need a cheque book, and like the piece of mind of er unlimited free transactions?, go for the variable rate loan again.

Appendices 322

328. A: Okay. 329. M: O:kay? .hh you don't need to know about that as well, because that is

actually e:r the: transaction accounts. Which from first jul- ah first January this year, unless you are licensed as a financial planner you are not able to give advice on u:m (.) .h deposit products. (.) Okay? Right, so. You don't need to remember about that. (.) That is also, ah if let;s say you do have that customer who, whatever it is, wants to have a line of credit?, just er with the cheque book access. .hh does not mind having limited er free transactions,

330. A: Yep. 331. M: After that limit is reaches, those are all the (.) er fees. Okay? (.) But with the

variable rate loan, as I mentioned, .h you won't ever see those fees. (.) Okay? /Except/

332. A: /Okay./ 333. M: for Classic Club. Classic- Classic Club, that one they will see if they go do

the- their deposits at Australia Post. (.) Okay? but it's all there. 334. A: Mhm hum. 335. M: It's all there. .hh Now. The three: fees which you will actually encounter

daily would be that, that and that. Alright? .h Establishment fee is three hundred and fifty?,

336. A: Mhm hum. 337. M: That is paid up-front. (.) But what I mean by up-front is you just actually write

down the details of the credit card on the home loan application /form,/ 338. A: /Yep. 339. M: there's a section for it. Okay? You just write down the details?, 340. A; Yep. 341. M: That is actually for the valuation of the first property. So in other words that is

to cover the valuation costs?, So we can order the order the valuation right away, /(.)/

342. A: /Mhm hum./ 343. M: Once we: get the conditional approval. Okay? .hh e:r. Settlement fee is two

fifty?, That can be added or deducted from the loan, whichever choice you want. It can also be paid up-front if your client so hh- wish. Okay?

344. A: Yeap. 345. M: .hh e:r. Multiple Security fee it da- just means valuation?, for additional

properties. So the second, third, so on and so forth- 346. A: Do you charge for the first one? 347. M: No. The first one is /inclusive./ 348. A: /First one/ free, second one, yeah. 349. M: Yea:h. 350. A: Okay. 351. M: Right? Oka:y. So this one can also be deducted or added to the loan. (.) Okay?

So those are the first three fees. Do not confuse that fee with the (.) fourth fee. 352. A: Well why that's a similar ((unclear)) 353. M: Yeah. .hh 354. A: Looks /like-/

Appendices 323

355. M: /That-/ Yeah, I know for the e:r- I think it's because of the: (.) term?, .hh ah, that is really fo:r security switches already with AMP. /.hh/

356. A: /right./ 357. M: So you have an AMP customer who's been with AMP for two years and

wants to revalue the property because they want to increase their limit or something like ↑that. .hh then we'll actually erm (.) do a revaluation. Er minimum two hundred dollars. (.) Okay? (...) Right. So. A:ll the other fees are additional stuff for you to know, but it is all there so you won't be in the dark as far as fees are concerned. .hh because er I understand that you don't want the customer to come back m- and bite at you two months after settlement saying that, ‘you did not tell me about all these /fees’./

358. A: /No:./ 359. M: Alright? so. this is actually all er the fees and charges. We also give this to

the customer when their loan is settled. Alright? 360. /But/ 361. A: /Mhm hum./ 362. M: before you even actually write the loan, .h you can confidently tell them about the

possible fees, er using this guide. 363. A: Okay. 364. M: Okay? (..) Simple as that! (......) Next hand-out?, 365. A: Mhm hum. 366. M: Alright (.) /We'll use this one./ 367. A: /Have you got a folder for all this?/ 368. M: Yeah, I'll give it- I'll give you a folder. (.) Right. This one should be fairly

quick. Now, target market is there. Security:?, is just we take all residential and rural residential. .hh er. Don't (.) really be concerned about that. It says that all properties has to be: er serviced by er you know, power, water, whatever. I mean some rural residential e:r (.) ↑land, the:- even those they don't have those access to services yet, as long as the council's already marked it for /(.) er/

369. A: /Mhm hum./ 370. M: services, that's not a problem. 371. A: Yeap. 372. M: Okay? Now um, we also do certain things. I mean .h this is pretty much what we

look at, but if you have .h er weird ones like. I: was doing this er it's- it's a resource, it's a resource zoning, .h but really our permitted use is a single residential and ancillary dwellings. So as long as it's not income producing?, it's fine. We can still accept it.

373. A; Okay. 374. M: Okay? 375. A: Yep. 376. M; Second page. A:ll that you need to know about LVR. 377. A: Yep. 378. M: So this is a handy reference guide for you. .hh the one's marked in blue are e:r

is what we can do on top of other lenders. Like, they would just probably go eighty five per cent, we can go ninety and all that. Okay? /.hh/

379. A: /Okay./

Appendices 324

380. M: Ou:r- one of our best strengths is that one. (.) ((refers to hand-out)) If you occasionally have (.) customers who are high network, or who borrows er heavily, they er- they are heavily gain and they have like three or four properties and a loan borrowing is more than half a million. .hh You would find that some of the banks actually start reducing on the LVR, right?

381. A: Yeah. 382. M: So we actually stay at eighty percent without LMI. .h er up to one million. And

after that er it's graduated?, 383. A: Yep. 384. M: We still do: er- we only cut off at seventy percent when it is more than one

point five million. (..) 385. A: Okay. 386. M: Okay? So: I used to- last time when I was working with a financial planning

company, .hh a customer who was borrowing close to a million with four properties, I actually .hh er because he- we needed it to go to eighty percent?, I had to actually split it into two banks. .h so two establishment fee:s, two:, you know, two of everything. Two accounts and everything just so that we can borrow the higher LVR. But with this one you don't need to because it's still at eighty percent. (.) /Okay?/

387. A: /Okay./ 388. M: Alright. .h If, let's say, u:m .hh with AMP these days, we do not have a

specific policy for every little thing. So these are what we call guidelines. 389. A: Yep. 390. M: So for example, you have a .hh okay, let's pick a thing, like, let's say one

point two million dollar loan. Alright?,- 391. A: Mhm hum. 392. M: .hh and then u:m (.) the LVR is seventy-eight percent. Okay? As long as it

doesn't go above eighty percent, because everything above eighty percent we have to go LMI, no doubt. But let's say that's seventy-seven percent, alright? And /then/

393. A: /Yep./ 394. M: .h then you don't want the customer to incur LMI fees. If it's a good deal,

we'll look at it. And then we'll probably just go seventy-seven, without LMI and we're just taking in to our balance sheet. (.) Okay?

395. A: Yep. 396. M: Alright. So as long as you actually give me a call and ask me and see

whether- whether we can actually look at that er that's all that- that's all that is needed. (..)

397. A: Okay. 398. M: Okay? 399. A: Mhm hum. 400. M: (.) Now. That's the part that you'll er want to know. Oh! Sorry! (.) That part.

You're going fa:ster than I am! 401. A: Mhm. 402. M: Right. That one. Busines component. Alright? Even Alan, even Alan

Johnston said that our u:m- he likes AMP loans because it actually refinances, it has that business component, .h valuer, but we don't actually restrict to like twenty percent of the total loan or anything like that.

Appendices 325

403. A: No. 404. M: We can do everything as long as the LVR stays at eighty percent or less. (.) 405. A: Okay. 406. M: Okay? 407. A: Yep. 408. M: Alright. .hh er we're a bit shy on inner city or er high density apartments.

Do you know- do you do a lot of /them?/ 409. A: /No.? I don't do them. 410. M: A:h okay. Good /because-/ 411. A: /You waste-/ you waste your time. 412. M: ((laughs)) hh- especially in this market, huh? 413. A: A:nd (.) inner ci:ty, (.) off the plans, don't wanna know about it. 414. M: Oh, okay. Good. We don't kn- don't wanna know about it either. 415. A: Nope. 416. M: Alright. .hh alright. We use net surplus, or minimum surplus, erm, over here,

the technical word for it. .hh erm. this is just to give you an idea of what we use but you don't need to memorise that because it's all been taken care off by the /or-/

417. A: /Mhm./ 418. M: the er serviceability calculator. .hh um as the comparison, ours is quite lenient.

For example, um, I was told that, you know ANZ just changed their .hh their living expenses?, only they don't call it living expenses, they used to have like, er it's a small car, it's two hundred and forty, medium car, it's two fifty or something like that. /.hh/

419. A: /Yeah./ 420. M: Now I think they changed it and they just group it all in one, so like if it's a

single, it's I think like twelve hundred per month or something like that. I haven't actually looked at that /because-/

421. A: /Mhm hum./ 422. M: ah because they just changed it late last year. I was: /(.)/ 423. A; /Okay./

a. M: not broking anymore. Okay? So um- so (.) er- But I was told by a lot of brokers?, um that one thousand is cheap?, Um we also don't use ratio. So for example, like City Bank?, they use ratio. It's fifty percent DPR. Ratio just means that the higher you: borrow, the higher your net-net income has to be.

424. A: Yeah. 425. M: So we don't use that. Saint George?, U:m they use living expenses. Their living

expenses is a bit more expensive than ours. Okay? And then they use one point one ratio. And they use also debt servicing rate. So same ↑thing. But we don't use ratios. (.) So all in all, what I'm trying to say here is, it is easier (.) to service with AMP if the client is actually the right type of client.

426. A: Yeah- 427. M: Okay? When I say right type of client?, We: take main income, we don't take

those bits. E:r. Family allowance, child maintenance, um, student allowance, and all those other /types of allowance./

428. A: /I don't play with that./

Appendices 326

429. M; Ah, great. 430. A; That's case /studies./ 431. M: /A:h!/ You're my guy! 432. A: Well I don't play with /that./ 433. M: /Yeah./ hh- we don't play with that either. You're my

guy, John! Okay? [Australian-like]So, what we're also wanting that you have to ↑remember, if- if the- your customer e:r pays off all his credit card at the end of every month, so pays in full, you don't need to include that in serviceability. /You/

434. A: /Mhm./ 435. M; just need to show three months worth of statements, to show that he

actually paid it off?, Then it doesn't need to be in serviceability. Okay? (.) Now.The next two pages are just um normal stuff, /like/

436. A; /Yep./ 437. M: u:m, what d'you call? just whatever everythings that you need..... with all

/the various incomes?,/ 438. A: /Yeah. Don't worry about it./ 439. M: .hh U:m, just to let you know for investment property (.) again this will be

taken care of by the serviceability calculator. .h depending on the income of the ↑applicant, if income is more than sixty ↑five, we take eighty percent of rental income. If not, then we take seventy percent. Okay? Just that.

440. A: Yep. 441. M: Alright? 442. A: Okay. 443. M: Now, the next page would be the one that you like. (.) which is the (.) self-

employed, alright? .hh now. This part here is just the same like any other lender. Two yea:rs, and this and that. We:- If let's say the customer wants to establi- er to bu:y, an established business, we can use the previous owners' e:r PNL. (.) Okay? We use it a hundred percent. If it's more than sixty-five percent LVR, then we er, oh sorry. If the: .hh (.) the borrower, your client, has less than two years experience wanting to buy an established business, then we use sixty five percent of /the/

444. A: /Yeah./ 445. M: previous owners' income. Okay? .hh with the add-backs, we lose some, we

gain some. We lose on depreciation, fifty percent. But we gain on (.) the super?, gain on the salary, a:nd all the other bits and pieces. (.) Okay?

446. A; (.) Yep. Sorted. 447. M: Right. ((turns page)) (.) Okay. Application process?, Just that we need those

things when you submit your loan. (..) that and that (.) is together with the serviceability calculator. So when you /do this with this and I'll show that to you later./

448. A: /Yeah, d'you that- you do that with- you do that/ online, do you? 449. M: No. The serviceability is actually on your computer, .hh 450. A: Yep. 451. M: E:r- e- I think Roberta has a CD which we've actually given around and we

/can-/ 452. A: /Yeah./

Appendices 327

453. M: I can give you another CD?, .hh so: it is together with that calculator. I'll show you. I'll show you again /in a/

454. A: /Okay./ 455. M: minute. And then um that's the application form, and then the supporting

documentation. Alright? .hh these are the processes. But basically, as I mentioned .hh you do not need to fax it- Sorry. You do not need to send me your original?, You just fax it in?, And then you will be given an acknowledgement email to say, ‘this is the person who will be looking at your deal. This is his or her number?, .hh and this is your ah er what do you call, er reference number for your loan.’ But usually .h you just give reference which is the last- which is the last name of the client. Okay?

456. A: Yep. 457. M: Alright? (.) And the last bit i:s all our contact numbers. (.) 458. A: Good. 459. M: Oka:y? (.) 460. A: That's the important one. Is whether you can speak to ↑people. 461. M: Oh yes, you can! So: do not be: discouraged by the one hunderd- er one- er you

know, the thirteen hundred number and all that. A lot of brokers say they don't like the thirteen hundred number because it's very impersona:l. The thing is the thirteen hundred number is just that it is a- at the cost of a local call but you still speak to that one particular person, and the same assessor takes care of it until settlement. They are the ones who settle the loan.

462. A: Okay. 463. M: Okay? (.) Right. (.) Now. /(..)/ 464. A: /Not a problem./ 465. M: Now, you can put all that in this folder here?, That's my business card, I have

er actually stapled it there. 466. A; Uh huh. 467. M: Occasionally you will get this via email?, This is just to show our rates. /.hh/ 468. A; /Yep./ 469. M: Also our compariosn rates, if you do use them. Okay? 470. A; Oh well, that'd be a waste of time. 471. M: ((laughs)) 472. A: Rubbish! 473. M: hh- ↓okay. And e:r- 474. A; Well they are. They don't mean a thing to the ↑client. 475. M; Yeah, well, but some clients will- whose- you know, the more idealistic ones

will /ask for it./ 476. A: /O::h don't/ ask for it! 477. M: Because- 478. A: Because /they've/ 479. M: /Yeah./ 480. A: read somewhere that they should be /looking at it./ 481. M: /Because they should/ be looking at it.

Exactly. Exactly. So if they ↑do, /you should have that./ 482. A; /I always- I/ always tell them

this is what it is, give it to 'em. And then if they wanna enlarge on it, I will.

Appendices 328

483. M: ((laughs)) (.) .hh That is the application form. 484. A; Okay- 485. M: Very easy. 486. A; Kay. 487. M: Okay? (..) .hh (.) pretty much is, first page is first borrower, ((refers to hand-

out)) second page is second borrower?, It looks exactly the same as the first page. (.) Okay? A:nd, loan details over there-,

488. A: Mhm hum. 489. M: what you need?, and then you pick the product over there. That's the

security details. (.) We have (.) we have two- property one and two. If you have more then you just put in at- add in another page. (.) .hh That's the ANL. (.) A:nd er that's like, er the customer's, I guess, in own words, what- what they feel that their living expenses is. Alright? That's where you write down the credit card details for the (.) for their establishment fee. Okay? At the moment, we do have a cash back offer. Alright? .hh (.) all it is- it is actually a nil add fee concept. They only thing is, it's not nil add fee straight forward, the customer will have to pay first the establishment fee, and settlement fee, fifteen days after settlement .h has happened?, /(.)/

490. A: /Mhm hum./ 491. M: We credit the money back into their account. So it is in the end, a nil add fee

kind of scenario. (.) 492. A: Okay. 493. M: Alright? So that's for all loans. (...) Okay? That's the declaration. .hh That's

the credit card, if you- the customer wants a credit card?, Our credit card is not VISA or Mastercard. It is matched with American Express. So: .h customer might not want to hastily cut their VISA or Mastercard hh- off ((laughs)). Okay? (.) .hh a:nd-

494. A: You don't need copies of these? /You/ 495. M: /No./ 496. A: just need /e:r./ 497. M: /We-/ we do need copies. You just do that and then you you er

what d'you call? you sign. We don't need to /sight it./ 498. A: /But you-/ you don't need

photocopies sent with it? 499. M: We:ll. If you have photocopy?, much better. Okay? because if you have

photocopy- 500. A: But sometimes it's a lo:t of problems. /(.)/ 501. M: /Mhm hum./ 502. A; Because if er (.) if I meet with the client with my corporate er- and um (.)

company clients?, we usually meet at the account's office?, /that's/ 503. M: /Alright./ 504. A: my preference?, and I can get additional information. /.hh/ 505. M: /Mhm hum./ 506. A; Occasionally I meet people in their home, and they don't have a photocopier

fo:r passport and birth certificate, 507. M: Okay-

Appendices 329

508. A: .hh well I won't take their originals. 509. M: Alright. If you don't take their- yeah, I know, you shouldn't be doing that. 510. A: You should never do that. 511. M: Yeah, you should never do that. So what you do, you take their details. It's just

that- to cover yourself?, 512. A: Mhm. 513. M: you might want to have it in your records, ah- later on. Because, what we do

is that /((unclear))/ 514. A: /Well,/ I can send them in later. 515. I take all the details, /so/ 516. M: /Yah./ Take all the details, send it /in./ 517. A: /You/ can- you

can send me photocopies later. 518. M: Because, why? You are the one who put your name and 519. /sign. So/ 520. A: /That's right./ 521. M: you actually undertake to say that you've actually sighted it, and all these details

are correct. So happens is that, if you don't put in the er copy of the:- the documents- 522. A: Mhm. 523. M: .hh er, occasionally we find that the name on the document is not the same

on the title, not the same on the application form, or on the loan, when we are ↑refinancing the loan. So, you see, we are saying, ‘what's going on /here?’/

524. A: /You've/ gotta be very (.) careful, especially with er Italian migrants. You'll get a- a- things on a birth certificate, and then on their marriage certificate it'll use an Australian /(.)/

525. M: /name./ 526. A: trans- translation. /(.)/ 527. M: /((laughs))/ 528. A: Gi- Giovanni'll become John, and you've got all sorts of things. 529. M: Oh yeah, exactly. I mean, I've had one whereby the customer had to go to the

land office?, 530. A: Yeah. 531. M: and change it because .hh because her passport says- gives er her maiden name,

um her drivers' license has her married name?, .hh er land office has her maiden name?, /and/

532. A; /Yeah,/ yeah but you can get- you can get the statutory declaration er forms and things from /((unclear))/

533. M: /Yeah./ But that is after the fact when we found /out! You see?/ 534. A: /Yeah. Look, oh/ well.

Well, I usually /cover/ 535. M: /yeah./ 536. A: all those things, 537. M: Yea:h. So- 538. A: do them first. 539. M: Yeah, so if let's say you do have a copy for your own reference later,

/you're/

Appendices 330

540. A: /Yeah./ 541. M: actually covering yourself. Yeah. 542. A: Yeah, that's alright. 543. M: Okay? So that's the application ↑form. I:f it is a trust company or tru:st that's

in this additional- 544. A: That- that's an ↑additional, 545. M: for the company and trusts, because we need to know, you know, who's the

accountant /and all/ 546. A: /Mhm hum./ 547. M: that sort. .hh that's just stuff like, if let's say comp- er /client- that's

easy./ 548. A: /That- that's a top up,/ is it? 549. M: Top up. 550. A: Yeap. /Okay./ 551. M; /Top u:p./ That's a direct debit request, 552. A: Yeap. 553. M: if let's say, yeah, direct /debit./ 554. A: /Okay./ 555. M: Third party excess, if you have a father or a mother who wanna take care of

tha:t. 556. A: Okay. 557. M: There you go! 558. A: Alright. 559. M: Okay. I'll give you a:ll this, and that's a sticker for you. /((laughs))/ 560. A: /Yep./ 561. M: Okay. Everything's in there. (.) Oka:y. (.) Last bit, would be: (..) Last bit

would be a demo of the serviceability calculator. (...) Okay, while I'm putting this up, give me your honest opinion about, (.) do you think er you would be able to recommend our loan to your clients.

562. A: .hh (.) Well, I'll try:. (.) Er, I'll give you a try, but the important thing as far as I'm concerned i:s (.) how you do the assessment?,

563. M: Right. 564. A: .hh it's taking the loa:n from (.) conditional or unconditional approval though

to settlement?, 565. M: Mhm hum. 566. A; if that works with a minimum of fuss?, 567. M: Mhm hum. 568. A: .hh and we get paid with a minimum of fuss?, 569. M: Mhm hum. 570. A: that makes you a preferred lender as far as I'm concerned. 571. M: hh- Okay. (.) Good. Now. To answer to that, our turn around time, when- when

you submit is always forty-eight hours or less?, .hh as you need it, we have a person that you can talk to, same person, not different /person, alright?/

572. A: /Now that's the imp/ortant bit. 573. M: Yes. And then er after formal approval is given?, within two business days?,

e:r our solicitor would have actually express mailed the loan contract to. your.

Appendices 331

customer. Okay? And then at every end of the way, you will be given, er with your email address, you will be given updates on what's happening to the loan?, and even give you a short form contract of the loan contract. So you can /see/

574. A: /Mhm./ 575. M; the details of it, like .h what's the security address, is the name correct, is the,

you know, morgager correct and everything. .h so if there's any amendments you're- you're able to then say, ‘yes. /Er/

576. A: /yeah./ 577. M; there's an amendment,’ or, ‘yes, this is correct.’ /You see?/ 578. A: /Okay./ 579. M: A:nd- 580. A: And- and are your val fee, were what? Two hundred dollars, weren't they? 581. M: Our val fee for the first property is inclusive wi:th (.) the establishment /fee.

So that's/ 582. A: /So two fifty/. 583. M: ↑free. /The:/ 584. A: /Mhm hum./ 585. M: second property and on forward is two /fifty, (.)/ 586. A: /two- two-/ alright. 587. M: yeah. 588. A: Okay. 589. M: Alright? 590. A: Yep. 591. M: .hh And the:n er we usually settle?, depending on how fast the customer turns

the thing around so as I said, some brokers, .h because of the structure they have within their company?,

592. A: Well you can ony settle if they refinance, you can only settle as fast as the other people cooperate will cooperate, /alright. (.)/

593. M: /Exactly./ 594. A: And that's where your problems lie these days. 595. M: Yeah. I:- but we do- settlement?, we actually do it for purchases and

refinances?, we actually settle it locally. So er /if let's say there's/ 596. A: /Well that's a help./ 597. M: anything we can do that, yeah. /Not a problem./ 598. A: /That's a a help./ 599. M: /.hh if,/ 600. A: /Because-/ 601. M: let's say, for certain customers, .hh you know how certain customers will

come back to you with a loan contract and say, ‘can you explain this, because it is all mumbo jumbo to me?’. .hh if you feel that it is better for you to actually receive the contract and go see your ↑custome:r. Let me know and er- before you submit that loan (.) then I will then arrange for the contract to be sent to you instead.

602. A: Yea:h. I try and avoid that wherever possible. 603. M: ((laughs)) 604. A: Becau:se ethically e:r, you can record this or not, 605. M: Yeah, that's alright.

Appendices 332

606. A: and then I bel- well I believe ethically, there is a conflict of /interest (.)/ 607. M: /Oh. Conflict of interest,/ exactly. 608. A: between finance brokers witnessing er o:r explaining documentation to

/clients/ [ethical issues] 609. M: /Yeas./ 610. A: and I prefer not to be involved. 611. M: Yeah. (.) E:r if, I mean I (.) really complement you on that one. Personally .hh

I: feel the same way too, plus we're not the best person to actually explain it. Be- er- as a broker we're not, because we have the incentive to tell them, this is it, because we are the ones who arrange the loan in the first place. .hh I understand that. But, because er there there is no legislation to bar that from happening here, especially in ↑WA. .hh Erm, like I said, certain brokers, they do have that (.) /erm-/

612. A: /Well/ you have a tendency to gloss overeverything because you see so many of them, you know what it's all about, you've set it up that way, .hh /so/

613. M: /Yeah./ 614. A: you say, ‘Look. Okay. Sign this, sign this.’ And half of the time, most of your

clients /if-/ 615. M: /Don't-/ don't even /bother/ 616. A: /They/ don't even query /anything./ 617. M: /I know,/ they just sign. 618. A: And they just sign, .hh I'd rather not be there. 619. M: Some brokers use it as strategy because they don't want the clients to

actually leave the loan contract on the- the dining table for two weeks! ((laughs)) hh- so. So, yeah, I mean, I'm just saying that if you need that. The- that option is available for you, let me know. You see?, cause this is how I actually u:m (.) give you my service and my support. Alright? .hh the more I know about how you do your work, the more I er- the better it is for me to support you. /Alright?/

620. A: /Mhm hum./ 621. M: So .hh /fo:r/ 622. A: /That-/ that's fair. 623. M: You know cer- certain brokers they like that every- they handle everything?,

and then they just submit it. Some brokers, they need help in the paper work side. Some brokers for the life of them, hated doing the serviceability. So I'll actually do that for them, print it out for them. Some brokers they don't like (.) putting that background story. Like, you know?, like the story on the coversheet saying, ‘this customer is da-da da-da da'. Because they are not so good in- in words. I can also do that for them. Okay? Whatever that you feel that you need er assitance with?, let me know.

624. A: Okay. 625. M: One- this one thing is what I:'d like you to remember about AMP. .hh er as I

mentioned before, we do not have a specific policy for every single little scenario. .hh So the best way for you to do it is this. If let's say it doesn't really conform to a nice profile, you know at the end of the day lenders go for the /same/

626. A: /Yeah./ 627. M: thing. Always give me a call?, and give me at lea- er (.) usually I can = come

back to you within thirty minutes?, 628. A: Mhm.

Appendices 333

629. M: At the most, twenty four hours, to find out whether we can do it or not. I won't muck around?, If I can't do it, I'll say, ‘sorry John, I can't do it, /or AMP cannot/

630. A: /Yeah, that's fair./ 631. M: look at that’. .hh but at least, I would like you to actually give me a call. /(.)/ 632. A: /Yep./ 633. M: And a:sk me. And no question is a silly question. 634. A: Okay. 635. M: Okay? 636. A: That's cool. 637. M: Okay. (.) Alright. How are we doing for time? 638. A: A:h. I'm just checking, I have to go- I have to make a phonecall about five

past four.

.....

Appendices 334

Appendix 7

Meeting 2

M2 – Malaysian Male Company Director A2 – Australian Male WA Regional Manager (has a South African accent)

A3 – Australian Male Queensland Sales Manager R – Researcher G – Girl who brings coffee

V009.Mtg2 Tourism

1. A2: ((coughs)) 2. M2: do you need a coffee or a tea? 3. A3: yeah, are you gonna have one? 4. A2: yeap. a coffee 5. A3: ye/ah/ 6. M2: /yeah/ coffee? yep. two coffees? 7. A2: yes thanks. yeah. 8. (...) 9. M2: ((uses intercom to order coffees)) 10. A2: and where are /you from/? 11. M2: /two coffees/ ((inaudible)) 12. R: I'm – ((inaudible – problems with tape?)) 13. A2: as I- as Gerry and I were just saying w- we don't even- w- we're not 14. even aware as to what business relationship we have (.) in Queensland 15. (.) With your office in /((unclear))/? 16. M2: /I don't think/- I don't think that's any object you 17. know? 18. A2: but wha- how is it since you spoke to the regional 19. /manger ((unclear))/? 20. A3: /yeah/ offhand. 21. A2: that's right- then she wanted me to contact you with /((unclear))/

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22. M2: /oh alright./ yeah 23. okay. 24. A2: but um- ((his mobile phone rings)) 25. sorry. I'll turn it off.

((inaudible – problems with tape for about 20 secs))

26. A3: -at the moment but when she /gets back/ 27. A2: /when she gets/ back you're 28. gonna get- get a better picture though, 29. A3: yeah 30. A2: with a ((unclear)) vehicle. 31. A3: but that Gerry's looking after the- after the Asian market now f- for 32. er (.) Transit-tour, which is good. (.) 33. M2: mhm. it's good. it's a big and growing market. 34. A3: it is. (.) it's an excellent market. I was involved with it up to: probably 35. (.) bout six months ago?, (.) 36. M2: yeah, yeah. 37. A3: I've been the:re to a number of (.) trade shows. /I've/ 38. A2: /((coughs))/ 39. A3: been to Singapore, I've been to KL. (.) /.hh/ 40. M2: /did you go there/ 41. A2: /I tell you he just-/ 42. M2: to the last MATA Fair? 43. A3: no I didn't. 44. M2: So you just went around looking for agents /first/? 45. A3: /Yeah/, oh yeah I just 46. went around and all that (.) e:rm calling in on different agents. (.) 47. went to MATA’s. e::r (.) to (.) you know the director of MATA's. 48. M2: MATAS Singapore, yeah? the market is a bit slow. 49. A3: Yeah, at the moment, yeah. 50. M2: Yeah, the negative growth /in/ 51. A2: /yeah/ 52. M2: the last six months or so. But the Malaysian market, have you seen, it 53. has come up has it not? (..) 54. A2: Yeah, is that where you focused more, you just want the Malaysian 55. market, do /you?/ 56. M2: /Yeah,/ more to Malaysian market. So: (.) got to keep 57. my a- my a- claws in them. 58. A2: Is Australia still the place (.) .hh the flavor of the month or- or is 59. Europe becoming popular? 60. M2: Europe is becoming popular. 61. A2: /Yea:h./ 62. M2: /You know/ why?, cheaper there you know. 63. A2: mhm 64. M2: For two- Cheaper you look, for four- four thousand ringgit,

Appendices 336

65. A2: /Yeah/ 66. M2: /Even/ you go to Sydney, it's not that much really. 67. A2: Mhm. 68. M2: And people said o:h (.) you go to Europe and go to seven countries. but 69. they didn’t know that every stop, ((mobile phone beeps)) every 70. night is a /different-/ 71. /((mobile phone beeps))/ 72. M2: a different place, 73. A2: really?, 74. M2: /so/ they will keep on, you know?, moving all around. 75. A2: Yeah. 76. M2: It’s very tiring, especially in Europe. oh /yes./ 77. A2: /yeah/ 78. M2: you go in the coach, you go in a- in /a:-/ 79. A2: /((coughs))/ 80. M2: in the trip, and then you take a plane all around here. You barely spend 81. a few hours in the city! 82. A2: Mm. 83. M2: You kno:w?, 84. A3: Yeah. 85. M2: And then you got a (.) time difference, and all that. by the time you 86. come back, yo- you’ll be drained instead of a holiday, and actually I 87. think that is torture! 88. A2: /yeah/ 89. A3: /and/ also the Australian getting stronger doesn’t help, mind you. 90. M2: Went up again this morning. 91. A2: Mhm, where is it now? 92. A3: It’s over seventy five now. Won’t go over seventy /six though./ 93. M2: /So it's/ over 94. seventy five again?, 95. A3: Yeah. 96. M2: (.) It was seventy three, (.) three days ago. 97. A2: Yeah. It’s droppin- dropping down- down to sixty seven, sixty five 98. wasn't it? 99. A3: O:h a while ago it was, well, yeah, I mean the higher it ge:ts the- the- 100. the less attractive we become. (.) u:m (..) and- 101. A2: The- the only thing, the higher it gets that’s attractive e: i- is for the 102. local domestic market, isn't it? (..) 103. A3: Yeah, ((unclear)) yeah, 104. A2: Yeah, that’s /it./ 105. A3: /yeah/ I mean I- I’d like it (.) when I go on holidays, I’d 106. love to see the Australian dollar to become (.) ninety cents. 107. M2: ((laughs)) 108. A2: /yeah/ 109. A3: /Two/ weeks later though, (.) /when I come back,/ 110. A2/M2: /((laughs))/

Appendices 337

111. A3: it drops back to sixty. But you know, every country’s the same, but- 112. A2: Well, same as Singapore market, Aus- Eur- Europe will become very 113. attractive again. (.) 114. M2: Mhm. 115. A2: Cheap! 116. A3: Mhm. (.) Make the change too. e:rm, (..) God willing, 117. A2: /Mhm./ 118. A3: /it/ won’t happen but maybe, anothe:r er Madrid /er/ 119. M2: /bombing-/ 120. A3: bombing, /yeah/ 121. A2: /d'you/ see what happened in London today? 122. M2: The building?, Ye'ah. The- the- 123. A3: There London today? They- /they/ 124. M2: /They/ come from a town just near 125. Madrid (.) ((unclear- problems with tape?)) 126. A2: I think they arrested about five- /five/ 127. M2: /Eight./ 128. A2: The world has /gone/ 129. M2: /Eight./ 130. A2: The world has just gone crazy. 131. A3: Eight Pakistanis. 132. A2: Yeap. 133. M2: Eight /Pakistanis b-/ 134. A3: /background/ 135. M2: -background but British citizens. 136. A2: British citizens, British citizens?, Pakistani background. and they try to 137. find out if they’ve linked to ↑Al Qaida, but (.) .hh half the time it’s I- I 138. s'pose similar to what happened- what they had in Bali. Imagine that in 139. London. (.) Oh, oh ((Laughs in disbelief)). (..) 140. A3: Hell yeah, just- the whole world’s gone crazy. 141. A2: If something like that, if- if something like that, yeah, you’re right 142. that’s all you need /though/ 143. A3: /You-/ you need another Madrid bombing 144. somewhere else in 145. /Europe,/ 146. A2: /In Europe./ 147. A3: In Europe- 148. A2: somewhere like France, or- (.) or England? 149. A3: You're safe though for now though. the- e:rm they were yesterday in 150. Manila! 151. M2: Yeah. they brought something to- 152. A3: to Manila. 153. A2: was it eighty?, e:rm (.) eighty kilos of TNT?

Appendices 338

154. A3: In Manila! 155. A2: (...) .hh yeah well, you see, yeah, it’s- it’s crazy, isn’t it? (..) 156. M2: The thing, I think one day, everybody will be unite just to get rid of 157. this terrorism. /But-/ 158. A2: /You’/ve got it, it’s the only answer! 159. M2: And the only answer to get these terrorist is the harsh, (.) whatever you 160. are we catch you, that’s it, end of the story. 161. A3: And you can’t do any more. 162. A2: (.) Paul, how many people- protestors in (..) overseas after the Madrid 163. bombings? 164. A3: E:r, I dunno, but- 165. M2: /-((unclear))/ 166. A3: /I'll-/ I’ll tell you what’s the biggest problem is. until people can get 167. over this question of religion?, and just forget about the religion?, 168. A2: just have- 169. A3: eh? (.) until people get over this: (.) question of religion?, there will 170. always be problems, always be problems. (..) Ahh, crazy. I mean, I can 171. see that this young lady’s Moslem. To me, whether she’s a Muslim, a 172. Christian o:r (.) Jewish or whatever, wha- whatever difference is it to 173. me? Know what I mean?, 174. A2: /Yeah./ 175. M2: /no/ difference. 176. A3: You know, you’re entitled to your beliefs, I’m entitled to my beliefs- 177. A2: There’s four different- different religions in one /room!/ 178. M2: /That’s/ right. 179. A3: Who cares! 180. A2: ((laughs)) 181. A3: Cra:zy. 182. A2: Ah, fantast/ic./ 183. A3: /And/ until, the people of this world get over this religion 184. thing?, 185. G: Coffee? 186. A2: Thank /you very much./ 187. A3: /It's becoming-/ (.) They won’t fix it, I’m telling you now, the 188. won’t fix it, they won’t fix it. (.) 189. M2: Unless they have very harsh la:ws, that once you’re a terrorist, Bang 190. Finish. 191. A2: /Finished!/ 192. M2: /That’s it,/ end of the story. that is the one. You see Malaysia, I mean 193. we are- even though people criticize our- our I- I- ISA, I think that’s 194. good. 195. R: mhm hum. 196. M2: (.) once they kidnap you, Internal Security Act, that’s it! end of the 197. story! 198. A2: Good. 199. M2: You are left sitting down!

Appendices 339

200. A2: Yep. 201. M2: nothing you can do, 202. A3: Mhm. 203. M2: No, trial, you got- n:- you- you have- 204. A3: No trial, no nothing. 205. M2: No trial, nothing, /that’s it./ 206. A2: /No, straight/ into jail you're left in there. throw 207. away the key. 208. M2: Mhm.That is the best! (..) 209. A2: You- you'll never never hear a peep from them again. 210. M2: And then you see, you see what happens- 211. A3: I'll tell you what happens- 212. M2: You just catch them and then you got lawyers representing them and 213. all these hua:h, (.) just makes things worse! 214. A2: There’s got to be harsher laws, ay?, 215. M2: I think /so./ 216. A3: /But/ there’s getting to be no laws. (.) If you’re- if you’re one, if 217. you:'re one of them, that’s it, you’re finished. ((sniffs)) It’s just crazy 218. absolutely crazy! (..) 219. A2: So your business, what’s it looking like now, by April? 220. M2: Oka:y. (.) /Steady./ 221. A2: /Quiet?/ 222. M2: No:, cannot be quiet. It's never quiet otherwise I will have to go bust 223. already! 224. A2: Never quiet! 225. A3: ((laughs)) Hh- No. One morning I seen him in the restaurant 226. across the roadwith (.) .hh twenty people, and the next though he’s 227. down there in the morning with tweny seven other people. 228. M2: /((laughs))/ 229. A2: /I saw/ you walking past the other day with (.) s- some of those police 230. guys (.) from Criterion, yeah? 231. M2: Oh yes, yes, yes (..) 232. A3: ((laughs)) 233. A2: I chuckled then. I trust you- you've got you're finger- you're finger in 234. all the pies, yeah?, 235. M2: I couldn’t come over to you because too many eyes was watching me. 236. (...) 237. A2: So does this look like- 238. M2: Too many eyes was watching me, /right./ 239. A2: /on a tour ((unclear))/ (.) 240. I thought- thought, Gerry and I knew a little bit- about, you know how 241. Sato’s booking some of it with us? 242. M2: Mhm /hum./ 243. A2: /Yeah,/ all year. Like your group stuff’s going with (.) Ian, 244. M2: Mhm hum. 245. A2: well may be down the track we can (..)

Appendices 340

246. M2: Anything's possible- 247. A2: Build a relationship and work a bit with the customers- 248. M2: Are you all, are you all thinking of bringing more buses into Perth? 249. A3: Will we? 250. M2: Are you thinking of bringing more buses /in?/ 251. A3: /((coughs))/ (.) I mean 252. ((laughs)) (.) we’ve got 253. /various- various ways to proceed with our business./ 254. /((phone rings))/ 255. A3: A:h, now, if we need to bring over the six buses, (.) to: establish 256. ourselves in the market, we’ll do /that./ 257. M2: /So/ be it. (.) 258. A3: So be it. (.) We’re not afraid to do that. U:m. We’re here, we’re here to 259. ↑stay, U::m (.) we are (.) the number one sight-seeing day tour 260. operator in Australia?, (.) Um and we’re not here to (.) as a joke (.) o:r 261. temporary, we’re here to stay. We’ll be here in twenty years time. 262. Now whether we have one coach, whether we have ten coaches?, (.) 263. ah, it’s neither here nor there. 264. We- we try and work- we- (.) try and work closely with the people that 265. are around?, (.) but if that gets to a stage where we can’t, then we will 266. bring over six brand new buses, not a problem, (.) not a problem. 267. M2: Hm, hm….. 268. A3: U:m, so: I guess (.) that doesn’t answer your question directly 269. /but/ 270. M2: /but/ indirectly I know the answer. 271. A3: Indirectly, yeah. We're here to stay. (..) 272. A2: Peter, I mean, you- you know the problems, you- you can see- 273. M2: Yeah, the problem, the problem is there. 274. I mean, I- I- I can see that. .hh T:wo of you s:haring the same office 275. running the same thing, right?, 276. You look into his-, his manifest, he look into your manifest, ((laughs) 277. hh- I mean, if you put me into that situation, 278. I (.) it is unworkable /for me./ 279. A3: /Yeah, you/ don’t feel comfortable. Yeah, you'll 280. feel unconfortable. But I:- I understand that. Changes /mean-/ 281. A2: /Cos/ 282. we have to do special deals sometimes hh- ((laughs)). 283. M2: That's right, hh- like we do backdoor deals man ((laughing)). 284. A2: h-yeah, ike the Criterion, ay? W- we had six people in the Criterion, 285. yeah?, 286. M2: Mhm. 287. A2: So I print the ticket, go over to the Criterion, give them the ticket (.) 288. and come ba:ck, and then put them on- on the coach and then give 289. them a seat, you know?, 290. A3: Yeah. But- 291. M2: /ah-/

Appendices 341

292. A3: /and/ an- it must be difficult for you guys too:. (.) and we er recognize 293. that. (.) 294. Things may be changed, we recognize that also. (.) u: m (.) 295. M2: But I said at the end of the day, at the end of the day, you are giving a 296. bit of competition to ↑hi:m. (.) 297. And in any business (.) aspect, it's good to have ↑competition. 298. A3: Of course it /is./ 299. M2: /Ot/herwise (.) because somebody will get arrogant, 300. and you know, (.) like now. 301. A2: What it’s gonna to do, it’s gonna keep Pinnacles Tours ↑honest. 302. M2: Mm. 303. A2: Cos now there’s another operator, a credible operator, I’m not talking about

Feature, or Aussie Tours?, 304. M2: ((laugh) hh- no. 305. A2: There’s another a credible operator in ↑Perth, (.) along the same lines, the

same costings, the same quality, pr- probably better quality, than ↓Pinnacles. (..) Now he has to compete.

306. M2: Mhm. 307. A2: And it's helped the competition?, 308. M2: It has. 309. A2: You know- you know, we're not- we’re not- there’s no: (.) disorderly

marketing, (.) the product’s good, the quality’s good, the service is good but you know?, ((phone rings)). Sorry. (.)

310. A3: We w- we recognize that the model that we’ve got at the moment (.) isn’t ideal.

311. M2: Isn’t ideal, no it’s /not./ 312. A3: /So:-/ but (.) we’re well aware of that. (.) 313. Behind the scenes (.) we’re working on it. (.) A:nd I’d be surprised if: the

model in three months time?, is the same as you see here. 314. M2: It will be different again. Might you have more of the coaches down here to

run the- 315. A3: -Oh that could be, that could be a distinct /possibility./ 316. M2: /I think to/ me, I think that's um (.) I

mean, a- it's sad to say but I think that is the best option to be honest, there’s no other options. Run your own tour /schedule./

317. A2: /See Peter’s/ 318. /((phone beeps))/ 319. A2: operation /is a little/ bit different to: (.) like Extra Gree:n, or Blue 320. Travel, or Whale Choppers, Peter’s got his own depot just out the back here. 321. A3: Mhm, yeah. 322. A2: So he runs his own coaches. 323. M2: Mhm. 324. A2: So what a you got? The- the big one? 325. M2: I’ve got two big one’s two small, two- two 22s and two 12s and one 7. (.) 326. A2: So you could run some of our tours if you wanted. You do sometimes, don’t

you?

Appendices 342

327. M2: I nearly run any, only the other day , I waited- I nearly took some of my people to Pinnacles and I said ‘Hey, I got room on mine,’ I said ‘okay, I'll go with you then.’ (.)

328. A2: Um that's what I'm, you know we're working- so if we can work closely with Peter in that aspect but you do all- all the airport transfers and all that stuff,

329. A3: Yeah all that stuff (.) 330. A2: Yes, it's a little bit different to the other guys but, (.) probably better

service?, I mean, you’re known for the good service. 331. M2: Once I go over four people, I just send my own coach to the airport, (.) even

though I- I- I- I break even, 332. A2: /yeah/ 333. M2: /it’s/ still good that (.) at least- at least those, those that come back- those people

that come in, (.) i- is met on arrival?, 334. A2: Yes- 335. M2: -and they know who we a:re, (.) from there we can approach them and said

‘Hey, you want any- any special (.) services which we can provide here? Yeah, yeah, da, da, da, da down the road, rather than somebody /else (.)/

336. A3: /somebody else-/ 337. M2: -take it away and you know?, (..) The first contact at the airport is most

important. 338. A3: Of course it is. 339. A2: Yeah. 340. M2: Everybody wherever you go in the ↑wo:rld, 341. A2: Yep. 342. M2: The first person you meet at the airport, you trust him the most. 343. A2: Ye:p. (.) 344. M2: If there’s somebody else comes in after that said that they’re better than me, you

are not going to- to trust /that guy./ 345. A2: /Trust that/ guy yeah. 346. M2: Yeah! 347. A3: That’s dead /right./ 348. M2: /It’s/ always the ↑case, wherever ↑you go. (.) 349. A2: Wherever on Earth you are. 350. M2: Mm. (.) 351. A2: Yeah. (.) 352. A3: B- but, yeah, you know we’re- we're- we’re only in our infancy here in

↑Pe:rth, but we’ll evolve, and we’ll grow and (.) let me assure you that were we’re here to stay. ((knocks on table)) U:m, (.) we started as a very small (.) company?, and we’re now by far the largest day tour company, (.) a:nd just shows that, really, we know what we're doing. We know what needs to be done and we know how to do it. U:m, you don’t get to our size, without knowing what you're /doing./

353. M2: /That’s/ right. 354. A3: So er, yeah, basically, yeah, let me assure you that we’re here to stay. 355. We’ll be here in twenty years time. Others might not be. 356. A2: hh-

Appendices 343

357. A3: But we will be. 358. A2: I will be. 359. A2, A3 & M2: ((laughs)) 360. M2: How old are you now? 361. A2: Oh you know /((unclear))/ 362. A3: I'll be /((unclear))/ 363. M2: /((unclear))/ 364. A2: so yeah 365. M2: You made a mi:stake sending him to Perth, you know. 366. A3: Yeah, 367. M2: Ah? Sorry /((unclear))/ 368. A2: /I was saying to Gerry, the other day/ 369. A2: /((unclear -laughs))/ 370. A3: /((unclear -laughs))/ 371. M2: /((unclear -laughs))/ 372. A2: I tell ya, you’ll see me out on this stretch. 373. M2: Ye:s, I know. (.) 374. A2: A:h, too bad. (.) 375. A3: Ye:s, so: (...) 376. M2: So how long are you staying here? 377. A3: Aw, I’m goin back tomorrow. 378. M2: So you just arrived today, and you go back tomorrow? 379. A3: Yeah, I was in Adelaide yesterday, and er (.) I’ve still, gotta run to Victoria as

well, so, (.) um and Victoria’s our biggest market, s:o (.) yeah, got to go there. 380. A2: Yeah Gerry’s office is in Victoria but still (.) comes in to Adelaide, Sydney, a- a-

and Perth to see if he can give us a hand with anything, maybe give some suggestions whether it’s, um, running more cruise agents, hotel calls,

381. M2: Talking about retail, are you planning on retail? (..) Not yet, no? Can't for the time being?

382. A2: Na, we’re looking, we’re looking for retail shops, I mean, (.) you know it depends, you know, like Gerry said, depends if we, (.) you know if we stand or we just wanna ((sighs))

383. A3: .hh yeah, there’s a lot of things happening behind the scenes, we just gotta to see how those-

384. M2: See- see what happens and then make up our minds. 385. A3: Yep. And that’ll determine what we do. 386. M2: /Mhm./ 387. A2: /I/ mean- and traditionally now, we’re going into a quiet period in Perth a little

bit now. 388. A3: Yeah, /yeah/ 389. A2: /Yeah,/ May, June, July’ll probably be quiet and then when it picks

up, what?, August?, it picks up ‘cos of the wild flowers. 390. M2: Yeah, well the wild flowers will be big. (.) 391. A2: ((sneezes)) Yeah, so we’ll look at our you know, we'll look at our staffing, we’ll

look at (.) our whole operation and our relationship with Pinnacle Tours over the next couple of months. (...) Anything (.) that we can get to work, you know.

Appendices 344

392. M2: You won’t be surprised if there'll be another company opening up a day tour here, ok?, (.)

393. A2: Don’t be surprised? 394. M2: Yea:h, it’s already cooking, cooking, cooking, 395. A2: Tropicana's is it? 396. M2: No! 397. A2: (( laughs)) 398. M2: No, I wouldn’t go into day tours, no. (.) 399. A2: Did you see the new Pinnacles?, the new feature tour brochure? 400. M2: No. 401. A2: A new feature to the brochure- 402. A3: -Another day tour company? (.) The more the merrier! 403. A2: Another one, is it? 404. A3: Is it a big company or a private company? 405. M2: ((coughs)) This- this is the off shoot of another company. (.) 406. A2: Oh, is it? (.) 407. A3: Anyway, the more the merrier! (.) The more the merrier. 408. A2: Big coaches or small coaches? 409. M2: All big coaches. 410. A2: Yeah? 411. M2: That’s what I heard, but I don’t know whether it’s going to come through or not. 412. A3: Yeah. 413. M2: You- you know Manning, right, 414. A2: Manning Services, yeah. 415. M2: He’s now working for Thompsons, alright. 416. A2: Thompsons Coaches, yeah?, 417. M2: So I think he’s going to (..) that’s all I heard /(.)/ 418. A2: /mhm/ 419. M2: nothing concrete. 420. A2: Yeah, yeah. 421. M2: Thompsons (.) has got lots. 422. A2: Yeah, do you know (.) Gary Hamstead? 423. M2: Yes? (.) 424. A2: Yeah, it's his business, you know 425. M2: Is it? (.) To where? 426. A2: To some, ((unclear)) I know him as the Regional Director, you notice how

they’ve (.) divided WA up?, (.) into different tourism /regions?,/ 427. M2: /Regions,/ alright. 428. A2: I think he’s looking after one, I heard- I heard after- they’re looking after

one of the regions?, 429. M2: Mhm? (.) There you go, another guy. 430. A3: Should be in the circle, ay? 431. M2: Yeah ((unclear)) but hey're still within the tourism circle 432. A2: A- and Manning was feature tours 433. A3: Mhm.

Appendices 345

434. A2: So it was sold (.) and then ah new, three other guys- two guys and a lady, Des Linton?, I met, met them once, they brought out their new brochure which- (.) which is kind of their old brochure which used to be bright yellow.

435. M2: No, it’s a red one, is it? 436. A2: One’s a red flyer- 437. M2: -Was a red flyer, yeah-

a. A2: -which was a red flyer. the administrators, they put that out. But now they’ve got this bright yellow brochure which is out now. But (.) again, I mean if you look (.) at running Pinnacles or you wanna- you look, at selling Pinnacles, when you’re selling to your- your clients. U:m feature tours running four days a week.

438. M2: And- an- and they don’t do four wheel drive, do they? 439. A2: Nope. (.) straight up, straight back. 440. M2: What for? 441. A2: They do that four days a week, ah Margaret River, twice a week, (.) Albany

three times a week, Wave Rock three times a week. (..) 442. A3: What for? 443. A2: So your- your clients might have the- the luxury of going ((unclear))

((coughs)) it's like Extra Green and all the others. You’ve got to understand, you could close that yourself. If you those guys quiet, then you could close it out (.) and just stop your ((unclear)), can you travel for us ((unclear)).

444. M2: And they'll say ‘it don't run’. 445. A2: So it doesn’t run. It’s the worst thing you can do. (.) But anyway (.) So as I

said, we look forward to building more business with you. 446. M2: No problems. See what you’ve done, like- like right now I mean you have a

lot um (.) of uncertainty, you don’t know where you’re heading to?, I mean, before when you just merged together with him, and you don’t know how they go, and he got his own ideas, you got your ideas (.) and until and unless you come up with something which you dictate ‘this bag works better for me’.

447. A3: Yeah. 448. M2: I mean you wanted the resources you have the buses, then have the- (.) I don’t

see anything stopping you guys here! 449. A3: There is nothing stopping us, there’s nothing stopping us. U:m (.) as I say,

we’ve come over to the West, we don’t want to- (..) See, if our owners were different, if w- we had a different ↓culture, (.) where it was just worrying about the dollar and all that, we would've come in with a:ll ou:r coaches,

450. M2: /((coughs))/ 451. A3: /and/ would’ve tried to put everyone else out of business because we’ve got the

money in the East Coast. That’s not what we do. We’ve come in here because we’ve got a vision of being Australia wide?, So that anybody from anywhere can just ring one number and /go-/

452. M2: /Book,/ book, book all the /tours/

453. A3: /Go/ wherever you want. U:m, ((coughs)) but by the same token we try and work /i:n/

454. A2: /((coughs))/

Appendices 346

455. A3: with the local people, (.) the local operators. It's- 456. A2: ((clears throat)) 457. A3: you know, finance has been efficient to us and finance, you know, it’s gotta

be a win-win (.) situation. But the pressure’s on and people'll wanna not (.) treat us so good?, well then (.) that’s when idiots like me come into it.

458. M2: ((laughs)) 459. A3: Um, yeah. 460. M2: Wow, he- he’s the spoiler, there. 461. A2: The hit man. 462. M2: Mhm. 463. A3: I mean, 464. M2: /hh-/ 465. A3: /you/ know I- I- you’ve gotta try (.) and, we do, we try an- and work with

the local people (.) all that. I mea:n, and they’ve got every right, we don’t- (.), everybody’s got a right to conduct their business, but so have we. And if we can work together, it’s better for ↑everybody, but if we find that they’re working against us, well then, it changes (.) ↓again. But er yeah, we’re here- we’re here to stay. Er. (...) So, no- no, I can understand you know, all of a sudden this Greyline, (.) is over here, (.) so even people with:in the agencies and who er-

466. A2: In the /Hotels/ 467. A3: /have/ got uncertainty, you know are they here to stay, or who are

they, you know, but (.) 468. A2: It’ll take- /it’ll take a while./ 469. M2: /They may say now,/ and what happen you cross, it's not

legal to do this- this deal again 470. A2: Mhm. 471. M2: and all that you know they’ve … 472. A3: Sure, sure, /for sure./ 473. A2: /And that’s/ why, we came here. I mean you came to the launch

and you could see, I mean with the launch (.) e:rm (.) we didn’t have the launch a little hall, we had the launch at Frasers, you know, we just- to make a statement, we’re serious players. (.) We’re not here for the short term, we’re here for the long term, that’s why we’ve brought one of our new coaches over from Melbourne, you know, otherwise you wouldn’t have had a coach out here but people will sit here and be like but don’t have coaches you know, we’ve got a coach like ((unclear)) but if we have to bring another two or three coaches, we’ll bring em.

474. M2: Mhm hm. ((coughs)) 475. A3: So we’re about to open Alice Spring next month. 476. A2: Oh right? 477. A3: So yea:h, 478. A2: So it's been down- a- and Ayers Rock? 479. A3: Yeah, same thing. 480. A2: Yeah?, yeah. 481. A3: So and you know, and we- we’re gonna have our coach (.) and we we’re taking

Melbourne’s newest coach 482. M2: Mhm?

Appendices 347

483. A3: and er they’re /taking Alice Springs./ 484. A2: /And then- and then Darwin is the final,/ 485. A3: yeah 486. A2: piece of the jigsaw puzzle. And then the final- 487. A3: bu- 488. A2: -the final piece of that will be:, when is it? end of the year? 489. A3: By the end of the year we'll be in Darwin (.) so: 490. A2: By the end of o-four we will have a whole national network (.) including

Tasmania, e:r 491. M2: What about Broome? 492. A3: Well Broome /is/ 493. A2: /((coughs))/ 494. A3: still on the er on the table, the dif- there’s no definite plans to go there, but it

is being talked about. 495. A2: But I- I’d imagine, once we get (.) Perth established?, 496. A3: Oh, I’d say yeah. 497. A2: Perth established, Broome will probably fall under- 498. A3: There’s no use me saying, okay after Darwin we plan to be in

/Broome/ 499. M2: /((coughs))/ 500. A3: in three months, six months, no. (.) E:r, it’s definitely an option, but er I

would say, yeah, that it’ll hinge on Perth. Once we get (.) established in Perth (.) we make that a success. Then it’ll be a natural /progression./

501. A2: /Do you do/ much work out of Broome? 502. M2: No. 503. A2: No. 504. M2: Not for the Asian market. 505. A2: Yep. 506. M2: Broome is basically like Malaysia, I went up there, I can tell you, huh! (.)

Hoh, the humidity, worse than Malaysia! O:h. 507. A3: ((laughs)) 508. M2: ((laughs)) hh- and virtually what you get there is only pearl, pearl, pearl. The

pearl is coming out of my ears! /((unclear))/ 509. A2 & A3: /((laughs))/ 510. A2: And all the flies, lots of flies, (.) mosquitoes, (.) sand flies, ah. 511. A3: Mhm. 512. M2: Basically, (.) is just like going /to/ 513. A3: /((clears throat))/ 514. M2: a kampong in Malaysia. 515. A3: ((laughs)) hh- yeah. 516. M2: That’s how I perceive it. 517. A3: Yeah. 518. M2: No, I won't go back there. I just went there to have a look. 519. A3: Yeah, /yep./ 520. M2: /No,/ it’s not for us. Maybe for people who like the heat?,

Appendices 348

521. A2: Well if- if you watch Pinnacles Operation, you know, all their fleet is here. (.) In summer, their peak season in Perth,

522. M2: Yeah. 523. A2: Now that it gets quiet, they ship all their seven or eight vehicles up to

/Broome/ 524. M2: /Up-/ up to Broome. 525. A2: They run- Perth goes quiet, they run Broome now. Broome goes from, I think

mid-May, is the first extended go, May, June, July, August. (.) Finished. Bring them all back down ready for the (.) wild flowers.

526. M2: So that means it's busy all the year round, ya?, 527. A2: ((coughs)) Well, its ↑smart. It’s it's- good coach utilization. You know, they’re

not sitting around in Perth fo:r three or four months empty. 528. M2: Mhm. (.) 529. A2: Ah, keeps his drivers busy, you know?, 530. M2: It's a very high cost up there. 531. A2: V:e:ry high cost. (.) Well, I think he’s built his own empire and everything.

accommodation, everything. 532. M2: Yes. The e:r th- coach maintenance a:h very big maintenance everything.

Because of the roads, 533. A2: The roads. 534. M2: Need four /wheel drives/ 535. A2: /four wheel/ drives yeah, very bad, very bad. ((Coughs)) Well

he said, you know, I think he had one mechanic there, now he's got three, for this season. Three.

536. M2: Business must be booming. (.) O:h. 537. A2: Hope so! ((Laughs)) .hh anyway. (.) Anyway, /Peter,/ 538. M2: /Well,/ thank you for coming/and

thank you for your time./ 539. A2: / Yeah, thank you for/ le- letting? us come in and have a chat and

giving you such short notice. 540. M2: Yes, oh well I got to see some important guy, otherwise ((unclear))

Appendices 349

Appendix 8

Meeting 3

Fa – Female 1 Australian marketing representative Fb – Female 2 Australian chef at the hotel Ma – Male 1 Malaysian business man – hotel owner Mb – Male 2 Australian marketing executive for the hotel

1 V011.MtgHotel 1 2 Fa: .hh I'm from the Tang Tang brand, (.) Latte, (.) and we now 3 distribute Tang Tang. (.) Tang Tang have a twelve to eighteen month life on 4 the product, (.) s- so obviously for establishments like yourself (.) 5 where you have minibars .hh it becomes very labour intensive when 6 you're rotating your stock every six to seven weeks and have to be- as 7 you would probably know (.) do you work in the /.hh?/ 8 Fb: /no/ 9 Fa: no? oh /okay/ 10 Fb: /unclear ((laughs))/ 11 Fa: (.) I thought you were from here /unclear/ 12 Ma: /((laughs))/ 13 Fa: I understand now what you-yeah oka:y. (.) ((click)) so that was why we 14 thought we'd approach (.) you .hh with the er- regards to this idea 15 [unclear] (.) we'll move on (.) 16 I do have your morning- your lunch /for you/ ((unpacking samples)) 17 Fb: /((laughs))/ 18 Fa: ((click)) .hh so um (.) I'm- I'm sure you /((unlear))/ 19 Ma: /.hh at/ the moment we are 20 buying most of the snacks from Jacks and company isn't /it/? 21 Fb: /ye:s/ 22 Jacks (.) yeah /yep/ 23 Ma: /.hh/ and it's nearby your place also you know?, 24 Fa: that's- that's our major opposition .hh they don't have anything that- 25 Ma: in the Tang Tang line no? 26 Fa: in the Tang Tang- they have nothing that compares to that product. 27 Ma: /wh- wd-/ 28 Fa: /you know/ 29 Fb: /do you do salsa?/ 30 Fa: we do, (.) we do salsa. 31 Ma: what other sizes are there? 32 Fa: we do fifty gram or two hundred. (.) I don't actually have a sample 33 with /me/

Appendices 350

34 Ma: /so/ these are the ones you are recommending for the mini 35 /bar?/ 36 Fa: /.hh th/at's 37 what I would reccommend for the mini bar (.) um you can certainly try 38 putting in the two hundred (.) .hh that's just at a higher price point on 39 average (.) /the- um/ 40 Ma: /uh huh/ 41 Fa: recommended retail in a– in a D.T.S. sort of down the street sort of 42 shop, we recommend them at about five- .hh five dollars give or take 43 (.) .hh so with the larger one- 44 Ma: mm 45 Fa; yep so in an establishment like this where your (.) mark up is (.) that 46 much higher you'd be- 47 Ma: no nowadays we don't do that /kind/ of mark up you know?, (.) 48 Fa: /no?/ 49 Ma: we pay about /((unclear))/ 50 Fa: /that's fine then/ /yep/ 51 Ma: /yeah/ 52 Fa: a lot of hotels .hh minibars do that though ay? 53 Fb: yeah 54 Fa: because /because/ 55 Ma: /no a/ few- a few hotels like me, we operate the 56 minibar in a different way. (.) the fridge it should be empty you 57 know (.) er the cost of labour to manage it is /actually/ 58 Fa: /mhm/ 59 Ma: quite expensive and that's why the mark up is there. 60 Fa: right /yep/ 61 Ma: /at/ the moment we give them a: minibar list you know?, then they can order what they want. 62 Fa: /o:h:/ 63 Ma: /and/ then we send it up to them you know (.) so at the end of 64 the day (.) we don't have to count for what they took (.) it's all just paid 65 for already for the minibar /((unclear))/ 66 Fa: /that's a clever/ way of doing it isn't /it?/ 67 Ma: /er/ 68 it's not clever it's a little bit more economical /you understand/ 69 Fa: /yeah yeah cause-/ 70 Ma: many hotels are (.) going in that direction- 71 Fa: I have got a- a customer that is (.) asking me at the moment how- er 72 how the er other um hotels are doing it and most of them are (.) .hh 73 purely honesty (.) factor?, and they're losing .hh but that w- that's a 74 great idea to do it- do it like a room service order. 75 Ma: yeah so- because they look at the list and they say oh ok I want 76 /a Coke,/ 77 Fa: /yea:h yep/ 78 Ma: and I want some (.) um (.) mineral water, /and/

Appendices 351

79 Fa: yeah/ 80 Ma: and then some snacks with it, and it- and it /e:r/ 81 Fa: /it's all/ automatically 82 Ma: and then we send it up to the room and it's paid for whether they only 83 want to take it away or finish it you know it's up to /them./ 84 Fb: /would/ they be 85 good on the bar as well? 86 Ma: It w- would be good on the bar but then you have to open them and put 87 it er (.) on a plate you know?, 88 Fb: but they do that with nuts. 89 Ma: yeah that's what they do with the /nuts/ and everything you know 90 Fb: /mhm/ 91 Ma: what are the other flavours that you have on the-? 92 Fa: in the: Tang Tang? we do salt and vinegar and sour cream and onion, (.) so 93 there's three- three flavours in the fifty gram range /.hh/ 94 Ma: /uh huh/ 95 Fa: in the two hundred gram there's (.) cheese and onion, sour cream and 96 onion, salt and vingear, the original (.) .hh e:rm babeque, hot and 97 spicy, so there's more variety in the two hundred. 98 Ma: two hundred? 99 Fa: yeah (.) .hh /e:rm/ 100 Ma: /what-/ what is your whole sale price? 101 do you have a whole /sale price?/ 102 Fa: /I have. I've/ got all that here with me .hh how 103 many rooms /.hh/ 104 Ma: /er/ 105 Fa: are we talking here? 106 Ma: e:r (.) we are talking about ninty four rooms 107 Fa: oka:y (.) okay (.) uhm (.) 108 Ma: does the rooms got anything to do with the price? 109 Fa: .hh not at all /no:./ 110 Fb: /((laughs))/ 111 Fa: ((laughs)) .hh it was just that uhm (.) I er (.) just initially thought that 112 you would be putting them into all rooms 113 Ma: no (.) no no. 114 Fa: but s- (.) n- no that's fine we can (.) um and anyway I've got some 115 other- we do er the Cambell line with all those varieties, and the Kettle 116 (.) that's the other one I wanted to talk to you about, basically it's a bit 117 more of a premium product that ha- also has a better quote on 118 /it/ 119 Fb: /yeah/ 120 Fa: yeah they've got the- 121 Fb: they're more expensive though /aren't they?/ 122 Fa: /they are./ (.) they are more 123 expensive but the: (.) but they're the winning one at the moment. 124 Fb: oo:h yea:h.

Appendices 352

125 Fa: .hh and then we have .hh your kids would love (.) they're fr- all the old 126 names ((unpacking samples from bag)), Cheezels, (.) uhm (.) uhm and 127 the Thins (.) 128 Fb: Cheezels ((speaking to herself)) 129 Fa: so that's just a- 130 Ma: okay 131 Fa: we also do nuts. 132 Ma: d- do you do it on a machine? 133 Fa: pardon /me?/ 134 Ma: /you/ know a machine where you can put all- 135 Fa: vending machines? 136 Ma: uhm 137 Fa: we: have a separate business that actually takes care of all /our/ 138 Ma: /all/ this 139 stuff you know 140 Fa: yep (.) vending .hh uhm (.) it's a bu- it's nowhere near a:s profitable 141 for you .hh to go through a vending machine outlet. but it obviously 142 depends on /where you want to go./ 143 Ma: /we- we are just wanting/ to look at options because 144 of er inavailability. 145 Fa: I can get someone to get in conatct with /you/ 146 Ma: /in/ contact with this one. 147 (.) the more the variety there is (.) and er otherwise we end up .hh 148 holding different- different stock on our own, and then controlling it, 149 and yeah, dispensing it, (.) this also has got a one year shelf live has 150 it? ((pointing to sample)) 151 Fa: no 152 Ma: /six months/ 153 Fa: /no/ they no (.) normal chips, those chips, ((points to sample)) (.) 154 would ha:ve six weeks (.) 155 Ma: six weeks shelf life? 156 Fb: /mhm:/ 157 Fa: /yep/ all types of chips have a six weeks. 158 Fb: but these ones /are longer?/ you said? 159 Ma: /yeah okay/ 160 /I'll-/ 161 Fa: /but/ these ones because they're 'kettle-cooked' ha:ve (.) anythi:ng (.) 162 fro- three months (.) three months, four months ah- depending on how 163 ((unclear- sound of samples being handed around)) 164 Ma: ((laughs at something he finds in sample bag)) 165 Fa: you can actually find that these- /these/ 166 Ma: /((laughs))/ 167 Fa: .hh um my little girl's probably thrown them in there. (.) they were in 168 my study at home .hh um (.) they- they can start with four months, 169 four to five months but (.) obviously w- we manufacture over in 170 Sydney by the time an order gets through, then they get to travel up to

Appendices 353

171 Perth, they get distributed, .hh you can sometimes obviously- 172 Ma: about a month goes out in transit 173 Fa: yeah so um .hh (.) Tang Tang though we (.) um hoped there was 174 something.hh (.) we'd like to give you, you know, 175 /the price list ((unclear))/ 176 Ma: /I- I can look at it if you want/ you know if you mean the price list and 177 everything .hh 178 Fa: /Yeah/ 179 Ma: /but/ I'm also looking at- at the other options we talked about, about the 180 vending mach /ines/ 181 Fa: /the/ vending machines .hh I can get Eagle Vending to 182 contact you. .hh you can not put Tang Tang?, in a vending machine?, 183 Ma: /yeah/ 184 Fa: /.hh/ as you probably gathered u:m as I said because (.) if you go 185 throu:gh um vending it becomes a thrid person?, involved in the 186 transaction and like anything, once a third party becomes (.) it costs 187 more so that's why the cost it's like going through a distributor. .hh 188 whereas if you go through (.) Latte we're um direct to you. it's a- a 189 direct service (.) so that- that's something else you have to keep in 190 mind about the cost factor. .hh I can't talk cost with you with regards to 191 vending .hh because it's a totaly different cost. 192 Ma: the vending comes into:: (.) into play only when (.) customers come in 193 and they want to have (.) some snacks here in the middle of the night, 194 about twelve o' clock. 195 Fa: yep. 196 Fb: where would you put a vending machine?, I actually don't 197 think it would look very nice (.) in (.) the hotel. 198 Ma: well it depends how you want to think of it you know?, 199 Fb: but could we hide it? 200 Ma: so that- yeah sometimes you get used to it you know 201 Fb: I know /but- / 202 Ma: /in the/ beginning, in the beginning it becomes an eyesore after 203 that- 204 Fb: it's just when you walk in here it's such a beautiful looking hotel and I 205 don't think a vending machine would (.) 206 Fa: /it is a beautiful hotel/ 207 Fb: /it would detract away/ from it 208 Fa: yeah /.hh/ 209 Fb: /it/ would make it look more common 210 Ma: No I'm just looking at the optio/ns/ first 211 Fa: /yeah/ 212 Ma: and then to try and see /to try and decide/ 213 Fa: /yeah (.) yeah/ you have to weigh up all 214 the options- 215 Ma: but this one is you select (.) your thing for three months shelve- e:r 216 three weeks yeah?, (.) six weeks?,

Appendices 354

217 Fa: yep 218 Ma: six weeks shelve life you can't hold too much stock and you have to 219 mean- and order less (.) so the cost of transportation would be there 220 isn't it? 221 Fa: w- well what happens /is-/ 222 Ma: /min/imum order you would require an estimate? 223 Fa: u:m no (.) no (.) there's no minimum order. we um (.) we would 224 obviously work out um an ordering day and a delivery day with you 225 .hh depending on how frequent you want that. hh um we'd have to 226 disccus that (.) um any out of codes that come up like- we ke- we credit 227 automatically (.) so you aren't out of pocket with regards to dating, 228 /so/ 229 Ma: /nor/mally though the dates are only found out by the customer 230 Fa: oh /hh-/ 231 Ma: /even/ my staff it always slips our eyes after sometimes isn't it?, 232 Fa: hh- erm 233 Ma: two thousand and three would look like two thousand and four 234 Fa: ((lauhgs)) wh- and y- you know there's nothing wrong with the 235 products. it's just that the health department said that it should have the 236 best before now .hh and they (.) we (.) I that's why /((unlear))/ 237 Ma: /and this all/ 238 comes under if we accept you know 239 Fa: there a b- there (.) Cheezels have been done and CCs. we also do the 240 CC range .hh with sal- 241 Ma: okay what do you do? do- so do you give me your product ra:nge (.) 242 Fa: uh hum- 243 Ma: and then you give me your prices .hh 244 Fa: uh hum 245 Ma: and then e:r (.) I take it from there? 246 Fa: Sure 247 Ma: e:rm- 248 Fa: here's my card as well (..) okay (.) this is a u:m (..) this is a wholesale 249 price list (.) .hh so this one hasn't got discounts or GST applied. .hh um 250 if we're looking at, for arguments sake, a fifty gram CCs packet (.) 251 they're eighty three cents (..) per unit. do you wanna borrow mine? 252 ((offers her pen)) 253 Ma: no no /no/ 254 Fb: /oh/ great thanks 255 Ma: I don't know where I put mine ((lauhgs)) 256 Fa: I was gonna offer some round ((unclear)) (..) .hh um what we're 257 offering to you as a- is a twelve and a half percent off invoice. so that 258 comes off your bottom line. .hh plus we would also do a twelve and a 259 half percent rebate cheque to you paid quaterly?, .hh so every quarter 260 we come to you with a cheque for what you've sold. it's just an 261 encouragement for you guys to push the product and sell the product. 262 .hh u:m and then and with additional two percent promotional spend

Appendices 355

263 that we will deal with you. .hh so um we're looking at twenty four and 264 a half percent in total 265 Ma: so you will come /and? (.)/ /s- so/ 266 Fa: /((unclear))/ /I'll actually/ put- I'll put it in 267 writing /here/ 268 Ma: /we/ do the orders and keep here, and then we push your 269 products, and you give us a twleve and a half percent reba:te, 270 Fa; uh hum, uh hum 271 Ma: and a twelve and a half percent on royalty is it? (.) 272 Fa: you get twelve and a half percent off: the /invoice/ 273 Ma: /the invoice/ price? 274 Fa: yep yep. that's a discount price. and then you get the twelve and a half 275 perce:nt- 276 Ma: on the volume? 277 Fa: uh hum 278 Ma: (.) and what is the volume? 279 Fa: what is the volume? 280 Ma: do you want a volume of one, or two? 281 Fa: that's up to you. (.) that's purely up to you. if you order 282 /a / carton (.) 283 Ma: /h-/ 284 Fa: a week, we:ll you're not gonna get much of a rebate cheque if 285 you hh- order (.) .hh- 286 Ma: yeah 287 Fa: ten a week, then you're looking at a better (.) a better cheque! hh- and 288 you /can-/ 289 Ma: /okay/ what are the promotional a- items that you have? 290 Fa: well for arguments sake .hh we're doing 'Fresh' branded food at the 291 moment. it's not really targeted towards anything but children. children 292 (.) purchase these products, not adults. .hh u:m and that's w- we're just 293 committing to you that we'll do promotions. we'll also do things like 294 um if we're releasing a new product?, which we are in the next few 295 weeks we'll give you some free cartons and you can give them out to 296 you:r customers over your u:m (.) in your bar if you want, you can 297 leave a few packets in your suites if you- you know in your nicer 298 suites or something- as a freebie. (.) purely up to you, you know?, 299 we're just committing to you that we'll go you know, that extra leg with 300 /promotions/ 301 Ma: /what about/ your (.) do you have any advertising materials or 302 brochures or anything? 303 Fa: .hh we do: 304 Ma: you do?, 305 Fa: continual adverstisin- you would see Latte on television all the time 306 Ma: o/kay/ 307 Fa: /it's/ a- we do brand awareness all the time. we're promoting this on 308 television at the moment ((points to a sample?)) which is just about to

Appendices 356

309 finish. .hh u:m: (.) but then Kettle- Kettle- (.) Kettle Crunch which is a 310 new product that's being promoted at the moment (.) so then you- you'd 311 get well- well and truely over about two /percent/ 312 Ma: /a:h ap/art from your 313 snack products do you also do a ya:- ya:- biscuits and everything? you 314 do all sorts of things /don't you?/ 315 Fa: /we do/ biscuits, however that is run- 316 Ma: that's a different percent isn't it? 317 Fa: y:ep (.) different company- 318 Ma: you ordered some for the function isn't it? 319 Fb: no, we not longer order them. we now have the cookies that we make 320 (.) s- 321 Ma: you better speak to them about the problems that we face 322 Fb: u:m (.) w- we've already addressed /that/ 323 Ma: /w- if/ if you want d- (.) so you 324 should get the right person, your marketing manager or somebody. talk 325 to them. how we want, you know. if Latte wants to supply for 326 functions and everything you know. what is the customer looking for 327 in a function? they don't want /some/thing 328 Fb: /we-/ 329 Ma: that is off direct, off the supermarket. you know?, when we have 330 functions here they say okay we want this cake and cookie. (.) so if we- 331 we go and buy from the shop and everything and and put it there, they 332 say we are not giving us something different you know?, they're 333 getting it of the shelf. There are companies like e::rm (...) 'Unibig' (.) 334 ubig- ubik, ubik- kadang- 335 Fb: 'Unibig' 336 Ma: 'Unibig', you know? /who/ 337 Fa: /oh/ 338 Ma: do primarily for functions and everything 339 Fa: .hh yeah /u:m/ 340 Ma: /I/ do not know whether you are doing some product 341 development to service that part of the /industry/ 342 Fa: /w::-/ well we already 343 have (.) w- we already have a line which goes along that, which is the 344 'Emp/orio' line/ 345 Fb: /'Emporio'/ yeah 346 Ma: mhm 347 Fa: .hh and you can purchase- I mean they're there (.) you purchase a 348 packet and you get nine in a packet that are individualy wrapped, 349 .hh which is (.) really what you're after at a function level. yeah, yeah? 350 individually packaged?- 351 Ma: we- we did some of them, you know?, the packet ones?, 352 Fb: yeah, ye:p. w- we used to do the Latte assorted but the customer's 353 required something that looked a bit more home made, and if you were 354 (.) to buy the Emporio brand they're more café /type biscuits/

Appendices 357

355 Fa: /they are/ 356 Fb: like Florentines- 357 Fa: yep 358 Ma: mhm 359 Fb: and um (.) but more expensive. the ones we've got at the moment (.) 360 are raw dough and we take that out and thaw it. 361 Ma: that is from the other company 363 Fb: yeah 364 Ma: we could buy it from 365 Fb: yeah- 366 Ma: /((unclear – mumbles))/ 367 Fb: /.hh (...)/ 368 yeah. and we can dress those up or down accordingly 369 Ma; mhm 370 Fb: I know what that means- 371 Fa: so wha- give me a suggestion of what sort of biscuit then a- 372 Fb: a- okay so when a customer comes in they don't want it to look like it 373 came from the supermarket, they want home made cookies. 374 Fa: o:h ha! /((laughs))/ 375 Fb: /even/ though- even though we've, we've had brands that say 376 home made chocolate chip they still look like they're bought from the 377 supermarket. 378 Ma: /so s-/ 379 Fa: /what/ about the taste? ((laughs)) hh- does that come into account? 380 ((laughs)) 381 Ma: a- nowadays people look /more for presentation/ 382 Fa: /((laughs))/ 383 hh- I know. (.) I know it's important. If they're /beautiful-/ 384 Fb: /o:h/ 385 Ma: /((unlear))/ 386 yeah most of us- most of us now in this industry try to cut cost. 387 Fa: of course. 388 Ma: a:nd (.) in- in a one kitchen situation or a two kitchen situation the 389 purpose of having a pastry chef is no more there. 390 Fa: Mhm, yeah /sure./ 391 Ma: /so/ we look for out-sourcing the supply. (.) and 392 outsourcing the supply, we look for companies that can provide- take 393 over with what we have been doing. 394 Fa: yea:h 395 Fb: /that we don-/ 396 Ma: /that can/ supply this to the customer 397 Fb: mm 398 Ma: that is the direction we are going because of the cost you know?, a- the 399 same thing with what the supermarkets are doing /((unclear))/ 400 Fa: /mhm:/ 401 Ma: with Coles and everybody. they are now outsourcing all the bakery

Appendices 358

402 section as much as possible, you know? 'Taking it Away' I think are 403 supplying some cakes to: Coles, I think when I saw that- 404 Fa: are they?! 405 Ma: T- 'Taking it Away' or the Cheesecake Shop? one of them 406 /is supplying/ 407 Fb: /one of them supplies/ the Cheesecake shop /with ((unclear))-/ 408 Fa: /oh wow./ 409 Ma: formerly I used to do (.) I used to supply them (..) e:r when I used to 410 make cakes, they would buy them and keep it b- but at the same time 411 they were having this- this problem of, you know, in each shopping 412 centre where they have a supermarket having a (.) a:: pastry chef (.) a 413 team of them doing bread and this and that. now they get the bread 414 from, you know?, 415 Fa: ye:a:h 416 Ma: Tip Top and these e:r few places and the cakes from, you know, a few 417 other guys. .hh e:r so similarly we in the hotel industry are also (.) 418 going /(..)/ that direction. 419 Fa: /mhm:/ 420 Ma: and you people have the expertise, so we are just asking whether you 421 /make/ this product and make it easier for us 422 Fa: /yeah/ 423 Fb: I do know exactly the range you've got. I do know what you're talking 424 about /and/ they are really nice 425 Fa: /mhm/ 426 Ma: mhm 427 Fa: I- I jus- I just don't think- I mean, for me I can't think of any other 428 product that would (.) fit in to that marker apart from .hh the 429 proportion packs which are called, which are m- you know?, the one's 430 you get in hospital, you know?, 431 Fb: no they don't, /yeah/ 432 Fa: /which/ aren't (.) I mean that's not very 433 /((unclear))/ 434 Ma: /yeah/ 435 Fb: /and the/ ((unclear)). I'm just not sure whether anyone would buy them, 436 like let's take a few in but they might not /go ((unclear))-/ 437 Fa: /we've also/ got the 438 'Melting Moments' (.) um the 'Emporio Melting Moments' an- ah- I 439 mean they, they're (.) .hh shortbread, and I mean they're .hh they- 440 they're still in the café line but they're .hh (..) 441 Fb: yeah they're- 442 Ma: didn't we get some in? 443 Fb: I can't, u:hm (.) 444 Ma: j- you know if you can talk to your /((unclear))/ 445 Fa: /yeah/ 446 I'll have a look an- 447 Ma: and also if you can go through your prices and everything-

Appendices 359

448 Fa: /yeah/ 449 Ma: /and/ then I can then go through and see how we can e:r put in. at the 450 moment we get some of this stuff in- in the bar, you know?, 451 Mb: yeah 452 Ma: in the bar we have (.) I don't know /w- so/ 453 Fb: /I think/ that would go really 454 well. I think some of these 'Kettle' chips would go well and I think- 455 Ma: Is your price as good as what we are getting from 'Jacks'? 456 Fa: do you know what you're getting at the moment? 457 /I'd be pretty sure that what you'd be getting/ 458 Ma: /no no. my compny partner says ((unclear))/ 459 Fa: is twenty three percent as the total. 460 Ma: you should know better at what price they are selling to us (...) 461 Fa: I don- I wouldn't know their dif- their (.) thei:r wholesale wise?, we're 462 competitive, we're a comparison. 463 Ma: oh /really/ 464 Fa: /comparatively/. however discount, I would pretty much be 465 /dead set that we would/ 466 Ma: /oh no I don't think that-/ 467 Fa: be giving you a better discount 468 Ma: yeah. oh of course. from what you are saying- 469 Fa: twelve and a half percent reba:te?, is (.) .hh very attractive,there's- you 470 know?, that's quite- 471 Ma: it's attractive. I am quite sure I am er willing to look at it very keenly 472 Fa: yeah 473 Ma: ((laughs)) 474 Fa: .hh and we'll set you up in a /((unclear))/ 475 Ma: /once again/ I just want to ask my 476 accountant if he'll open a cheque. probably you want a credit 477 application form?, /because ((unclear))/ 478 Fa: /I've actually got/ a credit application form, I'm 479 very organised! 480 Ma: you are the man, is it?! 481 Fa: ((laughs)) no: (.) hh- g- y- you're the man are you?! (.) who looks after 482 that /((laughs))/ 483 Mb: /((laughs))/ 484 Ma: /((laughs))/ 485 Fa: .hh u:m (.) so yeah that- that's the wholesale. um we have a 486 cash plan service um .hh with regards to delivery that .hh you would 487 fax or phone through your order, .hh or we could phone you, 488 whatever's easier. generally it- it's easier if- for you to- if your doing 489 your ordering and so forth. .hh and then we'll um you know, work out 490 a delivery day and we'll come and see you (.) however- 491 Ma: okay (.) good. 492 Fa: when it's required. .hh u:m that won't have any relevance to your 493 discount. I'll put this in writing in a proposal format and send it to you:.

Appendices 360

494 (..) do you have an email address I can send it to? 495 Ma: e:r he has got one, /I have got one./ 496 Mb: /I've got one/ 497 Ma: you can send it to Rodney for me. 498 Mb: yeah 499 Fa: send it to you? 500 Mb: yeah, that's would be fine. 501 Fa: yep? okay. I'll send that off to you straight away with the:- these 502 accounts. (..) h- um how often have you been operational, how often 503 have you been open? oh- how long have you been open I should say? 504 Ma: e:rm about (.) thr- completing three years in this October. (..) on our 505 own. but it's actually been open er for four years. 506 Fa: oh right. u:hm (.) and are- are you mostly corporate? 507 Ma: e:rm we got a: split, here I mean, it's not only corporate here but we 508 have about twenty 509 Fa: uh hum 510 Ma: corporate. corporate would be abo- about twenty five percent 511 Fa: ah ha. that's a lot. 512 Ma: about twenty five percent corporate. 513 Fa: mhm 514 Ma: and then we have (...) internet booking about 515 Fa: yeah? 516 Ma: er ab- about twnety percent, you know?, 517 Fa: and you're part of the um Australian Hotels Association? 518 Ma: yeah AHA 519 Fa: yeah, yep. (.) Paul though actually (.) put me on to /you/ 520 Ma: /I/ see, yeah 521 Fa: yeah, we um. I have a (.) fairly good relationship with him, he's lovely! 522 hh- 523 Ma: oh I see. 524 Fa: there's a Canadian in my family, a Canadian. so we hh- ((laughs)) 525 Ma: hh- so you (..) 526 Fa: I'm a fellow, a fellow friend! (.) I'm not Canadian, although I may 527 sound a little bit um- 528 Ma: you- you seem more like a New Zealand accent /though!/ 529 Fa: /aft-/ do I? hh- 530 Ma: ((laughs)) 531 Fa: look, a- I've been told I'm Indian, I've been told I'm New Zealand! 532 /((laughs))/ 533 Ma: /((laughs))/ 534 Fa: hh- I've been told a lot! 535 Fb: I fail to see where the Indian bit came from. 536 Fa: .hh someone said ' Northern Italy', I've also been told that. (.) I know, I 537 don't know about the Indian too /actually/ 538 Fb: /erhum/ 539 Fa: I stopped and thought (.) 'I've been sunbaking too much, I think'.

Appendices 361

540 ((laughs)) hh- it must have been in Summer! .hh 541 Ma: maybe having a mixed lot of friends ((laughs)) 542 Fa: hh- yea:h. (.) okay /then/ 543 Ma: /okay/ it was nice of you to call /on us/ 544 Fa: /thank you/ 545 for you time! 546 Ma: and er (.) hopefully we will do something- 547 Fa: as I said, I will send that proposal through to you (.) pronto?, .hh (.) 548 that's also is a list of all the products we sell. nuts as well?, we haven't 549 really touched on nuts. .hh we do the 'Planters' range, which are honey, 550 and dry roasted, salted, cashews, and peanuts. 551 Ma: w- would while you are also on you way ou:t, ((addressing Fb)) 552 you can take her aswell and show her ou:r er- 553 Fa: I did have a look on the way /in/ 554 Ma: /we/ have got some mints and nuts, some 555 /nuts and some this and that/ 556 Fa: /I couldnt- I couldnt-/ 557 Ma: I don't know if they're still there 558 Fa: didn't see them. I did have a look, and tried. but I couldn't /see any./ 559 Ma: /that gives/ 560 a good excuse to talk about it you know hh- (.) er my F and B manager 561 has been sick for the last one e:r one month or so and that's why I got 562 Diane to come in here /and/ 563 Fa: /and-/ 564 Ma: to look at the things in here so that she can refer when she comes back. 565 Fb: yeah I like the look of the Kettles in there for the crisps, 566 Fa: yea:h 567 Fb: I'll take them, where are they? 568 Fb & Fa: ((looking through the samples)) 569 Fa: there you go (.....) These are yours. I'll leave that with you. (.....) um (.) 570 so will er send that- 571 Ma: we could put the vending machine he:re. 572 Fa: pardon me? (.) .hh yeah. there's a beaut place for a vending machine 573 there. if you decide that you want me to get you in contact with our 574 vending- 575 Ma: no I'm just going with the idea /(.) because e:r/ 576 Fa: /yeah, that's/ fine 577 Ma: it's better for me to get something out (.) rather than not getting 578 anything. 579 Fa: m hum 580 Ma: e:r (..) that's why I'm just trying to look at things (..) 581 Fa: yeah 582 Ma: yeah, we could put a vending machine corner somewhere, you know?, 583 Fa: yeah 584 Ma: ((laughs)) 585 Fa: well there are times of the day when people want to eat, and they're

Appendices 362

586 really odd hours, and there's no-one here. so: (.) do you have someone 587 on. wh- what time do (..) yo- your (.) room service close? 588 Fb: midnight. 589 Ma: eleven. 590 Fb: in there, the restaurant itself closes at /eleven/ 591 Ma: /but if/ they need some service 592 my ((vice – unclear)) will do it er twenty four hours. but e:r we ha- 593 have the time off at eleven o' clock. 594 Fa: yeah. I er- , if you're only talking about a couple of (.) clientele, you 595 could even leave a couple of packets at reception?, 596 Ma: ye- yeah we have 597 Fa: yeah? /you do?/ 598 Ma: /we/have some of the- we have some of the staff that er we do 599 the room service in the front office. 600 Fa: yeah 601 Ma: and send it all- 602 Fa: and thinks that- what, yeah it's just a bit off. I mean if- if someone has- 603 Fb: can we have a packet of potato chips? desparate for (.) hh- a packet of 604 chi:ps hh- 605 Fa: ((laughs)) (.) .hh look, you know, when they need a fix, well I guess 606 they need a fix. ((laughs))

Appendix 9

Meeting 4

M - Malaysian male Hotel Owner A1 - Australian male IT specialist A2 - Australian male Web site designer A3 - Australian male Hotel employee

(has an accent, so he's possibly of Malaysian descent?)

Meeting Hotel 2: IT

Appendices 363

1. M: Okay. What- (.) Basically (.) I need at the moment is to: (..) people to 2.

avail our facilities that we have in this hotel, uh?, So our functions, 3. our

weddings and er (.) and er, our restau/rant. (.)/

4. A1: /the restaurant./ 5. M: As far as the- the room service and the ↑availabilities, there are a 6.

number of aspects available at the moment which have dictated 7. .hh er the booking of rooms, you know? (.) and I think, we: are .hh 8. reasonably well exposed to that, you /know?,/

9. A1: /Mhm./ 10. M: Looking at er bookings at the weekend .hh and the number of er direct 11.

er facilities that are available for you know, people with a direct 12. booking. Er we've been working, you know /((unclear: tape))/

14. A1: /Yea:s./ 15. M: ((unclear)) check it now, basically go and clean it now .hh er (.) and 16.

then the airlines have come ↑in. And we have exposed ourselves to 17. that. .hh er but (.) at the moment what we are trying to look at is: er for 18. functions, ↑weddings, and the /position/

19. A1: /((cough))/ 20. M: o:f the restaurant as well ((unclear: tape)) 21. A1: Yep. (.) yep, (..) .hh so really we've got the- the functions, (..) 22. u:rm, the actual hotel?, (..) e:r 23. M: Weddings? 24. A1: (.) Yeah, /weddings./ 25. M: /weddings./ 26. A1: (...) .hh So wi- with optimization what we actually do is .hh um 27. we work with the:, with the code?, that is behind your web

28. /site?,/ 29. M: /Mhm hum./ 30. A1: So: um when you actually look at a browser?, the browser is 31. actually giving you representation of the actual code of the web 32. /site?,/ 33. M: /Mhm./ 34. A1: A:nd so it's behind the scenes that the optimization really 35. works?, .hh u:m. there is generally some e:r er (..) the- there is some 36. indication on the website that optimization has- has er ↑occurred. 37. /Be/cause 38. M: /Mhm./ 39. A1: there are some, generally some small changes that you can see. 40. but the- but the majority of the (.)↑optimization. actually occurs within 41. the code of the web site?, (.) .hh so once we actually erm manipulate that 42. code we- by looking at the key words, by adjusting the key words which 43. you erm, wh- which we basically come to an agreeance on. .hh It's a 44. matter of then actually getting that erm ((click)) getting your website to 45. be registered on those search engines. Erm, I mean, the: (.) client that 46. you're really looking for is it more er people sort of based in Perth? Or is

Appendices 364

47. it /over/seas? 48. M: /No./ 49. A1: Or? No. 50. M: No. See- see (.) we divide the functions: into two separate categories. 51. One. The functions that er we normally: (.) we define are (.) we define 52. it as: that when the functions we we are talking about Perth-based 53. companies, or .hh it will be different ((unclear: tape)) Paramatta or Perth?, 54. you know? 55. A1: Ye:s. 56. M: You know? ((sniffs)) After about thirty kilometers, a hundred 57. kilometeres .hh (.) And then we look at manufacturers, businesses, erm 58. (..) of various er denominations a- and the number of staff involved .hh. 59. Our target range is between er thirty to: three hundred people, which we 60. can afford- er accommodate. .hh (...) 61. A1: .hh so really, the clientele you're chasing is for the functions, 62. it's the- 63. M: Yes. 64. A1: it's the local?, 65. M: Okay. Local. 66. A1: Yep. 67. M: Category one. And then we have another: set of er functions that you 68. can- I mean, it doesn't fall under the: (.) definition of functions where it 69. is relating to conferences or something .hh or like some will be seminars 70. or organisations- er organisers (.) who are based er in Melbourne, 71. Sydney and er Brisbane, you know? 72. A1: Yeah. 73. M: Er they come over to Perth er (.) one a- once a quarter or something, 74. isn't /it?/ 75. A1: /Yeah./ 76. M: Ha- have a three day seminar or talk show or something and then

77. /go/ 78. A1: /yeah./ 79. M: back. ((sniffs)) So it is those types of people (.) er depending on how 80. many of them, depending on-, well when they talk about ↑ money, 81. you're 82. whole function is full, right? 84. A1: hh- /yeah./ 85. M: /But/ when they talk about lifestyle they are also full, you 86. know? 87. A1: Yeah. 88. M: But when they talk about a product or something then we- we don't get 89. (.) that (.) big number, you know? 90. A1: /Mhm./ 91. M: /Er./ (.) People when they start talking about money and lifestyle, er we 92. don't have the capacity anyway. (.) Three hundred. .hh They're booked 93. usually more than four hundred people for that type of function. (.)

Appendices 365

94. A1: Mhm. 95. M: So I don't want to:, you know, to expose there, to that type, that we 96. don't have the capacity /((unclear))/ 97. A1: /Put/ yourself under pressure, 98. /yeah./ 100. M: /Yep./ And 101. most of those ones that are attended, they are 101. always over booked for that. We:- (.) one media that I am very very 102. concerned is-, where we can tackle is, businesses, the manufacturers, 103. who are in Melbourne or Sydney. You know? There- that is there home 104. base, whereas here we have the distributors in Western Australia. 105. Annualy, they want to come and meet the /(.)/ 106. A1: /Yep./ 107. M: distributors or /(.)/ 108. A1: /Yeah./ 109. M: agents here?, And also to show the line of products they have. 110. They don't need a very big venue, you know? All they need is to meet 111. in a small venue, expose their new range of products, run er: a 112. marketing plan or something, or work with the new media, give the 113. plan 114. a ((unclear)), stay here, you know? Accommodate them, take them out 115. here. Most of the time I- I am quite keen ((unclear: tape.)) (...) 116. A1: So this is really sort of product and industry?, 117. M: Yes. 118. A1: Er- 119. M: It's more really industries which /is er- / 120. A1: /Gatherings?,/ 121.M: gatherings, you know? 122. A1: Yep. (..) Okay. .hh Wi- with um (.) wi- with these areas that 123. we've identified?, look um it is possible with search engine optimization 124. to actually attract that clientele. 125. M: Mhm. 126. A1: U:m. It is just a matter of working as I said with your web site?, 127. and um .hh getting those- getting those key words decided on. /u:m/ 128. M: /Mhm 129. hum./ 130. A1: so it's a matter of- ((coughs)) it's a matter of er doing some 131. research on the internet to- to sort of see exactly which key words we're 132. going to go for. Um I generally suggest that we work with five pages?, 133. Um on the web site?, And with those five pages we obviously choose 134. different key words fo- for each page. Um and then obviously work that 135. through. .hh and I think working with Gary we can actually make that 136. web site um definitely attract that clientele er to your business. 137. M: How do you know if we have five pages? I don't know if we 138. have how many subjects. 139. A2: Yeah but wha- what he's saying there is, urm say the actual

Appendices 366

140. functions page?, that would be a dedicated erm promoted page. 141. A1: Correct. 142. A2: Probably with this design. 143. M: Oh okay. 144. A2: So that'll target it straight to that. 145. M: Okay, yeah. 146. A2: That- that's the sort of thing he's saying. 147.M: Mhm. 148. A1: And- and then basically from the:- from your main- from your 149. main page like the index page?, 150. M: Mhm hum. 151. A1: er the home page?, er from that we can- we can make some 152. more generic erm sort of searches available?, erm on that?, And then as- 153. as Gary just said like the functions page, we can make that more specific. 154. And that's where it's really important to erm. to have a look at the body 155. copy that- that's written on the web site?, 156. M: Can you go print er before ((unclear)) print our web site, print 157. each of the pages? A3: Okay sure. M: Have it printed (.) and then bring it here? A3: Yeah. A1: Coz um- M: You come back after and we can decide at the meeting. (..) A1: Coz it- the body copy, like what's written on the actual web site is extremely

important?, when it comes to- to the optimization. Um whe- when we're looking at the optimization I like to find what I call primary and secondary key words?,

M: Mhm. A1: Erm the primary key words are the ones we are really, really pushing for that

particular page. .hh um the secondary ones are- are merely back-up in a sense. They sit behind the page and they do actually have some weight and some bearing, .hh but it's really the primary sort of key words?, and it those primary key words that we have to: lace through the actual body copy of- of the web site.

M: /Okay./ A1: /U:m./ A:nd (.) really I mean, making that sort of- ma- making that work and

getting people to er to- to have a look at the site. A2: S- so some of the body copy may have to be reworded? A1: Yeap. M: Yeah it will. This is why I wanted him to /(.)/ A2: /Yeah./ M: er bring /here some-/ A2: /Yeah. Yep./ (.) A1: So do you u:m (.) wha- obviously the functions is one, the accommodation i- is

another side /um-/ A2: /The-/ there is a particular wedding page

/in/ A3: /Yeah./

Appendices 367

A2: amongst- well it's a sub page of the functions. A3: Yeah. I've seen that but I think that one needs a bit of a changing coz that looks

exactly like the functions page. A2: Right. A3: Yeah. Maybe we have to put in some wedding pictures in to that page. M: /Er:-/ A2: /And/ make it much more dedicated /to/ A3: /Yes./ A2: the weddings. A3: That's it. Ye:s. Very nice /((unclear))/ M: /W- weddings/ is actually er an industry by itself,

you know? A1: Mhm. M: Where you have about fifteen thousand weddings in WA every year. /And even-

(.) / A2: /I would've thought-/ M: even if you can get there's no point you know- you know hh- fighting /((unclear))/ A2: /I was gonna/ say, yea:h. M: It's not really worth putting the effort there. So: (.) that's one area that erm people-

I mean, at least we are targeted ((unclear: tape)) We need at least the rest of the year to target. (.) If we do it now it will probably

take six months before, you know we start seeing people come in. A2: For the flow to /start-/ M: /For/ the flow to come in /too./ A2: /Yeah./ M: So I think if we can target at least two months, you know, because er: the

financial year. (..) Then it would be a good effort. In that one year there alone, you know.

A2: Yeah. M: So. Er when we eventually come up on the bridal sites, the bridal and er I think

my: (.) 'My Wedding' /(.) and a couple of-/ A2: /And those types of sites, yeah./ M: There's a couple of sites there, eh? A2: Yeah. M: And then (.) there are people who con- conduct weddings, you know? I think they

are actually there are functio:n centres and (.) because they find it ↑ viable, they can cover them, they are not ringing to other st- hoteliers ((unclear: tape)) .hh er which is okay for Perth. They are charging a fee which we are not ((unclear: tape)). I need to contact you all /to/

A2: /Yes./ M: see whether- how best we can expose ourselves, you know? A2: Excellent. A1: Um just expanding on that, one other area that's extremely important to: search

engine optimization is er links that- that you actually have?, M: Yeah.

Appendices 368

A1: So I mean, wha- what actually counts very much- e:r very highly for search engine optimization are the web sites that are actually linking to you. D- do you have any sort of er association with some wedding (.) groups that we can maybe /((unclear))/

M: /Yeah. 'Bridal/ Creation' is one of them. A1: Mhm hum. M: And we have one that e:r the: car rental companies that are a big part of it. Then

er we have some florists, you know? A few. (.) E:r apart from that e::r we don't really have anybody else, you /know?/

A1: /Okay./ Yeah. Coz really building that- building that base of external links to your site is extremely important?, U:m and- /(.)/

M: /Yeah./ A1: basically the more links we can build erm that come to your ↑ site, the (.) the

more successful it's gonna make the- the optimization. M: Yep. Let me see. How many are we putting Gary? (.) In our links? A2: They were all mainly e:r- M: At the moment we have all of the WA Touring stuff /and-/ A2: /Yeah./ Yeah. There's- there's

about eight of those but they're not- they're not targeted wedding ones. E:rm. M: We can- A1: And also we- we need other people's web sites linking to you. A2: Yes I know, /yeah./ A1: /Yeah./ A2: But that- that- that can be organised. (.) M: Other people's li- web sites linking to our web /site?/ A2: /Yes./ Correct. So- so say

you're linking to the Tourism, if you had a link on the Tourism back to you, that's even more powerful.

A1: That's- M: Some of them already have the links back to our site. A2: Right, yeah. (.) So the more of those we can have that actually come back to ↑us, M: Some of the internet e:r (..) booking facilities /(.)/ A2: /What-/

what about /Tourist Coaches though?/ M: /they link back- they- they/ link back to us. You see what is happening is: (.) the question of user friendliness comes up nowadays, you know? .hh do we have a quick ((unclear)) do we have a 'last minute dot com', and then we have working field, we have check in, and then where to go, (.) a:- a whole range of them. But the most er user friendly one is apparently 'what if' ((?)), you know? You- you want to book a ticket (.) with an airline so you book it, and then you go to 'what if' to book .hh straight away say- say in Perth you get a whole list of all the hotels, you know five star, four /star,/ A2: /Right./ M: the whole lot there. And you just go I think, you just go up and down and see which one gives you the best-

Appendices 369

A2: Deal, /yeah./ M: /deal./ And then you click on it and next minute, you know, you can start doing your booking. A1: Mhm. M: And within a few minutes you are out of it /already./ A2: /Are/ you linked

on those? M: Yes, yes. A2: Oh /good./ A1: /Excellent./ M: Er (.) we do reasonably well there. Erm but we- we I wanted to have it- er (.) the freedom of changing it on our version of the account. You know, what additional facilities we can /offer./ A2: /Yes./ Yea:s.

M: .hh O- on the web- .hh on those types of ones we can change (.) depending on how many times you want to change your day, you know?

A1: Hh- okay. M: Er so 'What If' ((unclear)) and a few of them. A2: Yeah, okay. M: So:. Because er w- working with the most virtual user friendly most people do the bookingthrough there. /.hh/ A1: /Yes./ M: E:r if you go through (.) 'last minute dot com', you know? It's really hard, you know, for a customer. They ask you all kind of questions before they allow you to get into the site, you know? A2: Yea:s. M: Er they see- they should allow you to see the site before you do the booking, so you leave the customer, you /know, a bit/ A2: /to choose./ M: of freedom of choice, you /know?/ A2: /Yeah./ /Yeah./ A1: /Mhm./ Mhm. (..) .hh And um florists and things like that. Do they- are they linking to your site at all?

M: Erm (.) We haven't actually- actually er started doing all the linking /up./

A1: /Yeah./ M: After you do it and when we- A2: /Yeah./

M: /I'll/ tell you one or two. /E:r./ A: /Yeah./ M: Then we had a change of staff in our functions and so on. Coming and

going ((unclear)). And er Alan was here before, you know? A2: Oh yes, /yep./ M: /So/ (.) probably you will have to sit with them, you

know? A1: Yeah.

Appendices 370

M: See who are the people who will participate in ou:r (.) functions and weddings, you /know?/

A1: /Yeah./ M: Er (.) the people who rent the stages, the microphones, ((unclear:

tape)), those people .hh er where you can er do ↑ bridal gowns. Er there will be one or two people who do that. .hh And then we've got florists, er (.) our preferred one and others, you know, we can choose.

/.hh E:r/ A2: /Yeah./ Oh that's good. M: /And/ A1: /Mhm./ M: limousine, we have a few limousine companies here. A1: Excellent. M: Then er (.) other than that?, I do not know. hh- what else do we need

/((laughs))/ A1: /((laughs))/ A2: /((laughs))/ A1: U:m the- the other thing that can work extremely er extremely well is

actually Yellow Pages?, M: Yes. A1: Erm. So coz they /actually-/ M: /We have a-/ er yes, we have a- an internet

Yellow Pages entry. A1: Excellent. A2: Right, /yes./ A1: /Is/ that- is that in the weddings section? Or /is it?/ M: /E:rm/ we are- .hh

(.) let me see, I think we are exposed in a couple of thei:r, you /know? (.)/

A1: /Okay./ M: Weddings, functions, (.) weddings, functions, and accommodation. A2: Maybe we could ((unclear)). A1: Mhm, mhm. Definitely. ((click)) but um you- you can actually do a

search on Google aswell anyway to find /(.)/ A2: /Yeas./ A1: exactly /which-/ M: /Mhm./ A1: which web site it's linking to. M: The other features they've taken over er what is that, (.) er city- city? A1: Oh City Search. M: City Search. You know they've taken it over already? A1: Mhm. M: So (.) er (.) we need- er last year we started to do the Yellow Pages

er internet one. A1: Mhm. (.) How did you find that? M: I do not know because we do not- haven't done any /real e:r/

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A1: /((laughs))/ M: market surve:y. How people er, you know? ((unclear: mumbles)) A2: Yeah. M: Er but according to each- each section says a different story. You talk

to the guys in the internet and they will say that the internet is er the one ideal globe, and you know? And less and less people are going to look in the Yellow Pages. .hh but I mean if you talk to the guy ((laughs)) who does hh- the Yellow Pages, right? ((laughs)) /He/

A2: /We-/ M: tells you a different story! A2: well I'll tell you something though, regardless of what you decide to do

with the make up of the site, I think you should put (.) web statistics into the site because /that's/

A1: /Mhm./ A2: gonna give you s- a good reporting as to who's actually steering that

traffic to you. .hh erm. A1: Mhm. A2: /Right?/ M: /But/ you said we can go in the:- (.) find the statisitcs one f- in our site

a little bit more? A2: (..) No. Because it- it's on er M: Oh do you need to go to a different /site?/ A2: /You're-/ you're with WestNet. M: Yeah. A2: But I can actually place code into your site that will report back, and

we can give you a monthly ↑ report, on who goes there, what pages they visit in your site, where they've come from, what the key words they've searched to find you, a who:le host of things.

M: Yeah, you can put all of those things down there but you /also can put/

A2: /((unclear))/ M: a:- you know? This site will be designed by you guys, you know? A1: Mhm. M: I don't mind, you know? The- the more you expose, I mean, get me

exposed we are exposing you at the same time. A2: Sure, yep. A1: Yeah. M: So er (.) A2: But I- I think we should look at that. Because that- that's gonna give

you a good guide of- you know where you're spending some money to have certain links out there, you've got a real report of what's coming from those particular sites you're advertising /from./

M: /Mhm./ Okay. A1: It's very important. M: /Yeah. / A2: /It is./

Appendices 372

M: I mean, /I don't really know about those types of things,/ A1: /Particularly when you start doing optimization./ M: you know? A1: Yeah. Yep. .hh So (.) just u:m we- one thing that- that's very important

to get s- get an idea of is erm. .hh How happy are you with the actual look and the make up of the site at the moment? E:rm.

M: It- for me it- I look at it from a particular point of view and- and I may be totally wrong in fact if we are assuming things, you know?

A1: Yep. M: .hh Ah yes but (.) er some of my staff view it that we are pre:tty

ordinary in that- A2: ((unclear)) M: And but (.) what I was thinking was (.) ((sniffs)) looking at the

customer point of view. A1: Yeah. M: How fast can they acce- access our site. And what it is the specials that

we are giving that somebody else is not offering. That some concept- the concept that I am looking at, you know?

A1: Yes. M: Er I do not know whether customers are, you know? (.) Very er very

fond of looking at the graf- graphics part of it, you know? How attractive it is. And in the end that if we don't sell- try and sell them what we want to sell. .hh we just come and have a nice look and a, you know, tour around here and there you go. So- so it depends on how people want to look. I mean if they are coming to the hotel. (.) It's like, I mean there's nothing attractive in hotels so unless you want stay in a hotel or /you/

A1: /Mhm./ M: want to have a- er a dinner, or a function, you know? A1: /Mhm./ M: /.hh/ We might have something that attracts them the:re (.) and sell it

from that point of view, you know? A1: Yeah. M: That's what I'm trying to:: /look at./ A2: /.hh: yep./ My- my biggest concern

though is (.) for you to invest in optimiziation, we get the people there, and yet we still don't hook the actual visit and make it into a booking.

M: We ↑ have, (..) you know with all there is, our indulgence package, ou:r /his and her's package,/

A1: /Do you get the results?/ M: Yeah- yeah, we get bookings there from there. That is er one of the few

sites that we have (.) that specials on, you know? We do get- A1: Just um, the- the reason I asked that question is .hh simply erm, for

instance, let's say we go for the word 'weddings', just f- for argument's sake. Erm and we-

M: Do you know how difficult it is if we ask ((unclear: a name)) to come? A3: Oh she's busy.

Appendices 373

M: Busy, huh? Okay. A1: And say if we get up onto the erm, in- into say the number three

position on the- on the search engine for that word a:nd we also have, let's say erm Burswood just sitting right above you, you've gotta think from a client's point of view?, If they actually go click on the Burswood site, they have a look, they then come back to the results, they then have a look at Acacia hotel, a:nd have a look at your website, you've gotta be able to:- Like it depends obviously on your target market on who- who you're really trying to hook /there./

M: /Okay./ A1: But /you've got to-/ M: /I understand the point/ you are trying to make there. I have

also looked at something else too at the same time. The wedding season takes place only between er (.) from Spring right up to er somewhere in erm (..) .hh after December, you know? January, February, March, it's pretty quiet as far as weddings is concerned. .hh and in nine months if you are taking e:r ten thousand weddings (.) How many weddings sites er available? And most people want to have their wedding on a Friday night, Saturday night, Sunday night. .hh so you know?, we only have three nights when people want to have their wedding, you know? So /I mean-/

A2: /So you're/ saying there's overflow there? M: Oh there is overflow. Definitely there is overflow. A2: Right. M: However technically we are looking at- at er a (.). The other part is (.) I suppose we can go from anything from probably thirty people .hh ((laughs)) for a wedding /but/ A1: /Yes./ M: I have heard up to a thousand people, you know? A1: Of course. M: Yeah. But we can't. No we can only go from say about a /hundred-/ A1: /From/

/thirty to three hundred./ A3: /Closer to two hundred./ M: Oh. We can go up from thirty to three hundred, you know? Er but no-but that is

for functions. For weddings we can go thirty to:- thirty to two hundred, you know?

A1: /Yeah./ M: /That's/ sitting and with a dance floor. A1: Oh okay. M: That is the market that we are looking at. A2: Right. M: And also /the-/ A1: /Are-/ M: Yeah? (.) The types of cuisines that we can offer (.) also is a- is something that er

(.) customers have to look at, you know? Er but we can offer a wi:de range. A1: Mhm. M: We can offer from, you know, European to exotic Asian meals.

Appendices 374

A1: Right. M: Well, we are on that link because er we are limited by the number of expertise as

cooks are concerned. .hh So. We can offer European?, and then we can go a: European Asian mix, or a typical Asian that is er more confined to Indian, you know? But if there's a Chinese wedding coming up then we can, you know, we can bring in Chinese cooks and then do it. E:r but (.) totally different from Burswood, you know? /So: e:r/

A1: /Yeas./ M: That's why /we have to be a bit careful-/ A2: /So- so that does concern you?/ M: We have /to/ A2: /Right./ M: be a bit careful on that, you know, that we can't say we can do (.)

/everything/ A1: /Of course/ M: and then end up hh- not being able to satisfy the customer! You

/know?/ A1: /Yeah./ Yeap. .hh Well that- er, I mean, what's encouraging to me is

that you're very (.) presise on your target /market./ M: /(.) Mhm./ Mhm. A1: You actually know exactly who you're targeting?, and when that comes

down to actually looking at the optimization and looking at the way .hh that the web site is constructed, /and/

M: /Mhm./ A1: the /graphic/ M: /Mhm./ A1: design of that. .hh u:m that's extremely important to /be/ M: /Mhm./ A1: able to identify so u:m so there's definitely some good results that

/can/ M: /Mhm./ A1: be had from- from doing both the search engine /optimization and/ M: /From doing that./ A1: the u:m and the touch up stuff on the web ↑ site. M: Ah. So you probably can (.) wri:te with erm Ian?, and (.) we got a

Belinda, another girl you know, who (.) who's an assistant e:rm. (.) They are pretty fresh. And one, he's just fresh out of college, and she is also fresh out of /school./

A1: /Fresh/ ideas! M: Fresh ideas! A1: Yeah hh- ((laughs)) M: Especially in a new age so they are thinking a bit differently, you see.

A:nd probably they can, you know?, er give you a how it ((unclear)) you know, what they want for weddings, you know? .hh A:nd give you the information. And

Appendices 375

also functions. er .hh He will tell you about all the people whom they deal with, you know? They can help

/((unclear: mumbles))/. A1: /Yep./ M: But he's got a lot of ideas in how to link and /(.)/ A1: /Okay./ M: cross /linking./ A2: /External-/ external links to come back and

/that type of thing./ M: /Yeah sure. (.)/ Cross linking. Because if we put

yours here and you can put ours /there./ A3: /Oh/ okay yeah, I get /it./ A2: /It's/ all

part of the popularity linking. A1: Yeah um the- the more of that you can build er, as I was explaining

before, the more of that you can actually build it, it really does help the /optimization./

A3: /Yeah./ M: Even Patterson's Hire from which I hire the crockery /and/ A2: /Yeah./ M: all the things. .hh A1: Yeah, get a link on there, /that would be great. That would/ A3: /I can get on the phone to them./ A1: be /fantasic./ M: /We have/ a few hire companies that you could ring. A3: Okay. A1: (..) Ah the- the more- the more relevant those web sites linking to you

are, in- in contrast to you keywords, the better it is /for/ A3: /Yeah./ A1: you. (.) Yep. M: (..) This one. You want to put some changes here, is it? ((referring to

print out of web page)) (.) Probably I was feeling this- this one is a bit to bi:g. E:r (.) these packages are quite, you know when we put the special packages on, there were quite a few bookings there.

A2: Oh okay. Okay. I- /I just erm had some thoughts here-/ M: /Wha- wha- what I was thinking-/ A2: I er- R- Raiko ((?)) really threw a lot of negativity- M: Mhm.- A2: about the overall look of that e:rm and what she thought. She didn't

hold back on /that./ A1: /((laughs))/ M; Yeah I /think-/ A2: /And/ look that's fine. I really- M: Er- A2: In actual fact I /agree/ M: /Is it-/

Appendices 376

A2: with her. M: Is it- what- we can have a look at this one again an- and see. (.) Okay,

you come to Acacia Hotel, you know, for the first hundred visits ((unclear: mumbles)). Okay now, special offers where we can highlight it. You know, and they click on that and you go through all the special /offers/.

A2: /And/ all of them indicated er- M: You can have a page dedicated for that special /offer./ A2: /Sure./ But a lot of

people who were around that table that day indicated that they wanted to see (.) a bit of Flash, a bit of interactivity, a bit of motion on the page, that type of thing, you know? A- and that's what led me to start looking at the overall (.) ↑ image, erm the who deal, you know? I- it's really- Look. At the end of the day, you're the one that's gotta be happy with it.

A3: Er is Flash er recommended? I mean some- some computers if you're using dial-up Flash, you can't-

A2: We- well the secret with utilizing the Flash is really just using it (.) in small bits /so it/

A3: /Oh I see./ A2: doesn't slow- slow the page /down?,/ A3: /Yeap./ A2: And it also doesn't interfere with any of the optimization side

/of things./ A3: /Okay. Alright./ A2: Yeah but it- but in small doses it can actually enhance the page and it

er- M: You can have a special page or something- A1: Although there- there's some web sites which are actually purely Flash.

Like the whole web site's Flash?, An- and although that might look good if you've got like full on Broadband /hook-up/

A2: /Yeah./ A1: and everything. A2: /Exactly./ A3: /((laughs))/ A1: Y- y- you know?, those web sites do work fantasically, um they work

very poorly on optimization. A2: Yeah. A1: But as Gary said like if you have just s- small little chunks of ↑ Flash.

That combined with the standard sort of body copy and the standard /coding/

M: /Mhm./ A1: of the web site just /helps/ M: /Mhm./ A1: to the Nth degree. /Because/ M: /Mhm hum./ A1: u:m as I was saying, we- with optimization we can get people to the

site, but you've gotta get them interacting with you. /You've gotta/

Appendices 377

M: /Mhm. Okay./ A1: get them giving you're- giving their details to you. .hh um and that's

where, .hh you know?, whatever you do with Flash can actually encourage that? And U:m-

M: You- you see what we are trying- what I am trying to do is:. We only are a ninety-four room hotel, you know?

A1: Mhm.

M: Er we have to optimize as much as possible /e:r/ A1: /Yes./ M: with our advertising costs, you know?, For a room if we:- (.) if we- if

we: (.) cost it out then it becomes a very expensive expense. .hh So we have to get back er what we spend on our adverstising, you know?

A1: Of course.- M: If people like- like a guy in Perth, say, comes Thursday and he- he and

his wife wants (.) to have a date out or something. .hh They want to find out er, you know?, what's exciting in the hotel industry (.) and somebody say, okay why don't you go to the Acacia site and have a look at it, you know? .hh And say okay this week in specials we have indulgence, we have a romantic package, we have a lifestyle package, we have this package. (.) .hh So they can, you know, okay I'll take one of these, right? You know?, You know? (.) But (..) the fa:ster it comes up on the screen and shows them all there is, it's easier

/and makes it/ A1: /Yeah. Okay./ M: more convenient to book. Er press on this, click on this and I'm (.) you know?, I'm with the hotel booking already. Just um. .hh It's easier sometimes on er- o- for them to get on through the internet to us, then to the telephone?, .hh (.) some of my staff when they are engaged, you know?, we have er three people or four people a- on the counter (.) and both the phones are ringing and we have only one guy /attending to i:t/ A1: /((laughs))/ A2: / hh-/ M: and the phone just rings out, you know? A2: /Yeah./ M: /(.) E:r/ (.) A2: Yeah I- I hear what you're saying. (.) Yeah. M: So if- with that being told, you know?, I'm just trying to- the most of these advertisements ↑ here. U:m (.) they are fo::r .hh what we'd

/put he:re (.)/ A2: /Maybe- maybe it's-/ M: I think for people for- who /live/ A2: /Yeah./ M: in Perth, you know? For a night out or somethi:ng, you know? Something special to remember an occasion /by./ A2: /Yeah./ M: The other one's that we add on to our web site is- Okay. We have a special on. Ninety eight dollars offer economy. .hh (.) Or we have this one on ((referring to print out

Appendices 378

of web page)) where we can put somewhere. Already in the front one, Acacia Hotel (.) specials

/(.)/ A2: /Yes./ M: available, you /know?/ A2: /Yes./ Straight up. M: Straight out it comes /up./ A2: /Yeah./ A1: Yep. A2: Okay. (.) A1: So are there any other (.) pages there? M: Yeah. We have a: (.) this is the main page there. Tha- that is what you see /when/ A1: /Yeah./ M; you open up. A1: Of course. M: Okay. These are the ones that shows you all the fascilities, you know? Page- (..) e:r (.) and this is what that comes up with the restaurant, and what specials we have in our restaurant, er and everything that we do. (.) And this will give you the selection and look at all the various styles for (.) room configurations that we have. (.) This one. (.) A1: Yep. M: (.) A:nd then this is the weddings a:nd functions package that Ian and you were talking about, you know? A1: Yep- M: E:r (...) A3: Conferences. M: (..) This is conferences, wedding and functions, you know? But that's just about- A3: Yes, yes, yes, yes. M: Oh okay. A3: Mhm. (.) Tha- that's what like I said with the weddings and the conferences they look completely similar?, But I think maybe with the weddings we need to spice it up a bit. (.) A2: Yea:h. Y- I- I'm not even sure whether you need (.) that room lay-out the way you've got /it. We/ A3: /Mhm. No./ A2: really could just have a link to go- both of them to go that same?, (.) M: Same site, you know? A2: You know?, /rather/ A3: /U:m j-/ A2: than duplicate it all. A3: Instead the- of having the room /there-/ A2: /It/ would load quicker as

/well./ A1: /Um-/

Appendices 379

A3: Yeah. A1: Well wha- what I was just thinking is um you could actually be asking?, You- you could say, look we've got a:- a document that outlines all of our room ↑ layouts ↓ um give us your email address and we'll pop it through to you. A3: Yeah. A1: There- therefore they're starting to interact with you?, M: Mhm /hum./ A1: /Um/ you've got their email, you can keep that and you can do some advertisements through to them as /well./ A3: /yeah./ M: Mhm. A1: (.) But that would be another way to do it. And then (.) we can actually utilise this space more to get relevant body copy for the optimization. And obviously also get some very nice sort of photos that you may /have/ A3: /Yeah./ A1: from- from /past/ M: /Yeah b-/ A1: functions. M: I find that er different types of customers that are involved here, if (.) when we talk about these romantic packages, you know?, it's more of people, you know?, One person actually witnessing it (.) and then they go to their office and tell their staff, you know? And e:r- er there's this indulgence package er- A2: S- so it's a word of mouth. M: So what happens is they say 'why don't we go to the site?' and then that's how we get, you know? A2: /Mhm./ M: /Then/ we have block bookings, you know? A2: Yea:h. M: Five couples, six couples. Er three couples. One stretch limosuine the-they use, of

course, and still have a great time, the six of them, you know? (.) Yeah. So we have to think (.) ho:w those people look at it, rather than er, you know?

A2: /Yeah./ M: /E:rm,/ you know?, The more (.) I find that if- if I go to the internet or and the

more questions you ask, you know?, there are people who are that kind of very very precise, they want to have all the information before they make their decision of course. But with- whenever your customers just want to go there (.) and they like what, you know?, you put up there. An- and st- the very reason somebody is coming to your site is because somebody has told them about (.) you.

A2: Mhm. M: .hh So they come there, they already have a (.) brief idea that so-and-so stayed

and they had (.) a rea:lly good stay. They are here now, they are trying to find out a little bit more information to convince their- /(.)/

A2: /Right./ M: their partner or something. A1: Yeah, yeah.

Appendices 380

A2: So y- you- you don't want them having to fill too many thing /out-/

M: /Oh/ fill no! They- how many days are you going to stay, you know? A2: Yeah- M: But because er the ideal thing about it is they send us an email, their booking, and

they want to stay for so many days, they- we still have to come back to them for confirmation.

A2: /Sure./ A: /Mhm./ M: Er .hh because there is no room allotment here, in our site, it's only through the

(.).hh internet sites that they can confirm the room allo- allotment. A2: Yeah. Okay. (...) A1: Okay. Just we need to um /I guess decide what/ A2: /Identify what plug-ins-/ A1: we plug-in there as well. A2: Yeah. So you look at /it/ M: /If-/ A2: e:rm (.) M: If we can concentrate very much more on the weddings and functions (.) and the

restaurant as well. ↑ Automatically, the- the- if they are interested in this, then automatically we get bookings for the rooms.

A2: The rest will /fill up?,/ M: /So don't/ forget. A2: Yea:h. (..) So just looking at what pages to actually optimize. So you- you've go

your wedding and function one. M: Yes. A2: Which I think- M: Yeah. Functions. I think now you can take away- A1: The conferences- M: ((laughs)) Yeah. Functions, conferences and weddings and the restaurant, no?

((referring to the print out of the web page)) A1: So are w- we- are we gonna change some of this, /o:r?/ M: /That./ You'll have to make

the decisions on that. /Like/ A1: /Okay./ M: how it is to be, you know, presented and /er-/ A1: /Yep./ A3: I can give you some thoughts as to what we got, sorta, (.) for weddings. A1: /Great./ M: /You/ you've got your freedom now, you know? A1: /((laughs))/ M: /((unclear))/ A2: /((unclear))/ M: so if there's changes to be made then later we can think about it, you know? A1: Yep. Yep. (.) U:m. (..) Now on the dollars and cents side of things, what- what

budget are you sort of /allowing for?/

Appendices 381

M: /I think, you/ know? We- we have already? A2: Er. When- when we spoke, erm some time ago, I think before Ian was here

actually- M: Yeah, yeah I know that. A2: we were actually offering e:rm a thirteen hundred and fifty dollar

/(.)/ M: /Mhm./ A2: package. Blah blah. But it was a one off blah blah blah. A:nd it was also insured

third party. We now, since then, have taken it on board .hh and we tend to basically do more of a follow up type thing so .hh i- it's basically erm (.) a general optimization tune-up, whatever you would like, .hh and then basically (...) a follow up process, whether it be (.) monthly, quaterly, whatever, to continually keep you in that ranking. (.) Alright?

M: Okay. But if you give it to me, let me know so that I know what /my:/

A2: /Yes./ M: er outgoing er outfall- A2: So- M: /e:r ((unclear))-/ A2: /so um/ the origina:l over- complete overhaul u:m that was around the sixteen

hundred, seventeen hundred dollar mark, wasn't it? A1: For the optimization? A2: Yeah. A1: Yeah, seventeen. M: Right so um- A2: Seventeen hundred dollars, alright? (.) And then based- a- and it's really for our

blocks. Then you might (.) only need an hour (.) in a couple of months time, just to tweak it?, to keep it there?, er and that-that's four hundred and forty dollars for a block of four hours.

M: Mhm. A1: 'Cause what- what actually happens is (.) .hh er when we do the optimization w-

we get you up towards the top of the rankings. .hh But then other people are always trying to (.) get their site on top as well?, .hh so depending on the key words that you choose .hh you can find that the initial optimization gets you ↑ there. But then it might /start to slide./

M: /But that- the keywords/ should be ((unclear)) because you should be aware of what keywords should be chosen to er to attract, you know?

A1: Sorry, the-? (.) A2: Well- /well cert-/ M: /Your key/words should- /w- we have/ A2: /certainly-/ M: these fascilities? Yes. B- but- but then the choice of keywords,

/(.)/ A2: /Sure./ M: you are the experts, you know that?

Appendices 382

A1: Yeah /exactly/. A2: /Could/ we go awa:y, then come back with a recommendation? M: But (.) y- your price is a couple of

/hundred different from what you told me./ /((M's mobile phone rings))/ M: /Hello?/ A3: A thousand four /hundred/

did you say? A thousand /((unclear))?/ M: /Hello?/ A2: Originally we told him thirteen fifty /for the package./ M: /((unclear: speaking on phone))/ A3: Yeah. A2: But now that we- we're doing our own thing and

/((unclear))/ M: /Can- can I get back to you David, now I'm in a meeting, huh?/ Er you

will be available on your mobile, is it? A2: We're doing our own thing. /Sixteen- it's seventeen hundred dollars,/ M: /Okay. I'll get back to you. Thanks./ A3: Yep. A2: right? And then (.) tune up ↑ requirements, /(.)/ A3: /Yep./ A2: e:rm little touch ups along the way, A3: Mhm /hum./ A1: /Mhm./ A2: are in blocks of four-forty. Now you don't necessarily (.) use all of that

four-forty, /(.)/ A3: /Yeap./ A2: That might spread out over (.) it might be taken in one, /(.)/ A1: /Mhm./ A2: it might be over a couple /visits./ A1: /Yea:h./ The way it generally works is

u:m we spend like fifteen minutes once a month /(.)/ A3: /Mhm hum./ A1: just checking out and seeing where your web site's at, /(.)/ A3: /Yeap./ A1: .hh so seeing if it's holding its mark. If it's holding its mark?,

/.hh/ A3: /Yeah./ A1: we spend fifteen minutes and that's it, of that four hour block. .hh Um

if it has started to slip, well then obviously we go through and we do the relevant- the /tune/

A3: /Yep./ A1: ups that are required. .hh U:m now I don't know, that might- that might

require half an hour, that might require .hh er an hour to be spent.- A2: But all of that would be: u:m communicated to you /(.)/ A3: /Of course./

Appendices 383

A2: along the way. We don't just jump in and then say to you 'by the way er (.) you've used that four hours, we're now /looking/

A3: /Mhm./ A2: at another four'. .hh it's- it- it's assessed and given to you before we

actually do it. (.) A3: Yep. (...)

A1: So that- that's why we've gotta be very clear on the optimization as to: /(.)/

A3: /Yep./ A1: where that fits in with the um with the updates on the /site./ M: /Do/ you- A3: ((unclear: whispers)) is there a difference? M: It's too high, you know? A3: But they've got a ((unclear: whispers)) M: Mhm. (.) You've gotta go back and email your finance. A1: ((laughs)) hh- W- well wha- what did you have in mind, I mean um- M: I think- A2: Were you comfortable with the thirteen fifty that we spoke about? A3: Oh yeah. M: Thirteen fifty, well what are the things that you offer, you know? A2: Well when we spoke about the thirteen fifty some time ago, that was

just a one off and it got you into the rhythm- er the first page. /Alright?/

M: /Okay./ A2: And that was it. (.) What we'll do- M: Wha- but now you're talking abou:t seventeen hundre:d. A2: Yea:h. But what we're doing now is- M: To:- for what? To do the one off or what? A1: That- that's the whole optimization package?, An:d- so that's getting

five- five of your pages, all optimized up with all the relevant key words, all of the changes made to the code, all graphic changes, all submissions to the search engines?, (.) it- it's basically the whole deal.

M: The graphic changes on my- which one? A1: /U::m./ M: /You've/ spent quite a bit of money on that one already? A2: ((laughs)) A1: hh- M: Oka:y. /And/ A1: /And-/ M: er .hh and then the four hundred and fifty: (.) is for the four hour

/block to make// /any changes.// A2: /That's correct./ A3: /it's a four hour block/ for follow ups and tune

ups to keep you there /e:rm/ A1: /On/ optimization. A2: on optimization.

Appendices 384

A1: Not on- not on updating your- like the content of your /web site?,/ A2: /No:. It-/

it's just the tuning in- in the actual search /engines./ M: /'To keep/ me there on the

optimization.' Can you elaborate on that? A1: Okay. .hh There- there's um do you remember how towards the

beginning of the meeting I said that optimization works with the code behind your web site?

M: Yes. Yes I remember. A1: Okay um that four hour block basically allows maintenance on that

code. Because it's that code that puts you in the /rankings of/ M: /Okay. Yeah./ A1: the search /engines?,/ M: /Okay./ Yeah. Right. A1: If you start to slip, that means we've gotta change the code, but just a

little bit?, we've just gotta tune it up?, .hh so: t- to increase your ranking back up. and that's basically what that four hours allows. So I'll spend fifteen minutes once a month and I'll have a look. I'll see if you've slipped?, If you've slipped, then well I might have to spend another .hh half an hour, a- er an hour absolute tops, to actually tune it up and ge- get you back up there. And then obviously then the next month I'll have a look at it. Spend fifteen minutes. Have a look. .hh And you may not have slipped. So then that just stays. And then the next month will come along. Another fifteen minutes, just having a look where ↑ you're at, and seeing if a tune up is necessary. So I mean, .hh tha- that four hour block (.) could last you, it cou- it coul last you eight months. (..) U;m if your web site's not slipping on the tune ups. Though obviously if it i:s, well then I'll come to you and say 'look. .hh U:m what we're actually looking at is you know, w- we're gonna have to do a /.hh/'-

A2: /It- it's/ just cra- M: Why don't you do me e:r? (.) This. Thirteen hundred to do the five

pages. A2: ((laughs)) A1: hh- there's just a lot more work in the um- M: Er I mean you are just only editing everything. (.) A major part of the

work you have already done, you know? A2: Er /not- not the- no I haven't./ A1: /Not for the optimization./ A2: No I haven't. This- this is all your original site. All that I've done is put

it into a template for you, M: Yeah. A2: so that the editor can read it. I haven't done a lot of work on that. M: On that one, no? A2: Nup. A1: And definitely not for optimization. A2: hh- No. No. ((laughs))

Appendices 385

A1: Um. So with the optimization wh- when I- wh- when I'm working out those keywords-

A2: Look wh- what I am prepared to do, right, is to throw in the Stats Package, which we sell for four-forty, on its own. I'm prepared to put that in and give you monthly reports on where your traffic and that is coming from, as part of the deal. I'm prepared to throw that in at no charge to you. That's what I'm prepared to do.

A1: Doesn't West Net charge like, thirty dollars a month? Or something like that?

A2: Yea:h. Well ou- our package is four-forty /and/ A1: /Yeah./ A2: you get a written report that would go directly to you or to Ian or both.

.hh And it also u:m. (.) I could give you a sample report that um Feral Brewery are using. And er look, they swear by it, and they pay four hundred-

M: Alright you kind of have ((unclear: mumbles)). I think seventeen hundred for me:, after spending I think of-

/e:r ((unclear))/ A2: /You- you can say that but the money-/ the money you spent,

previously, is on the Web Editor, so now you're going to have to pursue, go in, and change the code, without happening to know anything about it. Y- you know, all of these are different- differen areas, and an- it's a lot of work involved. It- you just can't afford to be doing things for nothing all the time.

M: I'm not saying n:othing. Of- yeah, I call it something, you know? /((laughs))/

A1: /((laughs))/ Um- M: But that's why I er- A2: But that's what I'm saying. I'm prepared to go in and install the Stats

Package code, now you're gonna get a lot of good reporting- M: No- A2: and work out-

M: reporting and everything is only one aspect of it. I've got /to get

the/

A2: /It's a very-/ M: results out of it. /(.) In terms/ A2: /Oh look, you'll get-/ M: of e:r- er patronising my:- my hotel, you know? /That's/ A2: /Yeah./ M: the only important thing for me A1: Of course. M: Er that- all the statistics and everything it just aids me just to see how

things are coming, you know? A1: Mhm.

Appendices 386

M: But the most important thing is whether I- what I stand on getting by doing all of it, you know? By bookings (.) increase in terms of er weddings and functions. .hh /E:r/

A1: /Mhm./ M: I'm not ex- expecting, you know?, er it /going up/ A1: /A flood!/ M: by /twenty fold,/ A1: /((laughs))/ M: you know? But (.) a reasonable amount /(.)/ A2: /Yeah./ M: And also the site becoming er, you know?, er /(.)/ A2: /Yeah./ M: a site where people come there, they don't have to, you know?, for the

graphics to come in, it takes five minutes for it to, you know? to go through all the pages-

A2: W- well I can't just get an optimization because it's not my area. M: Mhm. A2: It's the work that Clint does, /(.)/ M: /Mhm./ A2: a- and erm it's just not fair for me to /say-/ M: /Okay./

Well can you give me some- some sites that you have already done and /(.) e:r then we can have a look at it./ A2: /You can give him some references, can't you?/ A1: /er I- I- I ↓ can./ M: /I just want/ to get

a feel of it, you know? A2: /Yeah/. M: /Because/ I am still- A1: But there's not much- there's not much really that you can get from it?,

in that sense. U:m (.) I mean, I – I think, what we're looking at here, is we've got- we- we're looking at five pages for that- for that seventeen hundred. U:m I'm not seeing really five pages in /here-/

M: /No/ look you- you give me a few companies /that/

A1: /Ye:ah./ M: you have done. I will go and look because e:r (.) and see, you know?,

if- if this is their a company then how did you find it, definitely I understand that /some/

A1: /Mhm./ M: things are made for. .hh And then I can look on this and then see

whether it's- er your price is fair, you know? A1: Okay. .hh Just- M: I have to look on something, you know?

A2: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Appendices 387

A1: 'Cause what- what I was going to say is that I'd be prepared to do: four pages?, for that thirteen. Thirteen fifty. (...) Because what- a- as Gary said we're- to do each page we're looking at a- a large amount of work. Because there's a lot of- there's a lot of re:search that has to actually be done within your keywords?, Like the keywords that /you're/

M: /Mhm./ A1: asking or that we decide on, that we're gonna optimize for, I've gotta

do a lot of research on them?, /(.)/ M: /Mhm./ A1: So if we can cut out one page, which I can see is not going to be

detrimental to your site, then (.) on four pages then we can do the thirteen fifty. (..) Then- and then with what we-

A2: And I'll still- I'll still throw in the Web Stats Package in for you. A1: I think that's e:rm, (.) I think that's /something-/ M: /Yeah, four/

pages for thirteen fifty. A1: /Correct!/ A2: /Yes./ M: So which are the: (.) /pages?/ A2: /W- well/ you're gonna want- A1: Well con- conference?, Weddings and functions, and there was an-another

dedicated. (.) Er the index page?, So that's ↓ three. A3: And the restaurant. A2: Restaurant? M: Yeah. A1: And there's your four! (...) And that's why I'm saying- A2: So does that- does that make you happy? /((laughs))/ A1: /((laughs))/ M: Even making me happier, you know, it's ((laughs)) hh- I mean I don't mind er er

(.) spending money on advertising and I think /that/ A1: /Yep./ M: it is important- A2: You've gotta look at it that way. /You/ M: /Mhm./ A2: do. M: So: (.) but I also at the same time need to see: how much I spend in a year on

advertising, /on my/ A1: /Of course./ M: internet site, and you see the cost on (.) exposure on the internet now, I mean from

what it was ten years ago, is now (.) totally different. You know?, the costing is really really high now on the internet, on the internet sites. /.hh/

A1: /W-/ well op- optimization really didn't exist as a product /until/ M: /Yes./ A1: about twelve months ago. M: Yeah exactly, you /know?/ A1: /Yea:h./ So:.

Appendices 388

M: So- A2: Yeah. A1: Mhm. M: And all the different search engines and this and that. Er I've come up and- of

course people like us need to be, you know?, also aware that we have to be there, otherwise, you know?, maybe they won't come back again.

A1: Of course. M: /So/ A2: /W-/ w- when- when you get back, forward us a- an email /(.)/ A1: /Mhm./ A2: of what we've done today. Erm give a few reference sites of what work you've

done, and um (..) put in there the fact that I will install and report monthly to him on the Web Statistics and (.) put the total figure here and er where the Acacia er-

M: Yeah. We- we. Put it- A2: ((unclear-)) M: as fast as you can. Erm confirm it. .hh And then we can go ahead. I need- A2: Alright. M: I need the:- these pages to be available for Ian and er Belinda, you know? A1: Yeah. M: Foward to Brian's too I think. A2: /Sure./ M: /If/ you go to our site and have a look at /it./ A2: /Yeah./ M: The address will be there, you know? .hh And er (..) a- after that if we need to

have a few other pages done then we will need to get back to you. A1: I- I- I think /four pages-/ M: /And if/ it's going back probably e:r probably er my other friends

in the other hotels may want to also do it, you know? A1: Yeah. Of /course./ M: /I mean/ we are not competing against each other we are just

competing in- in- in certain areas, but not in all aspects. /You/

A1: /Yes./ M: know?, what I have they may not have and what they have I don't

have, you know? A1: Correct, correct. M: Their sections are different. A1: Yep. A2: ↑ Okay. M: So now you are back to ((unclear: name of company)) or are you going

back to ((unclear: name of company))? A2: No no I'm back. I'm- M: For a short while already there? A2: Yeah hh- ((laughs)) I erm no I only just had erm er (.) funerals. M: Oh okay. /((unclear))/

Appendices 389

A2: /((unclear))/ Funerals, yeah. And they- they're- they're farmers and they've got property out in the (.) Darling Downs. Erm very rich erm /(.)/

M: /Mhm./ A2: area, and er we just had to go and sort this date out and do all that, so it

took a bit of time. /(.)/ M: /Mhm./ A2: Would have been a heart ache, but anyway, we've got it all sorted out. M: (..) So once you we confirm that, how long do you take to: get all this

organised? A1: ((click)) U:m I generally like to allow five days to get- to do the

process. E:rm and /then-/ M: /So much/ better than when, do you remember,

when we first knew we had to change the our- our- our- (.) our servers /and everything?/

A2: /O:h yeah./ it- the whole thing was a nightmare. It was. A1: Mhm. A2: Erm you know? There- it was phone problems, there was a bit of

/((unclear))/ M: /((unclear))/ ((unclear: tape)) A2: Yea:h it went to our servers bu then (.) it wasn't compatible with

another thing that was happening within their system, er the whole thing. It just dra:gged out. It was a nightmare wasn't it?

M: Mhm. A1: Just um one thing to point out on the timescale. U:m it- it will take

about five days to- to do the optimization on the site. To start to see the results, like on the search engines, can be- /can take a long time./

A3: /((unclear))/ A1: Yeah yeah yep yep. 'Cause basically they have to come through and

pick up. .hh So I'll submit to them- M: I e::r except your thing that /((unclear))/ A1: /Yep. Yep./ ((laughs)) (.) It just takes

longer. M: ((laughs)) (.) As long as we have some way to direct people, or for

people, you know?, can be directed there, who go to have a look at our pages. A1: Ye:s. Yep. M: Mo:st of them for what I- ((unclear: end of tape))

Appendix 10

Follow up Interview Meeting 1 Australian

Follow Up Interview: Financial Broker

Appendices 390

Participants: A - Australian Financial Broker I - Interviewer

1. I: Now this follow-up interview is based on the er the meeting that er y- you had the

other day with ms. Aiman?, 2. A: Mhm hum. 3. I: And u:m (.) well I do have some questions and whatever questions that I ask

you today .hh will be confidential?, that means it’s just like whatever we discuss today .hh erm it's not gonna be known to others. You know?, this is just for .hh analysis of- of data. (.) Yeah, .hh so u:m (.) er

4. understand that um (.) er you have been in this industry for a number of years?, U:m (.) could you tell me how many- how long have you been in this /industry?/

5. A: /What in/ finance and banking? 6. I: Iya. 7. A: Ab- about forty. 8. I: About (.) ↑forty! Wow, okay. And it- it has been in Western Australia all the

while? 9. A: Oh yeah. 10. I: Yeah. And- and you- you’re local too? Are you erm, (.) I mean, are you from

Perth? 11. A: No:, no, um Victoria originally. 12. I: Oh, ↑ okay, right. .hh u:m. Okay. Having the number of years of experience in

this industry, um (.) how would you categorize the presentation er on that day? Erm (.) probably er you could tell me a bit of the feedback?, of the whole presentation?,

13. A: /(..)/ 14. I: /Yeah./ 15. A: Well, that’s a bit difficult because I don’t have ((laughs)), hh- I don’t have er

recall without reading up on it and I didn’t take er .hh any- any note transcripts er- 16. I: O:h: oka:y oh alright. No er because oh you would like to see the transcripts, do

you? 17. A: No:, /if/ 18. I: /Hh-/ 19. A: you- if you wanted me to give opinions I would need to. /.hh/ 20. I: /Oh/ (.) okay. Or

would you like to um probably, to have a session of watching the video? ((laughs)) Um I /take ((unclear))/

21. A: /Well I don't have/ this morning for 22. /that./ 23. I: /Alri:ght./ O:h no it’s alright dear. (.) Basically um what I'm going to ask is, .hh

I'm actually looking into the inter-cultural factors (.). Er, you know, er h- having, you know, um a Malaysian, you know, interacting with an Australian. .hh e:r if you can recall, you know, u:m. Do you actually see any difference in terms of presentation, from um (.) a non-native speaker of English?

24. A: (..) Well, basically no. 25. I: Basically no?-

Appendices 391

26. A: No, I mean you’re still trying to arrive with the same answers. 27. I: Yea:h. Alright. Okay. .hh and um (.) .hh could you see any difference?, (.) At all?

No? 28. A: (.) Probably. (.) There is- there is cultural differences in approach. 29. I: Alright, yeah. Could you just er probably elaborate a little bit on that?

Because I’d love to- to hear and know er what the thing is that you could, you know, (.) identify. You know?

30. A: (.) E:rm that's a bit difficult. It’s a bit difficult because unless you can be specific as to /er/

31. I: /Mhm hum./ 32. A: (...) Yeah. Any (.) any particular (..) category /or/ 33. I: /Yeah./ 34. A: .hh a specific project. 35. I: Mhm /hum./ 36. A: /Yeah/ they'd probably use a different approach. 37. I: Yeah. Probably if you have another Australian and um- doing the presentation to

you, /.hh/ 38. A: /Mhm./ 39. I: you know?, would that- or definitely it's going to be different? 40. A: Oh /yeah./ 41. I: /Yeah./ Yeah. So um could you just relate to me in what way 42. /it would be different?/ 43. A: /We:ll, probably:/ the um (...) the Australian is probably a less formal

approach. 44. I: Okay. Yeah, yeah. I noticed that. Yeah, alright. /Mhm./ 45. A: /It's/ less formal

because er (.) you’re not er you're not s- probably so sensitive as to dealing er with the cultural difference.

46. I: Yeah. Yea:h. /Alright./ 47. A: /E:r/ so, you know, your approach is probably a bit more

methodical, you've researched it, .hh erm you're anxious not to um create any wrong atmospheres, /or you/

48. I: /Mhm hum./ 49. A: want to get the attention to detail correctly. .hh Er so it’s probably a little bit

more attention to detail, and (.) in that respect. 50. I: Alright. So um er were you er trying to tell me that um the presentation of um (.)

of er your client the other day um is lacking in- in those aspects? 51. A: A:w. I wouldn't say lacking. /No:, I/ 52. I: /Yeah? Mhm./ 53. A: wouldn't go that far. 54. I: Mhm hum. Because I noticed that er she- her- her approach is very informal. .hh

So that is not a normal, er a normal way of approach? 55. A: Yeah, it is. It is. E:r /you’re/ 56. I: /Okay./ 57. A: talking about H- Hannah’s? /Er-/ 58. I: /Yeah./ Yeah. Hannah's. /Yeah./

Appendices 392

59. A: /Yeah./ 60. Well that’s the approach which is most effective with us. 61. I: O:h. Okay. 62. A: Yeah. /It’s um-/ 63. I: /Mhm hum./ 64. A: The more relaxed the ↑ atmosphere, the more people will be inclined to take it

on board in that- in that type of scenario. 65. I: Mhm hum. Alright. .hh /u:m./ 66. A: /I/ mean she’s obviously developed that

approach from what is- what is proven to be most effective for it. 67. I: hh- Right. So um you- do you think that er the plan proposed was er really a good

one?

68. I: Thank you. 69. A: Alright. 70. I: Alright. 71. A: Oh ↑ yeah?, 72. I: Yea:h? Alright. Alright. I noticed that you didn’t ask many questions, er is that

because you have sort of like um so well versed with it? /((unclear))/ 73. A: /Yeah well/ I’m er well versed with it?, and I have an understanding of it?, U:m

and she’s er reaffirming things that er she wanted er us to (.) .hh erm be aware of?, 74. /But if/ 75. I: /Mhm hum./ 76. A: we’re already aware of, well there’re not much point in asking 77. /lots of questions/ 78. I: /It is- it is-/ 79. A: about it. 80. I: Right. And you also stressed at one point about ethical. Ethics or something like

that about, you know?, .hh um: dealing with brokers and all these. And er .hh er I remembered you particularly er, you know, you told me 'please record this, you know, please take this er regarding ethics, you know'.

81. A: Ethics? 82. I: Yeah, /why/ 83. A: /A:h./ 84. I: do you, I- I presume that um Ms. Hannah already know about this ethics?, so you

highlighted it again, is it because um (.) with a purpose? With /that?/ 85. A: /Yeah./ /Very,/ 86. I: /Yeah./ 87. A: very much er a purpose in that. /Bro-/ 88. I: /Mhm./ 89. A: brokers have to deal .hh er with an emphasis on ethics. 90. I: Mhm /hum./ 91. A: /Erm/ because when the- when they undertake to do job for a ↑client,

there- they must put aside whatever (.) their personal .hh um benefits that they are going to receive from it, that must be put aside. Their- their loyalty erm /nee:ds/

Appendices 393

92. I: /Mhm hum./ 93. A: to be to the client. 94. I: Ri:ght. (.)↑ Okay. 95. A: And if you- if you don’t stick to those ethics, well, (..) somewhere along the line

er (.) it'll get you into trouble. 96. I: .hh So er you have experience er having .hh u:m what do you call?, um a non

native, you know, person presenting like Hannah?, I mean is she the only one? Or you have had a few, .hh you know /(.) encounters?/

97. A: /Oh we have them/ 98. all the time. 99. I: O:h okay. So you've got- you are- you are quite used .hh er /is it?/ 100. A: /Mhm./ 101. I: Alright. Okay. And u::m (...) u:m (..) So you frequently meet people from

different cultural backgrounds? 102. A: Oh /yeah./ 103. I: /Yeah./ Any particular instances that you feel er during the presentation

on that day, .hh with Hannah, that you feel, er you know, er er er (.) what shall I say, um that you feel uncomfortable?, with /((unclear))/

104. A: /No. No./ Hannah- Hannah's very fair /and-/ 105. I: /Yeah./ 106. A: and very er ethical. Erm no she’s very good. She’s careful in her approach on

things, she pays attention to detail. 107. I: Mhm hum. 108. A: E:r. No I don’t have any problem with her approach. 109. I: Oh alright. So I:- I guess you have known each other before? I mean 110. /before the meeting?/ 111. A: /Oh we- we’ve- we've/ met professionally, yeah. 112. I: Mhm. Alright. Mhm. .hh And er I looked at the way you erm received, you

know, when she was presenting that. .hh You- you looked very serious and you know, um really listening to her and to details. .hh erm At that time were you actually um um having: a different (.) sort of like, are you evaluating?, the whole plan when she was presenting? /Or-?/

113. A: /Of/ course. 114. I: Yeah. /Right./ 115. A: /I/ mean if I am going to give my ti:me, /(.)/ 116. I: /Mhm/ hum. 117. A: e::rm (.) to:- listening to her, or pay her the courtesy of having a meeting?, 118. I: Yeah. 119. A: Er I want to get maximum value from it. 120. I: Right. 121. A: I’m not going to give up my time /a:nd/ 122. I: /Mhm./ 123. A: .hh just as importantly /I’m/ 124. I: /Mhm./ 125. A: not going to use her time /(.)/ 126. I: /Yeah-/

Appendices 394

127. A: and er not give it full value! 128. I: Alri:ght. /Mhm:./ 129. A: /I mean/ that’s the- that's the minimum courtesy I can- I can do. I- I

take it very seriously. 130. I: Yeah. .hh um I would like to know your suggestions um of a better presentation if

you .hh may, you know, um you have the experience and probably give some feedback for .hh er a non-native speaker in terms of presentation, you know, particularly to Australians, /you know-/

131. A: /Well every/one has their own approach. /It-/

132. I: /Mhm./ 133. A: it’s something that you develop over a period of time /(.)/ 134. I: /Yeah./ 135. A: and one which a: you develop an approach which gives you the maximum benefit

from. I mean, you find that over a period of time what erm what gets you the best response.

136. I: Mhm. 137. A: If- if you’re not- if you're not getting the response from the people that you’re

talking to, well you- you’re not doing it right. 138. I: Right. 139. A: You’ve got to change that. /And/ 140. I: /Mhm./ 141. A: you've gotta- you must at all times be very critical of yourself. 142. I: Sure. Yeah. Yeah- 143. A: You must be very critical /of/ 144. I: /Yeah./ 145. A: yourself. 146. I: Yeah. 147. A: You must. .hh After you’ve done any sort of presentation to anyone you should

go away .hh a:nd analyze your own performance. 148. I: Sure. Yeah. Yeah. So um you would say that um Hannah being a person who is

quite young, and- and you know, I mean, in terms of the number of experience, I'm sure, you know, /is/

149. A: /Mhm./ 150. I: much lesser than your forty years?, .hh er you would categorize her as

someone who is quite successful?, in terms of presentation especially? 151. A: Oh, ↑ yeah. 152. I: So she is, yeah? Mhm:. That’s good. Right. Um: so far um: you’ve met people

of different cultural backgrounds, is Hannah the only Malaysian that you have- that you’ve met?

153. A: Oh no, I’ve /dealt with/ 154. I: /Quite a couple?/ 155. A: er with (.) I deal with quite a few different Asian cultures. 156. I: Asian cultures, ↓ yeah. Particularly Malaysian is er probably- 157. A: .hh Not so much Malaysian, no. 158. I: Oh okay.

Appendices 395

159. A: Generally /there’s/ 160. I: /Asian./ 161. A: more- generally there's more Vietnamese and /Chinese/ 162. I: /Oh okay./ 163. A: and Thais. 164. I: Oh. So do you see er a pattern that you can actually, if you can recall, is there

um a common, you know, approach or /common-/ 165. A: /A common/ denominator, 166. /you mean?/ 167. I: /Denominator./ Yeah. 168. A: O:h. We- we tend- we tend to er er to classify at times. But, to be fair to

everyone /you-/ 169. I: /Yeah./ 170. A: you should treat them a, as they treat you, and b, each one is individuals. 171. /You-/ 172. I: /Oh/ okay. 173. A: you can’t- you can’t classify on a- in a broad sense. 174. I: Mhm hum. So particularly when you said yes to Hannah, it is more er

because of the bank that she represents?, or is it because um she herself as a person whom you already know?

175. A: Oh you- you can’t separate them. 176. I: Yeah. Yeah, it’s together. 177. A: You know, you- you've- you've got to look at it. .hh you've gotta look at it as it is. 178. I: Is it? Yeah. Okay. Alright. So it comes with the package /and I/ 179. A: /Oh yeah./ 180. I: mean the person and the- the /bank ((unclear))/ 181. A: /Oh yeah./ It all comes together. 182. I: ↑ Alright. Okay. So u:m probably um erm (..) So the feedback of the

presentation as a whole, do you think it was good? 183. A: Oh yes. /(.)/ 184. I: /Yeah./ 185. A: There was nothing wrong with that one- 186. I: Alright, so um what about the um er. Were you accepting er the proposal, you

know, being presented the other day or? 187. A: Yeah I didn't /have-/ 188. I: /Yeah./ 189. A: I don’t /have/ 190. I: /Yeah./ 191. A: a problem /with-/ 192. I: /Yeah./ 193. A: with what she’s trying to do. It- er we don’t do a lot of business together

because that’s not the type of business that I focus on. 194. I: Oh okay. Alri:ght. /Okay./ 195. A: /And/ I have limited opportunies. 196. I: I see, alright. 197. A: Limited opportunities to er deal in the areas that she deals in.

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198. I: Oh. Oka:y. So um (..) er a the follow-up from that, from that meeting, 199. /erm/ 200. A: /Mhm./ 201. I: there wasn’t much, you know, um dealing (.) at the /very/ 202. A: /No./ 203. I: moment. (.) Not yet? 204. A: No. A limited opportunity for that one. 205. I: Alright. ↓Okay. (.) ↑Okay. So um .hh well d- do you have anything that you:

would like er to probably er give some insights, say, o- of how um you call a- an Asian should, you know, give some tips, you know, the best probably that you did not see in presentations of, you know, /Asians./

206. A: /No/ there was nothing wrong, nothing wrong with her presentation. /But/ 207. I: /Aha./ 208. A: because e:rm: what she’s- what she's selling /and/ 209. I: /Aha./ 210. A: who she's representing /e:rm/ 211. I: /Right./ 212. A: (.) hasn’t got distinct market advantages as far as we’re concerned. So: it's a little

bit- it- it's a bit difficult for her. She’s gotta- she- she has to determine (.) which niche in the market /in/

213. I: /Right./ 214. A; dealing with /us/ 215. I: /Yeah./ 216. A: that she can develop. Be/cause/ 217. I: /Yeah./ 218. A: the product that she is selling, e:r (..) we can get from- we can get from others

/that/ 219. I: /Yeah./ 220. A: we’ve been dealing with, you /know?, (.)/ 221. I: /Yeah. Yeah./ 222. A: the longer?, /(.) er/ 223. I: /Mhm hum./ 224. A: and unless she really works hard at it, she’s not going to develop that. 225. I: Yeah, /right./ 226. A: /It-/ it’s not an easy one for her. 227. I: It is not, yeah. Because you said there is no clear .hh erm- 228. A: There’s no clear mar- 229. I: /Market of-/ 230. A: /There’s no/ what we call um a clear market advantage. /She- she's/ 231. I: /Yeah for that/ 232. particular /thing/ 233. A: /Yeah./ For- for what she’s particularly doing, she’s gonna have to

develop that. 234. I: So alright. It- er so (.) er indirectly it's a- it’s a tough thing /to do./ 235. A: /Yeah. It/ is a tough

thing to do /that/

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236. I: /Yeah./ 237. A: she’s doing at the moment- 238. I: Meaning that u:m there’s nothing unique about it?, As /something-/ 239. A: /That's right./ 240. I: Yeah. /Okay./ 241. A: /And she's/ going to- this is only my opinion- 242. I: It's alright, yeah, /yeah, it's alright./ 243. A; /This is an opinion./ /That she-/ 244. I: /It's an/ opinion, yeah. 245. A: She needs to develop e:rm (..) an attitude or something along the line of, what

has she got to do to get (.) some business. 246. I: Right. 247. A: What? You know?, She's got to- she's gotta develop an advantage for herself. 248. I: Meaning that she can still be where she is, but er having a different approach?,

/Is/ 249. A: /But-/ 250. I: that what you’re trying to say? 251. A: Oh ye:s. Finding a- a different way in, /There's/ 252. I: /Yeah./ 253. A: nothing wrong with her approach, her manner's good, her product /knowledge is/ 254. I: /Yeah, yeah./ 255. A: good. /There's/ 256. I: /Yeah./ 257. A: no problems there. 258. I: /Aha./ 259. A: /But/ she’s just gotta be able to open that door. 260. I: Yeah. She’s just not got the switch yet. 261. A: No. 262. I: ((laughs)) Yeah, that’s what you’re trying to say. Ok, I could see that. .hh Yeah.

Because I er well, the length of time, you know, taken for a presentation, was that too long?, that day?

263. A: Yea:h. It- it went on. I think she’d do better if she called more often, shorter periods of time to discuss any- (.) the- the ones who get the most business from here are the ones that come here the m- most often.

264. I: Oh okay, /yeah./ 265. A; /And/ ask- and ask for the business and ask can they review cases

for them, you know, /you've/ 266. I: /A:ha:./ 267. A: gotta do some of the hard yards. 268. I: That means that- meaning that you, the best approach is to build rapport or you

know, /to build up/ 269. A: /Ah yes./ 270. I: relationships /(.)/ 271. A: /Yes./ 272. I: then you go to the crux of the business. 273. A: That’s right.

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274. I: A:lright. O:kay. So that’s the best approach, I mean that’s the best for this industry, I suppose.

275. A: That’s the best in the /industry,/ 276. I: /Yeah./ 277. A: yeah. 278. I: So it's not like a one time, you know,- 279. A: No. 280. I: presentation, and that’s it, you know. 281. A: No, the product that she’s selling is not going to sell itself. 282. I: O:h, /okay./ 283. A: /Yeah./ It's the person that- 284. I: It's the person, yea:h. 285. A: It’s the person that finishes up, establishing a rapport, /that/ 286. I: /Ri:ght/ 287. A: builds up trust, er and then if she keeps at it long enough, the ones that do the

best, are the ones that come here the most often and keep /asking/ 288. I: /Yeah./ 289. A: for the business. 290. I: Yeah. Is it because when you do that, it is more of the base of trust in that person

or, you know, doing it one go may not actually give you the confidence of trust in (.) that particular person?, or?-

291. A: It doesn’t really /establish it and/ 292. I: /It doesn't matter./ 293. A: there- there’s too- there's too many out there 294. I: Yeah, yeah, you’re right, yeah. (..) Well, ↑ you know, it’s interesting, it’s

interesting though, yeah. So I:- I suppose because I could see, er you know, that, er you know, er when you were looking at the papers ((laughs)) /and/

295. A: /Mhm./ 296. I: I know that probably at that juncture, it was like a bit too long, you know, and er- 297. A: And it'd go on, yeah. /It-/ 298. I: /Yeah./ 299. A: it could go on for too long. 300. I: Yeah but you didn’t- you didn't, you know, like, you know, stop or, you know,

you didn’t actually lead her to go to the main whole thing that you wanted to hear. /You/

301. A: /Yeah./ 302. I: didn’t do that. 303. A: Well. You sensed that erm you'd found as much as what she’s got to offer and

there’s nothing really unique or different about this one, so, yeah. 304. I: Er I sense that through your (.) feedback, the way you, you know, er your

response?, you didn’t actually ask many questions?, and er you have been like saying most of the time 'yeah, yeah,' you know?, /And/

305. A: /Mhm./ 306. I: er and I could see that, you know, because usually when- when there is

something that is really potential that you want to know, you definitely would stop and ask further?, .hh and I didn’t see /that./

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307. A: /No,/ it wasn’t there, it wasn’t there for me.

308. I: Yeah, I can see. So were you (.) um more of- obligated, may I say, to finish the session you know, I /mean/

309. A: /O:h./ 310. I: to be frank yeah, you know, to be, you know, really?, 311. A: Well, that’s what I say, I mean (...) e:r if you- if you give someone some time?,

at least pay the courtesy er of- of hearing it out. /E:rm./ 312. I: /Mhm hum./ 313. A: (.) just in case there is something there?, 314. I: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So you- you didn’t actually er see anything or identify

anything that’s of interest? 315. A: I didn’t, I didn’t now identify anything which particularly /appealed/ 316. I: /Yeah./ 317. A: to me which was different /from/ 318. I: /Yeah./ 319. A: anything else that had a strong appeal in it. 320. I: Yeah. You were just er like reconfirming certain things as I see, yeah, that’s-

that's where- that's where your question comes in, yeah. 321. A: Mhm. 322. I: Okay. Thank you very much for your cooperation in giving very sincere

feedback /(.)/ 323. A: /Mhm hum./ 324. I: of the whole session?, so I do hope you’ll understand that what I’m looking at is

more of, you know, to better interaction of any particular business er meeting of an Australian and a Malaysian, in particular.

325. A: Mhm. 326. I: Okay? 327. A: Okay.

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Appendix 11

Follow up Interview Meeting 1 Malaysian

DATA X – FMM1 FOLLOW-UP INTERVIEW: MEETING 1 (MALAYSIAN PARTICIPANT) ms Aiman Malaysian Participant Industry: Finance Venue: Cambridge Library, The Boulevard Time: 11.30 am, 9 March 2004 Interviewer: I Participant : M I: Thank you for being able to make this follow-up meeting [M: My pleasure] with you. I do have some questions that I need probably for you to make further clarifications. M: Right I: Now I can see that during the meeting that you had with John the other day, I would like to know if the approach would be different for you if he is somewhat younger. M: Oh yes, what I do is that I always, I guess technically speaking, ahm… custom made my approach, my interaction and the way I communicate with them, it’s not so much the age, it’s more so the experience with regards to what we are doing that is lending. So ah…. for example, if somebody who’s younger who has much less experience than John, then I would be more elaborate with the details, I won’t put too….ah… complicated a scenario, something like that. So, I will always tailor-made my interaction with the person I’m interacting with. Because at the end of the day, if you were to standardize whatever you tell them regardless of whether they’re young or old or whether they have been in the industry two years or twenty years, you won’t get the best results. Because [I: Mm,mm] Yea, it’s like with John, he’s very experience and you’ve seen that and you’ve heard that. So I won’t waste my time talking about basic stuff, I go to the nitty, gritty of it. And with John, it’s more so ahm….selling the product to him, it’s more ahm….so trying to convince him that he should try and sell home loan AMP product to his clients, rather than emphasizing the features or the nitty, gritty of the products itself. That one usually goes with a much younger audience. [I:Mm,mm…] So yes, to answer your question , yap, I do tailor-made them.

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I: You did mention about, you mention about like, there’s a phrase you used ‘Oh, you’re among the so new fresh burgers’. Remember you mention that. What did you mean by that? M: Did I say that? What did I say exactly? I said ‘you’re not, you’re not one of those young ones or fresh brokers’. Yeah, usually, I mean, see with the Australians, ahm…I find that if you’re hundred percent professional like you’re serious and you stick to what you want to say, you do from A to Z and no breather, no , you don’t interject it with casual humour or just casual conversation [I: Mm] Ahm… you’re too serious, you see, so sometimes you try to enlighten [I: yes ] the conversation a little bit so that the person feel comfortable and that is actually what we say a way of complimenting them. [I: Alright, yes] because, because sometimes it is good to, I mean, if you’re a person, let’s say for example yourself, if you have been in the industry for twenty years and then somebody asks you a question ‘how long have you been in the industry’ and you say ‘it is 20 years, I’ve done this, this this’. It is nice to receive compliment from that person saying ‘Wow, so you’ve been around very long and you’re very credible, something like that. Then, it makes you feel good. So all that is part and parcel of [I: marketing] selling. This is sales. Marketing is a bit different. [I: sales] At the end of the day, you want the broker to write as many loans as possible to AMP, so it helps that if you were to compliment them on their knowledge, you respect their ability and its reciprocity. [I: Right] I mean you’re nice to them, they’re nice to you! I: Yeah, no wonder I could see that you were so relaxed, you were so informal with him during the session, and this is the way you think that Australians prefer to be dealt with? M: Well, I am not sure if I can say that and generalize to all Australians, but as far as the brokers that I’ve come in contact with, yes. More often than not, they are the type that will relate to me better, if we be a bit more informal. I mean we can’t be too informal-like mixed, you know because then you’ll loose that seriousness, you’ll loose that message that you are trying to give them which is ‘Look, I’m here to support, I’m serious about my work, I’d like you, I’d like to have some business done with you. You see, business is typically serious; business is not a joke, right. [I: Right] So you can’t really joke too much about it, but if you’re too serious about it as well, it won’t go very well with them. I guess to compare my interactions with Malaysians last time and my interactions now with the Australians, yes. If you want to generalize, typically Australians are a bit more laid back; a bit more informal with the way we do things. Even in business communications. I: Yeah, but what did you perceive of John because when I was observing, you know more of watching him, I saw that he was like all the way, he looked serious, you know. You were so relaxed (mild laughter from participant) and he was like, I could see that he was frowning at certain time of the discussion and all that. M: But that’s how I guess, at the end of the day, you have to understand, ahm…. The person’s, I guess behavior or personality or gait. John, the first few minutes when I was talking to him, you somehow source out that the…what I’m trying to say is that you somehow kind of decipher that he’s like that. You know how, like for me, if I frown that means I’m just thinking really hard but for some people that is just natural for them to frown because that’s their face (laughs), right. So with him, I take it that he’s like that but of course with somebody, I mean it’s just that with John,

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I just happen to know him before that particular session. When I say know, I have met him on two occasions before that, briefly, so I had casual conversations with him. So that’s why when I went into the session, we didn’t have to really do more of a formal greeting because I’ve already done all that or beyond that already. I mean it would be different if let’s say, if I’ve met him for the very first time, I’ll be a bit more formal in probably the first 10 to 15 minutes and then after that I just adjust myself to the way they respond. You can see the way they respond, they’re very laidback, you straight away become like that. So what people say ‘if you’re in Rome do then do what the Romans do’? So that’s what you do. Like for example this morning, I had another normal meeting with the head or the owner of a large broking company, ahm…everything about him, if you were to look at his biodata on his website or if you were to look at the company, the position that he’s having, and you know all the media release is about this company, it pointed out that he is a very serious person. Even when I wanted to actually meet him, I had to go through a protocol, I had to go through to the receptionist, I had to go through his PA, before I can actually speak to him. But there are tell tale signs like for example, ahm…when I want to do the meeting, when I want to arrange for the time, I don’t have to arrange for the time with his PA, I arrange the time with him personally, he called me back, he returned my call personally, it’s not his PA returning my call.[Right] So even though he is the MD of a large brokering company [Mm.mm] again, I’m a person who try not to generalize too much but to compare with the same size company in Malaysia,[Mm, mm] usually you’ll just have the PA or the secretary saying that ‘ok, Mr. so and so would to meet you at this time, you know [Yeah,yeah]. With this person, no, he called up and said this, this, this , ah…yeah, so far my interaction ah….without short of having face to face meeting with him was, everything pointed out that he’s serious. But then, when I met him this morning, one look and the way he extend his hand, his facial expression and the way he dressed up himself, the way he sits, everything about him is casual. [Mm,mm] So all of as sudden, and I just became casual with him. There you go, I guess in my line of work, we just have to look at those cues and interpret it pretty quickly. I mean at the end of the day I don’t think you would go very wrong if he’s casual and I’m formal. It’s just that it doesn’t, the conversation would not flow very well. So with John, ah…ah…, the two brief meetings that I had with him before, when I said brief meeting, it is more so I was having the same training session with his colleagues, he was not able to join us at that time, but I did speak to him, ‘we’ll make another time and I will have a one to one training session just the two of us. And he said ‘fine’, so from that brief conversation, I already know that’s the way he is. But as I said, sometimes people change as we go along or sometimes you learn more things as you go along. So it’s not like you have to know everything on a single session [Right] That’s why we call it a relationship and I am a Reationship Manager [yeah,yeah, alright] I: So is there anything that you find uncomfortable with John when you were presenting the plan? [Well….] Could you identify certain instances that you noticed, you know. M: I guess always the first 10 minutes you are quite uncomfortable but in a way I’m so used to that discomfort, only because I am trying to, like I’m doing many things at the same time. Ahm…what I have to do is that in the first 10 minutes, I have to see what type of person is he and then should I use professional language, put it that way or should I use or should I be more laid back like ‘Oh come on maid , you know, that is really casual, isn’t it? Should I go one way,

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which is one extreme or should I go the other extreme, so in 10 minutes there are zillion things going through my mind , I have to[I: Evaluating.] yes, I have to evaluate him, I have to be conscious of what I’m saying, I don’t want to be trailing off talking nonsense, so I have to be concentrating of what I’m trying to say there, I have to make sure what I’m saying concise rather than going the roundabout way. I also have to be conscious of how I present myself to him. So, not only the words that’s coming out of my mouth, is how I am looking at him, am I looking at him, because sometimes when you’re concentrating on the words, you forgot to have that eye contact or you forgot where you put your hands or the way you sit, so there are lots of things that you have to do. So technically, there are lots of things that goes on, but what you see at the end of the day, is two persons interacting. I: So does that also depend on ahm…on another factor that he is actually an Australian and you are a Malaysian? M: Ahm…. With John, not so much. I think probably because I am just, it’s just my personality, not to say I’m not afraid ….. (Disturbance….recording stopped) I: (Recording continued by repeating the question asked). Is it because he is an Australian and you are a Malaysian? M: Well, with John probably not, ahm…only because I guess I’m that type of person, not to say I’m not afraid but to me, give the benefit of the doubt, so it does not matter whether I’m a Malaysian and he’s an Australian or he can be A Zimbabwean and all that, that does not come into play. Ahmm….only because he does actually, he, he somehow or rather he made me comfortable as well. I mean, there would be some people who actually unnerve me a little bit maybe because of his stature of, of, you know ahm.. of the impression that I have of that person, but with John, no. I: But you were aware that John was one of those brokers whom you found to be very prolific …. M: Yes, yes, my I guess if at all ahm…struggle on the hurdle that I have to face with him is the fact that he is a prolific writer, he is very knowledgeable of what he does, I have to have that fine balance of not tell him, not showing him that I know more and he knows less, and telling him that this is the way to do things, no. I guess my approach would be, ‘Hey John, I am just another BDM from another lender but on the same token, I would give, I am special because I can give you a..better service than the rest of the lenders. I’m not here to tell you how to do your job, I ‘m here to give you information and hopefully we can do something out of it. So it’s more of a humble approach trying to give him support. Ahm…..but having said that also, with a lot of the brokers because that’s what I do, because I feel that there’s a better way to play it rather than coming in showing I’m a know it all and this is what we have, and you guys should be bold over and you guys should be ahm…ecstatic that, you know that AMP is more of an arrogant way, that just doesn’t go with my personality, with my approach and everything.

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My personality is that I come in as a humble person, not too humble though because when you are humble you don’t look at yourself at the same level, they don’t look at you with the same respect.[I:Right] So yeah, as I said it, yeah it looks so complicated, so technical but at the end of the day, it’s just two persons interacting (laughs). I: Ok, so do you think he was really attentive throughout the meeting and how do you know? M: Ahm…..I would say he was attentive most of the time and what he was doing, and I guess quite typical of people in his genre which is in his category whereby they know a lot, ahm….they take the information that I’m saying and at the same time, they are thinking about a…other stuff within what I’ve said, you see. So they are listening and thinking at the same time. A lot of the less experienced broker or the ones which have with a few experience, when they listen they just listen, they will do the listening part and after that they will think when I ask for questions and all that. So yeah, I can see he was attentive and at the same time he was actually thinking. So when he thinks, you can see things like, [I: And he keeps looking at the pages…]yeah we were talking about one page and he is flipping to the other page. Yeah…so. [Hmm…mm..] I: Can you tell whether your client agrees or not with your proposal? M: It’s hard to say ahm…in the first instance, but what I do I usually go direct, I can’t remember whether, whether I specifically mention in this session with him but mostly what I do is while I’m actually booting up my lap top to show him how to use the calculator, because it takes about one or two minutes just to get it and so I really take advantage of that time to ask him of the product, to ask him, ‘ What do you think of the product? Do you think you’ll be able to recommend it to the clients? I’m not whether I’ve said that in that particular session but as I said, mostly I do that just to ask them the question, it really depends on their answer. You can gauge from that whether, have you convinced them or not? The thing is, this is actually, put it this way, if the product is really good and they are like ‘Wow, this is good’, a…. AMP does not need me, the product can sell itself.[Alright] The very reason why ahm… this particular role is created is because the products cannot sell itself because there are products competitive, highly competitive with this product and is a matter of showing what is so good about this product and what else matters with AMP. So, yeah, it is an ongoing thing that’s why we’re called relationship managers not business development managers because our approach is we don’t sell, it’s not a one selling proposition [on going,yeah] and there you go. Because, if you’ve only seen that particular session, with all my brokers, half of them would need, I guess concern convincing, about probably 20 percent of them a….they are convinced, not to say they are convinced 100 percent, they, it is enough for them to say, ‘Yes, I have a scenario, I have some of these deals, let’s look at it, and then within next or that first week, I’ve already had submissions. [Yeah] As it is, they submit that. With John, yes, what happened was, on that day itself and I’m sure you heard it, [yes] we went to seven different submissions, as I said, he has a lot of files on his desk. So ahm…it means he was interested in giving AMP the business. I knew that I won him on that [Hm,mm..] I, I, did win him on that score but that doesn’t mean he’s convinced. Just means that he is willing to try AMP out. So my next, I guess hurdle would be to consistently tell him that ‘Look, I’m always there,

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I’m supporting him, so I would like him to put in more business and it’s like, to convince a person, you have to, it takes time. I: Alright, when he was sharing those seven documents [M: Tose seven scenarios.] , scenarios, does that mean that he was like interested in the plan that you proposed? M: Oh yes, oh yes, ahm…because if he’s not convinced, if he’s not, ahm…ahm.if he doesn’t think that the product is good at all, he won’t do that. [Alright] I know that for a fact because that is, that is a fact in this particular work, right [Right] , they won’t just toss in a scenario and say ‘I have this and what do you think?’. He would have actually, when he was, that’s why I was just thinking when I was telling him about the product features, he felt that those products suit whatever he has at the moment, so that’s why when he flicked through his files, he said ok, ‘Yeah this one you can do, because this person wants this, this, this. This means that he remembered the features and if the person understand and you’ve already have what we call a buy-in, you’ve already sold that proposition to him, he would understand it, and he would remember it. If it’s hard to sell, they won’t remember it, ok. So he remembered, there were a few of the scenarios which are, which involved commercial securities which I can’t do, so he knew ‘Oh, this one you can’t do because this one commercial, this one you can’t ….’. So he’s able to assess that, so that’s why, that is another pointer for me to say that he’s quick , he’s very quick because I only tell the, the …a few simple facts about the product, he can digest the rest. [Right] I: At the end of the presentation if you remembered, you told me after the session that John was being polite. I would like to know what do you mean by being polite? M: Well, sometimes, ahm……ahm, what’s the word yes, being polite is, is a necessity sometimes because you never want to, I guess it’s also ahm…it’s…how, how do I put this? It is human decency, it is only decent to be polite because he’s a professional, I’m a professional, even if he doesn’t like me, we have to be polite, that’s what I’m saying. [So] Because ah….that is the other factor that I find a bit different comparing Australians and Malaysian because they won’t ahm…, they won’t , even though they don’t think that, let’s say, let’s say take the extreme. They don’t think that the product is useful for them at all. They will say ‘ Well we’ll see, if I can get the right client and I will let you know’, you know. So they won’t say ‘No, I don’t think this is good’, they won’t say that because as I said, it’s just decent to be, to say ‘Yes, I’ll see’. I: At the instance when you told me that when he was being polite, were you having this negative feeling that he was sort of trying to please you but not really going to take up the… M: No, no, I don’t feel it that way because I guess, it’s normal, it’s just normal for people to be polite. So, you try not to read too much into it. I: Right, so at that juncture, you weren’t sure whether he was like really going to be you know, taking the deal? Is that what you mean? M: You see, I guess you got to understand the, the way, this works, the way my interaction with the person works. This is not like you’re selling, I don’t know, [Tangible] yeah like selling a

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book, like this the book which you can see it, you want to take it or leave it , you know, like, like, the decision is quick, it’s swift, it’s either you want it, so you buy it or you don’t or you’ll think about it later, or you just don’t want to. So it’s not this, this is a whole different ball game, politeness is just a fact of the matter, the convincing, hopefully you can convince within that session that ‘Look, he should try to put some loans, the AMP way, right, but I can tell you this, sometimes I can go to a session, no matter how much I say it, they are not convinced. There are a lot of factors that can contribute to them not being convinced of it, but then when I work on the relationship later, they will give all their loans to me. So that happens, it’s just that, that session is but only one part of an on going interaction. I: If you can recall, he mentioned about, you know like he was actually concerned about ethical or being ethical, an he said to me ‘Make sure you record this!’. Do you think he was conveying this message to you or trying to imply to you know lenders and I, I remembered he used words like sometimes lenders or brokers? I’m not sure what he meant like they ‘glossed’ you know [Mm,mm] and that kind of thing. And he particularly mentioned about the word ‘unethical’ there. So would you like to comment on that? M: Ok, right. Aaa .….now, how do I clarify this? You have to understand there is a bit of a technical background with that; it’s just both myself and John was on the same page and I know what exactly what he meant. You see, he’s called a finance manager, a loan consultant, a finance broker or a mortgage broker, you see or mortgage writer what have you, it’s all of the above.[Alright] But the term regularly used in trying to explain his job is mortgage broker, so the word ‘broker’ has been I guess, abused so many times, it has its negative connotations [connotations, yeah]. At the moment, this has started few years back, that there are scandals in the broking industry whereby there are some unethical brokers who did some unethical things, right. What he’s trying to say is not to say ‘Look Hanna I’ve no part in this but it’s more so trying to make a statement that ‘Look, I am an ethical person’, right. But when he said that, that particular statement, I remember this that is more of what we call a moral rather than an ethical. To me that is how I decipher because we were talking specifically unless I’m wrong; the session was quite sometime ago, I believe what he was saying was this, I was actually explaining to him the service and the support that I can provide him. So we have gone beyond the product feature because, put it this way, what am I there to do? I’m there at the end of the day, my objective is to get him to write as many loans as possible to AMP banking. How do I do that? I have to tell them that AMP is a good brand or a good lender, we have good products and we have good service. So I’ve dealt with the lender brand name kind of thing, I have dealt with the product features [Mm,mm] and all those technical side of it, [Right] and I was going on to the service side. So, so among those features and service that I can provide him, I mentioned that if he wants to, you see when a broker… typically again, this is a technical background ya, ahm…..when a broker sent in an application, we assessed it and we approved it, so once the loan approved, the bank will send what we call a loan representation to the borrower, his client. The client needs to sign it and send it back to us and then after that, money changes hands, the client has his or her loan. So the part that I was saying is that by right not to say by right, the standard in the industry is this, one the lender sends in the loan documentation, it is sent to the borrower directly, the borrower looks at it, sign it, but there’s a contract, a legal contract with a lot of legal technical terms, right [Right, mm]. So different states have different legislation. Just for your info Western Australia has the most rules and regulations as far as broking is concerned, ok. So what happens

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is this, ahm…. it is still permissible for the lender or the bank to send the documents to the broker and then broker bring it to the client and then broker explain the terms of it. It is legitimate, it is legal, there is no regulation which says that you can’t do that. It’s just that there are some schools of thought which argued that ‘Look if a broker brings a loan documentation to the client and say just sign here or this, and the client asks ‘What does this sentence mean?’, and then the broker explained it, there might be a conflict of interest there. Why? Because the broker is the one who arrange the loan, so let’s say, the broker arrange the loan, it is perceived sometimes that it there maybe conflict of interest when the broker is also explaining the legality of the document and the technical terms within it because the broker tend to gain something out of the client signing the contract, right, because the broker gets paid by the bank, right. [Right] So, so some school of thoughts, they would say that those loan documentations, if they need any help, they should go to an objective party, like the lender or somebody else, ok. Some states which is not Western Australia, some lenders which is not AMP banking, stipulate that, ‘Ok, if there is a loan documentation, a broker cannot preside over that and sign. But AMP has no problems with that because we havesought our legal opinion, here shouldn’t be any perceived conflict of interest. If there is, it’s just a moral one, you know, it’s just a moral one. [Ok] For example, like for example, you are having me as a what you call a study object for your paper, right. And I offer my time to you free of charge and I feel because I like to do this. Ahm…if I ask you to pay me, let’s say $20 an hour for my time sitting with you? Is that legal? That is legal. Is that ethical? May be not. Is that moral, absolutely not because I shouldn’t be gaining. To me, I feel I shouldn’t be gaining a profit because I’m giving my time. But technically or legally I can charge you if I want to, but I feel morally I shouldn’t be doing that. That is what he’s trying to say, he is ethical, he wants to… because different workers have different, different stand on that matter. Like for me when I was a broker last time, yes, I don’t want to actually want to bring that document to the client and say, ‘This is what it means because it might be, because I am getting something from it. If the client doesn’t sign, I don’t get paid. If the client sign I do, it is my interest to get the client to sign. So I might say something which is not right within those contexts, so that’s what he’s trying to say. [Yeah, ok] Yeah, but, so that’s I guess an elaborate way of explaining the technical background, when he said it, I take it to mean that, what he’s trying to say is just this, ‘ I’m not going a, I prefer not to have to do anything with the loan documentation, so when the bank send it, just send it to the client. I was just offering that as an option to him because other brokers do want that and do require that. So [Ok] yeah… I: Right, so you can read his mind… M: Not to say can read his mind, it’s more so because I’ve been in this industry [Right, you used to be on the other side yeah…] we know what’s going on, so when I was talking to him, I know exactly what he meant [Alright] , probably to an outsider ‘Oh….that is, what is that?’ [Yeah, yeah] I: Because I’m trying to relate how you know, why he brought that in, I’m sure both of you already know, you know [Yeah] that kind of thing. M: I mean if, to be, to be honest, if let’s say it is something illegitimate or illegal or even remotely unethical, I wouldn’t be doing it because we’re not, because in this role I have to do a lot of compliance sessions and all that, I will be loosing my role let’s say if I were to do anything

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unethical. But on that score, I’d probably, I guess what it means that, he’s probably should have used the word ‘immoral’ rather than unethical. Yes. I: Could you relate some of the ways or approach that you’ve taken adapting yourself to me more Australianlike? [Laughs] M: Ahm…I’d say try to act like they do, I guess. I guess first and foremost if you can probably hear, sometimes I do have that Australian twang there, it is not conscious, I guess it’s just there because when you talk to them, I don’t know, I am that person when I’m in America, all of a sudden the ‘r’ the ‘water’ and ‘swallow’ and all that just comes into play, when I’m in America, I tend to do that. And when I’m in Malaysia, if I’m in Trengganu, then I have that Trengganu slang [the dialectal], yeah the dialect. If I’m in Perak, I’ll say something else. I: This is more unconsciously…. M: Exactly, unconsciously done that, ahm…whatever I do, as long as I feel comfortable with it , and I make sure that the customer or the client can relate to me, so I would probably do certain things subtly, just to reach that point where they can relate to me. I: May I say that you did mention ‘You’re my kind of guy, you’re my kind of guy’ [yes, yes] M: Because, because it could have been, a….a… I was, I was asking him about what type of clients he have, what type of products that he choose, so he’s the type that he said that, I believe he said that he is in the refinance client and all that, he is the type that when he looks at the deal, he does, he really do it fully, he really do a good job out of it, he doesn’t just ah…’Oh, I just need to write this loan so do a hanky panky job of it, so that is exactly the type of person that I want to be dealing with, so that is again another way of complimenting it. So there’s many ways of complimenting a person, so that I guess just my way casually to say, ‘yes, you’re my kind of guy!’, so yeah. I: Do you still keep some of the Malaysian style of business approach, if there’s any, could you, you know describe? M: Is there anything specifically a Malaysian style? [I’m not, I’m not sure] (She laughs) I: I guess because like we can actually identify to be more adapting ourselves to be more Australianlike , I’m not sure you still could remember whether you know, is the same approach that you used to do with other Malaysians at one time, you know… M: There would be a, a I guess certain things that you do regardless of who you talk to, that would be I guess ahm, ahm…the way the world does business, I mean of course when you do you go and dress appropriately, ahm…you, coming on time, ahm…and you respect that person, don’t do it in arrogant manner, because I don’t do it like I said I’m in sales, that is my potential client, [Oh, ok] right, so I shouldn’t be feeling arrogant to say that [I’m prepared], so that kind of thing. Ahm…that, that will happen regardless whether I’m in Malaysia or I’m here. Ahm…I guess it’s just more so not to say changing my way but adapting my way to Australian. And then

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I, I see there’s a difference, changing is like rather than I choose this way and I choose that way, I’m replacing the way. Now, what I’m just doing is to, to I guess adapting is more so ahm… shifting a little bit of those aspects, for example, if I, I still remember that in Malaysia protocol really, really matters like you know, you talk to a big MD, the protocol is there and you know [the way you address them…] the way you address them and everything. Over here is more casual, so you change that. But that doesn’t mean you don’t respect them, you still have that respect. In Malaysia, I guess I don’t know probably my sort of clients because they are all big guns I guess, what you do is, you come in you sit, you don’t straight away talk about business, you have some small talks, sometimes that small talk becomes half an hour talk about this and that before you talk about the crux of the matter. [So, but you don’t have this here.] Over here no, you don’t have to beat around the bush too much, ahm…ahm….you have a good, small, little intro and after that you present your business.[Yeah,so] I: May I just, since you are working for an Australian company and representing an Australian bank, ahm, well, ahm…are you aware or are you taking the inter-cultural or cross-cultural factors in mind when you are, you know you are going to face Australian clients and putting yourself what you call it as a Malaysian, I just be specific. When you see them do you have the cross-cultural and inter-cultural, you know, perception of… M: Are you asking that am I conscious of that, that I am different from them? Am I conscious of that? Yes, I am. Ahm…I…I guess I build on that, I don’t take that as negative, that’s just, I am …at the end of the day, yes. I mean, I look different, I’m a female. There’s not a lot of female relationship managers, there are more males. This is a male dominated industry actually, even though there are more and more females entering this particular type of industry but it is , many dominated by males. So not only I’m a female, I look different, I’m Asian and my last name is Aiman and sometimes when I talk to them, always on most occasion my interaction with them first and foremost is on the phone. So, I’m conscious of that but I build on that which means I just prepare myself. I know, I probably used that to a…to tell myself ‘Look you’ve just have to work harder Hanna’, you see, but that’s just me. Other than that I never, I never look at that difference as a material difference that it’s going to be really hard. No, and tell the truth if this matters at all, ahm…in Malaysia, if I let’s say, I know I’m going to see a ‘big short’ or a ‘big gun’ , and then somebody serious or somebody very senior level, I am up for what you call not say a tough time. My perception of it, my impression is actually true. I’m right on the money, when I go there, that’s exactly what transpired. I really have to use the protocol, I’m really talking to a ‘big gun’ and all that. So, so of course, when you’re talking, when you’re at the lower level, and then you’re talking towards somebody who is really senior in terms of age, [experience] experience, and everything else, you do feel a bit of discomfort because of that discrepancy there.[Yeah] But over here somehow or rather, that doesn’t play so much, I mean I might just have that preconceived idea [Yeah, yeah] before I go in. As I said, the example just now, I said this guy that I met this morning, everything about him pointed out that he is very serious, so this is going to be, I have to really convince a senior guy [Yeah] But when I came in, he’s just like you and me, it’s very easy to talk to, very nice, very helpful, it’s like when I’m talking to, it’s not like I’m talking to, not to say that I’m talking a friend, but talking to somebody the same level. Because he respect me for what I am, for what I’m doing, so that’s all. I: So what you can see here is that, not the protocol conscious, you can say that.

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M: Yes, yes, exactly. I: Alright, ok. So may I just say that you have successfully gained what you have expected to have out of the meeting? M: Well to be honest, I would, I always feel, again, this is I guess probably my flaw and my own personality, I always feel given time, I probably can do better. Then again, there were no regret in however the session turned out. I can, as long as long as I did my best which I felt that I did given the circumstances then, and that’s all that matters. And after that because this is not a one time thing, and be all and end all of things, it means that I can come and see him, again and again and again, even if I failed miserably with him the first time, let’s say there’s another broker that I talk and totally I couldn’t convince him because of certain things, then I always have the next time and the next time and the next time to build on that relationship. It is a building relationship, it is the, a journey, it’s not a destination, you don’t make or break at that particular session, it is an on going thing. I: So lastly, Ms Hanna, I feel that you’re someone being a Malaysian, very fluent, you may not have, you know, you might not face all the difficulties that a normal Malaysian in your place [she laughs] taking the same role, so would you ahm… have a suggestion which probably more of an advise to be given for Malaysians you know, who are going to be doing the same role [role, ok] that you’re doing and particularly dealing with Malaysians [Ok]. M: I would say no matter what be yourself, be true to yourself, don’t try to be something that you’re not. Only because from personal experience last time, yeah. If you try to show that you know it all, you’ll fail miserably, just be yourself because when you are comfortable you are more convincing and more effective in that manner, in that way. Be prepared, don’t take lightly of the work. Like when I said be prepared, don’t…… you know that the appointment is at 11 o’clock, be there 15 minutes before, you have your handouts ready, you know what you want to say point form, the other part is just, go with the flow, you can’t really be rigid and say ‘This is what I want to do, de, de,de,de, de’, and then do that, no matter what. You have to give and take, I guess the most important piece of ‘advice’ that I can give is ‘Be yourself and be confident of what you can do, [so, right] because the confident of the ability because that that confidence shows if at all even though, I mean of course you’ve got to know what you’re talking about, if you don’t know about the product, learn it because you have to be, I see myself as a walking library of AMP home loans. I’ve got to know what I’m talking about, I’ve got to know about my products. So when they ask I can confidently answer that. But other than that, the confidence will shine through because if it does, that’s the one that people remember. I: Right, may I say that the confidence goes on with the ability to, to communicate with the language well. M: Ah… yes, yes that’s probably part of it, yes because if you can’t communicate with that person, ahm, yeah [you will not build any relationship with that person] yeah because I remembered but this is not like outside of work, this is when I first came here, and I knew my English was good, right. Not to say that I don’t understand, I can understand, it’s just because of

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the slang and I happened to say with this true, blue Australian person who is the husband of, Australian husband of a Malay friend, and I couldn’t even understand a word that he was saying and I was horrified. So much so every time I had to go to their place, I hide, I hid behind my husband because I try not to speak to him, not because I was afraid to speak to him, I was afraid of being rude because if he asked me something I don’t understand, I might be answering, giving the wrong answer or having to ask him ‘Can you say that again because we Malaysians, this is one thing, we are very polite, we are not as direct, right. An Australian would just if they don’t understand what I’m trying to say which, which is a … very rarely happen but it does happen, sometimes. They will say, ‘Can you say that again, I lot you there’, you know, not a problem. But a Malaysian because of all our in-build character and culture and all that, for us to ask that person, ‘Can you slow down, I really can’t understand what you are saying’, that is like being rude to that person, you know, I understand that. So yes, language is important without I guess the fluency of the language, it’s going to be very hard for you to sell. This is a sale’s role (laughs). So, yeah. I: Oh yeah, one final thing, do you actually focus on some of the non verbal gestures and behavior of John during the meeting on that day? [Oh yes, yeah] M: On that day like I said, he was attentive because you can see his body was like hunching over the thing, and he was doing, so it’s not, that that the I guess his facial expression is not that ‘I don’t understand it, this is not good, it’s more so I’m thinking, right’ and then you can see that from the way he ask questions and all that, and then, but at the same time he was a bit relaxed because the way he was doing like, you know he was going back a little bit, I mean, you can see his [body posture] body posture and then yes, it’s just that if I may say, it probably be a bit more polite than his normal self [yeah], probably because he sees the camera is there and all that [yeah, probably] because you tend to do that but as I said or maybe I just have that guard feel that if not because of the camera, he would be more of himself not to say that on that day he’s not himself, he’s probably less than 100 percent of himself. [You’re right] I: Alright ahm…well before you began the meeting, well, you brought, you know, (she laughs) the [ muffins] . Is that a normal Australian way of dealing with clients? M: A……not really, I mean it really depends because this is to see in my industry, I really can’t, you can’t stipulate that and then use it with any other type of business interaction… I: What I’m trying to say is that probably your relationship with him, oh you know … M: Oh….yes, yes… I: You, you’re so comfortable you know that you wouldn’t mind to bring the snacks and some snacks…whatever. M: Ahm…because only because I know they would welcome it and also when I was a broker last time, we like it, like there was this one lender we had to go to their place, when we go there, there were breaks between training and they will serve us coffee and give us muffins. So I said, I like it that we get to eat, we do not want to learn anything on empty stomach and then it actually

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goes to my advantage too, if I show that ‘Look if I don’t mind spending money, ah….just on muffins just costs a couple of dollars and then he can have it, because a lot of brokers, mind you they work long hours. They sometimes miss breakfast or lunch, right, that was in the morning. So if let’s say, he missed his breakfast he would be hungry and it is not polite or it is a bit embarrassing if you start listening to the ramble of your stomach. It’s embarrassing right, whether it is for me or for him. So what I do is , have that muffin, they can opt to have there and then [through experience] or after that , yes. Introducing that muffin means that ‘Look this is not formal because formal always means there’s no ….(?), again as I said, no matter how formal it is, whenever you go to any office, they would ask you whether you want tea, coffee or water, right, which tell you the truth I’ve never ever had that offered to me when I was in Malaysia, I go to scores of offices in KL and ahm…never had coffee or tea offered, right. Maybe now they are different but over here that will be one of the first few things that they offered. So, because you are a guest. So to me I’m just giving that reciprocity to have the muffins. I: Alright thank you Miss Hanna, it’s interesting talking to you [Thank you] and getting some of the perceptions, the real perceptions of the whole meeting. M: Thank you, I’m just saying that because the meeting happened quite sometime ago, I might not remember the specifics of it but I do remember, I mean the feeling is always there. That’s the thing that’s most important, so hopefully that, that is also true on John’s part. For example, if he can see my confidence, if he can see I’m really there to help him, if I can show him the message that ‘Look the product is good enough for him to sell to his clients, that‘s all that matters. He might not remember all the features of the product, that does not matter, that’s only a call away, but the one you want to live with is that ‘Look this is a good person to work with, I want to work with her’. That’s what I want him to feel and [an ongoing relationship] and I feel that I, I did reach that objective ahm…because he was willing to actually have me look through some of his loans scenarios. Yeah… I: Ok, thank you. M: Thank you.

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Appendix 12

Example of Perception Interview Australian Participant

DATA C – IA3 INTERVIEW WITH SPH HALAL MEAT INDUSTRY R: Researcher A: Australian Venue: Perth, WA (Resident) Date: 11 May 2004 R : Thank you Smith for giving me the time to interview you for this research. Probably, I would appreciate if you could briefly introduce yourself and sharing the business that you’ve been doing. A : Right, well my name is Smith ehm…I started International Business in 19…89, we had a, I had actually a company with two Malaysian partners which was focused on bilateral on Malaysian investment in Australia. R : Hm,mm… A : So we operated that business for five years [Hm,hm] and then we basically just decided, well we took part as well all the other things. R : Yeah…((laugh)). Alright. A : So, they sought of whim, they have been putting out the asset, they need it to run the business, so we decided to go our own way. R : Alright. A : So, we basically just whined down the business and then I set up on my own from now. R : Ok, ok. A : My focus from the last 5 to 6 years is mainly been on livestock and ahm…Agricultural commodities. R : Hm..hm.. A : And again bilateral experts, mainly experts from Australia. R : Oh,ok. Mainly experts from Australia and ah, ok, since then you are now into a different industry or you’re still….? A : No, that’s the prime industry that they were involved in but we still get like, now we still get a lot of people that, you know that want to invest in other business outside agriculture. R : Alright, alright. A : That way you know, we attend to we don’t in a lot of those businesses we just facilitate but we don’t actually participate. R : Mm..mm…

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So, probably I would like to know why your interest is Malaysia for it matter, yeah, any particular ahm..focus? A : Oh, I guess, first my wife is from there (laughs). R : Alright, ok. A : That was where we started in Malaysia, international business side. R : Alright. A : That was obviously because I was married to a Malaysian. R : Alright. A : Hm..and look, Malaysia is a good place to do business I mean, it’s, it’s initially was a prime focus. The focus now is really is still Malaysia. Ahm…but there’s a lot of focus in the Middle East as well, predominantly like Saudi Arabia,Dubai and Egypt. [Australian business people still find that Malaysia is still their prime focus, that is why AMBC in Australia and MABC in Malaysia are set up to cater for the bilateral business between the two countries. There was quite a crowd of interested business people from both countries attended the 2004 International Bilateral Trade Seminar in both Sydney and Perth.] R : Alright. A : But with the agricultural as it is now, I think the next two years the focus will direct back to Malaysia because of ahm..the recent Chinese and the government there. R : Yeah. A : =…..a lot more focus in agriculture. R : Yeah, mm..mm. A : And I guess, I think Malaysia is giving towards Australia now to develop a lot more business in agriculture. [Agriculture is one of the focused industry that will be developing further] R : Alright, and ahm..so your perspective working with Malaysian, if you don’t mind, probably give me a sincere sharing from you know, from 1989 until now, so you are one person who can actually give me an overview, you know of the relationship of Malaysia and Australia, you know in international industry. A : Oh, the warding, I think the (…..) between the two countries is good. Ah..there may be…I mean there was some problems between the two Prime Minister (laugh)… [MALAYSIA/AUSTRALIA RELATIONSHIP] R : Alright, yeah. A : =….of both countries which I don’t think the general business, businessmen take a great deal of notice. It didn’t really reflect on that, it might be refl ected in business to business government but not on private business level. [MALAYSIA/AUSTRALIA RELATIONSHIP – The impact of the cold and unfavorable relationship is only on the business governmental level but not on the private businesses]. R : Yeah…Hm,hm… A : But, you know, I mean dealing with Malaysia I think you know, there’s a lot of, there’s a lot commodities here that they’re seeking from Australia and hence there’s a lot of projects in Malaysia where a lot of Australia companies can also get involved in. [Good BILATERAL TRADE between the two countries] R : Hm…hm..

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A : Dealing with the Malaysians themselves when we focus (…..) deal with the boo..Bumi’s, you cannot deal with the Chinese or… [MALAYS are the preferred group] R : Oh really, I mean me meaning….your company? A : Company, yeah. R : Only with the Bumis. A: That’s just by preference. R : Why? A : The Chinese is too hard to deal with. [Chinese are found to be difficult to deal with] R : Oh, Ok. A : And again look, [The Chinese prefer to do business only with their fellow Chinese] they want to do business down here and they just tend to do business with their own, their own people and ahm…look, I guess I’m being an Australian but I guess if I was a non-Muslim we’re probably launched out and deal predominantly, you know, maybe just with Chinese and Malay. R : Yeah, A : That’s why Muslims just preferred to a ….just little bit ahm…Bumis yeah. [The Malay business people may be skeptical to explore business in Perth due to the weak political relationship of the two countries and secondly, Australian language could be a barrier] R : But, well, I was like having a hard time trying to find the Bumis around you know doing business in Perth, you know, and I found a lot of Chinese instead. A : There’s quite….. R : and I …. A : Yeah, there’s a lot of Chinese, there’s a lot of Chinese. There is quite a few Bumis but mostly keep low profile. [The Malays LOW PROFILE nature] R : Yeah, probably. A : Ahm…you know, On the same token, you know, that that’s one I get I’m not saying it’s complaint because there’s one downfall with a lot of Malaysian Bumis the ones that was here, they tend like procrastinate too much. [MALAYS PROCRASTINE ] R : Oh Ok.Yeah A : Procrastinate, they take a long time to you know, which is (…..) there’s probably some culture there, you find down here when you’re doing business down here particularly if you do business where in now you know like you got to do it or get it done, you know. [PROCRASTINATION – taking a long time to follow-up matters and to finalize things pertaining to business] R : Yeah, yeah. A : It’s not come down have a look, come down again and second trip, four, five times… [Australian expects Malays to aggressively follow-up with the business matter] R : Yeah. A: =…And I understand they want to put up rapport or product and trust before they decided to do business but they also miss the opportunities by doing that. [RAPPORT and TRUST before business, Malays miss out opportunities] R : Alright. A : Whereas the Chinese tend to be more ‘going-height’. [Chinese characteristic] R : Yeah, yeah, you’re right, hm..hm..

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A: Like the Australian, ahm… R : And I understand you’re station here in Perth,… A : Yes. R : So do you have like a branch in Malaysia or another office there that you, how do you operate this business? A: No, we got time. No, no, well, we have operated from here. Then we have two partners that advise one partner and one general manager that’s based in Kuala Lumpur and then in Dubai as well. R : Oh, Ok, right. So particularly we’re going to take for today the business, you major business that you’ve been focusing that is the livestock and meat. A : That’s right. R : Like you said, ya! You did mention one other day that it’s, it’s getting very good now within these three months. Would you like to elaborate on that? A : Yeah. There’s a lot of a, there’s a lot of demand from Malaysia now, particularly for livestock and meat to some extent, but a lot more livestock. Ahm, you know, and for example two years ago, the total livestock export to Malaysia was only $28,000. Last year was just under fifty. This year, it could actually top a hundred this year. [Livestock could be potential market for Australia] R : Hm..hm. A : It’s increased and that’s really because of the focus that the (….) government now. In Malaysia, there’s a lot more focus in agriculture and ahm… I guess it’s becoming more self-sufficient, when I said self-sufficient, I mean, I think Malaysia has finally realized that several things in agriculture and you should have that and they won’t just work in Malaysia. Hence, you know, breeding enough cattle which they tried and tried and tried for years and spent lots and lots of money…. [Malaysia has not been successful in importing and breeding cattle, perhaps due to the lack of up to date technology or the non-suitability of the environment. They often ended up producing less quality cattle] R : Yeah. A : =…… but, you know it’s not that they don’t have technology, they don’t have people that qualified, and the problem they have is that, it’s just the country itself. It’s not suited, the climate,… R : …… the environment. A : Yeah, the environment is not suited, to breed the cattle that they required and the quality of cattle that they want. R : So they have tried before? A : Yeah, they’ve tried and there’s a lot of breeding program that, that run on the small, small scale, but that’s not going to help feed the population. [Breeding programs were not successful] R : Yeah, you’re right. Ha.ha… A: And to do something, the guy is predominantly cattle, you know some of the breeding program they’re using, they’re using like yellow, what you call the yellow, the yellow cattle from

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China, they do something from Vietnam, which can work because they are used to sort of climate. On the same token, they are a lot more susceptible to all the diseases. R : Right. A : You know, and I know they (…..) had animals in few lots and in breeding program which beat the number (….) put me up these days. R: Right. A: So, hence the focus is on you know, on quality cattle, R : Yeah. A: That are basically disease free. R : Right, right. A : So there’s always been the focus on Australia but unfortunately these Australian cattle, you can set up small breeding programme and not large ones. Why did I say the focus is now is said they, I think they finally sort of (……) you know on that is not going to work, so let’s look at another scenario and hence there’s a number of large abattoirs… R : Right, hm..hm.. A : =… and then, you know, they advised to look for Australian companies. R : Alright. A : And they’re basically (…..) which is United States (……) and export. R: Hm..hm.. Yeah. A: So depend on export. So the focus now appears to be whether they want to import the light cattle from Australia’s basically the raw material, process them through the abattoirs and then on export. [BUSINESS FOCUS] R: Ok. A: If that is the focus that they are going towards, then they are definitely on the right track. R: They are on the right track. So have you taken of from that so far or it’s just planning that you’re going to do right now. A: Yeah, I mean that’s that’s the way I perceive. I’ve done, I’ve written two papers for two companies in Malaysia, both in the middle of take or restarting of the abattoirs, they’re dormant, they both different companies but they both got the concept. [ABATTOIRS] R : Oh.. A : The concept is good. The concept is good because the economics bought only (…..) they should be doing. As you know the abattoirs is not to process meat for the local market but to export. R: To export? So you’re looking into like Malaysia will be the centre point for the meat you know exported to Middle East probably. A: That’s right, yeah. I think they got the wrong concept over what they call ‘Halal Hab’. So to export meat to, you know I mean they may want to export to Indonesia but don’t think that should be their focus? Their focus should be the Middle East Market, is a large volume market and that come as much in Western Countries. [The HALAL CONCEPT misunderstood] R: I guess that’s focus the minister international trade Datin Seri Rafidah. Datuk Sri Rafidah you know been you know guess planning to have, to be the centre for one Middle East thing.

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But I do not know whether it has materialized because I was like looking into business people here with the ‘halal’ meat, I found that there are many Singaporean here in Perth that’s actually, who are operating here in Perth, and I particularly have not found any Malaysian for that. Well, I heard many Malaysian started the business and that’s it, you know,… A: Hm…Hm.. R: And it’s always half way. A : Hm…Hm.. R : I wonder why that happened? A: Oh, look, a lot of the ahm… this type of business that made livestock business the halal meat business is going to be very resilient. R: Oh, Ok. A: Yeah, it’s very tough business. R: It is tough, yeah, alright. A: Very persistent. You got to be tough, you got to be resilient. [CRITERIA to be involved in the industry] R: Alright A: You know, you got to (…..) know you way around. R: Ok right. A: You have to make my own industry. R: Yeah, yeah. A: It’s not an easy business. [TOUGH BUSINESS] R: It’s not. A: I mean yeah, there’s Malaysian Companies, that had set up abattoirs and they’ve gone broke, and discuss some work from me. And you know, That’s really because I haven’t had the right managing the business system. [M FAILURE in the industry] R : Yeah, yeah, yeah… A : ….t hence there, you know there area couple of Malaysian groups now looking, setting up abattoirs here again. R: What about the halal certificate that you the Australia’s had to work into, because you are actually dealing with Muslims from Malaysia. How do you go about that? Do you get you know the people from Malaysia to certify the halal certificate or how does it go? A: Oh, I guess the Malaysia have got an advantage now because the Malaysian owner, any ‘halal’ stand or shop, you call it in the industry, ahm…particularly for the Malaysian market, Malaysian is accepted anywhere in the world. And you know, I mean the Australian is to a certain extent, there’s a lot of doubts now, clouding the Australian halal certification, there’s a lot of bit companies in the Middles East now, that you know basically won’t buy product from Australian because they’re not happy with, you know to certain extent from a Muslim country. [DOUBTS on Australian Products.] R: Alright. A : Unless with Malaysia, you really have take advantage about (……). R: So at the moment, you see that the Middle East is not doing business directly with Australian. A: No, no, there is still business going on.

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R : There is still? Ha..Ha.. A: But you know, I mean ahm, they can, I can’t set get any bigger because of that problem. R: Ok, yeah, yeah. A: Ah.., my reason why the questions now it’s not what I think I doubt, you know, I don’t think I doubt the fact that there’s Muslim abattoir, I think they just feel some comfortable now with the happening in the world but you know they make certified, you know from in a Muslim country and that’s where Malaysia got the opportunity to do that. [CERTIFICATION on the ‘halal’ understanding] R: Hm…hm…How do you feel the current international situation with (…..) to trade in with Malaysia or Middle East, after the September 11th, (laugh)? A: You know, I ,I … 136 R: Is that a factor affecting it? A: Oh no, me personally, I don’t think it’s affected. I’m talking industry as far as the agricultural matter, it hasn’t really affected at all. R: Ok, ok, So like when you did dealing with Middle East, I guess you know, that does not matter, I mean, in terms of September 11, event. A: No, I mean …..(unclear) R : What about, I guess the volume matters. A : Yeah, the (……). The business as far as September 11th, I think the business you know basically give a long standing and gradually increased. Ahm…in the end the Australian wins, there’s a lot of opportunities ahm… in the Middle East as well as in Malaysia, I guess for Australian Companies but a lot of Australian Companies now you know somebody’s now is so cautious because unfortunate believe, everything I read in the press, Muslims are terrorists. R: Yeah. A: Every Muslim is a terrorist. The downside, as for as I can see hear is that people any Muslim people, the one in Western Australia, which is not easy for me. (……) I say must, I’m saying I must rather than just walk in with cash in Europe, in the Middle East, in South East Asia, a lot of business investment is done by what they called an SLOC, Standby Letter of Credit which is common. And you know we have a lot of companies that you know want to invest here and they want to use the standby letter of credit, ahm… but the (……) had to go through, the fact that they just have to be basically have to prove ten times over because they’re Muslims. R: Yeah,exactly. A: That has affect this country. Because unfortunately the Australian government over here is paranoid, you know where the money comes from, who are they and if they have been (……) want to invest on cattle stations because unfortunately what goes through their mind is already Muslimly bond and a remote (……) property and they are giving to set a training camp. And that’s a reality. R: Yeah, yeah. A: (……) of Australia today. R: Hm…Hm… A : You know, we have seen it first hand. R : You did mention the other day that the Middle East, you know, their orders are really big? A : Enormous.

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R : Enormous, yeah. You were saying about just testing, did you mention about you know containers of orders or volumes. A: Well, Sample orders for them can be between 50 to 100 thousand kilos, it’s just that’s a sample order, a test to test the market in Saudi, anywhere in the Middle East is enormous. There’s are abattoir in Western Australia which ahm.. (………) the kills, he kills, processes exports, 50 kilos to and has a shape and heavy weight……. R: I understands you have in, in Western Australia you have the abattoir in Kattaning. A: Kattaning. R: Is it the only place? A: No, no, that’s I mean, Wankazai ahm.. a land abattoir or land shape, it is actually a tiny abattoir which kills about 2,000 heads per day, which is about 10,000 a week as compared to a big one in Neraka which is near Albany, Fletchers. R: Right. A : Which kills 50,000 a week R: So at the moment Malaysia is one of ya main, I mean you supply to Malaysia a lot. A: A lot of the export we’ve been doing is actually like last year, mostly the business was done in Indonesia which export of white meat and cattle to Indonesia. To some extent to the Middle East. This year is really starting towards the Middle East because they are more interested in cows in there, the last two to three months there’s just been unbearably call from Malaysia. R: Right. So do you see, ‘d like to know if you did notice or probably identify you know, the way Malaysian, you know do business? Do you think can actually you know, probably through experience particularly identify you know their style; you know that you have to understand the intercultural aspect of it. A: In most business, I mean in most industry the one that Malaysia do business is fine. R: Yeah, Right. A: You know, in the business in the livestock make business need to be a more aggressive you have to be very, very aggressive. R: Meaning that. A: If you want to do the business, you just you know press the nut and I’ve got to be honest with it, Malaysian got very, very bad names for shopping area. R: Oh ok. A: They got on the internet or they pull up all the list of all the Australian exporters and then just email everybody and ask for quote, you’d never do business in Malaysia like that. R: Oh ok. A: You got to remember, in the livestock meat business, everybody knows everybody. R: Alright, Yeah, yeah you’re right. A: Ever we’re so competitive, we would know each other. So everyone knows one company’s contact with everybody and basically a lot of them nothing worry about replying. R: Yeah. A: They couldn’t be bothered replying. They can be bothered to make business with people like that because most of experts here won a ‘long term’ loyal alliance. Say, if you’ll be loyal to them, then they’ll be loyal to you.

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And if you shop around, like a lot of them do and it’s not just Malaysian, Indonesian the same way, you shop around, you buy one, one month you bought from this one and you go to the next one and you shop around, your business will never survive. R: Are you able to tell, probably it’s their, probably it’s their ignorance of how to do business with Australian or that’s the way they’ve been dealing in Malaysia, you know, they shop around and find the best, yeah. A: Maybe first, I mean, you know, I mean the life cattle and export and the meat market is a price diner market. R: Yeah,yeah. A: It’s price diner, ah… you know, so they want to shop around and get some, may be one or two cents cheaper. R: Oh yeah. A: In the end, in the end, that’s why Malaysia there’s been many livestock exporters have gone broke. R: Oh, OK. A: Their life cattle industry in Malaysia now is controlled by the Indians and the Chinese. R: Hm..hm.. you know. A: You know the biggest players. R: Yeah. A: I mean the frozen meat is controlled by the Chinese, you know I mean the big player are Indian and Chinese, and but I know, those guys there, those particular guys, I know whom I deal with because I dealt with the same companies for years. R: So what do you think you should do?. A : Probably come down to Australia, have a look aroun and find a partner. R : Ha..Ha.. A: They are going to deal with and I think to look at long term. R: Right. A: Because there’s no persist jumping here, jumping there, to make a little more money on one shipment went there’s no supply continuinity. R : Yeah, You’re right. A: You go to one exporter, you go the next one, next month, you go back to the someone who supplied you, he hasn’t got any cattle, so he gets back to the next one, he just shuts to win the price. R: Right. A: They don’t want to deal with you. And that’s why, you know like, that is the problem I do have. R: Yeah, yeah A: They jump around, sure it’s price diner but the cattle market here is very buoyant, so there’s very little difference. You’d better of looking at long term and stick to the long term. Plan to support you all the time. When the market goes down, right. R: Yeah. A: He’ll consider that he’ll give you the price, so he’ll run with you. Whereas, if you just jump around nobody really wants, they will just, if they give you price take it or leave it and it’ll always be a high price.

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R: So, has the approach changed? Is it still like that, I can understand why we have very few Malaysian in this business, they seem to be very successful. A: No, there’s a lot of Malaysian, they want to try. R: Yeah. A: But you know, that they’re doing these things now except the groups. Luckily enough, there are two groups now. R: Ha.. Ha.. A: They’ve been very good. I’ve been dealing with them the last two months and I’ve just focused, they’ve just stuck with us. R: Yeah, So probably you have to educate them, when they come. If they come here, I mean it’s easier for you to educate them here. A: That is, that is the thing I must do. I mean you know, if somehow, that you know, the Bumi’s companies will pull together in Malaysia and basically take control of the livestock, business would be good for the country. R: Yeah, you’re right. So when you actually have discussion with the Malaysian, you’ve been with them for so many years. A: Yup. 301 R: What is the best way of trying to get them pr to convince them or make them understand because …… A: Oh, you need. I mean it if it consists of (…..) come down and sit around the tavern and explain how, you know, they understand. R: Yeah. A: How the whole business works. R: Right. A: When people think life cattle is just driving up with the truck on a farm… R: Yeah. A: .. Get cattle and put on the boat (laughs). That’s you know, there’s a lot more to it than that. R: So your experience is that they come very minimal knowledge of …. A: Very minimal, I mean they got knowledge on the cattle, you know, because I mean with the Malaysian veterinary department and a lot of group knew and I knew something, they are very well versed with the cattle but not logistic of how the supply come to the country. They need to understand, you know. R: Right. A: Because the risk is always with the export at first, an export of (….) book cattle, he regain like all the cattle, it may be half a millions dollars from boat, the vessel another US$ 3 to 400,000 US dollars and then a lot of it is done on, you know, them all of sudden, there’s a promise, the boys start coming you know and everybody want to take you know. R: Right. A: So you know you can win a man’s life. R: Yeah, so ahm… A: They need you know, like the groups that’s coming down there, that’s why we are educating them, I mean, as far as knowledge and cattle goes, you know, they knew everything about the cattle. But they need to understand how the supply works, right.

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Who controls the supply, and the importance of group continuity supply and loyalty within the exporter. R: Do you find it difficult to make them understand especially are they one bilingual most of the time? A: Oh yes, I (…….) Look, once they come down they’ll understand. R: But sometimes you know, when you try to make people understand in the language, you know, probably you think they are very fluent but they may understand it differently. A: Hey, in the industry, It’s all done, a lot of it is not talk, it’s basically a lot of it is done with a, like we basically you can do it all on the back of Australia. R: Oh OK. A: So you can explain how this works, how this works, how that works. R: So do were you finding it difficult to get them to understand the system. A: No because, my attitude is simple,the one who prepared to come down, sit understand and listen…. R: Ha..ha.. A: …and take your advise then they ahm.. serious. R: Right. A: You know. R: Ha. Ha.., so the failure would be those who are quite reluctant to follow the system. A: Yeah, because basically, I just don’t (……) just doing to be shock as they are going to shop around, that was you know a lot discount and that, which is fine that is their prerogative. It’ss like you know, I’ve dealt with most enough people oversea now and you know, people are heading with the real (…..) and I have my own personal life. R: Yeah. A: I always believe that you know when people come down to Australia 3 or 4 days. R: Ha… ha.. A: Or got the airport to meet him and I’ve got golf clubs. My first attitude is they are not serious. That’s my, that’s unlike that. Because if you hit 3 or 4 days. R : Ha..ha.. A: We are here to do business, of my golf. R: Yes. And most Malaysian do that? A: They like to play golf. But you know, I mean I just know that if they are going to work 2 days on the golf course out of …. They are not serious. R: They’re not serious. Yeah. A: They are not really interested in business. But if you want to do the business first, then play golf, that’s fine. R: Right. So normally our networking with people who like to do the business here with you, will be through your counterpart in Malaysia. A: Yeah, and through, you know just (……) of month. Or you could ring me and say I want to come down and you know, a lot, a lot of people now, it is not always distance. It made a lots of people want to have a look and must in other things. And what I do is I get a big list of questions.

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Depending on my answers, you know, I’ll ring right back and say look I’m too buyer (….) but surely, I mean there’s a lot of people that’s just looking. They are genuine but you know they’re looking. They’re going to make decisions three, four, five, six nost time. But the way… R: Right. A: I mean like I’ve done my apprenticeship and all that. R: Yeah, yeah. A: Sorry, the other groups that just started and they are trying to set-up to do bilateral business. R: Right Ha… A: Not just between Malaysia and Indonesia more (…….) four, five, six times R: Right. Ha..ha..ha..So do you notice that Malaysians come here, you know, with their bureaucratic attitude. We used to have in Malaysia, do you notice that they also, you know, take time to make decisions or whatever. A: Yeah, they take a lot of time. R: They take a lot of time, which is not expected of Australians, I mean you expect them to fine, you know a very quick answer. A: Yeah, but the Australian sometimes can be over powering and they can be bold, I want and answer straight away. You try to work out a fair compromise, and we understand too that they come here, they want to go back and they might have their own board, they have to make decision with, but in most cases like a lot of times it is too long. R: Yeah, So how long does it take normally? A: We’re pretty much known within 2 weeks whether the business can be revealed. R: Ok. That is the Australian style of the indirect yeah. A: Yeah, something’s is pushed, they want an answer right there and then, you can’t expect that straight away. R: So dealing with Malaysian, do you feel that you know, there is session of building rapport first? A: Yeah, exactly. R: Do you have to do that? A: Yeah. R: Is it the same with Indonesian as well? A: Yeah, to some extent, the Indonesian are little bit more, guess, tougher than Malaysian. So Indonesian do make the season a lot faster famili ‘Gungho’ but on the same token, Inoensian you know are a lot more how can I put it, they are a lot more deceptied to you. R: Right. A: Indonesian they know how to play very well. R: Do you think building rapport will help you deal with them better? A: Oh yeah, Yeah exactly. R: Rather than you know just they come a lot…. A: A lot of business we do from Malaysia and our clients that come from Middle East, a lot of it is on a personal level now.

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Right, it’s not where they come down, we go to the airport, it’s like we take them out for dinner and drop them at the hotel, bye, bye, see you later. R: Ha..ha.. Okay. A: I’m not, I bring all my client to the house to meet my family. R: Oh..Ok. A: We take them to picnics and barbecue. R: Right. A: Because that’s you know, I think that’s a lot more better so that you make they feel welcome. R: Do you think that’s more Malaysian style or… that’s more. A: Yeah, I think that’s more Malaysian. R: Not, not Australian, right? They Malaysian… A: No, no that’s typically opposite. R: Right. 392 A: You know, Australian would never do that. They just pick them up, you know… R: Yeah. A: …meet them and back to the hotel. R: Yeah, that’s right. Yeah, yeah. A: But you know most of the client it’s not only from Malaysia, from Indonesia and you know, they’re Malays. A lot of them you know are very grateful, they’re shocked. It doe happen because you know, like usually I just come in, they’ll picked up at the hotel and take them and dump back at the hotel, that’s it. R: So I guess, if that’s the way, you know, sought of like confidence being built between the two. A: Oh… R: Yeah. A: That’s it. R: Alright, ok. I can see a very experienced enterprenuer in particular field, especially would you be willing to give some advice to any other Australian who would like to venture business with Malaysians. A: Oh…No problems R: So, what kind of advise that you can, you know… A: They want to work to do business in Malaysia? R: ….Especially dealing with…especially give some tips of how to handle the Malaysians, for example, yeah. A: I mean we do that, I mean we’ve done that before. We’ve had had companies about that do business up there that would come to see us about rate the private college as far as dealing with Muslims. R: Yeah … Protocol! A: Ha, look my advise, anybody first you know, I think you know, if you’d like to do business in Malaysia, and I guess I’m being biased here because I’m Muslims. R: Yeah, with Malaysians especially. A: Yeah, you need to, if it whether, if you’re non-muslim, you need to make a decision, I distinctly that decided to do business with the Chinese, the Indians or Bumi’s.

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You make a choice rather than try to (……) because, if you’re a non-muslim, you just get totally confused, because you’re trying to deal with Muslims, Indians and Chinese which whatever religion. R: Confused, yeah. A: You get confused, you might just pick one race and deal with it, so you can learn more. If you’re a muslim, you should just deal with the muslims. I mean I’m very strong in it. Where, where, the (…..) company is always, like that. It’s not that we don’t deal with non-muslims, (…….) we prefer to deal with muslims, you know. R: Yeah. A: And that’s part of my (…….) R: Because the trust is there and ….. A: The culture, you know, I mean you got to understand Malaysian are Malaysians are very (……), we saw their factors sometimes, they procrastinate a lot. You got to get used to that. But Malaysia people also, they don’t want to pushed you know. When I said that, we may have many. You can’t you know, can’t just get in and Australians got a bad reputation of being pushy. You can’t do that for Malaysian. They actually got the opposite direction. They got their own base, a shoe comes up and of course, Malaysian too don’t like basically they don’t like any sought of clashing. They’re very humble people. R: Clashing in what ways? Can you just… A: Oh! Clashing like boys dressing you know, been (……) and all that (……). I’ve learned that you know, as I’ve done my apprenticeship. Are you going to take people for what they are? I mean, I just think to do business with the Malaysian and ahm… Again for the Middle East, people should do it on a personal level. You know if you really want to do business with people like be transparent and I can do it personally. Again Australian for some reason they got (…..), I don’t know why. They’re very (…..) caring. I actually mix with a lot of non-muslims in Australia. They like they just don’t believe I bring all these people to the house. This just doesn’t happen to them. R: Yeah. I understand that. Yeah. A: They are the (….) off like there should be (…..) in business. You know like that doesn’t, that’s not to me personally show the people’s mistake. That basically let’s do it after we get their money. R: Yeah, right, yeah. A: I mean, you’re not able, that means when you take them to your house, it’s not sincere. R: Yeah, yeah, right, true. A: Yeah.

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R: I guess because I do not know probably most Australian you know, you have a perception upon Malaysians you know being, I don’t know maybe some negative perception of Malaysian. A: Oh! Look, you know, it’s funny. R: I mean, you’re different because you have been with them, with Malaysian all along. I mean… A: Australians a lot of these Australian problems, oh! Look, as far as like let say innovation and technology goes, Australian you know, ah,ah, you know (……), population you know are the best in the world. Their absolutely useless at marketing their product, Americans are the best for that because American just bulldoze their way in anyway. R: Yeah,yeah A: But unfortunately the Australian still have the attitude is that you know, if there’s a tree, that they are at the top. R: Hm..hm.. A: The Malaysians you know are half-way down. R: Yeah,yeah. A: They’re basically you know, they’re not educated as good as the set up (…..), (…….) all the time. R: I agree, I agree yeah. A: They think, you know, that all businessmen, let’s say Asians, Malaysians, Indonesian and all that businessmen a self-made millionaires beginners. R: Hm…hm.. A: They used to think it come from corruption. R: Oh yeah, ok, right, yeah A: His money, his money is corruption. My argument all the time is that those blokes got blue business, you know, like what we have yeah. But they, they find it hard to understand. R: And you have found that that’s wrong. A: Oh that’s wrong, I’m telling them, never judge people you know. I’ve met businessmen from Malaysia who like if you meet him for the first time, you may just thinking that he’s from the ‘kampung’ . R: Yeah, but, yeah. A: So I tell them never judge people you know, like don’t expect them to, you know like an entourage when they walk up to the airport and be dressing in a $3000 dollar suit. R: Yeah. A: I said what am I like that. R: Yeah Alright. A: You know, a lot of malay profile I’m humble. But unfortunately they do look down on (…….). (……..) is going to (……) and look down. R: And do you think Malaysians look after Australian when they come here. A: I definitely. Oh Look, when you saying look up I mean that means respect. R: Naturally I mean, Malaysian always look after Australians (……) A: I definitely see a lot of when they come down, they’re also looking (…….), they’re very polite and they’re looking for a lot of helping in most cases or for some assistance and guidance, you know, and as seen a lot of the Australians are not taking advantage of it they’re making basically making feeling inferior.

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R: Yeah. A: I get (……) I net and mean this and mean that. R: Do you feel also that Malaysians are also very cautious with Australians? A: Oh Very. R: Very. A: Yeah. R: So do you feel that you know, they’re who very cautious I trying to deal with Australians. : That’s right. R: Because again, you know, being uncertain about a lot of things. A: Exactly. R: I guess that’s the reason why, they like to shop around because not some dealing with the right people. A: That’s right. But you need to go down to the country when you want to do business with them, you can actually sit with the people and make your own, your even judgement rather than you know trying to do (……..) whatever. R: Do you go to Malaysia after? A: No, it’s the Malaysians maintain. R: No, you don’t have to. You’re the one who is handling here. A: It’s really the opposite way, most people like business is coming from here, so they would want to come in. R: So I understand that you’re going to have a feel you know, business meetings with Malaysians from Malaysia who’s coming over to, to actually deal with you with the livestock industry business. Oh Thank you very I guess it’s very valuable information you know. A: That’s right. And I’m sure that this is going to be great help especially to build (…..) of Australian-Malaysian in international trade. R: Hm...Good. Ok. Thank you.

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Appendix 13

Example of Perception Interview Malaysian Participant

INTERVIEW DATA: DATA B – IM2 Travel Industry (Malaysian) Bursewood, Western Australia 30th March 2004 1 I: Mr. Chin, you’re a Malaysian yourself [Yes, I am] and you’re from… 2 P: I’m from my home, I was born in Johor Bharu but my hometown where I was brought up most of the time was in Batu Pahat, Johor. 3 I: Oh ok, and you’ve been here for 16 years [16 years] and your focus of business is [Are travel] 4 P: Tours and travel, I’m actually dealing more in inbound sector market, inbound that means we handle a lot of people from overseas into Perth,[Alright, wow] and that is my main business and actually I’m one of the biggest inbound for Malaysian market. [Malaysian market] That’s where I’m specialized in. 5 I: Hah,hah, so inbound meaning that [Most of the people coming in from Malaysia, I will be handling it with referring to their accommodation, their tours, their needs]. Oh, ok, right I’m talking to the right person here. Sometimes people would like to know, you know, these kind of services, as a student we don’t actually know much about it, [That’s right] this is a good reference at the same time. So you have a lot of, of those travelers from Malaysia to come over [That’s right]. So do you have an office in Malaysia as well? 6 P: We don’t have an office but we normally do some sale’s call and some sale’s visi to let them know that we are there all the time, because in this industry if you don’t see them for a couple of months or so, they tend to forget you [Right, right] (telephone rang), so that is the reason why ah… we do have to go back to KL, mostly to KL and that is where most of our wholesalers are [oh, ok] and from there, we give them packages, ok like a lot of them, like Malaysians they tend to, they like to come in a group rather than coming by themselves [alright] because at the end of the day, a lot of things work out in their favor, by coming in a group, you have special discount, fares, sometimes you have a tour leader to bring you around [alright] and of course if you go shopping all these, you know, we can give them a bit of advice where to go, where not to go and you know, what are things that you can get. [alright] 7 I: So how much are you involved with theAustralians?

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8 P: Ah….very much involved because the hoteliers are Australians, the venues are Australians, the coach captains are Australians [oh yeah], so virtually everybody is Australians here [oh ok] except for some or palace which are owned by Asians, then we deal with him. 9 I: How is your experience dealing with these Australians in terms of like business per say? 10 P: Ok, ahm….. if you’re just starting a business, [Yeah] it’s very difficult [yeah] and there’s a lot of red tapes, I should say that they tend to really accept you for the time…., one thing they know that you are in it and you are their one of the good ones around, then they will entertain you. [alright sure]. 11 I: Yeah, I heard about a feed back saying that it is very difficult if you are a beginner to start of, yeah… 12 P: If you’re a beginner, it is very difficult and they are not very receptive to people who are starting in business, it is probably then that you have to keep on going, going to them and get their confidence in you and ok, like in this case, I mean if somebody is to come out in this industry and ‘hey, I want to do inbound business, give me a risk’, they will give the highest of the risk, they would say that you have to prove yourself before I can give you a better rate’. [Oh ok] So how can you prove yourself if they give you a higher rate to compete? [Yeah, you’re right] So at the end of the day you have to work yourself through that system, only then they recognize you and they will say ‘Ok, here you are, we can give you a special rate’. So people like me, [Yeah] I have been in the industry for a long time, [yeah] I capitalize on it [Right] and most of the time I get my say, I tell them ‘You want my business, that is my price’. 13 I: So because you have built that credibility already and they know, so how many such Malaysian companies dealing with inbound? Are you the only one? 14 P: No, I’m not the only one around, I can say that I’m one of the latest. There have been a few that have been in this industry for a long time but I think they lack behind probably they have already made their money or they are loosing interest, people like us we are from behind, we’re just catching up on them. 15 I: So how many years have you been in this inbound industry, sorry travel industry? 16 P: Travel industry, I should say it’s close to 10 years now. 17 I: 10 years, wow that’s why you discovered, that’s why you’re able to tell me and to summarize the whole thing, so how do you actually overcome, can I say the lack of trust on probably Asians, fellow Malaysians or foreigners for that matter? 18 P: Well, I said every industry is the same, [yeah] I would like to put this point that among Asians, it is harder to do business because nobody would like to see you to overtake them at some stage of time [Sure], so during the process you will have some of them trying to pin you down or put an obstacle in front of you to make sure you do not succeed. There are, there are but

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we cannot pinpoint who they are [Yes, yes]. But there are people who willing to do that, but in my case it’s my patience and we keep on going to do it [persevere yeah] persevere we go through it and finally I think people beginning to acknowledge that we have done a good job and also we are very hardworking. I am very hardworking; I’ve been on the road everyday for the last six to seven years, fifteen hours out there. 19 I: When you said on the road meaning that you…. 20 P: I go out, I meet my clients, when my clients come in I meet them personally meet them because if there’s any problem [Services, isn’t it?] I can solve it straight away, rather than sending a staff there, things might not get on well and the staff will have to relate that to you, and in that case I am personally involve in it. If I need to get things done, I said ‘Ok, we do it straight away without that, the decision is made there and then’. 21 I: So if I may ask your advice, what would be the best advice from you to be able to deal with Australians since you’ve already known them very well by now? 22 P: Well, first of all, I have to deal with them I think we will you have to take your stand [Yeah], don’t be frightened to get bullied if they talk they say anything, you have your reason you tell them back straight to them, they will listen. Because at the end of the day, they will always have to take advantage in the first place, but once they know that ‘Hey, I’m not dealing, this guy know something about it’, they will tend to tone down [slow down yeah]. 23 I: What do you mean by taking advantage, that’s interesting? 24 P: Alright, let’s say if they know that you do not have enough experience right, they will say ‘Ok, this is my price take it or leave it’. Well, if the person like somebody like new, somebody who don’t know much about it, you will take that price [Right] but by taking that price, you will not be able to compete down the road with other inbounds. [I see] So I tell them, no that is the way, you have to hold your stand and said, ‘ Yep, it’s either you take it or forget about it, there are times where you just turned away and they will come back with a better price and said [Oh they come back, I see] …. 25 I: Alright, somehow you just have to be firm in what you’re doing. 26 P: That is correct. I can give you a very good example, this is from my email (He opens the email to show me). Alright, so ok this lady [Right] Belinda Makowski she’s from Red Car Rental,[And she’s an Australian?] she’s an Australian but she‘s doing business in Malaysia, she rents cars out and all that. What, what happens was she, a…she sends me email regarding some car rentals and all that, you see. I replied back to her that ‘ Hey your…’ you see, this is the first time she’s dealing with me, she has not had any experience with inbound, that is why she came up with a different pricing [Right and then]. When I went back to tell her, that’s not the price, then she beginning to question me, what are you getting, how are you doing, this and that. That means she is not really truthful in trying to get a business, she’s just trying to give me a price and see that I will go into it. So these are the things that we have to be very careful about [you have to be alert] that when we deal with Australians, we have to be on the board all the time, we

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should know our stuff before approaching them, we should do some homework [Right] not just go there [Right] and say ‘Hey, we want this, we want that’ because at the end of the day, we will not get the genuine type of approach which you get from them, this is what I’ve learned over the years [alright, that’s really good] 26 I: So when you actually, so indirectly what you’re trying to tell me is that it’s not that easy dealing with them. 27 P: No it’s not. 28 I: It’s not. Alright, so every time when you have a negotiation going with them, could you see whether you know, any elements of transparency and all that. 29 P: Yes, this is something very funny I can share with you, the more business you do with them, the more you see them, the more tea breaks with them, the better they get. And it doesn’t take long [It doesn’t take long] and it doesn’t take much. 30 I: What do you do to build relationship or rapport with them? 31 P: Ok sometimes we can call them out, we call them, any problem we just call them, butter them a bit ‘Oh you are the best, this and that’ [Alright]. You know you need to put a bit of praise, compliment them that they are doing a good job and slowly you build your relationship with them mutually or you bring them out for lunch, sit down somewhere, [Oh….] so much so that they will feel that ‘This guy is not bad, you know [Right] he’s trying to help me build my business and at the end of the day, I will reap more rewards by getting a better rate from them. So this is how I deal. 32 I: Wow, wow, this is something different; I have interviewed quite a couple but your experience truly genuine, yeah, alright. So that’s how you have to deal with them. [Yes] That means it has to be built ahm…depending on the number of years [Years], alright. 33 P: But we, we can get it done I mean there are times where I go out into some places and the response and initial response is very cold and all that [There are some like that, is it?] Oh yes, yes definitely there are. 34 I: Why do you think that happens? 35 P: Well, probably they said ‘Oh, these Asian guys coming here to do some business with me [Oh…ok, alright] you see. There is a comparison, there is a comparison whatever we do there is, if you come on a Qantas Flight, all my passengers have said it is totally different, the service they serve Asians and they serve the white skin. 36 I: Really, oh….I didn’t know that.

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37 P: If you get on the Qantas Flight you will see the difference, if you ask for things they will come and look, yes they take might their time, but somebody of their color ask for it, they will serve straight to them. 38 I: So there is, there is discrimination ! 39 P: There is a disparity. There is, definitely. [Right] 40 I: What about your dealing with them here? 41 P: My dealing with them here is totally different now because I am giving them business [Right]. They look at me as somebody who is going to pay them not as somebody who is going to take from them. So in my case also but because also of the close rapport which we have built together with all of these people, we are able to, to control them in one way or other or manipulate them in one way or rather to, to make sure it is to our favor rather than to their favor. [Alright] 42 I: If I may say if some strong points of them that you can actually highlight if you say in terms of business dealing with Malaysians is very different, you deal with Australians is like this…so, could you tell the difference? 43 P: But the strong points for Australian is once you gain their trust they are very honest, [Right] and they really and they’ll do it in their way, you feel that they’ll talk very highly of you and they will praise you and they will even look up at you as somebody [Right] which they think of ‘This guy is, is of a commendable person rather he’s another chinky coming here trying to reap us off’. 44 I: So if, if I’m not wrong, that means they always have a different perception about Asians. Yeah, it is always [In the beginning..] in the beginning and it is always a negative connotation [That’s right], until and unless you gain their trust. [That’s right] And the way you gain their trust, is it through the dealings or besides relationship building, so you gain your trust more on the way you handle things? 45 P: We handle them depends on how we handle the person because in my aspect I always like, I always have this in mind, I will treat a person how and like somebody who treat me, respect me the same [Mutually]. Mutually, so I always treat somebody nice and I will always say that, you know, I never let somebody go away angry. Whatever it is I will try to settle it and if it doesn’t work out well, I will call back for a meeting and we can always settle it. 46 I: So you did a lot of compromising….. 47 P: Oh yes, I will have to do the compromising on a lot of times because at the end of the day, once they know that you are able to do that, we will comeback and sometimes they will even help you. But initial stage, we are the people, we have to compromise first rather than they compromise. [Right]

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48 I: What do you find the most difficult dealing with them? Money dealing or documentation? Or… 49 P: Mmm…No, sometimes, sometimes because I don’t have problems with them because in a certain case, I have actually, we have very good reputation as a very good paymaster, we don’t really owe anybody any money [Oh I see] and all around town, [Mm…mm] if you talk about Tropicana Holidays, [Mm..mm]every body knows who we are. [Alright] But of course blacksheeps in this industry who has open and close, and owe people lots of money and because of those, they, they some of them will think that we are all the same. But because, I have built my reputations for some many years on trust and on business itself, they tend to, they tend to have full confidence in me. [Yeah] 50 I: So that means it’s more of yourself as a person? 51 P: Yes, probably. [Right] 52 I: What about, do you think there’s any mm….what you called, does cultural factor come into the transaction of business for example? 53 P: Yeah, the culture (laughs) [yeah], the culture is one culture which I think [Because sometimes there’s a conflict] ‘ You guys want cheap, cheap, cheap [Oh they said that!] and bargaining, bargaining [They said that most of the time! yeah]. Well I said ‘You are dealing with the Malaysian market you know it when you go down to KL for the fare, you look at the price, everybody look at the price cheap, cheap, cheap, cheap, right’. You cannot blame us because it is from there. It has built up into so much thing that every body wants something value for money, It is not really that cheap. This is it, if you can do it you do it, if you can’t do it, I don’t force you. Because there’s other people who’s willing to do it. Eventually they will come down and said ‘We will do it’. [Mm…mm] 54 I: That means somehow or rather they reckon that culture is a factor here, alright? 55 P: Alright. Anybody who deals with the Malaysian market knows. Cheap and good [cheap and good (laughs)]. 56 I: What about these Australians, are they what do you call it very ahm…from what I’ve heard they are very strict with their rules and regulations, were they willing to be flexible and a little bit of bending in their rules? 56 P: It depends on how you approach them, they are, they are very inflexible at times, when my girls sometimes try to get rooms and all these, they said no, no, no,no, no. So sometimes it’s the person behind, so when I go inside and I start talking, I can….. 57 I: So you really have to know who’s who? [yeah] I thought that you’re going to say yeah.

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58 P: And also not who’s who and how you manipulate them. Like sometimes some of them, ok, there are occasions where reservation managers in hotels, when you try to get rooms from them, they say no, no, no and my girls also said no, no, no, so I put up one question in, in their head, I said ‘Look, there’s only one thing I need to ask you, ‘Do you or do you not have the authority to do these things like upgrade rooms and all these? Then I said if you have please do it for me, if you don’t I don’t care who you are, I’ll go straight to your superior because I know your superior will give it to me. [right] at the end of he day, they feel so small [yeah] and they said ‘Shit, what am I yes, ok I give you the authority do it’. [So you have to know…yeah] So at the end of the day, we play psychological effect on them [Right, ah.hah] and they said ‘I have the authority I give it to you’. [So you belittle them a little bit first, yeah] Depends on what we have add in what ever we do. [So it’s more of strategies and techniques of handling people]. That’s right. [alright] It doesn’t take long to do it. 59 I: Now at this instance after 10 years you have no problem with the business. 60 P: I have no problem [not anymore], you can have, you can put anybody, any Gms or any bosses come, no problem. 61 I: Is it because you have really understood the style of the Australians? 62 P: Yes [Alright] and also I have a wealth of knowledge behind me in my experience. 63 I: Yeah, yeah in whatever you are doing, so that’s something they cannot buy, you know and they value that. I see, I see that’s good. 64 P: And also all these years I build up my reputation with the Malaysian people and [and market as well] market and a lot of VIPs and I know them you know. So eventually it boils down to how (laughs), I would like to bring this forward into, because it’s quite [That’s good] a hectic business [It is yeah, it is]. But I mean like I said, I handled about 60 per cent of the inbound traffic from Malaysia [Yeah, I can see that yeah] and we are the only inbound here, I have my own coaches, so that is also I’m dealing with Australians drivers too, you know [Yeah, yeah]. So I got a lot of responsibility on my shoulders, but I feel that you know I can still do it, I do it. [Right]Come to a time when I feel I can’t do it anymore, …. 65 I: Oh 10 years but the experience of getting involved because from what I’ve heard from so many, it’s very difficult with these Australians and most of these business people, they just do it half way, yeah, because if you don’t get into the crux of it [You can’t do it, there’s no point. You just wasting your time] Okay. 66 P: I’ve seen, I’ve heard and I’ve known people who have just gone in half way, a lot of business migrants, they come here, they think it’s so easy to do business, they buy into it [yeah] and what do they get?[Nothing] Nothing [Yeah], at the end of the day they loose back their money [Yeah, so I heard] they don’t even get their PR. 67 I: Yeah, yeah, yeah it’s true, that’s what I heard, yeah. So, you just imagine it’s so, I heard from so many business people in Perth and it’s so difficult for me to get a person to talk like you

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because I guess like you said, probably it is difficult to link with these Australians [Initially is very difficult] but once you get [get on to it] the hang of it , yeah [not normal]. Ok, that’s very good, thank you very much for such a very sincere, you know sharing of information. So when actually can I secure one, one business interaction that you’re going to have with an Australian? 68 P: I can, I can make an appointment one of these days [Aha…] and I can see because these few days I’m quite free [Yeah good, I’m so lucky] which is good before, before the next group start coming in. I actually have another business in the city [ha.. the same thing? Tropicana?]. It’s called the Perth Tourist Information Center. [Right] This service is our retail arm, and it’s just for people who walk in, we deal with a lot of Japanese people, students, they will go in there they buy tours and ….[Oh…ok] It is in Murray Street, it takes about walk in. [Oh…walk in] 69 I: So probably I do need one, that is may be when you are free now, it does not matter how long it’s going to be, it does not matter what the meeting is all about but as long it is your interaction with Australian, it can be a group, it can be just the two of you, it does not matter. So the only thing is that probably you may need to have the other counterpart, the Australian to know that this is a student researcher, you know, I’m not going to be participating, I’m just going to be there, and if you could allow me to videotape, I will videotape. That is more for my analysis, for my own to have a look at check with the conversation and if not I can just do the taping of both, alright. 70 P: Alright, ok.

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Appendix 14

List of Questions for Semi-structured Perception Interview

The list of questions was as follows:

1) Business/Job Profile:

a. How long have you been working in Australia?

b. What is your personal job description?

c. What does your company deal with?

d. How long has your company been in business?

e. How long have you been doing Malaysian-Australian businesses?

f. What is the nature of your business dealings?

g. Who are your clients?

h. Do you have an Australian business partner?

2) Difficulties Encountered:

a. Have you ever faced any difficulties during business meetings with Australian business

people?

b. What kind of difficulties, in particular, have you experienced?

c. How do you know that you are in a difficult situation when negotiating, especially with

regards to communication?

d. How do you overcome these communicative difficulties? What do you do?

e. How would you describe the level of difficulty you experience in the business negotiation?

3) Perceived Language/Cultural barriers:

a.. Do you feel that cultural differences interfere at all with your business transactions?

b. Have you been in an awkward situation whilst in a meeting? Could you relate an example?

c. Are there any instances in which you do not understand what your Australian clients want?

d. Do you have difficulties in understanding Australian/Malaysian English?

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e. Do you think it is difficult to negotiate with the Australian business people? If yes, then why?

f. Can you recognise when your client does not understand the flow of discussion?

4) Rapport Building:

a. Do you feel it is necessary to build rapport with your Australian counterpart or clients?

b. If so, then how do you build rapport with them?

c. How do they, in turn, attempt build rapport with you?

5) Non-verbal communication:

a. Are there any non-verbal gestures that worry or puzzle you?

b. Do you understand some of the gestures or non-verbal cues demonstrated by your clients?

c. Are you able to recognize the non-verbal cues in the first place?

d. Do you think these non-verbal gestures could affect yhe business interaction to some extent?

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Appendix 15

Summary of tendencies from interview data

Non linguistic elements

Adapting [Malaysian views]

• Australians naturally display an informal style when conducting business. This gives an impression that they are not professional in their manner.

• It is important to be brief and to the point when

dealing with Australians in business. Australians are precise whilst Malaysians are indirect.

• Australians do not recognize, or are insensitive

to, forms of address related to authority and hierarchy. Often Malaysians expect to be addressed according to the formal honorary titles earned through service or contribution to the country (ie. Datuk, Tan Sri, Datuk Paduka).

[Australian views]

• Malaysians naturally adopt a formal approach to business. When they do try to adapt to be informal, they come across as awkward and unconvincing.

• Malaysians value a particular style of hospitality which is oriented to the home and family in order to create a close personal relationship. This is not conventional in Australian society.

Ethics [Malaysian views]

• Australians are really only interested in Malaysians if they have money to invest; otherwise they show no interest.

• Australians are not trustworthy. There were two

instances where participants refer Australian business people as ‘unscrupulous’ because they feel there’s always this act of cheating in their agenda and another said that “Aussies are only interested to ‘squeeze’ from business people ...” [referring to monetary deal]. Both are strongly

[Australia views]

• Corruption is a normal part of doing business in Malaysia. Business are given or run not based on merits or objective criteria of delivering or assessing a proposal, instead they depend on the amount of money that you can offer. Australians, on the other hand, are also corrupt. Their corruption is done subtly, not overtly like the Malaysian. Australians are

Appendices 440

negative.

• Australians are inflexible and rigid; they are unable to discern when to make exceptions to the rules. No amount of good rapport will change the way they do things. Malaysians, however, practice the concept of budibicara, which means that there is room for discretion when trying to resolve an issue usually bound by rules.

• Australians tend to inflate prices for foreigners. It is important, therefore, to carefully research prices before committing to a deal.

pretentious and hypocritical, they pretend to be clean and portray a highly ethical standard of business, but in reality they’re not. They show subtle ways of pretending and hiding it. The business community in Australia generally adopts a high moral ground with all the rules and regulation put into the system. In reality, corrupt behaviour exists’ contracts go to people who are connected and lobbying goes on.

• Malaysians have a very bad name for

‘shopping around’ the practice of obtaining price quotation (email requests) from numerous suppliers prior to deciding on an Australian business partner. This practice suggests that they are not genuine in building long term business relations and that their future loyalty may be questionable

Religion [Malaysian views]

• Australians are generally not aware that there is a certain etiquette which must be observed when interacting with Muslim women. Marital status must be considered as the husband must often be consulted prior to approaching a female business contact.

[Australian views]

• Australians are generally not knowledgeable about, nor do they understand, religious obligations (such as set times for prayer, fasting and abstaining from alcohol). They see religion as an unnecessary obstacle to doing business and cannot understand why religious duties should interrupt the flow of business negotiations.

• It is difficult to gauge the reaction of Muslim

women (in Malaysia) when being introduced, especially when shaking hands.

Appendices 441

Building rapport [Malaysian views] It is vital to build rapport with Australians if you are to be successful. Building rapport is building trust; which takes time. The way that you build rapport is to set aside time for social interaction such as going out for meals, coffee and so forth. Building rapport expands the business network. Australians assume that building rapport is not a necessary part of doing business. Their approach is direct and they tend to rush into things, which do not give us time to evaluate the potential of any business undertaking.

[Australian views] Rapport is important for Malaysians. When you have built a solid relationship there are fewer complications, more trust and openness.

Challenges [Malaysian views]

• On of the biggest challenges is to get Australians to commit to an initial appointment.

• Doing business in Australia requires you have

some understanding of the system in each industry. Malaysians need to work within the system whilst finding a way to deal with it to their advantage. Malaysians must have some confidence that they can still enter an industry despite what they might perceive as unfavourable conditions. They must be in the system in order to overcome any difficulties.

• Malaysians must be firm, you must ‘take your

stand’ when dealing with Australians in business, otherwise they will always have the upper hand. One way of achieving this is by speaking directly with them, rather than beating around the bush. If you don’t take his approach, the Malaysians will always be disadvantaged.

• Doing business in Australia requires you have some understanding of the system in each industry. Malaysians need to work within the system whilst finding a way to deal with it to their advantage. Malaysians must have some confidence that they can still enter an industry despite what they might perceive as unfavourable conditions.

[Australian views]

• Doing business in Malaysia is more difficult than in Australia because of the bureaucracy. For instance, you have to have close connections in the government in order to get things done; otherwise you will come up against a great deal of bureaucratic obstacles. Similarly, it is incumbent on foreign companies to have Malaysians sitting on the Board of Directors, even if they contribute little to the venture.

• It is difficult to get Malaysian industrial

workers to completely understand instructions, especially regarding procedures. Malaysians give the impression that they comprehend verbal instruction because they consistently say ‘yes, no problem…..but we understand they don’t. An hour down the track you can go back to the same subject, they don’t have it at all’. The reason is that Australians speak quickly, whilst Malaysians have trouble keeping up. This means that in order to do business effectively and reduce misunderstandings it is advisable to put everything in writing as well.

• The messages we send are received differently

by the Malaysians. The message is filtered through and transformed by the Malaysian cultural mindset. That means that you rarely get what you initially expected. As one participant stated ‘[w]hat’s ordered and what’s expected never achieves the correct result,

Appendices 442

They must be in the system in order to overcome any difficulties.

• Australians are found to be prejudiced

or biased due to their lack of confidence on another group of people.

• The viability of projects has to depend a lot on

the amount of investment.

you’ll never get what you really wanted’.

Protocol

[Malaysian views]

• Malaysians observe a protocol, that is official formality or etiquette, particularly when dealing with government officials. There is the ‘VIP treatment’ for Malaysians who hold honorary title to their names, and those with very high positions in the government organizations. This refers to the special attention which involves the ‘bending of rules’ in order to accommodate their requests. For instance, at the international airport, they expect to be given services that are different from the normal travellers, they expect to be given some form of privilege.

• Status is the position or rank that one holds in relation to others. In Malaysia, it is typically based on business or academic achievement, family prestige, gender and age. In Malaysia, status is significant, titles such as Datuk, Tan Sri, Datuk Sri symbolise this status. It indicates the respect that should be given to them.

[Australian views]

• Australians do not really recognise or practice protocols. This means that the rules and regulations which have been set must be strictly followed. Everybody, regardless of their rank or position, are treated equally with the same set of rules applied to each, without exception. This has caused a lot of inconvenience for some Malaysians when they arrive at, for example, the Australian airport, regardless of whether they are on official or unofficial visits.

• In Australia, status rules are not very distinct as the society as a whole values the concept of equality. Australians do not apply special status rules in business meetings.

Style

[Malaysian views]

• Malaysians like to bargain for the cheapest price when negotiating payment for, or buying, goods. They haggle with the price until they are ultimately satisfied.

• “Small talk” is a common social form of chit chat that Malaysians use as a ‘silence filler’. It is commonly practised by Malaysians as a way to reach out to other participants in a friendly and relaxed manner. This normally takes place before the actual meeting starts, and at the end of a meeting.

[Australian views]

• Australians find the act of “haggling” to be very irritating. They are not comfortable in doing this. However, Australians, if they are willing to negotiate in price, and perhaps accept a lesser price after some form of compromise, Malaysians will generally be able to deliver a continuously good business. This strategy will have long term advantages. For example, in the tourism industry, the Malaysian tour operators are able to deliver on a commitment to increase the number of clients

Appendices 443

• Australians are often brief and direct in discussing issues. This often results in a degree of ambiguity and uncertainty for the Malaysians because of their inability to grasp the complete idea in a brief, direct discussion. Often, details are not able to be understood in full, but they are reluctant to identify things which look complex to them so as not to ‘loose face’.

• Malaysians create space for opportunities to socialize with business associates and their family members informally by having, for example, meals in their homes. This is important to Malaysians, as their focus is to foster close relationships prior to doing serious business.

• The business environment for Malaysians incorporates ‘social’ business interactions and networks which are useful for extending the number of social (personal) contacts within the industry or organization.

• The Australians’ openness, friendliness, relaxed manner, informal approach and lack of ceremony, basic trust and honest approach to doing business, is, ironically, being seen by some of the Malaysian business people as being ‘untransparent’ in their ways. They are often referred to as being ‘unscrupulous’, which basically means they are distrustful.

• Malaysians also do not do business on Friday afternoons, especially from 12.00 pm to 3.00 pm in respect for the Muslim prayer time. This applies particularly to those Malaysians who are Muslims.

• Australians are found to be tactful in giving their responses, even though they may not agree with what they have been presented with. They usually will not give a directly negative response, but instead, they try to explain it in another way.

by more than what was originally indicated to the Australian company at the time of the original agreement.

• Malaysians often do not arrive quickly at the point, or they are reluctant to speak “straight”. They like to “beat around the bush” as some often claim. That is what might be called being “indirect” in their approach. Australians have the tendency to be impatient. They also assume that Malaysians have failed to grasp the issue in business discussions.

• Malaysians often have lengthy discussions about matters which do not seem to have any clear ending in sight. They are, therefore, often interpreted as being ‘imprecise’ and not clear.

• Australians are rarely aware of the importance of building relationships, such as through having meals at their residence (which is the Malaysian way of doing things). Their business discussions are only conducted, for instance, in the context of the office with social meetings over coffees and drinks.

• Malaysian bureaucracy or ‘red tape’, which often translates to ‘who you know’ in order to get things approved is found to be an important factor which should not be ignored.

• Australian businessmen do not do any serious business on Friday evenings. It is the time for them to enjoy or unwind from a week’s work. They called it “sundowner”.

• Malaysians can often be seen to agree, in most situations, but in reality they may not agree but superficially signal a positive response. This is done to maintain good relationships.

Linguistic Elements [Malaysian views}

• Malaysian English and its unique accent often make it difficult for Australians to follow what they are saying. Malaysians often feel that they need to adjust their accent in order to be understood.

• Rephrasing statements that have already been spoken often takes place with Malaysians,

[Australian views}

• Australian speech styles, which include informal speech; colloquialisms; jokes; slurred pronunciation and rapid speech, cause difficulty in understanding Malaysians.

• Malaysians’ indirectness in explaining an issue often gives the impression of being imprecise or vague to the Australians. Sometimes,

Appendices 444

especially when they recognise that the Australians probably did not grasp what they had initially said.

• For Malaysians it is more advisable to use conversational English. This is because it is found to be the best method to explain their intentions.

• Idioms and pre-fabricated phrases which are used by Australians is often an obstacle for Malaysians in order to understand the discussions when they occur.

Australians simply perceive them as being indecisive.

Procrastination {Malaysian views]

• Australians do not take a long time to get things done; instead, they demonstrate quick action towards things. Therefore, they appear to be pushy. This is unlike Malaysians, who normally ‘take their time’ to complete a deal. Australians are not comfortable with such behaviour, because to them, it is interpreted as ‘procrastination’. This simply means ‘putting off doing things’ or ‘leaving things undone as long as possible’ or being’ very slow to act’.

[Australian views]

• Malaysian business people are often seen as not following-up effectively in their business dealings. They are seen as taking a long time to get back to matters of business which have been discussed in the initial stage. They also take a long time to reach final decisions. Australians find this irritating and, to be blunt, intolerable. Business has been known to fail because of such delays, because the Australians have the impression that Malaysians are no longer interested in doing business.

• Malaysians are known for delaying their response. This is obvious, they ‘come down, have a look, come down again and second trip, four, five times …”. Australians hold a negative perception towards the Malaysian’s way of delaying business matters. However, for Malaysian business people this is their way of taking the time to build rapport and trust. The consequence is that Malaysians sometimes miss out on business opportunities.

Behaviour [Malaysian views]

• Australians can sometimes be quite patronizing and arrogant towards Malaysians. Their overpowering and bold behaviour leaves us with the impression that they feel themselves to be superior to others and, by implication, are only interested in people who bring with them large investments. Another impression given is that they are not concerned about showing an adequate degree of respect to others and are insensitive towards cultures that are different from their

[Australian views]

• Australians are known to be ‘absolutely useless’ at marketing their products.

• The Malaysians’ way of ‘jumping around to make a little more money on the shipment when there’s no supply continuity…” can annoy and irritate Australians.

• Malaysians are rarely serious in committing to business dealings with Australians. Most of the time, Malaysians come to Australia to either seek potential partners, or to test the

Appendices 445

own. • Time generally refers to the condition of

punctuality, especially when meetings are concerned. Malaysians do not strictly observe what might be Australian standards of punctuality. It is uncommon for Malaysians to put strict parameters around their meeting time. For instance it is normal to meet clients after office hours, such as in the evening or even quite late at night. In contrast, Australians’ feel that the appropriate time to do business or attend to work related activities is primarily during office hours.

• Australians do not often deliver service up to the stated expectation. This creates frustration for the Malaysians; especially because their service is rarely cheap.

• Aussies often display a ‘laid back’ style. This attitude is often reflected in the excessive length of time it takes them to provide a service.

market. • Australians can be a bit paranoid when it

comes to dealing with Muslims. This is a symptom of the September 11 attack and the ensuing fear of terrorism.

• Malaysians might not realize that Australians do value “long term” business alliances.

• Malaysians seem to do business ‘the wrong way’; Australians do not like the way they do business. As a result, many livestock exporters have gone broke.

• Australians have the tendency to get totally

confused when doing business with Malaysians. This is because Malaysians display different ethnic characters and attitudes (and therefore ways of doing business. Malaysians are Malay, Chinese or Indian.

• Many Malaysians, particularly in the livestock and meat business, have failed. In fact very few have been successful in this industry. The main reason for this is the lack of (local) industry knowledge. Generally, they are not ‘aggressive’ enough to survive in this business.

• Malaysians lack any recognition of the importance of continuity, supply and loyalty with the exporter.

• With Malaysians, their procrastination behaviour is their downfall. They procrastinate in several ways. For instance, they often take an unnecessarily long time to follow up on the business deal. They are rarely able to give quick decisions and often come across as being indecisive and uncertain. It is not often they are able to deliver things as scheduled.

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