Business and Professional Communication Quarterly

Case studies tend to embed the language and values of the culture in which they are created. To use an American-based behavioural simulation, Looking Glass Inc., in Hong Kong, we needed to adapt it to the students' language environment and proficiency, their culturally derived behaviours, and their understanding of the context of American business. In Hong Kong, the norms prescribing language use are complex and contradictory; English is a major business, government, and legal language, but Cantonese and sometimes Mandarin have a continuing presence, especially in oral communication. The English in the simulation, however, reflect ing the authors' emphasis on realism, included slang and idiomatic expressions that were confusing even to students otherwise fluent in the language, and thus we had to modify materials to aid comprehension. We also had to adjust our administra tion of the materials to account for cultural differences between the individualistic and low power distance dimensions of the American scene represented in the sim ulation and the collectivistic and high power distance environment our students found more comfortable. Our strategy in adapting the simulation was to stimulate participants in Looking Glass Inc. to act authentically in their roles, negate reac tive and promote proactive behaviour at all four organisational levels, and encour age the thoughtful and complete analysis of the simulation, not something that came naturally. Finally, we had to make explicit several elements of American business assumed by the authors but not known to the students, including Ameri can geography and transportation systems, laws and administrative bodies, and race and gender issues.

We tend to regard listening as a passive, automatic process that just happens rather than as a skill that is essential for good communication. Yet in reality effective lis tening is a skill that needs to be developed as a prerequisite for successful practice of the more 'active' skills of speaking and writing. The insurance industry is a prime example of an industry that relies heavily on good listening skills for effective marketing. We conducted a study in Singapore of how listening is perceived by people involved in insurance. We found that more experienced people were well aware of its key role although students majoring in insurance believed speaking was more important. This study confirms earlier research: in the insurance indus try in Singapore there is a gap between the perceived need for good listening and the degree to which good listening skills are perceived to be possessed by insurance agents.

As a result of a major revision of the undergraduate curriculum in the Darla Moore School of Business, University of South Carolina, we were given the task of establishing a center for business communication. Based on this experience, we present our strategic consultancy model for launching such a center. The model employs the strategic management paradigm of identifying the principle players in the process; identifying stakeholders; defining goals; analyzing strengths, weak nesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT analysis); establishing consultancy relationships; and evaluating results. The model proved successful in writing a proposal for the center, implementing the center, and evaluating the center's work.