Evaluating Intercultural Behaviour: Cambodia

Last July, I was in Cambodia for a two-weeks long humanitarian trip along with 20 others. I’ve always had this fear that people of the third world countries resent those who are from the developed countries like us. Before I left, this fear of xenophobia in the locals intensified.

Surprisingly, the moment we stepped into the slum, I was overwhelmed by how these kids were (literally) all over us. They hugged and tugged me by the hand and dragged us to play games with them. I was perplexed. How could we play games without understanding how to play it? After a while, I noticed most games were similar to what we Singaporeans play. This includes five stones (only they use real stones!), ‘mother hen’ and ‘Vampire’ (only it’s in Khmer and has nothing to do with vampires). Almost all the residents smiled and greeted us with what little English they know. I felt welcomed and relieved.

However, there was one girl, Kimlan, who refused to participate in our activities. She even took some of her friends away from us just to play with her. I got worried. I attempted to invite her hoping she would change her mind, but she rolled her eyes and ignored me. Eventually Kimlan was left all alone when her friends began to join us and that was when she gave in. Kimlan is actually a pleasant child but can be an attention-seeker at times. By the end of our stay, she is one of my favourite kids there.

Business Correspondence Critique: The Critique

I like this letter because it is concise and states how the spa company is related to my insurance company. The true message of the letter, which is to entitle me to a 40% discount was also clearly conveyed. The contents are coherent: they flow from one sentence to the next although I feel that some of the paragraphs should have been combined.

Just as much as I would like to compliment, I dislike how the letter was crafted.

Firstly, my father’s name was not spelt in full and I find this disrespectful. Considering this spa company works in tandem with another prominent company, details should have been meticulously thought of especially for formal letters (the spa company does not know me personally). The same goes for my address: ‘JLN’ and ‘SPORE’ should have been spelt out in full.

Secondly, the wordart and banner graphic should have been excluded. These make the letter look informal. Also, formal letters should never have exclamation marks as it symbolises disrespect, even if their true intention is otherwise.

Lastly, this letter has no proper closing i.e. no ‘Yours sincerely’, etc. and signature of the person who sent or typed this letter, which should be included to make the letter more professional, personalised and make the company appear more approachable. Often we see ‘... no signature is required’ on letters sent by the government which has a commanding tone. This is inappropriate for companies that offer services to customers.

What do you feel?

Business Correspondence Critique: The Letter

Ever since I've attended ES2007S, I have become more weary of the way I communicate. What is worse, I'm beginning to scrutinise letters, emails and other media used for correspondence to the extent of being a critique. But I guess that will help me with this blog post.

Recently, I received a letter from a local spa company (as a form of complimentary birthday gift) enclosed to a birthday card I sent by my insurance company, which is a well-known, international company. After reading the content of the enclosed letter, I began to question why my insurance company would work with a company which sends such a letter. I have already covered some of the contents of this letter to protect the name of both companies and also my personal particulars.

My critique on this letter will be in my next post.