Responsiveness to email and culture

Astrid from Munich, Neta from Tel Aviv and Harry from Newark are on the same team.
When Astrid (Germany) gets an urgent request via email from Neta or Harry she puts together a detailed and full answer and gets back to the sender within 3-5 days.
Harry (US) regards Astrid’s email replies to urgent requests as too long and detailed. He would have preferred a shorter answer, in “a bit less time”. Harry thinks that 48 hours is “enough grace for something urgent”.

Neta (Israel) expects a daily update by email from Astrid as to the status of her urgent request. She views Astrid’s approach as “totally non-responsive”. “By the time I get her answer, “I forgot the question”. When Neta gets an urgent request via email, she puts everything aside to provide the answer, often backing up her email answer with a text that the urgent request has been answered.

Harry “puts time aside” for urgent requests, but does nothing after 7pm and nothing on holidays “unless the world is coming to end”. Harry believes that were people to plan better, some of this urgency could disappear.
Neta does not like to plan at all and believes that planning is an empty ritual.
Astrid could spend all her time planning and wishes that Harry and Neta were more orderly.

Share Button

2 thoughts on “Responsiveness to email and culture

  1. Amusing; I so enjoyed that post; it made me laugh.

    From my experience, your intended message rings true whether one is crossing borders or cultures. We seem to naturally attach different meaning to words and behavior, even in the same country.

  2. Do to others as you’d like to be done to you. Or, in modern terms, if I only feel safe when everything is “planned”, everyone around me should “plan” (to keep me safe). Or I only feel safe when nothing is planned and everything is flexible. In the end it’s all about our own personal safety, isn’t it?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.