I went into my boss’s office and told him I had completed the task he had assigned me. “Great job!” Darren said upon looking at the newsletter I had created for our marketing campaign. I thought I did well and was very pleased with myself. The same scene was to occur repeatedly over the course of my internship at the company. I got increasingly frustrated as I realized all the accolades I had been receiving from my work performance were just part of working in an American company. I wanted honest feedback from my boss on my work but it was just not the norm in the United States.
I discovered I was not the only one as my friends who were also interning at the other companies remarked that they were experiencing the same thing. Perhaps Americans tended to be more positive about things and my boss did not want me to feel bad. Nonetheless, I think this has resulted in a communication barrier between my boss and I. I found it hard to know when I really did my work well and what other improvements I need to make.
Contrary to what I had previously thought of Americans being upfront and direct, I realized this might not translate to workplace culture as well. Despite American influences and the westernized workplace environment in Singapore, there are still subtle differences that have to be taken note of. I could have taken more initiative and spoke to my boss about my concerns and tried to obtain forthright feedback on my work performance.
The ES2007S Blog 
Posted by Rohan on February 22, 2010 at 10:49 am
Dear Jie Rin,
Wow! That was a very short post. I had a few comments –
1) ‘I could have taken more initiative and spoke to my boss’ – could have ‘taken’ more initiative would probably be a better option.
2) Additionally, I am not sure if generalizing that all American companies do not give direct feedback is a good idea. It could have been the norm in a few companies but I do not feel that is the case in general.
3) I felt there was a bit of me looking for ‘what happened next’.
Hope this helps!
Cheers
Rohan
Posted by Glenn on February 22, 2010 at 2:37 pm
Dear Jie Ren
Interesting experience. I personally have no idea of the American social or working culture. Reading this post might therefore cause me to stereotype that this is part of the American culture.
I feel it is true that you could have taken more initiative to obtain forthright feedback. However this might show a lack of trust in your boss. A frustrating situation indeed.
Posted by Zhisheng on February 22, 2010 at 3:39 pm
Dear Jie Ren,
I appreciate the way you started the post with such optimism and positivity. It was an attention-catching introduction which made me want to read on. However, it would have been good if you painted a more vivid scenario and highlight the personalities of the characters involved.
Nevertheless, you did well to show a different side of the American working culture, although like Rohan and Glenn, I would hesitate to generalize it. Thanks for the post!
Posted by Pei Rong on February 24, 2010 at 6:01 am
Hi Jie Ren,
This is an interesting experience on differing cultures in the workplace. I do believe that Americans have a different way of showing courtesy and acknowledging good work.
As I am not very familiar with the American working style, I cannot comment whether this is the norm for them. Nevertheless, it would be good if you can provide deeper analysis as to whether this is the actual culture that Americans have. Perhaps even talking to Brad who has many experiences.
The praises that you and your friends got from the colleagues may really be due to the fact that the tasks were well-performed. Of course, it can also come as an act of courtesy or even as motivation for the staff.
Posted by Brad F Blackstone on March 7, 2010 at 1:40 pm
Thanks for this post, JieRen. I can understand your frustration with your boss not giving you the sort of feedback you expected, but I would be very hesitant to say that this is because “it was just not the norm in the United States.” Excuse me? Do you think that you can have an internship in one company (and hear stories from friends that support your conclusion), and then make a comment so sweeping? That’s a gross generalization, as your other readers have pointed out. Your last paragraph carries this faulty assumption even further.
Imagine this scenario, JieRen. I have a Korean student here at NUS who does slipshod work. I talk to a colleague who says that she has the same experience with her Korean student. Maybe I even hear the same thing from another teacher. Can I then make a generalization that all Korean students do poor work?
Posted by Jie Ren on March 8, 2010 at 3:39 am
Rohan: You are right that this might be a generalization and I’m only stating a fairly limited perspective
Glenn: Sorry if I’m giving you a stereotype but this is just a personal experience and might not be true as a whole
Zhisheng: Thank you for the feedback. I’ll make sure it’ll be more detailed the next time.
Pei Rong: Yes, I should conduct deeper analysis before I draw a conclusion and what I have detailed so far is only my personal experience.
Brad: Yes, I admit i should not have made sweeping generalizations. However, I was only detailing my own experience and I welcome you to correct me you have worked much longer in the United States than I have.