Small Planet Studio is offering a new teleclass workshop called "Working Successfully and Authentically in the Corporate World"

I've been wanting to highlight what's happening over at Small Planet Studio for some time now as I really like what Cate Brubaker has created and is doing!  I've been following her blog for a long time now and I think many IHEC Blog readers will enjoy it as well.  


One thing I wanted to highlight over at Small Planet Studio are the teleclass workshop opportunities available.  The next teleclass is a two-session workshop scheduled for March 20 & 27 entitled "Working Successfully and Authentically in the Corporate World" offered by Vicki Flier Hudson of Highroad Global Services and Cate Brubaker of Small Planet Studio.  If you are interested in this workshop you can receive a discount rate if you register by Wednesday, February 21st at midnight EST by using the coupon code "authentic" (no quotes) as the price goes up by $20 on Thursday  You can read more about this workshop and register at http://smallplanetstudio.com/corporate/.


As you check out Small Planet Studio you might want to consider joining the VIP community [free] for access to free teleclasses and monthly updates!  You can also connect with Cate and Small Planet Studio on LinkedIn, Facebook and on Twitter.  


Please note that I receive no compensation for posting about this teleclass and my only incentive is to highlight the work of someone I respect and doing some real great things in the field!

New Book: "One White Face" by Hilary Corna

I recently received a copy of a new book called One White Face (2011) from the author Hilary Corna and I just finished reading it and I wanted to share here on IHEC Blog.  I've been aware of her book since it was published but had yet to locate a copy so I was very happy to receive a copy form Hilary in the mail.


One White Face is a personal account of Hilary's experiences of being the only Caucasian working for Toyota Motor Asia Pacific as well as her experiences of being a female in a male dominated business culture and society.  During her three year sojourn throughout Asia, Hilary excels  in her work and earns the respect of her colleagues and mentors at Toyota and along the way she discovers more about herself.  I really enjoyed reading One White Face as it provided a wonderful and detailed account of a young woman's (Hillary's) journey into the experience of a lifetime.


As much as I would like to place One White Face on the shelves of Bury Book International Education Library & Archive that will have to wait.  I'm first going to give the book to my ten year old daughter Gabriela to read.  I think Gabriela will find the book fascinating and it will further develop her interest and curiosity in foreign travel and studies.  More important is that I think Hilary is a very motivating young woman and I want her story to further inspire Gabriela to seek her own adventurous path (domestic or foreign) throughout her life.


If you are interested in purchasing One White Face please note that IHEC Blog readers can receive a discount by ordering here and entering the following discount code "P554X5B4" [please note that I receive no compensation for your order or via the discount].


Hilary is half-way through her 2011-2012 book tour which you can learn more about here.  If you are interested in having Hilary come to your campus you can find additional information and contact information in the previous link.


You can also follow Hilary Corna / OneWhiteFace.com on Facebook, Twitter and on YouTube!


You can see Hilary speaking at the http://tedxcolumbus.com/events/tedxyouthcolumbus/ event on November 10, 2011 below:

Intercultural Miscommunication via E-mail or Something Else?

For several years now I have been receiving requests for assistance or advise from people all over the globe on matters relating to research, selecting graduate schools/programs, starting a career in the field of international education and since I started IHEC Blog and posting to Twitter I’m starting to receive more and more requests from reporters wanting to interview me or requests from reporters wanting to locate certain data and/or people interview who are knowledgeable on their topic they are writing about, requests from publishers for book reviews as well as a whole host of other requests from people. About 2-3 weeks ago I decided to add the following vacation message to my IHEC Gmail account as there has been a notable increase in the number of e-mail messages I’ve been receiving the past 3 months:

“Thank you for your message. I appreciate your interest in my services and will reply to your message as soon as possible. International Higher Education Consulting and IHEC Blog are secondary projects to my family time, my work at the University of Chicago and my doctoral studies so my response time varies depending on my current work and research/writing loads.”

It’s flattering to receive all of these voice and e-mail messages and I work hard to helpful and to reply as quickly as possible. I currently have several e-mail messages in my inbox that require a response and some of the messages may be from IHEC Blog readers so please note that I will reply to you soon and I apologize for the delay. I welcome these messages as they often times provide a learning opportunity for me and a way for me help and to meet/network with new people! I’ve connected electronically with so many great colleagues via the various social/new media spaces where I find myself (and I’m including e-mail when I’m talking social/new media spaces) and I look forward to our paths crossing in person some day in the future. Many of the wonderful connections I’ve made over the years were made because I received a request for assistance or advice over e-mail.

Why am I posting about this to IHEC Blog?

Well, while I reply to and try to assist 95%+ of the messages I receive there are just some messages that I receive that I simply delete and never respond to. The following are two e-mail messages I recently received (Oct. 31st and today, Nov. 4th) from the same e-mail address that I thought I would copy and paste here to share as an example for possible discussion:

--Start October 31st message---
HELLO
I AM A STUDENT OF ENGLISH LITERATURE AND CIVLIZATION AND I AM PREPARING FOR MY DISSERTATION IN LITERATURE ABOUT THE SIGNIFICANCE OF AFRICANAMERICANS IN THE AMERICAN LITERARY IMAGINATION
BUT I DID NOT FIND CORRESPONDING INFORMATION
SO.IF YOU CAN HELP WITH SOME BOOKS,WEBSITES,OR AMY KIND OF DATA I WOULD BE GRATEFUL
I AM WAITING FOR YOUR ANSWER
--End October 31st message--

No response from me other than my automated reply which I mention above.

--Start November 4th message--
I AM STILL WAITING FOR YOUR ANSWER AND I NEED YOUR HELP
,BECAUSE OF TIME CONSTRAINTS MAY I RECEIVE IT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE PLEASE?
THANKS
--End November 4th message—

To be sure, this person and I certainly differ on how to communicate via e-mail. What I’m trying to determine is if I should be more sensitive to this person and chalk it (their rude and demanding e-mail messages) up to an intercultural miscommunication or if I should have different feelings about their e-mail messages? I’ve communicated with thousands of students from all over the world in my day job at the University of Chicago and based on my experience I’m not thinking this is an intercultural miscommunication.

Thoughts?