Trust and Western-Russian Business Relationships

Chapter 8 Interpersonal Competence Versus Monitoring

The concept of 'interpersonal competence' revolves around the 'people' skills required for one's job, and the 'social' skills of running a business, so that functional competence can be effectively put to use. It is not difficult to imagine that, in a cross-border context, general perceptions of how friendships are developed and what behaviours are appropriate in different situations, may vary a great deal. This chapter will consider in detail the social skills required of expatriate managers in Russia, which make a business more or less likely to succeed. Interpersonal relations start with the simple matter of understanding the language each side uses, through to their style of communication ...