Review email welcoming employees transferred from Hong Kong

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>Details: Your boss wants to send a brief email message welcoming employees recently transferred to your department from your Hong Kong branch. They all speak English, but your boss asks you to review his message for clarity. What would you suggest your boss change in the following email message, and why? Would you consider this message to be audience centered? Why or why not? Revise the email so that it follows effective communication guidelines.

>"I wanted to welcome you ASAP to our little family here in the States. It's high time we shook hands in person and not just across the sea. I'm pleased as punch about getting to know you all, and I for one will do my level best to sell you on America."

>After researching cultural differences between the United States and Hong Kong, what advice would you give your boss?

The overall tone of this email is very personal and friendly. This is fine by American standards; however, eastern culture dictates a much more formal presentation in business correspondence. Certain references and metaphors commonly used in the English language have either no meaning or possibly worse, a completely different meaning than the one intended.

It was the proper decision to write this email in English as many Hong Kong businessmen are quite fluent in English but the opposite is very rare indeed. The possibility of saying the wrong thing in Cantonese and either embarrassing or offending the other party should be eliminated at all cost when corresponding with this group. There is only one possible issue with the email as far as being audience centered. Hong Kong culture, as well as most eastern cultures, usually expects one member of a group to be the spokesperson for the group. If this is the case in this situation, it would be prudent to only send this email to the spokesperson and let him convey the ...