Intercultural and International Business Communication
Site: | Saylor Academy |
Course: | BUS210: Business Communication |
Book: | Intercultural and International Business Communication |
Printed by: | Guest user |
Date: | Friday, April 19, 2024, 7:02 AM |
Description
The awareness of varying perspectives that stem from cultural differences is key to effective communication in global commerce. Read these sections. After you read, try the exercises at the end of the section.
Introduction
We should never denigrate any other culture but rather help people to understand the relationship between their own culture and the dominant culture. When you understand another culture or language, it does not mean that you have to lose your own culture.
- Edward T. Hall
I've been traveling all over the world for 25 years, performing, talking to people, studying their cultures and musical instruments, and I always come away with more questions in my head than can be answered.
- Yo-Yo Ma
Getting Started
Introductory Exercises
- Find a film where one person overcomes all obstacles. Make notes of your observations on how he or she approaches the world, solves problems, and rises triumphant
- Find a film where a group of people overcomes obstacles through joint effort. Make notes of your observations on how they approach the world, solve problems, and rise triumphant.
- Consider a culture with which you have had little interaction. Write down at least five terms to describe that culture.
As a professional in the modern business community, you need to be aware that the very concept of community is undergoing a fundamental transformation. Throughout the world's history - until recently - a community was defined by its geographic boundaries. A merchant supplied salt and sugar, and people made what they needed. The products the merchant sold were often produced locally because the cost of transportation was significant. A transcontinental railroad brought telegraph lines, shipping routes, and brought ports together from coast to coast. Shipping that once took months and years was now measured in days. A modern highway system and cheap oil products allowed for that measurement unit to be reduced to days and minutes. Just in time product delivery reduced storage costs, from renting a warehouse at the port to spoilage in transit. As products sold, bar code and RDIF (radio frequency identification) tagged items instantly updated inventories and initiated orders at factories all over the world.
Communication, both oral and written, linked communities in ways that we failed to recognize until economic turmoil in one place led to job loss, in a matter of days or minutes, thousands of miles away. A system of trade and the circulation of capital and goods that once flowed relatively seamlessly have been challenged by change, misunderstanding, and conflict. People learn of political, economic, and military turmoil that is instantly translated into multiple market impacts. Integrated markets and global networks bind us together in ways we are just now learning to appreciate, anticipate, and understand. Intercultural and international communication are critical areas of study with readily apparent, real-world consequences.
Agrarian, industrial, and information ages gave way to global business and brought the importance of communication across cultures to the forefront. The Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Thomas Friedman calls this new world "flat," noting how the integration of markets and community had penetrated the daily lives of nearly everyone on the planet, regardless of language or culture. While the increasing ease of telecommunications and travel have transformed the nature of doing business, Friedman argues that "the dawning 'flat world' is a jungle pitting 'lions' and 'gazelles,' where 'economic stability is not going to be a feature' and 'the weak will fall farther behind'". Half of the world's population that earn less than $2 (USD) a day felt the impact of a reduction in trade and fluctuations in commodity prices even though they may not have known any of the details. Rice, for example, became an even more valuable commodity than ever; to the individuals who could not find it, grow it, or earn enough to buy it, the hunger felt was personal and global. International trade took on a new level of importance.
Intercultural and international business communication has taken on a new role for students as well as career professionals. Knowing when the European and Asian markets open has become mandatory; so has awareness of multiple time zones and their importance in relation to trade, shipping, and the production cycle. Managing production in China from an office in Chicago has become common. Receiving technical assistance for your computer often means connecting with a well-educated English speaker in New Delhi. We compete with each other via Elance.com or oDesk.com for contracts and projects, selecting the currency of choice for each bid as we can be located anywhere on the planet. Communities are no longer linked as simply "brother" and "sister" cities in symbolic partnerships. They are linked in the daily trade of goods and services.
In this chapter, we explore this dynamic aspect of communication. If the foundation of communication is important, its application in this context is critical. Just as Europe once formed intercontinental alliances for the trade of metals - leading to the development of a common currency, trade zone, and new concept of nation-state - now North and South America are following with increased integration. Major corporations are no longer affiliated with only one country or one country's interests but instead perceive the integrated market as team members across global trade. "Made in X" is more of a relative statement as products, from cars to appliances to garments, now come with a list of where components were made and assembled and what percentage corresponds to each nation.
Global business is more than trade between companies located in distinct countries; indeed, that concept is already outdated. Intercultural and international business focuses less on the borders that separate people and more on the communication that brings them together. Business communication values clear, concise interaction that promotes efficiency and effectiveness. You may perceive your role as a business communicator within a specific city, business, or organization, but you need to be aware that your role crosses cultures, languages, value and legal systems, and borders.
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Intercultural Communication
Learning Objectives
- Define and discuss how to facilitate intercultural communication.
- Define and discuss the effects of ethnocentrism.
Communication
is the sharing of understanding and meaning, but what is intercultural
communication? If you answered, "The sharing of understanding and
meaning across cultures," you'd be close, but the definition requires
more attention. What is a culture? Where does one culture stop and
another start? How are cultures created, maintained, and dissolved?
Donald Klopf described culture as "that part of the environment made by
humans". From the building we erect that represents design values to the
fences we install that delineate borders, our environment is a
representation of culture, but it is not all that is culture.
Culture
involves beliefs, attitudes, values, and traditions that are shared by a
group of people. Thus, we must consider more than the clothes we wear,
the movies we watch, or the video games we play, all representations of
environment, as culture. Culture also involves the psychological aspects
of our expectations of the communication context. For example, if we
are raised in a culture where males speak while females are expected to
remain silent, the context of the communication interaction governs
behavior, which in itself is a representation of culture. From the
choice of words (message), to how we communicate (in person, or by
e-mail), to how we acknowledge understanding with a nod or a glance
(nonverbal feedback), to the internal and external interference, all
aspects of communication are influenced by culture.
In
defining intercultural communication, we only have eight components of
communication to work with and yet we must bridge divergent cultures
with distinct values across languages and time zones to exchange value, a
representation of meaning. It may be tempting to consider only the
source and receiver within a transaction as a representation of
intercultural communication, but if we do that, we miss the other six
components - the message, channel, feedback, context, environment, and
interference - in every communicative act. Each component influences and
is influenced by culture. Is culture context? Environment? Message?
Culture is represented in all eight components every time we
communicate. All communication is intercultural.
We
may be tempted to think of intercultural communication as interaction
between two people from different countries. While two distinct national
passports may be artifacts, or nonverbal representations of
communication, what happens when two people from two different parts of
the same country communicate? From high and low Germanic dialects, to
the perspective of a Southerner versus a Northerner in the United
States, to the rural versus urban dynamic, our geographic, linguistic,
educational, sociological, and psychological traits influence our
communication.
It
is not enough to say that someone from rural Southern Chile and the
capital, Santiago, both speak Castellano (the Chilean word for the
Spanish language), so that communication between them must be
intracultural communication, or communication within the same culture.
What is life like for the rural Southerner? For the city dweller? Were
their educational experiences the same? Do they share the same
vocabulary? Do they value the same things? To a city dweller, all the
sheep look the same. To the rural Southerner, the sheep are distinct,
with unique markings; they have value as a food source, a source of wool
with which to create sweaters and socks that keep the cold winters at
bay, and in their numbers they represent wealth. Even if both Chileans
speak the same language, their socialization will influence how they
communicate and what they value, and their vocabulary will reflect these
differences.
Let's
take this intranational comparison a step further. Within the same
family, can there be intercultural communication? If all communication
is intercultural, then the answer would be yes, but we still have to
prove our case. Imagine a three-generation family living in one house.
The grandparents may represent another time and different values from
the grandchildren. The parents may have a different level of education
and pursue different careers from the grandparents; the schooling the
children are receiving may prepare them for yet another career. From
music, to food preferences, to how work is done may vary across time;
Elvis Presley may seem like ancient history to the children. The
communication across generations represents intercultural communication,
even if only to a limited degree.
But
suppose we have a group of students who are all similar in age and
educational level. Do gender and the societal expectations of roles
influence interaction? Of course. And so we see that among these
students not only do the boys and girls communicate in distinct ways but
also not all boys and girls are the same. With a group of sisters,
there may be common characteristics, but they will still have
differences, and these differences contribute to intercultural
communication. We are each shaped by our upbringing and it influences
our worldview, what we value, and how we interact with each other. We
create culture, and it creates us.
Everett
Rogers and Thomas Steinfatt define intercultural communication as the
exchange of information between individuals who are "unalike
culturally". If you follow our
discussion and its implications, you may arrive at the idea that
ultimately we are each a "culture of one" - we are simultaneously a part
of a community and its culture(s) and separate from it in the unique
combination that represents us as an individual. All of us are separated
by a matter of degrees from each other even if we were raised on the
same street or by parents of similar educational background and
profession, and yet, we have many other things in common.
Communication
with yourself is called intrapersonal communication, which may also be
intracultural, as you may only represent one culture. But most people
belong to many groups, each with their own culture. Within our imaginary
intergenerational home, how many cultures do you think we might find?
If we only consider the parents and consider work one culture, and
family another, we now have two. If we were to examine the options more
closely, we would find many more groups, and the complexity would grow
exponentially. Does a conversation with yourself ever involve competing
goals, objectives, needs, wants, or values? How did you learn of those
goals, or values? Through communication within and between individuals,
they themselves representatives of many cultures. We struggle with the
demands of each group and their expectations and could consider this
internal struggle intercultural conflict or simply intercultural
communication.
Culture
is part of the very fabric of our thought, and we cannot separate
ourselves from it, even as we leave home, defining ourselves anew in
work and achievements. Every business or organization has a culture, and
within what may be considered a global culture, there are many
subcultures or co-cultures. For example, consider the difference between
the sales and accounting departments in a corporation. We can quickly
see two distinct groups with their own symbols, vocabulary, and values.
Within each group, there may also be smaller groups, and each member of
each department comes from a distinct background that in itself
influences behavior and interaction.
Intercultural
communication is a fascinating area of study within business
communication, and it is essential to your success. One idea to keep in
mind as we examine this topic is the importance of considering multiple
points of view. If you tend to dismiss ideas or views that are "unalike
culturally," you will find it challenging to learn about diverse
cultures. If you cannot learn, how can you grow and be successful?
Ethnocentrism
is the tendency to view other cultures as inferior to one's own. Having
pride in your culture can be healthy, but history has taught us that
having a predisposition to discount other cultures simply because they
are different can be hurtful, damaging, and dangerous. Ethnocentrism
makes us far less likely to be able to bridge the gap with others and
often increases intolerance of difference. Business and industry are no
longer regional, and in your career, you will necessarily cross borders,
languages, and cultures. You will need tolerance, understanding,
patience, and openness to difference. A skilled business communicator
knows that the process of learning is never complete, and being open to
new ideas is a key strategy for success.
Key Takeaway
Intercultural communication is an aspect of all communicative interactions, and attention to your perspective is key to your effectiveness. Ethnocentrism is a major obstacle to intercultural communication.
Exercises
- Please list five words to describe your dominant culture. Please list five words to describe a culture with which you are not a member, have little or no contact, or have limited knowledge. Now, compare and contrast the terms noting their inherent value statements.
- Identify a country you would like to visit. Research the country and find one interesting business fact and share it with the class.
- Write a brief summary about a city, region, state, or country you have visited that is not like where you live. Share and compare with classmates.