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Business communication

Cross cultural communication

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Culture

Culture, (derived from the

Latin word cultura,

meaning to cultivate) is

everything that is imbibed,

shared, taught anddiscussed .

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Culture categories

National culture

Social culture

Organizational culture

Religious culture

Language and culture

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Dimensions meaningful to business:

Work related values not universal

National values may persist over MNC efforts

to create culture

Local values used to determine HQ policies MNC may create unnecessary morale

problems if it insists on uniform moral norms

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PATH OF INTERCULTURAL LEARNING

Multiculturation

Selective Adoption

Appreciation/Valuing

Acceptance/Respect

Understanding

AwarenessEthnocentricity

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Explicit and Implicit

Communication

High-context/implicit

communication

cultures

Low-context/explicit

communication

cultures

Germans

Swiss Germans

Scandinavians

North Americans

French

English

Italians

Latin Americans

Arabs

Japanese

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High Context Cultures

Emotional expressions

Touching (or not)

Distance between bodies; Body orientation

Level of voice

Eye contact (or lack thereof)

Saving Face; maintaining harmony

Implicit

Indirect; arguments presented climactically

Emphasis on how something is said

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Low Context Cultures

Distrust what is not clear

Credibility; Intelligence; Expert knowledge

I

Explicit logic, proof, linear organization

Silence = disagreement, rejection, hostility,

weakness, unwillingness to communicate,

shyness

Emphasis on what is said, specificity

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Multi-Cultural Virtual Team

A temporary work group composed of people who

coordinate and execute a work project across

time, space, and cultures through use of

information and communication technology.

VTs form rapidly, reorganize, and dissolve

according to the organizations needs.

Members are usually accountable to different

individuals.

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Implications for Practice

Clarification of Role/Responsibilities

Provision of guidelines

Develop predictable pattern of communication

Ensuring complementary objectives

Recognition and handling of potential conflict

Choose individuals who are responsible, dependable,independent, and self-sufficient

Timely and detailed accounts of contribution and

immediate feedback Alternatives for electronic communication failure

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Some examples

For example, the current CEO of Time Warner, Richard

Parsons, is not known as a great dealmaker. But he is an

exceptionally good mediator between people and can get

cooperation from even the most stubborn enemies.RichardBranson, meanwhile, is a wild card negotiator. People do dealswith him just for the fun of being affiliated with his energy andbrand. Donald Trump is a great competitive negotiator.Russia's Vladimir Putin is someone who always manages thesituation so he negotiates from a position of overwhelmingauthority and strength.

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JAPANTo help her American Company establish a

presence in Japan, Mrs. Torres wants to hire alocal interpreter who can advise her on business

customs. Ms. Tomari has superb qualifications

on paper, but when Mrs. Torres tries to probe

about her experience, Ms. Tomari just says, I

will do my best. I will try very hard. She

never gives details about any of the previous

positions she has held. Mrs. Torres begins to

wonder if Ms. Tamari's rsum is inflated.

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CHINAStan Williams wants to negotiate a joint venture

between his American firm and a Beijing-basedcompany. He asks Tung-Sen Lee if the Chinese

people have enough discretionary income to afford

his product. Mr. Lee is silent for a time, and thensays, Your product is good. People in the West

must like it. Stan smiles, pleased that Mr. Lee

recognizes the quality of his product, and he leaves

a contract for Mr. Lee to sign. Weeks later, Stan

still hasnt heard anything. If China is going to be

so inefficient, he wonders if his company should try

to do business there.

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INDIAGloria Johnson is proud of her participatory

management style. Assigned in Bombay onbehalf of her U.S.-based company, she is careful

not to give orders but to ask for suggestions.

But the employees rarely suggest anything.Even a formal suggestion system he established

does not work. Worse still, she doesnt sense the

respect and camaraderie that she felt at the plantshe managed in Texas. Perhaps the people in

India just are not ready for a woman boss.

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MEXICOAlan Caldwell is a U.S. sales representative in

Mexico City. He makes appointments with SenrLopez and is careful to be on time, but his host is

frequently late. To save time, Alan tries to get right

to business, his host wants to talk about sightseeingand about Alans family. Even worse, the meetings

are interrupted constantly with phone calls, long

conversations with other people, and even customerschildren who come into the office. Alans first report

to his home office is very negative. He hasnt yet

made a sale. Perhaps Mexico just isnt the right

place to do business.

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Mc Donald in India

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In Japan

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Multiculturalism Vs Ethnocentrism

Adaptation

Structural intervention-change structureof reporting for example

Managerial intervention-involve mediator

Exit

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The way out

Try to bring together all members of the multicultural team physically, at leastonce in a while. If this is not possible, try to arrange a videoconferencing sessionwhere members see and interact with one another.

Formulate clear ground rules for the following engagements: Rules for written communication

Rules for processing responses

Rules for conflict resolution

Rules for personal conduct during meetings Guidelines for decision making

Set clear cut team objectives and share them with everybody else.

Ask everybody to write something about their own culture, in particular their styleof working, customs, beliefs, and ways in which they deal with conflict. Have aninformal sharing session.

Celebrate important festive occasions of each culture in a small way.

Follow-up with written communication so that everyone is on the same footing.

Create a zero-tolerance policy for any form of racism and discrimination.