With the development of economic globalization, intercultural communication has played a big part in international business activities. In order to carry out efficient intercultural communication, people should understand and focus on cultural identity more. Jameson (2007) stated that cultural identity which refers to a person’s status in a group includes six components: vocation, class, geography, philosophy, language, and biology (p.210). This essay will discuss that cultural identity of customers is an important consideration for Haier Group when it develops new product and market, especially when it comes to the class, geography vocation.
Cultural identity linked to class has a great effect on a company’s marketing. The social and economic class which people belong to have big effect on their daily consumption decision (He & Liu, 2003, p.249). Leung (2005) claimed that social and economic status of people is the reliable indicators of which class people fall into, providing the valuable practical information for the enterprises (p.362). Generally speaking, the people who are in the high social and economic class usually are more willing to consume. In other words, it can mean the economic class of the consumer will directly affect the consumer demand and spending habit of consumer (Leung, 2005, p.370). Jameson (2007) found that “economic, social and educational classes often define groups of people who share common values, behavior, and attitudes; these cultural groups also cut across national and ethnic lines” (p.212). Therefore, the people belong to the same economic or social class may have the similar consumption tendency. The specific economic class usually requires a particular service or product. In general, Single white-collar crowds belong to the high –income class. They are the class who has considerable income, and they have the requirements of high quality of product. However, they don’t have too many clothes to wash. For example, when Haier Group enters into Japanese washing machine market, it found that most of the washing machines on the market are the big capacity. They are not suitable for the single white-collar class. Therefore, Haier Group designed and introduced a small capacity and high quality washing machine for them. The products are widely appreciated, and Haier Group firstly opened the door of Japan market.
Owing to the profound impacts geographical environments exercise on human life, people living in different regions have different demands for the products. Jameson (2007) argued that “Geography creates cultural groups but not only in terms of nationality.
The rapid technological evolution and the growth in the population around the world are playing considerable role in creating new levels of intercultural communicate both locally and globally. People now can get the information from any spots on the planets easily through many televisions channels. Also, gaining huge amount of knowledge from every part around the world is provided by computer networks. Computer networks facilitate the communications as well. Beside create new opportunities, technological and demographic evolutions provide significant challenges to the people. Communicating successfully in another language depends on shifting the frames of reference, norms, and assumptions (Kinzer, 2003). In other words, when individuals use another language effectively, they must adopt new perspectives about communication and language and not just focus on the structure and vocabulary. Reading, writing and discussion of texts will help learner to understand another way of thinking. Actually, there are needs to embrace issues of cultural identity and for an inclusive process in how reading and writing are being taught. In this regard, language appeared as one of the most essential aspects of culture and social being. Language is not the only mean which individuals create activities and identities. Also, language is not enough to be recognised in a specific community or group. Person must behave and act in ways considered right among this community or group.
Intercultural communication is type of communication which people from different cultures and groups share information. The occasion where significant basically cultural differences made effective intercultural communication a challenge between me and my friend here in America was about bride price. In my culture bride price is paid by groom to the family of the girl who is going to marry. The bride price symbolizes as a promise to always love and protect. It serves as reassurance to the bride’s parents that the daughter they love with all their heart will be in good hands. The bride price does not represent the value of a women and it was never intended to. Its present a promise to love and respect a women. But my friend who is the citizen here and was born here told me that in America there is no like this culture anymore, they do not pay any bride price to groom or to the bride.
There are many co-cultures in the world. I am a twenty nine year old Caucasian mother of two girls with an annual income of around thirty thousand a year. I am a wife in a Methodist household, where my job is a home maker; as well as, I am a college student. I am a French Canadian, German, Native American, and Polish breed.
When individuals or groups from different cultures communicate, this process is called intercultural communication. The transaction process of listening and responding to people from different cultural backgrounds can be challenging. The greater the difference in culture between two people, the greater the potential of misunderstanding and mistrust. Misunderstanding and miscommunication occur between people from different cultures because of different coding rules and cultural norms, which play a major role in shaping the patterns of interaction (Jandt, 2012).
Identity can be defined as an direct image of what a persons ' appearance, thinks, feels and behaviour (Americus Reed, Mark R. Forehand, 2012). It means how people see themselves and how others see them. According to Maslows hierarchy of needs, self-actualization needs at the top of the pyramid model which is the need of human hope to realize their potential and get self-satisfaction. Consequently, identity is the best embodiment of such indicators of this need. In addition to this, consumer behavior is the basic study of marketing decision and the developing marketing strategies. It is the consumer to obtain, use and disposal of the various actions taken by goods or services,
Interpersonal Communication in an Intercultural Setting Cultural growth in the twenty-first century has heightened the emphasis on interpersonal communication in an intercultural setting. As our world grows, expands and becomes increasingly more interconnected by various technological advances, the need for effective interpersonal communication among differing cultures has become quite clear. Due to the advancement of technology in today's world, a world in which some businesspeople are involved in transactions with other businesspeople in faraway countries, the call for knowledge of intercultural communication within this setting has become a reality. Interpersonal communication is a form of communication that involves a small number of people who can interact exclusively with one another and who therefore have the ability to both adapt their messages specifically for those others and to obtain immediate interpretations from them (Lustig et al, 1993). Although interpersonal communication is usually thought of as being perf!
Many people who go to visit or work in another country suffer some misunderstanding from the local people, because they have a different culture. Different culture will cause disparity points of view about almost everything. In the article, Intercultural Communication Stumbling Blocks by Laray M. Barna, there are five stumbling blocks mentioned that are seen in a cross-culture communication. These blocks are: language, nonverbal signs and symbols, preconceptions and stereotypes, the tendency to evaluate and high anxiety. Barna wants to use these stumbling blocks to show the common blockades between different cultures. I agree with what she thinks about the language, nonverbal signs and symbols, preconceptions and stereotypes, and the tendency
This discussion board post will focus on communication with people of other cultures that is both effective and appropriate. I will explain my level of intercultural competence with my reasoning for my level of competence. Then I will describe how often I communicate with people of other cultures.
With an increase in globalization, many people venture into other countries to seek employment and education opportunities. The United States-based corporations employ over 100 million overseas workers. They also hire a large number of locals who then move to take roles in other countries where the company has operations (Reichard et al. 2015). This means that Americans are exposed to a high number of people from other nations with diverse cultures in their workplaces, schools, neighborhoods and other social places. Therefore, people need to improve their intercultural communication skills to enable them to interact efficiently with people with diverse cultures. The improvement of technology has made the media an agent for enhanced
Intercultural communication is an evolving discipline that occurs between individuals from contrasting backgrounds. It include...
The frequent situations of misunderstandings in intercultural communication may be more common then one may believe. The potential for misunderstandings between two different cultures communicating is very high. Through such things as idioms, translation errors, and wrong body language communicative skills can be incorrect. When these intercultural mistakes occur between the people speaking or moving it may be perceived by the opposite culture as funny, rude or confusing. With these considerations in mind, the combination of possibilities for misinterpretations is increasingly elevated.
I wasn 't quite sure what I was getting into when I first enrolled in Intercultural Communications. I had assumptions as to the goals of the course such as I would be learning about the way cultures interact with each other, learn about communication in general, or I would be learning about the ways we use communication through our culture. I think that I achieve the latter goal, but I also gained knowledge about more then just my culture. I came to realize that there is more to a culture than just language, appearances, and customs, which are aspects of culture that could be seen above the waterline, or they are more noticeable/obvious to someone outside of that culture. There are aspects of culture that are below the waterline, or more
Since the last ten years, emotional intelligence is becoming lower in the world because people are getting used to meet people through the internet instead of going out. Staying home is more convenient and the outcome becomes more and more visible. People get out of the habit of nonverbal communication and rhetorical sophistry, like irony or sarcasm, are not adequate to communicate through the internet. The most important problem is that nonverbal communication makes up over 90 percent of all communication. Gestures and mimics can’t be seen over the internet and emoticons can just be used to show a few basic expressions. Otherwise, the internet gives opportunities to communicate with some nonverbal communication by providing the potential to make video conferences all over the world. Video conferences can’t replace face-to-face communication, but in our global world the internet may lead to more commonality in global thinking. The international business environment has changed rapidly in the growing global markets. Most companies not only operate in their domestic market; they also operate in foreign business markets where they have to struggle with different languages and cultures. The most challenging problems are the differences within intercultural communication. Therefore, the internet helps the companies to deal successfully with these challenges and gives the opportunities to be ‘global’. The threat for the private sector is coeval an opportunity for the business sector. Instant messaging and calling worldwide are benefits of the internet and additionally new technologies enable companies to make huge video conferences where non-verbal communication becomes possible all over the world. Mimic and gestures become visible in n...
Humans have been communicating since four million years. On the other hand, the birth of culture is estimated to have taken place about 35,000 years ago. Today, both culture and communication have evolved considerably and have become interdependent of one another, to the point that communication is considered to be a product of culture. Thus, our own culture has a deep impact on our thoughts and behaviors. Since each culture has its distinct aspects, intercultural communication can be the cause of conflict and disorder. There are three main issues which are at the root of the problem of intercultural miscommunication : language as a barrier, cultural diversity and ethnocentrism. I will analyze these three notions in situations in which intercultural communication is frequent such as : the workplace, the classroom and vacation trips.
Communicating with other cultures characterizes today’s business, classroom, and community. Hence, the art of knowing how to communicate with other cultures should be a workplace skill that is emphasized. Various authors have studied on intercultural communication; however, their studies have diverse perspectives and emphasis. The various views give a balanced approach to intercultural communication. This paper outlines the various facets that authors have on the importance of intercultural communication in the field of education, business, medicine and counseling. In addition, perspectives that various authors have on intercultural communicate are