Culture could be defined as all the ways of life including traditions, religion, language, behaviors, arts and everything that creates identity to a country.
In such a globalized world, where in most organizations we have people from all over the world, it is very important to know about cross-cultural management in order to understand people’s behavior and needs in order to avoid problems and have a pleasant and successful workplace.
My name is Mariana Martins and I am from Brazil. Below I will talk about two different countries besides Brazil and try to explain how these differences can be crucial when you do not know how to properly understand them. The comparison will be made in a workplace point of view.
A US Culture Overview
Official name – United States of America
Population – 298, 444,215 *
Languages – English, Spanish (spoken by a sizable minority)
Currency – US Dollar (USD)
Capital city –Washington, DC
The United States, a nation founded on the fundamental belief in equality, is today a multicultural mosaic of over 290 million people of varying race and cultural heritage. The country could be defined as one of the most individualistic in the globe. Individualism plays a very important role in Americans lives. They emphasize initiative and personal achievements. Due to that, one’s position in the United States is determined by one’s achievements rather than by one’s status or age. Americans as very task centered, so exchanging of information, facts and opinions are the main purpose of communication, so they have a very direct style of speech and sometimes they are judged by foreign as rude people. In American’s opinions, personal feelings have not to do with business. Even tough Americans have many differences...
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Culture and Communication Skills Consultancy. 2007. Doing Business in Brazil / Brazilian Social and Business Culture
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Grenoble Ecole de Management, 2008. Communicating and Managing Appropriately in a different Cultural Environment. Handouts.
Culture by definition is the set of shared attitudes, values, goals and practices, as well as customary beliefs, social forms and material traits that characterize a racial, religious or ...
University of Birmingham (2014) Business Culture in Brazil. Available at: https://intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/as/employability/careers/international/country-profiles/brazil/business.aspx (Accessed: 11 April 2014)
Schneider, S. C. and Barsoux, J. 2003. Managing across cultures. Harlow, England: Financial Times Prentice Hall.
The rest of the book is spent discussing each of the countries in detail. For each country the authors give a brief explanation of the history of the culture. Then they give tips on what each country expects from a visiting businessman. This includes tips on whether or not it is okay to be late for meetings, proper behavior during a business lunch or dinner, and how to properly address people you come in contact with during your business trip. They also give a guide t...
Intercultural communication is a significant, unavoidable element of communication in the 21st century. With the vast movements of population throughout history, as well as the growing prominence of technology, the ability to interact and come into contact with different cultures, both ethnic and sub-cultures, has never been easier. However, with this growing role of intercultural communication, there is a large opportunity for the existence and perpetuation of stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination. In order to avoid offence and miscommunication when partaking in intercultural communication, a person must be willing to understand a person as an individual entity, and not as a representation of their culture or of what the host culture may believe it to be.
The cross cultural differences could be one of the difficult tasks to deal with. Managers need to operate with a vast variety of employees who posses distinguished beliefs, values and attitudes, Most of the times, seeing things different than us. For a successful manager, it is essential to have positive thinking and keeping in mind that there is a solution to every issue (The Wisest, 2011).
...Harris, Sarah V. Moran (2011). Managing Cultural Differences, Leadership Skills and Strategies for Working in a Global World. 8th ed. UK: Elsevier Inc.. 10-25.
Miller, K. (2012). Cultural Approaches. In Organizational communication: Approaches and processes (6.th ed., p. 81 to 93). Boston, Mass: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
A well-managed bi-cultural team is proven to be a success because when people from different backgrounds bring their own unique cultural experiences to the situations they face in their companies and this broader perspective of viewpoints tends to allow for a better ultimate resolution, however if those teams are not managed properly, and if the size of those teams are not managed, and the individuals are not catered to, the cons may outweigh the
In business, communication is a fundamental concept as it is a collaborative activity which enables goods and services to be created and exchanged through close coordination of individuals on domestic and global scales. According to Hooker (2008), when it comes to the intercultural exchange of business activities, complex product characteristics or production schedules for example, should be mutually understood and trading between partners should be negotiated taking into account differences in business communication. It is important to realize the way in which spoken and written language is interpreted in a business context. Understanding of intercultural communication is critically related to business and can determine efficiency and the outcome of a business position. Intercultural Communication is a form of communication that aims to share information across different cultures and social groups. Applying practices of intercultural communication within a business organization requires the understanding of cultural values, social expectations and workplace practices in order to ensure the collaboration between people to be effective. It is also important to understand the coordination and management of people from
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.
Culture is the totality of learned, socially transmitted customs, knowledge, material objects and behavior. It includes the ideas, value, customs and artifacts of a group of people (Schaefer, 2002). Culture is a pattern of human activities and the symbols that give these activities significance. It is what people eat, how they dress, beliefs they hold and activities they engage in. It is the totality of the way of life evolved by a people in their attempts to meet the challenges of living in their environment, which gives order and meaning to their social, political, economic, aesthetic and religious norms and modes of organization thus distinguishing people from their neighbors.
With the rapid growth in globalization there are a number of firms who have taken their businesses abroad. Their challenge, cross cultural management and communication. An effective communication strategy begins first with understanding who the sender of the message is and who the receiver of the message is. Many companies have realized this and offer training in the different cultures to help better facilitate communication between leaders (Cross-Cultural Communication, mindtools.com). Without this basic understand between sender and receiver it can be very difficult for companies of multicultural to even begin to communicate. The second important understanding is that leaders must demand a cultural tolerance of acceptable behavior between cultures to facilitate effective communication (Cross-Cultural Communication, mindtools.com).
The differences in other cultures vary from beliefs to ways of life, or norms, of the different societies. The importance of understanding and sensitivity to other countries’ differences is crucial to a business’ success. “Lack of familiarity with the business practices, social customs, and etiquette of a country can weaken a co...
The term “culture” refers to the complex accumulation of knowledge, folklore, language, rules, rituals, habits, lifestyles, attitudes, beliefs, and customs that link and provide a general identity to a group of people. Cultures take a long time to develop. There are many things that establish identity give meaning to life, define what one becomes, and how one should behave.