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Intercultural communication in contemporary business
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Introduction
A business meeting takes place in Indonesia between the executives: Jonathan from Australia and Batara from Indonesia. The Indonesian company was authentically interested in the Australian company 's proposal. After communications through fax, Jonathan visits the Indonesian company and meets with Batara for the first time. Coming from different cultural backgrounds, the interactions between the Indonesian and Australian partners were influenced by cross-cultural differences. Thus, the different background knowledge generate unshared interests that leads to individual interpretations.
Indeed, in an intercultural business interaction, certain characteristics of the communication can be interpreted
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Jonathan ignored the importance of building rapport in intercultural interactions (Oatey & Franklin 2009). Rapport refers to the understanding of the use of language in interactions (Cohen & Henderson). From this feature, harmony or disharmony of the conversation may be the outcome of this first interaction. From the Indonesian business culture perspective, this feature of communication is certainly important. Building relationships with business partners is crucial before closing deals (Indosight 2014). For Jonathan, failing to establish a relationship could represent difficulties to achieve collaboration from his counterpart. Collaboration could be difficult to achieve if rapport is not managed well among intercultural speakers specially from their first interaction (Cohen & …show more content…
In social interactions, silence is used as a politeness strategy to avoid embarrassment or unwanted impositions (Nakane 2007). Thus, silence can be considered as a sign of solidarity and good rapport from Batara. In this conversation, the long silence could have meant politeness. Batara may have felt uncomfortable explaining why the President director was not present at the meeting. Considering that this is the normal procedure of doing business in Indonesia, Batara avoids talking about it and opts to discuss about the information previously sent through fax (line 6) . Probably, Batara avoided an embarrassment moment for Jonathan for being unaware of business culture in Indonesia. These features in business culture will be discuss on the following
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...
Unsuccessful intercultural encounters can sometimes result in tremendous consequences like losing business deals, breaking relationships or even destroying blood ties. In fact, for those who have watched the documentary “Daughter from Danang”, the idea of the last consequence would emerge vividly and hauntingly. The documentary, directed by Gail Dolgin and Vicente Franco, tells the reunion between a daughter and her long-lost birth mother. The reunion, which is expected to be an exhilarating experience, unfortunately becomes a painful one with heartbreaking moments. The failure of this reunion can be attributed to a number of reasons, but the most visible one is perhaps the issue of cultural differences. through the lens of intercultural communication,
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
The opportunity for universal application of the Communication Accommodation Theory gives the field of Communication Studies a method of objectively analyzing conversational strategies and motivations both of which are considered to be overwhelmingly subjective. The ways in which communicators of different cultures perceive one and other [as individuals or members of a group] varies greatly even in a two-person interaction. The number of cultural identifications one certain individual might possess may be numerous, and already makes structured analysis of their communication choices in an interaction difficult. By guiding the process of conducting research with CAT, researchers are able to analyze the communication behaviors of any set of cultural communicat...
In today’s world, globalisation plays a more and more important role. The idea of the “global village” is becoming reality and business is done not only regional but over the whole world. A European enterprise for example nowadays usually does not only have business partnerships in Europe but also in America or Asia, depending on the branch of their business. In this world of doing business with any kinds of nations and cultures knowledge about the culture and business habits is a “must-have”. In my essay, I would like to introduce India as a country with a culture which is thousands of years old and also the most important facts about Indian business behaviour in general, in meetings and in negotiations.
I have learned a great deal about different cultures and the communication between those cultures. I didn’t really think I would learn as much as I did. I am from an older cohort than most of the people in my class; therefore my experience level is a little greater. This did not prevent me from learning a few things and enhancing the knowledge I already have.
Any negotiation challenges the parties involved in a variety of ways, but parties with conflicting interests face important additional difficulties when attempting to negotiate an agreement across culture lines. Not only will the difficulties arising from the known similarities and differences of opinion be more pronounced, but also unsuspected factors could easily enter the picture and condition perceptions of the situation. In cross-cultural negotiations, a reasonable second acknowledgment should be that the hidden factors that are always at work are more likely to interfere with reaching an agreement. It is especially important that this acknowledgment be understood to apply not only to the dynamics of interactions across the table, but those of individuals on the same side of the table. [At times, it may be tempting to attribute the outcomes of negotiations to a single variable (such as the culture or the relative power of a country).] The term culture has taken on many different meanings but basically it reflects the shared values. Culture affects negotiations in different ways. In this paper, we are going to discuss the American and Jap...
Effective communication with people of difference cultures can be especially challenging. The way people interpret the world can be strikingly different between cultures. Intercultural communication occurs when a member from one culture produces a message that is absorbed by a member of another culture. How that message is understood by the communicating party is a vital part in intercultural communication. For example, in Cambodia it would be considered rude to discuss business in a social setting (Language, culture, customs and etiquette, n.d.). However, in the United States this is a common practice and is almost an encouraged event. Another important factor and consideration in intercultural communication is the importance of understanding cultures, values, history and beliefs. For instance, in Cambodia, if you deliver a present that is wrapped in white paper, this is considered to represent mourning. This is one of the many reasons why it is important to assimilate into a culture and be mindful of communication between cultures (Language, culture, customs and etiquette, n.d.).
Therefore, it is essential to study nonverbal and verbal communication Nonverbal communication is all forms of communication other than words themselves, which includes “body motions; vocal qualities; and the use of time, space, and even smell” (Neuliep, 2011, p. 269). On the other hand verbal communication or language “consists of symbols in the form of spoken or written words (Wood, 2014, p. 67). Thus cultures have different representations of symbols and what one culture interprets another may define or view differently. Communication is closely related to culture because communication expresses and alters culture. In a culture you learn behaviors and acceptable ideologies. This can be seen in verbal and nonverbal communication. For example, the tone of your voice is based on culture. Without communication you are unable to establish cultural differences. Your own culture directly shapes how one communicates, such as when it is appropriate to make eye contact. We are not born knowing when and how we should speak; this is a learned behavior that is taught by interaction with others. This is not an easy task because nonverbal signals differ from culture to culture. Charles Braithwaite stated, “One of the fundamental components of cultural and linguistic competence is knowing how and when to use silence as a communication tactic” (Neuliep, 2011, p. 64). Before one can communicate effectively one must understand the context in which the culture exchanges information. One must have a working awareness of how each society conveys meaning, hence high vs. low context cultures. According to the Central Michigan University text, organizational dynamics and human behavior (2009), to become a successful international manager one must develop “cross-cultural skills”. One part of the skill set involves the comprehension of the difference between high-context and low-context
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.
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...
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
Negotiation tactics are an important aspect to consider when doing business in a cross-cultural environment. Negotiation or special communication that takes place shows how to reach the agreement and how to handle both common to conflicting interests between two or more parties (Denk-Helmond et al., 1996, pp. 42-60). Competition within a global setting, it is essential to recognize some of the typical negotiating tactics when working with people from different cultures. A negotiating process is a dynamic process which two parties, each with its objectives, seek a mutually acceptable agreement on a matter of common interest (Gorg, Hanley, Hoffmann, & Seric, 2017 pp. 187-194). Countries from Asia, North America, and Europe
To elaborate, by mentioning intercultural understanding, I meant that each cultural group has different ways to communicate. For example, Western culture encourages people to be up-front and straight-forward with their communication; contrastly, people who are influenced by Eastern culture might be less outspoken about their ideas and pay a lot of attention to nonverbal language of the people around them. Culture is something that if one have never encountered or exposed to it, he or she would never know. I hope that after this project, besides of the knowledge we gained from the research itselves, all four of us would improve even more on our intercultural and interpersonal communication skills. Because at the end of the day, the knowledge that one have learnt might be forgotten, but all of the skills that one have gained will stay for a very long time.
Since the end of World War II, international operations have become a reality for an increasing number of corporations. Many of these initial efforts began as simple export schemes to sell goods overseas to supplement domestic sales. Over time, however, international operations have become increasingly more complex: from joint-ventures to purchasing existing foreign firms to ‘green-field’ start-ups. While export operations usually require no more than extended business trips overseas, more complex international operations demand long-term assignments of key personnel outside their home-country. What would normally be considered routine business transactions in the home country can become very complicated when they are conducted between individuals and organizations from different cultures. In this essay we will examine how this cultural gap can affect international business and joint ventures.