LECTURE NOTES

CHAPTER 3--COMMUNICATING INTERCULTURALLY

BASICS OF INTERCULTURAL BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

• Culture: a shared system of symbols, beliefs, attitudes, values, expectations, and norms of behavior.
• Subcultures: cultural groups that exist within a major culture
• An individual belongs to many subcultures: ethnic, religious, social, professional, and son on.
• Cultural differences that can affect communication:
  • Social values
  • Roles and status
  • Decision-making customs
  • Concepts of time
  • Concepts of personal space
  • Cultural context
  • Body language
  • Social behavior and manners
  • Legal and ethical behavior
• Social values involve:
  • Attitudes toward material success
  • Attitudes toward efficiency
  • Attitudes toward progress
• Culture dictates who you may communicate with and your concept of status.
• Decision-making customs differ in process and authority.
• Culture dictates the way you perceive and use time.
• Personal comfort zones are dictated by culture.
• Cultural context may be high (when people rely less on verbal communication and more on nonverbal and environmental cues) or low (when people rely heavily on verbal communication rather than nonverbal or environmental cues).
• three ways body language can cause misunderstandings:
  • People may misread intentional signal.
  • People may overlook signal entirely.
  • People may assume that meaningless gesture is significant.
• Etiquette may be formal or informal:
  • Formal etiquette is a learned, conscious set of rules (how to hold chopsticks); you don't necessarily expect outsiders to know all rules, so you excuse some mistakes.
  • Informal etiquette consists of subtle customs, acquired through experience and observation (when it is okay to touch someone); stranger's failure to conform to informal customs makes "natives" uncomfortable, although they may not know why.
• From culture to culture, what is considered ethical (and even legal) may change.
• Language barriers arise even when others speak English:
  • In English-speaking countries, problems are slight, arising from minor differences in vocabulary and pronunciation.
  • When people use English as their second language, some misunderstandings arise, but basic message usually gets through.
• When others speak no English, you have three options:
  • Learn their language (time consuming, impractical for short trips).
  • Use intermediary or translator.
  • Teach other person to speak your language (may make sense for group of foreign employees)
• How most U.S. companies that do business abroad handle written communication:
  • Write most letters, memos, and reports in English.
  • Translate such items as advertisements, warranties, repair manuals, product labels, and some internal documents.
• Problems in handling oral communication may arise from differences in pronunciation, differences in inflection or volume, and confusion over idiomatic expressions.
• When speaking to someone who uses English as second language:
  • Try to eliminate "noise."
  • Look for feedback.
  • Rephrase when necessary.
  • Don't talk down to person.
  • Use objective, accurate language.
  • Let other person finish his or her remarks
• Problems arising from ethnocentric reactions:
  • Assuming others will react as we do makes us overlook possibility that we will be misunderstood.
  • Tendency to judge all other groups by our own standards makes us more likely to misunderstand others.
  • Stereotypes blind us to individual's unique characteristics.

TIPS FOR COMMUNICATING WITH PEOPLE FROM OTHER CULTURES

• Two approaches to developing intercultural communication skills:
  • Learn as much as possible about specific culture.
  • Learn general skills that are useful when interacting with people from a variety of cultures or subcultures.
• Don't expect to understand another culture completely.
• General skills for intercultural communication:
  • Take responsibility for communication
  • Withhold judgment
  • Show respect
  • Empathize
  • Tolerate ambiguity
  • Look beyond superficial
  • Be patient and persistent
  • Recognize your own cultural biases
  • Be flexible
  • Emphasize common ground
  • Send clear messages
  • Take risks
  • Increase your cultural sensitivity
  • Deal with individual
  • Learn when to be direct
• If you learn about your counterparts' culture before you start to negotiate, you will be better equipped to understand their approach to negotiation, their tolerance for open disagreement, and their problem-solving techniques.
• Tips for writing letters:
  • Write in your own language (and use a professional translator if necessary).
  • Rely on specific terms and concrete examples.
  • Avoid slang, jargon, and buzz words.
  • Rely on short, simple sentences.
  • Keep paragraphs short.
  • Emphasize transitions.
  • Employ relatively formal tone.
  • Be tolerant of other styles in letters you receive.
• Handling oral communication:
  • Be alert to other person's customs.
  • Consider unintentional meanings that may be read into your message.
  • Listen carefully and patiently.
  • Be aware that you may misread other person's body language.
  • Adapt your style to other person's.
  • Confirm that you both agree on outcome of communication.
  • Follow up with letter or memo if appropriate.

Last Update: 1/25/01
Web Author: Angie Chittick
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