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Communicating Across Cultures

Chapter 4

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Communicating Across Cultures

The communication process The culture-communication link Information technology – going global and acting

local Managing cross-cultural communication

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What is Communication?

Communication describes the process of sharing meaning by transmitting messages through media such as words, behavior, or material artifacts.

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How Do Cultural Factors Pervade the Communication Process?

“Culture not only dictates who talks with whom, and how the communication proceeds, it also helps to determine how people encode messages, the meanings they have for messages, and the conditions and circumstances under which various messages may or may not be sent, noticed, or interpreted. In fact, our entire repertory of communicative behaviors is dependent largely on the culture in which we have been raised. Culture, consequently, is the foundation of communication. And, when cultures vary, communication practices also vary.”

Samovar, Porter, and Jain

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The Communication Process(Exhibit 4-1)

Sender

Meaning Encode

MediumMessage

ReceiverDecode Meaning

Noise

Culture

Feedback

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Terms in Communication

Intercultural communication is when a member of one culture sends a message to a member of another culture.

Attribution is the process in which people look for the explanation of another person’s behavior.

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Guidelines for Creating Trust(as suggested by John Child)

Create a clear and calculated basis for mutual benefit. There must be realistic commitments and good intentions to honor them.

Improve predictability: strive to resolve conflicts and keep communication open.

Develop mutual bonding through regular socializing and friendly contact.

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Cultural Variables Affecting Communication

Attitudes: attitudes underlie the way we behave and communicate and the way we interpret messages from other people. Ethnocentric attitudes are a particular source of noise in cross-cultural communication.

Social Organization: our perceptions can be influenced by differences in values, approach, or priorities relative to the kind of social organizations to which we belong.

Thought Patterns: The logical progression of reasoning varies widely around the world. Managers cannot assume that others use the same reasoning processes.

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Cultural Variables Affecting Communication(contd.)

Roles: societies differ considerably in their perception of a manager’s role. Much of the difference is attributable to their perception of who should make the decisions and who has responsibility for what.

Language: Spoken or written language is a frequent cause of miscommunication, stemming from a person’s inability to speak the local language, a poor or too-literal translation, a speaker’s failure to explain idioms, or a person missing the meaning conveyed through body language or certain symbols.

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Cultural Variables Affecting Communication(contd.)

Nonverbal Communication: behavior that communicates without words (although it often is accompanied by words).

Time: another variable that communicates culture is the way people regard and use time.• Monochronic time systems – time is experienced in a linear way• Polychronic time systems – tolerate many things occurring

simultaneously and emphasize involvement with people.

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Forms of Nonverbal Communication(Exhibit 4-4)

Facial expressions Body posture Gestures with hands, arms, head, etc. Interpersonal distance (proxemics) Touching, body contact Eye contact

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Forms of Nonverbal Communication(contd.)

Clothing, cosmetics, hairstyles, jewelry Paralanguage (voice pitch and inflections, rate of

speech, and silence) Color symbolism Attitude toward time and the use of time in

business and social interactions Food symbolism and social use of meals

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Context

In high-context cultures, feelings and thoughts are not explicitly expressed; instead, one has to read between the lines and interpret meaning from one’s general understanding.

In low-context cultures, where personal and business relationships are more separated, communication media have to be more explicit. Feelings and thoughts are expressed in words, and information is more readily available.

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Cultural Context and its Effects on Communication

(Exhibit 4-5)

High Japan Middle East

Latin AmericaAfrica Mediterranean England

France North America

Scandinavia Germany

Switzerland

high context/implicit

low context/explicitLow Low HighExplicitness of communication

Con

text

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Guidelines for Effective Communication in the Middle East

Be patient. Recognize the Arab attitude toward time and hospitality – take time to develop friendship and trust, as these are prerequisites for any social or business transactions.

Recognize that people and relationships matter more to Arabs than the job, company, or contract – conduct business personally, not by correspondence or telephone.

Avoid expressing doubts or criticism when others are present – recognize the importance of honor and dignity to Arabs.

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Guidelines for Effective Communication in the Middle East

(contd.)

Adapt to the norms of body language, flowery speech, and circuitous verbal patterns in the Middle East, and don’t be impatient to “get to the point.”

Expect many interruptions in meetings, delays in schedules, and changes in plans.

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Differences between Japanese and American Communication Styles

(Exhibit 4-8)

Japanese Ningensei Style of Communication• Indirect verbal and nonverbal communication• Relationship communication• Discourages confrontational strategies• Strategically ambiguous communication• Delayed feedback• Patient, longer term negotiators• Uses fewer words

U.S. Adversarial Style of Communication• More direct verbal and nonverbal communication• More task communication• Confrontational strategies more acceptable• Prefers more to-the-point communication• More immediate feedback• Shorter term negotiators• Favors verbosity

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Differences Between Japanese and American Communication Styles

(Contd.)

• Distrustful of skilful verbal communicators• Group orientation• Cautious, tentative• Complementary communicators• Softer, heartlike logic• Sympathetic, empathetic, complex use of pathos• Expresses and decodes complex relational strategies and nuances

• Exalts verbal eloquence• More individualistic orientation• More assertive, self-assured• More publicly critical communicators• Harder, analytic logic preferred• Favors logos, reason• Expresses and decodes complex logos, cognitive nuances

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Differences Between Japanese and American Communication Styles

(Contd.)

• Avoids decision making in public• Makes decision in private venues, away from public eye• Decisions via ringi and nemawashi (complete consensus process)• Uses go-betweens for decision making• Understatement and hesitation in verbal and nonverbal

communication

• Frequent decision making in public• Frequent decisions in public at negotiating tables• Decisions by majority rule and public compromise is more

commonplace• More extensive use of direct person-to-person, player-to-player

interaction for decisions• May publicly speak in superlatives, exaggerations, nonverbal

projection

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Differences Between Japanese and American Communication Styles

(Contd.)

• Uses qualifiers, tentative, humility as communicator• Receiver/listening-centered• Inferred meanings, looks beyond words to nuances, nonverbal

communication• Shy, reserved communicators• Distaste for purely business transactions• Mixes social and business communication

• Favors fewer qualifiers, more ego-centered• More speaker- and message-centered• More face-value meaning, more denotative• More publicly self-assertive• Prefers to “get down to business” or “nitty gritty”• Tends to keep business negotiating more separated from social

communication

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Differences Between Japanese and American Communication Styles

(Contd.)

• Utilizes matomari or “hints” for achieving group adjustments and saving face in negotiating

• Practices haragei or belly logic and communication

• More directly verbalizes management’s preference at negotiating tables

• Practices more linear, discursive, analytical logic; greater reverence for cognitive than for affective

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Managing Cross-Cultural Communication

Developing cultural sensitivity Careful encoding Selective transmission Careful decoding of feedback Follow-up actions

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Behaviors Most Important to Intercultural Communication Effectiveness

(as reviewed by Ruben)

Respect (conveyed through eye contact, body posture, voice tone and pitch)

Interaction posture (the ability to respond to others in a descriptive, nonevaluative, and nonjudgmental way)

Orientation to knowledge (recognizing that one’s knowledge, perception, and beliefs are valid only for oneself and not for everyone else)

Empathy Interaction management Tolerance for ambiguity Other-oriented role behavior (one’s capacity to be flexible and to

adopt different roles for the sake of greater group cohesion and group communication

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Personality Factors For Effective Intercultural Communication

(as reviewed by Kim)

Openness – traits such as open-mindedness, tolerance for ambiguity, and extrovertedness

Resilience – traits such as having an internal locus of control, persistence, a tolerance of ambiguity, and resourcefulness