CROSS CULTURAL COMMUNICATION

Question: Why be concerned?

Business are global Cultural differences must be understood Miscommunication is a serious matter Avoid stereotypes Avoid self-reference criterion

Where does culture fit into the business equation?

Business Environment
Decisions taken by a company are usually influenced by: internal factors such as strategy, goals, scope of operations, internal resources including management systems and organizational culture and factors in the external business environment

Culture
A way of life of a group of people Shared patterns of behavior Way of viewing human relationships

In cross-cultural interactions, your customary evaluations and interpretations are more likely to be off-base, because you have less shared meaning and experience to draw on. The following steps are useful to follow whenever a crosscultural incident happens 1. Your interpretation: 2. Their possible interpretations 3. Evaluation

Cultural Noise
Cultural Noise cultural variables that undermine the communication of intended meaning E.g. Roles the perception of the managers role differs considerable around the world Language an inability to speak the local language, and a poor or too literal translation are often causes for problems Pepsis slogan Come Alive with Pepsi translated into German as Come out of the grave.

Context
Context in which the communication takes place affects the meaning and interpretation of the interaction Cultures are either high- or low- context The general terms "high context" and "low context" (popularized by Edward Hall) are used to describe cultural differences between societies/groups.

High context refers to societies or groups where people have close connections over a long period of time. Many aspects of cultural behavior are not made explicit because most members know what to do and what to think from years of interaction with each other. Family is an example of a high context environment. Low context refers to societies where people tend to have many connections but of shorter duration or for some specific reason. In these societies, cultural behaviour and beliefs may need to be spelled out explicitly so that those coming into the cultural environment know how to behave.

ACTIVITY

CONTEXT Place: Drive-through fast food window (in America) Who was involved? Fast food clerk, customer (me) in car. Gender & age: Clerk was a man probably in his 30s, I am a woman, aged 29. Relationship: Customer / service worker. Never met before. Other relevant characteristics: The man came from Ghana. I am biracial (African-American, German) DESCRIPTION I waited in line in my car, then ordered a cheeseburger and soft drink. The clerk spoke very softly. His right hand was on the cash register, his left at the window. When he handed me my order, he looked away briefly, then said to me "Very sorry. In my country, Ghana, it is very rude to do this." I must have looked blank, because he then added, "handing a customer food with this hand." I sensed that he felt bad, and I said in a bright smile, "Oh, whatever," and gave a wave of my hand. Then I drove away.

Fast Food Scenario

MY INTERPRETATION At the time, I reacted in very American mode: I wanted to be friendly, to tell him that he didn't insult me, that everything was fine. And I wanted to get going. In my culture, there's no particular stigma attached to using the left hand, so it didn't seem like a big deal to me. THEIR POSSIBLE INTERPRETATIONS It is possible that in his culture, the taboo against using the left hand is so strong that he can't put aside those feelings . Does he apologize to everyone? Or maybe it is just a routine courtesy to apologize and he *does* apologize to customers often without thinking much about it. EVALUATION High context meets low context. Fast food is a very low context activity. Americans generally expect to order food, get it right away, take it away to eat it. We dont expect conversation, a relationship with the cashier.

CONTEXT Place: A college hostel (America) Who was involved? Chip, an American , and Yoshio, who is here for one year as a Japanese exchange student. I (Rick) am from New England, and have been friends with Chip since last year. I stay in the room next to Chip and Yoshio. Relationship: Chip and Yoshio have been roommates since September Other relevant characteristics and background: Chip is a member of the debate team. I know from previous conversations that he finds Yoshios quiet manner boring and sometimes irritating. Yoshio mostly hangs out with other students from Asia and is in the room much more often than Chip.

DESCRIPTION Chip and I had been talking in his room for about a half hour when Yoshio came back. He said hello and then started to study. The phone rang, Chip didnt answer it. He said It is probably for you. Yoshio began talking Japanese on the phone. His voice was much more animated than before. After about 5 minutes, Chip waved his arms and said Hey could you take the phone in the hall? Rick and I are having a conversation here! Yoshio stopped talking right away and hung up. He said, Im very very sorry, Ill try to be a better roommate. He went back to reading his textbook. To me the atmosphere felt very tense, but Chip just said, Would you quit apologizing all the time? Just take the phone out in the hall next time. To me he said later All Yoshio does is say hes sorry, hes sorry, but then he goes and does whatever he wants to anyway. Really annoys me.

High Context
Less verbally explicit communication, less written/formal information More internalized understandings of what is communicated Long term relationships Strong boundaries- who is accepted as belonging vs who is considered an "outsider" Decisions and activities focus around personal face-to-face relationships, often around a central person who has authority. Examples: Small religious congregations, a party with friends, family gatherings, on-campus friendships etc

Low Context
Rule oriented, people play by external rules More knowledge is codified, public, external, and accessible. More interpersonal connections of shorter duration Knowledge is more often transferable Examples: Group of people watching cricket in a stadium, people meeting in a conference.

While these terms are sometimes useful in describing some aspects of a culture, one can never say a culture is "high" or "low" because societies all contain both modes. "High" and "low" are therefore less relevant as a description of a whole people, and more useful to describe and understand particular situations and environments.

Ways that High and Low Context Differ

The Structure of Relationships High: Dense, intersecting networks and longterm relationships, strong boundaries, relationship more important than task Low: Loose, wide networks, shorter term, compartmentalized relationships, task more important than relationship

Main Type of Cultural Knowledge High: More knowledge is below the waterline--implicit, patterns that are not fully conscious, hard to explain even if you are a member of that culture Low: More knowledge is above the waterline--explicit, consciously organized