Chapter 3

Communicating in a
World of Diversity

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Chapter 3 - 1

Learning Objectives
1.

Discuss the opportunities and challenges of intercultural

communication

2.

Define culture, explain how culture is learned, and define

ethnocentrism and stereotyping

3.

Explain the importance of recognizing cultural variations,

and list eight categories of cultural differences

4.

List four general guidelines for adapting to any business

culture

5.

Identify seven steps you can take to improve your

intercultural communication skills

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Communicating in a Diverse
World
Diversity includes all the characteristics and
experiences that define each of us as individuals.
These characteristics and experiences can
have a profound effect on the way we
communicate.

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Gender
Age

Racial and ethnic

minorities
Immigrants
Physically and
mentally disabled

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Other

Workforce
Diversity

Religious affiliation
Armed forces status
Sexual orientation
Expectations and values
Lifestyle
Skill level
Educational level
Economic class
Work-style
Function and/or position
within the company

Anjum Nisar Qureshi4

Communicating in a Diverse
World

Intercultural
and receiving
backgrounds
messages and

Every attempt to send and receive messages is influenced

by culture,

Therefore, to communicate successfully,

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communication is the process of sending

messages between people whose cultural
could lead them to interpret verbal
nonverbal cues differently.

You will need a basic understanding of the cultural

differences, and how you might handle them

Chapter 3 - 5

 Thanks to communication and transportation technologies,

natural boundaries or national borders are no longer
impassable barriers.
Local markets are opening to worldwide competition as
businesses of all sizes look for new growth opportunities
outside their own countries.
Moreover, thousands of businesses depend on exports for
significant portions of their revenues.

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Chapter 3 - 6

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 Diversity is simply a fact of life for all

companies.
Even if you never visit another country or transact
business on a global scale, you will interact with
colleagues from a variety of cultures with a wide range
of characteristics and life experiences.
Over the past few decades, many innovative
companies have changed the way that they approach
diversity, from seeing it as a legal requirement to
seeing it as a strategic opportunity to connect with
customers and
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take advantage of the broadest possible pool of

 Smart
business
leaders
competitive
advantages
workforce that offers :

recognize
the
of a diverse

Increased Productivity: Diversity brings in diverse talents together

working towards a common goal using different sets of skills that
ignites their loyalty and increases their productivity
Increased creativity and Problem solving: With so many different
and diverse minds coming together many more solutions will arise as
every individual brings in their way of thinking, operating and solving
problems and decision making
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Attract and Retain talentthataddacompetitiveedgetoanyorganization.

Feeling included and appreciated increases loyalty and feeling of
belonging.

Help to build synergy in teams and enhances communication

skillsthatbringsinnewattitudesandprocessesthatprofitthewholeteam

Applying the proper diversity& inclusion management strategies, not only

save money onlitigation expensesgenerated by discrimination lawsuits
butistherightthingtodoforthebusiness.

It increases market share and create a satisfied diverse customer

basebyrelatingtopeoplefromdifferentbackgrounds.

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Challenges of Intercultural
Communication

Todays increasingly diverse workforce encompasses a wide

range of skills, traditions, backgrounds, experiences,
outlooks, and attitudes toward workall of which can affect
employee behavior on the job.

Supervisors face the challenge of communicating (or

connecting) with diverse employees, motivating them, and
fostering cooperation and harmony among them.

Teams face the challenge of working together closely, and

Companies are challenged to coexist peacefully with business

partners and with the community as a whole.

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Challenges of Intercultural
Communication
Remember, intercultural communication is
much more complicated than simply matching
language between senders and receivers.
It goes beyond mere words to include beliefs,
values, and emotions.

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Understanding The Concept of

Culture
For the purposes of communication, culture can be
defined as a:
Symbols

Values

SharedSystem
Priorities
Attitudes

Attitudes

Norms

Behaviors
Beliefs

Expectations

You belong to several cultures.

The most obvious is the culture that you share with all the people in
your own country.
In addition, you belong to other cultural groups, including an ethnic
group, probably a religious group, and perhaps a profession that has its
own special language and customs.

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Members of a given culture tend to have similar

assumptions about how people should think,
behave, and communicate.
The question is:

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Chapter 3 - 14

 You learn culture directly and indirectly from other

members of your group.
As you grow up in a culture, you are taught who you are
and how best to function in that culture by the groups
members.
Sometimes you are told which behaviors are acceptable;
at other times, you learn by observing which values
work best in a particular group.

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Learning Culture
In addition to being automatic, established cultures tend to be
fairly logical and consistent throughout.
For instance, the notion of progress is deeply embedded in the
western culture.
Cultures also tend to be complete; that is, they provide most of
their members with most of the answers to lifes big questions.
This idea of completeness can dull or suppress curiosity about life
in other cultures.

How about our culture?

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The very nature of culture being automatic,

coherent, and complete can lead the members
of one culture to form rigid and oversimplified
views of other cultures.

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Ethnocentrism is the tendency to judge all other groups

according to your own groups standards, behaviors, and
customs.

When making such comparisons, people too often decide

that their group is superior.

An even more extreme reaction is xenophobia, a fear of

strangers and foreigners.

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Clearly, businesspeople who take these views will not

interpret messages from other cultures correctly; they are
also unlikely to send successful messages.

Chapter 3 - 18

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Stereotyping involves assigning

a wide range of generalized
attributes to an individual on the
basis of his or her membership in
a particular culture or social
group, without considering the
individuals unique characteristics.

While
ethnocentrism
and
xenophobia represent negative
views of everyone in a particular
group, stereotyping is more a
matter of oversimplifying and
failing
to
acknowledge
individuality.
Chapter 3 - 19

 Intercultural communication breakdowns

occur for a variety of reasons, from simple
carelessness to assuming that other peoples
attitudes and lives are like yours.
Part of the problem stems from treating others the way
you want to be treated.
The best approach when communicating with people
from other cultures is to treat them the way they want to
be treated.

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 You can begin to learn how people in other

cultures want to be treated by recognizing and
accommodating eight main types of cultural
differences:

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Contextual Differences

People assign meaning to a message according to cultural

context: physical cues, environmental stimuli, and implicit
understandings that convey meaning between two members of
the same culture.

However, cultures around the world vary widely in the role that
context plays in communication.

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In lower-context cultures, businesspeople try to reach decisions as

quicklyandefficientlyaspossible.
Theyareconcernedwithreachinganagreementonthemainpoints,leavingthe
detailstobeworkedoutlaterbyothers.

However, this approach would backfire in higher-context cultures where

executives may assume that anyone who ignores the details is
untrustworthy.

Culturesdifferintheirtolerancefordisagreementwhensolving problems.
Low-context businesspeople typically enjoy confrontation and debate,but highcontextbusinesspeopleshunsuchtactics.

Members of low-context cultures see their negotiating goals in economic

terms.
To high-context negotiators, immediate economic gains are secondary to
establishingandmaintaininglong-termrelationships.
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Contextual Differences
Low contextculturesincludeAnglos,GermanicsandScandinavians.
High contextculturesincludeJapanese,ArabsandFrench.
The implications are obvious. Interactions between high and low
contextpeoplescanbeproblematic.Forexample:
Japanese can find Westerners to be offensively blunt. Westerners can
findJapanesetobesecretive,deviousandbafflinglyunforthcomingwith
information.
French can feel that Germans insult their intelligence by explaining the
obvious, while Germans can feel that French managers provide no
direction.

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Legal and Ethical

Differences

As you conduct business around the world, you will find

that legal systems differ from culture to culture.

These differences can be particularly Important if your firm

must communicate about a legal dispute in another
country.
When
communicating
across
cultures, keep your messages
ethical by applying four basic
principles:
1. Actively seek mutual ground.
2. Send and receive messages
without judgment.
3. Show respect for cultural
differences.
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4. Send messages that are
honest.

Chapter 3 - 25

Social Differences
The nature of social behavior varies among
cultures.
These behaviors are guided by social rules that
can vary from culture to culture in the areas
discussed below.

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Social Differences

The predominant western view is that money solves many problems,

that material comfort is a sign of superiority, and that people who work
hardarebetterthanthosewhodonot.

Culturedictatestherolespeopleplay,includingwhocommunicateswith
whom,whattheycommunicate,andinwhatway.

Culturealsodictateshowpeopleshowrespectandsignifystatus.

What is polite in one culture may be considered rude in another.

Therefore, the concept of good manners varies widely from culture to
culture.

Conducting business involves schedules, deadlines, and appointments,

butthesemattersareregardeddifferentlyfromculturetoculture.

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Social Differences

Successful companies tend to have a strong future orientation,

planning for and investing in the future; however, national cultures
aroundtheworldvarywidelyinthisviewpoint.

Atboththenationallevelandwithinsmallergroups,culturesvaryon
howopentheyaretoacceptingpeoplefromotherculturesorthose
whodonotfittheprevailingnormswithintheculture.
Anunwillingnesstoaccommodateotherscanrangefromoutright
exclusion to subtle pressures to conform to the expectations of
themajority.

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Nonverbal Differences

From colors(Tide India) to facial expressions, nonverbal

elements add yet another layer of richness and complexity
to intercultural communication.

When you have the opportunity to interact with people in

another culture, the best advice is to study the culture in
advance, then observe the way people behave in the
following areas:

Greetings
Greetings

Personal
Personal
Space
Space

Facial
Facial
Eye
Contact
Eye
Contact
Expressions
Expressions
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Touching
Touching

Posture
Posture

Formality
Formality
Chapter 3 - 29

 Greetings.Dopeopleshakehands,bow,kisslightly(ononesideoftheface
orboth)?
Personal space.Whenpeopleareconversing,dotheystandclosertogether
orfartherawaythanyouareaccustomedto?
Touching. Do people touch each other on the arm to emphasize a point or
slapeachotheronthebacktoshowcongratulations?Ordotheyrefrainfrom
touchingaltogether?
Facial expressions.Dopeopleshaketheirheadstoindicatenoandnodto
indicateyes?Thisiswhatpeopleareaccustomedtointhewest,butitisnot
universal.
Eye contact.Dopeoplemakefrequenteyecontactoravoidit?Frequenteye
contactisoftentakenasasignofhonestyandopennessinthewest,butin
otherculturesitcanbeasignofaggressivenessorlackofrespect.
Posture.Dopeopleslouchandrelaxintheofficeandinpublic,ordotheysit
upstraight?
Formality.Ingeneral,doesthecultureseemmoreorlessformalthanyours?
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Age Differences
In some cultures, youth is associated with strength, energy,
possibilities, and freedom.
Some cultures value age and seniority, longevity earns respect and
increasing power and freedom.
For instance, in many Asian societies, the oldest employees
hold the most powerful jobs, the most impressive titles, and
the greatest degree of freedom and decision-making authority.

Youth-Oriented
Senior-Oriented
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Multi-Generational
Chapter 3 - 31

Inadditiontoculturalvaluesassociatedwithvariouslifestages,themultiple
generationswithinaculturepresentanotherdimensionofdiversity.

Todaysworkplacescanhavedistinctgenerationsworkingsidebyside:
Baby Boomers (bornbetween1946and1964)
Generation X (bornbetween1965and1980)
Generation Y (bornafter1980)

Each of these generations was shaped by dramatically different world

eventsandsocialtrends,soitisnotsurprisingthattheyoftenhavedifferent
values,expectations,andcommunicationhabits.

As with all cultural matters, successful communication starts with

understandingthegapsbetweenthetwosides.

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Gender Differences

The perception of men and women in business also varies

from culture to culture.
In more tradition-oriented societies, where men tend to
hold most or all of the positions of authority and women are
expected to play a more subservient role.

Communication Styles
Existing Company Cultures
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However, as more women enter the workforce and take on positions of

increasing responsibility, it is important for company leaders to revisit
assumptionsandpractices.
Forinstance,company culturesthathavebeendominatedbymenforyearsmay
haveadoptedcommunicationhabitsthatsomewomenhavedifficultyrelatingto
such as the frequent use of sports metaphors or the acceptance of coarse
language.

Whatever the culture, men and women tend to have slightly different
communication styles.
Men tend to emphasize content in their communication efforts whereas women
placeahigherpremiumonrelationshipmaintenance.

Thisdifferencecan createfriction whentwoparties inaconversationhave

differentneedsandexpectationsfromtheinterchange.

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Religious Differences

The effort to accommodate employees life interests on a

broader scale has led companies to address the issue of
religion in the workplace.

As one of the most personal and influential aspects of life, religion does
bring potential for controversy in a work setting..

On the one hand, some employees feel they should be able to express
their beliefs in the workplace and not be forced to check their faith at
the door when they come to work.

On the other hand, companies want to avoid situations in which openly

expressed religious differences might cause friction between
employees or distract employees from their responsibilities.

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Religious Differences
As more companies seek to establish inclusive workplaces,
and as more employees seek to integrate religious
convictions into their daily work, you can expect to see this
issue being discussed at many companies in the coming
years.

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Ability Differences

Colleagues and customers with disabilities that affect

communication represent another important aspect of the
diversity picture.

As with other elements of diversity, success starts with

respect for individuals and sensitivity to differences (Steven
Hawkins).

Furthermore, employers can invest

in a variety of assistive technologies
that help people with disabilities
perform
activities
that
might
otherwise be difficult or impossible.

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Chapter 3 - 37

Adapting
Adapting to
to Other
Other Business
Business
Cultures
Cultures

So, what do we do?

Adapting to Other
Cultures

Culture is obviously a complex topic.

Four general guidelines that can help business

communicators improve their cultural competency:

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Chapter 3 - 39

Become awareofyourownbiases.
Successful intercultural communication requires more than just an
understandingoftheotherpartysculture;youneedtounderstandyour
owncultureandhowitshapesyourcommunicationhabits.

Ignore the Golden Rule.

You probably heard this growing up: Treat people the way you
want to be treated.
TheproblemwiththeGolden Ruleisthatitassumesotherpeoplewant
tobetreatedthesamewayyouwanttobetreated.
Thisisnotalwaysthecase,particularlyacrossculturalboundaries.
The best approach: treatpeoplethewaythey wanttobetreated.

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Chapter 3 - 40

 Exercisetolerance,respect,andflexibility.
Practicepatienceandmaintainasenseofhumor.
Even the most committed business professionals can make
mistakes during intercultural communication, so it is vital for all
partiestobepatientwithoneanother.
A sense of humor is a helpful asset, allowing people to move
pastawkwardandembarrassingmoments.

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Chapter 3 - 41

U.S. Business Culture

If you are thinking about moving to the U.S. or grew up in a
culture outside the U.S. mainstream, here are some key
points to remember:

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Chapter 3 - 42

 Individualism. In contrast to cultures that value group harmony

and group success, U.S. culture expects individuals to succeed by
their own efforts, and it rewards individual success.
Even though teamwork is emphasized in many companies, competition
between individuals is expected.

Equality. To a greater degree than many other cultures, Americans

believe that every person should be given the opportunity to pursue
whatever dreams and goals he or she may have in life.
Privacy and personal space. People in America are accustomed to
a fair amount of privacy, and this includes their personal space at
work.

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 Time and schedules. In the U.S., business people value

punctuality and the efficient use of time.
Religion. The U.S. does not have an official religion.
Many different religions are practiced throughout the country, and people are
expected to respect each others beliefs.

Communication style. Communication tends to be direct and

focused on content and transactions, not relationships or group
harmony.

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Improving
Improving Intercultural
Intercultural
Communication
Communication Skills
Skills

Thebetteryouareatinterculturalcommunication,themoresuccessfulyou
willbeintodaysbusinessenvironment.

However,communicatingsuccessfullyfromoneculturetoanotherrequires
avarietyofskills.

Suggestions for improving intercultural skills :

Studyingculturesandlanguages

Respectingcommunicationstyles

Speakingandwritingclearly

Listeningcarefullytoothers

Usinginterpretersortranslators

Helpingothersadapttoyourculture

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Chapter 3 - 46

Effectively adapting your communication efforts to another culture

requires knowledge about the culture as well as the ability and the
motivation to change your personal habits .

Most people respond positively to honest effort and good intentions,

and many business associates will help you along if you show an
interest in learning more about their cultures.

Some key issues to research before doing business in

another country:

Social Customs
Clothing and Food
Political Patterns
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Religion and
Social Beliefs
Business and
Economics
Ethics, Values,
and Laws
Chapter 3 - 47

With
globalization,
the
demand
communicators also continues to grow.

for

multilingual

Even if your colleagues or customers in another country

do speak your language, it is worth the time and energy
to learn common phrases in their language.

Learning the basics not only helps you get through

everyday business and social situations but also
demonstrates your commitment to the business
relationship.

Finally, do not assume that two countries speaking the

same language speak it the same way.
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Chapter 3 - 48

Communication
styleincluding
directness and the degree of
widely from culture to culture.

Knowing what your communication partners expect can

help you adapt to their particular styles.

Degree of
Formality

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the
level
of
formalityvaries

Level of
Directness

Chapter 3 - 49

Writing Clearly

When sending written communication to businesspeople from

another culture, familiarize yourself with their written
communication preferences and adapt your approach, style, and
tone to meet their expectations.

To help you prepare effective written communications

multicultural audiences, follow these recommendations:

for

Use clear, simple language.

Be concise (brief). Use simple sentences and short paragraphs.

Use transitional elements to help readers follow your train of thought.

Address international correspondence properly.

Cite numbers and dates carefully.

Avoid slang, idiomatic phrases, and business jargon.

Avoid humor and other references to popular culture.

Meet the expectations of your audience.

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Chapter 3 - 50

Speaking and Listening

Languages vary considerably in the significance of tone,

pitch, speed, and volume.

When talking with people whose native language is

different from yours, remember that the processing of even
everyday conversations can be difficult.

Intercultural Conversations
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Chapter 3 - 51

Speaking and Listening

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Chapter 3 - 52

Speaking and Listening

As a listener, you will need some practice to get
a sense of vocal patterns.
Let other people finish what they have to say.

If you interrupt, you may miss something important.

You will also show a lack of respect.

If you do not understand a comment, ask the person to

repeat it.

Any momentary awkwardness you might feel in asking

for extra help is less important than the risk of
unsuccessful communication.

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Helping Others Adapt

Whether a younger person is unaccustomed to the formalities
of a large corporation or a colleague from another country is
working on a team with you, look for opportunities to help
people fit in and adapt their communication style.

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Chapter 3 - 54

Translators or
Interpreters

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Chapter 3 - 55