Business CommunicationChapter # 3

Business communicationBusiness communication 

and the Global Context

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International Business:International Business:

• International Business is the business of 2000s.

• Pacific Rim Countries: Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong came 

• Triad( Mexico, Canada, America) • Euro • Legal, Illegal immigrants

i d f i li d• Even Russia started focusing Quality and Customer Satisfaction

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Globalization:• Throughout the business world the term globalization is well‐known.

• Globalization means that or a company to survive, It must establish its market not only in its own country but also in many foreign countriesbut also in many foreign countries.

• Thus employees‐and you as a potential international communicator‐must understand others, cultures andcommunicator must understand others, cultures and variables. 

• Additionally, you must be aware of your own country's ethnic diversity in order to communicate effectively with global companies

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Globalization:Globalization:

• The process of making somethingThe process of making something international, such as business  or the result of thisthis.

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The world's largest 25 multinational corporations

Rank1999 Company Headquarters Industry1999 Company Headquarters Industry

1 General Motors USA Motor vehicles2 Daimler Chrysler Germany Motor vehicles3 Ford Motor USA Motor vehicles4 Wal-Mart Stores USA General merchandisers5 Mitsui Japan Tradingp g6 Itochu Japan Trading7 Mitsubishi Japan Trading8 Exxon USA Petroleum refining8 Exxon USA Petroleum refining9 General Electric USA Electronics

10 Toyota Motor Japan Motor vehicles11 Royal Dutch/Shell Group Britain/Netherlands Petroleum refining12 Marubeni Japan Trading

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13 Sumitomo Japan TradingInternational Business

14International Business Machines USA Computers

15 AXA France Insurance16 Citigroup USA Finance16 Citigroup USA Finance17 Volkswagen Germany Motor vehicles

18Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Japan

Telecommunications18 Telephone Japan ons

19 BP Amoco EnglandPetroleum refining

20 Nissho lwai Japan Trading20 Nissho lwai Japan Trading21 Nippon Life Insurance Japan Insurance22 Siemens Germany Electronics23 Allianz Germany Insurance24 Hitachi Japan Electronics

Mail/freight 25 US Postal Service USA

gdelivery

Source: Adapted from Fortune (17 April 2000) 6

Background to InterculturalBackground to Intercultural Communication:

Communicating with persons from other countries is not easycountries is not easy.

Many personal and national variables affect b th d d i fboth senders and receivers of messages.

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Culture:Culture:

• Culture: is the set of artifacts created• Culture: is the set of artifacts created by a society and carried from one generation to another generation .

• Culture refer to the behavioral• Culture refer to the behavioral characteristics typical of a group.

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Culture:Culture:

• It includes ideas values and customsIt includes ideas, values, and customs.

• Ice‐cream, rock music, slang words, 

hi i i h h d• A cashier in Europe sits rather than stands.

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Cont’dCont d• A tribe that cultivates soil by hand has just as much of a culture as a people that relies onmuch of a culture as a people that relies on direct operated machinery.

• Ethnocentrism:

It means judging other groups or countries by the cultural standards of your group.y g p

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Characteristics of Culture: 

1. Culture is learned 2 Culture is socially shared2. Culture is socially shared 3. Cultures are similar but different(Calendar, bodily adornment, cooking, courtship,(Calendar, bodily adornment, cooking, courtship, music, dancing, government)

4. Culture is Gratifying but Persistentl d5. Culture is Adaptive

6. Cultures are selective Ex 1: Europeans accepted silk magnetic compassEx.1: Europeans accepted silk, magnetic compass ,chess and gun powder from the Chinese. 

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American Values:American Values:

• IndividualismIt is complex and interrelated with such things as freedom , democracy, nationalism

People have freedom they are independent fromPeople have freedom, they are independent from outside constraints .

“Buy American"," Made in U.S.A”y

1970s”Age of Me”The “Me” decade focused on self‐actualization ,self fulfillment ,inner motivation .”I did it my own way”

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• 1990”We Decade”1990 We Decade

• Self interest is focused in terms of collective action and social effortcollective action ,and social effort 

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Equality :Equality :

Everyone has equal right to life ,liberty and equal opportunity to strive economic rewards .

Women equality 

Changing sex rolesChanging sex roles

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Activity:

• Stress is on work

• Everybody is to work hard ,make money save moneymoney ,save money 

• Hard working ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐Long holidays 

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•Youthfulness:Youthfulness:Trying to keep themselves young

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•Double Income•Double Income Culture:Culture:

• Wife Works• Wife Works• Husband Works 

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Progress:• Instead of remembering past, they focus   presentpresent.

• They plan for future.

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Religious:Religious:• They believe in God, Judgment day.

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H it i i•Humanitarianism:Th l k f h• They always work for human beings.

• For the betterment of life

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Subculture:Subculture:

• Sub‐culture can be thought as a cultureSub culture can be thought as a culture existing within a larger culture .

• They are participating in the large culture the• They are participating in the large culture the same time they are engaged in unique and distinctive forms of behaviordistinctive forms of behavior.

• They develop a special language called “Argot”

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Sub‐culture based on :Sub culture based on :

• Common Age: People of same age share theCommon Age: People of same age share the same sub‐culture. 

• Region: People living in same place share the• Region: People living in same place share the same sub‐culture.

E h i H i P l f h hi• Ethnic Heritage: People of the same history, background share the same sub‐culture.

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Di i i f C ltDivision of Culture:William F. Ogburn(1922) divided culture to :

Material+ NonmaterialMaterial Culture: It refers to physical or technologicalMaterial Culture: It refers to physical or technological aspects of our daily lives including food items ,houses, factories and raw materials.Nonmaterial Culture: Ways of using material objectsNonmaterial Culture: Ways of using material objects and beliefs ,government, and patterns of communication .Nonmaterial Culture is more resistant to change thanNonmaterial Culture is more resistant to change than the material culture is .Foreign ideas are more threatening than foreign productsproducts .

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Division of Culture:Division of Culture:

• Afghanistan was happily buying KalawashAfghanistan was happily buying Kalawash (special Russian shoes), but when the ideas of communism division of land distribution ofcommunism, division of land, distribution of profit and income, way of ruling government came they rejected and came to fightcame, they rejected and came to fight.

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Elements f Culture:Elements f Culture:

• Culture has four elements:Culture has four elements:

1. Language

22. Norms

3. Sanctions

4. Values

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Elements of Culture (Language):Elements of Culture (Language):

• The means of communication is called language.g g• Language: 7000 languages are spoke globally.• 200 languages spoken in the United States.

(• Alphabets are developed.( First time, we had no alphabets. Just spoken language. Later on written English developed.)g p )

• Left to right hand writing in West• Right to left hand writing in East.• Why do all people learn English? Because it is the international medium of communication.

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Elements of Culture (Norms):

• Norms : Established standards of behavior maintained by a society .y y

• All societies have ways of encouraging and enforcing.

• To become a norm significant ,it must be widelyTo become a norm significant ,it must be widely understood. People have to be given information about that norm. Other wise if someone is violating can’t be punished.

• Application of norm can vary Implementation of norm differs from place to place..

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Types of Norm:

• Norms are divided into:• Formal +Informal• Formal +Informal1.Formal Norms (Mores) :

l h ll bFormal norms have generally been written down and involve strict rules for Punishment of violatorsof violators.

• Law is the body of rules made by government for society interpreted by the courts andfor society ,interpreted by the courts and backed by the power of state .(It tells us whether behavior is proper or improper )whether behavior is proper or improper.) 

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2 Informal Norms (Folkways) :2. Informal Norms (Folkways) : 

Generally understood but are not precisely recordedrecorded .

• Ex.1 Clothes (Uniform)

• Ex.2 Are you coming to interview in rain coat/ Cricket Uniform?

• Ex.3. Are you riding bike in supermarket? 

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Acceptance of Norms:• Norms are evaded .Because:• People know that they are  weakly enforced. Government doesn’t follow 

the criminalsthe criminals.• One norm conflicts with another norm. One norm contradicts another. Your 

neighbor is beating his wife. If you are knocking at the door, it is non of your business. If you are calling police, you are helping one oppressed.Th i• There are exceptions to some norms.

• Eavesdropping: Listening to telephonic conversation which is strictly avoided. But if you are going to find criminal, you are allowed.

• It is subject to change as the political ,social, and economic conditionsIt is subject to change as the political ,social, and economic conditions. Women in the United States according the previous constitution were allowed to sit home, train their children, nourish them, on the condition that they are supported by their husbands.Ex 2 Women were not allowed to come out in bathing suitEx.2 Women were not allowed to come out in bathing suit.

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Elements of Culture: (Sanctions):Elements of Culture: (Sanctions):

• What happens when people violate a widely shared and understood norm?

• Sanctions are penalties and rewards for conduct• Sanctions are penalties and rewards for conduct concerning social norm.

• Rewards : Agreement to norms can lead to positiveRewards : Agreement to norms can lead to positive sanctions such as increment in salary ,”Thanking” or” pat on the back”

• Negative sanctions include fines ,threats, imprisonment

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Development of Culture:Development of Culture:All changes in culture are because of Innovation and Diffusion.I i Di I iInnovationmeans: Discovery+ Invention

Discover: To find something that was hidden or that people didn’t know about before.

Invention: To make ,design ,produce something for the first , g ,p gtime .

Diffusion : The process by which a cultural item is spread fromDiffusion : The process by which a cultural item is spread from group to group or society to society.

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Attitude Toward Cultural Variation:

• Ethnocentrism: Thinking of your values, product, ways of life superior. 

• Xenocentrism: Thinking of your values, product, ways of life inferior

• Cultural Relativism: Practice of judging one cultureCultural Relativism: Practice of judging one culture by its own standards

• Ex. Urban people criticizing village women for being t diti lso traditional.

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National Cultural Variables:National Cultural Variables:

• Social Norms• Language• Education• Law and regulation• Economics• Politics• Religion

•Explanation next slides34

Education: • American students visiting companies in China are reporting that managers of these companies are not highly educated. This is a serious problem because communication with uneducated people won’t be effective It is all because of the following problems ineffective. It is all because of the following problems in third world countries:

• Revolution• Revolution

• Agriculture

• Monarchy• Monarchy

• Population

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Law and Regulation:Making mistake in communication is easy in a foreign country. You or your legal department must be aware of strictness to the also simply meeting the letter of the law.also simply meeting the letter of the law.

In both the developed and developing nations, various government regulations affect business communions and the sale of product. For example advertising directed at children is restricted in the USA Canada and Scandinaviarestricted in the USA, Canada, and Scandinavia.

The type of product to be advertized for instance, cigarettes is restrict in Europe.

France, Mexico and the province of Quebec, also have a restriction on the use of foreign languages in advertisements. 

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Cont,dCont,d

• Strict rules: Some countries have very strictStrict rules: Some countries have very strict rules. For example in Malaysia, a company is not allowed to utilize the services of foreignnot allowed to utilize the services of foreign celebrities.

• In North Korea during survey the surveyors• In North Korea, during survey, the surveyors can’t interview school children.

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Economics:

• Availability of capital and transpiration and the standard of living per capita• Availability of capital and transpiration and the standard of living per capita vary from nation to nation. The opportunity to borrow money, the rate of inflation and the exchange rates influence business and a country's ability to communicate concerning that business.communicate concerning that business. 

• If, the economy level of a country is high, definitely, 

1. There will be quickness in communication.

2 Th ill b d P t S t I t t S t t l h i l ti hi2. There will be good: Post System, Internet System, telephonic relationship.

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Politics:

• Stability is needed for foreign companies to invest in one countryinvest in one country. 

• During fighting the possibility of good h blcommunication is perishable or even 

impossible.

• If company is advertising, company’s bill board is destroyed because of shell firing.

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ReligionReligion

• Religion is really considered as a barrier while communication.

• Drinking, eating are strictly avoided during the month of Ramadanmonth of Ramadan.

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Social Norms:Social Norms:

• In various ways education law andIn various ways education, law and regulations, economics, politics, religion affect a nation's social normsa nation s social norms.

• In many countries a male line of the family profoundly influences some business decisionsprofoundly influences some business decisions which affect behavior and business communicationcommunication.

• Be aware of a nation's social norms. 

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Language:Language:

• All agree that knowing the language of yourAll agree that knowing the language of your host country is the most significant contributor to improve communication on acontributor to improve communication, on a personal and a business level. 

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Individual Variables:Individual Variables:

All people value their individual freedom oftenAll people value their individual freedom often this freedom is expressed in one's own ethnic diversitydiversity. 

Macro national characteristics affecting communication both national and internationalcommunication both national and international. 

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Individual Variables (Cont,d):Individual Variables (Cont,d):

• Time:Time: 

• Space

d• Food

• Acceptable Dress:

• Manners 

• Decision MakingDecision Making

• Verbal & Nonverbal Communication 

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Time:Time:

• Person in Latin America and the Middle EastPerson in Latin America and the Middle East treat time more casually than do Americans, who usually prefer promptnesswho usually prefer promptness. 

• Germans are time‐precise, rarely do you wait for an appointment in Germanyfor an appointment in Germany. 

Culture 1: Culture 2:' h ll llLet's set a phone appointment               We will give you a call  

for 7:00pm 

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Space:Space:

• How close may strangers stand to you ? WhatHow close may strangers stand to you ? What does it feel like when you are in a crowded elevator?elevator? 

M A i f l f bl if• Most Americans feel uncomfortable if a stranger comes closer than 18 inches. 

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Food:Food:• It may be a good idea prior to visit your host country to visit 

various ethnic restaurants in your home county Then your willvarious ethnic restaurants in your home county. Then your will have and initial idea as to the kinds of foods available; how they are served, fixed or eaten. 

• In Asia, dark and light tea are national drinks they also have good beer.

• In Europe French workers enjoy a glass of wine with lunchIn Europe, French workers enjoy a glass of wine with lunch, often a stated codicil  in a labor contract.

• Alcohol,  as stated in the preceding section under  Religion is forbidden for Buddhist, Moslems and Hindus. You can get into trouble by carrying liquor into some countries.

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Acceptable Dress:

• It is better to ask about the mode of dress for an occasion inIt is better to ask about the mode of dress for an occasion in your host county than to risk making and embarrassing mistake.

Where ever you are going you have to be dressed as the• Where ever you are going, you have to be dressed as the people of that area are dressed.

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Acceptable Dress

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Manners:Manners:

• Some cultural anthropologists suggest that you observe p g gg ychildren in foreign cultures because, by watching them you learn the behavioral habits of elders.

Child h k h d i G h i It l d• Children shake your hand in Germany, hug you in Italy and often stay in the background in India. In fact the ritual of the greeting and the farewell is more formal overseas with children and adults.  

• You bring a gift when visiting most homes in Europe.

I S di A bi ill l h d f h i f h• In Saudi Arabia, you will learn that sons defer to their fathers, that age is paramount, that a junior prince is silent when a senior enters. 

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Decision Making:Decision Making:• Patience above all is needed in intercultural communication, 

in doing business with other countriesin doing business with other countries.

• Americans are typecast as moving too quickly in asking for a decision. Give more thought to inductive communication.

• Americans re accused of being brisk; we wish to get to the point fast. Getting down to  business is a trait of our western culture The Germans Singaporeans Swiss Dutch andculture. The Germans, Singaporeans, Swiss, Dutch and Scandinavians are similar, quickly getting to issue;

• Chinese, Italians, French and British prefer more leisure;  

• Japanese are slow decision making.

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Verbal & Nonverbal Communication:Verbal & Nonverbal Communication:

• We judge people to a great extent by theirWe judge people to a great extent by their voice. Some native languages demand many tonal variations giving the impression to atonal variations, giving the impression to a non‐native to loudness, even arrogance. 

• “See you later” can means the same day to• See you later  can means the same day to some Asian workers or some indefinite time in the future to Americansthe future to Americans. 

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Thanks from your attention!

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