Importance of intercultural communicationFrom the US Census for 2000 Nearly 18% of people in the US speak a language

other than English at home. Racial minorities own nearly 15% of US companies. Slightly more than 11% of people counted by the US

census were born in another country.

Global trade

From a report about global trade (Lustig & Koester, 1993)

One-third of US corporate profits are earned in international trade.

The 23 largest US banks do almost half of their business overseas.

This suggests…

You are going to face a multicultural and multiracial workforce.

You need to learn to communicate successfully with people who have different cultural background from you in the workplace.

You need to learn to recognize and positively respond to culture-specific attitudes, actions, tools and artifacts (such as documents, oral presentations, and visuals).

Think about a workday

Workdays in U.S. culture: 8 am-5 pm, M-F Sunday is a workday in Israel People in Mexico don’t work from 1 to 3 pm

M-F

Categories of cultural patterns Values and beliefs Business customs Legal systems Language use

Vocabulary and sentence length Numbers, dates and magnitude

Rhetorical patterns: Document development & structure

Are numbers a universal language? Dates

Country Date Format U.S. March 1, 2004 (3/1/04) France 1 mars 2004 Germany (official format)

1. Marz 2004

Sweden 04-01-03 Italy (official format) 1.3.04 Japan 04/1/3 Possible solutions Spell out the names of the months. Let readers know what system of date presentation

you are using.

Are numbers a universal language? Time

Country Time Representation U.S. 8:35 p.m. France 20:35 Germany 20.35 Quebec, Canada 20 h 35 Possible solutions Use multiple formats. (“We will meet at 1:00

p.m./13:00.”)

Are numbers a universal language? Magnitude

U.S. German Swedish One thousand

1,000 1.000 1 000

One million 1,000,000 1.000.000 1 000 000 One billion 1,000,000,000 1.000.000.000 1 000 000 000 1, 500 = one thousand five hundred or one and one half?

French: 1,500 = one point five 1.500 = fifteen hundred Possible solutions Clearly state what system of magnitude representation you

are using with examples at the beginning of your document.

Context & communication

Low-context culture stresses the importance of explicit verbal messages to convey personal thoughts, opinions, & feelings

High-context culture stresses the importance of multi-layered contexts (e.g., historical context, social norms, roles, situational & relational contexts) that frame the interaction encounter

Low-context culture High-context culture

Individualistic values Group-oriented values

Linear logic Spiral logic

Direct style Indirect style

Sender-oriented style (the sender assumes the responsibility of communicating clearly)

Interpreter-oriented style

Self-enhancement style Self-effacement style

Verbal-based understanding

Context-based understanding

Context Square

context Information implicitly stated

Information explicitly stated

information

meaning

China

Japan

Saudi Arabia

Mexico

Italy

France

U.S

Germany

Switzerland

High-context cultures

Low-context cultures

Russia

Visual Exercise

Map three screenshots to the context square How different are three screenshots? Can you explain why?

Lotus American Page

www.lotus.com

Lotus German Page

www.lotus.de

Lotus Chinese Page

Context and Writing

Writing is a way of organizing and presenting ideas. Cultural markings are embedded in your writing.

Different cultures take different approaches to present information. High-context culture: meaning is often implied in

communication, conveyed through the context. Low-context culture: meaning is best expressed through

explicit verbal messages.

Rhetorical patterns across cultures Rhetorical "patterns" vary from culture to

culture: U.S., UK: Straight China, Korea: circular Romance: Jagged

Comparing American & Mexican business lettersABC format

Address Salutation Main Point of Letter Body of Letter Action(s) to be Taken Close

Address Salutation Set Context Background Information Main Point of Letter Elaborations Re-Set Context Close

“Culture is ordinary.”

--Raymond Williams

Guidelines for cross-cultural fluency Understand our own cultural contexts first Learn about rhetorical patterns and conventions of

the other party Be less concerned about finishing negotiations,

more concerned about establishing long-term relationships

Listen carefully before asserting own views about a project

Seek multicultural experiences