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CROSS CULTURAL COMMUNICATION

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Question: Why be concerned?Question: Why be concerned?

Business are globalBusiness are globalCultural differences must be understoodCultural differences must be understoodMiscommunication is a serious matterMiscommunication is a serious matterAvoid stereotypesAvoid stereotypesAvoid self-reference criterionAvoid self-reference criterion

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Where doesWhere does cultureculturefit into the business equation?fit into the business equation?

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Business EnvironmentDecisions 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

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Culture A way of life of a group of peopleA way of life of a group of people

Shared patterns of behaviorShared patterns of behavior

Way of viewing human relationshipsWay of viewing human relationships

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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 cross-

cultural incident happens

1. Your interpretation:

2. Their possible interpretations

3. Evaluation

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Cultural Noise

Cultural Noise cultural variables that undermine the

communication of intended meaningE.g.

Roles the perception of the managers role differs considerable

around the world

Language an inability to speak the local language, and a poor ortoo literal translation are often causes for problems

Pepsis slogan Come Alive with Pepsi translated into

German as Come out of the grave.

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ContextContext 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 culturaldifferences between societies/groups.

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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 membersknow 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.

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ACTIVITY

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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)

DESCRIPTIONI 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.

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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 sostrong 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.

EVALUATIONHigh 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.

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CONTEXT

Place: A college hostel (America)

Who was involved? Chip, an American , and Yoshio, who is herefor 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.

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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 aconversation 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.

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High ContextLess verbally explicit communication, less written/formal

information

More internalized understandings of what is communicatedLong term relationshipsStrong boundaries- who is accepted as belonging vs who is

considered an "outsider"

Decisions and activities focus around personal face-to-facerelationships, often around a central person who has authority.

Examples:

Small religious congregations, a party with friends, family

gatherings, on-campus friendships etc

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Low ContextRule oriented, people play by external rulesMore knowledge is codified, public, external, and accessible.

More interpersonal connections of shorter durationKnowledge is more often transferable

Examples:

Group of people watching cricket in a stadium, people meeting ina conference.

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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.

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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

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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

http://www.culture-at-work.com/iceberg.htmlhttp://www.culture-at-work.com/iceberg.htmlhttp://www.culture-at-work.com/iceberg.htmlhttp://www.culture-at-work.com/iceberg.html