Faculty of Business Administration

AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL
UNIVERSITY – BANGLADESH
(AIUB)

ASSIGNMENT ON
GLOBAL BUSINESS
STUDIES

Submitted to:
DR. REZBIN NAHAR
Submitted by:
(GROUP 2)
Name ID Signature
MD HASIB UL ALAM 20-91741-2
MD IQBAL MAHMUD 20-91792-2
S M SHARIFUL ISLAM 20-91800-2

Date of Submission: 13th Aug, 2021

CULTURE AND LANGUAGE DIFFERENCE IN GLOBAL BUSINESS

Introduction
Business operations are increasingly becoming global in nature. Trade, transport and
communication are drawing world economies closer to each other than before. This is
evident in the increased number of multinational companies in operation today. Any
company that wishes to take advantage of this shift towards globalization must understand
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the effect of culture on its operations. A company may be forced to adopt local practices in
order to succeed. This can only be done with a proper understanding of the area’s culture.
Culture is the acceptable way of doing things in a given society. Members of the society learn
to conform with the cultural norms as they grow up. Cultural patterns in a society dictate the
appropriate responses to different social situations. Culture encompasses people’s thoughts,
words and actions. There are many different cultures and sub-cultures in the nations of the
world. Thus, effect of culture on international business cannot be underestimated.
Understanding the effect of culture on business is no longer a source of competitive
advantage in International Business. Rather, it has become a core competence, without
which a multinational company should conform to survive in business.
Companies are choosing to enter foreign markets via global alliances. The success of these
alliances depends on good relations between the parties involved. A company needs to
understand the cultural practices of all potential partners in order to choose one with whom
to work. This will enable the company to choose suitable partners and therefore benefit from
synergy. Knowledge about culture and business also aids in negotiations for deals. Cultural
practices could make the difference between who gets the deal and who does not.
Impacts of Culture and Language Difference in Global Business
Culture influences numerous aspects of the international business communication, not only
such as business relations, negotiations, international management, but also marketing
communication strategies, decisions concerned with the brand or consumer behaviors. Some
important impacts of language and cultural differences in global business are discuss below:
Communication
Effective communication is vital to business success, whether you are a start-up or a big
corporation. Although it is common to hear that English is the language of business, it’s never
wise to assume that your global business partners will all understand English. When you
venture into the international business arena, one way of bridging cultural differences is
through language. Understand the language your target market speaks and know how you
use it to convey your message. In India, for example, business professionals typically
communicate in indirect ways. This is opposite to the Finns, who tend to be direct and brief
in their communication. Aside from verbal communication, it is essential to learn that non-
verbal communication is also critical when dealing with international businesses.
Interactions
Gestures that are common place in your own country, like kissing people you meet on the
cheek, making eye contact, and shaking hands firmly, may be taken as offensive or unusual
by your foreign clients or business partners. As many business coaches will tell you, you must
remember the proper professional interactions when dealing with different cultures.
Researching accepted and proper business etiquette is essential. In some cases, you need to
be extra observant of body language, and at times, it is better to ask than commit a cultural
faux pas.

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Workplace Etiquette
When you are working for a multinational company, you are likely to encounter many
differences, which prompt you to learn international business etiquette. Pay special attention
to the formality of address when dealing with foreign business partners and colleagues. In
some cultures, it is acceptable to address a person you’ve recently met by their first name,
while in other countries, they would instead that you address them by their surname or their
title. Canadians and Americans often use first names, even when dealing with new
acquaintances. But in many Asian countries, such as Singapore, China, and South Korea, you
should always address a person formally by adding Mr. or Ms. before their surname. If you
are in doubt, use the formal way of address.
Punctuality
Punctuality is relative. When you deal with business partners, clients, or colleagues from the
United States, South Korea, Japan, and Russia, you are expected to be on time. In Germany,
you are even expected to be at least 10 minutes early for your appointment. In Greece, they
expect foreigners to arrive on time, but just like in Russia, you may expect your counterpart
to arrive slightly late. Brazil is ambivalent. They could either be late by a few or several
minutes unless you indicate that they should follow the English time, meaning they should
arrive at the agreed time.
In Malaysia, expect to wait up to an hour if your counterpart stated that they would be about
five minutes late. They are not required to explain either. In China, it is acceptable to be at
least 10 minutes late, while in Mexico, it is pretty normal for people to be late by 30 minutes
for a business meeting. When doing business in Nigeria or Ghana, the appointed hour for the
meeting may be one hour late or within the day. In Morocco, personal meetings could be
delayed by an hour and, in some cases, a day. When scheduling meetings in India,
understand that being punctual is not one of their ways.
Organizational Hierarchy
Cultural norms dictate how attitudes towards management and organizational hierarchy are
perceived. In some cultures, junior staff and middle management may or may not be allowed
to speak up during meetings. In some countries, it is challenging to question decisions by
senior officers or express opinions that are different from the rest. Attitudes are dependent
on social equality or the societal values of a country. In some countries such as Japan and
South Korea, where respect for elders and people in positions of authority is deeply ingrained
in the members of society, the concept is applied to the workplace as well. It helps define
responsibilities and roles in the company, and those holding positions in senior management
expect deference from junior staff and a higher level of formality and respect.
However, the situation is different in Scandinavian countries. In Norway, for example,
societal equality is emphasized, so the organizational hierarchy tends to be flat. The
workplace environment calls for cooperation across all departments, and informal
communication is prevalent.

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Differences in Negotiation Styles
Negotiation is a principal component of international business. Culture influences the way
people behave, communicate, and think. These characteristics are reflected in the way they
negotiate. Companies must understand cultural differences during business transactions and
find ways to hurdle the barriers these differences present.
Spanish speakers view negotiation as the means to have a contract, while in some Asian
countries, negotiations help build firmer business relationships. The Japanese regard
negotiation as a win-win process while the Spanish look at it as a win-lose process. The way
one communicates during negotiations should be carefully considered. Israelis and Americas
are very direct, so you immediately know if the transaction is approved or not. The Japanese,
however, tend to be indirect. You have to read and carefully interpret vague signs to see if
they rejected or accepted your proposal.
Even the way different cultures handle contracts varies. Americans like to have every detail
included in the contract because they want to anticipate possible eventualities and
circumstances. The deal equates to an agreement. Therefore, everything that was discussed
and accepted during the negotiation should be specified in the contract. The Chinese, on the
other hand, prefer a contract to have the general principles only because, for them, sealing a
deal means forming a relationship with the business partner
Means Preference
The ever-expanding range of ways people choose to communicate via technology also
presents challenges. In some parts of the world, a visit or phone call is considered more
business-like than an email. This can result in an emailed message failing to achieve the
desired impact as the recipient doesn’t consider it an official notification.
Speaking style
Where spoken language is concerned, there are also differing attitudes to what occurs
between the words. For example, in East Asia, discussions are often punctuated with
prolonged pauses for polite consideration of what is being said. In the US, however, such
silence would feel awkward, with speakers eager to fill the conversational vacuum as quickly
as possible. It’s easy to see how communication across both cultures could easily lead to the
misunderstanding of the other’s meaning.
Principles
Members of any culture accept the values of that culture as logical. As each culture has its
own set of values, often quite divergent from those held in other cultures, business
communication must deftly avoid the pitfalls regarding what is considered acceptable and
inappropriate, foolish and wise, and even right and wrong.
Morals
Cultural and religious attitudes to gender vary greatly between cultures. Communicating in a
way that doesn’t align with these norms can insult the recipient and display ignorance.
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Tailoring a message to suit what is considered culturally appropriate, however, increases the
chance of communications achieving the desired impact. For example, the Canadian-based
grocery store Food Basics once printed a flyer celebrating Baisakhi, a Sikh religious holiday.
They made the mistake of offering a promotion on Halal chicken, a Muslim dish. Not only do
Sikhs avoid meat or alcohol on Baisakhi, but Halal meat is also forbidden for practicing Sikhs,
and many would consider it insulting when it is offered to them.
Religion
This refers to a society’s beliefs in the supernatural that cannot be proven except by faith.
The influence of religion on business is evident mostly in the Middle East where most
countries are Islamic and governed by Sharia Law. Consider a multinational that specializes in
manufacture and sale of bikinis. The Middle East would not be an attractive market since
religion dictates that women should cover their bodies completely with Buibuis. However, a
company manufacturing this traditional dressing for women is likely to succeed here. Banks
in the Middle East would also find it necessary to design products that do not involve
interest. Banks would avoid interest since Islam forbids giving and receiving of interest.
Values
Values system consists of what people believe to be right and wrong. This aspect of culture
influences businesses as it can dictate what consumers would or would not buy. Indians
consider cows to be sacred animals, thus opening butcheries in Indian towns would be
considered very offensive. None of the natives would buy the beef and the company would
have to close down. In contrast, butchery would be a great business in Africa where beef is
taken with most meals.
Education
Education is the means by which one generation passes on its wisdom to the next. The
attitude to education would influence the purchase of goods such as books. Some countries
consider children’s education as a priority more than others. Selling children’s books in
countries which do not consider child education a priority might prove to be difficult. It is also
true that particular countries are predisposed to sciences while others enjoy arts more.
Germans are thought to excel at engineering and other science subjects. Thus establishing a
university that offers such education is likely to succeed.
Ways to Overcome Language and Cultural Barriers
One of the challenges of having a diverse workforce is knowing how to create a work
environment of inclusion that allows all employees to reach their full potential. In today’s
diverse workforce it's highly likely we will have employees working for us who don’t speak
our language. Language barriers make it difficult to give direction, explain our expectations,
or provide performance feedback to those with whom we cannot communicate
effectively .On the other hand, there are countless good workers who want to do well but
who are unable to perform to their fullest potential because they cannot communicate

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effectively with their boss or teammates or their cultural background makes it hard for them
to understand personal or professional norms. The same is true of language barriers.
The answer to this dilemma lies in whether there is a real communication or culture barrier
with the employee or whether the employee is using one's language and cultural differences
as a manipulative means to lessen one's workload. Listed below are several techniques we
can use for communicating with our diverse employees.
Be willing to adapt
For some cultures, disagreeing with coworkers and especially superiors is not appropriate at
the workplace, but is possible in a non-work environment. At the same time, some cultures
are not accustomed to direct feedback. Therefore, as their manager, we should be willing to
get to know more about the distinct cultural standards of our employees so that we can
adapt. Thus, it will be easier both for us and our team to communicate more effectively. Plus,
we will avoid violating cultural standards.
Organize a cross-cultural training program
The purpose of a cross-cultural training program is to educate managers on how to lead their
multicultural teams with success. At the same time, employees can also benefit from
attending this training program. This way, workers will learn how to act when they’re
uncomfortable or if they accidentally make a colleague feel uncomfortable.
Use an interpreter
To make sure that there’s a mutual understanding between us and our employees coming
from various cultures, we should hire an interpreter. Having an interpreter by our side is
invaluable during the one-on-one meetings when we want to provide our employee with
feedback, or when we need to give some instructions to our workers. Therefore, we will be
sure that our message is understood properly. Plus, if an employee is struggling to express his
opinion, the interpreter will help.
Be accommodating
If our employees, clients or co-workers have cultural requirements, like prayer times or
religious holidays, accommodate their needs into our work schedule. We don’t need to
change our culture or convince others to change theirs, but rather, find common ground
where everyone can understand each other and respect and embrace cultural differences.
Translate all the relevant documents to the native language of our employees
Translate all relevant documents into the primary languages of our employees. There are
several free websites that translate text from one language to another. However, when we
do this we have to be careful since the translation is not always in the exact same dialect as
that of our employees.
Provide language courses for workers

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All employees within the company should be fluent in the official language of the company.
For those who aren’t, the company should organize language courses. Teach them work
words, phrases, warnings, and other critical communication elements that are necessary for
them to perform to your performance standards.
Learn your client’s culture
Taking the time to research or inquire about another’s culture can go a long way to make
them feel comfortable. Learn about the things our clients and customers like and value: their
food, their customs and protocol, business practices and what they do for fun. Since there is
a host of information available online, we can easily discover the basic tenets of their culture.
Because of our extra effort, the people with whom we work will feel appreciated and will be
more apt to recommend us and do business with us in the future.
Use visual methods
Use visual methods of communication more than audio. Explain things with pictures as much
as possible. Take a lesson from the airlines in how they convey their safety instructions. Use
pictures in your instruction manuals rather than words. Almost every step in every process
can be described in picture format. Give your employees signs, cue cards, or other methods
to help them learn.
Learn the native language of our employees
Learn the basics of our employees' languages. If we want to communicate effectively and
build rapport with our employees, we should consider learning a few words and phrases in
their language. Have them teach us show to say hello, goodbye, please, thank you, and other
important pleasantries you can use as you interact with them.
Use repetition
As with any new concept, most people don’t learn something the first time they hear it.
Employees need to hear the same message over and over before they fully grasp it. Don’t
expect people to learn or understand something after being told only once. This is true of all
of your employees whether they have a language barrier or not.
Have the employee demonstrate his or her understanding
Don't assume the employee understands; check for understanding. Ask the employee to
demonstrate that they know how to do what you have asked them to do.
Let the new team members introduce themselves
A great way for your team to get to know a new person in the office is to establish a practice
of new employees introducing themselves, if they have a different cultural background. Let
them do it in an informal way, explaining who they are, where they come from, and what
they think is important about their lives, their characters, and their origins. This way, our
team will have a chance to actually get familiar with this person, and they may get an idea

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about how they should communicate with the new addition to the team. The best thing is
that it will all happen in a perfectly natural and spontaneous way.

Seek feedback
To improve any kind of communication in any area of life or business, being genuinely open is
key, especially when it comes to the cultural communication barriers in the workplace. We
should ask your employees for open feedback if they feel threatened or misunderstood, or if
they feel they can’t figure out someone’s ideas, actions, or behavior. This often happens
when miscommunication stems from cultural barriers. It may be embarrassing for an
employee to admit that to other colleagues, and that’s why it’s sometimes difficult to
recognize that there’s a communication gap at all.
Examples from Worldwide
Accenture
Global consulting and professional services firm Accenture has partnered with more than
three-quarters of the Fortune Global 500 and serves clients in over 120 countries and across
some 40 industries. At the core of these achievements is diversity in the workplace.
Accenture has long been known for embracing diversity as a source of innovation, creativity,
and competitive advantage. As one of the first tech companies to share its workforce
demographics and progress toward internal diversity goals, leadership is holding the
company accountable in a very public way. Number of Employees Worldwide: 513,000+.
Diversity & Inclusion: Accenture believe that “no one should be discriminated against
because of their differences, such as age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity and
expression, religion or sexual orientation.”

Conclusion
Communication is not a one-way street. To have others open up to us, we must be
open our self. By overcoming the s barriers to communication, you can ensure that the
statement we are making is not just heard, but also understood, by the person we are
speaking with. In this way, we can be confident that our point has been expressed.
Managers have a responsibility to affirmatively determine where language and cultural
differences in the workplace can be accommodated and where they cannot.