Name: Syaiful Bahri

Student number: F041211058

Final task cross-cultural communication

1. Cross-cultural communication is very useful in the field of work, especially dealing with
business. Why not? Employees who work in companies related to business, especially
international companies, will definitely meet people who come from various regions and
cultures. This aims to expedite the internal affairs of the company and to reach the desired
agreement so as not to experience failure. For example, an employee who works at the
famous company Amazon. This work is in dire need of cross-cultural communication.
Amazon is very international so its users come from all over the world. An employee must
be willing if he is transferred to another area or serves customers from various regions and
different cultures. The second example is a CEO of a well-known company. CEO is the
highest position in a company. A CEO is certainly very busy with the meeting schedule he
has. Every week you have to travel to an area for business continuity. When meeting new
people from other companies, a CEO must have good cross-cultural communication skills
to avoid misunderstandings between two or more companies. A CEO also acts as an
intermediary between managers and directors or investors who come from different
cultures and habits. That was an example of a job that requires cross-cultural
communication. This skill is intended so that the business that is built does not experience
misunderstandings just because of a different culture.

2. There are three elements of culture that we must know, namely;

 Perspective, namely relating to the way we think or the way we look at a culture
regarding their habits and also related to how we think that culture is formed. This
way of thinking can be translated into a "stigma" or "stereotype".
 Action, which is related to our daily habits in an environment that can form a culture
and regulate our lifestyle as residents who live in that area. This is related to the
norms and rituals attached to that culture.
 Product, which is related to what has been produced or is the hallmark of a culture and
is well known to other regions. Examples are about clothes, songs, dances, and food.
Here are some examples of cross-cultural misunderstandings related to the three elements
above:
 Perspective. When we are in a crowd, we continue to see people from the Batak tribe.
Now we see him speak in a high tone as if he was snapping at his interlocutor.
Thoughts in our brains have started to emerge giving a bad stigma that Batak people
are tough and impolite. However, if we look at or study this culture, it is true that the
Batak people naturally use high tones when they speak. For them, this is just a normal
thing but for those of us who saw it for the first time, it would be considered impolite.
 Actions. When there are foreigners, for example from England, come to Indonesia.
This person came to campus in clothes that were tight and uncovered. It is clear that
this is different from the regulations or norms that apply in our environment such as
Makassar. But on the other hand, according to the Englishman, he had done the right
thing because of the habits he brought from his native area and in accordance with the
norms in force there.
 Product. For example, we come to India and we are looking for beef to cook and eat.
In some areas of India, beef cannot be eaten because it is their culture that they cannot
eat beef because for them cows are sacred animals and must be preserved. This will
cause misunderstandings between the two parties and in the end will lead to fights.
 Therefore, we must understand cross-cultural communication so that problems like
this do not occur.

3. To achieve cultural competence, there are three more stages that must be passed first
so that we can really understand what is meant by cultural competence.
 Cultural knowledge is the first stage that must be faced first. At this stage, we are
expected to know about several cultural characteristics, both related to the history,
values, beliefs, and behaviour of ethnic groups in a culture. This is very important
because it is the beginning to open windows and understand cross-cultural
communication as a whole and becomes the basis of knowledge that will influence
our responses when communicating with other cultures in the future.
 Cultural awareness is the next stage which encourages us to be sensitive to cultural
differences and similarities between two cultures when communicating or
interacting with other cultures. This is what was meant earlier about our behaviour.
This has plunged into the application from the first stage which is when we already
have cultural knowledge, we will apply it in our lives.
 Cultural sensitivity is related to our perspective or our point of view where we have
to be aware of the differences and similarities between cultures without giving
them positive or negative values, better or worse, right or wrong. This relates to the
stigma and stereotypes that we discussed earlier in question number two. At this
stage, we are expected not to make quick judgments about a culture.
 Cultural competence is the final stage. At this stage, we are expected to have the
individual skills covering all of the above stages to understand and respect the
values, attitudes, beliefs, and customs that differ across cultures, and to consider
and respond to these differences appropriately.