CULTURE AND BUSINESS

COMMUNICATION
DEFINITION OF CULTURE

As the German philosopher Jurgen Habermas said, “Every

process of reaching understanding takes place against the
background of a culturally ingrained pre-understanding.”

Geert Hofstede (1980) “Culture is the collective programming

of the mind.” Culture as a collective programming of our minds
allows the identification of groups and differentiation between
these groups and their members.
DEFINITION OF CULTURE
 Culture is shared within the group. A certain group of people
primarily behave according to the same unwritten rules that
give the group the characteristics that distinguish it from
other groups.

 Culture is thus a quality of the whole, not only of one

individual. This aspect conveys the risk of prejudice: we
immediately project onto individuals any characteristics that
we recognize as belonging to a certain group.
DEFINITION OF CULTURE

Based on the above we can conclude that culture is something

that evolves or develops over time and can change. It is
developed collectively and maintained by a group that itself is a
part of that culture.
COMMUNICATION IN CONTEXT
Communication in context: What you perceive in
communication with others is also influenced by your culture,
native language, and your world view.
INTERCULTURAL COOPERATION
In order to establish successful international cooperation and
prevent cultural differences leading to business fiascos, we can
take some important precautions:
1. Formulate the business goals objectively. Ensure—before
you start working together—that the goals of the cooperation
are clear. These goals should be objective, irrespective of
interests, and recognized by all parties.
2. Create trust. This usually takes more time than we anticipate.
It also takes more time than we often actually have.
 INTERCULTURAL COOPERATION

3. Discuss every culture’s unique approach. At the start of your

cooperation, spend time on the approaches the participants
would use in their respective cultures.

4. Discuss the way in which you are going to cooperate. Use

the lessons learned in the previous session in order to formulate
clear agreements on how you will work together on this
project.
 INTERCULTURAL COOPERATION

5. Implement the agreed approach, involve everybody in the initiation

of the cooperation, and ensure that—not only at the start but
throughout—the cooperation is evaluated and the approach monitored.

In this way, the Dutch and the Indian team will have committed
themselves to the same—objective—goal, and they will be jointly
responsible for the success of the cooperation and the accomplishment
of results.
REFERENCES

Business Communication for Success

Chapter 18: Intercultural and International Business
Communication

Business Communication Developing Leaders for a

Networked World
Chapter 4. Communicating Across Cultures