Amity Business School

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
SEM IV

MODULE 1

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IMPORTANCE OF CULTURE IN COMMUNICATION

Intercultural Communication is the process of sending and

receiving messages between people whose cultural backgrounds
could lead them to interpret verbal and nonverbal signs differently.

Effective intercultural communication

Opens up business opportunities round the world. It improves the
contributions of employees in a diverse workforce.

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Treat people the way they expect to be treated, not the way
you expect to be treated.’

The diversity of today’s workforce brings distinct

advantages to businesses:
1. A broader range of views and ideas
2. A better understanding of diverse,
fragmented markets
3. A broader pool of talent from which to
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4. Recognize the changing environment

5. Adapt to the environment without
compromising principles
6. Don’t assume problems will magically
disappear.
7. Keep corporate communication connected to
strategy.

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John Bodley (1994):Definitions of Diverse Dimensions

Culture consists of everything on a list of topics, or categories, such as social

Topical:
organization, religion, or economy

Historical: Culture is social heritage, or tradition, that is passed on to future generations

Behavioral: Culture is shared, learned human behavior, a way of life

Normative: Culture is ideals, values, or rules for living

Culture is the way humans solve problems of adapting to the environment or living
Functional:
together

Culture is a complex of ideas, or learned habits, that inhibit impulses and distinguish
Mental:
people from animals

Structural: Culture consists of patterned and interrelated ideas, symbols, or behaviors

Symbolic: Culture is based on arbitrarily assigned meanings that are shared by a society

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Principles
1. Culture is learned:
Culture is transmitted through the
process of learning and interacting with
one’s environment, rather through the
genetic process.
2. Culture influences biological processes
3. Culture is universal
4. Culture changes
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DEVELOPING COMMUNICATION COMPETENCE

•Concentrate on long term relationships, not short term contracts.

•Focus on the interests and perceptions of the recipient. Be realistic

about others view. Acknowledge distinctions.

•Avoid over reliance on cultural generalizations. Avoid assumptions;

generalizations.

•Be sensitive to timing.

•Remain flexible, but prepare your messages carefully.

•Learn to listen, Not just speak.

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Communication and Culture

Culture gives meaning to the visible communication
process.

Trends that have made intercultural business

communication so important:

A) Market globalization, that allows people from different

cultures to interpret their verbal and non verbal signals .

B) Advances in technology help companies cross national

boundaries.
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MODULE 2

BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

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ROADBLOCKS
Classification of barriers:
Intrapersonal
Interpersonal
Organizational
Roadblocks
1. Differences in perspective
2. Differences in knowledge levels
3. Lack of common language
4. Tendency to stereotype and jump to
conclusions.
5. Strong emotions
6. Self centeredness 10
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7. Ethnocentrism: greatest single obstacle to

understand culture.
Literally means ‘culture centered’.

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Strategies to overcome the Barriers

•Get to know the people you communicate with.

•Learn to look at things from others’ perspectives.

•Seek and offer feedback.

•Choose the right medium and the right channel.

•Mind your tone.

•Talk less, listen more.

•Ethno relativism i.e. ability to relate and adapt to others’

culture 12
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Some pointers to good word usage

Be positive
Dictionary and Thesaurus
A wide choice
Who is your audience
Social setting
Jargon
New words
Sentence construction
Understand word structure
Enjoy the language 13
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MODULE 3

CROSS CULTURAL COMMUNICATION

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Characteristics of culture
•Culture guides individual and collective behavior.

•It influences:
The decision making
The style of management
Relations and behavior patterns

•Cultures are integrated wholes: cultures are

coherent and logical systems, the parts of which to
a degree are interrelated. 15
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Language mirrors values

Successful corporate culture manages to:
integrate symbols (such as a corporate logo),
legends (stories about past successes and
failures), heroes (influential managers from the
past) and shared experiences (such as
working together on successful projects).

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The process of developing a corporate

culture involves the following:
1.Identifying common beliefs among employees
2.Gaining consensus
3.Documenting the essential features
4.Making the culture visible to other employees
on a regular basis.
5.Providing explicit training in the corporate
culture for new employees.

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Cross-cultural Values
Americans Japanese
Freedom Belonging
Independence Group harmony
Self-reliance Collectiveness
Equality Age/seniority
Individualism Group
Competition consciousness
Efficiency Cooperation
Time Quality
Directness Patience
Openness Indirectness
Go-between 18
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Edward T. Hall's Model

High-context Low-context cultures
cultures
Long-lasting Shorter relationships
relationships Less dependent on
Exploiting context context
Spoken agreements Written agreements
Insiders and outsiders Insiders and outsiders
clearly distinguished less clearly
Cultural patterns distinguished
ingrained, slow change
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Strategies for Improving Cross-Cultural Communication:

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Social Differences
Formal rules of etiquette are explicit and well
defined but informal rules are learned through
observation and imitation e.g. table manners.

Attitude Towards Materialism

People from US emphasize hard work,
material success and efficiency more than
many people in other countries do.

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NON VERBAL DIFFERENCES

NVC is important in delivering meaning but only if
communicators belong to the same culture. It varies from place to
place and culture.

Types of NVC:
Kinesics
Proxemics
Oculesics
Chronemics

Body language: People from the other culture who speak your
language have not mastered your culture’s body language
e.g
• “looking in the eye”
• U.S: positive
• Asia :disrespectful
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THANK
YOU
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