Unit 2

Communicating in a
Multicultural World
 Idea of a Global World
 Globalization is the free movement of goods, services, technology
and people across the world in a seamless and integrated manner. 

 It has four features:

Impact of Globalization on Organization
 Has increased the level of interaction and
interdependence among the various nations
of global economy.
 Managing a global business poses many

challenges and opportunities.

 A global manager should understand culture

of different countries to serve the customer in

a better way.
 Studying cross-cultural communication is
necessity now.
Benefits of Globalization
 Improved Living Standards: massive rise in living
standards in developing nations. According to the World
Bank, extreme poverty has been reduced by 35% since
1990. Nearly 1.1 billion people have moved out of
extreme poverty since then.
 Increased Creativity and Innovation: Global
competition can encourage creativity and innovation,
helping companies to stay one step ahead of
competitors. This drive toward quality and price can
improve products and keeps costs low. The free
movement of labor and capital means that ideas from
developing nations can drive innovation around the
world.
 Lowered Costs for Goods and Services:
Lowered costs help people in both developing
and developed countries live better on less
money. Huge cost reductions from inexpensive
manufacturing and logistics have lowered the
cost of living for everyone around the world.
The world trade system has also created an
unprecedented variety of food at lower costs.
 Easy Access to Foreign Culture: Globalization
has also made it easier to access foreign
culture, including food, movies, music, and art.
The free flow of people, goods, and
information has made it possible.
Challenges of Globalization
 Understanding Other Languages and Cultures: Take time
to learn important cultural differences as red may mean
danger in most places on the globe, it is associated with
good luck in China. 
 The Legal Landscape: As long as business crosses
borders, One will be subject to many laws, tax rules, and
numerous regulations surrounding trade in different
countries. It doesn’t matter whether business is running
an online store or are a large multinational corporation.
This compliance is challenging in the sense that it
changes from country to country and requires to keep up
with different jurisdictions in order to ensure business is
always operating within the law.
 Communication and Technology: One of the
greatest challenges facing companies that have
staff and operations across borders is having a
centralized communication system that makes
it possible to compare notes across physically
distanced departments and branches.
If a company runs different technological
systems in different parts of company, then it
might be a challenge to synchronize them and
enhance communication within the company.
This can lead to a decline in efficiency and even
hurt the sales and profitability of the company.
 Environmental Conservation: Most of the world
takes a keen interest in conserving the environment
and reversing the effects of global warming. So one
has to consider the impact on the environment no
matter where in the world business goes.
Different countries will generally have different
rules surrounding such issues as energy
consumption, recycling, and green packaging, all of
which is needed to incorporate into your business
operations in these countries. If you’re planning on
opening branches in any of these countries, you
should undertake careful planning in the design
and construction of your buildings so as to create
an environmentally-friendly office.
Culture
 Culture is the set of important understandings
that members of community share in common.
 System of shared values is the building block
of culture.
 Culture of community is made up of two main
elements – internal values and external
elements.
 Internal Values that one learns in his family in
childhood.
 External elements are visible and include
signals like greetings, words, gestures.
Why Understanding Culture in Business is Important?

 To create cultural synergy between people

from different cultures within a business.
 To avoid problems stemming solely from

misinterpretation when coming across people

from different culture and society in the large
expanding business globally.
 Communicating across cultures effectively

improves your productivity and efficiency.

 Promotes harmonious work environment.
 Cross-cultural proficiency increases the
effectiveness of meetings and other
encounters in international business.
 Developing products and services
 Screening and selecting foreign business partners
 Communicating and interacting with foreign
business partners
 Negotiating and structuring international business

ventures
 Interacting with current and potential customer

from different markets

 Preparing advertising and promotional materials
 Preparing for overseas trade fairs and exhibitions
Problems of Cultural Differences
 People in different countries have different
ways to interpret events, they have different
habits, values, and ways of relating to one
another. When they come across, problems
pops up.
 People tend to view their cultural practices right
while other as wrong.
 Gestures and body movements and beliefs and
practices related to human relationships are the
two main factors that impacts communication.
Emic and Etic Approach
 The terms ‘Emic’ and ‘Etic’ were coined in
1954 by a linguist Kenneth Pike, who argued
that the tools developed for describing
linguistic behaviours could be adapted to the
description of any human social behaviour.

 Emic and Etic approaches of understanding

behaviour and personality fall under the study
of cultural anthropology.

 Cultural anthropology states that people are

shaped by their cultures and subcultures.
Emic Approach
 Members of the culture being studied are the main
source of information used to understand the
culture.
 Under this approach, the values and beliefs of
culture’s members take center stage.
 Emic approach is often called insider approach
because researcher observes, and he tries to get
inside the head of the man whose culture is being
studied.
 It serves the purpose of providing in-depth reports
about how insiders of a culture understand their
rituals.
Etic Approach
 The Etic approach to studying human culture
employs existing theories and perspectives
that originated from outside the culture being
studied. It uses preconceived notions. And
that’s why it is called outsider approach.

 The letter ‘t’ in the term ‘etic’ represents

theories as the researcher using this
approach uses the pre-existing theories to
understand the culture of a group.
 Emic vs Etic
Basis Emic Etic
Definitions  Emic Perspective can be In the Etic perspective,
defined as the the researcher looks at
perspective in which the research field
the researcher gains objectively from a
the insider’s point of distance.
view.
Point of view The researcher uses an The researcher uses an
insider’s point of view outsider’s point of view
Reliance Emic perspective relies Etic perspective relies
on the subjective on theories and
meaning that the concepts in
participant gives in understanding a
understanding a phenomenon
phenomenon
Cross-cultural Communication
 It involves communication among people from different
cultural backgrounds.
There are three orientations of handling cross-cultural
communication:
i. Ethnocentric Orientation – One uses own cultures as
the standard for judging other cultures
ii. Polycentric Orientation – It is a liberal mindset whereby
an executive develops a greater affinity with the culture
of the country in which he conducts business.
Contd…
iii. Geocentric Orientation – It is a global
mindset whereby an executive is able to
understand any business or market without
regard to country boundaries.
Cross cultural dimensions

 Business and Social Etiquette

 Style of Dress
 Perception about Gender Roles
 Gesture
 Punctuality
 Decision – making Style
 Business Introduction
Barriers in Cross Cultural
Communication

 Preference for Cultural Identity

 Formal vs Informal Communication
 Differences in Values, Customs, etc.
 Difference in Gestures
 Language problem
 Expression of Emotion
Overcoming Cross Cultural Barriers in
Communication

Developing Cross-cultural skills

◦ Acceptance of Unique Existence
◦ Consider Cultural Diversity as an opportunity
◦ Be open to learn other culture
◦ Handling language effectively
◦ Awareness of Touch
Technology and Communication
 Technology and Communication
 The development of technology has
considerably improved our lifestyle. It has made
its impact felt on each and every aspect of our
life, including communication techniques. 
 Each century has seen a new addition to the
ever-growing list of means of communication. 
 The invention of the telephone by Alexander
Graham Bell in the year 1875 was the first
technological invention that impacted
communication in humans to a massive extent. 
 Other subsequent inventions like that of the
Internet, cell phone, etc., further eased and
changed the world of communication.
 Contd…
 Technology has transformed the once big and
far world into a tiny global village. Thanks to
technology, we now have the power to
communicate with anybody anywhere in the
world.
 Technology has brought the world closer and

promoted exchange of thoughts to find

better solutions to any problem.
 Most businesses depend on technology for

communication. For example, video-

conferencing has made it possible to give the
best education to students via expert faculty
on the web.
Technology and Communication
 INTERNET
 INTRANET
 EXTRANET
 WWW
 FTP
 WEB BROWSERS
 EMAIL
Technology and Communication
LAN

WAN

URL

HTTP

FAX

SCANNER

TELEPHONE

TELEPHONE ANSWERING MACHINE

Technology and Communication
 SMS
 Smartphone
 PAGER
 VOICEMAIL
 TELECONFERENCING
 VIDEO CONFERENCING
 MULTIMEDIA
 E-COMMERCE
 M-COMMERCE
Ethical and Legal Issues in
Communication
 What is Ethics?
 What is Ethical Communication?

Elements of Ethical Communication. To ensure

ethical business communication, three
elements need to be in place
 Ethical individuals or employees
 Ethical company leadership or management
 Appropriate policies and structures to support

employees’ efforts to make ethical choices

Developing and Implementing a Code
of Ethics
 Be clear about the objectives the code is intended to
accomplish
 Try to get support and ideas for the code from
people at all levels of the organization.
 Be aware of the latest developments in the laws and
regulations affecting the industry.
 Write as simply and clearly as possible. Be sure that
the code is legally defensible, but avoid legal
jargons.
 Try to give reasons for the various provisions of the
code.
Contd…
 Devise a concrete programme for
communicating the code and for educating
employees about the code and all programs
designed to support it.
 Devise a concrete programmer for enforcing the
code
 Select competent persons to administer the code
and give them the time and resources to get the
job done.
 Make sure to provide for changing, the code to
meet new situations and challenges.
Ethical issues in Business Communication
Contd…
Contd…
Guidelines for Ethical Communication
To ensure ethical communication, the following
guidelines should be followed:
 Provide accurate information to the
organization’s stakeholders
 Don’t dilute, distort or exaggerate the message

 Ensure timeliness of communication to avoid

rumors and gossiping

 The message should do the most good and

least harm.
 Abide by law while providing information

 Don’t use ambiguous words in

communications.
Essentials of Ethical Business
Communication

 Be honest
 Be respectful
 Sensitivity to Cultural differences
Legal issues in Business Communication
Legal aspect refers to the selection of words used in Business
Communication so as to ensure their conformity with the rules and
regulations laid by the country’s business law, failure to which may
cause a person to be up against legal actions.

Defamation: It is the act of harming the reputation of another by

making a false statement to another person. The act of defamation may
be through a false written or oral statement. There are two types of
defamation- •Slander- Oral Defamation •Libel- Written Defamation.

Financial reporting: It can be considered a form of business

communication, since it involves formally presenting information to
investors, regulators and the general public. Using deceptive
accounting practices to misrepresent company finances is a weighty
legal matter potentially resulting in lawsuits, fines or even criminal
charges, not to mention damage to a company's brand reputation. This
is one of the most closely regulated areas of business communications
and is especially important for publicly traded corporations.
 Contd…
Marketing Communications: Advertising and sales communications must
follow legal guidelines for honesty and accuracy. According to the Small
Business Administration's overview of advertising and marketing law,
advertising claims must be honest, non-deceptive and based on factual
evidence. According to the same overview, advertising and marketing law
extends to regulate testimonials, product endorsements, advertising to
children, claims of environmental responsibility and claims of domestic
production. The Federal Trade Commission also strictly regulates direct
marketing activities, including telemarketing and email marketing.

Invasion of Privacy: This sheds light upon the fact that there are certain
activities we engage in our solitude or loneliness. If a person infringes upon
another person’s such activities, he’s invading upon that person’s privacy. If
some private facts shared by two individuals are disclosed by any one of
person, it’s invasion of privacy. We call it invasion of privacy when without
the consent of a person, his name or identity is used for commercial
purpose.
 Contd…
Intellectual Property Rights: Theft of copyright material such as
republishing a book without the consent of the publisher and
reproduction of an authorized recorded tapes or CDs may
cause a person liable to legal actions.

Transparency: It means accurate, adequate and timely

disclosure of relevant information to the stakeholders such as
investors, customers, employees, government and society.

Employment Communication:  A variety of legal provisions

govern communication between employers and both potential
and current employees. For example, job descriptions must be
written in a way that doesn’t intentionally or unintentionally
discriminate against women, minorities, or people with
disabilities.