Communicating

across cultures
What is Communication?

– Communication describes the process of sharing

meaning by transmitting messages through media such
as words, behavior, or material artifacts.
The Communication Process

Sender Medium Receiver

Meaning Encode Message Decode Meaning

Noise

Culture

Feedback
 Sender
Meaning Encode

– Sender encodes message according to the norms in

his/her culture
– Example: subordinate’s response to boss
– Americans or North Europeans very direct in their speech
– Asians are circuitous
– Example: Asking about marital status
– Common in Asia to ask about it, to know each other better
– Americans find it rude and intrusive
 Medium
Message

– Channel chosen by sender based on

organizational culture
– Finland people reserved so don’t like face to face
communications
– India, mails preferred over SMS
– Germans prefer privacy
– Japanese people may have their table placed their
table with subordinates
 Receiver
Decode
Meaning

– Type of culture , High context or Low Context, influences

decoding
– Japanese telling German that ‘I shall consider doing the
task’ it actually means ‘No’, but Germans interpret it as
‘it will be executed’
 Feedback
– Culture determines the way and kind of feedback given

– Sweden has high equality so subordinates can question the

logic and reason behind supervisor’s request
– Mexico / India rarely questioned, if so in a circuitous way
Noise

– It can be due to Semantics, physical and mental factors

– Semantics: study of meaning of language
– Tabling a Discussion: means ‘postpone’ in US, means
‘suggest something for discussion’ in India , UK.
– Quality: means ‘perfection’ in Japan, means ‘according to
standards’ in Germany, means ‘luxury’ in France, means
‘it works’ in US
Physical and Mental factors

– Surroundings
– Stress
– Fear
– Happiness
– Anger and other emotions
Barriers to cross cultural understanding

– Prejudices: unfair/unreasonable opinion

– Stereotypes: behavioural norm for members of the
group ( Americans – friendly, Japanese – hard working,
Germans – sticklers of quality)
– Parochialism: interest in narrow range of matters (self,
town, country) (cant be global managers)
– Ethnocentrism: people, customs and traditions of one’s
own race or nationality better then others
English as language for international business

– Mainly chosen as operational language in mergers and

acquisitions
– In some countries speaking English means getting
better jobs (Vietnam, China)
 English as language for international
business
– It backfires sometimes
– Wal-Mart imposing English in German stores
– ‘Buy American Made’ – message on T Shirts was translated
in Japan as ‘ Buy an American Maid’
– Airline company chose a name ‘Emu’ to please Australian
clients but then realised Emu, an Australian bird, cannot fly
– ‘Ok’ sign on US company brochure – means zero in France,
Money in Japan, Vulgar gesture in South America
Language and Culture

– Respect for elders

– ‘Hey waiter’ cant be used to address everywhere
– US students from top universities take up waiting jobs
– ‘Irasshai’ shouts heard in Japanese restaurant means
welcome
– Tipping norms – High in US, none at all in some European
countries because 15% service charge is added
 Politically correct language

– Avoiding offensive language mainly related to gender and

age
– He, Him, Chairman words used in workplaces mainly in
Male dominated society like India
– All important people are expected to be men
– Gender neutral language important in speech and
documents (Chair / Chairman, his/their)
– Use of the word ‘Old’ vs over the age of ………
– Use of words for Afro-American – ‘Negros’ is derogatory
– Indians may call all southeast Asians Chinese – its offensive because of history
of conflicts in the nations there
Forms of Nonverbal Communication
(Exhibit 4-4)

– Facial expressions
– Body posture
– Gestures with hands, arms, head, etc.
– Interpersonal distance (proxemics)
– Touching, body contact
– Eye contact
Forms of Nonverbal Communication
(contd.)

– Clothing, cosmetics, hairstyles, jewelry

– Paralanguage (voice pitch and inflections, rate of speech, and
silence)
– Color symbolism
– Attitude toward time and the use of time in business and
social interactions
– Food symbolism and social use of meals
Managing Cross-Cultural Communication

– Developing cultural sensitivity

– Careful encoding
– Selective transmission
– Careful decoding of feedback
– Follow-up actions
Behaviors Most Important to Intercultural
Communication Effectiveness
(as reviewed by Ruben)

– Respect (conveyed through eye contact, body posture, voice tone and pitch)
– Interaction posture (the ability to respond to others in a descriptive,
nonevaluative, and nonjudgmental way)
– Orientation to knowledge (recognizing that one’s knowledge, perception, and
beliefs are valid only for oneself and not for everyone else)
– Empathy
– Interaction management
– Tolerance for ambiguity
– Other-oriented role behavior (one’s capacity to be flexible and to adopt
different roles for the sake of greater group cohesion and group communication
Personality Factors For Effective Intercultural
Communication
(as reviewed by Kim)

– Openness – traits such as open-mindedness, tolerance

for ambiguity, and extrovertedness
– Resilience – traits such as having an internal locus of
control, persistence, a tolerance of ambiguity, and
resourcefulness
 III. Boundary Regulations: Four broad
themes
A. Regulating Interpersonal Boundaries

Proxemics: study of space.

Intimate zone: 0–18 inches. Reserved for those closest

to us.
Personal zone: 18–48 inches. Closer friends, some
acquaintances.
Social zone: 48 inches to 12 feet.
Public zone: 12 feet or more.
III. Boundary Regulations
President Bush meets Saudi Arabian royalty,
Prince Abdullah

What can you gather about their spatial

zones?
 III. Boundary Regulations
A. Regulating Interpersonal Boundaries:
Marking Boundaries + Expressing Respect or Deference
• Cultural Norms & Rules
• Meanings
• Appropriateness

President Obama Bows and

Shakes Hands In Japan To
Emperor Akihito and
Empress Michiko
 III. Boundary Regulations: Four broad
themes
B. Environmental Boundaries:
claimed sense of space and emotional
attachment we share with others in our
community.

C. Psychological Boundaries
1. Intrapersonal space: need for information
privacy or psychological silence between the self
and others.
2. Privacy regulation is important in individualistic
cultures, not perceived as critical in collectivistic
cultures.
III. Boundary Regulations: Four broad
themes
D. Regulating Time: attitudes we
have about time.

Chronemics: how people in different cultures structure, interpret, and

understand the time dimension.
Two patterns of time govern different cultures:
• Monochronic-time schedule
• Polychronic-time schedule