INTERCULTURAL

COMMUNICATION

Prepared by: Joann Ruth M. Gomez, LPT

 - the communication between people from two
different cultures. Intercultural communication is a
symbolic, interpretive, transactional, contextual
process in which people from different cultures
create shared meanings.
 Dimensions of Cultural Differences
◦ Power Distance. Power distance is the degree to which people accept an unequal distribution of power and status privileges.
In high power distance countries, there is respect for age and titles, people are expected to follow rules, and there is more
tolerance for concentrated power. India, Mexico, and the Philippines have high power distance. The United States, Australia,
and Israel have low power distance.
◦ Uncertainty Avoidance. The degree to which people are uncomfortable with risk, change, and ambiguity is called uncertainty
avoidance. In high uncertainty avoidance countries, there is a greater emphasis on rules, structure, order, and predictability.
France, Japan, and Costa Rica, for example, are countries with high uncertainty avoidance. The United States, India, and
Sweden have low uncertainty avoidance.
◦ Performance Orientation. Performance orientation is the degree to which innovation, high standards, and excellent
performance are encouraged and rewarded. Countries with high performance orientation value materialism and
competitiveness, and they expect to invest in training to promote performance improvements. The United States and European
countries have high performance orientations; Argentina, Russia, and Greece have low performance orientations.
 Dimensions of Cultural Differences
◦ Assertiveness. Assertiveness is the degree to which individuals are forceful, confrontational, and aggressive, as opposed to
cooperative and compassionate. In high assertiveness countries such as the United States, Germany, and Mexico,
communication is direct and unambiguous. Individual initiative is encouraged, and relationships are likely to be competitive.
Countries with low assertiveness rankings are Switzerland and New Zealand. Managers in these countries are more likely to
look for consensus and cooperative decision making.
◦ Future Orientation. The degree to which delayed gratification and planning for the future are valued over short-term gains is
called future orientation. Countries with high future orientation encourage investments for future payoffs over immediate
consumption. It is similar to the ability of individuals to delay gratification. Canada, Switzerland, and Malaysia have high
future orientation; Poland, Argentina, and Russia have low future orientation.
◦ Humane Orientation. The degree to which fairness, altruism, generosity, and kindness are encouraged and valued is a
measure of a country’s humane orientation. In nations with high humane orientation, individuals are responsible for promoting
the well-being of others as opposed to the state providing social and economic support. The Philippines, Ireland, and Egypt
have high humane orientation; France, Germany, and Singapore have low humane orientation.
 Dimensions of Cultural Differences
◦ Institutional Collectivism. Institutional collectivism is the degree to which organizational and societal institutions encourage
individuals to be integrated into groups and organizations. In high institutional collectivism countries, collective distribution of
resources and collective action are encouraged. Group loyalty is encouraged, even if it undermines the pursuit of individual goals.
Sweden, Japan, and Singapore are examples of countries that have high institutional collectivism; Germany, Argentina, and Italy have
low institutional collectivism. In the United States, low institutional collectivism has resulted in debates on appropriate work-life
balance.
◦ In-Group Collectivism. In-group collectivism is the degree to which individuals express pride, loyalty, and cohesiveness in their
organizations or families. In countries with high institutional collectivism, individuals identify with their families or organizations and
duties and obligations determine behaviors. A strong distinction is made between individuals who are in a group and those who are not.
India, Egypt, and China are examples of countries that have high institutional collectivism; Sweden, New Zealand, and Finland have
low institutional collectivism.
◦ Gender Egalitarianism. The degree to which male and female equality is actualized is called gender egalitarianism. Countries with
high gender egalitarianism provide more opportunities for women and have more women in positions of power. Sweden, Poland, and
Costa Rica have high gender egalitarianism. Japan, Italy, and Egypt have low gender egalitarianism. In these countries, women
generally have lower status at work and in the culture.
In the chart that follows, Germany and Poland are similar in their cultural
characteristics.
 Effects of Cultural Differences on Global
Business
When companies decide to expand internationally, they have to be aware of cultural differences. To be effective, managers need
to be attuned to their cultural surroundings. There have been many examples of advertising that included images or phrases that
were culturally offensive. For example, Pepsi lost its dominant market share to Coke in Southeast Asia when Pepsi changed the
color of its vending machines to light “Ice” blue. The company failed to understand that light blue is associated with death and
mourning in that region.

In other words, the functions of management are the same everywhere, but the functions are performed differently in
different countries.
We have defined the four basic management functions as planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. Consider how the
GLOBE cultural dimensions could affect these basic management functions:
Planning. Future orientation and uncertainty avoidance have a significant impact on how businesses plan. In cultures with high future
orientation, the current conditions of the organization are assessed and planning is based on changes needed to reach future goals. In a
low future orientation culture, the history of the organization is considered and planning is based on preserving traditions while
moving forward. In high uncertainty avoidance countries, planning will be very deliberate, and only plans with a low risk of failure
and high certainty of outcomes will be considered. In low uncertainty avoidance countries, planning will be much more flexible. Plans
will accept that the future is unpredictable and will assume that problems will be addressed as they occur.
Organizing. Performance orientation and institutional collectivism both affect how firms are organized. In countries with high
institutional collectivism, organizations based on teams and group efforts would likely be most effective. In countries with low
institutional collectivism, more hierarchical structures with clear lines of authority and well-defined responsibilities would likely work
best. In high performance orientation cultures, organizations would be based on individual achievements. Individual goals would be
set and performance would not be based on meeting fixed targets but on ranking compared to others. In low performance orientation
countries, cooperation and collaboration would be emphasized. Goals based on organizational outcomes would be more effective.
We have defined the four basic management functions as planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. Consider how the
GLOBE cultural dimensions could affect these basic management functions:
Leading. Power distance and humane orientation are important considerations for leaders. In high power distance countries, people
would expect leaders to be more directive, and they would expect rules and procedures to be well-defined. In low power distance
countries, leadership would have to be more collaborative and people would question rules and procedures they did not agree with.
Humane orientation would have an effect on motivation. In high humane orientation cultures, leaders would be expected to be
nurturing and empowering. People would be motivated by the contribution they are making to the organization and others in the
organization. In low humane orientation cultures, leaders would be expected to be clear in their expectations. People would be
motivated by their wages and benefits and would challenge anything that threatened their well-being. Gender egalitarianism could
also be a factor. In low gender egalitarianism countries, women’s leadership would not be automatically accepted and women would
have to assert their authority.
Controlling. Assertiveness and power distance affect how organizations can be controlled effectively. In high assertiveness countries,
managers would be directive and authoritarian. They would exert control through close observation and punishment. In a low
assertiveness country, managers would be expected to be more tolerant and to exert control through encouragement and corrections.
In high power distance countries, authoritarian and directive managers would likely be more effective than participative managers.
 Intercultural Nonverbal Communication

◦ Nonverbal communication refers to all intentional and unintentional stimuli between communicating parties, other than
spoken words. Successful interaction in intercultural settings requires not only the understanding of verbal messages but of
nonverbal messages as well. Characteristic to nonverbal communication is that it is less systematized than verbal
communication; it is culture-bound and ambiguous.

◦ There is a popular saying, “actions speak louder than words.” In reality, it highlights the significance of non-verbal
communication. Non-verbal communication is especially noteworthy in intercultural situations. Doubtless non-verbal
differences account for typical difficulties in communicating.
 Intercultural Nonverbal Communication

◦ "Intercultural non-verbal communication" refers to the unspoken word between communicating parties. Two-thirds of
communication is transmitted non-verbally. The possibility for misunderstanding and disagreement regarding non-verbal
communication is great because of cultural differences. So, successful interaction in intercultural situations entails just as
much understanding of non-verbal messages as the verbal ones.

◦ Non-verbal communication is one of the key aspects of communication. Its diverse functions include repeating, accentuating,
complementing and contradicting a verbal message. This type of communication also normalizes relations, such as non-verbal
cues conveying when a person should speak or not speak. Finally, non-verbal communication can even altera verbal message
through mimics, gestures and facial expressions, particularly when people do not speak the same language.
 Intercultural Communication

Human beings draw close to one another by their common nature

but habits and customs keep them apart - Confucius.
Socrates described two worlds in PHAEDO: the first is a world of imperfection impeded by the inexpert medium of speech, and
the second a better world of perfection where all things are communicated visually, without the need for words.

Widespread population migrations have changed the demographics of several nations and new intercultural identities and
communities have been born. The growth of interdependence of people and cultures in the global society of the twenty-first
century has forced us to pay even more attention to intercultural issues.
 Intercultural Communication

All civilizations depend on each other for different reasons. People of the world carry out communication through verbal and
nonverbal means. The better our intercultural communication skills, the easier it will be for us to take our place in international
society. Typically more interest is focused on verbal communication than nonverbal communication. Unfortunately,
communicating sides make great efforts to find appropriate vocabulary but neglect nonverbal communication cues. It is
important to raise responsiveness of the nonverbal communication in the process of intercultural communication. My paper deals
with some of the means of nonverbal communication and ways of escaping those cultural disagreements and difficulties. The
main purpose of my study is to examine the role of nonverbal behavior in the context of intercultural communication.

To overcome such difficulties requires integrating nonverbal communication skills in order to better communicate interculturally.
 Barriers to Intercultural Communication

 Anxiety
It is not unusual to experience some level of discomfort in communicating with individuals from other cultures or co-cultures.  It
may be that we feel as though we will do or say the wrong thing.  This can make the interaction awkward or can lead us to avoid
opportunities for intercultural communication. Although not as detrimental as ethnocentrism or stereotypes, anxiety can prevent
us from making intercultural connections that will enrich our lives.
◦ Assumption of Similarities
◦ Although you know differently, many people mistakenly assume that simply being human makes everyone alike.  However, as
we've discussed, values, beliefs, and attitudes can vary vastly from culture to culture.  Those who assume a person from
another cultural background is just like them will often misread or misinterpret and perhaps even be offended by any
intercultural encounter.  In intercultural communication, assume differences in communication style will exist that you may be
unaware of.  It is important to avoid interpreting another individual's behavior through your own cultural lens.
 Barriers to Intercultural Communication
 Ethnocentrism
Where did you start reading on this page? The top left corner. Why not the bottom right corner, or the top right one? In English,
we read left to right, from the top of the page to the bottom. But not everyone reads the same. If you read and write Arabic or
Hebrew, you will proceed from right to left. Neither is right or wrong, simply different. Americans tend to say that people from
England drive on the “wrong” side of the road, rather than on the “other” side. You may find it hard to drive on the other side of
the road while visiting England, but for people in the United Kingdom, it is normal and natural.  A high level of appreciation for
one’s own culture can be healthy; a shared sense of community pride, for example, connects people in a society.
But ethnocentrism can lead to disdain or dislike for other cultures and could cause misunderstanding and conflict. 
Ethnocentrism assumes our culture or co-culture is superior to or more important than others and evaluates all other cultures
against it. To dismantle ethnocentrism, we must recognize that our views of the world, what we consider right and wrong,
normal or weird, are largely influenced by our cultural standpoint and that our cultural standpoint is not everyone's cultural
standpoint. This ethnocentric bias has received some challenge recently in United States’ schools as teachers make efforts to
create a multicultural classroom by incorporating books, short stories, and traditions from non-dominant groups.
 Barriers to Intercultural Communication
 Stereotypes
Stereotypes are oversimplified ideas about groups of people. Stereotypes can be based on race, ethnicity, age, gender, sexual
orientation — almost any characteristic. They may be positive, such as all Asian students are good at math, but are most often
negative, such as all overweight people are lazy.  Stereotyping is a generalization that doesn't take individual differences into
account.  

 Prejudice 
Prejudice is a negative attitude and feeling toward an individual based solely on one’s membership in a particular social group,
such as gender, race, ethnicity, nationality, social class, religion, sexual orientation, profession, and many more (Allport, 1954;
Brown, 2010). An example of prejudice is having a negative attitude toward people who are not born in the United States and
disliking them because of their status as "foreigners.“

 Racial discrimination is discrimination against an individual based solely on membership in a specific racial group. 

What does cross-cultural interaction look like? Look at the image below and analyze it carefully.
 Barriers to Intercultural Communication
◦ What is culture?
Culture is often defined as the learned patterns and attitudes shared by a group of people (Martin & Nakayama, 2010). According
to Geert Hofstede (1984), a noted social psychologist, culture is "the programming of the mind." He said:
What is Intercultural Communication? The differences of cultures and backgrounds affect communication.
In fact, culture becomes a significant determiner of how people approach any form of communication. One’s
environment can significantly change his or her perception about certain issues in the society which in turn
would also determine how he or she would communicate the ideas he or she may want to tackle.

In addition, people from different backgrounds often encounter difficulties in processing meanings and
understanding messages due to the difficulties in understanding certain factors of communication such as
language, context, and meaning. Communication problems often occur when there is a lack of understanding
about how certain cultures "work."

Ultimately, the only way to lessen miscommunication in an intercultural context is to understand that no two
individuals are alike and that every person comes from a background that may be different from one another. It
is only by observing and learning the cultures of other people that one can possibly lessen the gap created by
cultural differences.
Read some examples of Intercultural Communication below.

1. In Japan, for a period, the sale of Pampers diapers was not particularly promising. After a
thorough study, it was discovered that the reason for the low sale of the Pampers diapers was based
on the importance the Japanese put on gender differences. The result was the introduction of pink
diapers for girls and blue diapers for boys.
2. The American cowboy used in the ads of cigarette brand Marlboro is often seen as an effective
symbol in most countries, except in Argentina where their concept of a cowboy is often seen as a
lower-class worker.
The Intersection of Cultures: Multicultural Education in the United States and the Global Economy (Joel Spring, 2000)

There are often misinterpretations of messages that are sent between cultures. Most times, these misinterpretations are a result of
differences in cultural values (Spring, 2000).