people from other cultures is to become aware of what culture means. Our
awareness of intercultural differences is both useful and necessary in
today's world of business.
UNDERSTANDING CULTURE
Person may not realise it, but he belongs to several cultures. The most
obvious is the culture he shares with all other people who live in the same
country. But this person also belongs to other cultural groups, such as an
ethnic group, a religious group, a fraternity or sorority, or perhaps a
profession that has its own special language and customs.
So what exactly is culture? It is useful to define culture as a system of
shared symbols, beliefs, attitudes, values, expectations, and norms for
behaviour. Thus all members of a culture have, and tend to act on, similar
assumptions about how people should think, behave, and communicate.
Distinct groups that exist within a major culture are more properly
referred to as subcultures. Among groups that might be considered
subcultures are Mexican Americans in East Los Angeles, Mormons in Salt Lake
City, and longshoremen in Montreal. Subcultures without geographic
boundaries can be found as well, such as wrestling fans, Russian
immigrants, and Harvard M.B.A.s .
Cultures and subcultures vary in several ways that affect intercultural
communication:
• Stability. Conditions in the culture may be stable or may be changing
slowly or rapidly.
• Complexity. Cultures vary in the accessibility of information. In North
America information is contained in explicit codes, including words,
whereas in Japan a great deal of information is conveyed implicitly,
through body language, physical context, and the like.
• Composition. Some cultures are made up of many diverse and disparate
subcultures; others tend to be more homogeneous.
• Acceptance. Cultures vary in their attitudes toward outsiders. Some are
openly hostile or maintain a detached aloofness. Others are friendly and co-
operative toward strangers.
As you can see, cultures vary widely. It's no wonder that most of us need
special training before we can become comfortable with a culture other than
our own.
DEVELOPING INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS
When faced with the need (or desire) to learn about another culture, we
have two main approaches to choose from. The first is to learn as much as
possible—the language, cultural background and history, social rules, and
so on—about the specific culture that you expect to deal with. The other is
to develop general skills that will help to adapt in any culture.
The first approach, in-depth knowledge of a particular culture, certainly
works. But there are two drawbacks. One is that you will never be able to
understand another culture completely. No matter how much you study German
culture, for example, you will never be a German or share the experiences
of having grown up in Germany. Even if we could understand the culture
completely, Germans might resent our assumption that we know everything
there is to know about them. The other drawback to immersing yourself in a
specific culture is the trap of overgeneralization, looking at people from
a culture not as individuals with their own unique characteristics, but as
instances of Germans or Japanese or black Americans. The trick is to learn
useful general information but to be open to variations and individual
differences.
The second approach to cultural learning, general development of
intercultural skills, is especially useful if we interact with people from
a variety of cultures or subcultures. Among the skills you need to learn
are the following:
• Taking responsibility for communication. Don't assume that it is the
other person's job to communicate with you.
• Withholding judgment. Learn to listen to the whole story and to accept
differences in others.
• Showing respect. Learn the ways in which respect is communicated—
through gestures, eye contact, and so on — in various cultures.
• Empathizing. Try to put yourself in the other person's shoes. Listen
carefully to what the other person is trying to communicate; imagine the
person's feelings and point of view.
• Tolerating ambiguity. Learn to control your frustration when placed in
an unfamiliar or confusing situation.
• Looking beyond the superficial. Don't be distracted by such things as
dress, appearance, or environmental discomforts.
• Being patient and persistent. If you want to accomplish a task, don't
give up easily.
• Recognizing your own cultural biases. Learn to identify when your
assumptions are different from the other person's.
• Being flexible. Be prepared to change your habits, preferences, and
attitudes.
• Emphasizing common ground. Look for similarities to work from.
• Sending clear messages. Make your verbal and non-verbal messages
consistent.
• Taking risks. Try things that will help you gain a better understanding
of the other person or culture.
• Increasing your cultural sensitivity. Learn about variations in customs
and practices so that you will be more aware of potential areas for
miscommunication or misunderstanding.
• Dealing with the individual. Avoid stereotyping and overgeneralization.
DIFFICULTIES OF INTERCULTURAL BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
The more differences there are between the people who are communicating,
the more difficult it is to communicate effectively. The major problems in
inter-cultural business communication are language barriers, cultural
differences, and ethnocentric reactions.
LANGUAGE BARRIERS
If we're doing business in London, we obviously won't have much of a
language problem. We may encounter a few unusual terms or accents in the 29
countries in which English is an official language, but our problems will
be relatively minor. Language barriers will also be relatively minor when
we are dealing with people who use English as a second language (and some
650 million people fall into this category). Some of these millions are
extremely fluent; others have only an elementary command of English.
Although you may miss a few subtleties in dealing with those who are less
fluent in English, we’ll still be able to communicate. The pitfall to watch
for is assuming that the other person understands everything we say, even
slang, local idioms, and accents. One group of English-speaking Japanese
who moved to the United States as employees of Toyota had to enroll in a
special course to learn that "Jeat yet?" means "Did you eat yet?" and that
"Cannahepya?" means "Can I help you?"
The real problem with language arises when we are dealing with people who
speak virtually no English. In situations like this, we have very few
options: We can learn their language, we can use an intermediary or a
translator, or we can teach them our language. Becoming fluent in a new
language (which we must do to conduct business in that language) is time
consuming. The U.S. State Department, for example, gives its Foreign
Service officers a six-month language training program and expects them to
continue their language education at their foreign posts. Even the Berlitz
method, which is famous for the speed of its results, requires a month of
intensive effort — 13 hours a day, 5 days a week. It is estimated that
minimum proficiency in another language requires at least 240 hours of
study over 8 weeks; more complex languages, such as Arabic and Chinese,
require more than 480 hours. Language courses can be quite expensive as
well. Unless we are planning to spend several years abroad or to make
frequent trips over an extended period, learning another language may take
more time, effort, and money than we're able to spend.
A more practical approach may be to use an intermediary or a translator.
For example, if our company has a foreign subsidiary, we can delegate the
communication job to local nationals who are bilingual. Or we can hire
bilingual advertising consultants, distributors, lobbyists, lawyers,
translators, and other professionals to help us. Even though Vons operates
within the United States, management hires bilingual personnel to help its
Hispanic customers feel more comfortable.
The option of teaching other people to speak our language doesn't appear
to be very practical at first glance; however, many multinational companies
do, in fact, have language training programs for their foreign employees.
Tenneco, for example, instituted an English-language training program for
its Spanish-speaking employees in a New Jersey plant. The classes
concentrated on practical English for use on the job. According to the
company, these classes were a success: Accidents and grievances declined,
and productivity improved.
In general, the magnitude of the language barrier depends on whether you
are writing or speaking. Written communication is generally easier to
handle.
Barriers to written communication
One survey of 100 companies engaged in international business revealed
that between 95 and 99 percent of their business letters to other countries
are written in English. Moreover, 59 percent of the respondents reported
that the foreign letters they receive are usually written in English,
although they also receive letters written in Spanish and French. Other
languages are rare in international business correspondence.
Because many international business letters are written in English,
