Communicating Across Cultures Communicating Across Cultures Seminar 5 Bus 476 – Intercultural Management Wendy R. Carroll, PhD.

Outline Communications and Cross-cultural Communications Understanding Misunderstandings Tips for Effective Cross Cultural Communications

Cross-Cultural Communications in Business Communicating effectively is central for business success. Challenges exist for managers when working domestically. These challenges are amplified when working in cross-cultural situations. This is especially so when various differences such as language and cultural background. Source: Alder, N (2007). International Dimensions of Organizational Behaviour, 5 th Edition.

Source: Chapter 7, Nancy Langton and Stephen P. Robbins, Organizational Behaviour, Fourth Canadian Edition, 2007 Pearson Education Canada Encodes the message Chooses the channel Chooses a message Provides feedback Decodes the message SenderReceiver Considers the receiver Considers the sender The Communications Process Model This process becomes more complex when across cultures

Cross-cultural Communications Occurs when a person from one culture sends a message to a person from another culture. Miscommunication is a product of the receiver decoding the message in a way that it was not intended. The greater the difference between the two cultures, the greater the risk of miscommunication. Cross-cultural communication involves misunderstandings caused by: –misperceptions –misinterpretation –misevaluation Source: Alder, N (2007). International Dimensions of Organizational Behaviour, 5 th Edition.

Cross-cultural Misperceptions Perceptual Patterns are: –Learned: experiences teaches us how we perceive the world around us. –Culturally determined: we see the world based on the cultural background we have developed. –Consistent: we see something one way and we continue to see it that way over time. –Inaccurate: we create filters over time that block and distort the way we see things. Source: Alder, N (2007). International Dimensions of Organizational Behaviour, 5 th Edition.

Quickly Count the “F”s in this Sentence Source: Alder, N (2007). International Dimensions of Organizational Behaviour, 5 th Edition. FINISHED FILES ARE THE RESULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTIFIC STUDY COMBINED WITH THE EXPERIENCE OF YEARS.

Cross-cultural Misperceptions Once we see a phenomena in a certain way, we tend to see it that way over and over again. Our filters also distort – in other words, we may see things that don’t actually exist. Source: Alder, N (2007). International Dimensions of Organizational Behaviour, 5 th Edition. Known to Self Unknown to Self Known to Others Unknown to Others OpenAreaBlindArea UnknownArea HiddenArea OpenAreaBlindArea HiddenAreaUnknownArea DisclosureFeedback Johari’s Window Source: McShane, Canadian Organizational Behaviour, 5 th Ed, 2004

Cross-cultural Misinterpretations Occurs when a person assigns meaning to what they see and what others do. Interpretation makes sense out of what we see. Based on our experiences we make assumptions and then interpreted the event or situation. We categorize – place things into categories to help us make sense of the situation. This can be counterproductive if we place people or observed events into the wrong group. We stereotype – a form of categorization that organizes our experiences and guides our behaviour. Source: Alder, N (2007). International Dimensions of Organizational Behaviour, 5 th Edition.

Sources of Misinterpretation Subconscious Cultural Blinders –We are often unaware of the assumptions we are making of another culture. –These interpretations are usually at a subconscious level. –Our home-culture and experience in other cultures heavily influence our interpretation of events and situations. Lack of Cultural Self-awareness –The great challenge is for us to become aware of our own cultural conditioning. –Asking people from another country to describe business people from your own country is a powerful way to understand how they see you. Projected Similarity –The assumption that people are more alike than they are. Parochialism –The only way to see things is my way. Source: Alder, N (2007). International Dimensions of Organizational Behaviour, 5 th Edition.

Asking People to Describe Business People Source: Alder, N (2007). International Dimensions of Organizational Behaviour, 5 th Edition, p. 82. FranceJapanWestern Germany Great Britain Brazil IndustriousNationalisticEnergeticFriendlyIntelligent EnergeticFriendlyInventiveSelf-indulgentInventive DecisiveFriendlyEnergetic DecisiveRudeSophisticatedIndustrious FriendlySelf-indulgentIntelligentNationalistic When people from these countries were asked what Characteristics are most like Americans – they responded with the following:

Cross-cultural Misevaluations Cultural conditioning strongly affects evaluation. Evaluation involves making decisions about on the basis such as: –Good or bad –Reasonable or unreasonable –Pretty or ugly –Normal or abnormal We use our own culture’s standard for measurement and make judgments accordingly. Evaluations can hinder our ability to work well with people in other cultures. Source: Alder, N (2007). International Dimensions of Organizational Behaviour, 5 th Edition.

Tips for Cross-cultural Communications Understanding – uncover meaning Standing back from yourself If you don’t speak the language – –Verbal behaviour (clear, slow, speech; repetition; simple sentences) –Nonverbal behaviour (gestures; pauses; summaries) –Accurate interpretation (silence; assume differences not similarities) –Comprehension (understanding, checking comprehension) –Design (breaks, small modules, longer timeframes) –Motivation (encouragement; drawing out; reinforcement) Source: Alder, N (2007). International Dimensions of Organizational Behaviour, 5 th Edition.

Chapter 7, Nancy Langton and Stephen P. Robbins, Organizational Behaviour, Fourth Canadian Edition 7-14 Copyright © 2007 Pearson Education Canada Exhibit 7-2 – Information Richness of Communication Channels Source: Based on R. H. Lengel and R. L. Daft, “The Selection of Communication Media as an Executive Skill,” Academy of Management Executive, August 1988, pp ; and R. L. Daft and R. H. Lengel, “Organizational Information Requirements, Media Richness, and Structural Design,” Managerial Science, May 1996, pp Reproduced from R. L. Daft and R. A. Noe, Organizational Behavior (Forth Worth, TX: Harcourt, 2001), p. 311.

Seminar 5 Article #1: Using Films to Learn About the Nature of Cross-Cultural Stereotypes in Intercultural Business Communication Courses Key Concepts Since students in this generation have been brought up with technology (television, computers, etc), providing information via films will improve students’ retention of that information Two types of stereotypes: protected cognitive similarity & outgroup homogeneity effect. Projected cognitive similarity is when you think other people of another culture have the same values as your culture. Outgroup homogeneity is when you think members of other cultures are all the same Slumdog Millionaire was a good movie to use for intercultural learning and cross- cultural stereotypes Limitations Films may have some benefits for intercultural learning but a lot of the time the stereotypes that are featured in the movie may be inaccurate or negative. Creates & reinforces stereotypes Contributions Teaching your employees about stereotypes then they should be able to have constructive stereotyping as appose to dysfunctional stereotypes Managers may want to show videos at meetings instead of talking the whole time. Having a video engages the employees, keeps them stimulated, and keeps them focused on what’s being said.

Seminar: 5 Article 2: Key Concepts - This article discusses computer-mediated communication and the common cultural miscommunications that can occur as a result. The authors conducted an experiment examining how technical language violations and deviations from etiquette norms affect a recipient’s perceptions of an sender’s intelligence, agreeableness, extraversion, etc… During the exchanges the reader may form dispositional behavior explanations that could be a result of situational concerns. Limitations How a person perceives the sender is all dependant on the level of information they are given. If a cultural cue to the senders national identity is given discrimination could occur Contributions Encourage recipients to actively seek and obtain information about an sender’s context. This will help employees identify situational constraints that may affect teammates’ behavior. It is important for organizations ensure that employees immediately recognize cross-cultural collaborations as such. With this information in hand more effective communication and teamwork will occur

Seminar 5 Article #4: Key Concepts -The main focus of this article was to bring to light the fact that most international Public Relations firms do little to know scientific research to prepare them for reaching audiences of a different culture then their own. The majority of PR workers prefer to use intuition and gut feelings over any sort of formal research. -The article discusses the fact that many leading PR journals and texts seem to disregard or ignore Multicultural and cross- cultural communication and that this may be directly linked to the apparent lack of practice -The Author worries that the continued Americanization of the Global market may lead to the eventual trampling of foreign cultures through such things as ignorant PR practices. Limitations The Main limitation of this article is that all of the data and research are focus in the Asian Pacific market, so many of the topics and examples used don’t necessarily apply fully to the Global Market. -The majority of the Article is spent discussing the lack of Research done and not how to improve the situation and move forward. Contributions The article did provide 10 Types of research that can aid intercultural communication Secondary Data Research published journals or country specific websites. Highly time and cost effective Feedback - Through meetings, staff suggestions, informal discussions or local partners. Advisory Groups –effective way to gain direct information and advice from target audience representatives Chat Rooms-May take time to establish trust, however costs are extremely low, and feedback and be acquired in very little time Interviews-use key representatives of target demographics and conduct interviews in local languages Responsive Mechanisms - Incentive programs and toll free service lines to encourage employee feedback. Little cost required. Media Content Analysis – Can provide insights into local issues, concerns, policies and community viewpoints. It can provide vital information on local competitors and government plans Surveys – Hard copy or e-surveys. Use local languages. Help of professional research firm advised Focus Groups – Structured discussions groups of reps from target demographic. It provides detailed looks into concerns and attitudes. Ethnographic Studies – Unobtrusive observations of audience in home environment. This is recommended to anyone working with new culture..

Seminar 5 Article #4: Contributions Responsive Mechanisms - Incentive programs and toll free service lines to encourage employee feedback. Little cost required. Media Content Analysis – Can provide insights into local issues, concerns, policies and community viewpoints. It can provide vital information on local competitors and government plans Surveys – Hard copy or e-surveys. Use local languages. Help of professional research firm advised Focus Groups – Structured discussions groups of reps from target demographic. It provides detailed looks into concerns and attitudes. Ethnographic Studies – Unobtrusive observations of audience in home environment. This is recommended to anyone working with new culture.. The article did provide 10 Types of research that can aid intercultural communication Secondary Data Research published journals or country specific websites. Highly time and cost effective Feedback - Through meetings, staff suggestions, informal discussions or local partners. Advisory Groups –effective way to gain direct information and advice from target audience representatives Chat Rooms-May take time to establish trust, however costs are extremely low, and feedback and be acquired in very little time Interviews-use key representatives of target demographics and conduct interviews in local languages