 Cross-Cultural Communication and Negotiation  Prestige Worldwide

 Many MNC’s now prescribe English as the common language for international communication  Being fluent in the language for a country is helpful but also need skills Ability to interact with others Technical knowledge demanded by the job

 Research by Sims and Guis about letter writing Non-native speakers of English tended to use over exaggeration while writing letters. English speaker writing letters in Korean seemed to be overly direct and rude -Korean’s writing in english seemed vague and skirting around the point

 Perception – A persons view of reality.  Often times Problems in Miscommunication between companies and people of foreign countries. Advertising messages Exp. Ford “Fiera” truck in Spanish speaking countries, “Fiera” is slang for ugly old woman

 Perceptions influence how people “see” one another. American think themselves friendly, after the war on Iraq in 9/11 other countries didn’t think so. Western manager have more favorable attitudes toward women managers, influences their interaction with women. Asian, Saudi, and Japanese managers still regard women as superfluous do not treat them as equals

 Crayola Article Crayola Article “Five Times Crayola Fired Their Crayons” by Paul Davidson Crayola Crayons were first introduced in 1903 and have adapted to an ever-changing World. Crayola has facilities in 6 countries Flesh crayon changes to peach Prussian Blue becomes midnight blue Indian Red becomes chestnut

 Culture can affect communication in a number of ways.  Cultural Values People in different countries communicate in a different way. Jobs that coincide with a person’s class. Negotiating with managers from other cultures. The way that people use time. Various values are reinforced and reflected in proverbs that Americans are taught from an early age.

 Table 7-5 U.S. Proverbs Representing Cultural Values

 Culture can affect communication in a number of ways  Misinterpretation Businesspeople in different cultures address each other in different ways. Day-to-day activities in corporate communications. Interpreting the effect of national values on work behavior.

 Suggestions that can be of value to American managers who are engaged in international communications include: Be careful not to use generalized statements about benefits, compensation, pay cycles, holidays, or policies in your worldwide communications. Work hours, vacation accrual, general business practices, and human resource issues vary widely from country to country. Since most of the world uses the metric system, be sure to include converted weights and measures in all internal and external communications. Keep in mind that even in English-speaking countries, words may have different meanings. Not everyone knows what is meant by “counterclockwise,” or “quite good.” Remember that letterhead and paper sizes differ worldwide. The 8 ½ X 11 inch page is a U.S. standard, but most countries use an A4 ( 8 ¼ X 11 ½ inch) size for their letterhead, with envelopes to match. Dollars are not unique to the United States. There are Australian, Bermudian, Canadian, Hong Kong, Taiwanese, and New Zealand dollars, among others. So when referring to American dollars, it is important to use “US$.”

 Kinesics  Proxemics  Chronemics  Chromatics

 Study of communication through body movement and facial expressions.  Oculesics – communicating through use of eye contact  Haptics – communicating through use of bodily contact

 Study of the way that people use the physical space around them to convey messages  Intimate distance  Personal distance  Social distance  Public distance  Middle East vs. Americans

 The way in which time is used in the culture.  Monochronic – linear: time is important and viewed as controllable and should be used wisely  Polychronic – characterized by people tending to do several things at once and placing higher value on personal involvement.  Meetings in monochronic cultures vs. meetings in polychronic cultures

 The use of colors to communicate messages  Mourning: Black – US White – India  Wedding White – US Red – Hong Kong

 Half of executives at global companies believe language barriers have spoiled cross border deals and caused financial losses  Companies based in Brazil & China- most affected by misunderstandings  Lost productivity  Adopt English as an official language  89% language and custom challenges are stifling international plans