2. Communicating in a World of Diversity
Chapter 3
Communicating in a World of Diversity
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3. Learning Objectives
Discuss the opportunities and challenges of intercultural communication
Define culture, explain how culture is learned, and define ethnocentrism and stereotyping
Explain the importance of recognizing cultural variations, and list eight categories of cultural differences
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After studying this chapter, you will be able to do the following:
1. Discuss the opportunities and challenges of intercultural communication
2. Define culture, explain how culture is learned, and define ethnocentrism and stereotyping
3. Explain the importance of recognizing cultural variations, and list eight categories of cultural differences
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4. Learning Objectives
List four general guidelines for adapting to any business culture
Identify seven steps you can take to improve your intercultural communication skills
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
4. List four general guidelines for adapting to any business culture
5. Identify seven steps you can take to improve your intercultural communication skills
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5. Communicating in a Diverse World
The Concept of
Diversity
Intercultural
Communication
Individual Characteristics
Cultural Backgrounds
Personal Experiences
Cultural Differences
Although the concept is often framed in terms of ethnic background, a broader and more useful definition of diversity includes all the characteristics and experiences that define each of us as individuals. As you will learn in this chapter, these characteristics and experiences can have a profound effect on the way businesspeople communicate.
Intercultural communication is the process of sending and receiving messages between people whose cultural backgrounds could lead them to interpret verbal messages and nonverbal cues differently. Every attempt to send and receive messages is influenced by culture, so to communicate successfully, you will need a basic grasp of the cultural differences you may encounter and how you might handle them.
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6. Opportunities in a Global Marketplace
Competition
Growth
Revenues
Chances are good that you will be looking across international borders sometime in your career. Thanks to communication and transportation technologies, natural boundaries or national borders are no longer impassable barriers. Local markets are opening to worldwide competition as businesses of all sizes look for new growth opportunities outside their own countries. Moreover, thousands of U.S. businesses depend on exports for significant portions of their revenues.
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7. Advantages of a Diverse Workforce
Connecting with Customers
Expanding the Talent Pool
Broader Spectrum of Viewpoints
Understand and Identify with Diverse Markets
Diversity is simply a fact of life for all companies. Even if you never visit another country or transact business on a global scale, you will interact with colleagues from a variety of cultures with a wide range of characteristics and life experiences. Over the past few decades, many innovative companies have changed the way that they approach diversity, from seeing it as a legal requirement to seeing it as a strategic opportunity to connect with customers and take advantage of the broadest possible pool of talent.
Smart business leaders recognize the competitive advantages of a diverse workforce that offers a broader spectrum of viewpoints and ideas, helps companies understand and identify with diverse markets, and enables companies to benefit from a wider range of employee talents
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8. Challenges of Intercultural Communication
Workplace Diversity
Motivation
Communication
Cooperation
Backgrounds
Outlooks
Experiences
Attitudes
Today’s increasingly diverse workforce encompasses a wide range of skills, traditions, backgrounds, experiences, outlooks, and attitudes toward work—all of which can affect employee behavior on the job. Supervisors face the challenge of communicating (or connecting) with diverse employees, motivating them, and fostering cooperation and harmony among them. Teams face the challenge of working together closely, and companies are challenged to coexist peacefully with business partners and with the community as a whole.
Intercultural communication is much more complicated than simply matching language between senders and receivers. It goes beyond mere words to encompass beliefs, values, and emotions. To a large degree, your culture influences the way you communicate as both a sender and a receiver. The greater the difference between cultures, the greater the chance for misunderstanding.
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9. Understanding The Concept of Culture
Symbols
Attitudes
Beliefs
Expectations
Values
Norms
Shared System
Behaviors
Priorities
For the purposes of communication, culture can be defined as a shared system of symbols, beliefs, attitudes, values, expectations, and norms for behavior. In other words, your cultural background influences the way that you prioritize what is important in life, helps define your attitude toward what is appropriate behavior in any given situation, and establishes rules of behavior.
You belong to several cultures. The most obvious is the culture that you share with all the people who live in your own country. In addition, you belong to other cultural groups, including an ethnic group, probably a religious group, and perhaps a profession that has its own special language and customs.
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10. Learning Culture Cultural Assumptions Automatic Coherent Complete
Thinking
Behaving
Communicating
Automatic
Coherent
Complete
Members of a given culture tend to have similar assumptions about how people should think, behave, and communicate. Furthermore, they all tend to act on those cultural assumptions in much the same way.
People learn culture directly and indirectly from other members of their group. As you grow up in a culture, you are taught who you are and how best to function in that culture by the group’s members. Sometimes you are told which behaviors are acceptable; at other times, you learn by observing which values work best in a particular group. This double-edged format for learning ensures that culture is passed on from person to person and from generation to generation. It also ensures that you are often unaware of the influence of your own culture, so you act and react automatically.
In addition to being automatic, established cultures tend to be coherent; that is, they are fairly logical and consistent throughout. For instance, the notion of progress is deeply embedded in the culture of the United States.
Cultures also tend to be complete; that is, they provide most of their members with most of the answers to life’s big questions. This idea of completeness can dull or suppress curiosity about life in other cultures.
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11. Overcoming Negative Cultural Attitudes
Ethnocentrism
Xenophobia
Stereotyping
The very nature of culture being automatic, coherent, and complete can lead the members of one culture to form rigid, oversimplified views of other cultures.
Ethnocentrism is the tendency to judge all other groups according to your own group’s standards, behaviors, and customs. When making such comparisons, people too often decide that their group is superior. An even more extreme reaction is xenophobia, a fear of strangers and foreigners. Clearly, businesspeople who take these views will not interpret messages from other cultures correctly; they are also unlikely to send successful messages.
Stereotyping involves ascribing a wide range of generalized attributes to an individual on the basis of his or her membership in a particular culture or social group, without considering the individual’s unique characteristics. While ethnocentrism and xenophobia represent negative views of everyone in a particular group, stereotyping is more a matter of oversimplifying and failing to acknowledge individuality.
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12. Recognizing Variations in a Diverse World
Contextual
Legal and
Ethical
Social
Nonverbal
Signals
Gender
Age
Religion
Ability
Intercultural communication breakdowns occur for a variety of reasons, from simple carelessness to assuming that other people’s attitudes and lives are like yours. Part of the problem stems from treating others the way you want to be treated. The best approach when communicating with people from other cultures is to treat them the way they want to be treated.
You can begin to learn how people in other cultures want to be treated by recognizing and accommodating eight main types of cultural differences: contextual, legal and ethical, social, nonverbal signals, gender, age, religion, and ability.
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13. Contextual Differences
Decision-Making Practices
Problem-Solving Techniques
Negotiating Styles
Low
Context
High
People assign meaning to a message according to cultural context: physical cues, environmental stimuli, and implicit understandings that convey meaning between two members of the same culture. However, cultures around the world vary widely in the role that context plays in communication.
In a high-context culture, people rely less on verbal communication and more on the context of nonverbal actions and environmental settings to convey meaning. In a low-context culture, people rely more on verbal communication and less on contextual cues.
In lower-context cultures, businesspeople try to reach decisions as quickly and efficiently as possible. They are concerned with reaching an agreement on the main points, leaving the details to be worked out later by others. However, this approach would backfire in higher-context cultures where executives may assume that anyone who ignores the details is untrustworthy.
Cultures differ in their tolerance for disagreement when solving problems. Low-context businesspeople typically enjoy confrontation and debate, but high-context businesspeople shun such tactics.
Members of low-context cultures see their negotiating goals in economic terms. To high-context negotiators, immediate economic gains are secondary to establishing and maintaining long-term relationships.
Of course, the distinctions between high and low context noted here are generalizations; however, they are important to keep in mind as guidelines.
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14. Legal and Ethical Differences
Seek Mutual Ground
Withhold Judgment
Respect Differences
Send Honest Messages
As you conduct business around the world, you will find that legal systems differ from culture to culture. These differences can be
particularly Important if your firm must communicate about a legal dispute in another country. When communicating across cultures,
keep your messages ethical by applying four basic principles:
Actively seek mutual ground.
Send and receive messages without judgment.
Show respect for cultural differences.
Send messages that are honest.
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15. Social Differences Work and Success Roles and Status Use of Manners
Concepts
of Time
Future
Orientation
Openness and
Inclusiveness
The nature of social behavior varies among cultures, sometimes dramatically. These behaviors are guided by social rules that can vary from culture to culture in the areas discussed below. The predominant U.S. view is that money solves many problems, that material comfort is a sign of superiority, and that people who work hard are better than those who do not. Culture dictates the roles people play, including who communicates with whom, what they communicate, and in what way. Culture also dictates how people show respect and signify status.
What is polite in one culture may be considered rude in another. Therefore, the concept of good manners varies widely from culture to culture.
Conducting business involves schedules, deadlines, and appointments, but these matters are regarded differently from culture to culture.
Successful companies tend to have a strong future orientation, planning for and investing in the future; however, national cultures around the world vary widely in this viewpoint. At both the national level and within smaller groups, cultures vary on how open they are to accepting people from other cultures or those who do not fit the prevailing norms within the culture. An unwillingness to accommodate others can range from outright exclusion to subtle pressures to conform to the expectations of the majority.
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16. Nonverbal Differences
Formality
Posture
Eye Contact
Facial
Expressions
Touching
Personal
Space
Greetings
From colors to facial expressions, nonverbal elements add yet another layer of richness and complexity to intercultural communication. When you
have the opportunity to interact with people in another culture, the best advice is to study the culture in advance, then observe the way people
behave in the following areas:
Greetings. Do people shake hands, bow, kiss lightly (on one side of the face or both)?
Personal space. When people are conversing, do they stand closer together or farther away than you are accustomed to?
Touching. Do people touch each other on the arm to emphasize a point or slap each other on the back to show congratulations? Or do they refrain from touching altogether?
Facial expressions. Do people shake their heads to indicate “no” and nod to indicate “yes”? This is what people are accustomed to in the United States, but it is not universal.
Eye contact. Do people make frequent eye contact or avoid it? Frequent eye contact is often taken as a sign of honesty and openness in the United States, but in other cultures it can be a sign of aggressiveness or lack of respect.
Posture. Do people slouch and relax in the office and in public, or do they sit up straight?
Formality. In general, does the culture seem more or less formal than yours?
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17. Age Differences Youth-Oriented Senior-Oriented Multi-Generational
In some cultures (such as the U.S.), youth is associated with strength, energy, possibilities, and freedom. In contrast, age is often associated with declining powers and a loss of respect and authority—even though older workers can offer broader experience, the benefits of important business relationships nurtured over many years, and high degrees of “practical intelligence.” In cultures that value age and seniority, longevity earns respect and increasing power and freedom. For instance, in many Asian societies, the oldest employees hold the most powerful jobs, the most impressive titles, and the greatest degree of freedom and decision-making authority.
In addition to cultural values associated with various life stages, the multiple generations within a culture present another dimension of diversity. Today’s workplaces can have as many as four distinct generations working side by side:
Traditionalists (born before 1946)
Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964)
Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980)
Generation Y (born after 1980)
Each of these generations was shaped by dramatically different world events and social trends, so it is not surprising that they often have different values, expectations, and communication habits. As with all cultural matters, successful communication starts with understanding the gaps between the two sides.
Youth-Oriented
Senior-Oriented
Multi-Generational
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18. Existing Company Cultures
Gender Differences
The perception of men and women in business also varies from culture to culture. In the United States today, women find a much wider range of business opportunities than existed just a few decades ago. However, this is not the case in more tradition-oriented societies, where men tend to hold most or all of the positions of authority and women are expected to play a more subservient role.
As more women enter the workforce and take on positions of increasing responsibility, it is important for company leaders to revisit assumptions and practices. For instance, company cultures that have been dominated by men for years may have adopted communication habits that some women have difficulty relating to—such as the frequent use of sports metaphors or the acceptance of coarse language.
Whatever the culture, evidence suggests that men and women tend to have slightly different communication styles. Broadly speaking, men tend to emphasize content in their communication efforts whereas women place a higher premium on relationship maintenance. This difference can create friction when two parties in a conversation have different needs and expectations from the interchange.
Communication Styles
Existing Company Cultures
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19. Religious Differences
Personal Beliefs
Workplace Issues
The effort to accommodate employees’ life interests on a broader scale has led companies to address the issue of religion in the workplace. As one of the most personal and influential aspects of life, religion does bring potential for controversy in a work setting. On the one hand, some employees feel they should be able to express their beliefs in the workplace and not be forced to “check their faith at the door” when they come to work. On the other hand, companies want to avoid situations in which openly expressed religious differences might cause friction between employees or distract employees from their responsibilities.
As more companies seek to establish inclusive workplaces, and as more employees seek to integrate religious convictions into their daily work, you can expect to see this issue being discussed at many companies in the coming years.
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20. Assistive Technologies
Ability Differences
Assistive Technologies
Customers
Colleagues
Employees
Colleagues and customers with disabilities that affect communication represent another important aspect of the diversity picture. As with other elements of diversity, success starts with respect for individuals and sensitivity to differences. Furthermore, employers can invest in a variety of assistive technologies that help people with disabilities perform activities that might otherwise be difficult or impossible.
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21. Adapting to Other Cultures
Personal Biases
Patience and a
Sense of Humor
Tolerance, Respect,
and Flexibility
The “Golden Rule”
Culture is obviously a complex topic. Here are four general guidelines that can help all business communicators improve their cultural competency:
Become aware of your own biases. Successful intercultural communication requires more than just an understanding of the other party’s culture; you need to understand your own culture and the way it shapes your communication habits.
Ignore the “Golden Rule.” You probably heard this growing up: “Treat people the way you want to be treated.” The problem with the Golden Rule is that it assumes other people want to be treated the same way you want to be treated. This is not always the case, particularly across cultural boundaries. The best approach: treat people the way they want to be treated.
Exercise tolerance, respect, and flexibility. As IBM’s Ron Glover puts it, “To the greatest extent possible we try to manage our people and our practices in ways that are respectful of the core principles of any given country, organization, or culture.”
Practice patience and maintain a sense of humor. Even the most committed and attuned business professionals can make mistakes during intercultural communication, so it is vital for all parties to be patient with one another. A sense of humor is a helpful asset as well, allowing people to move past awkward and embarrassing moments.
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22. U.S. Business Culture Individualism Equality Time and Schedules
Religious
Beliefs
Privacy and
Personal Space
Communication
Styles
If you are a recent immigrant to the U.S. or grew up in a culture outside the U.S. mainstream, here are some key points to remember as you become accustomed to business communication in this country:
Individualism. In contrast to cultures that value group harmony and group success, U.S. culture expects individuals to succeed by their own efforts, and it rewards individual success. Even though teamwork is emphasized in many companies, competition between individuals is expected.
Equality. Although the country’s historical record on equality has not always been positive and inequalities still exist, equality is considered a core American value. To a greater degree than many other cultures, Americans believe that every person should be given the opportunity to pursue whatever dreams and goals he or she may have in life.
Privacy and personal space. People in this country are accustomed to a fair amount of privacy, and this includes their “personal space” at work.
Time and schedules. In the U.S., businessmen and businesswomen value punctuality and the efficient use of time. For instance, meetings are expected to start and end at designated times.
Religion. The U.S. does not have an official religion. Many different religions are practiced throughout the country, and people are expected to respect each other’s beliefs.
Communication style. Communication tends to be direct and focused on content and transactions, not relationships or group harmony.
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23. Improving Intercultural Communication
Overcome Ethnocentrism
Recognize Cultural Variations
Enhance Sensitivity to Culture & Diversity
Figure 3.2 Components of Successful Intercultural
Communicating in a diverse business environment is not always an easy task, but you can continue to improve your sensitivity and build your skills as you progress in your career.
Studying other cultures by effectively adapting your communication efforts to another culture requires not only knowledge about the culture but also the ability and motivation to change your personal habits as needed.48 Fortunately, you don’t need to learn about the whole world all at once.
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24. Effectively Communicating Across Cultures
Study Other
Cultures
Respect Style
Preferences
Use Interpreters
and Translators
Write and Speak
Clearly
Listen Carefully
Help Others Adapt
Effectively adapting your communication efforts to another culture requires not only knowledge about the culture but also both the ability and the motivation to change your personal habits as needed. Moreover, a thorough knowledge of another culture and its language—or languages—can take years to acquire. Fortunately, you do not need to learn about the whole world all at once.
Even a small amount of research and practice will help you to get through many business situations. Most people respond positively to honest effort and good intentions, and many business associates will help you along if you show an interest in learning more about their cultures.
As shown in Table 3.1 in your textbook, here are some key issues to research before doing business in another country:
Social customs
Clothing and food preferences
Political patterns
Religion and social beliefs
Economic and business institutions
Ethics, values, and laws
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25. Doing Business in Other Cultures
Understand Social Customs
Learn About Clothing & Food Preferences
Assess Political Patterns
Understand Religious & Social Beliefs
Learn About Economic & Business Groups
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26. Studying Other Languages
Facilitate
Communication
Promote Business Relationships
As commerce continues to globalize, the demand for multilingual communicators also continues to grow. A number of U.S. companies are teaching their English-speaking employees a second language to facilitate communication with customers and co-workers.
Even if your colleagues or customers in another country do speak your language, it is worth the time and energy to learn common phrases in their language. Learning the basics not only helps you get through everyday business and social situations but also demonstrates your commitment to the business relationship.
Finally, do not assume that two countries speaking the same language speak it the same way. For example, it is often said that the United States and the United Kingdom are two countries divided by a common language.
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27. Respecting Communication Preferences
Degree of Formality
Level of Directness
Communication style—including the level of directness and the degree of formality—varies widely from culture to culture. Knowing what your communication partners expect can help you adapt to their particular styles.
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28. Writing Clearly Clear Language Transitional Elements Numbers and Dates
Humor and Culture
Conciseness
International Addresses
Slang, Jargon, or Idioms
Audience Expectations
When sending written communication to businesspeople from another culture, familiarize yourself with their written communication preferences and adapt your approach, style, and tone to meet their expectations. To help you prepare effective written communications for multicultural audiences, follow these recommendations:
Use clear, simple language.
Be concise (brief). Use simple sentences and short paragraphs.
Use transitional elements to help readers follow your train of thought.
Address international correspondence properly.
Cite numbers and dates carefully.
Avoid slang, idiomatic phrases, and business jargon.
Avoid humor and other references to popular culture.
Meet the expectations of your audience.
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29. Intercultural Business Letter Excerpts
Business message excerpt conforming to Chinese practices
Dear Mr. Li:-> The salutation uses a colon rather than a comma.
Our market tests show strong potential for demand among younger consumers, who are often eager to try new products. We are now looking for a manufacturing partner, and we are very willing to collaborate with you. - > The phrase “we are very willing to collaborate with you” shows respect for the reader and suggests the interest in forming a partnership.
Please share your company’s philosophy and strategies for minimizing these two concerns. -> “Minimizing” is easier for a non-native speaker to understand rather than a word like “mitigating.”
Figure 3.3c Intercultural Business Letter: Final RevisionHere is the final English version, revised to ensure more successful translation into Chinese and to conform to standard practices in Chinese business communication (including removing the inside address).
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30. Speaking and Listening
Languages vary considerably in the significance of tone, pitch, speed, and volume. When talking with people whose native language is different from yours, remember that the processing of even everyday conversations can be difficult.
The following guidelines can help you to be a more effective speaker during intercultural conversations: (1) speak slowly and clearly; (2) do not rephrase until it is obviously necessary; (3) look for and ask for feedback to make sure your message is getting through; (4) do not talk down to the other person by overenunciating words or oversimplifying sentences; and (5) at the end of the conversation, double check to make sure that you and the listener agree on what has been said and decided.
As a listener, you will need some practice to get a sense of vocal patterns. The key is simply to accept what you hear first, without jumping to conclusions about meaning or motivation. Let other people finish what they have to say. If you interrupt, you may miss something important. You will also show a lack of respect. If you do not understand a comment, ask the person to repeat it. Any momentary awkwardness you might feel in asking for extra help is less important than the risk of unsuccessful communication.
Intercultural Conversations
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31. Interpreters & Translators
Computers
Human Beings
Cultural Context
Nonverbal Cues
Interpretation
Words & Phrases
Gist of the Message
Translation Tools
You may encounter business situations that require using an interpreter (for spoken communication) or a translator (for written communication).
An experienced translator can analyze a message, understand its meaning in the cultural context, interpret how to convey the meaning in another language, and then use verbal and nonverbal signals to encode or decode the message.
The time and cost required for professional translation has encouraged the development of translation software. Although software tools cannot promise translation quality on par with human translators, they can be quite useful with individual words and short phrases, and they provide the overall gist of a message.
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32. Helping Others Adapt Business Communication Offer Useful Advice
Simplify
the Process
Business
Communication
Whether a younger person is unaccustomed to the formalities of a large corporation or a colleague from another country is working on a team with you, look for opportunities to help people fit in and adapt their communication style. For example, if a non-native English speaker is making mistakes that could hurt his or her credibility, you can offer advice on the appropriate words and phrases to use. Most language learners truly appreciate this sort of assistance, as long as it is offered in a respectful manner. Moreover, chances are that while you are helping, you will learn something about the other person’s culture and language, too.
You can also take steps to simplify the communication process. For example, oral communication in a second language is usually more difficult than written forms of communication, so instead of asking a foreign colleague to provide information during a conference call, you could set up an intranet site where the person can file a written report. Similarly, using instant messaging, , or blogging is often easier for colleagues with different native languages than participating in live conversations.
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33. Summary of Objectives
This concludes the PowerPoint presentation on Chapter 3, “Communicating in a World of Diversity.” During this presentation, we have accomplished the following learning objectives:
1.Discussed the opportunities and challenges of intercultural communication
2.Defined culture, explained how culture is learned, and defined ethnocentrism and stereotyping
3.Explained the importance of recognizing cultural variations and listed eight categories of cultural differences
4.Listed four general guidelines for adapting to any business culture
5.Identified seven steps you can take to improve your intercultural communication skills
For more information about these topics, refer to Chapter 3 in Excellence in Business Communication.
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