Effects of Culture Diversity in Business Communications
Course: Interpersonal Communication (PSY 1023)
Professor: Terry Peddlesden
Author: Sze Chun Pang (c0628538)
Date: October 6, 2014
Introduction
Nowadays, in the time of globalization, different types and levels of cross-cultural communications are now increasing constantly and appearing frequently in negotiations, trades and social events. As a result, culture has become significantly important in the field of business communications. However, the cultural differences among people often lead to incomplete information and even unnecessary some misunderstandings and embarrassments. In the worst case, they may also cause disagreements and contradictions, affecting the efficiency
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In the field of international business communications, people always come from different countries and areas with different prospective on political system, habits, religious beliefs and education backgrounds. They have different or even opposite understandings on the same thing. Chinese philosopher Confucius from 2500 years ago said “The differences in the characters of men are chiefly owing to habit. By nature, men are nearly alike; by practice, they get to be wide apart” could totally explain the concept.
There are many types of cultural differences in business communications. The major ones may include the sense of time, sense of space, sense of values and ethics and interpersonal communications. American anthropologist and cross-cultural researcher, Edward T. Hall mentioned that every culture is affected by the manner in which time, context and space are handled.
Sense of time
People from different cultures have different expectations on and methods to cope with time. Edward T. Hall has separated them into two: Monochronic and
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For example, the number “4”, is very alert to Japanese and Chinese. In events, we should aware of things such as the quantities of the gifts and levels and numbers of the hotel rooms.
Conclusion
As a result, we can see that culture diversity takes an essential role in business communications. In the trend of globalizations, cross-cultural negotiations are being more and more often which we could not avoid anymore. We have to make some clear understandings on different forms of culture diversity and find the ways to overcome them. With the skills on dealing those problems, the effectiveness in communications and the competitiveness of the company would definitely increase.
Bibliography
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Time, Context and Space. (n.d.). Benet Davetian 's Sociology Web. Retrieved October 5, 2014, from http://www.bdavetian.com/3%20TIME%20CONTEXT%20SPACE.htm
Hall 's cultural factors. (n.d.). ChangingMinds.org. Retrieved October 5, 2014, from
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The Challange of Cultural Diversity in Corporate America The expanding conflict over cultural diversity in corporate America may present as many opportunities and problems as affirmative action. Today, cultural diversity is an important fact of life and business, due to the changing face of society, and therefore, the work place. It is growing ever more essential for people to interact with others outside of their racial, ethical, religious, regional, social, etc. boundaries. To stay on top of their competitors, corporations must change their approach, and see diversity not as a necessary evil, but as a source of enrichment and opportunity that may bring a wealth of benefits to the company.
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The frequent situations of misunderstandings in intercultural communication may be more common then one may believe. The potential for misunderstandings between two different cultures communicating is very high. Through such things as idioms, translation errors, and wrong body language communicative skills can be incorrect. When these intercultural mistakes occur between the people speaking or moving it may be perceived by the opposite culture as funny, rude or confusing. With these considerations in mind, the combination of possibilities for misinterpretations is increasingly elevated.
When individuals or groups from different cultures communicate, this process is called intercultural communication. The transaction process of listening and responding to people from different cultural backgrounds can be challenging. The greater the difference in culture between two people, the greater the potential of misunderstanding and mistrust. Misunderstanding and miscommunication occur between people from different cultures because of different coding rules and cultural norms, which play a major role in shaping the patterns of interaction (Jandt, 2012).
... maintained over lengthy periods of time, a more comprehensive approach to understanding the subjective interpretations of communication partners could help an intercultural partnership enhance their working relationship (Heffernan, 2008). In a sense, miscommunication and conflict could be not only minimized but hypothetically avoided all-together by communication partners. The possibility of this phenomenon could make Communication Accommodation Theory an inviting prospect for researchers interested in the development of cross cultural communication practices, organizations operating over-seas, and individuals who engage in intercultural discourse on a regular basis. The practicality of CAT in addressing the causes of intercultural conflict management, could make a significant impact on the way modern business and social interactions are conducted across the world.
Understand and heed cultural differences - cultural variables in transacting international business. (1991, January 28). Business America. FindArticles.com., Retrieved March 20, 2009, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1052/is_n2_v112/ai_10412261/pg_4?tag=content;col1
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Miller, K. (2012). Cultural Approaches. In Organizational communication: Approaches and processes (6.th ed., p. 81 to 93). Boston, Mass: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
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