5. Relationship between culture and communication.
Culture is compromised of many layers; it is one of the aspects in human life that helps to determine the way an individual thinks acts and interacts. Some of them are such as customs, arts, food and celebrations. Some parts are visible while others are hidden often the ice berg is used as a metaphor to explain this concept. The tip of the ice berg to the water level is directly visible while the under surface part is much bigger and hidden. While doing business or interacting with foreign people this hidden part of their underlying culture is understood by people. Every country has its own culture and varies from one another. In high context cultures such as South America, Asian and African
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Doing business with foreigners is challenging as one culture differs from another business etiquette, negotiations and even contracts are just of the few numerous elements of business practices that are influences by culture.
For example: The Chinese culture is of a high context culture and formality is very important and the hierarchy is a big part of their culture. It is very important to take this aspect into consideration when doing business with china while handing out or receiving a business card, it should always be with both hands otherwise wit will be considered rude or even not to look at it before putting
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It is their internal belief system that only them self know about how they really feel about everything.
In the 1st dimension, communication takes place instantaneously. One-to one
Face to face interactions, such as talking with someone next to you. This form is limited to our senses - mainly the strength of our voices and ears. And, both parties need to be present for the message to be transferred. Once out of earshot, communication can no longer take place. Sign language, light, flag and smoke signals all fit in this category because one needs to be within visual range to get the message.
One-to-many
From public speaking to rock concerts, these messages can be received by several listeners/viewers in one locale, such as a movie theater or stage, but only come from one entity that has control over the content. The receiver can choose only from what is available, and the communication is mostly one-way, except for audience reaction.
With technology, one-to-many messages are broadcast by, radio, cable or satellite. In this dimension, one sender can transmit a message to many, many receivers simultaneously around the world. But without a live audience, the feedback is more removed, an therefore the communication is even more
(2012) suggest that communication is a process that involves a sender, a receiver, a message and a channel. The sender and the receiver of the communication may be the professionals and the channels of communication may be through hand over’s, emails, phones calls, verbal discussion and other relevant communication channel
Cross-cultural communication occurs when people from different countries communicate and at least one person is a non-native speaker of the language they are speaking or writing in. Nonverbal cross-cultural communication forms are posters, brochures, television and radio ads, and newspapers (Dong & Liu, 2015, pp. 21-22). Following a cultural list of “dos and do nots” is not enough to ensure that employees communicate effectively with one another because each person’s culture impacts not only the words actually spoken but also how the listener responds to what is
Culture is not something that you carry in your DNA. It is not about genetics, it is about being born into a society with certain cultural characteristics. From the moment that you are born, you start learning about culture throughout the course of your life. You gain knowledge of culture from your parents, grandparents, friends, teachers in school and so on. Cultural characteristics refer to the elements that define individuals. Some of these characteristics consist of beliefs, values, norms and social practices. In the next paragraphs you will find a better definition of each cultural characteristic and how they influence verbal and non-verbal communication.
The United States is a country with a diverse existing population today; this country is known as a melting pot of different cultures, each one unique in its own respect. Culture; differentiate one societal group from another by identification beliefs, behaviors, language, traditions, Art, fashion styles, food, religion, politics, and economic systems. Through lifelong, ever changing processes of learning, creativity, and sharing culture shapes our patterns of behavior as well thinking. The Culture’s significance is so intense that it touches almost every aspect of who and what we are. Culture becomes the telescope through which we perceive and evaluate what is going on around us. Trying to define the perplexing term of culture with varying component of distinguishable characteristics is difficult to restrict. Presenly, culture is viewed as consisting primarily of the symbolic, untouched and conception aspects of human societies.
As, during business meetings the business partners from other countries such as china ,japan, Spain and much more when deal with companies in India, Canada and Australia they face language problems while talking and reading documents related to the business .Sometimes the business deals are cancelled due to communication. The people of different states sometime feel uncomfortable in that environment so the business partners and the co-workers of that company help them to fall in their environment and provide them with various facilities so that they did not feel uncomfortable. Through these types of business meetings the barrier problems are solved and better relationship is built among two different companies and two different countries. In business it is important for a businessman to create the products of culture choice as this would help a businessman to learn about the ethics and rituals of the culture and he may lead to get success in the business
It was interesting to read about the cross-cultural communication and its impact on the healthcare outcomes and well-being for the clients. The author provided a good synopsis of the critical elements to improve cross-cultural communication.
Since the end of World War II, international operations have become a reality for an increasing number of corporations. Many of these initial efforts began as simple export schemes to sell goods overseas to supplement domestic sales. Over time, however, international operations have become increasingly more complex: from joint-ventures to purchasing existing foreign firms to ‘green-field’ start-ups. While export operations usually require no more than extended business trips overseas, more complex international operations demand long-term assignments of key personnel outside their home-country. What would normally be considered routine business transactions in the home country can become very complicated when they are conducted between individuals and organizations from different cultures. In this essay we will examine how this cultural gap can affect international business and joint ventures.
The differences in other cultures vary from beliefs to ways of life, or norms, of the different societies. The importance of understanding and sensitivity to other countries’ differences is crucial to a business’ success. “Lack of familiarity with the business practices, social customs, and etiquette of a country can weaken a co...
The article talks about a female executive who had visited a conservative Muslim country. She had trouble interacting with male business partners as they come from cultures where women do not often engage in high-level trades. The men refused to shake her hand, which made her, feel disrespected and confused. The author suggests that female businesspeople from liberal countries such as those in the West need to learn that every country has its norm pertaining the roles of men and women. Age is also important in cross-cultural businesses where older people are considered wise. Body language and communication style are also different depending on the culture where in some place direct speaking may be regarded as disrespectful or even rude while in others steady eye contact is considered as a means to build trust. The female business person also has to recognize the signals that she is sending to her corporate partners. She should be wary of offending her business partners of all sexes as the female may judge their fellow women more harshly than how a man would. The woman also has to determine if the signals that she is receiving are cultural norms or sexism. Therefore, the important factors in intercultural businesses are learning the culture of the other person in advance to know how to
Verbal communication is rooted in using language at both the spoken and written level. Spoken communication is either public or private and can include talking to oneself, to one person, or too many people such as groups. Private communication involves combining sounds into meaningful structures that formulate words and sentences that convey messages. Dyadic communication includes the exchange of meaning of meaning between to the receiver to the sender and involves the highest level of fidelity (Cooren, 2016). Face to face communication is the face to face verbal interaction between individuals for either social or personal reason. Telephonic
Finally, it is important to remember that Indians are very tolerant of outsiders and understand that many are unfamiliar with local customs and procedures. Therefore, there is no need to make a phony attempt to conform to Indian cultural traditions. Being a business student it is important to know how to do successful business internationally. When doing business in India, one will find several other customs useful to know. It is required to be on time for meetings, avoid personal questions and respect titles.
The term “culture” refers to the complex accumulation of knowledge, folklore, language, rules, rituals, habits, lifestyles, attitudes, beliefs, and customs that link and provide a general identity to a group of people. Cultures take a long time to develop. There are many things that establish identity give meaning to life, define what one becomes, and how one should behave.
Communication is an important aspect of processing and transferring information in our society. The important entities needed for a successful communication includes; a sender, receiver, message and feedback. First, the sender is a person or entity that is sending information to the receiver. After receiving the message, the receiver will attempt to decode the message and prepares a proper response (feedback). Communication is an essential part of our daily interactions; it can be seen used in businesses, for pleasure, sports, education and many more activities.
The way people communicate varies widely between, and even within, cultures. One aspect of communication style is language usage. Language has always been perceived as a link between people but it can also constitute a barrier. Across cultures, some words and phrases are used in different ways. For example, even in countries that share the English language, the meaning of "yes" varies from "maybe, I'll consider it" to "definitely so," with many shades in between . Furthermore, communication between cultures which do not share the same language is considerably more difficult . Each culture, has its distinct syntax, expressions and structure which causes confusion in intercultural communication. For example , in Asian countries the word “no” is rarely used, so that “yea” can mean “no” or “perhaps”. Therefore, an American traveling to Japan might be considered impolite if he ignores this rule. Furthermore, individuals who are not comfortable with a certain language may not be taken seriously. Such is the case in the classroom, where a student who has a perfect knowledge of the subject in question may have difficulty expressing his idea due to his inability to write properly and therefore he would not receive the grade he truly deserves. Similarly intercultural communication is dominant in the workplace. In the past, many companies and organizations could operate entirely within their country of origin and conduct their activities exclusively in their own native language. But now, due...
In Any form of communication, there is a sender and receiver of the message. The question of whether the message is sent and how the message is received is of vital importance in communication. Communication is successful only when the receiver receives the intended message of the sender.