Intercultural Communication Issues

Discuss about the Intercultural Communication Issues.
 

 

Introduction

• Multicultural communication is key in international business.
• Developing skills for managing intercultural communications is necessary for companies going international such as Amy’s company(Varner 2000, p.50).
• To succeed in international business, entrepreneurs must design intercultural competences, and strategies such how to employ a diversified workforce(Beckers & Bsat 2014, p.145).
• Equally, creating trustful relationship is also important in international business.

Intercultural Communication Issues

• Expanding business into the Chinese market requires Amy to understand their verbal and nonverbal cues(Fall et al. 2013, p.413).
• Besides, the growth in technology and internet makes cross-cultural communications key for companies expanding internationally(FernándezSouto, Gestal & Pesqueira 2015, p.235).
• Some of the key issues that will affects Amy expansion into include:
• Language barrier.
• Non-verbal differences.
• Power distance.
• High context vs. slow context culture.

Language Barrier

• Amy will face language barrier challenges as she expands into Chinese market(Cotton 2015, par.4).
• She only understands English and a majority of people in China speak Chinese.
• To succeed in her first meeting, Amy should identify a bilingual interpreter.
• Once the company establishes itself in China, it should focus on employing individuals who are proficient in various languages(Pikhart 2014, p.952).

Nonverbal Differences

• There is considerable distinction between individualist and collectivist cultures in terms of intercultural communication(Kutz 2013, p.66).
• Individuals from the above cultures use gestures and eye contact differently.
• It is important for Amy to address her nonverbal cues before her first meeting with Chinese business associates.
• She needs to understand that Chinese consider too much gestures as being rude.
• In Australia, prolonged eye contact is considered straightforwardness and honest, but in China it is considered as being rude (Maude 2011, p.43). 

High Culture vs. Low Context

Culture

• This refers to how individuals thoughts, feelings, and upbringing affect the manner in which they conduct themselves in different cultures(Mattock 2003, p.54).
• Australia is a low culture context while China is a high context culture (Gudykunst 2003, p.45; Brink & Costigan.2015, p.10).
• Businesses in Australia are individualistic, meaning the decisions are based on facts.
• Likewise, trust between business people is valued.
• High culture countries such as China value interpersonal relationship (Norales 2006, p.45). 

Continuation

• Business individuals from China emphasize on developing personal relationship before signing a contract.
• Additionally, they are concerned with group success rather than individual success(Norales 2006, p.45).
• Given these differences, it will be difficult for Amy to negotiate her business deal.
• For instance, Amy might focus on getting the deal done, and the foreign partner might not be happy with her actions.
• In essence, the foreign partner might consider Amy as someone who aims to fulfill her selfish interest.

Summary and Conclusions

• Cultural diversity is essential for Amy to succeed in Chinese Market.
• Additionally, intercultural communication determines the success or failure of the company in any international market.
• For this reason, Amy needs to have detailed information regarding nonverbal and verbal distinctions between Australia and China.
• Ability to communicate effectively with individuals from distinct cultures is key in succeeding in international markets, to be precise China.

Continuation

• For instance, effective use of verbal and nonverbal cues will eliminate incidents of miscommunication.
• China considers it a taboo to unintentionally offend someone using body language.
• In this case, Amy should always use open-handed gestures to communicate with her international partners.
• She should also shun from utilizing ok symbols, index finger, and thumbs up and down.

Recommendations

To succeed in the Chinese market, Amy should do the following:

vMaintain an open mind in situations that are unfamiliar to her.

vBe alert on how individuals form distinct cultures interact.

vBe ready to adapt and learn in any new environment.

vDemonstrate reliability and consistency. 

References

• Beckers, A, & Bsat, M., 2014. An Analysis of Intercultural Business Communication. Journal of Business & Behavioral Sciences, 26(3), pp. 143-153.
• Brink, K, & Costigan, R., 2015.Oral Communication Skills: Are the Priorities of the Workplace and AACSB-Accredited Business Programs Aligned?', Academy Of Management Learning & Education, 14(2), pp. 205-221
• , G., 2015. The Importance of Cross-Cultural Business Communications. Viewed from, https://www.eonetwork.org/octane-magazine/special-features/theimportanceofcrossculturalbusinesscommunications
• Fall, L, Kelly, S, MacDonald, P, Primm, C, & Holmes, W., 2013. Intercultural Communication
• Apprehension and Emotional Intelligence in Higher Education: Preparing Business Students for Career Success. Business Communication Quarterly, 76(4), pp. 412-426.

• Fernández-Souto, A, Gestal, M, & Pesqueira, A., 2015. Business and Intercultural Communication. Procedia Economics and Finance, pp. 233-237.
• Gudykunst, W. B., 2003. Cross-cultural and intercultural communication. Thousand Oaks [u.a.], Sage Publ.
• Kutz, K., 2013. Barriers to cross cultural communication. New York: Grin Verlag.
• Mattock, J., 2003. Cross-cultural communication. London: Kogan Page Limited.
• Maude, B. , 2011. Managing Cross-Cultural Communication: Principles and Practice. Basingstoke : Palgrave Macmillan
• Norales, F. O. (2006). Cross-cultural communication: concepts, cases and challenges. Youngstown, NY, Cambria.
• Pikhart, M 2014. Implementing New Global Business Trends to Intercultural Business Communication. Procedia - Social And Behavioral Sciences, 152, ERPA International Congress on Education, ERPA Congress 2014, 6-8 June 2014, Istanbul, Turkey, pp. 950-953.
• Varner, II 2000. The Theoretical Foundation for Intercultural Business Communication: A Conceptual.