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1
Chapter 11: Intercultural Communication and Business
Martin, Experiencing Intercultural Communication, 6e
Chapter 11
Intercultural Communication and Business
Study Objectives
After studying the material in this chapter, students should be able to accomplish the following
objectives.
1. Describe how demographic changes influence intercultural communication in business
contexts.
2. Identify and describe the role of power in intercultural business contexts.
3. Identify the primary work-related values.
4. Discuss how work-related values influence intercultural business encounters.
5. Discuss the role of language and communication style (in both virtual and face to face
encounters) in intercultural business.
6. Give an example of how rules for business etiquette vary from culture to culture.
7. Understand how diversity, prejudice, and discrimination play out in various domestic and
global business contexts.
8. Describe the role and goals of cross cultural and diversity training in business contexts.
9. Describe the impact of social and political events on business encounters.
Key Terms
• Affirmative action (AA)
• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
• Collectivist
• Cross-cultural training
• Diversity training
• Equal employment opportunity (EEO)
• International negotiations
• Mentoring
• Multinational
Detailed Chapter Outline
I. The Domestic and Global Economy
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A. Domestic Growth
• There is increasing demographic diversity in the United States, and the workforce,
business ownership, and consumer trends are becoming increasingly diverse as well.
Business employees today are older, more likely to be female, include a growing
number of disabled employees, and more ethnically diverse than in the past.
• According to recent reports, the number of businesses owned by minorities increased
dramatically in the past 10 years.
o Latino-owned businesses recorded the largest increase—a 46 percent increase.
o Black or African American-owned firms increased by 35 percent.
o Asian American–owned firms recorded an increase of 24 percent.
• Women are also playing a larger role in the marketplace. There were more than 10
million women-owned businesses in the United States in 2016, generating over $1.6
trillion.
o The number of businesses owned by women of color in the United States has
increased even more dramatically, growing by 215.7 percent and increasing
revenues by 193 percent.
• Consumer trends are also increasingly diverse. African Americans, Latinos, Asian
Americans, and Native Americans have a collective buying power of $2 trillion, more
than doubling in the past 15 years.
o Asian Americans, the most affluent ethnic group, recorded a 180 percent increase
in buying power from 2000.
o Businesses also realize the enormous buying power of people with disabilities.
The U.S. Census estimates that about 13 percent of all Americans are disabled—
and steadily rising with the return of wounded military veterans.
• One other minority group with increasing buying power is the lesbian, gay, bisexual,
and transgender (LGBT) community.
o Regardless of attitudes toward same-sex marriage, many states in the United
States are poised to profit from wedding revenues.
• This increasing diversification in both the workplace and the consumer market has
tremendous implications for intercultural communication—from the supervisors who
manage diverse workers, to employees who work with diverse coworkers and
customers, to marketing and advertising specialists who craft meaningful messages
encouraging diverse customers to purchase products.
B. Global Growth
• While the U.S. economy has recovered somewhat from the devastating recession, its
trade deficit is now the highest since the financial crisis 10 years ago.
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Chapter 11: Intercultural Communication and Business
Martin, Experiencing Intercultural Communication, 6e
• A lot of debate exists about the pros and cons of rampant globalization. Americans seem
increasingly skeptical about the benefits of globalization, free trade, and the common
practice of outsourcing.
• The economies of the world are now connected more than ever. One only has to look at
the U.S. economy, where the stock market rises and falls with breaking news of the
latest economic crisis in Europe or the political instability in the Middle East. And in
both domestic and international settings, intercultural encounters occur.
II. Power Issues in Intercultural Business Encounters
• Intercultural communication occurs in many different types of business settings, including
domestic contexts with multicultural workforces and international contexts.
• The pressure to meet expectations of powerful American multinational corporations has
led some Indians to change their language and cultural practices.
• Intercultural communication occurs in encounters with superiors, subordinates, and peers,
and with customers and clients. Power is also evident in these encounters.
• Although customers and workers come from diverse cultures, management ranks and
boardrooms remain almost exclusively white male enclaves and there is some indication
that diversity is actually decreasing—and the “heyday” of diversity in U.S. business
leadership has come and gone.
o Over the past four years, there has been a dramatic decline in the appointments of
“New CEOs” (women, African Americans, Latinos, and Asian Americans) in
Fortune 500 companies.
o In terms of gender and social class backgrounds, men still outnumber women by a
ratio of about 17 to 1 (almost 90 percent of the CEOs in 2015 were White men) and
the large majority of the new CEOs come from privileged economic backgrounds.
o Studies show that diversity is good for business.
▪ Ronald C. Parker, the CEO of the Executive Leadership Council, gives several
reasons. One is the common unconscious biases against people who don’t look
like a “typical” (aka White male) leader.
▪ Parker explains that the White men at the top “are comfortable with their
network of the people that they know, therefore the people that get those
opportunities tend to look like them.”
▪ In addition, some companies committed to diversity haven’t quite figured out
how to effectively recruit, cultivate, and retain women and minority talent.
▪ Finally, and ironically perhaps, an increase in diversity doesn’t seem to
promote more diversity but rather a feeling of “well that’s taken care of,”
which actually leads to less attention to diversity and fewer diverse hires.
• Business experts suggest that truly effective leaders realize that in order to be more
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successful in a diverse global marketplace, power needs to be shared.
• Power relations can also play out on a more interpersonal level.
• Communication across power divides can be very difficult, particularly when there is a
cultural difference in how power is viewed or how power distance is expressed.
o Cultural groups that believe in high power distance feel that an organization
functions best when differences in power are clearly marked.
o By contrast, cultural groups that believe in low power distance (as in most U.S.
contexts) feel that power differences, though very real, should be minimized and that
an egalitarian view is best.
III. Communication Challenges in Business Contexts
• Communication challenges in business contexts can reflect cultural differences in work-
related values, language issues, communication styles, and business etiquette, as well as
issues related to diversity, prejudice, and discrimination.
A. Work-Related Values
• Many cultures (such as most U.S. cultures) are individualistic, while others (such as
many cultures in Asia and in Central and South America) are collectivist—that is, they
place more importance on the individual in relation to groups.
o In countries with individualistic views, workers are expected to perform certain
functions with clearly defined responsibilities; a clear boundary exists between
their job and another person’s job.
o In collectivist countries like Japan, the opposite is true. That is, Japanese
organizations do not necessarily define the precise job responsibilities assigned to
each individual; rather, it’s the job of a work unit, a section, or a department.
o These cultural differences in values can present challenges to workers and
management.
o These value differences are not always hard and fast; international business
experts acknowledge that, with globalization, many of these differences are
blurred.
• Most Americans think that hard work is a virtue that will eventually pay off. To the
people of many other cultures, however, work is a necessary burden.
o Cultural groups that see work as having a low priority believe that, because work
is necessary and takes up most of the daylight hours, ways should be found to
make it more agreeable by creating a convivial workplace.
o The different attitudes toward work can lead to intercultural communication
conflicts in the workplace.
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Chapter 11: Intercultural Communication and Business
Martin, Experiencing Intercultural Communication, 6e
• Another conflict in work-related values is based on the relative value placed on quality
versus efficiency and practicality. For most Americans, efficiency and getting the job
done for the lowest cost are the ultimate goals. However, people in many different
cultures hold different views.
o Americans would rather produce something expediently than elegantly (or
exquisitely). One might explain these U.S. business values partly by the fact that
the United States is a young country and that its people have less appreciation for
history and time.
• A related value has to do with whether the highest priority is placed on relationships or
on task completion. In most work contexts in the United States, the most important
thing is to accomplish the task.
o However, in many cultures, work gets done because of relationships.
o This seems to be the case in China where personal relationships are vital for
business success. The importance of personal relationships is such that there is a
special term, guanxi, which means a personal bond or connection that goes
beyond social and cultural connections.
B. Language Issues
• Language issues can come into play in various ways in business contexts.
• International business is sometimes conducted in English even when none of the
participants speak English as a first language.
• The same can be true in domestic business situations. With the growing cultural
diversity in the workplace comes linguistic diversity.
o To make working with a multilinguistic workforce easier, one shouldn’t assume
that, just because people are speaking a language other than English, they are
talking about one. A second suggestion in working with a multilinguistic
workforce is to speak simple, but not simpleminded, English.
o A non-native speaker can better understand language that is spoken slowly and
clearly, and that includes no big words.
• Another potential language issue involves communication between deaf and hearing
people.
C. Communication Styles
• Several elements of communication style are especially relevant in business contexts.
These include indirect versus direct, high versus low context, and honesty versus
harmony.
• People with a direct communication style simply ask for information from the
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appropriate person. However, a person with an indirect style might not feel comfortable
giving information, particularly when a problem exists and there is a need to save face.
o One way to obtain information is for one to watch how others who are respected
get information from one another and how they get it from one.
o Observe how subordinates, supervisors, and colleagues give and obtain
information, since the approach may vary with an individual’s status or
relationship.
o In general, to have good intercultural business communication, people need to
slow down and “sneak up” on information. Many Europeans don’t get right to the
point.
• Closely related to indirect/direct communication is the notion of high-and low-context
style.
o Low-context communicators (most U. S. Americans) prefer to make information
very explicit—expressed in words.
o High-context communicators (many Asians and Africans) prefer to communicate
more of the message nonverbally or contextually.
o This difference can result in challenging business encounters.
• Honesty is not always the best policy in intercultural business contexts; relational
harmony is more important in many countries in Asia and, in fact, sets the standard for
communicators.
o Communication scholar Wen Jia describes how effective communication is
defined in China: The kind of communication behavior best at creating and
sustaining harmony is regarded as the most effective and most competent
communication in Chinese culture.
o The focus here is not on truth, per se, but on achieving harmony. Achieving
relational harmony in China and many other Asian countries includes the notion
of facework, especially the importance of saving another’s face.
• U.S. Americans tend to focus on saving their own face—maintaining self-pride,
reputation, and credibility.
o However, for many Asians, the concept of saving face is more about
interdependence, achieving mutual honor and respect, not focused just for the
individual but for the larger group, the family, or organization.
o In a business context, this may mean allowing other persons room to maneuver,
and not saying the unvarnished truth.
o There are also cultural variations in how truth is defined. In many businesses in
Asia, there are a number of behaviors that would be considered acceptable in
everyday practices, whereas in the United States they would be regarded as decep-
tive, perhaps even unethical.
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D. Business Etiquette
• Business etiquette varies from culture to culture and is related to differences in values
and communication styles.
• In general, most cultural groups tend to be more formal in business contexts than U.S.
Americans are.
o Latin Americans attach great importance to courtesy. A well-mannered person is
described as muy educado in Mexico, and a prescribed set of behaviors is
expected in business settings, including ritual handshaking with and greeting of
staff members each morning. The same is true in many African countries. There,
high-level officials and business executives expect to be treated with the
solemnity and respect due their position.
• In general, when conducting business in most cultures, one should be very careful to
avoid excessive familiarity, especially in initial meetings; this means no slouching,
putting one’s feet up on a desk, or lounging in general.
• Etiquette is a traditional value that pervades French society, and business etiquette is
symbolized by properly engraved business cards, giving a professional title and
academic credentials.
E. Virtual Communication
• As more and more business interaction occurs online, it is worth considering
intercultural communication issues that may arise in virtual communication.
• First, there are access issues.
o The telecommunication infrastructure varies widely around the world, from very
high Internet and mobile technology access in North America, Europe, and the
highly industrialized Asian countries, to less coverage in South America and little
coverage in most of Africa (except South Africa).
o A second issue concerns the language used in e-mails or in videoconferencing/
Skype communication. In general, the guidelines given earlier also work virtually
(e.g., using simple language, avoiding jargon and jokes), whether written or video.
Additionally, communicating by e-mail, rather than video may be preferred when
there are language challenges, because it allows non-native speakers the time to
craft their messages and eliminates misunderstandings due to accent or other
paralinguistic cues.
o A third issue is the unique impact of values on virtual messages. For example, in
many countries where high-context communication is preferred and relationships
are highly valued, businesspeople may actually prefer face-to-face meetings over
virtual contact—especially for initial meetings.
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Martin, Experiencing Intercultural Communication, 6e
▪ In fact, China experts caution that technology should not be used there as a
substitute for interpersonal communication; that businesspeople are likely to
get limited responses if technology is used as the sole mode of
communicating, partly because the Chinese are reluctant to reply to
messages from people they do not know.
o A fourth issue concerns the impact of communication style in virtual encounters.
For example, when communicating virtually with people who prefer indirect
communication, and value harmony over honesty, virtual discussions (including e-
mail exchanges) should avoid direct mention of issues that might cause loss of
face for anyone involved.
F. International Negotiations
• Negotiating is a special communication task that occurs when business groups have
both common interests in working together and conflicting interests which may prevent
them from working together. Negotiation is the process of resolving the conflicts to a
mutually satisfactory end.
• There is abundant evidence that the cultural differences identified earlier (differences in
work-related values, communication styles, and even business etiquette) have an impact
on negotiation processes and outcomes. However, there are no comprehensive lists that
identify all cultural patterns, and negotiators often find themselves relying on
stereotypes and preliminary data.
• Here are some basic dimensions of international negotiations that may be affected by
cultural differences.
o Cultural groups may differ in their view of the basic concept of the negotiation
process. Some cultural groups may view negotiation as one party gaining at the
expense of the other, while others see it as a process where parties place different
values on each of the issue being negotiated and can then find effective trade-offs
with each other.
o Cultural groups may differ in the task or relationship priority: either a focus on
the specific project at hand, where negotiators spend most time exchanging
information regarding various alternatives (relationship is considered unrelated to
task), or a focus on the relationship between the two parties.
• It may be that U.S. American negotiators are recognizing how important relationships
are to some cultural groups.
o There may be a difference in the basis of trust. One side may believe that the other
party will fulfill obligations because of a signed contract (trust is external to
relationship), or because of the relationship between the two parties (trust is
internal to relationship).
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Martin, Experiencing Intercultural Communication, 6e
o There may be cultural differences in the preferred form of agreement. One side
may prefer agreement based on formal written contracts while the other side may
prefer an informal agreement based on the historical and social context of the
relationships.
G. Intercultural Relationship Building
• So many cultures emphasize the importance of relationships in effective business
endeavors that a general guideline for intercultural business success might be: learn how
to develop good relationships.
• A recent study asked business managers for suggestions to develop good
communication and business relationships in different countries around the world and
found some interesting results. The managers all reported that relationships were
important, though individualists (e.g., Europeans, New Zealanders, South Africans)
tended to see relationships as central to achieving business goals, whereas collectivists
(e.g., Chinese, Indians) saw relationships as more worthy just in themselves.
o They emphasized two important general processes, building trust and reciprocal
behavior, which varied along cultural lines.
o In most intercultural business relationships, it’s important to pay attention to
people’s places in the hierarchy and to recognize and respect symbols of authority,
to know whose views may carry more weight and whose opinions must be asked
before decisions are made.
H. Diversity, Prejudice, and Discrimination
• It may be interesting to identify cultural differences in workplace communication styles
and values, but the real challenge is knowing how to work with these differences in a
productive way.
• Until recently, in most U.S. organizations, there was one dominant culture with a
corresponding style of communication—White, Anglo Germanic, mostly Protestant,
and male.
o In terms of communication and values, this means it was individualistic and
emphasized directness, honesty over harmony, and task completion over
relationship building.
o Individuals who held other values and used different communication styles often
didn’t fit in—or worse, were not hired or promoted.
• Sometimes prejudice and discrimination are based on personal characteristics like
names. The discrimination may begin even before one is hired.
• Discrimination may also be based on skin color. There are few cases of blatant
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discrimination in the workplace today; rather (less explicit), discrimination based on
race and gender now exists more at higher levels of organizations where criteria for
advancement are more subjective—where it depends more on who you know than on
your specific job skills.
• Affirmative action (AA) policies are statutes that direct companies to hire a certain
percentage of women and minorities.
• Some minorities and women are grateful for the emphasis on diversity and the
implementation of affirmative action policies. But other women and minorities, while
grateful for a chance to compete, are troubled by the question of whether they are
viewed as having been given advantages.
• Companies have many reasons for addressing affirmative action and diversity issues.
o There may be moral grounds—a need to address the long history of racism,
sexism, and conflictual intergroup relations in the United States. There may be a
feeling that it is the responsibility of those who have benefited from this historical
pattern to begin to “level the playing field.”
o However, more often it is legal and social pressures—in the form of equal
employment opportunity (EEO) laws, affirmative action (AA), and the
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)—that cause companies to address
affirmative action issues.
o Finally, companies may address issues of multiculturalism and diversity because
they think it will have an impact on their bottom line—profit.
IV. Intercultural Communication Training in Business
• How do businesses respond to the challenges that has been outlined so far—cultural
differences in communication style, values, and issues of discrimination and prejudice in
business contexts? The answer is that they often employ intercultural professionals, experts
in an applied field of intercultural communication called cross-cultural training or
diversity training.
• Cross-cultural trainers tend to focus on cultural differences that affect business
effectiveness in international business settings.
o They conduct training sessions to help employees understand how value and
communication style differences—say, between Japanese and German workers—can
affect their working relationships and productivity.
o They also provide guidance and suggestions for managing these differences and
using the differences to improve working relationships and even bottom line profits.
• Diversity trainers tend to focus more on racial/ethnic/gender differences and on power
issues in domestic business context (i.e., in U.S. locations).
o Many diversity trainers help multicultural workforces within the U. S. work more
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Chapter 11: Intercultural Communication and Business
effectively.
o They tackle issues of prejudice and discrimination, showing how these issues
sometimes operate at an unconscious level and how workers sometimes
unintentionally express prejudice and discrimination.
▪ A first step for these trainers is to help employees identify some of the negative
behaviors and develop an awareness of the issues; they then show the
devastating effect these attitudes and behaviors can have on a workforce
(conflict, absenteeism, etc.).
▪ They also provide suggestions for improving relationships and productivity
among culturally different employees.
• One response to these cultural differences and communication challenges that is related to
broad organizational strategies is a mentoring program.
V. Social and Political Contexts of Business
• It is important to consider the social and political contexts of business and to think about
how social and political events can affect business encounters.
o For example, terrorist attacks, both physical and in cyberspace, can have a
tremendous effect on business encounters, both domestically and internationally.
These acts can trigger a loss of confidence, and result in lost opportunities for
intercultural contact, fear of contact, and suspicion about particular cultural groups.
• It might also be considered how the current discussion on immigration affects intercultural
communication.
o Many economists have argued that the net impact of immigration is often positive,
particularly in the United States and Britain.
o Immigration issues affect intercultural business relations between immigrants and
native-born citizens. Increased anti-immigrant feelings may lead to increased
discrimination in the workplace.
• Another political issue impacting intercultural communication in business contexts is the
legislation related to same-sex marriage and policies related to transgender individuals,
leading to suspicion, anxiety, and uneasy encounters between LGBT individuals and others
in business contexts.
o Thus, it is important to remember that each intercultural encounter occurs in a social
and political contexts that goes beyond the few individuals involved.
Discussion Questions
1. How many multinational corporations can you name? What is the potential impact of their
product(s) in countries like China or India (or in other specific countries)?
Martin, Experiencing Intercultural Communication, 6e
2. Can your workplace be considered multicultural? Why, or why not?
3. At your present workplace, how do you refer to your boss and vice versa? Is this indicative
of a low or high power distance value in the organization?
4. Think of a few examples of differences related to individualism or collectivism that lead to
intercultural communication conflicts on the job
5. How do you view work? Is hard work a virtue or a necessary evil?
6. How might different attitudes toward work lead to intercultural communication conflicts?
7. Have you communicated with someone who has limited proficiency in the English
language? What strategies did you use? Are there any other strategies that you wish you
had thought of then?
8. What did the authors mean when they said, “To have good intercultural business
communication, people need to slow down and sneak up on information?”
9. How do the communication styles of honesty and harmony differ?
10. What are some of the etiquette roles at your place of business?
11. How do you feel about affirmative action policies? Do you think they are helpful or
harmful to minorities?
12. What are some of the reasons companies address affirmative action and diversity issues?
13. Suggest a few strategies for developing good communication and business relationships.
Classroom Exercises and Chapter Activities
1. Guest Lecture Activity: Invite a local businessperson who can represent both the domestic
and the global marketplace to speak to the class. Potential topics for discussion could
include changes brought about by the growing global and domestic diversity in personnel,
intercultural communication challenges to doing business internationally and domestically,
and global business etiquette. Be sure to allow enough time for students to ask questions to
the guest lecturer. Prepare the class prior to the lecturer’s visit by having students
brainstorm questions to ask him or her.
2. Guest Lecture Activity Variation I: Invite someone from a nondominant group who can
speak about his or her personal experiences in the workplace.
3. Business Etiquette Interview Assignment: This assignment focuses on exploring the
intercultural communication challenges faced by organizations doing business overseas.
Assign students to interview someone who works for a multinational company. Advise
them to follow the suggestions and guidelines below and to answer the following questions
by writing a three- to four-page paper.
a. Whom did you interview? Which company does this person work for, and what is his
or her position?
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b. In which country or countries does his or her company do business?
c. What does this company do to prepare its representatives for conducting business
proceedings with members of another culture?
d. What kinds of intercultural communication challenges related to language, work-
related values, attitudes toward work, or business etiquette has this person or the
company encountered?
e. Has this company ever contracted the services of a cross-cultural trainer to prepare
its employees for overseas business exchange? Was it helpful?
f. What skills does the interviewee think that you, a student of intercultural
communication, would need to master to work for a company doing business
overseas?
g. What changes does this company anticipate with regard to its overseas markets in the
coming years?
The suggestions detailed for interview assignments in previous chapters may also be
helpful to students.
4. Multicultural Market Assignment. Have students (in small groups or as a class) choose a
real or fictitious product, and have them (in small groups) design a marketing campaign
with brochures or videotaped commercials for two or more distinct consumer markets (Let
them use their imagination.). Students should be able to identify their demographic and the
rationale behind the approach or sales pitch.
5. Simulation Activity: Ecotonos, a multicultural problem solving simulation allows you to
create a variety of cultural variations with regard to communication style, nonverbal, and
values. Creating divergent cultures and then having them make business decisions in
multicultural groups provides the opportunity to understand the frustration and power
dynamics that can result from working together across cultures. Allow them 1.5 to 2 hours
for running and debriefing the simulation.
Suggested Videos
1. Affirmative Action versus Reverse Discrimination (Produced by Annenberg/CPB;
distributed by Insight Media, New York, 1984, 60 minutes)
This video examines the value of affirmative action and the fine line between affirmative
action and reverse discrimination. It features a discussion among Ellen Goodman, Eleanor
Holmes Norton, William Raspberry, and Albert Shanker.
2. Exploring Race and Affirmative Action (Distributed by Insight Media, New York, 1996, 27
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Martin, Experiencing Intercultural Communication, 6e
minutes)
This video features the perspectives of four young Americans on racism, equality, and
affirmative action. The students interview legal, civic, and media experts, showing their
reactions when confronted with opinions significantly different from their own. The video
offers a lively debate on the merits, efficacy, and future of affirmative action. It includes
footage of critical moments in the history of U.S. race relations.
3. Doing Business in Japan (Distributed by Vision Associates, New York, 22 minutes)
Based on a real-life international business negotiation that failed, this video illustrates such
fundamental problems as the gulf between verbal and nonverbal communication, modes of
expression peculiar to each culture, and misconceptions.
4. Land of A’s (Distributed by Goodmeasure, Inc., Cambridge, MA)
This follow-up to the video A Tale of O links diversity with productivity, competitiveness,
and the bottom line. It addresses real-world issues, and in practical, solution-oriented
terms, it shows how to take a diverse workforce and leverage its inherent differences to the
advantage of both the organization and the individual.
5. The Multicultural Workplace (Produced by Jaime Wurzel, distributed by Intercultural
Press, Yarmouth, ME)
This film shows the difficulties that emerge when people from varying backgrounds
interact in business. It reveals how, because of misunderstanding and cultural assumptions,
many employees are undervalued. It also underscores the need to consider an individual's
cultural values and professional style.
