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Chapter 09 - Diversity and Intercultural Communication
9-1
Chapter 9 – Diversity and Intercultural Communication
Teaching Notes
In this chapter, students will learn to do the following:
• Define culture.
Instructors will probably want to begin the class discussion by going through the
PowerPoint slides that accompany this chapter, spending time in particular discussing the
cultural variables by referring to the exhibits in the text that provide examples. Application
9.1 on diversity works well as an in-class activity to follow the lecture and discussion.
Application 9.1: Proactively Managing Diversity
This application encourages students to think about emotional intelligence and leadership
communication with particular focus on inspiring others with a vision, influencing and
developing others, and initiating change. It can also serve as a catalyst for a discussion on
the value of diversity in the workplace.
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Approaches to Teaching
This application may be approached from either a narrow or broad perspective. The narrow
approach is strictly pragmatic and focuses the students’ attention on listing the steps to
establish the new policy and ensure compliance. It will be effective to begin this application
with perhaps ten minutes of discussion about the need for emotional intelligence in this
Example Answers to Assignment
Student groups may develop responses to this application such as the following.
• Steps to establishing a diversity policy
1. Gather information about the makeup of Omnibank’s workforce, request a report
from HR; consult with legal department about applicable statutes and rules.
2. Meet with your direct reports and communicate your vision for a more diverse
workforce, emphasizing the bottom-line value to Omnibank as well as the social
3. Establish a team of several of your direct reports led by the person in charge of HR
functions. Have the team recruit several additional people from the next level of
4. When the team has developed a diversity policy and roll-out plan, schedule a
meeting of the team with all your direct reports to review the plan and establish a
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5. Provide training for HR personnel who will be involved in hiring and achieving
6. Communicate the importance of achieving diversity goals at every staff meeting
and inquire about progress.
7. Rollout will begin with a strong show of senior management support of and
commitment to increasing diversity. You as president will speak to each of the
• Ensuring greater diversity is achieved
1. Your basic strategy is to achieve consensus and buy-in among your direct reports
and then on down through the ranks in each functional area. You try to do this by
Application 9.2: Creating International Correspondence
The Case: PTI and Congoil
This application gives the students an opportunity to consider the communication
preferences of another culture and how they might address these preferences effectively.
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Approaches to Teaching
This application was designed as a written assignment to be done outside of class and
graded for intercultural content, strategy, and general communication skills. It will work
The application may, of course, be limited to in-class discussion. This would involve a
general review of the case followed by small-group efforts to rough out the letters.
Several groups should report their results to the class as a whole to stimulate further
discussion of specific intercultural communication issues and areas of likely sensitivity.
The correspondence with U.S. American Carl Mouton will, of course, be quite the
opposite to the one written to Syanga. It will be direct, brief, impeccably polite, and
friendly but not presumptuous.
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Example Responses to the Assignment
1. Letter to Syanga Rugeiro
Sr. Syanga M’bweni Rugeiro
My Dear Syanga:
I was remembering the other day the wonderful journey we made through the forest to
the mountain sanctuary the last time I had the privilege of visiting your beautiful
country. The views from the sanctuary stay in my mind as fresh as if I had seen them
yesterday. Nor can I forget the kindness and hospitality of the villagers and the
banquet they prepared for us. The flavors and aromas will be with me forever.
I do hope that you and all of your family are well and enjoying the blessings of good
fortune. I inquired about your son the other day with my friends at the university and was
told that he is doing very well indeed. I am very happy to have been able to give him
some guidance in meeting the right people in the chemical engineering department. I
know you must be very proud of him and all that he is accomplishing. Please do not
hesitate to contact me if there is something that I can do to provide him further assistance.
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deposit the sum into our bank account in Kinuanda?
I am keenly aware of your objections to some of the provisions of the current contract
that may seem unfair. But you well remember, I am sure, that the contract also
contained very liberal terms favoring Congoil in matters of the delivery schedule
penalties and conditional reimbursements. We believe that we have been reasonably
generous in meeting our obligations under the contract, and I am trusting that you will
view my present request in the same spirit. I am prepared to consider the full range of
your concerns as we discuss the future of the Ocean Reliable in Congola, and feel
confident that we can arrive at an agreement that will provide generous
accommodation for your needs and the many interests within Congoil P&P.
Letter to Carl Mouton
Carl Mouton
Assistant Country Manager, Congola
Amproco
55-60 Avenida Lisboa
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How are you? I hope this finds you well and that the weather in Kinuanda is beginning
to moderate as summer comes to an end.
I’ve written to Syanga asking for payment, but you know how letters can be neglected
in Africa. I should make the trip to see him, but my plate is full here and I’ve got some
personal matters that need attention. I will get to Kinuanda within the next six months,
however, to begin discussions to recontract the OR, but the payment matter needs
attention now.
By my reckoning, you should be due for a month or two in the States beginning in
April. I would like to see you when you are in town, to get together for dinner and
some entertainment. Give me a call whenever you’re available and we’ll make
arrangements.
Best regards,
Jonathan
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2. Explanations
The students’ explanations of the style and content of their correspondence should begin
with acknowledgement of the direct and indirect distinction as well as their justification
for selecting the media they selected. They should recognize the need to talk first in the
letter to Syanga about elements of the relationship between the two men and that this
The letter to Carl should use the direct style, without being abrupt, and should adopt a
considerably less formal tone than the letter to Syanga. There are legitimate differences of
opinion about the levels of formality and friendliness that are appropriate, depending on
how the relationship with Carl is conceived. Carl should always be shown deference as a
representative of a customer or potential customer and therefore automatically higher in
and influence to support your message. A high-context communicator should understand
this approach and be receptive, since it is a way of giving face and elevates his status in
the transaction. That said, it may not be decisive. Electronic communication should be
used with Syanga only if there is a history of telephone calls or e-mails in the relationship.
Otherwise, an electronic communication may be considered disrespectful. In this
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Application 9.3: Preparing an International Briefing
For this assignment, the students should work in groups to research, prepare, and deliver a
presentation of 15-minutes on a region of their choosing. You should have them turn in
their choices (probably at least three) so that you will get some variety in the countries
represented. The focus of their research should be on the specifics of doing business in
another country – looking at how the culture of an individual nation or world region
Application 9.4: Designing International Communication Programs
This assignment is an alternative to Application 9.3. Instructors would probably not have
time to do both and would find too much duplication to obtain much value in having
students do both. This application is the more challenging of the two since it requires the
students not only to understand the cultures of their selected countries well, but also to
have a comfortable understanding of marketing concepts, particularly product promotions.
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One danger in the assignment is that the students may try to do too much; therefore, you
should remind them that they are developing a preliminary plan and not a complete
marketing plan. You may want to provide the following as an outline of the topics they
should include in their presentations:
1. Background
a. Why this product? Why this country? Why now?
2. Methods and approach
a. How do you plan to establish an understanding of the product and the country
(interviews, surveys, pilots, etc.)? (Again, you might want to include a list of
3. Action plan or task breakdown
a. How will you map out the planning and the launch of the product if approved?
b. How long will it take and who will do what?
4. Qualifications
a. Why is the company qualified to launch this product in this country?
Chapter 09 - Diversity and Intercultural Communication
b. If possible, can you project profit at this point?
