Chapter 4 Homework Allah tomorrow Allah Wills Arab Logic Less Linear

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Chapter 4

COMMUNICATING ACROSS CULTURES

LECTURE OUTLINE

General Outline

Opening Profile: The Impact of Social Media on Global Business

The Communication Process

Cultural Noise in the Communication Process

The Culture–Communication Link

Management in Action: Oriental Poker Face: Eastern Deception or Western Inscrutability?

Comparative Management in Focus: Communicating with Arabs

Communication Channels

Information Technology: Going Global and Acting Local

Managing Cross-Cultural Communication

Developing Cultural Sensitivity

Careful Encoding

Learning Objectives

4-1. To recognize the communication process and how cultural differences can cause

noise in that process.

Opening Profile: The Impact of Social Media on Global Business (see slide 4-3)

This article describes how managers in international businesses are grappling with the question

of how to benefit from social media networks. Social media are potential sources of rich

information outside of the normal chain of communication. Measuring the effectiveness of each

source of social media is a challenge. Regardless of how companies interact with and use social

media networks, it is clear that they are here to stay, that they can have considerable impact on

global businesses, and that they are impacting political and social trends as well.

I. The Communication Process (see slide 4-4)

A. Communication

1. Communication: the process of sharing meaning by transmitting messages through

media, such as words, behavior, or material artifacts.

2. Managers communicate to coordinate activities, to disseminate information, to

motivate people, and to negotiate future plans.

5. Samovar, Porter, and Jain note that cultural factors pervade the communication

process. Communication is therefore a complex process of linking up or sharing the

perceptual fields of sender and receiver.

B. Chapter Learning Goals & Cultural Noise in International Communication (see slides 4-5

& 4-6)

1. Because we are concerned with cross-cultural communication, we are concerned with

3. Attribution is the process by which people look for the explanation of another

person’s behavior. According to Hall and Hall, when people do not understand each

other, they tend to blame their confusion on the other person’s stupidity, deceit, or

craziness.

Exhibit 4-2 depicts an example of cultural noise. In it, the Indian employee gets

frustrated after experiencing communication problems with his German boss.

II. The Culture-Communication Link

A. Trust in Communication (see slide 4-7)

1. Effective communication, and therefore effective collaboration in alliances across

national boundaries, depends on the informal understandings among the parties that

c. Develop mutual bonding through regular socializing and friendly contact.

3. Research by the World Values Study Group studied 90,000 people in 45 societies;

Nordic countries rated highest on believing that “most people can be trusted” whereas

Brazil, Turkey, Romania, Slovenia, and Latvia had the lowest level of trust in people.

4. The GLOBE Project (see slide 4-8)

a. The GLOBE Project provides insight into culturally-appropriate communication

styles and expectations for managers. Here are the key observations:

1. People in societies ranked high on performance orientation present objective

B. Chapter Learning Goals & India (see slides 4-9 & 4-10)

1. Cultural variables that can influence a person’s perceptions have been identified

through research. The cultural variables are: attitudes, social organization, thought

slide 11)

India has a population of over 1 billion people with an extremely diverse ethnic and

linguistic composition. Although Hindi is the official language of India there are many other

languages – some of which enjoy official status but many that do not. Hindu culture has given

India the caste system and a strong sense of hierarchy, and family is extremely important.

c. Social organization: our perceptions can be influenced by differences in values,

approach, or priorities relative to the kind of social organizations to which we

belong.

d. Thought patterns: the logical progression of reasoning varies across cultures. (see

e. Roles: (see slide 13) societies differ considerably as to what they consider the role

of a manager.

f. Language can be a barrier to communication when one party has difficulty

understanding the other’s language, when there is a lack of understanding of local

g. Nonverbal communication (body language): (see slide 4-14) Behavior that

communicates without words. Studies have shown that subtle nonverbal messages

account for 65 to 93 percent of interpreted communication. The media for

nonverbal communication (see slide 15) can be categorized into four types: (1)

kinesic, (2) proxemics, (3) paralanguage, (4) object language. (See Exhibit 4-3,

page 133)

1. Kinesic behavior refers to body movements—posture, gestures, facial

expressions, and eye contact. Although such gestures may be universal,

Teaching Tip: Have students pair off and hold a conversation at a distance of three feet. Then

have them hold a conversation standing no more than six inches apart (preferably closer). Ask

the students to describe their feelings during each encounter (they will tell you they were

uncomfortable). See if they can tell you why they feel that way. Students can discover that they

have a clearly delineated private space, but they don’t know when or how they developed it.

High-contact and low-contact cultures: High-contact cultures prefer a

close sensory involvement; e.g., prefer to stand close and touch a great

deal. Low-contact cultures prefer less sensory involvement. High-contact

cultures are mostly located in warmer climates. There is a correlation

between Hofstede’s measure of individualism and cultural contact: low–

contact cultures are more individualistic, high-contact cultures are more

collectivist.

fact, it is difficult for the person listening on the phone to interpret sometimes because the

speaker’s hand gestures and other nonverbal signals are invisible. Their hands convey much

meaning, Gestures can convey that the person feels pride, or shame, or desperation, or fear,

giving more meaning than the words alone. Gestures are culture-specific. Flirtatious behavior

from Italian men is common and part of their culture. Italians tend to be gregarious and loud but

interrupt one another anyway. They are uncomfortable with silence. People from reserved

cultures such as the British will likely be perceived as disinterested by Italians since they tend to

be very emotionally engaged with the conversation.

Under the Lens: How Feng Shui Affects Business (see slide 17)

Feng shui is an ancient Chinese system of aesthetics believed to use the laws of both heaven

and earth to help one improve life by receiving positive qi. Feng shui translates into English as

“wind–water.” Qi is “a movable positive or negative life force which plays an essential role in

feng shui.”

Teaching Tip: CD covers are interesting artifacts. Ask students to bring in five or six CDs to

class. Divide the class into groups of four to five students and have them answer the questions:

“If you knew nothing about this music, what message(s) would the cover convey to you? Could

you have been able to understand these messages if you were from a different culture?”

h. Time: (see slides 4-18, 4-19, & 4-20) The way people regard time is a variable

that communicates culture. In monochronic time systems, time is linear. Time

has a past, present, and future. In monochronic systems, which are generally

found in individualistic cultures, people generally concentrate on one thing at

a time, adhere to time commitments and are accustomed to short-term

hold open meetings and have uncompartmentalized or unstructured meetings.

C. Context (see slide 4-21)

1. The context in which the communication takes place affects the meaning and the

interpretation of the message. In high-context cultures (Asia, the Middle East, Africa,

and the Mediterranean), feelings and thoughts are not explicitly expressed—one has

to read between the lines to get the message.

2. In low-context cultures (Germany, Switzerland, Scandinavia, and North America),

Exhibit 4-4 (page 134) (see slide 4-22) summarizes the effects of cultural context on

communication.

Management in Action—Oriental Poker Face: Eastern Deception or Western

Inscrutability? (see slide 4-23)

The opening incident compares American perceptions of Asian communications with Asian

perceptions of Americans. In particular, two expressions that are offensive are noted, “Oriental

poker face” and “idiotic Asian smile.” Westerners are concerned that these two diametrically

opposed expressions prevent them from extracting needed information in the communication

Teaching Tip: An interesting movie for cross-cultural communication involving Japan is Mr.

Baseball (1992) directed by Fred Schepisi.

Comparative Management in Focus: Communicating with Arabs (see slides 4-24 & 4-25)

In the Middle East, the concept of communication is more implicit and interwoven, and,

therefore, harder for Americans to understand. The Arabic language supports a broad emotional

range. Eloquence and flowery speech are admired for their own sake. At the core, the culture

values friendship, religion, and hospitality. Friends and family are very important, as is the

concept of honor. Women have very little role in business or entertainment. Most Arab countries

are high-contact cultures.

See Exhibit 4-5 (see slide 4-26)

Teaching Resource: Arab cinema provides great insights into its culture. This site identifies

available Arab films with English subtitles. Some video clips are available. www.arabfilm.com

D. Communication Channels (see slide 4-27)

1. In addition to the variables of the sender and receiver of the message, there are also

variables associated with channel choice (including fast or slow messages and

different types of media).

2. Information Systems: Communication in organizations varies according to where and

how it originates, the speed at which it flows, and whether it is formal of informal. In

high-context cultures, information may spread rapidly and freely because of the

Teaching Resource: Japan Information Network—The Japan Information Network Home Page

offers an unprecedented variety of information of Japanese society and culture and provides

links to servers throughout Japan, thereby becoming the place to go for comprehensive access to

information on Japan. http://nippon-jin.com

III. Chapter Learning Goals & Going Global and Acting Local (see slides 4-32 & 4-33)

A. The global reach offered by the Web does not automatically translate into global

business. Companies are learning that they have to adapt their e-commerce and their

differences in the level of development in the local telecommunications infrastructure.

C. When Baidu.com—China’s leading search engine—made a business decision in July 2011

to partner with Microsoft to offer Web search services in English, it had clearly realized

that it needed to go beyond Chinese because of the 10 million per day searches for

English terms on its site.

IV. Managing Cross-Cultural Communication Effectively (see slides 4-34, 4-35, 4-36 & 4-37)

A. Steps in the development of effective intercultural communication include the

development of cultural sensitivity, careful encoding, selective transmission, careful

decoding, and appropriate follow-up.

C. Careful encoding

1. In translating his or her intended words into symbols for cross-cultural

communication, the sender must use words, pictures, or gestures that are appropriate

to the receiver’s frame of reference. Senders should avoid idioms and regional

sayings (e.g., go fly a kite). Literal translation is only a limited answer to language

differences. Language translation is only a part of the encoding process; the message

is also expressed nonverbally.

D. Selective transmission

1. The type of medium chosen for the message depends on the nature of the message, its

level of importance, the context and expectations of the receiver, the timing involved,

E. Careful decoding of feedback

1. Timely and effective feedback channels can also be set up to assess a firm’s general

communication about the progression of its business and its general management

principles.

2. Decoding is the process of translating the received symbols into the interpreted

message. The main causes of incongruence are (1) the receiver misinterprets the

message, (2) the receiver encodes his or her return message incorrectly, or (3) the

sender misinterprets the feedback.

F. Follow-up actions

1. Managers communicate both through action and inaction. To keep open lines of

communication, managers must follow through with action on what has been

discussed and then agreed upon—typically a contract, which is probably the most

Teaching Tip: A good movie for understanding cross-cultural issues, including empathy issues is

City of Joy (1992) directed by Roland Jeffe.

Teaching Tip: Often, diplomats display outstanding communication skills when communicating

with each other (and not when posturing for the home country audience). You can see them in

3. Certain behaviors facilitate effective intercultural communication ; these abilities help

the expatriate adapt to the host country and enable productive working relations to

develop in the long run. Researchers have developed a relationship between

personality traits and behaviors and the ability to adapt to the host culture’s

environment. Communication is the mediating factor between those factors and the

relative level of expatriate adaptation.

a. Kim has consolidated the research findings on these characteristics into two

Teaching Resource: Several excellent videos are available commercially or through inter–

library loan, including the following:

Beyond Culture Shock—describes the psychological process of adjustment that can occur in a

cross-cultural sojourn. Copeland-Griggs Films—415-668-4200.

Internet Resources

Chapter Discussion Questions

4-1. How does culture affect the process of attribution in communication? Can you relate

this to some experiences you have had with your classmates?

Learning Objective: 1, AACSB: Communication abilities

Cultural differences induce additional noise into the communication process. A sender’s

message contains the meaning intended by the encoder. When the message reaches the

4-2. What is stereotyping? Give some examples. How might people stereotype you?

Learning Objective: 1, AACSB: Ethical understanding and reasoning abilities

Stereotyping occurs when a person assumes that every member of a society or subculture

4-3. What is the relationship of language and culture? How is it that people from the same

language may still miscommunicate? (Course objectives 1, 5)

Learning Objective: 2, AACSB: Communication abilities

Language conveys culture, technologies, and priorities. Language is inseparable from

culture; language cannot be interpreted without an understanding of culture. Language

indicates the important variables found within a culture. For example, languages differ in

4-4. Give some examples of cultural differences in the interpretation of body language.

What is the role of such nonverbal communication in business relationships?

Learning Objective: 2; AACSB: Communication abilities

Americans look straight at you when communicating, whereas the British keep your

attention by looking away. Arabs prefer to touch and stand very close when communicating.

in high-context cultures.

4-5. Explain the differences between high- and low-context cultures, giving some

examples. What are the differential effects on the communication process?

Learning Objective: 1, AACSB: Communication abilities

In high-context cultures, the context in which the communication takes place is vital to the

communication of the message—the message is implicit. In low-context cultures, the context

4-6. Discuss the role of information systems in a company, how and why it varies from

country to country, and the effects of these variations.

Learning Objective: 3, AACSB: Use of information technology

Communication in organizations varies according to where and how information originates

and the channels and speed at which information flows internally and externally. One

Application Exercises

. 4-7. Form groups in your class—multicultural groups, if possible. Have each person

make notes about his or her perceptions of (1) Mexican-Americans, (2) Native

Americans, (3) African Americans, and (4) Americans of European descent. Discuss

your notes and draw conclusions about common stereotypes. Discuss any differences

and why stereotyping occurs.  

. Learning Objective: 2; AACSB: Multicultural and diversity understanding

This exercise can reveal perceptual insights into cultural stereotypes. Students should be

4-8. Invite some students who are from other countries to your class. Ask them to bring

photographs, slides, and so forth of people and events in their native countries. Have

them explain the meanings of various nonverbal cues such as   gestures, dress, voice

inflections, architecture, and events. Discuss with them any differences between their

explanations and the attributions you assigned to those cues.

Learning Objective: 2; AACSB: Communication abilities

This interesting exercise can generate a lot of interest in cross-cultural understanding. It

4-9 Interview a faculty member or a businessperson who has worked abroad. Ask him

or her to identify factors that facilitated or inhibited adaptation to the host

environment. Ask whether more preparation could have eased the transition and

what, if anything, that person would do differently be- fore another trip.

Learning Objective: 2; AACSB: Multicultural and diversity understanding

Experiential Exercise

4-10. Form two or three pairs to enact skits—separately—in front of the class and

then ask your class for feedback and to guess where you are from.

Each person in each pair decides on a different cultural profile to enact—for

example, act as if one of you is, say, Japanese or Arab, and the other is, say,

German or Mexican. Set up a five-to ten minute skit, presumably for an

intended business transaction. Research and practice with your partner the

typical communication style, both verbal and nonverbal (use English for

everyone). Both you and your class will see how difficult it is to put yourself in

the persona of someone from a different cultural background.

Learning Objective: 4; AACSB: Communication abilities

End-of-Chapter Case Study: Miscommunications with a Brazilian Auto Parts

Manufacturer

Discussion Questions

4-11. What are three of the cultural “missteps” that Wally Astor and his father–in-law,

Henry Williams, made in this scenario? Why do you think this happened?

Learning Objective: 2; AACSB: Communication abilities

First of all Henry should have notified the Brazilians in advance that he was not going to

attend; Wally should not have arrived in casual clothes and should not have tried to be

4-12. If you were a native of Brazil and advising American business representatives on

what to do when talking with Brazilian business partners, what would you tell the

Americans about Brazilian culture?

Learning Objective: 4; AACSB: Communication abilities

I would tell them that the Brazilians are more formal in opening relationships than

Americans are; I would tell them that relationships are of great importance in business

4-13. Imagine that the situation in this case study was reversed, that is, the Brazilian

businessmen were coming to the U.S. to look for a supplier. What would you tell the

Brazilians about American business culture to prepare them for success?

Learning Objective: 4; AACSB: Multicultural and diversity understanding

They should be told that Americans are not very hierarchical – we all call each other by