McGraw-Hill/Irwin International Management © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved. International Management Phatak, Bhagat, and Kashlak

McGraw-Hill/Irwin International Management © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved. Chapter 12 Communicating Across Borders and Cultures

12-3 Learning Objectives Understand the meaning and significance of communication in international companies and the way that culture differences and cultural context influence the process of communication. Discuss the significance of various forms of communication, such as verbal and non-verbal. Identify the possible barriers to communication across borders and cultures. Understand the implications of computer-aided communication in global companies. Discuss the convergence and divergence of communication patterns around the world. Apply the concepts to improve communication processes across borders and cultures.

12-4 Chapter Topics What is Communication? The Cross-Cultural Communication Process The Medium of Communication Context of Communication Barriers to Effective Communication The Role of Information Technology in Communication Across Borders and Cultures Guidelines for Managing Across Borders and Cultures

12-5 Communication … is the process of conveying data, information, ideas, and thoughts from one person to another

12-6 Ex. 12-1: National and Cultural Influences on the Communication Process MEDIUM NOISE Sender Decoding Message Sender Encoding Message Receiver Decoding Message Receiver Encoding Feedback National and Cultural Context

12-7 The Communication Process 1. The sender has an ideas 2. The sender encodes the idea: word, facial expression, gesture.. 3. The sender transmit the message: chooses a communication channels (verbal or nonverbal, spoken or written) and a medium (telephone, letter, memo, , report, face to face exchange) 4. The receiver gets the message 5. The receiver decodes the message: absorb and understand the meaning

12-8 Jargons Technical terms used in business, science, or art. They are also specific to the environments in which they evolve. In many cases this may cause a barrier to communication as many may not understand

12-9 National and Cultural Context Factors of national and cultural context that affect communication process: Beliefs about what is correct to communicate The status of the sender and the receiver Attitude toward the content of the message Stereotypes of the other culture Cultural preferences regarding the medium used Educational level and professional competence of the sender and the receiver

12-10 Medium of Communication Verbal communication consists of any oral or written means of transmitting a message, through words Non-verbal communication is the art and science of communicating without using words, either in written or spoken form (cues, gestures, facial expression, spatial relations, attitudes)

12-11 Flaming The act of sending emotional messages without considering the implications. In this respect, s can cause more problems, compared to more traditional forms of written communication that allow more time for reflection before transmission

12-12 (Nonverbal Communication) a- Kinesics Behavior Refers to body movements Physical postures ( body movements e.g.: arm-crossing, and leg-crossing) Gestures (include waving, pointing, and using fingers to indicate number amounts, arm position. Other gestures are arbitrary and related to culture)

12-13 Facial expressions Eye contact

12-14 (Nonverbal Communication) b- Proxemics (Physical Distances) The study of how people perceive the physical spaces around them.

12-15 Ex. 12-2: A Typology of Physical Distances Intimate DistanceContact-18 inches – a distance reserved for comforting, protecting, and lovemaking. seen amongst people who share an intimate relationship. The distance includes embracing, touching or whispering amongst close ones Personal Distance18 inches-4 feet – Observed between good friends. Includes general interactions among good friends. Social distance4-12 feet – used by acquaintances and strangers in more formal settings e.g. working colleagues or business associates Public Distance12-25 feet – distance at which the recognition of others is not required. It is used while interacting with strangers or also used while public speaking.

12-16 High Contact and Low Contact Cultures High Contact Cultures Cultures that encourage people to use their senses – to stay close to each other and touch each other in the process of communicating – as part of the communication process E.g., countries in the Mediterranean, the Middle-East, Latin America, and Southern and Eastern Europe Low Contact Cultures Cultures where the preference is to stand apart and not touch each other while communicating. E.g., the USA

12-17 Context of Communication High Context Cultures Cultures where members do not convey feeling and thoughts very explicitly and must develop an ability to detect subtle meanings and non- verbal messages that are present in the physical context of the communication High context cultures are more common in the eastern cultures than in western, and in countries with low racial diversity. have a strong sense of traditions and history, and change little over time E.g., cultures of Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, the Mediterranean, and parts of Africa Low Context Cultures Cultures where communication does not need the detailed information demanded for communication in high context cultures E.g., Canada, USA, Western and Northern Europe

12-18 Ex. 12-3: Contrasting Patterns of Communication in Low Versus High Context Cultures Japan Middle East Latin America Africa Mediterranean England France North America Scandinavia Germany Switzerland High Low HighExplicitness of Communication (low context/explicit) (high context/implicit) Context

12-19 Barriers to Effective Communication Across Borders and Cultures 1. Perceptual and language differences: Affect how people see the world, no two people perceive things exactly the same way. The more experiences people share, the more likely they will be to understand each other. Perception also influence how people develop language, which depends on shared definitions for meaning, and is shaped by their culture. 2. Restrictive structures and management: Formal channels tend to cause distortion, as each link in the communication channels holds the potential for misinterpretation. If managers aren't diligent in their efforts to communicate down the formal network, their message can became fragmented so that employees never get the picture.

12-20 Cont. 3. Distractions: Whether physical or emotional, or the result of information overload. 4. Unethical communication: Unethical communicators can use deceptive communication tactics to manipulate their receivers. 5. Number of massage increases: Two much information is as bad as too little. It reduces the audience’s ability to concentrate on the most important data. You must distinguish between necessary and unnecessary information.

12-21 Selective Perception and Stereotypes Perception is the process of receiving information from the external world around us. We decide what kind of information we should notice carefully, how to categorize the information, and how to incorporate it into our existing knowledge framework. Stereotyping is the process of attributing traits to people on the basis of their group membership. how the looks of people should match to their character. Stereotypes tend to define people by their demographic, ethnic, organizational, and national memberships. They are typically generalizations based on minimal or limited knowledge about a group to which the person doing the stereotyping does not belong Ex. stereotyped Jews as "scheming merchants "

12-22 Ex. 12-4: Self-Disclosure and Intercultural Communication - - Public self Private self Public self Private self + - Intercultural Communication: American Style JapaneseAmerican

12-23 Ex (contd.) Public self Private self Public self Private self Intercultural Communication: Japanese Style JapaneseAmerican

12-24 Elaborate Versus Succinct Communication Elaborate communication uses a large quantity of words to convey a message, and often includes exaggeration metaphors, analogies, and proverbs to make a point Succinct communication uses the least amount of words necessary to convey a message

12-25 Guidelines for Effective Communication Across Borders and Cultures Learn the language of the country Developing cultural sensitivity in communication Learning to properly encode and decode messages Developing appropriate feedback mechanisms Developing empathy

12-26 Key Terms and Concepts Communication Verbal communication Nonverbal communication Computer-mediated communication Kinesic behavior Proxemics High contact cultures Low contact cultures Stereotyping Saving face

12-27 Key Terms and Concepts (contd.) Self-disclosure Humor Truthfulness Silence