Cross-Cultural Communication - Unit 14 PDF

nngin Cross-Cultural UNIT 14 CROSS-CULTURAL Communication COMMUNICATION Objectives After studying this unit, you shoul...

nngin Cross-Cultural UNIT 14 CROSS-CULTURAL Communication COMMUNICATION Objectives After studying this unit, you should be able to: Understand culture and its constituents; Interpret the differences between different cultures; Synthesize strategies for handling cross-cultural communication. Structure 14.1 Introduction 14.2 Characteristics of Culture 14.3 Theories of Culture 14.4 Cross-Cultural Communication 14.5 Hofstede’s cultural dimension model 14.6 Hall’s Cultural Model 14.7 Cross-cultural Communication Barriers 14.8 Overcoming Cross-cultural Communication Barriers 14.9 Lean Media, Rich Media and Social Media 14.10 Summary 14.11 Keywords 14.12 Self-Assessment Questions 14.13 References and Further Readings 14.1 INTRODUCTION Culture has a complicated manifestation, especially with the world consisting of nationalities exhibiting cultures that lie on extremes of the continuum of measuring culture. In the present era, when global business activities are indispensable, working with colleagues and/or clients from different cultures is common place. Irrespective of the industry that you belong to, ability to effectively communicate is the core for modulating businesses. Organisations are located in a world that is interconnected in all manners. The changing norms of operations, workplaces have spread to accommodate remote teams operating in different parts of the globe catering to a culturally diverse customer base and handling supplier bases from wide-ranging locations. Hence, command on cross-cultural communication offers an edge to organisational supremacy. The most interesting aspect of culture is that even though it has a complex constitution, there is an evident pattern that can be discovered and interpreted. “Cultura '' the Latin word meaning care of body, predominantly mind, is the source of the present word Culture. Culture is a complex compilation of 231  Block B Com Headingin mmunication n beliefs, cusstoms, law, knowledge, k t traditions, ettc. that a hum man being acquires a Orgganisation while beinng a membeer of a partticular socieety. Culturee is somethiing we experience by aligning to the peoplle who havee been a part of the cultuure. The most comm mon definitiions of cultuure include music, art and theatre as the integral parrts. Culture could exist in various macro and micro system ms and hence national culturee, regional culture, corporate cultture, food cculture, traditional culture are ccommon term minologies uused to reflect the accepted and expected behavioural b patterns of people beloonging to a society. A macro culture couuld be constiituted of mu ultiple sub-cuultures, like Indian cultuure is a blend of diverse d cultuural backgroounds. It can be appliied to any human collectivelyy or categoory wise. Culture C has a significaant impact on our attitudes annd actions, not only on how h we behaave but how we w expect otthers to behave. For simplicity, the unnit will use an operatioonal definittion which defines Culture as““inherent coore values of a societyy promulgatted throughh social interaction and teachinggs.” 14.2 CHARAC C CTERIST TICS OF CULTU URE There are certain c charaacteristics of culture whicch define it. These are: Acquirred Collecttive Value system Stabilitty Differeentiator Contexxtual Comm mon yet differrent Now, let us u discuss eeach of theese characteeristics one by one forr better understandiing. Acquired Culture is what we accquire from the individduals alreadyy experiencing the culture. These could bee family mem mbers, teachhers, school mates m or collleagues in an organnisation. They are groom med on the basic rules of languagee, body language, gestures, g exppressions as well w as usagge of slangs. Once acquirred and imbibed, it becomes soo much part of us or we are a part of o it that we tend to use it onlly for diffe ferentiating between ri ight or wroong or forr being judgementaal. Observatiion is an opeerative tool in i acquiring cultural skillls. It is rightly sugggested that when you joinj a new organisationn or shift to a new housing socciety or visitt a new counntry, observe how peoplle are doing things. This helps you grasp thhe prevailingg culture theere and you can attune yyourself faster. Thiss also givess a certain kind k of exposure whichh makes youu more broad mindded. Collective Culture is not n a thing tthat can be separated s froom people. It I is somethiing that thrives with hin people. It is a comm mon way inn which mosst people thiink and 2322 nngin behave. Since it is collective hence, different countries, regions, places could Cross-Cultural Communication have drastically different cultures depending upon the collective understanding of the people in that particular culture. There is no right or wrong culture, it becomes what is best accepted by people constituting that culture. This may be something which may or may not be acceptable to people belonging to another culture. Value System Culture contributes to our value system. We tend to adhere to the core values postulated by our culture. This in turn tunes us to trust a particular set of values. Thus a group belonging to similar culture holds preeminent values. Individuals respect others who follow the core values as disseminated in the culture, for example, value towards saving versus spending; value of family oriented behaviour, etc. Stability The core values of culture fundamentally remain the same and stable over long periods of time. Any deviation from the core values may be reprimanded. Being a primer for our value system, being something that does not have a form in itself, is largely only shared and has only referential rules. Culture is something which if changes with time takes a long time to be imbibed. It requires considerable efforts to change the existing culture especially when we are doing so towards the betterment of the society. The minor changes in culture do not show a significant change in our core values. The changes in culture take time to be noticed and acknowledged and cultural consciousness is built over a period of time. Differentiator Culture operates as a collective set of mindful minds that is a distinguisher between members of one group from those of the other group. It is true that within the group the individuals would have varying characteristics, yet collectively the culture they belong to will significantly vary from other cultures. Contextual The manifestation of culture occurs through social actions which in turn experience varying contexts. Even though the context does not change culture, the interpretation or sometimes misinterpretation of culture happens during one of these fluctuating contexts. Since culture is complex and dynamic, there seems to be no method to accurately measure or assess it. There is no precise definition and no form that culture takes. It is represented by people belonging to the culture and interpreted by people belonging to the same or different culture. Thus the only thing evident is the consequences of culture. Common yet different There could be some aspects of culture that could be common between certain cultures and yet there could be demarcated differences. Certain 233  Block B Com Headingin mmunication n countries shharing the ssame language may projject differennt cultures annd vice Orgganisation versa. This possibly coould be due to t the reigns through whhich the counntry has passed. Ceertain clusterrs of countrries may prroject culturres similar to t each other. While interpretiing cultures in context of communication proccess, an understandiing of the hhistory of thee country caan assist in making the correct interpretations. 14.3 THEORIE ES OF CULTURE E Culture is based b on howw it is perceiived. There are commonnly three theooretical perspectivees in the coontext of whhich culture is viewed viz. functionalism, conflict theeory and symmbolic interaactionism. LLet us discusss these theoories in detail. Functionallist View Functionaliism refers tto the persp pective of vviewing cultture as a mode m of smootheninng the functtion of the society. s Socciety is a system with itts parts working in tandem withh each otherr to create a whole systeem. Culture offers o a bonding to this system m. It creates a synergy ammongst mem mbers of the society and offers a guide for making appropriate chooices. Culturre also facilitates in classifying the importaance laid on various matterial and no on-material aspects of the socieety. Culture inculcates what w is deem med as essenntial and im mportant for the sociiety, for exam mple, educattion in the U USA. Conflict View This view suggests thhat society is i constituteed of indiviiduals who can be classified on o the basis of gender, class, c race, age, a etc. and d hence therre is an inequality that is creeated. Accoording to tthis view, culture creeates a demarcation, sometimees a discrim mination for some peoplle because of o their value systeem. Culture, in this casee operates asa a norm, formal f or innformal, which bennefits some people andd hurts otheers. Hence, cultural diiversity derived duee to this dellineation couuld be basedd on several fronts for innstance racism, gennder bias etcc. Business culture c variees from coun ntry to counntry, for example, business b cultture in the USA U propelss profit seek king as the primary p objective of o business. On the con ntrary, Koreaan and Japaanese culturees seek consumer confidence c aand market share as thee primary business b objeectives. People beloonging to theese cultures exercise thee same sentim ment while making m decisions and a runningg action plaans. Thus, thhis view off culture prromotes conflict of interest betwween individduals dependding on which strata of society they represent. Symbolic View V The proponnents of thee symbolic view assum me culture too be based on the interpretation that peoople lay on the converssations they initiate. Thhus this view emph hasises facee-to-face orr one-to-onne conversaations more while deducing culture. It is suggested thhat culture eevolves withh conversatioons and thus is highhly malleablle and dynammic. It is intterpreted as per the sym mbolism aligned witth it. The ppeople repressent objects, individuals and enviroonment during theiir conversatiions and cu ulture develoops as a prooduct of thee same. 2344 nngin Therefore, people belonging to different countries, regions or organisations Cross-Cultural Communication will have different cultures because of the various ways in which they use words or symbols. For example, a season in which a large number of people get infected with viral infections is considered to be a bad season from the viewpoint of the medical fraternity due to more load on hospitals and healthcare workers. However, it might be considered as a good season from the viewpoint of the pharmaceutical industry due to the rise in sale of medicines. The most important factor about this view is that there is nothing like the ‘right’ view. 14.4 CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION Definition of cross-cultural communication It is the study of understanding the differences and similarities of different cultural groups so as to effectively participate within an organisation. In other words, it refers to the adaptations done by the people from different cultural backgrounds to make the communication effective. It is very important to understand the influence of cultural factors in a workplace in the present competitive environment. The better the cross-cultural communication abilities, the better is the work environment as it will avoid the communication gaps and make the environment congenial. Need for Cross-Cultural Communication Why is it necessary to understand the concept of cross-cultural communication? It is important for the organisations to understand the communication patterns of employees and the stakeholders to be successful in any business. The ability to adapt, irrespective of cultural values, makes a lot of difference. While communicating with the individuals or groups from varied cultural backgrounds, the transmission of knowledge and the behaviour play an important role. It is therefore important to comprehend how culture affects communication in turn affecting organisational operations. Elements of cross-cultural communication Many organisations which go through the process of mergers and acquisitions across the globe face the communication gap due to cultural differences. Culture is deeply ingrained in the system. Culture is something which creates a sense of security. The way we portray ourselves to the way we do business, everything has a connection. It therefore becomes pertinent to understand the basic element of cross-cultural communication. These are: Awareness Preparation Language Humour Openness 235  Block B Com Headingin mmunication n Awarenesss Orgganisation Every orgaanisation hass its own way y of workingg. It is impoortant that thhere is a common culture c in thhe organisaation which helps the employees of the organisation from diffferent backggrounds to ccommunicatte effectivelyy. This requires aw wareness aboout the differrent cultures and patiencce to understtand the way the emmployee can bbe motivatedd. Preparatioon You need to be prepared at leasst in terms of greetinggs when youu meet internationaal colleaguees. It is not necessary n thhat you shouuld know eaach and everything about theiir cultures but the facct that you u at least trried to communicaate in their own culturre shows the concern. Hugs, taps on the shoulder, and a nods are common inn some counntries but maay be considdered as harassmentt in other couuntries. Language Language isi one of the most imporrtant parts off communicaation. Each countryc has its ownn language ffor the purpo ose of comm munication. India I is suchh a vast country wiith diverse llanguages accross the coountry. You can roughlyy place them in a geographical region annd a social//cultural groouping as soon s as anyone talkks. To avoidd misundersttandings, it iis very impoortant to undderstand the languagge, be it verbbal or non-vverbal. It is nnot necessarry that if youu speak the same laanguage, thee problem off communicaation is solveed. Like in IIndia, if you are speeaking in Hinndi, it may have h certain colloquial words w too whhich the other persoon who may also be speaaking Hindi m may not com mprehend to. Humour A saying goes g that jokkes do not trranslate the ttrue meanin ng. It can be true at certain occcasions wherre a humourr in good sennse can be taken t seriously and may resultt in conflicct. Thereforre, it is im mportant thatt in cross-ccultural communicaation unneceessary humoour should be b used witth extreme caution especially at a the workpplace. Openness Apprehensiive behaviouur is commoon but there iis no need too be shy aboout it. It is not a siggn of weakness, instead it shows thaat you are cautious c not to pass comments which may turn out to be inapproppriate. Howeever, it is im mportant to be open while givingg commentss and the feeedback regarrding the sam me may be requesteed. This willl help you and a your coolleagues to connect witth each other. The undersstanding of ffive elements of cross-cuultural comm munication hhelps in building a strong annd competitiive organisation. Orgaanisations thhat are culturally competent have policiies, strategies, and sysstems in pllace to promote annd encourage effective cross-cultura c al interactionns in all asppects of human relaations, includding recruitm ment, hiring, and retentioon. 2366 nngin 14.5 HOFSTEDE’S CULTURAL DIMENSION Cross-Cultural Communication MODEL Geert Hofstede and Edward T. Hall are the two of the most prominent contributors who have given some unique perspectives on culture in their theories. We will now discuss these theories in the following sections. Culture has been deeply explained by Edward Hall, an anthropologist and author of books like ‘The Silent Language’, ‘The Hidden Dimension’, ‘Beyond Culture’, ‘Understanding Cultural Differences’, etc. where he suggests that culture is a form of communication, governed by hidden rules, that involves both speech and actions. He termed culture as a vast unexplored region of human behaviour that exists outside the range of people’s conscious awareness. Hofstede defines culture as “the collective programming of the mind distinguishing the members of one group or category of people from others” (Hofstede, 2013).Based on research conducted in more than 50 countries, Hofstede identified a total of six dimensions which could be used to distinguish one culture from another. These are as follows: 1) Power Distance Index:This index defines the degree of inequality that is accepted and actually exists within people of a particular culture. Cultures showing high scores have an unequal distribution of power across hierarchies. In countries like Malaysia, Mexico, Philippines, etc. having high power distance index (PDI) scores, all actions have to be initiated from top. Guidance, advice and directions flow essentially from top to bottom. No initiation will happen bottom up. Decisions will also be concentrated at the top level of the organisation. Business processes may take longer due to complex hierarchies. Status, age, power, seniority are respected and the lower cadre individuals take orders on this basis. Subordinates do not take decisions or any initiative, instead will wait for orders to come from the superior. They will offer their suggestions only when asked for. Countries like Austria and Denmark with low PDI scores have societies where unequal distribution of power is not acceptable. Activities are delegated appropriately and decision making is faster as decisions are taken by people who are directly affected by the decisions. This means that your questions will be answered faster or your issues will be resolved easily if you approach the right person. 2) Individualism versus Collectivism: This parameter makes an effort to measure the propensity towards attributing achievements and designing connections to an individual or a group. Societies high on individualism indicate that more importance is given to individuality. For instance, in a society with high scores on individualism, success as well as failure is attributed to an individual. On the other hand, in a society with a higher score on collectivism, there exist very close ties amongst members of the society. There exists high loyalty to the group which they represent. They take care of each other’s benefits, decisions and well-being. Countries like the USA, Australia and the United Kingdom are high on individualism and hence communication has to focus on individual and not group unlike in countries like Guatemala, Ecuador, Panama, etc. 237  Block B Com Headingin mmunication n where communicaation benefittting groupss would be appreciatedd more. Orgganisation Individdual accompplishments are appreciiated more on Individdualistic countriies. 3) Mascu ulinity versu us Femininiity: This atttribute indiccates who has h the concenntration of poower and coontrol in the society. It compares bettween a masculline work role r model and a society which has low leevel of discrim mination andd distinction n between geenders. In masculine m soocieties, men annd women play differentt roles with m men being more m assertivve, play dominaating defineed roles annd demonstrrating succeess. Countries like Japan, Hungary annd Austria project p high levels of masculinity. m On the other hand, h Sweden, Norway, Netherlands N , etc. rank lo ow on mascuulinity. 4) Uncerttainty Avoiddance Indexx: Countriess can also be b classified on the basis of o Uncertaintty Avoidancce Index (UA AI). This ind dex is a meaasure of the levvel of ambiguuity and unccertainty whiich is accepttable in the society. s Countrries low on UAI U are morre flexible annd tolerant tot a variety ofo ideas and op pinions. Couuntries like Singapore, S Sweden, Hon ng Kong, Deenmark, etc. faall under thhis category y. On the other o hand, Belgium, Greece, G Portuggal, etc. are on o the higherr side of the UAI and heence do not tolerate t uncertaainty and ammbiguity. 5) Long versus v Shorrt Term Orieentation: Thhe fifth dimeension as sugggested by Hoffstede is Lonng Term Orientation. Thhis dimension n defines thee extent of commmitment too the traditioonal values. Countries high on lonng term orientaation take a long tim me to channge due too their longg term embraccement and rrespect to thhe traditionall values. Thiis is what is evident in counntries like C China, Japann, South Koorea, Hong Kong K and Taiwan. T These countries invest in developing and mainttaining longg term commiitments and relationships. This is visible when they t deal wiith their mers, other ccountries, employees annd all the other custom o stakehholders. This orientation o iis very diff fferent in TTurkey, Vennezuela, UA AE and Switzeerland whereein the resisstance to change is low w and adoptiion and movem ment to noveel things is swifter. Theyy are eager to t and less reesistant to channge. 6) Indulggence versu us Restraint: Hofstedee refers to indulgencee as a tenden ncy to free gratification g of basic neeeds, enjoyinng, having fun f and fulfillinng desires. Social freeddom is highh. Residentss of countriies like Venezuuela, Mexicco, Sweden, Puerto Ricco, etc. are not motivaated by materiaalistic driveers. They arre not statuss conscious,, freely fulffil their desiress, don’t commpare and arre self-indulgent. Sociall status is off prime importtance. Mateerialistic po ossessions and motivvations alluure the residennts. Activity 1 Develop a short story incorporating i g the learninngs from Hoofstede’s conncept of culture. …………… ……………… ………………………… ……………… ……………… ……… 2388 …………… ……………… ………………………… ……………… ……………… ……… nngin ………………………………………………………………………………… Cross-Cultural Communication ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… 14.6 HALL’S CULTURAL MODEL Edward T. Hall is known for his contribution to the understanding of cultures. He coined the term, intercultural communication and suggested that in different cultures, individuals use different means to communicate which may range from using just words to using body language, touch behaviour and also para-verbal communication. He has classified the analysis and interpretation of how communication and interactions take place between cultures, under three categories i.e. context, space and time. Let us discuss these in detail for a better understanding. Context The context refers to how a message is communicated. In a high context culture, the most important part of the message is the physical context. This means that message is expected to be interpreted in the same context in which it is crafted. Extensive care is taken at both the sender’s and receiver’s end in creating and interpreting the message. Body language accompanying the message plays a crucial role and sometimes may be even more important than words. High context communication, using hand and arm gestures (kinesics), is more prevalent in Latin American, Asian and African cultures. United States and Northern European countries exhibit a low context culture where the message is constructed as it is meant. The message is direct and clear, reducing no scope for misunderstanding. The message is straight and precise without any adornments or unnecessary formalities. Challenges occur when individuals from high context cultures communicate with those from low context cultures. The low context culture people may miss on the important contexts provided by the body language along with the specific message and reduce the comprehensibility of the message. Largely Asian societies lay less trust on words, more on context, while European and other English speaking countries lay more emphasis on specific words and details (Kulich and Condon, 2015). Space Hall refers to space as the study of physical space and people which is termed technically as proxemics. It refers to the distance between the people who are communicating. Americans prefer to stand apart while communicating in workplace settings as compared to individuals from Spain and Philippines where people prefer to stand closer. This trait basically indicates how much one is ready to share their space with others in different settings. Communication becomes effective when the comfort zone is not intruded. Time Cultures also differ on the basis of how they handle time. In polychronic cultures, individuals indulge into multiple activities at the same time whereas 239  Block B Com Headingin mmunication n in monochrronic culturee, people tennd to do onee task at a tim me. Europeaans and Orgganisation Americans,, of monochhronic culturre, keep thee scheduled time. All business b meetings coommence annd end at thee scheduled time. They strictly folloow time even in infformal settinngs. In case of any spillover of agen nda points, another a meeting iss scheduledd instead of extending the im mmediate meeting. m Polychronic cultures, oon the other hand, h respecct people and d relationships over and above time. Time schedules are relaxed aand they are flexible to overlapo activities or o stretch thee activity beeyond scheddule. They prefer p to finnish the task at hand and can exxtend their time t schedulles to accommmodate spillovers. Individualss from each of the culttures find itt difficult orr uncomforttable to switch to thhe other cultuure. Table 1 reppresents a coomparison am mong four different cultuures on the basis b of their businness networkks and relattionship cultture. New Zealand Z andd South Africa hav ve an egalitarian cultu ure where everyone is i seen as equal. Communication strateggies are not power centtric. Contrarry to this arre India and China where the relationshipps are poweer centric an nd while haandling business, communicati c ion should be designedd to route as a per the flowf of power. Sim milarly, prevvalence of collectivism m in the Inndian and Chinese C culture is represented through t the sentiment off a group annd thereby reesulting in interdeependent coommunicatio on, as compared to an indeppendent communicaation in indivvidualistic cultures. New w Zealand an nd South Afrfrica are monochronnic since theey aim and achieve thee single objeective of achhieving business traansactions aas compared to their couunterparts who w are polycchronic and intendd to align rrelationship goals durinng business transactions. This comparisonn is an exammple of how cultures c signnificantly difffer from few w other cultures but are quite siimilar to som me geographhically distannt cultures. Table 1: Comparison of fourr cultures accross develooping busineess networks and relation nships Neew Strategies China a India Sou uth Africa Zealland Uniquenesss Soccial Unique Uniquue Social Replaceabilit R ty Replacceable Irrreplaceable Irreplaceeable Repplaceable In nterdependennce Indepeendent Intterdependentt Interdepeendent Inddependent Littlee self- Frrequent self- Frequentt self- Little self- Disclosure discloosure disclosure d disclosuure disclosure Intrinsic Tanggible Booth tangible Both tanggible Tangible T rewards goals annd intrinsic and intriinsic goals Monochroni M ic Monocchronic Polychronic Polychroonic Monnochronic vss. Polychronnic (Sourcce: Yunxia et al., a 2006) 2400 nngin 14.7 CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION Cross-Cultural Communication BARRIERS Observation and interpretation are distinct when viewed in reference to cross- cultural communication (Barna, 1982). Barriers in cross-cultural communication can be classified under five heads as given by Hofstede (2010). These are as follows: Language barrier Nonverbal communication Stereotypes Cultural Bias Anxiety Now let us discuss each of these barriers one by one in detail below. Language Barrier The knowledge of language is way more than just vocabulary and grammar. Your competence in language extends to acquiring the ability to know what needs to be said, when it needs to be said, how to frame it and why or why not to say it. Shallow knowledge of language may prove to be harmful, especially in cases where one word could have multiple meanings when used in different situations. An ideal learner would want to learn the language from a native who knows in and out of the language per se and its applications. Nonverbal Communication Nonverbal communication forms an inevitable co-partner of verbal communication. This includes gestures, posture and demeanour which elevates the language and sometimes replaces words. This unspoken language has become so much a part of us that we use it not just frequently but also habitually. During cross-cultural communication, it is best to observe nonverbal communication that is prevalent. One should be aware of those gestures or postures that may be natural to them but may be considered offensive in the other cultures. For example, crossing of legs or pointing of index finger is treated as an insult in some cultures. It is best to reconfirm in case you are not sure of the meaning of any nonverbal communication of some other culture. Stereotypes Stereotyping is preconceiving interpretations about people belonging to certain cultures. For example, if we assume that citizens of one country are aggressive and unfriendly, we will interpret all their verbal and nonverbal communication that way only. In order to remove this form of stereotyping, take the individual on his or her face value and judge them as individuals and not just as representatives of one culture. Even after being part of the same culture, they may have significantly different actions. Culture being in a fluid state may take different forms and may be represented differently. There will 241  Block B Com Headingin mmunication n always be certain things that needd to be interrpreted outside the purvview of Orgganisation culture. Reelinquishing your set steereotypes annd grasping afresh the cultural c perspectivees of anotheer culture will w help yoou acclimatize, appreciaate and apply them m during crosss-cultural coommunicatioon. Cultural Bias B This dealss with the predisposittion to asseess behavio our of indiividuals belonging tot other culttures. There could be a propensity to t assess behhaviour as good or o bad. Cuultural bias is an integral barrierr of cross-ccultural communicaation. We teend to comppare amongsst cultures, primarily ouur own culture. The ideal thingg to do in succh a situationn is to removve all preconnceived notions and become aware a of thhe other cullture. It is not approprriate to classify thiings but to aaccept the way w they aree. Watching the culture from a distance annd compreheending the bigger b picturre will help one removee cross- cultural barrriers and assist in effecttive communnication. Anxiety While com mmunicatingg with indivviduals of another cullture, most people experience anxiety. The unfamiliarr experience causes stresss. This anxiety and stress mouunts further in case knoowledge of the other culture c is minimal. m Accommoddating the unncertainty of cross-cultuural situation ns and mainntaining scope of mistake m will hhelp reduce anxiety. One must also be assured tthat the blind spot exists e at bothh ends and thus t what shhould be expected by eacch from the other is i unclear. Be B vocal ab bout what is expected in a good way to amplify com mmunicationn and develoop trust amonngst each otther. Requestting for small tips on o cultural aspects a can help both parties. Tolerrance also plays p an important role r in reducing anxiety. 14.8 O OVERCO OMING CROSS-C C CULTUR RAL C COMMUNNICATIO ON BAR RRIERS Cross-cultu ural communnication stan nds as a proocess which not only iddentifies and addresses differencces but also similarities amongst cuultural groupps so as to effectiveely engage within w a givenn context. It is more aboout adjustments that individuals belonging to differentt cultural backgrounds make in order o to improve intterpersonal aand inter gro oup communnication.In order o to colleectively reduce all barriers to cross-culturral communnication it is best to bee more patient andd tolerant durring all step ps of commuunication. Appproaching with w an open mind,, without anyy prejudice helps h both parties. Reiteerating messaages by checking iff the meaninng interpreteed by the otther person is i the same as you intended will w assist. A Accommodaating for thiings that do o not immeediately match yourr reference to context is i essential. The most ideal act willl be to pause duriing the com mplete proccess of com mmunication n, beginningg from perception, interpretattion and evaluation e aand most essentially before responding g. Flexibility in thought and a action are the prereqquisites for success todaay. The same appliees to commuunication whherein abilityy and willinggness to adaapt is an opportunityy to master ccross-culturaal communiccation. Cultuural differennces are 2422 nngin on many occasions complex and create anxiety amongst individuals Cross-Cultural Communication belonging to different cultures. Acceptance is the first step, followed by flexibility to adapt without the fear to lose your identity. There is no rule book that one can follow to get started, it is the mind-set to embrace new ideas. The best strategy is awareness. Most of the cross-cultural differences can be classified as follows: 1) Language: The speed of language differs across different cultures. Indians tend to speak English faster since they are used to speaking their native languages at a good speed. People lay emphasis on different places in a sentence, thus hinting towards where the importance needs to be put. It could lay on important words or at the end of the sentence. The emphasis and hence the focus will have to be adjusted according to the language. This variation of focus also comes due to intonation and volume. Stronger intonations indicate intensified emotions while louder voices are linked to dominance and arrogance. The rate at which one seeks responses or gives responses also changes as per nationalities. Western speakers would instantly respond as compared to Asian speakers who accept silence as a response. Japanese culture also has very strict norms on speaking in turn. They do not accept conversational overlap and treat it as impolite. Accents at times operate as a barrier to intercultural communication. Individuals speak the same language, for example English, with different accents and interpretation in this case becomes a challenge. The most apt way to overcome this barrier is to articulate clearly and speak slowly. One should also consider knowing the exact meaning of words in different languages before intermixing them. The meaning of words often changes with the situation and context in which they are being used. Care should be exercised while using words with multiple meanings. 2) Written Communication: The formality involved in written communication changes from culture to culture. Latin and Asian cultures are very formal in their communication contrary to their counterparts in the UK and USA who believe in brief and efficient communication. In order to overcome this barrier, it is suggested that the format of written communication should be first understood and then executed. The style of written communication has to be learnt and not assumed. Electronic communication has made the world closer and may take different forms, email, voice communication, video communication, etc. Different social media platforms require different skills to communicate. 3) Listening: Both passive and active listening skills add extensive value to effective communication. This process assists in decoding messages and interpreting what is being said. The process involves receiving the message, interpreting it using a frame of reference, remembering or storing the message, evaluating the accuracy of the content and finally responding using verbal and/or non-verbal response. In countries like Japan, China and Finland, listening is a reflective process wherein the listener maintains silence till the time the speaker finishes speaking. This is their way of active listening and helps in absorbing what the speaker is 243  Block B Com Headingin mmunication n saying before responding. Sileence in thesee cultures shhould not be treated Orgganisation as a syymbol of nonn-attentiveneess. Some lissteners may tend to jumpp in the converrsation beforre the speakeer is able to ccomplete hiss message. 4) Non-VVerbal Comm munication: This comm munication goes g beyond words, sometimes compplementing and soometimes replacing verbal commuunication. N Non-verbal communication contributtes a major portion of the message. IIt can take the form of gestures, facial expreessions, posturee, appearancce, touch, distance, d paaralinguistic,, colour or odour. Gesturres offer richhness to com mmunicationn in several cultures. c Jappan and China are two couuntries wherre gestures are largely restrained and a not used freely. f Africcans and Latin L Americans use gestures g andd facial expressions to addd emotionaal touch to the words they use. Caution C d be exerciseed in how these should t gesturres are interrpreted in ddifferent culturees. Posture may add to t the perceeption peopple have abbout an dual. For insstance, standding tall is sseen as a siggn of confidence in individ the western countries but is treeated as arroggance in the eastern counntries. Body languuage also reequires to be b understoood with its norms. n In order o to interpret body b languaage correcttly,one shouuld understtand the poostures, gestures, coomments orr situation.The famous w wobbling off the head inn India has differennt meanings depending uponu the situuation in whhich it is perfformed. It could sommetimes meean no, while at times itt is an act off affirmationn to the speaker. Thhe direction of wobble could c sometiimes be teassing and som metimes authoritativ ve. One needds to match it i with the siituation, movvement of eyyes and sometimes movement of hands, to o understandd the accuraate meaningg of the message. Eye E contact, ttechnically called c oculessics, is an esssential part of non- verbal commmunication.. Western cuulture promootes eye con ntact with lissteners. Eastern cullture, contrarrily, suggestts that direct eye contactt with peoplee senior or elder to oneself is diisrespectful. Similarly, smiling s at sttrangers is a sign of happiness ini the USA A but is regaarded as strrange and innappropriatee in the Eastern culltures. Touch beh haviour (happtics) and facial expreessions varyy from cultture to culture,so does para-vverbal comm munication llike voice volume, v the use of silence, andd conversatioonal overlap p. Touching each other most m often inndicates personal reelationships. People embbrace each other during meetings in Russia whereas Britishers B prrefer to avvoid touchinng except handshakes. Firm handshakess during meeetings are a sign of ccollaborationn in most Western W countries. Japanese, J hoowever, avooid body coontact and prefer p to bow w. The extent to which w they bow b dependds on the seeniority of th he person opposite o them. Figure 1 reepresents thee strategies which one ccan follow to t overcomee cross- cultural com mmunicationn. 2444 nngin Cross-Cultural Communication Figure 1: Strategies to Overcome Barriers of Cross-cultural Communication It is often noticed that the cause of communication problems or misunderstanding, which could lead to conflict, occur due to cultural differences amongst individuals. Hofstede suggests that in order to overcome these cross-cultural communication barriers, it is best suited to interpret the conversation only after deep diving into the other culture. More than half the battle in building rapport across very different cultures is understanding. Observation must precede interpretation and attribution. The largest challenges are faced by businesses who as a product of globalization have to operate in multiple countries. The demarked differences between cultures are faced on a daily basis. This demands development of intercultural communication skills amongst individuals of both cultures.Cultural differences have an impact on how we conduct our relationships. They determine, in part, how easily we can build rapport. Activity 2 You have a Japanese colleague, Ms A, whom you have known for the past so many years. You are currently working on a project with Ms A and have been giving time and energy into the project while also balancing other work too. You have a deadline to meet on Ms A’s project, but it now seems as if you will not be able to meet the deadline because of some technical challenges. Your staff also has a summer vacation schedule. You know that Ms A will get upset, and that she has little respect for the fact that so many of your staff goes on leave at the same time. You want to reassure Ms A that you are doing your best and will sincerely try to meet the deadline. Please e-mail Ms A to let her know about the situation keeping in mind her communication style as Ms A tends to value and express concern for others; social necessities, such as apologies for difficulties; a strong work ethic; and predictability and commitment. ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… 245  Block B Com Headingin mmunication n …………… ……………… ………………………… ……………… ……………… ……… Orgganisation …………… ……………… ………………………… ……………… ……………… ……… …………… ……………… ………………………… ……………… ……………… ……… …………… ……………… ………………………… ……………… ……………… ……… …………… ……………… ………………………… ……………… ……………… ……… 14.9 LEAN ME EDIA, RIICH ME EDIA AN ND SOCIA AL M MEDIA Media hass taken vaarious form ms thus prroviding diifferent forrms of communicaation. Lean media m is meddia that is geenerally asynnchronous inn nature and thus saacrifices thee possibility of immediaate feedback k and possibbility of social cues during commmunication.. Lack of vissual cues or limited verbbal cues could causee ambiguity in interpretaation and with no chancce to counterr check the contentt, may lead to misunderrstanding. Most M popularr examples of lean media inclu ude text messsages, emaills, bulletin bboards, etc. While W choossing the most effecttive channel for enhancing the efffectiveness of a messagge, one must analy yse the naature of th he informattion that iss required to be communicaated. Lean media m is mosst suited forr messages thhat are routiine and unambiguoous. Media richn ness is the inndicator of the t impact off information on understtanding within a deefined time interval. Richness relattes to the level of learnning the communicaation offers. Face-to-facce, telephoniic, live chat sessions aree media rich as com mpared to em mail. Media richness theeory relates tot giving maanagers an aid to in ncrease effecctiveness off communicaation. Richneess of messaage can be evaluateed using parameters likke capacity to include personal p foccus and immediate feedback, laanguages useed, multiple hints etc. Messages M em mbedded with uncleaar informatioon with mulltiple interprretations shoould use richh media like face-tto-face or telephonic communicaation. Inforrmation meeant to communicaate only puree facts can be b conveyedd using mediia which aree low in richness likke business letters, texxt message, etc. Figuree 2 depicts certain characteristtics of mediaa. Figure 2: Characteristics C s of Media thaat determines richness of information proocessed 2466 nngin (Source: Daft and Lengel, 1984) Cross-Cultural Communication Social media uses multiple online platforms. It helps in sharing and collaborating information online. Communication on these platforms is crucial since organisations while communicating with other stakeholders build in a virtual image and equity. Today, the younger population procures most of their information through these social media platforms. The actions and reactions have been loud since information at times is unfiltered. There is a sense of urgency for receiving responses. Social media has also created a pressure to share something. This could sometimes create information that is not required. The language used in social media has become more informal, abbreviated, unfiltered, and emotional and oozes with catchy things that make the information viral. Social media has definitely given traditional media, run for its money. It offers options to brands to connect directly and personally with its audiences. Social media definitely is a powerful communication media with a huge impact in contemporary times. 14.10 SUMMARY Culture is the inherent core values of a society promulgated through social interaction and teachings. It is acquired and collective. It has a value system and is largely stable. It operates as a differentiator between members belonging to different cultures and it changes with context. Some societies have similar cultures but a few are significantly different from others. The theories of culture suggest three contexts under which culture can be viewed as functionalist view, conflict view and symbolic view. Hofstede’s cultural dimension model suggests that cultures could be classified on the basis of power distance index, individualism versus collectivism, masculinity versus femininity, uncertainty avoidance index, long versus short term orientation and indulgence versus restraint. Edward T. Hall has classified the analysis and interpretation of how communication and interactions between cultures, under three categories, context, space and time.Communication gets significantly impacted due to differences in cultures. These cross-cultural barriers could be due to the language spoken, non-verbal communication, stereotypes, cultural bias or anxiety. Awareness, acceptance and adjustment are the key to overcoming barriers of cross-cultural behaviour. In order to excel cross-cultural behaviour caution attention should be placed on language, written communication, listening and non-verbal communication which includes body language, touch behaviour, eye contact, gestures and space. Lean media and rich media theories highlight the two different versions of communication channels. Lean media is suitable for unambiguous messages as there is a lack of immediate feedback. Rich media consists of telephonic and face-to-face communication where immediate feedback can be taken from the listener. Such rich media channels are suitable for transmitting ambiguous messages. With the emergence of social media platforms, various newer means of communication has become a rage among the younger population. Communication through social media platforms is much swifter and widely accessible. It is a beneficial tool for marketing and easy 247  Block B Com Headingin mmunication n communicaation amongg people. However, H thiis can lead to spread of o fake Orgganisation informationn and at timees chaos. 14.11 KEYWOR K RDS Culture: Culture C is a complex x compilatioon of belieefs, customss, law, knowledge, traditions,, etc. that a human being b acquirres while being b a member off a particular society. Stereotyping: Stereotyyping is pree conceivingg interpretattions about people belonging to t certain cuultures. Power DisttanceIndex: The degreee of inequaliity that is acccepted and actually a exists withiin people. Proxemics: The study of physical space and peeople. Polychroniic: Ability too handle mu ultiple activitties at the sam me time. Monochronic: Handlinng only one activity at one time. 14.12 SE ELF-ASS SESSME ENT QUE ESTION NS 1) Evaluaate the cultuure of the United U Statees of Americca on the basis b of Hofsteede’s culturall dimensionss. 2) Assesss two ways inn which verb bal languagee and body laanguage mayy differ betweeen different cultures. c 3) Compaare Eastern and Westerrn culture on o at least five parameeters as propossed by Hofstede and Hall. 4) Explain n the possiible barrierss that couldd occur du uring cross-ccultural commuunication. 5) “Awarreness, accepptance and addjustment arre the key to o overcomingg cross- culturaal communiccation.” Com mment. 14.13 REFEREN R NCES AN ND FUR RTHER READING R GS Barna, LaRRay (1982). “Stumbling g Blocks in Interculturall Communiccation.” In Interculttural Commuunication: A Reader, 330–38, editedd by Larry Saamovar & Richard Porter. Belmmont, CA: Wadsworth. W Brian J. Hurn and Barrry Tomaliin (2013).Cross- C Cultural Communicaation.Theoryy and Practiice. Palgravee Macmillan. Hofstede, G. H. (20001). Cultu ure’s consequences: Comparing C values, behaviors, institutions and organnisations acrross nationss. Thousandd Oaks: Sage. Hofstede, G. H. (20113). National Culture. Retrieved from: http://geert- hofstede.coom/national-culture.htmll 2488 nngin Kulich, S. J. & Condon, J. C. (2015). Culture and communication: Cross-Cultural Communication Celebrating a centennial of E. T. Hall’s contributions. The FutureLearn Intercultural Communication Course. Shanghai, China: Shanghai International Studies University. Lengel, R.H. and R.L. Daft (1989).The Selection of Communication Media as an Executive Skill. Academy of Management Executive, 2, 3, 225-232. Tomalin, B. and Nicks, M. (2010).The World’s Business Cultures and How to Unlock Them (London: Thorogood Publishing). Yunxia Zhu, Pieter Nel& Ravi Bhat (2006).A Cross-cultural Study of Communication Strategies for Building Business Relationships.International Journal of Cross-cultural Management, 6; 319. 249