ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION With the world becoming a global village and distances becoming shorter with the introduction of faster and better methods of transport and communication, there

has been a huge amount of interaction amongst various cultures and geographies. Intercultural communication takes place when individuals influenced by different cultural communities negotiate shared meanings in interaction. 1 It is very important that people running businesses or projects need to be very sensitive to intercultural factors as these can have a very high impact on the results. Traditional theories of group identity recognize two types of group identity: 2 (CommGap, 2012) Ascribed identity is the set of demographic and role descriptions that others in an interaction assume to hold true for you. Ascribed identity is often a function of ones physical appearance, ethnic connotations of ones name, or other stereotypical associations. Avowed identity is comprised of the group affiliations that one feels most intensely. For example, if an individual is assimilated into a new culture, then the values and practices of that destination culture will figure importantly in her avowed culture. A related concept is reference group. A reference group is a social entity from which one draws ones avowed identity. It is a group in which one feels competent and at ease. Communication Theory of Identity (CTI)3 and related ideas propose that your cultural group membership is not a static label or fixed attribute. Rather, cultural identities are enacted or performed through interaction. One enacts identity through choice of language, nonverbal signs such as gesture and clothing, and discourse strategy.4 In everyday communications where diverse cultures are involved like big organizations with employees from diverse backgrounds and working from multiple locations, there is a lot of cultural baggage that different identities bring to the table. These are not just verbal, but can also include non verbal communication like gestures and sometimes even silence. For better performance it is essential that management take care to sensitize its employees and team members on the importance of intercultural communication. Similarly in governments and various other organizations that deal with various cultures like United Nations and its affiliates, cross cultural communication is of paramount importance. With improved communication tools and the advent of internet, social media has taken over prominence and it has to a very large extent brought about more knowledge about other cultures, promoting healthy cultural communication. It has broken barriers like distance, cultures, anonymity and the need for introductions.

1 2

Ting Toomey, S. (1999). Communicating across cultures. New York: The Guilford Press. Collier, M.J. (1997). Cultural identity and intercultural communication. In L.A Samovar and R.E. Porter (Eds.), Intercultural communication: A reader, 8th ed., 36-44. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Press. 3 Heht, M. L., Warren, J.R., Jung, E. & Krieger, J.L. (2005). The communication theory of identity: Development, theoretical perspective and future directions. In W.R. Gudykunst (Ed.), Theorizing about intercultural communication, 257-278. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. 4 http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTGOVACC/Resources/InterculturalCommweb.pdf:2;

Intercultural communication also has an impact on the overall communication competence of the individuals involved. It has covered almost all facets of life including politics, business and trade.

Intercultural Communication and the role of Social Media Social media has played an important role in a lot of different sectors but it has made the biggest impact on promoting cross cultural communication. While social media does have its advantages like promoting interaction between people who would otherwise never have interacted, it does have its own problems like anonymity. There is likelihood that individuals may lie or falsify their details to ingratiate themselves with their target audience/group. Even within similar cultural groups, there are obvious examples of difficulties in communication based on the language used in social media and the tools used also (SocialIgnition, 2012)

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Bibliography
CommGap. (2012). InterculturalCommweb.pdf. Retrieved December 22, 2012, from www.worldbank.org: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTGOVACC/Resources/InterculturalCommweb.p df Gudykunst, W. (2003). Cross-cultural and intercultural communication. In W. Gudykunst, Intercultural Communication: Introduction (pp. 163-166). CA: Sage. Ting Toomey, S. (1999). Communicating across cultures. New York: The Guilford Press.