Cross-Cultural Communications in Business

MGT 3003, Business Communication & Professional Development

Dr. Bennie Wilson University of Texas at San Antonio

Were Going To Talk About.

A

Communications Model What is Culture? Good Cross-Cultural

Communicators
High-Context

Cultures Low-Context Cultures

A Communications Model
Channel

Sender

Message

Audience

Feedback

A Better Communications Model

Context
Channel

Sender

Message

Audience

Feedback

What is Culture???
Provides

patterns of acceptable behavior & beliefs. May be based on. Nationality Race and Religion Historical Roots All of the Above

Good Intercultural Communicators Are.

Aware

values & behaviors not always right. & open to

Flexible

change.

And..
Sensitive

to verbal & nonverbal behavior. Aware of values, beliefs, practices of other cultures. Sensitive to differences within cultures.

HIGH CONTEXT VS. LOW CONTEXT CULTURES

High-Context Cultures
Infer information from message context, rather than from content. Asian Prefer indirectness, politeness & ambiguity. Latin American Convey little information Middle Eastern explicitly. Rely heavily on nonverbal signs.

Low-Context Cultures
Rely more on content rather than on context. European Explicitly spell out information. Scandinavian Value directness. North American See indirectness as manipulative. Value written word more than oral statements.

Some Cultural Scenarios

Japan

China

India

Mexico

JAPAN
To help her American Company establish a presence in Japan, Mrs. Torres wants to hire a local interpreter who can advise her on business customs. Ms. Tomari has superb qualifications on paper, but when Mrs. Torres tries to probe about her experience, Ms. Tomari just says, I will do my best. I will try very hard. She never gives details about any of the previous positions she has held. Mrs. Torres begins to wonder if Ms. Tamari's rsum is inflated.

CHINA
Stan Williams wants to negotiate a joint venture between his American firm and a Beijing-based company. He asks Tung-Sen Lee if the Chinese people have enough discretionary income to afford his product. Mr. Lee is silent for a time, and then says, Your product is good. People in the West must like it. Stan smiles, pleased that Mr. Lee recognizes the quality of his product, and he leaves a contract for Mr. Lee to sign. Weeks later, Stan still hasnt heard anything. If China is going to be so inefficient, he wonders if his company should try to do business there.

INDIA
Gloria Johnson is proud of her participatory management style. Assigned in Bombay on behalf of her U.S.-based company, she is careful not to give orders but to ask for suggestions. But the employees rarely suggest anything. Even a formal suggestion system she established does not work. Worse still, she doesnt sense the respect and camaraderie that she felt at the plant she managed in Texas. Perhaps the people in India just are not ready for a woman boss.

MEXICO
Alan Caldwell is a U.S. sales representative in Mexico City. He makes appointments with Senr Lopez and is careful to be on time, but his host is frequently late. To save time, Alan tries to get right to business, his host wants to talk about sightseeing and about Alans family. Even worse, the meetings are interrupted constantly with phone calls, long conversations with other people, and even customers children who come into the office. Alans first report to his home office is very negative. He hasnt yet made a sale. Perhaps Mexico just isnt the right place to do business.

Cross-Cultural Communications in Business

MGT 3003, Business Communication & Professional Development
Dr. Bennie Wilson University of Texas at San Antonio