Effective Intercultural Business Communications - Research Paper Example

The importance of intercultural business communications: An analysis of England BY YOU YOUR SCHOOL INFO HERE HERE The importance of intercultural business communications: an analysis of England 1. Introduction This essay explores the dynamics of culture and what it constitutes in order to facilitate more effective intercultural business communications. Understanding what underpins a culture is important for business leaders hailing from a different culture as there can be problems with comprehension about the intention of a message when the receiver from another culture is using their own home country culture variables to try to make meaning and significance about what another is communicating. This essay explores elements of England’s culture, a country with a rich and long history and the presence of many multi-national firms, in an effort to determine what intercultural business communications strategies might be most effective when foreign partners must work alongside English professionals. 2. Literature review a. Culture Culture is best defined as being an integration of socially-driven processes and learned behaviours that are not explained by biology, but are learned as a product of a society’s social norms (Henslin 2005). Culture consists of shared beliefs and social values that influence behaviours and the patterns of thinking of a society’s population. Common symbols that establish a foundation of cohesive social conventions define culture, which governs emotions and establishes the framework for achieving positive social inclusion and membership (Kunda 1992). Culture, therefore, explains a society’s preferred way of life and manifests itself in the type of clothing a society wears, their religious beliefs, family relationship dynamics, language and social interactions (James and Szeman 2010). Culture is a patterned method of feeling and behaving that is acquired through social symbols. Culture is often developed as a result of shared trans-generational experiences and social learning that is underpinned by historical scenarios (Sackman 1991). Geert Hofstede, a renowned cultural researcher and theorist, refers to culture as a collective encoding of cognitions and attitudes that serve to distinguish one group’s members from another group (Hofstede and Hofstede 2005). Culture functions as an element of society as it underpins social practices and behaviours that provide meaning and identity for a group. It serves as the foundation for the methods by which individuals or members of the culture express themselves and find significance in relation to their membership with others that share similar values, beliefs and social ideologies. Culture mobilises unity among group members in areas of politics, the economy and the social environment. Culture can be either liberating or oppressive (Mann 1995) depending on whether an individual maintains in-group membership status or out-group status in relation to the degree to which the individual maintains cohesive ideologies aligned or disparate from the prevailing dominant cultural group. Culture is not static, however. It consistently changes or fragments as a result of new social attitudes, technologies or national events, as well as new attitudes from emerging generational demographics. However, it should best be recognised that culture functions in society as a type of standard or model that constructs national identity and creates the customs that drive social interactions. One of the most respected models of measuring culture was offered by Geert Hofstede, a Cultural Dimensions framework that describes key cultural attributes that characterise national behaviours and identities. Figure 1 illustrates these dimensions: Figure 1: Hofstede’s cultural measurement framework Source: Modified from: Hofstede, G. and Hofstede, G.J. (2005). Cultures and organisations. According to this model, individualism or collectivism is the degree to which group-based or individual needs are prioritised and whether strong group membership is deemed critical (Cheung, et al. 2008) or whether individualistic autonomy preferred. Power distance is the degree to which power disparity in a society is accepted or rejected. A masculine society is one that thrives on competition, success or personal achievement whilst a feminine-oriented society is more concerned about social empathy and equality. Uncertainty avoidance is the degree to which a culture embraces ambiguity or whether consistency and certainty guide decision-making (Hofstede 2001). Finally, long-term versus short-term orientation determines the extent to which respect for tradition is prevalent or whether planning for the future is deemed more desirable and relevant. Hofstede’s model is one of the most respected cultural measurement metrics. This model provides a holistic overview of a national culture in an effort to explain why a particular culture behaves, establishes professional and social relationships, the ideologies of a regional government, and general attitudes that guide cultural attitudes and beliefs. It is this framework that will be utilised to explore the dynamics of British culture. b. Intercultural business communication International businesses have grown in volume as a result of increasing globalisation. Multi-national companies have found business growth as a result of economic inter-dependency and enhanced technological revolutions throughout the world. Global businesses often have very diverse employee populations hailing from different cultures and sharing unique ethnic characteristics whilst also working with business partners maintaining different etiquette expectations, values and social customs that must be considered for effective and productive relationship development between disparate cultures (Faiza 2013). For international businesses to be successful, establishing a repertoire between very different cultures is critical to build a successful business, establish joint ventures and strategic alliances or even successfully service foreign market needs effectively. Hence, intercultural business communications is the art of communication that makes it possible to share knowledge and information between disparate cultural groups. Through the process of gaining understanding about how different cultures behave from one’s one and how a different culture encodes and interprets messages, a framework for effective communications can be established. It is not just language differences that create a need for intercultural business communications effectiveness, it is about understanding their social expectations, their thinking patterns, customs, and even religions that must be considered in communications style and approach (Hogan 2007). It cannot be stressed enough that cultural research is a fundamental catalyst for building an effective intercultural business communications strategy. One of the main problems with cross-cultural communication is in how a message is delivered. When communicating between members of the same culture, who share the same values and beliefs, how a message is interpreted is usually simplistic as the sender conveys and communes in similar fashion to the receiver. However, when cultures are disparate in discourse, receivers utilise strategies and information stemming from their home culture as a means of interpreting what is being said (Morris, Williams, Leung, Larrick, Mendoza and Bhatnagar 1998). Therefore, a receiver of the message may very well interpret what is being discussed in a fashion quite different than the intention of the original message. This can lead to misunderstandings and animosity in some instances, which conflicts the quality of relationship development between the sender and the receiver. This is how intercultural business communications strategies work effectively: this paradigm provides a framework or benchmark by which to fully understand the differing cultural characteristics of a receiving audience in order to employ more effective and culturally-relevant message delivery strategies that facilitate greater cross-cultural understandings and avoids conflict and discord that can occur when two or more different cultures are unable to fully understand one another. To further elaborate, one can consider a manager working at a multi-national company that hails from a culture where getting down to business quickly is considered a cultural demand in the business environment. However, when working with a potentially lucrative customer from another nation where slow and deliberate relationships are desired and trust established before conducting business, to approach communications without formal socialisation strategies might very well lose this customer who demands more confidence before agreeing to contract an agreement. Hence, intercultural business communications teach an individual about the dynamics of a foreign culture, foster learning, and build a foundation for using strategies of communication that will have the most positive impact on the receiver when using his or her home culture interpretation methods to decipher the intent of discourse. The Laray Barna model of intercultural communication provides an excellent framework by which to study culture. This model provides guidance for overcoming potential barriers to effective cross-cultural communication. It is the Laray Barna model of the stumbling blocks to effective intercultural business communications that will serve to examine England and its cultural characteristics. According to Barna (1997), these factors include: Ethnocentrism – belief in the superiority of one’s home culture. Wrong Assumptions – Failure to understand, comprehensively, the dynamics of another culture. Language Barriers – Lack of congruency in vocabulary, slang, syntax and concepts. Prejudice – Maintaining negative opinion and lack of respect for a particular culture. 3. Country study – England The English culture is characterised by considerable British ethnocentrism. Most of these cultural values are founded on centuries of monarchical rule throughout the world that had established a dominant and powerful empire that dominated many other regions of the world (Richmond 2005). High ethnocentrism lays the foundation for values and beliefs that a culture is better than another and establishes a proud national identity. British ethnocentrism manifests itself in television programming, music, film, media and language (Aguilar 2000). English citizens maintain a great deal of pride and gratification at symbols that represent the British culture, such as the country’s flag and the presence of the reigning monarchical family. High ethnocentrism may also explain the masculine characteristics of this society, whereby success, achievement and ambitious culture (Hofstede Centre 2014). Ambitions related to personal and workplace performance characterise this culture which may very well be a product of the long-standing dominant hegemony that was experienced by Britain throughout history that focused on national sustainment and achievement of greater territorial control throughout the world. It is likely that English citizens and professionals will want performance-driven results and set high standards of achievement for themselves. The British culture is also tolerant of ambiguity and uncertainty, a type of go with the flow mentality (Hofstede Centre). This means that in the professional environment, British employees will likely be more willing to make risky decisions and exhibit daring entrepreneurial behaviours in order to bring greater business successes. There will likely be less demand for in-depth feasibility reports and quantitative metrics to be produced when making professional strategic decisions, but instead making rational judgments based on changing conditions and then acting rather quickly on them when opportunities are spotted. There is also a great evidence of a great deal of prejudice, perhaps as a result of ethnocentrism factors, toward certain nations, namely India (Firmansah 2011). India and other nations that were once under British rule gained their independence which eroded some of the hegemonic authority of the historical British Empire. These prejudices have been taught from generation to generation which serves as a form of learned stereotypes that drive cultural decision-making and interaction with certain foreign cultures. From a different perspective, British citizens are very individualistic, whereby self-expression and the pursuit of one’s one fulfilment are recurrent themes within the family dynamic and related to professionalism. British citizens want to be the masters of their own destiny and do not often consider the sentiment of reference groups in society when making personal decisions that better lifestyle. This has led to an increase in consumerism throughout the country and a strengthening of the capitalistic culture (Hofstede Centre). It is likely that the world would find the presence of many different subcultures within the dominant culture as a means of expressing individualism that is disparate from prevailing social norms. Christianity is the dominant religion in the UK. Hence, the majority of social customs are likely derived of this faith, such as the do unto others credo which suggests social equality. The government also illustrates many ideologies founded on Christianity such as creating human welfare programs and job enrichment policies to build better lifestyles and human capital for all citizens. However, in recent years, there was been a marked social change that somewhat appears to deviate from this equality-driven ideology. The UK is becoming characterised by a growing disparity between the upper class and middle class as a result of adopting the capitalistic ideology of other Western developed nations. This disparity has created more prevalence in the phenomenon of conspicuous consumption, whereby an individual strives to achieve a more positive social standing through the consumption of premium-priced and luxury goods distributed throughout the country in high-end retailers. It is likely, therefore, that British citizens will openly discuss their merchandise purchases and opinions of high quality brands as part of regular social discourse. After emerging from the 2008-2010 recession, buyer markets have grown tired of frugality driven by economic circumstances and are adopting a trend toward ostentatiousness that is marking the development of a consumerist culture. This social change occurring recently would seem to have significant benefits for international businesses conducting business activity in this country. As many foreign countries, such as China and Japan, are beginning to establish new regulatory reform in the business sector to incorporate a capitalistic ideology, it is likely that British consumers will be readily accepting of foreign businesses that can provide more economic stability and more high quality foreign products for distribution into the country to enhance lifestyle and potentially social status. This country once sustaining a long-term orientation is now moving toward a short-term orientation culture with more emphasis on personal indulgence. This new consumerism as a cultural artefact might even break down elements of ethnocentrism and prejudice against countries such as India that is now becoming an active producer of products for distribution throughout the world. It may open new lines of patient discourse for relationship-building with British professionals in an effort to improve the lifestyles of middle class consumers that have struggles achieving social prominence against the upper class, hence re-injecting equality in a nation with considerable social disparity. 4. Conclusion Evidence of prejudice and ethnocentrism could theoretically complicate effective cross-cultural business communications. However, the cultural tendency that is changing in recent years toward self-indulgence and the creation of social self-identity through consumption could potentially break down these long-standing opinion and attitude about foreign businesses. By adopting foreign brand merchandise, it brings buyers closer to foreign countries and thereby fosters the foundation for long-term relationships with overseas business partners. To bring England better quality of life is a norm of citizens and government, therefore the shift toward short-term orientation, individualism and a social desire to bridge the gap of power distance between upper and middle class citizens could very well strengthen the quality of intercultural business relationships and open new lines of effective communications toward improving the economic and social condition of the UK. Foreigners visiting England, however, should be considerate that very strong pride in the nation (ethnocentrism) drives many social opinions of British citizens. It may manifest itself in the ability of foreign professionals to make friends in the social environment and may also be manifest in how citizens engage in negative discourse against other nations. Therefore, it would be recommended to use some level of formality when discussing the socio-political dynamics of the English nation to iterate respect and honour for this very long-standing nation with a rich history. It would also be a recommendation that when attempting to make acquaintances, to approach individuals rather than the group in order to find commonalities in values and beliefs. With English persons being unique and self-expressive as individuals, group loyalties are not as important and therefore socialisation would be more effective at a one-on-one level. References Aguilar, M.J.C. (2000). Culture and power: challenging discourses. Alboraya: Servei de Publicacions. Barna, L. (1997). Stumbling blocks in intercultural communication, in L. Samovar and R. Porter (eds.), Intercultural communication: a reader. Belmont: Wadsworth. Cheung, F.M., Cheung, S.F., Zhang, J., Leung, K., Leong, F. and Yeh, K.H. (2008). 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