Aspects of Business Communication - Assignment Example

? Cultural Communications Cultural Communications The article presented gave information about the fact that the workplace has changed over the years. The author of the article states that the workplace is now where people are struggling to communicate because of cultural differences. One of the challenges that occur in the workplace is that communication protocols are different for different cultures. When these communication protocols are not understood, cultures can come into conflict. This essay will discuss various aspects of business communication and what can be done to educate people across cultures. U.S. Business Communication Protocols In the United States, when someone is involved in business, there are certain protocols that are expected to be followed. The United States is an individualist society which basically means that individual is more important than the group. Because of this, many businesses are organized so that the individual must do their own work, unless there is a team. Of course, if there is a team, each individual on the team is expected to do their own work. In the United States, time is considered very important and people are expected to be punctual when approaching their jobs and/or meetings. Americans also expect that people who are “on time” are more reputable than those who are late. They also decide that people who use time well are more reliable and people who can be counted on, then those who do not use time well (“USA-Language”, n.d.). In most cases, business meets begin with a strong handshake, a smile and saying “hello” and people begin a meeting promptly on time whenever possible. Also, business people are expected to maintain eye contact and first names are used. Business dress can vary depending on where the individual is located, the season, and the industry the individual works within. Also, business cards are exchanged and business cards are carried in a wallet or a purse. Challenges that Protocols Create Across Culture There are many challenges that come into play when Americans interact with other cultures. LeBaron (2003) suggests that mis-communication is very easy to do when people do not understand each other’s differences in four areas: “Time and space, face and personal responsibly, face and face-saving and nonverbal communication” (p. 2). Time and Space As stated before, time is very important to most Americans and time is synonymous with progress. Americans see a monochromic time approach which makes time linear and focuses on one event or interaction between people or events once at time. In Eastern cultures, as an example, time is fluid and there is no beginning or starting point. They believe in a “polychonous” system (LeBaron, 2003, p. 3) that one may find that people talk together, all at once, with several conversations going on at the same time. In business, when people are negotiating terms of a contract or conflict arises, people in monochromic time systems can become very impatient if they do not understand polychonous systems (LeBaron, 2003). Fate and Personal Responsibility Many Americans believe that they have the choice of forging their own destinies and they are confident that they can conquer anything. If an individual has something, they perceive as failure, they are often told that they just have to try again. In this environment, “action, efficacy, and achievement” are more important than anything else (LeBaron, 2003, p. 4). In many other cultures (Native American, Chinese) there can be respect for everything in the world. In other words, they believe that there is a “natural order of things” (LeBaron, 2003, p. 4) that needs to be followed. When these two cultures class, the first may see the second as lazy or think they are dishonest. The second person, who believes in a natural order of things, may see the first person as arrogant or pushy. Face and Face Saving Face, according to LeBaron (2003) is often considered as the way that an individual seems themselves in the light of someone else’ opinion. The idea of face can lead to an individual’s status, or how they are seen by others in power, or it could mean that the individual is respected. In an environment like the one described, many cultures feel that saving face is more important than anything else. As an example, if an individual is self-directed they may feel that they must show a particular image to people in order to save face. To someone else, it may be to save face in front of their group (LeBaron, 2003). As an example, in some tribal cultures, it is important to save faith in front of ones tribe. Nonverbal Communication In America, as stated previously, it is important to smile, to shake hands when people first meet (sometimes shaking hands happens all the time) and to look them in the eye when talking to them. Also, Americans do not pay as much attention to nonverbal communication because they are considered a “low-content” culture (LeBaron, 2003, p. 5), and this means that they are more focused on speaking and the meanings of words. Also, the meaning of non-verbal communication may be different across cultures. As an example, an American may smile to show friendliness, but a Japanese person may smile to ease the “blow” if he or she were talking about a death in his or her family. Some Japanese believe that one does not inflict the pain of grief on other people. Theoretical Applications Lauring (2011) provides insight into theory that underpins intercultural communication. Lauring (2011) states that social structure is the basis of some intercultural communication because it has to do with the way that people conduct themselves in the world. Each culture has a social structure that they have been born into and taught as they grow up. To be effective in intercultural communication, individuals must understand that communication is an integral part of groups coming together and interacting with one another. Busch (2012) points out that there are many theoretical ways to look at intercultural communication. Some researchers see culture as knowledge and they believe that providing more education to people of different cultures is the best way to help intercultural communication and resolve conflict. Some researchers, called “interculturalists” (Busch, 2012, p. 11) believe that there are high and low context cultures. Busch (2012) states that interactions between cultures will need to understand “culture specific forms of communication” (Busch, 2012, p. 11) in order to resolve conflicts. Management researchers see interactions between cultures not as a need for knowledge, but more so a need for more interaction with the group. Recommendations Because the United States has become a global marketplace, it is imperative that Americans understand different cultures. In a Goggle search for this paper, there were hundreds of international websites that told people across the world what to expect in America and how to interact with Americans; Americans need to do the same. I believe that Human Resources can being this process by making sure that people are trained on this topic and learn to communicate more effectively; employees also have to be motivated to communicate effectively. Kupka et al. (2009) state that employee motivation to communicate across cultures is very important because this motivation suggests how far a relationship can be built with people from different countries. The authors provide a scale that can be used to test the anxiety, trust and self-efficacy of employees who may be interested in a global position. This student believes that if an individual is going to move into a global position, it is very important for them to have training in intercultural communication and be motivated to learn and work with people of different cultures. Busch (2009) suggests that Human Resource and other college programs should build into their programs intercultural competence in order to help students become more employable. This student agrees with this because the workplace is so competitive today, that if a student is able to move into the workplace and is able to show cultural competence, he or she may find a job easier. Busch (2009) talked to many employers who agreed that if a student comes to them with a high level of skill in this area, they are automatically more employable. Conclusion In today’s global economy, it is important that everyone learns cultural communication. Everyone must understand that their culture will have different styles of communication and what means one thing in one culture, may mean something entirely different in another. The authors in this essay pointed out that the use and understanding of time, nonverbal communication and saving face may be different from culture to culture. There are many theories that describe intercultural communicate as important and this may depend on whether an individual sees intercultural communication as a need for more education or a need for more interaction. Intercultural communication is important as people expand their skills in Human Resources and in other industries. Without cultural competence, there will always be conflict because people bring to their jobs their personal beliefs. References Burgess, G. and Burgess, H. (2012). Intercultural communication. Beyond Intractability Blog. Retrieved from http://www.beyondintractability.org/ Busch, D. (2009). What kind of intercultural competence will contribute to students' future job employability?. Intercultural Education, 20(5), 429-438. doi:10.1080/14675980903371290 Busch, D. (2012). Cultural theory and conflict management in organizations: How does theory shape our understanding of culture in practice?. International Journal Of Cross Cultural Management, 12(1), 9-24. doi:10.1177/1470595811413106 Kupka, B., Everett, A. M., Atkins, S. G., Mertesacker, M., Walters, L., Walters, T., & ... Bolten, J. (2009). The intercultural communication motivation scale: An instrument to assess motivational training needs of candidates for international assignments. Human Resource Management, 48(5), 717-744. Lauring, J. (2011). Intercultural organizational communication: The social organizing of interaction in international encounters. Journal Of Business Communication, 48(3), 231-255. doi:10.1177/0021943611406500 LeBaron, M. (2003). Cross-Cultural Communication. Beyond Intractability. Eds. Guy Burgess and Heidi Burgess. Conflict Information Consortium, University of Colorado, Boulder. Retrieved from http://www.beyondintractability.org/bi-essay/cross-cultural-communication USA - Language, culture, customs and etiquette (n.d.). Kwintessential. Retrieved from http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/usa.html Read More