Communication Issues - Essay Example

COMMUNICATION ISSUES What communication issues that our company may face when entering into China? In order to expand the business to China, the company will indeed face a lot of communication issues due to the vast differences between the cultures, values, way of livings, mindsets and perceptions of the people of China and those of UK. People from different culture encode and decode messages differently which causes misunderstanding. Successful communication occurs when both the sender and the receiver understand the same information as a result of the communication(Communication Skills - Start Here!, n.d.). Communication involves multiple messages sent via multiple signal systems and culture has a persistent impact on the encoding and decoding of both verbal and nonverbal signals, which makes misunderstanding inevitable in intercultural communication (Matsumoto, Yoo and LeRoux, 2007). People from different culture may have different rules of exchanging signals and therefore, there is inherent uncertainty in exchanging information. Expansion of our business to China means dealing with the Chinese Government, the local businesses, the distributors and various other important entities. All of these parties communicate using their own language, Chinese. They feel pride in speaking their own language and most of them do not know English. Basically, the culture affects the thinking process of human behaviour. It affects the thinking pattern, values and therefore eventually influences the communication processes. Therefore, in coming paragraphs, I will be discussing about the various differences between the culture of China and the U.K. and the possible hindrance that may occur due to these differences in the communication process while I will also mention the solution to these issues wherever possible. The main dissimilarity that I have found is the vast contextual difference between UK’s and China’s culture. China is a high-context culture while U.K. is relatively low context culture. In high context cultures, messages are less spelled out explicitly and communicated more implicitly or in indirect ways(Differences in Cultures, n.d.). However, in a low context culture, emphasis is given to exchanging of information in an explicit manner. Many things are left unsaid in high context cultures which are expected to be implicitly understood(High and Low Context, n.d.). Due to this high-context culture, Chinese use a great deal of non-verbal communication during their work. Their facial expressions, postures, tone of voice, gestures and other expressions shows what they are feeling. For example, frowning means disagreement and looking into the other person’s eyes is considered disrespect. Moving from a low context culture into a high context culture is more cumbersome than moving from a high context culture into a low context culture. China is a past-oriented society, which means that Chinese are concerned about their traditional values. They are slow in adapting changes and are more conservative in management. On the other hand, UK is a future-oriented society where people are more optimistic about the future. Therefore, Chinese people may resist toward complete strange and new methods of working. Therefore, it is advisable that they must be allowed to work according to their own style to the possible extent. The working methods of Chinese employee drastically differ from that of ours. Here we have very organized working environment which might not be realistic in China. Chinese give importance to relationships, protocols and rankings, and hierarchy influences all aspects of their life (Chinas culture and protocols, n.d.). Ranks are considered seriously and therefore, rank difference needs to be kept in mind while communicating. Treating a high rank official informally is considered to be a big issue and may even result in deteriorating relationships. Another important and interesting reason for communication problem is that people in China find it very hard to say directly ‘No’ to anything. You will always get an indirect answer from a Chinese if the response is in negative. According to them, saying ‘no’ causes embarrassment and loss of face (Chinese Communication Styles, n.d.). They usually reject anything by using phrases such as, “Yes. But it might be hard” or something similar. I have also come to know that Chinese people don’t want to do business with companies that they do not know. Therefore, adding an intermediary becomes crucial for introducing and guaranteeing for the reliability of our company. The business etiquettes in China are different from that of the U.K. For example, winning and dining are considered to a part of relationships building. Also, there are certain rituals such as ‘Gan Bei’ and others where people are encouraged to take part. Not attending such rituals are considered to be bad manner, therefore, it is advisable that the rituals must be attended for building relationships. Another important factor that needs to be consider is China’s repression of media to speak anything against the government or anything which may deemed to be inappropriate for the well being of the state. Therefore, extra care is needed while speaking to the media. Also, it should be kept in mind that Chinese business persons will try their best to avoid the media. They may even remain silent, if asked a question by the media. Things that needs to be considered while operating in China: Chinese avoid touch content while meeting with someone. They prefer a slight bow of the head as compared to a handshake. Bowing or nodding is the part of the culture for greeting someone. However, you may also be offered a handshake. But you should wait for the Chinese to offer their hand first. You should offer formal introduction while meeting someone new. They appreciate this thing. Being late is considered a very big issue in China. Therefore, the time should be followed strictly. Also, if you want to meet someone, you should contact the person prior to your visit and ask for a suitable time. Meetings in China are considered to be an official ceremony, where the already mutually agreed decisions are announced. On the other hand, here the decision making process mostly takes place during meetings(International Business Cultures, n.d.). It should also be kept in mind that in China, face-to-face meetings are preferred as compared to the written or telephonic communication. Also, one should bring copies of the written documents in meeting for sharing it with others. For giving or receiving business cards, use both of your hands. Eating all your meal on your plate is assumed that you did not receive enough food and you want more. Therefore, leave a little of it on the plate on formal dinners/meetings. Also, we should know that there is no such thing as gender biasness. Female and male both are treated equally. Also, it should be kept in mind that business discussion should be avoided during meals. It is considered a bad manner. There is also a different approach for accepting and giving gift to Chinese. Gifts such as clocks, handkerchiefs, cutting utensils should be avoided as they are related to grief. Gifting a food item is a good choice. Also avoid number 4 which is considered an unlucky number whereas number 8 is considered the luckiest number. Gifts should not be opened when received and gifts are usually refused three times before they are accepted(China - Language, Culture, Customs and Etiquette, n.d.). Conclusion: Expanding the business in China does not at all mean that our non-Chinese employees who will be working in our China offices should be able to speak fluent Chinese(Kluver, n.d.). However, the main emphasis should be on understanding the culture of China. There are many successful examples of Western entrepreneurs who have been doing business there successfully for a long period with little knowledge of the language. The language barrier problem may be overcome by either employing Chinese-speaking staff or hiring interpreters. The younger generation of China have more modern approach toward business and many of them have acquired international education and therefore can speak and understand English. Therefore, it is advisable that the company should hire more young employees whereever possible. On the other side, it is better that the interpreters should be mainland Chinese and our own bilingual staff. The process of adaptation will really help us to better communicate with the Chinese people. Adaptation is the process of altering one’s behaviour to fit in with a changed environment and it is based on sociocultural domain(Ward, n.d.). However, I feel necessary here to mention that there are both positive and negative affect of adapting to a new culture. The positive outcomes include gains in language competence, self-esteem, awareness, self-confidence, good interpersonal relationships, the development of multicultural identities etc. The negative outcomes include psychological and psychosomatic concerns, emotional distress, dysfunctional communication, culture shook, depression and anxiety. In short, we need to understand the culture of China in order to make the communication process effective. 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Matsumoto, D., Yoo, S.H. and LeRoux, J.A. (ed.) (2007) Handbook of Intercultural Communication, New York: Mouton de Gruyter, Available: http://www.davidmatsumoto.info/Books/chapter3.pdf. Ward, C. (n.d) The A, B, Cs of Acculturation, New York: Oxford University Press. Read More