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Chapter 13Communicating Across

Cultures

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Culture

Shapes values, priorities, andpractices

Modern business requires dealingwith other cultures

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Successful Intercultural Communicator

Aware of ones preferred values Flexible and open to change

Sensitive to verbal and nonverbalbehavior

Aware of values, beliefs, and

practices in other culturesSensitive to differences amongindividuals within a culture

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Importance of Global Business

Exports are essential toIndividual businesses

Countrys economy Many companies depend on vendors whoare located in other countries

Managers often find they needinternational experience for top-level jobs

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Sources of Workplace DiversityGender Race and ethnicityRegional and national originSocial classReligion

AgeSexual orientationPhysical ability

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High-Context and Low-Context Cultures

High-Context Low-Context

Relationships Infer informationfrom social

relationships

Rely little onrelationships

Information Convey littleexplicitly

Spell out mostinformation

Politeness Indirect Direct

Agreements Value oral Value written

Signs Rely heavily onnonverbal signs

Rely heavily onwritten signs

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Values, Beliefs & Practices

Often unconscious Affect response to people and situations

Different cultures have different views of FairnessCompetition

SuccessSocial status

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Nonverbal Communication

Communication withoutwordsSignals such as smilesand gesturesCan be misinterpretedas easily as wordsImportant to beconscious of signalssent and received

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Time

Monochronic culturePeople focus on clock

Plan their time; avoid wasting it

Polychronic culture

People focus on relationshipsDisregard clocks and planners X

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Other Nonverbal Symbols

Hair Clothing

ColorsHeight

Age

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Oral Communication

Understatement andexaggeration

ComplimentsVoice qualities

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Voice Qualities: Tone & Pitch

Tone rising and falling that tellswhether group of words is statementor question

Pitch lowness or highness of sounds

More believable than actual words

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Voice Qualities: Stress

Stress emphasis given to oneor more words

Volume measure of loudnessor softness

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Writing to International Audiences

Write in English unless fluent inaudiences language

Buffer negative messages; makerequests indirectRe-think audience benefits

Allow extra response time

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Learning about International BusinessCommunication

Beyond a set of rulesInternational business

practices are constantlyevolving/changingSeek out and talk to people

from other backgroundsEnhance understanding of multiple perspectives