curs 4 drept sem. ii

Intercultural Communication and its Impact on the Legal Field

The term "intercultural communication" is often used to refer to the wide range of communication issues that inevitably arise within an organization composed of individuals from a variety of religious, social, ethnic, and educational backgrounds. Each of these individuals brings a unique set of experiences and values to the workplace, many of which can be traced to the culture in which they grew up and now operate.

The failure to address and resolve culturally based conflicts and tensions will inevitably show up in the form of diminished performance and decreased productivity.

The importance of effective intercultural communication can hardly be overstated. Indeed, as Trudy Milburn pointed out in Management Review, communication serves not only as an expression of cultural background, but as a shaper of cultural identity.

"Cultural identities, like meaning, are socially negotiated," she wrote. "Ethnic identities, class identities, and professional identities are formed and enacted through the process of communication. What it means to be white, Jewish, or gay is based on a communication process that constructs those identities. It is more than just how one labels oneself, but how one acts in the presence of like and different others, that constructs a sense of identity and membership."

Differences in culture reflect themselves in a variety of ways. For instance, one cultural norm may have a significantly different conception of time than another, or a different idea of what constitutes appropriate body language and personal space when engaged in conversation. But most researchers, employees, and business owners agree that the most important element in effective intercultural communication concerns language. "A great deal of ethnocentrism is centered around language," said John P. Fernandez in Managing a Diverse Work Force: Regaining the Competitive Edge.

"Language issues are becoming a considerable source of conflict and inefficiency in the increasingly diverse work force throughout the world…. No corporation can be competitive if co-workers avoid, don't listen to, perceive as incompetent, or are intolerant of employees who have problems with the language. In addition, these attitudes could be carried over into their interactions with customers who speak English as a second language, resulting in disastrous effects on customer relations and, thus, the corporate bottom line."

Often overlooked in discussion of intercultural communication are the sometimes significant cultural differences that exist concerning the practice of listening. Tips about establishing culturally sensitive verbal and written communication practices within an organization are plentiful, but in many cases, relatively short shrift is given to cultural differences in listening, the flip side of the communication coin. "Codes of conduct that specify how listening should be demonstrated are based upon certain cultural assumptions about what counts as listening," said Milburn.

But while the prevailing norms of communication in Romania, for example, business may call for the listener to be quiet and offer body language (steady eye contact, for instance) intended to assure the speaker that his or her words are being heeded, many cultures have different standards that may strike the uninitiated as rude or disorienting. A person who communicates by leaning forward and getting close may be very threatening to someone who values personal space.

The key, say analysts, is to make certain that your organization recognizes that cultural differences abound in listening as well as speaking practices, and to establish intercultural communication practices accordingly.

Intercultural Communication Policies

In recent years, companies of various shapes, sizes, and in many different fields of endeavor have embraced programs designed to celebrate diversity and encourage communication between individuals and groups from different cultural backgrounds. But according to Milburn, "diversity is one of those concepts that is very context-bound. It does not have a singular meaning for everyone.

Companies that try to institute diversity programs without understanding the cultural assumptions upon which these programs are based may find it difficult to enact meaningful diversity policies.

Many companies believe that through sharing they can promote diverse cultural values. Yet, how a company defines sharing may actually hinder its diversity initiatives since some cultures have specific rules about sharing. These rules are enacted in everyday communication practices."

Most business owners recognize that their companies are far more likely to be successful if they are able to establish effective systems of intercultural communication between employees of different religious, social, and ethnic backgrounds. But profound differences in communication styles can also be found within functional areas of a company as well, and these too need to be addressed to ensure that the organization is able to operate at its highest level of efficiency. For example, employees engaged in technical fields (computers, mechanical engineering, etc.) often have educational and work backgrounds that are considerably different from workers who are engaged in "creative" areas of the company (marketing, public relations, etc.). .

These differences often manifest themselves in the modes of communication that the respective parties favor. Engineers, lawyers tend to be introverted and analytical with very logical ways of solving problems.

Consultants and researchers agree, though, that many differences between these distinct functional cultures can be addressed through proactive policies that recognize that such differences exist and work to educate everyone about the legitimacy of each culture. Poor communication can mean loss of morale, production plunges, and perhaps even a failed start-up.

Business is not conducted in an identical fashion from culture to culture. Consequently, business relations are enhanced when managerial, sales, and technical personnel are trained to be aware of areas likely to create communication difficulties and conflict across cultures. Similarly, international communication is strengthened when businesspeople can anticipate areas of commonality. Finally, business in general is enhanced when people from different cultures find new approaches to old problems, creating solutions by combining cultural perspectives and learning to see issues from the viewpoint of others.

ETHNOCENTRISM Problems in business communication conducted across

cultures often arise when participants from one culture are unable to understand culturally determined differences in communication practices, traditions, and thought processing. At the most fundamental level, problems may occur when one or more of the people involved clings to an ethnocentric view of how to conduct business. Ethnocentrism is the belief that one's own cultural group is somehow innately superior to others.

It is easy to say that ethnocentrism only affects the bigoted or those ignorant of other cultures, and so is unlikely to be a major factor in one's own business communication. Yet difficulties due to a misunderstanding of elements in cross-cultural communication may affect even enlightened people. Ethnocentrism is deceptive precisely because members of any culture perceive their own behavior as logical, since that behavior works for them. People tend to accept the values of the culture around them as absolute values. Since each culture has its own set of values, often quite divergent from those values held in other cultures, the concept of proper and improper, foolish and wise, and even right and wrong become blurred.

In international business, questions arise regarding what is proper by which culture's values, what is wise by which culture's view of the world, and what is right by whose standards.

Since no one individual is likely to recognize the subtle forms of ethnocentrism that shape who he or she is, international business practitioners must be especially careful in conducting business communication across cultures. It is necessary to try to rise above culturally imbued ways of viewing the world. To do this, one needs to understand how the perception of a given message changes depending on the culturally determined viewpoint of those communicating.

Factors Affecting IC

The communication process in international business settings is filtered through a range of variables, each of which can color perceptions on the part of both parties. These include language, environment, technology, social organization, social history and mores, conceptions of authority, and nonverbal communication behavior.

LanguageAmong the most often cited barriers to conflict-free cross-cultural business communication is the use of different languages. It is difficult to underestimate the importance that an understanding of linguistic differences plays in international business communication.

Given this reality, business consultants counsel clients to take the necessary steps to enlist the services of a good translator. Language failures between cultures typically fall into three categories: 1) gross translation problems; 2) subtle distinctions from language to language; and 3) culturally-based variations among speakers of the same language.

Gross translation errors, though frequent, may be less likely to cause conflict between parties than other language difficulties for two reasons. Indeed, the nonsensical nature of many gross translation errors often raise warning flags that are hard to miss. The parties can then backtrack and revisit the communication area that prompted the error.

Even if they are easily detected in most cases, however, gross translation errors waste time and wear on the patience of the parties involved. Additionally, for some, such errors imply a form of disrespect for the party into whose language the message is translated.

The subtle shadings that are often crucial to business negotiations are also weakened when the parties do not share a similar control of the same language. Indeed, misunderstandings may arise because of dialectical differences within the same language.

When other parties with full control over the language with whom the non-native speaker communicates assume that knowledge of this distinction exists, conflict deriving from misunderstanding is likely. Attitudes toward accents and dialects also create barriers in international business communication. The view that a particular accent suggests loyalty or familiarity to a nation or region is widespread in many languages. The use of Parisian French in Quebec, of Mexican Spanish in Spain are all noticeable, and may suggest a lack of familiarity, even if the user is fluent. More importantly, regional ties or tensions in such nations as Italy, France, or Germany among others can be suggested by the dialect a native speaker uses.

Finally, national prejudices and class distinctions are often reinforced through sociolinguistics—the social patterning of language. For example, due to regional prejudice and racism certain accents in the United States associated with urban areas, rural regions, or minorities may reinforce negative stereotypes in areas like business ability, education level, or intelligence. Similarly, some cultures use sociolinguistics to differentiate one economic class from another. Thus, in England, distinct accents are associated with the aristocracy and the middle and lower classes. These distinctions are often unknown by foreigners.

Environment and TechnologyThe ways in which people use the resources available to them may vary considerably from culture to culture. Culturally-ingrained biases regarding the natural and technological environment can create communication barriers.Many environmental factors can have a heavy influence on the development and character of cultures. Indeed, climate, topography, population size and density, and the relative availability of natural resources all contribute to the history and current conditions of individual nations or regions.

Some businesspeople, lawyers fail to modify their cross-cultural communications to accommodate environmental differences because of inflexibility toward culturally learned views of technology. Indeed, cultures have widely divergent views of technology and its role in the world. In control cultures, such as those in much of Europe and North America, technology is customarily viewed as an innately positive means for controlling the environment. In subjugation cultures, such as those of central Africa and southwestern Asia, the existing environment is viewed as innately positive, and technology is viewed with some skepticism.

In harmonization cultures, such as those common in many Native American cultures and some East Asian nations, a balance is attempted between the use of technology and the existing environment. In these cultures, neither technology nor the environment are innately good and members of such cultures see themselves as part of the environment in which they live, being neither subject to it nor master of it. Of course, it is dangerous to over-generalize about the guiding philosophies of societies as well. For example, while the United States may historically be viewed as a control culture that holds that technology is a positive that improves society, there are certainly a sizable number of voices within that culture that do not subscribe to that point of view.

Social Organization and HistorySocial organization, as it affects the workplace, is often culturally determined. One must take care not to assume that the view held in one's own culture is universal on such issues as nepotism and kinship ties, educational values, class structure and social mobility, job status and economic stratification, religious ties, political affiliation, gender differences, racism and other prejudices, attitudes toward work, and recreational or work institutions.

All of these areas have far-reaching implications for business practice. Choosing employees based on résumés, for example, is considered a primary means of selection in the United States, Canada, and much of northern Europe—all nations with comparatively weak concepts of familial relationships and kinship ties. In these cultures, nepotism is seen as subjective and likely to protect less qualified workers through familial intervention.

By contrast, it would seem anywhere from mildly to highly inappropriate to suggest to members of many Arabic, central African, Latin American, or southern European cultures to skip over hiring relatives to hire a stranger. For people in these cultures, nepotism both fulfills personal obligations and ensures a predictable level of trust and accountability. The fact that a stranger appears to be better qualified based on a superior résumés and a relatively brief interview would not necessarily affect that belief.

Similarly, the nature of praise and employee motivation can be socially determined, for different cultures have settled upon a wide array of employee reward systems, each of which reflect the social histories and values of those cultures.

Finally, it is often difficult to rid business communication of a judgmental bias when social organization varies markedly. For example, those from the United States may find it difficult to remain neutral on cultural class structures that do not reflect American values of equality.

For instance, the socially determined inferior role of women in much of the Islamic world, or of lower castes in may puzzle or anger Western citizens. Nevertheless, if the Western business-person cannot eliminate the attendant condemnation from his or her business communication, then he or she cannot expect to function effectively in that society. An individual may personally believe that a country's social system is inefficient or incorrect. Nevertheless, in the way that individual conducts business on a daily basis, it is necessary to work within the restraints of that culture to succeed. One may choose not to do business with people from such a culture, but one cannot easily impose one's own values on them and expect to succeed in the business arena.

Conceptions of AuthorityDifferent cultures often view the distribution of authority in their society differently. Views of authority in a given society affect communication in the business environment significantly, since they shape the view of how a message will be received based on the relative status or rank of the message's sender to its receiver. In other words, conceptions of authority influence the forms that managerial and other business communications take.

In working with cultures such as Israel and Sweden, which have a relatively decentralized authority conception or small "power distance," one might anticipate greater acceptance of a participative communication management model than in cultures such as France and Belgium, which generally make less use of participative management models, relying instead on authority-based decision making.

Nonverbal CommunicationAmong the most markedly varying dimensions of intercultural communication is nonverbal behavior. Knowledge of a culture conveyed through what a person says represents only a portion of what that person has communicated. Indeed, body language, clothing choices, eye contact, touching behavior, and conceptions of personal space all communicate information, no matter what the culture. A prudent business person will take the time to learn what the prevailing attitudes are in such areas before conducting businesses in an unfamiliar culture (or with a representative of that culture).

As business has turned more and more to an integrated world market to meet its needs, the difficulties of communicating at a global level have become increasingly widespread. Lack of understanding deriving from ethnocentrism or ignorance of culturally based assumptions erroneously believed to be universal can readily escalate to unproductive conflict among people of differing cultural orientation.

With the increasing numbers of workers (cultural diversity) in the EU and the growing emphasis on global markets and an interdependent and internationalized economy, the need for dealing with intercultural differences and cross-cultural communication barriers has grown.

Small business owners and representatives, co-workers face a dizzying array of communication considerations when they decide to move into the international arena, but most issues can be satisfactorily addressed by 1) respectfulness toward all people you meet; 2) thinking before speaking; and 3) research on current business etiquette, cultural and customer sensitivities, current events, and relevant history.

Measuring Your Cross-Cultural Competence

In today’s age of globalization, cross-cultural communication

has become a vital skill for lawyers to master. When you will interact with clients and colleagues on a daily basis, you are interacting with issues related to culture. Behavior, communication, relationships, parenting, decision-making, expectations and so on, all have cultural significance.

Effective cross-cultural communication is the ability to communicate with individuals from other cultures in a way that minimizes conflict, promotes greater understanding and maximizes your ability to establish trust and rapport. It requires lawyers to learn how to properly interpret non-verbal and verbal cues.

We all interpret the world through their individual cultural lens or worldview. These interpretations ultimately become positive, negative and sometimes erroneous judgments about the behavior, decisions and choices made by clients and others.

For lawyers, gaining an awareness of cultural differences can improve business development, staff retention, client service and most importantly, lawyer-client relationships.

The ability to communicate cross-culturally is tied to your level of cultural competence. As your level of cultural competence increases, so too will your cross-cultural communication skills.

So what is cultural competence? For individuals, cultural competence is the ability to function effectively in the context of cultural difference and the capacity to effectively adapt, accept and interpret culturally relevant behavior.

Think of cultural competence as a “lens” that can accurately interpret culturally relevant behavior and values.

The most effective way to determine your level of cultural competence is to take an assessment. Dr. Milton Bennett, developer of the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity, provides a good starting point to review current perspectives around culture and difference.

His model outlines 6 stages that provide insight into an individual’s level of intercultural sensitivity and cultural competence:

STAGE ONE: Denial In this stage, lawyers are unaware of cultural difference.The prevailing attitude is likely to be: “Business is business

the world over” or “Everyone would respond this way”. Lawyers in this stage of development might be so intent on the tasks at hand that they fail to notice the cultural aspects of business relationships with clients and colleagues. In this stage, there is a general lack of awareness about difference.

However, awareness is a key element in cross-cultural communication.

Effective cross-cultural communication requires that individuals have some awareness and appreciation of difference. A lawyer in denial would be completely insensitive to their client’s cultural taboos, expectations, family norms, communication and conflict styles.

While in the denial stage, lawyers will be ineffective in establishing trust and good client relations with clients from a different culture. The failure to understand the significance of cultural differences may lead lawyers to implement ineffective case strategies due to the misinterpretation of client behavior.

For lawyers in this stage, unnecessary conflicts and misunderstandings, along with an overall lack of understanding of the importance of cross-cultural communication, are common.

STAGE TWO: Defense Lawyers in this stage will recognize some cultural differences and view such differences negatively. Instead of striving to understand or interpret the patterns of conduct or communication that differ from their own culture, lawyers in defense are likely to mislabel such conduct as “wrong”, “unintelligent”, “dishonest”, etc. In this stage, the greater the difference, the more negatively it is perceived.

A criminal defense lawyer in the denial stage will most likely be frustrated by a female murder defendant from China, who is more committed to preserving family honor than asserting a claim of self defense in the murder of her husband. (For many in China, issues of honor, shame and commitment to family take precedence over individual goals and objectives.) How effectively could a lawyer in the denial stage represent this client? How might the difference in cultural worldviews and behaviors affect the lawyer’s relationship with her client?

Clearly, lawyers in this stage will struggle to communicate and work effectively with clients they perceive as different. This perception may cause otherwise well-meaning lawyers to misjudge or stereotype a client. Negative attitudes and perceptions held about people from other cultures serve to diminish cross-cultural understanding and communication, ultimately undermining a lawyer’s ability to establish a healthy and respectful relationship with his or her client.

STAGE THREE: Minimization of Difference It is common for lawyers in this stage to avoid stereotypes

and appreciate differences in language and culture. However, many will still view their own values as universal and superior, rather than viewing them simply as part of their own ethnicity and culture. As a result, it is common for lawyers in minimization to believe that everyone else shares their ideals, goals and values with regard to family, work, professionalism, humor, communication, etc. In dealing with clients, the lawyer is likely to misinterpret the client’s behavior, opinions and reactions because the lawyer will misperceive that the client shares his or her cultural values.

For example, in American culture when assessing credibility, lawyers may read a client’s or a witnesses’ failure to maintain eye contact as a sign of dishonesty. However, in many cultures, averting the eyes is a sign of respect to someone in authority. How will an inaccurate read on behavior impact the lawyer’s ability to make an accurate assessment of the credibility of a client or witness?

Lawyers in this stage focus on minimizing difference and in so doing they misread relevant behavioral and communication cues that are based on culture. Assuming similarity when none exists serves as a barrier to successful cross-cultural communication.

STAGE FOUR: Acceptance of DifferenceLawyers in this stage acknowledge that identifying significant

cultural differences is crucial to understanding and improving their interactions with individuals from other cultures.

There is an awareness of your own culture and an understanding that although individuals from other cultures communicate differently and have different ideas and customs, they are neither superior nor inferior. Lawyers in this stage are beginning to interpret culture through a culturally unbiased lens.

Lawyers who are able to accept cultural differences have the ability to shift perspectives to understand that behavior typically defined as "ordinary" in your own culture can have different meanings in different cultures.

Flexibility, adaptability and open-mindedness are the route to successful cross-cultural lawyering and communication. Understanding, embracing and addressing cultural differences leads to the breaking down of cultural barriers, and the decrease of “culture clashes”. These skills lead to better lines of communication, stronger interpersonal relationships, mutual trust and enhanced client service.

It is important for lawyers to have the ability to properly analyze and respond to clients as a basis for establishing effective lawyer-client relations.

The following is a real situation described by an immigration lawyer. It provides a great example of effective cross-cultural communication and lawyering:

The lawyer was representing a client eager to obtain his permanent residence status, so he could take a long-awaited trip home to visit family and friends.

During a discussion about timeframes for the permanent resident process, the lawyer gently explained to the client that his expectations regarding processing timelines were unreasonable and simply impossible to meet. In an attempt to “expedite” the process, the client responded by offering the lawyer a bribe.

In this situation, the lawyer was aware of his client’s cultural background, and as such, was aware that in his client’s culture, it is customary to pay officials bribes in order to expedite certain processes; in fact, such bribes were often expected.

The immigration lawyer’s awareness of his client’s background allowed him to respond in an appropriately sensitive and informative manner. Additionally, since the lawyer approached the situation with understanding instead of judgment, the lawyer-client relationship was preserved.

This example speaks to the heart of the significance of cultural awareness and competence required to develop and sustain successful attorney-client relationships.

STAGE FIVE: Adaptation to DifferenceIn this stage of development, lawyers are able to take the perspective of another culture and operate successfully within that culture. Lawyers in this stage are likely to have developed solid skills in cross-cultural communication. Their increased awareness, acceptance and ability to adapt to other cultures makes such communication possible. They are more likely to independently strive to understand the nuances of other cultures, which leads to openness and ability to connect with others.

STAGE SIX: Integration of DifferenceIn this stage, lawyers have the ability to evaluate another individual’s behavior in the frame of reference of their client, opponent, colleague or staff member. They will be able to establish rapport and read the verbal and non-verbal cues of an individual from another culture. This skill is useful in learning how to “read” people in relevant ways that are accurate as opposed to stereotypical. Lawyers in the integration stage become adept at evaluating any situation from multiple cultural frames of reference.

Additionally, lawyers in leadership roles within organizations will define their roles by demanding intercultural competence and encouraging educational training in those skills. They strive to ensure that there is respect for cultural diversity that leads to a highly diverse workforce and client base. Organizations that have successfully embraced diversity and inclusion possess a significant advantage over other organizations when dealing with diverse clientele.

The further along a lawyer is on the continuum of cultural competence, the more effectively he or she will be able to communicate with clients and others cross-culturally.

Effective cultural competence training programs should take a multi-dimensional approach and focus on helping individuals gain skills, knowledge and attitudes that encompass five elements:

1. Awareness, acceptance and appreciation of difference;

2. Awareness of your own cultural values;

3. Understanding of the dynamics of difference;

4. Development of cultural knowledge;

5. Ability to adapt and practice skills to fit the cultural context of co-workers, managers, clients and/or customers.

Most importantly, programs should be sensitive to the needs of all participants and structured in way to create a safe learning environment where each participant’s opinion is respected and valued regardless of where the individual’s skill level may lie on the cultural competence continuum.

Tips for Improving Cross-cultural Communication Although training and coaching interventions are the most effective methods of improving cross-cultural communication skills and cultural competence, the following are some things that lawyers can begin doing to improve cross-cultural communication skills:

1) Gain awareness. Become aware that although a gesture, word or response may mean something in your culture; it may mean something totally different to someone from another culture.

2) Take a look at your own culture. Understanding how your worldview and culture impacts your perception of others will help you identify instances where you may tend to use biases or stereotypes when interacting with those whom you may perceive as different.

3) Try a little understanding. In trying to better understand your clients and their motivations, understand the impact that culture plays on their values, perspectives and behavior.

4) Listen closely and pay attention. Try to focus on verbal as well as non-verbal cues and the behavior of your client. If the client seems distracted, confused, or ill at ease, ask questions.

5) Suspend judgment as much as possible. Approaching people from other cultures in a judgmental manner will hinder your ability to gain a clear understanding of the situation.

6) Be flexible. Flexibility, adaptability and open-mindedness are critical to effective cross-cultural communication. Understanding, embracing and addressing cultural differences will lead to better lines of communication, client-service and lawyering.

Lawyers who are willing to address cultural issues when dealing with clients and colleagues will enhance client relationships and improve their ability to solve problems and negotiate. Keep in mind that improving cross-cultural communication and cultural competence is a process and a journey, so be patient with yourself. Your commitment and desire to improve will go a long way towards enhancing the service you provide your clients as well as the overall quality of your lawyering skills.

curs 4 drept sem. ii

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