Intercultural Business Communication

Assignment 8: Final Essay Exam.

Intercultural Business Communication deals with the trends, forces and technologies involvement when doing business with multinational and multicultural people. One has to understand and be aware of various cultures to overcome any challenges encountered because of differences in culture.

Globalization is inevitable; corporate has been going over a change creating a global workplace. There been massive relocation of people around the world, and with corporate moving across the border, workspace is created with people coming from different background and culture. For international communication and to respect each other’s space business needs to understand the behaviors of people from various cultures.

During the course we went through series of theories and examples, giving us the understanding of dealing with people coming from different background. Culture could also be termed as “tradition,” is generally someone background and way the person has brought up in particular environment. Few intercultural concepts to approach the culture been talked below:

1. Hall’s Low and High Context Culture: Hall ranges the communication within the culture from low to high context. Hall explains, information and rules are explicit in low-context culture uses linear logic and direct style of communication. Whereas for high context culture, information and rules are implicit that draws upon intuition and uses indirect style of communication.

Hall describes people with high context communication tend to be extremely reserved also commitment between the people is very strong, and responsibilities to other precedence over responsibilities to oneself. In low-context culture, emphasis more on individualism and bond between people are more tenuous.

Example for high-context cultures would be Asia, Latin America and Africa countries where as low context culture includes United States and Western European countries.

I come from India, I can visibly understand India is a high context culture country, when we have festivals or family and friends gathering we invite all over to sleep overnight even if they alright to drive back home. We would force them to stay back. Whereas in America, on an invitation to Christmas party, it is expected you will return back home after the dinner. Local restaurants around the corner of my house in India generally we are regular clienteles would be same for local stores, store would even drop the item at home door step.  In America we have supermarket and convenience store for regular shopping.

1. Direct and Indirect Communications: Probably these styles of communication are most noticeable in every culture. The Western and the Asian countries can be distinctly differentiated under this style.

In a direct culture people commonly prefer to get to the point, they say things clearly and will not leaving discussion for interpretation. People in direct culture will express their opinion with complete frankness. In an indirect culture people not only focus on what is said but also how it is said. Generally people from this culture are more diplomatic in expressing their opinion.

Example for direct culture communication can be America where as most of Asian countries is indirect communicator.