Communication in Crossculture

Communication in Cross-Cultural Context
Bholanath Dutta* The influence of culture on communication is so strong that anthropologist Edward Hall says, “Culture is communication and communication is culture”. Differences in cultural values and perceptions can be a quiet and invisible source of great misunderstanding between people. In today’s gloablized market, where there is a free flow of human resources across geographical boundaries, across various cultures, it has become imperative to understand the importance of intercultural communication process. Against this backdrop, this paper discusses the various issues and challenges in cross-cultural communication.

He is an eloquent man who can treat humble subjects with delicacy, lofty things impressively and moderate things temperately. —Cicero

Introduction
‘Culture’ has often been defined in simplistic terms as life-style of people of a community. But culture means much more; it encompasses various attitudinal and behavioral dimensions such as values, beliefs, expectations, norms, etc. All these make culture a complex thing to understand and has drawn the attention of researchers to study the various dimensions of culture and its impact on the people living within that culture. Within a culture there may be various sub-cultures on the basis of ethnic groups, religious groups, professions, etc., and differences exist among them. Many studies by behavioral scientists prove that all the people who belong to a particular culture have similarity in their thinking and behavior. Culture differs from one group to another and these differences can affect the level of trust and openness in communication that one can achieve with people of other cultures. Hence, understanding cross-cultural communication is very important. Cross-cultural communication is becoming increasingly relevant in today’s borderless world. People are moving freely from one country to another on business assignments, and for leisure and entertainment. Therefore, there is a necessity of understanding other cultures. Primarily, cross-cultural communication focuses on how people from different cultures can communicate and understand each other well.
* Senior Lecturer and Assistant Placement Officer, CMR Institute of Technology, Bangalore, India. E-mail: [e-mail]

© 2008 The Icfai in Cross-Cultural Context Communication University Press. All Rights Reserved.

7

Here is an example of how cultural differences can affect the trust level and open communication: An American and a Chinese were visiting a cemetery where their friends had been buried. The American was carrying a beautiful bunch of flowers to put on his friend’s grave. The Chinese was carrying a bowl of cooked rice and some fruits. The American found it ridiculous that one would leave food at a grave. “Do you really think,” asked the American, barely hiding his contempt, “that your dead friend will come and eat the food you leave at the grave?” “Yes, of course,” retorted the startled Chinese after a moment’s pause, “My friend will come and eat the food around the time your friend comes out to smell the flowers you’re leaving for him.” It was a friendly dig at each other’s culture. It grew from the difficulty the American had in understanding the Chinese custom. Fortunately, for the two, the cultural differences did not threaten their friendship. However, one’s culture can be a major block, especially in international communication. A person’s journey starts in one’s own culture. As a person grows up, he imbibes various values, beliefs and norms which are inherited/practiced in that culture. Culture perceives and teaches the differences between good and bad. It defines the behavior of the people in that culture. Culture passes on from person to person and from generation to generation. To communicate effectively with people of other culture, understanding their culture is very important. Understanding their culture removes the attitudinal and behavioral barriers in communication. Without understanding the culture, communication can lead to misunderstanding. Consider these cultural mishaps: When Hewlett-Packard (HP) brought its US engineers together with French engineers to design software, cultural differences got in the way. The US engineers sent long and detailed e-mails to their counterparts in France. French engineers viewed the lengthy messages as patronizing and reverted with prompt and very precise e-mails. This made the US engineers believe that French engineers were withholding some information. This led to a greater confusion and misunderstanding between them until HP hired a consulting firm to provide cultural training so that both sides could learn to work through their differences.

Globalization
Globalization is the order of the day. No company restricts itself to national boundaries. Advanced technology, greater market opportunity, Internet, telecommunication and travel are the drivers of globalization and integration of the world-market. Advanced technologies enable people to work through video and teleconferencing without the need to travel throughout the world. Globalization has made the integration of supply chain and outsourcing cheaper and facilitated production across the world. The natural boundaries and national borders have become blurred, for the most part, as the companies look for new growth opportunities for their goods and services. Even a small domestic firm is now able to market its product in the global market with the help of technologies like internet, modern transportation system, etc.
8 The Icfai University Journal of Soft Skills, Vol. II, No. 2, 2008

The Multicultural Workforce
The US economy is a good example of a multicultural workforce. People from various ethnic backgrounds like Asian and African compose the majority of immigrants apart from people from Europe, Canada, and Latin America. They all bring along with them, their own culture and language to the workplace. This diversity affects how business communication is conceived, planned, sent, received and interpreted in the workplace. Until a few years ago, before the globalization of the Indian economy, and before IT boom, only a tiny minority of middle and senior level managers and senior bureaucrats needed to communicate across cultures. But today, the scenario is different. Young executives are moving across the world on their assignments. Fresh graduates are getting overseas placements and those who do not proceed abroad also need to communicate with foreigners through e-mail, telephone, video-conferencing, etc. There are two types of problems in communicating with people across cultures. The first is the inability to note and read the symbols other cultures display. It is as good as those symbols not being there. The second is the tendency to attach to the symbols meanings perceived and derived from one’s own culture. In either case, there is a great potential for serious misinterpretation of the symbols. What makes it worse is that one may not even realize that there has been a serious instance of misunderstanding. When there is a clash of cultures, members of both cultures should take a tolerant and open view of the features of the ‘foreign’ culture. The vast differences between the Indian and Western cultures make a strong case for mutual understanding and acceptance of each other’s culture. We need to take extra care because we stand to lose more if we fail to understand the Western culture and communicate accordingly.

Understanding Intercultural Communication
We can communicate effectively in a cross-cultural context if we understand how one culture differs from another and on what basis. There are mainly four types of cultural differences:

Contextual
Cultural contexts have a major influence on the way people interpret messages. High-context cultures like Taiwan or South Korea rely more on non-verbal communication than verbal communication; wheras low-context culture like the US or Germany, rely more on verbal communication than non-verbal communication.

Social Differences
Social behavior is another distinguishing factor among cultures. In the US, people are materialistic and think that money can solve most of the problems and is one of the important ends to be achieved. But in India, money is not the ultimate objective. A sense of spiritualism exists in the Indian culture irrespective of religion, caste and creed. In the West, the perception of time normally relates more to the immediate past, present and the immediate future. Whereas in India, our perception of the dimension

Communication in Cross-Cultural Context

9

of time is very flexible and spans over much longer duration. Social behavior also dictates the role and status of people in the society. In Western countries women play a prominent role in business, politics, sports, etc. But, till few years ago not many women played a major role in politics, business, etc., in India. It is only recently that Indian women started entering in all the areas. This is a positive change in the role women play in the society.

Non-Verbal Differences
It is very important to understand the differences in the meanings which non-verbal communication conveys in the context of different cultures. The simplest hand gesture may signify different meaning from one culture to another. Interpreting gestures according to one’s own culture can lead to misunderstanding. So understanding the body language of people of different cultures will help in effective communication.

Indian Culture vs. Western Culture
Compared to the last two decades, a very large number of young Indian executives and professionals now routinely communicate with people from other cultures especially American and European. And there are challenges in communicating with western culture. We react to the situations as and when they occur, but people in the West like to control the future. They are highly receptive, they view mistakes positively and encourage criticism and learn out of them, but here it is different. People in the West emphasize more on individual’s performance and achievements. Hence, they believe in innovation, take correct decision, and are not averse to take risks. But in our case, most of the time, we consult others before taking a simple decision. Our status depends largely on our genealogy that is caste and our relationships. But in the West, what an individual has achieved determines his real status. These differences in cultural values affect our cross-cultural communication seriously. If we are not aware of the differences in cultural values, our communication may be far from satisfactory—we may not perceive certain symbols displayed by foreigners, or we may give them inappropriate meanings based on what those symbols stand for in our culture.

Overcoming the Barriers
To communicate more effectively with people from other cultures, one needs to understand other cultures well and develop the intercultural communication skills. One should read articles and books of other cultures, and talk to people who have interacted with people of other cultures. One needs to know about each culture’s history, religion, politics, values and customs. One must also know about a country’s subcultures, especially its business subculture and protocol. This knowledge makes it easier to communicate with people of other cultures.
10 The Icfai University Journal of Soft Skills, Vol. II, No. 2, 2008

The mantra for effective cross-cultural communication is knowledge. First, it is essential that people understand the potential problems of cross-cultural communication, and make a conscious effort to overcome these problems. Second, it is important to admit that one’s efforts will not always be successful, and adjust one’s behavior appropriately. For example, one should always realize that there is a significant possibility that cultural differences could cause communication problems, and be willing to be patient and forgiving, rather than be hostile and aggressive, if problems develop. One should respond slowly and carefully in cross-cultural exchanges, rather than come to a conclusion that one knows what is being thought and said. Often misinterpretation is the source of the problem. Active listening can sometimes be used to avoid this, by repeating what one thinks one has heard, and confirm that one has understood the communication accurately. Active listening helps to reduce misunderstandings, which could arise because of words whose meanings vary across cultures, dialects and ethnic groups. Often intermediaries who are familiar with both cultures can be helpful in cross-cultural communication. They can translate both the substance and the manner of what is said.

Conclusion
In today’s pluralistic society, cross-cultural communication is not only a need but a mantra for success. The cost of poor communication in cross-cultural context is insurmountably high. Being able to communicate effectively across cultures increases the success in global market place, enables productive interpersonal relationships and decreases mutual misunderstanding. So, for today’s business leaders, it is paramount to understand the various issues and challenges in cross-cultural communication and adequate training on the subject is advisable.

Bibliography
1. Bovee Thill Schatzman (2002), Business Communication Today, pp. 92-116, 7th Edition, Pearson Education, Delhi. 2. Charles J Margerison (1996), The Art of Effective Communication, pp. 185-186, 1st Indian Edition, Excel Publisher, New Delhi. 3. Dalmar Fisher (1999), Communications in Organizations, pp. 46-52, 2nd Edition, Jaico Publishing House, Delhi. 4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-cultural_communication 5. http://www.fpg.unc.edu/~nv/pages/res_cross_cultural.cfm 6. http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/ 7. http://www.questia.com/library/communication/intercultural-communication.jsp 8. John Hayes (2002), Interpersonal Skills at Work, pp. 71-95, 2nd Edition, Routledge Publisher, USA.
Communication in Cross-Cultural Context 11

9. Lewis R D (1996), When Cultures Collide, pp. 171-175, 1st Edition, Nicholas Brealey Publisher, London. 10. Matthukutty M Monippally (2001), Business Communication Strategies, pp. 44-62, 1st Edition, Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Limited, New Delhi. 11. Prasad L M (1989), Principles and Practice of Management, pp. 608-630, 4th Edition, Sultan Chand & Sons, New Delhi. 12. Rayudu C S (1997), Communication, pp. 54-57, 1st Edition, Himalaya Publishing House, Mumbai. 13. William B Gudykunst and Ting-Toomey Stella (1998), Culture and Interpersonal Communication, Sage publication, Beverly Hills, Chapters 1-5.

Reference # 50J-2008-06-01-01

12

The Icfai University Journal of Soft Skills, Vol. II, No. 2, 2008

Bibliography: 1. Bovee Thill Schatzman (2002), Business Communication Today, pp. 92-116, 7th Edition, Pearson Education, Delhi. 2. Charles J Margerison (1996), The Art of Effective Communication, pp. 185-186, 1st Indian Edition, Excel Publisher, New Delhi. 3. Dalmar Fisher (1999), Communications in Organizations, pp. 46-52, 2nd Edition, Jaico Publishing House, Delhi. 4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-cultural_communication 5. http://www.fpg.unc.edu/~nv/pages/res_cross_cultural.cfm 6. http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/ 7. http://www.questia.com/library/communication/intercultural-communication.jsp 8. John Hayes (2002), Interpersonal Skills at Work, pp. 71-95, 2nd Edition, Routledge Publisher, USA. Communication in Cross-Cultural Context 11 9. Lewis R D (1996), When Cultures Collide, pp. 171-175, 1st Edition, Nicholas Brealey Publisher, London. 10. Matthukutty M Monippally (2001), Business Communication Strategies, pp. 44-62, 1st Edition, Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Limited, New Delhi. 11. Prasad L M (1989), Principles and Practice of Management, pp. 608-630, 4th Edition, Sultan Chand & Sons, New Delhi. 12. Rayudu C S (1997), Communication, pp. 54-57, 1st Edition, Himalaya Publishing House, Mumbai. 13. William B Gudykunst and Ting-Toomey Stella (1998), Culture and Interpersonal Communication, Sage publication, Beverly Hills, Chapters 1-5. Reference # 50J-2008-06-01-01 12 The Icfai University Journal of Soft Skills, Vol. II, No. 2, 2008