Cross-Cultural Communication

Cross-cultural communication has been an integral component of business in recent decades, as globalisation has created a situation where countries depend more and more on each other (Asgary & Walle 2002). Achieving this has been through the use of both verbal and non-verbal communication. Both these forms of communication have their advantages as well as their shortcomings, but are necessary in order to communicate in the current globalised world. Achieving successful, effective cross-cultural communication is a difficult task, as Reisinger (2009) argues. Issues such as the linguistic differences amongst countries, distance and cultural values can hinder effective cross-cultural communication, however both these forms of communication are necessary for effective cross-cultural communication as they can target different areas of communication that exists cross-culturally in today’s globalised world. Verbal communication is important for cross-cultural communication as it is the main form of communication amongst different countries, and it provides the most reliable form of communication. It is reliable as it provides numerous advantages to the communicators, such as providing an opportunity for elaboration where necessary, an intimate interaction amongst the people involved, as well as the ability to receive instantaneous feedback (Wright & Whalley 1979). However, there are issues involved with using verbal communication for cross-cultural communication, one of the major issues being the language barrier amongst different countries. In today’s globalised world, business transactions are now being done at global level, incorporating not only western countries such as the USA and European countries, but also Asian countries such as China and India. Communicating in a network with such different and diverse languages is difficult to do verbally, and learning a completely different language takes up time and resources. Hence, it is more viable to communicate at this

References: Asgary, N & Walle, A 2002, ‘The cultural impact of globalisation: economic activity and social change’, Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal, vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 58-75 Reisinger, Y 2009, 'Cultural Influences on Intercultural Communication ', in International Tourism: Cultures and Behaviour, Butterworth-Heinemann, Jordan Hill, United Kingdom, Chapter 7, pp. 165-198. Wesson, D 1992, ‘The handshake as non-verbal communication in business’, Marketing Intelligence & Planning, vol. 10, no. 9, pp. 41-46 Wright, D & Whalley, P 1979, ‘Verbal communication: An example of some pitfalls an how to avoid them’, Industrial and Commercial Training, vol. 11, no. 10, pp. 415-419.   3