Cross Cultural Communication- Business Academic Skills

The success of a business in the inescapable merging of the worlds’ markets depends indirectly but quite intensely on how effectively its management and employees are able to communicate across various cultures. Effective communication (O’Shannesy, V, Minett, D & Hyde G 2008) in the workplace builds respect between employers, employees and consumers, contributes to a higher quality of working life and develops a highly efficient team-oriented environment. In the present state of international business, globalization is rapidly spreading through countries of the world and Australian businesses are branching out internationally in order to maximise their profits. Because of this trend factors such as time, language and culture highlight the importance of being able to communicate effectively with colleagues in the new international workplace, where the only possible and quite limited lenience in multi-cultural communication is that of technology.
Due to the rapid spread of globalization, effective cross-cultural communication is crucial if any business hopes to be successful in the international marketplace. Globalization in terms of international business is defined as “the process by which the whole world becomes a single market... where goods and services, capital and labour are all traded on a worldwide basis.” (Black, J, Hashimzade, N, & Myles, G 2003). As a result of this process many reputable Australian companies have branched out internationally, which has made communicating with international colleagues in a sense “compulsory”. Take the case of BHP Billiton, a large Australian co-owned mining company which operates mining projects in over 20 multinational locations. Its major mines are operating in countries such as Papua New Guinea, Angola, Chile, Colombia and Iraq (BHP Billiton Official Website 2008). Another example is Woolworths, one of Australia’s largest retailers, which is also involved in a very high level of multinational trade, retailing over AUD$42.4bn in Australia, New Zealand and India in 2007 (Dhall, M 2008). These trends demonstrate that domestic markets are to a large extent reliant on international business and thus emphasise the importance of effective cross-cultural communication to ensure that the connection between various branches of a particular business is a productive one.
In the international environment, effective communication is also important in terms of determining an appropriate time for business, as different cultures have different attitudes towards their business timetables. It is indicated by Cook, R, Cook, G & Yale, L (2005) that it is important to consider different approaches towards time in order to avoid conflict. In some cultures particularly those of Northern Europe and the US, individuals are quite sensitive to the value of time and regard punctuality as good business etiquette. This is contrasted by other cultures, particularly South American and Mediterranean countries that have a more relaxed attitude toward punctuality and are not specific about their timetable. It is also important to note as stated by the narrator of the video ‘Communicating effectively in the global workplace’ (2008), that different time zones are present in international business, for example when it is 9 a.m. local time in New York City, it is 2 p.m. in London and 10 p.m. in Japan. That is when business hours begin in New York City, the stock exchange and business markets in Japan are closed. Because of these reasons it is important that effective communication is employed when arranging cross-national business arrangements as time may cause a significant inconvenience and thus result in unnecessary stress and frustrations on behalf of both parties.
In the global workplace difficulties in communication may sometimes arise simply due to linguistic misunderstandings. There are currently over 200 different languages spoken in Australia, representing 16% of the population that communicates in a language other than English at home (ABS 2007). In fact, it is stated that 50% of Australia’s population growth in 2004-05 was a result of immigration (O’Shannesy, V, Minett, D & Hyde G 2008). Due to the large variety of languages present in the global workplace, even more than in our domestic offices, the narrator of ‘Communicating effectively in the global workplace’ (2008) states that it is important to consider all barriers to communication that could arise as a result of language differences, particularly issues in regards to translation and interpretation, as failing to do so may affect business significantly in a negative aspect, as was seen in the 1990’s Pepsi marketing slogan “Come alive with the Pepsi Generation” which when translated directly into Chinese was “Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave”. Effective verbal communication allows business to be conducted in international markets with minimal misunderstandings and enables business information to be perceived in its accurate context.
International business also involves interaction between individuals of many different cultures, and if effective communication is not present there may be serious difficulties in conducting even the simplest business transactions. The authors Hodgetts, R and Luthans, F (2003), Deresky, H (2002) and Ferraro, G.P, (2002) imply that as a result of the division between cultures due to certain characteristics, several common barriers arise including linguistic, cultural, physical, perceptual, experiential, nonverbal and emotional, as well as the stress which arises from the uncertainty and threat involved in cross-cultural communication. An example of how cultural differences may affect business is demonstrated in the video ‘Communicating effectively in the global workplace’ (2008) where the narrator presents an example of the Gerber sale attempt in Africa, where the packaging had a “cute” baby on the label, and the illiterate locals ultimately assumed it contained an actual baby within it. It is therefore important to recognise that cultural differences tend to arise when individuals’ behaviours differ from our own, and thus that effective cross-cultural communication skills must be employed to overcome these diversities efficiently.
It is useful to recognise, that along with the rapid spread of globalization, there have also been dramatic improvements in technology which now undermine the importance of effective cross-cultural communication in business. It is argued by Fleming, L (2008) that the internet has allowed consumers to interact with suppliers all over the world without ever coming into direct face-to-face contact. E-bay is an example of a market where buyers and sellers interact from many different countries, through simply bidding for an item until a set time period expires and the item is “auctioned” off to a buyer who may not even be in the same continent. However O’Shannesy, V, Minett, D & Hyde G (2008) contradict the idea that effective communication is unimportant in electronic form as language barriers are still present in terms of translation, and also observe that most larger scale business operations are impossible to be performed without any form of personal interaction. Overall, it may be stated that the improvements in technology have eased the burden of the difficulties involved in cross- cultural communication, however its actual importance has not decreased as a result of technological advances.
Effective cross-cultural communication is important in international business as the spread of globalization and Australian companies branching out internationally have created a dependence of domestic markets on international business relationships and thus have forced local employees to communicate with their now culturally diverse colleagues. Even though the advances in technology have somewhat reduced the amount of cross- cultural “face-to-face” interaction, adequate communication is still of high importance as it allows misunderstandings and general attitude differences about time to be resolved, as well as cultural and language misinterpretations to be cleared up. By overcoming the difficulties associated with multicultural communication, a business is able to maximise its profits by reaping the full benefits of globalization, as well as maximising the quality of work life for its employees by eliminating stressful and frustrating situations.