Business communication building critical skill 6th module003

Communicating
across Cultures

Module Three

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Copyright © 2014 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.


Learning Objectives
LO 3-1 Define culture through context.
LO 3-2 Compare and contrast dimensions of culture.
LO 3-3 Apply strategies for international
communication success.
LO 3-4 Identify differences among generations.
LO 3-5 Apply strategies for workplace discrimination
solutions.
LO 3-6 Apply strategies for bias-free documents.
3-2


Diversity in the Workplace

3-3


Diversity in the Workplace
 Valuing diversity is good business as well as
good social practice.
 Ethnically diverse teams produce more and

higher-quality ideas.

3-4


What is “culture”?
 High-Context Cultures
 Most information is inferred from the context
of a message.
 Little is “spelled out.”
 Examples: Japanese, Arabic, and Latin American
cultures.

3-5


What is “culture”?
 Low-Context Cultures
 Context is less important than words.
 Most information is explicitly spelled out
 Examples: German, Scandinavian, and
dominant U.S. cultures.

3-6


Views of Communication in
High- and Low-Context Cultures

3-7

How does culture affect
business communication?
 Culture influences
every single aspect of
business
communication:
 how to show
politeness and respect
 how much information
to give,
 how to motivate
people
3-8


Dimensions of Culture

3-9


Cultural Contrasts in Motivation

3-10


How does culture affect
business communication?
 Nonverbal communication

 communication that doesn’t use words—takes
place all the time.
 Body language, the size of an office, or how long
someone keeps a visitor waiting— all these
communicate pleasure or anger, friendliness or
distance, power and status

3-11


How does culture affect
business communication?
 Posture and body movements connote energy
and openness
 Open positions suggest that people are
accepting and open to new ideas.
 Closed positions suggest that people are
physically or psychologically uncomfortable,
that they are defending themselves and
shutting other people out.
3-12


How does culture affect
business communication?
 Personal space
 the distance someone wants between himself
or herself and other people in ordinary, nonintimate interchanges

 Touch, spatial arrangements

3-13


How does culture affect
business communication?
 Monochronic cultures
 treat time as a
resource

 Polychronic cultures
 emphasize
relationships

3-14


Oral Communication
 Conversational style
 denotes our conversational patterns and the
meaning we give to them: the way we show
interest, politeness, and appropriateness

3-15


Conversational Style
 How long a pause tells you that it’s your
turn to speak?
 Do you see interruption as rude?

 Do you show interest by asking lots of
questions?

3-16


Cultural Contrasts in
Business Introductions

3-17


Cultural Contrasts in Written
Persuasive Documents

3-18


There are so many different cultures! How
can I know enough to communicate?
 Being aware that values and behaviors are
influenced by culture.
 Being flexible.
 Being sensitive.
 Being aware of the others’ values, beliefs, and
practices.
 Being sensitive to differences among
individuals.
3-19

Are differences among generations changing the
workplace and how we communicate?
 Millennials’ strengths include







Optimism
Confidence
Enthusiasm
Organization
Goal Orientation
Technology use

3-20


Are differences among generations changing the
workplace and how we communicate?
 Read often to enhance literacy
 Edit for grammar and proofread for spelling
 Avoid e-mail abbreviations in business
correspondence
 Use the appropriate tone, format, and language
 Build common ground when negotiating
 Find a mentor or role model

3-21


Dealing with Discrimination
 Successfully handling discrimination means
understanding the situation and your
options:





Not everything is discrimination.
Decide on a strategy.
Chart your own path.
Take the high road.

3-22


How can I make my documents
bias-free?
 Bias-free language
 language that does not discriminate against
people on the basis of sex, physical condition,
race, age, or any other category.

 Bias-free language is fair and friendly and
complies with the law.

3-23


Making Language Nonsexist
 Nonsexist language treats both sexes
neutrally.
 Check to be sure your writing is free from
sexism in four areas:
 words and phrases, job titles, pronouns, and
courtesy titles.

3-24


Getting Rid of Sexist
Terms and Phrases

3-25