Session 4

Business Communication

Session-4

• Business Communication and the Global Context• Business Communication and the Ethical Context• Business Communication and the Technology Context

Business Communication and the Global Context

• Culture• Background To Intercultural Communication • National Cultural Variables • Individual Cultural Variables

To know myselfTo know myself

• ”To know how other people behave takes intelligence, but to know myself takes wisdom.”

• John Heider, The Tao of Leadership, 1988

Cultural MetaphorCultural Metaphor

How is culture like a computer program?

The Communication Process

Managers roles

• Managers spend 50% to 90% of their time in talking people coordinate to :

• Coordinate activity• Disseminate information• Motivate people • Negotiate future plans

What is culture?

• Culture is an abstraction, a set of ideas, norms, customs, traditions, symbols and assumptions about life.

• Culture is taken for granted; it is an accumulation of all the unspoken aspects of daily life.

• We are confronted with culture when we experience deviations from what we are used to.

• It is hard to articulate your culture because you do not need an explicit knowledge of it to function in society.

Characteristics of Culture

1. Culture is learned.

2. Cultures are inherently logical.

3. Culture forms our self-identity and community.

4. Culture combines the visible and the invisible.

5. Culture is dynamic.

Selected Dimensions of Culture

Context

• High-context cultures (in Japan, China, and Arab countries) tend to be relational, collectivist, intuitive, and contemplative.

• Low-context cultures (in North America, Scandinavia, and Germany) tend to be logical, linear, and action-oriented.

Cultural ContextCultural Context

Low Context

• Linear Logic

• Direct

• Literal

• Action-oriented

• Individualistic

High Context

• Spiral Logic

• Indirect

• Figurative

• Contemplative

• Group-oriented


IndividualismIndividualism• High-context cultures prefer group

values, duties, and decisions.

• Low-context cultures tend to prefer individual initiative, self-assertion, personal achievement.


FormalityFormality

• Other cultures may prefer more formality.

• North Americans place less emphasis on tradition, ceremony, and social rules.


CommunicationCommunication StyleStyle

• High-context cultures rely on nonverbal cues and the total picture to communicate. Meanings are embedded at many social levels.

• Low-context cultures emphasize words, straightforwardness, openness. People tend to be informal, impatient, literal.


Time OrientationTime Orientation• Time is unlimited and never-ending in

some cultures. Relaxed attitude toward time.

• Time is precious to North Americans. It correlates with productivity, efficiency, and money.

High-Context and Low-Context Cultures

HighHigh

LowLow

JapaneseArabLatin AmericanSpanishEnglishItalianFrenchNorth AmericanScandinavianGermanSwiss

Comparative Management Focus: Communicating with Arabs

Achieving Multicultural Sensitivity

• Avoiding Ethnocentrism Ethnocentrism is the belief that

one’s own cultural background is superior to that of others.

To overcome ethnocentrism, – Avoid assumptions– Avoid judgments

Nonverbal CommunicationNonverbal Communication

Understanding non verbal communication is difficult when people are from different cultures

Nonverbal CommunicationNonverbal Communication

Gestures can create different reactions in multicultural environments

Improve Your Oral SkillsImprove Your Oral Skills

• Learn foreign phrases.• Use simple English.• Speak slowly and enunciate

clearly.• Observe eye messages.• Encourage accurate

feedback.• Check frequently

for comprehension. • Accept blame. • Listen without interrupting.

Typical Data FormatsTypical Data Formats

Dates May 15, 20005/15/00

15th May 20005/15/00

15 Mai 20005.15.00

Time 10:32 p.m. 10:32 PM 22.3222 h 32

Currency

$123.45US$123.45

123.45GB123.45

123F45123,45F

123.45 euros

Large Numbers

1,234,567.89 1,234,567.89 1.234.567,89 1 123 567

Phone Number

(205) 555-1234 (081) 987 1234 (15) 61-87-34-02

Comparing U.S. and Foreign ViewsHow Many U.S. Persons

View ThemselvesInformal, friendly, casualEgalitarianDirect, aggressiveEfficientGoal- and achievement-

orientedProfit-orientedResourceful, ingeniousIndividualistic, progressiveDynamic, identify with workEnthusiastic, prefer hard sellOpen

How Many Foreigners View U.S. Persons

Undisciplined, too personalInsensitive to statusBlunt, rude, oppressiveOpportunistic, obsessed with

timePromise more than they deliverMaterialisticDeals more important than

peopleSelf-absorbedDrivenDeceptive, fearsomeWeak, untrustworthy

Cultural DifferenceCultural Difference

Behaviour Attribution

American

"How long will it take you to finish this report?"

American

I asked him to participate.

Greek His behaviour makes no sense. He is the boss. Why doesn't he tell me?

Greek "I don't know. How long should take?"

American

He refused to take responsibility.

Greek I asked him for an order.American

"You are in the best position to analyze time requirements."

American

I press him to take responsibility for his actions.

Greek What nonsense: I'd better give him an answer.

Greek "10 days." American

He lacks the ability to estimate time; this time estimate is totally inadequate.

American

"Take 15. Is it agreed? You will do it in 15 days?"

American

I offer a contract.

Greek These are my orders: 15 days.

CulturalCultural Difference (cont.)Difference (cont.)

In fact, the report needed 30 days of regular work. So the Greek worked day and night, but at the end of the 15th day, he still needed to do one more day's work.

Behaviour Attribution

American

"Where is the report?" American

I am making sure he fulfills his contract.

Greek He is asking for the report.Greek "It will be ready tomorrow." (Both attribute that it is not

ready.)American

"But we agreed it would be ready today."

American

I must teach him to fulfill a contract.

Greek The stupid, incompetent boss! Not only did he give me the wrong orders, but he doesn't even appreciate that I did a 30-day job in 16 days.

The Greek hands in his resignation.

The American is surprised.

Greek I can't work for such a man.

Intercultural Communication Model

• A message encoded in one culture must be decoded in another culture

• Culture shapes the individual communicator

• Different cultures lead to communication difficulties

• Through the study and understanding of IC, we can overcome these difficulties

Intercultural Communication Model

• Factors – There are other factors besides culture shaping the individual– People vary from each other within any one culture

• Process – When a message reaches a culture where it is to be decoded, it

undergoes a transformation in which the influence of the decoding culture becomes a part of the message meaning

– The meaning content of the original message becomes modified during the decoding phase of intercultural communication BECAUSE

– The decoder and the encoder possess different sets of cultural meanings

– "Have you had you lunch?" (Politeness or invitation?) – "Where are you going?" (Showing concern or intruding into

privacy)

Sender

Message

Receiver

Message

Education

Laws/Regulation

Economics

Politics

Social Norms

Language

Religion

Time

Space

Food

Dress

Manners

Decision Making

National Variables Individual Variables

Variables

Cultural Overlapping Variables

National Variables

• Education

• Law

• Economics

• Politics

• Religion

• Social Norms

• Language

Individual Variables

• Time

• Space

• Food

• Dress

• Manners

• Decision Making

Improving Communication

• Learn foreign phrases.

• Use simple English.

• Speak slowly and enunciate clearly.

• Observe eye messages.

• Encourage accurate feedback.

• Check frequently for comprehension.

Oral Messages

Improving Communication With Intercultural Audiences

• Accept blame.

• Listen without interrupting.

• Tell speakers if you don’t understand.

• Remember to smile!

• Follow up in writing.

Oral Messages


• Adapt to local formats.

• Use short sentences and short paragraphs.

• Avoid ambiguous expressions.

• Strive for clarity.

• Use correct grammar.

Written Messages


• Cite numbers carefully.

• Accommodate reader in organization, tone, and style.

Written Messages

High-Context and Low-Context

High-Context CultureHigh-Context Culture Low-Context CultureLow-Context Culture

•Establish social trust first

•Value personal relations and Good will.

•Agreement by general trust

•Negotiations slow

•Get down to business first

•Value expertise and performance

•Agreement by specific, legalisticContract.

•Agreement by specific, legalisticAs possible.

Business Communication and Ethics

• Influences on Personal Ethics • Communication and Ethical Issues

Business Communication and Ethics

• Making ethical decision is relatively easy when all the facts of situation are known a communication issue

• The ethical concerns will be obvious to make right decision.

• Ethics is often issue.

Individual Ethics

People

Culture

Philosophy

Law

Religion

Laws

• A set of rules and regulations designed to express the needs of and to control a society

• Protect people from the most blatant and despicable affronts to morality, such as murder, rape, and theft

• Needed to maintain the functioning of a society

• Change to reflect a society’s changing standards

Unethical

Ethics, Morals, and the Law

• Morals– Principles of right

and wrong

• Ethics– A set of moral

principles guiding behavior and action

• Laws– Binding codes of

conduct; formally recognized and enforced

– Company Policies

EthicalEthical

IllegalLegal

Unethical but Legal

Ethical but Illegal

Classification of Actions:

Organization Ethics in Formal Ways

• Public message• Employees manual• Mission statement• Ethical code

Organization Ethics in Informal Ways

• Cultural Values• Meetings• Awards• Interviews• Customer service

Business Communication and Technology

• Managing Information Within Organization • History Of Technological Developments • Challenges To The Organization Made By New Technologies • E-mail & Others Technologies For Communication • Defining E-mail • Using E-mail • Under Standing How E-mail Works • Understanding The Internet • Establishing Security • Voice Mail • Groupware • CD_ROM Database • Teleconferences • Faxes • Managing Information Out Sides The Organization

Thank you

Session 4

Education

Transcript of Session 4