3. Communicating across cultures Flashcards
What is the essence of good management?
Communication
Communication lies at the hear of
Effective organisations
Managers most serious challenge in the field
Communicating effectively across cultures
Ineffective communication serves to
Erect barriers to organisational success
Communication process
Sender encodes meaning
Medium Message
Receiver decodes meaning
What is noise?
- Cultural differences and potential cross-cultural misunderstandings
- The better a manager can reduce this noise, the better communication becomes.
What does noise neglect?
Attention and interpretations = two major impediments to effective communication
Augmented encode–noise–decode models enhance
Communication effectiveness across borders
Attention-interpretation-actionnmodel of interpersonal communication
Attention (What did I see or hear)
Interpretation (What does it mean)
Action (How should I respond)
Features of the communication environment?
- Competing messages
- Visual and audible noise
- Interpersonal relationships
- Power distance
- Knowledge distribution
- Attitudes and perceptions
- Pressing needs
- Cultural screens
Cultural screens on interpersonal communication
Culturally mediated cognitions
Culturally mandated protocol
What are Culturally mediated cognitions?
Cultural influences on individual cognitions surrounding communication episodes – that is, how people and messages are often evaluated and processed in the minds of senders and receivers alike
What is Culturally mandated protocol?
Cultural influences on communication protocols, or required behaviors, such as how we construct or shape our messages in ways that may be culturally consistent for us but not problematic for our intended receivers
4 sections of culture cognition and communication
- Language and linguistic structure
- Selective perception
- Cultural logic
- Cognitive evaluation
Features of language and linguistic structure
- Language in use
- Formal or informal language
- Native or non-native speakers
Features of selective perception
- Focusing on immediate demands
- Sensing or missing non-verbal messages
Feature of cultural logic?
- Assuming that others think and act in the same manner that we do
Features of cognitive evaluation?
- Attaching meanings to messages
- Norm of authenticity
Native English speaking english speaker cognitions
- Thinks in english, no ongoing translations or interpretations required
- Speaks in english, extensive vocabulary
- Understands subtleties of english conversations
Native english speaker speaking english communication behaviours
Since messages are usually clearly understood, responses and action implications are typically clear
Non-native English speaker speaking english cognitions
- Thinks in language other than english, often must interpret incoming and outgoing messages
- English second language, limited vocab
- Often lacks sensitivity to subtleties of english language conversation
Non-native English speaker speaking english communication behaviours
Since messages are not always clearly understood, responses and action implications can often be unclear
Selective perception: What do people focus on?
Information that becomes important is in the eye of the beholder – the information he or she is expecting or looking for – while other potentially useful information is often left by the wayside
Norm of authenticity
a belief that external actions and emotional displays are, or should be, generally consistent with internal states
What cultures emphasise a norm of authenticity?
Several in North America and Western Europe
What cultures think norm of authenticity is immature, impolite ?
East and Southeast Asian societie
“speaking one’s mind” or “telling it like it is” frequently appears in a positive light to many Westerners, but not to many Asians.
Many in Asia give more importance in communication processes to what is left unsaid instead of what is said in open and direct ways,
What is cultural logic?
The process by which people attribute meaning to the words and actions of others on the basis of the local meanings embedded within their own culture.
Features of cultural logic?
- A shared cultural logic helps people fill the gaps left by what is unsaid, thereby facilitating the process of creating a shared meaning.
- Allows for simplified and rapid communication
- When moving across cultures, however, there is often an assumption of a common knowledge that, in fact, is not common.
4 culture and communication protocols?
Appropriate or inappropriate topics for discussion
Message formatting
Acceptable or unacceptable behaviours
Conversational formalities
Appropriate or inappropriate topics for discussion examples
- Family and health issues
- Personal wealth
- Conversation sequencing
Message formatting examples
Message content
Message context
Acceptable or unacceptable behaviours examples
Interruptions
Emotional displays
Conversational formalities examples
- Use of titles
- Speaking order
- Use of apologies
Features of communication in high context cultures?
- Subtle message content: indirect or hidden
- Non-verbal cues often important
- Medium often more important than message
- Status differences often affect both medium and message
E.g. declining a request with vagueness or body language
Example of high context communication
E.g. declining a request with vagueness or body language
Features of communication in low context cultures?
- Overt message context; frank, to -the-point
- Non-verbal cues often unimportant or ignored
- Message typically more important than medium
- Status differences can affect message or medium
Example of low context communication
Declining a request by saying no
Low context: Most explicit communication countries
Switzerland
Germany
Scandinavia
High context: Least explicit communication countries
Latin America
Middle East
Japan
Hall’s cultural dimensions
Context
Space
Time
3 strategies for communicating across cultures
- Expand knowledge and understanding of cultural dynamics
- Recalibrate perceptual and critical analysis skills
- Enhance behavioural repertoire of applied communication
How to Expand knowledge and understanding of cultural dynamics?
- Develop greater understanding of own culture
- Develop in-depth knowledge of other key cultures
- Expand relevant language skills for increased understanding and improved communication
- Seek advice from local cultural experts
How to Recalibrate perceptual and critical analysis skills?
- Examine own and others reasoning
- Explore assumptions you make
- Use expanded cultural knowledge to view through eyes of others
- Look for subtleties and nuances
- Seek to understand the why’s in others behaviours
How to Enhance behavioural repertoire of applied communication ?
- Broaden your message formatting skills
- Develop country-specific knowledge
- Develop active listing skills, attention to common communication failures across cultures and resolution strategies
Cultural Intelligence
(CQ)
Body
Heart
Head
What are the four basic aspects of CQ?
CQ-Strategy
CQ-Knowledge
CQ-Motivation
CQ-Behaviour
What is CQ-Strategy?
The processes individuals use to acquire and understand cultural knowledge.
What is CQ-Knowledge?
General knowledge structures and mental
maps about cultures.
What is CQ-Motivation?
A person’s interest in experiencing other cultures and interacting with people from different cultures.
What is CQ-Behaviour?
A person’s capability to adapt verbal and nonverbal behavior so it is appropriate for different cultures.
Features of CQ-Strategy?
- Strategizing before an inter-cultural encounter
- Checking assumptions during an encounter
- Adjusting mental maps when actual experiences differ from expectations
Features of CQ-Knowledge?
Knowledge about economic and legal systems, norms for social interaction, religious beliefs, aesthetic values, and language in different cultures.
Features of CQ-Motivation?
Interest
Confidence
Features of CQ-Behaviour?
- Flexible behavioural responses a variety of situations
- Modify both verbal and nonverbal behaviour
