Lecture 3 Flashcards
Why do individuals, organizations and nations fail to communicate with each other?
Barriers of communication across-cultures:
Misperception
Misinterpretation
Misevaluation
Why misperception, miscommunication and misevaluation behind miscommunication
Sender’s Culture affects Message
Message affected by Positive and Negative Noise
Receiver’s gets message with expectations from their own culture
MISPERCEPTION
Consequences of a wrong assumption. We assume that we all see the world the same way. We forget that people who are brought up in different environments do select values, that are familiar to them(to their background)
People’s perception are neither
innate nor absolute
Perceptions of people about others are:
selective
learned
culturally determined
relatively constant
- as a result we might see things that do not exist, and fail to see things that do exist. (Read the box on page 72, analyze figure 3-2 on page74)
Misinterpretation
the assumption we make about people’s perception without enough knowledge about the assumed matter.
Cross cultural misinterpretation will lead to the adoption of two universally known attitudes:
1) Categorization
2) Stereotyping
The two generalization lead to misevalution
Can stereotype attitude be helpful?
In general stereotyping is not helpful
careful application of stereotype in business may be needed under conditions; that our stereotype is:
consciously held
descriptive and not evaluative
applied accurately
avoiding preconceived ideas
modifiable
Generalization as sources of misinterpretation.
Inaccurate interpretation
Subconscious cultural blinders
Generalization
Inaccurate interpretation
Americans like to be called by their first name, therefore Americans “being friendly” to others may call others by their first names or all Americans should be called by their first names.
Subconscious cultural blinders
“The Germans are hard working people, therefore all Germans in the work force will always be productive. This comes from a general statement that is historically correct, but not necessarily applicable to all Germans. (General vs. Specific)
Generalization
“All managers living in the Ex-communist bloc countries are communists or demonstrate collective behavior”. (stereotyping held constant)
Projected Similarity
Assuming that people are more similar to you than they really are.
(parochial view to underline similarity)
There is no room for deviation or diversity, as a result, any slight “mistake “ will lead to a magnified disappointment. It doesn’t leave any room for negotiation or for fixing the problem.
MISEVALUATION
It is the behavior of individuals or organizations that follow misperception and misinterpretation.
Misevaluation is judging categorically something or somebody as
bad or good.
Our own culture is used as a standard for
judgment.
Anything different will be considered not normal.
(DELETE) Nations tend to stereotype each other: __ stereotyping
positive
Developing Nations on U.S. (positive)
inventive
honest
sophisticated
intelligent
Developed Nations on U.S (positive)
friendly
industrious
inventive
honest
energetic
sophisticated
developing nations on U.S. (negative)
nationalistic
always in a hurry
workaholics
too curious
too direct
developed nations on U.S (negative)
nationalistic
rude (not tactful)
self-indulgent
lazy
greedy
EFFECTIVE WAY OF COMMUNICATION IN MANAGEMENT
- Assume that the person you are trying to communicate with may not know your culture.
- Concentrate on substance and spend less time on interpreting and evaluating.
- If you have to interpret, avoid the notion: “I said so”; “I am right”; “I cannot be wrong”. Instead, you might say, “Is this my understanding?”, “Is this what you mean?”, “could this be right?”, etc.
- If you think you were able to explain the situation and you think you have the solution, consider it as a guess. Use the expression, “I may be wrong, but I have the feeling that..”
How to Effectively to Communicate When Individuals Do not Command Your Language
IMPROVE YOUR VERBAL COMMUNICATION
USE NON-VERBAL EXPRESSIONS
CHECK IF THERE IS MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING
DESIGN A TIME FRAME
MOTIVATE YOUR PARTNERS
IMPROVE YOUR VERBAL COMMUNICATION
clear, simple and slow communication style. However, speaking very slowly and loudly can be seen as an insult to the listener.
USE NON-VERBAL EXPRESSIONS
visual explanation, gestures, demonstration, pauses and summaries (every country has specific gestures that may have the opposite meaning)
CHECK IF THERE IS MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING
facial expression, double checking by asking others
DESIGN A TIME FRAME
allow frequent breaks, deliver the information piece by piece
allow more time for information processing.
MOTIVATE YOUR PARTNERS
encourage the non-native to speak, don’t make any judgment by their participation levels. (consider the environment)
Culture today is in constant change, therefore the mainstream culture may not always represent the culture of __- __ due to the interaction of the three layers of culture
sub-groups
Research indicates that within a country, there are specific cultural behavior of demographic groups when one controls for:
Gender
age
education
profession
region
organization
Such cultural study also suggests that, there is more cultural convergence among similar demographic groups, who have similar categories.
High-context culture
Is where the social context in which what is said strongly affects the meaning of the message?
Examples: Japan and Saudi Arabia are HCCs
Low-context culture
is where the meaning of the messageis explicitly expressed by the words and is less affected by the social context.
Example: North America, Denmark, Sweden, Norway are examples of LCCs
Understand the Elements of Culture
Language - verbal and non-verbal Religion Values and Attitudes Manners and Customs Material Elements Aesthetics Education Social Institutions
Understand Language in Cultural Context
Verbal
How words are spoken
Gestures made
Body position assumed
Degree of eye contact
Understand Language in Cultural Context
Local language capability’s important role in international marketing
Aids in information gathering and evaluation
Provides access to local society
Important to company communications
Allows for interpretation of contexts
Understand Language in Cultural Context
Non-verbal Language
Hidden language of cultures
Time flexibility and sensibility
Social acquaintance and rapport
Personal physical space and personal touching
Non-verbal gestures and signaling
Why Knowing The Major World Religionsand Their Impact on Business is Helpful
Christianity - 2.0 billion followers
Islam - 1.2 billion followers
Hinduism - 860 million followers
Buddhism - 360 million followers
Confucianism - 150 million followers* (Confucianism is a philosophy and not a religion)
Values
are shared beliefs or group norms that have been internalized by individuals.
Attitudes
are evaluations of alternatives based on these values.
Potential problem areas for marketers arise from an insufficient understanding of:
different ways of thinking.
the necessity of saving face.
knowledge and understanding of the host country.
the decision-making process and personal relations.
the allocation of time for negotiations.
Material culture
Results from technology is directly related to how a society organizes its economic activity.
Material culture is manifested in
Economic infrastructure Social infrastructure Financial infrastructure Marketing infrastructure Cultural convergence
Aesthetics
What is or is not acceptable as good taste varies widely in cultures.
The symbolism of colors, forms, and music carries different meanings in different cultures.
Assessing the educational level of a culture
formal and informal education
literacy rates
enrollment in secondary or higher education
qualitative aspects ofemphasizing science
Education affects
employee training
competition for labor
product characteristics
Kinship relationships
immediate and extended family
Social Institutions
Kinship relationships
Social stratification
Reference groups
