Business Communication: Etiquettes and Potential Miscommunication in India and Australia
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This essay discusses the business etiquettes to be followed in India and potential areas of miscommunication between India and Australia. It also recommends steps to overcome the identified areas of miscommunication.
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Running head: BUSINESS COMMUNICATION Business communication Name of the student Name of the university Author note
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1BUSINESS COMMUNICATION Introduction Cultural factors are one of the important factors to be considered in the current business scenario. This is due to the reason that globalization in the recent time opened the opportunities of business across different regions. Thus, in doing business in different regions simultaneously, cultural differences should be considered (Nahata, Hazarika & Tandon, 2014). In doing so, it is important for the business organizations to have the fair idea and understanding about the differences of cultures of their home and host countries and design the business approaches accordingly. However, there are some evident major areas of cultural miscommunication present inthecurrentapproachofinternationalbusiness.Inthegivenscenario,theprobable miscommunication can get emerged due to the cultural differences between India and Australia. In this essay, the business etiquettes that should followed in the Indian scenario by Mary to communicate with Mr. Shamra will be discussed. In addition, Hofstede’s cultural dimensions will be used to identify the potential areas of emergence of cultural miscommunication. This essay will also recommend a few steps to overcome the identified areas of miscommunication. Business etiquettes in India The basic etiquette that should be considered in meeting with an Indian person is welcoming or greeting them. According to the Indian style of etiquette, handshake is commonly used. However, it is also important for Mary to have the clear understanding that Indian people are not acceptable towards more physical or intimacy during welcoming (Yu-xian, 2013). Thus, Mary should refrain from hugging Mr. Sharma or patting him other than just shaking hand. This may create negative impression about her. The next thing that should be given importance is asking about families. This is due to the fact that Indian prefers building personal trust and
2BUSINESS COMMUNICATION rapport from the initial stage. In addition, it is expected in the Indian business cultural scenario that family affairs will be asked. Thus, Mary should also ask Mr. Sharma about his family. This will help her to create a positive and personal bond with Mr. Sharma that will help Mary in following business related activities (Tanaka & Kleiner, 2015). Now the second etiquette that should also be considered is dress. This is also important due to the reason that India is having diverse culture and traditions are given more importance. Thus, it is recommended that Mary should meet Mr. Sharma is covered up dress with having sober color. The next important etiquette is language. In the Indian context, this is much important because India is having large number of languages. However, English is widely used in the business meeting and transactions (Shaw, 2015). So it is recommended that Mary should stick to her mother tongue in communicating with Mr. Sharma. However, it should be noted that the meanings of the same English word may be different in Indian and Australian context. Indian business culture is also having more preferences for indirect questions over direct ones. In some cases, direct questions may be taken as offensive. Thus May should refrain from asking direct questions or rejecting some proposal directly. This will create negative impression. Mary should also be aware about the importance of relationship in business transactions in India (Mahendra, 2013). This is due to the reason that Indians give importance or in some cases, more importance to the personal relationship and trust in taking business decisions over data and facts. Thus, it is of utmost importance for Mary to build trust and relationship with Mr. Sharma rather just focusing on business deals and profits. The last factor in the Indian business etiquette that should also be given importance is social value and preferences. As discussed earlier, India is culturally and socially diverse country with having larger variations in social and cultural backgrounds. Thus, Mary should be aware
3BUSINESS COMMUNICATION about this social factor and respect the norms in meeting with het Indian counterpart. It should be noted that if Mr. Sharma feels socially disrespected then it will be difficult for Mary to close the business deal (Mahadevan, 2016). Thus, it can be concluded that the above discussed rules and norms of etiquettes can help Mary in having effective and positive first impression with Mr. Sharma. Areas of potential miscommunication India and Australia are having different cultural aspects and this can lead to the possible cultural miscommunication between Mary and Mr. Sharma. In identifying these potential areas, Hofstede’s cultural dimensions will be used(www.hofstede-insights.com, 2018). This will help in determining the major cultural differences between India and Australia. The first area of difference is power distance. In terms of this factor, India is having the score of 36 and Australia is having 77(www.hofstede-insights.com, 2018). Power distance refers to the degree to which the hierarchy levels are maintained and preferred in the society. In addition, it also refers to the fact that the more will be the power distance, the more will be the unequal distribution of power among the leader and followers. Thus, higher scoring of India denotes that they are having preferences for higher intensity of hierarchy levels. On the other hand, more flexible and less distance is maintained between the leaders and followers in Australia. In this case, the major issue will get aroused when hierarchy will not be maintained in the Indian business. In addition, it will also cause issue if the Indian leader cannot exercise their authoritative power (Kramsch, 2014). The next dimension is the individualism. This refers to the degree to which the society is self oriented and people are more concerned about their immediate ones. On the other hand,
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4BUSINESS COMMUNICATION collectivist society refers to the fact that society is not self oriented and collective interests are being given more preferences. In this index, Australia scored 90, while India scored 48 (www.hofstede-insights.com, 2018). This denotes that India is having more social influence on the individual decision making than in the Australia. Thus, in doing business in the Indian context, the major area of miscommunication will be when the employees will be motivated or assigned to do a particular job, which is not approved by the society (Hale, 2014). In the Australian context, this will not be an issue if the employees are given proper incentives. Thus it is one of the major areas where cultural miscommunication can emerge. The next dimension is masculinity and it refers the degree to which the society is driven by success and achievement or they are more influenced by the quality of life. In this context, Australia is having the ranking of 61 and India is having 56. This denotes that Australian society is more driven by success and achievement while the Indian society is more influenced by quality of life. Thus, cultural miscommunication can get emerge if the employees in India are motivated by the setting targets and if they are expected that they will do everything for success (Sharifian, 2013). This can be applicable to the Australian context. However, in the Indian scenario, employees will be more motivated by work life balance. Thus the business approach should be different in two scenarios. The next dimension is the uncertainty avoidance. This refers to the degree to which the society feels threatened by the uncertainties. Australia is having higher ranking over India and this denotes that Australian society demands more perfectionist approach compared to the Indian society(www.hofstede-insights.com, 2018). Thus, cultural miscommunication can get emerged if the employees in the Indian business are expected that there will be errors and if the management is impatient. The low score of India denotes that imperfection is accepted in the
5BUSINESS COMMUNICATION Indian society and they are much patient country. Thus, the perfectionist approach will be applicable in the Indian scenario (Surbone & Baider, 2013). The last dimension is long term orientation. This refers to the degree to which the society is open to new approaches or they are more preferable towards traditional beliefs and norms. Australia is having the score of 21 and India scored 51. This refers to the fact that Australia is more inclined towards maintaining their beliefs and traditions compared to India (Brigham et al., 2014). Business culture of India will be more open towards the new and diverse ideas. Thus, going by the traditional approach may cause issue with the Indian stakeholders. Recommended steps It is recommended that Mary should have the geocentric approach in meeting with Mr. Sharma. This will enable her to get adjusted with the Indian culture and communicate with Mr. Sharma accordingly. It is recommended to her that she should not expect results from the very first meeting rather they should be more focused on creating the effective and positive working relationship with Mr. Sharma. This is due to the reason that in the above section it is discussed that Indians prefer personal relationship more over other factors. This approach will also help Mary to have more long term benefits in working with Mr. Sharma. Conclusion This essay concludes that Indian and Australian business cultures are much different and there are number of areas for potential cultural miscommunication. In this essay, the major business etiquettes to be followed in business transaction in India area also being identified and discussed. It is concluded that Mary should be more adaptive in increasing the success of the
6BUSINESS COMMUNICATION meeting. It is expected that adaptive approach of Mary will not only help in increasing the success of the meeting but also the enhancing the future potentiality of the business.
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7BUSINESS COMMUNICATION Reference Brigham, K. H., Lumpkin, G. T., Payne, G. T., & Zachary, M. A. (2014). Researching long-term orientation:Avalidationstudyandrecommendationsforfutureresearch.Family Business Review,27(1), 72-88. Hale,S.(2014).Interpretingculture.Dealingwithcross-culturalissuesincourt interpreting.Perspectives,22(3), 321-331. Kramsch,C.(2014).Identity,roleandvoiceincross-cultural(mis)communication. InMisunderstanding in social life(pp. 137-161). Routledge. Mahadevan,J.(2016).Beyondcomparativecross-culturaldimensionsonamacro-level: understanding Indian diversity in context. InIndian Culture and Work Organisations in Transition(pp. 162-175). Routledge India. Mahendra, A. (2013). Soft Skills Training in the Indian Context: Need to Prevent Cultural Hegemony.IUP Journal of Soft Skills,7(3), 46. Nahata, R., Hazarika, S., & Tandon, K. (2014). Success in global venture capital investing: do institutional and cultural differences matter?.Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis,49(4), 1039-1070. Sharifian, F. (2013). Cultural linguistics and intercultural communication. InLanguage and intercultural communication in the New Era(pp. 74-94). Shaw,K.(2015).Theinfluenceofcultureandcustomsoninternationalbusiness communications.Editorial Board Members,14(9), 430-436.
8BUSINESS COMMUNICATION Surbone, A., & Baider, L. (2013). Personal values and cultural diversity.Journal of Medicine and the Person,11(1), 11-18. Tanaka, A., & Kleiner, B. (2015). Cross-Cultural Business Etiquette.Culture & Religion Review Journal,2015(1). www.hofstede-insights.com (2018).Country Comparison - Hofstede Insights. [online] Hofstede Insights. Available at: https://www.hofstede-insights.com/country-comparison/australia/ [Accessed 8 Aug. 2018]. Yu-xian,Z.(2013).AstudyofSino-Indianbusinessnegotiations-fromacross-cultural perspective.Journal of Asian Business Strategy,3(10), 278.