This essay discusses the concept of culture and cross-cultural communication and also the manner in which it affects the business style of a particular nation. The essay will discuss about the national cultures of India and Australia for the analysis of the manner in which culture impacts the business style of a particular nation.
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Running head: CROSS CULTURAL COMMUNICATION Cross Cultural Communication Name of the Student: Name of the University: Authorās Note:
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1CROSS CULTURAL COMMUNICATION Culture forms an important entity of the lives of the human beings and to a large extent guides the behavior of the individuals (Kinloch & Metge, 2014). Culture is generally seen as the conglomeration of all the values, beliefs, social behavior, customs and other important factors which forms to a significant extent contributes towards the identity of the concerned individuals (Kinloch & Metge, 2014). Furthermore, it is generally seen that the culture of one particular group of individuals is different from another and this is perhaps one of the major reasons for the numerous cultural groups which are commonly seen in the present world (Prasad, 2015). In addition to this, it is generally seen that the concept of national culture has gained a significant amount of importance in the present times. Hofstede hasdefinedtheconceptofnationalcultureastheconglomerationorthecollective consciousness of the various people of a particular nation which distinguishes it from the other nations of the world (Fay et al., 2018). It is significant to note that culture has a significant impact on the business style followed by the people of the nation and it is a reflection of this particular fact that many experts are of the viewpoint that the business style of a particular nation is directly related to the national culture of that nation (Adler & Graham, 2017). This essay will discuss about the concept of culture and cross-cultural communication and also the manner in which it affects the business style of a particular nation. The essay will discuss about the national cultures of India and Australia for the analysis of the manner in which culture impacts the business style of a particular nation. Globalization has transformed the entire business world in a small village wherein business enterprises from diverse countries are able to conduct business with each other (Ting-Toomey & Dorjee, 2017). It is precisely in this particular context that the process of cross cultural communication and also cross cultural miscommunication becomes important. The problem of cross cultural miscommunication comes into play when people from different cultures are communicating with each other and the message of one person is being misinterpreted by the other (Kreuz & Roberts, 2017). It is significant to note that the same words or phrases have different meanings in different cultures and thus it is generally seen that when people from diverse cultural backgrounds are communicating with each other this particular problem inevitably creeps in (Kreuz & Roberts, 2017). However, recent studies have showed that this particular problem can easily be resolved through the use of non-verbal means of communication, use of gestures and facial expressions during the process of communication, having an effective knowledge about the culture of the other person and others (Kramsch, 2014). Mary, an Australian businesswoman owns a factory called āThe Aroma Storeā at Newcastle. The factory owned by Mary belongs to the condiments industry and specializes in the manufacture of chutneys, sauces, jams, pastes and others. It is significant to note that her love for this particular industry was ingrained in her from an early age by her parents, both of whom were chefs and used to gift these condiments to their friends. The specialty of the condiments manufactured by Mary lies in the fact that all the ingredients used her for the manufacture of these condiments are organic and free from the use of artificial preservatives. However, currently she is looking to expand her business into the nation of India and for this she has decided to go to India and meet the owner of a popular store, Mr. Sharma but she is not sure about the manner in which she should approach her since she has no idea about the culture of the nation of India. A close analysis of the national culture of the nation of India on the Hofstedeās model of national culture reveals the fact that the Indian people are more likely to indulge in collective kinds of work within the workplace rather the individualistic kinds (India - Hofstede Insights, 2018). On the other hand, the Indian people are more likely to follow the
2CROSS CULTURAL COMMUNICATION power distance between the senior management workers and the junior members of the organization in an ardent manner and they highly respect the hierarchy system of the society (India - Hofstede Insights, 2018). In addition to this, another significant aspect of the national culture of the nation of India is the fact that the Indian people get motivated or encouraged by the concepts of āsuccess, competition and achievementā and thus the majority of the business enterprises of the nation take the help of this aspect to enhance the performance of the employees (India - Hofstede Insights, 2018). Moreover, the people of India are more likely to judge the performance of a particular enterprise on the basis of their overall performance since their establishment rather than their recent performance in the past years (India - Hofstede Insights, 2018). However, it is generally seen that there is a lack of segregation of the professional and the personal lives of the people in the nation and also the majority of the people do not believe in the concept of work life balance (India - Hofstede Insights, 2018). Lastly,theIndianpeopleareverypatientandhaveaālowpreferenceforavoiding uncertaintyā (India - Hofstede Insights, 2018). A close analysis of the national culture of Australia on Hofstedeās model of national culture reveals the fact that the people of the nation generally do not like to indulge in collective kind of work and feel more at home while undertaking individualistic kinds of activities (Australia - Hofstede Insights, 2018). Furthermore, the concepts of āsuccess, competition and achievementā form an important part of the lives of the people and are being used by the majority of the business enterprises of the nation of Australia to enhance the performance as well as the productivity level of the individuals (Australia - Hofstede Insights, 2018). In addition to these, the Australian people are very concerned about the concept of work life balance and generally like to segregate their personal lives from their professional lives (Australia - Hofstede Insights, 2018). More importantly, the people of the nation do not follow the power divisions within the framework of the organizations in an ardent manner and the senior members of the workplace are easily accessible by the junior members of the organization (Australia - Hofstede Insights, 2018). Furthermore, the performance of any business enterprise is determined by the people of the nation on the basis of their recent performance rather than on their past history (Australia - Hofstede Insights, 2018). Lastly, it is seen that the Australia people do not feel threatened by the uncertain events or incidents (Australia - Hofstede Insights, 2018). The above discussion of the national cultures of the two nations clearly indicates that the cultures of the nation of India and Australia are very different from each other and this particular fact finds its representation in the manner in which business is being conducted by the people in these nations. Thus, Mary during her meeting with Mr. Sharma will have insist on the concept of collective kind of work for the new venture rather than the normal individualistic kind of work that she is used to doing in Australia. In addition to this, use of the concepts of āsuccess, competition and achievementā for the process of their business together is likely to help her in her interaction with Mr. Sharma. Furthermore, during her interaction with Mr. Sharma she is also required to respect as well as ardently follow the hierarchy or the power division and should insist on the use of the same for the working of their venture. Moreover, while taking about the benefits that the use of condiment products would provide to Mr. Sharma she should focus on the long term goals rather than the short term benefits which they would provide. It is seen that the Indian people very low preference level for uncertain incidents or events and thus during the process of her interaction with her she should place concrete and definite ideas before him. Lastly, during her conversation with Mr. Sharma it would be much better if she does not tries to suppress her impulses and desires and not dwell too much on the concept of work life balance. These in short are some of the
3CROSS CULTURAL COMMUNICATION steps which Mary needs to take into effective consideration during her interaction with Mr. Sharma. To conclude, the concept of culture is an important one and to a large extent guides the behavior of the individuals. The business style of a particular nation is influenced to a significant extent by the national culture of that particular culture. In the recent times the concept of cross cultural communication as well as cross cultural miscommunication have gained prominence and it is a reflection of this particular fact that the majority of the business enterprises for the process of the business dealings with the people or the companies from cultures different from theirs are increasingly taking the help of the concept of cross cultural communication to gain better quality of results. It is significant to note that for the process of cross cultural communication to be effective a thorough knowledge about the cultural landscape of the people with whom they are interacting is important.
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4CROSS CULTURAL COMMUNICATION References Adler,N.J.,&Graham,J.L.(2017).Cross-culturalInteraction:TheInternational Comparison Fallacy?. InLanguage in International Business(pp. 33-58). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. Australia-HofstedeInsights.(2018).HofstedeInsights[online].Retrievedfrom https://www.hofstede-insights.com/country/australia/ Cusick, J. G., Deagan, K., Rice, P. M., Schuyler, R. L., Ramenofsky, A. F., & Schortman, E. M.(2015).StudiesinCultureContact:Interaction,CultureChange,and Archaeology. Southern Illinois University Press. Fay, N., Walker, B., Swoboda, N., Umata, I., Fukaya, T., Katagiri, Y., & Garrod, S. (2018). Universal Principles of Human Communication: Preliminary Evidence From a Crossā cultural Communication Game.Cognitive science. India-HofstedeInsights.(2018).HofstedeInsights[online].Retrievedfrom https://www.hofstede-insights.com/country-comparison/india/ Kinloch, P., & Metge, J. (2014).Talking past each other: problems of cross cultural communication. Victoria University Press. Kramsch,C.(2014).Identity,roleandvoiceincross-cultural(mis)communication. InMisunderstanding in social life(pp. 137-161). Routledge. Kreuz, R., & Roberts, R. (2017).Getting through: The pleasures and perils of cross-cultural communication. MIT Press. Prasad, R. (2015). Cross-cultural communication.Educating Young Children: Learning and Teaching in the Early Childhood Years,21(3), 21. Ting-Toomey, S., & Dorjee, T. (2017). 7 Multifaceted identity approaches and cross-cultural communicationstyles:Selectiveoverviewandfuturedirections.Handbookof intercultural communication, 141-177. Warren, T. L. (2017).Cross-cultural Communication: Perspectives in theory and practice. Routledge.
5CROSS CULTURAL COMMUNICATION Appendix 1 An analysis of the national culture of India on Hofstedeās model of national culture is given below- Figure 1: India on Hofstedeās model of national culture Source:Hofstedeās Insights, 2018
6CROSS CULTURAL COMMUNICATION Appendix 2 An analysis of the national culture of Australia on Hofstedeās model of national culture is given below- Figure 2: Australia on Hofstedeās model of culture Source:Hofstedeās Insights, 2018