Cross Cultural Communication - Document

RUNNING HEAD: CROSS CULTURAL COMMUNICATION
Title: Cross-Cultural Communication
Name of Student:
Name of University:
Author Note:

1CROSS CULTURAL COMMUNICATION
Benefits of Cross-cultural Communication on Business:
Various organizations, for the sake of profit have been spreading their wings
internationally and thus, arises the need of cross-cultural communication. Culture is a very
essential point of communication because the term culture is inclusive of the sum total of the
values, beliefs, languages and the practices shared by a large group of people (Gudykunst, 2013).
The cross cultural communications thus helps an international business to explore the resources
and ideas from various culture and thereby having a competitive advantage because they have
the chance of devoting themselves on the exploration of resources from across the world and
have to give less time in managing the external or internal; communication problems. Cross
cultural communication also benefits the members of an organization to gain insights from the
variety of experiences of different people from different cultures ( Okoro, 2012).
Overcoming the barriers in Cross Cultural Communication:
According to the author, the key barriers for the establishment of an effective cross
cultural barriers are the poor management styles, lick of understandings within the organizational
culture and the prevalent power distance. Since diversity in present times is a typical
phenomenon these barriers needs to be overcome. The author has suggested that, the most
effective measure for overcoming the barriers is to use the non-verbal codes for communication.
The use of gestures, Para language, facial expressions, and body language can be more effective
in the establishment of communication in the context of cross cultures. The members of an
organization must be flexible enough to be curious of learning about different cultures.

2CROSS CULTURAL COMMUNICATION
High and Low Context Culture:
The high context culture is generally referred to the cultural setup where there is explicit
usage of nonverbal cues and implicit communications rather than direct nonverbal cues. In such
context of culture, the communications cannot be done unless there is a great deal of background
knowledge available to the communicator about the culture of the place. On the other hand, by
using the term Low context culture, the author points towards those culture that are more focused
on the explicit use of verbal communications. Here much of the information required in
communications are distinctly spelled out and defined. (Valentine, 2014)
Australia is a country where the social structure is decentralized and within the
individuals are rooted their own identity. Moreover, they can be explicit enough about other’s
behavior. Thus, Australia is a country of Low Context culture. (Lvina, 2015)
Stereotyping and ethnocentrism:
The notion of ethnocentrism refers to the tendency of people of evaluating the people of a
particular culture based on the preconceptions originating from the standards and customs of a
person’s own originating culture. People generally tend to characterize others collectively and
more than often unfairly in a negative manner. This generalization is often based on the previous
experiences faced or shared by a few people from the group (Thomas,2015). On the other,
Stereotyping can be referred to the pejorative and uncritical affirmation of the generalized view
to an individual or group. According to the author stereotyping is an extension of ethnocentrism,
By this, the author puts forward the view that this stereotyping essentially comes from the notion
of participant from one culture that their culture is the most suitable and logical one, superior