Effective Business Communication in a Multicultural Environment

The report evaluates the challenges faced by BeautyPro in China due to intercultural communication issues. The challenges include cultural values and etiquette, direct and indirect communication styles, and cultural norms related to decision making. The report provides recommendations to improve the situation and increase profits.

Running head: EFFECTIVE BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
Effective Business Communication
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Abstract
The purpose of the following report is to evaluate the various issues within the business environment of
the chosen organization BeautyPro in China. The market expansion of the company has suffered from
several internal communication challenges. These different challenges will have to be discussed in this
organizational environment. The Australian managers of the company would face several difficulties in
this section since this will be very difficult for them to run the company as per their business culture,
norms and beliefs. Some important challenges have been identified here that are linked with the
intercultural communication. The intercultural communication challenges will refer to the direct and
indirect communication styles between the employees and the managers, the various cultural norms and
etiquettes and the business decision-making issues. These different issues have been discussed in detail
and the recommendations have also been given on how to improve the matters. The improvements are
needed to increase the profits of the organization BeautyPro.
Table of Contents

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Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
The problems in the organization....................................................................................................3
Analysis of the current situation......................................................................................................4
Intercultural challenge one..............................................................................................................5
Intercultural challenge two..............................................................................................................7
Intercultural challenge three............................................................................................................8
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................9
Recommendation One...................................................................................................................10
Recommendation Two...................................................................................................................11
Recommendation Three.................................................................................................................12
References......................................................................................................................................13

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Introduction
The purpose of the report is to discuss upon the several facts about the cultural communication
issues for the business organizations. The cultural values and norms are different in different regions of
the world. This is the reason as to when the multinational business organizations go on to expand into the
various new countries, the cultural values and norms differ as well. The significance of the intercultural
communication on the Chinese people regarding the expansion of BeautyPro will be discussed in the
following sections. The individualism and collectivism issues play a very big and major role in this
section as well. It has to be remembered that the business organizations will have to appoint the local
people in the newly expanded countries since they will have to cut their costs.
The communication styles of the employees and the higher authority managers differ and this has
become one of the major issues in the modern day business environment. The structure of the report will
be as follows. The various problems should be found. The challenges will have to be identified in this
report. These challenges have been the root causes for the communication disruption within the
organization. The proper analysis will be done in the following sections as well. Some recommendations
will have to be made on how to improve the situation in the positive manners.
The problems in the organization
The organization that has been chosen for this report is BeautyPro. The organization is based in
Brisbane and it has many branches all over the world across the various countries. As a multinational
organization they have to do their business in various countries and they have to face the strict challenges
in different countries (Dunning, 2013). The chosen organization BeautyPro prepares and distributes the
organic cosmetics products across the various cities in Australia and other cities as well. This is why the
organization will have to follow some important steps before they deliver their products to the various
countries all over the world (Shenkar, Luo & Chi, 2014). The head office of the organization is located at
Brisbane in Australia. They have their branches in other major cities in Australia as well. The company

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has recently expanded their services to China. This is why they will have to be very much cautious in
dealing with the customers since the Chinese customers are relatively different from that of the Australian
and European ones. The Australian managers will have to tackle the several challenges in their domain so
they can provide the best services to their Chinese customers. However, the language and the
communication styles are completely different from that of the native customers and employees. There
are certain communications barriers are as well. The various business barriers will be discussed in the
following section particularly (Ball et al., 2012).
Analysis of the current situation
When the various business organizations go on to expand their services in China they will have to
face different challenges that will create various troubles within their business. There are many challenges
and opportunities for the Australian companies when they gap on to do their business in China (Shenkar,
Luo & Chi, 2014). It has to be remembered that there are many cultural differences between Australia and
China since they represent two different continents. If the Australian company BeautyPro has selected to
expand their business services in China, they must be aware that they will have to face the intercultural
communication issues in the most ways indeed. This is the very reason as to why they must look forward
to resolve these issues in a handsome way so that their growth rate is not harmed at all (Peterson, Arregle
& Martin, 2012). There are various challenges for the Australian companies when they decide to do their
business in Chona. These are:
 It becomes really hard to find dedicated and devoted hardworking employees in China.
 The legal constraints have always been a major fact in this context.
 The administrative licensing and approvals are their products cannot be got.
 The various local Chinese companies will be their major rivals since the Asian people are quite
aware of the skin care issues (Guffey & Loewy, 2012).

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 The policy reform of the Chinese government is very much slow. This is why the organization
will have to tackle this issue with much attention and choose their line of providing the services
to the customers (Ball et al., 2012).
 The consumers in China are not aware of all the products and services that are provided by the
foreign organizations. This is due to the lack of the social media activities. This is why the
organization BeautyPro should look to make the Chinese customers of all their products and
services that they offer. The competition from the other foreign companies should be treated
properly as well (Ferraro & Briody, 2013).
In the recent times, the organization BeautyPro has been facing some intercultural
communication challenges. This is why they have not been getting the proper number of the customers of
late. As the country manager, the responsibility is to find out the ways by which these problems could be
addressed and the ways for resolving them could be found out. The other two China-based Australian
managers of different organizations have also given the same view in this matter as well (Bovee &
Courtland, 2012).The different intercultural challenges will be discussed in this section. These challenges
have been growing and are lying in the path of the overall growth of the organization in the proper
manner.
Intercultural challenge one
The first challenge that Beautypro is facing is regarding the different cultural values and
etiquettes. It is a matter of fact that the cultural norms, beliefs and values varies between the countries.
According to the experts it would be very problematic for the organization to cope up with this challenge
since the cultural norms and beliefs of the Chinese employees and Australian managers would be
different altogether (Bovee & Courtland, 2012). The business culture of the Australian people and the
Chinese people is completely opposite as well. As per the cultural theory of Hofstede, It has been seen
numerous times that the Chinese people are very much influenced by the aspects of Confucianism.

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They are motivated by the collectivism. As per Bovee & Courtland (2012), they like to be
together and put much focus on their families properly. This is the time when the organization will have
to take this thing into their account properly (Guffey & Loewy, 2012). One of the most interesting aspects
of the Chinese people is their politeness and showing etiquette when they deal various business deals.
However, sometimes they are not at all much serious about the completion of their works. This is the very
reason that the productivity of these Chinese workers is not much higher than their Australian counter
parts (Shwom & Snyder, 2012).
The aspects of collectivism can be countered with the individualism of the Australian workers in
this aspect. The Chinese employees follow several customs in their professional practice that shows they
are somewhat suffering from the self-esteem problems (Quanyu, Andrulis & Tong, 2013). The Chinese
people always want to keep a proper harmonious environment in their business practice. The Chinese
people follow some of the etiquettes in the business environment that depicts their cultural beliefs and
values. In the words of So & Walker (2013), the Chinese workers always show a good amount of respect
to their elders. They show the respect when the elders are present in the room where they are conducting a
meeting or something. At the beginning of the meetings, the Chinese people prefer the small talks indeed
(Shwom & Snyder, 2012). They always like to build up a good relationship with the other party before
they opt to close the business deals. One very challenging thing for doing business in China will be the
missing of the deadlines by the Chinese people. It has to be mentioned that the Chinese people are not
very much serious about the deadlines that are the most important things. The decision-making process of
the Chinese people is not very strong always. This is why the Chinese employees suffer from several
problems regarding the decision-making (So & Walker, 2013).
It has been seen in some situations that the Chinese people have lost their cool in these meetings
and this has caused the failure in the negotiation process. According to the critics, the Chinese people are
sometimes very much emotional as well. This leads them to be embarrassed in the tough situations over
the times. The Chinese people maintain the hierarchy very well This is why they enter the meeting halls

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or rooms in the hierarchical order itself. This is unlike the Western based organizations (So & Walker,
2013). This is why it can be said that the organization BeautyPro must appoint the employees and behave
with them by keeping the emotional issues in mind. The Chinese people value their families the most.
This is the very reason as to why they should look to recruit the Chinese people and not insulting their
families (Lu, 2012). It is better that the Chinese employees must initiate the handshake as the gesture for
the showing of their etiquettes. Sometimes it has been seen that the body posture of the Chinese
employees is not that much official and formal. This works as a barrier for their cultural values and
etiquettes (Mackie, 2018).
Intercultural challenge two
The second challenge that has been noticed by the managers in regards to the intercultural
communication is the direct and indirect communication styles. Both of these communication styles are
considered as the main ingredients for the success of the organizations (Kleinman & Lin, 2013). The
chosen organization BeautyPro is not an exception of this as well. The Chinese employees are termed as
the indirect communicators since they believe it is more important to be polite in their behavior rather
than being responsive to their managers in the best ways. As per the critical scholars, this is why the
Australian managers of BeautyPro will have to be very much active and focused in tackling this issue.
They always want the free and proper response from the employees. This would help them to assess the
feedbacks from all the other employees. This will also help them to understand what things are needed to
be done to solve the various problems in this regard. In countries like USA, UK and Australia, the
managers always prefer the direct communication style. This becomes all the more effective for the
organization to be more straightforward indeed. On the other hand, the indirect communication is more
preferred in the Asian countries like China and Japan (Quanyu, Andrulis & Tong, 2013). The indirect
communication is relevant because the Chinese workers do not like to hurt the self-esteem of the other
workers. This becomes very much problematic in making the proper communication.

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The root of the problem lies in the fact that the people who believe in direct communication style
do not trust the statements of the indirect speakers. The people who prefer the direct communication style
will always go for the face value of the statements that have been spoken by the concerned persons (Men,
2014). This is why they do not judge the underpinning meaning. They do not have the proper time for
that. In the words Quanyu, Andrulis & Tong (2013), the fact is very relevant since the Chinese employees
prefer this indirect communication style all the more. The direct communication is followed by the
Australian managers of the BeautyPro when they speak out all the important things in the explicit manner.
According to the scholars, the direct communicators do not hesitate to speak out the most important
things. Rather they always say whatever is more important. This is the problem with the Chinese
employees of the BeautyPro since they do not express their needs and desires in the explicit manner
through the verbal messages. Rather they only express their desires in the ‘probable’ ways.
Intercultural challenge three
The third and the final intercultural challenge in this context is that of the various cultural norms
that are related to the matter of the decision making (Rezaei et al., 2012). The decision making process is
one of the most important factors for the success of the multinational organizations. As BeautyPro is
expanding into China, they will need to tackle the issues of the clash of the Asian and Western cultures.
As opined by the critics, the business cultures in the two concerned countries China and Australia is
completely different indeed. This is why it is extremely important to understand the ways in which the
decision-making process will undergo.
It has to be considered that the six most important elements for the culture are beliefs, norms,
values, social collectiveness, roles and language. The language barrier is one of the biggest barriers for
the chosen organization BeautyPro. The belief on the colleagues makes it easier for the organization with
the decision-making stuff (Triandis, 2018). As it is clear that there is a gap in the understanding of the
employees, they lag behind in the smooth decision making process. The biggest difference lies in the

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decision-making process between the Australian managers and the Chinese employees (Hackman &
Johnson, 2013). As per the Western culture, the business decisions are being made very quickly and
instantly. This thing lacks in the Chinese culture in a big way. In the words of Szabó (2016), the quick
decision-making process is not at all seen in the Chinese cultures.
The western culture in the business decision-making is very much aggressive since they believe
in the culture of the aggressive decision making. However, this thing is very much absent in the Chinese
culture (Hackman & Johnson, 2013). This is why they are incapable of taking the best business decisions
in the quick ways. The China based managers are not fit to be called the proper competent managers as
well (Hill et al., 2012). This is why they are unable to create a proper positive impression in this sense. As
per the scholars, it has been observed in many cases that the Chinese employees always want to be
involved in the decision making process with the Western based managers in the collaborative manner.
This relatively becomes a problem as well. The Chinese people believe that it is very much idiotic to be
involved in the decision-making process with haste. It is definitely a huge problem indeed.
Conclusion
As per the above discussion, it can be said that the organization BeautyPro will have to be much
conscious about the various issues in the business context. The organization has been facing certain
challenges in the business and they will be looking forward to tackle those issues with much attention.
The various business challenges regarding the intercultural communication have been discussed in this
context. It can be said that BeautyPro will have to analyze all the issues in the best ways so they can solve
the problems properly. They will have to put much stress on the decision-making so they can motivate
their Chinese employees to take many quick decisions indeed. These things will have to be done for the
benefits of the organization and the Chinese employees as well. On the other hand, it must be said that the
BeautyPro should look to enforce the direct communication styles. This will be very much helpful for the
employees to unfold their problems and bring out the positive solutions indeed.

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Recommendation One
It is very important to make some amendments in the future business practices of the company
BeautyPro for the future success. It must be mentioned that the organization will have to keep in mind the
different cultural norms and the etiquettes that are followed within the country itself. The different issues
of Guanxi and Mianzi that are followed within the country should be utilized by the company. This means
that the Australian managers of BeautyPro will have to share a trustworthy relationship with their Chinese
employees and they have to make sure that the employees do have the trust on the Australian managers as
well. The Australian managers must be looking to cooperate with the Chinese employees in all the critical
matters. It has been observed that the Chinese employees have been suffering of much frustration within
the business context. It is the responsibility of the Australian managers to bring the employees out of this
misery and make them feel better in the workplace environment. The workplace environment should have
a supportive relationship that should cater to the betterment of the working atmosphere (Men, 2014).
Other than that the employees should always be looking to adjust with their peers in the multi-
ethnic environment. The relationship between the employees and managers should be based on the proper
trust and faith (Ruben & Gigliotti, 2016). This should be very much important for the organization and
beneficial as well. The business interactions should be made by the Australian managers properly so the
emotions of the Chinese employees are not hurt. The business ethnicity of the Chinese culture should be
maintained properly in this context (Goodwin & Wright, 2014). This should be highly effective for the
BeautyPro organization to make the profits. The factors of giving face and saving face should be
implemented to secure the brand reputation of the organization (Fairhurst & Connaughton, 2014). This
would earn the loyalty of the employees towards the organization and the Australian managers will feel
much relieved as the different barriers could be overcome properly.

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Recommendation Two
The second challenge that has been identified in this context is that of the direct and indirect
communication styles. The indirect communication is considered to be a very challenging issue for the
proper internal communication between the employees. It has been observed in different instances that the
organization (Pettigrew, 2014). Beautypro has been suffering from the indirect communication styles of
their Chinese employees. The Chinese employees have not been able to communicate properly with their
managers. This has been one of the most important aspects on the negative side. This is why the managers
are not being able to understand what they are actually trying to say. This issue has to be resolved for the
benefit of the organization and the smooth internal communication. The Chinese employees for the
organization BeautyPro will have to be trained properly. The harmonious working environment will have
to be created for the betterment of the overall condition (Popovič et al., 2012).
In the training process, the Chinese employees should be trained to be more effective and active
while they are communicating with their seniors. In this matter it has to be understood that the
organization (Pettigrew, 2014). It will in turn benefit the organization. The Chinese employees will have
to be much more verbal in this context as well. The organization must think that there are no ‘right’ or
‘wrong’ ways for the effective communication process. They must be able to provide the managers the
proper messages in the direct ways. This will be very much beneficial for the organization indeed. The
various issues within the functional teams of the company will have to be dealt with the direct
communication style. This is highly recommended for the organization to implement (Hair Jr & Lukas,
2014). The comprehensive styles for the proper cultural communication should be dealt with the proper
focus. The employees must show the respect to the managers through direct verbal communication and
they should encourage the Chinese employees to open themselves up and be more communicative.

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Recommendation Three
The third challenge in this business context is the slow business decision making by the
associates in China. It has caused many menacing situations in terms of the business in BeautyPro. It has
been observed time and again that the Chinese managers are not the good decision makers at all (Hair Jr
& Lukas, 2014). Some ways will have to be found to improve the business decision making process. The
Chinese people will have to be faster and be able to analyze the several issues technically. This technical
analysis of the issues will have to be done in a way that the organization should gain the profits more
(Goetsch & Davis, 2014).
The Two minute rule can be followed by the Chinese managers of the organizations. In this
process they will have to set a proper deadline for themselves. They should be motivated enough to
complete their work within the time or implement their decisions properly. The business managers will
have to judge the good and bad points of the decisions by a thorough analysis (Quanyu, Tong & Leonard,
2013). This will have to be the first step before they take the final business decision. The managers might
have many options before them as the options. In this situation they will have to assess the pros and cons
properly and then take the final decision within the deadline that they had previously set (Goodwin &
Wright, 2014). The managers will have to be ready for the failures that they might face in the first step
but they must be able to bounce back with the best decisions.

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