Challenges of Inter-Cultural Communication in Business Operations: Direct vs Indirect Communication Styles

This report analyzes the specific challenges that are presented by direct and indirect intercultural communications between Australians and Chinese during business operations with special reference to the operations of a company, Beauty-Pro which has recently expanded to and set up a unit in China. The report concludes that indirect and direct communication styles can both prove to be advantageous in such a professional or business setup, and recommends a number of ways by which this problem can be suitably overcome by Australian enterprises when doing business with the Chinese.

Running Head: CHALLENGES OF INTER-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION
Challenges of Inter-Cultural Communication
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1CHALLENGES OF INTER-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION
Executive Summary
A common feature of business today is inter-cultural communication. This is because businesses
are characterized by multicultural environments that are comprised of people from diverse
religion and ethnic backgrounds. While there are many challenges associated with inter-cultural
communication, one major hindrance is posed by the direct and indirect styles of
communication. This report analyzes direct and indirect communication styles that can be
detected between Australians and Chinese in business operations, particularly with regard to the
operations of the Australian company Beauty-Pro in China, and concludes that both styles can
prove to be quite good for such business activities, The report also recommends a number of
suggestions that may be incorporated by both direct and indirect communicators in order to
perform better on the business front.

2CHALLENGES OF INTER-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION
Table of Contents
1. Introduction.........................................................................................................................................3
2. The Challenge of Direct Versus Indirect Styles of Communication between Chinese and Australians
in Business..................................................................................................................................................3
3. Conclusion...........................................................................................................................................6
4. Recommendations...............................................................................................................................7
References...................................................................................................................................................8

3CHALLENGES OF INTER-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION
1. Introduction
The business environment in today’s day and age is one that is comprised of people from
diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds. It is no surprise therefore, that a pressing challenging in
business operations nowadays is the challenge presented by different types of communication
styles. Effective intercultural communication is necessary in a business organization to avoid
misperceptions and misunderstandings that can otherwise pose a hindrance to professional
activities and affect business outcomes (Akanwa, 2015). This report analyzes the specific
challenges that are presented by direct and indirect intercultural communications between
Australians and Chinese during business operations with special reference to the operations of a
company, Beauty-Pro which has recently expanded to and set up a unit in China. The report
concludes that indirect and direct communication styles can both prove to be advantageous in
such a professional or business setup, and recommends a number of ways by which this problem
can be suitably overcome by Australian enterprises when doing business with the Chinese.
2. The Challenge of Direct Versus Indirect Styles of Communication
between Chinese and Australians in Business
The direct communicators in a professional setup that involves negotiations between
Australian and Chinese businessmen always tend to say or do the things that they actually
feel. They do not ever mince their words and are as transparent as possible in their mode of
communication. Australians are usually direct communicators tend to depend a great deal on
the literal or exact interpretation of what they say and do. Their goal in communicating is to
simply give information or to get information. Direct communication styles are usually quite

4CHALLENGES OF INTER-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION
common in all low context cultures like that of the Australian culture, that is, a culture
characterized by a greater degree of heterogeneity and which tends to place a lot of emphasis
on self reliance, independence and individualism (Clayton & Ellender, 2016). Due to this
heterogeneity, assumptions about the context in which the communication takes place are not
too many. When it comes to indirect communication, a style that is very common in the high
context cultures like that of the Chinese culture, meanings are conveyed not just through the
use of words but also through a number of non verbal behaviors like understatements,
implications, tone of voice, silence, pauses, with the context of the communication being
quite extensively shared. The primary goal of an indirect communication exchange on the
part of the Chinese for instance, is to save face and maintain harmony. Chinese workers and
business heads who use indirect communication styles are people to tend to avoid conflict at
all costs, who don’t want to get into uncomfortable situations and wish to keep tension and
all types of stressful situations at bay. In high context cultures that are homogenous and
which place a lot of emphasis on social relationships and interdependence, people develop
unconscious and deep understandings of exactly all that is expected from that particular
culture. Owing to the shared expectations concerning behavior, the context is one that can be
altered quite easily by the speaker for the purpose of conveying information (Fan et al.,
2016).
Issues such as speaker identity, left out communication elements, and behaviors that are
not in keeping with norms all tend to convey information. When it comes to indirect
communication carried out the Chinese business people with Australian businessmen, the
person at the receiving end of this communication, that is, the Australian entrepreneur, has to
first understand what that culture is all about in order to perceive the meaning of the

5CHALLENGES OF INTER-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION
communication. It is entirely the responsibility of the listener, the Australian here, to interpret
correctly or not, what the indirect communicator, the Chinese man or woman, is conveying.
The sensitivity and the ability on the part of the listener to capture well enough all the under-
surface meanings in the communication as well as to discern all implicit meanings of this
communication is something that becomes quite critical (Ngwira et al., 2015). A lot is left to
the perception of the listener as far as the indirect communication style on the part of the
Chinese is concerned. The Australian listener has to make an effort and also be fully capable
of understanding what the other person saying in order to any misunderstanding not to arise.
If he is unable to grasp the meaning of the communication, a wide gap will remain between
what is being conveyed to him and what he perceives of the communication, leading to both
communicators not being able to understand one another (Lu et al., 2016).
When it comes to analyzing the Australian company Beauty-Pro’s business operations in
China it is seen that both the direct and indirect communication styles have their respective
advantages. Direct communicators like the Australian workers and managers play a vital role
in initiating business decisions, in the execution of projects and in communicating with
clients, where efforts have to be made to be as forthright and as clear as possible in order to
ensure that business goals are not compromised when carrying out negotiations (Nichols et
al., 2015). The Chinese workers and personnel are always indirect communicators. They are
people who are politically correct, and in a business setup they can used for business
dialogue, for speaking to employees who are difficult to handle and for addressing sensitive
issues that can arise in the course of running a business, like the mistreatment of one co-
worker by another for instance. When implementing business plans and agendas, direct
Australian communicators have a vital role to play as they are clear with co-workers and the

6CHALLENGES OF INTER-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION
management about what should or should not be done to ensure that a specific strategy or
plan of action is adequately initiated and executed. In the same context, indirect Chinese
communicators drop a number of suggestions or recommendations that can be used to further
a business agenda, but which have not been considered by the management as yet because of
their controversial or difficult nature. Problems and disputes that can arise in a business
environment are communicated by indirect Chinese communicators to the top level
management in a diplomatic way so as to avoid antagonizing the top level management while
addressing the disputes and problems at the same time (Piller, 2015). The Chinese indirect
communicators know how to avoid rubbing people in the wrong way and when it comes to
representing employee interests and concerns, indirect communicators do a better job than
the Australian direct communicators as they know how to beat around the bush and get
matters addressed without putting people off with their forthright and bold communication
style (Rogers et al., 2017).
3. Conclusion
Thus, while direct and indirect communication styles can cause confusion in a business
environment that is comprised of two different cultures, in this case the Chinese and
australians, both styles of communication can be used in advantageous fashion to execute
business activities and business plans in a smooth and efficient manner. Client negotiations
and marketing activities can be very well undertaken by Australians who are direct
communicators, who have a brazen and unabashed way of speaking and writing and who can
get their point across to the listening party in no time at all. Indirect communicators like the
Chinese can be used for carrying out all types of diplomatic dialogue that require the

7CHALLENGES OF INTER-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION
avoidance of hurting sentiments, especially the type of communication that a company’s top
level management is reluctant to engage in.
4. Recommendations
 Direct communicators like the Australians in a business setup need to avoid
making blunt comments as this can put people off too easily. Clients may get irate
and employee may just be very offended if spoken to in too direct or blunt a
fashion (Tharenou & Seet, 2014).
 Indirect communicators like the Chinese in a business environment need to
understand that their subtle speeches may not always be perceived in the manner
that they desire and honest feedback must be provided where necessary, instead of
avoiding insults (Wang et al., 2015).
 Direct communicators such as the Australians when doing business with the
Chinese need to pay attention to non verbal behaviors in addition to all that is
being said to them in order to understand the context of the communication fully.
They cannot just rely on the words and phrases being spoken to them to grasp the
meaning of the communication (Wu et al., 2015).

8CHALLENGES OF INTER-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION
References
Akanwa, E. E. (2015). International students in western developed countries: History,
challenges, and prospects. Journal of International Students, 5(3), 271-284
Clayton, J., Isaacs, A. N., & Ellender, I. (2016). Perioperative nurses’ experiences of
communication in a multicultural operating theatre: A qualitative study. International
journal of nursing studies, 54, 7-15.
Fan, D., Cui, L., Li, Y., & Zhu, C. J. (2016). Localized learning by emerging multinational
enterprises in developed host countries: A fuzzy-set analysis of Chinese foreign direct
investment in Australia. International Business Review, 25(1), 187-203
Lu, S. H., Dear, B. F., Johnston, L., Wootton, B. M., & Titov, N. (2014). An internet survey
of emotional health, treatment seeking and barriers to accessing mental health
treatment among Chinese-speaking international students in Australia. Counselling
Psychology Quarterly, 27(1), 96-108.
Ngwira, f. f., mapoma, h. w. t., jianzhong, h. o. n. g., sariyo, S., & KONDOWE, W. (2015).
Intercultural Communication Competence and Acculturation among International
Students in Central China. Intercultural Communication Studies, 24(2).
Nichols, P., Horner, B., & Fyfe, K. (2015). Understanding and improving communication
processes in an increasingly multicultural aged care workforce. Journal of aging
studies, 32, 23-31

9CHALLENGES OF INTER-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION
Piller, I. (2017). Intercultural communication: A critical introduction. Edinburgh University
Press.
Rogers, D., Lee, C. L., & Yan, D. (2015). The politics of foreign investment in Australian
housing: Chinese investors, translocal sales agents and local resistance. Housing
Studies, 30(5), 730-748
Tharenou, P., & Seet, P. S. (2014). China's Reverse Brain Drain: Regaining and Retaining
Talent. International Studies of Management & Organization, 44(2), 55-74
Wang, C. C., Andre, K., & Greenwood, K. M. (2015). Chinese students studying at
Australian universities with specific reference to nursing students: a narrative
literature review. Nurse Education Today, 35(4), 609-619.
Wu, H. P., Garza, E., & Guzman, N. (2015). International student’s challenge and adjustment
to college. Education Research International, 2015.