Intercultural Communication in Business: Cultural Differences between Australia and China

This article discusses the impact of cultural differences on intercultural communication in business between Australia and China. It includes a case study, intercultural theories and competencies, barriers to effective communication, and recommendations for improving intercultural communication.

Running head: INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION IN BUSINESS
Intercultural communication in business
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

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Table of Contents
Introduction: 2
Case description: 2
Intercultural theories and competencies: 3
Cultural difference between Australia and China: 4
Effect on the cultural difference on business: 6
Barriers to effective communication: 7
Recommendation: 8
Conclusion: 9
References: 11

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Introduction:
The most important factor that decides the fate of the international expansion is the cross
cultural communication. Intercultural communication can be defined as the concept of
communication styles and approaches that enhances the connection among people across
different culture and societal groups. It can be considered as a construct that explores and
analyses the effect of culture on communication and interaction. Common variables of
intercultural communication includes social attributes, thought patterns, traditional values,
principles, and cultural norms associated with different groups of people belonging to different
ethnic or cultural backgrounds. It includes interconnected school of thoughts and theories that
define intercultural communication and along with different attributes of communication
(Chaney and Martin 2013). The concept of intercultural communication also explores the
communication barriers that exist between two or more cultural backgrounds and how to
overcome them. This assignment will utilize multiple domains of intercultural communication in
order to explore, analyze, and overcome the communication barrier that exist in between two
cultural backgrounds when it comes to a business scenario taking the help of a case study.
Case description:
The case study represents the scenario where clothing company by the name alpaca clothing
Private Limited that has entertained a satisfactory sales in retail outlets in Australia This small
scale company had had the first opportunity to expand to the Asian territory by the virtue of
signing a contract for fibre processing service in China. However the company representative in
the Chinese location chosen by the company is an Australian born marketing professional by the
name of Jonathan Jones. However despite the expertise and professional competence of

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Jonathan, he had no basic idea of Chinese culture and has never lived abroad, hence his
intercultural understanding was very limited. It has been already mentioned above that in case of
cross-cultural business dealings the role of optimal intercultural communication is profound. It
has to be mentioned in this context that Jonathan had no better understanding of the Chinese
culture and had failed to facilitate effective and successful intercultural communication between
the Chinese company site and his Australian counterpart and as a result, a few misunderstanding
and negotiation flaws have had already occurred. For reviving the situation well planned and
strategic intercultural communication and intervention is required taking help from cultural
analysis and intercultural communication theories and core competencies.
Intercultural theories and competencies:
There are many theories that can be associated with the concept of intercultural
communication. And each of the theories has a profound impact on the development of the
intercultural communication competencies which are extremely required for any crosscultural
representative to do his work properly. In the case study the most important flaw in Jonathan had
been the fact that he had never lived outside his own country and had no understanding of how to
blend in different cultural backgrounds (Jandt 2017). In order for him to succeed in his position
and the present it is very important for him to understand different intercultural theories and
develop the core competencies of intercultural communication. According to the theory of
intercultural adaptation, the most effective method of intercultural communication is through
learned communicative competencies. This theory directs the individual towards understanding
the foreign culture and then adapting the communication pattern to blend in. The next theory is
co cultural theory, which defines communication with our interactions among underrepresented
individuals (Samovar et al. 2014). This theory directs individuals to be accepting and open

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minded about the differences between two cultures and exercise equal position between the
groups to facilitate optimal and culturally competent interaction. The theory of communication
acculturation represents the cross cultural adaptation to be a task that can be accomplished with
only collaborative effort between the parties involved. And on the other hand the communication
accommodation theory relies on different linguistic strategies to decrease the communicative
distance between two cultural backgrounds. Linking the main Idea behind the theories it can be
mentioned that intercultural communication competencies can be developed with better
understanding of the cultural differences, compassionate acceptance of the cultural differences,
honest and strategic adaptation techniques, and most importantly collaborative effort between the
parties involved (Carbaugh 2013).
Now coming to the modern core competencies of intercultural communication the most
important factors has to be proficient knowledge about the host cultural background and
linguistic characteristics. Along with that communication can never be effective without
emphasis on the nonverbal characteristics of the communication. For example traits like tone of
voice, posture, communication approach, eye contact, time and space, and gestures account for
the most important influencing factors of effective communication (Neuliep 2013). Core
competencies of intercultural communication can never be complete without mentioning key
personality traits like flexibility, open-mindedness, empathy, equality, and adaptability in the
individual. Hence, Jonathan as a company representative has to develop all these competencies
in order to facilitate effective interaction between the both of the countries.

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Cultural difference between Australia and China:
In order to entertain effective intercultural interaction between both the countries,
Jonathan will also need to have a thorough analysis of the cultural differences between the two
countries. Australia can be considered a very open minded, westernized, and modern society
with an individualistic and progressive take to the lifestyle. China on the other hand is very
traditional Confucian cultural societies where traditional values and principles are given the most
importance over any modernized are progressive change. In order to better understand the
cultural dimension differences between both the countries the help of hofstede cultural
dimensions analysis can be taken. Each of the cultural dimension looks at different aspect of
culture and its importance effect on the society. On elaboration of the very first dimension,
power distance in which Australia scores much lower than China at 36 indicating that the
business culture of Australia is not dependent on unequal distribution of power. Accessible,
collaborative, and shared decision making is the main structural components of industrial culture
of Australia and communication is informal direct and participative. China on the other hand is a
Confucian society is a very high at the score of 80. It's very clearly indicates that the clear
stratification of power among the organizational hierarchy and a very formal and respectful. The
next dimension is individualism in which China ranks very low at score of 20 indicating a very
collectivist culture in the society showcasing a Cooperative and collaborative lifestyle. Whereas
Australia at the score of 90 shows a very individualistic and person based society. In the
component of uncertainty avoidance Australia has a very intermediate score with no clear
indication on whether the societal culture is appreciative of uncertainty or not, and on the other
hand China had a much lower score of 30 indicating no acceptance towards uncertainty of
change. In case of long term orientation, China has a score of 87 showcasing a very responsible

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and pragmatic social culture, and in contrast, Australia at 21 shows a normative culture.
Indulgence is the next dimension where China scores very low at 21 showing a very restrained
and disciplined society and Australia at 71 is an indulgent country with least importance to
discipline and restrain (Hofstede Insights 2018).
(https://www.hofstede-insights.com/country-comparison/australia,china/)
Effect on the cultural difference on business:
Hence it is clear that there are vast cultural differences between the both countries and
inevitably in there are profound impact of the cultural difference on the business dealings and
etiquettes of both the countries. For instance China is a Confucian society and the business
etiquettes of this country is based on a strong power distance, discipline, and punctuality. Here
the business dealings are very formal and everyone is expected to maintain a certain composure
during the business interactions (Kleinman and Lin 2012). Formal courtesy and justice is also

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very important to the business etiquette of China and maintaining the respectful relationship is
very important to the business etiquettes of the country. Communication is very formal,
pleasantries and greetings are exchanged in a formal yet warm manner and conflict is avoided at
all costs. Coming to nonverbal communication, in China, body language and posture is always
expected to be formal and attentive that exhibit self control and respectfulness that the country
thrives on (Law 2012).
Australia on the other hand is a much more organized and open minded country with a
straight forward and innovative business mentality. The business hierarchy is open, accessible,
and decision making is shared among the different organizational sectors with a warm
participative communication statistics. There are not traditional restrictions to nonverbal
communication, body language and appearance and the business etiquette is very similar to
European cultural characteristics. Organizational hierarchy interacts warmly and regularly with
the lower employees and their significant power distance in the Australian business etiquette and
is very appreciative of change and innovation (Lantis and Charlton 2011).
Barriers to effective communication:
With such a vast difference between the business culture and societal norm among the both
of the countries, defective communication is inevitable. However in order for the company
representative to effectively counteract the barriers, identification and analysis of the barriers is
very important. The very first barrier among the both of the countries and effective
communication among them is the linguistic barrier. Australia is a mainly English language
operated country and in China English is not the dominating operational language. Along with
that another very common barrier to intercultural communication is the non verbal

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communication components. It has to be mentioned that China is a very formal and traditional
country and Australia is a loud and open country (Casmir 2013). Hence factors that tone of
voice, gesture, eye contact, body language, and vocal characteristics have a huge impact on the
communication between both countries. Another key issue can be the stereotypic prejudices
among both of the cultures. Cultural competence and knowledge is acquired which is only
developed through direct experience which Jonathan lacked terribly. Hence the differences
between both cultures might have acted as prejudice refraining him from blending in with the
cultural norms of China (Mindess 2014). Informal understanding and personality traits can also
serve as communication barriers and cross cultural settings. It has to be understood that Jonathan
had a very European and open minded are bringing and while, understanding of societal
pleasantries might be very different from what is appreciated and accepted in China. Hence the
lack of adaptivity to Chinese culture and basic knowledge about their lifestyle is a great hurdle
that affected the communication significantly (Neuliep 2013).
Recommendation:
According to most of the authors, cultural competence is an acquired quality, and it can only
be enhanced through effort and experience. The communication on misconduct among Australia
and China in this case study has been facilitated by the lack of knowledge and intercultural
competence in the chosen representative. However the culture intercultural communication
analysis and cultural difference analysis done about can provide useful Framework based on
which recommendation strategies can be devised for Jonathan to follow in order to improve his
intercultural communication capabilities and aid to this position better.

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 First and foremost, Jonathan will need to have a thought of cultural analysis of the
traditions and societal norms of Chinese society so that he can understand the impact of
the social traditions on the business etiquettes.
 Enforcement can be considered the key to understanding of foreign culture. Jonathan will
also have to mingle with the natives on interpersonal level to understand the route to the
tradition and be able to respond to their cultural etiquettes better (Neuliep 2013).
 Along with that the basic intercultural communication competence a should not be
ignored either, and Jonathan can easily take the assistant of online courses and workshops
to enhance his verbal and nonverbal communication qualities and core competencies of
intercultural communication.
 Last but not the least maintaining a self reflective journal will be very beneficial for
Jonathan so that he can keep track of his own progress and learn from his own mistakes.
 Cultural competence is associated with empathy respect and equality towards all
cultures. Jonathan will have to entertain honest effort towards understanding and
respecting different cultural backgrounds as his own to be able to blend in with Chinese
culture as efficiently as he could with his own native background (Carbaugh 2013).
Conclusion:
On a concluding note, it has to be mentioned that International expansion can only be
effective when the cross-cultural factors are respected and addressed in an efficient and strategic
manner. This case study is a excellent example of the impact lack of strategic planning and
actions towards better intercultural interaction between two internationally cooperating business
entities can have on the overall productivity and profitability of the business operation. Hence,
for any international business dealings a thorough cultural analysis and comparison adjustment is

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needed before attempting the cross cultural business. Jonathan in this case had been chosen to
represent the company in the Chinese society where has he had no idea about the cultural norms
of the country or any core competencies of intercultural interaction. However with cultural
comparison analysis and strategic action to improve the cultural competence and understanding
of foreign culture corporate companies can easily succeed in international expansions.

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