Effective Intercultural Communication

Running head: EFFECTIVE INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
EFFECTIVE INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
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EFFECTIVE INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION 2
Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction............................................................................................................................................3
1.1 Significance of effective intercultural communication.......................................................................3
1.2 Purpose and the structure of the report................................................................................................4
2.0 Intercultural challenges facing the BeautyPro Company in China..................................................4
2.1 Different cultural values and etiquette................................................................................................5
2.2 Direct versus indirect styles of communication..................................................................................6
2.3 Different cultural norms of decision-making......................................................................................8
3.0 Conclusion..............................................................................................................................................9
4.0 Recommendations................................................................................................................................10
4.1 Recommendations on the issue of different cultural values and etiquette........................................10
4.2 Recommendations on the issue of direct versus indirect styles of communication......................11
4.3 Recommendations on the issue of different cultural norms of decision-making..............................12
5.0 REFERENCES.....................................................................................................................................13

EFFECTIVE INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION 3
1.0 Introduction
BeautyPro is a multinational company dealing with the distribution of organic cosmetics in
various parts of the world. Its headquarter is in Brisbane, Australia. It offers an array of beauty services
with many clinics providing comprehensive and advanced cosmetic skin care products. With the
BeautyPro expansion to other countries such as China, the issue of intercultural communication arises.
1.1 Significance of effective intercultural communication
Intercultural communication is a term used to refer to diverse communication issues that are
inevitable in an organization (Padhi, 2011). They usually come up due to the composition of people of
different ethnic, social, religious as well as an educational background within the company. Due to these
differences, each employee brings in a unique set of values and experiences into the workplace hence
creating conflicts. The culture of the people where the company is located and how the employees were
brought up, plays a vital role in the development and success of a company. Therefore, it is very vital for
an organization to consider means in which they can facilitate effective communication between the
employees and other stakeholders to bridge the intercultural communication barriers (Costea, 2011).
Failure to resolve the cultural-based conflicts and tensions arising within the company, will eventually
lead to decreased productivity, diminished performance, and also the closure of the company in the long-
run.
Effective intercultural communication is essential in making a company succeed in an
environment composed of people of different ethnic backgrounds and holding different cultural values.
As such, it serves as a shaper of cultural identity as well as an expression of artistic background. ( Li,
2011). It’s through an effective intercultural communication process that the management of the
company can create proper ethnic identities, professional identities, and also class identities. Language
remains to be the cornerstone of an efficient and effective intercultural communication. Therefore, the
most significant element of ethnocentrism revolves around language. For instance, the majority of the
China people speak Chinese as their primary language. On the other side, Australian people are known to

EFFECTIVE INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION 4
use the English language and, thereby regarded as the de facto language of the nation. Therefore, the
language factor has to be put into consideration in ensuring the success of the BeautyPro company in
China. Otherwise, the language issue can lead to conflicts and non-cooperation between the co-workers as
well as affecting their interactions with customers hence causing disastrous effects (Hymes, 2005). As a
manager in China, there is a considerable need to understand the culture of the Chinese people. In doing
so, the communication will be improved, and no misunderstandings will arise. Therefore, this will help in
the growth of the business.
1.2 Purpose and the structure of the report
The purpose of this report, therefore, is to identify the intercultural challenges that the China-
based BeautyPro company is facing and, thereby come up with suitable recommendations on how the
problems can be overcome. The report will aim to discuss those challenges in depth and offer possible
practical and logical solutions. The structure of the report begins with the introduction of the company
and the importance of effective cross-cultural communication, analysis of the intercultural challenges
facing the company in China, a summary of the report, recommendations of the identified problems, and
the references used.
2.0 Intercultural challenges facing the BeautyPro Company in China
In today’s era of globalization, organizations are faced with several intercultural challenges.
Globalization has increased the inevitability of intercultural communication (Gudykunst, 2002).
Understanding other people’s culture helps to avoid the misinterpretations that are likely to occur due to
language and culture barrier. Communication is vital in any business operation. Any Multinational
Company like BeautyPro has to understand the diverse cultures of the people and find means in which
they can communicate effectively with them. Some of the challenges faced by the BeautyPro company in
China include; different cultural values and etiquette, direct versus indirect styles of communication and
different cultural norms of decision-making (Bücker, Furrer, Poutsma, & Buyens, 2014)