Intercultural Communication in Business: Adapting to Chinese Culture

Running head: INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
Intercultural Communication
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

1INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
Intercultural communication can be defined as the kind of communication by means
of which the people or individuals from various diverse cultural backgrounds communicate
with each other (Carbaugh 2013). It is significant to note that during the conduct of business
the various business organizations often come a situation when they need to conduct with
people or business organizations belonging to various diverse cultural or ethical backgrounds
(Washington, Okoro and Thomas 2012). It is precisely here that the process of intercultural
communication becomes very significant. The advent of globalization and the growth of trade
and commerce across the frontiers of the different nations have made the process of
intercultural communication one of the primary tools which the various business
organizations often take the help of in order to effectively conduct their business across the
different nations (Neuliep 2012). It is significant to note that the various business
organizations when conducting business with the various individuals or business
organizations with people or business organizations from various other nations need to make
certain adaptations regarding the way they communicate and behave with others in a bid to
effectively conduct their business with the business organizations or people belonging to
other business organizations or people belonging to other nations (Washington, Okoro and
Thomas 2012). This essay intends to analyze the process of intercultural communication and
its various related precepts.
Mary is an Australian who hails from a family which has always in love with food
and the food industry. Her mother and other family members from the early phases of their
lives had been in love with food and the food industry and they even used to prepare foods
and present them as gifts to their relatives as well as friends. Therefore, it was quiet natural
for Mary to develop that love for food and food industry. Thus, when she grew up she opened
her own small business which specializes in the “manufacture a variety of condiments”. It is
significant to note that “‘The Aroma Shop’ and a small factory in Wagga Wagga” and the

2INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
specialty of which is that they do not take the use of artificial preservatives for the
preparation of the food item. In addition to that, the small business of Mary provides a range
of products to the customers like “chilli sauces, pastes, chutneys and jams”. The business of
Mary is doing reasonably good in the nation of Australia however following the path of
globalization she now wants to expand her business in the nation of China and for the
achievement of this particular purpose she has arranged for an official meeting with Mr. Lau,
a Chinese business around 55 years old. It is significant to note that Mary is confused as
regards the approach she should take regarding the meeting with Mr. Lau as she has never
conducted any business dealings with the Chinese people but knows that their culture as well
as way of conducting business is drastically different from the approach followed by the
Australian people.
The culture as well as the way of conducting the business of the Chinese people is
starkly different from the way of the other nations as well as the other cultures (House 2014).
A cultural graph of the nation of China as per the Hofstede’s “Models of Culture” would
reveal the following facts-
Figure 1: Hofstede’s “Models of Culture”
Source: Hofstede’s Cultural Insights