Intercultural Competence in Business: A Case Study Analysis

This report analyzes a case study of ineffective intercultural communication between John and an Omani industrialist. It utilizes intercultural frameworks and communication theories to provide effective advice to John.

Intercultural
Competence in
Business

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY ..................................................................................................................................3
Where did John go wrong?.........................................................................................................3
Ways to help John understand the intercultural issue more effectively .....................................4
Application of intercultural communication theories to explain and support the discussion.....5
Suggestions for John ..................................................................................................................6
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Intercultural communication refers to the process of communication between two
individuals from different cultures (Anderson and et. al., 2019). It is important to develop
effective intercultural communication skills in order to engage ion global business as cultural
differences play a deciding role in success or failure of a company.
This report is based on the case study of John who meets with Omani industrialist to
discuss future prospects of joint venture but is not communicated by the industrialist after the
meting. There is change in demeanour of Omani industrialist after John mentions that his father
is in nursing home. The present report utilizes intercultural frameworks to understand
interpersonal interactions in this case. In addition to this intercultural communication theories are
used to explain and support the discussion and provide effective advise.
MAIN BODY
Where did John go wrong?
The main aspect of the meeting which contributed to ineffective communication between
John and the Omani industrialist is when John mentioned that his father is currently residing at
nursing home. The change in demeanour of the industrialist showcases a shift in interpersonal
interaction between John and the industrial which is incited by mentoring his father residing at
the nursing Hotel. The shift in reaction of the industrialist is caused by differences in cultural
values and beliefs of British John and the Omani industrialist.
Omani culture values close relationships between elderly and younger generations of the
family. Showing respect towards older members of the family is a value which is ingrained in
Omani culture and can be traced backed to Koran. As Oman is an Islamic country, values
described in the Holy Book of Islam are highly valued. In Sũrat al-Isra god commands that the
elderly are esteemed, treated dutifully and spoken to gently and polity (Bakić-Mirić, 2021).
Elders are consulted by the members of family even if their advice may not be followed in
Ompani culture. In addition to this, Omani culture holds the traditions of family business so it is
expected that elderly and their children take business decisions together.
On he other hand the view of British culture towards elderly is drastically different.
Keeping elderly relatives of the family in care homes as the culture in UK is youth centric. In
addition to this, characteristics such as individualism and independence are valued which

diminish at old age. Ageism is also a cultural issue in UK as older people are widely mocked,
patronised and demonised by the society. Older people are usually seen as aggressive, inept and
burdening members of the family (Older people widely demonised in UK, ageism report finds,
2020). These cultural issues in UK have created an image of British culture that does not
consider family values and respecting the elders as important (Busch, 2021).
When John mentioned that his father is living in a nursing home instead of living with
him, the Omani industrialist could have interpreted this exchange as John's admission to not
respecting family values and elderly rememberer. In addition to this statement must have led the
industrialist to believe that doing business with the firm is not suitable as the company
representatives are only business oriented and do not follow any moral or ethical believes.
Ways to help John understand the intercultural issue more effectively
John can increase understanding about the impact of cultural differences on interpersonal
relationship with the help of Hofstede's cultural dimensions. This is a framework used to
understand differences between cultures. Application of this framework in Oman and UK to
understand intercultural communication issues is provided below:
 Power distance index: Omani culture accepts hierarchical order and presence of
inequalities as a part of the culture. British culture values independence and minimization
of inequalities. This depicts the differenced between treatment of elders, UK does not
value older age people as they are dependent on others (Chen and Lawless, 2019). On the
other hand Omani culture treats elders with respect and has constructed hierarchy in
which elders gain are placed at high position. The statement of John that his father is kept
at a nursing home is in opposition to Omani culture which accepts high position of
elderly member of the family and may have degraded the view of John in mind of the
industrialist.
 Collectivism vs Individualism: UK is individualist society while Oman is collectivist
society (Fretheim, 2021). Family values and large families are common in Oman and the
statement of John that his father lives separately in nursing home may have depicted a
viewpoint that family values are not considered important by the company.
 Uncertainty Avoidance index: Saudi Arabia ranks high in uncertainty avoidance index
and is intolerant towards unorthodox behaviour and values. On the other hand British
culture is comfortable in unambiguous situations. The mention of John keeping his father

in nursing home showcases unorthodox behaviour from Omani culture. This must have
created negative image of John because of high uncertainty avoidance index in Oman.
 Femininity vs Masculinity: Both UK and Oman have masculine cultures which are
success oriented. This helped John form initial connection with the Omani industrialist on
topic such as golf and travelling.
 Short-term vs long-term orientation: Oman has normative culture which places great
value in traditions while UK has more pragmatic culture compared to Oman which
focuses on development in modern education. This depicts the reason for change in
demeanour of the industrialist as John keeping his father in nursing home is against
traditions of normative Omani culture.
 Resistance vs Indulgence: Both UK and Omani culture is indulgent with the exception
being more retrain in Omani culture caused by Islamic religious law (Jensen and et. al.,
2017). High indulgence cultural backgrounds also helped create bond between
industrialist and John at the beginning of their conversation as they talked about world
travel and sports.
Application of intercultural communication theories to explain and support the discussion
Identity negotiation theory is one of the most effective intercultural communication
theory which can be used to ensure effective communication between employees. The identity
management theory considers cultural and relational identities as a determinant factor in creating
identities while communicating with others. This theory states that behaviour of individuals
while communicating is dependent on their goals and competency and identity of individuals
works together during intercultural interaction. Individuals have motives to try to control the
narrative of the conversation and impression others perceive of the situation . In case of John, the
motive of controlling the interaction was to gain positive response from the industrialist about
the joint venture. Face is a concept in this theory which refers to the self that is showcased by
individuals in interpersonal encounters (Kam, Guntzviller and Pines, 2017). This theory states
that people who are aware of their behaviours and are able to control their public behaviours and
actions are able to become effective communicators. In case of John, the loss of control on the
perceived face of John during conversation with the industrialist led to ineffective
communication. It is important for John to build control over public behaviour in order to
construct a face which is accepted by other individuals. Cultural knowledge plays an important

role in this action as lack of cultural awareness is one of the reason behind loss of control of
individuals over their public behaviours which contributes to ineffective intercultural
communication between individuals. In addition to this it is essential to use cultural knowledge
in communication in order to construct a face which is accepted, this will facilitate effective
communication between individuals (Moon and Holling, 2017).
Suggestions for John
 John needs to build cultural knowledge so that the narrative of the conversation is under
his control and he can change his public behaviour to gain required response. This is
justified suggestion as it will help John apply Identity negotiation theory and change the
perceived imager to become an effective commutator.
 John needs to utilize Hofstede's cultural frameworks to understand the difference between
cultural dimensions of UK and other regions so that factors which might impact on the
public behaviour and perception of others. This is justified suggestion as it will help him
control the conversation and avoid usage of statements which create negative perception.

CONCLUSION
Frock the above report it is understood the intercultural communication is essential for
conducting effective global business interactions. This is because lack of cultural knowledge can
lead to ineffective communication between individuals from different cultures. Hofstede cultural
dimensions is an effective framework which can be used to understand ineffective interpersonal
communication between individuals from different cultures. The cultural dimensions in the
framework include power distance index, collectivism vs individualism, uncertainty avoidance
index, femininity vs masculinity, short-term vs long-term orientation and resistance vs
indulgence. These factors play an important role in understanding the influence of cultural
differences in affecting effective communication. Identity negotiation theory is an important
theory related to intercultural communication and can be applied by individuals to ensure
effective communication between parties from different cultures.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Anderson and et. al., 2019. Narratives of Storytelling Across Cultures: The Complexities of
Intercultural Communication. Rowman & Littlefield.
Bakić-Mirić, N., 2021. INTRODUCING TRANSLATION AS INTERCULTURAL
COMMUNICATION. Journal of Teaching English for Specific and Academic
Purposes, pp.557-557.
Busch, D., 2021. The Dispositive of Intercultural Communication. International Journal of Bias,
Identity and Diversities in Education (IJBIDE), 6(1). pp.1-16.
Chen, Y. W. and Lawless, B., 2019. Teaching critical moments within neoliberal universities:
Exploring critical intercultural communication pedagogy. Journal of Intercultural
Communication Research, 48(5). pp.553-573.
Fretheim, K., 2021. Normativity in intercultural communication–what now?. Journal of
Multicultural Discourses, pp.1-7.
Jensen and et. al., 2017. Developing international personas: A new intercultural communication
practice in globalized societies. Journal of Intercultural Communication, (43), pp.N_A-
N_A.
Kam, J. A., Guntzviller, L.M. and Pines, R., 2017. Language brokering, prosocial capacities, and
intercultural communication apprehension among Latina mothers and their adolescent
children. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 48(2), pp.168-183.
Moon, D. G. and Holling, M. A. eds., 2017. Race (ing) intercultural communication: Racial
logics in a colorblind era. Routledge.
Online
Older people widely demonised in UK, ageism report finds, 2020. [Online] Available through
<https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/mar/19/older-people-widely-demonised-
uk-ageism-report>