International Business Communications in Armenia: Application of Theories, Cultural Sensitivity, and Communication Strategies

This report discusses the application of theories of intercultural and international communication, cultural sensitivity, and communication strategies for doing business in Armenia with Miel Bakery, London W1. It covers the Hofstede cultural dimension theory, communication barriers, and recommendations for achieving success in the country.

International Business
Communications

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY ..................................................................................................................................3
Brief introduction of Armenia country.......................................................................................3
Application of theories of intercultural and international communication to the selected
country( Samovar, Hofstede, Jandt etc.).....................................................................................4
Evaluate the cultural sensitivity when doing business into particular country into critical terms
with support of examples............................................................................................................6
Evaluate the different communication barriers that are experienced by the foreign business
with support of different examples ............................................................................................7
Communication strategies and recommendations ......................................................................7
Give the recommendations for the company in order to achieve success in county like
Armenia ......................................................................................................................................8
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
International business communication refers to the communication practice which occurs
across the international borders. It is also about the culture which provides individuals with
distinct frameworks of understanding by which they interpret the world and individuals from
different culture will likely interpret the same world in radically different ways. In the present
report, Miel Bakery, London W1 is taken into consideration(Abugre and Debrah., 2019). It is
the bakery which has been set up by the Shaheen Peer bhai which is a classically trained chef
who has honed her skills in Paris, Mumbai and London before setting up the bakery in the year
of 2019. This is basically the French inspired boulangerie and patisserie which serves the takes
on classic French pastries that includes an amazing hazelnut gianduja croissant. The bakery has
moved their own production to another location which is named as Armenia. The present report
will cover discussion about the application of theories of international and intercultural
communication. In addition to this, the report will cover analysis about the cultural sensitivity
when doing business into the Armenia country and also about the importance of networking.
Moreover, the report will cover discussion about the different communication barriers
experienced by the foreign business into the Armenia country.
MAIN BODY
Brief introduction of Armenia country
According to the definition of the International Monetary Fund, Armenia is the
developing country because of its lower economic performance. It is the country which is located
in the mountainous Caucasus region which is in between Asia and Europe. Armenia country is
bordered by the Turkey to the West, Georgia to the north, the Lachin corridor, Azerbaijan to the
east and the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakh chivan to the south. It is a multi-party, unitary and
democratic nation-state with an ancient cultural heritage. Modern Armenia which is basically
comprised of only a small portion of the ancient Armenia which is one of the world's oldest
centres of civilisation(Acosta and et.al., 2018). Looking from the height it has been observed
that Armenia extended from the south central Black Sea coast to the Caspian Sea and from the
Mediterranean Sea to Lake Urmia in present day Iran. Armenia is a country which is basically
famous for its beautiful landscapes with its culture, cuisine and history.

It has been observed that Armenia is the first country which officially adopt Christianity
and there are certain monasteries and old churches which is located in the extremely which is a
beautiful natural settings. It is a land locked country on the crossroad between Asia and Europe
which is the former Soviet republic that is situated in the South eastern Europe, east of Turkey,
north of Iran and south of the mountainous Caucasus region(Ali and et.al., 2021). It has an area
around 29743 Km square which is slightly smaller than Belgium or smaller than the U.S. State of
Maryland. It is the country which has a population of around three million people and also the
largest city which is Yerevan. So this is all about the Armenia country where the Miel Bakery,
London W1 has shifted their production unit.
Application of theories of intercultural and international communication to the selected
country( Samovar, Hofstede, Jandt etc.)
Intercultural communication refers to the communication between people from two
different cultures and also a kind of symbolic, transactional interpretive which is a contextual
process where people from different cultures creates the shared meanings. The theory of
international and intercultural communication plays a very important role and also help in terms
of international communities. It is also the interracial groups for the purpose to cooperate with
each other for developing the effective relationship. For having the deeper understanding about
the international and intercultural communication of Armenia is “Hofstede cultural dimension
theory”.
Hofstede's Cultural Dimension Theory: With reference to the cultural theory, it is a
kind of framework which supports in terms of deeper understanding about the differences in
culture across the countries for the purpose to recognise and also identify the dissimilar methods
by which the company can carry out its operations in different cultures(Fraccastoro and et.al.,
2021). With the help of this dimension, it support in terms of deeper understanding about the
culture of the organisation and understand the best practices that could support the organisation
in terms of expansion level. In addition to this, this framework also allows the organisation in
terms of having the better understanding of their needs and customers as well.
Power distance index: It is all about dealing with all the people within the society are
not equal within this dimension. In context to the company, it is very necessary for the
companies to properly follow its basic plan and also need to be effective for the development of

the performance power distance index. In context to Armenia country, it is basically a civil
society which has the freedom of choice, freedom from profit making, freedom from
administrative regulations. In addition to this, it is a kind of society which is a reciprocity,
participatory and also have control of resources for the common good.
Individualism vs collectivism: It is basically considered to be the main responsibility of
business that focuses on the individuals. In the case of individualism, the main fundamental issue
basically includes the degree of interdependence that a society maintains among its members. In
context to Armenia, the country is basically considered under the collectivist culture according to
the low score of twenty two(İpek and Bıçakcıoğlu-Peynirci., 2020). In the case of an
organisation, the organisation basically focuses on the and promotes for the strong relationship
where everyone can takes the responsibility of other members as well. This is the society which
is basically consist of hiring decisions, promotion, employer employee relation etc.
Uncertainty avoidance index: It is the dimension which is basically used for the
purpose in order to determine the uncertainty that occurs into different aspects. In context to the
company, it is very necessary for the organisation in order to reduce the uncertainty for avoiding
any kind of risks or problem that could result in hindering the functions of organisation. It is very
essential that to strictly to follow all the rules and regulations in order to have smooth
functioning. In context to Armenia country, it basically has the lower preference in the case of
avoiding uncertainties. In the case of organisation who have low UAI basically includes the hard
working individuals and also the schedules are in terms of flexible nature as well.
Masculinity vs Feminity: Within this dimension, it basically explains about the creation
that generally creates the achievement, behaviour, equality and attitude. In the case of
masculinity, it is basically measured by the lack and ferocity(Kalogiannidis and Papaevangelou.,
2020).On the other hand, feminity is basically related to the general roles that basically deals
with the quality of life. In context to Armenia country, it is basically the part of both the worlds
which include masculine for certain parts and Feminine for others but has no clear dominant
cultural value.
Long term VS short term orientation: In the case of orientation, it is basically based on
the horizon determination that has been supported by the organisation for the purpose of
implementing the strategy in over planning.

In context to the organisation, the organisation basically focused on the development of
objectives which is of long term and short term in order to achieve the objectives which are in
the end terms. It basically results into quick results and long term orientation that are focused on
growth and development. In context to Armenia country, it basically exhibits the more
pragmatic than the normative culture (Mäkelä and Kinnunen., 2018). The people also believes in
that truth which depends on the context, situation and time. It also shows an ability in order to
easily adapt the situations which are changed and also have strong propensity in order to invest
and save, perseverance and thriftiness in order to achieve results.
Evaluate the cultural sensitivity when doing business into particular country into critical terms
with support of examples
Cultural sensitivity refers to the knowledge, awareness, and acceptance of other cultures
and other cultural identities. It is basically related to the cultural competence and also to the
precursor to the achievement of cultural competence and also which is the mostly used term than
the cultural competence. The concept of cultural sensitivity basically allows the organisation in
order to respond with a more proper and respectful manner to various individuals by recognising
the cultural background etc. It is also the kind of basic set of skills which allows the organisation
to have better understanding of learning and individuals. When expanding into the country of
Armenia, it is necessary for the organisation to take into consideration about the cultural
sensitivity of the country. In case of Armenia, the culture of business is friendly and
communicative as well where the investors and business owners appreciate the pace of economic
reforms, freedom, safety and openness.
Importance of networking and do the research into the relative significance of languages which
includes the extent to which the language of the buyer should be used
Networking refers to the process of or action of interacting with others in order to
exchange information and develop the professional or social contacts. Networking basically
contribute towards the social well-being and also lead towards the exchange of ideas.
Networking also support in terms of meeting the people at all the professional levels and boosts
the professional confidence as well(Reshetnikova and et.al., 2018).

In the case of network communications, it is basically about the set of protocols that
allows the programs which is related to application for the purpose to communicate with each
other without regarding the operating system and hardware where the organisation is running.
There are certain advantages and disadvantages which has been defined into the following
manner:
Advantages: It basically support in terms of facilitating the communication among
different cultures and also help in building the relationship with their customers.
Disadvantages: It becomes very difficult to learn new language of another country and
can be totally different in comparison to native one. It also act as damage to the cultural identity.
Evaluate the different communication barriers that are experienced by the foreign business with
support of different examples
There are different kinds of barriers which has been experienced by the company who
wants to move their production unit into the country of Armenia that results into different
challenges and barriers that could affect the process(Sahadevan and Sumangala., 2021). The
main barriers are defined into the following manner:
Language: In context to barriers in communication, the differences in languages could
also result into impacting the communication among the employees and customers.
Gestures: When its about the communication, it basically allows the individuals to
communicate with support of different gestures for expressing their feelings and thoughts but
sometimes gestures lead towards the misunderstandings and wrong information as well and that
is considered to be the barrier for the company(Sinha and Chowdhury., 2021). For dealing with
these issues it is very necessary for the company to take into consideration with the different
communication strategies.
Communication strategies and recommendations
Communication strategy refers to the plan for the purpose to communicate with the target
audience and also generally a plan for communicating with stakeholders, customers and public
into different countries. With support of effective communication strategies, it supports the
organisation in order to establish communication with the individuals of Armenia country.

It has been recommended that they have to focus on one to one communication which
play a very significant role in terms of having deeper understanding and develop the bond with
team members into better terms (Szkudlarek and et.al., 2020). It is very necessary for the
organisations manager to be highly empathetic towards the employees and customers. It has been
also recommended that to make use of multiple modes of communication. While establishing
communication it is very important to make use of different effective modes of communication
and also allows the individuals to have their own set of preferred modes of communication.
Give the recommendations for the company in order to achieve success in county like Armenia
There are certain kind of recommendations which has been used by the company for
achieving the success in the country Armenia which has been defined into the following manner:
 Use of advanced communication tools: It is highly recommended that to use different
kinds of communication tools that can be used for both external and internal
communication. These tools basically include telephones, computers, web conferencing
tools, social networking, emails for achieving the success into its operations.
 Team development emphasis: Under the case of team development it is basically the
kind of method for supporting the companies and also improve the team work for
becoming more efficient into the operations of business. Within the process of
communication, it s very necessary for the team members to communicate with each
other in such a manner that it will support in terms of promoting their ability and
connectivity to have better understanding.
 Developing communication into formal terms in business and operations: Formal
communication basically refers to the flow of data and information with the help of
predefined channels and routes(Takino., 2020).Flow communication basically refers to
the chain of command and hierarchical structure. With support of having effective
communication channel into formal terms, it support in terms of reducing the chances of
mistakes and errors. When there is communication within the boundaries which results
into reducing of occurrence of errors and mistakes.
These are the recommendations which can be used by the Miel Bakery, London W1forachieving
the success in country like Armenia.

CONCLUSION
The above stated report concludes that international business communication plays a very
significant role at the organisational level. It has been concluded that the country which is based
in one country and enters into another country then it has more responsibilities. It has been
determined that it is very important for the organisation to use different kinds of theories which
is related to the intercultural and international communication as well. It has been observed that
country need to do the analysis into proper terms while entering into any new country by
considering every aspect of the business. It is important to have cultural sensitivity while doing
business into particular country and also need to have understanding of importance of
networking. There are different kind of barriers of communication which has been experience by
the foreign business. So its important to remove these barriers by taking right kind of actions.
There are different kind of communication strategies which has been used in order to make the
communication more effective and result oriented as well.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
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