Cross-Cultural Communication: Impact on India & Australia Business

This essay explores the concept of culture and cross-cultural communication, analyzing its impact on business styles, particularly in India and Australia. It highlights how globalization has increased the importance of cross-cultural communication and the potential for miscommunication due to differing cultural interpretations. The essay uses Hofstede's model to compare the national cultures of India and Australia, revealing significant differences in collectivism, power distance, motivation, work-life balance, and uncertainty avoidance. It then applies these cultural insights to a scenario involving an Australian businesswoman seeking to expand her condiment business into India, providing specific recommendations for effective communication and business practices tailored to Indian cultural norms. The conclusion emphasizes the necessity of understanding cultural landscapes for successful cross-cultural business interactions.

Running head: CROSS CULTURAL COMMUNICATION
Cross Cultural Communication
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Author’s Note:

1CROSS CULTURAL COMMUNICATION
Culture forms an important entity of the lives of the human beings and to a large
extent guides the behavior of the individuals (Kinloch & Metge, 2014). Culture is generally
seen as the conglomeration of all the values, beliefs, social behavior, customs and other
important factors which forms to a significant extent contributes towards the identity of the
concerned individuals (Kinloch & Metge, 2014). Furthermore, it is generally seen that the
culture of one particular group of individuals is different from another and this is perhaps one
of the major reasons for the numerous cultural groups which are commonly seen in the
present world (Prasad, 2015). In addition to this, it is generally seen that the concept of
national culture has gained a significant amount of importance in the present times. Hofstede
has defined the concept of national culture as the conglomeration or the collective
consciousness of the various people of a particular nation which distinguishes it from the
other nations of the world (Fay et al., 2018). It is significant to note that culture has a
significant impact on the business style followed by the people of the nation and it is a
reflection of this particular fact that many experts are of the viewpoint that the business style
of a particular nation is directly related to the national culture of that nation (Adler &
Graham, 2017). This essay will discuss about the concept of culture and cross-cultural
communication and also the manner in which it affects the business style of a particular
nation. The essay will discuss about the national cultures of India and Australia for the
analysis of the manner in which culture impacts the business style of a particular nation.
Globalization has transformed the entire business world in a small village wherein
business enterprises from diverse countries are able to conduct business with each other
(Ting-Toomey & Dorjee, 2017). It is precisely in this particular context that the process of
cross cultural communication and also cross cultural miscommunication becomes important.
The problem of cross cultural miscommunication comes into play when people from different
cultures are communicating with each other and the message of one person is being
misinterpreted by the other (Kreuz & Roberts, 2017). It is significant to note that the same
words or phrases have different meanings in different cultures and thus it is generally seen
that when people from diverse cultural backgrounds are communicating with each other this
particular problem inevitably creeps in (Kreuz & Roberts, 2017). However, recent studies
have showed that this particular problem can easily be resolved through the use of non-verbal
means of communication, use of gestures and facial expressions during the process of
communication, having an effective knowledge about the culture of the other person and
others (Kramsch, 2014).
Mary, an Australian businesswoman owns a factory called “The Aroma Store” at
Newcastle. The factory owned by Mary belongs to the condiments industry and specializes in
the manufacture of chutneys, sauces, jams, pastes and others. It is significant to note that her
love for this particular industry was ingrained in her from an early age by her parents, both of
whom were chefs and used to gift these condiments to their friends. The specialty of the
condiments manufactured by Mary lies in the fact that all the ingredients used her for the
manufacture of these condiments are organic and free from the use of artificial preservatives.
However, currently she is looking to expand her business into the nation of India and for this
she has decided to go to India and meet the owner of a popular store, Mr. Sharma but she is
not sure about the manner in which she should approach her since she has no idea about the
culture of the nation of India.
A close analysis of the national culture of the nation of India on the Hofstede’s model
of national culture reveals the fact that the Indian people are more likely to indulge in
collective kinds of work within the workplace rather the individualistic kinds (India -
Hofstede Insights, 2018). On the other hand, the Indian people are more likely to follow the

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power distance between the senior management workers and the junior members of the
organization in an ardent manner and they highly respect the hierarchy system of the society
(India - Hofstede Insights, 2018). In addition to this, another significant aspect of the national
culture of the nation of India is the fact that the Indian people get motivated or encouraged by
the concepts of “success, competition and achievement” and thus the majority of the business
enterprises of the nation take the help of this aspect to enhance the performance of the
employees (India - Hofstede Insights, 2018). Moreover, the people of India are more likely to
judge the performance of a particular enterprise on the basis of their overall performance
since their establishment rather than their recent performance in the past years (India -
Hofstede Insights, 2018). However, it is generally seen that there is a lack of segregation of
the professional and the personal lives of the people in the nation and also the majority of the
people do not believe in the concept of work life balance (India - Hofstede Insights, 2018).
Lastly, the Indian people are very patient and have a “low preference for avoiding
uncertainty” (India - Hofstede Insights, 2018).
A close analysis of the national culture of Australia on Hofstede’s model of national
culture reveals the fact that the people of the nation generally do not like to indulge in
collective kind of work and feel more at home while undertaking individualistic kinds of
activities (Australia - Hofstede Insights, 2018). Furthermore, the concepts of “success,
competition and achievement” form an important part of the lives of the people and are being
used by the majority of the business enterprises of the nation of Australia to enhance the
performance as well as the productivity level of the individuals (Australia - Hofstede Insights,
2018). In addition to these, the Australian people are very concerned about the concept of
work life balance and generally like to segregate their personal lives from their professional
lives (Australia - Hofstede Insights, 2018). More importantly, the people of the nation do not
follow the power divisions within the framework of the organizations in an ardent manner
and the senior members of the workplace are easily accessible by the junior members of the
organization (Australia - Hofstede Insights, 2018). Furthermore, the performance of any
business enterprise is determined by the people of the nation on the basis of their recent
performance rather than on their past history (Australia - Hofstede Insights, 2018). Lastly, it
is seen that the Australia people do not feel threatened by the uncertain events or incidents
(Australia - Hofstede Insights, 2018).
The above discussion of the national cultures of the two nations clearly indicates that
the cultures of the nation of India and Australia are very different from each other and this
particular fact finds its representation in the manner in which business is being conducted by
the people in these nations. Thus, Mary during her meeting with Mr. Sharma will have insist
on the concept of collective kind of work for the new venture rather than the normal
individualistic kind of work that she is used to doing in Australia. In addition to this, use of
the concepts of “success, competition and achievement” for the process of their business
together is likely to help her in her interaction with Mr. Sharma. Furthermore, during her
interaction with Mr. Sharma she is also required to respect as well as ardently follow the
hierarchy or the power division and should insist on the use of the same for the working of
their venture. Moreover, while taking about the benefits that the use of condiment products
would provide to Mr. Sharma she should focus on the long term goals rather than the short
term benefits which they would provide. It is seen that the Indian people very low preference
level for uncertain incidents or events and thus during the process of her interaction with her
she should place concrete and definite ideas before him. Lastly, during her conversation with
Mr. Sharma it would be much better if she does not tries to suppress her impulses and desires
and not dwell too much on the concept of work life balance. These in short are some of the

3CROSS CULTURAL COMMUNICATION
steps which Mary needs to take into effective consideration during her interaction with Mr.
Sharma.
To conclude, the concept of culture is an important one and to a large extent guides
the behavior of the individuals. The business style of a particular nation is influenced to a
significant extent by the national culture of that particular culture. In the recent times the
concept of cross cultural communication as well as cross cultural miscommunication have
gained prominence and it is a reflection of this particular fact that the majority of the business
enterprises for the process of the business dealings with the people or the companies from
cultures different from theirs are increasingly taking the help of the concept of cross cultural
communication to gain better quality of results. It is significant to note that for the process of
cross cultural communication to be effective a thorough knowledge about the cultural
landscape of the people with whom they are interacting is important.

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References
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communication. MIT Press.
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Appendix 1
An analysis of the national culture of India on Hofstede’s model of national culture is
given below-
Figure 1: India on Hofstede’s model of national culture
Source: Hofstede’s Insights, 2018

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Appendix 2
An analysis of the national culture of Australia on Hofstede’s model of national
culture is given below-
Figure 2: Australia on Hofstede’s model of culture
Source: Hofstede’s Insights, 2018