BUSN20017 Essay: Analyzing Australian Business Communication

This essay delves into the intricacies of Australian business communication, offering a comprehensive analysis of its various facets. It begins by highlighting the influence of Australia's multicultural background and its impact on business interactions. The essay then explores both non-verbal and verbal communication styles, providing insights into common practices such as handshakes, eye contact, directness in speech, and the use of humor. It also examines the importance of respecting personal space and adhering to queuing etiquette. Furthermore, the essay provides recommendations for effective communication, emphasizing the importance of directness, using first names, and avoiding self-promotion or the use of slang. The essay concludes by summarizing the key elements of effective business communication in Australia, providing a valuable resource for individuals seeking to navigate the Australian business landscape successfully. The essay is written from the perspective of a country manager for an international agricultural products supplier who has recently hired new employees from overseas and is designed to help them assimilate into the Australian workplace.

Australian Business Communication Style
The ever increasing internationalisation of business along with the realization that the
manager’s personal values are moulded differentially owing to the greater cultural
environment wherein they socialise, has resulted in considerable interest in the cross-cultural
difference between employees from varied ethnicity. One can see significant realistic interest
with respect to making sincere efforts to understand the similarities as well as differences in
order to provide improved cross-cultural business meets. Communication styles tend to vary
significantly across the globe resulting in an incredible array of business styles. A proper
understanding of value-system similarities as well as differences can lead to meaningful and
effective interactions between the international managers as well as the country units of
multi-national corporations. Australian society tends to mirror its British colonial history
along with the ensuing deluge of migration from other continents. The Australians, also
known as Aussies, have shown flexibility in being able to adapt their cultural roots in
accordance to the changing environment, climate as well as the country resources. Modern
society has been able to assert and present itself as confident, having a distinct identity owing
to factors such as its diversity, architecture, languages, the ‘Australianised’ cuisine, as well as
its expertise in sports. Personal values do get honed by the wide cultural settings wherein the
individuals socialise. Managers hailing from various cultural contexts are therefore expected
to imbibe the different work as well as business-related values. In spite of Australia being a
multilingual nation, having over 100 languages that are spoken by the various sections of
immigrant population that have emigrated from across the globe, English remains not only
the official language but is also the most commonly-spoken language.
Academic Literature Review
Non-verbal communication

When it comes to non-verbal communication, Australian civilians have the tendency
to greet a person they meet for the first time by the shaking of the hands; they simply grip the
individual’s right hand and gently shake it up and down ("Australian Culture - Core
Concepts", 2019). This greeting act also finds use in business context as a sign of greeting,
congratulation as well as farewell. Moreover, the manner of greeting people in case of close
relations like family and friends by Australians tends to be far more intimate like hugging as
well as kissing on the cheeks. Nevertheless, they are conscious of their personal space while
striking a conversation. In case of business discussion, the Australians normally stand at an
arm’s length distance from the speaker out of politeness and courtesy for the colloquist.
Furthermore, another aspect of the Australians is their being extremely particular about the
eye contact during conservation. Therefore, the Australians generally use eye contact just to
let the speaker know that he or she has their attention as well as interest in the matter and
convey their extent of trust and willingness in the matter ("Communicating effectively for
business", 2019).
The thumbs-up gesture could be considered as rude by some. To signify approval or
even agreement, the commonly accepted gesture would be to make a circle with the thumb
along with the forefinger and the other fingers being extended. The use of modest gestures
for articulating as well as expressing concepts and ideas is common across all the realms of
communication ("Australian Culture - Core Concepts", 2019).
A customary greeting would involve a friendly but firm handshake along with a
warm smile. Women friends would probably greet each other by hugging and kissing. As
far as men are concerned, a slight friendly pat on the back is regarded as normal in case of
close friends. Respecting the personal space of others, while talking to people has become
the accepted norm. Another significant etiquette practiced would be Queuing ("Australian

Culture - Core Concepts", 2019). The Australians neither barge in nor jump the line. They
are patient as well as polite enough to follow the queue and wait for their turn.
Verbal communication
In the case of verbal communication, Australia follows a low-context culture, which
implies that civilians tend to be direct when it comes to the expression of personal opinions as
well as feelings through their talks (Neese, 2016). Being direct is a standard practice followed
by several westerners in their communication since they opine that it is preferred to speak
directly on the context than going the periphrasis way ("Australian Communication Styles",
2019). Australians have a straightforward approach in their business dealings, which implies
that they do not waste much time in building rapport while engaging in professional setups.
In short, they are open to new thinking. Hence the Australians tend to be extremely direct in
the manner in which they communicate. Their directness at the cost of diplomacy could be
regarded as blunt and rude on occasions, more so by people hailing from cultures wherein the
majority are cautious so as to not create any negative emotional impact on the person they
speak to. Nevertheless, being direct is a virtue cherished by the Australians and failing to say
what you mean or, for that matter, mean what you say could be interpreted as being evasive
or a hypocrite.
Australians are quite creative when it comes to creating their sub-language. To cite an
example, they came up with the word ‘Aussie’ for Australian and ‘arvo’ for afternoon.
Australian culture is among the few cultures wherein humour is all-encompassing, even
across business situations. Humour is not only acceptable in all situations, but is expected too
("Australian Culture - Core Concepts", 2019). Hence, one often finds element of humour,
usually self-disparaging, in their speech. One shouldn’t underestimate an Australian senior
manager on the basis of him or her using humour even at inappropriate times. Moreover, the
humour could probably be laced with sarcasm. Hence, it could be a challenge grasping the

Australian irony or sarcasm initially, but over a period of time one is able to get accustomed
to this trait. The Australian accent as well as the rampant use of ‘slangs’ tend to confuse but
nevertheless, one thing is for sure, the directness would not be offensive (Jones & Quach,
2007).
It is essential that one shouldn’t be too self-promotional while presenting to the
Australians. A hard-selling approach could easily be misconstrued to be bragging thereby
provoking an extremely negative response. One should keep in mind that people don’t like
presenting themselves as better than the others and the same applies to products as well as
services. Therefore, a factual representation of issues would be better received compared to a
hyperbolic one.
Addressing people by their first name is not only in the corporate culture of America,
but also in Australia. When addressing a person by their name, it is the first name that is
invariably used across all business situations in Australia. Just like America, Australia is
great multi-cultural society. They are approachable, extrovert, and casual people who does
not mind being addressed by their first name. Very rarely would one call a business contact
by his or her surname. Likewise, educational titles have little role to play in business
situations except for the academic or medical worlds.
Recommendations
Competent Behaviours
A vital recommendation for communicating in Australia is being direct and
straightforward. Communicating directly is a virtue in business context. It is important to be
straightforward and state the terms of the business dealing in a clear and concise manner.
Such an approach leaves ambiguity and vagueness while dealing for business purpose. As
per McLean (2010), while communicating in a business setting, both parties should have a
direct approach and set the terms of negotiations clearly so that there is no scope for any

misunderstanding. Australians are direct in their communication style and would also expect
the same from the other party. Further, by communicating direct and in a straightforward
manner we will also be wasting very little time and come to the main agenda quickly. By
adopting a direct approach in the business communication, it is easy to close a deal faster and
finish our business dealings. The direct approach will help the new hires to understand the
business procedure and get into the professional working. Hence, the new recruits should not
hastate in clarifying if something is not clear and also be direct on their approach of the work
practices. They should cut the formalities and indulge with their colleagues in an open
manner.
Another recommendation that is invariably practiced in Australia is to be addressed
by their first names. This practice is considered to be an advantage in the business context as
it not only gives a sense of camaraderie but also helps build a strong bond between people.
Thus, the new recruits are recommended to address their colleagues in Australia with their
first name. First of all, it will help to break the ice between them and also help to the bridge
the evident gap between them in the form of hierarchies. This approach is also good for the
organisation, as hierarchies tend to create a suffocating environment and also mobilises the
work practices in an organisation. By inculcating a culture in which people address each
other with their first name, feedbacks and suggestions will easily flow upward in the
corporate hierarchies. Further, as claimed by Jodi Glickman (2011), formal titles have now
become outdated and an open culture is being encouraged in workplaces. Thus, addressing
co-workers, customers, and managers in the workplace by their first names is highly
recommend for the new recruits in their Australian head office, as it is a competent business
communication practice in the modern corporate world.
Non-Competent Behaviours

Not all the communication followed in Australia is an effective business practice.
Although for Australians it is pretty common to use slangs in the workplace, the new recruits
should refrain from using it. A great deal of discretion is needed while using slangs in the
workplace. One cannot use the slangs liberally in a business setup, especially if one is new.
Workplace is an institution where serious business is being held, and people from all
backgrounds are present. Women and senior people might take an offense is slangs are used
while communicating with them. For example, using ‘you guys’ is not only inappropriate if
women are present, it also reflects badly on the professionalism of the person using it (Smith,
2013). Further, slangs are very casual way of communication, and if clients come across such
terms they might not have a favourable image of the company that you are representing. They
also might reconsider their decision of dealing with you or your organisation. Hence, the use
of slangs should be only limited to friendly and casual conversation, and should not be
incorporated while communicating in formal business settings.
Last but not the least, the new recruits should avoid indulging in bragging or boasting
about themselves. Australians takes an offense to self-promotion and consider it to be a
desperate attempt to mingle with them. The approach might invite a negative response from
them, hence, the fresh recruits should try and avoid it as far as possible (Sezer, Gino &
Norton, 2018). Further, such an attitude also come across as a show-off and might not go well
with the Australian counterparts who appreciates modesty.
Conclusion
To conclude, communication is extremely essential when it comes to business as
business is considered to be a collaborative effort. Goods as well as services are created as
well as exchanged via close co-ordination and involvement of several people, be it within a
solitary village or be it across the globe. Such coordination of large magnitude would
definitely involve intense communication. Complex product-specifications as well as

production schedules needs to be mutually understood between the involved parties prior to
the negotiations regarding the intricacies of the deal between the trading partners. Australia
has a ‘melting pot’ culture, as people from varied background and ethnicity have come and
settled in the country. This makes the country not have a distinct culture of its own and have
an extremely flexible outlook towards those coming from other countries. Hence, the new
recruits could easily amalgamate in the work culture of the country and not face any major
challenges. Following the recommendations provided in the document, the new recruits will
be able to settle in the new environment without any difficulties.

References
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