Cross-Cultural Communication Report: Business and Management

This report examines the challenges of cross-cultural communication within a business context, using a case study of a Swedish company and its South-East Asian subsidiary. The report highlights a miscommunication stemming from differing business practices and cultural values between a Swedish manager and a Chinese manager. It analyzes this issue through the lens of the Hofstede and Trompenaars models, identifying cultural dimensions such as power distance, individualism vs. collectivism, universalism vs. particularism, and achievement vs. ascription that contribute to the communication gap. The report emphasizes the importance of understanding these cultural differences to improve communication and business practices, and recommends strategies for both managers to adapt and find common ground, suggesting that understanding local values is crucial. The report concludes by summarizing the key insights and emphasizing the need for a balanced approach that considers both company regulations and local cultural norms to avoid conflict and promote effective intercultural communication and successful international business operations.

Running head: CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION
CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION
Name of Student
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Executive Summary:
The purpose of is this report is to understand the causes of cross-cultural communication and
how it impacts on the running of a business in a foreign land with a reference to the given
context. In the process the different analysis methods such as the Hofstede model and the
Trompenaars model are used for the identification of cross cultural gaps. A recommendation
is to be provided accordingly and a probable solution is to be proposed. Lastly, the
conclusion summarises the discussion and reflects the overall ideas of cross-cultural
communication.

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Table of Contents
Introduction:...............................................................................................................................3
Discussion:.................................................................................................................................3
Business and intercultural communication:...........................................................................3
Recommendations:.....................................................................................................................8
Conclusion:................................................................................................................................9
References:...............................................................................................................................10

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Introduction:
The report discusses an intercultural miscommunication between people of two
cultures who work for the same company. The report tells about a Swedish company which
has a proper guideline of not purchasing more than 30% of any item from any vendor.
Moreover, the vendors were required to submit their bidding prices and vendors were
selected according to the suitability of the prices. However, when the Swedish manager
Andres, when visited their South-East Asian subsidiaries was shocked to see that the regional
Chinese manager was not following the rules set by the parent organization. There number of
suppliers were limited and they were not chosen by proper bidding but by contacts. The
resultant vendors were all known to the Chinese manager and were all Chinese. The Swedish
manager tried to explain that this type of business was not approved by the parent company
but the Chinese manager was not ready to understand. He explained his views that it was in
fact proper to deal with known vendors as they can be accessed in times of need. Moreover,
they can be tracked down if required. They can also give good discounts as they were
receiving the larger parts of the orders. This type of miscommunication is quite common in
intercultural business activities (Kramsch, 2014). There are several factors of cultural gap that
are responsible for these type of problems. The purpose of this report is to analyse these
problems and suggesting recommendations to develop the relation between two individuals.
Discussion:
Business and intercultural communication:
The aspect of intercultural communication is very essential in modern day business.
Different business activities and projects such as acquisition of overseas companies,
outsourcing of products and services, and exploring new markets for potential business
activities requires business firms to establish companies overseas (Dunning, 2014). These

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overseas projects are handled by global project managers. The first ability of a global project
manager should be the ability to adopt intercultural communication. In case of overseas
projects, the projects are operated by the regional professionals and it is very essential for the
manager to effectively communicate with them (Barakat, Lorenz, Ramsey & Cretoiu, 2015).
In the specified report that is being discussed, it is seen there remains a communication gap
between Andres, the Swedish manager and his South-East Asian counterpart, the Chinese
manager.
The relation between culture and communication is very important to understand in
order to understand the reason of communication gap. Culture is very important in different
parts of the world and it is through culture that the individual of a certain region learns to
communicate (Martin & Nakayama, 2013). This factor leads to different types of
communication and interaction in different parts of the world. The language does not act as
the principal barrier in these cases, it the importance of the meaning or the approach towards
the situation that matters. In the case that is being analysed, it is being reflected that the
Swedish manager reflects the European style of business which is more formal and based on
rules and regulations. However, the Chinese manager reflects the Chinese style of doing
business that is dealing within the family. These type of culture based activities reflect how
the culture impacts the pattern of living and the mind-set of the managers and it is reflected
when the intercultural communication takes place.
The above situation can be analysed using the Hofstede model of Cultural
Dimensions. The first aspect of Hofstede model discuss about the definition of the power
distance index (Matusitz & Musambira, 2013). The power distance index refers to the
measure of inequality that is present in intercultural communication and how much of it is
accepted by the people. It can be seen in the Hofstede model that a high power distance is
displayed in the Asian countries as there is a higher level of inequality in the society.

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However, a low power distance index is reflected in the European societies as there is lower
inequality present in the European society (Daniels & Greguras, 2014). The communication
gap between the Swedish manager and the Chinese manager can be seen as a result of this
high power distance index in the Asian countries.
The second part of the Hofstede model refers to the definition of the Individualism
versus Collectivism of a certain society. The Individualism refers to the society which
represents loose connections, little interpersonal interactions and little sharing of
responsibility (Marcus & Le, 2013). The individuals give priority to their own time, and
freedom. These type of individualism focuses on individual success and hence results in
individual hard work. The Collectivism refers to lower individual value in a society. This
results in stronger group cohesion, greater amount of trust among individuals and respect for
each other. In the concerned discussion it can be seen that the Swedish manager who
represented the individualistic society reflects ideas where he could uphold his company’s
rules and hence was sub-consciously aiming for personal glory where he could dominate over
his Chinese counterparts. On the other hand, the Chinese manager represented the
collectivism in the society where he found it suitable to rely on his known circle to operate
the business activities. It was very easy to depend on his extended family for business deals
and trade with them instead of the other vendors. This reflects the group cohesion present in
societies with high collectivism.
The context of discussion can also be analysed using the Trompenaars model for
cultural communication. The several aspects such as universalism versus particularism,
neutral versus emotional, achievement versus ascription are some of the aspects which can
help understand different cultural gap and communication (Klasing, 2013).

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The high universalism reflects the community where more importance is given to
laws, values and obligations. They try to deal fairly and avoid favouritism based on
relationships. The Swedish manager reflects these ideas and is an example of a product of a
community influenced by universalism. The particularism reflect the society which values
relationships and these emotional strategies influence the rules and regulations accordingly.
The Chinese manager represents these societies.
In a neutral society, the people are more influenced by rationale than by emotions.
The reliability on the reasons in taking decisions is more prevalent in these societies (Maleki
& de Jong, 2014). The Swedish manager thinks in this pattern where he tries to make the
Chinese manager understand how a neutral bidding is done by the company to give a fair
chance to everyone to participate in the business. This also maintains a fair-play in the
business and negates favouritism and corruption. The Chinese manager on the other hand
reflects the emotional society where the people are more dependent on the emotions and does
not hesitate to reflect them in their workplaces. In this culture it is acceptable to reflect
emotional decisions. The inclusion of family members in the business deals is just the
example of this emotional society. Moreover, the high trust in the known contacts is another
example of how emotion influences the work culture.
The feeling of achievement is the prime source of influence in one type of culture.
The society focuses on the work of an individual and what they have achieved in the process
of work. The individual value is not considered in this matter (Ferraro & Briody, 2013). The
ascription is the feeling of valuing the individual characteristic of a person on the basis of
their role, power and position. The individual success is less significant is the determination
of success.

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The Asian society is a part of the larger culture which reflects the ethnic, national or
international groups. This determines the characteristics of the Chinese manager who gives
more importance to the ethnic values of the culture he belongs to. He gives more importance
to doing business with known contacts who are primarily Chinese. This reflects how a large
culture determines business regulations in Asia. However, on the other hand, the Swedish
manager is part of small culture which negates cultural or ethnic values in favour of social
justice. Andres, the Swedish manager hence focuses on abiding by the company which
promotes justice and fair-play.
The most important part that has been identified in these discussions is that there are
several reasons for the intercultural communication gap and the manager should work on
understanding these problems and work on different solutions other than upholding the
European values. It is essential for Andres to understand the values of the local land, and how
he will have to adapt accordingly in order to fill the gaps.
The Swedish company, which has its base in Europe has formulated its laws and
regulations according to the laws of their land and culture. They are more focused on the
success of an individual and has a neutral approach towards their business deals. This has a
more holistic approach in Europe where more value is given to the ideas of freedom and
social justice. However, there is no value for these type of approach in the Asian culture. The
Asian culture is defined by collective cohesion where more importance is given to collective
success than to individual success. The Asian culture focuses on emotional values and
determines work regulations accordingly. While running the company subsidiary on the
Asian soil, the company must keep in mind these values and regulate formulate accordingly,
or there might be clash of cultural values which may lead to attrition inside the company, as
can be seen in the context, and can lead to the damage if the company.

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Recommendations:
The above discussed problems can be however solved with proper understanding and
solutions. It is essential for both Andres and the Chinese manager to understand from which
viewpoint they are talking and why they are stressing on the values of their own culture. It is
essential for Andreas to understand that the subsidiary firm is located in an Asian country and
the work ethics and rules here are determined according to the culture of the Asian society.
While upholding the rules and regulations of the company, it is essential for him to
understand the basics of the Asian society and then stress on different factors selectively so as
to make them understand the rules of his company and at the same time not hurt their
emotions. The Chinese manager on the other hand also should be considerate while stating
his arguments as the company he is working is a European company. He should understand
that the Asian values might not be appropriate in the European company and he might have to
change and adapt certain policies so as not to displease the mother organization while
continuing to work peacefully in his own location.
Understanding each other’s cultures can let both the managers sit together and discuss
how the company can benefit from the amalgamations of the regulations. This can lead to the
formation of new laws and regulations which can let the organisation and its employees work
in harmony with each other. Understanding the European work ethics as a part of the small
culture and its importance for valuing social justice is very important in understanding the
vision of the company. This can give the Chinese manger in getting an upper hand while
selecting the vendors. He can understand why the vendors required to be selected in an
unbiased manner and what will be the benefit if the company.
Secondly, Andreas, the Swedish manager should also understand the Asian values
before putting forward his argument. He should be clear about the emotional values of the

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Asian society and understand why it is important for them to take decisions accordingly. He
should look into the benefits of such decisions and see if any change in rules can be possible
according to the Asian culture.
Conclusion:
The above discussion highlights some of the basic problems that are faced in the cross
cultural communication gap. However, the analysis helps the discussion to gain the reasons
for these communication gaps. The conclusion can be derived from the discussion that with
proper understanding and consideration these communication gaps can be filled. The
essential ability of a global manager is to adapt to the work culture of the global projects and
maintain a balanced relation with the employees so that the work is successful and the global
objective of the company is obtained.

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References:
Barakat, L. L., Lorenz, M. P., Ramsey, J. R., & Cretoiu, S. L. (2015). Global managers: An
analysis of the impact of cultural intelligence on job satisfaction and performance.
International Journal of Emerging Markets, 10(4), 781-800.
Daniels, M. A., & Greguras, G. J. (2014). Exploring the nature of power distance:
Implications for micro-and macro-level theories, processes, and outcomes. Journal of
Management, 40(5), 1202-1229.
Dunning, J. H. (2014). The Globalization of Business (Routledge Revivals): The Challenge of
the 1990s. Routledge.
Ferraro, G. P., & Briody, E. K. (2013). The cultural dimension of global business. Upper
Saddle River: Pearson.
Klasing, M. J. (2013). Cultural dimensions, collective values and their importance for
institutions. Journal of Comparative Economics, 41(2), 447-467.
Kramsch, C. (2014). Identity, role and voice in cross-cultural (mis) communication. In
Misunderstanding in social life (pp. 137-161). Routledge.
Maleki, A., & de Jong, M. (2014). A proposal for clustering the dimensions of national
culture. Cross-Cultural Research, 48(2), 107-143.
Marcus, J., & Le, H. (2013). Interactive effects of levels of individualism–collectivism on
cooperation: A meta‐analysis. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 34(6), 813-834.
Martin, J. N., & Nakayama, T. K. (2013). Intercultural communication in contexts. New
York: NY: McGraw-Hill.
Matusitz, J., & Musambira, G. (2013). Power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and
technology: analyzing Hofstede's dimensions and human development indicators.
Journal of Technology in Human Services, 31(1), 42-60.