Cross-Cultural Business Communication

Diplomarbeit von Sven Rosenhauer

Introduction:

The transfer of business activities across nations is growing at a rapid rate. The emergence of market economies in Latin America and Asia, the collapse of communism in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, and the emerging democracy in Africa have led, among other things, not only to increased global trade, international, multinational and transnational business, but also to an increased demand for international workforce since firms must employ people who possess international business skills in order to remain competitive in the global marketplace.

How often does it happen that we meet someone doing business in the United States after representing his/her company in Asia, Middle East or Europe? How often do we meet someone obtaining an international degree abroad before doing business in China, France or Scandinavia? How often do companies require international experiences, mobility, and flexibility? The soft skills of intercultural competence and open-mindedness to cultural diversity are taught by universities around the world. But what happens with our own cultural identity while doing business worldwide? What happens if we conduct business in Japan but with an Italian colleague who lived in São Paulo for many years? Are we just applying intercultural competence or are we developing a universal business culture - apart from our own national culture? How does an international workforce communicate; is it adapting the communication style of the host-country, of a majority culture; or is it developing a communication style which is unique in international business? Are we speaking the same ‘language’ at the end? Is the understanding of cultural diversity becoming less substantial and more implicit? If companies and organizations require the indispensable and vague defined soft skills of intercultural competence, could these skills be seen as an approach towards a universal business culture, likewise a universal business communication?

Purpose of the Present Thesis:

The purpose of the present thesis is to examine if and to which extent cultures converge in an international business environment and if intercultural competence has a bearing on it. Therefore, theoretical and practical insights in the subject of culture, its implicit and explicit differences, as well as its measurements will be provided. Due to the fact that communication - as a major cultural attribute - is the most obvious level on which cultural differences are recognized, insights in the topic of cross-cultural and intercultural communication will be given. A thorough discussion of the concept of culture and communication is beyond the scope of this paper, but in what follows, an adequate overview of recognized and well-known researchers’ theories and findings will be provided. Besides giving theoretical background knowledge, it will be examined whether the internationally defined soft skills of intercultural competence can be seen as an approach towards a universal interculture, likewise a universal communication. The topic of the present thesis will be illustrated by a case study, as well as researched and evaluated by a field study conducted at one of the most culturally diverse organization - the United Nations. Findings should only expose tendencies to confirm or disprove previous research findings in the field of cross-cultural comparative research and intercultural communication. It is not intended to present new empirical findings.

Structure of the Present Thesis:

In the following chapter the topic of the present paper will be illustrated by a case study of the United Nations Headquarters in New York. It shows today’s global working environment with a culturally diverse workforce and its accompanied cultural bias, difficulties and influences. Expected and inescapable problems as well as misunderstandings due to different cultures and communication patterns will be demonstrated. Furthermore, implemented and applied intercultural competence of the participants will be presented.

With the purpose of exploring tendencies of cultural convergence, likewise communication convergence in an intercultural environment, the third and fourth chapter will provide theoretical insights into culture as well as communication. After defining the subject and introducing several layers of culture as well as their implication, four cross-cultural comparative research studies will be illustrated as significant contributions to the topic. With the purpose of comparing cultures the Cultural Orientation Framework, which combines ten approved dimensions by which cultures can be distinguished, will be introduced and the dimension of communication - as a major cultural attribute - will be described in more depth. After looking at culture from the perspective of communication, the topic of communication will be described and evaluated from the cultural perspective. Hence, communication, especially cross-cultural and intercultural communication, will be scrutinized and the concept of communication will be reviewed by introducing several theoretical models. Furthermore, verbal and non-verbal communication as the two levels of communication will be described and illustrated by several cross-cultural examples.

After giving theoretical insights on culture and communication, a detailed encounter of the methodology developed to test the given hypotheses will be provided in chapter six. The research approach and design will be illustrated and scrutinized. This chapter will also discuss strengths and limitations of the field study.

In chapter seven it will be analysed if members of an international workforce converge in their cultural behaviour to communicate and therefore develop a universal business communication, or even a universal business culture. It will be examined if individuals develop such a culture in addition to their national culture or even ‘lose’ their cultural identity by replacing it. Furthermore, it will be questioned if the soft skills of the intercultural competence are the cause for a universal business culture and communication style respectively. These questions will be answered by looking at three different sub-hypotheses. In addition, literature supporting theories of acculturation and cultural convergence as well as intercultural competence will be outlined and linked to empirical research findings.

For the reason of convenience, the present thesis has been divided into tow parts: the research thesis as the theoretical part and the appendix, which includes several figures illustrating concepts, models, and definitions as well as tables presenting collected data.

Table of contents:

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Chapter 4, Communication and its Implications: After highlighting the cultural theory and cross-cultural comparative research studies, the attention of the following chapter will be on the application of this cultural knowledge to intercultural communication. What happens when people from different cultures communicate with each other; and how can someone understand the underlying process and adapt his or her cultural approach and expectations accordingly? By using the Cultural Orientation Framework of Walker et al, the subject of culture was researched and scrutinized from the communication perspective. The following chapter will illustrate and evaluate communication from the cultural perspective - especially as relevant to intercultural communication. The topic of communication and intercultural communication will be defined and highlighted and the concept of communication will be reviewed by introducing several theoretical models. The levels of communication - verbal and non-verbal communication - and their implications will be defined and illustrated by several cross-cultural examples. The chapter will close with an interlinkage of communication patterns and cultural dimensions of the GLOBE Research Project.

Chapter 4.1, Definition of Communication: Through communication we learn about ourselves and the world around us; through communication we identify ourselves and our cultural belonging; through communication we establish relationships with other people, and we express our thoughts and feelings through communication. Similar to the concept of culture there is no generally accepted definition of communication due to its elusiveness, its complexity, and its variation of perspectives on it. Also, communication theories are widely dominated by Western scholars. The most common definition of communication describes it as both a conscious and unconscious process of sharing meanings by transmitting messages; collective action in which information, ideas, beliefs, attitudes, values and experiences are shared. These messages are transmitted through words or behaviours between the communication partners; from one person - the sender to another person - the receiver(s). Communication consists of both verbal and non-verbal information and messages with the purpose to achieve shared meanings and understanding. Communication is understood as the mutual transmission of data and signals.

Communication is an extremely difficult process to apply effectively because the receiver(s) often do not interpret messages as intended by the sender; information is often misinterpreted. This happens especially when the sender encodes messages by using words, symbols, and concepts which are unfamiliar to the receiver(s) due to different frames of references, different understandings, and different means of communication. Due to societal values and norms, each culture develops a unique way of communication - every culture interprets signs and symbols differently. This uniqueness makes communicating across cultures a challenging task for all involved. Nowadays, communication is seen as a circular process of ideating, encoding, transmitting, receiving, and decoding of messages. In most cases this message will be sent back as an encoded response called feedback. Intercultural or cross-cultural communication follows the same process, but done by individuals who do not necessarily share the same values, norms and beliefs. If sender and receiver(s) have a different cultural background, the chance of accurately transmitting of information is quite low. The interpretation of verbal as well as non-verbal messages is based on the context of culture and therefore the major difficulty in intercultural encounters. Thus, the greater the difference between the cultures involved, the more difficult it is to understand each other.

The terms ‘intercultural communication’ and ‘cross-cultural communication’ are often used synonymously within the reviewed literature even if differences exist. In his Handbook of Cross-Cultural and Intercultural Communication, Gudykunst states, that interculture communication includes all aspects of the study of culture and communication. Intercultural communication is used to describe the communication between people from different cultures; it focuses on communication. Cross-cultural communication, on the other hand, refers to the comparison of cultural factors influencing the communication process; it focuses on culture.

Chapter 4.2, Concepts of Communication: Conceptualized models or paradigms assist in describing communication as a phenomenon; as an observable parameterization or event. In this context, communication is abstracted while functions and relationships are centred. In the following section, the concept of communication will outline and a critical review on communication models will be given. These communication models are described as an abridgement of the broad and comprehensive field of communication. An elaboration and evaluation of the following communication models will be provided in Appendix: Textnote 3.

The concept of communication is used in two contrary understandings. The difference in approaching communication has a significant impact on theory construction of cross-cultural business communication. Hereby, Bolten refers to two approaches of defining communication: communication as a linear transmission of information or as a non-linear interaction.

By defining communication as a linear transmission, a certain message needs to be transmitted from a sender to a receiver. The content of communication is centred while the relationship of communicators, their intentions, beliefs, or values are disregarded. Until the 1980’s, many researchers in the field of social science, humanities and economics predominantly used the European and North American cognitive linear concept of communication. Examples of linear models are for instance Lasswell’s communication model - „Who says what in which channel to whom with what effect” and the Shannon-Weaver’s Model, as one of the first and influential models of low-level communication. Also Schramm’s Interactive Model, also known as the Osgood & Schramm Circular Model, which emphasizes the duality of communication, emphasises the linear approach. A further example is Berlo’s model which Ehninger, Gronbeck, & Monroe describe as „the simplest and most influential message-centred model” at that time.

Bolten argues that linear communication models are highly ethnocentric from a senders’ perspective - the sender only has the choice of accepting or declining the intended information. Although a relationship, which has significant impact on the enunciation and encoding of information, is automatically established between communicators, the focal point of all considerations of the linear concepts is the content that needs to be exchanged. That is why the ‘wrong word’ or ‘wrong tone’ of a message can influence the relationship between sender and receiver(s) extensively and likewise the following communication content. According to Limaye & Victor, and indicated by the mentioned linear communication models, scholars of organizational management followed the concept of communication as something universal for many years. It has been assumed that concepts and models can be applied across cultures and countries by ignoring the meaning, purpose, or intention of the participants and the importance of cultural orientation. Bolten mentioned failures in introducing Western economic concepts in East Europe due to a lack of compatibility of these individualistic models in more collectivistic societies. The main problems of the above mentioned communication models such as inflexibility, seclusiveness, or disregard of content, meaning and relationship between sender and receiver(s), led some scholars to disprove and reject the initial linear models and to adapt a non-linear approach.

Since the 1970’s, communication science is widely based on the concept of a circular or non-linear Interaction. Non-linear Interaction of communication is defined by understanding content and relationship as mutual and interactive. Communication is interpreted as the complexity of processes and relations. Referring to Hall, someone’s communication depends on the context and all the information involved in an event; the meaning of that event determines the communication. While the aspect of content conveys data, the aspect of relationship conveys how these data should be interpreted. An example of the non-linear approach, sometimes referred to as multidimensional communication models, is the Helical Spiral model developed by Dance which defines communication as a dynamic and flexible process in which communication is „constantly moving forward and yet is always to some degree dependent upon the past, which informs the present and the future”. Further examples are the Westley and MacLean’s Conceptual Model of sender, message, and receiver(s) which is determined by a continuous selection and transmission of a message, or Becker’s Mosaic Model which emphasizes the meaning of messages. According to Limaye & Victor, Becker’s Mosaic model comes closest minimizing the limitation of the linear transmission paradigm. Also Ruesch & Bateson’s Functional Model, Barnlund’s Transactional Model, the Systemic Model of Communication, and Brown’s Holographic Model can be mentioned in this context.

Chapter 4.3, Levels of Communication: Within each culture, communication is unique, and at the same time, there are systematic similarities and differences across cultures. Communication is realized on two different levels: verbal communication and non-verbal communication. Following, the two cohesive and alternating levels will be defined and illustrated in relation to cross-cultural and intercultural communication. Due to its similarities to the topic of culture non-verbal communication will be stressed over verbal communication: „Culture like non-verbal behaviour tends to be elusive, normally out of our awareness, difficult to control, falsify, manipulate, erase, and has a potent influence in intercultural communication”.

Chapter 4.3.1, Verbal Communication: Within the reviewed literature, verbal communication - oral and written - is used as a synonym for language, words, and the meaning of words; it requires the use of vocabulary, symbols and numbers. Verbal communication as language is a fundamental aspect of culture, since language describes and categorizes values, beliefs, and norms. Different cultures have different systems of meanings, likewise different systems of verbal communication. Each society uses components of languages, such as idioms, slang, metaphors, and jargon without being aware of it. The cross-cultural problem of language is most obvious when communication partners speak a different language. Many of the components of a language are not easily translatable; some are even untranslatable because the underlying concepts, such as values and basic beliefs, differ across cultures. Someone’s inability to speak or write a local language, or a poor or too literal translation is a frequent cause of miscommunication in an intercultural context. Verbal communication is important for transmitting information and intentions but less useful for emotions and feelings. As already mentioned in the Cultural Orientation Framework of Walker et al, communication, verbal communication especially, can be distinguished by Low-Context and High-Context communication. Because the proportion of what the context occupies in a message differs widely across cultures and because the way in which cultures use the context in transmitting, translating, and understanding the message is different from culture to culture - from language to language. English is defined by many researchers as the dominant language in conducting business across nations. According to Trend Letter, April 2002, research shows that about 75% of university students, 70% of managers, and 65% of young adults speak English worldwide. When speaking about intercultural communication or business communication, it is often referred to as Business English or English for Specific Purpose. The topic of Business English as a possible proof of convergence in intercultural business communication will be unattended in the present thesis.

Communication is more than just using a specific language. Research shows that spoken or written language is not the main channel of transmitting information. Between 65% and 93% of what is communicated is said by non-verbal messages. In this context, Watzlawick states that someone ‘cannot not communicate’. In other words, even after the verbal communication has stopped, the non-verbal communication can carry on meanings and affect someone’s encoding, interpretation, and decoding. Even when international business partners speak the same language, non-verbal cues can completely change the meaning of intended information. Although verbal and non-verbal communication often occurs simultaneously, non-verbal communication can occur without verbal communication while verbal communication never occurs without non-verbal expressions.