Communication Across Cultures 2
RUNNING HEAD: Communication Across Cultures 1
Communication across Cultures
Student
University
Instructor
29 August 2017
Communication is an important part in life, especially when the trade goes across the globe.
Communication theory is a mathematical tool that provides the technicality of the information processes and the living beings communication.
In the organization, communication system is a method which is used to flow the information. Communication system is used within the organization to connect people so that they may able to work in order to achieve the organizational goals. Culture is an important part in the communication. Culture defines the management style. Language is another important parameter of communication. Language and culture are closely related to each other. Culture is shown in its language and reflects the way people exchange the messages. Another important factor in the organization is the empowerment which is used to motivate the employees and to achieve the organizational goals and targets. With empowerment, the organization can achieve high productivity and efficiency and maximum satisfaction among the employees.
Communication System is a procedure that defines both the formal and informal ways of communication which includes plan and goals; and informing others with the development within the organization. Communication describes the link which allows the group members to flow the social values and sharing within organization.
Hofstede’s Communication
Hofstede’s theory for cultural dimensions is a tool to analyze different cultures for communicating. It shows the culture of the society as in values and in turn to the behavior by using analysis from various factors.
It works on following six cultural factors:
Power Distance: This factor expects that the power distributed across is unequal and the extent of accepting the members is less in society.
Uncertainty Avoidance: This factor shows the extent where in the people are not accepting in the society with the uncertainty.
Individualism vs. Collectivism: This dimension focuses on the question that the society wants to be in the closed environment.
Masculinity vs. Femininity: In this dimension, Masculinity relates that the society is more prone to rewards and recognitions on their success while Femininity relates to love, affection, cooperation and help for the weak.
Long Term vs. Short term orientation: In this factor, Long term orientation shows that if the society is more prone towards searching the ethics. While in the short term the society is more prone to recognizing the truth.
Indulgence vs. Restraint: This dimension reflects that how the society can limit to their sudden or immediate responses and urges.
Different Cultures having different ways of Communicating:
In today’s fast growing scenarios many of the companies expands their business outside their own country. During this expansion different societies face the challenges of across cultural communications. There may be the differences regarding Management style, Communication Style which results as a barrier in the communication across cultures. The finding shows that the barriers to the communication arise due to work place and people’s behavior that are having different characteristics. Also, the culture gets influenced by the thinking and behavior patterns of the individuals which create the difference in the understanding towards the mission and visions of the organizations.
In our scenario, we will be assuming ourselves from the Sweden culture and comparing with the Chinese culture. We will be looking into the different cross cultural traits of the people of both the societies. The people in Sweden and China have different cultures which turn to different thinking pattern.
Adler and Graham (1989) say:
“The greater the cultural differences, the more likely barriers to communication and misunderstandings become.”
Communication Barriers:
Language:
While communicating with the guests from the Chinese culture, language may become one of the barriers. We can use a common language, i.e., English to understand the things, or to have a proper communication, a need may arise for a translator. A translator can ease the work by clearly communicating the people of both the cultures in a way they understand. For doing the work better clear understanding of the requirements is a must.
Communication Style:
People in Sweden speak very slowly which may cause a communication barrier regarding clear understanding of the requirements. While having the conversation with the guests of Chinese culture the pattern of communication style needs to take care of. Due to this communication trait, it may take a longer duration for reaching to the clear understanding of the requirements.
Example:
Let’s understand the communication across with the help of an example where in an automobile mother company in Sweden having its vendor company in China. In this example, it will reflect the differences between the cross cultural management techniques and communication patterns.
The mother company in Sweden has given the production order to one of his vendor company in China by asking the production manager that they can serve the order in time with the best quality. The Chinese production manager has accepted the order without understanding the ground reality and not even communicating to the juniors and not taken their opinions. The juniors knew of this fact that they cannot deliver this high-quality product in the agreed timelines.
And at the end, the result cannot meet the mother company’s requirements.
In Chinese culture, juniors cannot say “NO” to their seniors irrespective of knowing the ground fact where in the Sweden culture follows the Individualism in which the decision is disclosed in front of the entire team before implementation and the juniors can say “NO” to the management by giving the logical reasons. Sweden culture follows the group decisions rather than the boss decision.
Due to the different decision making ways of both the Sweden and the Chinese culture the desired outcomes cannot be achieved.
The above example shows the different characteristics across the cultures:
Power Distance:
Chinese people feel that they are unequally born and follows the rule of their superiors. They don’t take their individual decisions and cannot present their opinions. While the Sweden culture feels that all men are born equally and take their independent decisions. Everyone has rights to represent their views along with the logics regarding facts and figures. This shows that the people in the Chinese societies are having high Power Index and have to follow the hierarchy chain.
Research shows China scores 80 and Sweden score 31 in Power Distance Index.
Long Term Orientation vs. Short Term Orientation:
The Chinese managers are keen to adopt the modern means of managing skills used by their parent company in Sweden to meet the requirements. But due to the high Power distance factor, it is not as easy to adopt the skills of Sweden Company. Due to the short term orientation among the Sweden culture they cannot compromise on the quality and promises. Sweden managers are very clear in their vision and missions and feel they have the best managerial and organizing skills. When the targets are failed to meet by the vendor company in China, the Sweden managers feel frustrated irrespective of searching out the reasons for the failure. This results in a barrier in communication between Sweden and Chinese cultures.
Research shows China scores 87 and Sweden score 53 in the Long term Orientation.
Do’s:
Being in a Sweden culture and working with Chinese culture, the Sweden Managers should always do the following:
Take timely decisions and communicate to the Chinese subordinates.
Do the proper guidance regarding online communication, empowering the employees by giving clear instructions and detailed analysis about their work which in turn enhances the motivation.
Find and search out the reasons why the things are not happening in the desired directions.
Don’t:
Being in a Sweden culture and working with Chinese culture, the Sweden Managers should not do the following:
Don’t think every individual is equally born and can take the decisions by themselves.
Don’t only act as a mediator between subordinates and collate them for work.
Don’t feel frustrated when the things are not happening in the desired directions.
Conclusion:
In order, to achieve the best it is not mandatory to push the vendor company to follow the mother company ways of Communication. For achieving the best results, it is required to have the mutual understanding between the mother and the vendor companies that highly depends on learning and adapting the multi cultural managerial skills. When both the cultures don’t follow the same view, there occur the issues and barriers. Due to cultural differences, the emotional distance varies within the relationship between the seniors and juniors. Moreover, the gaps within the language and geography bring understanding barriers within each other. Also, the work life pressures also vary within two different cultures. The culture also reflects the style of thinking and behavior which gives different level of understanding towards the mission and visions.
In general below are the aspects which create the barriers of communication across cultures:
Deficient in Mutual understanding
Understanding the differences of Emotional Distance between relationships.
Differences in Language and Geography
Lack of understanding of vision and missions
Thus, overcoming the above-mentioned barriers of communication will result in achieving the best results and the multi organizational goals across cultures.
References
Geert Hofstede’s academic website
Quotation – References
Diva-portal.org. (2017). Cite a Website – Cite This For Me. [online] Available at: http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:344618/fulltext01.
Hofstede, Geert (1984). Culture’s Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Values (2nd ed.). Beverly Hills CA: SAGE Publications. ISBN 0-8039-1444-X.
Hofstede, Geert. “Dimensionalizing Cultures: The Hofstede Model in Context.” ScholarWorks@GVSU. Online Reading in Psychology and Culture. Retrieved 6 September2015.
Hofstede, Geert (2001). Culture’s Consequences: comparing values, behaviors, institutions, and organizations across nations (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications. ISBN 978-0-8039-7323-7. OCLC 45093960.
Hofstede, G. (1997). Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind. New York: McGraw Hill.
Hofstede, G. (1980). Culture’s Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Values. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
Adler, N. J. ,and Graham, J. G. (1989). “Cross-Cultural Interaction: The International Comparison Fallacy?”. Journal of International Business Studies, 20 (3), pp. 515-537.