MCS 358 UNIT 3.ppt

Editor's Notes

• #9: Communication is the process of sharing meaning by transmitting messages through media such as words, behavior, or material artifacts. As shown in this figure, there are several stages in this process in which meaning can be distorted. Anything that undermines the communication of an intended message is referred to as noise. Noise exists because people filter, or selectively understand, messages consistent with their own expectations and perceptions of reality, and their values and norms of behavior. As such, the more dissimilar the cultures of those involved, the more likely it is misinterpretation will occur.
• #11: When a member of one culture sends a message to a member of another culture, intercultural communication occurs. The message contains the meaning intended by the encoder, but the decoder’s culture ends up becoming part of the meaning as he/she interprets the message. Attribution is the process in which people look for an explanation of another person’s behavior. When someone does not understand another, he/she usually blames the confusion on the other’s “stupidity, deceit, or craziness.” This slide illustrates miscommunication and cultural noise by highlighting a portion of the example in Exhibit 4-2.
• #12: In China and Japan for for e.g. business transactions are based on networks of long-standing relationships based on trust rather than on the formal contracts typical of the US
• #13: Effective communication depends on the informal understandings among the parties involved that are based on the trust developed between them. When trust exists, there is implicit understanding within communication, cultural differences may be overlooked, and problems can be dealt with more easily. The meaning of trust and how it is developed and communicated vary across societies. Similarly, some cultures have a greater propensity to be trusting than others.
• #14: The GLOBE research discussed in Chapter 3 also illustrates culturally appropriate communication styles and expectations. These examples show how to draw implications for appropriate communication styles from research on cultural differences.
• #16: These cultural variables (and those on the next slide) can affect communication via a person’s perceptions. The effects of these variables are interdependent and inseparable. Attitudes underlie our behavior, communication, and interpretation. Ethnocentric attitudes are a particular source of noise. Stereotyping occurs when a person assumes that every member of a society or subculture has the same characteristics. Astute managers deal with people as individuals. The kinds of social organizations we belong to can influence our perceptions. Examples of social organizations include one’s nation, tribe, religious sect, or profession. The logical progression of reasoning varies widely across cultures. Managers cannot assume others use the same reasoning processes. The text provides an example of a Canadian who misunderstood the meaning of double lines on the road in Thailand. He automatically assumed the lines meant “no passing”—just as they do in Canada.
• #17: Cultures differ in terms of their perceptions regarding who should make decisions and who has responsibility for what. When two people do not share a common language, communication problems arise. Even in countries that share the same language, problems can arise from the subtleties and nuances inherent in language. Because of increasing diversity, managers often have to deal with workforces that speak a variety of languages—even within a single country. Translation can be problematic as well. Pepsi provides one example of translation problems. As another example, when many Asians say “yes,” it often means only that they have heard you and are too polite to disagree. Sometimes how something is said is more important than what is said.
• #19: Nonverbal communication is behavior that communicates without words—though it often may accompanied by words. Nonverbal communication has been shown to account for between 65% and 93% of interpreted communication.
• #20: Kinesic behavior is communication through body movement—e.g., posture, gestures, facial expressions and eye contact. The meaning of such behavior varies across countries. For example, in China sticking out the tongue indicates surprise, whereas widening one’s eyes indicates anger. Occulesics are a form of kinesics that includes eye contact and the use of the eyes to convey messages. For example, the British will look away from you while speaking in order to keep your attention. When they have finished speaking, they will signal it is your turn to talk by looking at you. Proxemics concern the influence of proximity and space on communication (e.g., in terms of personal space and in terms of office layout). For example, space communicates power in the US and Germany. Executives in the US may have large, private corner offices. French executives, however, communicate their central position by working in the middle of subordinates. In high-contact cultures, people stand close and touch a great deal when communicating. People in low-contact cultures prefer less sensory involvement when communicating. Often people from cooler climates and individual cultures are low-contact communicators. People from warmer climates and collectivistic cultures tend to be high-contact communicators. Paralanguage refers to how something is said, rather than the content of what is said—e.g., rate of speech, tone and inflection of voice, other noises, laughing, yawning, and silence. For example, the Chinese tend to spend about 30 seconds thinking before they speak. Americans are only comfortable with 10 to 15 seconds of silence. Object language or material culture refers to how we communicate through material artifacts—e.g., architecture, office design and furniture, clothing, cars, cosmetics, and time. In monochronic cultures, time is experienced linearly and as sometime to be spent, saved, made up, or wasted. Time orders life, and people tend to concentrate on one thing at a time. In polychronic cultures, people tolerate many things happening simultaneously and emphasize involvement with people. In these cultures, people may be highly distractible, focus on several things at once, and change plans often.
• #21: Object language or material culture refers to how we communicate through material artifacts—e.g., architecture, office design and furniture, clothing, cars, cosmetics, and time. In monochronic cultures, time is experienced linearly and as sometime to be spent, saved, made up, or wasted. Time orders life, and people tend to concentrate on one thing at a time. In polychronic cultures, people tolerate many things happening simultaneously and emphasize involvement with people. In these cultures, people may be highly distractible, focus on several things at once, and change plans often.
• #23: The context in which the communication takes place affects the meaning and interpretation of the interaction. High context cultures do not express feelings and thoughts explicitly. Rather, one has to read between the lines and interpret meaning from one’s general understanding. Low context cultures usually compartmentalize personal and business relationships. As such, communication must be more explicit. To illustrate, Germans will expect considerable detailed information before making a business decision. Arabs will base decisions more on knowledge of the people involved.
• #25: There are several things a manager can do to encourage effective cross-cultural communication. One can attempt to anticipate the likely meaning a receiver will attach to a message by internalizing honest cultural empathy with that person. The latter includes thinking about the context of the communication—e.g., societal, economic, and organizational. Keep in mind that communication is both verbal and nonverbal. Encoding a message in multiple ways can help ensure the receiver gets the right meaning—especially when language differences are an issue. For instance, it may be helpful to provide a written summary as a supplement to a verbal presentation. The medium chosen for the message depends on a variety of factors. The key is to find out how communication is transmitted in the local organization—e.g., how much is downward or upward, how much is vertical, how the grapevine works. Of course, cultural variables need to be considered as well. Face-to-face relationships often are best for relationship-building. Personal interaction also allows for immediate verbal and visual feedback. When face-to-face communication is not possible, teleconferencing and telephone calls may be more desirable than email. Just as multiple media and sources are important for encoding, they can help ensure a message is accurately decoded. It can be useful to ask colleagues to help interpret what is going on. To keep lines of communication open, managers must follow through with what has been discussed and agreed upon. Contract follow through can be particularly difficult given that cultures have different ideas about what constitutes a contract.
• #26: There is a connection between a person’s personality traits and the ability to adapt to the host-country’s environment—including the ability to communicate within that environment. Two key personality traits are openness and resilience. Openness includes traits such as tolerance for ambiguity, extrovertedness, and open-mindedness. Resilience includes having an internal locus of control, persistence, tolerance for ambiguity, and resourcefulness. These factors, combined with the person’s cultural and racial identity and level of preparedness for change, comprise that person’s potential for adaptation.