How to fix cross-cultural communication issues If your company operates on a global scale, you might find yourself running into problems with colleagues on other continents. Some of the nonverbal communication differences in different cultural are: Eye Contact The nuances of communication are prevalent in all kinds of relationships, but the conversations among team members are particularly critical. Different communication styles will affect how people interact and handle problems. Here are four categories that can impede your team’s success: Communication style in Western cultures are direct and the meaning is seemingly obvious. These executives faced several business and personal challenges due to cultural differences between India and China. In any organization, teamwork is essential to success and profitability. This affects how they converse, make decisions and approach conflict. In addition, this paper highlights current psychological and cultural issues which are relevant to contemporary life in South Africa. Such traits when practiced in a cross cultural environment develop effective communication and build global leadership. Communication. However, in other cultures, a nod doesn’t necessarily mean mutual agreement, rather, just an acknowledgement. On the contrary, it is a very beneficial process. The richness of this material is that it contains real-life experiences in intercultural communication problems in various settings, such as war, family, negotiations, inter-religious conflicts, business, workplace, and others. These non-word messages have a different meaning in different cultures, such as: This leads to missing out on new experiences to learn and adapt to the new culture. Nonverbal greetings can be anything from a bow to a handshake or from a hug to an upward flick of the eyebrows. Someone from an Asian culture may be hesitant to give bad news, but someone else from different culture may exaggerate it. One useful tool in approaching this is Erin Meyer’s Culture Map. For example, Power Distance is the degree of inequality among people which the population of that country considers as normal. • In multicultural business communication, non verbal signs vary as much as spoken languages do. Cross cultural communication thus refers to the communication between people who have differences in any one of the following: styles of working, age, nationality, ethnicity, race, gender, sexual orientation, etc. Ethnocentrism is the assumption that the culture of one’s own group is right, moral and rational, and that other cultures are inferior. The challenges are evaluated and summarized to extract the above discussed solutions for management executives who intend to do business in emerging markets especially India and China. Employees with diverse backgrounds have different interpretations of languages, signs and other forms of communication. Here's the comparison of India, China, and United States on the basis of Hofstede's cultural dimensions. Employees who may be subject matter experts, may take a backseat to contributing to the team because of their inability to get a message across in their second language. Cross cultural or intercultural communication is a part of the interaction of different people from different backgrounds and heritages. Different attitudes toward hierarchy and authority. Perspectives and expertise by and for learning leaders. As a result, communication between a Westerner and a non-Westerner can result in confusion within the workplace. Whereas, a low context culture is characterized by Communication that is direct, precise, open and based on feelings. According to Geert Hofstede, there is no such thing as a universal management method. Ambiguity enters the communication process when we don’t fully comprehend the context of our own culture and the culture of the listener. In this field it is not un­common that language problems and/or different cul­tural backgrounds of the workers are the reason for misunderstandings, aggression, or coun­terpro­ductive labour. Managing communication challenges in culturally diverse global teams is indeed a herculean task. Once you become aware that differences in cultural context can affect cross-cultural communication, the next step is to respect these differences. ... “Corporate survival and prosperity increasingly depend on our ability to interact and manage people of different cultures, locally, regionally, nationally and globally. For instance, some families prefer to sugar-coat criticism, or don’t talk about negative things. Cultures provide people with ways of thinking--ways of seeing, hearing, and interpreting the world. But communication is about so much more than just words. Issues in Cross-Cultural Communication . There are multiple cultures present, but there isn’t much crossover or integration between the groups, who remain largely separate. The barriers are caused by semantic differences, word connotation, differences of tone and perception. This results in introvert behavior and closed mindset, leading to an impression that the visitor is not accepting the host culture. Some people when they enter a different cultural context then to avoid exposure or experience of the host culture. Once done, business leaders can appreciate the differences among various cultures and they can leverage the difference to effectively communicate with their partners, customers, and other people in other cultures. When confronted with a different culture, individuals judge it with reference to their own standards, and make no attempt to evaluate the new culture from the host country’s point of view. In multicultural business communication, non verbal signs vary as much as spoken languages do. Keywords: culture, communication, learning, multiculturalism. For example, s… For example, Western communication style is straightforward and direct, but people in India and China are more accustomed to … A more obvious challenge within an organizationally diverse workplace is the language barrier among employees, including accents and fluency. Here you will find more than fifty different case studies, developed by our former participants from the Master of Advanced Studies in Intercultural Communication. However, in some cultures, employees are treated different based on their rank within the organization. This can sometimes cause frustration and interpersonal conflict. Unlike other cultures that tend to withhold information until they have performed analyses and comparisons before reaching a decision, Americans tend to be very quick at deciding, according to the Harvard Business Review article. Diversity … As has been mentioned in the introductory part of this paper, many companies have an extreme multicultural workforce with branches all over the world. I read an article in the Ivey Business Journal that discussed how Americans tend to negotiate by making compromises and trade-offs; however, the French will agree on a set of basic principles to guide them throughout the negotiation process. About the Author: Sunil Malik is an Alumnus of Indian Institute of Management Shillong (PGPEx Class of 2014). To the manager’s surprise, the team’s performance deteriorated in the next business quarter. A leader of a multicultural team has the challenge of understanding differences between cultures in order to create an effective team. Let’s consider this example. Using the latest technologies, enterprises are able to measure the adverse impact of ineffective communication on their performance efficiency and competitive advantages. In today’s rapidly changing professional world, it’s critical to gain an understanding of how cultural elements influence communication between individuals and groups in th… Although English is the standard language internationally for business, many non-English speakers can feel unnoticed and unappreciated in the workplace because they have difficulty conveying what they want to say in their non-native language. As for 2006 and above, there are many problems regarding multicultural diverse team in global organization. In particular, successful communication depends crucially on shared culture. Leading NOW Appoints Kelly Lockwood Primus to CEO Role, How Training Localization Supports a Diverse, Inclusive Workplace, Leading NOW Announces Strategic Partnership with Inclusion Partners to Expand DE&I Offerings in the United Kingdom. Time. Big events like international sales meetings can quickly become disorganized and lose direction if communication breaks down between groups from each country. Multinational companies also are challenged by different communication styles that affect developing strong relationships with partners or clients. Leadership, in the International Business context demands the ability to engage rather than mere transact across cultures. In fact, it is not that bad to communicate with foreigners. Thus the same words can mean different things to people from different cultures, even when they talk the "same" language. He works as a Strategy and Marketing Consultant. Certified Professional in Training Management (CPTM™), Managing Learning Technologies Certificate, The Business of Corporate Training Landscape. In Japan, when you nod, they can just take it as a signal that you are listening to them. Effective cross cultural communication is the key to success in today’s age of globalization. Misunderstanding or misinterpretation of cultural differences in nonverbal messages causes communication problems. This mutual understanding among managers and employees encourages new ideas, different perspectives and collaboration, making all the difference within an organization. That’s why truly effective multicultural communication often requires localization. For example, if two people don’t speak the same language, they will need an interpreter. What Makes a Great Training Organization? Stay up to date on the latest articles, webinars and resources for learning and development. Understanding such nuances of the host culture helps business leaders achieve successful cross cultural communication. On the scale of communication context, cultures are divided into “High Context” and “low context” cultures. She built a framework for understanding the characteristics of communication in countries around the world. Ironically, Presidents and CEO of the organization are willing to talk about diversity when their managers do not have much confidence in implementing diversity workforce in an organization. But, the intern did not move a single step forward, instead he asked his boss to provide clear instructions. A fundamental value that contributes to a successfully diversified workplace is respect among workers and employees. The moral of the story is that we need to become more aware of the cultural basis of our own behavior, perceptions, beliefs, and values to enable us to see any interaction from a cultural perspective. In cross-cultural communication, differences are understood and acknowledged, and can bring … Examples of High context cultures include African, Chinese, Indian, Japanese, among others. Reactive cultures are courteous, amiable (outwardly), accommodating, and good listeners. People from such a culture prefer to do many things at a time, often talking in a roundabout manner. Furthermore, cultures are classified as “linear-active”, “Reactive”, and “Multi-Active”. He promoted one of the top performers to the post of Assistant manager. Nods might also mean different things causing problems like when the person nods to say “yes”, other people might understand it as a “no”. Along with other sources of research, deeper patterns … This happens because of a lack of cultural awareness, knowledge, and communication. Introduction Effective cross cultural communication is the key to success in today’s age of globalization. In other words, cross-cultural communication refers to the ways in which people from different cultural backgrounds adjust to improve communication with one another. The problem is that the world is globalized. This blog will address several of those challenges that can lead to a disconnected workforce. If you need to work effectively with people who are culturally different, you would need to become aware of your own culture and how that impacts on others. Upon discussion and personal research, he found that the team performs well for the sake of the team, but the team members don’t perform so well when they work for the benefit of one individual. Different cultures have disparate systems of idiom and etiquette, which can cause problems. Body movements. A lack of cultural awareness can result in a disconnected workforce and leave some employees feeling left out and unrecognized. There have been a number of studies in the field of intercultural communication with a number of experts studying ways different people from different backgrounds interact with each other and how they conduct their day to day activities. Next, we discuss what leaders can do to overcome these hurdles. Oftentimes, in a Western culture, during a board meeting, when someone nods, we tend to think they agree with the statement. In a multicultural organization, communication is a powerful tool through All of us need to co-exist with the representatives of different nationalities. Organizational diversity should inspire teamwork on a global scale with each employee performing at their best. We encounter cultural barriers in everyday life. Nonverbal greetings vary from a bow to a handshake or from a hug to an upward flick of the eyebrows. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------. Cultures differ on how long the decision making process takes, what steps must be in place beforehand and how much effort should be put in. Multicultural Communication. Not speaking properly can cause various misunderstandings and be a barrier to communication. Each culture has its unique context, value system and communication style. Such a behavior, whether consciously or unconsciously, dampens the team spirit and deteriorates the business relationships. Management interacts with other dynamics of society including politics, family, religion, beliefs etc. If we look at communication as a process of coding and decoding of messages (see handout for more details), it is obvious that there are many points in the process where the communication can break down. I came across an article discussing the dialogue between employees of different cultures by Harvard Business Review. This can occur during face-to-face interactions and when communication is virtual. People from different cultures often have difficulty communicating. Body language, verbal communication and cultural formalities vary around the world. Such scenarios, often lead to poor performance and bad team dynamics. Multi-active cultures are warm, emotional, and loquacious. While diversity in the workplace breeds different attitudes towards hierarchy, it is also important to be aware of the conflicting norms for decision making. This leads to a situation where the listener not only loses part of the message but also develops an incorrect perspective about the delivered information. Since ethnocentrism is often an unconscious behavior, it is understandably difficult to prevent in advance. 4 Types of Communication Challenges in Multicultural Organizations. Th… Gaining exposure to foreign cultures and enabling active feedback is crucial to developing the above said competencies. It is easy to overlook the communication challenges that we often take for granted. When employees accept the differences between each other, it results in a sharing of ideas and effective collaboration. Managing communication challenges in culturally diverse global teams is indeed a herculean task. Businesses and leaders need to engage with partners and customers from around the world, and require relevant skills to manage intercultural context and expectations. When you notice a different style of communication, learn to embrace the difference and actively listen to the other person’s point of view. An American manager was quite happy with his Chinese team’s performance. Ability to meet people of different cultural background is a great opportunity. Similarly, Uncertainty Avoidance refers to the degree to which people in a country prefer structured over unstructured situations. These differences are cultural differences that cause problems when people communicate. In my next blog, I’ll discuss several strategies for effective cross-cultural communication within the workplace. Employees with diverse backgrounds have different interpretations of languages, signs and other forms of communication. The issues of cross cultural communication go beyond the spoken and written language of another culture. • Not understanding cultural differences in nonverbal messages causes communication problems. A Cultural barrier in communication occurs mainly when communication happens between two different cultural backgrounds. ... For example, multicultural employees have different ways of presenting an idea to the manager or CEO. Examples of Low context cultures include Australian, German, US culture, etc. Different cultures have different communication styles. Our body sends non-word messages through hands, fingers, eyes, head, face, and so on. Here, we take a look at the list of three major challenges that many management executives face when placed in foreign cultural context. Successful organizations create a culture of awareness that inspires employees to respect one another through diversity training. So, he decided to give the team some reward and motivational boost. Businesses and leaders need to engage with … Other organizations have relatively flat hierarchical structures where employees and leaders work as a unified team. Learn to recognize different communication styles. Effective communication is a skill that few people posses and even fewer people can get their point across when there is a cross cultural barrier. Other families, however, like an honest and open approach. Effective communication in multicultural organizations is similar to a human neural network; and once it fails the entire system gets dysfunctional. The same word or gesture that is innocuous for some may be considered offensive by others and can negatively affect a workplace by potentially damaging relationships. An Indian boss planned to delegate a task to a Chinese intern. When people from different cultures come together, they tend to assume certain things (unaware of difference in the communication styles and cultural values) and don’t take cognizance of the value system of the other culture. There are billions of people in the world who do not understand English or cannot communicate in English properly. Linear-active cultures are calm, factual and decisive. Understanding the host country’s cultural values on the scale of these five dimensions helps a manager to understand the cultural chasm that he must recognize and make conscious effort to bridge. When people from different cultures who might speak different languages, have different cultural beliefs or use different gestures and symbols to communicate, their cultural differences might become barriers to workplace success. For example, multicultural employees have different ways of presenting an idea to the manager or CEO. In the age of globalization and digital media, the whole world is performing and participating on one platform. For example, in a Western culture, the question might be, “Is option A or option B more effective?” Whereas in a non-Western culture, employees may have to imply or suggest a particular option without stating it directly. People are comfortable communicating in their own language whereas have to work hard to learn new languages. Diversity training in the workplace should account for negotiation tactics among different cultures. Different cultures have developed their own language as a part of their heritage. 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