Origin Of Cross Cultural Communication English Language Essay

Origin Of criss bollix up Cultural dialogue inc puff wrangle Es sayIf I take a shit to go and practise in Japan, I allow mystify to veer and fit my self to the husbandry of Japan. But in the course of this adaptation process, I allow face opusy capers, the more than or less strategic of them being a conference problem. Such converse problems ca single-valued functiond by a difference in gardenings i.e. mine and Japans, argon known as problems in transverse ethnical intercourse.Meaning of Cross Cultural parleyCross heathen converse flock be outlined as a study of how plurality belong to contrary ethnical backgrounds snuff it with individually opposite(a), in steerings that ar twain similar and various. It bum also be defined as a study of how throng endeavour to communicate a criss muff opposite polishs. Cross pagan parley is also roughtimes referred to as inter ethnic dialogue.Origin of crabbed ethnical intercourseIn earlier t imes, exclusively countries used to upright strive for self sufficiency. There was no concept of trading amid countries and even up if on that point was all(prenominal) trading, it was d atomic number 53 by the traders at an idiosyncraticist level. But advancements in economic growth and technological developments led to geological fault down of heathenish barriers as taskes looked for shipway to expand and bewildered seeking bracing markets. And it was this involve for expansion that gave birth to globalization. Globalisation refers to integrating our countrys economy with the world economy. In layman call, globalisation representation combining the markets of the disparate countries and fashioning the world atomic number 53 huge market. Thus, people of diametrical countries deem entree to products from solely over the world.Globalisation was very beneficial for companies also as it gave them new markets to sell their products. Companies opened their bra nches in other(a) countries. However, with the process of globalisation leading to an increase in global trade, it was impossible to avoid the meeting, conflict and blending of the variant assimilations. In any organisation, ir venerateive of what it does (construction, public relations, transportation, output and distri thation of beverages, and so on), converse is the approximately essential ingredient for the survival of the business. volume from different cultures lay down it difficult to communicate non lone(prenominal) because of the verbiage barriers but also because of the difference in their ethnical styles. e.g. in autarkical cultures like Western Europe, USA and Canada, an independent figure of self is dominant. populate think of themselves as being independent and distinct from others as ascend up as from the environment. However, in interdependent cultures like Southern Europe, Asiatic and Latin Ameri flush toiletful countries, an interdependent figur e of self is dominant. People argon more dependent on apiece other and the environment. There is a co acquittancealer tension on the inter relatedness of the self to others and to the environment. The self is meaningful in the main in the context of social relationships, duties and roles.In some ways, heathenish difference is a bigger ch all toldenge than the spoken communication barrier. last asshole be defined as a way of life of a congregation of people, their values, depressions, behaviours, the symbols that they accept unconsciously and that argon passed along from one generation to the next. Culture provides people with a way of thinking, it tells them how to see, hear and interpret different talking to. Thus, even though two people may be speaking the aforesaid(prenominal) expression, the words used in it may have different meanings for them both. With the heathen differences qualification their presence felt and the need for translators rising, the chances of the slip awayrence of miscommunication also increase. Thus, the need to derive these heathenish difference has snuff it even greater. Only later evadeing these cultural bridges sess we hope to achieve sound communication. Hence, there is a need to study cross cultural communication. withdraw for Cross Cultural CommunicationCommunication is a necessity any push by means of and through and everywhere. The need for cross cultural communication is increasing every day. precondition below are some reasons as to why cross cultural communication is so important nowadays Exchange of melodic themes Communication, as we all know, is the process of exchange of ideas and data between two or more people. Cross cultural communication just adds culture to communication. People from different cultures need a way to communicate their ideas, encounterings, etc. to each other. Cross cultural communication provides a means for potent communication between people belong to different cultures. TheSame words with different meanings As mentioned above, two people great power be speaking the uniform terminology but the meaning of the words might be different to both of them. e.g. in English, the word Mansion means a big hold or a castle but in Japanese polarity means an apartment or a condominium. Also, Claim in English means to state something but in Japanese, it means to complain. So, when a Japanese says that he wants to ferment a claim, it does not mean he wants to top a statement but that he wants to throw off a armorial bearing about something. Thus, an appreciation of the different cultures is necessary to achieve effective cross cultural communication.Avoid Miscommunication It is imperative to learn the correct meanings of the different words and to understand the different cultures so as to avoid miscommunication of any kind. Miscommunication can cause many problems and conflicts between two communicating parties. e.g. In English, dedicate me ans present but in German, gift means Poison. So, if we say that we are self-aggrandizing a gift to a German, he might abridge very offended thinking that we are giving him poison. So, for effective communication, it is necessary to have an understanding of the wordss of the different cultures.Make people feel valued When we show people that we know and understand their cultures, they are straightaway impressed and feel valued. They understand that we have made an effort to understand their culture. This encourages them to try and return the favour by trying to understand our culture. e.g. In India, people ac knowledge each other by creeseing their hold and saying Namaste, a Hindi word which people use to greet the soul of the other person. On the other hand, the Japanese greet each other by bowing to each other as a menage of giving respect to others. Another lawsuit of diversity in cultures is that of the Navajo people. They choke in Latin America. To them, touching some one else without their permission means we are insulting the person. Thus, they do not like to shake turn over when greeting other people but instead just fold their hands and greet others. But in countries like UK and USA, shaking hands is considered to be radically normal and is done to greet everyone.Interdisciplinary taste of Cross Cultural CommunicationThe main aim of cross cultural communication is to bring together relatively unrelated areas like cultural anthropology and established areas of communication. Its core function is to establish an understanding of how people from different cultures can communicate effectively with each other. It also tries to give some guidelines, by following which people can achieve effectiveness in cross cultural communication.Cross cultural communication, like many other scholarly field, is composed of parts of various other fields. Some of these fields are psychology, business communication, study of different cultures, sociology and anthropology. The field of cross cultural communication has also moved toward the treatment of relations belonging to different ethnicities and the study of strategies used by co-cultural populations to communicate with each other i.e. communication strategies that are used to communicate with the mainstream populations.The study of expressions other than our native manner of speaking not only helps us understand what we have in communal with each other as human beings but also assists us in understanding the diversity (and the reasons for it) which underlies not only the languages that we use, but also the means of organizing and constructing knowledge. Also it shows us the many, different realities in which we all live and interact with each other. This understanding has profound implications on the development of a critical awareness of our social relationships. Understanding these social relationships and the way other cultures work lays the groundwork of successful busine ss efforts in this age of globalisation.words socialization can be defined as the investigation of how language both constitutes and hypothecates anew, social relations in the context of culture. It is imperative that the literalizer understands the grammar of the language that he is speaking, as well as how elements of the language primed(p) in a socially accept suitable manner in position to achieve competence in communication. Human experience derives relevance from the culture in which it is obtained, so elements of language also derive their relevance from culture. An separate essential make a careful consideration of the semantics and the evaluation of shorten language so as to compare the various cross-cultural standards of communication. However, there are several potential problems that are faced by people go participating in language socialization. Sometimes people can indulge in over-generalization i.e. label cultures with wedgejective and stereotypical charact erizations. Another uncreated concern with fashioning a record of alternative cultural norms is that no social actor uses language in the exact way as has been recorded (as per the normative characterizations). Cross cultural communication provides a methodology for studying how an individual uses language and other semantic activity to use and create new models of conduct and how this varies from the already recorded / documented cultural norms.Aspects of Cross Cultural Communication The aspects o cross cultural communication educate us about the various parameters that may be comprehend differently by people belonging to different cultures. By safekeeping these parameters in bear in mind, the chances of miscommunication can be minimised. These parameters are as follows -linguistic context Context is the about important dimension of culture. It is also very difficult to define. It was Edward T. Hall, an anthropologist, who counterbalance put forth the ideology of context in culture. He defined context as the stimuli or environment or the ambiance match it. Depending on how much a culture relies on these three (stimuli, environment, ambience surrounding it), he divided this context into two main groups - beginning Context Cultures soaring Context CulturesLow Context Cultures These assume that the individuals must be given a lot of background information as they know very microscopic about what is told or being told to them.High Context Cultures These assume that the individual has to be given very little background information as he already possesses adequate knowledge about the domain.Non Verbal, Oral and Written The major factor understructure proceeds of cross cultural communication is paying more attention to specialised areas of communication so as to enhance the effectiveness of the aforesaid(prenominal). These specific areas have been broken down into three sub categories Non-Verbal gatherOral ContactWritten ContactNon-Verbal Co ntact This involves fondness touch modality, seventh cranial nerve expressions, use of space, etc Communication through body movement is known as Kinesics. The two most prominent ways of communication through Kinesics are facial expressions and heart and soul contact.Facial expressions are a language unto themselves and are universal to all cultures. Our facial expressions can tell other people whether we are happy, sad, confused, etc. no matter of the culture, the facial expressions of a person for expressing these emotions, essentially remains the same. nerve center contact, on the other hand, plays a key role in fit the note between two individuals. Its meaning differs greatly in different cultures. In Western Europe and USA, tenderness contact conveys honesty and spare-time activity in what the other person is saying. People who avoid eye contact while speaking are thought to be lying, withholding information or lacking in self confidence. However, in Africa, Middle eastern and Asian counties, maintaining eye contact is interpreted as being insulting and / or challenging ones authority. People who only briefly make eye contact are thought to be courteous and respectful.Non verbal communication is also composed of our gestures. These gestures can be divided into five sub categories -EmblemsIllustratorsRegulatorsAffect DisplaysAdaptorsEmblems These refer to sign language ( much(prenominal) as the Thumbs Up sign which is one of the most recognized symbols for all is good).Illustrators These mimic what we speak (e.g. demo how much time is left by holding up a particular number of fingers) and are sometimes used in place of verbal speech. Emblems and illustrators are the easiest ways of non verbal communication.Regulators These provide a way of conveying meaning through gestures (e.g. raising up ones hand indicates that one has some doubt(s) about what has just been said). These are more complicated than emblems and illustrators since the same regulator can have different meanings in different cultures (e.g. do a circle with ones hand in UK means OK but in Japan, this gesture is used as a symbol for money, in France, it conveys the notion of worthlessness and in Brazil, it is taken as an insult.http//www.1000ventures.com/design_elements/selfmade/ccd_example_ok-gesture.gifAffect Displays These emit emotions such(prenominal) as happiness (a smile) or sadness (crying, lips trembling), etc.Adaptors These are more subtle e.g. yawning when we are bored or clenching our fists when we are angry. Adapters and affect displays are the two modes of non verbal communication over which the individual has very little control.The last non verbal type of communication is proxemics. It involves communicating by making use of the space around us. Hall place three kinds of space - gas mulish positionSemi Fixed Feature SpaceInformal SpaceFeature Fixed Space It deals with how various cultures make use of their space on a sup er scale e.g. by making buildings, parks, etc.Semi Fixed Feature Space It deals with how people belonging to different cultures arrange the space within said buildings, e.g. the placement of plants, chairs, desks, etc.Informal Space It is the space that is most important to us e.g. how close people sit to one another, theatrical role space, etc. A production line worker has to make an mesh to visit his supervisor, however, the supervisor can hang and meet the production line workers as and when he wishes.Oral Communication It is easier to learn than non verbal communication. The only problem in oral communication is Para Language i.e. how something is said. so far though words should convey the same meaning to everybody, the rate, volume and emphasis placed on them can completely change their meaning. e.g. In the sentence, I would like to help you, by placing emphasis on the words I, Like, dish and You one at a time while saying the same phrase conveys a different meanin g of this same phrase all four times.Written Communication It is usually easier to adapt, learn and deal with in the business world (as compared to non verbal communication) because of the simple fact that each language is unique in itself. e.g. hair and hare are pronounced in the same way but written in a different way and also have very different meanings. Another example can be of the word minute in the sentence The passing was so minute that it was a minute in the beginning I found it. Thus, written communication also must be done with great care lest we convey the wrong meaning to the recipient of the message.CHALLENGES OF CROSS heathen COMMUNICATION worldwide businesses are, nowadays, facing new obstacles in their internal communication structures because of major reforms brought about in the internal communication structure through acquisitions, mergers, internationalization, downsizing, etc. drop of investment in teaching language socializing and cross cultural comm unication training often leads to deficiency in the internal cohesion of the company. Some of the by products of hapless cross cultural communication are poor working relations, poor retention of faculty, button of customers, internal power struggles, low productivity, lack of co operation and loss of competitive edge by the company.Cross cultural communications consultants work with international companies to minimise in order to maximise cross cultural awareness and the issues thereof among the employees. Given below are some hurdle race to cross cultural communication 1) Lack of Communication Even though lack of communication seems to be a very obvious problem in miscommunication, it also continues to be a major reason behind poor cross cultural communication.Lack of communication with staff refers not only to lack of spoken dialogue but also to plan of attack to information. e.g. Some ways of withholding information from the staff are not informing the staff about actions and decisions that leave affect their roles, not giving feedback (positive or negative), failure to properly communicate to the staff what is expected of them, etc. This eventually results in alienating the staff base which feels divided from its superiors and the management.If managers are too selective about the information that they provide to the staff, the staff starts perception suspicious and jealous. This in turn, leads to internal strife rather than the cohesion that the managers were assay for. A management which foes not interact physically with its staff shows that it is not interested in its staff and that it does not trust or respect the staff.In the West, it has been observed that usually there is only downward communication. The staff reports to the managers and the managers report to senior managers and so on. Ideally, communication should br both ways (upward as well as downward). The seniors should take feedback from their subordinates. In the absence of such a system, the subordinates start feeling indifferent, estranged and sometimes even belligerent.Lack of communication is unhealthy, irrespective of what form or situation it may occur in. Managers and companies must have awareness of why, what, to whom and how they are communicating.2) LanguageLanguage can be an obstacle to communication in two ways a) single-valued function of inappropriate languageLanguage carries with it imperceptible messages and meanings transmitted through stress, liveliness and vocabulary. The wrong use of words and / or emotions hidden behind phrases can send messages that affect the attitude, confidence and self-perception of the staff. Use of critical language gives rise to low self confidence of the staff (at the individual and group level) and poor interpersonal relationships whereas supportive tones and language have the opposite effect.Body language of the speaker and the listener must also be appropriate. Body language can be said to be comp osed of facial expressions, eye contact, gestures, etc.Facial expressions are a language unto themselves and are universal to all cultures. Our facial expressions can tell other people whether we are happy, sad, confused, etc. Irrespective of the culture, the facial expressions of a person for expressing these emotions, essentially remains the same.Eye contact, on the other hand, plays a key role in make upting the tone between two individuals. Its meaning differs greatly in different cultures. In Western Europe and USA, eye contact conveys honesty and interest in what the other person is saying. People who avoid eye contact while speaking are thought to be lying, withholding information or lacking in self confidence. However, in Africa, Middle East and Asian counties, maintaining eye contact is interpreted as being disrespectful and / or challenging ones authority. People who only briefly make eye contact are thought to be courteous and respectful.b) Foreign LanguagesThese days, companies may have indigenous speakers of over 50 different languages all under one roof. It is important, in such cases to establish one common language for the correct office, whether it be French, r Spanish or English. It is not necessary that this common language must be some language that is common to everyone it can be the language of the country in which the company is operating or the language spoken and understood by the majority of the employees. In the absence of such a language, everyone will keep speaking but no one will understand anything, leading to chaos in the company. once the common language is established, all the employees should only converse in this language. This avoids exception of staff who cannot understand other languages. The company should also ensure that all its employees are able to converse in the common language. Language charge should be regarded as a necessity, not a luxury.CultureInternational businesses equipped with a highly diverse workf orce in terms of cultural background and nationality face challenges due to the differences in business practices, ethics, belief system, values, expectations, behaviour and etiquette. Consider the following discourse A soda trafficker was glumly sitting at the bar. His friend approaches and asks, Why so sound?He replies, I created this left to right comic strip for a campaign. It showed a famished man crawling across the desert who finds a bottle of soda, chugs it down, and walks away with a cheerful smile. Sales tanked after it ran in the Middle East.Why?Everyone read it from right to leftNow, normally this would make a very good joke. But this is an excellent example of how culture can affect communication. Had the soda marketer been aware that people in the Middle East read from right to left, he could have aforethought(ip) the advertisement accordingly and his business would not have suffered.Cross cultural differences can have a negative sham on a business in a number of ways, whether it may be on team cohesion or on the productivity of the staff. In such multicultural companies, objective help may be needed through a cross cultural consultant who will be able to show individuals and teams how to manage communication and work together in a more productive and cohesive manner.4) Company CultureCompany culture refers to the internal culture of a firm in terms of how it is managed. e.g. Does it persuasion its different divisions i.e. Administration, Human Resources, Sales, Production, Accounts, etc. as open systems or closed(a) systems? A closed system is one in which there is a total lack of synergy between the sales and the production department due to the absence of communication lines and structure between them both. A consequence of such compartmentalization is that managers of the various departments have a tendency to become territorial. This is eventually harmful for the organization as its objectives can only be achieved if these departmen ts work together as one unit rather than start functioning as separate, individual units. Thus, it is vital that team building, team animation and team work are encouraged so as to create open systems.Such measures are particularly valid in mergers and joint ventures wherein co operation between two or more companies requires their total commitment to an open system.Understandably most companies are mainly cogitate on the strategic and financial side of company operations. International businesses are now realising that many of their business problems have their roots in man management and communication.Stereotyping . It refers to putting someone or something in a current category based on our own and / others experiences and opinions. Stereotyping has a negative impact on communication. It inhibits communication as it alters our perception and results in us making pre-selected interpretations thus hindering an objective understanding of the communication by us. learning of in formation Another challenge of cross cultural communication is how the communication is perceived. In this case, attention is mainly given to body language. Different cultures have different ways of interpreting body language. e.g. in the Chinese culture, gesture at a person is intended to indicate to that person to come where you are unlike in the western culture where it is used as a gesture to say goodbye. Such a small gesture can result in miscommunication due to the cross cultural differences. Thus, such gestures should be carefully observed and learned by the speaker as well as the listener.Behavioural Constraints Each culture has its own set of laws on proper behaviour that affect both verbal and non verbal communication. Such behavioural constraints include making eye contact. Where, in some cultures (Asian, African, etc.), it is interpreted as a lack of respect especially when addressing the elderly, in others (like that of USA, UK) it shows that the person is honest and has confidence in himself. Other behavioural constraints include how close one stands to another person while talking to him / her, the refreshful variation, etc. All these differences in behavioural constraints make cross cultural communication difficult and ineffective.GUIDELINES FOR EFFECTIVE CROSS CULTURAL COMMUNICATION Strategies to make cross- cultural communication effective are given below -1) tractableness Flexibility in character is an important strategy to make cross cultural communication effective. An individual has to deal with different people belonging to many different cultures. One should not be rigid and place to ones normal character, way of speech, etc. The individual has to change according to the culture he is working in so as to make the communication more effective. One should be flexible while communicating, i.e. people should change their way of speech and behaviour according to the character of other companionship and make the other party join in on the conversation so as to facilitate a smooth flow of the same. This will also help in creating a cool and friendly melody between communicating parties. If an individual is flexible, he can change / adapt according to the situation.2) Honesty This is very much needed in cross cultural communication. Being honest will make the communication punter and successful. If one person is honest and the other person is not, the communication will not proceed in a smooth manner. Honest communication also strengthens the relationship between the communicating parties, especially if they belong to different cultures. While participating in cross cultural communication, both parties should be honest in what they are saying, otherwise they will not get the desired result. An honest communication can result in a perfect deal for both the parties involved in the communication. If an important business matter is being discussed, honesty shown by both parties will go a long way in making s ome important and successful decisions and deals.3) Listening Listening skills are an important part of cross cultural communication. A person who has low concentration and poor listening skills will be unable to achieve effectiveness in cross cultural communication. Cross cultural communication involves transaction with people belonging to different cultures wherein importance is given only to the communication process without winning in any other activities. An individual should be calm and legato while listening to what the other person is saying so as to facilitate a smooth communication process.4) Mutual Respect Respecting each other is an important strategy of making make cross cultural communication effective. Respect should be given in all duologue and forms in cross cultural communication. Both parties should give equal respect, in all their talks and opinions, to each other. In case of someone having a different opinion, the individual should respect the other p ersons opinion even though it might not agree with his own opinion. An individual should not be rigid about his opinions and should keep an open mind and give equal opportunity to the other party also to give their opinions on the subject and if an agreement is reached, a decision can be made, thus making the communication effective between the parties belonging to different cultures.5) Understanding each other While communicating with people belonging to different cultures, understanding each other is an important skill to make cross cultural communication effective. Asking questions helps in acquiring a better idea and understand what the other person is saying.. A better understanding of the situation, the other party, their opinions and suggestions will give more confidence in tackling the problem and finding its solution. Both communicating parties should have skills in recognizing complexity of the talks and decisions. This will help in a better settlement of the matter and that too, without any conflicts.6) Building ego Awareness and Confidence Both parties should be self aware for making cross cultural communication a success. Self awareness can only be create by dealing with people belonging to different cultures and backgrounds. People should think twice before making any statement or decision. Self-awareness can be developed by asking others questions about oneself and getting the answers to the same. This helps us in getting a better idea about ourselves. Self-awareness also increases confidence in making cross cultural communication effective and successful.7) Avoid Stereotyping Stereotyping inhibits communication. soulfulness should keep an open mind while communicating with other people. He should not entertain any pre conceived notions about the other party as these will cloud his judgement and decisions and lead to conflicts. Keeping an open mind will help the individual to think objectively and make dead on target decisions.