1. CROSS-CULTURAL MANAGEMENT
BY:- DAVID C. THOMAS
PRESENTER: RAI (NEPAL)
DEPARTMENT OF IDC
28th Oct. 2010
2. “Culture is the widening of the mind and of the spirit”
- Jawaharlal Neharu
REVIEW OF CHAPTER 6
THE MANAGER AS NEGOTIATOR
Communicating and Negotiating Across Cultures
What is cross-cultural communication?
3. CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION PROCESS
“Communication is the act of transmitting messages, including
information about the nature of the relationship, to another
person who interprets these messages and gives them meaning”
(Berlo, 1960).
Cultural field Cultural field
Sender Encoding Channel Decoding Receiver
(source: J.L. Graham, 1985)
4. WAYS OF CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION
Language
Symbolic code consisting of a set of sounds with
understood meanings and a set of rules for constructing
messages.
Importance of Language
- Negotiate issues related to International business
- Recognize and understanding of cultural diversity
- Tools to share thoughts and ideas
- Represents of a fundamental expression of social identity.
6. Contd. Source: World Bank Conference, (5 September 2000)
www.worldbank.org/conference/php5
7. Communication Style
Explicit Vs Implicit Communication
- High context communication (HC) ~ Implicit
(Japan, China, Arab)
In high context cultures, the words convey only a small part of the
message
- Low context communication (LC) ~ Explicit
(German, Swiss, Scandinavian, French, English, Italian)
In low-context cultures, the message is conveyed largely by the words
spoken
8. Direct Vs Indirect Communication
DIRECT (linear) “What you see is what you get” More verbal and
explicit Clarity of communication.
• Directness is associated with individualist cultures, which has
freedom from control.
• Direct communication expresses truth
INDIRECT (circular) “What you get is what you manage to see”
More attention to situation Not much talk, more non-verbal
• Indirectness is associated with Collectivists cultures.
• In collectivist culture , politeness and desire to avoid
embarrassment often take precedence over truth.
9. Silence & Verbal Overkill
• Cultural difference exist in how silence is used in communication.
• Collectivist culture value silence as way of controlling the
communication interaction.
e.g. Japanese negotiators
Finland people
10. Use of Praise
• Stylistic element that has a systematic relationship to culture is
the use of praise and response to the praise (Triandis, 1978).
11. Other Language Considerations
Slang & Jargon - informal language consisting of words
and expressions
Euphemisms – Less direct expression
Idioms – unique ways of combining words to express a
particular thought.
Proverbs & Maxims – Short sayings express that obviously
true
12. Language Pragmatics
Language Accommodation – shifting one’s speech
patterns to achieve greater language similarity.
Stylistic accommodation – Idea that adapting one’s
communication style to that of others.
Language fluency
13. CONCLUSION
Effective communication is an important and obvious mean in
multicultural environment. For the management of the
multicultural work force, Globalization of market in
International Business, Technological advancement and
conflict management that occur due to the cultural
differences, there should be effective negotiation which
Managers can do, so as to call managers are Negotiator.
14. CRITICAL ISSUES
1. Recent days, To be competitive in an increasingly
globalized market sector, Some organizations
trying to hire employees from overseas who has
totally different cultural backgrounds.
- What problems will emerge due to the cultural
variation ?
