INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATIONS

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LECTURE II

• INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATIONS
• PROCESS

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INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION PROCESS

• IDEA
• Message to be communicated by sender is
  identified
• ENCODING
• identification of appropriate words and symbols
  for effective communication
• CHANNEL
• appropriate channel of transmission-written,
  verbal or nonverbal

• RECEIVING
• receiver (s) reads, hears or sees message
• DECODING
• receiver tries to understand message
• ACTION
• receiver acts on message (either on the basis of
  an understanding of the message as intended or a
  misunderstanding)

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• Basically, communication is the process of
  conveying a message ( a concept or idea) from one
  party to another or others.
• The message can be transmitted orally (spoken
  words), visually (written words), or non-verbally
  (body/facial expressions).
• Concepts have different meanings and different
  levels of importance in different cultures
  throughout the globe.

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• Many societies have adopted a unique language or
  multiple unique languages (for example, China has
  more than 50 distinct spoken languages, such as
  Beijingnese, Cantonese, Shanghainese).
• Since meanings and languages vary so much from
  one culture to another, people conducting
  business across cultures and languages will often
  encounter communication difficulties that they
  would not encounter in their own culture and
  language.

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• To communicate effectively across cultures and
  languages, international business people must
  develop the ability to adapt to the differences

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THE IDEATION STAGE

• At the ideation stage, senders (communicators)
  must identify clearly and specifically what it is
  that they want the receivers (the listeners) to
  do as a result of the communication.
• In other words, they must determine what their
  objective is. Is it to get the receiver (s) To
  buy a product or service? To perform a certain
  task? To sign a contract? To find a solution to a
  problem? To approve a solution to a problem? To
  provide certain information? To approve a certain
  recommendation?

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• When individuals are communicating in cultures
  different from their own ( and realistically,
  differences do not occur only across nations
  they can often be found within nations, as well
  as within nations regions, cities/towns, and in
  cities such as New York, within blocks and even
  apartments in the same building), they should ask
  themselves two basic questions
• In light of the culture, is the objective
  realistic?
• In light of the culture, is the time frame
  realistic?

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ENCODING STAGE

• After the message to be communicated has been
  ascertained, the next step is to determine and
  organize the words, expressions and nonverbal
  signals needed to communicate the message
  effectively.
• In translating his or or her intended meaning
  into symbols for cross-cultural communication,
  the sender must use words, pictures, or gestures
  that are appropriate to the receivers frame of
  reference.

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• Language and cultural differences existing among
  nations, and often within nations, for example
  Canada has two official languages, Switzerland
  has four, and China, as previously indicated, has
  more than 50 dialects, create difficulties in
  identifying the words, expressions, and nonverbal
  signals required to communicate effectively
  across nations and cultures.

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• Therefore, the encoding process for
  cross-cultural communication must take into
  consideration many language and cultural
  differences existing throughout the globe.
• Some of the differences are languages, letter
  characters and alphabets, expression and
  nonverbal communication, role of formality and
  informality in communication.

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Language Encoding

• Unique idioms, slang, similes, metaphors, and
  jargon are components of languages which people
  use without being aware that they are doing, and
  many are not easily translatable from one
  language to another.
• For example, the promotional term come alive
  with Pepsi in the U.S. means to become
  invigorated or energetic, whereas when translated
  into German, it communicates the thought of
  coming alive from the grave with Pepsi.

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• Even though the Latin word nova actually means
  new, the Nova label on Chevrolets Nova
  automobile was interpreted by many
  Spanish-speaking individuals to mean dont go
  (no va).
• Who would buy a car that does not go or in the
  cases of two other cars, Acura and Suburu in
  Nigeria. Acura sounds like a Yoruba (a Nigerian
  language) word Akura that translates impotent. On
  the other hand, Suburu sounds like Suberu which
  translates Idiot in the same Yoruba language.

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• Americas Colgate-Palmolive Company introduced
  its Cue brand of toothpaste in French-speaking
  countries. The word cue translates into a
  pornographic word that offends many
  French-speaking people.
• How does a non-English-speaking person using a
  language translation dictionary readily translate
  the English term as easy as duck soup or a
  ballpark figure or a monkey on my back or a
  pain in the neck into his or her language?

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• How does an English-to-Russian translator
  interpret such terms as consumer market or
  market-driven-economy to a Russian?
• Even within a language many words have different
  meanings to different people.
• For example, Parker, the well known maker of
  ballpoint pens, had to change its advertising in
  Latin America after learning that bola the
  Spanish translation of ball, does not mean ball
  in all Spanish-speaking countries in some it
  actually means revolution or lie

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• In America, tabling something means postponing
  it in England it means discussing it now. In
  Canada, a pothole is where one goes swimming
  in New York City it is where one smashes an
  automobiles wheels and shock absorbers.
• Imaging the embarrassment of an American named
  Randy, who when visiting in England approached a
  lady at a social gathering and introduced
  himself Hi, Im Randy. In England, to be
  Randy means to be sexually aroused.

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• Even among English-speaking countries, words may
  have different meanings, as experienced by a U.S.
  banker in Australia after a business dinner. To
  show appreciation, he said he was full
  (interpreted by his hosts as drunk) as the
  silence spread at the table, he tried to correct
  himself by saying he was stuffed (a word used
  locally in a sexual context).

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CHANNEL STAGE

• The type of medium or channel chosen for the
  message depends on the nature of the message, its
  level of importance, the context and expectations
  of the receiver, the timing involved, and the
  need for personal interaction, among other
  factors.
• Typical channel include letters or memos,
  reports, meetings, telephone calls,
  teleconferences, or face-to-face conversations.

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• International dealings are often long distance,
  of course, limiting the opportunity for
  face-to-face communication.
• Global telecommunications and computer networks
  are changing the face of cross-cultural
  communication through the faster dissemination of
  information within the receiving organization.
• For example, Ford of Europe uses video
  conferencing for engineers in Britain and Germany
  to consult about quality problems.

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RECEIVING-DECODING STAGE

• In intercultural communication, decoding by the
  receiver of signals is subject to social values,
  and cultural variables not necessarily present in
  the sender.
• The most effective way to understand
  intercultural communication is to focus on the
  decoding process and the role of perception in
  communication.

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• Communication itself is best understood from the
  perspective of the receiver, not the sender, nor
  the channel or the encoded message itself.
• This means that transmission of a message is by
  itself not communication a conscious perception
  of signals at the receivers end is necessary for
  communication to have occurred.
• This suggests that an effective sender of a
  message understands the receivers perception,
  which in essence means that he or she is both an
  encoder and a decoder.

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• For effective communication to take place when
  the sender does not understand the receivers
  perceptions, the receiver must understand the
  senders perceptions he or she is both an
  encoder and a decoder.

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ACTION STAGE

• Managers communicate both through action and
  inaction. Therefore, to keep open the lines of
  communication, feedback, and trust, managers must
  follow through with action on what has been
  discussed and then agreed upon, typically a
  contract.
• Unfortunately, the issue of contract
  follow-through is a particularly sensitive one
  across cultures because of the different
  interpretations regarding what constitutes a
  contract (perhaps a handshake, perhaps a full
  legal documents), and what actions should result.

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• Trust, future communications, and and future
  business are based on such interpretation, and it
  is up to the manager to understand them and to
  follow through on them.
• The management of intercultural communication
  depends largely on a managers personal abilities
  and behavior. Those behaviors that researchers
  indicate to be most important to intercultural
  communication effectiveness are listed below as
  reviewed by Ruben

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Behaviors most important to intercultural
communication effectiveness

• 1. Respect (conveyed through eye contact, body
  posture, voice tone and pitch)
• 2. Interaction posture (the ability to respond to
  others in a descriptive, non-evaluative, and non
  judgmental way)
• 3. Orientation to knowledge (recognizing that
  ones knowledge, perception, and beliefs are
  valid only for oneself and not for everyone else)

• 4. Empathy
• 5. Interaction management
• 6. Tolerance for ambiguity
• 7. Other-oriented role behavior (ones capacity
  to be flexible and to adopt different roles for
  the sake of greater group cohesion and group
  communication