Cross-Cultural Communication
With increased competition being witnessed in many industries, Multinational companies are setting shop to new foreign markets as a way of increasing their profitability and remaining competitive. Many countries have liberalized their markets, and present advancement in technologies has made it easy for companies to open new branches in foreign markets. However, this also comes with it challenges, particularly relating to cross-cultural communication. Effective cross-cultural communication is very important to the organization that some scholars such as Levitt (1983) argue that it can determine the success or failure of a foreign business in the local market. It is against such statements that this paper examines the factors that impact cross-cultural communication at the workplace.

The paper will particularly aim at answering the following four questions; what is communication? What does it look like? What is the purpose of communication within organizations? And, what factors can negatively impact effective communication within…...

mla

Bibliography

Ayelet K., Lingard, L. & Levinson W. (2008) critically appraising qualitative research BMJ 2008; 337:a1035, DOI: 10.1136/bmj.a1035

Berger, C.R., & Calabrese, R.J. (1975). Some explorations in initial interaction and beyond: Toward a developmental theory of interpersonal communication. Human Communication Theory, 1, 99-112.

Denzin, K.N. & Lincoln, S.Y. (2000). Handbook of qualitative research (2nd Ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Gudykunst, W., & Kim, Y.Y. (2002). Communicating With Strangers: An Approach to Intercultural Communication (4th ed.). McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages.

Cross-Cultural Communications
The online library has nothing that matches a full-text search for "intercultural communication" or "cross-cultural communication" for the last 60 days. So the article used was Three Skills every 21st century manager needs, by Andrew Molinsky, published in the Harvard Business Review. The HBR is not a journal article but is a highly-respected article from business professors that is read by practitioners and academics alike.

The article outlines common scenarios in international business, where employees and managers from different parts of the world experienced difficulty in communicating with one another. This is phenomenon is becoming increasingly common in our globalized world, and firms needs to adapt effective intercultural communication strategies in order to maximize the effectiveness of communication within the company between agents of different cultural background.

The author outlines three steps, being "to diagnose the challenges you face," "to adapt your behavior to reduce your distress" and "to fully appreciate…...

mla

Works Cited:

Lauring, J. (2011). Intercultural organizational communication: The social organizing of interaction in international encounters. Journal of Business Communication. Vol. 48 (3) 231-255.

Molinsky, A. (2012). 3 skills every 21st century manager needs. Harvard Business Review. Jan-Feb 2012. 139-144.

Yu, H. (2012). Intercultural competence in technical communication: A working definition and review of assessment methods. Technical Communication Quarterly. Vol. 21 (2) 168-186.

As these examples convey, it is highly important that anyone who will be engaged in cross cultural communication be familiar with the nuances in behavior or even the lack of behavior of other nationalities as dictated by their cultures. In American business culture, communication tends to be more dynamic compared to the Japanese (Lee, 2). Most Americans expect a lively discussion when they are involved in negotiations. In American business culture, it is expected that there will be interruptions every now and then and it is often that a speaker's turn is stolen by another. This way of discussion is said to be rarely found in Japanese communication. What is observed is "a smooth transition of speakers is the norm, and frequent and often long periods of silence are common. The listener is expected to interpret what is unsaid" (Lee, 2).

Other difficulties in cross cultural communication are influenced by nervousness,…...

mla

References

Blanford, Roxanne. "Cross Cultural Communication: Understanding Human Communication in the Context of Culture." Suite101.com. 25 September 2009. Web. 25 November 2009.

D'Herbais Alexis, Antoine Lacoquerie, Shi Jing, Antoine Soubigou, Romain Thibert, Vincent Lescroart, and Shijiao Li. "Negotiation with the Japanese from a Westerner Point-of-View: A Case Study of the Influence of Culture on the Negotiation Style." Intitut De Gestion De Rennes (n.d.). Web. 25 November 2009.

Graham, John. "The Japanese Negotiation Style: Characteristics of a Distinct Approach." Negotiation Journal (1993): 123-140. Print.

Ingram, Dave. "Business Culture in Japan: A primer in Japanese Business Etiquette." Suite101.com. 14 October 2009. Web. 25 November 2009

Email was found to be a key culprit in the development of cultural misunderstandings among a diverse group of online users (ainey, 2000). Stereotypes were found to interfere with online communication, and enhance the potential for cultural misunderstandings (Leidner, 1999). Navigation design, visual design, and information design had an effect on trust that varied among different cultures viewing a website (Cyr, 2008). This research suggests a need for culturally relevant web design, particularly in the area of retail sales. The buyer-seller network contains critical information that will help the consumer to establish trust with the retailer.

Hwa-Froelich & Vigil (2004) divide communication relationships into three basic types. esponsibility relationships are among those who are responsible for family members. This can be seen as a spectrum. On one end in the individual perspective and the other is the collective approach. In collective societies, directives are usually phrased as suggestions, rather than direct…...

mla

References

Awad, N. & Ragowsky, A. 2008. Establishing Trust in Electronic Commerce Through Online Word of Mouth: An Examination Across Genders, Journal of Management Information Systems. 24 (4), 101-121.

Boh, W. 2007. Mechanisms for sharing knowledge in project-based organizations, Information and Organization. 17(1), 27-58.

Borgatti, S., & Cross, R. A Relational View of Information Seeking and Learning in Social Networks. Management Science. 49 (4), 432-445.

Burn, J. & Barnett, M. 1999. Communicating for advantage in the virtual organization. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication. 42 (4), 215-222.

In that regard, fundamentally different interactions between the genders is one element of cultural practices that differs most substantially from national culture to culture and even among individuals of different ethnic or religious backgrounds within the dominant national culture. Typically, individuals of Muslim and Jewish religious traditions (and others) avoid any incidental or polite physical contact between members of the opposite gender, even though such gestures (like handshaking) might be completely appropriate under ordinary circumstances (Moran, Harris, & Moran, 2007).

Dealing with Cultural Differences Positively:

Cultural differences have tremendous potential for creating divisiveness in the workplace where no appropriate effort is made by management to increase cultural awareness and mutual sensitivity and respect among coworkers with different cultural backgrounds and expectations. Conversely, any negative effects attributable to cultural differences can be minimized or neutralized entirely by effective approaches designed to do so (Locker, 2003; Moran, Harris, & Moran, 2007). Ideally, business management…...

mla

References

Aronson E., Wilson T., Akert R. (2003). Social Psychology. New York: Longman.

Blair G. (2003). Groups that Work. Washington, DC: IEEE Press.

Galin, A., Avraham, S. "A Cross-Cultural Perspective on Aggressiveness in the Workplace: A Comparison Between Jews and Arabs in Israel" Cross-Cultural

Research, 43(1), 30; 2009. Retrieved May 21, 2009, from ABI/INFORM.com

Had this measure been implemented six months ago, after the skit, it is quite probable that before sending the puppy e-mail, Douglas L. Getter (manager of the company's European Merger and Acquisition division) would have better thought through the implications of his comment. If only for a second, had he remembered that the author of the skit had been subjected to a pay cut (even a symbolic pay cut) or that he had been forced to join sensitivity training programs, it is possible that Getter would not have even send out the e-mail and the entire situation would not have even been created in the first place.
The adoption of punishments combined with the implementation of repercussions is generally a rudimentary, but an effective means of handling organizational situations. Nevertheless, it must be remembered that the punishments must fit the crime; they must be just, well understood by the employees…...

mla

References:

Drenth, P.J.D., Thierry, H., De Wolf, C.J., 2001, Handbook of Work and Organizational Psychology, Vol. 4, 2nd Edition, Psychology Press, ISBN 0863775276

Furnham, a., 1994, Personality at Work: The Role of Individual Difference in the Workplace, Routledge, ISBN 0415106486

LaGuardia, T.S., 2004, the Decommissioning Handbook, ASME Press, ISBN 0894480413

Miner, JB, 2006, Organizational Behavior, Vol. 2, M.E. Sharpe, ISBN 0765615258

This would certainly be the case for any organization creating a virtual development team of engineers from Japan for example, which has a MAS score of 95, reporting to women in the U.S. Conversely the countries of Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands, with some of the lowest MAS scores, would find these working arrangements in a virtual team amendable and easily adapted to. Two additional measures included in the Cultural Dimensions Index, are the Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI) and Long-Term Orientation (LTO). UAI is a measure of risk aversion in a culture and LTO is one that defines the perspective of time itself in a culture. Not surprisingly China leads all nations included in the index in LTO as their culture greatly values the ordering of relations and the defining of status over time.
Taken together all of these factors provide insight into how a lack of awareness or perception…...

mla

References

Bernoff, J., & Li, C. (2008). Harnessing the Power of the Oh-So-Social Web. MIT Sloan Management Review, 49(3), 36-42.

Ross A Hammond, & Robert Axelrod. (2006). The Evolution of Ethnocentrism. The Journal of Conflict Resolution, 50(6), 926-936.

Geert Hofstede. (1998). Identifying organizational subcultures: An empirical approach. The Journal of Management Studies, 35(1), 1-12.

Marques, J., Dhiman, S., & King, R. (2009). What Really Matters at Work in Turbulent Times. Business Renaissance Quarterly, 4(1), 13-29.

According to the vocabulary defined Geert Hofstede, America and Japan do not merely speak different languages; they also speak in different cultures. America is a low-context culture, which values someone who is plain-spoken. 'hat you see is what you get' is a compliment in America: according to one interview subject, Mr. B, who had done extensive travel back and forth from America to Japan on business, such an ideal is antithetical to Japan. "Japan is a much smaller nation, geographically. Respect for one another, rather than respect for the individual is emphasized in its highly interconnected, bureaucratic government and economy, and simply because people have to get along with one another -- there are few places one can get away and be alone!" He remarked that succeeding in encouraging his Japanese clients to innovate or to take a risk in business was rare, given that until recently there was a…...

mla

Works Cited

Geert Hofstede: Cultural dimensions -- Japan. Geert Hofstede.

October 20, 2009 at  http://www.geert-hofstede.com/hofstede_japan.shtml 

Hall, Edward Twitchell & Mildred Reed Hall. Understanding Cultural Differences: Germans,

French, and Americans, Intercultural Press, 1990.

America's geography has contributed to its value upon rugged individualism. Geographical expansion in American initially seemed limitless, when Americans were faced with the promise of prosperity in the estern territories. The availability of land in est also cemented the American ideal of working hard and the need for rugged, masculine independence. A lack of federal control, a freedom from landlords (unlike Europe, which boasted smaller amounts of land under heredity control) created a high toleration of uncertainty and a value placed upon risking everything for profit. The promise of the est made Americans even more resistant to federal control than in 1776. The architect of the Frontier Thesis Frederick Turner wrote that to understand Americans, one must understand the est: "So long as free land exists, the opportunity for a competency exists, and economic power secures political power. But the democracy born of free land, strong in selfishness and individualism,…...

mla

Works Cited

Geert Hofstede: Cultural dimensions -- United States. Geert Hofstede.

October 25, 2009 at  http://www.geert-hofstede.com/hofstede_united_states.shtml 

Interview: B. (personal friend). October 21, 2009.

Interview: S. (acquaintance). October 20, 2009.

Once an audience has been selected, one will have to find out what could motivate them to work based on their culture. For example if acquiring material wealth motivates members of a culture, one would appeal to them based on that.
In terms of setting a message strategy, managers have to determine what structure, channel and format the message will be in. With message structure managers have to discover whether the culture prefers for messages to be given directly or indirectly. With message channels managers have to discover which technologies the culture favors communicating in and whether it prefers to communicate through speaking or writing. As far as message format managers need to know what standard paper sizes and presentation layout the culture is used to.

In order to overcome language difficulties it is recommended for managers to learn the native language. If that is not possible then managers are urged…...

mla

References

Munter, M. (May/June 1993). "Cross-cultural communication for managers." Business Horizons. 36(3), 69-78.

For this reason, the Americans and Cubans probably did have to use some of the techniques proposed by Shannon and Weaver to simplify communication in order to communicate at all. Despite the fact that communication between these two groups may have been difficult, and that coming together in order to form one design project produced by such culturally diverse designers may have resulted in the portrayal of mixed messages, some theorists contend that this does not matter. Indeed, it is only the "reader's" impression upon interpreting the text that matters. In the case of O'Bryan's designers, the reader is the Toni O'Bryan, and the other founders of the project. Thus, because of this concept -- called "The Death of the Author" -- the mixed messages that the Cubans and Americans may have revealed would be overshadowed by the reader's interpretation. Thus, Bennett and Robert propose a variety of theories…...

Support for the second hypothesis, that male speakers would be perceived as less cooperative than female speakers, also varied across situations, and the effect was even smaller" (Edwards & Hamilton 2004). Support for the Tannen model only was found after additional research was done, and a new questionnaire was given that scored recipient's self-perception in terms of feminine and masculine characteristics and inculcation into traditional gender roles. Individuals with strong gender self-images were more likely to fall in line with the Tannen model of women perceiving nurturance and males perceiving conflict in relatively neutral scenarios and seeing men in general as less cooperative.
This study is provocative on several levels, not the least of which in its stress upon the individualized nature of gender norms and the lack of inherent biological tendencies towards perceiving nurturance and conflict. It suggests the need to more carefully screen subjects in terms of individualized…...

mla

Works Cited

Edwards, Renee & Mark a Hamilton. "You Need to Understand My Gender Role: An Empirical

Test of Tannen's Model of Gender and Communication." Sex Roles. 50.7/8 (2004):

491-504. Research Library. ProQuest. 30 Oct. 2008  http://www.proquest.com/ 

Oetzel, John G. & Stella Ting-Toomey. "Face concerns in interpersonal conflict."

Ocial Work Practice With Individuals: Engagement Strategies
First I need to get past Mr. Fahza's son in order to get to his father. I need the former's agreement because I need a smooth start. His son agreement would encourage a discussion under the right auspices.

According to The Patient Self-Determination Act (PSDA) of 1990, Mr. Fahza has the right to be informed about his own clinical condition in order to take a decision about continuing with chemotherapy or going to the hospice and die peacefully. This is the strict approach of the western hemisphere.

The religion of Islam believes in death and resurrection of the body and soul, like Christianity. Islam also teaches about how to prepare for death, when aware that death is imminent. Statistics show that a vast majority of the American male population would want to know about the eventuality of dying because of a fatal illness in its final…...

mla

Reference list:

Kagawa-Singer, M., & Backhall, L. (2001). "Negotiating cross-cultural issues at end of life." Journal of American Medical Association, 286(3001), 2993-. Available at:   retrieved: Oct 7th, 2014http://ethnomed.org/clinical/end-of-life/Table2.pdf 

Koenig B.A., Gates-Williams J. (1995) "Understanding cultural difference in caring for dying patients." West J. Med. Sep 1995; 163(3): 244 -- 249. Available at:  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1303047/?page=4 

Coolen Phyllis R., DNP, MN, RN. (2012)Cultural Relevance in End-of-Life Care. EthnoMed. Available at:  https://ethnomed.org/clinical/end-of-life/cultural-relevance-in-end-of-life-care 

Rizvi, Sayyid Muhammad. What You Should Do Just Before Death. Islam.org. Available at:  http://www.al-islam.org/articles/what-you-should-do-just-before-death-sayyid-muhammad-rizvi

Generational issues, while seemingly the obvious hindrance to a smooth flow of production, are, as Tulgan offers (198), "merely a reflection of the business issue at play - transition to the workplace of the future."
However, that said, the one pivotal / key sentence Tulgan offers, also on page 198, is very straight to the point, on the money, and a salient theme Charlie should launch in order to save his job, and the jobs of most people under his jurisdiction. "Charlie must get things back on track and restore harmony by getting people focused on mission instead of personality."

The 10 points Tulgan offers are all very cogent and wise; however, Charlie doesn't really have time to implement all those ideas. Gloria egalbuto, with Bath & Body Works, offers some common sense solutions, as do Diedra Wager, Pat Crull, and others. But Judy Corson hits the nail on the head…...

mla

References

Zemke, Ron; & Raines, Claire; & Filipczak, Bob. Generations at Work: Managing the Clash of Veterans, Boomers, Xers, and Nexters in Your Workplace. New York:

Amacom, 2000.

Cross-Cultural Healthcare
To what extent do you think cultural beliefs, values, and traditions may impact health education efforts? Please provide examples that apply to the case studies from the video.

For first generation immigrants, I believe that the influence of cultural beliefs, traditions, and values is very strong. When dealing with complex medical issues that may not be well understood within their cultural context, it is normal coping behavior to fall back on what is familiar and what those people who are valued believe in or pressure their family members to comply with what the traditions and beliefs to which they cling. The religious belief that surgery would mutilate Justine for all eternity is a tough challenge for a medical team to address, particularly when the underlying belief is that avoiding the scarring that surgery would cause, even if it meant a shorter natural life, was the preferred choice.

The most striking example…...