THE IMPORTANCE OF NAVIGATING CULTURAL DIFFERENCES AND COMPREHENDING CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION

The need for more effective communication between people of different countries has increased as travel and communications bring more of the world’s people together. Communication is often difficult because of both language differences and cultural differences. Attempts to bridge these differences include many attempts to perform machine translation or provide language resources such as dictionaries or phrase books; however, many problems related to cultural and conceptual differences still remain. Automated mechanisms to analyze cultural similarities and differences might be used to improve traditional machine translators and as aids to cross-cultural communication. This article presents an approach to automatically compute cultural differences by comparing databases of common-sense knowledge in different languages and cultures. Global- Mind provides an interface for acquiring databases of common-sense knowledge from users who speak different languages. It implements inference modules to compute the cultural similarities and differences between these databases. In this article, the design of the GlobalMind databases, the implementation of its inference modules, as well as an evaluation of GlobalMind are described.

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PROBLEMATIC ISSUES OF CROSS-CULTURAL INTERACTION IN THE CONTEXT OF INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT

The EUrASEANs: journal on global socio-economic dynamics ◽

10.35678/2539-5645.3(10).2018.52-60 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 52-60

Author(s):

Irina Onyusheva ◽

Etiopia Elisa Changjongpradit

Keyword(s):

Cultural Differences ◽

International Business ◽

Business Environment ◽

International Management ◽

Cross Cultural ◽

Cultural Communication ◽

Cultural Interaction ◽

Business World ◽

Organization Management ◽

Cross Cultural Communication

This paper discusses the expansion of cross-cultural communication in today’s business world along with the cultural structures from two main school of cross-cultural communication. The key aim was providing a clearer view on this problem so that to assist in dealing with cultural differences in work places and in business environment overall. The authors investigated the factors that cause issues in a multicultural workplace and how organization management should approach these matters along with why it is important to have such knowledge and promote cross-cultural communication. Detailed recommendations are also provided on how to minimize communication conflicts in the international business settings.

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COMPETENCES CURRENTLY NECESSARY FOR EXTERNAL RELATIONS SPECIALISTS WORKING IN LATVIA

Problems of Education in the 21st Century ◽

10.33225/pec/12.40.122 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 40 (1) ◽

pp. 122-128

Author(s):

Anete Mezote

Keyword(s):

Cultural Differences ◽

Communication Competence ◽

Cross Cultural ◽

Working Environment ◽

Present Moment ◽

Cultural Communication ◽

Study Program ◽

Cross Cultural Communication ◽

External Relations ◽

Different Cultures

The objective of the research was to find out the most necessary competences of external relations specialists working in Latvia at the present moment, as well as to provide solutions for ensuring the acquisition of the necessary competences. In the research, the working environment of external relations specialists and data obtained in 2011 from surveying the graduates of the study program External Relations of Organizations, implemented at the Latvia University of Agriculture, are analysed. The results reveal that most of the skills needed for external relations specialists are related to cooperation with foreign partners, as well as that external relations specialists in Latvia most of all need to possess and improve cross-cultural communication competence, including awareness of cultural differences, as well as knowledge in specific business etiquettes and ways of communicating and thinking typical of different cultures. The necessary competences of external relations specialists should be improved by means of ensuring more cross-cultural communication opportunities and integrating the acquisition of more culture-specific etiquettes into the curriculum. Key words: competences, cross-cultural communication, external relations education.

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Asymmetric Communication

Information Technology and Societal Development ◽

10.4018/978-1-60566-004-2.ch015 ◽

2009 ◽

pp. 345-362

Author(s):

Andrew Targowski

Keyword(s):

Cultural Differences ◽

Cross Cultural ◽

Communication Process ◽

Cultural Communication ◽

Cross Cultural Communication ◽

Doing Business ◽

The Cross ◽

Crosscultural Communication ◽

The Cost

This chapter defines a framework for the crosscultural communication process, including efficiency and cost. The framework provides some directions for dialogue among civilizations, which is one of the main routes toward creation of the universal civilization. A developed architectural design of the cross-cultural communication process is based on a universal system approach that not only considers the complexities of the various cultural hierarchies and their corresponding communication climates, but also compares and quantifies the cultural-specific attributes with the intention of increasing efficiency levels in crosscultural communication. The attributes for two selected cultures (Western-West and Egyptian) are estimated in a normative way using expert opinions, measuring on a scale from 1 to 5 with 5 as the best value. Quantifying cultural richness (R), cultural efficiency (?), modified cultural differences (DMC, and cultural ability (B) reflects how a given culture’s strength can overcome cultural differences and enhance its competitive advantage (V). Two components of the culture factor cost, explicit (CE) and implicit (CI), are defined, examined and quantified for the purposes not only of controlling the cost of doing business across cultures, but also to determine the amount of investment needed to overcome cultural differences in a global economy. In this new millennium, global organizations will increasingly focus on the critical value of the cross-cultural communication process, its efficiency, its competence, its cost of doing business. In order to successfully communicate crossculturally, knowledge and understanding of such cultural factors as values, attitudes, beliefs and behaviors should be acquired. Because culture is a powerful force that strongly influences communication behavior, culture and communication are inseparably linked. Worldwide, in the last 20 years, countries have experienced a phenomenal growth in international trade and foreign direct investment. Similarly, they have discovered the importance of crosscultural communication. As a result, practitioners and scholars are paying attention to the fact that cultural dimensions influence management practices (Hofstede, 1980; Child, 1981; Triandis, 1982; Adler, 1983; Laurent, 1983; Maruyama, 1984). In recent years, empirical work in the crosscultural arena has focused on the role of culture on employee behavior in communicating within business organizations (Tayeb, 1988). But current 346 Asymmetric Communication work on cross-cultural business communication has paid little attention to either (a) how to adapt these seminal works on general communication to the needs of intercultural business or (b) how to create new models more relevant to cross-cultural business exchanges (Limaye & Victor, 1991, p. 283). There are many focused empirical studies on cross-cultural communication between two specific cultures (e.g., Wong & Hildebrandt, 1983; Halpern, 1983; Victor, 1987; Eiler & Victor, 1988; Varner, 1988; Victor & Danak, 1990), but such results must be arguable when extrapolated across multiple cultures. The prevailing western classical linear and process models of communication (Shannon & Weaver, 1949; Berlo, 1960) neglect the complexity of cross-cultural communication. Targowski and Bowman (1988) developed a layer-based pragmatic communication process model which covered more variables than any previous model and indirectly addressed the role of cultural factors among their layer-based variables. In a similar manner, the channel ratio model for intercultural communication developed by Haworth and Savage (1989) has also failed to account completely for the multiple communication variables in cross-cultural environments. So far, there is no adequate model that can explain the cross-cultural communication process and efficiency, let alone estimate the cost of doing business with other cultures worldwide.

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COMMUNICATION DIFFERENCES AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION IN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT

4th EMAN Selected Papers (part of EMAN conference collection) ◽

10.31410/eman.s.p.2020.85 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Slagjana Stojanovska ◽

◽

Kristina Velichkovska ◽

Keyword(s):

Conflict Resolution ◽

Cultural Differences ◽

Business Environment ◽

Cross Cultural ◽

Cultural Dimensions ◽

Communication Styles ◽

Cultural Communication ◽

Multicultural Teams ◽

Cross Cultural Communication ◽

Communication Differences

This paper aims to examine the challenges of cross-cultural communication in multicultural teams and the resolution of conflicts arising during that process of communication. For this purpose, a survey was conducted on individuals coming from various cultural backgrounds to determine how cultural differences affect the organizational communication styles, their perception of conflict situations and the choice of conflict resolution procedures. The study is underpinned by a literature review of cross-cultural communication and theories on culture, conflict resolution and multicultural team dynamics. Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Theory will be used to define the cultural differences using four dimensions: power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism vs collectivism, and masculinity vs femininity. The outcome of the study assesses the intercultural communication competence of employees in North Macedonia and gives recommendations on how to improve communication and avoid conflicts that plague multicultural teams.

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Doctor–patient communication issues for international medical graduates and medical graduates of foreign origin in Ireland

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.eurpsy.2017.01.1831 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 41 (S1) ◽

pp. s897-s898

Author(s):

C. Maddock ◽

F. Kelly

Keyword(s):

Cultural Differences ◽

Communication Skills ◽

Cross Cultural ◽

International Medical ◽

Cultural Communication ◽

International Medical Graduates ◽

Patient Relationship ◽

Doctor Patient Relationship ◽

Cross Cultural Communication ◽

Medical Graduates

IntroductionThe proportion of international medical graduates (IMGs) in Ireland has increased from 13.4% in 2000 to over 33% in 2010. Many of their countries of origin have different cultures, expectations of the doctor–patient relationship and communication styles than Ireland. These differences can adversely impact on the quality of care provided by IMGs. There is a lack of research on the impact of cultural differences on communication in the Irish context.MethodsSemi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 IMGs in Drogheda Department of Psychiatry. Transcripts were analysed using nVivo10, a specialised computer programme for conducting qualitative analysis and analysed thematically.ResultsGeneral themes emerged relating to IMG experience of cultural differences in medicine and psychiatry and cultural differences in communication. IMGs did not find their proficiency in English to be a barrier to communication but did find accents, culture-specific sayings and non-verbal cues to be challenging. Differences in doctors’ status relative to patients and different expectations of the doctor–patient relationship were challenging and, at times, frustrating and annoying. It was generally recognised that training in cross-cultural communication skills would be beneficial to new IMGs although a small minority recognised no such issues. Significant differences in attitude to patient confidentiality in Ireland versus the country of origin were identified.ConclusionsConsideration should be given to providing specific cross-cultural communication skills training for all IMGs training in Ireland focusing not just on verbal and non-verbal communication but also differences in the doctor–patient relationship, patient and relative expectations and medical confidentiality requirements.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

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Cross-Cultural Communication

Management ◽

10.1093/obo/9780199846740-0148 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Chao C. Chen ◽

Huan Wang

Keyword(s):

Cultural Differences ◽

Intercultural Communication ◽

Cross Cultural ◽

Cultural Dimensions ◽

Cultural Communication ◽

Communication Effectiveness ◽

Cross Cultural Communication ◽

Communication Differences ◽

Communication Dynamics ◽

Different Cultures

Cross-cultural communication is a field of study composed of two streams: (i) cross-cultural comparisons of how individuals from one culture communicate differently than those from another culture and (ii) communication dynamics involving interactions of people from different cultures. The critical difference between the two streams is that the former does not necessarily involve interactions among members from different cultures whereas the latter does. Nevertheless, cross-cultural communication and intercultural communication are often used interchangeably, partly because intercultural communication is fraught with cross-cultural communication differences and assumes such differences as given. Therefore, cultural differences are the dominating frameworks, such as Hofstede’s national culture dimensions (Hofstede 1980, cited under Hofstede’s National Cultural Dimensions and Communication), for studying both cross-cultural communication differences and intercultural communication dynamics. Many references included here adopt the term “intercultural communication,” yet the content is primarily about cross-cultural differences in communication; a few, however, are exclusively devoted to interactions of people from different cultures. The bibliography that we have built therefore centers around how various cultural dimensions affect and account for between culture communication differences and inter-cultural communication dynamics and how cross-cultural or intercultural communication competence affects intercultural-communication effectiveness.

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Understanding cross-cultural communication

South Pacific Journal of Psychology ◽

10.1017/s0257543400001346 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 7 ◽

pp. 2-8 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

David R Thomas

Keyword(s):

Cultural Differences ◽

Communication Skills ◽

International Business ◽

Business Students ◽

Cross Cultural ◽

Cultural Communication ◽

Cultural Groups ◽

Cross Cultural Communication ◽

Minority Cultures ◽

Indigenous Minority

The need for cross-cultural communication skills arises whenever people from different languages and cultures come into contact. With increased tourism, international business, students studying overseas, and increasing awareness of indigenous minority cultures there is concern to foster better communication among different cultural groups. In the present paper, examples of cultural differences in communication in Australia and New Zealand are presented. Two approaches to the training of cross-cultural communication skills are described: the cultural assimilator developed by Brislin, and McCaffery's “learning how to learn” orientation.

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A Cross-Cultural Test of Self-Image

Human Organization ◽

10.17730/humo.17.1.x288733237p14116 ◽

1958 ◽

Vol 17 (1) ◽

pp. 41-43 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

John Kennedy ◽

Harold Lasswell

Keyword(s):

Cultural Differences ◽

Cross Cultural ◽

The Body ◽

Cultural Communication ◽

Franz Boas ◽

Cross Cultural Communication ◽

Suburban Communities ◽

Self Image ◽

Methodological Considerations ◽

Different Cultures

Franz Boas proposed that one of the central problems of anthropology is "the relation between the objective world and man's subjective world as it has taken form in different cultures." (3). The growing psychological interest (1) (2) in the relation between motivation or needs and perception ought to be extended cross-culturally because it seems likely that difficulties in cross-cultural communication may be a function of fundamental cultural differences in perception which may be quantified and measured. In particular, differences and similarities in perception of the body-image appear to be profitable to investigate. This paper will report two very preliminary studies, carried out on a group of Indians at an isolated hacienda in Peru and on a much larger group of school children in two California suburban communities. The results of these studies are most tentative, hence the primary emphasis of this report will be on methodological considerations.

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Overcoming Communication Barriers

Australian Journal of Career Development ◽

10.1177/103841629600500207 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 5 (2) ◽

pp. 19-23

Author(s):

Valerie Hoogstad

Keyword(s):

Cultural Differences ◽

Culturally Diverse ◽

Communication Barriers ◽

Cross Cultural ◽

Cultural Communication ◽

Diverse Workforce ◽

Cross Cultural Communication ◽

Business Setting ◽

The Many

Offer a nicely wrapped gift when invited to a Japanese home. Never touch the head of a Thai. Respecting other people's cultures is not simply good manners — it's good business. Many Australian businesses have a culturally diverse workforce, where productivity can depend on the ability to communicate across cultures. As Australian businesses become more international, the ability to communicate across cultures also becomes more important. This paper explains some of the traditions and dimensions of cultural differences across a number of countries, and how this affects communication. As well as considering the many barriers to cross-cultural communication, practical ideas on how to overcome these are offered. A case study from a business setting is used to demonstrate barriers to cross cultural communication and their effects. Appropriate strategies for overcoming these barriers are elaborated.

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