Culture and Communication On The Workplace

FBA 223
BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
Instructor
‘Seyy Sode, PhD

Department of Business Administration, University of Lagos
Culture and Communication in
the Workplace
2
Outline
Intercultural Communication in the Workplace
Introduction
Communication is fundamental in business,
because business is a collaborative activity…
Communication styles vary enormously around

the world, and these contribute to a staggering
variety of business styles. -Hooker (2008)
What is culture?
• Sir Edward Tylor’s definition in 1871 (first
use of this term):
“that complex whole which includes

knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom,
and any other capabilities and habits
acquired by man as a member of society”
Kroeber and Kluckhohn (1952)
• Culture consists of patterns, explicit and implicit,
of and for behavior acquired and transmitted by
symbols, constituting the distinctive achievement
of human groups, including their embodiment in
artifacts;
• the essential core of culture consists of traditional
(i.e. historically derived and selected) ideas and
especially their attached values;
• culture systems may, on the one hand, be
considered as products of action, on the other as
conditioning elements of further action.
Margaret Mead, 1951
Culture is a body of learned behaviour, a
collection of beliefs, habits and tradition.
Schien, 1992
Culture is a phenomenon that evolves over time
as a product of adapting to the environment and
as a way of managing group relationships.
Geert Hofstede, 1994

Culture is the collective programming of the
mind, which distinguishes the members of one
group or category of people from another.
John Bodley (1994): Diverse Definitions
Culture consists of everything on a list of topics, or categories, such as

Topical:
social organization, religion, or economy
Culture is social heritage, or tradition, that is passed on to future
Historical:
generations
Behavioral: Culture is shared, learned human behavior, a way of life
Normative: Culture is ideals, values, or rules for living
Culture is the way humans solve problems of adapting to the
Functional:
environment or living together
Culture is a complex of ideas, or learned habits, that inhibit impulses
Mental:
and distinguish people from animals
Culture consists of patterned and interrelated ideas, symbols, or
Structural:
behaviors
Culture is based on arbitrarily assigned meanings that are shared by a
Symbolic:
society
Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
• Sapir (1921): “Human beings do not live
in the objective world alone, nor alone in
the world of social activity as ordinarily
understood, but are very much at the
mercy of the particular language which
has become the medium of expression in
that society.”
• As a result of differences in language,
people in different cultures will think
about, perceive, and behave toward
the world differently.
• Reality itself is already embedded in
language and therefore comes
preformed.
• Language determines, enabling and
constraining, what is perceived and
attended to in a culture, as well as the
upper limits of knowledge.
Cross-cultural Values
Americans Orient/Africans
• Freedom • Belonging
• Independence • Group harmony
• Self-reliance • Collectiveness
• Equality • Age/seniority
• Individualism • Group consciousness
• Competition • Cooperation
• Efficiency • Quality
• Time • Patience
• Directness • Indirectness
• Openness • Go-between
Edward T. Hall's Model
High-context cultures Low-context cultures
• Long-lasting • Shorter relationships
relationships • Less dependent on
• Exploiting context context
• Spoken agreements • Written agreements
• Insiders and outsiders • Insiders and outsiders
clearly distinguished less clearly
• Cultural patterns distinguished
ingrained, slow • Cultural patterns
change change faster
Cultural Classification--Hall
• Low-Context Cultures - What Is Said Is More
Important Than How or Where It Is Said
– U.S.
– Germany
• High-Context cultures - What Is Said and
How or Where It is Said Are Significant
– Africa
– Asia
– Latin America
– Middle East
Low-context in business
• Business before friendship

• Credibility through expertise
& performance
• Agreements by legal contract
• Negotiations efficient
High-context in business
• No business without
friendship
• Credibility through
relationships
• Agreements founded on
trust
• Negotiations slow &
ritualistic
High and Low Context Cultures
Factors / High Low
Dimensions Context Context
Lawyers Less important Very important
A person’s word Is his or her bond Get it in writing
Responsibility for Taken by Pushed to

organizational error top level lowest level
Negotiations Lengthy Proceed quickly
Examples: Asia U.S.A.

Africa Northern Europe
Cross Cultural
Communication at
the Workplace
 Cross cultural communication focuses on
how people from different cultures,
background, beliefs and communities
communicate across different cultures in
order to minimize misunderstandings and
maximize strong cultural relationships
among people.
 A cross cultural communication focuses on
how people from different cultures,
background
Relates to issues pertaining to intercultural relationships
Cross cultural communication at the workplace relates to

how employees communicate, manage, work together and
build relationships that are dissimilar from their own
culture.
Barriers to cross
cultural
communication
1. Lack of cultural understanding
Understanding the cultural values may not be easy,

sometimes lack of cultural understanding might
result in uncomfortable situations.
2. Ethnocentrism
• Ethnocentrism is one of the barriers to

effective cross cultural communication.
• It means that one negatively judges the
aspects of other cultures based on the ideas
of their own culture, nation or group which
they think is better than any other culture.
3. Nonverbal misinterpretation
Without showing the non verbal codes like the body

motions, vocal qualities and so on it would be very difficult
for the individuals to understand the nonverbal symbols in a
conversation.
Ways to improve cross cultural
communication
• Know yourself and your culture: Firstly you
need to know your own culture as this helps
you to learn how to get used to others who
may interpret cultural values in a different
way.
• Know your audience: Being open to new
ideas and appreciating cultural differences is
one of the effective ways to improve cross
cultural communication.
communication
• Being open to new ideas and appreciating
cultural differences.
• Build trust through interactions: Encourage
the team members for a casusal interaction as
this helps to build trust, respect and in
developing personal relationships.
• Avoid using difficult idioms: It is better to
avoid idioms that are difficult to understand
by team members. Simple and polite language
is always better in cross cultural
communication.
communication
• Pay attention to body language: Be aware of
your body language and at the same time pay
attention to the non verbal cues and gestures.
• Be a learner: While solving a problem try to
find out what other person’s ideas are, how
those ideas might reflect and create a stronger
solution to a given problem
Tips for Effective
Cross Cultural
Communication
Slow down and speak clearly
To make your cross cultural communication effective

you need to listen actively and listen more without
interrupting other parties.
Listen actively without
interrupting the other
party
To make your cross cultural communication

effective you need to listen actively and listen
more without interrupting other parties.
Avoid misunderstandings and
misinterpretations
What is appropriate for one culture can be

inappropriate for the other culture. To avoid
misunderstandings and misinterpretations keep
patience and have faith.
Show respect for each other
Cross cultural communication can be effective

when people have the knowledge of different
cultural backgrounds.
Conclusion
Cross cultural communication can be

effective when people are sensitive to
different cultural backgrounds

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FBA 223

‘Seyy Sode, PhD

Communication styles vary enormously around

“that complex whole which includes

Geert Hofstede, 1994

Culture consists of everything on a list of topics, or categories, such as

• Business before friendship

A person’s word Is his or her bond Get it in writing

Responsibility for Taken by Pushed to

Negotiations Lengthy Proceed quickly

Examples: Asia U.S.A.

Cross cultural communication at the workplace relates to

Understanding the cultural values may not be easy,

• Ethnocentrism is one of the barriers to

Without showing the non verbal codes like the body

To make your cross cultural communication effective

To make your cross cultural communication

What is appropriate for one culture can be

Cross cultural communication can be effective

Cross cultural communication can be

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