Intercultural Communication in The Global Workplace

o Global workplace culture and communication must not only be understood
within the context of the broad range of research done over decades on the
general dimensions of culture, but must also be carefully analysed within the
framework of examining one’s own culture as noted in other chapters of this
book.
o Much of the research over the decades, particularly in the 1960s to 1980s,
focused on cultural behaviour patterns which have been cited countless
times in the literature.
o Cultural behaviour patterns that have received much attention over the
decades include Hall’s high- and low-context cultural taxonomy and
Hofstede’s (1980) cultural taxonomy.
o While Hall (1976) and Hofstede (1980) give us an idea of cultural messaging,
group behaviour, time orientation, gender preferences, power differentials
and collectivist and individualist perspectives, their research is based on the
assumption that cultural groups are homogenous.
o A review of culture, gender, race and ethnicity suggests that their impact
on intercultural communication has been of special interest and concern
for researchers (Samovar and Porter, 2003; Suderman, 2007; O’Hair,
Friedrich and Dixon, 2008).
o Rogers and Steinfatt (1999) define culture as a total way of life of a
people, composed of their learned and shared behaviour patterns,
values, norms and material objects.
o while language is the primary medium through which aspects of culture
are expressed, the sender and the recipient may interpret the message
in different ways based on their unique cultural gaze (Klyukanov, 2005:
86).
o Dodd (1995), on the other hand, suggests that our culture, personality
and our perceptions of interpersonal relationships together contribute to
the overall communication and that communication emphasizes culture.
How one expresses oneself through the medium of spoken language is
intricately linked in one’s cultural behaviour, beliefs and attitudes.
o According to Hall (1976: 16):

Culture is man’s medium: there is not one aspect of human life that is not
touched and altered by culture. This means personality, how people
express themselves (including shows of emotion), the way they think, how
they move, how problems are solved, how their cities are planned and laid
out, how transportation systems function and are organized, as well as how
economic and government systems are put together and function.
 Cultural and racial discrimination may occur simultaneously during
any intercultural communication encounter.
 Roberts, Davies and Jupp (1992) claim that persons from different
cultures employ their cultural communication styles in the course of
their interaction and use a different set of linguistic cues to get their
meaning across.
 Madhubuthi (1990) affirms that people view themselves and operate
in the world through a consciousness which is influenced by their
culture.
 In the ‘Crosstalk’ study, the researchers identified three main reasons for
the misunderstandings and miscommunications that arise when people
from different ethnic groups or cultures interact in routine situations,
such as in a job interview or asking for assistance in the bank. These are
as follows:
1. Different cultural assumptions about the situation and about
appropriate behaviour and intentions within it;
2. different ways of structuring information or an argument in a
conversation; and
3. different ways of speaking—the use of a different set of unconscious
linguistic conventions (such as tone of voice) to emphasize, to signal
connections and logic, and to imply the significance of what is being said
in terms of overall meaning and attitudes.
 They discarded this assumption as too simplistic and then identified
other factors which acted discriminately against a person during an
intercultural encounter such as:
1. Lack of knowledge of the cultural assumptions of Asians by non-
Asians (usually the English people).
2. 2. Lack of knowledge of the difficulties of speakers of English as a
second language.
 Gudykunst (1991) states that the area of directness of speech used is
another aspect of communication that often leads to miscommunication
between high-and-low-context cultures which is further discussed under
diverse communication styles.
 Current trends such as new media, air transportation and population
shifts have impacted the global workplace, thereby posing
intercultural communication challenges.
 O’Hair, Friedrich and Dixon (2008: 131) contend that since ‘language varies
in its preciseness’, it is important to explore new ways of expressing what
you mean. In this regard, it is important to consider the environment in
which the message is sent and received, the nature of the communication
being sent and particularly, the expectations of the sender and receiver.
 The messages exchanged between people have been categorized by him
into HC and LC messages. Accordingly, he makes the following claim:
A high-context (HC) communication or message is one in which most of the
information is either in the physical context or internalized in the person,
while very little is in the coded, explicit, transmitted part of the message. A
low-context (LC) communication is just the opposite i.e. the mass of
information is vested in the explicit code. (Ibid.: 91)
 Gudykunst (1991) adds that the area of directness of speech used is
an area where misunderstandings and miscommunication may occur
between low-and high-context cultures.
 Gudykunst (1991) defines LC cultures as those with direct styles of
speech while members of HC cultures use indirect styles of speech.
 The multifaceted nature of culture undoubtedly impacts the already
complex behavior of human beings which invariably results in a
range of communication challenges or barriers.
 According to Lustig and Koester (1996), stereotyping or forming
generalizations about groups of people, prejudice (negative attitudes
towards people based on flawed and rigid stereotypes),
discrimination (active prejudice evident by displaying certain
behavior) and racism (exclusion of certain people because of race)
are four broad categories identified as obstacles to intercultural
competence.
 Practice of Stereotyping = At a most basic level, stereotyping is the tendency to
mentally categorize people into groups which in turn influence our behavior towards
them.
 Role of Prejudicial Attitudes = These attitudes or prejudices are targeted to a certain
religion, gender, age, sexual orientation or social class. In other words, prejudicial
attitudes tend to reinforce a feeling of superiority and power in its practitioners.
 Overt and Covert Forms of Racism = When the attitude of prejudice becomes more
entrenched in our minds as a firm belief, we become prone to practicing racism.
Perpetrators of racism hold the view that their racial category is superior to others.
 Forms of Workplace Discrimination = Whereas prejudice and racism are mental states
in the forms of attitude and belief respectively, discrimination is the act of treating
someone differently because of the person’s racial or ethnic background, often from a
minority group. Differences in gender, language and religion can also sow seeds of
discrimination.
 Ethnocentric Perspectives = Ethnocentrism, the tendency by one group
or culture to use its own culture to evaluate the actions of others, is an
obstacle to intercultural competence.
 Intercultural Phobia = Intercultural communication encounters in recent
years have given rise to a number of phobias or fears arising from actual
or potential intercultural conflicts, based particularly on religious and
territorial wars and events around the globe.
 Crossing the Language Divide
 Host Country Experience
1. Conduct a personal self-assessment: It is important to begin with
yourself. Assess your own attitudes towards other cultures and co-
cultures because they can influence your communication with these
cultures.
2. Consider the setting and context: Setting and context can
influence the outcome of our communication encounters.
3. Open communication channels: No one channel can guarantee
successful communication.
4. Practicesupportive communication: One very supportive
communication behaviour is empathy.
5. Develop language competencies : Language is the tool or medium
of communication
6. Encourage feedback: Effective feedback is important in
communication and even more crucial in intercultural encounters.
Feedback verifies understanding or shared meaning and can be
verbal or nonverbal as well as intentional or unintentional. Always
strive to ensure that feedback is immediate, honest, specific, and clear.
7. Develop appreciation toward diversity: It is equally important to
learn about other cultures and co-cultures.
8. Avoid stereotypes: As mentioned previously, stereotypes are broad
generalizations or categories that can often be misleading.
9. Avoid ethnocentrism: There is an inherent bias in lauding your
culture and ethnicity as the best.
10. Develop a sense of universalism: Our intercultural or diverse world
is characterized by a multitude of differences. It is important to move
from a state of myopia and foster a sense of universalism.

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o Global workplace culture and communication must not only be understood

o According to Hall (1976: 16):

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