Chapter 4 Cross-Cultural
Communication and Negotiation
 Chapter 4(1)- Cross-Cultural Communication…2
 Chapter 4(2)- Conflict & Negotiation…27
1
Cross-Cultural Management
Chapter 4(1)- Cross-Cultural
Communication
2
Cross-Cultural Management
Functions of Communication
Communication is the exchange of meaning.
In organizations, it has several functions:
• Affecting Behavior – through both formal and
informal channels
• Emotional expression - fulfillment of social
needs
• Information - facilitating decision making
3
Cross-Cultural Management
The Communication Process
Message
Source
Message
Encoding
Message
Channel
Feedback
4
Cross-Cultural Management
Decoding
Message
Receiver
What do you see in the poster?
A small class exercise
5
Cross-Cultural Management
PERCEPTION
Process by which people organize and
interpret their sensory impressions in order to
give meaning to their environment
Perception => Attitudes =>
Motivation & Behavior
6
Cross-Cultural Management
Attitudes
Evaluative statements –
favorable or unfavorable –
about objects, people, or events;
reflect how one feels about something
7
Cross-Cultural Management
Perceiver Effects on Perception
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
8
Culture
Personality
Values & Attitudes
Motives
Interests
Past experiences
Expectations
Cross-Cultural Management
Perceptual Shortcuts
9
Selectivity
Assumed
Similarity
Halo
Effect
Stereotyping
Cross-Cultural Management
Shortcuts to Judging
Others
•Selectivity - choosing bits of data depending on
the interests, background, experience, and attitudes
of observer
•Assumed Similarity - perceptions of others more
influenced by what the observer is like or thinks
•Stereotyping - basing perception on group
membership or association
•Halo Effect - drawing a general impression on the
basis of a single characteristic, such as intelligence,
sociability, or appearance
10
Cross-Cultural Management
Perception, Attitudes,
and Personality
• Culturally based stereotypes
– Swiss: punctual
– Germans: task–oriented
– Americans: energetic
People who hold these stereotypes
experience surprises when they meet
people from these countries who do not fit
the stereotypes
11
Cross-Cultural Management
Perception, Attitudes, and
Personality (Cont.)
• Culturally based stereotypes (cont.)
– Project aspects of own culture onto people
and situations in a different culture
– Assumes that the new culture mirrors their
own
– Example: Korean manager visiting Sweden
assumes all women seated behind desks are
secretaries
– Such behavior would be inappropriate and
possibly dysfunctional in Sweden where many
women hold management positions
12
Cross-Cultural Management
Helpful Stereotyping
A stereotype can become helpful when it is
• Consciously held: people are aware it describes a
group norm and not individual characteristic
• Descriptive rather evaluative: how people are, not
whether they’re good or bad
• Accurate: based on data or sufficient experience
• First best guess: about a group, before acquiring
specific information on individuals
• Dynamic & Flexible: modifiable according to further
observation and experience with concrete situations
13
Cross-Cultural Management
Types of Communication
Verbal:
• Oral
– Face-to-face
– Distant (phone, video)
• Written
– Print
– Electronic
Non-Verbal
14
Cross-Cultural Management
Overall Communication Process
Verbal Communication Styles
• Context
– Information that surrounds a
communication and helps to convey the
message
– High-context societies
• Messages often are coded and implicit
• Rely on indirect style
15
Cross-Cultural Management
Overall Communication Process
– Low-context societies
• Message is explicit and the speaker says
precisely what s/he means
• Rely on direct style
• Three degrees of communication quantity
– Elaborate
– Exacting
– Succinct
16
Cross-Cultural Management
High- vs. Low-Context Cultures
High
Context
Low
Context
17
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Chinese
Korean
Vietnamese
Arab
Greek
Spanish
Italian
English
French
North American
Scandinavian
German
Swiss
Cross-Cultural Management
Overall Communication
Process (cont.)
Verbal Communication Styles (cont.)
• Contextual style
– Focuses on the speaker and relationship of
the parties
• Personal style
– Focuses on the speaker and the reduction
of barriers between the parties
18
Cross-Cultural Management
Overall Communication Process
(cont.)
• Affective style
– Characterized by language which requires
the listener to carefully note what is being
said and to observe how the sender is
presenting the message
• Instrumental style
– Goal-oriented and focuses on the sender
19
Cross-Cultural Management
Verbal Styles Used in 10 Select
Countries
Country
Indirect
vs.
Direct
Elaborate
vs.
Succinct
Australia
Canada
Denmark
Egypt
England
Japan
Korea
Saudi Arabia
Sweden
United States
Direct
Direct
Direct
Indirect
Direct
Indirect
Indirect
Indirect
Direct
Direct
Exacting
Exacting
Exacting
Elaborate
Exacting
Succinct
Succinct
Elaborate
Exacting
Exacting
20
Contextual Affective
vs.
vs.
Personal
Instrumental
Personal
Personal
Personal
Contextual
Personal
Contextual
Contextual
Contextual
Personal
Personal
Cross-Cultural Management
Instrumental
Instrumental
Instrumental
Affective
Instrumental
Affective
Affective
Affective
Instrumental
Instrumental
Non-verbal Communication
Body movement (‘Body Language’) adds to, and
often complicates, verbal communication
• Kinesics - Gestures, facial configurations, and
other movements of the body
• Intonations - Change the meaning of the
message
• Facial expression - Characteristics that would
never be communicated if you read a transcript of
what is said
• Physical distance - Proper spacing is largely
dependent cultural norms
21
Cross-Cultural Management
Cross-Cultural Communication
Nonverbal communication: a major role across cultures
• Distance between people
• North Americans: stand 5 1/2 to 8 feet apart
• Latin American cultures: people stand much
closer
• Reactions
• Latin American moves close to the North
American
• North American backs away
• Latin American might perceive the North
American as cold and distant
22
Cross-Cultural Management
Personal Space Categories for
Those In the United States
Intimate distance
18”
Personal distance
4’ to 8’
Social distance
8’ to 10’
Public distance
23
18” to 4’
Cross-Cultural Management
Cross-Cultural Communication
• Time orientation
– Latin Americans view time more casually
than North Americans
– Swiss strongly emphasize promptness in
keeping appointments
– Egyptians usually do not look to the future
24
Cross-Cultural Management
Cross-Cultural Communication
• Time orientation (cont.)
– Southeast Asians view the long term as
centuries
– Sioux Indians of the United States do not
have words for "time" or "wait" in their
native language
– Potential misunderstandings are large
25
Cross-Cultural Management
Exercise:
Identifying Emotions
26
Cross-Cultural Management
Emotions & National Culture
• Cultural factors influence what is or is not
considered emotionally appropriate
• Seems to be high agreement of meaning by
emotions within cultures
• What’s acceptable in one culture
may seem extremely unusual or dysfunctional
in another
• http://www.hollywoodjesus.com/lost_in_translatio
n.htm
27
Cross-Cultural Management
A Cultural Guide to Communication
•
•
•
•
Look for the meaning behind the words
Assume differences until similarity is proved
Know what you don’t know
Emphasize description rather than
interpretation or evaluation (of others)
• Practice empathy & patience
• Treat your interpretation as a working
hypothesis
• Always: Observe & Listen
28
Cross-Cultural Management
Chapter 4(2)-Conflict &
Negotiation
29
Cross-Cultural Management
Trust & Culture
•
•
•
•
30
Individualistic
Personal history &
experience based
Develops through
mutual interest
(rational)
Quicker to trust outgroup members
Consistency
emphasized
Collectivist
• In-group membership
based
• Develops more
through emotional
bonds
• Slow trusting outgroup members
• Context is important
Cross-Cultural Management
Conflict
• Conflict is where one party perceives that another
party acting purposefully in a way that upsets the
first party or blocks its pursue of goals and
interests
• “Why can't the Jews and the Arabs just sit down together
and settle this like good Christians?”
- Attributed to Arthur Balfour, 19th century British
statesman, Prime Minister, and Foreign
Secretary; speaking on the Middle-east Crisis
31
Cross-Cultural Management
Differences in Attitudes
– Italian managers: bypassing a manager to
reach a subordinate employee is
insubordination
– Swedish and Austrian organizations:
decentralized decision making
– Philippine and Indian organizations:
centralized decision making
Conclusion: organizations that cross national borders
and draw managers from many different countries have
high conflict potential.
32
Cross-Cultural Management
International Aspects of Conflict
• Cultures that emphasize individualism and
competition
– Positively value conflict
– English–speaking countries, the Netherlands,
Italy, Belgium
• Cultures that emphasize collaboration, cooperation,
conformity
– Negatively value conflict
– Many Asian and Latin American countries;
Portugal, Greece, Turkey
33
Cross-Cultural Management
International Aspects of Conflict
• Cultural differences imply different functional
conflict levels
• Some cultures favour suppression of conflict with
little discussion of people's feelings
• Felt conflict likely part of some conflict episodes
but hidden from public view
34
Cross-Cultural Management
Conflict (Cont.)
• Managers from an individualistic country
operating in a less individualistic country
– Acceptable to express feelings during a conflict
episode. Suppression of feelings could baffle
them
– Increasing conflict can confuse local people.
Almost immediate dysfunctional results
35
Cross-Cultural Management
Negotiation
The process in which two or more parties
communicate and exchange goods or services in
an attempt to rich a mutually agreeable solution
36
Cross-Cultural Management
Cultural Differences in Negotiations
Negotiating styles vary among national cultures; for
effective cross-cultural negotiation, you need to
understand other party’s communication patterns,
time orientations, social behavior and idiosyncratic
national issues.
37
Cross-Cultural Management
Successful Negotiators’ Characteristics
US
Japanese
Taiwanese
Brazilian
Preparation &
planning skill
Dedication to
job
Persistence &
determination
Preparation &
planning skill
Thinking under
pressure
Perceive &
exploit power
Win respect &
confidence
Thinking under
pressure
Judgment &
intelligence
Win respect &
confidence
Preparation &
planning skill
Judgment &
intelligence
Verbally
expressive
Product
knowledge
Perceive &
exploit power
Integrity
Product
knowledge
Interesting
Verbally
expressive
Product
knowledge
Perceive &
exploit power
Integrity
Verbally
expressive
Demonstrate
listening skills
Broad
perspective
Judgment &
intelligence
Cross-Cultural Management
Competitive
Cultural Differences in Negotiations
Cultural context significantly influences:
• History & identity in relation to conflict
• Time frame (short/long; deadlines)
• Emphasis on rationality/emotion/ideals
• The amount and type of preparation for
bargaining
• Participants: few essential or ‘the more the
merrier’; young professional or respectable elder
• The relative emphasis on task versus
interpersonal relationships and formal vs. informal
mechanisms (e.g., lawyers)
39
Cross-Cultural Management
Differences in Negotiations
•Where the negotiation should be conducted
(business/leisure) and emphasis on entertainment
•Communication patterns (verbal/nonverbal); direct
vs. non-direct rejection
•The tactics used:
– Extent of bargaining
– Initial offers—extreme or moderate
– Nonverbal behavior
40
Cross-Cultural Management
Verbal Tactics
(per ½ hour session)
Behavior
US
Brazilian
Japanese
Promise
Normative
Commitment
Self-Disclosure
8
2
13
36
3
1
8
39
7
4
15
34
Command
“No’s”
Profit level
6
9
57.3
14
83.4
75.2
8
5.7
61.5
Initial concessions
7.1
9.4
6.5
41
Cross-Cultural Management
Nonverbal Tactics
Behavior
US
Brazilian
Japanese
Silent periods (per
30 min.)
3.5
0
5.5
Conversational
overlaps (per 10
min.)
10.3
28.6
12.6
Facial gazing
(minutes per 10
min.)
3.3
5.2
1.3
Touching (per 30
min.)
0
4.7
0
42
Cross-Cultural Management