“If we seek to understand people, we have to try to put ourselves, as far as we can, in that particular historical and cultural background..... Countries and people differ in their approach to life and their ways of living and thinking. In order to understand them, we have to understand their way of life and approach. If we wish to convince them, we have to use their language as far as we can, not language in the narrow sense of the word, but the language of the mind. That is one necessity.... “(Jawaharlal Nehru, Visit to America). To look beyond our cultural differences and speak a common language, try to communicate on one global platform, effectively.
Communication is “interchange of thoughts verbally, in writing or through signs.” Internationalization, mergers, acquisitions, offshore accounting and outsourcing are happening too soon and too fast now, putting together too many cultures under one umbrella, forcing them towards a common goal. Our lack of preparedness is surfacing in the form of miscommunication and ignorance resulting in misperception, misinterpretation, and misevaluation.
To list out the top 10 glaring cultural communication issues:
The rapid rise of Internet usage has enabled the world to work together. Geographical limits have disappeared and the world is accessible from the comfort of our homes. The vendors/buyers, both, work without getting acclimatized to each other’s work ethic or work culture. This lack of awareness makes it very difficult to identify with the other person and think their way. Cultural awareness becomes a must to make positive strides ahead.
Cultures differ in their languages, behavior patterns, and values. Our culture shapes us and our value system is built around our culture. A severe lack of investment in cross cultural training is leading to deficient internal cohesion. Poor work relations, stress and high turnover are the bi- products of this lack of training.
Internationalization has shrunk the world to the laptop and done away with one on one communication to a large extent. This lacuna poses as the biggest problem in cross cultural communication. Without dialogue, lack of correct information and exact exchange of expectations fails to occur. The actually doers of the contract are mostly in the dark about the needs of the client because of zero interaction and awareness to the clients’ needs and expectations.
In the long run a management which does not communicate and interact physically with the staff demonstrates a lack of interest, trust and respect. Communication contributes towards creating a climate of respect and understanding for diversity. Incorrect filtering and long distance exchanges will never be able to bridge the gap or help the employees to accept the cultural diversity and move towards a unified common goal.
Individual company culture differs from company to company and country to country. The vendor/buyer company must be conversant with the prevalent terms on how the companies are being managed. To be able to build team spirit and co-operative work environment between companies and its working teams open systems are preferred and a clear understanding of the company culture is advantageous.
English is the most pervasive language across geographical borders. The variation lies in the degree of fluency and the usage of slang and jargon, the dialects and accents which differ from country to country and individual to individual. It is prudent to be sensitive when using technical jargon, get a feel of the local connotations and substitute simpler words with the same meaning.
Modern technology has made use of tools like SMS and e-mail very commonplace. The difficulty with the aforesaid tools is in gauging the expression of the recipient. The tools also remove formality and business etiquette which may be misconstrued depending on the culture and background of the recipient. Convey the message as simply, plainly and clearly as possible to avoid being misconstrued resulting in future strife.
The behavioral mindset of the individuals is a bi-product of the culture to which they belong. Cross cultural communication experiences an atmosphere of warm reception or cold resistance depending on the host culture and the way it is perceived by the visitors. Anxiety, fear of the unknown, plausible discrimination worries begin to surface. Two way small communication channels helps in fostering a cordial relationship and thus build the morale of the working group.
Acceptance and tolerance are attributes common to almost all Indians. In the present times, though, these seem to be working against them, rather than favoring them positively. Indians have developed a reputation of being laid back, procrastinating and lacking the winning drive. It would be wise to pull up socks, embrace the good work ethics needed to enhance business globally and live up to the world standards. Tolerate the first world high handed attitude, also accept and learn their better qualities like punctuality and promptness.
Technological access presents problems too. Lastly, in a developing economy like India dysfunctional broadband, bad or defective telephone lines, load shedding and unforeseen power failures, such other technological developmental calamities are challenges to be overcome. Even the understanding of international time zone differences is often overlooked in India.
All of the above are surmountable problems and many of them are already being addressed in a proactive way.
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Chillibreeze's disclaimer: This is a contributed article and was published on Chillibreeze in January, 2012. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to this article. The relevance of the facts and figures cited (if any) could change after a period of time.
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—About our writer:
Sharanya is a behavioral counsellor by profession and has finishing her PhD in the same field. In addition to her practice, she enjoys creating the English course curriculum for tutorials, personality development and creative writing courses for children and adults alike. She conducts self awareness workshops for children and women. She has also dabbles in technical writing,article writing, web content writing and poetry over the last 5years. She also writes stories and articles for children. Currently residing in Uttar Pradesh, she is a voracious reader, traveled a fair share and is practically a Jane of all trades, and an expert in her profession.
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