1.1 – Cultural competency includes

• An appreciation for cultural differences that affect communication
• The ability to adjust one’s communication style to ensure that efforts to send and receive messages across cultural boundaries are successful

You are already an expert in your own native culture, which

• is positive, because you understand how your culture works and how people are expected to communicate
• is potentially negative, because your communication habits are based on your own culture, so you rarely think about how culture influences you

An important step toward successful intercultural communication is becoming more aware of the rules imposed by your own culture and of how those roles influence your communication.

1.2 – Understanding the concept of culture

Culture is a shared system of symbols, beliefs, attitudes, values, expectations, and norms for behaviour.

1.2.1 – Your cultural background influences

• The way you prioritize what is important in life
• Helps define your attitude toward what is appropriate in a situation
• Establishes rules of behaviour

You belong to multiple cultures, e.g., country, ethnic, religious, professional.

1.2.2 – Understand three characteristics of culture:

• Cultures are automatic; that is, people learn culture directly or indirectly from other members of a group—whether they are explicitly told which behaviours are acceptable or they learn by observing which values work best in a particular group.
• Cultures tend to be coherent; that is, they are fairly logical and consistent throughout.

• Cultures tend to be complete, providing most of their members with most of the answers to life’s big questions

1.3 – Overcoming ethnocentrism and stereotyping

Ethnocentrism is the tendency to judge all other groups according to your own group’s standards, behaviours, and customs.

Xenophobia is a more extreme reaction—actually fearing strangers and foreigners.

Stereotyping is assigning a range of generalized attributes to an individual on the basis of membership in a particular culture or social group, without considering the individual’s unique characteristics.

Cultural pluralism is the practice of accepting multiple cultures on their own terms.

Try to overcome ethnocentrism and stereotyping by cultivating a few simple habits:

• Avoid assumptions
• Avoid judgments
• Acknowledge distinctions

Be aware that overcoming ethnocentrism and stereotyping is not a simple task, even for people who are highly motivated to do so.

 

1.4 –  Recognizing variations in a diverse world

Cultural variations include differences in perceptions of

• Context
• Legal and ethical matters
• Social matters
• Nonverbal communication
• Age
• Gender
• Religion
• Ability

1.4.1 – Contextual differences

Cultural context is the pattern of physical cues, environmental stimuli, and an implicit understanding that conveys meaning between two members of the same culture.

To convey meaning in high-context cultures (such as Japanese, Chinese, Arab, Greek, Mexican, Spanish), people tend to rely less on verbal communication and more on the context of nonverbal actions and environmental settings to convey meaning.

1.4.2 – In high-context cultures:

• The rules of everyday life are rarely explicit, so individuals learn how to recognize situational cues and how to respond as expected.

• The primary role of communication is building relationships, not exchanging information.

To convey meaning in low-context cultures (such as Germany, Scandinavia, the U.S., Canada, England, and France), people tend to rely more on verbal communication and less on circumstances and cues.

1.4.3 – In low-context cultures:

• The rules of everyday life are usually spelt out through explicit statements.

• The primary role of communication is exchanging information.

Contextual differences affect

• Decision-making practices
• Problem-solving techniques

• Negotiating styles

Communication tactics that work well in a high-context culture may backfire in a low-context culture and vice versa.

Legal and ethical differences

Contextual differences also affect legal and ethical behaviour.

Low-context cultures tend to

• Value the written word
• Consider written agreements binding

• View the law strictly

High-context cultures tend to

• Put less emphasis on the written word
• Consider personal pledges more important than contracts

• View the law with more flexibility

Keep intercultural messages as ethical as possible by applying four basic principles:

• Actively seek mutual ground.
• Send and receive messages without judgment.
• Send messages that are honest.

• Show respect for cultural differences.

1.4.4 – Social differences

Rules of social etiquette may be formal or informal:

• Formal rules are specifically articulated.

• Informal rules are usually learned over time as people watch and imitate how others are behaving.

Social norms vary and affect the following areas:

• Attitudes toward work and success
• Roles and status
• Use of manners
• Concepts of time
• Future orientation

• Openness and inclusiveness

1.4.5 – Nonverbal differences

Nonverbal communication can be considered reliable only when the sender and receiver assign the same meaning to nonverbal signals.

Enhance your nonverbal communication across cultures by observing the way people behave in these areas:

• Greetings
• Personal space
• Touching
• Facial expressions
• Eye contact
• Posture

• Formality

1.4.6 – Age differences

Communicating between a youth-oriented culture and a seniority-oriented culture can require flexibility on both sides.

Today’s workplace can have as many as three or even four distinct generations working side by side:

• The Radio Generation (born 1925 to 1945)
• Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964)
• Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980)
• Generation Y (born between 1981 to 1995)

• Generation Z (born after 1996)

1.4.7 – Gender differences

The perception of men and women in business varies from culture to culture

Gender bias can range from overt discrimination to subtle and even unconscious beliefs

The percentage of management roles held by men increases steadily the further one looks up the corporate ladder

Whatever the culture, evidence suggests that men and women tend to have slightly different communication styles. Speaking in very broad terms:

• Men tend to emphasize content in their communication efforts

• Women tend to emphasize relationship maintenance in their communication efforts

1.4.8 – Religious differences

Religion in the workplace is a complex and contentious issue—and it’s getting more so every year, at least as measured by a significant rise in the number of religious discrimination lawsuits.

Companies vary widely in how they approach the subject and their policies for allowing religious activities and expressions at work.

1.4.9 – Ability differences

Colleagues and customers with physical or cognitive disabilities that affect communication represent another important aspect of the diversity picture.

Companies can use assistive technologies to help people with disabilities interact with computers and colleagues.

Designers can also emphasize web accessibility, taking steps to make websites more accessible to people with limited vision.

1.4.10 – Adapting to other business cultures

Adapting your approach is essential to successful intercultural communication.

Guidelines for Adapting to Any Business Culture

There are four general guidelines that can help all business communicators improve their cultural competency:

• Become aware of your own biases

• Ignore the “Golden Rule”—treat people how they want to be treated, not how you want to be treated
• Exercise tolerance, flexibility, and respect

• Practice patience and maintain a sense of humour

1.5 – Guidelines for adapting to e.g.  U.S. business culture

Businesspeople adapting to U.S. business culture should keep several points in mind:

• Individualism. U.S. culture expects individuals to succeed through their own efforts, and it rewards individual success.
• Equality. Equality is considered a core American value.
• Privacy and personal space. Americans expect a fair amount of privacy and personal space.
• Time and schedules. U.S. business values punctuality and the efficient use of time.
• Religion. Many religions are practised throughout the country, and people are expected to respect each other’s beliefs.

• Communication style. Communication tends to be direct and focused on content and transactions, not relationships or group harmony.

1.6 – Improving intercultural communication skills

Improve your intercultural competence by

• Studying other cultures and languages
• Respecting preferences for communication styles
• Learning to write and speak clearly
• Listening carefully
• Knowing when to use interpreters and translators
• Helping others adapt to your culture

1.6.1 – Studying other cultures

Effectively adapting your communication efforts to another culture requires not only knowledge about the culture but also both the ability and the motivation to change your personal habits as needed.

When learning about another culture, you don’t need to

• Learn about the whole world all at once—many companies appoint specialists for specific countries or regions, giving employees a chance to focus on just one culture at a time

• Learn everything about a culture—even a small amount of research will help you grasp the big picture

1.6.2 – Try to approach other cultures with

• An honest effort
• Good intentions
• An interest in learning more about other cultures

1.6.3 – To learn as much as you can about travelling and working in specific cultures, check out

• Websites
• Books
• Newspapers, magazines, music, and movies of another country

1.6.4 – Studying other languages

Successful businesspeople commonly have multilingual skills, but different countries emphasize the need for language diversity to different degrees.

Many companies are teaching their English-speaking employees a second language to facilitate communication with co-workers.

Learning the basics of the language spoken by your colleagues or customers

• Helps you get through everyday business and social situations

• Demonstrates your commitment to the business relationship

Don’t assume that two countries speaking the same language speak it the same way.

Respecting Preferences for Communication Style

Communication style varies widely from culture to culture and, among other factors, includes the

• Level of directness
• Degree of formality

• Preferences for written versus spoken communication

In international correspondence, U.S. businesspeople should probably be more formal than they would be when writing to people in the United States.

1.6.5 – Writing clearly

To write more clearly when communicating across cultures, try to

• Choose words carefully
• Be brief
• Use plenty of transitions to help readers follow the flow
• Address international correspondence properly
• Cite numbers and dates carefully
• Avoid slang, idiomatic phrases, and business jargon

• Avoid humour and references to popular culture

1.6.6 – Speaking and listening carefully

When communicating with people whose native language is different from yours, get insight into speaking more effectively by remembering what it’s like trying to listen in these situations.

In addition to the guidelines for writing more clearly, use the following guidelines to help your intercultural conversations be more effective:

• Speak slowly and clearly.
• Don’t rephrase until it’s necessary.
• Look for—and ask for—feedback.
• Don’t talk down to the other person.

• Clarify what will happen next.

1.6.7 – To listen more effectively to speakers who may have accents different from yours:

• Pay attention to vocal patterns.
• Accept what you hear first, without jumping to conclusions about meaning or motivation.
• Don’t interrupt—let people finish what they have to say.

• Ask the person to repeat something if you don’t understand it.

1.6.8 – Using interpreters, translators, and translation software

On occasion, you may need to use interpreters (for spoken communication) or translators (for written communication).

Some companies use back-translation to ensure accuracy.

Machine translation is any form of computerized intelligence used to translate one language to another.

1.6.9 – Helping others adapt to your culture

Do whatever you can to help colleagues with different native languages adapt to your communications and culture.

Simplify the communication process if the language is a barrier (e.g., writing instead of speaking).