Lesson 2: Cultural Aspects of

Business Communication
ENGLISH 6
 Procedures
• Without READING this Lesson ,DECIDE on this
case
• Read / Study the whole LESSON on the
Cultural Aspects of Business Communication.
• Answer/ Complete the Discussion Questions
at the end of this Lesson.
 Decision Case (p1)
• With the assistance of his state development
board, your friend John Duncan has identified
a potential new market for his popular gas
grills. Executives of one of Japan’s largest
companies have arrived at Duncan’s plant to
discuss an agreement to distribute the grills in
the Pacific Rim. Besides Japan, the executives
anticipate marketing the grills in South Korea,
Taiwan and Thailand.
 Decision Case (P2)
• Although Duncan Corp. controls more than 60
percent of the domestic gas grill market, this is
its venture into the international market.
While enthusiastically describing the
opportunities, Duncan also voices some
concerns: “I know how to sell to U.S.
distributors, but I’m not sure how to approach
the Japanese. After the first firm handshake,
what do I do? Coffee in the cafeteria- that
should break the ice.
 Decision Case (p3)
• Then a tour of the plant so that I can point out
the features of the grill audiovisual presentation
that we give to all potential distributors. I’ll have
a proposed contract ready for them to look at.
We can start our negotiations before lunch.
• “Wait,” you interrupt, “I’m not sure that will
work.”
• What would you advise Duncan to do
differently?” Why?
 Lesson Proper:
Communication Skills as Learned Behavior
• Capacity for language may be inborn for
humans, but communication skills are not
inborn, not natural.
• Communication skills are systems of acquired
techniques that you and other people can
learn, practice, evaluate, and adapt to
business careers.
• Communication skills involve learned
behaviors which vary greatly throughout the
world. The differences make business
communication a fascinating, challenging, and
often rewarding activity, especially when it
bridges gaps among cultures.
• How you perceive is determined largely by
how and what your culture teaches
you what your observations mean.
• For example, U.S. businesspersons often
conclude an exchange with “thank you.” Some
cultures consider it intrusive for a stranger to
sit next to you on a bus or subway car when
empty seats are available; but in many
countries, it would be considered an insult if
that stranger sat elsewhere.
BUSINESS COMMUNICATION AND
CULTURES
• A culture is a system of shared values, beliefs,
and behaviors that influence and are
influenced by communication.
• The word culture denotes the total way of life
for a people, all – says Edward Hall- “of their
learned behavior patterns, attitudes, and
material things.”
Culture to Culture Communication
• Assume that, for mutual economic gain,
members of two cultures, A and Z, perceive
the need to do business with each other.
Illustrations 1-2 depict a basic model of
communication stages through which those
cultures must pass to accomplish mutually
beneficial business exchanges. In that model,
Culture A is represented by a circle, and
Culture Z is represented by a hexagon.
Illustration 1: TWO-CULTURES AT A
PRECOMMUNICATION STAGE

A Z
They are separated from each
other by their diverse lifestyles
 Illustration 1.2:Two cultures with
economic incentives to communicate
Z
A

Z
A

A Z

Despite profound differences in life-styles A and Z

communicate to narrow the cultural gap between them, as
shown by illustration 1-2
 Illustration 1.3: TWO CULTURES
NARROWING COMMUNICATION GAP

A Z
Although retaining their separate
identities, A and Z narrow the
communication gap (G).
Illustration 1.4: NEW CULTURE
FORMATION
A Z

A Z

A Z

AZ
 Illustration 1.5: Two Cultures Establishing and
Reinforcing a Communicative Environment

The theoretical model depicted by illustrations 1.1 trough

1.5 suggests various cultural relationships. Effective study
of those relationships begins with precise use of
technology.
TERMINOLOGY OF CULTURE-TO-
CULTURE COMMUNICATION
 As you begin your study of the cultural aspects of business
communication, should be aware of these terms.

• Cultural pertains to the total life-

style of a people. Intracultural
refers to components of that life-
style.
• International refers to relationship
and among sovereign states
(nations) that have recognizable
political and geographic boundaries.
Cultures, however, may be
contained within- or may extend
beyond- those political and
geographic boundaries.
• Bicultural pertains to
two cultures.
Multicultural refers to
more than two cultures.
• Intercultural refers to
relationships between cultures.
Cross-cultural and transcultural
pertain to the bridging of gaps
among cultures.
• Culture-to-culture communication,
for example, includes attempts to
bridging communication gaps
between people within a national
boundary as well as among people of
different nations.
COMMUNICATIVE BEHAVIORS AND
CULTURAL VALUES
• Communicative behaviors reflect cultural
values, which differ throughout the world.
• Behaviors that people of one culture value as
outgoing, confident, and informal may be
devalued as blatant, boastful, and insensitive
by people of another culture.
• For example, businesspeople in the United
States are often trained to be candid, frank,
and direct.
• But if your behavior emphasizes those values
when you try to deal with people of
Mediterranean, Latin American, or Asian
cultures, you may be (mis) perceived as being
tactless, insensitive, or rude.
•
• If you demonstrate time-is-
money- so I’m always-in-a-hurry
behavior, you might break
rapport with a customer and lose
a sale.
• Religious heritages provide
an even more fundamental
example. Although the U.S.
is a religiously diverse
country, U.S. managers tend
to be influenced by the
Protestant work ethic, which
promotes honesty, integrity,
hard work and diligence.
• That ethic demonstrates faith in individuals
and their ability to influence their
environment. Many other cultures however,
feel that their lives are controlled by a higher
power. Consequently, those people
fatalistically accept success or failure, wealth
or poverty.
• As you continue developing your
communication expertise, recognize that
people view one another and the world in
different ways. Those ways are evidenced by
differing cultural uses of language and of
metacommunication (communication that
goes beyond content message).
CULTURAL USES OF LANGUAGE
• David Berlo, a noted communication theorist,
suggests that people think about only when
they can name (with words or other symbols).
• Berlo asserts that the “ways in which we think
are determined in part by the ways in which
our language is structured.”
• Berlo’s insight discloses one kind of
communication gap – the linguistic gap –
which business people try to bridge.
• The Japanese language, for example, is capable of
delicate nuances states of mind and relationships.
• It contains layers of “soft” or “coarse” language with
various degrees of courtesy and respect. “Plain” or
“coarse” language is considered improper.
• Reflecting cultural values, traditional Japanese business
correspondence tends to be more formally structured,
more modest and ceremoniously polite, less direct,
and less concise than in U.S. business correspondence.
• Nigerians distinguish levels of familiarity
by their form of address.
• Although friends will call one another by
their first names, older brothers and
sisters are rarely addressed by first
names.
• As a sign of respect and age, an older
brother is addressed as N’da Sam (“my
senior Sam) and an older sister as N’se
Sarah (“my senior Sarah”).
• Nigerians always use “sir” and “ma’am”
when addressing businessperson,
government official, someone older, or
someone in a position of authority.
• The idiom, slang, and jargon of a language are
especially difficult for non-native speakers to
master. American business English is filled
with ritualistic phrases like “Let’s do lunch
sometime” or “I’ll talk with you again soon.”
Few Americans expect a response to the
greeting, “How are you?”
• But the Dutch expect the inquirer to
stop and listen.
• Even within a culture, several words
may signify the same objective reality.
• For example, in U.S. English the words
fired, terminated, released, let go, laid
off, and even riffled ( from reduction in
force) are all used to indicate that a
person has lost her or his job. Imagine
the difficulty a person from another
culture could have with those words!
• Cultural use of language also includes the
etiquette of interruptions, silence or pauses,
spontaneity of speech, and volume of speech.
In many Far Eastern cultures, interruptions are
considered extremely rude. In contrast,
French, Italian, and Arabic cultures regard
interruptions as expression of enthusiasm and
commitment to the conversation.
• Many Americans feel
awkward if a
conversation is suddenly
interrupted by a pause,
but an Asian might
interpret silence as the
listener’s contemplation
of what has just been
said.
• Many people in U.S., Italian, or
French cultures regard spontaneity as
evidence of creativity and
enthusiasm.
• Asians, however, tend to speak only
after careful deliberation. In the U.S.,
individuals are expected to use
moderate volume- neither too loud
nor soft.
• The southern European or Middle
Easterner who tend to speak more
loudly may be perceived as
aggressive, crass, and pushy; and
soft-spoken Asian may appear meek
and retiring.
• The communication lesson is clear. Americans
doing business with members of other
cultures need to develop communicative
awareness of themselves as well as of other
people. Moreover, that awareness must
extend beyond the cultural uses of language
to culturally diverse forms of communication.
CULTURAL USES OF
METACOMMUNICATION
• To exchange evidence of ideas and
feelings, people use more than words.
People use time, space, gestures,
facial expressions, postures, clothing,
cosmetics, jewelry, etc., as signals of
meanings.
• Metacommunication (“meta: beyond)
is a technical term for the use of such
signals.
• Metacommunication conveys messages about
messages through hand-shakes, smiles,
frowns, and other cues of that transcend
words.
• Metacommunication can confirm, contradict,
or substitute for words
• In Western cultures for instance,
agreement may be confirmed by a down-up
nod of one’s head or contradicted by a side-
by-side shake of the head, whatever words
may or may not be used.
• In Mexico and the Middle East, “no” is
signified by a back-and forth movement of
the index finger.
• That gesture unmistakably indicates
disagreement, no matter what words may
be used.
• Metacommunication reflects cultural
values, particularly with respect to
use of space, use of time, and use of
gestures and facial expressions.
 SPACE
• The space we maintain with our
bodies suggests a desire to control
closeness. Ideas about what
constitutes closeness differ among
cultures and with circumstances.
 SPACE
Thiederman observes these cultural variations:
– 0-18 inches: Middle Eastern males, eastern and
southern Mediterranean, and some Hispanic
cultures.
– 18 inches- 3 feet: Mainstream Americans and
Western Europeans.
– 3 feet or more. Asians (Japanese, the farthest) and
many African cultures.
 SPACE

• In the United States, space and

location often connote status. An
American executive’s office tends
to be large and frequently is
located on the top floor of a
building.
• In the Middle East however, the size
of an office seems to convey little
significance;
• in France, a manager is apt to be
located amid subordinates so that
the manager can exercise control
conveniently.
 TIME
• Many North Americans and North Europeans
segment time. People of other cultures tend
to flow with time. To U.S. businesspeople, five
minutes is a significant unit of time- the point
after which one may justifiably be offended or
irritated if kept waiting.
 TIME
• In France, fifteen minutes is perceived as a
significant delay. In Latin America and the
Middle East, however, long waiting periods are
customary in business. They enable visitors
literally to visit, to socialize with one another
in a business setting, and to associate business
relationships with a total rather than
segmented-life style.
 TIME
• Cultural differences regarding time
are often viewed in contract
negotiation and fulfillment. In Japan
and elsewhere, delays of months or
even years may not signify loss of
interest in negotiating an important
business contract.
 TIME
• In contrast, most North Americans view such
delays as serious hindrances.
• In the Middle East and elsewhere, the
imposition of due dates and deadlines suggest
inconsideration, even rudeness, and thereby
seems to justify ignoring such schedules.
 TIME
• U.S. businesspeople who overlook
such cultural conventions of
communication may suffer large
losses before learning that “delay is
often a highly effective negotiation
tactic when used on impatient
Americans.”
 GESTURES and FACIAL EXPRESSIONS
• Cultures vary widely in how they use
the hands and the face in
communication.
• Although the handshake is an almost
universal business greeting, its
strength and form differ across
cultures.
• You should avoid most other uses of
the hand (touching, pointing,
beckoning, etc.) unless you are well
acquainted with the culture.
 GESTURES and FACIAL EXPRESSIONS

• Many commonly used U.S. gestures are

considered offensive or obscene in other
cultures, including the American “OK”
signals (thumbs up, and V for victory) and
the silence signal (index finger to the lips
while making the “shh” sound).
 GESTURES and FACIAL EXPRESSIONS
• Many people think the smile universally
communicates goodwill and cheerfulness.
• However, a smile does not have the same
meaning throughout the worlds.
• Americans tend to use the smile freely as a
representation of friendliness, goodwill, and
optimism.
 GESTURES and FACIAL EXPRESSIONS

• Middle Easterners might use a

smile to placate a colleague and
avoid conflict, and many Asians
smile to cover discomfort,
embarrassment or anger.
HANDSHAKES
EYE CONTACT
 END OF LESSON 4
See the assignment and be ready for the
quiz next meeting
 ASSIGNMENTS/ACTIVITIES
1. When you first read the Decision Case at the
beginning of this Lesson, what suggestions
were prepared to Duncan? Why?
2. After having studied this Lesson, what
procedures would you recommend to ensure
that Duncan communicates effectively with
his Japanese visitors?
3. What are your reasons for similarities or
differences between those two responses?
4. Within the context of this Lesson, what are the appropriate
definitions and examples for these terms?
• culture
• international
• intercultural
• intracultural
• cross-cultural
• transcultural
• multicultural
• transcend
• diversity
• metacommunication
5. What are cultural aspects of communication? Why
should you concern yourself with them?
6. Within the Philippine culture, what are characteristic
attitudes toward the following?
– competition and cooperation
– education and training
– employed persons and unemployed persons
– personal debt and national debt
– work habits, including punctuality and absenteeism
– job security and career opportunities for men and women
– standards of productivity and quality
– young employees and elderly employees
7.With what culture other than your own are most
familiar? How did you become familiar with that
culture?
8. What are its characteristic attitudes toward the
eight factors listed in Discussion Question 6?
9.Why should you a businessperson, continue
developing your awareness of
metacommunication and of culture- to- culture
communication?
10. ANALYZE/SUMMARIZE the article by INC. on
“HOPE”.
• ENCODE your responses to this assignment.
• Place in a short RED folder.
• Submission: ______.
 NEXT LESSONS
• Lesson 5: PLANNING, ORGANIZATION, and
DEVELOPMENT of BUSINESS MESSAGES
• Lesson 6: BUSINESS LETTERS
• LESSON 7: PUNCTUATION STYLES and OTHER
BUSINESS MESSAGES TOPICS
Thank you!