1. The Growing Importance of Intercultural Communication As organizations expand
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Question
1. The Growing Importance of Intercultural Communication
As organizations expand into global markets, business communicators need to become aware of their own culture and how it differs from other cultures. Cultural awareness allows professionals to communicate successfully with other cultures and to navigate the intercultural challenges of a globalized business world. The first step in overcoming intercultural obstacles is understanding the trends that drive globalization.
Identify the trend illustrated by the following example.
A U.S. retailer of high-tech products looks to open stores in Russia where there has been a surge in demand for smartphones and tablet computers.
Favorable trade agreements
Robust middle-class growth
Transportation advancements
Identify the trend illustrated by the following example.
A high-end clothing company has branch managers in Rome, Paris, and Chicago. They meet quarterly via teleconference.
Declining domestic markets
Technological advancements
Robust middle-class growth
When companies expand into global markets, they must be aware of the different cultural environments they are entering. A successful business model in one country may not be successful in another. U.S. companies, such as Wal-Mart, Best Buy, and Home Depot, for example, have struggled in certain overseas markets due to their inability to meet the needs and expectations of the local culture.
Read the hypothetical description of an overseas country, and then answer the following question.
People in this country tend to place a high value on protecting the environment. While they enjoy certain products imported from other countries, when it comes to food and drink, they prefer domestic brands. They consider it inappropriate to smile at strangers, and they value the freedom to engage in whatever relationships they want with coworkers outside of work.
A U.S. store opens in this country and exhibits the following characteristics. Which of these characteristics will be problematic for the success of the store? Check all that apply.
A beer and wine selection primarily made up of U.S. brands
A policy forbidding employees from dating each other
A wide selection of environmentally safe cleaning products
A friendliness policy encouraging employees to smile at customers
Plastic bags
2. Culture and Communication
Understanding the concept of culture is essential to business communicators living and working in a globalized society. Culture is a powerful force that shapes the way we think and behave.
Choose those characteristics that describe culture from the following list. Check all that apply.
Culture is inherently illogical.
Culture is solely dedicated to art and music.
Culture never changes.
Culture is inherently logical.
Culture is the basis of self-identity and community.
Culture is learned.
The basic dimensions of a culture include context, individualism, power distance, communication style, and time orientation. Cultural anthropologist Edward T. Hall developed the concept of context and placed cultures on a spectrum from low to high context. A low-context culture does not rely heavily on extensive environmental information while a high-context culture relies heavily on environmental information. As you complete the following exercises, you’ll notice that context is often closely related to the other dimensions of culture.
The following descriptions identify a dimension of culture. Which dimension is described in each case?
Scandinavian cultures do not rely heavily on social or nonverbal cues to convey meaning.
Individualism
Power distance
Context
Time orientation
In Japanese culture, employees show deference to their managers.
Time orientation
Communication style
Context
Power distance
In general, the Japanese do not like to be rushed into decisions.
Time orientation
Communication style
Individualism
Context
Explanation / Answer
A U.S. retailer of high-tech products looks to open stores in Russia where there has been a surge in demand for smartphones and tablet computers. The trend uillustrated is
- Favorable Trage Agreements. It is because of favorable trade agreements that the US firm can think of expanding profitably into Russia. We do not get any idea from the statement about the growth of the middle class or the advances in technology.
A high-end clothing company has branch managers in Rome, Paris, and Chicago. They meet quarterly via teleconference. The trend illustrated is
- Technological Advancements. Because of advancements in video conferencing technology, the company is able to conduct meetings as effectively as face-to-face meetings at a fraction of the cost. The statement gives us no information on domestic markets or the growth of the middle class.
Characteristics that will be problematic for the success of the store are:
- A beer and wine selection primarily made up of U.S. brands
- A policy forbidding employees from dating each other
- A friendliness policy encouraging employees to smile at customers
- Plastic bags
Characteristics that describe culture are:
- Culture is inherently logical.
- Culture is the basis of self-identity and community.
- Culture is learned
Dimensions described in the below situations are:
Scandinavian cultures do not rely heavily on social or nonverbal cues to convey meaning.
- Context
In Japanese culture, employees show deference to their managers.
- Power distance
In general, the Japanese do not like to be rushed into decisions.
- Time orientation
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