The problem "Bing" experienced after being launched in China and Disney's failure in Paris are some of the examples testifying the significance of comprehending cultural aspects in communicating cross-borders. While taking stock of local cultures brings competitive advantage in the long run, failed communication crops up misunderstandings and plummets the customers' loyalty as well as stakeholders' interest. However, building rapport among the local population and adhering to their language, norms and gestures are among high-value challenges. It might prove taxing for the organization to be tolerant about varying values, customs, and etiquettes. Additionally, the organization may lag behind when it comes to fostering an intimate relationship with customers of different culture and nationality. Hall(1976) has aptly mentioned that culture is often subconscious; there is an invisible mechanism that controls the thoughts and behaviors of people belonging to a specific culture.
These are among foremost reasons why communication, especially cross-cultural communication, has assumed a center stage in business contour. Communication scholars have pigeonholed cultures into various categories so as to make it easy for businesses to operate in foreign cultures. For instance, communication in high-context(HC) cultures( e.g., Japan and Arab nations) is marked by well-structured social hierarchy, strong behavioral norms, and less explicit formal and verbal communication. By contrast, messages are clearly conveyed through language in low-context(LC) cultures. Hall states that communication is direct, open and precise in LC cultures( e.g., Germany, North America). Clearly, clashes are expected to occur when people from HC cultures interact with LC cultures and vice versa. As such, it is crucial to gain cultural competency by:
Identifying cultural differences and
Conducting a cultural audit
Proper conflict redressing mechanism
Achieving cultural competency has three main advantages:
Increased creativity in problem-solving
Enhanced trust and cooperation
Increased reputation because of fulfilling an aspect of corporate social responsibility
Undoubtedly, cultural competency is the buzzword as globalization has mingled the markets like never before. It is quite explicit that failure to accommodate cultural differences mess up business initiatives. Still, readers are welcome to contact me via email if they have further queries on the topic.
Thank you
Works Cited
Hall, E. Beyond Culture. New York: Doubleday, 1983.
Maude, Barry. Managing Cross-cultural Communication: Principles and Practice. Palgrave Macmillan, 2011.
UKPROEdits. Ten Examples of Cross-cultural Blunders. 7 June 2012. 14 August 2015 <http://ukproedits.com/uncategorized/ten-examples-of-cross-cultural-mistakes/>.
