...Journal of Comparative International Management 2009, Vol. 12, no.2, 73-89 ©2009 Management futures Printed in canada Cross-cultural Communication and Multicultural Team Performance: A German and American Comparison by Steven W. Congden University of Hartford, U.S.A. Alexei V. Matveev College of Staten Island – CUNY, U.S.A David E. Desplaces College of Charleston, U.S.A. This study builds on work by Matveev & Nelson (2004) which investigated the relationship between cross-cultural communication competence and multicultural team performance using American and Russian managers. This study examines the impact of national culture on German and American subjects. While a relationship between cross-cultural communication competence and multicultural team performance was found, it did not differ by overall national culture. Of the four dimensions of cross-cultural communication competence, only Cultural Empathy was found to be significantly different between Germans and Americans. No differences were found for the dimensions of Interpersonal Skills, Team Effectiveness, and Cultural Uncertainty. 1. Introduction Worldwide intercultural cooperation drives corporate growth and development across the globe resulting in a heightened demand for a qualified but diverse workforce. researchers have documented that the successful performance of multicultural teams is a vital and contributing factor to organizational success (Jackson, may, & Whitney, 1995; Snow, Snell, davison, & hambrick...
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...Tuyet Minh A CROSS-CULTURAL STUDY OF DAILY COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE VIETNAMESE AND AMERICANS OUTLINE Introduction Vietnamese - American cross-cultural communication: 1. Theories of intercultural communication 2. Vietnamese vs. American perceptions and communication styles 2.1 Vietnamese vs. American perceptions 2.1.1 Individualistic vs. collectivistic cultures 2.1.2 High- vs. low-context cultures 2.1.3 Face-saving 2.2. Vietnamese vs. American communication styles 2.2.1 Ways of greetings 2.2.2 Topics for conversation 2.2.3 Silence and Eye contact 2.2.4 Touching 2.2.5 Other nonverbal gestures 3. Cross-cultural communication strategies Conclusion Introduction Cross-cultural encounters have long provided a great source of interest for research. Globalization has increased contact between people from different cultures, but it has not evened out cultural differences as much as expected. The divergence of perspectives continues to survive in communication between people from different cultures such as Vietnamese and American. This paper aims to address the issues of intercultural communication between the Vietnamese and Americans in daily life. By juxtaposing the main traits of the two cultures while some common cultural misinterpretations are listed, I wish to give a comprehensive look at the Vietnamese- American daily communication, meanwhile...
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...University of Maryland University College, 2001. Over the last twenty-five years, the field of intercultural relations has developed some sophisticated methods for developing intercultural competence. Gone are the days when the only approach to an assignment abroad was “sink or swim.” And fast disappearing are the organizations who still say “the way we do it here is the way we do it everywhere.” It is now possible to prepare global managers and leaders to learn how to learn in new cross-cultural situations, thus speeding up their adaptability and improving their productivity. For experienced hands, the new methods allow them to share their own experience more effectively with the next generation of leaders. New approaches can also add intercultural competence to the curriculum of a learning organization. Truly global organizations have moved beyond “think globally, act locally.” They have acquired the ability to continually learn from the global environment and to support the virtual third cultures necessary for effective multicultural communication. One of the things we have...
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...bring new legal and ethical challenges due to differences in cultural view. HR professionals must increase their knowledge and skills in the international environment to keep their organizations competitive in this challenging global marketplace. It means that HR related problems different countries solve in different ways. Hofstede suggests that culture influences business related practices. Many HR representatives working in an international business a global business world face the same difficulties, but also face other new challenges that relate to cultural convergence in business practices. There are many characteristics to identify a countries culture. When dealing with HR issues, culture plays a major role in how an organization handles personnel issues. We can best understand this if culture is defined. Culture is the common ideas, beliefs and values shared by the members of a group of individuals (Hofstede 1984). Each group is defined by specific family traditions, common languages, ethnic diets, notions, and dress. It is best stated by “culture is everything that people have, think and do as a member of their society. “ (Adekola, Abel Sergi, Bruno S., 2007) Culture is a shared pattern of socially norm behaviors within a particular group of people. If a comparison is made of two cultures, it would be found that there are numerous cultural differences. And definitely, a comparison of American and other cultures reveals a large numerous variations. A variation...
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...1. Discuss the cultural differences, risks, and difficulties of working in Poland compared to the U.S. Culture is the most influential factors in the human life which have deep impacts on the personal behavior. Here in this case same things happen where two different culture believer clash with each other in the working place. The cultural system in America is more focused on individualism. Due to those factors American people work hard to climb up in the upper position in the work place therefore they thrive in any types of work environment and anywhere in the world. Writer, LisaHoecklin (P1, 2012) explains about the American culture and its success. “People in individualistic cultures emphasize their success/achievements in job or private wealth and aiming up to reach more and/or a better job position. Especially in the USA the fight about jobs and trying to climb up in the hierarchy ladder is something very common there. It just counts to get there less caring who will leave behind one. In business they try to improve their connections and to gain more value out of them, not for establishing a good relationship but just to be involved in a calculative way.” The Polish culture focuses more on community or organization rather than individuals where in another term we can define as relationship driven culture. Therefore, in these circumstances American employees more enjoy the competition within the organization between the workers where as their counterpart emphasizes on...
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...Cultural differences in Daily communication between China and America 1. Introtion People have different lifestyle, thinking patterns, behaviors and values, which all inflect one another. In many cross-cultural conversations, misunderstanding can be caused by distinction in the understanding of a same word in the culture difference. A serious question may therefore bring great laghter, while an innocuous statement horrible anger,which caused by culture difference. Experts in sociology claimed that every single culture is distinctive. The word 'culture' is defined as follow in Oxford Advanced Learner's English Chinese Dictionary: customs,arts, social institutions, etc of a particular group or people. Among all distinctions, difference in daily life plays a special role. More details of lifes oversees are shown with the rapid development of communication and media. Facing that very difference between the Chinese and the American however, seems to have led to confusion and even further, false and unscientific evaluation, thus the eventual cultural conflict and descrimination. This paper will therefore focus on the distinction of the Chinese and American culture from the aspect of daily communication . 2.The Importance of Cross-Cultural Communication Because of various reasons, there are a lot of cultural differences between China and the U.S. This creates a barrier for cross-cultural communications. Due to globalization and social development...
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...Understanding Culture in International Business | Business Management in an International Context | | The increasing number of interactions between independent countries, companies and people has highlighted the importance of an understanding of global cultures, both national and organisational. Culture plays a large role in the way individuals behave and interact with one another and therefore plays an important role in business interactions across cultures. Many definitions of culture are offered, but one more relevant to culture in international business is : “Culture is the way in which a group of people solves problems and reconciles dilemmas.” (E.Schein 1985) The first way in which countries can be broadly categorized is into either a high context or a low context culture. High context cultures place more emphasis on the importance of group identity. They have a high sensory involvement and participate more readily in bodily contact. Low context cultures prioritise individualistic properties. They use body language less frequently and are monochronic thus placing a high importance on timing and scheduling. Most Northern European countries and other western societies are low context cultures. It has been suggested by the acclaimed social scientist, Norbert Elias (1978) that the development of society and the basis of its’ cultural contexts are closely associated with the prominent historical groups of the region leading to an establishment of national cultural values...
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...2015 Kimberly Werking Cultural Diversity and Education The American classroom can at times contain many different cultural diversities and backgrounds. Students from different states or countries offer the classroom a cultural masterpiece that is designed to somehow work and at times this can be an accomplishment. A world of separation exists that can cause a series of emotions especially in regards to a student’s cultural background or race. Everyone is placed in a way by our race and the cultures we represent. Educators must be aware of this and their own position in the classroom in order to create relationships with their students in a teaching and learning manner. Race matters in everyday life. It can have a very powerful effect on interactions between students, students and teachers, and effects learning in some cases. One way to offer support for all students from different cultures is to offer multicultural education. Multicultural education is put in place to provide equal opportunities to all students in educational settings by changing the environment to reflect the cultures and groups within the classrooms. Offering this support makes the learning experience better for students who may struggle fitting in due to their race or cultural difference. The cultural differences that come with being from a different state or country should be embraced in order to allow our educational system to move forward into embracing cultural differences and diversities that make...
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...Introduction to American culture 5 1.14 American music 5 1.15 American religion 5 1.2 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY 6 1.3 SCOPE OF THE STUDY 7 2.0 LEVELS OF CULTURE 7 2.01 GLOBAL CULTURE 7 2.02 REGIONAL CULTURE 7 2.03 NATIONAL CULTURE 7 2.04 ETHNIC CULTURE 7 2.05 SOCIAL CLASS CULTURE 8 2.06 ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE 8 2.07 FAMILY CULTURE 8 2.08 GENDER CULTURE 8 2.09 AGE CULTURE 8 2.1 DETERMINANTS OF CULTURE 8 2.11 GEERT HOFSTEDE’S MODEL 9 2.12 INDIVIDUALISIM V COLLECTIVISM 9 2.13 POWER DISTANCE 9 2.14 LARGE POWER DISTANCE 9 2.15 SMALL POWER DISTANCE 9 2.16 MASCULINITY V FEMINITY 9 2.17 UNCERTAINITY AVOIDANCE 10 3.0 CHARACTERISTICS OF CULTURE 10 3.01 Culture is dynamic 10 3.02 Culture is pervasive 10 3.03 Culture is learnt 10 3.04 Culture is integrated 10 3.05 Culture is ethnocentric 10 3.06 Culture provides social cohesion 11 4.0 VIEWS ON CULTURAL TRENDS 11 4.01 The Convergent View 11 4.02 The Divergent View 11 5.0 ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSION 12 5.01 ANALYSIS 12 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.01 WHAT IS CULTURE? Culture rules virtually every aspect of your life and like most people; you are completely unaware of this. Culture is vital because it enables its members to function with one another without the need to negotiate meaning at every moment. Culture is learned and forgotten, so despite its importance we are generally unconscious of its influence or the manner in which we perceive the world and interact within it. Culture is significant...
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...Definition Cultural Diversity From our increasingly diverse domestic workforce to the globalization of business, cultural competence is arguably the most important skill for effective work performance in the 21st century. According to de Woot (2000), companies in the industrial, financial and service sectors have to cleared most obstacles in the globalization process: that of size, that of time, that of complexity, and finally that of information and communication. Because of the differences in cultures, there might be some kind of misunderstanding among people working in the same organization due to their different values, beliefs, backgrounds, etc. To avoid cultural misunderstanding and turn cultural diversity to advantage, in this workshop we will provides a general definition for “culture” as well as for “diversity”, discusses the benefits of diversity in the workplace, the challenges of managing a diverse workplace, and presents effective strategies for managing diverse workforces. Definition of culture According to Kroeber und Kluckhohn (1952, p. 357) “Culture consists of patterns, explicit and implicit, of and for behaviour acquired and transmitted by symbols, constituting the distinctive achievement of human groups,.., the essential core of culture consists of tradition, ideas and their attached values, culture systems may considered as products of actions and also as conditioning elements of future action” Furthermore, managers often see culture as “the collective...
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...companies in a global economy and negotiations must occur to get the lowest possible price. The difficulty is in negotiating with suppliers around the globe with different cultural backgrounds. Consideration of such things as gender, personalities, culture and perception are a must for each negotiation. Not doing so could result in loss of profitability and growth. Typically most distributors look overseas for manufacturers because of the cheaper labor rates abroad. This paper will evaluate negotiation styles of Chinese and American teams' negotiation for the lowest possible cell phone manufacturing price using Hofstede's cultural dimensions theories. Hofstede's theories use four dimensions to describe differences in cultures and negotiation styles including individualism-collectivism, power distance, career success vs. quality of life and uncertainty avoidance. The cultural differences of each team are described and then a scenario of how the negotiation would go is developed (Lewicki, Barry, & Saunders, 2010, "Chapter 16"). Review This essay will begin with a review of the two teams involved in the negotiation. The first team is an all-male team from the United States (University of Phoenix, 2014). This team is seeking a cell phone price of $6 per unit (University of Phoenix, 2014). The all-male American team are individualistic, have a low-power distance, possess a low-term...
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...the negotiation. Mouse believed that as the government was the deciding authority, they would step in to exercise this power in favor of Mouse if there were to be an impasse. In the context of the exercise, Mouse was engaged in a negotiation with five other French nationals. Being the only American party caused conflicts with the French due to disparities in the way that the two societies conducted their business dealings. American culture is one that is deeply entrenched in its capitalist roots; this is a stark contrast to socialism in France. Capitalism is characterized by its ‘selfish’ tendencies whereas socialism focuses on the progression of society as a whole. Thus, the fundamental differences in the manner through which the two societies operate were possible causes of conflicts. Application of Cultural Frameworks By applying the various cultural frameworks to the French and Americans, it allows for an explanation of why disagreements arose between Mouse, the mayors and the government. As per Hofstede’s theory of cultural dimensions, it is observed that France and United States (US) lie on opposite ends of the spectrum. Thus, it serves as an indication of wide cultural difference between the two societies. When comparing the power distance dimension, France scored 68 (“What About France,” n.d.) as compared to the US score of 40 (“What About the USA?,” n.d.). The...
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...EGT1 Task 4 Rebecca Fertig 12/24/2012 Introduction Cross cultural marketing refers to the strategic process in which marketing is conducted among people whose culture differs from that of the marketer. The differences in culture occur in various aspects like social norms, values and language. The differences also include such aspects as the living styles and education of the people. This paper addresses the need for company A which is US based to understand cross cultural marketing in China. The paper clearly defines the different areas which the company must consider when launching into China. This results from the fact that cross-cultural marketing requires sensitivity on the marketer. Failure to understand the tactics leads to the eventual failure of the marketing. Understanding the culture of the Chinese people and incorporating it into the marketing mix of Company A will result to the success of the company. Major Cross-Cultural Issues That May Impact Company A’s Marketing Approach There are various issues that make the country of china and US tremendously different in their cultures. One is the social structure which is extremely hierarchical and formal in China. This means that people should know their place in the hierarchy and fix themselves accordingly (Dsouza, 2012). One is not supposed to cross the boundaries into other areas. This differs from the way it is in America and where the structure is informal and loose. This is based on the...
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...the Vietnamese and American workplace Phạm Thanh Huyền University of Languages and International Studies M.A Thesis: English teaching methodolody, Code: 60 14 10 Supervisor : Phan Thị Vân Quyên, M.A Year of graduation: 2012 Abstract: Facing the fact that more and more Vietnamese and Americans have to work with each other due to the globalization, this study has been carried out to investigate and describe the Vietnamese and American communication style at the workplace. Data were obtained from 30 Vietnamese and 30 Americans who have experience working with foreigners (i.e. Americans and Vietnamese) in different companies. After analyzing and discussing the results of the survey, a number of potential problems experienced by Vietnamese and Americans when communicating were revealed. Based on these barriers, the study provided some concluding remarks of this study. Though the research is in small scale and cannot cover all problems faced by Vietnamese and Americans in intercultural working environment, the author of this study hopes that it will contribute to identifying the problems Vietnamese and Americans may experience and help their communication become easier and more effective. Keywords: Tiếng Anh; Giao tiếp; Giao tiếp nơi công sở Content CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1. Rationale In recent years many researchers in applied linguistics and professionals working for an international company have emphasised the importance of knowledge of different cultures and they agree that...
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...GUNG HO! CULTURAL ANALYSIS Michael Hamilton MKTG 3852 – Second Summer 2012 7/22/12 GUNG HO- CULTURAL ANALYSIS Cultural differences influence how business is conducted in today’s rapidly expanding global market. These cultural barriers affect human interactions through our perspective of one another, credibility, time frames, as well as through communication. The success of international business depends upon the ability to set aside our differences, unite and strengthen one another. Many of these challenges can be seen throughout the movie Gung Ho. The movie portrays the relationship between the Japanese and Americans in a lightly comically point of view through an auto factory. However, when comparing and contrasting the interactions of these two cultures, both in and out of the film, they’re dynamics of become more apparent. The connections and exchanges between the Japanese management team and the American workers throughout the film present examples for each of the five dimensions in Geert Hofstede’s cultural dynamics analysis: Individualism/Collectivism, Uncertainty Avoidance, Power Distance, Masculinity/Femininity, and the later added Long-term Orientation. I. Hofstede’s Cultural Dynamics The results from Hofstede’s analysis for the United States and Japan are in the following table. When comparing the two we see that the Americans have a highly individualistic, male reinforced, ambiguous, society with a slight hierarchy with a weak connection to tradition...
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