A culture is a set of value and norms among a certain group of people, and takes them together to constitute the way these people live. In different countries of the world, culture is usually different and there are various known determinants of culture. These differences in culture prove to be difficulties in business communication. Factors such as social culture, customs, Etiquette, Language, Religion, Education and Food play a major role in business communication and help to analyze and understand the global knowledge about the country. It is very important to understand these various cultures when participating in global business-related activities. Social culture: Social Culture changes the definition of “business.” Although cross-cultural companies who do business together usually have similar goals but the steps or path of achieving those goals can be different from one another because of different culture. The Norwegian society is transparent, well organized and …show more content…
This includes basic customs, mannerisms and gestures. For example: Work and leisure is kept strictly apart. They are generally modest and easy-going, and do not adhere to strict codes of politeness. Another example is Norwegians business people tend to travel extensively so meeting should be schedule well in advance. Etiquette: when any country introduced to another business professional in Norway, the Norwegian may be reserved among strangers but they are also warm and friendly once a relationship has been established and anyone should not ask about personal issues unless one is well acquainted with a person. Respect for each individual's dignity is expected. Being aware of another culture’s etiquette is very important because making a little mistake with even a small gesture can offend someone. It will create problem to deal with any business
A Cultural Minefield by William Ecenbarger is an article about how common gestures and customs at home have different meanings in other parts of the world. Ecenbarger has been to six different continents and didn’t realize until years later, that he offended or embarrassed his host during that time. For example Ecenbarger in Australia got into a taxi and jumped into the back seat. The taxi driver spoke to him in voice that made Ecenbarger nervous. In the United States it is a custom that you jump into the back seat whenever asking for a cab.
People who travel abroad seem to enjoy sending back reports on what people are like in various countries they visit. A variety of national stereotypes is part and parcel of popular knowledge. Italians are said to be "volatile," Germans "hard-working," the Dutch "clean," the Swiss "neat," the English "reserved," and so on. The habit of making generalizations about national groups is not a modern invention. Byzantine war manuals contain careful notes on the department of foreign populations, and Americans still recognize themselves in the brilliant national portrait drawn by Alexis de Tocqueville more than 100 years ago.
I came over in the US almost 4 years ago, and my friend kept asking me the same question “how are people over there?” At first I even didn’t think to look for some differences, and relate it to the culture. But then I figured what was normal for the US wasn’t usual for culture in my county. The first thing which I noticed was the simple greetings. In the US people
Some cultural differences I have noticed between here and home include driving habits, common courtesy, and a general way of living. At
Different social, professional and cultural context may effect relationships and the way people communicate because of lack of understanding into one another’s back ground, religion and culture. social status is an indicator of credibility and legitimacy, and this is seriously effects how one communicates with other. Key elements that are involved in an audience's evaluation include title, reputation, and the extent to which people can identify with the communicator's motives and objectives. Status differences can create a bias against those with the perceived lower status. In our society, Social status have greatly influenced the communication ever since ancient times up until now.
Norms are the specific cultural expectations for how to behave in a given situation. They are the agreed-upon expectations and rules by which the members of a culture behave. Norms vary from culture to culture, so some things that are considered norms in one culture may not be in another culture. For example, in America it is a norm to maintain direct eye contact when talking with others and it is often considered rude if you do not look at the person you are speaking with. Some example of norms includes Folkways, often referred to as "customs.
Culture refers to the common beliefs and behavior patterns of a group of people. In an organizational setup, it refers to the common values that the stakeholders of the organization share, and impact their decision-making process. According to Cristina De Rossi, “Culture encompasses religion, food, what we wear, how we wear it, our language, marriage, music, what we believe is right or wrong, how we sit at the table, how we greet visitors, how we behave with loved ones, and a million other things” (De Ross, 2015). Western culture refers to the cultures that are heavily influenced by European cultures, and has its roots from the Greco-Roman cultures as well as Christianity and spread through immigration to other parts of the world. Eastern culture is the culture of the Eastern Asian countries including China, Japan, Philippines, Vietnam, and India (Zimmermann, 2017).
A culture, by definition, is a set of shared beliefs within a society; learning how to interact with people from different cultures is important in order to communicate and work with each other. It helps us become understanding of one another and widens our perspective of what the world has to offer. To be able to cross cultural communicate with others, the first step is to be aware that every culture is complex and has its differences. While traveling to new countries and trying to understand each other, there is a large possibility of miscommunication, which can come in the form of misinterpreting messages or body language; therefore, it is crucial to keep an open mind whilst communicating. There are multitudes of factors in various cultures that play a role in decision making, so being aware of the expectations that are influenced by someone’s culture will help you understand their choices.
The interaction can be described as more interpersonal than intercultural as a result of the degree of interactant is drawing on personality traits, personal values and experience. When people from different cultural background become close to each other, their interactions typically move along the continuum from more intercultural to more interpersonal, though intercultural elements may always play a role. There is no doubt that no matter for casual or business communication, be sensitive to intercultural communication is always a key to achieve
These are the key aspects that can affect the organisation and management structure of a firm, all these interpersonal communication, management attitude, and social norms have yet been taken into consideration for Porter’s diamond framework. Moreover, Porter’s diamond framework does not cover how national culture will then affect the competitiveness in the national business system (Bosch & Man, 1997). Porter also mentioned that in firm structure and strategy, Japan business system prefers to maintain long-term relationship with their suppliers in the automobile industry is not based on their cultural perspective but rather it is due to pressure under those economic circumstances. This sentence is proven wrong by Whitley (1991), Japanese culture is well known for close connection and long-term employment in order to make their business system unique. Businesses in Japan have strong bonding with their partners to create strategies in reducing uncertainties, likewise these cultural factors is the action that leads to keiretsu being formed in Japan business system (Earley & Singh,
Cultural identity plays a very vital role in cross cultural communication, people from a particular culture communicate with partners and employees from many different cultures and in this situation every individual strives to keep their cultural and individual identity. According to Gardiner and Kosmitzki, identity is defined as “a person 's self-definition as a separate and distinct individual, including behaviours, beliefs, and attitudes” (Gardiner & Kosmitzki, 2008, p. 154). Also, Ting-Toomey defines identity as a "reflective self-conception or self-image that we each derive from our family, gender, cultural, ethnic, and individual socialization process"( Ting-Toomey, 2005). Both definitions bring out the generalisation of cultural identity
Culture is a very vast and complicated term. As a result, it is extremely difficult to provide an all encompassing definition. In layman terms, culture is used to refer to symbolic markers used by societies to differentiate and distinguish themselves from other societies. These symbolic markers range from religion to customs and traditions to something as basic as language and clothes. Basically culture is a way of living.
In conclusion, Culture is not an effortlessly characterized idea, but commonly it is the standards, politics, and norms spoken in work practices and behavior. An association 's culture is not a spoken list of values originate in a wisely worded declaration or obtainable as a cross-reference in an annual report. Or maybe, the association itself makes culture. How representatives treat and collaborate with each other and the estimations of the workers and the association, for example, hard working attitude, show an association 's way of life.
1- Introduction This report will state and elaborate the idea and the concept of culture, cultural diversity as well as handling with cultural diversity in an organization. It will clarify and explain the advantages as well as disadvantages for a company having employees of different cultural backgrounds. Likewise, it will also explain significance of dealing with different cultures, influence of culture over the workers and style of management. Similarly, it will also discuss significance of cultural training and cultural diversity implications in managing an organization.