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BUSINESS
COMMUNICATION

Group members:
Sana tariq 14l-4935
Hina tabassum 14l-4792
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Importance of cross cultural

communication in business
environment
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Letter of transmittal

To,
Mr. Bilal Saeed
School of Business and Management
National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences

Subject: Letter of transmittal

Respected sir,
This is the report you assigned us as a pair project. This report includes the introduction of the topic that
we selected for our project. Along with purpose, background, objectives, literature review and its critical
analysis.

We hope this report proved up to your standards. Thank you

Regards,
Hina Tabassum 14-4792
Sana Tariq 14-4935
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Contents
Executive summary:...................................................................................................................................... 1
Introduction ................................................................................................................................................... 2
Literature Review: ........................................................................................................................................ 3
Critical Analysis: .......................................................................................................................................... 5
Real Life Examples ....................................................................................................................................... 6
Advantages:................................................................................................................................................... 8
Disadvantages ............................................................................................................................................... 9
Recommendations ......................................................................................................................................... 9
Conclusion: ................................................................................................................................................. 10
Bibliography ............................................................................................................................................... 11
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Executive summary:
There is no better arena for observing a culture in action than business. Cultures tend to reveal
themselves in situations where much is a stake, because it is here that their resources are most
needed. Communication is fundamental in business, because business is a collaborative activity.
Goods and services are created and exchanged through the close coordination of many persons,
sometimes within a single village, and sometimes across global distances. Coordination of this
kind requires intense communication. Cross-cultural communication is imperative for companies
that have a diverse workforce and participate in the global economy. It is important for
employees to understand the factors that are part of an effective, diverse workforce. This report
will explain the importance of cross cultural communication and its effectiveness in business
environment.
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Introduction
Cross cultural communication is a field of study that explains how people from opposite cultural
backgrounds communicate, in similar and different ways among themselves, and how they tend
to communicate across different cultures.
Cross-Cultural Communication in business environment:
Cross-cultural communication has become deliberately important to companies due to the
development of global business, technology, and the Internet. Understanding inter-cultural
communication is important for any company with a diverse workforce or plans to conduct
global business. This type of communication involves that how people from different cultures
speak, communicate, and perceive the world around them.
Cross culture in business appears to be smaller and much more connected in accordance with
increased communication between countries worldwide and with the cultures in general.it
changes the way of thinking, consuming and communication perspective of a person opposite to
him in the organization.
Cross-cultural communication in an organization deals with understanding different business
customs, beliefs and communication strategies. Language differences, high-context vs. low-
context cultures, nonverbal differences, and power distance are major factors that can affect
cross-cultural communication.
High-context vs. low-context cultures: In High-context cultures trust is the most important part
of business dealings. Individuals from high-context cultures might be interested in getting to
know the person they are conducting business with in order to get a gut feeling on decision
making. They may also be more concerned about business teams and group success rather than
individual achievement.
In low-context culture people are direct simple and clear and rely on facts and evidences for
decisions. They are flexible and open minded. People in low context cultures such as the UK
tend to have short-term relationships, follow rules and standards closely and are generally very
task-oriented.
Nonverbal Differences: Gestures and eye contact are two areas of nonverbal communication in
cross-cultural environment. Many companies must give training to their employees in the right
way to handle nonverbal communication as to not affront other cultures. Eye contact is another
way of nonverbal communication. In the U.S., eye contact is a good thing and is considered as a
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sign of honesty and straightforwardness. However, in some Asian and Middle Eastern cultures,
prolonged eye contact can be seen as rude or aggressive in many situations.
Literature Review:
Cultural differences in communication are divided into eight types. Some of these are pacing
and pausing, the art of listening, what is conventional and what is not in a language and
cohesion and coherence, ( Tannen and Deborah, 1983). According to Gayle Cotton, 2011 it is
difficult to maintain relationship with businesses from different cultural backgrounds. To resolve
this issue, she has given five keys for successful business partnerships in international market.
While negotiating with the delegates from various countries with different cultures, cross-
cultural communications play a vital role. Cultures are different from one another, which
influences the method, the time, and the course of discussions (Liangguang Huang, 2010). He
also defined different cultural variable in cross cultural communication such as greetings,
negotiating styles, attitudes to time, meanings of numbers, gift-giving customs and significance
of Gestures. Afterwards, he recommended two most important cross cultural communications
strategies that are; one should have the understanding about the potential problems of cross-
cultural communication and make a mindful effort to conquer these problems and it is important
to assume that these efforts will not always be successful.
For any business, Communication is one of the mainly important functions to master in order to
be successful in today's ever more competitive markets, mainly for the firms doing business
globally. Cultural factors have long been known to influence the communication and success
potential of competition. Cultural awareness shapes how business firms behave in cross-
culturally reflected international markets. It is broadly recognized that cultural factors act as
invisible barriers in international business communications. Understanding cultural differences is
one of the most significant skills for firms to develop in order to have a competitive advantage in
international business. Culture affects many aspects of international business communication. It
impacts free trade policies, localization and standardization strategy decisions, advertising, brand
effectiveness, business relationships, international business management, international
marketing, international negotiation, and consumer behavior (Tian Guang and Dan Trotter,
2012). Although national culture does have an undeniable influence on peoples behaviour and
their communication style, implications in communication between business partners of different
cultural backgrounds often connected to an individual approach to cross-cultural communication
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(Kvantaliani, Maka, and Olga Klimina, 2011). Conflicts are an integral part of business
negotiations to a greater or lesser extent there are solved various inconsistencies, irregularities
of the negotiating parties. The techniques of conflict resolution can be mixed depending on the
culture. When negotiating with other party it is necessary to know what conflict management
styles prevail in another country and how can be adjusted your behavior to it. This can determine
the country's cultural norms and organizational culture. Preparing for the negotiations with other
country it should be considered characteristics of the relations prevailing in that country
(Kstutis Peleckis, 2014).
According to J. Stewart Black and mark mendenhall (2006), it is determined that cross-cultural
training in general is effective. They also offered a theoretical framework based on social
learning theory for understanding past research and for guiding future research; this is important
because in this context variables seem to operate differently in international versus domestic
areas. There are two types of cultures. The concept of high- and low-context culture relates to
how an employee's thoughts, opinions, feelings, and upbringing affect how they act within a
given culture. North America and Western Europe are generally considered to have low-context
cultures. This means that businesses in these places have direct, individualistic employees who
tend to base decisions on facts. This type of businessperson wants specifics noted in contracts
and may have issues with trust.
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Critical Analysis:
Cross-cultural communication deals with understanding different business beliefs, customs and
communication strategies in an organization. Communication involves an understanding of how
people from different cultural background speak, communicate, and recognize the world around
them. Cross-cultural communication has become deliberately important to companies due to the
growth of global business, technology. It has become easier to communicate within different
countries with the help of internet. Managers must become proficient cross-cultural
communicators if they wish to succeed in todays global environment. Managerial
communication is communication in a management context to achieve a desired result (writing a
memo, interviewing an applicant, running a meeting, preparing a presentation). To be effective
in any given culture, however, managers should consider the following seven issues before they
begin to communicate:
1. Setting communication objectives
2. Choosing a communication style
3. Assessing and enhancing credibility
4. Selecting and motivating audiences
5. Setting a message strategy
6. Overcoming language difficulties
7. Using appropriate nonverbal behaviors
Managers should maintain cultural competency, as cultural competency refers to the process of
continually learning about diversity so one can effectively function in the contexts of national
and international differences.
Limitations
We are doing secondary research due to time and resource constraints. We can not perform
primary research on our topic due to language barriers and different behaviors of people from
different environments. We can excess secondary data through internet, books and journal
articles etc.
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Real Life Examples

Samsung:
We probably know Samsung best for its smartphones, tablets and televisions. However,
Samsung's business activities and operations are spread much wider than just those two
important markets. The electronics giant also makes military hardware, apartments, and
ships and operates a Korean amusement park. The business currently has around 350,000
employees and in 2011 reported revenues of $220 billion and economists estimate that
Samsung's revenues account for about 20% of the value of South Korea's economy.
Google:
According to the 2016 numbers, some 71% of the companys roughly 46,000 U.S.
employees are male, 57% of the companys U.S. employees are white, and the clear
majority of technology jobs and leadership positions are held by men. While Asian
Googlers are one-third of the workforce, everyone else barely registers. Just over 5% of
employees identified as Latino, 2.4% as black, 1.8% as mixed race, and fewer than 1% as
other.
The companys hegemony in search has laid the foundation for an incredible business
built on ad sales. Alphabet, the parent of Google, last year ranked No. 36 on
the Fortune500, with some $75 billion in sales up from No. 92 and $29 billion just five
years earlier. According to estimates from S&P Global, Alphabet will report more than
$19 billion in profit for 2016 on $89 billion in revenue.
Nestle:
Nestl was founded in 1866 by Henri Nestl and is today the world's biggest food and
beverage company. Sales at the end of 2005 were CHF 91 bn, with a net profit of CHF 8
bn. Nestl employ around 250,000 people from more than 70 countries and have factories
or operations in almost every country in the world. The history of Nestl began in
Switzerland in 1867 when Henri Nestl, the pharmacist, launched his product Farine
Lacte Nestl, a nutritious gruel for children.
Since it began over 130 years ago, Nestls success with product innovations and
business acquisitions has turned it into the largest Food Company in the world. As the
years have passed, the Nestl family has grown to include chocolates, soups, coffee,
cereals, frozen products, yoghurts, mineral water and other food products. Beginning in
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the 70s, Nestl has continued to expand its product portfolio to include pet foods,
pharmaceutical products and cosmetics too. Today, Nestl markets a great number of
products, all with one thing in common: the high quality for which Nestl has become
renowned throughout the world.
The Company's strategy is guided by several fundamental principles. Nestl's existing
products grow through innovation and renovation while maintaining a balance in
geographic activities and product lines. Long-term potential is never sacrificed for short-
term performance. The Company's priority is to bring the best and most relevant products
to people, wherever they are, whatever their needs, throughout their lives. Taste of Nestl
in each of the countries where Nestl sell products. Nestl is based on the principle of
decentralization, which means each country is responsible for the efficient running of its
business including the recruitment of its staff.
IBM:
Thomas (2004) highlighted that the number of IBMs female executives has increased by
370 % from 1995 to 2004. Besides, the number of ethnic minority executives has
increased by 233 % and the number of executives with disabilities increased by 300 %
during the same time span. The reason for these remarkable increases can be found in
IBMs creation of eight task forces in 1995. Each of these task forces consisted of 15-20
members that were of the same constituency as the constituency that the task force was
focusing on. The eight groups represented Asians, Blacks, Hispanics, white man, Native
Americans, people with disabilities, women and gays/lesbians/bisexuals/transgender
individuals. Thomas (2004) points out that the goals of the task forces were to find out
what needs to be done for the constituency to feel welcome and valued at IBM and to
explore strategies to maximize the particular constituencys productivity. Another focus
of the task forces was to explore the constituencies buying decisions to establish IBM as
the preferred solution provider for all constituencies the task forces represented. The task
forces didnt work isolated from the remaining work force but rather all employees were
encouraged to provide the task forces with suggestions for how to make IBM a more
inclusive organization. The task forces effort resulted among other things in the
recruiting of a more diverse workforce and it also helped IBM to attract a more diverse
costumer set. For instance, the people with disabilities task force achieved the
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establishment of Accessibility Centers that solely work on making IBMs products more
accessible to disabled people. Overall, the task forces helped IBM to develop to a
multicultural organization by creating greater diversity in the workplace and by attracting
a more diverse costumer pool.
Advantages:
Increased creativity:
When people from different cultures, backgrounds and beliefs come together to work for a
common goal, creativity can be achieved. What is already artistic can become even better.
What already works can evolve into something else.
Increased adaptability:
To solve problems of cross-cultural environment, an organization has to improve a
variety of solutions, forcing them to adapt to a different culture. This process takes time
but it totally works. People from different backgrounds can give ideas for adapting to
changing demands of customer and fluctuating markets.
Increased range of services:
People from different cultures have different experiences, skills, and sense of
understanding, difference of languages enables a company to provide customers services
globally. For example In a hotel, people of different cultures will have the confidence to
accommodate guests from different culture as well.
Productivity increases:
Globalization and internalization are two of the gifts that cross-cultural diversity brings to
the table, which is why foreign executives are very successful in the corporate world in
America, while citizens from Europe find their place in high-level jobs. Put them together
in one place and what you get is increased productivity.
Proficiency of different languages:
Companies that have to deal with cross-cultural communication can hire employees with
proficiency in other languages that can help the organization for valuing their customers.
Attitude to work:
People of some countries are more hard working and are team oriented. For example
people of japan are hard working so they are loyal towards their work and have to many
industries working in their country
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Disadvantages
Language Differences:
People from different culture speak different languages. The biggest issue dealing with
cross-cultural communication in a business environment is the difficulty created by
language.
Increased competition:
When employees do not accept other culture, they are likely to compete against each
other, rather than become collaborative members of a team. This result in divisions where
people prefer to work separately, prolonging the process of task or project completion.
This can have a negative impact on business because progress will be slow moving.
Lack of freedom of speech:
In a diverse workplace, an employee must be sensitive to cultural background, beliefs .So
you dont just crack jokes about the Chinese or Indians, because it wont be as acceptable
as when a stand-up comedian would do it. People cannot easily state their opinions or tell
stories whenever they want for fear of being judged by anyone.
Fear of unknown:
In the organization when an employee has fear of any unknown person and wont be able
to trust them properly so there would be lack of confidence between the employees that
are having different cultures and there level of abilities and skills would be insufficient.
Recommendations
Provide workshops, tips and techniques for communicating effectively in cross-cultural business
environment
Learn the dos and donts of the country and cultures with which you are partnering.
Run meetings to expose your employees to other cultures.
Conduct activities to demonstrate that how much dependent any person is in the organization.
Coach employees to mediate conflicts related to cultural misunderstandings.
Adapt effective marketing material and business approach when the organization is working
globally.
Organize productive interactions that are beneficial for all the parties.
Develop strategies for relationships and business cycles based on appropriate levels of formality,
business hierarchy and timing.
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Conclusion:
Cross Cultural communication is very important for the success of a business due to increased
globalization. However, there are some issues and challenges which can overcome by making
suitable strategies. Companies like Samsung, Apple, Google and IBM captured global market
with the help of their diverse work force. Though it is challenging to communicate with other
cultures but if company do that successfully, outcomes are mostly beneficial. Increasing
creativity, adaptability, productivity and proficiency, cross cultural communication also face
some challenges just like language difference, lack of freedom of speech fear of an unknown
person and it also increases the competition between the employess.
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