1 Group Project Putting Miscommunication in Context Group member: Somayyah Alghamdi Connor Mosby Biruk Assefa Negassie Deme Instructur : Dr. Deborah L. Lyons 2 Group Project 1- Cross-cultural communication - Ranking the categories of the task environment: Cross-cultural communication is central to any business organization. In order of importance, I rank the task environment players starting with the customers, then suppliers, strategic partners, regulators, and finally the competitors. When ranking them, I considered the value obtained from each of the players regarding the cross-cultural communication. For instance, the most valued party is the customer as they bring the most benefits to an organization from the sales. The supplier follows closely because, without them, the valued supply cannot be obtained. Ranking the task environment in a business follows the accrued benefits from each of the parties and the risk posed by a cross-cultural miscommunication episode (Griffin, 2015). The category in the task environment that shows the most difficulty in the cross-cultural communication is the strategic partner. The second in ranking is the regulators, then suppliers, competitors, and finally customers. This ranking is based on the relativity of the issues that the party could be discussing with an organization. A strategic partner needs to understand many details of a relationship with the organization so as to come into a mutually benefiting relationship. However, at the bottom of the rank, a customer knows what they want, and the organization can understand a customer needs by studying trends and demographics thus the difficulty is lowest. Cultural context affected both rankings through influencing the importance of decisions to be made (Griffin, 2015). For instance, communication requiring high-context communication would prove difficult and important at the same time. 2- Organization’s culture – the role of Interpersonal and communications norm: 3 Group Project 3- Social Media Culture America V. China: Computer networking and the internet revolution which started in the sixties promised a great deal of changes to our daily lives not the least of which is the emergence of social media. In the past few decades the emergence of social media has manifested a majority of our online presence. Not only that but social media has also, to some degree affected our socio-cultural experience. Social media can be used in many ways, perhaps too many to be listed here. However, its primary function is to serve as a platform for people to share their ideas with countless others. This primary function of social media can be exercised freely by those who also exercise free speech, but unlike the internet; which with some variation pretty much exists everywhere in the world, speech is heavily restricted in some parts of the world. A prime example of this is China. The ruling Communist party of China does not allow for the freedom of speech, especially political speech. As a result, despite being one of the technological advanced nations in the world, Facebook and other social media platforms are blocked in China. As part of their efforts to navigate around this restriction Chinese users alternated to using Weibo. In addition to Weibo being specific to China, it has some differences with Facebook. Although it allows its users to network with others the government can easily censor Weibo, unlike Facebook. Weibo also limits its users’ messages to a 140 characters which is not present in Facebook. Similar to Facebook users can share photos and videos and comment on each other’s posts but while Facebook can be used in multiple languages, Weibo is only limited to Chinese language and some English. Much like Facebook, Weibo also contains several 4 Group Project advertisements on its platform. Most of the ads seem to be specifically for Chinese consumers including traditional Chinese products. However, Weibo also contains international news and pop culture products like international movies and music. 4- Cultural Context Inventory: Drawing some broad conclusions about the cultural context in which you are most comfortablehigh or low. Hardly ever 1 2 3 4 5 Sometimes Almost Always When communicating, I tend to use a lot of facial expressions, hand gestures and body movements rather than relying mostly on words When communicating, I tend to spell things out quickly and directly rather than talking around and adding to the point I describe myself in terms of my accomplishments rather than in terms of my family relationships I prefer working on one thing at a time to working on a variety of things at once In figuring out problems, I prefer focusing on the whole situation to focusing on specific parts or taking one step at a time I use body languages when communicating than just relying on words because I am a visual person. I want people to understand what I am talking about so I use my body to add to the communication. I also like talking to people so I tend to talk about every detail. In my culture, it 5 Group Project is sometimes seen as rude when one jumps to the point without conversating even a little. I don’t brag about my accomplishments and hardly talk about them. My culture has taught me the importance of being humble and grounded. I can’t do two things at once because I wouldn’t put my all into what I am doing. I tend to focus on one thing before I jump into another. When figuring out problems, it depends on the situation. If the problem requires attention, then I try to figure out the problem step by step. CHAPTER 3 Understanding the Organization's Environment 65 MANAGEMENT IN ACTION Putting Miscommunication in Context "In an age of diversity, cultural differences are just as likely to appear across desks as they are across borders. -COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST BRETT RUTLEDGE Taking a trip into the international dimension of your business environment doesn't have to make you feel as if you're in the Twilight Zone, but you'll probably want to do a little preparation before you reach for your passport. Even then, however, things can be touch and go. Dana Marlowe, the principal partner in a U.S. IT consulting firm, thought that she'd done her homework before heading to Tunisia to deliver the keynote address at an international conference; after all, she'd read up on cultural differences and even memorized a few well-chosen Arabic phrases. When she got to Tuni- sia, she was given a reception by a group of local busi- nessmen. Coffee was served all around, but the weather was extremely hot and Marlowe wasn't much of a coffee drinker to start with. The practical and cour- teous thing to do, she decided, was to accept the cup of coffee but not to drink it. Fifteen minutes later, she looked up to see that none of her Tunisian hosts had taken sips from their own cups. "I didn't realize," she later admitted, "that they were all waiting for me to take a sip of my coffee first."1 Without stumbling over a single word, Marlowe had nevertheless managed to commit a communications faux pas. Fortunately, she didn't cause an international incident, but it wouldn't have been the first time that failure to appreciate differences in cultural norms had led to miscommunication and strained relations between two countries. In 2001, a U.S. Navy submarine struck a Japanese training ship for high school students while surfacing near Hawaii, killing nine people aboard the Japanese vessel. Tension between the two coun- tries arose not simply from the accident itself, but also from differences in cultural norms regarding apologies. First, the U.S. Navy was slow to make an official apology, issuing only public statements of "sincere regret" while delaying any admission of responsibility. American cultural norms dictated that legal consider- ations be primary-an investigation had to be Communicating with people from different cultures can result in unexpected mistakes and create unanticipated problems. When this U.S. Naval submarine struck a Japanese training ship for high school students and killed nine people conflict arose between the two countries because of cultural norms related to apologies. GEORGE F. LEE/AFP/Getty Images 66 PART 2 Understanding the Environmental Context of Managing necessary communications could be limited to specific Gr from competitors in a limited domes- issues, mainly legal. "In an age of diversity," observes one communica- tions specialist, "cultural differences are just as to appear across desks as they are across borders." O, across both at the same time: More and more U.S. businesses have come to realize that the effort to take tic market is less promising than the strategy of seek- ing new customers in expansive global markets. As companies thus explore opportunities in the global business environment, managers are likely to run into situations like the one encountered by the customer- service manager of a U.S. subsidiary of a Japanese company. He faxed a brief request to the home office in Tokyo for some information needed by a potential customer. When he received no answer, he faxed the request again, this time marking it urgent. Again, he received no response. Why? It seems that his request—"Please send this information at once" - was too brief: It left out information which, from his low-context perspective, was unnecessary but which, for his Japanese counterparts, was required in order to furnish sufficient context. They wanted to know such basics as who needed the information, why it was so important, and what would happen if it weren't sent at once. Were such details really critical to the exchange of information? Perhaps not, but the com- munication between the two parties failed and the relationship with a potential customer was jeopardized. conducted, and the issues of liability and compensation had to be studied. Eventually, President George W. Bush, Secretary of State Colin Powell, Secretary of Defense likely Donald Rumsfeld, and U.S. Ambassador to Japan Thomas Foley formally apologized to the Japanese prime minister and the Emperor of Japan. The com- mander of the Pacific Fleet, Adm. Thomas B. Fargo, personally apologized to the victims' families. The families, however, rejected all of these apolo- gies out of hand. Why? Japanese cultural norms required a personal apology from the submarine com- mander, Cmdr. Scott Waddell. Waddell, however, was legally constrained from speaking about the case and prevented by Naval public relations officials from join- ing Adm. Fargo in his apology to the families, who demanded from Waddell a personal admission of responsibility for his "crime." Some even felt that he should, in keeping with Japanese tradition, kneel before them in order to make it. At that point, they would decide whether or not to accept his apology.* According to many experts in cross-cultural communi- cations, the problem in such cases results from differences in cultural context. In Japan, for example, communication takes place in a high-context culture. People in high- context cultures focus their communication efforts on exchanges with members of in-groups—longtime friends, family members, and work colleagues. In-group commu- nication tends to be frequent and highly detailed, and members are always kept up-to-date on information that's important to the group. Members of in-groups also depend on certain traditions and ceremonies to define the roles played by individual members. American businesspeople typically don't concern By contrast, people in low-context cultures (such as themselves with the dissemination of such detailed infor- the United States) are used to directing communica- mation, but Japanese businesspeople consider it impor- tions to a variety of groups. They engage in much more tant that everyone in the relevant in-group share as out-group communication and allow the specific infor- much information as possible. So how does such infor- mational requirements of each situation to determine mation get disseminated in the high-context culture of a the nature and scope of exchanges. They expect indi- Japanese workplace? A top manager at a U.S. global viduals to keep themselves up-to-date and see no rea- consulting firm learned about one way from a recently son for discussing absolutely every little thing that's relocated Japanese employee. When the employee pertinent to a situation. complained that he simply could not figure out what was Not surprisingly, when the two types of cultures going on in the office, the manager found out that he come into conflict-as in the episode of the U.S. expected office information to be shared in the same submarine and the Japanese training vessel- way that it would be in a Japanese workplace. In particu- miscommunication is likely to result. The Japanese lar, he missed the Japanese practice of going out with families, for example, assumed a higher level of mutual in-group colleagues four or five times a week to drink understanding than U.S. officials, who assumed that and chat until the wee hours. •Cmdr. Waddell was reprimanded and allowed to retire with his pension intact. He is now an inspirational speaker who, for $10,000 to $15,000, will speak on such topics as "Failure Is Not Final," "Saying 'I'm Sorry' Works," and "Communicate Effectively! It Doesn't have to Be Lonely at the Top YOU MAKE THE CALL Putting Miscommunication in Context 1. Think of the categories of the task environment- competitors, customers, suppliers, strategic partners, regu- lators -as groups of people with whom you might need to carry on some form of cross-cultural communication. First, rank the five categories in order of importance when it comes to ensuring effective communications. What factors did you consider when ranking the groups in order of importance? Next, rank them in order of dif- ficulty. What factors did you consider when ranking them in order of difficulty? How did the issue of cultural con- text affect both of your rankings? 2. In what ways-both positive and negative - might an organization's culture reinforce the role of interpersonal and communications norms among its members? Un- der what circumstances might an organization find it advantageous to adjust the effects of cultural context on communications, both with people inside the organiza- tion and with people outside of it? What practical steps might an organization take to adjust the effects of cul- tural context on its communications practices? 3. Log on to the front page of Facebook - the one in- tended for Americans. Look it over and then log on to (Continued 98 PART 2 Understanding the Environmental Context of Managing 4. For each of the five items in the table below, check 1, the front page of Weibo, the Chinese version of Face- book. Needless to say, each is designed for an audience with cultural norms that favor different types of commu- nication. Leaving aside the fact that you probably can't read anything on the Weibo page, what sorts of general- izations can you make about the difference in communi- cations norms between the American and Chinese audiences targeted by the ads? 2, 3, 4, or 5 to indicate your tendencies and preferences in a work situation.* The questionnaire is abbreviated, and you don't have to worry about scoring. Once you've finished, give some thought to your responses and try to draw some broad conclusions about the cultural con. text in which you're most comfortable - high or low. CULTURAL CONTEXT INVENTORY Hardly Sometimes Almost always ever 1 1 2 3 4 5 1. When communicating, I tend to use a lot of facial expressions, hand gestures, and body movements rather than relying mostly on words. 2. When communicating, I tend to spell things out quickly and directly rather than talking around and adding to the point. 3. I describe myself in terms of my accomplishments rather than in terms of my family relationships. 4. I prefer working on one thing at a time to working on a variety of things at once. 5. In figuring out problems, I prefer focusing on the whole situation to focusing on specific parts or taking one step at a time. *Questionnaire by Claire B. Halverson. Adapted from Bruce La Back, ed., "What's Up with Culture?" On-Line Cultural Resource for Training Abroad (University of the Pacific, 2014), www2.pacific.edu, on July 16, 2014.
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