Importance of Effective Cross-Cultural Communication

BeautyPro is a multinational company dealing with the distribution of organic cosmetics in various parts of the world. Its headquarter is in Brisbane, Australia. It offers an array of beauty services with many clinics providing comprehensive and advanced cosmetic skin care products. With the BeautyPro expansion to other countries such as China, the issue of intercultural communication arises.

Intercultural communication is a term used to refer to diverse communication issues that are inevitable in an organization (Padhi, 2011). They usually come up due to the composition of people of different ethnic, social, religious as well as an educational background within the company. Due to these differences, each employee brings in a unique set of values and experiences into the workplace hence creating conflicts. The culture of the people where the company is located and how the employees were brought up, plays a vital role in the development and success of a company. Therefore, it is very vital for an organization to consider means in which they can facilitate effective communication between the employees and other stakeholders to bridge the intercultural communication barriers (Costea, 2011). Failure to resolve the cultural-based conflicts and tensions arising within the company, will eventually lead to decreased productivity, diminished performance, and also the closure of the company in the long-run.

Effective intercultural communication is essential in making a company succeed in an environment composed of people of different ethnic backgrounds and holding different cultural values. As such, it serves as a shaper of cultural identity as well as an expression of artistic background. (Li, 2011).  It’s through an effective intercultural communication process that the management of the company can create proper ethnic identities, professional identities, and also class identities. Language remains to be the cornerstone of an efficient and effective intercultural communication. Therefore, the most significant element of ethnocentrism revolves around language. For instance, the majority of the China people speak Chinese as their primary language. On the other side, Australian people are known to use the English language and, thereby regarded as the de facto language of the nation. Therefore, the language factor has to be put into consideration in ensuring the success of the BeautyPro company in China. Otherwise, the language issue can lead to conflicts and non-cooperation between the co-workers as well as affecting their interactions with customers hence causing disastrous effects (Hymes, 2005). As a manager in China, there is a considerable need to understand the culture of the Chinese people. In doing so, the communication will be improved, and no misunderstandings will arise. Therefore, this will help in the growth of the business.

Intercultural Challenges Faced by BeautyPro in China

The purpose of this report, therefore, is to identify the intercultural challenges that the China-based BeautyPro company is facing and, thereby come up with suitable recommendations on how the problems can be overcome. The report will aim to discuss those challenges in depth and offer possible practical and logical solutions. The structure of the report begins with the introduction of the company and the importance of effective cross-cultural communication, analysis of the intercultural challenges facing the company in China, a summary of the report, recommendations of the identified problems, and the references used.

In today’s era of globalization, organizations are faced with several intercultural challenges. Globalization has increased the inevitability of intercultural communication (Gudykunst, 2002). Understanding other people’s culture helps to avoid the misinterpretations that are likely to occur due to language and culture barrier. Communication is vital in any business operation. Any Multinational Company like BeautyPro has to understand the diverse cultures of the people and find means in which they can communicate effectively with them. Some of the challenges faced by the BeautyPro company in China include; different cultural values and etiquette, direct versus indirect styles of communication and different cultural norms of decision-making (Bücker, Furrer, Poutsma, & Buyens, 2014)

The culture of a particular group ranges from language, social habits, religion, arts, and music. The system of beliefs, values as well as physical products differ between China and Australia. Belief systems determine how an individual think, behaves and carries out his or her daily activities. It also involves the value systems which influences how people act especially regarding honesty, openness, and integrity. Finally, it encompasses physical products such as clothing, music, and food. As such, how one behaves cannot be separated from the cultural habits he has obtained since birth (Adekola & Sergi, 2016). Therefore, it is crucial for managers to offer cross-cultural training to employees to promote the growth and success of the company.

The Chinese market has a vast potential in the growth of any organization. Its rapidly changing demographics, great human resource availability, and increased consumer spending makes the marketing attractive for an organization. For one to be able to navigate easily in the Chinese business world, there is a need to learn to some basic skills, etiquette, and courtesies. The attitude that one has towards the seniors, hierarchies, and the entire relationship among the various employees need to be put in check. In dealing with customers, employees, and other workforces within the organization who belong to disparate cultural backgrounds, managers need to employ critical cross-cultural communication skills- both the trans-cultural and intercultural communication (Wang, Fan, Freeman, & Zhu, 2017). Language barriers, aesthetic value divergence, and cultural nuances usually cause unintended misunderstanding among co-workers as well reducing their production efficiency within the internal interface. Due to differences in cultural values and etiquettes between China and Australia, an organization has to be established in knowing how to tackle these differences. It is worth noting that individuals who do not share the same cultural background, display different patterns of thinking, reasoning, reacting as well as reacting based on their cultural heritage. Cultural norms that determine the behavior of an individual, if not taken into account undermine communication in an organization. Conflicts that can occur in a business hence affecting the objectives, goals, and productivity, are majorly intensified by the emerging cultural differences such as etiquette and values (Casimir, Waldman, Bartram, & Yang, 2006). If the protocol of the people is not understood, then it will create a significant barrier in intercultural communication and negotiations.

Summary of Report

Chinese culture and Australian culture differ significantly concerning values, etiquettes, beliefs, and lifestyle. Cultural divergence as such play a significant role in determining people’s ideology. In China, people value collectivism as compared to individualism that is held in Australia (Triandis, 2018). Individualism emphasizes only on the productivity, achievement, competence, and independence of a person. However, in Chinese organizational culture, overall harmony among the people and group objectives takes precedence. Therefore, it is essential to put this into consideration as a manager and ensure that the Chinese employees are not left out, and they feel part of the organization. If not careful, the Chinese employees in the organization may think that the Australian culture is indifferent, cold, and uncaring. On the other hand, an Australian worker may have a difficult time acclimatizing to the Chinese workplace since they are more of self-reliant individuals. As such, effective intercultural communication practices should be in place to ensure these two groups of people interrelate with one another efficiently (Pauluzzo & Shen, 2018). Individualism and collectivism influences to a greater extent the communication styles of people. While the individualistic culture inspires one to be open and hence speak up and express themselves, the collectivistic culture encourages people to hold their feelings and show them subtly.

Styles used in communication determines how effective business operation will be carried out. If employees cannot communicate effectively and efficiently with one another, or with the top management, or customers and stakeholders, then, there is a high probability of business failure. Given that the BeautyPro has now extended to China and the culture of these two countries differ, it is crucial to lay a foundation whereby a conducive environment will be created for business growth. Communication is fundamental in the passage of information within and outside the company. Usually, Australia is a low culture context country that relies mainly on verbal expression in their communication. People communicate directly to one another. On the other side, China is a high context culture that gives less information in verbal expression. Thereby, their mode of passing the message is the indirect communication style (Yang, 2016).

China is an interdependent country that embraces togetherness and unity. It is important to note that the meanings that are attached to a word may be interpreted in different ways and carries several implications. The manner in which they are uttered or the context in which they are used as well give different connotations. Since they rely more on body language, symbolic objects, and facial expression, it is crucial for employees to understand when and where those signs are used. For instance, the same word when accompanied by a body language may mean differently with the same word used somewhere else. Understanding the non-language code is vital in ensuring business survival as it has the power to break or make a company (Brew & Cairns, 2004). For instance, due to the culture of Chinese, their women do not maintain eye contact or a firm grasp with men. As such, Australian businesspeople can mistake their behavior as a lack of confidence, trustworthiness, and honesty. Therefore, it is vital for Australian employees and others to understand the culture of Chinese people so that they can avoid misunderstandings.

Recommendations for Identified Problems

Contrary to the Chinese culture, countries that rely on low context communication express their ideas directly and are known to be frank in assessing any situation. People here are flawless in their words, and a universal meaning can be deduced easily. It is also essential for the company to train any Chinese workers on the importance of using direct mode of communication (Park, Lee, & Pinto, 2017). If a business operates under the high context communication culture, it has a very high probability of success.

In the direct communication style, usually employed in low-context communication cultures, the speaker intentions are revealed. However, in indirect form employed in high-context communication culture, verbal messages are used which camouflage the real intentions of the speaker (Korac-Kakabadse, Kouzmin, Korac-Kakabadse, & Savery, 2001) Therefore, what the speaker said may not be what he intended. One has to read the non-verbal cues and deduce what the speaker meant. In cultures that embrace collectivistic such as China, they aim at achieving overall emotional quality interactions rather than meanings of the words. They aim at protecting mutual face and maintain social harmony. Courtesy is valued over truthfulness. For instance, when selling a product and a Chinese feels it’s not up to the standard they will not tell you directly.

With the expansion of globalization and the establishment of multinational companies in different countries, it is crucial to understand the cultural norms employed by the host country. Culture influences various aspects of running a business. For instance, exercising of power, indigenous methods of decision-making, procedures of economic relations and production as well as economic and socio-political behavior (Podrug, 2011). Culture variables influence significantly the decisions made by the management. As an Australian manager based in China, there is a need to understand the culture of Chinese people and their viewpoint when it comes to organization management. They should be ready to take the perspectives of Chinese and embrace cultural awareness in the development of appropriate policies (Khairullah & Khairullah, 2013). The decision-making process is structured in such a way that the international managers have to choose a particular course of action in the midst of many alternatives.

A country’s culture influences the decision-making process and styles in an organization since the culture-based value systems of a state determines how an individual will perceive or interpret a situation. The management style of an organization relies significantly on the cultural values and norms of the host nation. Factors such as individualism, masculinity, power distance, and uncertainty avoidance are vital (Soares, Farhangmehr, & Shoham, 2007). For instance, on masculinity, Chinese managers have more vigor compared to Australian managers. On individualism, Australians embrace more of this compared to Chinese people. On the power distance dimension, the Chinese show the highest as compared to Australians (Khatri, 2009). Therefore, it is crucial to understand all these factors as they will in one way or another determine the decision making process. In China, the decision-making process is primarily autocratic. Therefore, the employees understand that the top management makes the final decisions of the organization. Australian managers should consequently understand this and not expect the junior employees to make any decision since they rely mostly on their bosses.

References

The Chinese culture is established on various philosophies based on several traditions such as legalism, Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism. The culture emphasis significantly on social order and, therefore, every individual should understand their role and position in the society. They embrace collectivism as opposed to individualism. They esteem work so much, and they give all in their jobs. It is crucial for Australian managers and other workers to understand that work is vital in China and thereby they should value it (Yuan & Clegg, 2002). Chinese are polite people who show good manners and courtesy. They are usually patient people who make decisions without any hurry. In integrating with them, therefore, the Australian managers should be ready to cooperate with them and involve them in the decision-making process. However, they should not make numerous drastic changes at the same time since the Chinese do they things slowly.

Conclusion

The greatest challenge encountered by many multinational organizations nowadays is the issue of cultural diversity. The workforce is increasingly becoming diverse with people of different cultural backgrounds. Cultural nuances, cultural values, and norms divergence, and language barriers lead to misunderstandings and affect communication efficiency within the organization. The significance of intercultural communication in a multinational environment, therefore, cannot be taken lightly. Intercultural communication in business serves as a lubricant, mitigating any possible frictions that can occur as well as resolving conflicts that inevitably arise in an organization. It also acts as a coagulant whereby it integrates the collective strength and wisdom of all the workers, thereby improving teamwork collaboration. Teamwork is very vital especially to the BeautyPro company given that it is established in Chinese soil and the Chinese people value unity, harmony, and cooperation. Intercultural communication as well brings multiple cultures together by uniting diverse races and ethnicity together. Through all these, intercultural communication leads to a sizeable virtuous circle that contains practical synergy effect.

Many cultural challenges are facing BeautyPro company in China such as different cultural values, communication style, and diverse cultural norms of decision-making. The culture of China and Australia differs significantly. Therefore, the top management of the company (Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and other directors) should encourage the training of the employees based in China on the significance of intercultural communication. When the Australian employees get to learn the culture of the Chinese people and embrace it, it will be easier to interact with them and understand their needs and wants. By doing so, the growth of the company will be guaranteed, and it will be able to develop and expand tremendously.

For any multinational company to be successful in a foreign country, it has to embrace effective intercultural communication. Relevant skills are vital in managing intercultural context as well as expectations (Thomas & Peterson, 2017). It is crucial for the top management of the BeautyPro to understand the challenges facing the company in China, and hence determine the manner in which they can be overcome to stay competitive and relevant in the region. Regarding the three challenges discussed above that are facing the BeautyPro in China, the following recommendations are outlined which when implemented within the organization can result in the growth of the company.

The culture of Chinese and Australians is entirely different. If not carefully understood, there will be miscommunication due to ambiguity and, therefore, increasing misunderstandings. The first thing that an Australian employee needs to do while in China is to understand the Chinese culture. There is no universal management method, but management procedure varies from one culture to another (Fang, 2003). Even in the management of a business, you will have to put into consideration other factors such as politics, religion, cultural beliefs, family, and people’s norms. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the Geert Hofstede cultural dimension model. According to this model, the values of a nation differ in five perspectives; Power distance, Uncertainty Avoidance, Masculinity versus Femininity, Long-term versus Short-term, and Individualism and Collectivism (Yoo, Donthu, & Lenartowicz, 2011). If the managers understand the culture of China by these dimensions, then it will be easier to maneuver. The top management of the company should then develop the right competencies to equip the managers based in Australia with the right skills and altitude to work well. The employees should also be cultural flexible and be able to tolerate one another.

Integration method can be used to determine the success or failure of the above recommendations. It involves putting together all the components of intercultural communication such as beliefs, norms, and values of the involved people and analyzing how they influence the outcome of communication in an organization (Bhawuk & Brislin, 1992). The method uses the mnemonic ‘SPEAKING’ (setting, participants, ends, acts, keys, instrumentalities, norms, and genre) to determine how an individual understands the culture of others. This the method that has been used by the China Henan International Cooperation Group (CHICO) in Africa and other parts of the world. They encourage their employees to understand the culture and norms of their host country, thereby enhancing their co-existence.

China uses the indirect style of communication. It would be crucial if the CEO and directors of BeautyPro company would enroll Australian employees in China branch in a program where they would be taught the meaning of the non-verbal code used by the Chinese people. Lack of knowledge concerning the non-verbal code such as the body movements, gestures, proxemics, chronemics, facial expressions, and paralanguage used by Chinese people, will bring a lot of misunderstanding and affect communication among the managers and employees as well as with customers and other stakeholders (Selmer, 2005). For instance, Chinese people value silence, and their slogan is, ‘silence is golden.’ On the other side, Australians term silence as an act of shyness or lack of enthusiasm. Competence in communication is therefore crucial in ensuring the success of a company in a new environment. Australians should be encouraged to embrace intercultural competence whereby they can participate and familiarize with various activities of the host country. Having the right attitude, knowledge, and skills will ensure effective intercultural communication. The staff should also be encouraged to master the aspect of intercultural sensitivity thereby be able to appreciate differences originating from the culture of other people. These can only be achieved if the CEO can employ intercultural development trainers who will teach the staff on the above matters.

The success or failure of this can be measured using the semantic differentiating method (Landauer & Dumais, 1997). Through this method, the connotative meaning of the message is analyzed and thereby one can tell if they got the message right, whether it was correct, fluent, pleasant, aggressive, incorrect, or distorted. Many non-governmental institutions in China have mastered the importance of intercultural communication and how language barrier can affect their performance. As such, they encourage coaching of their executives and other employees in mastering the Chinese style of communication.

Chinese is a nation that embraces high-power distance and collectivism. The managers have the final say in decision-making and the subordinates staff respect that. Any Australian manager in China should know these and, therefore understand he or she is in charge. They should build a strong social and interpersonal relationship with the Chinese employees. They should also develop mutual loyalty, cooperation, and trust (Presbitero & Attar, 2018). Since China is a collectivist nation, during remuneration and offering rewards to employees, one should incorporate equality. The decisions made should reflect long-term perspectives as well as the collective goal of the company. The intrinsic reward should be emphasized contrary to performance-based. For instance, Khairullah & Khairullah, 2013 showed that when a manager promotes some staff due to their outstanding performance without promoting the whole group, the performance of the company deteriorates. Chinese people work well as a team rather than working for the benefit of a single person.

The success or failure of these recommendations can be measured based on the preference, practice, and effectiveness of the decision-making style employed (Ko & Yang, 2011). The CEO and other executives should analyze the communication styles (both the limitations and benefits) used by China and Australia and settle for the best. For instance, Hodge International Advisors, a company operating in China and other parts of the world appreciates the importance of business skills training programs that teaches negotiation skills, teamwork, and effective communication. Therefore, by doing so, it has helped the company grow to greater heights.

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