Business and Intercultural Communication

Discuss about the Cross-Cultural Communication for Swedish Company.

The report discusses an intercultural miscommunication between people of two cultures who work for the same company. The report tells about a Swedish company which has a proper guideline of not purchasing more than 30% of any item from any vendor. Moreover, the vendors were required to submit their bidding prices and vendors were selected according to the suitability of the prices. However, when the Swedish manager Andres, when visited their South-East Asian subsidiaries was shocked to see that the regional Chinese manager was not following the rules set by the parent organization. There number of suppliers were limited and they were not chosen by proper bidding but by contacts. The resultant vendors were all known to the Chinese manager and were all Chinese. The Swedish manager tried to explain that this type of business was not approved by the parent company but the Chinese manager was not ready to understand. He explained his views that it was in fact proper to deal with known vendors as they can be accessed in times of need. Moreover, they can be tracked down if required. They can also give good discounts as they were receiving the larger parts of the orders. This type of miscommunication is quite common in intercultural business activities (Kramsch, 2014). There are several factors of cultural gap that are responsible for these type of problems. The purpose of this report is to analyse these problems and suggesting recommendations to develop the relation between two individuals. 

The aspect of intercultural communication is very essential in modern day business. Different business activities and projects such as acquisition of overseas companies, outsourcing of products and services, and exploring new markets for potential business activities requires business firms to establish companies overseas (Dunning, 2014). These overseas projects are handled by global project managers. The first ability of a global project manager should be the ability to adopt intercultural communication. In case of overseas projects, the projects are operated by the regional professionals and it is very essential for the manager to effectively communicate with them (Barakat, Lorenz, Ramsey & Cretoiu, 2015). In the specified report that is being discussed, it is seen there remains a communication gap between Andres, the Swedish manager and his South-East Asian counterpart, the Chinese manager.

The relation between culture and communication is very important to understand in order to understand the reason of communication gap. Culture is very important in different parts of the world and it is through culture that the individual of a certain region learns to communicate (Martin & Nakayama, 2013). This factor leads to different types of communication and interaction in different parts of the world. The language does not act as the principal barrier in these cases, it the importance of the meaning or the approach towards the situation that matters. In the case that is being analysed, it is being reflected that the Swedish manager reflects the European style of business which is more formal and based on rules and regulations. However, the Chinese manager reflects the Chinese style of doing business that is dealing within the family. These type of culture based activities reflect how the culture impacts the pattern of living and the mind-set of the managers and it is reflected when the intercultural communication takes place.

Culture and Communication

The above situation can be analysed using the Hofstede model of Cultural Dimensions. The first aspect of Hofstede model discuss about the definition of the power distance index (Matusitz & Musambira, 2013). The power distance index refers to the measure of inequality that is present in intercultural communication and how much of it is accepted by the people. It can be seen in the Hofstede model that a high power distance is displayed in the Asian countries as there is a higher level of inequality in the society. However, a low power distance index is reflected in the European societies as there is lower inequality present in the European society (Daniels & Greguras, 2014). The communication gap between the Swedish manager and the Chinese manager can be seen as a result of this high power distance index in the Asian countries.

The second part of the Hofstede model refers to the definition of the Individualism versus Collectivism of a certain society. The Individualism refers to the society which represents loose connections, little interpersonal interactions and little sharing of responsibility (Marcus & Le, 2013). The individuals give priority to their own time, and freedom. These type of individualism focuses on individual success and hence results in individual hard work. The Collectivism refers to lower individual value in a society. This results in stronger group cohesion, greater amount of trust among individuals and respect for each other. In the concerned discussion it can be seen that the Swedish manager who represented the individualistic society reflects ideas where he could uphold his company’s rules and hence was sub-consciously aiming for personal glory where he could dominate over his Chinese counterparts. On the other hand, the Chinese manager represented the collectivism in the society where he found it suitable to rely on his known circle to operate the business activities. It was very easy to depend on his extended family for business deals and trade with them instead of the other vendors. This reflects the group cohesion present in societies with high collectivism.

The context of discussion can also be analysed using the Trompenaars model for cultural communication. The several aspects such as universalism versus particularism, neutral versus emotional, achievement versus ascription are some of the aspects which can help understand different cultural gap and communication (Klasing, 2013).

The high universalism reflects the community where more importance is given to laws, values and obligations. They try to deal fairly and avoid favouritism based on relationships. The Swedish manager reflects these ideas and is an example of a product of a community influenced by universalism. The particularism reflect the society which values relationships and these emotional strategies influence the rules and regulations accordingly. The Chinese manager represents these societies.

Hofstede Model of Cultural Dimensions

In a neutral society, the people are more influenced by rationale than by emotions. The reliability on the reasons in taking decisions is more prevalent in these societies (Maleki & de Jong, 2014). The Swedish manager thinks in this pattern where he tries to make the Chinese manager understand how a neutral bidding is done by the company to give a fair chance to everyone to participate in the business. This also maintains a fair-play in the business and negates favouritism and corruption. The Chinese manager on the other hand reflects the emotional society where the people are more dependent on the emotions and does not hesitate to reflect them in their workplaces. In this culture it is acceptable to reflect emotional decisions. The inclusion of family members in the business deals is just the example of this emotional society. Moreover, the high trust in the known contacts is another example of how emotion influences the work culture.

The feeling of achievement is the prime source of influence in one type of culture. The society focuses on the work of an individual and what they have achieved in the process of work. The individual value is not considered in this matter (Ferraro & Briody, 2013). The ascription is the feeling of valuing the individual characteristic of a person on the basis of their role, power and position. The individual success is less significant is the determination of success.

The Asian society is a part of the larger culture which reflects the ethnic, national or international groups. This determines the characteristics of the Chinese manager who gives more importance to the ethnic values of the culture he belongs to. He gives more importance to doing business with known contacts who are primarily Chinese. This reflects how a large culture determines business regulations in Asia. However, on the other hand, the Swedish manager is part of small culture which negates cultural or ethnic values in favour of social justice. Andres, the Swedish manager hence focuses on abiding by the company which promotes justice and fair-play. 

The most important part that has been identified in these discussions is that there are several reasons for the intercultural communication gap and the manager should work on understanding these problems and work on different solutions other than upholding the European values. It is essential for Andres to understand the values of the local land, and how he will have to adapt accordingly in order to fill the gaps.

Trompenaars Model for Cultural Communication

The Swedish company, which has its base in Europe has formulated its laws and regulations according to the laws of their land and culture. They are more focused on the success of an individual and has a neutral approach towards their business deals. This has a more holistic approach in Europe where more value is given to the ideas of freedom and social justice. However, there is no value for these type of approach in the Asian culture. The Asian culture is defined by collective cohesion where more importance is given to collective success than to individual success. The Asian culture focuses on emotional values and determines work regulations accordingly. While running the company subsidiary on the Asian soil, the company must keep in mind these values and regulate formulate accordingly, or there might be clash of cultural values which may lead to attrition inside the company, as can be seen in the context, and can lead to the damage if the company.

The above discussed problems can be however solved with proper understanding and solutions. It is essential for both Andres and the Chinese manager to understand from which viewpoint they are talking and why they are stressing on the values of their own culture. It is essential for Andreas to understand that the subsidiary firm is located in an Asian country and the work ethics and rules here are determined according to the culture of the Asian society. While upholding the rules and regulations of the company, it is essential for him to understand the basics of the Asian society and then stress on different factors selectively so as to make them understand the rules of his company and at the same time not hurt their emotions. The Chinese manager on the other hand also should be considerate while stating his arguments as the company he is working is a European company. He should understand that the Asian values might not be appropriate in the European company and he might have to change and adapt certain policies so as not to displease the mother organization while continuing to work peacefully in his own location.

Understanding each other’s cultures can let both the managers sit together and discuss how the company can benefit from the amalgamations of the regulations. This can lead to the formation of new laws and regulations which can let the organisation and its employees work in harmony with each other. Understanding the European work ethics as a part of the small culture and its importance for valuing social justice is very important in understanding the vision of the company. This can give the Chinese manger in getting an upper hand while selecting the vendors. He can understand why the vendors required to be selected in an unbiased manner and what will be the benefit if the company. 

Secondly, Andreas, the Swedish manager should also understand the Asian values before putting forward his argument. He should be clear about the emotional values of the Asian society and understand why it is important for them to take decisions accordingly. He should look into the benefits of such decisions and see if any change in rules can be possible according to the Asian culture.

Conclusion: 

The above discussion highlights some of the basic problems that are faced in the cross cultural communication gap. However, the analysis helps the discussion to gain the reasons for these communication gaps. The conclusion can be derived from the discussion that with proper understanding and consideration these communication gaps can be filled. The essential ability of a global manager is to adapt to the work culture of the global projects and maintain a balanced relation with the employees so that the work is successful and the global objective of the company is obtained. 

References:

Barakat, L. L., Lorenz, M. P., Ramsey, J. R., & Cretoiu, S. L. (2015). Global managers: An analysis of the impact of cultural intelligence on job satisfaction and performance. International Journal of Emerging Markets, 10(4), 781-800.

Daniels, M. A., & Greguras, G. J. (2014). Exploring the nature of power distance: Implications for micro-and macro-level theories, processes, and outcomes. Journal of Management, 40(5), 1202-1229.

Dunning, J. H. (2014). The Globalization of Business (Routledge Revivals): The Challenge of the 1990s. Routledge.

Ferraro, G. P., & Briody, E. K. (2013). The cultural dimension of global business. Upper Saddle River: Pearson.

Klasing, M. J. (2013). Cultural dimensions, collective values and their importance for institutions. Journal of Comparative Economics, 41(2), 447-467.

Kramsch, C. (2014). Identity, role and voice in cross-cultural (mis) communication. In Misunderstanding in social life (pp. 137-161). Routledge.

Maleki, A., & de Jong, M. (2014). A proposal for clustering the dimensions of national culture. Cross-Cultural Research, 48(2), 107-143.

Marcus, J., & Le, H. (2013). Interactive effects of levels of individualism–collectivism on cooperation: A meta?analysis. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 34(6), 813-834.

Martin, J. N., & Nakayama, T. K. (2013). Intercultural communication in contexts. New York: NY: McGraw-Hill.

Matusitz, J., & Musambira, G. (2013). Power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and technology: analyzing Hofstede’s dimensions and human development indicators. Journal of Technology in Human Services, 31(1), 42-60.