About Cross Cultural Business Communications

Wondering why your business meetings with people from other cultures never start on time? It may be that for your partners, keeping to a strict schedule is less important than forming bonds. Differences like these can make or break your business deal. Learning about some of the main differences between cultures can make your dealings with other cultures smoother and more effective.

High vs. Low Context

According to Edward T. Hall and Mildred Reed Hall, different cultures give information in two different ways: high context and low context. High context cultures, like Japan, Arabic nations and Italy, expect that you will already have background information about a topic, and will dive right in without any extra information. In low context cultures, like the United States and most of Northern Europe, people will provide all background information necessary to understand a topic in a conversation.

Conversation

As explained by A.J. Schuler, conversations between people of different cultures can cause a variety of problems without preparation. Different cultures have different ways of opening conversations, how to address people, how to deal with people of different cultures, whether or not interrupting is common or taboo in a conversation, types of humor and many others.

Space

People of different cultures also have varying interpretations of personal space. For someone from Northern Europe or the United States, a person from Southern Europe would likely be standing too close during a conversation, according to Hall and Hall.

Monochronic vs. Polychronic

While for a person from the United States or Germany, keeping to a strict timetable may seem important, for a person from Mexico or France, a timetable is less important than doing the job the way he or she feels it should be done. These differences come from the first person living in a monochronic culture and the second in a polychronic culture. In a monochronic culture, things are done one at a time, on a strict schedule and a feeling that other people are less important than the schedule. Polychronic time, however, focuses on doing many different things at once, finishing them when they are complete and a deep care about other people. These differences, according to Hall and Hall, must be paid careful attention, and a solution needs to be found for a business transaction to be effective.

Information Flow

Information flow has to do with the hierarchy of a company and how fast the information will flow through the company, according to Hall and Hall. In Japan or Spain, information will move quickly throughout the company until everyone knows everything. However, in the United States and Germany, information is kept quiet and is only shared with those who need to know. When working with someone from the opposite culture, allowances must be made for information to flow freely, or for context to be provided for what one assumes is common knowledge.

References

• “Hidden Differences: Doing Business with the Japanese;” Edward T. Hall & Mildred Reed Hall; 1987.
• Cross Cultural Communication Article

Resources

• “Doing Business Around the World;” Terri Morrison, Wayne A. Conaway & Joseph J. Donress; 1997.