Abstract
The company has recently made the decision to expand "Burger Joint." The planned expansion will encompass the following 4 countries: United Arab Emirates, Israel, Mexico, and China. We have invited all of the representatives from our overseas expansion team to our center of operations here in the United States for a meeting. This meeting will explain in detail the expansion project and gives everyone a chance get to know one another. In this meeting, we will be discussing in detail how to overcome ethorelativism by promoting intercultural communications and interactions. We will also discuss model behavior this is just to name a few topics that we will cover.
Communicating Across Borders
In communicating across borders, we will familiarize ourselves in Cultural awareness. Cultural Awareness will help us build a foundation of communication amongst the group. It will involve the ability of standing back from our-selves and doing a self-evaluation, looking in the mirror per say and becoming aware of our cultural values, beliefs and perceptions. This process will in turn helps us understand and become more aware of exactly how and why we do things, how do we see the world, and why do we react in that particular way?
Cultural awareness will become the central part of this joint meeting and Burger Joint as a whole. I will give you the tools here to train workers in your perspective segments. So when we have to interact with people from other cultures we can relate to our self-perception through another cultures eye. People see, interpret and evaluate things in a different ways within our own country and even more so in another's. We must learn that what is an appropriate behavior in one culture is frequently inappropriate in another one. Misunderstandings often will arise when you or I use our own meanings to make sense of our reality (Cantatore, 2007).
Overcoming Ethnorelativism
What is Ethnorelativism
"Ethnorelativism is an acquired ability to see many values and behaviors as cultural rather than universal (Martin & Chaney, Intercultural Business Communication, Sixth Edition)." "It is the tendency to accept other groups, societies, or cultures without judgment (The Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia, 2014)."
Ethnorelativism
Ethnorelativism is going to be at the core of all of our future business dealings. So I want you to take in all of what is about to be said. From this day, forth it will become our motto. Ethnorelativism is the belief that all groups, cultures, and or subcultures are equal. It's based on a deep heart felt respect for all other cultures. It is the affirmative belief that other cultures from your own are neither more or less important, but as equally valid with respects to their different complexities and worldviews (Cantatore, 2007). Your individual cultures will be experienced in the context of all other cultures present and no one culture will be seen superior to the others.
Three stages of Ethnorelativism
Enthnorelativism is divided up into three stages. These stages are divided as follows: acceptance, adaptation, and integration. Now we will cover these three stages in depth.
Acceptance
• Grasping the importance of cultural differences
• A new way of seeing the world
• One's own culture is experienced as one of a number of equally complex worldviews
• People accept the existence of other cultural contexts
• They think and behave this way because they have a more tolerant and sympathetic attitudes towards differences (USA Gov, 2012)
Adaptation
• A new way of acting
• Encourages intensive exploration and research
• One expands one's own worldviews to accurately understand other cultures and behave in a variety of culturally acceptable and appropriate ways.
• People can consciously alter their behavior to communicate more effectively in another culture
• They think and behave this way because they understand the frame of reference of other cultures and are capable of acting accordingly (USA Gov, 2012)
Integration
• A new way of being
• Anything that favors the development of empathy with the other cultures as well as the ability to communicate inter-culturally
• Ones experience of self is expanded to include the movement in and out different cultural worldviews
• Certain aspects of other culture or cultures become a part of their identity
• They think and behave this way because they are interested in all kinds of intercultural activities (USA Gov, 2012)
Promoting intercultural communications and interactions
When working in multinational organizations everyone both managers and staff need to understand the importance of functioning effectively in their environment. Because the Burger Joint is going international, we require all employees to adapt to the complexity of other cultures. This will entail understanding, accepting, and responding to all differences, that culture produces (Ibad, 2010). Burger Joint international contains a diverse mix of cultural backgrounds and work experiences. Because of the large-scale international diversification, we are now dealing with we require our Managers to know what the other cultures within the company are all about (Ibad, 2010).
Today I want you all to focus on the personality of the person from another culture within our group here. I want you to learn their cultural behavior patterns, as well as the types of conflict producing situations that result thereof. This will enable you with the ability to lead competent communication, which will aid you in decision-making and problem solving in such environments. Keep in mind that is an attempt to gauge the intercultural communication competence level each of you as managers in multicultural organizations since this will affect your team's performance when in a culturally diverse setting (Ibad, 2010).
Model Behavior
Intercultural Awareness
We will develop Intercultural awareness through language teaching and learning. We will encourage one another through social
interaction. Each cultural will stand at the head of their peers and teach us a little about their culture. Through theses' cultural introduction, we as a group will develop an awareness and appreciation of the different perspectives of people from other cultures. You can in turn take the exercise back with you to your perspective companies and develop your staff employees' on awareness. As well as telling them of the relationships, you and your fellow staff members developed between the languages and cultures with which you familiarized yourself with (Byram, 1997). The process is in place for you to become more aware of and develop a better understanding of one's own culture and other cultures around you. The aim is to develop intercultural learning and increase the company's' international and cross-cultural tolerance and understanding (Byram, 1997).
Why do we need Intercultural Awareness?
With all of the different number of cultures interacting, communication will always be a problem that will naturally occur. Intercultural awareness therefore is of a top necessity for this company. Therefore, you may ask why we need Intercultural awareness. We need intercultural awareness within the organization because we want to ensure communication between the staff, personnel, and management, as well will be clearly understood. With clear lines of intercultural communication established, companies face fewer problems and see greater productivity (Kwinessential, 2013).
Explain the lack of intercultural communication and interaction
The lack of intercultural communication and interaction has been primarily due to oral and nonverbal factors that make a significant difference when communicating with individuals from another culture (EHOW STAFF, 2011). Cross culture, communication can be fraught with myriads of challenges, and international companies and joint business ventures have being dealing with and overcoming the process for decades. Intercultural communications can be quiet complex and full of obstacles. Our goal is to better equip you with the tools and skills you need that will cover the full communication spectrum. By doing so it will help you affectively navigate through and handle any challenge.
Communication Culture Five Dimension of Culture
1. Power/Distance (PD)
This refers to the degree of inequality that exists and that is acceptable among people both with and without power. A high PD score indicates that society accepts an unequal distribution of power. Low PD means that power is equally dispersed amongst people both with and without power
"According to Hofstede's model, in a high PD country such as Malaysia (104), you would probably send reports only to top management and have closed-door meetings where only select powerful leaders were in attendance (Staff Writer, 2014)."
2. Individualism (IDV)
Individualism refers to the strength of the bonds that people have to others within the community. A high IDV score indicates loose connections this displays a lack of interpersonal connection. A society with a low IDV score would have strong group cohesion, and there is a large amount of loyalty and respect for members of the group.
"Hofstede's analysis suggests that in the Central American countries of Panama and Guatemala where the IDV scores are very low (11 and 6, respectively), a marketing campaign that emphasized benefits to the community or that tied into a popular political movement would likely be understood and well received (Staff Writer, 2014)."
3. Masculinity (MAS)
Masculinity refers to how much a society sticks with, and values, traditional male and female roles. High MAS scores are found in countries where men are expected to be "tough," to be the provider, and to be assertive. If women work outside the home, they tend to have separate professions from men. Low MAS scores do not reverse the gender roles. In a low MAS society, the roles are simply blurred.
"Japan is highly masculine with a score of 95, whereas Sweden has the lowest measured value (5). According to Hofstede's analysis, if you were to open an office in Japan, you might have greater success if you appointed a male employee to lead the team and had a strong male contingent on the team. In Sweden, on the other hand, you would aim for a team that was balanced in terms of skill rather than gender (Staff Writer, 2014)."
4. Uncertainty/Avoidance Index (UAI)
Uncertainty/Avoidance Index relates to the degree of anxiety that society members feel when in uncertain or unknown situations. High UAI-scoring nations try to avoid ambiguous situations whenever possible. Low UAI scores indicate that the society enjoys novel events and values differences.
"Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions imply that when discussing a project with people in Belgium, whose country scored a 94 on the UAI scale, you should investigate the various options and then present a limited number of choices, but have very detailed information available on your contingency and risk plans (Staff Writer, 2014)."
5. Long Term Orientation (LTO)
Long Term Orientation refers to how much society values long-standing - as opposed to short-term - traditions and values. Countries with a high LTO score, delivering on social obligations and avoiding "loss of face" are considered very important.
According to Hofstede's analysis, people in the United States and United Kingdom have low LTO scores. This suggests that you can pretty much expect anything in this culture in terms of creative expression and novel ideas. The model implies that people in the U.S. and U.K. don't value tradition as much as many others, and are therefore likely to be willing to help you execute the most innovative plans as long as they get to participate fully (Staff Writer, 2014)."
High vs. Low context how can we interact
High Context
• Much of the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and South America are relational, collectivist, intuitive, and contemplative. This means that people
in these cultures emphasize interpersonal relationships. Developing trust is an important first step to any business transaction. With conducting communications with these cultures, understand that they are less concerned with reason and deal more in intuition or feelings. The contexts of words you use are more important than your word choice itself. Words are not as important as context in these countries. This will include the tone of voice you use when speaking to your: facial expression, gestures, posture-and even the person's family history and status. High-context communication tends to be more indirect and more formal. "Flowery language, humility, and elaborate apologies are typical (College of Marin, 2011)."
Low Context
• "North America and much of Western Europe are logical, linear, individualistic, and action-oriented (College of Marin, 2011)." People from low-context cultures use value logic, facts, and directness. Solving a problem is completed through a process such as lining up the facts and evaluating one after another. Decisions will be based on fact rather than basing them on intuition, emotion, and or feelings. Communicators are straightforward and concise with advice telling us what action to take and which method to take in going about completing it. Using precise words and exactly in the intend context we want them to be taken literally. Explicit and detailed contracts conclude negotiations. This is very different from High-context business people often they may distrust contracts and be offended by the lack of trust they suggest (College of Marin, 2011).
Verbal and Nonverbal language
People communicate ideas to each other in two ways--verbal and nonverbal. It is easy to underestimate the importance of nonverbal communication and the differences between modes of nonverbal communication among different peoples. A basic knowledge of nonverbal communication in different cultures will help you avoid unnecessary misunderstandings when dealing with people of different backgrounds (Carnes, 2010).
Nonverbal communication expresses meaning or feeling without words. Universal emotions, such as happiness, fear, sadness, are expressed in a similar nonverbal way throughout the world. There are, however, nonverbal differences across cultures that may be a source of confusion for foreigners. Gestures are specific body movements that carry meaning. Hand motions alone can convey many meanings: "Come here," Go away," It's okay," and "That's expensive!" are just a few examples. The gestures for these phrases often differ across cultures. For example, beckoning people to come with the palm up is common in the United States.
As children, we imitate and learn to use these nonverbal movements to accompany or replace words. When traveling to another country, foreign visitors soon learn that not all gestures are universal. For example, the "O.K." gesture in the American culture is a symbol for money in Japan. This same gesture is obscene in some Latin American countries. Many American business executives enjoy relaxing with their feet up on their desks. However, to show a person from Saudi Arabia or Thailand the sole of one's foot is extremely insulting, because the foot is considered the dirtiest part of the body (Adelman, 1993). Let me give you a visual of what I mean to help you place it into perspective.
Region High Contact Low
Context Non- Verbal
(body language)
Ex: beckoning people to come with the palm up Social Identity
Middle East X Gesture given to animals
Asia X Sign of Rudeness
South America X Common
Africa X Considered a curse
Latin America Sign of Rudeness
America X Common
Western Europe X Common
Social Identity
United Amorites
Social identity is difficult to define yet it is one of the most recognizable aspects of the Middle East. "When considering geographic location, ethno-linguistic backgrounds, religious affiliation, cultural norms, and regional history, is there a common identity (Sharp, 2014)." As in any culture, there are many obvious differences. Myriads of factors come into play as well as combination of factors that connect the different diverse groups inside the country. One can make the statement that Islam is this cultures glue. Yet inside this country, many non-Muslims exist as well and consider themselves Middle Eastern. The Arabic language is the common thread between some groups, but not all of the groups speak Arabic. Considering the factors such as language, religion, and history define social identity in the Middle East (Sharp, 2014).
Israel
Israel shifted and made Hebrew as a national language because it is at the root of the creation of Israel. Each Ultra-orthodox community retains their own codes, and the use of Arabic as a clear marker of the Israeli-Arab society. "At the same time, Israel's position in international affairs has encouraged a wide penetration of the society, along class lines, by languages of world-wide communication (Rafael, 1994)." English and French, have different values in their local context, and play active and different roles in the formation of social boundaries. This reveals the complexity of the structure of class, ethnic, religious, and national identities and cleavages in Israeli society (Rafael, 1994).
Mexico
"The Mexican culture is subjected to a process of purification that refines and redefines the dominant traits of Mexican national culture and combines them with other popular forms, regional expressions, and emerging identities (Corporan, 2009)." There is a mass collection of various identities at paly to name a few: Cholos, Mixtecos, and Zapotecos. These groups find themselves in the cross hairs penetrated and influenced by their close proximity of the United States Border. They use this as an indispensable reference in the cultural analysis of our country's northern border and implement the culture infusing it with their own. The presence of the United States takes various forms, and its cultural products are redefined by the life experience of the social groups who use them (Corporan, 2009).
China
"Chinese social identity requires integration of three basic strands of knowledge: interdependent and independent selves from cross-cultural psychology; social identity and self-categorization from inter-group psychology; and historical analysis, weaving these strands of influence into the context of Chinese culture and its evolving indigenous psychology. With the onslaught of Western imperialism over the last two centuries, traditional Chinese civilization collapsed and traditional Chinese virtues came to be understood as flaws by leading Chinese intellectuals and their political rulers (James H. Liu, 2010)."
Steps as the apply
Seven things you need to know:
• Know the market
• Relationships first
• Find Local talent
• Commitment
• Respect
• Be Agile
• Prepare
Negotiating WinWin strategy
Preparing for the negation
• Know your goals. Negotiation can be of vivid shades like, you want to approve your conditions, you want to take agreement of someone or you have to win a better price tag. All these must be clearly stated in your mind and be in accordance with the company.
Also draw out flexibility in your goals (Tripathi, 2006).
• Know your authority limits. You are negotiating on behalf of our company and us, know what exactly what are your capabilities and
what are your limitations. See, when you are negotiating for our company always remember that you are not the company, but you are only the representative of the company, so, don't take anything personal (Tripathi, 2006).
• Fix a meeting. This is obvious point, but it is worth mentioning. Make sure that your meeting time, place and person to meet should be well decided. The time and place chosen must be comfortable to both the parties. Also make sure that you are communicating directly to concerned authorities not to mediators (Tripathi, 2006).
Negotiating Process
• Always make sure that you got the most from the negotiation. Even if you have some compromise, the overall outcomes are in your favor. This should be the first policy of your whole negotiation (Tripathi, 2006).
• Let them speak first. This is helpful in some cases when the other party is making more favorable deal than what you have thought of. If you speak first they will change their tone. This is also applicable in your side (Tripathi, 2006).
The aftermath of negotiation
• Nothing should be considered as a full and final in any agreement. Verify that the outcomes are exactly according to the agreement of negotiation, if they are not, we can go for a further step in the negotiations (Tripathi, 2006).
• Analyze the negotiation. We can learn from old experiences, this also works in negotiation. Try to analyze whole process, "what worked what not", "what went wrong" these should be analyzed, so that we can improve our skills for future negotiations (Tripathi, 2006).
Steps to Remember
1. Collect as much background information as possible beforehand on the people and companies you'll be facing in the negotiation process.
2. Evaluate your competitive exposure. What are the odds that another supplier or meeting planner will come up with a better offer than the one you are making? This information can help establish your maximums and minimums.
3. Prepare and role-play with colleagues prior to your initial negotiation meeting. It provides you with confidence in facing questions and situations you are now prepared to handle.
4. Make sure that your clothing, grooming, materials, handouts, preparation and depth of knowledge project credibility, authority and strength. This is where you start creating the "confidence" factor because people do "judge books by their cover." People will not negotiate seriously with you if they don't believe you have the power and credibility to make decisions.
5. Tailor your pace and presentation to the individual differences of the other people. Be flexible in your "approach" with the differences in people. It will reduce relationship tension and subsequently increase interpersonal trust, credibility, cooperation and productivity.
Conclusion
Overcoming cultural barriers is a challenge for any company. In the coming, months, years, and decades we will all continue to work together to achieve both common and uncommon goals. It is imperative that we are willing and able to communicate and understand our cultural differences in order to build an enhanced future.