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Thursday, December 4, 2008
Cross Cultural Communication
Kartik's Web poster about cross-cultural communication is very relevant in a globalized business world. I liked the fact that the poster used a specific example to illustrate a larger point. I have read about collectivist vs individualistic cultures in text books, but it takes personal experience to know the smaller, more subtle differences that can have significant consequences. Communication literature has many examples of cultural mis-steps by corporations entering new markets. Euro-Disney is one example of poor cultural planning. While initially Disney expected to clone their success in Anaheim, in the French countryside, they soon found out that cultural differences can be financially costly.
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Culture differences are very important thing to understand in Global Business World and communicating with people from different countries and cultures. This is important even in same office in US as we have people from different countries and cultures working together in teams. There are many examples that show blunders committed by big companies by not understanding local cultures. One thing that always comes to my mind is the "Nothing Sucks Like Electrolux" add campaign by Electrolux Vacuum cleaner in US. They did replicated their advertisement from other countries with out realizing that sucks means something else in normal usage in US.
A similar cultural mistake occurred when GM introduced the Chevy Nova in South America without realizing that Nova means "won't go." There have been countless other incidents where companies have not taken the time or effort to learn and adapt to other cultures. I think this is something we should all keep in mind and make an effort to be careful when communicating with others. I've learned a lot about this in my BUS 202 course, and even some of the best managers and leaders make costly cultural mistakes. Obviously today, as we become more globalized it's necessary to be able to adapt to the different cultures.
Yep, in the globalized business world it is important to understand other cultures (individualistic and collectivist) and customs. What is acceptable in one culture may not be in another. It’s interesting that Kartik’s research distinguishes between “individualistic” cultures (such as the United States) and “collectivist” cultures (such as India). I noticed similar research on my topic of “Leadership effectiveness” because there is also a correlation between leadership effectiveness and cultural differences, depending on where the country is located.
The example at the beginning with the hand shake is a great example of communication. I have always wondered about handshakes in other countries! I have a lot of Indian friends and I have noticed that they don’t possess the firmest of handshakes – I always wondered why that was, and now I know.
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