Appunti di Inglese monografico 3 (Prof. Rossi)

Inglese III: Intercultural Business Communication

Why do we need to talk about intercultural communication?

Intercultural = cultures that meet and that can be positive, or they may collide (-> no business).

Communication = people are from different cultures, so this may cause problems. It's important to start thinking that our own perspective is not the only one (differences: age, nationality, etc.).

• Globalization: people have become interconnected; people speak to each other a lot more and meet each other a lot more quickly.
• English: which is not enough anymore; it's important to go from the knowledge of English to intercultural communication.
• The media.
• Business: here intercultural communication is very important.
• Internationalization.

Globalization may be described as:

• 'The tendency of business, technology, or philosophies (=the art of asking yourself questions, which is the first step for availability) to spread throughout the world, or the process of making this happen.'
• 'The creation of international strategies by organization for overseas expansion and operation on a worldwide level.'
• 'Globalization is the process of increasing interconnectedness between societies.'

We are in a society made by, for and within people, so no one can avoid interconnecting with people.

When we talk about 'globalization' and some of the media through which it is expressed and felt, the first three things that come into mind are:

• English (you can't live in a globalized world without English)
• Internet
• Popular culture

Is this the English culture you are aiming at?

Is this what you think when you are preparing for "the real world"? The aim of our education is a global (to be interconnected with a globalized world), communicative English.

The aim of our education is a language that may be conceived as a LF (lingua franca) or as a language useful for international communication. In fact, the language must be a tool. The hinterland of English is communication in general.

The language we need has to be freed from stereotypes and misunderstandings (which can prevent communication). This English – a global, sensitive English – 'promotes intercultural competence and transcends elites' (Seidlofer, 2003).

Why do people want to learn English then? (Also because English is not enough anymore)

• For personal interests
• To be able to surf the web
• To work
• Leisure activities (music, entertainment, ads)
• To study
• For life-long learning

Identity

The English Culture is, for example, wider than the German Culture (referred only to Germans), because it's referred to more people. Being here, you are willing to learn other languages, but being Italian is a precious characteristic that has to be preserved, nonetheless aspiring at becoming intercultural (not only international -> languages) citizens who may be using an international language (English), but who will be in contact with more and more culture every day.

Therefore: English language learning/teaching must have a Global Issue Dimension (not only international but also intercultural). This will necessarily mean respect for diversity (linguistic pluralism, non-discriminatory education, sustaining economic development). What we are going to do through this year's course is trying to preserve and give value to cultural diversity.

Culture is the whole view of the universe from which people access the meaning of life and their appropriate response to it (capability to respond to everything).

Intercultural communication – Course Content

We are going to try to give a definition of the concept of 'Culture' and do some exercises (culture has millions of different types of connotations). We are going to try to give a definition of the concept of 'Communication' and do some exercises (to communicate at least two people are needed and both participants must be active – speaking and listening). We are going to study the way bad intercultural communication may affect business context. We are going to study the linguistic implications of different intercultural communication strategies.

Dispensa 'Understanding Intercultural Issues'

"To do business worldwide it isn't enough just to speak English and to apply the universal business models: you also have to understand the culture of the people you are dealing with."

Walpert Industries, Ltd. is a company in Canada that produces Christmas crackers for consumers in English-speaking countries. Crackers are paper tubes with small trinkets and sometimes confetti inside, they are a tradition dating from Victorian England that is still very popular in Britain and countries with a British heritage. The story goes that an English pastry chef saw Parisians selling twists of candies and brought the idea back to England, but, instead of candies, he filled his twists with novelties and romantic verses. It was a 19th century success story of intercultural adaptation because crackers became a tradition among British people who celebrate Christmas.

Walpert's crackers are manufactured in China and locating in China has given the company a competitive edge because of labour costs lower than those in Canada. However, in December 2002, some Canadian families found tiny plastic panda bears wearing military-style caps with swastikas on them and that was a cross-cultural shock. Martin Walpert is well aware that swastikas are the symbol used by Hitler's Nazi party in Germany in the mid-20th century and are associated by North Americans, Europeans and many others around the world with the horrors the Nazis perpetrated against Jews and other groups, so he wondered if that was a deliberate attempt to sabotage the company's business. After receiving complaints and seeing newspaper articles about the swastikas, he launched an investigation. Walpert already knew that panda bears are a cute and positive symbol, but then he also learned that the swastika, so negative in Western culture, is a very old and positive Buddhist symbol. It is known in China and throughout much of East Asia as a symbol of prosperity. Moreover, in the early 20th century to English-speaking people, it was a good luck symbol (the four L arms stood for luck, light, love, and life).

Walpert Industries, Ltd. is like many companies today: its product is made in one country and largely marketed in another, and the home office is in yet a different country. Martin Walpert learned a valuable lesson from the panda bears episode about the role of culture in business and how symbols communicate across cultures.

Questions:

1. What do Walpert Industries produce? Walpert Industries produce Christmas crackers for consumers in English-speaking countries.
2. What are ‘Christmas crackers’? Christmas crackers are paper tubes with small trinkets and sometimes confetti inside, and they pop or crack when the twisted ends are pulled, spilling the contents out. They are a tradition dating from Victorian England that is still very popular in Britain and countries with a British heritage.
3. How did they become a British tradition? They became a British tradition thanks to an English pastry chef who saw Parisians selling twists of candy and brought that idea back to England. Instead of candy, he filled his twists with little items and romantic verse.
4. What is the reason why some Canadian families, in 2002, were given a jolt? Because they were facing a kind of message they interpreted in a different way. In fact, they found inside the crackers tiny plastic panda bears wearing military-style caps with swastikas on them.
5. Why did M. Walpert launch an investigation? Because he received complaints and he saw newspaper articles about the swastikas.
6. What are the symbols that are associated with swastikas, in Eastern and Western cultures? The swastika is a very negative symbol in Western culture, in fact, they are associated by North Americans, Europeans and many others around the world with the horrors the Nazis perpetrated against Jews and other groups before and during World War II. But it’s also a very old and positive Buddhist symbol and it is known in China and throughout much of East Asia as a symbol of prosperity. For example, in Hindu culture, the swastika is associated with the god Ganesh.
7. What is Walpert now doing in order to expand his business? He is planning a line of Hanukkah crackers for the Jewish Festival of Lights.
8. According to your opinion, what is the role of culture in business? How do symbols communicate across culture? In my opinion, culture has a major role in business, so knowing the culture of the country where you want to sell your products is essential. As a consequence, companies should also know the importance and the meaning of symbols in different cultures to avoid misunderstandings which may be very negative for the company.

What is “culture” to you? Why is culture so important?

As seen:

• Cultural misunderstanding can be destructive to a company (ex. what happened to Dolce & Gabbana last year);
• Mistakes can be unconscious and unintentional (but the consequences are often the same), because people may not be aware of the differences.

The failure of companies that go international usually occurs because someone didn’t understand the why of culture: ‘why people think as they do’ and ‘why people value what they do’. When we take for granted that our culture is the best, we stop asking questions about the others, especially why, which is a very important question. When we deal with people's thoughts, we may make assumptions.

What is ‘culture’ for you?

The word has many meanings and is open to many interpretations. The aim of this mind map is to try to identify as many of the components of culture as possible.

1. Schools; churches; buildings; skyscrapers
4. 9 to 5 (American/British concept); 24/7 (typically American concept – this is a cultural concept)
5. Pizzeria (typically Italian)
6. The volume is typically Italian (you can be misunderstood because of your tone)

‘Culture’ can mean different things to different people.

Think about:

• How culture is created – by geography, climate, history, coincidence?
• What groups of people can be said to have a culture – races, countries, companies?
• In what ways you see, hear or experience it – by behaviour, attitude, gestures?

Five definitions of culture:

• The sum total of all the beliefs, values, and norms shared by a group of people;
• The way you have been conditioned in a society to think, feel, interpret, and react;
• The collective programming of the human mind;
• A large pool of experience composed of learned programmes for action and passed on from generation to generation;
• All you need to know and believe in order to be accepted in a society.

Culture: The vision of the world that has been shaped by the context you have been raised in. Way of thinking and acting. Historical and geographical background: some cultures give a lot of importance to the past, like the Italian, other cultures rely only on the future, like the American culture; you build your routine according to the weather condition. Different perceptions of the reality around us and different interpretation. The way people interpret things is influenced by the different perception. Values. People have different values and beliefs. Food (it's typically Italian when it comes to time) and family (for Italians family comes first). Education, which shapes the way you interpret the reality.

Once understood why people and companies think as they do, then it will be easy to comprehend, and even to predict as those same people and companies will act… often avoiding heavy business losses and failure. It's essential to ask questions.

Onstage and backstage elements of culture

Onstage behaviour is ‘what people who are in contact with one another find easiest to observe and react to’ (Beamer L.). It’s something which you can observe and see. It involves culturally identifiable actions such as: shaking hands, bowing, kissing upon meeting (Italian or French), holidays and traditional ways of celebrating them, food and dances, costume and music and many more. In a few words: onstage behaviour is often what people refer to when asked to describe another culture, or what people simply see.

Backstage culture is something that is not easily recognizable and identifiable and is absolutely not visible to someone who is unfamiliar with (people are scared of things they don’t know). But, although backstage culture can seem very difficult to grasp, it definitely holds the reason why. Individuals’ specific cultural background gives rise to the backstage reasons why people believe, act, and look at things the way they do.

The culture iceberg

When you observe people from a certain culture, some characteristics – such as dress and the way people greet each other – are easy to see. Others are not so easy. Culture is sometimes compared to an iceberg, some of which is visible, but much of which is difficult to see or invisible.

A: artefacts: art and architecture; directness of speech in business; driving habits; emotion shown in public; gender: roles of males and females; greetings; physical gestures; punctuality in business; treatment of outsiders/foreigners

B: balance between work and home; family life; organisation of companies; personal friendship; press and other media; social life: public and private; social organisation and class

C: corruption; democracy; humour; values and beliefs

Culture has been correctly compared to an iceberg. Just as an iceberg has a visible section above the waterline, and a larger, invisible section below the waterline, so culture has some aspects that are observable and others that can only be suspected, imagined, or intuited. Also like an iceberg, that part of culture that is visible (observable behaviour) is only a small part of a much bigger whole.

These items are all features of culture and they can be visible or invisible (above or below the surface):

• Facial expression -> visible
• Religious beliefs -> invisible
• Religious rituals -> visible
• Importance of time -> it takes some more time to be visible
• Paintings -> visible
• Values -> invisible
• Literature -> visible
• Child raising beliefs -> invisible
• Concept of leadership -> visible
• Gestures -> visible
• Holiday customs -> visible
• Concept of fairness -> invisible
• Nature of friendship -> invisible (it's very personal)
• Notions of modesty -> visible
• Foods -> visible
• Eating habits -> visible
• Understanding of the natural world -> invisible
• Concept of self -> invisible
• Work ethic -> visible
• Concept of beauty -> visible
• Music -> visible
• Styles of dress -> visible
• General world view -> invisible
• Concept of personal space -> invisible and very dangerous, it’s something you need to be familiar with
• Rules of social etiquette -> invisible (it depends on the culture you belong to)

You can see that there is a relationship between those items that appear above the waterline and those that appear below it. In most cases, the invisible aspects of culture influence or cause the visible ones. Religious beliefs, for example, are clearly manifest in certain holiday customs, and notion of modesty affect style of dress. So, surface behaviours are influenced by beneath-the-surface values and assumptions.

In other words, backstage culture underlies what others see - backstage behaviour reasons are usually unconscious (it’s driven by our personal background) - actors are not aware that they are behaving in a culturally driven way - usually people think that their own backstage culture is simply normal.

Linking values to behaviour

In the iceberg exercise, you saw how certain aspects or features of culture are visible – they show up in people's behaviour – while many other aspects of culture are invisible, existing only in the realms of thought, feeling, and belief. The examples in this exercise show how these two realms, the visible and the hidden, are related to each other, how the values and beliefs you cannot see affect behaviour.

To understand where behaviour comes from – to understand why people behave the way they do – means learning about values and beliefs. The behaviour of people from another culture may seem strange to you, but it probably makes sense to them, and vice versa. The reason any behaviour makes sense is simply because it is consistent with what a given person believes in or holds dear. Conversely, when we say that what someone has done ‘makes no sense’ what we mean is that that action contradicts what we believe that person feels or wants.

In the exercise below, match the value or belief in the column on the left to a behaviour in the column on the right.

• Directness – disagreeing openly with someone at a meeting.
• Centrality of family – taking off from work to attend the funeral of an aunt.
• External control – accepting without question, that something cannot be changed.
• Saving face – at a meeting, agreeing with a suggestion you think is wrong.
• Respect for age – not laying off an older worker whose performance is weak.
• Informality – asking people to call you by your first name.
• Deference to authority – asking the headmaster’s opinion of something you’re the expert of.
• Indirectness – use of understatement.
• Self-reliance – not helping the person next to you on an exam.
• Egalitarianism – inviting the teaboy to eat lunch with you in your office.

Culture consists of concepts, values, and assumptions about life that guide behaviour and are widely shared by people. These are transmitted generation to generation, rarely with explicit instructions, by parents and other respected elders. (Richard Brislin and Tomoko Yoshida)