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FIGURE 1.1
Forms of Business Communication
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trouble reading the help-wanted ads in the newspaper, 14 percent cannot fill out a check properly, 26 percent can't figure out the deductions listed on their paycheques, and 20 percent are functionally illiterate. Even those who do read may not know how to read effectively. They have trouble extracting the important points from a document, so they cannot make the most of the information presented.
College student are probably better at listening and reading than are many other people, partly because they get so much practice. On the basis of our own experience, no doubt realise that our listening and reading efficiency varies tremendously, depending on how we approach the task. Obtaining and remembering information takes a special effort.
Although listening and reading obviously differ, both require a similar approach. The first step is to register the information, which means that you must tune out distractions and focus your attention. You must then interpret and evaluate the information, respond in some fashion, and file away the data for future reference.
The most important part of this process is interpretation and evaluation, which is no easy matter. While absorbing the material, we must decide what is important and what isn't. One approach is to look for the main ideas and the most important supporting details, rather than trying to remember everything we read or hear. If we can discern the structure of the material, we can also understand the relationships among the ideas.
BASICS OF INTERCULTURAL BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
As Bill Davila knows, the first step in learning to communicate with people from other cultures is to become aware of what culture means. Our awareness of intercultural differences is both useful and necessary in today's world of business.
UNDERSTANDING CULTURE
Person may not realise it, but he belongs to several cultures. The most obvious is the culture he shares with all other people who live in the same country. But this person also belongs to other cultural groups, such as an ethnic group, a religious group, a fraternity or sorority, or perhaps a profession that has its own special language and customs.
So what exactly is culture? It is useful to define culture as a system of shared symbols, beliefs, attitudes, values, expectations, and norms for behaviour. Thus all members of a culture have, and tend to act on, similar assumptions about how people should think, behave, and communicate.
Distinct groups that exist within a major culture are more properly referred to as subcultures. Among groups that might be considered subcultures are Mexican Americans in East Los Angeles, Mormons in Salt Lake City, and longshoremen in Montreal. Subcultures without geographic boundaries can be found as well, such as wrestling fans, Russian immigrants, and Harvard M.B.A.s .
Cultures and subcultures vary in several ways that affect intercultural communication:
• Stability. Conditions in the culture may be stable or may be changing slowly or rapidly.
• Complexity. Cultures vary in the accessibility of information. In North America information is contained in explicit codes, including words, whereas in Japan a great deal of information is conveyed implicitly, through body language, physical context, and the like.
Реферат опубликован: 15/07/2009