Ñòðàíèöà: 4/13
The second approach to cultural learning, general development of intercultural skills, is especially useful if we interact with people from a variety of cultures or subcultures. Among the skills you need to learn are the following:
• Taking responsibility for communication. Don't assume that it is the other person's job to communicate with you.
• Withholding judgment. Learn to listen to the whole story and to accept differences in others.
• Showing respect. Learn the ways in which respect is communicated— through gestures, eye contact, and so on — in various cultures.
• Empathizing. Try to put yourself in the other person's shoes. Listen carefully to what the other person is trying to communicate; imagine the person's feelings and point of view.
• Tolerating ambiguity. Learn to control your frustration when placed in an unfamiliar or confusing situation.
• Looking beyond the superficial. Don't be distracted by such things as dress, appearance, or environmental discomforts.
• Being patient and persistent. If you want to accomplish a task, don't give up easily.
• Recognizing your own cultural biases. Learn to identify when your assumptions are different from the other person's.
• Being flexible. Be prepared to change your habits, preferences, and attitudes.
• Emphasizing common ground. Look for similarities to work from.
• Sending clear messages. Make your verbal and non-verbal messages consistent.
• Taking risks. Try things that will help you gain a better understanding of the other person or culture.
• Increasing your cultural sensitivity. Learn about variations in customs and practices so that you will be more aware of potential areas for miscommunication or misunderstanding.
• Dealing with the individual. Avoid stereotyping and overgeneralization.
DIFFICULTIES OF INTERCULTURAL BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
The more differences there are between the people who are communicating, the more difficult it is to communicate effectively. The major problems in inter-cultural business communication are language barriers, cultural differences, and ethnocentric reactions.
LANGUAGE BARRIERS
If we're doing business in London, we obviously won't have much of a language problem. We may encounter a few unusual terms or accents in the 29 countries in which English is an official language, but our problems will be relatively minor. Language barriers will also be relatively minor when we are dealing with people who use English as a second language (and some 650 million people fall into this category). Some of these millions are extremely fluent; others have only an elementary command of English. Although you may miss a few subtleties in dealing with those who are less fluent in English, we’ll still be able to communicate. The pitfall to watch for is assuming that the other person understands everything we say, even slang, local idioms, and accents. One group of English-speaking Japanese who moved to the United States as employees of Toyota had to enroll in a special course to learn that "Jeat yet?" means "Did you eat yet?" and that "Cannahepya?" means "Can I help you?"
The real problem with language arises when we are dealing with people who speak virtually no English. In situations like this, we have very few options: We can learn their language, we can use an intermediary or a translator, or we can teach them our language. Becoming fluent in a new language (which we must do to conduct business in that language) is time consuming. The U.S. State Department, for example, gives its Foreign Service officers a six-month language training program and expects them to continue their language education at their foreign posts. Even the Berlitz method, which is famous for the speed of its results, requires a month of intensive effort — 13 hours a day, 5 days a week. It is estimated that minimum proficiency in another language requires at least 240 hours of study over 8 weeks; more complex languages, such as Arabic and Chinese, require more than 480 hours. Language courses can be quite expensive as well. Unless we are planning to spend several years abroad or to make frequent trips over an extended period, learning another language may take more time, effort, and money than we're able to spend.
Ðåôåðàò îïóáëèêîâàí: 20/02/2007