Introduction: There are around 196 countries in the world and the cultures and values differ between the different countries. There are still similarities in some of the culture traits. In today’s world people are more willing to engage in global business and for this reason they need to be able to adapt to the different cultures. As the cultures vary from country to country, people around the world may face many difficulties during their communication. Many businesses have failed due to the fact that they failed to fully assess the market they were entering in. The paper will portray three different approaches that will aid in understanding cultural differences that can be utilized as effective tools in conducting global business. These approaches are known as the context approach, the cluster approach and the dimension approach. 1. Context Approach: This is one of the three main approaches to understand cultural differences. Context approach is considered as the most straightforward as it relies on a single dimension. In addition, there are two parts of the context approach, known as: (i) High context cultures and (ii) Low context cultures. The two types of contexts have different cultures, values, norms, and ways of thinking. In low-context cultures such as North American and Western European countries, communication usually takes place at face value whereas, in high-context cultures such as Asian and African countries, communication relies upon unspoken condition. They
Each of the cultures is a set of beliefs, values and attitudes that shaped by local conditions and values based on the various sector of history, cultural issues, economics and politics, geographical and also personal characteristics and beliefs. In the other hand, globalization is overwhelming and spread tremendously through the world, individual in different countries starting to have similar tastes and preferences towards the products, yet, the business strategies and cultural issues are overlapping. Moreover, people possessed several of cultural senses and beliefs in views, opinions, and perhaps in decision making, that there will be more understanding and the ability to cope with different cultures.
Every country differs in culture which has been there for centuries. The international market is growing rapidly, with more and more multinational organisations entering new markets each day. In this assignment I will evaluate how the difference in cultures affects the performance of international businesses.
The second section of the article deals with conflicts in low- and high-context cultures. She defines a low-context culture as groups of cultures that value words, or what is actually said (Ting-Toomey 76). A high-context culture is defined as groups of cultures that put the needs and goals of the group first. This is more of a we-identity (Ting-Toomey 76). Examples of low-context cultures are Germany, United States, and Switzerland. Some high-context cultures are the Chinese, the Japanese, and the Vietnamese. There is more emphasis put on the relationship in a high-context cultre, whereas words are more important in a low-context culture. Ting-Toomey explains one of the conflict differences between the two. In a low-context culture, two people in a conflict can argue, yell, and curse at each other while still remaining friends (Ting-Toomey 77). To call someone out in a high-context culture is a severe insult. This causes both parties to "lose face" (Ting-Toomey 77). Another difference between the two cultures as noted by Ting-Toomey is the levels of uncertainty in a conversation. There are high levels of uncertainty in a low-context society, while there is low uncertainty in a high-context culture (Ting-Toomey 79). The high uncertainty level in the low-context cultures is often
“To become a true global citizen, one must abandon all notions of 'otherness' and instead embrace 'togetherness” – Suzy Kassem. Cultural differences in organizations are important because they help build relationships between members regardless of their origin and background. Culture is the “Shared set of beliefs, values, knowledge, and patterns of behavior common to a group of people” (Kinicki & Williams, 2013, p.117). It is very important for companies to understand the culture they are working with, because it improves the efficiency of the organization. Members of different cultures share experiences and innovation thinking to achieve the goals of the organization. However, cultural differences may interfere with global business projects due to misunderstandings and miscommunication on both sides. There are many cultural variations affecting international business relationships such as language, interpersonal space, communication, time orientation, and
In the book, International Business: Theory and Practice, Verizon-MCI in its domestic environment, the United States, is placed in the cultural cluster with the Anglo countries. This cluster consists of Australia, Canada, United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, and South Africa. The company’s cultural cluster, for its global environment, China, is with the Far Eastern countries. This cluster includes China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and the Philippines. These cultural clusters approaches are based on the countries’ geographic similarities. They are grouped together depending on the location of the people in the world. Each cluster demonstrates differences within each cluster, as well as, differences among the countries. These differences reflect that other factors should have been considered when the groups were placed together.
Part 1: The difference between a high-context and a low-context culture comes down to what the high-context thinks versus what the low-context says. In a high-context culture, communication is done indirectly, for this reason; more visuals are used instead of text. And with low-context culture, they rely on what is said, written, and changes take place quickly. These differences affect communication between diverse cultures by association and interaction, both sides meeting can be problematic when the parties involved become impatient and irritated. First, the high-context cultures have a difficult time trying to understand the meaning in some conversations, so in order to clarify; multiple questions are being asked in order to move on with the exchanges. For the most part, this need for an explanation comes across as being blunt, especially for people that uses feelings to express themselves so the high-context society depends on signals to understand what is being said. Second, low-context culture uses logic to present their message, generally, their words speaks for itself. This style of communication can be viewed as restrained, tricky, and
Cultures are varying among different parts of the globe. People with different cultures have different characteristics and viewpoints on the subjects due to diverse understanding and method of learning. During the past few decades, the international trade grows in a very rapid rate due to the advantages that it provides; “increased sales, operational efficiencies, exposure to new technologies and broader consumer choices” (Heslin). Therefore, when considering the culture aspect to current business world, it is crucial for business to understand the culture aspect because of the tremendous growth of international business as well as utilize the international market to its maximum
The values and beliefs of different cultures in the healthcare setting are fundamental in providing adequate patient care. Knowing the specifics of your patient’s culture is necessary when completing the nursing process. It is important for the healthcare provider to understand the Indian culture, how they communicate, their spiritual beliefs, specific nutritional preferences, and health risks they face.
There are many different impacts that culture has on the way business is conducted; cultural systems of values and beliefs lead to specific interpretations of events and interactions, and different demands and expectations for business relationships often exist for individuals from different cultural backgrounds. Engaging in international and multicultural business requires a level of understanding and awareness of specific cultural issues that might arise due to different customs, perspectives, and values, and a general awareness of the influence of culture is a good thing in business as well as it allows for ongoing learning and consideration without rushing to judgment. Through both a specific and a general understanding of cultural issues in business, more effective strategies for conducting business on an international level can be developed and implemented. The following paragraphs provide specific examples from four differently cultures, identifying the importance of cultural understanding in all international dealings.
The high context culture is a polychromic culture such as the Latin Americans and Arabs, which is a culture that has toleration for many simultaneous happenings with a focus on many things at once. However, the low context culture or the monochromic culture such as the cultures of Switzerland, Germany and the United States is such that time is linearly experienced. Communication in the high-context culture by the individual from a low-context culture can be very confusing. For example the culture of the Arabs is such that they are quick to make themselves heard and friendship, honor and hospitality are the building blocks of communication. The Arabs are what are known as 'high contact' in their communications and time is reported as being priority in the process of communication. (Sepehri, 2011)
Knowing whether a culture is either high or low context can also create more effective communication among cultures. Because of the advancements in technology, people are having more and more contact with individuals from around the world. Understanding the meaning of high and low-context is of course important, not only in traveling, vacationing, and touring the world, but is even more important with the increase in diplomatic and business relationships that countries are developing with each other around the world. For example, in a business setting this is extremely important if an individual is giving a presentation to another country. If the presentation is given by a low-context group to a high-context group, the high context members may feel as though there is way too much information being given, and the presenter should just get to the point. The opposite can be said when high-context individuals present to a low-context group, there may be a feeling of ambiguity or vagueness because everything was not spelled out precisely during the presentation. These ideas can help support our ability to appreciate others and be understood.
Cultural difference between countries raises many issues for firms entering foreign markets. Understanding the local culture is the initial step in helping firms better understand the
For the successful business, it is must to be aware of the culture of international country with we are doing business or trading. Cultural difference in business can aid in building international competencies as well as enabling to get a competitive benefit. It is difficult to be aware of every aspect of the other country’s organisational culture.
Whether it is the year 1055 or 2017, the values that people try to have do not change. Writers through the years have managed to show the importance of what society finds significant. There are three literary poems written during the Anglo-Saxon period that show the meaning of those values; “The Seafarer, “The Wanderer, and Beowulf. No matter what someone goes through with their life, these values are important to survive.
Culture has a big effect on how business relationship is created and communicated. For example, a marketer would have to approach a market based on the culture of that nation. To dig further, the marketer might even have to understand the sub-culture of the culture that he/she is marketing in in order to satisfy the target market. After the discovery of such influence in a business dimension, a range of cultural distance measurement frameworks were examined by experts such as Geert