语言文化论文-What are the most important culture differences and elements of intercultural communication that international managers should be aware of and

语言文化论文-Whatarethemostimportantculturedifferencesandelementsofinterculturalcommunicationthatinternationalmanagersshouldbeawareofandwhy?Asweallknow,differentcountrieshavedifferentcultures.Cultureisthecollectiveprogrammingofthemindwhichdistinguishesthemembersofonecategoryofpeoplefromanother.(Hofstede,1991)Itisinevitablethattheculturaldifferencehasimpactonbusiness.Forexample,whenacompanyhavingmeeting,thewordtableinAmericanEnglishthatmeanstoputsomethingontheagenda.ButinBritishEnglishitmeanstoputsomethingofftheagenda.Thisexampleindicatedhowthecultureaffectsthebusiness.TherearefourculturaldimensionsthatweredefinedinHofstedesresearch:Powerdistance,Uncertaintyavoidance,Individualism,Masculinity,andrecentlyHofstedeaddonemore:long-term-short-termorientation.WhatIthinkthemostsignificantinfluenceinculturaldifferenceisthepowerdistance.(Hoecklin,1995:28)Itwouldconditiontheextenttowhichemployeesacceptthattheirbosshasmorepowerthantheyhaveandtheextenttowhichtheyacceptthattheirbosssopinionsanddecisionsarerightbecauseheorsheistheboss.Iconsidereditashowmuchsubordinatescanconsentordissentwithbossesormanagers.Itisthedistancebetweenamanagerandsubordinate.Amongmostorientalcorporatecultures,thereishierarchism,greatercentralization,sometimescalledpower-orientedculture,duetothehistoricalreasons.Thatisahighpowerdistanceculturethatmangersmakethedecisionandsuperiorsappealtobeentitledmoreprivileges.Theirdecisionalwaysclosesupervisionpositivelyevaluatedbysubordinates.Inthissituation,itisnotberegardedifasubordinateshaveadisagreementwiththeirmanagers,especiallyinMalaysia,Japan,China,India.Intheoriental,powerdistanceisalsoassociatedwiththefamilyculture(Trompernaars,1993:139).Inthiskindofcorporateculturethemanagerislikethecaringfatherwhoknowsbetterthanhissubordinateswhatshouldbedoneandwhatissuitableforthem.Thesubordinatesalwaysesteemthemanagers.Becauseofthemanagersageandexperience.Thatisusuallyhowemployeesgettheirpromotion.Therearebothpositiveandnegativepartsinthefamilycultures.Ifeelitisaneasymanagingsystem.Butsometimeitishardtogetyoungcreativeemployeesworkwellcauseofthehierarchy.AsTropmenaars(1993:142)toldusfamilycultureattheirleasteffectivedraintheenergiesandloyaltiesofsubordinatestobuoyuptheleader.Soinfamilyculture,thepowerdistancecanbeviewedasthesubordinatesrespectthesuperiors.Thatisthecorporatecultureinorient.Letustakealookatthewesternway.Itisnotawholeconversephenomenon.ThereistheEiffelTowerculture(Trompernaars,1997:166)intheinternationalmanagement.AbouttheEiffeltowerTrompenaars(1993:148)toldusItshierarchyisverydifferentfromthatofthefamily.Eachhigherlevelhasaclearanddemonstrablefunctionofholdingtogetherthelevelbeneathit.German,AustrianhavethecharacteristicoftheEiffelTowerCulture,whichisalowpowerdistance.Inthelowerpowerdistance,(Hoecklin,1995:31)higher-educatedemployeesholdmuchlessauthoritarianvaluesthanlower-educatedones.Theobedienceshowedfromthesubordinatestothesuperiorsisnotasmuchastheorientalway.Theleadershipcanbecalledashierarchyandconsensus.Employeecanhavedifferentopinionwithhis/herboss.Andwhenhe/shegotdifferentideas,he/shecangoallthewayuptothebossanddiscusstheproblem.Thisisagoodthingusuallycompanymayexploreallthepotentialsofitsemployees,becausesometimethesubordinatesmayhavethebetterideaofthebusiness.Ithinkbecauseofthedifferentrealizationofpowerdistance,peoplebehavecompletelydifferentinbusiness.Soconflictandmisunderstandingmustbeemergedwhentwoormoreinterculturesmeetup.Underthissituation,theinternationalmanagersmustpayattentiontotheclashesandbeawareof.Howtoworkthesubordinatestogetherefficientlyandmorecooperativelyisimportanttoo.Andthenthereisalsoalargediscrepancyontheuncertaintyavoidance.(Hoecklin,1995:31)definedUncertaintyavoidanceisthelackoftoleranceforambiguityandtheneedforformalrules.Thatmeanspeopletryingtosetuprulestofacetotheuncertainty.ThereishighuncertaintyavoidanceinmostorientalcountriessuchasJapan,China.Inthesecountries,peoplepreferastablejob.Theyfeelsafeandpridefulwhentheykeepworkinghardattheoneplace.Underthiscircumstance,anexcellentmanagershouldkeephisemployeeawayfromunpredictablerisk.Andtheemployeewouldliketobeworkedwithingroupsratherthanindependentlycauseofthelessrisk-taking.Butinmostwesterncountries,thereislowuncertaintyavoidanceshowed,whereashighjobmobilityoccursinthosecountriessuchasUSA,Denmark,Singapore.Thewesternpeoplethinkthatwhentheychangetheirjobs,theycangetmoreexperiencecausetheylikechallenge.Ibelievethatthedivergenceoftheuncertaintyavoidanceisfromdifferentbasicsocialideology.Acompetentmanagershouldpayattentionontherulessettingbetweendifferentuncertaintyavoidance.Themisreadingofthatmayaffecttheinitiativeandtheaspirationofthesubordinates.ThethirddimensionHofstedeindicatedistheindividualism.Itisaconcernforyourselfasanindividualasopposedtoconcernforthegroup.Thepriorityofself-concernorgroup-concernvariesfromdifferentcultures.Forexample,mostwesternemployeesliketoworkwiththeirownplanfordefendingtheirinterest.Thatisahighindividualism.Becauseofthedifferentattitudetowork,theincubatorculture(Trompernaars,1997:175)ariseswhencross-culturalindividualsworktogetherasagroup.Trompenaars(1993:158)toldustheincubatorisbothpersonalandegalitarian.Peopledonotcooperateatall.Theyjustsimplyworkintheirownways,followtheirownrules,andachievetheirownobjective.Theydonotliketobeinterferedbyothers.Itisgoodforacompanytogatherasmuchideasastheycanwhenstartinganewprogram.Buthowtomanagetheseindividualstoreachthegroupgoalshouldbetheawarenessformanagers.Ithinkwhoisgoodatthisshouldbegoodatgrouping,troubleshooting,andcoordinatingskills.FinallyHofstedpointedoutthemasculinity.Thatisaboutthesexualinequality.AccordingtoHofstedesdefinitions,masculinesocietiesdefinegenderrolesmorerigidlythanfemininesocieties.Inbusiness,managersshouldtakeabigconcernofthetreatmenttodifferentsexunderdifferentculturalinfluence.Intodaysworld,becauseofthemasculinevalueandpointofview,malestakemostseniormanagingpositions.Butaexperiencedmanagersupposeknewthatitisharmoniousthatmenworkwithwomensincewomensometimesaremoresensitive.Therefore,howtobalancethemasculinity/femininityfromdifferentcultureandbackgroundinordertomaximizetheteampowerisworthconsideringbymanagers.Theabovefourdimensionsilluminatedthemostimportantculturaldifferencesthataffectonbusiness.Internationalmanagersshouldbeabletoawarenotonlytheculturaldifferencebutalsotheinterculturalcommunication.GudykunstandKim(1992:13-14)classifyinterculturalcommunicationasatransactional,symbolicprocessinvolvingtheattributionofmeaningbetweenpeoplefromdifferentcultures.Differentnationsusedifferentlanguages,sotherewillbelossormisunderstandingduringinterpreting.Andinsomeculture,peopleuseimplicitwordsmorethanothers,likeChina.Thus,thenon-verbalcommunicationisimportant,especiallythesceniccommunication.Itincludesgestures,bodylanguage,eyecontacting.Themorescenicpartincommunication,theharderforpeopletotransmitandreceiveinformation.Anotherpartistheconceptoftime.Fromthat,punctualityisthesamebutreflectsdifferentreality.Weallknowtimeismoney.Butwhenthereisaconference,theGermanusuallypresents5minutesbeforethestart.Spanishwillbelatefor15minutes.Butintheirmindtheyarebothontime.Thatissomethingthatmanagersshouldunderstand.Inmymind,thereisanotheraspectoftime,calledtheuseoftime.TheAmericanandNorthernEuropeanhavealineartimeconcept.ThesesocietiesarereferredtoasTime-Boundsocieties.SouthernEuropeansandArabsregardtimeinalinearwaybutmorethingstheycandoorhandleatthesametime.Thatcanbecalledmulti-activetime.AndthenthereistheAsianviewoftime,cyclicaltime.Asianthinkstimewillcomearoundagainwhenitpassaway,alsotheopportunitiesandrisks.Besidestheabovethreeaspectsofcommunications,thereleftthespace.Itisabigconcernofininterculturalcommunications.Whenyouhaveaconversationwithaforeignbusinesspartner,thespacebetweenyouandhimarereferredtothepersonalboundaryofeveryculture.Ignoranceofspacecanbeleadtorealbadimpressionfromotherside.Thelastbutnottheleast,Iwouldliketotalksomethingaboutthecross-culturenegotiationIresearched.Negotiationisacoursethatatleasttwogroupsofpeopletryingtoreachanagreementwiththeothersfortheirownbenefit.Therearetwothingsinnegotiation:thetopicandthecourse.Duringcross-culturenegotiation,thecourseisthecrucialobstruction.Differentnegotiationwaysareproducedbydifferentcultures.Underthiscircumstance,thereisaclassicstandpointofprocedures:exploringwithnoobjective,taskoriented,persuadingperiod,andsigncontract.Internationalmanagersshouldbeawareofeveryprocedure.Andduringeachprocedure,thestrategy,technique,substance,time,sequenceandthefocalpointaredifferent.Inthisessay,Iwroteabouttheculturaldifferences.Therearefourdimensions:powerdistance,uncertaintyavoidance,individualismandmasc