Intercultural communication: how to avoid misunderstanding (Russian-American business communication)

Министерство образования и науки Российской Федерации

Государственное бюджетное образовательное учреждение

города Москвы гимназия №1595

Проект

по предмету «Английский язык»

Intercultural communication: how to

avoid misunderstanding (Russian-American business communication).

Выполнил:  

Нургалиев Илназ

ученик 10 класса А

                                                                             Научный руководитель:

учитель английского языка

Орехова Людмила

Владимировна

                                                    Москва, 2013

Structure

Introduction ……………………………………………………………….…. 3

Chapter 1. ....................................……………………………………………..4

1. Intercultural communication and its importance…….4
2.  The reasons for misunderstanding…………………. 5
3. Ways to solve the problem of misunderstanding…… 7

Chapter 2. ..……………………………………………………………………8

                       2.1 Business communication with the Americans……….8

Conclusion …………………………………………………………..……......10

Bibliography ……………………………………………..………...................11

 Introduction

The relevance of the topic is a strong growing tendency towards economic, political and cultural programs in Russian-American partnership

The aim of  the project is to find ways to solve the problems of Russian-American business misunderstanding.

The tasks of the research:

1. To get acquainted with the definition of intercultural communication;
2. To determine the role of intercultural communication in modern society;
3. To find the reasons for misunderstanding.

  Research methods

In the project scientific methods of  analysis, synthesis, generalization are used.

Chapter 1

        1.1 Intercultural communication and its importance

        The 21st century is the century of information, globalization, the rapid development of science and new technologies. There is no country today which is isolated from other countries. The majority of humanity is involved in world life cycles. Studying abroad, scientific activities, business area are the spheres where the communication with representatives of foreign language culture takes place. For successful communication a person, regardless of their country of residence, must not only have good command of several foreign languages, but also think of their partners as guides to foreign culture, having their spiritual world, their perception of the world. Speaking the same language, people can not always understand each other correctly, and it is often the cause of the divergence of cultures. At first glance, as a result of globalization and intensive migration the differences between cultures should gradually disappear, giving way to the so-called "universal" or "world culture."

There is no one “right” culture and because of this it shouldn’t be expected for one culture to completely conform to another. International Business is expanding. Many companies are going global. Recruitment, sales, management, marketing and workplace environment are all affected by cultures. It is important to note that a company does not need to be international to have different cultures within it. Any organization with employees from diverse religions, languages or nationality brings different cultures to a company. Misunderstandings can occur when employees are not knowledgeable on intercultural communication. These misunderstandings can result in poor employee moral, low retention, and low company cohesion. American businessmen claim that approximately  50% of their failed contracts was because of  inadequate knowledge of intercultural competence.

          Communication is the act or process of transferring information to other people, that means that communication between two or more individuals is based on mutual understanding, information message from one person to another, or a number of individuals.

        The term intercultural communication can be defined in three different ways. It can be meant as (a) the process of verbal and nonverbal communication between individuals or groups coming from different cultural background, (b) the scientific theory and research dealing with the real process of the intercultural communication, or (c) educational and supportive activities focused on practice.

We would consider intercultural communication as a dialogue between representatives of different human cultures.

          The concept of "intercultural communication" was introduced in the 1950s by American cultural anthropologist Edward T. Hall in the framework developed by the U.S. State Department for their adaptation programs of American diplomats and businessmen in other countries.

     1.2 The reasons for misunderstanding

     Every group of people who come from the same cultural background (it does not have to necessarily be the whole nation) feels and acts in a different way. The differences are not only in languages, but also cultural, such as mentality, the value system or various habits. The interaction of different cultures leads to a wide number of either positive consequences, for instance learning about new customs and ideas and broadening the horizons, or negative consequences, which give rise to various conflicts. The latter are mainly caused by misunderstandings in communication.

Why are there  many difficulties in understanding when representatives of various cultures build contacts with each other? And what prevents successful cross-cultural communication?

The language is the basic means of communication of any intercultural relation and represents the first layer of intercultural communication. Language proficiency is a significant prerequisite for an easy course of business dealing,  however, it does not necessarily ensure the success of the negotiation. The second layer, which is often called the communication etiquette, must be taken into consideration as well. It is connected with conventions and rituals. Even if the participants of the intercultural communication master the appropriate language, but do not know or respect the rules of communication etiquette of their partners, a successful intercultural communication is not guaranteed.

Most people consider their own culture to be a center of the world and the magnitude of all the others. This phenomenon is called «ethnocentrism». Generally, ethnocentrism prevents a person correctly to assess, adequately to accept and to be tolerant with the representatives of other culture.

The meeting of two cultures can be compared with the concepts of "internal" and "outer", "their" and "foreign." "Internal" means warmth, security, confidence,  "outer" is something threatening, alien, unknown.

One more reason which makes it difficult for two communicants to understand each other is a stereotype. Stereotypes hide a fixed set of ideas about what a particular nationality is like, which is wrongly believed to be true in all cases. Stereotypes are closed categories, resistant vestiges of ethnocentrism, that leave no room for individual differences or exceptions and so make intercultural understanding difficult.

      It often happens that people who have little or no knowledge of the other culture assume that common habits and procedures are identical to those of their own culture. In a way every culture is different and unique, therefore conclusions like these can lead to big misunderstandings. Nevertheless it is not recommended to presume the opposite – to be prepared that everything will be different. If we do so, though, we could miss the things common for both cultures, which may be used as a base for building further business relationships.

       In general people tend to feel nervous when they are expected to face something they have no experience with. Therefore anxiety is one of the most common feelings that people experience when encountering new culture. Uncertainty and fear very often emerge as a barrier in intercultural communication and can cause trivial and unnecessary mistakes. The easiest way to avoid difficulties like these is to gather as much information as possible about other culture s in advance, and ask other colleagues about their own experience and recommendations

     1.3 Ways to solve the problem of misunderstanding

          One of the possible solutions could be to eliminate cultural barriers and to create some kind of global culture, shared by all people. However it would inevitably lead to the loss of national and cultural identities and it would be a very unnatural development for the human society. According to the opinion of the majority a better way to avoid cultural misunderstandings is to try to understand and respect the cultural background of the others, to appreciate the challenges and intellectual enrichment that it brings. For the achievement of the best possible results it is essential to familiarize with the different culture as closely as possible. It is necessary not only to b e aware of certain habits

but also to know why they have come into existence, if they are observed by everyone or only by certain groups, and whether it concerns our business partner. It is also important to realize that even though we have learnt all accessible facts, there are always a lot of exceptions within every society.

Chapter 2

1.  Business communication with the Americans

          In this chapter we consider the intercultural communication on the example of business relationships in the United States.

          How to make a good first impression when you meet Americans?

As a rule, the communication begins from a firm handshake. It shows that you are confident. Most Americans expect eye contact. When you greet someone, you should look in their eyes for one-two seconds. Eye contact shows, that you are interested in, and you’re listening. You should always sit up straight it means you’re intelligent and confident.

          How to begin a good working relationship if you have some important Americans visitors?

The most important you should do is to make your visitors feel comfortable. Then you shouldn’t talk about serious business at first. Welcome them, introduce yourself and your group. After that you can offer come light refreshments, for example, coffee, tea or soft drink. You can ask some questions about their trip or something else. This step sometimes is called “breaking ice”, because when you first meet somebody, the relationship is cold and icy.

          How to start Negotiation?

A good way to start negotiation is to find common ground. Common ground means interest that you both share. The second thing is to be very honest if you or you partner have some problems. Being honest will allow you to build good and long-termed relationships.

          How to make polite refusals?

To refuse means to say no. If you have to say no to someone, be sure to show that you understand their situation. For example, you can say , “I’m sorry, but… If it’s convenient for you, we can meet on…”

          How to disagree politely?

In business, it is important sometimes to disagree even with your boss. When you disagree, it is important to recognize the other person’s feelings, in American business is very impolitely to say, “You’re wrong!” Instead, you should use some expressions for polite disagreement. Even if you don’t agree with people, show them that you understand their position.

          What is a good way to end the conversation?

In English there are a number of expressions you can use to bring a conversation to a close. These expressions will tell the other person that the conversation will end soon. At the end of the conversation, after a pause, you can say, "Well, it's been nice talking to you!" to bring the conversation to a close. Before you say good-bye, you can use several preclosing expressions. A very common form of preclosing is to send greetings to other people such as spouses, or co-workers." For example, "I'm really glad I ran into you. Say hello to your wife! And, please tell Harry that I'll call him tomorrow about 10." "Have a nice day!" or "Have a good trip!" are also sometimes used at the end of a conversation. At the end of the phone conversation we can use other expressions to close conversations before you say good-bye. For example, "Well, let's keep in touch! Thanks for calling. Good luck with your job!" These expressions are a friendly way to prepare for the end of a conversation before you say good-bye.

          Conclusion

        The main answer to the question of solving the actual problem learning foreign languages ​​as a means of communication between people of different nations and cultures is that languages ​​should be taught in an indissoluble unity with the world and culture of the peoples who speak these languages.

It is necessary not only to teach people a foreign language, but also to teach them to respect and appreciate the culture of the people.

Language - is a mirror that shows the world in human perception surrounding the human reality. At the same time the language is reflected in the mirror of the man himself, his lifestyle, behavior, relationships with other people , values ​​, and culture.

Three concepts of "patience", "tolerance", "toleration" is a universal formula for successful cross-cultural communication.

                                          Bibliography

1. Леонтович О.А. Россия и США. Введение в межкультурную коммуникацию. - Волгоград: Перемена, 2003
2. Павлов В.Н. особенности американской бизнес-культуры: материалы к курсу страноведения // Библиотечка «Первого сентября», серия  «Английский язык». Вып. 1 (13). – М.: Чистые пруды, 2007
3. Тер-Минасова С. Г. Язык и межкультурная коммуникация. Учебное пособие. – М.: Слово/Slovo, 2000
4. Lenka Bělašková. Communication Misunderstandings and their Impact on Dealing Between Multicultural  Companies/Bachelor Thesis. – Praha: Grada, 2011
5. Molefi K. Asante, Yoshitaka Miike, Jing Yin. The Global Intercultural Communication Reader. – Routledge, 2008
6. http://www.gumer.info/bibliotek_Buks/Linguist/Index_Ling.php
7. http://www.mgimo.ru/files2/y05_2013/238120/rami2_intercult.pdf