Lecture 1
Resistance to change communicatonn
- Misunderstanding about need for change
- Fear of unknown
- Connected to the old way
- Low trust
- Not being consulted
- Poor communicaton
Lecture 2
If you have more cultures within an organizatonn you’ll have to create a new culture. As an intercultural
consultant you have to bridges cultures and barriers within an organizaton. Types of cultural integratonn
- Cultural pluralismn two or more diferent cultures exist in one organizaton simultaneously
- Cultural blendingn the diferent cultures of the merged organizatons blend together and form a new
shared culture over tme
- Cultural takeover: the stronger culture or the culture of the stronger partner takes over and the other
culture is displaced
- Cultural resistancen resistance forms against the displacement or the blending of the own culture
As a consultant you have to melt these threen business strategy – intercultural strategy – communicaton
strategy to get an intercultural business communicaton strategy.
Levels of culturen National culture -> Business culture -> Organizational culture – Occupational culture
Intercultural communicaton consultants are shaped by 4 dimensionsn
Organizational dimensions: - Functonal levelo classiicaton
- Management status
- Work contentoield
- Work locaton
External dimensions: - Geographic locaton
- Income
- Parental status
- Appearance
- Work experience
Internal dimensions: - Age
- Race
- Gender
Personality
Link intercultural communicaton and organizatonal changen
- Culture plays very important role in organizatonal set-up of company
- Organizatonal change implies a shif in the culture of the organizaton (dynamic
transactonal culture
- Important support in the organizatonal change process
Cross-cultural consultng is working with awareness of cultural diferences and facilitatng culturally-
determined steps to help organizatons functon (or change
Lecture 2
Only messages can be sent and receivedn meanings cannot be transmited. When operate within diferent
culturesn meanings are likely to be diferent. Senders of messages must encode their meanings into
symbolsn choosing those that are likely to be familiar to their audience.
, Intercultural communicators ofen have problems both in encoding their own messages so they can be
understood by the other party in accurately decoding what the other party says. Bias increases this
difficulty. E.g.: emails including words like: right away or asap may have very diferent meanings for
various cultures.
The Icebergn
- Visible organizational culture (the way we say we get things done n strategyn visionn shared
valuesn goalsn structuresn policiesn procedures
- Invisible organizational culture (the way we really get things done n beliefsn perceptonsn shared
assumptonsn traditonn normsn valuesn unwriten rulesn storiesn feelings
The context of intercultural communicaton is relevantn
- Whyn the purpose why businesses are communicatng. Once the intenton of communicaton is
clearn agreements on how the purposes should be accomplished are rare across cultures.
- How: the way messages are organized and encoded.
- Who: receiversosenders in business communicatonn who is appropriate person to receiveosend
message
- Wheren channels of communicatonn organisatons can also agree on the channels of
communicatonn or where it’ll take place. Channel choices involve the issue of what should be
put in writng and what should be oral.
- When: Time(ing of communicatng. When to communicate is more complex than simply keeping
tme zones in mind. Knnowing when to communicate also means choosing the right moment for
partcular message. When is also “being on tmee.
How: Organizing persuasive messages
Western persuasive logicn European reasoningn The law of identity: a thing is a thing and not some other
thing, Law of non-contradiction: a proposition cannot be both true and false, Law of excluded middle:
statement is either true or false
East Asian persuasive logicn favored by indirectn high-context relatonship-oriented culture such as Asian
Latn American African and the middle Eastn Esta blish reputation and present endorsement, in a hum ble
way.Start from a very general picture; Move towards specifc by emphasising also the links between all
the factors and the people involved
Arabic persuasive logic: presentation gives the true meaning, storytelling very important, persuasion
given by: word choice, use of emotions, authority
How: Organizing routine messages
Direct plan is favored by results-orientedn directn low context cultures (USn Northern Europen Australia n
- Choosing words with exact and precise meaning and eliminatng unnecessary words
- Sentences are short and use a clear subject
- Putting the main message in the irst sentence
Risks for high contextn indirectn relatonship orientedn perceived as unfriendlyn ofending requestn blunt
and inconsiderate
Indirect Plan is favored by indirectn high-context relatonship-oriented cultures (Asian L An Africa n
- Does not put the main message in the irst sentence
- Indirectness in content and approach
- Main message afer context
Risks for low-contextn directn goal orientedn perceived as ambiguousn unclear in its purposen ofen seen as
unprofessional
Paralanguagen between verbal and non-verbal. E.gn ahan uhmn okayn nah
Resistance to change communicatonn
- Misunderstanding about need for change
- Fear of unknown
- Connected to the old way
- Low trust
- Not being consulted
- Poor communicaton
Lecture 2
If you have more cultures within an organizatonn you’ll have to create a new culture. As an intercultural
consultant you have to bridges cultures and barriers within an organizaton. Types of cultural integratonn
- Cultural pluralismn two or more diferent cultures exist in one organizaton simultaneously
- Cultural blendingn the diferent cultures of the merged organizatons blend together and form a new
shared culture over tme
- Cultural takeover: the stronger culture or the culture of the stronger partner takes over and the other
culture is displaced
- Cultural resistancen resistance forms against the displacement or the blending of the own culture
As a consultant you have to melt these threen business strategy – intercultural strategy – communicaton
strategy to get an intercultural business communicaton strategy.
Levels of culturen National culture -> Business culture -> Organizational culture – Occupational culture
Intercultural communicaton consultants are shaped by 4 dimensionsn
Organizational dimensions: - Functonal levelo classiicaton
- Management status
- Work contentoield
- Work locaton
External dimensions: - Geographic locaton
- Income
- Parental status
- Appearance
- Work experience
Internal dimensions: - Age
- Race
- Gender
Personality
Link intercultural communicaton and organizatonal changen
- Culture plays very important role in organizatonal set-up of company
- Organizatonal change implies a shif in the culture of the organizaton (dynamic
transactonal culture
- Important support in the organizatonal change process
Cross-cultural consultng is working with awareness of cultural diferences and facilitatng culturally-
determined steps to help organizatons functon (or change
Lecture 2
Only messages can be sent and receivedn meanings cannot be transmited. When operate within diferent
culturesn meanings are likely to be diferent. Senders of messages must encode their meanings into
symbolsn choosing those that are likely to be familiar to their audience.
, Intercultural communicators ofen have problems both in encoding their own messages so they can be
understood by the other party in accurately decoding what the other party says. Bias increases this
difficulty. E.g.: emails including words like: right away or asap may have very diferent meanings for
various cultures.
The Icebergn
- Visible organizational culture (the way we say we get things done n strategyn visionn shared
valuesn goalsn structuresn policiesn procedures
- Invisible organizational culture (the way we really get things done n beliefsn perceptonsn shared
assumptonsn traditonn normsn valuesn unwriten rulesn storiesn feelings
The context of intercultural communicaton is relevantn
- Whyn the purpose why businesses are communicatng. Once the intenton of communicaton is
clearn agreements on how the purposes should be accomplished are rare across cultures.
- How: the way messages are organized and encoded.
- Who: receiversosenders in business communicatonn who is appropriate person to receiveosend
message
- Wheren channels of communicatonn organisatons can also agree on the channels of
communicatonn or where it’ll take place. Channel choices involve the issue of what should be
put in writng and what should be oral.
- When: Time(ing of communicatng. When to communicate is more complex than simply keeping
tme zones in mind. Knnowing when to communicate also means choosing the right moment for
partcular message. When is also “being on tmee.
How: Organizing persuasive messages
Western persuasive logicn European reasoningn The law of identity: a thing is a thing and not some other
thing, Law of non-contradiction: a proposition cannot be both true and false, Law of excluded middle:
statement is either true or false
East Asian persuasive logicn favored by indirectn high-context relatonship-oriented culture such as Asian
Latn American African and the middle Eastn Esta blish reputation and present endorsement, in a hum ble
way.Start from a very general picture; Move towards specifc by emphasising also the links between all
the factors and the people involved
Arabic persuasive logic: presentation gives the true meaning, storytelling very important, persuasion
given by: word choice, use of emotions, authority
How: Organizing routine messages
Direct plan is favored by results-orientedn directn low context cultures (USn Northern Europen Australia n
- Choosing words with exact and precise meaning and eliminatng unnecessary words
- Sentences are short and use a clear subject
- Putting the main message in the irst sentence
Risks for high contextn indirectn relatonship orientedn perceived as unfriendlyn ofending requestn blunt
and inconsiderate
Indirect Plan is favored by indirectn high-context relatonship-oriented cultures (Asian L An Africa n
- Does not put the main message in the irst sentence
- Indirectness in content and approach
- Main message afer context
Risks for low-contextn directn goal orientedn perceived as ambiguousn unclear in its purposen ofen seen as
unprofessional
Paralanguagen between verbal and non-verbal. E.gn ahan uhmn okayn nah
