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| Source: university-connections.com |
Communication is imperative for successful cooperation
and execution of daily operations. Understanding cultural differences and
overcoming language barriers are some of the considerations people should have
in mind when interacting with people from various countries and cultures. This
is especially important for companies from international and multilingual
environments.
In many publications American and Japanese cultures
are compared to portray the cultural differences and their impact on business
communication. These are countries with different cultures, different languages
but similar level of development. In EMEA region there are so many different
countries that differ one from another in cultures, languages, accents,
climate, economic situation. Cultural stability, complexity, composition and
attitudes all has a great influence on people’s behavior and constitutes a big challenge
for customer service professionals because they should be able to get along
with and understand everybody. Therefore, when interacting with people from
different cultures, speaking in a neutral tone and making conscious effort to
be considerate of others’ input (even if it is given in a manner to which you
are not accustomed), can help foster effective business communication.
There is no doubt and is a documented fact that
national culture influences an individual’s perception, behavior and beliefs.
Those are successful in terms of dealing with cross-cultural behavior, who no
longer expect others to behave in the way they would according to their own
cultural backgrounds. Culturally experienced individuals are consciously
analyzing the situation and choose the appropriate behavior to make the best
out of the interaction.
While cooperating with others it is important to be
aware of how to use language and how to say what you want to say, especially if
the language used is not the native language of any of the parties. English,
for instance, is the world’s language of business communication, but we must
remember that many people learn it as a second language. The figures of speech native
speakers use on a regular basis may not be understood by someone whose native
language is not English.
The more experienced individuals become in working
with a foreign language, the more they are able to understand the nuances of
culturally determined behavior. Those who are aware of the cultural nuances in
language are more likely to avoid conflicts by using inappropriate wording and
expressions.
However, under time pressure, people tend to rely on
their own preferred behavior. Consequently, even culturally experienced
individuals may no longer be able to put their own preferred way of doing
things aside, when working under time pressure. Research showed that time
pressure makes people close their minds and ignore possible alternatives, thus
they do not process information in an effective manner.
In summary, cultural factors have a strong impact on
customers’ expectations and evaluation of service quality. Customers from
different cultural backgrounds are accustomed to their own standards of service
quality. This is why, to successfully interact with a wide variety of people,
we need to put the unreasonable expectations and biased attitude aside, keep an
open mind and learn about many cultures, habits, values and beliefs from around
the world.
Source: THE
IMPACT OF CULTURE ON INTERACTIONS: FIVE LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE EUROPEAN
COMMISSION, Anne-Katrin
Neyer, Anne-Wil
Harzing,
May 2008
