1. 3.1
Business Communication
MBA – II
CIIT
Course Coordinator:
Ayyaz Qadeer
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall

2. 3.2
CHAPTER 3
Communicating
Interculturally
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall

3. 3.3
Chapter 3 Objectives
 Discuss trends that have made
intercultural business
communications so important.
 Discuss culture and subculture and
culture’s four basic characteristics.
 Delineate the differences between
high-context and low context cultures.
 Recognize cultural differences.
 Discuss ethnocentrism and
stereotyping.
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall

4. 3.4
Chapter 3 Objectives
continued
 Discuss three ways to improve
communication with people who speak
English as a second language; then
discuss three ways to improve
communication with people who do not
speak your language at all.
 Explain why studying other cultures
helps you communicate more
effectively.
 Illustrate how word choice affects
communication among people from
other cultures.
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall

5. Quick
Quiz
3.5
Some Key Definitions
Define each of the following terms:
Intercultural communication
Intercultural communication
Market globalization
Market globalization
Cultural diversity
Cultural diversity
Culture
Culture
Subculture
Subculture
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall

6. A Few Basic
Concepts About Culture
 Culture is learned.
 Cultures vary in stability.
 Cultures vary in
complexity.
 Cultures vary in tolerance.
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall
3.6

7. 3.7
Cultural Differences
 Cultural Context: physical cues,
environmental stimuli, and implicit
understandings that convey meaning
 High-context culture: majority of the
message is communicated indirectly
(nonverbally)
 Low-content culture: majority of message
is communicated directly (words)
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall

8. 3.8
Cultural Contex
Low-context Cultures
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German
Scandanavian
NorthAmerican
English
French
Italian
Spanish/Mexican
Greek
Arab
Chinese
Japanese
High-context Cultures
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall

9. 3.9
Creating Ethical Messages
When communicating across cultures,
apply these four basic principles:
Seek mutual ground to allow clearest
Seek mutual ground to allow clearest
possible exchange of information.
possible exchange of information.
Send and receive messages
Send and receive messages
without judgment.
without judgment.
Send messages that are honest.
Send messages that are honest.
Show respect for cultural differences.
Show respect for cultural differences.
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall

10. Recognizing
Cultural Differences
Negotiating styles
Decision-making process
Problem-solving techniques
Ethics
Status
Manners
Time
Personal space
Body language
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall
3.10

11. 3.11
Overcoming Ethnocentrism
 Ethnocentrism is the belief
that one’s own cultural
background is superior to
that of others.
 Stereotyping is predicting
behavior based on particular
groups or classes.
 To overcome ethnocentrism,
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
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Acknowledge distinctions
Avoid assumptions
Avoid judgments
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall

12. Unfortunate Translations in
International Marketing
Company/product
English
3.12
Translation
Dairy Association
“Got Milk?”
“Are you lactating?”
(Mexico)
Chevrolet - car
Nova
“No va” = “doesn’t
go” (Latin America)
Coors Beer
“Turn It Loose”
“Suffer from diarrhea”
(Latin America)
Pepsi Cola
“Come Alive with
Pepsi ”
“Pepsi brings your
ancestors back from
the grave” (China)
Secured from the Internet
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall

13. Overcoming
Language Barriers
Breaking Through
Breaking Through
ESL Barriers
ESL Barriers
 Avoid using slang
 Avoid using slang
and idioms.
and idioms.
 Pay attention to local
 Pay attention to local
accents and
accents and
pronunciation.
pronunciation.
 Be aware of vocal
 Be aware of vocal
variations.
variations.
Breaking Through
Breaking Through
Foreign Language
Foreign Language
Barriers
Barriers
 Learn a foreign
 Learn a foreign
language.
language.
 Use an intermediary
 Use an intermediary
or translator.
or translator.
 Offer language
 Offer language
training programs.
training programs.
 Study other cultures.
 Study other cultures.
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall
3.13

14. Activity
Increase Intercultural
Communication
Awareness
With a partner, list all the
tips you can think of from
successful intercultural
businesspeople
(including those in the
textbook).
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall
3.14

15. Developing Intercultural
Communication Skills
• Assume differences.
• Be flexible.
• Take responsibility.
3.15
• Emphasize some
• Withhold judgment.
• Show respect.
• Empathize.
• Tolerate ambiguity.
• Recognize bias.
• Learn patience and
persistence.
common ground.
• Send clear messages.
• Deal with the individual.
• Know when to be direct.
• Avoid the superficial.
• Evaluate feedback to
assess your hypothesis.
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall

16. 3.16
Writing Effective Messages to
International Audiences
 Use plain English.
 Be clear.
 Avoid slang and idioms.
 Be brief.
 Use short paragraphs.
 Use transitional elements.
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall

17. 3.17
Improve Your Oral Skills
 Try to eliminate noise.
 Look for feedback.
 Rephrase sentences
when necessary.
 Clarify your true intent
with repetition and
examples.
 Don’t talk down to the
other person.
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall

18. 3.18
Improve Your Oral Skills
continued
 Use objective, accurate language.
 Listen carefully and patiently.
 Adapt your conversation style to
the other person’s.
 Clarify what will happen next.
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall

19. Let’s
Discuss
Test Your
Knowledge
 How have market globalization and
cultural diversity contributed to the
increased importance of intercultural
communication?
 What is the relationship between
culture and subculture?
 What are the four basic
characteristics of culture?
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall
3.19

20. Let’s
Discuss
Test Your
Knowledge
3.20
continued
 How do high-context cultures differ
from low-context cultures?
 In addition to the contextual
differences, what other categories of
cultural differences exist?
 What four principles apply to ethical
intercultural communication?
 What is ethnocentrism, and how can it
be overcome in communication?
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall

21. Let’s
Discuss
Test Your
Knowledge
3.21
continued
 Why is it a good idea to avoid slang
and idioms when addressing a
multicultural audience?
 What are some ways to improve oral
skills when communicating with people
of other cultures?
 What is the purpose of back-translation
when preparing a message in another
language?
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall