Table of Contents

Introduction.....................................................................................................3
Definition / Body..............................................................................................3
Culture.............................................................................................................3
Cross cultural communication.......................................................................4
Communication Organization........................................................................5
Reason for stumble blocking............................................................................5
Stereotyping.................................................................................................5
Verbal and Non-verbal Communication.........................................................6
Non-verbal communication (Body language)................................................6
Nodding the head up and down:...................................................................7
Verbal communication.....................................................................................7
Vocabulary....................................................................................................7
Social background.........................................................................................7
Technology....................................................................................................7
Cross Cultural differences in communication, verbally and Non-Verbally in
Dilip Roy Case Study........................................................................................8
Cross Cultural differences in communication, verbally and Non-Verbally in
Japanese and Germany Case study.................................................................8
Recommendation.............................................................................................9
Conclusion.......................................................................................................9
Bibliography...................................................................................................10

Introduction
This assignment is about Cross-cultural differences in communications both
verbal and non-verbal to co-operation within global organizations. We believe
that cross cultural differences are the stumbling blocking in the way of
communication within organization and globally.
There are several reasons to support this hypothesis for instance

Verbal and non-verbal communication and their meanings

Multi culture education
Stereotyping
Prejudice
Customs
High context language
Low context language
Organizational culture
Formal communication
Informal communication
Ethic conflict

Definition / Body
Culture
A community or population sufficiently large enough to be self-sustaining,
that is, large enough to produce new generation of members without relying
on outside people (Fred, 2010).
Culture shows the populations thoughts, experienced, values, habits and
assumptions about life. Culture create the new way of life.
Hofstede (1994) described that culture classified into four elements, that is,
symbols, rituals, values and heroes. Furthermore he explain each element in
detail. He told that Symbols refer to verbal and non-verbal language.

(Fons tompenaars 2010)

The above diagram shows the link between organization and cultural. In the
global organization, people come from different cultures and countries. They
have different values, norms, non-verbal signs and high/ low context in
culture. Due to differences, conflicts arises and make confusion with each
other.

Cross cultural communication

Cross cultural is define by Robert kohls (2002) there is no more noble calling
than to help the people of world live together in peace and understanding
with a fully develop spirit of inquiry about other cultures and their ways.
Cross cultural communication can be further explained in the following
points.

Identify personal and cultural values, rituals and beliefs.

Understanding of the body
3

Personal one to one small group in organization

Improve work performance and manage expectation u
Pick up cultural tips, DOS and Donts

Communication Organization
The exchange of oral, nonverbal, and written messages within (and across
the boundaries of) a system of interrelated and interdependent people
working to accomplish common tasks and goals within an organization
(Steven R. Van Hook 2010).
A business is a group of people organized around a common goal.
Communication plays an effective role for understanding of each others in
organization. Communication is the basis for the way in which an
organization functions. Communication plays a critical role in most every
aspect of organization life. It helps in following areas:

Exchange of information
Generation of ideas
Making of plans
Ordering of plans
Taking decisions
Following rules and procedures
Making proposal
Signing contract
Reaching agreement

Reason for stumble blocking

There are the following reasons which shows cross cultural differences within
organization and globally.

Stereotyping
Stereotyping is the biggest stumble block in the intercultural communication.
It can be used in negative and positive judgment. Mostly it is used
negatively, when it is use in negative sense then it create problems between
employees in organization. Communication barriers and differences are
hurdles to co-operate globally. It can create both verbal and non-verbal
communication barriers. The stereotyping is the best example of
communication barrier. It can be made by self or it can be made by idea.
Aronson (2003) has shown that a negative stereotype create a threat that
can distract individual stereotyped and lower performance.

For example if you held a stereotypical belief that Dutch people were
argumentative and an individual Dutch citizen was therefore also
argumentative. You would not be right in predicting about Dutch people.

Verbal and Non-verbal Communication

Communication are done by two ways, verbally or nonverbally, in
organization. Where communication is play an important role in the success
of organization, it can also be cause of failure of organization. Specially, a
global organization, where people come from different cultures, values,
norms, habits, tradition and countries mostly have a problem to
communicate with each other. Verbal and nonverbal communication is a
major obstacles in cross culture. There are some following main reason for
stumbling block of verbal and nonverbal communication in organization.

Non-verbal communication (Body language)

Non-verbal communication is usually understood as the process of
communication through sending and receiving wordless messages. (Mr.
Narendra 2011). Non-verbal communication, although not directly dependent
on use of language, is crucial to ones understanding of communicated
message. It include touch, glance, eye contact, proximity, gestures, facial
expressions and posture. We often use non-verbal expressions to strengthen
a verbal message. People who come from different cultures may have
problems to understand the non-verbal signs.

(Mr. Narendra 2011)

In the above diagram, it can clearly see that different countries have
different meanings in their signs in communication. In UK and USA above
sign considered as ok but same sign use in japan for money and in Russia it
considered zero and in the Brazil it considered as insult sign.so it is clearly
understood that it is big stumbling block in global organization.

Nodding the head up and down:

Nodding the head up and down is another example of non-verbal
communication. For example it is use in Middle East for disagree and the
same gesture use in In North America, it means I agree. In a conversation
among Japanese, it often simply means I am listening (De-Hua & Hui,
2007).

Verbal communication
Verbal communication is a written or spoken message that uses words to
exchange ideas and information. It means communicating with words,
written or spoken. Verbal communication consists of speaking, listening,
writing and reading.
There are some following obstacles in verbal communication

Vocabulary
One of the problem is vocabulary. Lets take an example of communication
between the Japanese and Americans. The Japanese who speak English as
second language often find that they cannot find appropriate English words
and expressions to replace the Japanese ones. The reason is the Japanese
often hesitate to use direct words in order to convey messages generated in
the Japanese way of thinking, which are largely influenced by their own
traditional culture.

Social background
A lack of understanding of an individuals social background may result in
appropriate means of communication. For example, in Western negotiations,
the word yes does not necessary mean yes, and maybe can mean no. If
the proposal is unsatisfactory, the response is likely to be indirect, perhaps
consisting of such statements as, we will think about it, a period of silence
(as in Japanese setting, where silence can have other meaning as well), or
simply a failure to pursue the matter in subsequent meetings.

Technology
Thirdly, technology contributes misunderstanding communication. Widmar
and Olynk (2012) point out that people have to determine which methods of
communication such as cell phone, text message, Facebook, Face time,
Skype and email will most effectively transmit messages. For example, in
2008, Warren Buffet took a call from the head of Barclays Capital, a British
multi- national bank, just day before the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the
former fourth largest investment bank in the US. Barclays wanted to buy
Lehman Brothers and needed Buffets help. However, Lehman Brothers fell
and Buffet did not receive any fax or plans. After 10 months, Buffet
recognized he had a voice mail in his phone but he did not know how to
open. As a result, verbal communication plays a vital role in business.

Cross Cultural differences in communication, verbally and Non-Verbally in

Dilip Roy Case Study
There are multiple evidence of cross cultural differences communication,
verbally and non-verbally in Dilip Roy case study. Dilip tried to communicate
with the company but he could not communicate properly due to language
barrier. This is an example of verbal communication obstacles in this case
study. Another example is that Dilip was using low context communication in
organization. On the other hand, employment of Chinese staff members is
sending out a message to Dilip which can be understood as an example of
high context culture. Non-verbal cultural gesture is shown through the
company when they deposit Dilips pending payments and send him an
honor award invitation right after he resigns from the company. It is clearly
from the case study that communication also done by non-verbally through
gesture that also be the obstacle in organizational culture.
The non-verbal communication of the culture is more recurring than the
verbal. This is often the case in real life as well, where cultural context is
often speaking through nonverbal gestures and cues. This is perhaps why
cross cultural communication is often challenging in business. In business
situation where more people have documentations and verbal cues to rely
on, very little is left for assumption, enabling the communicators to at least
attempt and understand what is being required from them. The message in
verbal communication is most of the time understood completely or at least
partially by the receiver, whereas in non-verbal communication the message
may be misinterpreted quite often. In cross cultural communication
therefore, managers who are aware of the cultural dimensions of the parties
involved are better equipped to overcome barriers and allow for effective
communication to occur.

Cross Cultural differences in communication, verbally and Non-Verbally in

Japanese and Germany Case study
Due to a huge social and cultural difference between Japanese and German,
they may come across numerous barriers; these include language, working
norms, ethics and organizational set up. Language is one of the main barriers
in communication. To making decisions, promotion (Pucik, Hanada, and
Fifield, 1989), the Japanese appraisal manners are unique and uncommon in
most of the western working societies, which are linked with individuals
commitment, diligence and intrapersonal skills towards work (Endo, 1994).
These differences were arise due to improper communication between
German and Japanese. Thats why due to communication problem, Japanese
organizations do not prefer to hire local worker as permanent members of
the company (Lifson and Takagi, 1981).
Although cultural difference between two nations is the major reason for
problems to Japanese companies operating Germany, other obstacles cannot
be ignored. Following are also the main reasons of communication problem
at workplace in Japanese firms working in Germany;

Due to a multinational operational network of organization makes it

easy to communicate in a single language that is commonly used in all
countries, where the firm operates.
As English language study is part of most of the Japanese universities,
the graduate Japanese workers have considerable command over
English and feel comfortable to use it.
The multicultural and multilingual staff members in Japanese firms
operating in Germany feels English as the most suitable way of
communication at offices and workplace.

Recommendation
As we know that communication is the tool for the success of organization.
Problems are solved through communication. Conflicts and misunderstanding
can easily be removed through proper communication. But communication
can be a dangerous for organization if it is not done by properly.
Miscommunication are made due to some causes. The main reason of
miscommunication is cross culture. There are some suitable suggestion to
remove this obstacle.

Stereotype can be good or bad as well. It is better to avoid stereotype

because it is negative effect is more danger than positive stereotype.
People should be educated about stereotype and its negative effect.

Meetings and parties should be arranged to expose your employees to

other cultures. When people meet with each other in friendly
environment, they learn others cultures rules, values, and norms.
Learning foreign language. Every language reflects its own cultural
background and language plays significant roles in cross- cultural
communication. Learning foreign language is possibly synonymous
with learning different communication styles.
Experiences of cross- cultural communication. Although experiences
are not always successful, those experiences can help people
understand and learn culture of communication.

Conclusion
It is clear that cross- cultural communication included both verbal and nonverbal communication affects significantly on global organizations. These
above reasons describe mostly how cross cultural impacts on global
organizations. Although there are many ways to reduce these
misunderstanding, my above recommendations are possible choices.
Therefore, positive attitudes toward cross- cultural communication may be
the most important approach.

Bibliography
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