In Business Communication Today chapter 3 was based on Communicating a World of Diversity. The main points within this chapter were discussing the opportunities and challenges of intercultural communication, definition of culture and how culture is learned, definition of ethnocentrism and stereotyping and overcoming these mindsets, explaining the importance of recognizing cultural variations, identifying steps you can take to improve your intercultural communication skills, and recommendations for writing clearly in multi-language business environments.
What I found to be one of the key components was learning how to communicate with people of other cultures because you'll always have to deal with different culture's throughout your life in any career. So, knowing how to communicate can help you expand your business as well as your knowledge. The diversity in today's workforce brings many advantages to business such as a broader range of views and ideas. It also gives a better understanding of diverse and fragmented markets, as well as, a vast quantity of talent from where you can recruit.
A company's cultural differences affect how its business messages are conceived, composed, delivered, received, and interpreted. Culture influences language, non-verbal signals, word meaning, time and space issues, and rules of human relationship that's why knowing the cultural differences are very important. Another important thing to remember is don't assume one's culture is like another’s because what means okay to you can mean something up scene to someone else.
To communicate effectively in business need to adopt a more positive view point, in the form of cultural pluralism this is the practice of accepting multiple cultures on their own terms. In this chapter they had a lot of good key definition that are helpful to understanding culture and the differences it brings in the work place.
Culture is a shared system of symbol's, beliefs, attitude, values, expectations, and behavior norms. Ethnocentrism is the tendency to judge other groups according to the standards, behaviors, and customs of one's own group. One must show respect to other people of different culture by avoiding assumptions, avoiding judgments, and acknowledging distinctions. Contextual differences are a pattern of physical cues, environmental stimuli, and implicit understanding that conveys meaning between members of the same culture.
High-context cultures rely heavily on non-verbal actions and environmental setting to convey meaning where in low-context cultures rely more on explicit verbal communications. In low-context culture tent to value written agreements and interpret laws strictly. However, in high-context culture they view adherence to laws as being more flexible. Honestly and respect are cornerstones of ethical communication, regardless of culture.
Here is a helpful link on Tips for communicating with cultural awareness.
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