Cultural Influence In Communication

558 Words3 Pages
Culture is defined as the pattern of values, beliefs, symbols (including language), norms, and behaviors that are shared by a group. As business relations in the United States become more globalized, the importance of intercultural communication compounds. One reason for businesses and its employees to be aware of the importance of intercultural communication is not only to avoid ethnocentrism (thinking the U.S. culture is superior to others) but also to become more diverse in U.S. operations. Diversity can enhance a firm’s reputation as being a desirable workplace and provide increased global awareness and competitive marketing advantage. Further, diversity can result in better business decisions because of the various perspectives shaped by various cultures. However, to be diverse, it is crucial to be inter-culturally aware. During instances of intra-cultural communication (or interaction between same cultures or co-cultures), much of the communication behavior can be taken for granted because the other party or parties inherently relate to one another. However, the more intercultural communication becomes, the greater the potential for misunderstanding and/or malfunction of the communication. I have experienced communication malfunction first hand at work. My firm outsources transactional operations to a service center in India. Naturally, because I am not Indian, overcoming obstacles in intercultural communication are front and center, daily. The purpose of my communication with the service center in India was to have certain matters removed from a ‘Weekly Exception Report’. This report outlines unresolved matters on which a project group that I belong to resolves daily. Previous to this communication, several matters had been resolved by the group. However, these matters remained posted on the report and my superiors began to question the
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