For individuals working in the realm of international business, understanding how to effectively communicate with peers from across the world is a key competency for their professional wheelhouse. In Ghana, if a young child looks an adult in the eye, it is considered an act of defiance. Some examples of cultural differences as they pertain to the workplace include employees who are younger or older than their co-workers, employees who hold higher degrees than others in the workplace and individuals who grew up in either metropolitan areas or small towns. Programs like the online MBA with an international business concentration from Point Park University provide students with the skills they need to succeed in a global environment. Great informative content on cultural differences and communication. How efficiently something is done is important. Even if cultural differences come up explicitly in conversation, be tolerant and open-minded instead of argumentative. Across cultures, some words and phrases are used in different ways. Social customs widely vary “across cultures. For example, egoistic people may keep themselves away from communicating with the others around. In Japan, the same hand symbol means “money.” Argentinians, Belgians, the French and the Portuguese all use the symbol to mean “zero” or “nothing.” Still other countries in eastern Europe consider that same sign an offensive swear. Expressions are differentiated according their importance: for the Inuits (Eskimos) snow is part of their everyday life, therefore many words (e. g. over 10 substantives) exist to describe it. An example of such a nation is the United States, which is a diversified country of ethnic groups, cultures, food, and people. We can communicate effectively in a cross-cultural context if we understand how one culture differs from another and on what basis. Nonverbal communication describes the way people send and receive information to each other beyond words. In some cultures, people maintain distance in other cultures, people want to be close. The cultural differences can create conflicts and misunderstanding between parties involved in the communication process (Monippally, 2001, p.45). The use of and attitude toward silence can also be considered a type of paralanguage. Communication tends to be linear, dramatic, precise and open. b. Similarly the Zulus use 39 different descriptions (singular words) for the color „green”. would be okay. Do you use Twitter? Physical space is considered more communal. For example, North Americans maintain two feet distance while speaking. For individuals seeking to work in international business, discovering ways to effectively communicate with global clients is key to their success. Workplace etiquette. The Oxford English Dictionary uses over 1500 words to define “WHAT”. Indirect Communication: The communication style of Indians tends to be polite and indirect.They may try to speak appeasingly to those they are not close to in order to avoid conflict or confrontation. Each culture has set rules that its members take for granted. In contrast, “low-context” cultures depend largely on words themselves. Western cultures mostly consider eye contact to … Facial Expressions. The same word may have multiple meanings, e.g The word run means move fast, operate, cricket score, and much more. I’m undoubtedly enjoying your blog While culture normally refers to overarching groups of people, there are different sub cultures that one must be aware of as well, in context with where they are. In this lesson, we will identify and explore cross-cultural differences that may occur in a classroom setting. 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