Item

Cross cultural business communication : problems for the unwary

Bawa, I. W.
Williams, Lesley E.
Date
1997-11
Type
Discussion Paper
Fields of Research
Abstract
The study of linguistics and its relationship to communication is a well developed discipline. Communication across cultural boundaries is also a subject of interest to many social scientists. The study of cross-cultural communication in a business setting, however, is an under researched topic (Kale, 1993; Limaye and Victor, 1995; Haworth and Savage, 1989). The Indonesian economy has gradually diversified and opened its doors to encourage private enterprise and links with overseas business people, particularly in the last decade. Given the abundance of natural resources in Indonesia and the huge human resource potential, it is critical that potential problems associated with cross-cultural trade are understood and conveyed to students and business managers alike. Such knowledge should contribute to the growth and development of Indonesia and Indonesia’s economy and people. This paper examines the likely areas of miscommunication between Indonesian traders and those from New Zealand, a small country but one that is increasingly active in the Southeast Asian region. The basic concepts that are introduced, however, are applicable in most cross-cultural settings. The first section of this paper defines key terms, discusses the importance of this topic and suggests reasons why it has been under researched. The relationship between cognition, culture and communication is then presented, with reference to New Zealand-Indonesian trade relations. The focus then turns to exploring the circumstances or environment in which cross-cultural communication occurs. This has the potential to create significant misunderstandings. The subject of explicit and implicit communication, and high and low contexting cultures is addressed. The concluding section provides suggestions for further research, based on the concepts discussed in this paper. The researchers also identify other fruitful areas for cross-cultural communication research and call for more Asian researchers to contribute to this area.
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