Effects Of Cross Cultural Miscommunication on Business (Essay Sample)

EFFECTS OF CROSS CULTURAL MISCOMMUNICATION ON BUSINESS
Insert Your Name Here:
Insert Your Professor’s Name Here:
Institution Affiliate:
Date
Effects Of Cross Cultural Miscommunication on Business
Introduction
Cross-cultural communication is a type of communication that strives to share information across different social groups and different cultures. Cross- cultural communication may be used to refer to communication problems and processes that may appear within an organization due to the presence of individuals from different social, religions, education backgrounds and ethnic groups. Cross culture miscommunication in business occurs when a company dealing with many cultures fails to recognize the meanings of particular symbols that are important to the said cultures. The sort of cross culture communication can happen with mannerisms, language and other aspects of communication (Lewis & Richard, 1999).
Business Crisis Caused by Cross Cultural miscommunication
Cross- cultural miscommunication has caused business crises in the past and still continues to do the same. A business crisis is any event that is dangerous and unstable and can cause negative effects to an organizations operation as well as its stakeholders (Lewis & Richard, 1999). In this paper, we are going to focus on a business crisis that occurred to Umbro a United Kingdom based sports manufacturer firm due to cross- cultural miscommunication. The sportswear firm was forced to review its policies after it discovered that one of its trainer shoes had a name that resembled that of the gas used by Nazis to kill people in the past in concentration camps. Zyklon crystals were used to exterminate Jewish people across Europe during the regime of Hitler. Zyklon was initially used as an insecticide but later found to be lethal when exposed into the air. This discovery made it possible for Hitler to use it as a weapon (Petre, 2002).
The trainers shoe had been named Zyklon, which provoked complaints and outrage from Jews as well as Jewish groups. This situation forced Umbro to apologize to the complainants and the affected general public for the mistake as well as any offenses caused by the shoes name and the firm as well. Umbro in its defended itself by saying that the use of the name was purely coincidental and that it did not mean to provoke. This situation was quite serious, and several people raised their thoughts on the matter. Dr. Shimon Samuels, a member of International human rights organization at the Wiesenthal center in his letter to Umbro, said, "its outrageous misuse of the Holocaust is an insult to its victims and survivors" (Petre, 2002).
Dr Stephen Smith a cofounder of the Beth Shalom Holocaust Centre in Nottinghamshire Said," Commercial appropriation of words carrying connotations of mass murder is utterly unacceptable" He further said "Considering the care with which companies normally choose titles for its products, I also find it hard to believe Umbro’s assertion that the naming of the shoe was coincidentally coincidental”. Dr. Stephen said that the investigation of the word on the internet revealed the links to the Holocaust. This implied that Umbro had either done this intentionally or acted negligently. Fiona Macaulay, a spokeswoman for the Board of Deputies British, said, "The original marketing decision to name the shoe is appallingly insensitive to the six million Jewish and five million non-Jewish victims of the Holocaust (Petre, 2002).
Nick Crook from Umbro apologized to the public stating that the organization regretted that there were people offended by the name. Umbro explained that Zyklon is a name that had been chosen by a designer in the footwear department. The firm also explained that the name had been on the side of the boxes containing the trainers shoe since 1999 but did not appear on the shoes. Mr. Crook defended the firm by saying that there was a great possibility that the designer who came up did not know the meaning behind the name. Mr. Crook promised that the firm would be careful in checking the meaning of the names used in the future. The company eventually agreed to drop the name after the numerous complaints and public discomfort. The dropping of the name restored public satisfaction and hostility. Fiona Macaulay said," I welcome the news that Umbro has changed the name of the shoe in Britain and would urge them to do the same worldwide as a matter of urgency" (Petre, 2002). This scandal is an example of a business crisis caused by cross-cultural miscommunication.
Analysis of the case
There are existing theories on effective cross- cultural communication. The theories are drawn from fields of sociology, anthropology and communication and are based on differences among cultures. In this section, we will cover the theories of effective cross -cultural communication as well as causes of cross- cultural miscommunication. First we will cover the causes of cross- cultural miscommunication.
Causes of Cross- Cultural Miscommunication
The first cause is the assumption of similarities. This situation refers to a tendency and believes that our behaviors and actions are universally acceptable as well as have the same meanings. The assumption of similarities leads to a situation where if someone differs with our opinions we get a negative view on them. In our business crisis, it is only natural if we assumed that the designer who came up with the name Zyklon assumed that the name had the same meaning globally. Due to this assumption the designer did not take the time to research on the meaning of the name according to different nationalities, ethnic groups, races as well as cultures. Due to this assumption Umbro faced a huge scandal and was forced to rename the brand of the trainers shoe (Wierzbicka & Anna, 2010).
The second cause of cross- cultural miscommunication is the language difference. Problems arise when there is an inability to understand what the other person is saying due to different languages. Talking the same language can cause discrepancies as same words may have different meanings in various countries, cultures and contexts as well. This situation can be avoided by coming up with universal language such as English that have clearly defined meanings of words. In this situation, Umbro is a United Kingdom-based sports manufacturer of sportswear. The possibility that the designer chose the name Zyklon based on the culture of England. The name, however, meant something different with the culture of Jews who were exterminated during Second World War by Hitler especially in Germany (Wierzbicka & Anna, 2010).
The third cause of cross-cultural miscommunication is the nonverbal misinterpretation. Nonverbal communication is the passing information without using words. The way we express ourselves through body language, gestures, eye contact as well as the way we dress communicates something. Nonverbal communication cues may have different meanings in countries, races as well as cultures. For example, a simple gesture such as nodding the head is considered to mean yes or approval in some cultures and no or disapproval in others. In this situation, the name Zyklon to Umbro was considered to mean a name of their trainers shoe but to the Jews this name meant a lethal pesticide used by Hitler during the Second World War (Wierzbicka & Anna, 2010).
The fourth cause of cross-cultural miscommunication is the tendency to evaluate. Human beings tend to make sense of others behavior and communication using their cultural point of view. This situation may cause cross-cultural miscommunication as different behaviors ha different meanings in different cultures and nationalities. Therefore, analyzing the communication and behaviors exhibited by others from ones cultural views may lead to biases as well as false judgment and wrong interpretation. This situation in many scenarios can lead to conflicts and misunderstanding between people (Wierzbicka & Anna, 2010).
The fifth cause of cross- cultural miscommunication is high anxiety in people. This situation may arise where an individual is being confronted using a different cultural perspective apart from his or hers. This confrontation based on a different cultural perspective in most cases causes anxiety as one is unsure how to behave as well as what behavior is considered appropriate in the situation. An example is cases of high anxiety in an American and a Japanese man and woman respectively having a business meeting. The cause of the anxiety in this situation is the lack of knowledge of the others cultural norms (Wierzbicka & Anna, 2010).
The sixth cause of cross -cultural miscommunication is the presence of stereotypes and preconceptions. The stereotype is associated with putting people in a predetermined class or slots based on our image on how they should be or how they are. This act also involves assuming that all members of a certain group share the same characteristics. Stereotypes may lead to the wrong notions and expectations in many situations. A preconception is a preconceived opinion of another person. A preconceived opinion in many cases leads to making decisions that are both discriminatory and bias (Wierzbicka & Anna, 2010).
The seventh cause of cross- cultural miscommunication is ethnocentrism. Ethnocentrism is simply an assumption that one’s culture is right, moral and rational, and those other cultures are inferior. In most cases when confronted with a different culture individuals tend to judge it regarding their standards while refusing to evaluate the situation from the cultural perspective of the other person. Ethnocentrism is usually associated with racism. Ethnocentricism is considered to be an unconscious behavior hence it is hard to stop it in advance (Wierzbicka & Anna, 2010).
There are no theories formed yet...