Diversity and Global Communication Research Assignment (Essay Sample)

Diversity and Global Communication
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Diversity and Global Communication
Culture is a communal practice of signs, principles, ideals, and rules for behavior. It influences communication greatly. People belonging to a particular culture have similar expectations about the manner in which individuals should reason, act, and communicate. Across different communities, cultures vary broadly. In a series of business meetings with a China-based company, whose managers speak English fairly well, the managers of a U.S.-based firm might encounter intercultural differences ranging from contextual, ethical, and social differences between their respective cultures.
First, one of the methods people use to give sense to a message relies on the cultural context of the communication; therefore, contextual differences are bound to arise between members of dissimilar cultures. The Chinese belong to a high-context culture where individuals place extra emphasis on nonverbal manners and environmental backdrop to pass on meaning than on verbal exchange (Thill & Bovée, 2015). On the other hand, in a low-context society, like the United States, people depend more on oral communication than on situations and signals to convey messages.
Secondly, the managers may encounter ethical differences. As people do business across the globe, they inevitably realize how ethical and legal practices change from one country to another (Thill & Bovée, 2015). For instance, there are apparent ethical differences between the United States and China. The U.S. is a low-context country where people believe written accords are binding and strictly abide by laws. On the other hand, China puts less importance on drafted agreements — citizens deem individual promises to be more valuable than contracts and regard laws as bendable.
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