Human resource management
Michelle_Michy
HRSIMWeek3.pptxSession 3 Human Resource strategies for the international manager: Intercultural communication and negotiation
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Communication
Watch the following video which shows what happened when police in Victoria, Australia, attempted to arrest a woman for not wearing a face mask:
What are your reactions after watching this footage?
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/mask-dodging-woman-allegedly-smashed-female-cop-s-head-into-concrete-20200804-p55ica.html
https://catallaxyfiles.com/2020/08/11/can-she-breathe-ii/comment-page-1/
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Learning Outcomes
Identify the elements of the intercultural communication process and compare one and two-way communication
List possible communication problems and barriers between countries
Consider ways in which cross-cultural communication can be enhanced
Highlight the importance of culture in negotiation processes
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Communication
The transference and understanding of meaning
Functions: control (eg guidelines, hierarchies); motivation (common goals, training, feedback, appraisals); emotional (eg social needs); information for decisions
‘A message succeeds … when it is appropriate to its context’ (Mead)
The Process
The steps between a source and a receiver that result in the transference and understanding of meaning
The message: words, writing, body language
The channel: the medium through which the message travels; formal versus informal
The sender and receiver are limited by their individual skills, attitudes, knowledge
Communication Model (1)*
Relate to early use of the telephone system.
Doesn't help much in interpreting the Victoria police arrest, as it doesn't take into account shared experience or context.
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Communication Model (2)*
Schramm (1955) in Wood (2009) produced a more interactive model where the receiver or listener provides feedback to the sender or speaker. The speaker or sender of the message also listens to the feedback given by the receiver or listener. Both the speaker and the listener take turns to speak and listen to each other. Feedback is given either verbally or non-verbally, or in both ways. This model also indicates that the speaker and listener communicate better if they have common fields of experience , or fields which overlap.
In the Victoria police arrest scenario, it is noticeable that the arresting police officer does not appear to say anything. However, body language says it all!
Ironically, both parties have common fields of experience - pandemic and associated regulations - but this does not go very far to help us interpret the situation.
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Communication Model (3)*
Transactional Model: The main drawback in the interactive model is that it does not indicate that communicators can both send and receive messages simultaneously. The interactive model also fails to show that communication is a dynamic process which changes over time.
The transactional model shows that the elements in communication are interdependent. Each person in the communication act is both a speaker and a listener, and can be simultaneously sending and receiving messages.
There are three implications in the transactional model:
‘Transactional’ means that communication is an ongoing and continuously changing process. You are changing, the people with whom you are communicating are changing, and your environment is also continually changing as well. This means we can take into account the presence of the crowd and their influence on the situation, where they become hostile to the police. Does the arresting police officer become more violent as a result?
In any transactional process, each element exists in relation to all the other elements. There is this interdependence where there can be no source without a receiver and no message without a source. Consider the elements which could have made this situation either more or less antagonistic: reactions of the passers-by/crowd; reactions of the other police officers; reactions of the two central characters
Each person in the communication process reacts depending on factors such as their background, prior experiences, attitudes, cultural beliefs and self-esteem. This slide shows a transactional model of communication that takes into account ‘noise’ or interference in communication as well as the time factor . The outer lines of the model indicate that communication happens within systems that both communicators share (e.g., a common campus, hometown, and culture) or personal systems (e.g., family, religion, friends, etc). It also takes into account changes that happen in the communicators’ fields of personal and common experiences. The model also labels each communicator as both sender as well as receiver simultaneously.
Here, it is worth noting that attitudes towards mask wearing are highly polarised in certain countries. For example, in certain Anglophone and European countries, there is a significant part of the population who are the strongly anti-mask. Equally, there is another significant part of the population that strongly defends the wearing of face masks.
These are highly polarised political views, relating to concepts of personal liberty.
In this sense, there is a cultural component to this scenario.
Pre-existing beliefs, such as the practice of wearing a face mask may have played a part in this confrontation; likewise attitudes to the police; any previous encounters with the police or authorities; attitudes towards the actions of the Victoria State authorities, which used private security firms instead of local police and civil guard to carry out the restrictions
A transactional model of communication Source : Wood, J. T. (2009). Communication in our lives (4th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson-Wadsworth.
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OTA Orientation: Communication
Based on your experience of the ‘Forage’ Virtual Experience Programme, is it your view that Virtual Experience Programmes can succeed despite the absence of face-to-face communication and the physical presence of a supervisor (leader)?
Justify your response with reference to Wood’s (2009) transactional model of communication.
Barriers to Effective Communication (1) (French, 2010)
Communication apprehension
Ambiguous or unfamiliar body language
Choice of wrong channel
Filtering – sender’s manipulation
Selective perception
Poor listening by individual or management
Poor questioning technique
Barriers to Effective Communication (3) (French, 2010)
Noise, distance
Lack of opportunity/time
Too much/ little information
Emotions, stress, family problems
Different language/cultures/sex; jargon
Structure of firm
Lack of feedback
Barriers to Effective Communication (4) (French, 2010)
Do you want onions with that?
I'm fine thanks.
I'm fine thanks.
Direction*
Downward (eg managers to employees) - problems such as distortion, lack of feedback
Upwards (eg surveys, appraisals) – problems and true feelings can be blocked
Lateral (eg peers, groups) – less formal
External (eg agencies, customers, government agencies) – important, legal implications
Communication during the pandemic:
In low-power distance cultures, such as Australia, regulations regarding the wearing of face masks etc can appear top-down and antidemocratic.
However, most people would recognise that in a health and safety emergency, this type of communication is necessary.
At the start of the pandemic, when little was known about the virus or how to treat it, people acquiesced in this. As more information became available, treatment improved, and lock downs were eased, it became harder for authorities to justify imposing restrictions during subsequent spikes of infection.
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Barriers to Effective Communication (5) (French, 2010)
Stereotyping
Mixed messages and non-verbal communication
Reinforcement of written/spoken communication, symbols, signifying attitudes and emotions
Kinesics
Chromatics
Proxemics
Non-Verbal Communication (French, 2010)
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Non-Verbal Communication (French, 2010)
Body language or NVC is not solely based on how we move our body, it is made up of:
How close we are to another person, the personal space between two people and how it varies.
This is proxemics: an individual's perception of and use of space, both personal (how much space do they take up) and social (distance from another).
Non-Verbal Communication (French, 2010)
Kinesics describes an individual's use of body language including the study of:
Our facial expressions
Our changing body postures
How we move our eyes/visual contact.
How we touch and make use of objects, for example, pens, or clothes.
How we breathe as well as other non-visible physical aspects
Head Movements
In some parts of India, people tilt their head from side to side to confirm something and demonstrate that they are actively listening.
In Western countries, it is usual to nod in order to affirm. However, in Bulgaria and Greece, nodding actually means the opposite.
Eye Contact
In the Japanese and Finnish culture, constant eye contact is considered awkward. In Caribbean communities, children are taught not to look adults in the eyes when they are being corrected or told off.
In most Western cultures, visual contact when speaking to someone is considered a positive aspect of body language.
Strong visual contact is common in Spain and the Arabic culture (among people of the same sex). Not looking back when someone is looking at you is considered disrespectful and demonstrates insecurity, lack of interest or indicates deception.
Greetings and Goodbyes
Shaking hands is a normal and formal way to greet or say goodbye in Western countries. But it’s done in different contexts in different countries. In Romania, for example, only men usually shake hands. And they do it every time they meet . . . .
Kissing cheeks is something done in many countries, especially in Europe. Though the number of kisses, the occasion for doing so, and which cheek they start off on vary. In East Asia it’s common to bow where as in Southeast Asia both hands are placed together as well (like when praying).
encounter in an Elevator
When you enter a lift (elevator), there is one other person inside.
They don't say anything.
Is this rude? Unfriendly?
Who should make the first move and say 'hello'?
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Seminar Activity: Email to a University Lecturer
Using the following few slides to help you, read the email and answer the questions in the activity
‘Please answer me as soon as possible’
Imposition and ‘Face’ Issues (1)
The email lacks downgraders or politeness markers such as ‘could’, ‘just’, ‘maybe’, ‘please’.
It is composed from the sender’s perspective rather than the recipient’s perspective.
There are a number of requests in the email:
asking the lecturer to read through some study notes
making an assessment on the relevance of the key points
seeking advice on references.
They are different in the weight of imposition and the degree of obligation.
Imposition and ‘Face’ Issues (2)
The requests are made in a tone of urgency:
‘Please answer me as soon as possible’; ‘I will write tomorrow’.
The number of requests made and the amount of time these requests require make it very unlikely for them to responded to by the next day.
Research finds that non-native speakers are not necessarily penalised for their language mistakes. However, the same does not apply to breach of etiquette. Teaching staff tend to think less favourably of those email requests that either assess staff obligations and duties inappropriately or incur greater cost and staff can afford in terms of time and commitment.
These are ‘face-threatening acts’ (FTAs).
NB: ‘saving face’; ‘giving face’ (dignity, respect)
Basic Communication Model
Who communicates? Identify importance
To whom? Relevant people included
What? Context, purpose
How? Correct channel, style
When? Time for effectiveness
Where? Choice of location imparts meaning
All must be appropriate to succeed
One-way Communication
Perception of imposed power-distance
Message from A to B where B has little input beyond acknowledging, acting
Task and culture deem whether appropriate
If PD high, reluctance to ask questions; low PD addressee will clarify
Problems with expectations of workers
Two-way Communication
Involves addresses/s making significant contribution
Can be face to face or through medium
Interpersonal relationships are important
Various forms eg initiating upwards communication, querying, giving advice
Used for non-routine, complex, non-urgent
Cross-Cultural Theory and Communication HOFSTEDE
Low PD (eg Israel, Austria, Nordics) prevalence of participative, two-way communication styles; willingness on the part of subordinates to question authority of senior figures within hierarchies; need for a more democratic management approach and informal styles of communication.
High PD (eg United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia); communication centres on non-verbal aspects: dress code formal; during meetings, real decision-makers identified by non-participation in verbal conversations
Neutral cultures – Japan, North America, Western Europe
(eg UK, Belgium)
Members do not telegraph their feelings but keep them carefully controlled and subdued
Affective cultures –(eg Brazil, Italy) Latin America, South East Europe, Arab countries, West Africa
People show their feelings plainly by laughing, smiling, grimacing and gesturing; they attempt to find immediate outlets to their feeling
Distinctive styles of verbal communication can lead to misunderstandings (eg Anglo-Saxon, Latin, Oriental)
Cross-Cultural Theory and Communication TROMPENAARS
Hall: High / Low Context
Edward T. Hall, a cultural anthropologist is considered as a pioneer of intercultural investigation. In the 60s/ 70s he introduced the terms of ‘time’, ‘space’ and ‘directness of communication’ to describe how different cultures tend to deal with universal problems and questions .
High context – depends on external environment, situation, non-verbal. Clues and meanings indirect e.g. Arabic, Chinese
Low context – communicators have to be explicit, blunt style liked, ambiguity disliked, more open to change
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High Context
Family, friends and co-workers have close personal relationships and large information networks, so do not require extensive background information
People don’t rely on language alone – tone of voice, timing, facial expression are major means of communicating
Low Context
Relationships are shorter in duration and deep personal involvement valued less
Messages must be made explicit – less dependence on non-verbal communication
Agreements written rather than spoken
People separate lives into different sectors like work and personal life, so need more detailed information in interacting
High dependence on words to convey meaning – complete and accurate meaning is important
Implications of Hall’s Work
Meaning needs decoding in high-context societies – power relationships
Non-verbal communication – rich source of meaning
High-context – indirect styles of communication, ambiguity valued; Low context – straight to the point
In high context, information contained within networks (guanxi); difficult for outsider to gain access
Communication Problems Between Cultures
Participative versus authoritarian
Style of address eg formality, distance
Speech style eg formality, jargon, abbreviations
Listening – what has and has not been said
Non-verbal eg stance, eye movement, tone
Written/ legal eg contracts in US
Seminar Activity: Price or Quantity First?
Negotiation
Differences in negotiation styles eg Japan, India, China, Taiwan, USA
Negotiation context: roles, relationships with constituencies, deadlines, behavioural predispositions of the parties
Negotiation process/outcomes
Effective Employee Communication: ‘Western’ Model
Managers’ actions match words
Appropriate use of one or two-way communication
Shared responsibility; top managers to keep middle, lower managers fully informed
Commitment at top – role model, vision
Truthful re bad news
Appropriate message for audience
Communication is ongoing and timely
Seminar Activity: Communication Group Exercise
Enhancing Intercultural/ Interpersonal Communication
Appoint appropriate candidates
Training – cultural awareness; body language; questioning techniques; active listening; presentation skills; report, letter writing; attitude changes; teamwork; technology
Open, non-judgemental attitude
Self-awareness
Resourcefulness and taking responsibility
Empathy
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