Cross Cultural Communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Cross Cultural Communication - Essay Example The major features of high context and low context cultures can be understood through critical elements such as association, interaction, territoriality, temporality, learning, through patterns and social perspectives (Hofstede, 2001; Hall, 1976). 1. Knowledge is generally embedded in the current situation. Things are synthesized and connected as well as global. For information, multiple sources are used. Thinking is from general to precise or specific. 1. Reality is compartmentalized and fragmented. One particular information source is used for developing knowledge. Thinking is generally inductive and proceeds to general ideas from specific issues. More focus is given on details (Chaney, 2005). Japan is a model example of a high context culture. Japan and China are considered as model examples of this culture. In Japan and China a major part of the communication is implicit and internalized. For instance, they speak very less words in a conversation and convey more through facial expressions (Richardson and Smith, 2007). Low context messages are very difficult to understand without having backed with proper background information. According to hall, in Japan and China communication style, much of the meaning depends on physical context such as voice tone, facial expressions and gestures. As a result, the verbal message is itself very less. For instance, a Japanese executive visiting a low context culture such as US will face problems with their extremely direct approach (Hendon, Hendon and Herbig, 1999). Individuals prefer interacting and conveying their message through indirect communication and body language. The major reason behind this can be attributed to their object ive of preserving and strengthening relationships by ensuring harmony and saving face. The culture of Japan and China is influenced by a well-structured hierarchy in society, strong norms of behaviour as well as closeness in human

Employee Relations Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Employee Relations - Case Study Example On May 15, he assured Monica that everything would be taken care of as planned. Carl pulled out the paperwork needed for the orientation plans after Memorial Day, which would place this time frame around the beginning of June. His goal at this point in time was to get everything finalized for the orientation that would be coming up in approximately two weeks. What he found was a big mess. Some of the applications were incomplete. Some of the new hires did not have the required transcripts on file. Not a single one of them had gone to have a drug screen, and those were mandatory. Furthermore, he could only find three orientation manuals and all of them had pages missing. The frustration did not end there. When he went to check on the room that would be used to train the new hires during the actual orientation, he found out that it was not even going to be available for use on that day. In fact, it had already been booked for the entire month of June for other company business. All of this turmoil left Carl very frustrated and having no idea where to turn next. Although each of these individual problems is significant, the real issue boils down to a couple of deeper problems: miscommunication and poor preparation. Most of this falls on the shoulders of Carl since he agreed to take responsibility for the orientation, but it could have possibly been prevented had other individuals in the company, such as Monica or Carl's supervisor, checked in on his progress and found that he was putting off some vital actions until it was virtually too late to correct them, at least in a quick and efficient manner. According to Anonymous Employee (2008, pg. 1), "Poor communication leads to inadequate workplaces. As in any relationship, communication is key to a strong business relationship. This can be the relationship between business and customer, or, equally as important, the internal relationships among different employees within the company. Communication can be improved in virtually every workplace, no matter the industry or size. After all, it is the only way for information to effectively spread throughout the business so that everybody can be informed to the degree that they required to properly achieve their goals." In addition, Anonymous Employee (2008, pg. 1) claims that, "Among the most trying elements of poor communication in today's workplace is a lack of information for the proper accomplishment of the tasks necessary within the business. Even in today's information overload society, employees often lack the information they need to do their jobs. They may have the data that they require