International Business Communication - Admission/Application Essay Example

Answer In the international setting, it is importance for a business manager to realize that at this arena the language used and other forms of communication are quite sophisticated. As an executive of a shipping Japanese multinational, the demand to acquaint myself with the relevant skills in communication in regards to the international setting in which we operate is in the offing. For a manager of my stature these are essential skills that I need rather than want in order to take this multinational to the next level in the shipping industry. IBC is quite essential and in this paper I shall illustrate how it has come in handy for me in developing my skills in communication in the work place. Introduction The major aim for me to acquaint myself with IBC skills was to make sure that at the organizational level I am able to handle situations in a better manner after acquiring enhanced communication skills. I am able to use better messaging channels and writing better messages to relay information to the stakeholders of the company. It is important to appreciate that with proper communication a great deal can be achieved within and beyond the organizational setting (Walker et al. 2003). It is with this that the company is growing at a commendable rate since most of the management staff who are involved in making international deals and attending international meetings and forums are all conversant with the area of IBC (Locker & Kaczmarek 2008). I have come to learn that with business communication a great deal is involved and the communication process is not just about verbal or written communication. So much more need to be incorporated in order to drive the point home in the intended manner and to the right recipient. As it is the case world over, the business environment has changed for the last two centuries to turn out to be quite competitive and for this reason managers need to ensure that they are on top of their game as their way of communicating may either bring in good business or lead to its failure or decline. I have learnt that in order to face the competitors in a multinational business setting, it is important for one to be well equipped with good communication skills. Competition is high and so should be the drive to compete (Kaul 2004). International arena and Domestic workplace The various meetings that are held whereby an executive like me need to be in attendance, the level of communication involved is of a higher class than that usually used in a rather local setting. The basic reason for this is the fact that the issues under discussion in these venues are of global magnitude and that they require one to be a bit more conversant with the various issues that underlie the global market (Harvard Business School Press 2003). Also of importance to note is the intellectual level of the ones being addressed or one is interacting with. A majority of them are well learned and versed in the area of business and the level of discussion is also correspondingly high unlike in the local arena whereby not all the business stakeholders are like that. The level of interaction and the topics of discussion differ when it comes to the internationals setting (Jones & Alexander 2003). One of the major considerations that one needs to make is in relation to the manifestation of people with diverse cultural backgrounds. This is evidently more an issue in the international arena than it is in the domestic one. Taking this shipping multinational as an example, the areas covered by our ships are enormously inhabited by people of different nationalities who bear different cultural settings from others. In appreciating this fact is important to consider that there is the need to develop skills on our part as a company to cope with the differences that may arise in communication (Jones & Alexander 2003). Individual employees me included should embrace this diversity by acquainting ourselves with the level of communication required in order to conduct international business in the manner required. As an executive I have come to see these skills assist a great deal in the organizational set up in that there has been better communication with the fellow managers, employees and other stakeholders like the shareholders of the shipping company. Written communication in this point should not be left out as it has also been enhanced in that there is more formal writing while posting letters within the organization and beyond. As a matter of elaboration, in the company before the basic language used was Japanese and that most of our documents were in the Japanese transcripts. This meant that only people of Japanese origin or those familiar with the Japanese language could interpret them. This has caused a great barrier in that we were not able to higher people of various linguistic backgrounds as they would have posed a huge challenge to us and themselves communication-wise (Victor 1998). The documents are now in English and the basic communication is in Japanese and English languages, which has made the company quite a welcoming one for many workers. This is a gesture that I developed from attending international meetings whereby I found that many shipping companies were using English in their communication both written and verbal. This has enhanced our competitive advantage as we are now able to hire people from diverse backgrounds who bring in new outlooks to issues as well as new skills that are driving innovation to the next level in the company. The language of communication and the various cultures that are manifested in the organization have come to change the way the organization used to tackle issues of international concern (Harvard Business School Press 2003). The IBC has also enabled me as an executive of this company to be able to address issues in the workplace in a more open minded manner taking into consideration that the people who we are dealing with are from diverse backgrounds and that their view on various issues may conflict that of mine and therefore a compromise needs to be settled at for the betterment of the whole organization. The employees on the other hand have come to embrace these advanced communication skills which has made it easy for me to handle issues in a more efficient manner (Guffey et al. 2009). In conflict management, I have been able to handle various problems that have arisen by taking time and reflecting on the various divergent views raised and coming up with a nonpartisan decisions that please a majority of the parties aggrieved. This is an aspect that I received from being heavily involved in international negotiations that involved parties with divergent view points. Answer 2 International settings are quite unique to handle in relation to project management. Managing projects is quite a daunting task that is time and resources barred. In this respect it is important to appreciate that it is harder to manage a product whereby the various stakeholders are scattered around the world. The issue of communication is quite a sensitive one and that which requires a great deal of harmonization for all the parties to have a common understanding in order to accomplish the set goals and objectives by using the resources set aside as well as within the set time frame (Heerkens 2007). This paper shall look into a the above case and the various communication issues that need to be considered in order to ensure a successful project completion as well as giving reason as to why such issues are relevant. Being a project manager for four months of KyRic International Pty Ltd, I am supposed to harness the efforts and expertise of eight people in taking control of the project. These people reside in different countries which means that communication shall be a big challenge for me and for the project in general from communicating the various project plans to the actual project completion. Cross-cultural issues Research has shown that people undertaking projects where cross cultural issues are involved, time and the allocated resources can be wasted quite easily (Cleland & Lewis 2006). In this project I am supposed to manage a project together with these other people who form a global team. It is first essential to have a clearly laid out method of interaction among ourselves first before spreading the same to the many junior workers under this team. It is a basic fact that where international communication is involved, cross-cultural communication is also manifest. It is therefore essential for all of us to ensure that we are versed with the relevant international skills that shall enable us communicate with one another and each other effectively and efficiently. This in the long run shall enable an efficient project management and completion as per the expected standard and time with efficient use of the allocated resources. As a project manager I need to develop a framework that will aim at dealing with the cultural diversity manifested in my group. We have appreciated that we are working for a multinational organization that serves a huge community of customers in training them on various issues related to the dynamic transport industry therefore the beyond borders interaction has been an understanding for us all even before this project was assigned to us. Having this understanding will make my work a bit easier as the eight individuals forming my support team will have an understanding of the cultural issues that underlie operations in a multinational setting like ours of KyRic International Pty Ltd. One of the biggest issues to consider under cross cultural issue is that of the language differences. It is my understanding that all of these people in the team are from different nationalities and each has its own language for communication (Lock 2007). All of the team members fortunately are from countries that have English as a one of the languages of official communication. This at this juncture has made our communication a bit easier than it would have been if these people were from countries where English is uncommon. The other issue that is of essence to consider under this area is that of the various cultural behaviours attributed to people of specific backgrounds. Culture being a perception driven facet can lead to miscommunication whereby ones interpretation of a certain phenomenon is different from that of the other. In this regards it is important to consider this while relaying information to the team members as cultural environment can make it difficult for us to communicate effectively thereby resulting in delays or wrong operations in the project. I shall consider each person’s country of operations while communication and enhance the same to be used by the rest of the support members. Non-IT project management areas The functions that fall under this category are those that involve mostly the actual execution of the project and it is therefore important to consider them in coming up with a strategy of approaching our project and completing it successfully without delays and request for additional funding. Non-IT duties are mostly manual which means that they are time consuming and prone to errors (Kerzner 2009). Is it important to communicate this to the various team members for them to be aware of the issues that these kind of tasks expose our project to. Non-IT tasks require close supervision which means that as a team a few of us will be required to travel in order to check on the progress of the various operations on the ground and relay the progress to me and the rest of the support team members. The ones close to the project area of implementation should be the ones to take more time and make frequent visits so as to reduce on overall cost of the project. The same people fit the profile better as they shall have fewer communication problems while at the project site with the junior staff. For example if the project shall be in East Africa, then the one in Johannesburg is the one fit to visit more frequently than say, the one in New York. Quality standards of the project Quality control and assurance are common constrains in project management and more so in an international environment in which I have been appointed to head. When dealing with quality as per this project it is essential for me and the entire team to understand the quality expected of the end product of our work in order to make sure that all aspects in relation to quality management are done as it is appropriate (Haynes 2002). When it comes to quality control my major work shall be that of making sure that the deliverables are as per the required quality by facilitating testing processes as the project progresses and conducting peer reviews on the said deliverables. The other concern shall be that of quality assurance of the project endeavors through conducting of regular audits procedures and processes. The overall aim of these two concepts is to ensure that the project meets the expected standards and surpasses them in the highest degree possible. Relevant documentation need to be circulated as well as all the necessary literature on the project quality requirements to all the supporting staff from the various countries and all the questions raised and answered where a problem seems to exist. Here the major challenge posed by the dispersal of the team members is the taking of too much time in giving and receiving a comprehensive feedback. Therefore, I have to sensitize all on the need to have in place schedules that are well followed so as not to compromise on project quality. Answer 3 Community of practice in effective and efficient communication For all businesses and organisations whose aim is profit related or otherwise, communication is a key aspect whose efficiency and effectiveness to a huge extent dictate the level of success in achieving set goals and targets. The role of the management in ensuring the above is vital and it should be a collective responsibility for all in this position. Good communication enhances productivity and efficient running of operations whereby information goes to a person from another. It is a must for the management to ensure that business communication succeeds. In the above case where there are a number of people communicating and whose input is of huge importance then their role as a team is of essence since the various successes of the projects and goals of the organization rests with them. The type of communication that the above setting poses if that of internal communication which in other terms external as the ones communicating are in different countries (Guffey & Almonte 2009). The role of such a team is basically to ensure that the communicated information flows from the senior staff to the junior lot in a smooth manner that is free from interruption. In the process of communication many barriers exist, that hinder the movement of information from one person or group to the other. These are the barriers that this community of practice should aim at minimizing to enable each and every intended recipient gets the message as it is without having been distorted (Jain 2008). This is quite a daunting task for both the management and the junior staff as some of these barriers are beyond their control. One of these barriers beyond their control is where the channel used is damaged or has technical problems from the service provider for example the telephone. Trust with certain company information is another barrier that results into people even who are high ranking not to share information freely. The management personnel should know who to relay certain information to and who not to. This should also be known by the subordinate staffs that have access to important information of the company although they do not hold key positions like the secretaries and messengers. They should know that information about the company should not at any instance be shared with outsiders or those who not concerned. In case of the above few mentioned instances, the group of managers like the ones above who are to oversee a project are supposed to allow the employees to be free in giving their views on what they think should be changed to enhance efficiency (Harvard Business School Press 2003). The team above should outline clearly the expectations in terms of performance, time frame and quality expected to the rest of the staff who shall be involved in working for the project. Miscommunication is at many times brought about by lack of clarity in the words and expressions used, therefore this team should ensure that while communicating, the wording is clear while the constructions are simple for easy understanding considering that it was earlier appreciated that these people are of different origins and residence. It is also important for the said community of practice to request for prompt feedback from the recipient of information so as to gauge that the correct message was transmitted. This in many instances helps in ensuring that correction on is made within the shortest time possible to prevent loss of time and or resources due to miscommunication (Kaul 2004: Guffey & Loewy 2010). It is important for the management not to jump into conclusions when an issue arises but rather to use their intuition in investigating further into the issue at hand (Jain 2008). The ones leading should also be good listeners too so as to grasp each and every view and comment before incorporating what they have in coming up with a better judgment on a certain issue. Conclusion The roles that this kind of a team can have are essential for the success or failure of a certain project or undertaking by an organization. It is therefore the duty of a management team to ensure effective and efficient communication among them so that this will have a trickling-down effect on the rest of the staff. To ensure an effective and efficient communication especially in an international business setting can be a costly affair but when well undertaken its costs are outweighed by the benefits accrued and this should be the driving force for the ones involved to be keen in ensuring success in communication. References Cleland, DI & Lewis, R 2006, Ireland Project management: Strategic design and implementation, McGraw-Hill Professional. Guffey, ME & Almonte, R 2009, Essentials of business communication, 6th edn, Cengage Learning. Guffey, ME & Loewy, D 2010, Essentials of business communication, Cengage Learning. Guffey, ME, Rogin P & Rhodes, K 2009, Business communication: Process and product, 3rd edn, Cengage Learning. Harvard Business School Press 2003, Business communication, Harvard Business Press. Haynes, ME 2002, Project management: Practical tools for success, Cengage Learning. Heerkens, GR 2007, Project management: 24 steps to help you master any project, McGraw-Hill Professional. Jain, R, 2008, The barriers to effective communication, viewed 16 June 2010 from . Jones, L & Alexander, R 2003, New international business English: Communication skills in English for business purposes, Cambridge University Press. Kaul, A 2004, Effective business communication, PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd. Kerzner, H 2009, Project management: A systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling, John Wiley and Sons. Lock, D 2007, Project management, Gower Publishing Ltd. Locker, KO & Kaczmarek, SK 2008, Business communication: Building critical skills, McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Victor, DA 1998, International business communication, 7th edn, Harper Collins. Walker, DM, Walker TD, Schmitz, J & Brake, T 2003, Doing business internationally: The guide to cross-cultural success, vol 1995, (2), McGraw-Hill Professional. Read More