Non Verbal Communication in Human Social Interaction - Essay Example

Globalization Does globalization promote cultural individuality or does it promote sameness among cultures? This dis evaluating the impact of globalization on cultural individuality or sameness is often a complex and complicated debate. The primary issue arises because of the effect globalization tends to have on the many different cultures around the globe. In light of these, some factions argue that globalization promotes cultural individuality while others claim that it promotes cultural sameness. As such, this part will evaluate and critically analyze the main arguments in this complex debate. Additionally, this part will attempt to explain why comprehending the local religious practices and beliefs are significant to the success of a business. Dreher (46) defined globalization as both a process and worldwide condition in which the globe is becoming more interconnected while communication has become instantaneous as each day passes. Technology is the key driver to globalization. On the other hand, cultural individuality is the opposite of collectivism. Therefore, in an individualistic culture, concepts and views are based on the self and thus they are independent instead of relying on the group. As a result, they often value their personal goals more than the group’s goals. In most instances, cultural individualistic societies are made up of a diverse population exhibiting low communication and low power distance characteristics. Countries such as Canada, Australia ,and New Zealand are said to possess a highly individualistic culture. People in countries such as Singapore used to eat fried rice at the time McDonalds was opening in America. That is in 1955. During this period, most people had not heard of the term cheeseburger. Little people from Singapore expected that McDonald would soon be a big hit there within a very short time. Currently, McDonald is an enterprise operating in many countries worldwide. A recent survey conducted in about six countries revealed that many more people are familiar with the McDonald symbol than they are with the Christian cross. This example signifies the importance of globalization in enhancing or promoting cultural sameness. Thus, through globalization, multinational corporations and companies have promoted and designed a specific type of consumerist culture where standard commodities which are often promoted by worldwide marketing campaigns create same lifestyles globally. Through globalization, multinational corporations influence the values of its employees and customers. Also, the increasing use of commercial and technological media tends to drown out the various cultural influences of the local people hence promoting a set of common beliefs and values throught the world. The loss of group identity and individualism occurs since globalization in most cases encourages and promotes western individualism. The promotion of western individualism forces other cultures to adopt a homogeneous group of beliefs and values leading to cultural sameness. The adoption of a culture based on the western ideals and ideologies is perhaps advanced by the computer technologies which are mainly developed, processed and marketed through the western markets. Through this process, the dominant culture and population overrides other cultures which in turn align themselves with the ideals of the dominant population. For instance, throught the world, the present legal, power structures and education systems reflect the philosophies and ideals of the western culture. These ideals are assimilated by other cultures easily hence leading to a reduction in cultural individualism and an increase in cultural sameness. Therefore, modern institutions via the process of globalization have advanced a set of ideals which have been accepted as universal hence they override the local traditions. Lastly, through the news media and popular culture, universal habits and values are being promoted worldwide leading to cultural sameness. On the other hand, globalization promotes cultural individuality since it empowers different cultures to represent themselves. Through the use of technology, different cultures showcase their images that define their self-identity to a wider audience. Thus, through the public media, different cultures voice their beliefs and values hence promoting their identities while simultaneously providing the public with their stories. Also, technology allows them to broadcast their relevant commentaries and accounts on concepts and issues that are vital in preserving the knowledge and culture acquisition of their ways. This allows them to retain and promote their diversity and identity. Additionally, different cultures today manage their own media houses. Thus, they are empowered and able to manage their signs, symbols and artifacts that are viewed as their property. In light of this, they avoid being misrepresented since they are in charge of controlling their images. Moreover, technology promotes cultural individuality by helping societies and nations to preserve their culture, language and customs. Thus, in summary, technology enables the preservation of cultural identities while allowing for self-representation. Importance of Knowledge of Religious Beliefs to the Success of a Business In the modern globalized world, a key to company growth is the opportunity to expand and operate overseas in foreign environments. However, to succeed internationally, companies have to appreciate and understand the religious beliefs and practices of the local people. Whatever sector or field a company is operating in, religious beliefs and practices will always have a direct impact on the company’s profitability. Therefore, it is essential for organizations / firms to understand and improve their knowledge about the religious beliefs of its consumers. Understanding the religious beliefs can also give a company a competitive advantage over its rivals in a given market. For instance, Kakuto Chojin: Back Alley Brutal, a game developed published by Microsoft game studios and developed by dream publishing elicited negative and adversarial reactions from the Muslim community in 2003 due to the game possessing religious content. The developers had included Muslim verse chants into its background which the Muslim community deemed offensive. A public outrage ensured which forced the company to recall the game. Most Muslims consider and believe that the Quran should be handled with utmost respect; they felt that the inclusion of Quran verses in the game was disrespectful. As a result of not understanding the religious views of its consumers, the company alienated a lot of potential customers in addition to experiencing losses due to reduced sales. Had the company taken some time to assess and analyze the religious views and practices of its consumers in foreign markets, they could have avoided this embarrassing situation. Generally, the company would have understood the perspective and religious views of the Muslim community before including the chants in the game. Understanding a people’s religious beliefs and views helps the organization to tailor its products to those particular people. In the long and short run, customer loyalty would be established which translates to increased revenue. Ricks (52) in his book Blunders in International Business stated that the failure to acknowledge and understand the religious beliefs and cultural practices can impact companies negatively. Comprehending the significance of religion and consequently respecting the part or role it plays in the lives of potential customers especially in foreign markets could be the determinant between the business’s failure or success. Trivializing or forgetting this critical factor tends to make a company’s marketing strategies come to naught, thereby failing to attract its potential customers at best or in a worst case scenario offending and alienating a lot of people which results in huge company losses. Hagge (61) explains why understanding the significance of religion is critical to a company’s success and illustrates the various parts religious beliefs affect in a company. He outlines three parts that are often affected by religious practices of customers; web content and website localization, marketing, advertising and public relations strategies, and business relationships especially with overseas partners, employees , clients and customers. Important to note is that organizations that which in most cases do not take into consideration the religious leanings and practices of their customers tend to implement failing market strategies from the start. Marketing strategies for a particular religion do not always augur well when customers are from another religion. Consequently, it is vital to be religiously aware and sensitive when developing, designing, naming, producing and selling company products and services. In summary, understanding the religious beliefs of consumers is important to businesses. Failure to appreciate these beliefs leads to various consequences which affects the business negatively such as; loss of sales opportunities, customers and revenue ; possible retaliatory lawsuits or legislation; customer backlash and negative publicity like in the case of the 2003 x box game; tainting of the brand name; customers losing confidence and faith in the business’s product. Another example of a firm or advertising campaign receiving negative publicity and a subsequent public backlash occurred in Thailand. A movie company distributed a poster of a man sitting on a Buddhist statue. Generally, Thailand is a Buddhist country. As is expected, the marketing campaign was not received kindly. The poster elicited angry reactions from the Thai public who implored people not to attend or purchase the movie. Additionally, they demanded the poster to be immediately changed. Furthermore, the poster led to violent protests in Buddhist nations such as Burma, Sri Lanka and Malaysia. Therefore, understanding the religious beliefs and practices of the local people is a vital aspect of a company’s success especially in foreign markets. In conclusion, a business which is intent in succeeding in foreign markets must then consider the religious beliefs and practices of its local consumers in each and every step of its product development and marketing campaign. 4 Importance of understanding the verbal and non-verbal parts of communication for successful business dealings in other countries. Although experts unanimously agree that communication is a significant skill business employees and employers ought to have, very few have received communication training. Rather, business employees and employers are trained strategy, economics and a wide array of business skills. This shows that businesses do not take the concept of communication seriously. For businesses to succeed especially in an international platform, the business people should possess good verbal and non verbal communication skills. Additionally, they should understand the meanings of different non verbal cues since different cultures interpret verbal and non verbal communication differently. Whether a business person is communicating with a client or internally, it is important to know that communication means a lot more than what a person says. In fact, Hinde (21) states that the most convincing type of communication does not entirely include words. In most instances, people are unknowingly communicating to others without even saying words. What is surprising and frightening at the same time is that people sometimes send these signals without their knowledge. Argyle (73) implied that non verbal communication is made up of the overall body movement and language including the person’s posture and appearance. Instead of using words, they (people) communicate via the use of facial expressions, eye contact and non verbal gestures. In contrast, verbal communication is the use of words to pass a message. Due to the existence of difference cultures on the international stage, communication becomes an important and complex aspect. Communication in the corporate or business world guides behavior, values, thinking patterns and the process of decision making. Payrato (13) in his studies argues that verbal and non verbal communication on the international stage is not clearly understood. Each nation has different and distinguishing regional and national verbal and non verbal communication characteristics. Because of this, the success of any business in a foreign market hinges on the understanding of these verbal and non verbal communication distinctions. Understanding the various verbal and non verbal communication parts in a foreign market is vital since it is through communication that business relationships are made. Etiquette and good manners is a necessity for a business to succeed in a foreign nation. The expected mode of dressing, acceptable distances from the one you speaking to and handshake practices require a person to be sensitive so as to avoid a misunderstanding. A business can create confusion when for instance he is not aware of how he or she is supposed to respond to gestures, punctuality or humor in a foreign country. Additionally, differences in name order or the right type of address in some societies or cultures can be seen as insulting. Hence, a person can unintentionally offend another by greeting him/ her incorrectly. Thus, understanding the verbal and non verbal parts of communication of a foreign nation will foster good business relationships between the people or parties involved. Secondly, communication has direct implications on a product’s marketing. Understanding the foreign nation’s verbal and non verbal communication parts will aid the business avoid marketing errors which are normally expensive. The process of choosing a product’s name, its color, promotion and distribution must be taken into consideration. Ignoring these communication aspects will derail an otherwise promising business activity. Thirdly, communication is a critical component of the negotiating process. The negotiation process becomes a little bit more complex when the parties involved are from different nations or cultures. Developing business trust requires a cross cultural understanding which is helped further by possessing the ability of speaking the foreign language. If the negotiating participants do not understand each other due to poor communication, the business negotiation process will fail leading to the failure of the relevant business. The company negotiator will avoid misunderstanding the host by learning the verbal and non verbal communication parts of the local people. As such, he should know how people use time, protocol and body language to pass across unspoken messages. For example, in America, a negotiating partner is assumed to be bored if he closes his eyes during the negotiation process. However, the same gesture in a nation like japan means the opposite. It means that the partner is absorbing the words being said hence he/ she is interested. Therefore, it is important for businesses to understand the verbal and non verbal parts of communication if they are to succeed in foreign business dealings. Barriers or Difficulties to Learning the Foreign Verbal and Non Verbal Parts of Communication There are various barriers to learning the verbal and non verbal parts of communication of a foreign nation. First is the problem of semantics. When information is sent in a complex rather than in a simple language, it becomes difficult to learn and decipher the message. Due to linguistic chaos, it becomes difficult to understand the sender’s meaning. Thus, a barrier exists because of the use of wrong sentences, wrong choice of words and frequent repetitions. Also, it becomes difficult to learn since some words or symbols have more than one meaning. This in most cases leads to a misunderstanding. For example, the word value has very many different meanings. Its interpretation will depend on the context it is used in. furthermore, the use of technical jargon makes it difficult to learn and understand a foreign language and their communication characteristics. Foreigners or the local people can use jargon which they assume that their business partners understand. Also, learning technical jargon in another country is a daunting and draining task. Moreover, each country interprets verbal and non verbal communication differently. Therefore, learning the meaning of non verbal cues in each and every country is in most cases confusing. Works Cited Argyle, Michael. "Non-verbal communication in human social interaction." (1972). Print. Dreher, Axel, Noel Gaston, and Pim Martens. Measuring globalisation: Gauging its consequences. Springer Science & Business Media, 2008. Print. Hagge, John. "The process religion and business communication." Journal of Business Communication 24.1 (1987): 89-120. Print. Hinde, Robert A. "Non-verbal communication." (1972). Print. Payrató, Lluís. "Non-verbal communication." Key Notions for Pragmatics, John Benjamins, Amsterdam/Philadelphia (2009): 163-194. Print. Ricks, David A. Blunders in international business. John Wiley & Sons, 2009. Print. Read More