Lesson 5

• Sensitivity to diversity now demands a strategic understanding of the importance of cross-cultural communication competence in every action in organizations, communities, and nations throughout the world. Employers cannot under value global business communication and cultural competencies.
• Cross-cultural misunderstandings can be tricky in the best of circumstances and literally explosive in the worst.
• To prevent misunderstanding requires awareness of as many aspects of the other’s culture as possible to avoid trespassing on someone’s beliefs or cultural sensitivities.
• Communication and culture are inextricably intertwined. Indeed, culture itself is one form of communication.
• Collaboration is a strategic imperative. Cultural synergy in today‘s global economy requires individuals with multinational organizations to be culturally aware and competent in cross-cultural communication.
• Micro Case One. A Reluctant Handshake
• Micro Case One's Bumper Sticker: Provide Options before the Start!
• Case One, “A Reluctant Handshake,” highlights the global communication, cultural, and sub-cultural issues related to touching in a professional setting. One additional point made by the case is that the underlying reason for an action may not always be a religious one, but could be health related.
• Micro Case Two. Power Distance Consequences: Authoritarian Doctor and the Silent Student Nurse
• Case Two, “Power Distance Consequences: Authoritarian Doctor, Silent Student Nurse,” emphasizes the cost of remaining silent as well as how powerful people are sometimes not open to communication from others. How does power distance impact the lives of the people surrounding the authoritarian communicator?
• Micro Case Two's Bumper Sticker: Power Should Not Impede Open Communication.
• Micro Case Three: Collaboration or Betrayal: Communicating Inside an Alliance.
• Case Three, “Collaboration or Betrayal: Communicating Inside an Alliance,” focuses on the importance of accurate communication when enacting process interventions and the potential of betrayal which creates communication and psychological barriers.
• Micro Case Three's Bumper sticker: Use Communication Focused Process Interventions
• Micro Case Four: The Ethnically Dressed Lawyer
• Case Four, “The Ethnically Dressed Lawyer,” illustrates communication dilemmas created by visual cultural messages. The dynamics of the case are not just the idea of a person objecting to another’s apparel, but the shock of others, supposed uninvolved, witnessing the law firm’s communication and behavior.
• Micro Case Four's Bumper sticker takeaway: Assume Nothing with Others
• Micro Case Five: Fried Cottage Cheese
• Case Five, “Fried Cottage Cheese,” reminds readers that understanding regional language and sub-cultural variations are significant, because many times we don’t know what we don’t know.
• Micro Case Five's Bumper Sticker: Recognize that you don’t know what you don’t know.
• Micro Case Six: Culturally Appropriate Responses
• Case Six, “Culturally Appropriate Responses,” concentrates on the fact that acceptable ideas in one culture are not always transportable to another culture. In addition to diversity issues, the case addresses concepts around face saving, language, and sub-culture.
• Bumper Sticker: Perceptions are not facts.
• Micro-Case Seven: Sub-Cultural Issues: Intent Versus Impact
• Case Seven, “Sub-Cultural Issues: Intent versus Impact,” underscores the concept that cross-cultural and sub-cultural dilemmas do occur, in spite of the best of intentions. Communicators need to take responsibly to be aware, ask questions, and learn details prior to communication.
• Micro Case Seven's Bumper Sticker: Good intent cannot overcome bad impact.