Peculiarities of unofficial business communication

Socio-cultural issues of business communication

Business communication as a cross-cultural issue

On the one hand, "every communication is a cross-cultural communication" (i.e., coloured and influenced by each person's unique life experience.), as Larry Axelrod and Roy Johnson state in their book, Turning Conflict Into Profit.[2]

On the other hand, advances in transport and communications technology combined with the development of a world economy have resulted in people from different nations, cultures, languages and backgrounds now communicating, meeting and doing business with one another more than ever. As we come together our cultural differences become accentuated as we start to realise that the rest of the world is not reading from the same book. One area where this is now being felt is in business.[3]

Today some of the world's largest economies include Japan, China, Mexico, Brazil, India and Korea. As a result, doing business across borders (whether political, religious, cultural or linguistic) requires cultural sensitivity, meaning a sense of empathy, flexibility and creativity informed by cultural knowledge. Western organisations are feeling the impact that a lack of cultural sensitivity can and does have upon business performance. Many organisations are now investing heavily in cultural sensitivity training to address issues such as etiquette, protocol, communication styles and negotiation approaches. In a competitive world such businesses appreciate that greater cultural sensitivity will assist them in forging longer and more prosperous relationships.

A lack of cultural sensitivity can lead a company, individual or product to failure. This is reflected in two simple categories: culture and language.

Culture comes in many shapes and sizes, including areas such as politics, history, faith, mentality, behaviour and lifestyle. The lack of cultural awareness may harm a business. For example, a golf ball manufacturing company used to package golf balls in packs of four for convenient purchase. However, a failure of their sales in Japan made the company repackage the product because in the Japanese culture the number 4 is considered unlucky (equivalent to the number 13 in western cultures) due to its sounding like the word "death".

Business communication can also be damaged by poor translation due to the lack of cultural sensitivity. For instance, IKEA once tried to sell a workbench called "fartfull" — not a hugely popular product for obvious reasons.

The cited examples could easily have been avoided by conducting some basic research in respect to checking the concept, design, shape, colour, packaging, message or name in the target culture. If businesses want to succeed internationally, cultural sensitivity must be at the heart of everything they do; from their personal interaction and relationships with clients to the products/services they develop.

Peculiarities of unofficial business communication

During the work time, the employees encounter the boss as the source of discipline, assignments, occasional reprimands and, typically, very little personal conversation, while an informal setting is meant to favour positive relationships in the workplace. The employees typically like to be around the supervisor who showcases humour, asks about their families and hobbies, and gives an unrestrained laugh.

However, the social scene does not erase the workplace lines of authority. There are certain peculiarities of after-hours communication,[4] as the after-hours conduct may have a direct bearing on the business future.

Kinesics is restricted. Any touching, other than a handshake greeting or dancing with the group, is unwelcome.

The main purpose of a social event is to foster the good will, to bring together co-workers and colleagues for a bit of camaraderie and some well-deserved recognition.[5] This makes it necessary for people to circulate among everyone present, not just the equals they feel most comfortable with, and stay long enough to interact with as many associates as possible, especially the key people. However, it is supposed that all of the company leave before the party time has elapsed in order not to be thought of as part of the clean-up crew.

Having an idea what to talk about may be critical. Therefore inappropriate humour is normally avoided, no matter how informal the setting is. Although people might laugh, it can happen they do so either out of courtesy or from discomfort. In fact such humour could jeopardize one's professional reputation.

The informal gathering does not welcome "shop talk", that is opinions about a five year plan, a drop in sales or the employee that had to be fired. Instead, people tend to demonstrate that they have an interesting, meaningful life away from the corporation: the unofficial conversations are focused on major sporting events, releases of new movies, great places to go on vacation, new restaurants, bestselling books and national events.

In his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey titled one of the chapters "Seek first to understand, and then to be understood."[6] Accordingly, "motormouths" who dominate conversations are unpopular. On the contrary, it is common to allow other people to talk. For this reason, open-ended questions, often planned ahead, are prevalent. The best conversation starter begins with "tell me about..." and then, encouraging others to go on talking, one may use comments like "Very interesting," "Tell me more," and "What happened next?"

Moderation in eating and drinking, with special attention to the table etiquette, is an important issue, as people are there for the fellowship, not for the food. A social event is an opportunity to build business relationships and to promote oneself. Therefore, any mentioning of the importance of drinking should be avoided, even that at the end of the day "to help one unwind." Furthermore, frequent reference to the topic itself, leaving alone the impaired speaking and unsteady walk following the extra cocktails, can label one: "lush," "a drunk," "undisciplined," or something similar, which often leads to ruining the carer.