Response: Module 3

            Module 3 focuses on communicating across cultures. The module emphasizes that globalization has changed the workplace. Therefore, it has become essential to be aware of different cultural values and business practices, since employers, employees, customers, and suppliers may have very different backgrounds.

            According to the book, culture “provides patterns of acceptable behavior and belief.” Cultures can be categorized as high-context or low-context. “In high-context cultures, most of the information is inferred from the context of the message;” while in low-context cultures “most information is explicitly spelled out.”

            All aspects of business communications are influenced by culture. We need to be aware of our nonverbal signals and gestures because they can be misunderstood by people from other cultures. For instance, in Arab culture “showing the sole of the foot is an insult.”

            Personal space and the perception of time also differ around the globe. Some cultures feel more comfortable with touch than others. For instance, in Iran, “handshakes between men and women are seen as improper.” Time is treated as a resource in North America, so if someone is 5 minutes late, they believe that they are losing money. On the other hand, there are cultures in which its members want to establish a relationship before doing business, so they spend more time in their meetings.

            It is important to point out that most cultures use a more formal writing style than the United States. Buffers are often used in negative messages, and requests are made more indirectly.

            If we are planning to travel to another country, I find useful the advice of leaning about its culture and language, because it will be the only way to avoid uncomfortable situations and misunderstandings.