The communication styles around the world

Résumé du document

The interest for communication in business is growing and experts have been writing books about how to be a good communicator, the benefits of a good communication in a company and so on. More and more universities and business schools launch programs based on professional communication, in order to prepare their students for their future career. First of all, I am not going to speak about the communication as a whole. This study will be focused on the communication styles, in the world of business.

This kind of communication is not external but used both among the company, and between members of partnership companies (supplier/customer for example) during a meeting. How can we define it? Communication is basically the art of communicating, which means "the exchange of thoughts, messages, or information, as by speech, signals, writing, or behavior." From that definition, we can deduce the meaning of communication style, which can be defined as the way people of a given company, area, country, business use to communicate.

For this thesis, I am going to study the different communication styles in business around the world by taking twelve different major countries. In the first part I will try to demonstrate how much it is important for a company with an international reach to take these different communication styles into account. Then I will explain why the communication styles can differ from a country to another, even when these countries are neighbors, which can be surprising. In the second and last part, I will take twelve different countries, explain why I chose them, and present/compare their communication styles.

Extraits

[...] In Japan, communication is subtle and nuanced. What Japanese really think (honne) and the speech they have (tatemae) are often at odds. Hence the great difficulty of understanding for non-Japanese. In Japan also, it is essential to Cover the same ground several times and constantly check for understanding. It is even more difficult to communicate with the Japanese businessmen that only a few of them speak good English. The need to use clear language here is more critical than anywhere else. [...]

[...] During a meeting, the Russians remain placid, they are listening. This does not mean that they are not interested in the subject. This characteristic is common to Japanese and Finnish. In Saudi Arabia, it is necessary to use flattery upon arrival, complimenting your host organization, in its country and even the Muslim world. We can expect to receive in return also compliments from him. It is possible, very soon after the first meeting to ask questions deemed intrusive in some other countries (about family, money, religion . [...]

[...] None of them has prepared this meeting in taking into account the communication styles difference. There are a lot of chances that, even though they could have been ideal partners, the meeting is going to be a fail. you don't have the right level of knowledge about these issues [communication styles differences], you are taking a gamble every time you work cross-border”. I am going to illustrate that with a simple example. In some countries, mostly in Asia, the businessmen never say but “we'll explore the or “we'll instead. [...]

[...] Every country has its own identity, meaning that its inhabitants have a national identity, which can be defined as person's identity and sense of belonging to one state or to one nation, a feeling one shares with a group of people, regardless of one's citizenship status.” This national identity is more or less widespread, depending to the country. Now, business culture then communication style, are strongly linked to this identity. In other words, there are cultural differences between every country, this national identity has an impact on people, these people are doing business, and therefore cultural differences are the reasons of communication style differences. Now, let's talk about globalization. [...]

[...] In other countries, if the languages of both groups are not the same, it is possible to speak English without any problem. After this brief introduction, I am going to present them all. I will not speak about figures again, but about their respective communication styles. In Australia, the franchise comes before diplomacy. When an Australian wants to say something he does not hesitate, so they can sometimes be perceived as boorish. In professional situations humor is omnipresent, and contacts are called by their first names. [...]