The importance of effective cross-cultural communication in business today

GENERAL PURPOSE OF AN ESSAY:

An essay is a piece of continuous writing that contains an argument to address the topic. An essay requires the writer to argue, defend or justify a point of view about the topic task. Essay writers provide appropriate reference material to support their arguments. Their material presents and discusses any conflicting evidence in order to reach a conclusion. Analysis comprises an assessment of the value of the ideas or information presented in the essay. Students are expected to provide both information and analysis in the essay.

TOPIC & TASKS:

Write an essay on the following topic:

The importance of effective cross-cultural communication

in business today

(This will also be your TITLE on the title page)

BACKGROUND / PREAMBLE:

With globalisation and deregulation, businesses now must operate in a massive arena composed of many competing and compelling forces. Traditional trade barriers have been removed in many cases and this allows participants to enter constantly changing markets. Migration is easier and communication technology facilitates exchange processes more rapidly. Profits for business can be high, but so too can the costs. The landscape of activity can changed dramatically and suddenly. Good and bad things just happen faster. As businesses expand into international markets, people in these businesses must interact with people in other locations. Or workers might be employed in or from other countries. For instance, when Ford took over a large stake in Mazda in the 1990s, Americans had to work directly with their Japanese counterparts. Both companies’ senior management foresaw potential problems in communication that could affect efficiency and effectiveness, and these problems were based on cultural and communication differences. Both Ford and Mazda applied active strategies, from such things as hand-shaking and bowing, to dealing with engineering issues on the Ford-Mazda assembly lines, in terms of communicating quality standards and expectations of Japanese/American line workers. Today, issues that derive from cultural, religious and ethnic values and expectations are no different, except there are more of them. Conflict due to poor communication as a result of cross-cultural differences, can be resolved, and there are many techniques that have proven successful for many businesses. The purpose of business might be to make profits – but such a simplistic and obvious objective is limited. If people, because of their differences, are unable to effectively communicate, then profits will not come. M M E 1 0 1 A s s i g n m e n t 2 0 1 5 0 1 P a g e 1 | 10

Cross-cultural communication in business is more than just serving souvlaki, tabouleh or fried dim sums for lunch in the staff-room, or having Turkish Culture Week in June at work! Or about learning Spanish so that a tourist to Madrid can buy churros from a street vendor. Today’s ‘globalised’ markets are the result of trade barriers that have dissolved, for a variety of reasons. The commitment to ever-rising profits means that more opportunities exist to profit from this global trading. As people move about the planet for the purpose of seeking these opportunities, considerable diversity of culture, religion, personalities, abilities, skills and knowledge now exists. As businesses trade in other countries, merge, form partnerships and alliances, extend franchises – the need to succeed in these endeavours is influenced by the relationships that form or need to form between many different people. Their beliefs, attitudes and behaviours (formed by family, culture, experience and other forces) have a great impact on how they communicate with each other in all sorts of contexts.

Finally: ‘Over the last decade, there have been countless examples from the business sector that demonstrate how poor communication can lead to poor organizational performance. Understanding the impact of globalization on cross-culture communication is imperative for organizations seeking to create a competitive advantage in the global market. Recent economic challenges further highlight the need for organizations to develop the internal communication capacity necessary to control and monitor external threats. As society becomes more globally connected the ability to communicate across cultural boundaries has gained increasing prominence. Global businesses must understand how to communicate with employees and customers from different cultures in order to fulfil the organization’s mission and build value for stakeholders. The use of technology has had a profound impact on how businesses communicate globally and market their products and services. However, with the advancements in technology organizations must still be cognisant of the culture nuisances that can potentially present obstacles in trying to increase profits and market share’(Matthews & Thakkar 2012, ‘The Impact of Globalization on Cross-Cultural Communication’, in Globalization – Education and Management Agendas, Hector Cuadra-Montiel, ed.).

Write your essay by addressing the FOUR following tasks:

1. Literature Review. This will focus on a summary of the VIEWS presented by at least three sources. These writers’ views should consider / examine the reasons why cross-cultural communication is important in business today.

2. Describe and explain THREE issues or problems that business students and businesses must be aware of in relation to the importance of cross-cultural communication in business productivity and goal achievement. Show how these can be ‘issues’ or ‘problems’. Support your response with reference to relevant and appropriate sources. At least two sources must be used.

3. Identify and analyse THREE strategies or approaches that can be used by businesses to overcome these issues/problems. Support your response with reference to relevant and appropriate sources. At least two sources must be used.

4. Using the THREE articles provided (see Page 5), compare TWO businesses (ONE Australian and ONE other NON-Australian business) that have successfully overcome cross-cultural communication problems. You must use only these three articles. M M E 1 0 1 A s s i g n m e n t 2 0 1 5 0 1 P a g e 2 | 10

Sources for the assignment:

Sources must include at least six (6) articles (max of 10) for this assignment. DO NOT USE TEXT BOOKS!

You must use this compulsory article as one of the 6 or more sources:

Guang, T & Trotter, D 2012, ‘Key issues in cross-cultural business communication: anthropological approaches to international business,’ African Journal of Business Management, June 6th, vol. 6, no. 22, pp. 6456 – 6464, accessed Feb 26th, 2015, <https://www.samk.fi/download/25854_Tian-Trotter_Eng.pdf>

This and other sources can be found in the Assignment folder in MME 101 Moodle. You should use these sources first. For Task 4, you can only use the three sources provided.

ARTICLES FOR TASK 4 ONLY (these can be found in the Assignment Readings folder in moodle):

You are required to use ALL THREE and ONLY these three articles for your response to task 4. Use of other sources will result in no mark for a response to task 4.

Brydon, K & Liddell, M 2012, ‘Supporting international students undertaking Australian university studies’, Social Work Education, December, vol. 31, no. 8, pp. 995 – 1011,

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2011.610786

Cheng, SS & Seeger, MW 2012, ‘Cultural differences and communication issues in international mergers and acquisitions: a case study of BenQ,’ International Journal of Business and Social Science, February, vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 116 – 127, accessed February 26th, 2015, < http://ijbssnet.com/journals/ Vol_3_No_3_ February_2012/12.pdf >.

Lee, SJ, Kim L & Park BI 2014, ‘Culture clashes in cross-border mergers and acquisitions: a case study of Sweden’s VOLVO and South Korea’s SAMSUNG,’ International Business Review, October, pp. 1 – 14, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2014.10.016

Use organisation information from Deakin online databases, organisation websites or other sources. All sources must be properly referenced and cited. Sources must have been since the year 2004. Try to use sources from 2012 and above; currency is essential!

Certain non-academic sources are not to be used; in particular, do not use Wikipedia, Woopido, MySpace, YouTube, Blogs, social media of any kind, or any other unverifiable non-academic sources. No books are to be used.

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Essay formatting:

You must submit an essay not a report. An essay contains no headings or sub-headings. Assignments presented in report format will not be marked. Your essay MUST use the following format:

• Title page, as directed,

• Title should be the topic statement,

• Place title at top of page 1 of the essay,

• Font size 11 or 12, in Arial OR Calibri only,

• 1.5 line spacing,

• Leave a clear space between each paragraph,

• 3.0 cm left and right hand margins,

• NO headings,

• Include page numbers (but not on the title page).

Title page

It should look like this:

Title will be the full topic statement

This, in 11 – 12 pt size

No page number.

ACADEMIC WRITING AND REFERENCING RESOURCES

All words and ideas from your sources must be correctly cited. Uncited content will be considered as plagiarism and assessed accordingly. This can result in a zero mark and possible academic misconduct penalties being imposed.

Referencing Guide:

You must apply the Author-Date (Harvard) system of in-text citations and referencing provided in:

http://www.deakin.edu.au/students/study-support/referencing/harvard

Full Title here

(in 14 – 16 pt size)

Your full name

Your ID no.

Unit code and name

Lecturer name

Essay Assignment

Due Date

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ASSIGNMENT SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS (FOLLOW THEM!):

ON-LINE COPY (NO printed copies allowed):

Using the specific class link provided under Week 9 of Moodle, upload your assignment. This will include only the title page, essay and reference list.

You MUST ONLY use .doc, .docx or .pdf file formats. No Other file format will be accepted! Please include your full name, ID number and ‘MME 101 Assignment’ in the file name.

Your assignment will be uploaded to Turnitin, in the same way that was done for your Folio. Please allow up to 24 hours for Turnitin to report back to you. If you upload several days before the due date, then you will have an opportunity to revise/amend the submission, so as to ensure that there is no copied content and that content is correctly cited.

Please ensure that you upload to the CORRECT class link! Know which class you are in! If you upload to the wrong class, then the upload will be classed as a ‘no submission’ since it will not be visible anywhere. In this case, your assignment will get a zero mark!

Please follow the above directions CAREFULLY!

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RESEARCH ESSAY LAYOUT / PLAN:

• Title page (title of essay, student name and ID, your lecturer’s name, the date the essay was completed. Refer to the guide on Page 3).

No headings or sub-headings are to be included in the essay.

Introduction

In three moves:

• Move 1 – Opening generalisation that establishes the major topic and sub-topic. Cite if necessary.

• Move 2 – A brief reiteration/explanation of the essay topic. Briefly define key terms. Cite.

• Move 3 – A statement of the writer’s intention in the essay. This will outline the plan. Use a clear signal. Use this one: The intention of this discussion is to … [Move 3 will come from the task statements and then form the basis of each Move 1 in the Body paragraphs]

Body (4 paragraphs only; each paragraph must be written in three moves)

Move 1 should start like this: Various sources have examined the reasons why cross-cultural communication is important in business today.

Move 1 should start like this: There are numerous issues that business students and businesses must be aware of in relation to the importance of cross-cultural communication in business productivity and goal achievement. Three of these issues or problems are xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, yyyyyyyyyyyyyyy and zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Move 1 should start like this: Businesses can apply a range of strategies or approaches to overcome cross-cultural communication problems. Three of these skills involve ddddddddddd, eeeeeeeeee and ffffffffffffffff.

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Move 1 should start like this: Many businesses have been successful in dealing with cross-cultural communication problems. Two of these are AAAAAAAAA and BBBBBBBBB.

Conclusion

In two moves (but as one paragraph):

• Move 1 – Summary of your main findings in the essay.

This summary should be based on your Move 3s from the body discussion.

What have you FOUND / DISCOVERED / UNDERSTOOD? There should be no new material.

Start with an appropriate signal. Use this: In conclusion,…

• Move 2 – Concluding generalisation/writer’s opinion.

This should be mature, thoughtful and NOT trite!

Start with an appropriate signal. Use this: In this writer’s opinion,…

References

• Separate page, with a heading ‘References’ or ‘Reference List’.

• Include only sources actually cited

• Listed according to the author-date Harvard system, in alphabetical order of first named author’s family name. Use the DU referencing guide.

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Look at this diagram carefully and you will see how all the Moves realte to each other in something like an essay. If you follow this mechanical process, then you are more likely to produce an acceptable academic essay.

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MARKING GUIDE

Learning Objective

Level 1

Not acceptable

Level 2

Needs improvement

Level 3 Satisfactory

Level 4 Good

Level 5 Outstanding

Use quality sources appropriate to the task