Aradhna Malik (PhD)    International Business Communication 

Assistant Professor                                               National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (Phase II) 
Vinod Gupta School of Management    Ministry of Human Resource Development 
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur    Government of India 

Lecture 37
Written Communication in International Business: Specific Concerns

The previous lecture described some styles writers use to communicate their ideas.
This lecture discusses the problems with and challenges to written communication in
international business and suggests some strategies that can be used to deal with
them.

Feinberg and Pritzker (1985) observe wordiness, problems with formatting,

organization of ideas, and problems with grammar and vocabulary as the main
problems with messages drafted by managers in professional business
environments.

Milne (1991) observes that messages drafted by professionals who use writing as a
means of communication in professional environments seem to be too long or word,
poorly organized, confusing, with no clear purpose. Most often written messages
contain either incomplete or inaccurate information or too much data, and use trite
and overused expressions to communicate this information/ data. These problems
confound the meaning of written messages and leave receivers with no choice but to
use their own interpretations tied in whatever they can decipher from such messages
and act on their instincts and wisdom.

Monipally and Sharma (2001) observe that managers in professional environments

seem to lack proficiency in writing reports, memos, business letters, business
proposals, email, and descriptions of products and services to customers.

Common categories of mistakes

Hacker (2002) describes some common categories of mistakes written
communicators tend to make

 Abstraction: Abstraction refers to the use of complicated rather than concrete

language. For example, “She plunged into a sea of platitudes, and with the
powerful breaststroke of a channel swimmer, made her confident way towards
the white cliffs of the obvious” (Parody, 2004, p. 51)

 Bypassing: Bypassing happens when different meanings are associated with the
same word symbol or when different symbols are used to identify the same idea
or object. For example, when your colleague tells you that her “mouse is dead”.

 Fact inference: Fact inference refers to a need to conclude without taking the
time to analyze all the facts. Such errors prevent us from being thorough with our
work. For example, if a person finds an important file missing from his/her office,
Aradhna Malik (PhD)    International Business Communication 
Assistant Professor                                               National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (Phase II) 
Vinod Gupta School of Management    Ministry of Human Resource Development 
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur    Government of India 

he/she immediately concludes that the cleaning staff may have either taken it or
misplaced it.

 Misused words: Sometimes we get confused between the meanings of similar

sounding words or overlapping schemata. This can lead to incorrect usage which
can in turn lead to misinterpretation. For example, the fine line between
Juxtaposition and Superimposition, OR seeing and watching.

 Overgeneralization: Overgeneralization refers to stereotyping or sweeping

statements. These stereotypes or sweeping statements can prevent us from
providing enough information in our messages. For example, after observing a
couple of television programs on yoga in which the instructor belongs to India, a
person belonging to a country other than India concludes that all Indians are
proficient in yoga.

 Extremism: Extremism refers to a tendency to see the world simplistically, in

black and white, rather than in shades of grey. For example, statements like,
‘Research essentially deals with proving or disproving a hypothesis’

 Inflexibility: Inflexibility refers to rigidity in our awareness of the world around us.
For example, when I was growing up, I learnt that apples cannot grow at the
foothills of mountains, so even now I believe that it is impossible to grow apples
at the foothills of mountain ranges.

The above mentioned mistakes confound meanings of messages and put a question
on the credibility of the author of these messages. When one is communicating
orally, there is always a chance to seek clarity on the meaning of the message. But
in written communication, this is almost impossible.

Many times, the reasons for the above mentioned mistakes lie in the differences in
the styles and procedures adopted by different organizations in different kinds of
cultures. People write the way they have been trained to, and many times they do
not realize that the receivers of their messages may be interpreting their messages
in ways that are not intended. Since the attributes of written messages differ across
cultures even when the language of communication is the same, often times authors
get confused regarding the style they should use while writing to people across the
border.

Specific challenges to written communication in international business

Some of these challenges that managers face while drafting messages for readers in
other countries are:
Aradhna Malik (PhD)    International Business Communication 
Assistant Professor                                               National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (Phase II) 
Vinod Gupta School of Management    Ministry of Human Resource Development 
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur    Government of India 

 Language to be used: Bi- and multi-lingual personnel sometimes feel confused

about the language they should use with readers who understand more than one
language (Cassady & Wasson, 1994). The purpose of messages in such
communication usually is to get things done, which is why any language that the
reader understands should be okay. But in countries that have a history of
colonization, the hegemony of the language used by the colonizer over the
language used by the colonized long after the colonizer has left, causes a
confusion about which language would seem proper and why. Several authors
emphasize the growing usage of English as the language of international
communication (Cassady & Wasson, 1994; Kankaanranta & Planken, 2010;
Kilpatrick, 1984; Neely, 2012; Odrakiewicz, 2010), and many perceive it to be the
preferred choice for formal communication (Kuiper, 2007), but the readers
reserve the right to decide which language is most suitable for them and why.

Managers may also feel confused about/ make mistakes with their understanding
of the level of familiarity of readers with commonly used expressions and idioms,
especially if the readers are non-native users of the language being used for
communication (Charles, 2007).

Especially in the case of non-native users, another limitation that crops up is

related to the meaning being lost during translation of the received message into
the native language probably with the intention of understanding and
communicating the message to people who may not follow the language the
message has originally been drafted in. Writers of messages need to ensure that
the gap between what they write and what they really mean to convey through
the written message, is minimal (de Vries, 1969).

 Charles and Marschan-Peikkari (2002) discuss the impact of training on the

interpretation of a foreign language for non-native users, and conclude that the
effectiveness of training is to a large extent, dependent upon the ability of the
trainees to internalize the usage of the foreign language. One can safely assume
that this would in turn have a bearing on the manner in which messages in the
foreign language are drafted, interpreted, and shared.

 Written communication affords readers to review and revisit recorded information.

This is a double edged sword. On the one hand, review and revisitation of
recorded written information serves to provide the author with an aid to memory
to reconstruct the context surrounding past events. On the other, such re-
visitation opens up opportunities for multiple interpretations of the same message
whenever these messages are re-visited.

 The choice of the medium through which the written message should be sent
also depends greatly on the understanding of the sender of the message
Aradhna Malik (PhD)    International Business Communication 
Assistant Professor                                               National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (Phase II) 
Vinod Gupta School of Management    Ministry of Human Resource Development 
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur    Government of India 

regarding the acceptability of the medium by the receiver of the message. For
example, in rural cultures, people prefer to receive documents that are, at the
very least, signed by hand, and bear an official stamp of the signing authority.
Such cultures may not perceive office communication that has been automatically
generated by machines, to be very credible. This can, in turn, have a bearing on
the manner in which these messages are responded to.

 The next point deals with the strategy and design of written messages. Significant
amount of cultural and subcultural diversity exists in the formatting of written
messages (Kankaanranta, 2006; Victor, 1994) and the appropriateness of words
that are used, the style of writing that is chosen, the length of the written
message, the tone that is used in the message (direct/ indirect), and the notion of
what is considered diplomatic and courteous by people from different
backgrounds (Kilpatrick, 1984).

Authors often feel confused as to which kind of salutation would seem most
appropriate (Dear, Mr./Ms/Miss/Mrs, Professional title, e.g. Dr./ Prof./ Er. OR
Religious and/or political title e.g. Your Holiness/ Your Royal Highness/ Your
Excellency, etc.), which kinds of opening and closing lines would seem most
appropriate, how they should sign off the message so that it appeals to the
reader (e.g. Yours truly/faithfully/sincerely/obediently etc.) (Kankaanranta, 2006),
how they should write the date (month, date, year, OR date, month, year), etc.
They also seem to fumble around for words they should use to make requests
(e.g. Please/ Kindly etc.) and express their gratitude (Grateful/ appreciate/ plus or
minus elaborate adjectives), and the voice they should use for the message (1st
person, or 3rd person).

 Communication networks: The shape and size of the organization that the written
message goes into also has a bearing on what may be considered more
appropriate. Sometimes, the policies of organizations require that messages go
through proper channel to reach their target. In such cases, the authors of written
messages need to sensitize themselves to the organizational hierarchy of the
target organization, and budget for the time it might take for the message to
reach the target personnel, and this becomes a challenge especially when
messages are sent from task oriented cultures to relationship oriented cultures.

 Gender issues : Some cultures exhibit a clear preference for communicating with
men as opposed to women in professional settings (Kilpatrick, 1984). This may
not appeal to many an educated women who are working alongside their male
counterparts, but if the target of the message is professionally important to the
sender of the message, in the interest of the goals of the organization, it may not
be a bad idea to be sensitive to the gender specific preferences of the target and
draft the message accordingly.
Aradhna Malik (PhD)    International Business Communication 
Assistant Professor                                               National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (Phase II) 
Vinod Gupta School of Management    Ministry of Human Resource Development 
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur    Government of India 

 Transactional culture: Transactional culture refers to the new 'culture' or context

that is created in and through interactions between people from different cultures.
(Bell, 1992, in Varner, 2000). The manner in which native users of a language
communicate with other native users would differ from the manner in which native
users of a language communicate with non-native users of that language, and
that would differ from the manner in which non-native users of a language
communicate with other non-native users of the language being used in the
professional setting. The key lies in being sensitive to these usage patterns and
maximizing the impact through appropriate choice of words, syntax, and
semantics.

Communicative purposes of written messages in professional environments

Written messages serve specific purposes in professional environments. Some of
these purposes with the type(s) of documents used towards these intents are
tabulated below:
Intent Examples of documents
Persuasion Resume, cover-letter, business proposals, sales pitches,
advertisements
Direction Orders, policies, rules and regulations
Advice Letters, emails

Giving Information Reports, memos, notices, circulars, blogs, quotations and other
financial documents
Seeking Inquiries, requests, calls for explanation
information
Defending Legal
Acknowledgement Letters of recommendation, awards
and appreciation

Idea generation Blogs, discussion boards

Different documents serve different purposes. The key lies in recognizing the intent
of the message that is required to be sent, choosing the appropriate document to
send this message, and maintaining unity between the intent and content of the
message.

Lunsford (2001) suggests that before they begin, writers must consider their task
(analysis, classification, comparison, contrast, definition, description, discussion or
inquiry, etc.), purpose (explanation, summary, persuasion, recommendation,
entertainment, refutation etc.), their readership, their rhetorical stance (the role they
perceive to be viewed in from the reader’s perspective, e.g. expert, superior, student,
inquirer, discussant, etc.), the genre and language that will be most appropriate for
Aradhna Malik (PhD)    International Business Communication 
Assistant Professor                                               National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (Phase II) 
Vinod Gupta School of Management    Ministry of Human Resource Development 
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur    Government of India 

the document at hand, and specific technological issues (e.g. accessibility of internet
based communication, ability to receive large documents over the internet,
serviceability by common service operators, etc.)

Fielden (1964) suggests that in order to be a good writer, one must pay attention to
reader characteristics (reader’s level of understanding of the material, familiarity with
the words used, intended direction for reader, and focus of the document), in
addition to grammatical correctness, factual accuracy, and the thought that goes into
writing a document (preparation, competence, fidelity to document, and analysis of
the available information).

Conclusion

Various authors emphasize upon the importance of attention to reader

characteristics and context, and revision of documents before dispatching them to
ensure correctness and clarity, which in turn, affect the impact of any document.

The next lecture deals with specific technological issues in international business
communication.

References

Questions