An Academic Review |1

COMMUNICATION AS A CROSS-CULTURAL CHALLENGE FOR

INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT A CASE STUDY OF GINA TRICOT
By Frida&Mordenfeld
PROBLEMS IN CROSS-CULTURAL CONTACT: A LITERATURE REVIEW
By BRUCE W. STENING
A STUDY ON BARRIERS OF CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION IN
ELECTRONICBASED COMPANIES
By Bibi Noraini Bt Mohd Yusuf

1. Introduction
Cross-cultural communication is a framework that uses a diversity of means to build and
exchange meaning among individuals from different cultural backgrounds. For intercultural
communication, at times, the term cross-cultural communication is used interchangeably.
2. Analyzing and synthesizing article premises
While analyzing Frida Mordenfeld's study "Communication as a cross-cultural challenge
for international management," it was observed that cross-cultural communication problems
occur every day for managers of multinational organizations. They performed a case study in
conjunction with the dynamic company Gina Tricot to determine why these problems exist. The
dominant hypothesis that cultural similarity contributes to less miscommunication within the
market setting is challenged by their work. Their study reveals that geographical distance isn't
just an assisting variable in optimal contact within international companies utilizing Griffith's
model on a fashion-based corporation; furthermore, it has a more definitive effect on
partnerships' survival. Global growth and rapid technology development contribute to faster
cross-border communication cases; hence when studying cross-cultural communication, the
highly international, dynamic, and rapid communication-based fast-fashion industry becomes an
exciting object.
Besides, this study [ CITATION Fri12 \l 1033 ] assessed which particular groups of business
communication generate the most significant problems for global managers within the cross-
cultural operations of Gina Tricot, the fast-fashion company. With David Griffith's
"Communication Effectiveness" paradigm as the primary reference, their secondary references
are primarily based on previous frameworks and recommendations for successful cross-cultural
communication. Besides, it helped to assess how well the model of Griffith relates to the rapid-
fashion industry. Their tentative research was conducted through close partnership with Gina
Tricot by interview method with retail and purchasing managers in a case study fashion. Their
research and study found that their rigidity and inadequacy of versatility to respond to varying
situations is the central fault with previous versions. They center their observations on the
An Academic Review |2

premise that human nature, society, and even conversation are complicated and extremely
variable.
However, in Bruce W. Stening's research 'Problems in cross-cultural contact: a literature
review,' his research on misconceptions among people involved in cross-cultural relationships is
being studied. The aspects of the issue were defined using the following sub-headings: subjective
culture and social reality building; intercultural communication; stigmatizing, nativism, bias;
time constraints; geographical factors; personal traits; behaviors and contact. Furthermore, an
overview is given of the different methods of investigating cross-cultural communication issues
in international organizations. A critical review shows that the most essential differences in the
existing understanding of the challenges are at the interpersonal level.
Furthermore, in the study of bibi noraini bt Mohd Yusuf 'a study on cross-cultural
communication barriers in electronic-based companies', the proportion of companies needed to
invest and expand their markets internationally with rapid growth in economic progress and
market globalization. Many businesses have opened new plants in other states or hired their
workers internationally, generating variety in the workplace. Cross-cultural disparities that
contribute to cross-cultural communication are generated by a diversified workforce. This study
seeks to examine the obstacles of electronic-based organizations to cross-cultural contact. This
study's targets were chosen randomly from electronic-based companies domiciled in Northern
Peninsular Malaysia, comprising business operators and middle to top management. A
quantitative study method was introduced in this research, in which questionnaires were
allocated to 200 workers. The compiled data analysis was performed using SPSS version 20.0
mode. There's a much more critical influence of multinational business contact on cross-cultural
communication through in-depth analysis and implementation of this report. Cross-cultural
communication has no significant impact on national cultures' dimensions, high and low
meaning communication, language, and communication structures. A principle for business
leaders is that if administrators and workers may not certainly consider one another's traditions,
misinterpretations, miscommunication, and misconceptions may occur.

3. Comparative study and content discussion

According to [ CITATION Fri12 \l 1033 ], the internationally dispersed company of Gina
Tricot faces inequality regularly, and both Hofstede and Griffith argue that the longer the rooms
are, the more hurdles would emerge. Gina Tricot's tradition of development and encounter in the
globe repudiates that the complexities are justified only by a particular scope. Contextual events
that have produced cultural gaps are still present. Maybe those are closer or further away. It is a
constant recognition that diversity rises when the gap is wider [ CITATION Fri12 \l 1033 ]. What
Gina Tricot has already witnessed since spreading within the Nordic nations, nevertheless,
illustrates the reverse. In Gina Tricot, historical aspects related to Finland's former colonization
by Sweden and Finnish citizens speaking about 33 Swedish and the old war fight with Denmark
caused contact difficulties and cultural clashes. One of the critical factors of communication
inconsistencies for Gina Tricot is the absence of settled communication habits to create a stable
communication environment, defined as necessary in Griffith's model. The Finns and the Danes
were influenced by past conflicts of control with Sweden that are no more in existence.
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Consequently, by not accepting an equitable framework, it avoids a thriving contact

environment. Griffith's foreign interaction model explains that fewer connectivity issues are
generated when interacting with societies with parallels in cultural orientation. They claim that
this has little or little to do with the physical difference between cultures other than other
influencing power. Mordenfeld believes that it is a subject of devotion and confidence, often
stated as crucial in Griffith's model. In the case of Gina Tricot, researchers saw that they find it
easier to rely on the information they have around surrounding neighbors; but that could also
create misunderstandings and inappropriately expected observations.
Several scholars have sought to resolve cultural distance conceptually on the premise that
most issues in intercultural interrelationships result from the various interpretations of the parties
involved over a specific action or collection of contexts (i.e., from their different conceptions of
reality). As per this perspective, the most apparent intercultural communication circumstances
were those where both the traditional and expatriate societies have the same primary social
conditions [CITATION BRU79 \l 1033 ]. For such cases, identical behavioral responses are suitable.
The expatriate should act abroad approximately as he does in his own country in these
circumstances. According to Triandis (1972), the most critical intercultural issues arise when the
hosts' social conditions and the expatriate societies are practically the same. In certain situations,
the acceptable behavioral answers are specific. He highlights the issues of reaction over the use
of first names in partnerships amongst Americans and English people. Triandis notes that
encounters are moderate in complexity when the host and the expatriate community are quite
different.
Consequently, [ CITATION BRU79 \l 1033 ] argues that 288 American businessmen may face
more incredible difficulties than Chinese or Japanese in coping with South Europeans or Latin
Americans. The theory of Triandis, as yet untested empirically, is a provocative one. In another
case (Fiedler, Mitchell, & Triandis, 1971), particular opinion by Triandis seems to be odd with
his co-authored concept in which it has been proposed that critical issues occur in situations
where there are significant differences in standards. Acknowledgment of subjective culture often
means accepting that every culture varies from every other culture in profound aspects.
However, the basis on which the degree of distinction between any two cultures can be measured
or the extent to which interactions between members of those two cultures can be considered
more or less complicated is a moot point, as stated in the preceding debate.
It would be better for administrators to undertake a cultural transition to overcome
disputes if they can recognize a corporate climate with diverse cultures. To ensure them, resistant
to any cultural discrepancies, skilled anthropologists must educate the manager [ CITATION
Bib14 \l 1033 ]. Anthropological analysis of societies has already been broadly implemented in the
business world in numerous areas. It aims to teach managers to recognize cross-cultural
relationship challenges more efficiently. This research has its drawbacks as the findings'
implications may be distorted since the information gathered may not be accurately reflected or
communicated to the right respondents. The whole sample was restricted to companies focused
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on electronics only. The questionnaires were distributed randomly to the respondents, restricting
the respondents' data sets since only most respondents were operators. This category affects
personal and social variables and may not be sufficiently extreme to execute the questionnaires
to address these impacts.
The aim of [ CITATION Bib14 \l 1033 ] study was to explain the limitations to cross-cultural
contact between personnel in electronic enterprises. Companies with workforce diversity,
especially in global corporations, have faced these challenges. Other than the study organization
usually has an issue with the workplace's cultural variations. Researchers may infer that specific
organizations do not perform any cross-culture research through this study while they are liable
for maintaining collaboration with people from various cultures. During cross-cultural
management, this topic usually persists. Hopefully, this research would shift the manager's
attitude to be more aware and agile in helping them face this kind of challenge. Managers ought
to grasp others' cultures reasonably to assure that they can effectively manage their workers,
implicitly through their job performance. The employees would be more inspired from now on
and enhance their efficiency, thus growing its competitiveness. The organization has to adjust its
corporate plan by improving their business processes and environments to ensure that they can
accomplish their targets. Employees can develop their talents, ability, and understanding after
this. To motivate the workers to contribute and be committed to the community, the organization
should incorporate mobilization. This is so the team would feel more relaxed, offering their
complete attention to finishing their duties. They will, after all, know that their company
appreciates them.
4. Conclusion
In conclusion, [ CITATION Fri12 \l 1033 ] wanted to adopt a cross-cultural collaboration
productivity model to this case study to consider the most influential organizations in the
industry [ CITATION Fri12 \l 1033 ]. They discovered that the critical concern with current models
from previous research is that their results and models remain stagnant. These models can serve
as a valuable indicator; they must, however, be adapted to specific situations, individual markets,
and individual businesses. Modern culture is exceptionally complex with erratic human behavior.
For diverse people, things turn out differently; thus, they question cultural proximity as a static
explanation for cross-cultural contact challenges. They found evidence that contradicts
previously established studies like Gert Hofstede's and David Griffith's in many fields. The
cross-cultural difficulties and opportunities, as noted in the Gina Tricot business, were primarily
due to historical factors, long-term partnerships, and geographic location. We found three
groundbreaking contributions to cross-cultural communication theories during the in-depth
analysis of these different business relations fields. Through doing so, they have come up with
detailed insights that help illustrate, in line with their goal, what techniques can be placed in
place to deter miscommunication inside the fast-fashion industry in cross-cultural contexts, and
more precisely, the Gina Tricot company [ CITATION Fri12 \l 1033 ].
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In the interconnections among people of different cultures, a significant degree of

intellectual and methodological focus has been given to isolating "problem areas." The findings
of [CITATION BRU79 \l 1033 ] have contributed significantly to their scientific understanding of
both the general challenges and topics surrounding international organizations' functioning. At
the broadest level, the scope of data offered strongly reinforces the opinion that the propensity
for intercultural relationship misunderstandings between parties is significantly more exceptional
for some reasons than in interactions where the parties' cultures are diverse. The findings of
explorative scientific studies have shown (although focused on restricted research models) that
certain misunderstandings were inherently destructive relationships between such parties and the
organization's function [CITATION BRU79 \l 1033 ]. (This should be recalled that these observations
come entirely from experiments in which the community was the context.) Conversely,
considering such indispensable advancements, the assertion to be addressed and asserted here
seems that significant problems exist in comprehending these problems related to intercultural
interactions and discrepancies that need more study.
An analysis of [ CITATION Bib14 \l 1033 ] indicates that global organizational
communication in a diversified workplace significantly affects cross-cultural communication.
Other influences have a little noticeable impact on cross-cultural communication, such as
national traditions, high and low context communication, language, and communication
processes. This research indicates that a manager must be aware of and consider other
backgrounds to handle force complexity. The workers would be more driven and more content
with employment. Researchers have identified variables that can be barriers in the enterprise to
successful cross cooperation. This study should build knowledge that cultural disparities can
influence contact efficiency in their management within every organization. If they are not
resolved early, cultural disparities could result in extremely prospective corporate workplace
disputes. Miscommunication, conflict, and misinterpretation are disagreements that can occur
where there are cultural discrepancies. They will not be knowledgeable and completely
understand one another's backgrounds and diverse social contexts. Researchers will recognize the
same challenges of the workplaces for diversified workers by investigating gaps in cross-cultural
contact.
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References
Mordenfeld, F. (2012). COMMUNICATION AS A CROSS-CULTURAL
CHALLENGE. Jonkopeng University.
STENING, B. W. (1979). PROBLEMS IN CROSS-CULTURAL CONTACT: A
LITERATURE REVIEW. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 269-313.
Yusuf, B. N. (2014). A STUDY ON BARRIERS OF CROSS-CULTURAL
COMMUNICATION IN ELECTRONICBASED COMPANIES. The International
Journal of social science.