Communication

in the Digital Age Workplace I

UM0016 – Komunikasi Bisnis
Syanti Irviantina, S.Kom., M.Kom
Arifin, S.Kom., MTI

PRODI. TEKNIK INFORMATIKA (S-1)

Overview
• Chapter 1 describe how solid communications skills will improve your
career prospects and help you succeed in today’s challenging digital
age workplace and discuss strategies that help communicator
overcome negative cultural attitudes and prevent miscommunications
in today’s diverse networked workplace.
Chapter Objectives
• Describe how communication skills will improve your career prospects
and help you succeed in today’s challenging digital-age workplace.
• Confront barriers to effective listening and start building your listening
skills.
• Explain the importance of nonverbal communication and of improving
your nonverbal communication skills.
• Explain five common dimensions of culture, and understand how culture
affects communication and the use of social media and communication
technology.
• Discuss strategies that help communicators overcome negative cultural
attitudes and prevent miscommunication in today’s diverse networked
workplace.
Contents
• Learning Nonverbal Communication Skills
• Recognizing How Culture Affects Communication
• Building Intercultural Workplace Skills
Nonverbal Cues Carry Powerful Meanings
Nonverbal communication
Includes all unwritten and unspoken Nonverbal cues can
Message, both intentional and Speak louder than
unintentional words
Nonverbal Behaviors Sending Messages
• Eye contact

• Facial expression

• Posture and gesture

• Time, space and territory

• Eye appeal of business documents

• Personal appearance
Building Strong Nonverbal Skills
Establish and maintain eye contact

Use posture to show interest

Reduce or eliminate physical

Improve your decoding skills

Probe for more information

Building Strong Nonverbal Skills

Interpret nonverbal meaning in context

Associate with people from diverse cultures

Appreciate the power of appearance

Observe yourself on video

Enlist friends and family

Definition of Culture
• The complex system of values, traits,
morals, and customs shared by a
society, region, or country

• A powerful operating force that molds

the way we think, behave, and
communicate
High and Low Context
Low-context cultures
• tend to prefer initiative
• Self-assertion, and personal
achievement.
• Believe in individual action and
personal responsibility
• Desire a large degree of
freedom in their personal lives.
High-context cultures
• tend to prefer group values,
duties, and decisions.
• Emphasize membership in
organizations, groups, and
teams.
• Encourage acceptance of group
values, duties, and decisions.
Individualism and Collectivism
Low-context cultures
• Tend to belogical, linier and
action oriented
• Favor explicit messages that
they consider to be objective,
professional, and efficient
High-context cultures
• Tend to be relational,
collectivist, intuitive, and
contemplative.
• Leave much unsaid and
transmit communication cues
by posture, voice inflection,
gestures, and facial expression
Time Orientation

Low-context cultures High-context cultures

• Time is precious • Time is seen as unlimited

• Time correlates with and never-ending.
productivity, efficiency, • Time is an opportunity to
and money. develop interpersonal
• Keeping someone waiting relationships.
is considered rude.
Power Distance
Hofstede’s Power Distance Index compares societies based on how far
the less powerful members of organizations and institutions accept an
unequal distribution of power.

High Power Distance

Countries
Subordinates expected formal hierarchies
and embrace relatively authoritarian,
paternalistic power relationships.
Power Distance

Low power distance countries

• Subordinates consider themselves as

equals of their supervisors.

• Relationships between individuals of

varying power tend to be more
democratic, egalitarian, and informal
Communication Style

High-context cultures Low-context cultures

• Rely on nonverbal cues • Emphasize words,

and the total picture to directness, and openness.
communicate • People tend to be
• Meanings are embedded informal, impatient, and
at many sociocultural literal.
levels.
How Technology and Social Media Affect
Intercultural Communication
Social media may Global businesses adopt
potentially bridge technology to a varying
cultural differences degree, revealing each
as well as reinforce culture’s values
them and norms.

The online In real life as

environment may online, we gravitate
deepen feelings toward people who
of isolation seem like us.
Social Networking: Erasing or Deepening
Culture Differences?

Regional and Media designers

cultural adapt to
differences cultural
persist. preferences.

However, aside from language, regional differences on

Facebook and Twitter seem minor.
Improving Intercultural Effectiveness

Curbing Practicing
ethnocentrism Understanding empathy
generalizations
and stereotyping
Building cultural
self-awareness
Remaining
open-minded
How We Form Judgments

Stereotype
An oversimplified
behavioral pattern
applied uncritically
to groups
Enhancing Intercultural Oral Communication
Speak slowly
Use simple
and enunciate
Encourage English
clear
accurate
feedback
Check for
comprehension
Enhancing Intercultural Oral Communication
Listen
Observe eye
without
messages
interrupting Smile when
appropriate
Follow up
in writing
Accepted
blame
 Improving Intercultural
Written Communication
Consider local Use short Avoid
styles and sentences and ambiguous
conventions short paragraphs wording

Hired a Cite numbers

translator carefully
Globalization and Workplace Diversity

The domestic
North-American
workforce is
corporations
becoming more
operate globally
diverse
Defining Diversity
National
Race Religion
origin Physical
ability
Age
Dimension of Gender
Sexual
diversity: orientation
Ethnicity
Growing Population Diversity
70
65%
60%
60

50
46%

40
Perce
nt

30%
30

20
19%
16%
13% 13% 13%
10 8%
5% 6%

0
White Non-Hispanics Hispanics AfricanAmericans Asians and Pacific Islanders

2010 2020 2050

Growing Workforce Diversity
Benefits to consumers, work teams, and
businesses
• A diverse staff is better able to respond to
increasingly diverse customer base locally and
globally.
• Team members with various experiences are
more likely to create products that consumers
demand.
• Consumers want to deal with companies
respecting their values.
Tips for Communicating With Diverse
Audiences on the Job
•Seek training
•Understand the value of differences
•Learn about your cultural self.
•Make fewer assumptions
•Build on similarities
Question and Answer