Chapter 10.

The Nature of
Intercultural
Communication
Chapter outline
1. Globalization, Glocalization, and 7. Subcultures and Subgroups
Grobalization
8. Cultural Intelligence
2. Culture
9. Communication Barrier
3. Enculturation
10. Intercultural Constructs
4. Acculturation
11. Global Mindsets
5. Ethnocentrism
12. Multinational Management Orientations
6. Norms, Rules, Roles, and Networks
Learning objectives
Upon completion of this chapter, you will:
1. Understand such terms as intercultural, international, intracultural, multicultural,
and ethnocentric.
2. Recognize how communication barriers affect intercultural communication.
3. Understand the differences between norms, rules, roles, and networks.
4. Distinguish between subcultures and subgroups.
5. Understand the concepts of business globalization, glocalization, and grobalization.
6. Differentiate between ethnocentric, polycentric, regiocentric, and geocentric
management orientations.
1. Globalization, Glocalization, and
Grobalization

Globalization
Glocalization
Grobalization
Globalization
Business globalization is the spread of ways of life across the world both socially and in
business (Ritzer, 2003).
Multinational firms allow their foreign operations to exist as domestic organizations.
The ability to blend with the host culture and explain one’s own culture is more important than
product, price, or quality advantages
Glocalization
Refers to “the interpenetration of the global and the local, resulting in unique outcomes in
different geographic areas” (Robertson, 2001, in Ritzer, 2003)
The world grows more pluralistic, glocalization looks at the uniformity and differences between
areas of the world.
Globalization can cause glocalization that is nationalistic or cosmopolitan
Two kind of globalization: nationalistic or cosmopolitan.
Grobalization
“Focuses on the imperialistic ambitions of nations, corporations, organizations, and the like and
their desire, indeed need, to impose themselves on various geographic areas”.
Because of the drive for profits to grow, once an organization has saturated one market, it must
reach out (globalize) in order to continue the profit’s growth.
2. Culture
Culture is the
structure through
which the
communication is
formulated and
interpreted
Dimensions of Culture
The language dimensions: used to communicate with other people who have similar values and
beliefs.
Physical dimensions: relates to the physical reality of our environment and the cultural
activities of the people
Psychological dimensions: relates to the physical reality of our environment and the cultural
activities of the people
Dimensions of Culture
 Six dimensions OF CULTURE
(Gannon, Locke, Amit, Pino, & Kristof-Brown, 2005):

group discussion

1. What do members of a society assume about the nature of people? Specifically, are people good, bad, or
a mixture?
2. What do members of society assume about the relationship between a person and nature? Specifically,
should we live in harmony with nature or subjugate it?
3. What do members of society assume about the relationship between people? Specifically, should a
person act in an individual manner, or should he or she consider the group before taking action?
4. What is the primary mode of activity in a given society? Is it being or accepting the status quo, enjoying
the current situation, and going with the flow of things? Or is it changing things to make them better by
setting specific goals and accomplishing them within specific schedules?
5. What is the conception of space in a given society? Specifically, is space considered private in that
meetings are held in private and people respect an individual’s need for space by avoiding close physical
encounters? Or is space viewed as public?
6. What is the society’s dominant temporal orientation: past, present, or future?
 Typical U.S. businesspersons
In American Ways, Althen and Bennett* (2011)
Be informal in their relationships.
Be rather formal in their business attire
Be workaholics
Embarrass foreign businesspeople by doing manual labor (e.g., mowing their own lawns) or tasks that would be
done by the lower class or servants in their country.
Be overly concerned with time, money, and appointments
Make decisions on hard, objective facts rather than on personal feelings, social relationships, or political
advantage.
Consider contracts and the written word as very important and to be taken very seriously.
Be aware of the status differences within the organization
Be mobile (they rarely work for one company all their lives)
Convey superiority in their actions because they feel the United States is a superior nation.
 3. Enculturation
Enculturation is the socialization process you go through to adapt to your society

When you grow up in one culture, you learn one way of classifying, coding, prioritizing, and justifying
reality.
Considered frontstage culture: cultural information that you are willing to share with outsiders
Considered backstage culture: cultural information that is concealed from outsiders is considered
backstage culture.
When you grow up in one culture, you learn one way of classifying, coding, prioritizing, and justifying
reality.
Considered frontstage culture: cultural information that you are willing to share with outsiders
Considered backstage culture: cultural information that is concealed from outsiders is considered
backstage culture.
4. Acculturation
Acculturation is the process of adjusting and adapting to a new and different culture (Hazuda, Stern, &
Hoffner, 1988).
Corporate cultures are examples of the synergy of diverse cultures.
A manager, to be productive and creative, must make his or her workers realize that the corporation is
more important than individual differences.
Differences are not to be suppressed but instead managed to maximize the group’s productivity and
creativity.
A manager, to be productive and creative, must make his or her workers realize that the corporation is
more important than individual differences.
Differences are not to be suppressed but instead managed to maximize the group’s productivity and
creativity.
5. Ethnocentrism
Is the belief that your own cultural background, including ways of analyzing problems, values,
beliefs, language, and verbal and nonverbal communication, is correct.
Ethnocentrists believe that their culture is the central culture and that other cultures are
incorrect, defective, or quaint.
Mindsets
Are ways of being that allow us to see, perceive, and reason through our own cultural
awareness.
Are learned by growing up in a particular culture.
We learn to be open or closed to others and their way of living; however, these mindsets can
be altered.
6. Norms, Rules, Roles, and Networks
Are situational factors that influence encoding and decoding of both verbal and nonverbal
messages within a culture.
6. Norms, Rules, Roles, and Networks
• Norms are culturally ingrained principles of correct and incorrect behaviors that, if broken, carry
a form of overt or covert penalty.
• Rules are formed to clarify cloudy areas of norms.
• A role includes the behavioral expectations of a position within a culture and is affected by norms
and rules.
• Networks are formed with personal ties and involve an exchange of assistance. Norms are
culturally ingrained principles of correct and incorrect behaviors that, if broken, carry a form of
overt or covert penalty.
7. Subcultures and Subgroups
Subcultures are groups of people possessing
characteristic traits that set apart and
distinguish them from others within a larger
society or macroculture.
The group members are self-identifiable; that
is, group members want to be considered a
part of the group.
Group members exhibit behavior that is
characteristic of the group.
The macroculture recognizesthe group as a
subculture and has given it a name; for ­
example, senior citizens (Klopf & McCroskey,
2007).
The largest U.S. subcultures
Hispanics (or Latinos) (16%),
African Americans (14%)
Asians (5%)
Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders (0.2%)
 Native Americans and Alaskan Natives (0.9%)
8. Cultural Intelligence
linguistic intelligence,
Is the ability to exhibit certain behaviors, spatial intelligence,
including skills and qualities, which are
intrapersonal intelligence,
culturally tuned to the attitudes and values of
others. (Peterson (2004) interpersonal intelligence
Linguistic intelligence,
Helpful to learn about the customer’s native language when conducting business
internationally
Using international business English can increase effectiveness when communicating with
persons of other cultures.
Spatial intelligence
is an important aspect of cultural intelligence;
it involves the way space is used during greetings and introductions, as well as during meetings
and other encounters.
Intrapersonal intelligence
Involves an awareness of one’s own cultural style in order to make behavioral adjustments to
international counterparts.
Interpersonal intelligence
The ability to understand other people and their motivations.
9. Communication Barrier
Communication barriers are obstacles to effective communication.
When encountering someone from another culture, communication barriers are often created
when the behavior of the other person differs from our own.
The following are barriers to
communication:
Physical: time, environment, comfort and needs, and physical medium (e.g., telephone and
letter)
Cultural: ethnic, religious, and social differences
Perceptual: viewing what is said from your own mindset
Motivational: the listener’s mental inertia
Experiential: lack of similar life happenings
The following are barriers to
communication (cont.):
Emotional: personal feelings of the listener
Linguistic: different languages spoken by the speaker and listener or use of a vocabulary
beyond the comprehension of the listener
Nonverbal: nonword messages
Competition: the listener’s ability to do other things rather than hear the communication
10. Intercultural Constructs
Borden (1991) lists seven constructs that individuals must possess if they are going to succeed
interculturally.
The degree to which we can understand intercultural communication depends on the degree
to which the following are true:
Cultural Icceberg
11. Global Mindsets
In order for managers to be successful interculturally, they will need to develop a global
mindset.
The Thunderbird Global Mindset Project involved interviews with 215 international executives
in the triad. The interviews identified the following attributes as needed by successful
intercultural managers (Javidan, Hough, & Bullough, 2010):
Intellectual Capital:

Global business savvy

Cognitive complexity
Cosmopolitan outlook
Psychological Capital

Passion for diversity

Quest for adventure
Self-assurance
Social Capital

Intercultural empathy
Interpersonal impact
Diplomacy
12. Multinational Management
Orientations
Multinational firms, those located in more than one nation, generally will follow either an
ethnocentric, polycentric, geocentric, or regiocentric form of management.
Human resource development personnel must be involved in the education and changing of
the mindsets. The global mindset differs from the domestic mindset, as illustrated in the next
slide.
Comparison of Domestic and Global
Mindsets:
Group Discussion
Ethnocentric management
Polycentric management
Regiocentric management
Geocentric management
Ten Commandments for Going
International
Bosrock (1995)
 Case study
1. At a reception for a U.S. political candidate, the guests appear to be divided into groups. People in
some groups are all African American, others are Latin American, and others are Asian. Explain the
cultural phenomena that are operating at this political gathering
2. The U.S. automotive manufacturers have complained about Japanese automotive imports and that
the U.S. car firms are locked out of the Japanese market. The Japanese have countered that the
U.S. firms have not done their homework; they offer cars that are too big or are not fuel-efficient.
Although U.S. car sales have decreased in the United States, Japanese car sales have increased.
Japanese manufacturers have begun to assemble cars in the United States; many U.S. firms are
moving part of their operations to Mexico. Discuss the implications to these firms as they globalize.
3. It is commonly said that most countries’ industrial leaders do not have the mindset necessary to be
successful in all the three industrial triads in the world (North American, Asian, and European). For
example, some U.S. companies have pulled out of China. Explain how the different multinational
management orientations would be difficult for people from each of these triads to use in the
other two triads in order to be successful.