LCBB6001International Business Communications Assignment

Introduction of International Business Communications Assignment 

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The report revolves around international business and international communication in a developing country. International business refers to the trade of merchandise, services, knowledge, capital, and information across nationwide borders and at international or universal scale (Griffin and Pustay, 2015). It involves cross-border dealings of merchandise and services between different nations. International company communication is not diverse from normal trade communication, excluding that it is done across societies. Yet, this can be a problem, as educational norms and prospects can differ deeply from nation to nation. Global communication can be further difficult by language barriers, dissimilar business practices, and the use of knowledge. India is taken as the developing country for the study (Szkudlarek et.al. 2020).

India is known as the Republic of India, it is one of the biggest democratic countries in the world. The case country ranked second on the basis of population, with approximately 1.3 billion citizens; it is situated in south Asia. India is the seventh biggest country in terms of area. Its capital is New Delhi and its official languages are Hindi and English. India is a developing nation and becoming a great place for businesses. Since numerous ancient trade routes passed through India and because it was a part of a vast empire, the country has enjoyed economic and cultural wealth for a large portion of its lengthy history (Chatterjee and Datta, 2016). India's last regal power to rule it was Britain. In 1947, India attained freedom. India has had a technological and commercial explosion in recent years. It is a desirable location for corporate expansion because of its sizable high-tech sector and excellent educational system.

Theories of international and intercultural communication in the context of India

Hofstede intercultural theory

This is a very important framework used for understanding the cultural dissimilarity between two countries. This model is invented by the well-known cultural philosopher, Geert Hofstede. In the Hofstede model, the dissimilarity in culture among nations is understood based on five dimensions (Sattorovich, 2020). The framework was created as a result of extensive research focusing on the cultural differences between various nations as well as interviews with several personnel from the east to the west. The five dimensions of culture difference study are power distance, manliness vs. femininity, long-standing orientation vs. short-range thinking, individualism vs. collectivism, and uncertainty prevention. The model is complete and comprehensive in its handling of enlightening differences in various cultures.

• Power distance: this is the first dimension, power distance dealings the amount of chain of command that governs the work situation. The primary issue addressed by this measurement is the level of dependence between the general public on the culture of the country (Zainuddin et.al. 2018). It has to do with whether people´s self-image is defined in terms of “I” or “We”. Power distance in India is very high as compared to the UK, which means Indian society has hierarchical nature. The power distance score of India is 77 and for the Uk, it is 35.
• Manliness vs. femininity: Masculine on this measurement point out that the culture will be motivated by rivalry, success, and accomplishment. Successful Indian employees are treated as the winner, this mindset is developed at the school level and is followed in employment as well, and Feminine refers to the leading standards in a culture that are thoughtful for Indian employees and their living standards (Pirlog, 2020). The culture of UK society is more masculine in nature as compared to India, but there is no such difference in this dimension of culture difference of the model.
• Individualism vs. collectivism: The countries either have individual culture or collective culture in the society, In Individualist culture public looks after only themselves and their shortest family like a nuclear family (Mansson and Sigurðardóttir, 2017). In Collectivist culture, the public feels right in groups and they take care of joint families in a swap for faithfulness. The UK culture is more individualistic as c compared to India, Uk has one of the highest individual scores in the world. UK's individualism score is 89 and India's score is 48 in the same dimension.
• Long-standing orientation vs. short-range thinking: This measurement explains how each society has to preserve some relations with its personal history whereas handling the current and future challenges and cultural priorities of these two existential goals differently. While cooperation is appreciated, short-term thinking suggests that society is privileged and reserved. A culture that is long-term oriented will consider adaptation and incidental, realistic problem-solving as a duty. In this dimension, India and the United Kingdom have the same score which is 51.
• Indulgence: The amount of socialization that young children receive has long been a contentious issue for humanity, both today and in the past (Pandey and Ardichvili, 2015). Indulgence and restraint are terms for comparatively strong and weak control, respectively. As a result, cultures can be categorized as indulgent or restrained. Indulgent is the category in which the British culture is categorized, according to a high score of 69. People in culture who score highly on the indulgence scale typically display a readiness to fulfill their urge and want to live a good life.

Critical evaluation of cultural sensitivity when doing business in the selected country supported by relevant examples

India have a diverse culture, there the culture sensitivity is high in the country. Culture plays a significant part in life of persons as it is thoroughly related to them. The company which is planning to expand their business in the India needs to analyses Indian culture before entering the market. The companies need to understand what a culture wants, and produce goods accordingly otherwise it will impact the success of the company. It is actually very essential to recognize what emotions are attached to the Indian culture. Because different cultures are practiced in different countries, some behaviors may be considered polite in one country but offensive in another due to cultural differences. According to Hofstede, culture is a method in which the concentration is planned such that it can distinguish the persons of one group with those of other. Example of culture sensitive in India is McDonalds’s beef burger, in India people does not consumed this product because of their cultural belief, when company noticed this it took off beef burger and introduced potato burger. The culture of the society has great impact on the growth and success of the company.

Importance of networking

Networking skills are competencies that assist employees of the company in the construction of personal and proficient social links. It is a necessary ability for numerous businesses, counting sales, trade development, store, and others. Networking permits businesses to include new masses, swap over ideas, and get new business opportunities (Gupta et.al. 2015). Networking is very important in international communication, it helps in creating strong connections in the host country, and here it is in India. Companies can make a connection with native people, clients, consumers, suppliers, and with many more people. Language plays a very important role while building networks in any foreign country. A company can use the local language for networking in a host country like India.

Advantage of using local language in networking

There is various advantage of using local language in networking; the following benefits from this are explained:

• Better interaction with locals: if a company uses the local language in building its networks then it will be easy to interact with various local people and make strong connections. Communication in the local language will make the receiver more comfortable and provide a chance to get new opportunities (Epskamp al. 2018). It will help to stay in touch with the local customer's needs and preferences, which is very important for the success of any company in markets like India.
• Build trust: Networking is mainly about the conference to the new public and structuring a system that will assist the employee in handling the company’s future aspirations. It is significant to meet up with the correct type of people and cooperate with them at a similar stage. Using local language in networking is very helpful for building trust in these networks (Binder, 2016). If the manager speaks the local language then the natives will have confidence and they will believe what the manager is saying.
• More visibility: Networking might appear unapproachable at the start, but when the employee or manager approaches it with the right language by showing the required concentration and resolve it, will be worth their time (Kalia, 2017). To be more visible in the workplace or the market people should use the local language and they should be good at understanding and speaking the local language to form relations that will be beneficial for the companies.

The disadvantage of using local language in networking

• Presents challenges for non-native speakers: when a company follows the local language at the workplace it will be difficult for non-natives to communicate their thoughts and ideas. It will act as a barrier to the creation of networks and it will affect the success of the company. The company should decide limit to the use of local language and use a global language in its work.
• Difficulty in international communication: when a company uses the local language all the time, it will face difficulty when it deals with global communication. This is one of the biggest disadvantages of using the local language for networking and in the operations of the company (Mukherjee and Bernaisch 2020). A global language permits for exchanging of thoughts between dissimilar cultures. Foreign language has for all time been the central point of educational uniqueness. An international language reduces communication barriers, at the same time offers people an entrance to appreciate one another's traditions.

Different communication barriers are experienced by foreign businesses in India

Even though there are numerous barriers to intercultural and international communication exist in India, the report will include the following barriers:

• Fundamental dissimilarity in world view;
• communication differences;
• self-presentation;
• interpersonal proficiency and relationships;
• stereotypes;
• assumption of similarities; and
• Propensity to evaluate.

The other different communication barriers experienced by foreign business in India are:

• World view refers to the cultural orientation of the Indian employees of the company; it includes how Indian employees see the world. Contacting persons from different cultures is a lot of trying and burdened with confusion and that new nearness and new kind of relations are showing communication issues that a small number of Indian employees are prepared to meet (Rani, 2016). General public within conflicting societies holds very different ideas concerning values and perceptions of individual identity. There is no correct or incorrect method of doing stuff; it’s only an issue of cultural type.
• Language is often the separating issue between numerous cultures and the single most impacting barrier. The distinction in language will lead to difficulty in intercultural interaction. If a person is fluent in a foreign language, many mistakes can occur, Linguistic conferences may be the reason for important misunderstandings, for example, verbal communication acts, communication management, dictionary, and civility forms. Language smoothness is an essential condition for intercultural communication for business purposes.
• Communication methods occur down a range of methods, are either indirect or direct, in India generally indirect style of communication is used everywhere, including the corporate world. Indirect communication orientation tends to “assume, advice, and mean” more willingly than communicate clearly what they have to communicate straightforwardly. During the conflict, Indian employees having this orientation tend to avoid conflict (Fischer et.al. 2016). Indian cultures follow non-verbal communication and give huge significance to communication. Non-verbal communication includes the use of personal space, postures, eye contact, gestures, or tone when talking to entertain a good deal of attention as they assist in the passing on of messages. The language barrier can also occur because of syntax, slang, words, idioms, vernacular, etc.
• Stereotypes can be observed as a tentative obstruct for communicators for the reason that they get in the way of viewpoint stimulus, while they are continued by Indian employees' leaning toward perceiving particularly those parts of facts which match with the thoughts they held in their mind. Stereotypes slow down communication for the reason that it guides the communicator to understand a person’s behavior from the perceptual display of the stereotype (Sisk et.al. 2021).
• Stress barriers are another type of barrier faced by foreign companies while working in India. Every employee undergoes a certain quantity of stress in work life in the organizational culture. It is one of the main barriers to communication experienced by all businesses all over the world. An employee under huge stress may discover it hard to comprehend the message, which will lead to communication alteration. An intelligent person can put stress management techniques in the practice and make the work pleasant. Overcoming communication barriers is possible if one knows what is causing miscommunication.
• Propensity to evaluateHumans have a tendency to constantly evaluate – statements, actions, behavior, etc. This is mostly because Indian employees feel that their cultures are right and natural, and thus evaluate others from their views and perceptions. It takes both the awareness of the tendency to close our minds and the courage to risk changing our perceptions and values to dare to comprehend why someone thinks and acts differently from us.

Communication strategies and recommendations to enable the company to succeed in India

The company needs to understand the difference between its language and culture to enable the company to succeed in India. It should understand the culture of India for communicating effectively and should decide the limit from the communication strategies. For example, the company can allow its employee to discuss in the local language but all the documents should be in a global language such as the English language. In simple words, the company should use multilingual communication in India. The company should use many platforms for its international communication; global communications should not be done on more than two channels. Cross-cultural communications can take set via brochures, newsletters, videos, and social media.

Depending on the result the company in India wants to attain, a communication strategy might be either short and focused or extensive and thorough on the basis of following terms:

• Recognize wants and demands: Make sure team members are aware of the rationale behind the plan before they begin working.
• Involve others: By adding more team members, the likelihood that an effective communication plan will be developed increases.
• Recognize audience: In order to properly implement plan, company must be aware of your target audience.
• Specify precise goals: Well-defined communication objectives will elevate plan, whether it is for a marketing campaign or an organizational purpose.
• Evaluate As proceed: Even if technique has been effective, keep evaluating, enhancing, and perfecting it.

Conclusion

The report concluded that communication plays an important role in the success of the company in the international markets. The model given by Geert Hofstede is very useful, this paradigm is crucial for comprehending the cultural differences between two nations. The Hofstede model uses five factors to explain how national cultures differ from one another. The report concluded that, by networking, businesses can reach out to new people, share ideas, and discover new business prospects. In international communication, networking is crucial since it fosters strong ties in the host nation, in this case, India. It is concluded from the report that foreign companies doing business in India encounter many communication hurdles. The most significant barrier separating different cultures is the frequently used language. Intercultural communication will be challenging due to linguistic distinction. Because they direct the communicator to infer a person's conduct from the stereotype's perceptual presentation, stereotypes slow down communication. At the end of the report recommendations and suggestions were highlighted with the key strategies.

References

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