uational aspects of time, such as when to arrive at a party.people come together with very different cultural expectations about time, there is a potential for misunderstanding, frustration , and hurt feelings. This could occur, for instance, if a Brazilian businessman does not arrive "on time" for a meeting with a potential North American customer in New York and fails to give an apology when he arrives. For the Brazilian, time may be relatively "elastic" and the pace-of-life a bit slower. He believes that he was sufficiently prompt for the scheduled business meeting, having arrived within a half hour of the appointment. It is not surprising that he is astonished and offended when he is treated coldly by the North American who also feels slighted by what he perceives as rudeness. Compounding the situation is likely to be differences in their comfortable physical interaction distances. This dismal scenario can be avoided, of course, by foreknowledge about the other culture and a willingness to adopt a cultural relativity approach. The old saying "when in Rome do as the Romans do" is still good advice. br/>
Conclusion
communication process norm
Communication in itself is a complicated process, but when you introduce different cultures into the mix, the amount of disturbing factors gets so large that it sa near miracle that we usually more or less understand each other! cultural barriers to effective communication are:
Language: Often, two parties do not have a language in common, or not enough knowledge of a language to effectively communicate. Especially if one party speaks his/her native tongue and the other party has a limited or reasonable command of that language, miscommunication can easily occur, especially by use of ambiguous or difficult terms, use of expressions or slang. Often, parties have a third language in common; in business this is often English. Using a third language with both parties not knowing much of the cultural context of their conversation partner, misunderstandings are very common.
Cultural norms: Attitudes, etiquette and the divisions within a cultural background can prevent effective communication. Culture-specific restrictions on the communication between genders or between age groups may affect effective communication. Unintended breaches of etiquette and behavioral norms can inadvertently send a wrong signal.
History between groups: Negative aspects of a shared history between two cultures can effective communication. Competition for resources, political disputes and the effects of past conflicts can create su...
