Intercultural Communication and Cultural Sensitivity to Globalization - Coursework Example

Globalization and intercultural communication Name: Institution: Globalization and intercultural communication Introduction Intercultural communication among societies is an essential attribute for the development. This based on the understanding that every country irrespective of its political or socio-economic success must apply different spiritual and cultural heritage of other people and societies to meet the cultural and aesthetic needs of humanity. The contemporary society is in the process of embracing globalization. The success of this aspect of development indicates that intercultural communication has an important role to play in influencing events across the world. This is an indication that the discourse of intercultural communication is an aspect of and response to globalization. Globalization and interconnectedness Globalization is a process of integration and interaction among corporations, governments, and people drawn from different nations. This is through a process aided by information technology and driven by investment and international trade (Ritze & Atalay, 2010). The process of interaction and integration has an effect on the cultures, environment, political systems, economic prosperity and physical wellbeing of societies across the world. It is through globalization that societies are able to embrace the expanding scale, growth in degree and rapidly developing the deepening impact of transcontinental movement and patterns of social interaction (Kumaravadivelu, 2008). Through globalization, it becomes possible for countries on the global platforms to embrace the transformation in scale of human organizations that are linked to distant communities, which are continuously expanding the reach of power relations globally. In the process of pursing commercial trade and political alliances, countries have developed systems that recognize and accommodate cultural differences. This is because of the realization that through globalization different cultures have been interwoven into a complex fabric defined by socio-economic, political and technological interdependence (Ritze & Atalay, 2010). This interdependence is a salient attribute of the contemporary society, which promises even greater interconnectivity requiring an increase in the understanding of diverse language abilities and cultural knowledge. The interconnectedness that defines globalization is not only a product of economic integration but also a response to the demand of intercultural communication. These changes have contributed to the creation of an environment in which engaging in business activities requires cooperation and communication between drawn from different cultures. The need for intercultural association has required the need for understanding and knowledge of the process of conducting business in a way that accommodates different cultural norms and values. In the global setting, knowledge of cultural differences and intercultural cooperation are important for long-term success of globalization. The difficulties arising from embracing intercultural communication is that cultural difference across borders make it difficult for cooperation (Kumaravadivelu, 2008). These difficulties emanate from differences in values, behaviour and customs results in problems that can only be managed through effective interaction and intercultural communication. Intercultural communication and cultural sensitivity to globalization Intercultural communication implies an understanding of the communication techniques embraced by people whose cultural perceptions and symbolic systems are distinct to the extent that they can alter their communication (Paulston, Kiesling & Rangel, 2012). In the contemporary global platform, there are cooperation among governments, companies and organizations because of the underlying fundamental changes which play a role in determining the best ways of doing business that is not constrained by bode regulations or distance. Furthermore, the availability of effective training platforms has enabled organizations and companies to employ people from remote and diverse cultural background to manage the decision-making processes (Gerbe, 2007). These differences and diversity that characterizes the global platforms explains why it is important for governments, organizations and companies to develop measures that enhance intercultural communication as a response to the growing needs of globalization. Globalization allows for integration of economies and businesses by embracing intercultural communication as an aspect of developing a competitive edge. This is because intercultural communication can be an essential technique through which an organization can succeed in its quest for a new supplier, a new market or in negotiating an international contract. This is an indication that intercultural communication in a global context is essential in developing relevant and operational relationships with people drawn from diverse cultures (Paulston, Kiesling & Rangel, 2012). The globalized society has a positive effect on organizations and individuals especially when players on the global context are engaged in the development of new techniques of associating with other cultures. Intercultural communication thrives when a person from one culture communicates with a person from another culture in ways that enhances an understanding. Whenever there are cultural differences in these communication efforts, the potential for misunderstanding and disagreement is often high. This implies the existence of a relationship between culture and language (Paulston, Kiesling & Rangel, 2012). This is because the former guides the latter. Language is an effective technique through which intercultural communication responds to the demand of globalization. Furthermore, whenever an organization desires to engage in business initiatives in a new market, intercultural communication demands an understanding of the prevailing culture and language in that market (Gerbe, 2007). This is because failure to develop such an understanding makes it difficult for the organization to conduct its business. One techniques through which organizations has been able to embrace intercultural communication is by hiring local employees to ensure that they can communicate with their potential customers (Piller, 2011). Language, as an essential aspect of intercultural communication introduces organizations to the business etiquette of host countries. Culture plays an important role in advancing globalization. This is because failure by an organization to understand the culture of the host country could result in failures in the ability of the organization to develop products that respond to consumer behaviour, local demand, brand image and purchasing decisions (Scollon, Scollon & Jones, 2012). Through intercultural communication, knowledge of the native culture becomes valuable when dealing with home market. This makes culture a hidden entry barrier that can be overcome by cultural sensitivity. Culture plays a role in influencing management decisions and styles including the nature of business negotiations and operations (Gerbe, 2007). Despite an increase in convergence of consumption patterns, cultural practices and beliefs, the underlying differences in socio-economic conditions are widening. While emphasizing on the need for intercultural communication as a tool for advancing globalization, the development of neoliberal policies established on the global platforms have enhanced the ability of improving the ecological, economic and political conditions such as poverty eradication (Gerbe, 2007). Through socio-economic policies, it has become possible for diverse societies to be involved in the development of cooperative efforts targeting eradication of existing social ills (Scollon, Scollon & Jones, 2012). This has been facilitated by the ability of these societies to develop policies that are informed of the existing problems within a society. There are opponents of globalization who argue that intercultural communication only serves to exclude a large part of the world while bestowing the resulting benefits to a few countries with significant purchasing power and high level of productivity ((Jandt, 2015). Developed countries use intercultural communication as a tool for the promotion of their dominance in developing countries (Scollon, Scollon & Jones, 2012). For the developed countries, globalization is a tool that rich countries through their richest sectors use in exploiting their resources. Despite these assertions, the argument that globalization contributes to the erosion of cultures has been criticized on the round that it is through intercultural communication that different communities can embrace information technology which provides a platform for understanding language translations hence improving on interconnectedness among diverse communities. Such interconnectedness improves business efficiency because businesses have the ability of aligning their policies according to the demand of the host countries (Piller, 2011). Furthermore, language integration also enables the host countries to develop informed business policies that enhance effective communication and business initiatives among organizations. As a product and response to the concept of globalization, the discourse of intercultural communication is considered important in societal development because the global economy demands an integration of societies in ways that ensures mutual benefits. These conditions make it requirements for countries to participate in the globalization process (Raddawi, 2014). Despite these requirements, the character of their participation is shaped by the underling political, social, economic and cultural conditions that are unique to that nation. This makes it important for the country to ensure that it develops and effective mediation process between local and global demands (Piller, 2011). This is an intrinsic attribute of communication that does not only change the context but also the nature of intercultural communication. Intercultural communication has also made it possible for countries and multinational corporations to engage in dialogues with the objective of finding a common understanding when seeking solution in crises (Jandt, 2015). When handling issues of economic or financial crisis, intercultural communication allows countries with diverse views on the causes and solution to the crisis to woke towards finding consensus to the problem by assessing the objectives and the possible alternatives (Scollon, Scollon & Jones, 2012). The desire for dominance has affected the ability of globalization to realize its objectives as a product of intercultural communication. This is in cases where a multinational corporation seeking to establish its dominance in a market or a country involved in power struggles does not cooperate with other parties in the development of an effective solution to an urgent problem or conflict. In such cases, the dominant and opposing forces suppose that they hold the right and most appropriate opinions on the underlying issues hence this explains their inability to compromise (Piller, 2011). In such situations, the dominant payers of globalization can be perceived to be suing intercultural communication as a tool for exploiting relatively weak players on the global platform. The purpose of intercultural communication as a response to the concept of globalization is that it provides an understanding of the inferential processes through which global players communicate their meaning that are to be interpreted by other players (Scollon, Scollon & Jones, 2012). Furthermore, in the business context intercultural communication allows for an understanding of the role of language in different social environments. Globalization allows for the formation of self-contained communication system defined by a shared language (Byram, 1997). This approach to communication provides techniques through which players on the global platform learn what they need to know to become effective players on the global platforms (Paulston, Kiesling & Rangel, 2012). This is especially when there are successful in communicating their ideological positions in ways that enhance the development of interpersonal relationship among different players globally. Intercultural communication facilitates the development of globalization because it provides business entities and governments with techniques of coping with complexities arising from cultural differences (Paulston, Kiesling & Rangel, 2012). For instance, when a university graduate secures an employment opportunity in an international organization, intercultural communication will provide such an employee with technique of learning the organizational culture and its integration with his or her culture as a socialization process in the new work environment (Paulston, Kiesling & Rangel, 2012). The interrelationship and interdependence between globalization and intercultural communication makes it possible for global business activities to succeed in different settings because they use the knowledge acquired from diverse cultures in the development of training programs used in inducting employees into a plethora of cultural environment (Scollon, Scollon & Jones, 2012). Through such trainings, it becomes possible for multinational corporations to develop socio-economic relationships that reproduce and reinforce certain identities, communication patterns and assumptions about the consumers within a locality. Conclusion Every country irrespective of its political or socio-economic success must apply different spiritual and cultural heritage of other people and societies to meet the cultural and aesthetic needs of humanity. Globalization entails interaction and integration of cultures, environment, political systems, economies for prosperity and physical wellbeing of societies across the world. Globalization and intercultural communication enables societies to embrace the expanding scale, growth in degree and rapidly developing the deepening impact of transcontinental movement and patterns of social interaction. Failure by an organization to understand the culture of the host country could result in failures in the ability of the organization to develop products that respond to consumer behaviour, local demand, brand image and purchasing decisions. References Byram, M. (1997). Teaching and Assessing Intercultural Communicative Competence. UK: Multilingual Matters Ltd. Gerbe, K. (2007). Intercultural communication as a strategy of global marketing: Marketing strategies of McDonald's in India and Saudi Arabia. München: GRIN Verlag GmbH. Jandt, F. E. (2015). Intercultural communication. Thousand Oaks, Calif. [u.a.: Sage Publ. Kramsch, C. (1993): Context and Culture in Language Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Kumaravadivelu, B. (2008). Cultural globalization and language education. New Haven: Yale University Press. Paulston, C. B., Kiesling, S. F., & Rangel, E. S. (2012). The handbook of intercultural discourse and communication. Malden, MA: John Wiley & Sons. Piller, I. (2011). Intercultural communication: A critical introduction. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press Raddawi, R. (2014). Intercultural communication with Arabs: Studies in educational, professional and societal contexts. Singapore : Springer Ritze, G., & Atalay, Z. (2010). Readings in globalization: Key concepts and major debates. Chichester, West Sussex, U.K. ; Malden, MA : Wiley-Blackwell Scollon, R., Scollon, S. B. K., & Jones, R. H. (2012). Intercultural communication: A discourse approach. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell. Read More