Cross-Cultural Business Communication is a verbal and non-verbal communication that is carried out in the business world that is related to culture in the area where the business will be run. Culture itself has the meaning of social values, social norms, science, social, religious structures, all intellectual and artistic statements as well as the habits and characteristics of a society in a particular region. If viewed specifically from the perspective of business in Indonesia, the business communication of cultural leeches will be very visible and occur almost throughout Indonesia. This happens because the Indonesian nation has 714 cultural tribes that are spread throughout Indonesia, so to conduct business communication must also pay attention to the condition of the culture of the business opponent.
To run a business that takes into account cross-cultural conditions in an area, then business people must look at and study several factors contained in the culture and norms of an area before doing business in the area. These factors include:
- Cultural component
The cultural component is a part contained in the culture of an area such as the values of belief / belief, religion contained in an area, norms and symbols that are believed in an area to the language, customs, arts education and knowledge of culture of the area.
- Cultural Levels
The level of culture can also be interpreted as a perspective or the way a person sees and treats that culture. Cultural levels are divided into 3 forms, namely Formal, Informal and Technical.
Formal level is a way of looking at someone to see a culture from the size of the subject, predicate and object. Meanwhile, informal level is a person’s perspective to see culture from the measurement of behavior, how to call, see, hear up to how to apply culture. Meanwhile, the technical level is a way to see a culture and apply it according to the culture itself, for example when, where, who, how and why the culture is carried out.
- Get to know cultural differences
Recognizing cultural differences is a must for a cross-cultural businessman, starting from differences in social values, roles and status, procedures for decision making, concept of time, communication distance, cultural context, body language, social behavior, ethical behavior and unethical, and cultural differences between companies.
From the above understanding, we can know the basic principles of cultural communication will be influenced by several factors such as language as a mirror of culture, language relativity, reducing uncertainty, self-awareness of cultural differences, interactions, maximizing results by using various cross-cultural communication channels such as communication inter-Personal , interpersonal communication , or other communications are performed through communication media such as telephone, radio, newspapers, movies, magazines to come face to face directly.
From this, we can conclude that the purpose of cultural communication is inseparable from the influence and role of culture in a region. However, the main purpose of cross-cultural business communication is to succeed and achieve the desired targets. However, several other cross-cultural business communication objectives are:
- Understand a culture
Conducting cross-cultural business communication, has the aim to understand a culture that is continuously maintained and occurs in a place that will be used as a business location. By understanding a culture properly, the feed back is that business people will no longer have difficulty determining how the business is run and implemented. (also read: Effective Communication Strategies in Learning )
Example :
When Person A wants to open a culinary business in an area, then by understanding the culture in that region, Person A will be able to design and arrange a good business strategy. For example what culinary culture has become in a place, what is the selling price that is suitable for people with that culture, to what culinary may be sold and may not be sold.
- Reducing obstacles
The second goal is to reduce communication barriers by establishing an Effective Communication , because effective communication is the first step to building a good and advanced business. When cross-cultural business communication has effectively established communication, then Cross-Cultural Communication Obstacles for each business can be minimized properly. Reducing Barriers to Business Communication with Cross Cultural Communication is certainly very useful for the sustainability of a business.
- Avoid conflict
The third goal is to avoid conflicts when a business is to be built, when it is completed until the business is running. A cross-cultural business communication that has the purpose of this one, will prevent the business from conflicts such as community demonstrations, community rejections, prohibited communities or other conflicts. For this reason, the communication must be able to avoid a business from various conflicts, both internally and externally. (also read: Psychological Inhibiting Communication Factors )
- Sharpen sensitivity
Business people must of course have a high sensitivity to the environment around the location of their business, otherwise the business people and businesses that they do will not get high appreciation from the community. Therefore, the fourth purpose of business communication is to hone the sensitivity of a businessman or the sensitivity of a businessman’s feelings. Usually, this fourth goal can be found in companies that provide CSR funds for the environment around their business, or provide various other types of assistance to communities around the business location. When the sensitivity is increasingly honed, then the community will have a positive image or outlook on a business. (also read: Online Communication Methods )
- Extending knowledge
The next goal is to expand the knowledge of business people about the culture that exists in an area, both in terms of community life habits, economic or social level, customs and other things. When a businessman has a fairly good knowledge of the culture of an area, then when he wants to build and open a business in that region, he will quickly be able to adapt to the environment of the region. (Also read: Hegemony Theory in Mass Communication )
- Running a business strategy
The next purpose of cross-cultural business communication is of course to carry out a business strategy that has been designed or in other words develop business wings that are built. The success or failure of this one goal actually still depends on the knowledge of the culture of the region. In other words, to run an effective business strategy, it must be done properly and correctly based on cultural knowledge contained in the business location. (also read: Therapeutic Communication Techniques )
- Improve communication
Cross-cultural business communication also aims to increase the intensity of communication. By increasing the intensity of communication, it will be very useful to provide views, criticisms or suggestions for a business by looking at all aspects of culture in a place in order to maintain the sustainability of a business. Vice versa, when cross-cultural business communication is carried out with low intensity, then the business will not get criticism, suggestions, or other images that are useful for the business. (also read: Effect of Communication Effectiveness in Social Integration )
- Reducing uncertainty
The eighth goal is to reduce uncertainty when conducting business communication. By reducing uncertainty in a business, automatically the businessman will get a good image or view of the certainty of a business that he will build. For example, when the business can be started, in which regions the results or business products are marketed, to the search for investors because uncertainty has been minimized. (also read: History of Marketing Concepts )
- Negotiations
When conducting cross-cultural business communication, the aim is also to negotiate with the government in a region. Now with this goal, all the requirements to build a business in an area will be negotiated to reach an agreement and provide benefits for both parties. Examples of these objectives include negotiating wages, negotiating CSR funds, negotiating the number of employees, and so on. (also read: Public Communication Theory )
- Give a comparison
Next is to provide a comparison between the culture found in business people and the culture contained in the business location. In other words cross-cultural business communication has the goal to make a comparison of cultures with other cultures by focusing on cultural elements such as language, behavior, habits, and religion. The function of the purpose of this one is to provide an assessment of other cultures or ethnocentrism in the hope that when knowing these cultural differences, then a business can avoid the worst. (also read: Language Disorders in Communication )
- Seek support
Cross-cultural business communication also aims to seek support from other parties in other regions, to expand the business. With enough support, of course a business will easily flap its wings to reach a wider range. The trick is to make good, effective and efficient business communication. (also read: Impact of Communication Ethics in Interpersonal Relations )
- Do collaboration
The twelfth goal is to collaborate on a business, because by collaborating then the possibility of the business to develop faster will be even higher. This can be seen in a number of cross-cultural business communications that have the purpose of conducting business collaborations such as business collaboration on selling solo batik cloth with people outside solo to increasingly introduce solo batik or other business collaborations. (also read: Effects of Intercultural Communication on Community Life )
- Gives benefits
Cross-cultural business communication also aims to provide benefits to the parties involved in it. With this aim, each party will not feel disadvantaged when a new business is established in an area. Usually, these benefits will also be discussed while the business communication process is in progress. (also read: Success Factors and Communication Failure )
- As a persuasion tool
A goal that is no less important than carrying out cross-cultural business communication is to make business communication a persuasion tool. By making it a persuasion tool, efforts to persuade and convince the government and people in an area that will be used as a business location will be able to accept the business. (also read: Forming Factors of Interpersonal Communication )
- Establish cooperation
A business communication certainly has a goal to establish cooperation between business people, as well as cross-cultural business communication also has a goal to establish cooperation between business people even though their cultures are different. With this goal, every businessman who has established a partnership will feel mutually responsible for advancing and developing the business. (Also read: How to Improve Interpersonal Communication )
That was the 15 objectives of cross-cultural business communication that we can explain to you all loyal readers of the pakarkom Communities.com website. Hopefully the explanation above can increase your knowledge about business communication, especially cross-cultural business communication. See you in the next article.
