International business and intercultural communication

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Peoples' Friendship University of Russia

International business and intercultural communication

Hamid Musa M.A. and Shaddad S.Kh.

Second-year masters

Russia, Moscow

Abstract

The article deals with the concept of International business cultures which focuses mainly on how to melt the barriers that separate people, and in return more interested in concentrating on communication and means of communication that gather them together. Communication in international business values clarity and conciseness as a basis for enhancing efficiency and effectiveness. The new global economy of the 21st century has transformed the economic, social, educational and political landscape into a deep and indelible manner. It consists of a trilogy of interactive forces that include globalization, trade liberalization, and information technology and communications.

Globalization melted national borders, free trade strengthened economic integration, information and communication revolution made geography and time irrelevant. As well CSR report as an instrument of intercultural communication in the sphere of international business is considered.

Keywords: International business, culture, communication, community, intercultural communication, opens mind, economic stability, globalization, corporate social responsibility, social reporting, language of international communication.

Аннотация

Международный бизнес и межкультурная коммуникация

Хамид Муса М.А. и Шаддад С.Х. Магистры второго курса Российский университет дружбы народов Россия, г. Москва

Данная статья посвящена описанию концепции международных бизнес культур, которая, прежде всего, играет значимую роль в преодолении барьеров, разделяющих людей, в то же время уделяет больше внимания на коммуникации и ее средства. Для повышения эффективности и результативности коммуникации в международном бизнесе важны ясность и лаконичность. Современная глобальная экономика XXI века изменила экономические, социальные, образовательные и политические ландшафтные манеры. Она состоит из трех интерактивных факторов включающие в себя глобализацию, либерализацию торговли, а также информационные технологии и коммуникации. Глобализация уничтожила национальные границы, свободная торговля усилила экономическую интеграцию, информационно-коммуникационная революция способствовала в неактуальности географии и времени. Отчет о КСО также рассматривается как инструмент межкультурной коммуникации в международном бизнесе.

Ключевые слова: глобализация, КСО, экономическая стабильность, межкультурная коммуникация, международный бизнес, социальная отчетность, язык международного общения.

Introduction

We should never denigrate any other culture but rather help people to understand the relationship between their own culture and the dominant culture. When you understand another culture or language, it does not mean that you have to lose your own culture.

- Edward T.H

"I've been traveling around the world for 25 years till now, playing music, talking to people and studying their cultures and musical instruments, and always come back with more questions I cannot answer."

- Yoyo Ma

As an expert in the modern business community you have to realize that the concept of "community" is undergoing a fundamental transformation. At the beginning, the Era of Agriculture contributed to the evolution of humanity to find end-to-end solutions to unforeseen problems , then later the industrial Revaluation and the Era of Information Technology, opening the wide gate to international global trade, making intercultural communication one of the top priorities of trade. Throughout the history of the world to the present, society has been defined by its geographical limits; a trader was providing the market with salt and sugar and other products, whereas people bought what they need. The products sold by the merchant were locally manufactured, and the cost of transport was very high. Thereafter, appeared intercontinental railway lines, telegraph lines and freight routes that connected all ports around the globe, and cargo operations, which took months and years, calculated by days. Then came highway networks and cheap oil products that made shipping faster and easier, it may take only hours. At the same time, the speed of delivery of products has contributed to a reduction in the cost of warehousing inside the port and even the corruption of goods during transit. Thus the goods were sold, and the idea of distinguishing the products arose with bar code and RDIF or the identification of goods by radio frequencies, and renewable inventories are constantly being carried out and activated movement orders from factories around the world.

Until the means of oral and written communication came together and linked the diverse societies through the communication channels that provided a direct connection between various people with different cultural backgrounds to make the world easier to find lots of products and services to satisfy peoples' immediate needs. A trading system and a capital and commodity trading movement began to flow relatively smoothly at the first, before they faced the challenges and difficulties of change, misunderstanding and conflict. People have begun to effect trade market by political, economic and military upheavals.

The 21st century is marked by the century of globalization, the century of total and all-pervasive power, which, along with the opening of endless possibilities for human, society and the state, in effect eradicates the notion of individuality, isolation and insularity. The scale and intensity of social processes, their interpenetration, is rapidly increasing: countries unite into state unions, companies merge into conglomerates, the people in 21st century think deeply about themselves as part of a large mechanism - a society within which they realize their potentials. Globalization also affects the processes associated with the basic functions of human existence. One of these functions is communication. Communicative processes, such as verbal and non-verbal methods of transmitting and receiving information, also undergo qualitative changes in favor of expanding the network of cultural contacts and intensifying interethnic communication in all spheres of human life: political, economic, social, spiritual, etc.

Intercultural communication in international business: problems and solutions

The issues of intercultural communication in the sphere of international business are among the most complex one. Therefore communication affects the efficiency of information exchange in a multinational team of an international company. Each company and each professional community has its own communicative features. In this regard, the whole international business community in the transnational corporations and large international companies in their daily activities faces a number of problems in the field of intercultural business communication. international business communication global english

The first thing that hinders effective business communication in an international company is the language barrier. Of course, successful business at the international level requires knowledge of a language in sufficient volume for serious business contacts. English is a universally recognized language of international communication, the language of the modern global economy, the language of advanced science and high technologies. However, fluency in English is not the main recipe for solving the problem of intercultural communication in the business community. In the past two decades, there has been an increase in national variations of the English language.

The inventor of the term, English philologist and linguist - David Crystal, devoted a number of his studies and articles on the theory and practice of English to the World Englishes phenomenon. In his article The future of the Englishes, D. Crystal argues about the consequences of the recognition of English as “global”, namely, the formation of “new English” languages from state to state, with its grammatical, phonetic and lexical features (Crystal, D. 1999, The Future of Englishes, English Today, 15 (2): 10-20).

Surprisingly, the paradox of this theory is that the globalization of the English language, which aims at erasing cultural and linguistic boundaries and should promote intercultural communication, in fact, does the opposite. This problem undoubtedly applies to the business community, in which English is a means of intercultural business internal and / or external communication. The tendency to form different World Englishes in many ways impedes communication, which suggests the need to master the language in a broader aspect, paying special attention not only to general linguistic (knowledge of English as a foreign language), but also linguistic-cultural (knowledge of the specifics of the "national" aspect foreign language) features.

Thus, it can be concluded that a foreign language, namely English, despite its national variability, is a means of intercultural business communication. However, it is necessary to consider in more detail one of the methods of intercultural communication in international business, which is carried out through communication in English, or even in one of the languages of the World Englishes.This way of intercultural communication in the sphere international business community is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Let's try to make out at first glance a difficult concept for perception. Corporate - means "inside the corporation." Social responsibility is:

1) The company's responsibility to the employee, prescribed by law (for example, compliance with the 40-hour working week),

2) Voluntary measures to ensure the social, cultural, economic well-being of employees and their families, the local community and society as a whole, to increase the level of ecology (while the Corporation assumes all expenses for CSR).

One of the important qualities of CSR is a “transparent”, honest business, and therefore reporting is important for CSR. The companies annually issue a report on Corporate Social Responsibility, where they tell in detail about what measures the Company has taken voluntarily in the area of ensuring the well-being of society on the covered areas. In addition, CSR is a way to communicate inside or outside the Company. Taking into account the globalization processes in all spheres of society and the growing number of multinational corporations, this communication becomes intercultural. In the context of intercultural business communication, CSR involves the exchange of experience both outside the company in the global market and within the corporation. The appearance of the Corporation on the market is formed precisely because of social responsibility. CSR is equally important for communication within a multinational company. Both internal and external intercultural communication through CSR implies:

1) The exchange of experience and results in different areas of business, expansion of the network of cultural contacts,

2) The exchange of experience through interaction with the help of the generally recognized language of international communication - English.

There is another position that is important for internal communication, mainly:

3) Solving the problem of losing the individuality of a “branch” of a multinational corporation, preserve the peculiarities of the national culture, and establish intercultural communication in the Company

Compilers reports on CSR around the world following the principles of internal and external communication, above. Due to compliance with international reporting standards, including in the area of competent (intercultural business) communication, CSR and / or CSR report, at the moment, is the most powerful tool for intercultural communication in the field of international business. To avoid intercultural clashes we have to look for the cause and source of different cultural customs. It is very little for people to do something for no reason. These reasons can be abstract, such as worship and attracting attention, but this abstraction does not mean that this behavior has no source. All the customs and traditions, even those very strange and strange, stem from the desire to correct or get something and by understanding the underlying causes of these cultural issues, you will be able to understand the differences and accept them.

Try to find similarities in customs and traditions and strive to trace the roots of behaviors close to you. There are many societies that have many different custo ms and traditions from us, such as the African Xhosa tribe who paint their faces in color and dance in the hope of attracting the attention of the women who watch the m. This very noisy ceremony may be very different from similar events in our coun try. You do not have to love all the issues related to a culture. People disagree in many ways and oppose each other. If you want to have an open mind, promote your knowledge of other cultures and communicate with other people. In this case, there is no problem if you still oppose some other people or you do not usually like their habits and culture. Women in Saudi Arabia do not have a license to drive, and this is due to some political issues derived from some cultural differences between the sexes. Here you should not think that understanding and accepting an individual's behavior means ignoring this behavior, so it is your responsibility as a traveler to have an open mind, not a mind that accepts all cultural issues.

Conclusion

Globalization has completely transformed the way the world does business, especially now that people from different professional cultures now regularly meet each other. Reporting is considered not only as an information tool, but also as a management tool for analyzing and evaluating the Company's performance in the field of CSR. When preparing it, any global CSR strategy based on four fundamental directions, served as a guideline.

The company pays special attention to the “Patient” direction (increasing the availability of health care resources), while not diminishing the importance of other areas: “Ethics” (Ethical business conduct), “Employees and society” (working in partnership), “Ecology” (respect for resources). Each report is issued in two languages: English is the language of international business communication and company's local language.

References

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