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As a learner, executive or a global manager, one has to come out of one's
cultural paradigm and try to know others and their culture. Today's managers have to work
in cross-cultural teams or virtual teams having members from various countries
and backgrounds. Sometimes, one also has to lead or receive delegations. People also
visit countries as tourists. Someone has rightly said, "If mind is the hardware, culture
is the software." Hence, a perfect knowledge of Cross-Cultural Communication
(CCC) ensures that one can live in a multilingual, multiethnic and a multidisciplinary
society. The words of Derek Torrington,"Think globally, act
locally," are relevant, in the
sense, that today's managers should have a global vision and local precision in all
their dealings, including in CCC.
It deals with punctuality and time management. The European society is
time-conscious and punctuality is admired. In Japan and China, it is treated as an insult if a
person is late for an appointment. In South America and Middle East people are not time
bound. Many Indians are also not very particular about time management and
punctuality,
It is better to be conscious about these things before one interacts with an individual
from a different cultural background, or else due to
the lack of awareness, one may send wrong non-verbal
cues, resulting in cultural shock or mis-communication in an
inter-cultural context. |
