By: Kalina Leiling

Whether you work for a multinational company or have colleagues from diverse backgrounds, culture in internal communications matters.  Understanding the fundamental differences between different cultures will help you understand others and yourself and how these dynamics affect the workplace.

Let’s get back to business…or people
According to the International Association of Business Communication, individuals in Southern Europe, South America, India and the Far East put an emphasis on honor, reputation and keeping one’s word at the workplace. For example, lifetime employment has been the norm and large-scale layoffs remain a social taboo. After demand slows or a product becomes obsolete, workers are placed in a “boredom room,” an office where they work just on paper. This way the management keep their word.

“Me” or “Us”?
Individualistic cultures (the U.S., Germany, the U.K.) value and reward an individual’s uniqueness. Collectivistic cultures (China, Korea, Japan) stress harmony and cooperation. A study shows that appointing team leaders within the individual sales groups in Korea disrupts the harmony of the groups, which leads to poor performance.

Objectives vs. relationships?
In the U.S., the U.K. and the Netherlands, staff is focused on initiatives to move the business forward. The objectives of a particular project or mission are paramount. In Latin America, however, internal communications are designed to address the needs of their employees, who see the organization as a “family.” For example, Healthy Pfizer Puerto Rico significantly expanded dependent involvement through a customized cultural campaign. In the U.S., launch events were only offered to employees, but for Puerto Rico, the team created festive launch events for families that included games and prizes for children.

When words don’t say it all
There are many internal communication differences between high and low-context cultures. High-context cultures (found in the Middle East, Africa, and South America) are more relational, intuitive, and contemplative. Low-context cultures that exist in North America and Western Europe are logical, individualistic, and action-oriented. In low-context cultures, the context (external factors) is not so important to the total message. The words spoken provide the message. With high-context cultures, the message is implicit, with valuable meaning not only in the words but also in the gestures, the relationship between people, and the status of those involved. For example, Americans may wait for a Japanese colleague to request something explicitly before they deliver it. On the other hand, Japanese employees may create relational confusion by reading unintended meaning into American behavior. This creates a spiral of incompetent exchanges, according to Dr. Bennett from the Intercultural Development Research Institute in Milano.

How personal is too personal?
Many low-context countries consider information such as age, religion, marital status, and salary to be private and personal, but this information is often used in high-context cultures to get to know the person.

Say it or write it?
High-context cultures will appreciate an e-mail with a personal touch by the supervisor or face-to-face talks. Employees in low-context cultures tend to prefer the opportunity to engage with upper-level leadership in formal written messages.

Does it work?
A multicultural team produces a more effective approach to internal communication practices for multicultural organizations. The rewards of successful communication help companies not only reach financial goals, but build trust among employees, and develop a highly motivated and productive team loyal to your corporate goals.