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Chapter 1 Introduction to Intercultural Communication 1 1 Chapter 1 2 Introduction to Intercultural Communication 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 Learning Objectives By the end of this Chapter, you should be able to  Define intercultural communication and intercultural business communication.  Understand the importance of intercultural business communication.  Briefly describe the developmental study of intercultural communication and its applications.  Develop an awareness of the complexity involved with intercultural business communication. Many experts in the field of communication theory believe that the two concepts of “Intercultural business communication” (ICBC) and “cross-cultural business communication” are basically two different concepts with the same meaning. Cross-cultural business communication is simply a British term for intercultural business

communication. There have been some studies comparing different styles of leadership, as well as studies looking at the different negotiation strategies. Still some may argue that cross-cultural communication implies a comparison between cultures. For example, studies on different styles of leadership and different negotiation strategies used by both Chinese and American negotiators are presented as cross cultural business studies. The author finds this particular research concept too restrictive and we prefer to use the more acceptable concept of intercultural business communication throughout this book, in short, ICBC. In chapter one we will first define and then discuss the concept of intercultural communication, secondly we will explain why there is a need to study intercultural business communication; and finally, we will show how the study of intercultural communication developed and was applied in an international business environment. I. What is Intercultural Communication?

We’ll start with the question: How to define the terms of intercultural communication and intercultural business communication? Intercultural communication (ICC) is the term first used by Edward T. Hall in 1959 and is 1 simply defined as interpersonal communication between members of different cultures. Intercultural business communication (ICBC) is a relatively new term in the business world 2 and is defined as communication within and between businesses that involve people from more than one culture. It belongs to the category of intercultural communication So for students to gain a better understanding of the field of ICBC, a knowledge of ICC is important and essential. Intercultural communication can be understood as a phenomenon, and we call intercultural communication as 跨文化交际. It can also be understood as a discipline，that is 跨文化交际学 Some make this distinction, but some don’t. They just use 跨文化交际 for both Intercultural communication can

include international, interethnic, Interracial, and interregional 3 communication.  International communication Chapter 1 Introduction to Intercultural Communication 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 2 International communication takes place between nations and governments rather than individuals; it is quite formal and ritualized. The dialogue at the United Nations, for example, would be termed international communication. If Chinese Chairman communicates with American President, we have international communication, because this is communication between two nations or countries.  Interethnic communication Ethnic groups usually form their own communities in a country or culture. Interethnic communication refers to communication between people of the same race but different ethnic background. For example in China, if a Tibetan communicates with a Han, we have interethnic

communication, as they are from different ethnic groups.  Interracial communication Interracial communication occurs when the source and the receiver exchanging messages are from different races which pertains to physical characteristic. For instance, if an Afro-American interacts with a white American, it’s interracial communication. Interracial communication may or may not be intercultural.  Interregional communication 4 This term refers to the exchange of messages between members of the dominant culture within a country. If a northerner interacts with a southerner, we have what is called interregional communication. These are members of a culture who shared common messages and experiences over a long period of time; but who live in different regions of the same country. Intercultural communication as a phenomenon has the following features: 5 First of all, it is a universal phenomenon. Intercultural communication as a phenomenon is universal. It occurs everywhere

in the world When you talk with an American teacher, or send email to a foreigner, or even when you watch a foreign film or read an English novel, you are engaged in intercultural communication. As a result of this communication, whether it be face-to-face, communicating over the Internet, watching a movie, or reading a book; if you are receiving messages from another culture, then you are involved in intercultural communications. Secondly, the communication between cultures has been going on for thousands of years. The history of intercultural communication is almost as long as human history itself. It dates back to when primitive nomadic tribes started mingling with each other and needed to communicate with each other. It become necessary even more so when sailors visited alien lands; and when thousands of “gold-diggers” from Asia and the different European countries immigrated to North America in search of wealth, there was intercultural communication. During the Tang Dynasty

in China, there was the example of the famous “Silk Road” in which people of Asia, Africa and Europe interacted and communicated with each other in order to conduct their business transactions. 6 Thirdly, intercultural communication is a common daily occurrence. The communication between cultures today is happening continuously, with it taking place almost everyday. Today, you find thousands of Chinese students going abroad to study, there are millions of foreign travelers coming to China to visit, foreign artists come to China to give performances in and today there are many joint venture enterprises doing business in many of our cities here in China. These are all examples showing how prevalent intercultural communication is today. Especially now during the twenty first century the importance of intercultural communication has greatly increased. Why has an increasing number of people now recognized the importance of intercultural communication? Let’s move on to the next

point for the answer. 7 Chapter 1 Introduction to Intercultural Communication 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 3 II. Why Is Intercultural Communication Increasingly Important? During the later part of the last century, satellite communications, computer networks and supersonic air buses have virtually turned our world into a global village. Even today, as you are resting in your bed at home, you can watch a football game being played in Italy or even a basketball game that is transmitted from America. At the Chinese market, you can buy various kinds of goods and products that are made in many different parts of the world. 8 From an intercultural perspective, there are four developments that were crucial to the rapid increase of intercultural communication: 1. Improvements in transportation technology The improvements in transportation technology

have helped to shrink the earth to a figurative global village by creating the means for people to travel almost anywhere in the world in less than a days time. For example, where it used to take months to travel from Shanghai to Los Angles by ship, it now takes only 12 hours by plane. In the future, travel will be even quicker. There is aircraft now in the design stage that will increase travel speeds even more so. There will be a time when air travel between China and the United States for instance may be completed in a couple of hours. Where the time in air travel will be shorter than the time traveling to the airport. So you can see, the improvements in transportation technology make it much easier for people from different cultural backgrounds to get together and communicate in our modern world. 2. Developments in communication technology 9 Developments in communication technology paralleled those in the travel technology and prompted even a quicker movement toward a global

village. It is now possible for people to have instantaneous vocal, graphic, textual and even video communication with most parts of the world. Unbelievably so, with a cell phone for instance, anyone can be in instant communication with anyone else, anywhere in the world while simultaneously traveling to any place in the world. In addition, the developments with the Internet and the World Wide Web have provided a means for people everywhere in the world to interact and communicate with one another; as well as to transmit, store, and retrieve information about near1y any topic imaginable. It is truly amazing 3. Changes in mass migration patterns Changes in mass migration patterns have also contributed to the development of the global village. Every year, millions of people now move across national boarders. The worlds population has continued to increase and shift. As a result of population growth and mass migration, contacts with cultures that previously appeared unfamiliar, alien, and

at times mysterious are becoming a normal part of our day-to-day routine. America is widely known as a land of immigrants, and every year thousands of new immigrants arrive in American to make a new life for themselves. American businesses have been making special efforts to adapt to this new cultural diversity. For instance, recently some American telephone companies have been advertising in the Chinese communities using the Chinese language, so that they could better communicate to their Chinese customers and remind them to call home during the Chinese New Year holiday. At the same time, there is also an increasing number of foreigners immigrate to China and would like to become Chinese .citizens 4. Globalization of the world economy 10 International business would not be possible without international communication; and as a result of the activity of conducting business internationally, international businesses have become an Chapter 1 Introduction to Intercultural

Communication 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 important economic force for many countries. 4 In developed countries of this world, international business is the process of conducting business transactions across national boundaries and transnational corporations (TNCs) are the principal participants in this activity. The following data will help to show why TNCs are among the world’s largest economic institutions. In 1970, there were some 7,000 parent TNCs. In the year 2000, that number jumped to 45,000 parent TNCs, with over 250,000 subsidiaries. They controlled from 40% to 50% of the entire world’s productive assets and 90% of foreign direct investment (FDI). A rough estimate suggests that the 300 largest TNCs own or control at least one-quarter of the entire world’s productive assets, worth about US$5 trillion. TNCs’ total

annual sales are comparable to or greater than the yearly gross domestic product of most countries. Transnational companies are also classified as multinational companies. Multinational firms do not ordinarily think of themselves as having specific domestic and international divisions or subsidiaries; its strategic planning, marketing and decision making are concentrated towards international markets; and having a centralized headquarters in one particular country is almost irrelevant. As a multinational firm, TNCs employ people of different ethnic groups and cultures. Actually many TNCs make a point of employing people of different countries. Ted Zhi, the China Manager of Akzo Nobel once described the composition of his company in this way: The division manager is from Sweden, the R & D head from Denmark, the Export Manager is from Holland, and the China Area Manager and I are from China. Chinas sheer size, coupled with its rapid growth, makes it a major player in the global

economy now. In nominal terms, China currently accounts for almost 4 percent of world output Chinas share of the world trade has grown more rapidly as well. In 1990, its share of world exports was 19 percent; that grew to 4 percent in 2000 and 6 percent by 2003. Chinas share of world imports grew from 15 percent in 1990, to 3.6 percent in 2000 and 57 percent by 2003 China’s total exports and imports in 2001 amounts to US$ 509.8 billion, which is 46 times as much as that in 1989, with an average annual increase of 13.6% In 2001, China’s 6th ranking in world exports had advanced up from being ranked 15th in 1989. Since our change in the national policy that now allows foreign-funded enterprises to do 11 business in China through joint ventures, China has approved the establishment of 420,753 foreign-funded enterprises with a contracted foreign investment of 822.24 billion US dollars and actually used foreign investment of 44.32 billion US dollars by 2003 They employed over 235

million Chinese people, which accounted to 10 percent of non-agricultural laboring population. Of the top 500 world enterprises, almost 450 have come to China for investment. Over 30 of them have established their headquarters in China. This not only shows that China has become a very attractive area for the direct foreign investment in Asia, especially after the Asian financial crisis, but also shows that those strategical-minded foreign investors have become more confident than before about the continuing growth in China’s economy. Therefore, even managers and employees who stay in their native country will find it hard to escape or even ignore the changes that are coming from today’s global economy. Many of these individuals will be thrust into intercultural relationships when they find themselves working for foreign-owned companies or in their dealings with foreign suppliers, customers, and co-workers. With or without our approval, these people that we will now have to interact

with will often appear alien, some may seem exotic, and perhaps even wonderous. In any case, the globalization of the world’s economy will challenge virtually all businesspersons to become more internationally aware and interculturally adept. All of these instances of major changes in China’s society reinforces the fact that intercultural Chapter 1 Introduction to Intercultural Communication 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 5 communications is becoming a daily occurrence and is greatly becoming increasingly important. They have produced major transformations in both worldwide and local patterns of communication and interaction and as a consequence, mankind is going to have to adjust. III. How Is the Study of Intercultural Communication Developed? Although the phenomenon of intercultural communication is as old as human society, the

study of intercultural communication is of recent origin. 1. A review of the development of intercultural communication study Intercultural communication, as was mentioned earlier, is a discipline with a fairly short history. It was first started in the United States. Edward T Hall conceptualized this new field of ICC in the12 early 1950s when he worked for the U.S Foreign Service Institute (FSI) He popularized this new area of communication in his foundational book, The Silent Language, in 1959, which is considered the founder of intercultural communication study. Because it was he who first published this important book, which has since become a classic in this field. As stated in the Handbook of International and Intercultural Communication, 2nd edition: “After World War II, the United States established a foreign aid program, the Marshall Plan, to help rebuild Europe. Based on the success of this program, US President Harry S Truman proposed in 1949 the United States should offer

its technical and scientific expertise to the then developing nations in Latin America, Africa, and Asia to assist their development process. The FSI was established by the U.S Congress in the US Department of State to train American development technicians and diplomats. Hall was the key intellectual in the FSI training program from 1950 to 1955.” (Gudykunst and Mody, 2002, p2) It’s easy to understand why the field of ICC has continued to prosper in the United States considering the following reasons:  The country is a land of immigrants from many diverse cultures;  There are thousands of new immigrants entering the country every year;  The U.S has large numbers of foreign students and tourists; and  The American involvement in the global economy As was mentioned previously, America is considered a land of immigrants. There are many opportunities for people from different cultural backgrounds to communicate with each other and as a result, Americans whose

ancestors have come from Africa, Europe, Asia and Australia etc. are constantly interacting and experiencing intercultural communication episodes. With new immigrants, foreign students and tourist arriving in American by the thousands every year, large cities like New York, Chicago or Los Angeles are places where you will see many people of different races, ethnic groups and geographical regions. At any typical American college campus, you will also find students from many different parts of the world; and this exposure to multicultural experiences both in and outside of the classroom prepares these students for the future of tomorrow. Besides, more than the majority of America’s Fortune 500 Corporations are multinational and transnational companies with large numbers of employees and offices in many different countries in the world. So that education and training in intercultural communication styles becomes a necessity, and is very important to being successful in the global

economy. At the very beginning, even before the establishment of the FSI by the U.S Department of State, the very roots of ICC developed initially through study of communication by such intellectuals as Chapter 1 Introduction to Intercultural Communication 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 6 Charles Darwin, Karl Marx, and Sigmund Freud. There had also been an anthropological tradition in the study of race and culture in U.S that 13 contributed to the further development of ICC. Anthropologists such as Franz Boas, a professor of anthropology at Columbia University and some of his students which included Edward Sapir, Ruth Benedict, and Margaret Mead, contributed to the later development of ICC through their studies and research of race and culture. For example, Ruth Benedict is the anthropologist who coined the term “culture shock,”

which is defined as the traumatic experience that someone may encounter when entering a different cultural environment. Benjamin Lee Whorf, a student and colleague of Sapir’s at Yale University, advanced linguistic relativity through the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, the notion that language influences perceptions and thus human behavior. (This will be discussed in detail in Chapter 5.) It is well documented that the favorite research topic for American ICC researchers was to investigate the assimjilation of immigrants to the United States. (Gudykunst and Mody, 2002, p3) So the major points in the development of ICC are:  Culture and communication were studied separately until recent years, and it was not until the early seventies that scholars started to relate culture to communication.  In 1970, intercultural communication was recognized by the Intercultural communication Association (ICA), and since that time, many changes in the discipline have taken place, such as ICC being

offered as a course of study at many American universities.  In the early 1970s, serious training in the field of intercultural communication was begun. The first training actually started with Peace Corps members, who were being prepared in ICC before being sent abroad in the 1960s and 1970s, to countries in the Asian and African continents. Most of these Peace Corp volunteers were recent graduates, fresh out of college. Being inspired by the early 1960 speeches of President John F. Kennedy, they volunteered to go overseas to work for the general betterment of mankind; but when they were thrust into these different cultures that were totally different from what they were accustomed to, many of them experienced what Ruth Benedict called “cultural shock.” Many of them could not adjust and had to be sent back home. The American government soon realized that sending them overseas without the proper training was a major disadvantage to successful of the Peace Corp . All

volunteers would have to be trained in cultural awareness before they were sent to their missions overseas.  Sietar (Society for intercultural education, training and research) was set up in 1975; and it is probably the largest international organization engaged in intercultural communication.  In 1977, an academic journal entitled International Journal of Intercultural Relations was first published.  The International Association of Communication has a membership of over five thousand members. As Hart (1996) summarized, this new field of study originated in the United States in the late 1950s when anthropologists made studies of the native Indians and the problems U.S diplomats at the Foreign Institute Service had with people from other cultures. The study of intercultural communication gained acceptance through training and testing practice in the 1960s and 1970s, formed its basic framework in the late 1970s and has made great achievements in theory and practice ever

since the 1980s both inside and outside the U.S Today intercultural communication not only has become one of the major academic disciplines in the United States but also is widely acknowledged and extensively researched in all parts of the world. 2. Intercultural communication studies in China 14 Chapter 1 Introduction to Intercultural Communication 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 7 The history of intercultural communication studies in China is much shorter and more recent than what had happen in the United States and Europe. It was first introduced into China during the early decade of the 1980s by some English teachers, who took an interest in ICC for the purpose of changing traditional teaching methodology into communicative approach in EFL in China. ICC well illustrates the interrelations among language, communication and culture

and thus can serve as a theoretical guidance for the research and teaching practice under the communicative approach. The short history of ICC in China can be divided into three distinct periods according to Professor Hu Wenzhong, a leading scholar of ICC in China:  The years of 1979 to 1987 marks the first period. During this time there was a heavy emphasis on foreign language teaching.  The second period of 1988 to 1994, while foreign language teaching still growing and being emphasized in the field, a new discipline called Intercultural Communication or ICC per se was beginning to be introduced as an area of interest among Chinese researchers.  In 1995, the third period began when the 5th International Conference on Cross-cultural Communication: East and West” was held in China; and it was during this conference that the China Association for Intercultural Communication was established. 15 This Association holds an international symposium on intercultural

communication biannually. Thus far five symposia have been held successfully, the first was held in Ha Er Bin, the second was in Beijing, the third was in Shenzhen, the fourth was in Xi An and the fifth was held in Xiangtan. Scholars who participated and are involved in these biannual symposiums are mainly teachers of foreign languages, teachers of Chinese as a foreign language, linguists, as well as psychologists. As was stated above, it was the English teachers in China who first took an interest in the study of ICC when they began to investigate the relationships between language and culture. Professor Xu Guozhang was one of those investigators who first wrote articles on the cultural loading of words or the meaning of words. After those first several articles, it was not long before hundreds of articles were written and then those articles were followed by books. Their study grew from academic interest to theoretical research and practical implementation. The conceptual areas

covered in those researches were mainly concerned with: 16 1) Verbal communication (the relationship between language and culture: vocabulary, syntax, pragmatic rules, discourse pattern and translation); 2) Non-verbal communication; 3) Comparative study of customs and behavior patterns in China and other countries; 4) Cultural differences in business management; and Traditional Chinese value orientations and their impact on modernization, etc. With the rapid development of economic globalization, intercultural communicative competence has proved to be more and more important. Therefore, the Requirements for College English Teaching in China newly issued by the Ministry of Education of China has listed intercultural communication as an important content in the syllabus. Up to now, many universities have developed courses in intercultural communication for both graduates and undergraduates. What’s more, intercultural studies have been applied to other fields as well. For example,

intercultural training and consultation is gaining popularity in some more developed cities in China now. 3. The multidisciplinary nature and elements of intercultural communication study 17 During the course of conducting ICC studies, it was found that by putting certain ideas about communication, culture, society, education and human psychology together, a new and different way of Chapter 1 Introduction to Intercultural Communication 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 8 observing and learning about intercultural communication had emerged. James Alutis summarized the multidisciplinary nature of ICC as “LAPSE”:  L--Linguistics and language  A--Anthropology  P--Psycholinguistics and Psychology  S--Sociolinguistics and Sociology  E--Education and English In addition to the above named disciplines, ICC is also

related to several other disciplines, such as  C--Communication studies  C--Cultural studies, etc. This multi-disciplinary approach to the study of ICC has widened and deepened the research area in this field. Listed below are what is considered the top ten works and top ten writers in the area of ICC The reader should notice what an important role the disciplines of psychology and anthropology play in the study of ICC. Top works and scholars in ICC The following works are regarded as the top ten works on ICC:  Landis & Brislin (eds.): Handbook of Intercultural Communication Training, 1983  Samover & Porter (eds.): Intercultural Communication: A Reader, (1972)  Hofstede: Culture’s Consequences, 1980.  Brislin: Cross-cultural Encounters, 1981.  Brislin: Cross-cultural Orientation Programs, 1976.  Hall: Beyond Culture, 1976.  Brislin, Bochner & Lonner: Cross-cultural Perspectives on Learning, 1975.  Triandis (ed.): Handbook

of Cross-cultural Psychology, 1979  Furnhan: Cultural Shock, 1986.  Furnhan: Culture in Contact, 1982. (Hu Wenzhong, 1999, p23) Gudykunst, Triandis, Bristin, Ruben, Hall, Hofstede, Kim, Hanner, Furnham, and Landis are viewed as the top ten scholars in ICC. Out of these ten scholars, four are professors of communication, five are in field of psychology and one is an anthropologist. As you may have gathered from the diversity of areas that contribute to the field, intercultural communication is an extremely complicated field of investigation, and it can be conceptually quite arduous at times. This relatively young discipline that draws its variables of study from such a wide diversity of separate disciplines, as was shown above, is becoming even more important as we try to investigate, understand and explain the cultural differences in the behaviors of people. As we move further into the twenty first century and become even more globalized, the importance of intercultural

communication as a major field of study will definitely be recognized and studied by more and more professionals. Elements of ICC Study ICC is both difference-based and culture-based. Aspects of a culture are acted out whenever members of different cultures come together to share ideas and exchange information. As a discipline, intercultural communication studies problems that arise in the course of communicating across cultures. Communication barriers are obstacles to effective communication. By understanding intercultural communication barriers, we can break them down and pave the way for mutual understanding and respect. Chapter 1 Introduction to Intercultural Communication 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 9 Condon (1974) highlighted three areas as most problematic in intercultural exchange: language 18 barriers, different values and

different cultural patterns of behavior. More specifically, Bell (1992 ) identified the following barriers to communication :  Physicaltime, environment, comfort and needs, and physical medium;  Culturalethnic, religious, and social differences;  Perceptualviewing what is said from your own mindset;  Motivationalthe listener’s mental inertia;  Experientiallack of similar life happenings;  Emotionalpersonal feelings of the listener;  Linguisticdifferent languages spoken by the speaker and listener or use of a vocabulary beyond the comprehension of the listener;  Nonverbalnonword messages; and  Competitionthe listener’s ability to do other things rather than hear the communication Because documenting all of these variables would be an impossible task, the author has selected only those cultural elements that she believes have the greatest impact on intercultural business communication. These elements work in combination with each other,

although these elements are treated individually in different chapters; the author believes that the context of the communication event is strongly influenced by culture or cultures that are present during the communication process. With this in mind, the author plans to focus mainly on the business context surrounding the communication process itself. IV. How is ICC study applied to ICBC? ICC is an important discipline and can be applied in many ways to the area of Intercultural Business Communication (ICBC), such as: 19  Training of new immigrants and foreign students. (This is done mainly in America and Australia)  Multilingual education (This is done especially in American and British schools.)  Foreign language teaching. (As is the case of TESL – teaching English as a second language)  ICBC is useful for increasing general cultural awareness. ICC in now a required or elective course for undergraduate and/or postgraduate students of communication, economics,

business, linguistics, foreign languages, education, sociology and the humanities in many universities and schools all over the world.  Training of business executives and technicians. An important application of ICC can be found in the training of business executives and technicians, particularly for those who are going to be working overseas. These executives may encounter many different cultural problems when they travel overseas; and they need to trained beforehand. Otherwise, these cultural problems may hinder the effectiveness of their performance. The literature on international business is filled with many examples of intercultural 20 miscommunication and blunders. What follows are just a few, to give you an idea of how complicated situations can become when there are misunderstandings. Examples of Intercultural Miscommunication:  Telex sent to a factory manager of a U.S subsidy in Lima, Peru: “Please send a headcount of the people in your factory and in your

office, broken down by sex. Information urgent.” The local manager, a Peruvian, replied: “Here’s your headcount: we have 30 in the factory, 15 in the Chapter 1 Introduction to Intercultural Communication 394 395 office, 5 in the hospital on sick leave, none broken down by sex. 396 397 398 399 400 401  402 10 If you must know, our problem here is with alcohol.” A U.S supermarket, trying to impress Japanese visitors, served sushi and tea to its guests Unfortunately, the fish was served cooked and the tea was Chinese. (Here the American was not aware that in Japan sushi is fish served raw and serving Japanese tea is somewhat different from serving Chinese tea.)  A U.S executive innocently refused a Saudi Arabian’s friendly offer to join him for a cup of coffee. Such rejection is considered an affront in Saudi Arabia International Business Blunders: 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 417 418 419 420 421 422 423 424 425 426 427 428 

A Chinese electronic engineer of Sony Corporation Ltd. told his own experience One day, he 429 430 431 432 433 434 435 436 437 As Chinese students, you can understand the Chinese engineer rather easily. You might also have saw a broken PCBA, which was a circuit board for the multimedia computer. He picked it up and found there were many expensive components on it. As an engineer, he though it was his duty to repair it. Otherwise, it would be discarded as useless It took him two hours before he finally fixed it, and it worked perfectly when tested. As he felt so proud of what he had done, he signed his name on the card that was tied to the PCBA. About an hour later, the PCBA was rejected by the QC Department, and he was called to the General manager’s office. “Why did you repair that damaged PCBA and put it on the line?” the Japanese manager asked him suspiciously. “It’s not a defected piece any more. I’m sure it works well” He answered with a confident gesture. “In

order to save money for the company, I have done a hard but excellent job It is good for the company. Why do you call me here and ask me in such a serious way?” He looked directly into the manager’s eyes. Instead of answering his question, the manager asked him a direct question. “Do you want to buy a multimedia computer with this seriously broken but well repaired PCBA inside?” Suddenly, the Chinese engineer came to realize somethingif he were a consumer, he definitely would not buy a computer like this. He suddenly understood there was a cultural difference between them. So he said in an apologetical way, “Yes, well, manager Saving the thing when it still has some value is our Chinese way. But from this case I understand what quality means to us now. It’s true that if I were the consumer, I wouldn’t buy a computer in a good working condition but with a broken PCBA inside it. “ “It is a reasonable explanation, and that’s a cultural difference.” The manager said

with a satisfied expression on his face. “You know, Mr Cue You tried to save 1,000 US dollars for Sony, but the goodwill of Sony is priceless. If the repaired broken PCBA passed our checks and went to the consumers, it would be a disaster for Sony’s goodwill. And that’s why we must throw away those seriously defected PCBAs”. been told by your parents or teachers that it would be a good habit to save everything and make use of it as much as possible. Do you remember the Chinese saying “use something for three years when it looks new. When it looks old, it should be used for another three years When it is broken or worn, have it repaired or mended, and then use it for another three years.” ( 新三年，旧三年，缝缝补补又三年) To you, this idea might be already out of date; but to the engineer, who is a member of an older generation, it is what he was taught when he was young. These are just a few examples to show the results of miscalculatingor simply

ignoring--the cultural dimension of international business. Hence, more and more people have come to realize the Chapter 1 Introduction to Intercultural Communication 438 439 440 441 442 443 444 445 446 447 448 449 450 451 452 453 454 455 456 457 458 459 460 461 462 463 464 465 466 467 468 469 470 471 472 473 474 475 476 477 478 479 480 481 11 cultural impact and possible negative consequences that comes from inappropriate communications during international business transactions, and over the past few decades, it has become an important subject of study. 1. The research of ICBC Despite the increasing interest in the subject noted above, until recently a relative paucity of work has existed on intercultural business communication. This should not, however, seem surprising considering that general communication as a discipline has only recently gained recognition in business studies. It is a relatively new field 21 Historically, much of the research examining international

issues falls into two categories: international business and intercultural communication. Most of the important work on intercultural communication research at least somewhat relevant to business, surfaces in a wide range of other disciplines ranging from comparative management, organizational behavior, and psychology to anthropology and foreign language studies. However, relying on research from related disciplines can create risks. For example, imported research may provide answers to questions that do not go to the heart of intercultural business communication and impose its own conceptual model of intercultural communication or international business that may hinder the development of more appropriate concepts of intercultural business communication. While the international/intercultural business literature does not focus on communication, the intercultural communication literature traditionally does not examine the communication in a business context but a more general cultural

context. For example, Holtgraves (1997) examines how culture influences whether a person uses direct or indirect communication. He finds that Koreans are more likely to be indirect than are U.S citizens in intercultural communication Gudykunst, Matsumoto, and Ting-Toomey (1996) found that individual factors are better predictors of high and low-context communication styles than are cultural values of individualism and collectivism. A number of studies focus on acculturation of immigrant groups (Laroche, Kim, & Hui, 1997), while others compare intercultural communication behavior based on cultural variations in role and social rules (Hammer, Nishida, & Wiseman, 1996; Nishida, Hammer, & Wiseman, 1998). Another focal point of intercultural communication research is individualism vs. collectivism and the impact of the relationship on the functioning of society (Gudykunst & Hammer, 1988; Gudykunst, Matsumoto, & Ting-Toomey, 1996; Lieberman, 1990; Triandis, Bontempo,

Villareal, Asai, & Lucca, 1988; Triandis, McCusker, & Hui, 1990; among many others). Triandis (1989), for example, examines ingroups and outgroups in individualistic and collectivist societies. He analyzes the causes of collectivism and individualism and the implications for social interaction. Many of the findings of this body of knowledge can be applied to business situations. Insights 22 into social behavior, attitudes towards morality, self-perception, and the role of hierarchy are not just beneficial for getting to know other cultures but help in shaping business interactions. For example, the construct ingroup vs. outgroup will help us understand how competing groups in a business environment will communicate with each other. However, the focus of Triandis’ work is on the theoretical foundation of intercultural communication rather than intercultural business communication. He does not tie the intercultural communication directly to business organizations or business

activities. Over the last 15 years business communication specialists have increasingly concentrated on 23 intercultural business communication. The number of internationally oriented articles in The Journal of Business Communication, Business Communication Quarterly, the Journal of Business and Technical Chapter 1 Introduction to Intercultural Communication 482 483 484 485 486 487 488 489 490 491 492 493 494 495 496 497 498 499 500 501 502 503 504 505 506 507 508 509 510 511 512 513 514 515 516 517 518 519 520 521 522 523 524 525 12 Communication, and the Management Communication Quarterly has increased dramatically. The Journal of Business Communication dedicated two special issues to intercultural business communication: July 1992 and July 1997. The Journal of Business and Technical Communication devoted the July issue of 1997 to international/intercultural communication. The international articles can be grouped into five categories: the theory of intercultural business

communication, practices in other countries, comparative studies, studies of specific communication genres, and intercultural business communication studies. Some articles can be placed into more than one group An examination of the literature shows that the focus of intercultural business communication in 24 business communication journals tends to be on intercultural communication, country-specific business communication studies, and comparative studies. Only recently have researchers focused on the influence of all three variables---communication, culture and business, and the implications for intercultural business communication. While the research in each area contributes to the understanding of the whole, the implications for intercultural business communication are often only implied. For example, in his article entitled “The Theoretical Foundation for Intercultural Business Communication: A Conceptual Model”, Iris I. Varner develops a theoretical framework for intercultural

business communication which sets it apart from intercultural communication and international business. In the past, discussions on the theory of intercultural business communication have mostly focused on intercultural communication using business as examples rather than including business as a distinct variable. The model presented in his article discusses the intercultural, business, and communication strategies that are part of intercultural business communication. It is argued that for intercultural business communication to take place, it is not sufficient for all three variables to be present. The three variables interact and create a synergy that reflects the dynamic character of intercultural business communication. In this process, intercultural business communication becomes a unique construct that is different from intercultural medical or intercultural religious communication. The article examines how past articles in the field fit into this model. More recently, more

topics have been explored in the field of ICBC by an increasing number of scholars and researchers. 2. The Importance of Learning ICBC INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS are essential for businesspersons in todays market. As was discussed earlier, the increase in globalization in the last few decades has changed the way people view the world and conduct business in that world. Economic globalization generally results in individuals from one culture working not only with, but also for individuals from another culture. Business schools have a responsibility to prepare their students to be effective intercultural communicators. Many business schools in US have begun to incorporate intercultural communication into their curricula through individual chapters, research projects, semester-long courses, study abroad programs, and other methods. However, it seems that the students in China sometimes are more interested in learning about business and professional knowledge than they are in

learning about the process of intercultural business communication. Effective international business communication skills are the backbone that supports the many transactions of businesses throughout the world. The ability to communicate effectively gives both businesspersons and their organizations tangible benefits, such as:  Quick problem solving  Stronger decision-making  Increased productivity  Steadier work flow Chapter 1 Introduction to Intercultural Communication 526 527 528 529 530 531 532 533 534 535 536 537 538 539 540 541 542 543 544 545 546 547 548 549 550 551 552 553 554 555 556 557 558 559 560 561 562 563 564 565 566 567 568 569  Strong business relationships  Clearer promotional materials  Enhanced professional image 13 The goal in learning should therefore be to increase the student’s communicative competency25 skills, which would include not only linguistic competencies but also sociolinguistic competencies. The students

should also be taught to become culturally aware in the learning process and to not only know, but also understand how and why it is important to develop the communicative skills that will help them to interact with people from other cultures. This is especially important to students who are majoring in international business or foreign language studies, where there is an urgent need for highly developed interpersonal communication skills and intercultural business communication competence. For example, in order to understand the significance of a message from someone, you need to understand the way that person looks at the world, and the values that weigh heavily in that person’s cultural background. You need to understand the meanings that are not put into words, the importance of the words that are used, and the way the message is organized and transmitted. You also need to know what to expect when that other person engages in a particular communicational behavior such as making a

decision, negotiating a sales agreement, or writing a legal document such as a contract. It is also important to be knowledgeable about the organization that a particular person works for, and how its structure and its organizational culture affects its communications. In summary, we are living in an age of globalization when we increasingly interact with people from different cultures. And whether we like it or not, those interactions will continue to grow in both frequency and intensity. The time to prepare to work in it is now Accordingly, this book is provided to help students take a step in that direction. 3. The complexity in learning intercultural business communication 26 Improving intercultural communication is not only expedient, but also possible, because our brain is an open system (we can learn), we have choices (we can communicate one way or another) and our actions produce a response (we do something to other people). Yet it is not easy for us to learn from each other

or to learn new information about other people and other cultures. As noted above, several Western scholars have been investigating and trying to explain the main barriers to intercultural communication. Barna suggests that there are six main “stumbling blocks” which often cause difficulties in intercultural communication: 1) People tend to assume that there are more cultural similarities between themselves and people of other cultures than there actually are, and this can lead to misunderstanding. 2) Language differences, obviously, are often a source of misunderstanding. 3) People of different cultures often misinterpret each other’s non-verbal communication. 4) People often have stereotypes and preconceptions about “foreigners” that lead to misunderstanding. 5) People often evaluate what “foreigners” do and say before really understanding what they mean. 6) When people interact with foreigners, they often have feelings of anxiety or stress, and this can lead

them to jump to inaccurate conclusions. (One source of this stress is sometimes “cultural shock.”) Lustig and Koester (2000) summarize the barriers to intercultural understanding in a somewhat different way. They suggest that the following three features of the way human beings think create Chapter 1 Introduction to Intercultural Communication 570 571 572 573 574 575 576 577 578 579 580 581 582 583 584 585 586 587 588 589 590 591 592 593 594 595 596 597 598 599 600 601 602 603 604 605 606 607 608 609 610 611 612 613 14 obstacles to intercultural communication and understanding: 1) People tend to reduce the complexity of the world into a smaller number of groupings and patterns; in other words, they tend to generalize and over-simplify. 2) People tend to identify and define groups by a few key characteristics. 3) People tend to assume that all people pf all cultures see the world similarly. Specifically, it’s generally agreed that the potential problems in

intercultural communication are mainly as the following: Avoidance of the unfamiliar As the proverb goes “Birds of a feather flock together”, most people seek to be near others with whom they share common outlooks, habits, and traits. Culture often separates you from people with a history different from your own and many people often feel uncomfortable when confronted with strangers. This tendency is the very reason the bias of similarity can be a potential communication problem. Uncertainty reduction People have a desire to reduce the uncertainty build into every new meeting with strangers from diverse cultures. Fear, dislike and distrust are emotions that all too often erupt What’s more problematic to intercultural communication is that if the amount of uncertainty present in initial interactions is not reduce, further communication between the people will, in all likelihood, not take place. Withdrawal If you can not find similarities and / or fail to reduce uncertainty in a

satisfactory manner, you are apt to withdraw from the communication event. Withdrawal, at an interpersonal, intercultural and international level, has often been the rule rather than the exception. Stereotyping Stereotyping is a complex form of categorization that mentally organizes your experiences and guides your behavior toward a particular group of people. Stereotypes hamper intercultural communication, because (1) they are rooted in your compulsion to make in-group and out-group distinctions, (2) they are oversimplified, overgeneralized, and / or exaggerated, (3) they repeat and reinforce beliefs until they often become taken for “truth”, and therefore keep you from making fair and honest judgments about other people. Prejudice Macionis (1998) offers a detailed definition of prejudice while explaining its damaging effect on intercultural communication: “Prejudice amounts to a rigid and irrational generalization about a category of people. Prejudice is irrational to the

extent that people hold inflexible attitudes supported by little or no direct evidence. Prejudice may target people of a particular social class, sex, sexual orientation, age, political affiliation, race or ethnicity.” (p 217) Racism Racism refers to the belief that one racial category is innately superior to another. Built into this idea of superiority is the belief that a group of people can be mistreated on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or ancestry. Racism is a major hindrance to successful intercultural communication. Misuse of power Power is the ability to control what happens, to cause things you want to happen and to block things you don’t want to happen. What makes power an important dimension in intercultural Chapter 1 Introduction to Intercultural Communication 614 615 616 617 618 619 620 621 622 623 624 625 626 627 628 629 630 631 632 633 634 635 636 637 638 639 640 641 642 643 644 645 646 647 648 649 650 651 652 653 654 655 656 657 15

communication, and a potential problem, is that power usually means controlling not only your own life but also the lives of others. In interpersonal communication the amount of power you have, or do not have, influences who you talk to, what you talk about, and how much control you have when you talk. There are vast cultural differences in both the perception and use of power. Misuse of power is a big headache to successful intercultural communication. Culture shock The anthropologist Oberg first introduced the term culture shock with the following definition: Culture shock is precipitated by the anxiety that results from losing all our familiar signs and symbols of social intercourse. Although the reactions associated with culture shock vary from individual to individual, most of the literature in the area of culture shock suggests that people normally go through four stages (the U-Curve): honeymoon phase, culture shock phase, recovery phase and adjustment phase. In a positive sense,

experiencing culture shock has a strong potential to make people be multicultural or bicultural. Ethnocentrism Ethnocentrism is the belief that your own cultural background, including ways if analyzing problems, values, beliefs, language, and verbal and nonverbal communication, is correct. Ethnocentrists believe their culture is the central culture and other cultures are incorrect, defective, or quaint. The negative impact of ethnocentrism on intercultural communication is obvious: it shape social sense of identity which is narrow and defensive; it normally involves the perception of members of other cultures in terms of stereotypes; ethnocentric judgments usually involve invidious comparisons that ennoble one’s culture while degrading those of others. The above are the major potential problems facing you as you are engaged in intercultural 28 communication. In the following chapters, we will see their negative effects in various areas of ICBC and discuss in more detail the reasons

for these problems and explore ways to solve them. The book is divided into two parts with six chapters each. The first part is based on the basic theory and the framework of intercultural communication, exploring the relationships among culture, values and communication and their influence on ICBC. Chapter One serves as an introduction to ICC and ICBC, pointing out the importance and the complexity in learning ICBC. Chapter Two discusses the basic communication theory and its application in ICBC. Chapter Three turns from communication to culture, including its functions, definitions, ingredients and characteristics, etc. Chapter Four focuses on cultural values which have the most influential effect on ICBC. The next two chapters cover separately verbal and nonverbal communication, the two communicative channels through which various cultural differences are manifested. The second part consists of the next six chapters, attempting to apply the above communication theory into the

analysis of some importance aspects of international business practice. Namely, Chapter Seven is about intercultural business writing, Chapter Eight intercultural business etiquette and protocol, Chapter Nine cultural considerations in international business negotiation, Chapter Ten cultural considerations in international marketing and advertising, Chapter Eleven legal and ethical consideration in ICBC and Chapter Twelve the consideration of organizational culture in ICBC. Each chapter begins with learning objectives and ends with key terms to help readers grasp the main points of the chapter. After each chapter, various forms of exercises and cases studies are provided for readers to review and work on. Hopefully, this book will help readers in increasing cultural awareness and competence of ICBC. Chapter 1 Introduction to ICC 16 Key Terms: Intercultural communication Avoidance of the unfamiliar Intercultural business communication Uncertainty reduction International

communication Withdrawal Interethnic communication Stereotyping Interracial communication Prejudice Interregional communication Culture shock Globalization Racism Communication barriers Ethnocentrism Exercises I. Discussion Questions: 1. What is intercultural communication (ICC)? Give examples to illustrate its different types. 2. What does it mean by the term intercultural business communication (ICBC)? Why is intercultural communication increasingly important in international business? 3. How was the study of intercultural communication developed both in America and in China? 4. What are the potential problems of intercultural communication? Have you ever experienced any intercultural communication barriers? If any, how did you deal with them? II. True or False: Write T if the statement is true; write F if it is false. 1. The terms intercultural and international can be used interchangeably. 2. International communication takes place between such groups as

African Americans and Latin Americans. 3. Communication barriers are caused by the same communication having different meanings in different cultures. 4. Globalization of the world economy is crucial to the rapid increase of intercultural communication. 5. Technology has made international business travel obsolete. 6. The recent increase in migration of people around the world has led to discussions about multiculturalism in many countries. 7. In the study of intercultural communication, the influence of immigration histories in U.S has little significance for current intercultural communication interactions. 8. As they become globalized, companies will have to train their work forces to deal with multiculturalism. 9. Intercultural communication as a discipline was not established in U.S until the 1980s 10. Intercultural communication has an important application in the training of international business persons. III. Multiple Choices 1. From what areas of the world do

most of todays immigrants to the United States Chapter 1 Introduction to ICC 17 come? A. Asia and Latin America B. Mexico and Eastern Europe C. Haiti and China D. Eastern Europe and the Middle East 2. Which of the following has occurred due to advances in technology? A. People are beginning to spend more time with family members. B. The number of relationships we have with people have decreased. C. People have more frequent contact with people from other cultures. D. People are gaining a clearer sense of who they really are. 3. To effectively compete with other nations, Chinese companies have to A. impose their own business conventions on other countries. B. emphasize quick returns and short-term goals. C. understand how business is conducted in other countries. D. encourage their overseas representatives to complete business deals very quickly. 4. Communication technology is an important issue in intercultural communication because A. it enables us to

come into contact with people who are very different from ourselves in ways we do not always understand. B. we are not always able to meet or see people with whom we communicate. C. it is not possible to develop cultural understandings with people over E-mail or other such high-tech communication devices. D. cultural differences disappear when we are able to communicate with people all over the world. 5. As a result of globalization, new issues facing corporations include A. cultural differences in work ethics B. stereotyping by members of international teams C. personnel who are overqualified for overseas positions D. a&b 6. The classic The Silent Language published in 1959, was written by A. Kluckhohn B. Benedict C. Mead D. Edward Hall 7. Which of the following is true about the development of the intercultural communication area of study? A. It originated with scholars looking for practical answers to help overseas workers. B. This area of study

is almost the same as the research done in the field of sociology. C. It began as a result of peoples displeasure over the foreign relations concerning the Vietnam conflict. D. The primary goal of scholars was to develop theories that described intercultural communication processes. 8. Joint ventures, transnational corporations, multinational mergers, and acquisitions are products of Chapter 1 Introduction to ICC 18 A. globalization B. domestic interaction C. international interaction D. the environment 9. It is important to study intercultural communication because A. it is a necessary and worthwhile pursuit. B. most people are more alike than they realize. C. cultural differences bring people together D. intercultural communication is subjective. 10. The China Association for Intercultural Communication is held A. once a year B. every two years C. every three years D. every four years Case Study Case 1: Monsieur Mickey Bringing the wonders of Disneyland to

a foreign country must have seemed like old hat for Disney. After all, only a few years earlier the company had successfully opened a Disney theme park in Japan, bridging the enormous differences between Japanese and American cultures. EuroDisney, at least initially, proved to be another story entirely. The company, it seems, failed to do its cultural homework on everything from French business negotiating styles to employee flexibility and dress habits to consumer spending patterns and eating preferences. The company had a system that worked in the United States and Japantwo very diverse culturesand evidently saw no good reason to change it to adapt to European sensibilities. Day one began with a nightmare. The French people, who tend to wear their cultural hearts on their sleeves, howled about Yankee cultural imperialism when Disney managed to buy 1,950 hectares (4,400 acres) of prime farmland for a fraction of the market price after the government used its right of eminent domain to

find Mickey and friends a home. The farmers whose families had worked the land for centuries were bounced. French newspapers railed at the American invaders in a very public display of anger and insult. Before a single building foundation had been dug or a brick laid, the company had managed to alienate the community, partly because it had underestimated the attachment to the land of one segment of French society. SENSE AND SENSIBILITY Next, Disney offended French sensibilities and created a wellspring of ill will when it used lawyers rather than its executives to negotiate construction and other contracts for EuroDisney. It was simply not a French thing to do. In France, lawyers are considered a negotiating tool of absolute last resort. The use of lawyers early on in the process was a sign of mistrust and backhand rejection of French ways. Then, according to the French trade and popular press, the company insisted during the construction of Disney-run hotels that a sprinkler system be

included. While required under American law, such a system was unnecessary under French law which demands only adequate fire escapes and alarms and access to an emergency water supply. Disney’s insistence on the sprinkler system was perceived as a negative comment on French safety standards and an assertion that the “American way” was better. The battle ruffled the Chapter 1 Introduction to ICC 19 feathers of Disney’s French partners and management, generating even more ill will made public in a stream of negative press reports. In terms of operations, Disney’s ignorance of European culture and French working norms caused more problems. The company, which prides itself on the squeaky clean All-American look of its employees, instituted a strict dress code for its local employees, barring facial hair, dictating a maximum length for fingernails and limiting the size of hoped earrings. The staff and its unions rebelled at this perceived attack on everyday French fashion.

Morale plunged T H E D E V I L I S I N T H E D E TA I L S Disney got several other important details wrong. For example, the company believed that Europeans do not generally have sit-down breakfasts. Relative to the normal workday lifestyle of the European commuter, they were correct. But the exact opposite is true when Europeans vacation. As a result of this incorrect notion, hotel dining rooms at Disney hotels were kept small, creating logjams and angry customers when the overcrowded rooms that seat a maximum of 400 guests tried to serve upwards of 2,500 sit-down breakfasts every morning. Lunch times inside EuroDisney also bordered on disaster. While Americans visiting Disneyland prefer to graze, that is, eat at irregular intervals, as they wander the park confines, Europeans are used to set lunchtimes. As a result, the park’s restaurants became jammed at the lunch hour as everyone tried to eat at once and were empty the rest of the day. Customers complained of long lunch-time

lines and pressure to eat quickly. The staff complained of being overworked at lunchtime and under worked during the rest of their shifts. To top it off, Disney, in keeping with the “family friendly” theme, barred the serving of alcoholperhaps the ultimate insult in a country where the consumption of wine at mealtimes is a birthright. H O S P I TA L I T Y H E A D A C H E S The company committed other marketing foibles. While the park did hit its initial attendance target of more than 10 million visitors in the first year, its revenue projections were way off. The reason: unlike Americans or Japanese visiting Disney parks in their home countries, the European visitors to EuroDisney did not spend money on souvenirs. Europeans, it seems, are more used to taking month-long vacations and as a rule do not go on short spending sprees like the Americans and Japanese when they visit a theme park. Finally, Disney found that checkout at its official hotels had turned into a nightmare because

of different consumer patterns. Unlike the Americans or the Japanese, the European visitor to EuroDisney tends to stay only one night at a hotel, not the three or four nights common at other Disney parks. The result: the hotels had too few computers to handle the irate guests as they all tried to check out of the hotel at the hotel at the same time after a single night’s stay. “It was so unlike Disney to get so many details so wrong,” says one U.S-based securities analyst who follows the company. ”Maybe it’s not such a small world after all The company’s cultural insensitivities cost it a Jot of money and goodwill. I think it is a good reminder to any company or individual doing business in another countrythe devil is often in the cultural details. They can make or break you.” But for Disney at least, all’s wall that ends well After making some significant “cultural adjustments,” EuroDisney is no longer the economic drain it once was on company coffers. (Source:

Charles Mitchell, International Business Culture, Shanghai : Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 2000, pp.2-4) Questions for discussion: Chapter 1 Introduction to ICC 20 1. How could you explain the response of French people when Disney just set foot on the land of France? 2. What mistake did Disney make in the cultural adaptation process when it negotiated construction and other contracts for EuroDisney with their French counterparts? 3. What advice would you give to resolve the dispute over the sprinkle system? 4. What details should EuroDisney have noticed in its daily operation? 5. How do you understand the comment of the securities analyst “ the devil is often in the cultural details. They can make or break you”?