Evaluating Intercultural Behaviour

With globalisation, intercultural interaction becomes inevitable. Work made across the globe require people to learn and understand the culture of their clients and colleagues. In my opinion, making an attempt to understand and accept the difference in culture shows a speaker's sincerity and the respect they have for the other party.

I take an example of a German girl, Kathrin, interacting with a colleague, Zhang, from China.

Despite working in the same laboratory, Zhang and Kathrin hardly interacts. Kathrin enters her workplace daily and greets all her colleagues with a cheerful 'Good morning!". To her disappointment however, she gets only a mumble from Zhang, without eye contact.
After some time, she casts an opinion of Zhang being rude and unfriendly.

An experience in Germany has allowed me to learn that most Germans greet their fellow colleagues in the morning and eye contact between people during communication is important. In this case, perhaps Zhang is shy and dare not look at people in the eye when he speaks. This can be quite common for people who have little self confidence or are simply uncomfortable with eye contact. It could also be the case that this is how people interact in his hometown and he is used to it.

In this situation, as both parties do not require direct contact at work, the both of them left the situation the way it is. To Kathrin, she was only going to be working with him for 2 months and to him, she was just a temporary colleague. The relationship could possibly have been improved and the awkwardness reduced if both parties give and take and are open to each other about their opinions.

Hence, when dealing with intercultural communication, a basic knowledge of the other party is important and can be obtained from books or through speaking to people. Coming from ourselves, we should also speak up and inform other people when we find that they are behaving in a way that we and our culture is not comfortable with.

Ten Tips for Cross Cultural Communication

Here's a list of reminders for each of us when we communicate across cultures. This article is obtained from the Kwintessential Cross Cultural Solutions website, found on http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/cultural-services/articles/ten-tips-cross-cultural-communication.html

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Slow Down

Even when English is the common language in a cross cultural situation, this does not mean you should speak at normal speed. Slow down, speak clearly and ensure your pronunciation is intelligible.

Separate Questions

Try not to ask double questions such as, "Do you want to carry on or shall we stop here?" In a cross cultural situation only the first or second question may have been comprehended. Let your listener answer one question at a time.

Avoid Negative Questions

Many cross cultural communication misunderstandings have been caused by the use of negative questions and answers. In English we answer 'yes' if the answer is affirmative and 'no' if it is negative. In other cultures a 'yes' or 'no' may only be indicating whether the questioner is right or wrong. For example, the response to "Are you not coming?" may be 'yes', meaning 'Yes, I am not coming.'

Take Turns

Cross cultural communication is enhanced through taking turns to talk, making a point and then listening to the response.

Write it Down

If you are unsure whether something has been understood write it down and check. This can be useful when using large figures. For example, a billion in the USA is 1,000,000,000 while in the UK it is 1,000,000,000,000.

Be Supportive

Effective cross cultural communication is in essence about being comfortable. Giving encouragement to those with weak English gives them confidence, support and a trust in you.

Check Meanings

When communicating across cultures never assume the other party has understood. Be an active listener. Summarise what has been said in order to verify it. This is a very effective way of ensuring accurate cross cultural communication has taken place.

Avoid Slang

Even the most well educated foreigner will not have a complete knowledge of slang, idioms and sayings. The danger is that the words will be understood but the meaning missed.

Watch the humour

In many cultures business is taken very seriously. Professionalism and protocol are constantly observed. Many cultures will not appreciate the use of humour and jokes in the business context. When using humour think whether it will be understood in the other culture. For example, British sarcasm usually has a negative effect abroad.

Maintain Etiquette

Many cultures have certain etiquette when communicating. It is always a good idea to undertake some cross cultural awareness training or at least do some research on the target culture.

Cross cultural communication is about dealing with people from other cultures in a way that minimises misunderstandings and maximises your potential to create strong cross cultural relationships. The above tips should be seen as a starting point to greater cross cultural awareness.

Potential Research Project Topic - Interethnic Marriage

Browsing through the internet, I came upon an article ‘The future of Singapore is mixed’ (http://www.newsintercom.org/index.php?itemid=436). According to the article, ‘between 2002 and 2004, about 10% of marriages under the Women's Charter was inter-ethnic, that is where a person married someone from another race. During the same period, about 20% of marriages under the Muslim Law Act was inter-ethnic.’


(Photo: A wedding shoot for an inter-racial marriage.)

This is the issue that has caught my attention and interest. Growing up in a multi-racial country, many of us are aware of the presence of the different races. However, are we really able to come together and grow as one country? It seems almost probable that inter-ethnicity marriages will help glue Singaporeans together, into a country where we no longer have the category of different races. On the other hand, will it lead to the loss of multi-racial heritage that Singapore is known for?

With inter-ethnic marriages becoming more and more common in our country, what are the possible implications on the ethnic groups and culture? Is there really a trend for people to be married to another of a different race or ethnic group? What are the younger generation’s views on inter-ethnic marriage? Are our parents aware of our thoughts and opinions?

The objective of such a research is to provide the older generation with a better understanding of their children’s views on inter-ethnic marriages. In order to do so, a survey to find out the views of the younger generation will be conducted. The survey will be targeted at single adults between the ages of 22 and 30. Its purpose is to find out if single adults, with influence from globalization and the multi-ethnicity that Singaporeans are exposed do, are tending to search for a partner of a different ethnicity. If such a tendency is apparent, what are the reasons for it, and whether they are aware of the social implications.