ББК 8.1 F Англ. 923 ISBNS 93439-154-2

Particularities of Effective Business Communication

in the Context of Different Cultures

Elena Bocharova, Elena Gorodetskaya

Far Eastern Federal University, Vladivostok, Russian Federation

Business communication is treated as a cross-cultural communication between business partners of USA and Russia with a purpose of attaining the goals set or exchange of information. An emphasis is put on the peculiarities of American and Russian business cultures conditioned by the following criteria: people's attitude towards themselves and towards those who are surrounding them; towards the surrounding world; individual vs collective; time vector (past, present, future); social (public) private space and the attitude towards distance of power.

Key words: peculiarities, national differences, business communication, effectiveness, national business culture, criteria, cross-cultural communication, people's attitude, time, space, surrounding world, public vs social space, distance of power.

Introduction

Business communication is considered as a kind of communication among the partners (people) who belong to a social group much larger than a family, close relatives or friends for the purpose of attaining certain goals or exchange of information in order to solve business problems. As far as achieving a goal is a primary purpose of business communication, it may be called effective when this goal is achieved. However, attaining the stated goals of business communication requires not only the knowledge of the appropriate language standards, specific vocabulary, grammar norms, stylistic devices and special business language skills which are traditionally studied in the courses of learning a foreign language.

Effective business cross-cultural communication requires much wider range of competences which should be based on a large scope of knowledge from the various fields and the most significant of them is the knowledge of national culture, which presupposes that the partners who participate in business communication acts should know the peculiarities of national cultures in the framework of which business communication takes place. As far as the present article is devoted to some peculiarities of national culture of business communication we shall consider culture as a set of knowledge, laws and norms which are used for interpretation of life experience and formation of social behavior norms (Samokhina, 2005, p.10).

A human functioning in the framework of his/her national culture perceives this culture as it is. He/she knows what is bad and what is good but when he/she finds himself/herself in the framework of another national culture, he/she encounters very serious problems, because it seems to him/her that everything “goes wrong”, not as it is typical for their native culture.

In spite of the fact that to acquire awareness of another national culture is very difficult, it should be taught and studied. It is of particular significance for translators and teachers of foreign languages who are working with the representatives of other national cultures, and the knowledge and skills to work effectively with these people is one of their professional competences. At present the English language is studied in a higher school as a language of communication which involves into communication acts all peculiarities of national culture which the English language represents. Accordingly, a business communication act is not simply an exchange of speech signals but it is, first and foremost, interaction of national cultures.

The specificity of any national culture may be determined by the following parameters (Trompennaars, 1998, pp. 16-18): the attitude of the people towards themselves and those surrounding them; attitude of the people towards the surrounding world; individualism vs collectivism; time vector; social vs private space.

The present article focuses on the differences between American and Russian business cultures basing upon the parameters mentioned above.

The people’s attitude towards themselves and those surrounding them

In the USA positive attitude towards a human and his/her worth are cultivated by governmental, social and educational systems. The most common and simple greeting forms which are repeated for many times a day are as follows: - How are you? - Thank you, I am fine. These phrases are repeated even when it is quite evident that an American is upset or feels bad, because Americans do not like to discuss their problems in public.

Another illustration of Americans' attitude towards themselves is their attitude towards compliments: an American got a complement, because he/she has done his/her work successfully and he/she is proud of it. Here is a small dialogue between two workmates: - Your presentation was sensational. I enjoyed every minute of it, - says one of the workmates.

- Thank you, John. I really tried to do my best, - answers the other.

In Russia our national traditions, northern temperament, continuous calamities (political, economic, technological) taught us not to boast of our successes. When we are asked how we are getting on, we answer: “Nothing interesting” or “So-So”; “You’d better, not to ask me”; “My child is ill”; “Hot water is not supplied”; “Our refrigerator is out of order” and so on. Such are the typical answers.

In Russia most of the people consider that it is very pleasant to get compliments but at the same time they do not like to be complimented in public because Russians do not know how to respond to the compliments. In the best case our people respond with “Thanks”.

So, if Russian businessmen know that self-advertizing and public discussions of someone's successes is a particular feature of American business culture, the appropriate behavior of Americans won't be perceived by Russians a boasting one.

Therefore, if in the process of business communication with American partners, the Russian partners begin to tell them the history of their achievements, successes, victories, the Americans will listen to Russians with great attention, respect and encouragement. As a rule, the people express their attitude towards themselves and others who surround them by means of verbal and non-verbal behavior.

One of the most important means of non-verbal communication in American culture is a very famous and notorious American smile which our countrymen consider as not a sincere one. In American culture a smiling person means a prosperous person and that is why he/she is worth being dealt with. In Russia’s business culture a smiling person is often considered as an easy-minded person, not serious one who does not understand his/her career position and such a person is not worthy of confidence. (Why are you smiling? Are you paid much money? Have you saved a lot of money for a rainy day or old age? and so on) - such are the thoughts of our countrymen who do not approve their colleagues' smiling faces.

While our countrymen consider Americans' smile as not a sincere one an American perceives Russian gloomy faces (the Russian scowl) as the expression of Russian arrogance in respect to those who surround them. A gloomy face is only an outer side of what may be called “a victim's complex”, which is a typical feature of Russian businessmen. This means that Russian businessmen got used to put a blame for their problems, troubles, concerns, failures on bad subordinates, unjust bosses, ineffective legislation, high taxation, overall disorder and so on.

Such a verbal accent on the negative is not typical of American business culture. On the contrary, Americans highly appreciate positive attitude towards themselves and those who surround them. That is why Russian businessmen who want to work successfully with Americans should learn to restrain from negative connotations.

The people's attitude towards the surrounding world

Americans perceive the surrounding world as a set of predicted regularities, and

they are ready to change it constantly. Addressing to the history of the Russian nation, N.A.Berdyaev stressed that while the Russian people succeeded in conquering the large spaces quite easily, they experienced many difficulties in organizing and administering these spaces. The combination of large spaces, gigantic projects and the lack of skills to cope with these tasks is characteristic of many undertakings, events, plans in Russia (Berdyaev, 1997). To put it briefly, organizational skills, logistics are the weak points of Russia's businessmen, and this affects directly the business communication among representatives of different nations. In Russian business culture we use the expression “the final date”, (deadline-in American English) which does not mean any lethal outcome for those who have not submitted some official documents (treaties agreements, schedules, etc.) on time. In the USA time management, time budgeting are obligatory things for all employees as well as the skill of prompt thinking (to think on one's feet). An employee looking at his watch constantly and thinking how to go home as soon as it is possible is called as “clock-watcher”. The attitude towards the notion of time and everything related to this notion in the USA is much more serious compared to that one in Russian business culture. Americans consider that time is money, so the wasted time means the lost opportunities which were not made use of, but as far as the lost opportunities have monetary equivalent this means that the money is lost.

Individualism vs Collectivism

It is another criterion according to which cultures may be different. Historically Russia is a nation which is characterized by “a community's mentality”. In contract, American culture is based on individualism, significance and worth of a personality, a human's right to take decisions on his /her own and make his/her life in his/her own way. In the English language there are a lot of words which are formed with the prefix “self” (self-esteem, self-worth, self-confidence, self-assurance and so on), denoting the above-mentioned idea (Ter-Minasova, 2000).

Decision-making and setting a goal are the most important areas in which the- difference among representatives of Russia and USA is the most evident. The worst aspect of collectivism in Russia's business practice is that Russians strive to equality in everything. It is not surprising that one of the most irritating things for Russians is their ownership inequality (Leontovich, 2002). Russians are irritated by the fact that somebody possesses much more property that others do. And they do not even make an attempt to understand the reasons for this fact. The researches in the field of cross-cultural differences indicate that Russia is the nation in which loyalty, long-term tolerance, a long-time working record in one organization are the most crucial factors for obtaining monetary awards, career promotion, or some bonuses.

Business culture in the USA is oriented onto the assessment of any employee's personal contributions and his/her own achievements. If some employee wishes to be given a payment bonus, he/she should define how he/she managed to raise the productivity and effectiveness of his/her job. This is what performance appraisals or reviews should reflect in the most western and American procedures of the company's attestations (Zatsepina, Rodriguez, 1999).

However, it is worth emphasizing that Russian collectivism has its own very attractive features, among them being friendship, mutual assistance and mutual support which are typical features of Russian business culture in contrast to American one. Russian friendship and mutual assistance as the typical features of our business culture are often highly appreciated, with great respect and admiration, by American business partners.

However, in the process of business communication, as Americans believe, friendship and mutual assistance ideals should not replace personal responsibilities of each employee because under present global conditions it is impossible to obtain high labour productivity without each employee's personal responsibility for his/her work. That is why in contrast to Russian groupthink, collective decision-making, collectively shared blames and failures, Americans prefer to make his/her decisions on his/her own and to be responsible for his/her decisions and actions. The organization they are working for is perceived by Americans as a team of workmates who are united by a single goal but each of them performs his/her own role in the organization (company, firm, etc.) (Timofeev, 2004).

Time and Space Vectors

Let us consider the difference in Russian and American business cultures in respect to time. Orientation onto past, present, future is an important factor determining the specificity of any national culture. According to the data obtained by Fons Trompenaars, a famous Holland scientist in culture studies, Russia and the USA have much more in common than different, because both national cultures are not oriented onto the future. We may agree with this scientist’s statement only partially because Americans are more concerned with meeting their immediate needs than with thinking over the future. Not once American mentality oriented onto consumption was blamed for its strive for gratification that is immediate meeting the people's needs. However, one cannot agree with the postulate that Russia and the USA are much similar in this respect, because American business culture is much more oriented onto the future than the Russian one. It is quite sufficient to remember the practice of signing marriage contracts in the USA, the popular holiday «Baby Shower» which is celebrated in the USA on the eve of a baby birthday, when all relatives and friends bring their gifts before a baby is born.

In contrast to this ritual, our Russian prejudices and traditions do not welcome the arrangement and decoration of a baby’s room before a baby is born, which entails a lot of mess on the baby’s birthday. The similar kind of mess on the last day (moment, minute) is a typical feature of Russian business culture. The lack of skills of planning the future and the fear of planning it prove to be indispensable features of Russian business culture, while in the USA saving for old age is an important and obligatory component of financial planning in every family, to say nothing about making use of credits. Russians, even those who are inclined to saving for old age, because of a lot of financial calamities, are deadly scared when they hear such words as «pension fund», «saving pension fund», etc. The similar uncertainty in tomorrow and mistrust in Russian authorities are typical national features of Russian culture, which causes great amazement among Americans. There is nothing worse for a Russian when he/she is asked during his/her job inquiry, a very popular question in western and American culture: “Where do you see yourself ten years from now”?. Making up financial documentation (plan of profit for 5, 10, 15 years and so on) which is a typical feature of any American prosperous company, presents great difficulties for Russian businessmen and often results in serious conflicts. While Russians do not like and are even afraid of planning their future, two other time vectors such as "past" and "present" are very important for Russians.

Russians are well known for their love to past and present. Our nostalgia for the past reveals itself in many walks of our life and it is also characteristic for Russian representatives of business culture. Thus, a time vector from the present towards the future is more typical for Americans, while a time vector from the past towards the present is more characteristic for Russians.

Social vs. private space

Another difference between business cultures of Russia and the USA reveals itself in the way the representatives of these business cultures structure their surrounding world from the viewpoint of social (public) and private space. In American culture social space is of large volume, and private space is rather limited and it is very difficult to enter this space. Russian culture is characterized by a great volume of private space while a social space is rather limited. When our countrymen enter this sector they feel ill at ease in this space.

Financial problems, private incomes, spendings are included into the field of private space for Americans, while for Russians such issues as the price for any purchase, its public discussion, financial status of this or that person are the items which are included into public space and they may be the objects of public discussion. The notion of public space is directly related to the so-called notion of “distance of power”. The attitude to this notion is quite different for the representatives of American and Russian cultures. For American business culture the distance of power is very insignificant, which may be explained by the fact that Americans deeply respect the democratic ideals accepted in the American society. Such an insignificant distance of power is characteristic for the majority of American companies, educational establishments and other organizations and this reveals itself in the forms of communication such as American phrases of addresses, greetings, etc.

However it is worth remembering that one of the obligatory characteristics of American business culture is its obedience to the power, its laws, instructions and regularities. When Americans encounter any difficulty, they prefer the shortest way of overcoming it, that is they address directly to appropriate bodies of power. Russians in this case prefer to address to their friends, relatives or acquaintances for help. The representatives of American culture highly appreciate the notion of privacy, so they are apt to observe physical distance among communication partners. If somebody violates this rule, this is considered a rough violation of business communication ethics. That is why one should avoid close contacts with foreign partners accompanied with embraces, kisses, etc.

Conclusion

This article highlights only the most characteristic features of American and Russian business cultures. The knowledge of them by both American and Russian businessmen makes the process of business communication more successful and more effective.

It is worth remembering that there are different attitudes of the people living in various countries towards the same notions. This may be attributed to the effect of such factors as national culture, national mentality, national values, traditions and ideology on the process of communication on the whole, and on the process of business communication in particular. As far as the present article was aimed at covering the common particularities of effective cross-cultural business communication, the emphasis was put on some typical causes of misunderstanding in the process of business communication of Russian and American businessmen.

Business communication in the present article is understood as a certain interaction among the participants (partners) of a communicative act during which the participants exchange the information and take certain actions with the help of verbal and non-verbal means. It is quite evident that the final goal of any business communication act is attaining some target. Such an act may be called effective provided this target has been achieved. That is why we focused on the most significant peculiarities of American and Russian cultures and the factors determining the effectiveness of the business communicative acts, among them being people’s attitude towards themselves and the world surrounding them; individualism vs. collectivism; time vector in American and Russian cultures; social (public) vs private space; distance of power. We hope that the knowledge of such peculiarities of national cultures of the USA and Russia described in the present article will help businessmen, would-be teachers of the English language; interpreters studying business English to determine both their behavior patterns and appropriate speech strategies for attaining the goals stated in business communication acts.

References

Berdyaev, Nikolai. (1997). Sudjba Rossii. Samosoznanie [Russia's Desttiny. Self-awareness] Postov-on-the Don.

Hall.E. and Hale E. (1989). Understanding Cultural Differences: German, French and Americans. (1989). – Yarmouth: Maine, Intercultural Press, pp.13-15

Leontovitch, Oleg, (2002). Russkie i Amerikantsi: Paradoksi mezkultuznogo obshchenia [Russians and Americans.: paradoxes of crosscultural communication] Volgograd: Peremena.

Samokhina Tatyana. (2005). Effektivnoye delovoye obshohenie v kontekstah raznih kultur i obstoyatelstv [Effectine Business Communication in the contexts of different cultures and circumstances]. Moscow: R.Valent.

Ter-Minasova, Svetlana. (2000). Yazik i mezkultuvnya kommunikatsia [Language and cross-cultural communication] Moscow: Slovo

Timofeeva, Tamara. (2004). Delovoje obshchenie [Business Communication], Moscow, 2004

Trompennaars, Fons: (1998). Riding the Waves of Culture: Understanding Diversity in Global Busines. – Mc Grow-Hill.

Shmelev, Alexei. (2002). Russkiy yazik i vneyazikovaya dejstvitelnost. [Rusian language and out of the language reality] Moscow: Languages of Slavonic culture, pp. 333-335.

Справка об авторах

БОЧАРОВА Елена Петровна, доктор педагогических наук, профессор, заведующая кафедрой профессионально-ориентированных иностранных языков

ВИ-Школы региональных и международных исследований ФГАОУ ВПО ДВФУ

Служебный адрес: о.Русский, п. Аякс,10, корпус D, каб. D 760 кафедра профессионально-ориентированных иностранных языков

Электронный адрес: bocharova.ep@gmail.com, bocharova.ep@dvfu.ru

с.т. 8 950 291 55 45

ГОРОДЕЦКАЯ Елена Яковлевна, кандидат филологических наук, профессор кафедры профессионально-ориентированных иностранных языков.

ВИ-Школы региональных и международных исследований ФГАОУ ВПО ДВФУ

Служебный адрес: г.Владивосток, адрес: о.Русский, п. Аякс,10, корпус D, каб. D 766 кафедра профессионально-ориентированных иностранных языков

Электронный адрес: elena.gorodetskaya@gmail.com

с.т. 8 951 004 46 86