Definitions
Today's world offers many reasons to study intercultural communication. International business and leisure are common, workplace diversity is on the rise, and the Internet seems to make all parts of the globe accessible. In the United States, immigrants and minority groups comprise nearly 30-percent of the workforce, in itself offering a good reason to be interculturally flexible.
Intercultural communication flexibility is the management of cultural differences adaptively and creatively within many types of situations. Our attitudes and expectations are often shaped by underlying cultural values. Our perception of and approach to communication issues within work teams likely vary across cultures, ethnicities, situations, and individuals. For example, members of some cultural groups (for example, German and Swiss) prefer to address an issue head on, believing that directness and assertiveness spark new ideas. Other cultural groups (for example, Chinese and Korean) may prefer to address issues indirectly and tactfully, in efforts to facilitate more harmonious communication processes.
Reasons to study intercultural communication
Rapid changes in global economics, technology, immigration policies, and transportation have meant that the world seems to be becoming increasingly smaller. Our connections to our foreign neighbors are clearer than ever before. We find increased contact with those of different cultures. In the work place, people of different cultures bring with them different work habits and cultural practices, approaching problem solving tasks differently. Individuals may also have different desires for communication outcomes and emphases within their intercultural encounters.The study of intercultural communication is the study of communication involving cultural group differences. This study helps students acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to manage intercultural differences appropriately and effectively. It also includes developing an ability to view things from different angles, absent rigid prejudgment. Indeed, there are many practical reasons to study intercultural communication. We will discuss several of those reasons here.
First on the list of reasons to study intercultural communication is global workforce heterogeneity. That is, many companies have a global presence. The top five most valuable global brands in terms of dollar value are Coca-Cola, IBM, Microsoft, Google, and GE (General Electric). Other companies such as Starbucks and McDonald's also have significant presence abroad. Most of these companies are managed and operated from U.S. soil, and many U.S. workers currently work in overseas locations. However, approximately 10-20 percent of U.S. workers working overseas fail in their global assignments (They return prematurely.), with the highest failure rates associated with work in developing nations. Most U.S. international employers may be considered technically competent, but they may also lack effective, adaptive intercultural communication skills that enable them to communicate appropriately and effectively in the new culture.
Secondly, the domestic workplace is increasingly diverse, making cultural diversity a critical part of our everyday lives. The Latino/a population is expected to increase from 16 to 30-percent by 2050, and the Asian American population will grow from 4.5 to 9 percent. The non-Hispanic Caucasian population will decline from 65% to 46% nationally. The 2010 U.S. Census revealed that 12-percent of the population is foreign born nationals, and another 11-percent is native born with at least one foreign born parent. Of those foreign born, more than half emigrated from Latin America, with almost a third coming from Mexico. These figures indicate that in the marketplace, the influence of multicultural and diverse customers is expanding across the board.
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