How Poor Intercultural Communication Affects International Commerce and Foreign Policy free essay sample

The meaning arrived at or the knowledge and accepted truth toward an issue is more or less the consensus of a group. When two cultures are in proximity to each other although their cultures may be different they still may have power or influence over the decisions, practices and beliefs of the each other. In this example, I will use the national issue in France involving a majority of the French people objecting to Turkey being allowed to join into the European Union. The French, who share a particular national identity and history, have shared their different views as Frenchmen and Europeans why Turkeys acceptance into the European Union is not acceptable. Turkey, the nation in between Europe and Asia is seen as an important economic and political ally by many European nations with Turkey having access to many of the passageways toward Asia and Russia for trade and the most important oil and gas pipelines. We will write a custom essay sample on How Poor Intercultural Communication Affects International Commerce and Foreign Policy or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The Turks were deeply disappointed when they received the news from France that they were unwanted. France’s influence was powerful among the other G8 member nations and its leadership within the European Union was highly valued. Many important French allies like Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Belgium considered the French people’s position because their own population was so heavily influenced by the public opinion of the French people. Many of the leaders within Turkey â€Å"were extremely offended and took it as a form of discrimination and disrespect against them as Turks† stating that the â€Å"French were Bullies†. This caused the Turks, who had settled long before within France, to have major clashes against far right French nationalists that resulted in violence. To worsen the situation that was quickly becoming a cultural battle and causing serious economic downturn; Turkey became unbending when the French needed to get resources through their energy and logistics companies which were accessing the Turks pipelines, shipping systems and water passageways that accessed Asia, the Middle East and Russia. The French leadership groups needed to clarify their position fast. They requested agreement and negotiation talks with Turkish leaders in order to save face and gain access to the international routes within Turkey. In the end, they managed to negotiate mutually respectful economic and political agreements where the Turks were encouraged to use display-advertising campaigns in an effort to change the French and Western European opinion about their acceptability in the European Union. Turkey also had to agree to fulfill several economic, financial and political standards in order to be accepted into the European Union by a specific deadline. Although government diplomats are supposed to be trained and knowledgeable about the culture and the history of the nations and the people they are representing in order to avoid the mistakes of miscommunication, sometimes over-sensitivity in regards to a particular cultural community or social group can lead to unconscious discriminative judgments and overly patriotic heroisms. Defining Intercultural Communication Intercultural communication is defined by, Witness Essential, â€Å"as the understanding of how people from different countries and cultures behave, communicate and perceive the world around them. This can also include cultural differences such as age, race and gender. † The study of intercultural communication is of great importance in the progression of our society as a planet to become a connected group of people and is researched by several industries of study including but not limited to anthropology, cultural studies, and linguistics, psychology and communications studies. Being able to understand how people from different cultures and religions communicate, interact, and perceive the environment around them allows for the formation of important guidelines and practices which help combat and avoid anxiety and uncertainty in government, business, and personal intercultural relationships for the purpose of efficient negotiations and merges different cultures into more tolerant cohesive existence. It is imperative that these same principles are utilized when communicating to cultural groups other than our own because people from different cultures encode and decode messages and meaning differently. Because of this, what is acceptable to one is not necessarily acceptable by the other especially if they base their practices on their own judgments and ideas and communicate disregarding the judgments and ideas of any other culture. Ignorance can lead to devastating and damaging assumptions in terms of building intercultural relationships when one enters communication using the same old ethnocentric approach. It is a lot like the Nazis viewing the world according to their standards and beliefs without regards to the rights and beliefs of any other group. It is also the same as extreme radicals imposing religious beliefs on those who have different religious preferences than their own and attempting to get them to conform to those beliefs even though it is against the other cultures personal beliefs. What is true for you based on your own history and experience is not necessarily true to those who come from different cultures with different intercultural viewpoints but those differences should still be respected. We may find that we actually have very similar ideas and that our cultural truths resemble that of another if we actually took the time to learn and appreciate one another’s differences. An example of this is that in our country â€Å"Mothers are loved and respected. † This is most likely true in all nations and cultures but probably â€Å"varies in the details of their traditions by how they are appreciated and respected by their family members and from their cultural groups. (Intercultural Communication Journal, August 2009) Resolving Cross Cultural Barriers: Key points and Theories Because important decisions in business, politics, education, health, and culture these days usually effect citizens of more than one nation, the question of whether communication between people of different nations is effective and whether all parties emerge with the same understanding is of crucial importance. (Intercultural Communication Journal, August 2009) According to E. Griffin – McGraw-Hill, â€Å"the elements of competent cross cultural communication include knowledge; information that would enable parties to interact efficiently and effectively, motivation; a display of positive empathy toward the culture that the other party belongs to, and skills; the necessary learned behavior, like knowledge of the other cultures history or language, that would allow for an efficient decoding and encoding of meaning between said parties despite their cultural gaps. † â€Å"When language skills between parties are unequal,† C. L. Bovee recommends, â€Å"avoidance of using slang and idioms; choosing words that will convey only the most specific denotative meaning, listening carefully and if in doubt, asking for confirmation of understanding, (especially if local accents and pronunciation are a problem); recognizing that accenting and intonation can cause meaning to vary significantly; respecting the local communication formalities and styles, and watching out for any changes in body language; investigating the other cultures perception of your culture by reading literature about your culture through their eyes before entering into communication with them.