cross-cultural communication. An Italian point of view

Italian Companies today, more than ever before, are operating in a multicultural environment. Communication between different cultures in the same company is becoming very strategic in the present competitive global market. The first part of this Thesis deals with multicultural problems in companies. Especially the issue regarding the present use of the English language in verbal communications in the business world. The scarce, or poor knowledge of the English language may cause many misunderstandings and disagreements in important issues, especially in business deals. Moreover, even when English is well spoken by both parties, people tend to apply their own cultural mental schemes in their communication taking for granted that these are universal. Non verbal communication is even more intrigued because it is more important than verbal communication as it is not conscious and therefore less controllable. The non verbal codes change from culture to culture and if you are not well aware of them many disastrous communications can arise without even noticing it. The culture we belong to can deeply influence our international business deals, it can affect the entire aspect of it: it will differ in timing, in the way of operating, in the hierarchy structure and even the concept of “business” and “deal” will be different. The same issues arise when looking into a Company when the work force is multicultural.
The second part of the Thesis analyzes the same phenomenon that has been researched. The pioneer in this field is undoubtedly the researcher Geert Hofstede. He is the one who used the metaphor “software of the mind” to describe the dynamics of cultural differences. After three decades of work, Hofstede recognized five “dimensions” which can be measured by statistics, that change from country to country. These are: hierarchy distances, collectivity vs. individualism, relationship between sexes, uncertainty control and long vs short term orientation. These dimensions, that are based on theory and statistics, change from country to country and give us an idea of how people have totally different attitudes according to their culture. Another aspect in the analysis of this phenomenon concerns the study of company’s organizational models in relation to multicultural communication. Amongst all the illustrated models in Gareth Morgan’s work, the model of “learning organization” seems to be the more adequate to encourage development of multicultural communication abilities. Actually, the best environment where multicultural communication can be effectively an advantage because it is well understood and used fully to its potential is where decisional power is well distributed and there is a high rate of responsibility and participation on behalf of the employees within the company.
Another remarkable method of analysis of this phenomenon is the one developed by Martin Gannon, to reach his goal he uses a stereotype. This learned man, based on the information gathered in Hofstede’s research, elaborates some metaphors to describe the various cultures: The Opera for Italy, the symphony for Germany, the Corrida for Spain, Football for the USA, the Kibbutz for Israel, embroidery for Belgium and so on. Nevertheless this method can be questioned because by simplifying this issue in these terms to illustrate the various cultures we do not capture it’s true complexity and the many aspects involved.
A different approach was made by the studies of the Linguist Paolo Balboni that emphasizes the differences of the construction of sentences in the various languages. The Italian, Spanish and German wording proceed from point A to point B, not in a continuous line but in one that is periodically interrupted by digressions, in a very complex and articulated fashion. English text instead goes “straight to the point” with a collection of simple brief sentences and with a strong use of repetitions. The Asian and Arabic text evolves in a spiral fashion, which grows closer to the point in a progressive manner. The different perception of the writings produced according to the rules of another culture can be very dangerous: An American tends to think, unconsciously, that the writings of an Italian or German person is unclear. Vice Versa, the European considers that the American text is poor in concept, simple and irrelevant. Both, Europeans and Americans, think that oriental writings are too vague. All these perceptions put good communication at risk.
The third part of the Thesis regards the issues of management, organization and communication through the study of two cases: That of the multinational “Xerox” and the Italian company “Benetton”. Xerox has for years based itself on the principle: ‘Diversity of the Work Force’. Diversity is seen as a competitive force that can be used to one’s advantage not only for image but also because when operating in a multicultural market like the USA and in the global market like Xerox, you can fully understand that to compete in an effective way, you have to equip yourself with a multi cultural work force. Benetton faced this issue in a new way. He transformed diversity into a brand. His famous campaigns against racism and intolerance towards diversity have become a new way of advertising and revealed to be a very effective communicative method rising many controversial opinions on the media world wide. Finally we want to refer to the experience of Daniele Trevisani who provides a series of methods and specific indications based mainly on the relationship aspect of negotiation. These are: empathy and active listening, multi-level listening, search for common values and results, posturing and role-playing, macro-cultural awareness, context analysis, flexible negotiation and adaptation techniques, micro-cultural awareness, communication diagnostics, emotional centering and elimination of psychological background noise. In essence it is key for a company to communicate effectively in an international context. Those who are able to do this in an appropriate way gain competitive advantage against those who keep facing their internal and external clients with a single cultured mind.