CC BY
74
РАЗДЕЛ 1 МОДЕЛИ, СИСТЕМЫ, СЕТИ В ЭКОНОМИКЕ И УПРАВЛЕНИИ
УДК 339
CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION PROBLEMS
Д. К. Алехина
Business culture is something that anyone who has ever managed a business has to deal with. Every business has a culture all its own, and for most businesses, this culture is based on the people that work within the company and where the company is based, in addition to other similar factors. Companies that want to be successful in foreign markets have to be aware of the local cultural characteristics that affect the way business is done.
Business leaders know that intercultural savvy is vitally important - not just because they have to deal increasingly with globalization, but also because the work force within their own national borders is growing more and more diverse.
Culture is, basically, a set of shared values that a group of people holds. Such values affect how you think and act and, more importantly, the kind of criteria by which you judge others. Cultural meanings render some behaviors as normal and right and others strange or wrong [1].
Every culture has rules that its members take for granted. Few of us are aware of our own biases because cultural imprinting is begun at a very early age. And while some of culture's knowledge, rules, beliefs, values, phobias and anxieties are taught explicitly, most is absorbed subconsciously.
Of course, we are all individuals, and no two people belonging to the same culture are guaranteed to respond in exactly the same way. However, generalizations are valid to the extent that they provide clues on what you will most likely encounter - and how those differences impact communication. Here are three such generalizations [2].
1. Cultures are either high-context or low-context.
Every aspect of global communication is influenced by cultural differences. Even the choice of medium used to communicate may have cultural overtones. For example, it has been noted that industrialized nations rely heavily on electronic technology and emphasize written messages over oral or face-to-face communication. Certainly the United States, Canada, the UK and Germany exemplify this trend. But Japan, which has access to the latest technologies, still relies more on face-to-face communications than on the written mode. The determining factor in medium preference may not be the degree of industrialization, but rather whether the country falls into a high-context or low-context culture.
High-context means that «most of the information is either in the physical context or initialized in the person, while very little is in the coded, explicit, transmitted part of the message». In comparison to the meaning of low-context communication is «the mass of information is vested in the explicit code» [3, p. 79].
In some cultures, personal bonds and informal agreements are far more binding than any formal contract. In others, the meticulous wording of legal documents is viewed as paramount. High-context cultures (Mediterranean, Slav, Central European, Latin American, African, Arab, Asian, American-Indian) leave much of the message unspecified - to be understood through context, nonverbal cues, and be-tween-the-lines interpretation of what is actually said. By contrast, low-context cultures (most of the Germanic and English-speaking countries) expect messages to be explicit and specific. The former are looking for meaning and understanding in what is not said - in body language, in silences and pauses, and in relationships and empathy. The latter place emphasis on sending and receiving accurate messages directly, and by being precise with spoken or written words.
When dealing with different people from high- and low-context cultures you always have to be aware of your interlocutor's cultural origin. This helps to avoid misunderstandings and creates a better basis for further discussions [2].
2. Cultures are either sequential or synchronic.
Some cultures think of time sequentially - as a linear commodity to «spend,» «save,» or «waste.» Other cultures view time synchronically - as a constant flow to be experienced in the moment, and as a force that cannot be contained or controlled.
In sequential cultures (like North American, English, German, Swedish, and Dutch), businesspeople give full attention to one agenda item after another. In many other parts of the world, professionals regularly do several things at the same time. I once cashed a traveler's check at a Panamanian bank where the teller was counting my money, talking to a customer on the phone, and admiring the baby in the arms of the woman behind me. To her, it was all business as usual [2].
In synchronic cultures (including South America, southern Europe and Asia) the flow of time is viewed as a sort of circle - with the past, present, and future all inter-related. This viewpoint influences how organizations in those cultures approach deadlines, strategic thinking, investments, developing talent from within, and the concept of «long-term» planning.
Whether time is perceived as a commodity or a constant determines the meaning and value of being «on time.» Think of the misunderstandings that can occur when one culture views arriving late for a meeting as bad planning or a sign of disrespect, while another culture views an insistence on timeliness as childish impatience.
Orientation to the past, present, and future is another aspect of time in which cultures disagree. Americans believe that the individual can influence the future by personal effort, but since there are too many variables in the distant future, we favor a short-term view. This gives us an international reputation of «going for the quick buck» and being interested only in the next quarterly return. Even our relationships seem to be based on a «what have you done for me lately?» pragmatism.
Synchronic cultures have an entirely different perspective. The past becomes a context in which to understand the present and prepare for the future. Any important relationship is a durable bond that goes back and forward in time, and it is often viewed as grossly disloyal not to favor friends and relatives in business dealings [2].
3. Cultures are either affective or neutral.
In international business dealings, reason and emotion both play a role. Which of these dominates depends upon whether we are affective (readily showing emotions) or emotionally neutral in our approach.
Affective or neutral context describes how cultures express their emotions. In affective cultures like in China people express their emotions more naturally. Reactions are shown immediately verbally and/or non-verbally by using mimic and gesture in form of body signals. They don't avoid physical contact, which is well known especially from Italians and Spanish when meeting each other very enthusiastic and with raised voices. In contrast neutral cultures like Japanese tend to hide their emotions and don't show them in public. Neutral cultures don't express precisely and directly what they are really thinking which can lead to misunderstandings and certain emotions are considered to be improper to exhibit in certain situations. It is also considered as important not to let emotion influence objectivity and reason in decision making. In general they feel discomfort with physical contact in public and communicate in a more subtle way which makes it difficult for members of other cultures to read between the lines and get the message [3, p. 79].
This doesn't mean that people in neutral cultures are cold or unfeeling. But in the course of normal business activities, neutral cultures are more careful to monitor the amount of emotion they display. Research conducted with people who were upset about something at work, noted that only some cultures supported expressing those feelings openly. Emotional reactions were found to be least acceptable in Japan, Indonesia, the U.K., Norway and the Netherlands - and most accepted in Italy, France, the U.S. and Singapore.
In today's global business community, there is no single best approach to communicating with one another. The key to cross-cultural success is to develop an understanding of, and a deep respect for, the differences.
List of reference links
1. Trompenaars, F. Riding The Waves of Culture: Understanding Diversity in Global Business / Fons Trompenaars, Charles Hampden-Turner. - 2 ed. - McGraw-Hill, 2007. - 274 p.
2. Gudykunst, W. B. Communication with strangers / W. B. Gudykunst, Young Yun Kim. -McGraw-Hill, 2001. - 154 p.
3. URL: http://www.forbes.com/sites/carolkinseygoman/2011/11/28/how-culture-controls-communication
УДК 342.9
ПРАВОВАЯ МОДЕЛЬ ЗАЩИТЫ ПРАВ НА ОБЪЕКТЫ ИНТЕЛЛЕКТУАЛЬНОЙ СОБСТВЕННОСТИ ПРИ ТРАНСГРАНИЧНОМ ПЕРЕМЕЩЕНИИ
С. А. Агамагомедова, И. Д. Черницова
В статье рассматриваются вопросы защиты прав на объекты интеллектуальной собственности при перемещении через таможенную границу Таможенного союза. Система объектов интеллектуальной собственности, подлежащих защите при трансграничном перемещении, уже всего перечня объектов интеллектуальной собственности, охраняемых в РФ. Правовая модель защиты прав на объекты интеллектуальной собственности таможенными органами включает контроль соблюдения законодательства об интеллектуальной собственности и контроль таможенной стоимости в части включения в нее платежей за использование объекта интеллектуальной собственности.
