Evaluating international business communications situations Essay - 11

Evaluating international business communications situations - Essay Example Globalization has been known to provoke massive reactions in regards to its effects, both positive and negative, though the new opportunities it creates to people cannot be overemphasized. The creation of multinational companies all over the world is one such major opportunity that globalization creates, and this tends to encourage the interconnection of people from very diverse cultural and social backgrounds that would otherwise never have come together. As a result, globalization has produced workforce with the diverse cultural backgrounds at the same workplace and/or business encounters who have to work at an international level. These cultures are represented by individuals who come together at the workplace and have to learn how to communicate and tolerate one another with their diverse backgrounds. Intercultural communication occurs whenever a message is produced by a member of one culture for consumption by a member of another culture, a message must be understood. Because of cultural differences in these kinds of contacts, the potential for misunderstanding and disagreement is great (Pinto, ). Communication can only be said to be effective when it reaches out to the receiver in the manner in which it was intended to by the sender. As such, the idea, information or opinion being transmitted to the receiver must be carried out in a manner that ensures it is correctly understood, and that it is received on time by the receiver. This aspect emphasizes the importance of choosing the right mode of communication at both the individual as well as the organizational level for optimum communication. The various forms assumed by communication include formal vs. informal communication and verbal vs. non-verbal communication among others. Informal communication method is the one whereby the flow of information does not follow the known and established organizational channels. People make communication using unofficial lines that tend to follow