Meanings and Messages

A C A D E M I C A
edited by
inger askehave
birgitte norlyk
intercultural
business
communication
MEANINGS
MESSAGES
AND
MEANINGS
AND
MESSAGES
intercultural
business
communication
MEANINGS
AND
MESSAGES
intercultural
business
communication
edited by
inger askehave
and birgitte norlyk
Academica
Meanings and Messages
intercultural business communication
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forfatterne og Academica, 2007
Ektern redaktion: Inger Askehave og Birgitte Norlyk
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Contents
Editors preface ................................................................ 6
CHAPTER 1 Culture in a business context .......................................... 7
Inger Askehave, Malene Gram and Birgitte Norlyk
CHAPTER 2 Communication:
Transmitting messages or fusing horizons? ................. 33
Inger Askehave
CHAPTER 3 Made in Denmark global perspectives ....................... 61
Per Blenker & Poul Rind Christensen
CHAPTER 4 Texts and localization ...................................................... 79
Birgitte Norlyk
CHAPTER 5 The translator as cultural mediator ............................... 99
Karen Korning Zethsen
CHAPTER 6 Yes, no or maybe? A problem
in English and Danish business negotiations ................ 117
Malene Djursaa
CHAPTER 7 B2B websites in an intercultural perspective ................ 133
Malene Gram
CHAPTER 8 Speech acts in sales letters ............................................. 153
Martin Nielsen
CHAPTER 9 Politeness in French and Danish e-mails ............................ 173
Jeanne Strunck
CHAPTER 10 Business students and culture:
Searching for a toolbox? ................................................. 185
Maribel Blasco
Authors ............................................................................. 206
Index .................................................................................. 208
Editors preface
Meanings and Messages is the result of a unique cooperation between ten
researchers from Danish universities and business schools who joined forces to
provide teachers and students with an updated tool to describe and under-
stand the complexities of intercultural business communication.
Highlighting the interaction between theory and practice and between local
and global, Meanings and Messages takes its point of departure in a Danish
business context. To emphasize the complexity of business communication in
the global world, we have included examples in French, German and Chinese.
Meanings and Messages owes sincere thanks to the number of experienced
business men and women who agreed to interviews, and who gave us the ben-
efit of their practical insights and intercultural experience to supplement the
theoretical aspects of this book. While some wish to remain anonymous,
others have permitted us to include examples and cases from their promo-
tional material to illustrate some of the practical challenges of intercultural
business communication. We thank Aalborg Portland, GN Store Nord, Arla
Foods, Dansk Landbrugsrdgivning Landscenteret, Mors Jernstberi, Tulip
Food Company, Grundfos, and other contributors for providing us with exam-
ples and material for this book.
Inger Askehave, Aalborg University
Birgitte Norlyk, University of Southern Denmark
CHAPTER 1
Culture in a business context
Inger Askehave, Malene Gram and Birgitte Norlyk
1.1 Global or local?
Open any newspaper, watch the business news on TV, check the corporate pro-
files on the Internet and you get the picture: Danish companies, whether small,
medium-sized or large, are significant players in the global market and face the
challenges of cooperating with people from all over the world on a regular ba-
sis. More than ever before, companies need competent communicators who
possess the necessary skills and expertise to understand, communicate, and co-
operate with people who in various ways and to varying degrees are different.
But what does it mean to be different? What kinds of belonging make us seem
different to others, and how do we approach the Other and reach cultural un-
derstanding? These are some of the questions addressed in this chapter.
1.2 What is culture?
If people are different, we tend to say that it is because their cultural back-
grounds differ. However, such an explanation requires that we know what we
mean by the term culture that we have established, at least in our own
minds, the factors which allow us to talk about cultural groupings, and that we
have an idea of how to identify and study cultural differences.
Culture is a very complex concept, rooted in different traditions and, there-
fore, also approached quite differently by different theorists. Already in 1952,
American anthropologists A. L. Kroeber and C. Kluckhohn collected and sys-
tematised all the definitions of culture available at the time. They ended up
with no less than 164 definitions!
BOX 1.1: TOWARDS A DEFINITION OF CULTURE
Based on their collection of 164 definitions, Kroeber and Kluckhohn tried to concen-
trate it all into the following rather cumbersome definition of culture:
culture in a business context 7
Culture consists of patterns, explicit and implicit, of and for behavior acquired and
transmitted by symbols, constituting the distinctive achievements of human groups,
including their embodiments in artifacts; the essential core of culture consists of tra-
ditional (i.e. historically derived and selected) ideas and especially their attached
values; culture systems may, on the one hand, be considered as products of action,
and on the other as conditioning elements of further action
(Kroeber & Kluckhohn 1952: 181).
Since then, many other definitions of culture have emerged, and they vary in
their view on how much culture encompasses: Is culture material or immate-
rial or both? Does it include songs, pottery and politics? Is culture behaviour,
or a question of how we speak and think? In spite of the plethora of cultural
definitions, most definitions tend to agree on most of the following traits;
namely that culture is:
a system of shared human behaviour, ideas, values and rules of living
the result of a learning process
created in social contexts
expressed in symbolic form
taken-for-granted and assumed to be natural by the culture itself.
In the context of this book we wish to address the question of culture from a
practical business point of view. In an age when most companies constantly
need to tackle issues such as outsourcing and international networking, cul-
ture and communication have become essential elements in corporate strat-
egy, planning and organizational identity.
BOX 1.2: WHAT IS THE MEANING OF CULTURE?
The term culture is used in several contexts.
Define organizational culture, professional or occupational culture, national cul-
ture, regional culture, political culture, etc.
Can you find other examples of culture?
What culture does the German Nazi leader Goebbels refer to in his famous quote
When I hear the word culture, I reach for my revolver?
1.3 Approaches to cultural understanding:
The functionalists and the interpretivists
Culture has been on the agenda in the business community for years; people
agree that culture is relevant and should not be ignored, but they often dis-
8 chapter 1
agree about the best ways of approaching cultural differences. For many years
there has been a tendency within the business community (especially within
the field of marketing and management) to approach the question of culture
from a practical and functional point of view. This means looking for essential
information on future markets and business partners in prescriptive hand-
books on how to do business in x-country, or turning to accessible theoretical
management literature on cultural differences. The functionalist school of
thought, as represented by writers like Hall, (1959, 1966, 1983), Hofstede
(1984, 1991), Gudykunst & Yun Kim (1984) and many others meet these practi-
cal and functional requirements.
The functionalists tend to associate culture with a place or a country which
exists out there, imposing patterns of behaviour on its members. Equating
culture with countries or nationality, and suggesting a causal relationship
between country of origin and distinctive behavioural features, the functional-
ists tend to focus their research on how people in country x are likely to
behave, and which values they hold. In other words, functionalist theory is
predictive. It points to national patterns of thinking and behaving in order to
minimise communication problems and to improve efficiency in intercultural
business encounters.
The functionalist approach has been taught for many years in business col-
leges and universities and is well established in the business world, as it repre-
sents a highly operational view on culture and intercultural communication.
Its strong point is that it offers tools for the businessman for navigating in the
cultural minefield. The first part of this chapter introduces the functionalist
approch to culture.
In academic circles, the functionalist approach to culture has been challenged
by other views on culture, which question the reductionist and predictive ten-
dencies of functionalist thinking, arguing that the complexity of culture cannot
be encompassed in tables of different nations values and expected behaviour.
The second part of this chapter introduces an alternative approach to culture
and intercultural encounters referred to here as the interpretive approach.
This approach differs from the functionalist approach in several ways. Rather
than being predictive and assigning general patterns of behaviour to certain
nationalities, the interpretive approach focuses on how patterns of behaviour
are interpreted and shaped by the members of a given culture.
In the interpretive approach, culture is considered to be a symbolic construc-
tion of shared meaning, i.e. an on-going, changeable, social construction a
meaning system which members use to interpret the world around them.
While the interpretivists also tend to see culture as contained within a group
of people or a certain location, they are more focused on the complexity of
culture and the existence of a myriad of overlapping, changeable small cul-
tures.
To simplify matters, it can be argued that functionalist theory is inspired by
positivist thinking as it is reflected within the natural sciences: Phenomena
can be measured and weighed and presented in a logical and structured
framework from which we can deduce what to expect. The interpretive
approach, on the other hand, is largely inspired by a humanistic tradition
which relies on individual interpretations of meaning, arguing against general-
isations and fixed frames of interpretation. To work with culture and commu-
nication in a business context, we have to understand the way both traditions
work and interact.
1.4 The functionalist approach
From a practical business point of view, one of the strong points of functio-
nalist theory lies in its highly operative and pragmatic nature. In a sense, the
traditional functionalist approach can be described as very user-friendly, as it
provides business people and students with a range of practical tools for inter-
cultural communication. Establishing a framework of what to expect in various
intercultural encounters as regards e.g. values, norms, negotiation style and
business behaviour, functionalist theory enables people to prepare for the
meeting with other cultures and other ways of doing business in a readily
accessible form. Referring to individual national cultures, functionalist theory
has collected and systematized a huge amount of data on various issues such
as e.g. the attitude towards power and authority, the need for structures and
procedures in working life, the preference for material values over immaterial,
directness versus indirectness, etc.
Focusing on contrasts rather than nuances, functionalist theory attempts to
map dominant behavioural trends and cultural characteristics of different
national cultures. From a functionalist perspective, intercultural communica-
tion is the meeting of different value systems based on patterns of expected
behaviour. To prepare for a multicultural meeting and to prepare for potential
communication problems in an intercultural or global context, the business
10 chapter 1
world traditionally relies on the functionalist approach as it offers a structured
framework and a set of operative tools that are easily applicable in the prac-
tical context of international business.
Functionalist theory has many facets. In the following we have chosen to con-
centrate on two influential representatives of functionalist theory, whose find-
ings are represented in the curricula of most business courses in intercultural
communication.
1.5 Hofstedes dimensions
From the 1970s and onwards, Geert Hofstede, Dutch researcher of manage-
ment and culture, has collected large amounts of data on culture and commu-
nication in the business world. Hofstedes first major study was based on a
series of interviews and questionnaires targeting IBM middle managers world-
wide. This study revealed substantial cultural differences in management
styles across national cultures and presented Hofstede with a unique collec-
tion of data based on the responses from individual national cultures.
Based on these national data, Hofstede subsequently presented a framework
for understanding culture and intercultural communication. This model was
initially referred to as Hofstedes four dimensions. Later, when researchers
with special insight into Asian cultures re-examined Hofstedes data, a fifth
dimension was added to the original four dimensions, i.e. that of long-term vs.
short-term orientation.
Culture, as defined by Hofstede, is the collective mental programming of
people or groups (1984). This programming of the mind takes place in the
socialization processes that each individual experiences. According to Hof-
stede, culture consists largely of stable and deep-rooted sets of norms and
values which change little over time.
Hofstede bases his model of intercultural differences on the following five
dimensions, which he considers to be cultural universals: Power distance,
uncertainty avoidance, masculine vs. feminine value orientation, individualism
vs. collectivism, and short-term vs. long-term orientation.
Power distance refers to a cultures acceptance of differences in power and
authority. In cultures characterized by high power distance a managers job is
to manage his employees, who should respect his authority and his decisions.
Students should be respectful towards university professors, since university
professors are older and wiser than students, etc. In cultures characterized by
low power distance, employees expect to take an active part in decision mak-
ing concerning their job, and university students do not generally consider
their professors as potential oracles to be treated with due respect and admi-
ration.
Uncertainty avoidance describes a cultures need for structure and proce-
dures. For instance, cultures with a high degree of uncertainty avoidance
expect their working life to be characterized by rules and regulations and
would feel let down and uncomfortable if no fixed procedures existed for how
to fill in their jobs. At the other end of the scale, cultures characterized by a
low degree of uncertainty avoidance would feel restricted in their work per-
formance if they were not allowed varying degrees of freedom in relation to
their work performance, since cultures characterized by a low degree of uncer-
tainty avoidance prefer a more flexible structure.
The masculine or feminine dimension is concerned with but by no means
limited to gender roles in society. Masculine cultures demonstrate a prefer-
ence for the so-called hard values such as economic success, status symbols
and traditional masculine values such as ambition, will-power, strength and
self-confidence. Stressing social rather than technical and individual compe-
tence, feminine cultures on the other hand are characterized by soft values
directed at the common good rather than individual self-interest.
Individualismor collectivismis used to describe how members of a culture
interpret the concept of family and relationships. Members of individualist cul-
tures tend to define family as the immediate nuclear family and tend to keep
their working life and their private life apart. In collectivist cultures family
refers to a much larger unit, including great-grand aunts and second cousins
who are expected to help and support each other. Work relations, social rela-
tions and family relations form an integrated network.
Short-term or long-term orientation, based on the teachings of Confucius, is
the most recent of Hofstedes dimensions. Asian cultures rank high on the
long-term orientation dimension, which indicates that these societies are
characterized by respect for tradition and long-term commitments. Hard work
here and now is expected to result in long-term rewards. Short-term orien-
tated cultures, while respecting the importance of personal face and stabil-
12 chapter 1
ity, do not allow long-term traditions and long-term commitments to stand in
the way of change.
Hofstedes findings are introduced and discussed in most of his books which,
like Halls, have been printed and reprinted in several versions and editions.
The results of his analysis are presented in tables in which you can check the
score of individual nations in relation to the five dimensions of his research.
Denmark and Holland e.g. are characterized by a low degree of power distance
and uncertainty avoidance, and a high degree of feminine value orientation
in contrast to e.g. Southern European countries.
1.6 Hall: Context and time
Functionalist thinking encompasses a wide range of problem areas in intercul-
tural interaction. For the purposes of this discussion, we have chosen to focus
on differences relating to communication styles and perceptions of time, since
these aspects play important roles in the demonstration of respect for others.
In a series of studies published between the 1960s and the 1980s, The Ameri-
can anthropologist Edward Hall highlights the influence of communication
styles and the influence of the way time is perceived in intercultural communi-
cation.
Hall (1981, 1990) introduces the concept of context in communication.
Broadly speaking, high-context communication and low-context communica-
tion refer to the degree of explicitness used in communication. High-context
cultures tend to express themselves in an indirect, roundabout manner, avoid-
ing the explicitness of e.g. North European and North American cultures. High-
context communication is implicit and relies on a highly coded communica-
tion style in which the speaker does not have to spell things out. In his studies,
Hall argues that e.g. Asian cultures, South European cultures and South Ameri-
can cultures are high-context cultures. Indirectness, politeness and formality
are tokens of respect in high-context cultures. The development of personal
relationships in business is considered important and needs to be built up over
time.
Low-context cultures, on the other hand, are direct and explicit in their com-
munication. North Europeans and North Americans belong to this category, in
which getting to the point is considered a sign of respect, as one should not
waste other peoples time. A similar reflection on directness and indirectness
in intercultural communication is made by other functionalists, e.g. Gesteland
(2005), whose categories of relationship-orientated cultures and deal-orien-
tated cultures mirror the characteristics of high- and low-context cultures.
Straight answers, an informal communication style, and a clear business focus
are typical of deal-orientated, low-context cultures, although the degree of
low-context orientation may vary from one low-context culture to another, as
illustrated in Chapter 6 on Danish and English negotiation styles.
BOX 1.3: A HIGH-CONTEXT WAY OF SAYING NO
A British journalist received the following letter from a Beijing newspaper explaining
why the editors had rejected his article.
We have read your manuscript with boundless delight. If we were to publish your
paper, it would be impossible for us to publish any work of a lower standard. And as
it is unthinkable that, in the next thousand years, we shall see its equal, we are, to
our regret compelled to return your divine composition, and beg you a thousand
times to overlook our short sight and timidity (Zahedi, et al. 2001).
The example illustrates the importance of politeness and face-saving actions in a
high-context Asian culture traditionally cherishing values such as harmony and
group cohesion.
In his studies of time, Hall operates with two culturally determined percep-
tions of time: Polychronic time (doing many things at the same time) and
monochronic time (doing one thing at a time). Polychronic cultures accept
that matters may be in a constant state of flux. Keeping appointments, being
on time, making fixed plans and adhering to preset schedules is not con-
sidered very important in polychronic cultures, as time is not considered a
resource that can be wasted. Polychronic cultures value the involvement of
people, while monochronic cultures find it important to structure and plan
time. Keeping appointments, respecting other peoples valuable time is a way
of showing respect in monochronic cultures. Electronic calendars, planning
tools, checklists, etc. are significant artefacts in monochronic, Western cul-
tures in which conveying an impression of being busy and having to plan ones
activities play an important part in individual self-presentation. In fact, social
and business life, even ones sex life, is commonly schedule-dominated (Hall
1989).
14 chapter 1
BOX 1.4: WHAT IS THE MEANING OF TOMORROW?
The Spanish word maana translates as tomorrow.
In the business world, different interpretations of tomorrow are the cause of much
frustration, especially in negotiations involving deadlines and time frames.
Discuss the meaning of tomorrow.
In monochronic cultures?
In polychronic cultures?
As an international business negotiator, how would you deal with this problem?
According to Hall, North European and North American cultures are examples
of cultures in which monochronic time is so thoroughly integrated that it
seems the only acceptable way of organizing life. Adhering to schedules, stick-
ing to agendas, and being on time are ways of expressing respect for other
people in monochronic cultures. By contrast, in Southern, polychronic cul-
tures, these traits are perceived as signs of inflexibility, bordering on rigidity
and impoliteness. Generally speaking, polychronic cultures, e.g. Southern
European cultures, are also high-context cultures, while monochronic cultures
are also low-context cultures.
1.7 Criticism of the functionalist approach
The functionalist approach has been criticised for taking the concept of
national culture and national identity as its point of departure and suggesting
that people of a certain nationality have shared patterns of behaviour, values,
ideas and meanings which are different from those of other nationalities (e.g.
Danes do this, Italians are like that). However, national culture can be a prob-
lematic construct, as similarities or differences in people are not only based on
country of origin.
Firstly, many state borders have been drawn arbitrarily and not always accord-
ing to the more natural borders following languages. Secondly, though
national identity often serves as an important means of identification and
belonging, and to some extent suggests the likelihood of specific behavioural
patterns, peoples identity is not only a product of nationality. Other impor-
tant identity-creating factors are age, gender, race, religion, family patterns,
education and occupation. In fact, people usually have several identities, apart
from their national identity, since most people belong to a wide variety of
groups which all shape their behaviour and preferences. These different group
identities are enacted in different contexts, e.g. at home, at work, in the local
pub, among friends or family, at work, in the leisure centre, etc. In other
words, people belong to a myriad of small cultures or communities and gener-
ate their own composite cultural identity. No one model or theoretical frame-
work can fully reflect this degree of complexity and individual variety.
BOX 1.5: WHAT IS NATIONAL IDENTITY?
Identify and discuss some of the factors that influence national identity
educational systems
family patterns
media
gender roles
the role of regional differences
etc.
1.7.1 Ethnocentrism
The functionalist concept of mapping cultural differences has been challenged
by rival approaches to intercultural communication. Critics argue that the
functionalist approach relies on standardization, categorization and stereo-
typing, and that the representatives of functionalist theory reflect a limited
and ethnocentric understanding of culture. Ethnocentrism is one of the most
important keywords in the criticism raised against functionalist thinking.
Hofstede may have missed important dimensions relevent to non-western cul-
tures, and his five dimensions for measuring culture cannot be considered cul-
tural universals.
The word ethnocentrismis derived from the Greek ethnos, i.e. people. Ethno-
centrismliterally means to place your own people in the centre and to assume
that your own race, culture, society, etc. are superior to all others. In other
words, ethnocentrismcan be defined as a biased set of assumptions in favour
of ones own ethnic group or culture. Generally speaking, people from most
cultures:
Think of what goes on in their own culture as natural and correct and
what goes on in other cultures as not natural and not correct.
Perceive their own customs as universally valid.
Believe their own norms, roles and values are correct, particularly as
concerns their own immediate ingroup or subculture.
Favour and cooperate with ingroup members while feeling hostile
towards outgroups (Triandis in Guirdham 2005: 149).
16 chapter 1
1.7.2 Determinism
The functionalists have been criticised for comparing the relationship between
values and behaviour, with the role of natural forces in the world of physics.
One knows that forces exist when objects move, Hofstede claims (1980). In the
same way, Hofstede maintains, we know that mental programmes exist by
looking at the way people behave or the other way around we can predict
the behaviour of people by looking at their country of origin. This determinis-
tic view of culture, i.e. that we are programmed mentally and therefore vic-
tims to our circumstances (Holliday et al. 2004: 157), has been counter-
argued by the interpretivists, who claim that people are not computers and
cannot be expected to act according to the logic of computer programmes.
Individuals are more likely to respond to the same events in many different
ways depending on the situation, their personal history, etc. (Fay in Holliday
2004: 60). For these reasons, the interpretivists say, it is not helpful to meet
people with fixed expectations.
1.7.3 Stereotyping
Stereotypes are not facts, but rather preconceived ideas about the Other, i.e.
other cultures or groups. Stereotypes may lead to crude generalizations in
international encounters and prevent us from noticing individual differences
and from responding to the individual rather than to preconceived ideas of
national stereotypes. Remember the old joke on national stereotypes? In
Heaven, the police are English, the cooks are French, the mechanics are Ger-
man, the lovers are Italian, and everything is organized by the Swiss. In Hell,
the police are German, the cooks are English, the mechanics are French, the
lovers are Swiss, and everything is organized by the Italians.
In a broader, cognitive context, however, the concept of stereotype has gradu-
ally lost its former sense of irrationality and prejudice and can also be con-
sidered an ordinary cognitive process in which people categorize people and
entities in order to avoid information overload (Guirdham 2005: 150).
1.8 The interpretive approach
The interpretive challenger to the functionalist approach sees culture as a
meaning system which people produce and use to make sense of the world
around them. Rather than placing a particular culture on a scale from high to
low power distance, by way of example, the interpretive approach focuses on
the importance of individual interpretations and meaning systems in intercul-
tural communication.
Based on a humanistic or hermeneutic view on culture, the interpretivists
advocate an approach which favours experience and dialogue rather than pre-
conceived opinions about the Other. From an interpretive point of view,
understanding is the key to successful intercultural communication. Under-
standing comes from experience; experience obtained when entering into dia-
logue with the other cultures. From an interpretive point of view, cultural dif-
ferences are sources of valuable input about other cultures, while functio-
nalists traditionally regard differences as obstacles to effective communica-
tion. The interpretive approach suggests that entering into dialogue with
other cultures and meeting other cultures with an open mind is a sine qua non
in intercultural understanding, as it serves to:
sensitise those engaging in intercultural encounters to the importance of
acknowledging difference and regarding it as a productive resource rather than
a barrier to communication. In practice, this means attempting to understand
the other on his or her own terms (Blasco 2004: 39).
BOX 1.6: THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING OPEN TO DIFFERENCES
Some of the businessmen interviewed for the purpose of this chapter have em-
phasised the importance of being curious, of showing a genuine interest in and respect
for others. They stress the importance of remaining open to the fact that people are
different and may interpret the world differently even within the same culture.
We are extremely aware of the fact that people think in different ways (Danish
International Sales Manager).
You should know, what you dont know (Danish International Sales Manager).
Its important that those [working with intercultural communication in the com-
pany] not simply get stories from us [in the sales department]. They need to get out
and see, feel and experience things for themselves. And they do! (International Sales
Manager).
Underestimating the complexities of cultural processes can be detrimental to
business negotiations and result in market failure. With limited knowledge
about other cultures, i.e. the Other, or the belief that you can rely on a set of
rules for intercultural communication, you run the risk of assuming that you
know in advance how the Other feels, thinks and acts. An awareness of the
fact that your knowledge of the Other is only a fragment of what that person
may contain will help you remain open to the fact that people are complex and
contain more than any cultural guide can capture.
18 chapter 1
The interpretive approach is inspired by a range of different academic disci-
plines which all deal with questions of interpretation and meaning, ranging
from literary theory to semiotics and interpretive anthropology. As the name
suggests, interpretive anthropology is concerned with interpretation and
understanding, relating to the way the interpretivists define culture and to the
methods they use to conduct intercultural research.
1.9 Geertz webs of significance
Clifford Geertz, The American anthropologist and one of the leading figures
within the interpretive approach, defines culture as a system of symbols, or as
webs of significance:
The concept of culture I espouse [] is essentially a semiotic one. Believing,
with Max Weber, that man is an animal suspended in webs of significance he
himself has spun, I take culture to be those webs, and the analysis of it to be
therefore not an experimental science in search of law but an interpretive one in
search of meaning (Geertz 1973: 4-5).
Suggesting that culture is webs of significance essentially means that culture
helps us learn and manage what is meaningful and what makes sense to us
and others in a given context. Culture becomes a universe of meaning we use
to conduct and interpret events and actions around us in a meaningful way.
BOX 1.7: CULTURE AND INTERPRETIVE ANTHROPOLOGY
Symbolic or interpretive anthropology is an umbrella term used within anthropology
to refer to a number of cultural theories developed in the 1970s and 80s. Common to
these approaches is a view of culture as a meaning system, and the anthropologists
aim is to interpret the way people in a particular culture use their meaning system to
make sense of the world, i.e. to interpret their interpretations. Key figures within
this approach are Clifford Geertz (1973) and Victor Turner (1974).
According to the interpretive approach, there is no one-to-one relationship
between thoughts, words and behaviour as suggested by some functionalists.
People are to some extent guided by their values, but their actual behaviour is
constantly modified and conditioned by the context and peoples interests
and experiences (cf. Chapter 2). Culture is much more than a question of
nationality; the social context plays a significant role in the way we add mean-
ing to things, and so does the individual and his or her interests and experi-
ences.
The cultural meaning system is passed on from one generation to the next
but not in an unchangeable and static form as suggested by the functionalists.
Cultures are considered dynamic and changeable as people continually
construct and reconstruct their webs of significance. Geertz proposes that
culture is a product of man and that a reciprocal relationship exists between
cultural meanings and man; meanings act upon man and man acts upon
meanings.
BOX 1.8: CAN YOU STEP INTO THE SAME RIVER TWICE?
When you see a river from afar, it may look like a blue (or green, or brown) line
across a landscape; something of awesome permanence. But at the same time you
cannot step into the same river twice for it is always moving, and only in this way
does it achieve its durability. The same way with culture even as you perceive struc-
ture, it is entirely dependent on ongoing process (Hannerz 1992: 4).
The following example illustrates how webs of significance sometimes clash
and create problems in intercultural encounters. The example highlights how
values connected with farming and animal ethics clash in a joint Danish-Polish
agriculture project:
People can have very different understandings of farming ethics. What about
animal welfare how do people view animal welfare? Here is a significant differ-
ence. We lead lengthy discussions about animal welfare in Denmark. Whereas
in Eastern Europe attitudes towards animals often equal those of farmers in
Denmark in the 40s and 50s: an animal is an animal which means you can treat
it exactly as you like and anybody was free to beat or shoot his dog. This is the
attitude I feel still exists in Eastern Europe. They are willing to discuss these
things but it doesnt mean that they accept our attitude (Danish Interna-
tional Adviser).
As the example suggests, the webs of significance in which people are spun
form the point of departure for their communication. Webs of significance
constitute peoples horizon of interpretation (cf. Chapter 2). If we do not
understand the behaviour of people from other cultures, it may be due to the
fact that we are unfamiliar with their webs of significance the framework
which adds meaning and sense to their signs. To return to our example,
anthropologists would be interested in interpreting the cultural meanings
associated with farming and animal ethics in Denmark and Eastern Europe
(not least trying to find out which animals people are allowed to kill in cold
20 chapter 1
blood) rather than simply observing and interpreting the behavioural patterns
from a Danish point of view and suggesting that Eastern Europeans are cruel
to animals.
1.9.1 From observation to understanding
Rather than trying to predict peoples behaviour, e.g. by posing causal rela-
tionships between the value time orientation and a certain behaviour such as
being late for a meeting, Geertz suggests that all we can do is to observe,
describe, and interpret the symbolic meaning of public practices, events,
rituals and interactions that people in particular cultures use to make life
meaningful.
BOX 1.9: DANES AND THE DANISH FLAG
Exchange students are amazed that Danes use the Danish flag (the Dannebrog) at
home, in the streets, in shops, on cakes, on Christmas trees, etc. They interpret the
use of flags as a manifestation of strong nationalistic tendencies.
What is your interpretation?
Observing and understanding other cultures is an important factor in a
business context. Intercultural marketing e.g. can be extremely culture-sen-
sitive and it is a vital importance for producers to remain open to the fact that
products can be perceived and interpreted differently from one culture to
another (cf. Chapter 5).
The aim of cultural studies, therefore, is to meet and try to understand people
on their own terms, i.e. who they are and why they act as they do (from the
insiders perspectives). Pre-defined, universal categories as presented by the
functionalists should be avoided and replaced by observations of the specific,
i.e. the observation of specific people in specific cultures in specific contexts.
BOX 1.10: THE ETIC AND THE EMIC WAY OF STUDYING CULTURE
The functionalists employ an etic perspective in their study of cultures, whereas the
interpretivists employ an emic perspective. The concepts etic and emic were
coined by the linguist/anthropologist Kenneth Pike in 1954. If you use an etic perspec-
tive, you examine a culture on the basis of predefined concepts (e.g. power distance,
high context/low context, individualism/collectivism, time orientation), looking for
cultural universals, comparing and contrasting your own culture with the culture
under investigation. If you use an emic perspective you try to avoid the predefined
concepts. Instead you turn to insiders, i.e. members of the culture in question, and
search for relevant and possibly unique concepts which make sense to insiders. You
try to understand peoples values, ideas and beliefs and in this way let cultural pat-
terns emerge from the investigations themselves.
The etic perspective is often accused of being ethnocentric in its approach to culture
as its point of departure often refers to Western cultural contexts. The emic perspec-
tive may give access to unique and in-depth knowledge of the cultures in question.
On the other hand, it is a time-consuming and intangible approach relying on ethno-
graphic methods (participant observations), semiotic analyses (study of signs), and
discourse analyses (the way people in a given group talk about given phenomena).
Geertz suggests that analyzing a culture is like analyzing the meaning of a text,
sorting out the structures of signification [] and determining their social
ground and import (1973: 9). Doing ethnography is like trying to read (in the
sense of construct a reading of) a manuscript [] (ibid: 10).
BOX 1.11: INTERCULTURAL MARKETING AND NATIONAL DIFFERENCES
Working with local agents and local focus groups, Arla markets dairy products in
ways that are highly conscious of the influence of culture and context in individual
markets. Arlas product managers for the Chinese, Overseas, and Middle East mar-
kets provide the following information:
Butter is virtually an unknown product in the Chinese market, as the Chinese use
cooking oil. In the framework of this chapter, we would say that butter has no place
in Chinese webs of significance. However, as the potential of the Chinese market is
huge, LURPAK butter is now marketed to the segment of young, upper-middle class
22 chapter 1
Figure 1.3: The etic and
emic approach to cul-
ture The etic approach:
Culture is studied from
the outside
The emic approach
Culture is studied from
the inside
Chinese who want to be seen as modern and westernized. In the Chinese market,
according to Arlas product managers, the use of butter is limited to a breakfast
framework which also has to be explained to the consumer.
Figure 1.1: Contextualizing LURPAK butter for Chinese customers
In Australia, marketing challenges are of a very different nature. The fact that New
Zealand butter is sold at approximately one third of the price of LURPAK butter
influences Arlas choice of marketing and advertising strategies for the Australian
24 chapter 1
:|:
:r:,1+,
|..,
LuFFAK is a worldwide known brand of butter and spreadable uade in enuark - the country of fairytales.
LuFFAK is distinguished by its natural, delicate and fresh taste.
LuFFAK is chosen everywhere because of its unique taste and quality.
LuFFAK is ideal for cooking. The excellent quality of the butter enhances the Navour of the food
- savoury as well as sweet dishes. Choose LuFFAK when you want to indulge yourself.
LuFFAK has been awarded the world's best butter in 1998 and 2000.
LuFFAK is now available in Woolworths.
For uore inforuation, please visit www.lurpak.cou. For trade enquiries. sales@uayers.cou.au
0 / l l S | B u T T E R
Figure 1.2: LURPAK butter ad for the Australian market
market. Why should Australians buy expensive LURPAK butter when they can get
cheaper New Zealand butter of a reasonable quality?
What webs of significance and which connotative framework does the ad for the
Australian market suggest?
In ads and TV commercials for the Middle East, we find other webs of significance in
relation to LURPAK butter. The TV commercials for LURPAK butter in this market fea-
ture the story of the spoiled cow that leads a life of luxury. The spoiled cow flies its
own airplane, visits beautiful castles, and is waited on by a series humble footmen
waiting to obey its every command. This universe of opulence and the reversed ani-
mal/man hierarchy stress the unique quality of the product. The spoiled cow is
revered and obeyed because it delivers milk of unsurpassable quality. In this particu-
lar context, the spoiled cow is the king of kings. Interestingly, the gender of the
spoiled cow is somewhat ambiguous. His/her Excellency, the spoiled cow, moves in
a male universe and mirrors male patterns of behaviour, e.g. flying airplanes and tak-
ing part in football settings.
Why has Arla chosen this approach in the Middle East context? Which of Hofstedes
dimensions may be working in the background in this particular cultural context?
Discuss the influence of culture and context in relation to the presentation of LURPAK
butter in the markets mentioned above.
In intercultural marketing, adapting to local markets (localization) is an important
issue, especially as regards products relating to food or home, cf. Chapter 4 on
localization.
1.9.2 Thick description
Clifford Geertz is famous for his very detailed description of cultural pheno-
mena, referred to as thick description. In his essay Notes on the Balinese
Cockfight (1973), Geertz wants to find out why cockfights are taken so seri-
ously by the Balinese. Applying the concept of thick description, Geertz
describes and analyses the role of cockfights in Bali.
Geertz uses thick description to illustrate the intense atmosphere of cock
fights. Following talks with informants, Geertz suggests that cock fights influ-
ence social hierarchies in the local communities and thus play an important
part in the understanding of these communities at the time.
BOX 1.12: A FAMOUS EXAMPLE OF THICK DESCRIPTION:
Most of the time, in any case, the cocks fly almost immediately at one another in a
wing-beating, head-thrusting, leg-kicking explosion of animal fury so pure, so
absolute, and in its own way so beautiful, as to be almost abstract, a Platonic concept
of hate. Within moments one or the other drives home a solid blow with his spur. The
handler whose cock has delivered the blow immediately picks it up so that it will not
get a return blow, for if he does not the match is likely to end in a mutually mortal tie
as the two birds wildly hack each other to pieces [] During this interval [the break],
slightly over two minutes, the handler of the wounded cock has been working franti-
cally over it, like a trainer patching a mauled boxer between rounds, to get it in shape
for a last, desperate try for victory. He blows in its mouth, putting the whole chicken
head in his own mouth and sucking and blowing, fluffs it, stuffs its wounds with vari-
ous sorts of medicines, and generally tries anything he can think of to arouse the last
ounce of spirit which may be hidden somewhere within it. By the time he is forced to
put it back down he is usually drenched in chicken blood, but, as in prize fighting, a
good handler is worth his weight in gold. Some of them can virtually make the dead
walk, at least long enough for the second and final round (Geertz 1973: 422-423).
1.10 Criticism of the interpretive approach
As previously discussed, the interpretive approach to intercultural communi-
cation has its roots in interpretative anthropology. When applied within the
business world, however, some critical points are raised against this approach.
1.10.1 Utility
While the functionalist approach seeks to establish patterns of behaviour and
tries to formulate generalizations which can be used as guidelines for cultural
communication, the interpretivists stress the importance of interpretation
and context, arguing that each cultural meeting is unique.
If that is so if each cultural meeting is unique and has to be understood in
context then what are the lessons we can learn at the end of the day? Danish
philosopher Sren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) said that life can only be under-
stood backwards, but has to be lived forwards. If we can only understand back-
wards, then, perhaps, this approach may be difficult to put into practice for
the businessman trying to prepare himself for an intercultural encounter.
1.10.2 Relativism
A key concept in interpretive thinking is the rejection of truth, or authorita-
tive knowledge. Instead, interpretive thinking operates with different sets of
26 chapter 1
possible and even co-existing interpretations, each one in principle as valid as
others in its own web of meaning. If several interpretations are possible and
equally valid, however, we find ourselves in a relativist position of being
unable to choose, unable to decide in any rigorous, academic way what the
better interpretation is.
Not only are we deprived of authoritative knowledge relativismalso deprives
us of authoritative moral and ethical values. According to the emic approach
advocated by the interpretivists we have to try to understand the Other on
his or her own terms, starting from their web of meaning. But if we under-
stand, should we also accept? Should we accept cannibalism because we
understand its cultural context? Should business people accept nepotism and
corruption if they understand why these practices can be both acceptable and
expected in human as well as cultural terms? In the ultimate consequence, do
we find ourselves without either truth or morals?
1.10.3 Idealism
For interpretivists, roughly speaking, the most important tool in the meeting
of cultures is an open mind, and the willingness constantly to review and
adjust ones impressions and interpretations of other cultures, and to avoid
cultural stereotypes and ethnocentric value judgments.
In practice, this may be easier said than done. Are we being nave in assuming
that we can free ourselves from the influence of cultural stereotypes? Is it
really possible for individuals to participate in cultural encounters without any
prejudice or any pre-set interpretive patterns? Functionalists would argue that
the cultural analysts task is to equip the cultural traveller with the best models
and patterns possible, however inadequate they turn out to be in the individ-
ual encounter. Interpretivists, however, will argue that increased cultural
awareness of other cultures and increased experience with other patterns of
interpretation or other webs of significance will prevent the individual from
relying on stereotypes and generalizations.
BOX 1.13: A BALANCED VIEW ON STEREOTYPES
Despite the problems with stereotypes, it is necessary in intercultural communi-
cation to make cultural generalizations. Without any kind of supposition or hypothe-
sis about the cultural differences we may encounter in an intercultural situation, we
may fall prey to naive individualism, where we assume that every person is acting in
some completely unique way. Or we may rely inordinately on common sense to
direct our communication behaviour. Common sense is, of course, common only to a
particular culture. Its application outside of ones own culture is usually ethnocen-
tric (Bennett 1998: 6).
1.11 Conclusion
How, then, should we approach culture if we want to become capable and
competent communicators in a global context? Should we act as functionalists
or interpretivists?
Instead of thinking in either-or terms, it seems meaningful to consider the
functionalist and interpretive approaches as steps in an understanding of the
Other, thereby combining aspects of each tradition. For example, there is no
problem in saying that Danes and Italians differ in their time-orientation or in
terms of power relations and in using this pre-understanding as a point of
departure in business negotiations. But we must not fall prey to the belief that
such dimensions tell us the truth about the individual Dane or the individual
Italian or that this is the case in all situations. Nor should these value dimen-
sions constitute the sole guideline for our behaviour abroad and blind us to
other and perhaps more important dimensions.
BOX 1.14: SOFT VALUES
Its the soft values, cultural awareness, acceptance of other peoples behaviour and
the fact that they are different from us. And the ability to acknowledge all this and
still carry out your work. This is extremely important. Also being able to listen and
trying to understand the unsaid (Danish International Adviser).
Crude categories or golden rules may perhaps serve as an introduction to a
given field. However, they should not become fixed beliefs or predefined
stereotypes which blind us to other important observations in intercultural
encounters.
We do not suggest that Danish businesses should make participant observa-
tions, extensive discourse analyses or other time-consuming research into
their foreign business partners before entering business relationships. Neither
time nor money would ever allow this approach.
We do suggest, however, that the importance of interpretation, understand-
ing and interaction deserves a higher degree of attention in the business com-
munity, and that the key to successful intercultural encounters lies in under-
28 chapter 1
standing! First of all you should understand what it takes to communicate,
since this is what we are concerned with in intercultural communication. It is
equally important that you use dialogue actively to understand the parties
involved in the communication situation, i.e. that you pay attention to others
by being a good listener and meeting others with an open mind rather than
drawing on a set of predefined national stereotypes.
It is equally important that you are aware of what possible stereotypes and
interpretive patterns characterize your own frame of reference. The chances
are that dialogue and an open mind will help you gain a deeper understanding
and insight into the culture of those with whom you are communicating.
BOX 1.15: THE INTERCULTURAL MANAGER
Research indicates that managers are ineffective in cross-cultural situations when
they either deny having stereotypes or get stuck in them. Managers rated most effec-
tive by peers were those who admitted having stereotypes, using them as a starting
point, but continually revising them as they gained more experience. These man-
agers were constantly checking and rechecking, always updating the files against
first-hand information. They were willing to question themselves and their stereo-
types, to consciously unlearn, and to redefine their experiences. This requires careful
observation, suspending judgement and looking for explanations reasons that
make sense from the native perspective (Schneider and Barsoux 2003:14).
By way of conclusion, we would like to suggest that culture is peoples hori-
zon of interpretation, also referred to by Geertz as their webs of significance.
Following this line of thinking, successful intercultural communication
depends on creating a fusion of different horizons and a set of shared symbols
through which communication can take place.
Exercises and points for discussion
1. Discuss the main differences between the functionalist approach and the
interpretive approach.
2. What is a web of significance and how does this term relate to intercul-
tural communication?
3. Discuss the concept of national identity? Is it meaningful to talk about a
Danish national identity? What constitutes this identity?
4. Discuss the relation between ethnocentrismand stereotypes. Can you
think of situations in which people from other cultures have experienced
you as ethnocentric? Ask exchange students for examples of cultural differ-
ences.
5. Find a business etiquette guide on the Internet (e.g.
http://www.executiveplanet.com/business-etiquette/Denmark.html).
Consider the way Danish business people are described in the guide. Are
the descriptions correct? What are the strengths and weaknesses of such
guides?
6. Discuss the role of national languages in relation to globalization and
national identity. Some Danish politicians e.g. suggest that children should
be taught English from early Kindergarten-age. Others suggest that English
should be the dominant language in schools and universities to prepare
children and students for the global world.
What do you think? What is the opinion of your parents, grand parents,
neighbours, business relations, language teachers, economics teachers,
etc.? Discuss how different webs of significance influence our values and
opinions.
References
Bennet, M.J. (1998): Intercultural Communication: A Current Perspective. In:
Bennet, M.J. (ed.), Basic Concepts of Intercultural Communication
selected readings, Maine: Intercultural Press Inc.
Blasco, M. & Gustafsson, J. (eds. 2004): Intercultural Alternatives Critical Per-
spectives on Intercultural Encounters in Theory and Practice, Copenhagen:
Copenhagen Business School Press.
Fay. B. (1996): Contemporary Philosophy of Social Science: A Multicultural
Approach, Oxford: Blackwell.
Ferraro, G. P. (1998): The Cultural Dimension of International Business, New
Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Geertz, C. (1973): The Interpretation of Cultures, New York: Basic Books.
30 chapter 1
Gesteland, R. (2005): Cross-Cultural Business Behavior (4
th
ed.), Copenhagen:
Copenhagen Business School Press.
Guirdham, M. (1999, (2005)): Communicating across cultures at work, New
York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Gudykunst, W.B. & Y.Y. Kim (1984): Communicating with strangers: An
approach to intercultural communication, New York: Random House.
Hall, E. T. (1989, (1983)): The Dance of Life, New York: Doubleday.
Hall, E. T. (1990, (1966)): The Hidden Dimension, New York: Doubleday.
Hall, E. T. (1981, (1959)): The Silent Language, New York: Doubleday.
Hannerz, U. (1992): Cultural Complexity. Studies in the Social Organization of
Meaning, New York: Columbia University Press.
Hofstede, G. (2001, (1984), (1980)): Cultures Consequences, Sage Publica-
tions: Beverly Hills.
Hofstede, G. (2005, (1991)): Cultures and Organizations Software of the
Mind, McGraw-Hill: London.
Holliday, A., Hyde, M., & Kullman, J. (2004): Intercultural Communication. An
Advanced Resource Book, London: Routledge Advanced Linguistics.
Kroeber, A.L., & Kluckhohn, C. (1952): Culture: A critical review of concepts and
definitions. In: Harvard University Peabody Museum of American Archeol-
ogy and Ethnology Papers 47.
Jandt, F. E. (1998): Intercultural Communication. An Introduction, London:
Sage Publications.
Pike, K. (1954): Language in relation to a unified theory of the structure of
human behaviour, Glendale: Summer Institute of Linguistics.
Schneider, S. C. and Barsoux, J. (2003, (1997)): Managing Across Cultures,
Essex: Pearson Education.
Triandis, H.C. (1990) Theoretical concepts that are applicable to the analysis of
ethnocentrism. In: Brislin, R.W. (ed.), Applied Cross-Cultural Psychology,
Newbury Park: Sage Publications.
Turner, V. (1974): Dramas, Fields and Metaphors. Symbolic Action in Human
Society, Ithaca/New York: Cornell University Press.
Zahedi, F.M., Van Pelt, W. & Song, J. (2001): A Conceptual Framework for Inter-
national Web Design. In: IEE Transactions on Professional Communication,
44 (2).
CHAPTER 2
Communication: Transmitting
messages or fusing horizons?
Inger Askehave
2.1 Five easy steps to successful communication?
Let me warn you! This chapter does not provide you with five easy steps to
successful communication. The reason is that your choice of communication
strategy differs immensely depending on whether you are talking to your
grandmother, your teacher, the newly arrived exchange student or the charm-
ing Greek waiter. This makes it very difficult if not impossible to provide
you with advice on how to communicate successfully in any situation you may
come across.
However, what we can do, is to address the basic premises of communication
and discuss what it takes to understand (or misunderstand) other people, and in
this way open your eyes to the challenges and opportunities which communica-
tion presents to you. And then, it is up to you to decide how the situation you are
in may influence the way you speak, and the way you are being understood.
The aim of the chapter is, therefore, to discuss the concept of communication;
from a conventional to a more sophisticated and elaborate view. In our discus-
sion, we shall consider questions like: What is communication, what makes a
text (be it oral or written) meaningful, and why do some people understand or
misunderstand each other? To this end, the chapter returns to the definition of
culture as a horizon or a meaning system presented in Chapter 1 and dis-
cusses how different cultural backgrounds, and therefore different horizons,
may influence the way we communicate.
2.2 What is communication transmission vs. interaction
Communication is approached quite differently by different theorists. In the
previous chapter we saw an opposition between the natural science-based,
communication: transmitting messages or fusing horizons? 33
prescriptive functionalists and the humanistic, descriptive interpretivists. In
many ways the same opposition is at play within communication theories.
Roughly speaking, we might say that two different approaches dominate the
field of communication. The first one is the transmission approach which is
included here because of its dominance within American business literature
(e.g. marketing, public relations, and intercultural market communication
literature) and within the business world in general. The second approach,
communication as interaction, originates in sociology, philosophy, and
linguistics, and is perhaps best described as the humanistic alternative to the
rather mechanical transmission model.
The two approaches provide very different hypotheses about communication
and their focus and object of study are, as a consequence, also very different.
We shall consider each approach in turn in the first sections of this chapter;
not because comparisons and contrasts are interesting in themselves (many
other books on communication have already contrasted the two) but because
familiarity with the two dominant views on communication within intercul-
tural communication and marketing makes you a more competent and critical
user of such literature in the future.
After having compared the two approaches we choose sides and elaborate
on the interactive approach which offers an interesting method for capturing
the complexity of communication and ties in well with the interpretivists view
on culture discussed in Chapter 1. But lets begin with the beginning and the
communication model which marked the launch of communication studies:
the transmission model.
2.2.1 Communication as transmission
The transmission approach dates back to the 1940s where Claude E. Shannon
and Warren Weaver, engineers at Bell Telephone Laboratory in the USA,
devised a model of information transmission to account for the technicalities
of communication, and look for ways to eliminate technical problems when
communicating over the phone or the radio.
34 chapter 2
Information source; the person talking on e.g. the phone.
Message sent; that which is being transmitted, e.g. spoken words but
it could also be music, pictures etc. in other media.
Transmitter; e.g. the device in the telephone which turns the voice into
electrical impulses (signals).
Channel; the channel or the medium spoken through here the tele-
phone or telephone wire.
Signal/Received Signal; electrical impulses on the wire.
Receiver; the telephone receiver which turns the electrical impulses into
a human voice.
Message received; the words being heard by the person in the other end
of the line.
Destination; the person being talked to.
Noise; e.g. distortions in sound on the telephone.
As engineers, Shannon and Weaver were concerned with the communication
channel itself, mainly the medium used to transmit the signals (or message)
from the sender to the receiver. Human aspects of communication, e.g. the
message itself, or the meaning exchange which took place between sender
and receiver, were deemed irrelevant to their research as they were concerned
with solving an engineering problem related to the communication channel
only (Shannon & Weaver 1949: 31).
Figure 2.1: Shannon and Weavers communication model (Shannon & Weaver 1949: 7)
Information
source Transmitter
Message
Noise source
Signal Recieved
signal
Message
Reciever Destination
Neglecting the human beings behind the communication and focussing
wholly on the technicalities of the communication did not, however, prevent
psychologists, social scientists, marketers, and linguistics from adopting the
model, using it with varying modifications to account for the way people com-
municate with each other.
The transmission approach sees communication as a one-way process, where
the sender sends off his message and the receiver waits in the other end of the
line, ready to receive it. The metaphor for communication is one of transporta-
tion and transmission. Though, as we shall see later, one might argue that it is a
simplistic view on communication, it is interesting to see the impact it has had
on us up till this day. Just think of all the transportation metaphors we (uncon-
sciously) use when talking about communication in everyday life. A quick search
on the word message in the text corpora database from Collins Birmingham Uni-
versity International Language Database, provides the following examples of the
way people use and understand the word message in standard English:
EXAMPLE 2.1
Only in this way can we hope to continue to spread the message about womens ordi-
nation in these vital years during the long process of legislation.
We urgently need to find a way to get this message across to more people so we can
increase the number of our supporters.
Apart from the focus on transmitting (the senders) message as in the exam-
ples above, there are also elements of control and efficiency in the transmis-
sion model. Not only does the sender send off his message, he does so with
the purpose of influencing the receiver, for example getting the receiver to do
something, thereby indirectly controlling his behaviour. Such elements of con-
trol and efficiency are also remnants of Shannon and Weavers studies as they
suggested that with no errors from noise or other causes, the received signals
would correspond precisely to the message symbols sent (1949: 19) which to
some extent is true if we, as Shannon and Weaver did, only focus on the trans-
mission of sound waves and electrical impulses. Within human communica-
tion, however, the message is made up of symbols (e.g. words) which mean
different things to different people. And this often causes the message to be
interpreted differently than what was intended originally.
36 chapter 2
In spite of this, the transmission approach argues that with no error (noise) the
meaning of the message is what the sender puts into it. Not the other way
round. So if all the key components of communication are fine-tuned, e.g. the
message is thoughtfully designed, the channel is right, and noise is eliminated,
etc., the receiver will automatically adopt the message and start to react in the
desired way. The following statements from the English text corpus are a testi-
mony to this belief:
EXAMPLE 2.2
I have no doubt of the strength of our message but we have to be sure that it is com-
municated effectively to the electorate.
What do you want to achieve? Who are you aiming at and with what message?
All of the expressions above allude to the idea of messages being sender-con-
trolled, goal-oriented and meaningful per se.
Now, if this is a gross misrepresentation of what happens when we communi-
cate, or at least a very simplified view on communication, why spend time dis-
cussing this view in a book like this? The reason is that this approach to com-
munication is still quite dominant in our society, pervades our language, and,
as shown in the examples above, influences the way we talk about, and to a
very large extent come to understand communication. In addition it is also a
commonly held view in present-day literature on marketing, Public Relations
and corporate communication
1
where this approach to communication and
the corporate acceptance of it as truth, seem to reinforce each other.
The communication gurus want to offer solutions to problems, and so they
need to approach communication as something which is controllable, treat-
able, and goal-oriented. Therefore, in spite of the fact that the models we are
confronted with today within business and market communication may be
more elaborate and detailed than the Shannon and Weaver model presented
above, the view on communication is more or less the same: If you follow a
particular, step-wise procedure and eliminate noise, your message will get
through and you will achieve ultimate control over business partners, employ-
ees, consumers, etc. Book titles such as Talking business Making Communi-
1) Though one should of course not ignore the important contributions within marketing and semiotics
in the 1990s, see for example Dahl & Buhl (1993) and Allingham (1997).
cation Work, Effective Writing Skills for Public Relations, or Making your
Mark: Effective Business Communication in Germany abound, and bear evi-
dence to the dominance of the transmission approach within business com-
munication.
2.2.2 Questioning the transmission model
No wonder books on business communication are top seated on the list of pro-
fessional how-to-do books. They seem to suggest that with a little effort and
rhetorical flair you can create effective messages, and get the response you
want. But there is a problem. And the problem is that the transmission
approach more or less neglects the fact that communication is an interactive
and dynamic process between two or more participants and, therefore, not
something the sender does to the receiver. Also how can we be so sure that
what we consider an effective message is considered effective by our target
group?
In order to address this question we need to turn to an alternative view on
communication. This view suggests that rather than focusing on the transmis-
sion of messages we should investigate how people understand and interpret
the messages they receive and how their interpretation actively contributes
to the communication as a whole.
In any communication situation, it is important to realize that what you say to
someone is hardly ever unpacked in exactly the same way by the addressee.
What is more likely to happen is that the addresser creates a message out of
signs (e.g. words). This message stimulates the addressee to create meaning
for himself that (hopefully?) relates to the meaning generated in the first
place. However, the message contains no fixed meaning in itself and the
addresser cannot be sure that the addressees interpretation corresponds to
the intended meaning. As one of the prominent figures within literary studies,
Wolfgang Iser, says when talking about text interpretation:
The message is transmitted in two ways, in that the reader receives it by com-
posing it. There is no common code at best one could say that a common code
may arise in the course of the process (Iser 1980: 107).
So if a Danish purchasing agent goes out to China to negotiate terms and con-
ditions for the next delivery of goods, the agent should be aware that what he
says, e.g. his choice of words, is not nearly as important as what the Chinese
38 chapter 2
product manager makes of these words. For example when the Danish agent
uses a word like quality, he has a pre-understanding of the meaning of this
word; probably derived from the grading of quality used in his company. How-
ever, quality, especially good quality, is not a universal concept and the ques-
tion of what constitutes good quality may differ from one company to another
or from one person to another. One way to overcome this problem is to com-
pare product samples and discuss the grading of quality, thereby reaching a
shared understanding of good quality.
BOX 2.1: THE MEANING OF WORDS
If you dont ask for anything specific [e.g. a specific product] youll get whatever is
available, at least in a Chinese context. Ill always specify the product that I want. Ill
spell out exactly what I want down to the last detail. Thats the only way to ensure
product quality. Im very conscious of the fact that you need to be conscious about
your concepts. (Danish Procurement Director).
Thus the meaning of what is said or written down is neither fixed nor sender-
controlled, but depends just as much on the interpretation of the addressee
(his time, tradition, world view, situation, etc.). What is important in a conver-
sation is not simply to get your own message of e.g. good quality across, but
to fuse or merge the two, perhaps slightly diverging, understandings of good
quality and make sure that the parties views become in line
2
.
2.2.3 Communication as interaction & dialogue
BOX 2.2: COMMUNICATION
The word communication originates from the Latin word communis which means
common. When we communicate, we try to establish commonness with other
people, sharing ideas, attitudes and beliefs.
A more productive approach may be to consider communication as coopera-
tion and interaction, as a means to share (not send) information, where com-
munication is used to search for and establish common ground, and create
mutual understanding between the communicators. The interactive and dia-
logic approach is captured in the double-swing communication model of
Japanese-American Scholar, Muneo Jay Yoshikawa, (Yoshikawa 1987: 321)
2) The example may lead you to believe that understanding quality is mainly a question of nationality
(Danes vs. Chinese). This is not the case. Also internally in a Danish company we may find diverging views
as to what constitutes good quality.
which depicts communication as a dynamic, cooperative, and interactive
process.
The infinity symbol signifies that communication is an on-going process rather
than a static, one-way transmission of messages between a sender and
receiver. The two interactants step out from their own ground to meet one
another in-between and though A and B are separate and independent enti-
ties, they are at the same time interdependent and both take an active part in
constructing and decoding the message in a dialogic process, rather than one
being the source and the other the destination. As Yoshikawa (1987: 326) puts
it: Focus is not on one side nor on the other, but rather on the dynamic flow of
dialogical interaction, a process through which the one and the other are con-
stantly created anew. When person A and B communicate, a transformation
occurs in both participants. As they enter into dialogue and ask questions/get
responses, they gradually build up shared understanding and agreement
3
, or
we may suggest that they create an overlap between their webs of signifi-
cance (horizons) and may even end up creating what Yoshikawa (1987: 329)
refers to as a third culture perspective which is a unique or multicultural per-
spective on the world, based on the combination of A and Bs cultural features.
Thus the feedback and the dialogue involved are essential for co-producing
meaning and creating mutual understanding.
The advantage (and some would say disadvantage) of this approach is that it
shows us the complexity of communication and the difficulty of predicting the
outcome of communication, as communication is an ongoing process
between two active participants. What is more, the interactive approach also
points to the fact that we are able to cross borders, reach commonality, and
create an overlap between our webs of significance (see Chapter 1), thus creat-
ing shared symbols through which communication can take place.
40 chapter 2
Figure 2.2: Yoshikawas double swing
model (Yoshikawa 1987: 321)
3) To agree here does not mean to dislike or like the same thing but simply to agree on the topic of
conversation.
BOX 2.3: COMMUNICATION AND MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING
Its my experience that personal relations are extremely important [in the intercul-
tural business encounter] they are more important than the company you repre-
sent. I think it has something to do with that fact that you get together, you talk, and
you try to work out [who the other is]? Its also crucial to be a good listener and to be
able to sense if there is something thats particularly important to the person you are
going to cooperate with ask questions and in the way ... yes, good personal rela-
tions are a must. Thats what its all about, and when you have reaced this, every-
thing else becomes much easier (Danish International Adviser).
2.3 How do we understand?
So far we have established that communication is about aligning webs of sig-
nificance, reaching commonality, and creating shared meaning and under-
standing. But how do we do this? In this section we shall discuss the factors
which constitute our webs of significance and which we depend on for inter-
preting and producing messages.
First we need to turn to a theory of interpretation called hermeneutics, or
the art of interpretation, a discipline rooted in the 17
th
centurys bible transla-
tion, but whose version relevant to us, referred to as philosophical hermeneu-
tics, originates in the work of German philosopher, Hans Georg Gadamer.
Hermeneutics is an attempt to clarify the conditions in which understanding
takes place (Gadamer 1989: 263). In other words: How do people under-
stand?
Gadamer talks about understanding as a process of fusing horizons, which
we take to be the same as creating shared webs of significance (see Chapter 1).
In order to understand this view, we need to briefly address some of the key
terms in Gadamers philosophy, namely pre-understanding and horizon.
2.3.1 Pre-understanding the silent partner of interpretation
When two people communicate (either face to face or in print), they both
approach the text (oral or written) with a particular pre-understanding of what
is about to come, e.g. a pre-understanding of the subject matter (what the
text is about), and a pre-understanding of how to talk about the subject-mat-
ter (the conventional language use also referred to as discourse). These pre-
understandings originate from a previous experience with similar communica-
tive events. For example when we turn on the TV to watch the 9 oclock news,
we more or less know what to expect. The news may change but the general
idea of news presenting is familiar to us and our pre-understandings are
brought into play as we watch the programme. So the idea is that we accumu-
late knowledge about the world and appropriate communicative behaviour
through personal experience, as we encounter people and texts in our lives.
This knowledge helps us sense what is about to come when we find ourselves
in similar situations later on. For example familiarity with the context and lan-
guage use of business meetings in general helps us make sense of a specific
business meeting which we participate in. Our previous experience provides
us with a template. The template is a possibility that we put into play. How-
ever, it is only a template and we are most likely to find differences between
this particular business meeting and business meetings in general, which
means we need to re-adjust our pre-understandings and transform and
nuance them to understand a new situation. Thus understanding is a question
of moving back and forth between a specific communicative event and similar
communicative events experienced in the past, in order to challenge and let
go of pre-understandings which may be wrong (such as stereotypes/
prejudices), and open up to new, alternative interpretations. As Gadamer
(1989: 267) suggests:
Interpretation begins with fore-conceptions [preunderstandings] that are
replaced by more suitable ones. This constant process of new projection consti-
tutes the movement of understanding and interpretation.
Here is a short test of the pre-understandings you bring into play as you inter-
pret a text. Try to read the following text extract from Reuters.com.
EXAMPLE 2.3
Once Upon a Time Thatll Be Seven Dollars, Please
You may find that this text is difficult to understand; you know the words of
course, but do they make sense to you when arranged like this? Perhaps you
expect to hear a fairytale because of the phrase Once upon a time, but you
have to reject this interpretation because of what follows. When you read the
line thatll be seven dollars, please, you start projecting a new meaning onto
the text; you may think of a business transaction in a shop. However, it still
doesnt make sense, even though you try to readjust your pre-understandings.
Now read the rest of the text and see if the first sentence begins to make
sense:
42 chapter 2
EXAMPLE 2.4
Once Upon a Time thatll Be Seven Dollars, Please
Amsterdam (Reuters)
Dutch children can dial phone lines to listen to recordings of fairytales like Little Red
Riding Hood, but busy parents must be willing to pay about $7 a call, enough to buy
the printed version of the classic tales []..
As the example illustrates, we always approach a text with particular expecta-
tions of what is about to come (due to our pre-understandings). However, we
are also willing to negotiate meaning and modify our understanding, i.e. to let
go of the original interpretation (e.g. this is a fairytale) and move onto a new
interpretation (e.g. this is a business transaction) to arrive at another possible
interpretation. This constant process of negotiating meaning as we go along
constitutes the essence of communication and the movement of understand-
ing and interpretation (cf. Yoshikawas double-swing model) .
Of course this does not mean that when we listen to someone or read a book we
must forget all our fore-meanings concerning the content and all our own ideas.
All that is asked is that we remain open to the meaning of the other person or
text (Gadamer 1989: 268).
As Gadamer emphasises in the quote, communication is a question of know-
ing yourself i.e. the resources you draw upon to make yourself and the world
around you understood (e.g. your pre-understandings, and their influence on
your interpretation of a text). But it is equally important to remain open to the
resources and the interpretive framework which others draw upon and look
into the conditions and assumptions that underlie their point of view. And
finally, it is essential that you are willing to negotiate rather than simply
impose your ideas on others.
2.3.2 Horizons: why interpretations differ
Sometimes we encounter texts (or people) which are so strange to us that
even though we put our pre-understandings into play, we simply cannot crack
the code. That is because our pre-understandings are limited by what
Gadamer refers to as our horizon or horizon of interpretation
4
. A horizon
in the everyday sense of the word usually refers to what we can see from
4) Similar to Geertz notion of webs of significance (cf. Chapter 1)
where we stand. If we stand in the middle of the street surrounded by large
buildings, our horizon will be very limited because our view is restricted by
buildings, the general traffic, etc. However, if we stand by the sea, looking into
the horizon, our gaze is much wider, but still not unlimited, as our horizon
ends where the skyline meets the sea.
Gadamer uses the horizon metaphor to illustrate that we as individuals have a
horizon which helps us add meaning to what we experience and provides the
means to talk about things in a meaningful way. Depending on what we have
experienced so far in our lives, we might suggest that our horizon is broad,
limited, or something in between, which of course influence our ability to
understand the world around us.
The horizon is the range of vision that includes everything that can be seen from
a vantage point. Applying this to the thinking mind, we speak of narrowness of
horizon, of the possible expansion of horizon, of the opening up of new
horizons, and so forth (Gadamer 1989: 268).
Horizon includes what we know, and, therefore, determines how we make
sense of the world. But it is more than just knowledge. It is more accurate to
say that it is knowledge coupled with attitudes, values, perspectives or world
views. For example my knowledge of abortion is very closely related to my
attitude towards abortion (and vice versa). Those who are against abortion
regard it as a crime and are likely to conceptualize the pregnant woman as a
criminal, the doctor as a killer, whereas those who are for abortion may con-
ceptualize pregnant women as women with a right to choose, doctors as
experts, etc. Thus there is a very close relation between our attitude towards
and knowledge of a subject matter and the language we use to talk about the
subject matter (words like criminal, and killer, are used to accentuate and
present a particular, negative attitude towards abortion). This type of ideol-
ogy-vested language is also called discourse; a term we shall get back to in
the sections below.
Our horizon is a result of the time we live in, our culture, personal experience,
etc. And so in spite of its individual nature, a horizon is very much a cultural
and social phenomenon which may explain why people from similar back-
grounds find it easier to communicate and fuse horizons. Luckily, however,
our horizon is never static and restricted to places, people or cultures. On the
44 chapter 2
contrary it is changeable, limitless and open to new input (Gadamer 1989:
302). After all, this is what communication and understanding are all about;
the ability to negotiate meaning and move beyond the limits of our horizon.
This is also why we suggested in Chapter 1 that intercultural communication is
a question of trying to reach out and create an overlap between horizons, thus
creating shared symbols and meanings through which communication can
take place.
BOX 2.4: HOW TO PREPARE YOURSELF FOR THE INTERCULTURAL
ENCOUNTER
Its important to read books and keep yourself up-dated on what is happening [in
the country in question]. Read historical accounts about people who have lived in
another culture. Get an intellectual approach to whats happening. Understanding
the history of a country is extremely important. If you want to enter the Chinese mar-
ket, go and see the film The Last Emperor. Its a fantastic way to be introducted to
the depressing history of the Chinese People just over the past 100 years (Danish
Procurement Director).
So to sum up, we suggest that intercultural communication is a process of fus-
ing horizons rather than sending messages. It is cooperation between actors
who actively try to understand the horizon of their conversation partner,
expanding their own horizon to accommodate the horizon of the other (and
vice versa). Through dialogue (either face to face or with the text you read) we
negotiate meaning and come to an understanding
5
. This also means that we
never simply receive a fixed, meaningful message from an addresser; rather
the message contains multiple meanings because it is both a reflection of the
authors horizon and the readers horizon, and only when both horizons fuse
and we agree on the meaning, the meaning of the message stabilizes and
communication takes place.
In the figure below, each circle is supposed to signify a conversation partner.
The intersection in the middle where the circles cross signifies a fusion of
horizons. This is where, in spite of all our differences, we use interaction and
dialogue to get insights into each others horizons and meaning can be
exchanged.
5) Fusing horizons may not be always in the interest of all parties, for example if power, status, and
authority are at play.
2.4 Horizon and Communication
So far we have established that our horizon and pre-understandings constitute
our network of possible reference, i.e. elements we bring into play as we try to
make sense of the world around us. In this section we shall try to be a bit more
specific, considering in more detail some of the important elements which
constitute our horizon and which influence the way we communicate with
other people. Using Gadamers concept of horizon, we have devised a model
which may help us explain why people interpret texts differently (also within
the same national culture) or to put it more positively, point to the possibilities
we have for succeeding in communicating with other people, if only we open
our eyes to their different backgrounds, look for commonality, and are able
and willing to transcend our own horizon to create understanding.
Our horizon is a product of at least three inseparable, reciprocal, and overlap-
ping elements which are all at play in an intercultural encounter:
Who we are: Cultural backgrounds: e.g. our nationality, age, profession,
etc.
How we think: World views: i.e. our attitudes, perspectives, how we
make sense of the world around us.
What we say: Discourses: how we talk about things e.g. the linguistic
realisation of world views.
46 chapter 2
Figure 2.3: Fusion of horizons: creating shared meaning systems
Partner 1
Horizon
Partner 2
Horizon
Partner 3
Horizon
BOX 2.5: TIME AND CHANGE
In the beginning [of a business relationship], its much more formal, but the more
we meet ... you try to get an idea of what the other person is like thats how it is in
the beginning. But when you have been cooperating for some time, people become
more spontaneous and less formal (Danish Sales Manager).
Figure 2.4 is meant to signify that our cultural backgrounds influence our
world view, and our world view influences the way we talk about things (the
discourse we use). But notice the endless, circular movement in the figure.
This is supposed to signify two things:
1. A reciprocal relationship exists between the three elements in the circle or
horizon. Our cultural backgrounds not only influence how we view and talk
about the world. It also works the other way round. Sometimes a new view
on things, or a new of talking, may lead to cultural changes (e.g. a more
informal tone between management and staff may help reduce power dis-
tance and thereby change the social relationship between management
and staff).
2. Our circle of horizon is expandable and constantly on the move, as we are
introduced to new people, traditions and places. Whenever we meet
people, it is important to realize that their circle of horizon looks different
Figure 2.4: Circle of horizon
Discouse:
what we say
Cultural
Back-grounds:
who we are
World
view:
how we think
from ours, which means we may need to re-adjust not only our world view
but also our linguistic responses in order to understand and become under-
stood by others.
2.4.1 Who we are: cultural backgrounds
We established above that our pre-understandings originate from our
horizon, but let us try to be a bit more specific. We use ourselves and what we
have been exposed to so far in our lives to interpret things around us. The
place we were born, our family background and upbringing, the school we
went to, the summer holidays we have had, the people we have met, the hob-
bies we have enjoyed, our educational and professional training, the newspa-
pers we read (the list is endless) influence who we are (our identity), how we
think, what we know, and what we say. It may seem that this whole process is
a very personal and individual matter, depending on what we, as individuals,
have experienced so far in our lives. This is, however, only partly true; if this
were the case, we would all be individuals with private knowledge and private
languages.
We are first and foremost social beings which means that our way of dealing
with knowledge and communicative events has been facilitated, and at the
same time limited, by the norms and rules of society (such as traditions, lan-
guage, concepts, values, beliefs and world views), i.e. how we do things
around here. This means that our mental communication kit (our kit for
understanding) is restricted in many ways both by what we have been exposed
to personally so far, but also by the norms and rules of society. We may say
that we are all products of our age, nationality, family, education, profession,
etc. so what I learnt in school or what my family taught me may not be funda-
mentally different from what you were taught.
Let us consider some of the factors which contribute to who we are, how we
think, and what we say (and influence how we interpret and produce texts).
Figure 2.5 contains a non-exhaustive list of cultural factors or cultural back-
grounds which shape our horizon and help us add meaning to social and com-
municative events. It is important to remember that the list is non-exhaustive
and that one may come up with many other cultural factors which are impor-
tant, depending on the communication situation one is in. Nevertheless, the
figure is included here as an attempt to pin down each factor and to raise
awareness of how each factor adds to the complexity of an individuals horizon
and cultural identity. Furthermore, the list may be used as inspiration and help
48 chapter 2
us look for commonality in peoples cultural baggage, i.e. areas where people
share interests and understandings, and then use this commonality to facili-
tate and improve communication.
2.4.2 How we think: world view
Our cultural backgrounds affect (and are affected by) how we as individuals
view the world (our weltanschauung), in the sense that our age, gender,
social class, nationality, etc. influence how we make sense of the world; what
we think is right or wrong, our attitude towards objects, events, and people
around us.
BOX 2.6: WORLD VIEW
Weltanschauung [world view] is essentially a view of life, a view of our position in
the world and how we should act [] A Weltanschauung is often arbitrary and
peremptory. It may be personal, expressing ones own particular life-experience
and opinions, or total extinguishing all personal opinions (Inwood 1999: 248).
Our world viewis the belief system we use to explain the world around us and
to make sense of things we experience. There is, however, not a one-to-one
relationship between a cultural factor (such as age) and a particular world
view. In fact each cultural factor offers a host of world views to us depending
on where we are in our lives which in turn illustrates the complexity of track-
Who
am I?
Gender
Class
Natio-
nality
Ethno-
centricity
Religion
Peers
Edu-
cation
Age
Family
Hobby
Profes-
sion
Figure 2.5: Cultural
backgrounds
ing down people and identifying their possible horizons and cultural charac-
teristics. For example our view of the world differs considerably depending on
whether we are 20, 50 or 90 years old.
And this is not even meant to suggest that age affects people in exactly the
same way as if there was a one to one relation between your age and your
world view. For example we all know that not all teenagers think and act in
exactly the same way.
Furthermore, not only one but many cultural factors may be brought into
play at the same time when we communicate, so it is often difficult to say
whether different world views in the addresser and addressee are due to e.g.
nationality, age, gender, hobbies, and/or professions.
2.4.3 What we say: discourse
As mentioned above our horizon is our interpretative framework our point of
departure for interpreting and talking about things. If successful communica-
tion is about fusing horizons, it is of course important that we are aware of our
own horizon and are able to access the horizon of our conversation partner.
As we cannot enter the mind of our conversation partner to disclose his cul-
tural backgrounds or world views, we may listen to the way he talks (his dis-
course) to get an idea of his horizon and how he makes sense of things. Dis-
course is the linguistic articulation of our world view(and cultural
backgrounds). And so by carefully considering how people talk, we are able to
understand their vantage point and their horizon, and the first step towards
meaningful communication is being taken. Gunther Kress (1985) describes dis-
course in the following way:
50 chapter 2
20 years
50 years
90 years
world view 1
world view 2
world view 3
Age
Figure 2.6: The relationship between age and world view
Institutions and social groupings have specific meanings and values which are
articulated in language in systematic ways. Following the work particularly of
the French philosopher Michel Foucault, I refer to these systematically organ-
ized modes of talking as DISCOURSE. Discourses are systematically-organized
sets of statements which give expression to the meanings and values of an insti-
tution. Beyond that, they define, describe and delimit what it is possible to say
and not possible to say (and by extension what it is possible to do or not to do)
with respect to the area of concern of that institution, whether marginally or
centrally. A discourse provides a set of possible statements about a given area,
and organizes and gives structure to the manner in which a particular topic,
object, process is to be talked about. In that it provides descriptions, rules, per-
missions and prohibitions of social and individual actions (Kress 1985: 6).
To exemplify what is meant by discourse, let us return to the controversial
topic: abortion. Abortion is legal in the US today but is still a controversial
topic that causes a heated debate between pro-life (against abortion) and pro-
choice (for abortion) organizations
6
. The discourses used by the two opposing
groups clearly reflect their attitudes towards abortion. Here are two extracts
from a chat-room in the Teen Advice Centre (an American website), where
people write in to express their views on abortion. The first extract exemplifies
the pro-choice abortion discourse. Notice the words being used how lan-
guage is actively used to convey a particular attitude towards the topic.
EXAMPLE 2.5
Why take the chance of the child not having a good life? I think women should have
the right to choose. If they want an abortion, they can have one. It saves the child
from a place where the mom didnt want it in the first place, and it could have a bad
life. Why allow that chance to happen? Odds are things wont be too good. So save it
from going through the pain and misery. Save the mom as well. (my emphasis)
The discourse, focusing on rights, choices, and wants, reveals the world view
of the speaker, i.e. the logic which governs him, namely that our society is
based on democracy and freedom; therefore, we also have the liberty to
choose whether we want an abortion.
6) Even the labels pro-life and pro-choice are ideologically vested and structure the discourse even
before we begin to discuss the topic.
Here is another extract from the same website; now from a representative of
the pro-life abortion discourse:
EXAMPLE 2.6
Abortion is wrong. The child is being developed and will be a child and live a life. If
you kill it even in the first [stage of pregnancy] youre still killing the childs future.
The child could have had a nice life. There is always help for homes where the child is
not safe and there is always help where there is [sic] physical conditions and the child
can live a life and a very good life. If you kill it the child never gets to live the life it
could have. (my emphasis)
Again we see how the discourse concerned with life versus killings reveals
the world viewof the speaker: Killing people is illegal in our society. A foetus is
a human being, therefore, abortion equals killing and should be illegal.
An awareness and close examination of how people talk may help us uncover
their world views (and horizon) and though we may not agree on what they
say, we have a much more solid base of understanding our conversation part-
ner and efficiently discuss the topic and provide new insights. One should,
however, keep in mind that if we want to explain, why people use a particular
discourse, we need to return to their cultural backgrounds.
2.5 Discourse communities and genres a linguistic
contribution to communication and culture
If our horizon contains a myriad discourses, depending on where we are, who
we talk to, the medium we use, etc. how do we choose between them and
pick out the right one in a given social context? The answer is to know your
discourse community and the linguistic conventions (e.g. genres) associated
with the community.
2.5.1 Discourse communities
The term discourse community is used by sociolinguists, researchers of LSP
(Language for Specific Purposes) and genre theorists to emphasise the fact
that as social beings we belong to many different social contexts and group-
ings which influence the way we think and act in various contexts
7
. One might
52 chapter 2
7) One may argue that the term discourse community in many ways equals culture. What makes the
term especially attractive in this context is the fact that it allows us to demonstrate that we are a product
of many different, communities or cultures rather than just one.
say that discourse communities help us filter, systematize or compartmental-
ize the numerous world views and discourses we contain and pick out the
most appropriate discourse for a particular social context.
BOX 2.7: DISCOURSE COMMUNITY
A discourse community is created by the collective practices of its contributing
members. At the same time these discourse communities provide the cognitive tools
ideas, theories, and concepts that individuals appropriate as their own through
their personal efforts to make sense of experiences (Putnam & Borko 2000: 5).
For example a first-year student enrolled in her first class on text linguistics
may find that she is miles apart from the lecturer, standing by the blackboard,
babbling on about unknown concepts and incomprehensible words related to
the field of text linguistics. The reason could be that the student is a newcomer
to this particular discourse (and knowledge) community. However, as the
course progresses the students knowledge of text linguistics and the conven-
tional language use (discourse) associated with the field increases, and her
understanding of what is said improves. Eventually, she begins to use her
newly gained knowledge and language skills to read, discuss or analyse text
herself and gradually membership into the discourse community is obtained.
Had the two discussed hip hop music or cell phone ring tones, the roles would
reverse. The student would probably be the expert in terms of knowledge and
terminology whereas the lecturer would be a complete novice.
The example illustrates that we are members of numerous discourse commu-
nities of various sizes (large, small, or overlapping communities), and our pro-
ficiency in the communities is not necessarily the same. That is, in some dis-
course communities we are novices but try to learn and adopt the rules of the
game in a trial and error manner, whereas in other settings we have reached a
very high level of proficiency. What is more, we use discourse or knowledge
communities to help us construct a particular identity appropriate for a partic-
ular occasion, i.e. create a sense of belonging by agreeing on what is right and
wrong (creating shared/acceptable world views), and creating norms and rules
for how to conceptualize and talk about things. Just think of all the different
roles we take on during the day, as a student, friend, club member, etc. and
how these roles are acted out differently in different communities.
The notion of discourse communities may be used to filter away, or narrow
down the endless lists of social roles, world views and discourses which we as
individuals have access to and may help us choose the most appropriate,
acceptable or effective one in a given context. In the intercultural business
context it is extremely relevant to work consciously on creating a knowledge/
discourse community as it helps to specify how we do things around here,
thus promoting agreement in action, thought and speech, and facilitating
cooperation between the otherwise culturally diverse business partners.
BOX 2.8: SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES
There are actually quite a number of things we [=me and my Chinese business part-
ner] have in common before we even meet for the first time. Focus on similarities, its
important. We both have specialist knowledge and are very interested in doing busi-
ness together. We often have a genuine interest in meeting each other. We both
operate by the same international business standards and our level of specialist
knowledge is very much the same (Danish Sales Manager).
Whether we can talk about a global corporate discourse, a discourse which
members of the corporate community can immediately relate to and under-
stand, irrespective of nationality, is doubtful. Nevertheless, the corporate
community is very likely to offer a space where at least to some extent the
rules of the game cross borders; there is a joint interest in doing business, and
the linguistic responses to work-related tasks are extremely conventionalized
(in the form of genres). This is not to neglect the fact that ones nationality or
ethnicity may mesh with ones business discourse because each individual of
course also brings all the other cultural factors (e.g. age, gender, education,
etc.) into the conversation at some point.
However, the likelihood of finding commonality and shared understanding in
the global corporate community is greater when focusing on the professional
identities and work related activities. This is also the reason why a German pur-
chasing agent and a Danish sales manager may have much more in common
than first expected when it comes to doing business. This is not to rule out the
question of national difference but simply to point out that discourse com-
munities may travel borders and are not necessarily a result of, or limited to,
national cultures.
2.5.2 Genres
In discourse communities, such as the business community, people not only
resort to particular discourses to convey and construct their world views.
There is also a practical side to discourse communities, namely that commu-
54 chapter 2
nity members use language to perform concrete, social activities such as clos-
ing deals, applying for jobs, or promoting products. Such social activities often
involve another, much conventionalized, discursive practice (apart from dis-
course), namely that of genre. Genres are large stretches of language, such
as sales contracts, job applications, or advertisements, which members of dis-
course communities use to perform particular social activities. The emphasis
on the functionality of genres in a social context is clearly reflected in the defi-
nitions of genre provided through the years, perhaps most eloquently
expressed in the words of the systemic functional linguist, J.R. Martin: Genres
are how things get done, when language is used to accomplish them (1985:
250). One of the most extensive definitional discussions of the concept of
genre, however, remains that of Swales (1990):
A genre comprises a class of communicative events, the members of which
share some set of communicative purposes. These purposes are recognized by
the expert members of the parent discourse community and thereby constitute
the rationale for the genre. This rationale shapes the schematic structure of the
discourse and influences and constrains choice of content and style (Swales
1990: 58).
The above definition not only emphasises the purposive nature of genres, but
it also makes an interesting claim concerning the way genres look. The com-
municative purpose (what we try to accomplish with the genre in our dis-
course community) constitutes the rationale for the genre which means that
the purpose of a genre triggers a particular move structure and more often
than not a host of conventionalized verbal and visual rhetorical strategies. To
conceptualize this interdependency, Swales (1990) suggests the following
three-level genre model whose three constituents capture the essence of what
we call genres:
A genre (e.g. a business letter) contains a communicative purpose (e.g. to
inquire about a product), which is realized by a sequential move structure
(heading, inside address, salutation, subject line, body of the letter, compli-
mentary close, signature, etc.) which again triggers a host of rhetorical strate-
gies (conventional greetings, asking politely about product range, etc.).
Discourse communities, such as the business community, offer a potential
network of text genres for members to drawn on and use as a template when
producing their own texts or interpreting the texts they receive from others.
For example, if a company wants to promote its latest product, it may choose
between a number of promotional genres (leaflets, advertisements, sales
letters, a TV commercial, etc.). The choice of one genre as opposed to another
depends on many things. For example what one hopes to achieve (an adver-
tisement is primarily used to create awareness of a product or service whereas
the communicative purpose of a sales letter is to create a fast and direct
response from the receiver). So in spite of the fact that all the above genres
may serve to promote a product, the effects of the genres differ considerably
and this should of course be taken into account when deciding which genre to
use. Having decided to write an advertisement (and thereby also to use the
move structure and rhetorical strategies usually associated with advertise-
ments), one also has to choose an appropriate or suitable discourse. For exam-
ple, one may choose a standard advertising discourse (focusing on the prod-
ucts best, cheapest, fastest attributes), a spiritual discourse (focusing on the
products ability to generate inner strength or spiritual refinement or per-
haps resort to a scientific discourse (focusing on the products ability to with-
stand scientific tests, its innovative nature, etc.), or perhaps a mix of all three
(see figure 2.8).
Knowledge of appropriate genres and their conventional linguistic realisation
is part of our pre-understanding and horizon. We use our previous experience
with texts encountered in similar social situations when writing our own texts
or when interpreting the texts others have written. The first time we are asked
to write a business letter we may feel insecure, turn to colleagues or books on
business writing in order to get an idea of the appropriate linguistic behaviour
in this situation. We may then use this newly acquired knowledge of business
letters to produce our own business letter, which in many ways conforms to
the generic conventions of business letters but which is unique in the sense
56 chapter 2
Communicative purpose
Move structure
Rhetorical strategies (visual and verbal)
realised by
realised by
Figure 2.7: Swales
genre model
that our business letter is our interpretation of the conventions of business let-
ters.
No matter whether a discourse community is restricted to a specific company,
covers several companies, even crosses borders, it is essential that the mem-
bers master the genres associated with the discourse community as the gen-
res constitute the blueprint for professional behaviour. What is more, in an
intercultural context it is important to remember that one may know the con-
ventions of e-mails or business letters in ones home country, but are the same
conventions applicable in the UK, US, France, China, etc.?
2.6 Conclusion
Let us summarise what has been said so far about communication and com-
ment on how an interpretive and dialogic approach to communication may
serve as a methodology for understanding intercultural encounters and ana-
lyzing or producing intercultural texts:
People contain different horizons. So in spite of our social program-
ming we are also individuals with different cultural backgrounds, differ-
ent world views, and different discourses. This poses a challenge to the
fusion of horizons as these very factors influence the interpretive frame-
work which we use for making sense of the texts we encounter.
However, individuals are also social beings; we are socialized into partic-
ular horizons in the sense that our society consists of a large number of
Genre possibility: Discourse possibility:
Advertising discourse
Spiritual discourse
Scientific discourse
Social activity:
Promote
a product
Leaflet
Advertisement
TV commercial
Sales letter
Figure 2.8: Discourse and genre conventions of product promotion
discourse communities of which we are members. These communities
offer us rules and conventions for acceptable world views and accept-
able discursive patterns. This means that fusing horizons, agreeing on
the meaning of a text, is not as difficult as it may seem, because our
affiliation with discourse communities help to ensure that our interpre-
tive frameworks may not be that different after all.
The fusion of horizons is obtained through dialogue (either face to face
or with the text you read) where communicators negotiate meaning
and come to an understanding. In other words we never simply receive
a fixed, meaningful message from a sender, rather the message con-
tains multiple meanings (because it is both a reflection of the addresser
and addressees horizons), and only when both horizons fuse and we
agree on the meaning of the text, does the meaning of the message sta-
bilize and communication takes place.
Finally, we should reject the negative or problematic view on communica-
tion and look at intercultural communicationin a positive light. If for some
reason we find it difficult to understand our conversation partner, we may
try to put ourselves in our partners place, i.e. make an effort to understand
his horizon/interpretive framework (world views, discourses and genre
conventions), and be willing to expand our own horizon to accommodate
the horizon of our conversation partner. As long as we are willing to make
this effort, we have come a long way in communicating successfully.
1. Compare and discuss the two communication models presented in Chapter
2 (Shannon & Weaver and Yoshikawa). Point to similarities and differences,
strengths and weaknesses. If you were to devise a communication model,
what would it look like?
2. Explain the terms pre-understanding and horizon?
3. In section 2.4.1 we suggest that people have not one, but several identities
because they take on different roles during the day as they shift between
contexts and discourse communities (at school, at work, home, at family
gatherings, etc.):
58 chapter 2
3.1 Make a list of all the discourse communities you belong to and the roles
you take on in each community (student, friend, cashier in the local
supermarket, etc.). Consider how each discourse community influ-
ences how you think, feel, behave and talk.
3.2 Compare your observations with another person in your study group.
How much variety is there between your lists?
3.3 When we describe people from other countries we tend to reduce who
they are by e.g. saying Americans are loud and superficial. But con-
sidering your multiple belongings, can you actually say that only one
discourse community/role/behaviour may capture who you are?
3.4 How can you use the idea of peoples multiple discourse
communities/roles/behaviours to improve communication?
4. Why is it important to know the genre and discourse conventions of spe-
cific discourse communities?
5. Find a corporate text (e.g. a sales letter, brochure, advertisement) and
identify some of the discourses present in the text.
References
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lag.
Gadamer, H.G. (1975, (1989)): Truth and Method, New York: Crossroad.
Inwood, M. (1999): A Heidegger Dictionary, Oxford: Blackwell Publishers.
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tation, Princeton/New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
Kress, G. R. (1985): Linguistic Processes in Sociocultural Practice, Victoria:
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Martin, J. R. (1985): Process and Text: Two Aspects of Human Semiosis. In: Ben-
son, J. D., & Greaves, W. S. (eds.), Systemic Perspectives on Discourse, Nor-
wood: Ablex.
Putnam, R. & Borko, H. (2000): What Do New Views of Knowledge and Think-
ing Have to Say About Research on Teacher Learning. In: Educational
Researcher. Vol. 29/2000 (1), pp 4-15.
Shannon, C. E. & Weaver, W. (1949): A Mathematical Model of
Communication, Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
Swales, J.M. (1990): Genre Analysis English in academic and research
settings, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Yoshikawa, M. (1987): The Double-Swing Model of Intercultural Communica-
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Theory: Eastern and Western Perspectives, New York: Academic Press Inc.
60 chapter 2
CHAPTER 3
Made in Denmark
global perspectives
Per Blenker & Poul Rind Christensen/Translated by Benedicte Busk-Jepsen
3.1 Setting the business scene
Denmark is known as a small, open society. A society whose business sector is
characterised by many small and medium-sized companies and by few large
ones. As shown in figure 3.1, more than 99% of Danish companies have less
than 100 full-time employees. It is also interesting to consider that approxi-
mately 40% of all full-timers are employed in small or medium-sized compa-
nies.
3.1.1 An open society
Apart from economic issues the winds of internationalisation carry so many
other things with them. These may be felt as threats e.g. when we are over-
whelmed by what is new and foreign. The threats may be viruses such as
Ebola, SARS and Bird Flu, or they may be threats related to terror, but more
often than not we think about economic threats. When a large Danish com-
pany is shut down, when Danish companies lay off large numbers of employ-
ees due to outsourcing of production to Eastern Europe or to the Far East, this
is said to be the result of global competition. This is also the case when foreign
groups buy well established old Danish companies, thus subjecting Denmark
to foreign investments, when immigration is seen to be a threat to the very
cohesion of the Danish society, or when the best brains drain from Denmark to
foreign countries where development opportunities are better.
In some cases we use the term globalisation, typically when we want to
emphasise that the process holds a broad spectrum of interacting activities.
Trade and investment are not the only sectors to be globalised, we also see
globalisation in knowledge production and knowledge diffusion, as well as in
the ways we organise our work and the consequences of globalisation are far
made in denmark global perspectives 61
from being all negative. Many consequences are positive and a large number
of them are highly complex.
3.1.2 Globalisation and the companies
Today, the products and services we use come from all parts of the world. We
all know B&O, Tulip Foods, Arla Foods, Nilfisk, the PH lamp, Georg Jensen,
Netto, Jysk, Lego, ISS, Lysbro etc. All these companies including their prod-
ucts and services are being remodelled as a consequence of globalisation.
Increasingly component parts and raw materials are being imported from
abroad.
Globalisation has many faces. The keywords below give an impression of its
complexity.
Danish consumers can buy more varieties of the same product e.g. we
replace Danish cheeses with French and Italian ones.
More and more often, new companies start exporting from the day they
are born there is no time for home market practice.
Danish companies increasingly undertake the co-ordination of products
manufactured elsewhere we need to be good at diversity manage-
ment.
62 chapter 3
Figure 3.1: The importance of SMEs in the Danish industrial structure 2002. Percentage
of enterprises, employees, turnover and exports
Note: SMEs are defined as small and medium sized enterprises with less than 100 em-
ployees (Nielsen 2005).
100%
75%
50%
25%
0%
99.2%
37.9%
SMEs Large Enterprises
56.4%
36.4%
14.9%
0.8%
62.1%
43.6%
63.6%
33.6%
Number of Enterprises Number of Full-Time Employees
Turnover Exports Export Percentage
More and more often, Danish companies have foreign owners man-
agement culture is becoming more international.
Everyday products consist of component parts from all over the world
Buy Danish campaigns are without effect.
Danes travel like never before. Holiday destinations increase in numbers
and distance is no longer an issue we are becoming more cosmopoli-
tan.
An ongoing transformation seems to characterise Danish society and Danish
companies. Companies must continuously undertake new activities and find
new places around the world to implement these activities. Danish business
culture is under constant change due to these international activities.
3.2. Perspectives on business studies
Chapter 1 introduced two different approaches to intercultural studies in gen-
eral, i. e. the functionalist and the interpretive approaches. In this chapter we
distinguish between two approaches to business studies. The first approach is
generally referred to as the economic rationalist approach. This approach
resembles the functionalist approach to intercultural communication. The
second approach to business studies is based on social constructivism which
resembles the interpretive approach.
3.2.1 Economic rationalism
The economic rationalist approach dominates the study of business struc-
tures. According to this approach, global competition is characterized by a
powerful, universal logic which eventually will result in a business structure
characterised by one superior logic and by one global best practice in every
single country throughout the world.
This approach forms a solid basis for what might be called global management
recipes, often developed and marketed by international consultancies as
global recipes for management.
3.2.2 Social constructivism
Another approach is called social constructivism. This approach sees the indus-
trial structure of each country or region as a socially constructed business
system characterised by traditions, institutions and ways of thinking specific
to each society. Differences in these matters decide the practice and the struc-
tures that will develop within a country or a culture (Whitley 1994).
In its most extreme form, this approach assumes the character of cultural rela-
tivism. There is no such thing as one industrial structure. Instead, we face indi-
vidual interpretations of industrial structures. Seen from this angle, the recipe
for a good industrial structure and for good management, i.e. the recipe for
economic rationality is defined locally and is intimately connected with the
culture in which management is developed.
3.2.3 A cultural balancing act
Just as it is possible to understand the meeting between people from different
cultures as a fusion of horizons of interpretation, it is also possible to under-
stand international business as a meeting between or a fusion of the busi-
ness systems of the various countries. Box 3.1 illustrates just how complicated
this may be.
BOX 3.1: ETHNIC HIERARCHY DANYA FOOD, AN MD FOODS SUBSIDIARY IN
SAUDI ARABIA
Nationality and hierarchy were the overall organisational principles in the sub-
sidiary. If you wanted to follow local practice, you had to know your place in the hier-
archy. This meant that successfully integrated foreigners were the ones who did not
ask questions about the very special hierarchic organisation of the workplace (Laur-
ing 2005: 269).
Interview with the Danish subsidiary manager:
If an Indian were to be a Saudis boss it almost cannot happen. The same is the case
if an Egyptian were to rank below an Indian, that is very often quite difficult as well.
There is a kind of class division ranking people according to where they come from
(Lauring 2005: 270).
Interview with the Danish subsidiary manager:
In some ways it is easier to work with Indians. Filipinos and Egyptians are some-
times harder. The problem is communication. It is quite difficult to communicate
cross the different cultural barriers. Communication is very staccato. It is like: Here
is how I want this done. And then that is what theyll do until I tell them differently
(Ibid.: 272).
Interview with an Egyptian middle manager in the subsidiary:
If you want to work in this company, you have to be like those monkeys that cover
their mouth and eyes and ears. We have to be the monkeys (Ibid.: 275).
64 chapter 3
When people from one culture meet with people from another, the starting
point will be their own history, understanding, language and symbols. Starting
out from this frame of interpretation they must make an attempt to meet
people with a different history, understanding, language and symbols in order
to develop a common view of things.
Similarly, we must start by understanding our own business environment and
our own way of doing business. In other words, it is not sufficient simply to
meet other business cultures where they are, we must meet them with the
cultural baggage we bring along from our own background.
3.3 Internationalisation or globalisation?
International intercourse and exchange of products, services and manpower is
not a new phenomenon. The great voyages of discovery and the ancient trade
routes may be seen as the deeds of ancient entrepreneurs, seeing as they did
the commercial opportunities inherent in bringing ecological and cultural
zones into mutual contact.
Even though the distinction between internationalisationand globalisationis hard
to make, one might argue that globalisation does not gather momentum until
the appearance of the great seafarers and explorers around 1500 (Wolf 1997).
Combined with the recognition of the fact that the earth is round, Vasco da
Gamas and Christopher Columbuss discoveries of new continents and new
sea routes, and made globalisation possible and have had great cultural and
philosophical significance. Seen from an economic perspective, however, the
process does not gain momentum until the time of the industrial revolution
and the subsequent industrialisation process.
BOX 3.2: DEFINITIONS OF INTERNATIONALISATION AND GLOBALISATION
We define internationalisation as persons and companies degree of exposure to for-
eign countries. Within the context of business economics we often talk about compa-
nies exposure to foreign markets or about the influence of foreign ownership on
Danish industrial structure.
Denmark is a small open society, and therefore we have always felt the winds of
internationalisation. This can be seen in our large-scale international trade, our
extensive business relations with and dependence on neighbouring countries such as
Germany, Britain and the Scandinavian countries and an openness towards interna-
tional currents, cultural as well as political.
Internationalisation may assume such character and proportions that we talk about
globalisation. In some contexts, we think of the proportions and scope of interna-
tionalisation. In other contexts, focus is on the different dimensions of internationali-
sation interacting in a way to make internationalisation all-embracing. In that case
we talk about globalisation as a 360 degree internationalisation (Andersen and Chri-
stensen, 2005).
Porter (1990) views globalisation as a process where national economies and indus-
tries increasingly specialise and become interdependent, though still keeping their
specific character.
Levitt (1983) understands globalisation as a fusion where consumer preferences, sup-
plier competencies and market conditions in general become increasingly standard-
ised across national boundaries.
Giddens (1984/1990) view of globalisation focuses on the co-ordination of local and
global activities. He sees the increasing globalisation from a complexity perspective
where local social-relations networks expand and interweave.
Giddens complexity perspective as regards the globalisation process has a clear par-
allel in the metaphor of the butterfly effect of the chaos theory. According to the
chaos theory, complex systems such as global weather systems are unpredictable
because even minimal local changes, such as the flap of a butterflys wings, are com-
plexly connected to the global space and the effect of these changes may be drasti-
cally increased through the transformations of the system.
New and important transportation and communication technologies form the
basis of the globalisation processes we see today. An example is the 20-
foot container standardised to be carried all over the world by ship, rail or
truck, thereby making efficient transportation possible on a global basis.
The Internet and mobile phones have faciliated communication between par-
ent company and subsidiaries and made it possitble to manage production
across national boundaries.
3.3.1 A new international division of labour
Traditionally, countries have specialised in the manufacture of products for
which conditions have been favourable as regards climate, geology or profes-
sional traditions. We talk about a horizontal perspective or about inter-indus-
trial trade. Some countries have primarily produced agricultural products and
simple everyday products while others have focused on advanced high-tech
66 chapter 3
products. Some countries have had a successful chemical industry, others
have specialised in electronic products while others have done well within
heavy industries. This division of labour has given birth to international trade
in manufactured goods.
Today, international trade is promoted by a new and different division of
labour. Now countries tend to specialise at different levels of the processing
chains leading from raw material sources to the final consumption product
markets. These processing chains consist of e.g. extraction of raw material,
production of semi-finished goods, assembling of component parts, sale and
distribution. Manufactured goods consist of component parts originating
from a large number of countries spread all over the world, to a much greater
extent than ever before.
In the age of globalisation, companies must co-ordinate their activities
through a large number of suppliers and stakeholders from all over the world.
This changes the managerial task and generates a need for co-ordination with
other companies.
3.3.2 Globalisation as an interaction of many factors
Globalisation may be viewed as an interaction of several factors which increase
the degree of co-operation, integration and interdependence across national
boundaries (konomi og Erhvervsministeriet 2003: 56). Some of these factors are:
The technological developments which contribute to cost reduction of
long-distance transport and communication. As mentioned, two inven-
tions are of great importance, i.e. the 20-foot container and the Internet.
Political initiatives with the purpose of promoting international cooper-
ation. Initiatives such as the creation of free trade areas like the EU
(Europe), NAFTA (North America), ASEAN (Asia) and Mercosur (South
America). Through the WTO (World Trade Organisation), initiatives are
made to promote freer international trade by reducing trade restric-
tions such as customs duties, import quota and technical trade barriers.
Consumers and companies increasingly demand products and services
from almost all parts of the world. Global brands become more impor-
tant. This is partly because consumers want to reflect a lifestyle often
a western lifestyle through their purchases, partly because the brand
is seen as an indicator of quality, and, finally, because the same product
is available everywhere.
Television and travelling have given us more contact with and better
insight into cultural groups which were seen as exotic just a few years
ago.
It is a simplification, to say that these factors alone are the creators of globali-
sation. The mechanism works both ways. Globalisation pushes technological
development, political initiatives and international demand. Globalisation is a
complex interaction between many factors, especially international trade,
international investments, international mobility of labour and international
knowledge sharing.
This does not mean, however, that the whole world works as one large global
market. Most companies still primarily cooperate and trade with companies in
their native countries or in countries in their immediate vicinity. In regions such
as Europe, North America or Africa, the bulk of international trade takes place
within the regions, a fact which, among other things, is due to transport costs
(konomi og Erhvervsministeriet 2003:56, 74).
Not all products groups are traded internationally with the same frequency.
Among the largest product groups traded across the world are machines,
means of transportation and electronic products such as mobile phones and
computers, while food, textiles and clothing are more frequently traded
nationally or within the continents. But in the age of globalisation exceptions
tend to become the rule. The Danish company Bestseller initially purchased
fashion-wear in China for their shops in Denmark. Today Bestseller runs more
than 130 shops in Chinese cities.
Other types of products, such as services, are less traded internationally. Over
the years, the Danish cleaning services company ISS has bought other cleaning
services companies. This pattern, however, is changing rapidly. Today ISS
employees may be seen in large international airports all over the world. They
all work on the basis of a centrally planned global cleaning concept.
Similarly, large consultancy companies within management, logistics, finan-
cial management, etc. are seen to establish themselves in many countries. In
that way they can work with homogenous global management concepts
across national boundaries and thus match the demand of the multinational
companies who are their clients.
68 chapter 3
3.3.3 Integration of markets
The different dimensions of globalisation interlock and accelerate the globali-
sation process. The linking of trade, production activities, cash flow and fields
of knowledge lead to new business networks and to new patterns of competi-
tion and co-operation.
Before, most products were manufactured from beginning to end by one sin-
gle company. Today, production is divided between many different compa-
nies. As mentioned above, the value chain is split vertically along the levels
of the processing chain.
This is one of the reasons why international trade with semi-finished goods
and components has increased more than trade with manufactured goods.
This phenomenon covers an important aspect of globalisation, i.e. the increas-
ing importance of the business-to-business (B2B) markets compared to the
final consumption markets.
B2B markets typically require profound technical and commercial competen-
cies. Globalisation influences the skills and competencies required by compa-
nies. In an age of globalisation, it is increasingly important that employees
have excellent command of foreign languages and that employees are able to
handle technical terms which may not have the same meaning across cultural
and tecnical boundaries. Global employees must be able to perform in busi-
ness cultures that may be different from what they expect. In the Indian busi-
ness world, it may be important to be familiar with British business traditions
and with the way these traditions have developed since 1947.
Competition used to be a question of who could make the best final product.
In the global world, competition is also establishing fine-meshed networks of
international specialisation and division of labour. The production of goods is
split up in new ways and takes place in many countries and the co-ordination
of activities requires an understanding of how to handle cultural ambiguities.
BOX 3.3: RIBE MASKINFABRIK BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT IN CHINA
Founded in 1897, Ribe Maskinfabrik A/S produces steel constructions, stone crushers,
anchor bolts, etc. In 2001, on the basis of its early experience with sourcing in Poland,
the company hived off an independent outsourcing company Rimadan which sells
outsourcing solutions to other small companies. The companys business activities
include quality management, logistics, purchase and delivery. A number of Eastern
European countries and Turkey form part of Rimadans sourcing region. The cus-
tomers are companies that do not have the resources to station people abroad. More
than 30 companies make use of this opportunity.
In 2004 RM Group, Ningbo, Ltd. was inaugurated. The company has a 2,000 square
meter production facility situated in the large Chinese city of Ningbo close to Shang-
hai. RM Group is to be the center of different activities. Part of the production, now
taking place in Ribe, will take place in Ningbo in the future. At the same time, the Chi-
nese company is to assist Danish companies who intend to move their production to
China. If a company wants to advance by easy stages, it is possible to start production
at the premises and at the same time to benefit from RM Groups facilities and draw
upon their knowledge of the Chinese market.
Finally, RMGroup is to function as an assembly factory for components produced by
Ribe Maskinfabrik for other companies through the outsourcing company Rimadan.
These components derive from various sub-suppliers in China and need to be finished
or assembled before being packed into containers and sent to Denmark. This spread-
ing of functions is an advantage both because of the specialisation and because of the
inherent protection against counterfeiting. However it is necessary to have an
assembly and distribution function in China.
Before, we employed 40 welders. Now only three of them are left. Before, we had 14
apprentices, now we can hardly get one. Before, my father and I were the only engi-
neers. Now there are eight of us says Ole Jrgensen. We must make our living from
selling added value, not from welding. Today we have a 2.5 m turnover per employee
and we are making money. Our future possibilities are almost unlimited. But we have
been through a major transformation process. Starting out as a Danish production
company selling to Danish customers, we have now gone international. And we are
no longer frightened when we set out (Jyllandsposten 25.8.2004).
3.3.4 The wheel of globalisation
Globalisation can be seen from different professional angles. The antropolo-
gists focus will be on cultural diversity and cultural adjustment. The politolo-
gist will direct his attention towards the national and international frame-
works created by the political systems, while the political economist and the
business economist each will look at different aspects of the changes in the
world economy.
70 chapter 3
If the aspects mentioned are viewed separately, it is easy to overlook an
important dynamic feature of the globalisaton process, i.e. the fact that the
dynamic forces connected to the cultural, economic, political and other
dimensions have a cumulative effect on each other. It is precisely this interplay
that makes the globalisation process self-increasing and unpredictable. Figure
3.2 The wheel of globalisation, presents these dimensions as interactive
entities.
There are many questions to consider. In what way does the social dimension
e.g. the fact that more and more young people travel abroad and that char-
ter tourism is so popular in Denmark influence other parts of the global-
isaton process? In what way does the multi-cultural society, promoted also by
immigration, influence the economic aspects of the globalisation process? Are
there phenomena that go the other way round?: Can economic globalisation
processes influence the multi-cultural dimension?
3.4 Danish companies and the global division of labour
Before, the ability to compete was defined as the ability to make national pro-
duction more efficient and if necessary to outsource one or two labour inten-
sive functions to low-wage countries. Competitiveness has primarily been
Globalisation of
cultural and legal
institutions
Intercultural understanding
and cross-cultural
adjustment
Increased interaction between companies
and development of global production
networks
Globalisation of cultural
(and other) events
Increased cooperative relations within
business, education, research, etc.
Globalisation of
information and
knowledge flows
Globalisation of
the economy
Globalisation of social networks
Figure 3.2: The wheel of globalisation (Christensen 2006)
seen in relation to the production efficiency of each individual company. One
might also say that importance has been attached above all to production
implementation activities (Christensen og Munksgaard, 2002). We are talking
about activities such as facilitation, implementation and surveillance of produc-
tion as well as the current maintenance, adjustment and repair activities nec-
essary to make production run smoothly and without problems. These activi-
ties are mostly manual and therefore quite labour and technology intensive.
Although activities related to production implementation are outsourced to
companies in other countries, customer contact is generated by a set of differ-
ent activities, such as preparing for production and setting up a frame-work
for production and follow-up activities. These activities are important because
they ensure company control over production implementation, a control
which is essential for the total value creation in the production chain.
Typically, activities such as preparing and following-up on production are
much more knowledge intensive than activities of production implementa-
tion. Consequently, these activities will often be carried out in old industrial
countries such as Denmark. This contributes to the transformation of old
industrial countries into a knowledge society. At the same time, the usual pat-
tern is that production implementation activities are moved to low-cost coun-
tries, e.g. in Eastern Europe or in Asia, and this in turn enables these countries
to industrialise.
3.5 Goodbye to the industrial society
hello to new competencies
As we have seen above, globalisation has encouraged knowledge based spe-
cialisation. Therefore, each company must know what it is especially good at.
But that is not enough. The company must learn to use its special knowledge
in different contexts, and thus fill its part in the total value chain.
This means that it is not enough to have a high level of education or to have
competencies that other companies do not have. To create value in the total
supply chain, the company must be able to make its competencies interact
with the competencies of other companies. In a globalised world, these other
companies will often be situated in other parts of the world, belong to
another culture and be part of a business system that is totally different from
the Danish business system.
72 chapter 3
All this may be very complicated in itself and it brings along a wealth of com-
munication and co-ordination activities. Let us imagine that a company out-
sources its production to China because of the low costs. Let us also imagine
that it situates the ensuing follow-up activities in various countries around the
world, depending on where customers are. Let us imagine, finally, that the
Danish company handles production planning activities, manages of the pro-
duction in China and manages the co-ordination of follow-up activities around
the world and that this takes place in Horsens! Then we may be able to imag-
ine to what extent globalisation and the new industrial labour division will be a
challenge for Danish companies.
These competency requirements bring the business management dimension
into focus. Broad spectres of competencies are needed to manage activities
across the boundaries of companies, cultures and business systems. Focus is
also put on the technical dimension and on the role played by intercultural
understanding and linguistic competencies in relation to the technological
interaction.
3.5.1 New language and communication competencies
The new forms of globalisation will radically change the roles and tasks faced
by language and communication experts in Danish companies. Before, tradi-
tional lingustic tasks could be performed within the transmission paradigm
and its linear view of culture, language and communication, as most tasks con-
sisted in transmitting messages from one country to another.
These types of tasks will continue to exist, but with the new forms of globalisa-
tion, others will arise. These tasks are best understood within an interpretive
paradigm which views international communication as a fusion of horizons
where old webs of significance meet new ones.
In a globalised world and in the interaction with other cultures, Danish busi-
ness culture meets with a wealth of other business cultures and Danish ways
of developing, co-ordinating and doing things meet with international part-
ners totally different ways of doing things. This means that the translator
becomes a cultural interpreter and an intercultural communicator. People
working within language and communication are bridge-builders not only
between different foreign languages but also between communities of a pro-
fessional or occupational nature e.g. engineers, administrators, lawyers etc.
BOX 3.4: SINOSCAN A DANISH BRIDGE-BUILDER
SinoScan is a company that makes its living by translating of engineering drawings
and technical data. SinoScans headquarter is in Odense. This is also the residence of
engineer Bjarne Jrgensen. Ten years ago, he started the company together with a
collegue who, like himself, was employed in a large multinational company in China.
SinoScan has a technical office in Shanghai, where Chinese engineers translate com-
ponent and fitting specifications into Chinese language and standards. These engi-
neers also work as quality controllers of the local suppliers and they ensure that
ordered parts are delivered on time and with the correct documentation. SinoScan
also assists in the selection and management of sub-suppliers in China. SinoScan has
customer contact points in Denmark, in the UK and in the USA.
Here is how SinoScan presents its competencies:
Our significant advantage is the combination of engineering expertise, strong local
representation through our Shanghai office and extensive experience of manufactur-
ing in China. We bring a unique competence in bridging language and cultural differ-
ences between Chinese and Western organisations.
SinoScan manages the complete supply process from initial enquiry to delivery of fin-
ished products to the customers address. Prices include manufacture, inspection,
transportation and import duty. Invoices are submitted in the customers selected
currency (http://www.sinoscan.com).
In this context it is essential for persons working within language and commu-
nication to understand that our specific business system is a social construc-
tion and that it is influenced by our specific traditions, institutions and ways of
thinking. It is important to understand international trade as a meeting
between or a fusion of different business systems across cultures.
3.6 Conclusion
Many pictures may be drawn of what Danish industrial structure will be like in
the whirlpool of globalisation. It is difficult to predict where we will land the
point is rather that landing will never take place. Future Danish companies will
be significantly different from the ones we know today. They will be part of a
different context than todays and their structure will be different.
BOX 3.5: GLOBALISATION OR THE DANISH DUCK POND?
... only a mere 6 percent of Danish companies have foreign representatives in their
board of directors in spite of years of focus on the necessity of globalising the Dan-
ish business scene (Translated from Ugebrevet Mandagmorgen; No 5:14, 2006).
74 chapter 3
One thing is certain, however. The container called Denmark is wide open. It
is no longer possible to understand the dynamics of Danish industrial structure
and Danish companies nor the dynamics in the Danish labour market only by
analysing what is inside the container. Communicative and cultural competen-
cies are vital in the global world both at management levels and at technical
levels of production.
1. Together, find a product which you would like to study more closely.
Describe the main constituent parts of the product. Where do the different
parts come from? Which competencies are needed to co-ordinate the
activities leading to the final product?
2. What is the significance of the fact that many activities vital to a companys
development are situated in different companies in different parts of the
world? What are the consequences for the role of the manager? For the
role of the employee?
3. Refer to chapter 1 on culture and discuss the influence of ethnocentrism,
stereotyping, and webs of significance in the business framework pre-
sented in this chapter.
4. How does this chapter relate to chapter 2 on communication? The follow-
ing keywords may provide inspiration: the transmission paradigm, hori-
zons, cultural backgrounds, discourse communities.
5. Which linguistic and cultural activities would you like to work with in the future?
In what ways may the international relations of the company affect your future
work?
6. Have a closer look at box 3.4 (SinoScan). Which lingustic and communica-
tive competencies do you need to work in a company such as SinoScan?
7. Discuss figure 3.2 The wheel of globalisation. The focus of this chapter
has been on the right side of the model, while most of the following chap-
ters focus on its left side. Use the model as a basis for a discussion of 1) the
many faces of globalisation, 2) the role of the social and cultural dimensions
in the globalisation of economic activity as well as of knowledge producing
activity.
References
Andersen, P.H. og Christensen, P.R. (2005): Vrdiskabelse i Danmark Den
globale arbejdsdeling. In Vrdiskabelse i fremtidens virksomhed. Dansk
Industri.
Christensen P. R. og Munksgaard, K.B. (2002): Nr mlk bliver til stl den
rustfri stlindustri i Trekantsomrdet 1880-2002, Center for Smvirk-
somhedsforskning. Syddansk Universitet.
Dansk Industri (2005): Vrdiskabelse i fremtidens virksomhed Nye mulig-
heder i den globale konkurrence. Dansk Industri.
Giddens, A. (1990, (1984)): The Consequences of Modernity. Stanford. Stan-
ford University Press.
Jyllandsposten, 25.8.2004, Ann Nissen: Interview med Ole Jrgensen.
Lauring, Jakob (2005): Nr organisationen bliver mangfoldig om vidensdel-
ing og interaktion i etnisk mangfoldige organisationer. Institut for ledelse,
Aarhus School of Business. Ph.D. Thesis.
Levitt, T. (1983): The globalization of markets. Harvard Business Review, 61(3),
pp. 92-102.
Nielsen, Kim (2005): Sm og mellemstore virksomheder i tal. rsrapport 2004/
2005, pp. 87-93. Center for Smvirksomhedsforskning. Syddansk Universitet.
Nielsen, Kent (2005): Miljteknologi p landbrugsomrdet en potentiel kom-
petenceklynge. Oplg ved workshop om miljeffektive landbrugsteknologi-
er barrierer og virkemidler. Fdevareministeriet og Skov- og Naturstyrelsen.
Porter, M.E. (1990): The Competitive Advantages of Nations. London. Macmillan.
Ugebrevet Mandagmorgen (2006): Dansk Erhvervsliv: For besvrligt med
udlndinge i toppen. No 5: 14-19: Kbenhavn.
Whitley, R. (1994): European Business Systems. Firms and Markets in their
National Contexts. Sage Publications, London.
Wolf, E. R. (1997): Europe and the People without History. University of Califor-
nia Press.
konomi og Erhvervsministeriet (2003): Vkst gennem globalisering, Hand-
lingsplan og baggrundsanalyse.
konomi og Erhvervsministeriet (2004): Danmarks Erhvervsstruktur. Tnke-
tanken Fremtidens vkst.
76 chapter 3
CHAPTER 4
Texts and localization
Birgitte Norlyk
4.1 Buzz words
In intercultural market communication, localization and globalization are
examples of long established buzz words. The pros and cons of localization
and globalization have been debated over the years, and opinions inevitably
vary. Coca Cola once argued that a global brand needs global communication
strategies, but has since localized parts of its market communication to suit
the preferences of individual markets.
Initially, the discussion of localization or globalization mainly referred to prod-
ucts. Should producers change their standardized products to suit specific
national markets? Or would this influence the image and identity of the prod-
uct negatively? Today, localization and globalization also include communica-
tion strategies and the use of language and style across markets. Persuasive
strategies and rhetorical choices that work well in one market may well fall flat
in another as illustrated in this chapter. The communication barriers caused by
culture-specific preferences in language and style can be hard to pinpoint.
4.2 Danish texts in British contexts
The translation of sales texts can be a dicey issue even in cultures that are gen-
erally considered to be fairly similar, such as e.g. Denmark and the UK. Accord-
ing to functionalist theory, Denmark and the UK belong to the Northern Euro-
pean group of low-context cultures and one might easily assume that stylistic
choices that work well in a Danish context would work equally well in a British
context. What, then, is the purpose of localizing sales texts? Or is localization
of sales texts basically a waste of money?
Traditionally, business and management studies on efficiency, productivity
and profitability have stressed the advantages of increased standardization
and globalization. A early spokesman for increased globalization, former Har-
text and localization 77
vard professor Theodore Levitt (reissued 1995), argues that in order to survive
in a rapidly changing business world companies need to globalize at several
levels, including among other things production, management, distribution
and marketing. Rather than focusing on cultural differences and the potential
problems created by cultural diversity, companies should focus on intercul-
tural similarities between consumers groups from various national cultures.
This view of globalization with its optimistic approach to intercultural commu-
nication has been challenged by researchers arguing that globalization is a
highly complex issue as different cultures do not experience the same level of
globalization at the same time and at all levels of society. Although globaliza-
tion may take place in the business world as businesses identify the economic
advantages, one cannot automatically assume a parallel globalization for con-
sumers who will probably change their pattern of behaviour at a slower pace.
Product image may also change across cultures. Some brands have different
images in different markets. In the automobile industry in the US market,
Honda is associated with quality and reliability, while in the Japanese market
Honda connotes speed, youth and energy (Aaker and Joachimsthaler 1999). In
a Scandinavian context, Ikea furniture has different connotations from over-
seas market such as Australia and China, in which Ikea furniture is considered
top-market.
Cultural differences between markets need to be considered in marketing
across cultures as argued by e.g. Usunier (1997) and de Mooij (1998), who
stress the importance of the specific cultural context surrounding individual
consumers. Culture is always there, and one cannot defy culture by ignoring
its existence and influence. Cultural differences need to be addressed rather
than ignored as culture and ethnocentric preferences will inevitably influence
the way in which consumers perceive a given product.
Producers are likely to be equally ethnocentric. The way in which the producer
sees his product is culture-bound, as is the way in which he sells it, praises it
and advertises it. The fact that a product is Danish might be a selling point in a
Danish context. However, one cannot ethnocentrically assume that references
to Danish culture, Danish know-how and Danish design will automatically
carry positive connotations in export markets (Askegrd et al. 1991, Djursaa et
al. 1991). When addressing different export markets, selling points, product
presentations, photos, product syntax, language, style and persuasive strate-
gies and sales material may need to be adjusted to suit local preferences and
78 chapter 4
traditions. While the product may be targeted at the same segment across
markets, each segment could well hold different interpretations of the
product.
4.3 Localization and gut feeling
Danish market leader in the production of cast iron stove, Mors Jernstberi,
produced its first stoves in the late 18
th
century. For generations of Danes, the
company and its products have been synonymous with reliability and quality
within this particular product line.
In the late 1990s Mors Jernstberi revised its existing sales and marketing
brochures in order to promote its established products and to introduce a new
product line. The brochures proved successful in the Danish market, and the
company decided to translate the brochures for use in its major foreign mar-
kets, especially the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, and the Scandinavian
countries.
Following this decision, the company had the Danish text of the sales
brochures translated into the relevant languages. Other aspects of the sales
brochure such as colours, lay-out, symbols, photos, selling points and product
presentations were left unchanged. From the point of view of the company,
language was the only identifiable communication barrier, which naturally let
to the assumption that the rest of the sales brochure would work equally well
in all markets.
From a strict, cost-cutting point of view, a high degree of standardization may
seem to be a sound decision as a maximum degree of standardization will gen-
erally minimize costs. In the present case, the translation of the Danish text
into other languages constituted the only extra cost.
From a communication viewpoint, standardized market communication
across cultures is based on an ethnocentric approach to intercultural commu-
nication in which it is implicitly assumed that a given message is perceived
alike by sender and receiver. The process of coding and decoding language
and style, product presentations, selling points etc. is expected to be inde-
pendent of specific cultural contexts. Thus the concept of standardization is
clearly related to the transmission paradigm, which presupposes cultural iden-
tity between sender and receiver. Representatives of the transmission para-
digm, e.g. Shannon and Weaver, consider communication to consist of a linear
transfer of data from sender to receiver. Noise in this communication
process, or data transfer, does not include cultural contexts but refers to tech-
nical noise in the transmission of data.
In the case of Mors Jernstberi, the British subsidiary received a translation of
the Danish sales brochure but chose not to use it. Arguing that something
was not quite right in the translated version of the Danish brochure, the
British subsidiary eventually produced its own version of the sales brochure
adapted to a British context. Product presentations and photos, selling points,
stylistic choices and even product names were changed to suit a British con-
text rather than reflect a Danish cultural context based on Danish norms for
interior decorating and Danish preferences for utility value as a prime selling
point. While the Danish parent company remained sceptical of the value of
this initiative and actually disliked the British adaptation of the brochure, a
considerable improvement in sales figures in the British market proved the
value of responding to the instinctive reaction the gut feelings of the
receiving culture.
4.4 Home, sweet home
A cast iron stove will be placed in the customers home. Accordingly, in the
present case, the concept of what constitutes an attractive home becomes an
extremely important factor when localizing or adapting sales brochures to suit
individual cultures. A standardized concept of what constitutes an attractive
home across cultures seems hard if not impossible to come by as the coding
and decoding processes relating to aesthetics and feelings are highly context-
and culture-dependent.
The Danish version of the sales brochure presents the Danish customer with a
version of home that immediately denotes quality, approved good taste and
upper-middle-class aesthetics to most Danes. Models of various cast iron
stoves are placed in desirable living rooms in combination with a range of
easily identifiable Danish Design artefacts such as Bang and Olufsen TVs or
stereo equipment, Poul Henningsen lamps, Montana book shelves, and mod-
ern, pale wood furniture designed by established Danish architects such as
Brge Mogensen and Harboe Slvsteen. Furthermore, the Danish preference
for minimalist aesthetics and natural, organic materials is reflected in the
uncluttered, somewhat stark living rooms and in the choice of bare wooden or
granite floors rather than carpets or rugs.
80 chapter 4
In a purely Danish context, this combination of world-famous Danish arte-
facts constitutes a powerful example of product syntax suggesting style, qual-
ity and good taste. In a Danish context, the presentation of Mors stoves in
combination with other established Danish icons of good taste adds increased
value to the way in which the product is perceived and decoded by potential
customers.
To strengthen its image as market leader and to maintain its identity as a
high end product in the Danish market for cast iron stoves, Mors Jernst-
beri in 2004 decided to stop selling its products from DYI stores such as e.g.
Silvan. Today, potential customers can view Mors stoves in the combined
show rooms of Mors Jernstberi and Trip-Trap Furniture, Danish market
leader in high-end out-door furniture designed by acknowledged Danish archi-
tects.
However, the concept of an attractive home does not automatically translate
into a British context. Translation and localization is not limited to the tradi-
tional concept of text as written or spoken language. In this particular case,
the concept of an attractive home was translated and reinterpreted by the
British subsidiary to suit what they considered to be an attractive home, and
what they felt would work in a British context.
Based on vaguely expressed gut feelings that something was wrong with the
Danish sales brochure and that the Danish brochure just would not work in a
British context, the British subsidiary produced their own localized version of
what constituted an attractive home in a British context. They presented the
product in aesthetic codes that differ from the codes of the Danish sender. To
achieve the desired action, i.e. to make the customer buy the product, a
recoding of setting and product presentation had to take place as British cus-
tomers do not recognize the values implicitly expressed in a product syntax
based on Danish designer products. In hindsight, this would seem a natural
and logical conclusion. From the point of view of the company and in everyday
business life, however, it is equally natural to assume that what works in one
Northern European market probably also works in another.
The coding of the British home is based on a set of entirely different cultural
codes. Gone are the Danish designer products. Gone is the stark minimalism of
Danish aesthetics and interior design. Instead we are faced with attractive
British interiors characterized by colours, patterns, objects dart of various ori-
gins, flowered rugs and carpets, and traditional-style furniture in dark wood
suggesting other values than modernism and easy-to-clean interiors.
Whether or not one feels at home in the Danish or the British representation of
home is of course a matter of cultural coding and personal preferences. An
important point, however, is the physical placing of the cast iron stove. In all
British settings, the stove is placed inside the fireplace. In all Danish settings,
the stove is placed in a position that allows the heat to circulate freely to
ensure the maximum effect of the heat. Product value, in a Danish context, is
linked to heating capacity and to cost effectiveness.
Much to the distress of the Danish producer, all British settings, place the
stove in the fireplace thus effectively preventing the product to perform to its
maximum heating capacity. In a British context, the fireplace is the focal point
82 chapter 4
Figure 4.1: An attrac-
tive living room
Danish style (scan from
product brochure)
of any home. Here, the fireplace is an important symbol of emotional and
immaterial values related to feelings and experiences, activating a culture-spe-
cific mind-set as well as a series of mental representations and values. In a
British context, you sit in front of the fireplace with friends and family, you
have a jolly time and endless nice cups of tea. You are momentarily sheltered
from the hassles of the outside world. You feel good and you belong. Your
home is your castle.
4.5 Your home, your story
Presenting a given product in peoples homes is bound to meet with a large
amount of cultural difficulties as it is impossible to standardize the concept of
home. Aesthetic appeals need to be localized to suit individual cultures, as
home is closely linked to our perception of values and achievements. Home
can be seen as a carefully staged presentation of our personal achievements
and home expresses value statements relating to our social status. The
coding of our homes is a carefully stated expression of our social standing. We
Figure 4.2: An attrac-
tive living room
British style. Notice
that the stove is placed
inside the fireplace
which actually reduces
the heating capacity of
the stove (scan from
product brochure)
dress and act to express our personal identity. We want to present ourselves to
others without having to give any clear verbal statements (Goffman 1959).
The story of home is a highly coded story in which we present ourselves to
others be it in sales brochures or in endless TV series on how to repaint or
redecorate other peoples homes. The story of home works at several levels.
Each room has its own chapter in which different aspects of our personality are
enacted and presented to the reader (Buhl 1993, Dahl and Buhl 1993). The arte-
facts of the living room, e.g. the type of furniture, choice of pictures, colours,
book shelves or lack of book shelves etc. etc. tell the story of personal success
and social status and will often need to be adapted across cultures as aesthet-
ics vary (Djursaa and Kragh 1998).
BOX 4.1: AESTHETICS AND CULTURAL DIFFERENCES
Interior decorating is a popular subject in the media. TV programmes in Denmark and
in Britain highlight ways in which you can design and redecorate your home. Watch a
84 chapter 4
Figure 4.3: An inviting
British fireplace sug-
gesting history and
tradition (scan from
product brochure)
couple of programmes. Why do you think these programmes are so popular? What
needs do they fulfil?
In Denmark, the kkken-alrum (kitchen-cum-diner) has taken over the repre-
sentative function of the dining and living rooms and has become the largest
room in most modern Danish houses.
The staging of the kkken-alrum receives much attention and care in Danish
homes. In this chapter of the story, social relations and family values find their
expression in the popularity of smart and shiny high-tech samtale-kkkener
(kitchens for conversing) which, in theory, provide the stage for quality time
with the family. Consequently, the Danish version of the sales brochure con-
tains a product presentation in a kkken-alrum context which works well in
Denmark, but not necessarily in cultures in which the status of the kitchen
may be lower. Ironically, ongoing surveys undertaken by Danish retailers and
supermarkets indicate that these state-of-the-art kitchens are rarely used for
cooking. While Danish consumers are willing to pay for expensive designer
kitchens as part of the story of happy families, they are reluctant to pay for
quality products when it comes to food. The sale of designer kitchens booms
and so does the sale of frozen discount pizzas.
The story of home varies across cultures. Climatic conditions may influence
how we choose to stage ourselves and our homes. In a Southern European
context, where social interaction generally takes place outside the home, less
attention is given to the staging of home. The focus of the story changes
from the staging of home to the staging of the individual (Institut for
Fremtidsforskning 1996). In this context, the presentation of self is often com-
municated in other types of artefacts more or less subtly indicating the suc-
cess of the individual. Cars, heavy jewellery, designer clothes, state-of-the-art
accessories and other products become important elements in the staging
process of individual success and personal achievement (Allingham 1997).
4.6 Names and connotations
The choice of name for any product is an important and difficult decision for
the producer. A name helps establish certain expectations and connotations in
the mind of the customer. Also, the name should translate well across cultures
to avoid instances like the one experienced by Fiat, whose choice of the name
Fiat-Nova (from Latin novus: new) translated into no va (does not move) in
Spain and Latin America.
BOX 4.2: A SIMPLE TRANSLATION OF KOLDSKL OG KAMMERJUNKERE?
You have recently been employed by Arla, Scandinavian dairy giant, as an expert on
language, translation and communication. Your boss has asked you to translate
koldskl og kammerjunkere for the British and German markets in which the prod-
uct is unknown.
Which problems do you face? What possible translations would you come up with?
How would you explain your problems to your boss who thinks she has just hired an
expert on translation and communication in the global world?
Chapters 1, 2, and 3 may provide you with some relevant keywords.
The name is an important part of the identity and meaning of a product (Stigel
1993) as it may help the customer to form certain associations that will enable
86 chapter 4
Figure 4.4: The stove in
a Danish kitchen-cum-
diner type of setting
(scan from product
brochure)
him to remember the specific product. Generally, it is difficult for customers to
remember product names that consist of acronyms and numbers. These types
of names reveal little about the actual product, and most people cannot
decode the acronyms nor understand the potential significance of the letters
and numbers.
Many high-tech products are named by engineers or representatives of a
strong technical culture who favour the ring of state-of-the-art technology
and the quasi-scientific overtones of names such as PE 7000, IGS 1100 or model
1440 BUO that mirror the auto-communicative rhetoric of an engineering
community (Norlyk 2002). At a surface level, an auto-communicative text, be
it a sales brochure, an annual report, an advertisement etc., may seem to
address external stakeholders. In reality the text addresses an equally impor-
tant audience i.e. that within the company (Christensen 1995, 2001). To people
in the company, who are familiar with the engineering code, these names are
likely to suggest know-how and technical competence. Customers, however,
and people who do not share this particular code, are left in the dark and at
best experience these names as meaningless or annoying.
In the Danish version of the Mors sales brochure, the cast iron stoves are
mainly identified by numbers such as the 1440 model, the 1420 BUO model or
by a different set of numbers relating to products belonging to the New Gen-
eration 5000 series, e.g. the 5043. In the localized British version, the products
have been given new names of a totally different nature. The localized transla-
tion of the Danish product names has rejected the high-tech ring of acronyms
and numbers favoured by the sender. From a communication perspective, the
British product names favour the receiver, not the sender. The British product
names refer to objects or animals known to the customer and are easy to
remember: the Lion, the Panther, the Squirrel, the Swan, the Dove etc. It goes
without saying that the heating capacity of the Lion is bigger than that of the
Squirrel. Furthermore, the references to animals associate nature, life and
warmth rather than high-tech heating technology. Animal names, as opposed
to numbers and acronyms, suggest a sensuous experience of warmth connot-
ing furry animals and soft down.
These references to animals and nature are followed up in the description of
the size and capacity of the products. While the Danish version talks of imper-
sonal product series, the localized British version personalises the products
and refers to them as brothers to describe the relationship and size of the dif-
ferent product variations. The Lion, is described as the big brother of the Pan-
ther, indicating the difference in size and heating capacity between the prod-
ucts in terms of established family relationships which any customer can relate
to.
BOX 4.3: NAMES AND CONNOTATION?
The Danish company, PILGRIM, is a successful producer and exporter of costume jew-
ellery. The 2005 autumn collections are named ROMANTICA, HEARTS AND KEYS, ETH-
NIC, FUNKY FUNGI, OPEN FLOWER etc. Although the company website, www.pil-
grim.dk, offers different language versions (Danish, English, German, and French), all
language versions refer to English product names.
What, in your opinion, is the reason for not translating the names of the various col-
lections? What potential advantages and disadvantages can you identify? Which
names would you suggest for PILGRIMs latest collections?
4.7 Persuasive strategies
Culture and context play an important part in the choice of language and style
in sales brochures. The senders cultural perception of the product influences
his choice of language and style in product descriptions.
It has been argued that communication models within the transmission para-
digmare reluctant to discuss the linguistic and stylistic aspects of messages at
a detailed level and generally downplay this aspect of intercultural communi-
cation. Although the importance of e.g. rhetorical strategies and stylistics are
sometimes mentioned in marketing textbooks, no detailed analysis follows of
how to apply this understanding of linguistic and communicative difficulties in
the context of practical translation (Frandsen, Johansen and Nielsen 1997; Bon-
ner 2000).
BOX 4.4: SEX, MEN, AND JEWELLERY
PILGRIMS collection of jewellery for men does not have a name but is simply referred
to as the mens collection. The Danish website is a mixture of English and Danish and
the collection is accompanied by a brief text: TAKE A RIDE ON THE WILD SIDE. R og
stilrene smykker til maskuline mnd med attitude. The English translation More
wild, more daring yet simple and edgy jewellery for men is also used in the French
and German versions of the website.
88 chapter 4
Discuss the concept of male jewellery and male gender roles in an intercultural per-
spective. Suppose you were asked by PILGRIM to suggest appropriate names for
jewellery collections for men. Which names would you suggest? Refer to Chapters 1
and 2 and name some of the aspects you would need to consider in relation to this
simple task.
In a Danish context, sales brochures are often written by the company, some-
times in collaboration with an advertising agency. Consequently, product
descriptions, language, and style inevitably mirror Danish preferences and
Danish standards. The text of the brochure will typically be translated either by
the company itself or by a translation service. Proofreading by agents or sub-
sidiaries generally consists of feedback relating to potential errors in terminol-
ogy, grammar or syntax. It is implicitly assumed that what works well in a Dan-
ish context will work equally well in other cultural contexts. It is ethnocentri-
cally assumed that the art of persuasion is independent of cultural contexts
and stylistic preferences.
BOX 4.5: RHETORIC AND PERSUASIVE STRATEGIES
In classical rhetoric, the term persuasio refers to 3 persuasive strategies on which
the speaker can structure his argument (Jrgensen 2003, Dittmer and Jessen 1998).
Note that the strategies can be used in combination with, and often supported by,
visual elements as e.g. photographs of suffering children, tables, statistics etc.
The ethos strategy
Ethos refers to a persuasive strategy in which the speakers personal qualities lend
credibility to his message, e.g. a doctor promoting medical products.
The logos strategy
A logos argument is based on facts and figures cf. logic and does not include ref-
erences to the speakers feelings or social standing. Facts and figures speak for them-
selves as e.g. in a scientific text.
The pathos strategy
Pathos refers to feelings and emotions e.g. compassion, fear, sense of humour, irony
etc. Charity organizations have often used the pathos strategy in combination with
pictures of starving children or skinned, bloody baby seals, but are now more reluc-
tant to do so, since it has proved counter-productive.
In the Mors case, the language and style of the Danish sales brochure reflect
the preference for a low-key, matter-of-fact style in the description of the
product. The text centres on facts and figures. Product related technical termi-
nology and tables on heating capacity support the main selling point of the
brochure: that buying a cast stove will save you money. It is a wise and sensible
buy. Buying state-of-the-art technology is a rational and sound decision. The
product line offers you the choice between two types of heating technology:
the traditional radiation heat or the technically more advanced models that
circulate convected heat, which enhances the heating performance. Persua-
sion, in other words, predominantly takes place via the logos strategy (Norlyk
1999). In a Danish context, the low-key description of the product and the
appeal to reason and common sense lend credibility to the sender because he
is not seen to overprize his products. However, one might argue that the
appeal of the visual rhetoric of the brochure, i.e. the staging of beautiful
homes, is based mainly on the pathos strategy, thus strengthening the persua-
sive power of the sales brochure.
BOX 4.6: STANDARDIZATION AND LOCALIZATION IN SALES BROCHURES
Compare language and style, and discuss the choice of persuasive strategy.
Excerpt 1, below, is taken from the localized British version.
The appeal of cast iron lies not only in its ability to absorb the heat of the fire waft-
ing it slowly into the room long after the fuel is spent but also in the ease with
which it can be shaped. No other material can be moulded into such a variety of fin-
ishes from softly rounded edges to crispy, detailed ornamentation. Cast iron
stoves give the most luxurious warmth. The radiated heat from the body of the stove
gently warms whilst the convected heat searches into every corner of the room.
Excerpt 2, below, is taken from the standardized version of the sales brochure. It is a
semantic translation of the original Danish text.
Solid cast iron has a unique ability to store heat and release it into the surroundings
long after the fire has gone out. The heavy dimensions and special alloy of cast iron
store the heat and give even, comfortable heat release.
Translate the excerpts into Danish. What is your gut feeling about their communica-
tive appeal in a Danish context? Which factors may influence our idea of a good
sales text?
90 chapter 4
The localized British version appeals to the feelings and senses of the cus-
tomer, applying a pathos strategy in order to persuade potential customers to
buy the product. The description of the warmth from the stove is personified:
it searches into every corner of the room. Furthermore, the description of the
warmth as luxurious and gentle carries overtones and connotations that are
different from the original and low-key Danish description of the heat as jvn
og behagelig (even and comfortable).
4.8 Selling points and cultural differences
In advertising and marketing it has been debated whether or not to adapt
advertising to local markets. Some researchers argue that certain product cat-
egories, e.g. advertisements for food, need to be adapted to the local culture
of individual markets (Usunier 1997; Bonner 2004), and the present case indi-
cates that the same need for adaptation applies to products related to home.
Figure 4.5: A localized,
Swedish setting
Although one would expect the Scandinavian markets to be fairly homoge-
nous, the present case indicates that selling points within Scandinavia also
benefit from some degree of localization. Market conditions for cast iron
stoves seem to differ even within Scandinavia.
In Sweden, the stoves were primarily targeted at owners of second homes, i.e.
summer houses and cottages generally placed in the woods or in the
Skrgrd, (the skerries). These isolated settings are served by small local
generators sensitive to rough weather, and electricity is often unstable in
these areas. Power failures occur at regular intervals. Thus, an important sell-
ing point in the Swedish sales brochure is the fact that the stove can be used as
an emergency cooking facility in case of power failure. While this particular
aspect of usability would never be considered a relevant selling point in a Dan-
ish or British context, it nevertheless remains important in a Swedish context.
At text level, the selling points are logos-orientated, while the visual rhetoric
relies on the pathos appeal suggesting feelings of harmony and comfort. The
92 chapter 4
Figure 4.6: A Norwegian suggestion for localization of the sales brochure. The suggesti-
on was rejected and a localized version was never produced
pictures in the Swedish brochure present the stoves in a setting of nature, holi-
day, and family relations, e.g. grandparents with grandchildren or young,
attractive couples.
One might expect similar selling points to work in a Norwegian context. How-
ever, the market situation in Norway is different from both the Danish and the
Swedish. The Norwegian market has been dominated by traditional types of
cast iron stoves that heat via radiation only, while stoves based on the prin-
ciples of convected heat are fairly unknown. Seeing that the surface tempera-
ture of cast iron reaches about 300 degrees Celsius, the associations relating
to cast iron stoves are potentially negative as they are perceived as dangerous,
especially to small children.
Consequently, in a Norwegian context the main selling point relates to the
technology of convected heating systems, which circulate the heated air rather
than heat the metal. This technology lowers the surface temperature of cast
iron stoves to approximately 100 degrees Celsius, an important selling point in
a Norwegian context. Although a localized sales brochure was never produced,
the Norwegian agent suggested a localized version, which was, subsequently
rejected by the management of Mors Jernstberi.
While most of us would ethnocentrically assume that the differences within
the Scandinavian markets were almost non-existent, we would expect massive
cultural differences when dealing with the Japanese market, which is an
important outlet for Mors Jernstberi.
The product presentation in the Japanese version centres on illustrations con-
noting history, tradition and the love of ornaments and fine details, suggesting
other webs of significance than those presented in the European versions of the
sales brochure. The old hand-drawings of the first products, dating back to the
1850s, and the long history of Mors Jernstberi appeal to a culture in which
history and tradition are time-honoured values that influence potential buyers.
4.9 Conclusion
From a cost-conscious business perspective, the concept of standardization is
highly attractive. It is cost-saving and secures a high degree of image control.
However, different webs of significance may influence the way in which
products are perceived and presented across markets. Which factors and
which symbols constitute home and attractiveness? Furthermore, cultural
and national differences in linguistic and stylistic preferences may also influ-
ence potential buyers decision whether or not to buy a particular product.
Selling points that work well in one market do not necessarily work well in
other markets and other cultures.
1. Make a stylistic analysis of the text excerpts presented in box 4.6 and trans-
late the text into other languages, e.g. German, French, Spanish, etc. Do
these translations work? Why? Why not?
Go to boxes 4.2. and 4.3 and translate the text excerpts into two or three
languages of your own choice. Consider the influence of language and style
in translation.
94 chapter 4
Figure 4.7: The Japanese version highlights history and continuvity
2. Discuss the importance of rhetoric in intercultural communication. Discuss
how to use the three persuasive strategies in sales communication. In your
opinion, is there a relation between product type and the choice of persua-
sive strategy? Why? Why not?
3. Discuss the concept of home in relation to cultural codes. Taking cultural
codes as your starting point, look at your own room or flat and decode the
messages your wish to convey about yourself to potential visitors.
4. Select and compare sales advertisements from different countries. Analyze
and explain the stylistic differences in layout, wording and choice of illus-
trations.
5. Discuss the concept of quality in relation to sales brochures. Identify some
of the factors that may influence the production and evaluation of a sales
brochure, e.g. cultural factors, organizational factors, occupational factors
and personal factors etc. Chapters 1, 2, and 3 may provide you with a frame-
work for your discussion.
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96 chapter 4
CHAPTER 5
The translator as cultural mediator
Karen Korning Zethsen
5.1 Languages and world languages
Do you have a world language as your mother tongue? With many thousand
different languages in the world many of us cannot answer in the affirmative
and have had to learn other languages. Of course, if you are from Madrid you
will be able to speak Spanish with business contacts in South America and if
you are British you can communicate in English with American or Australian
contacts, and so on, even though your cultural backgrounds may differ widely.
But if you do not have one of the world languages as your mother tongue you
will inevitably have to make use of a foreign language when communicating
across borders, and varying degrees of translation will be involved. Not only
will there be the potential risk of two cultures clashing there may also be lin-
guistic complications arising either out of lack of linguistic or cultural knowl-
edge or a combination of both. In order to come closer to an understanding of
what happens when we translate from one language to another (or when we
communicate within a single language for that matter) it is important to dis-
cuss the concept of meaning.
5.2 Meaning more complex than you think
On the face of it people without a linguistic background may say that meaning
is something you can look up in a dictionary. This is of course true to a certain
extent, but what you get from a dictionary is only part of the meaning of a
word or an expression. Context is a crucial concept in this connection, but nat-
urally the dictionary can only include a limited amount of typical contexts and
cannot say anything about the situational context of the translation. Basically,
meaning is an idiosyncratic phenomenon (idiosyncratic means peculiar to
the individual) and how we understand a certain word is the result of the sum
of our knowledge of the world and our previous experiences with the word in
question. You will probably have a deeper and more varied understanding of
the word porridge (and its various states) if you had it for breakfast every
the translator as cultural mediator 97
morning during your childhood than if you only have a theoretical knowledge
of the food as something made of oatmeal and water. That is, meaning is
much more complex than the existence of dictionaries leads us to believe and
no two people will ever have exactly the same perception of the meaning of a
word we all have our own individual frames of interpretation based on the
sum of our individual experience. Still people are able to communicate and
this is mainly due to what can be called the core meaning of a word. We can all
agree that a bachelor is an unmarried man, this being the core meaning of the
word, its denotation. No one would argue that a bachelor could just as well be
married and still be called a bachelor, but what we connect with the phenom-
enon of a bachelor is fundamentally idiosyncratic. Naturally, there may be
common, shared sets of connotations (i.e. additional or so-called emotive
meaning
1
) connected with a word it would not be uncommon e.g. to per-
ceive a bachelor as a womanizer, but it would be equally common to think of a
bachelor as someone living at home with mummy even though he has turned
forty, depending on the context. Quite often various prototypical meanings
exist and which one is invoked depends entirely on the context.
Recent corpus-based research (see e.g. Stubbs 2001) has shown that connota-
tions are much more frequently connected with whole phrases and expres-
sions than presumed up till now, making it even more difficult to trust the tra-
ditional dictionary. Stubbs, among many others, argues that we often use
larger building blocks than words, so to speak, and that evaluative meaning is
often attached to whole strings of words which are frequently used together.
That is, many words depend on each other and it may be difficult to define
each word individually.
Evidently, the translator cannot do without dictionaries and other reference
works, but it is important to be aware of how complex and slippery the
phenomenon of meaning is and how crucial it is to be aware of the situational
context of both the original and the translation, to try and understand the
background of a certain utterance as well as the situational context in which it
is going to function and the background of its receiver(s). The translator
should always ask himself whether the background and situational context of
the receiver make it likely for the latter to interpret a word or expression in the
way intended by the sender. In the way we choose to express ourselves we fre-
quently presuppose in our target group the existence of the same cultural
98 chapter 5
1) E.g. skinny and slim denote the same, but the two words have different connotations.
knowledge as we possess ourselves (culture should not be understood as
national culture, but in some contexts as the culture of a certain discourse
community (see Chapter 2, box 2.7) or in other contexts as a combination of
the many discourse communities of which we all form part (see Chapter 2.5).
We have probably all been in the situation where a foreigner asks us what is
typically Danish and found our own answers somewhat superficial. If asked
what is typical for all the discourse communities we form part of (some of
which we may not realise we belong to) it may become very difficult indeed. It
is almost impossible to have a clear perception of ones own culture at more
that an intuitive level and we may well keep presupposing, that is taking our
own cultural background more or less for granted, even when communicating
with members of other cultures.
Many factors influence what we call culture. Our culture is influenced by the
geography of our country or area, the political system under which we live, the
history, biology and customs which surround us, etc., etc., but it is also influ-
enced by our own personal history. In most professional situations we can only
hope to get to understand part of the culture of our target group (and fortu-
nately successful communication does not rely on complete understanding)
and even this requires a high level of awareness and an ability and willingness
to understand the background of other people.
Our idiosyncratic understanding of what lies outside the core meaning of a
word is primarily influenced by the culture of which we form part. Some writ-
ers are of the opinion that globalisation has become so widespread that cultur-
ally people all over the world are likely to share the same webs of significance.
Companies may well target their business-to-business communication to
international colleagues whom they believe to be members of the Global Vil-
lage. But is the Global Village perhaps only a large discourse community
excluding multitudes? Is it not a huge simplification not to use a finer grid
when trying to determine the cultural background of your audience? I shall
return to these questions, but first I would like to take a look at the language
used by the Global Village, namely English. Not English as they speak it in
e.g. Great Britain, but English as lingua franca.
5.3 English the McLanguage of the world?
In earlier days Latin was of course the lingua franca of the learned western
world. Today it has been replaced by English and English is not only spoken by
the privileged few. It is not too complicated to learn to speak basic English and
our efforts are supported by the electronic media and by the present day dom-
inance of American culture in particular. As a result many people speak English
quite uninhibited and it naturally follows that English is used as lingua franca in
a large number of business contexts. But as mentioned the English spoken by
most non-native speakers will not be the English connected with a certain
national culture (English, Australian, American). It will be a hybrid produced by
the many contexts (often media contexts) in which the speaker has been con-
fronted with the English language. The above has two important conse-
quences: Firstly, the English spoken is often simple and based on a very limited
vocabulary. Secondly it is difficult to pin down the cultural background of the
English spoken as a lingua franca.
BOX 5.1: LINGUA FRANCA
A lingua franca (which literally means Frankish language, originally a mixture of
languages) is a language which is used as a medium of communication by people
with different mother tongues. Today the most widespread lingua franca is some
form of English.
A number of hypotheses may be generated in order to explain what goes on: it
may be argued that English as lingua franca exists in a kind of a-cultural vacuum
(which seems highly unlikely considering the general consensus on the strong
cultural impact on communication). Or it may be argued that users of English
as lingua franca also make use of a supranational culture, a cultura franca
based on a US/western common culture. In the words of Snell-Hornby 1999:
109: [English is] the free-floating lingua franca (International English) that
has largely lost track of its original cultural identity, its idioms, its hidden con-
notations, its grammatical subtleties, and has become a reduced standardised
form of language for supra-cultural communication the McLanguage of our
globalised McWorld or the Eurospeak of our multilingual continent.
BOX 5.2: CULTURA FRANCA
By extension the expression cultura franca implies the existence of a common (often
globalised) culture which can be drawn upon when communicating across cultures.
This chapter ventures a third hypothesis, namely that most people using Eng-
lish as a lingua franca do not adopt an English, Australian or American cultural
background, but to a large extent use the lingua franca on top of their own cul-
tural backgrounds which may differ widely. If this is true it would also explain
why it is so easy to misunderstand each other in intercultural communication;
100 chapter 5
the language used (English) may imply a certain cultural background which is
simply not there it is easy to assume that if you technically understand each
other (as regards the denotation of words) then you also share the same con-
notations, concepts of politeness, world view, etc. When communicating via a
lingua franca it is therefore of utmost importance always to keep in mind the
cultural background of the receiver.
To return to our questions from above: Do people today live in a global village
with roughly the same cultural framework or would it be more useful for our
purposes to work on the basis of the concept of discourse communities? Could
it be that expressions such as the global village and cultura franca are too
superficial and give us a false sense of globalisation? There is no doubt that
especially among young people various transnational subcultures (e.g. within
sports, music, fashion) exist which in certain areas of their lives make it very
easy for them indeed to communicate across borders. But it is probably not a
general ability and there may be other areas in which their communication
may be very much influenced by their national, family or educational back-
grounds. A too heavy reliance on the concept of globalisation may actually be
detrimental to intercultural communication as it does not take into account
the many discourse communities which exist or the many factors which deter-
mine our culture.
All human beings belong to several different discourse communities and many
of these communities exist across borders. If you are a baker by profession you
may be able to communicate satisfactorily with a baker from a different cul-
ture using very simple communicative means (as long as you stay roughly
within your discourse community). In addition to using the same materials you
may have the same world experience of burnt bread and early mornings and
so on. If you are a mother with young children, a football fan, a musician, a
first-time house owner the list is indefinite then communication across
borders may be considerably easier with likeminded people than with people
from your own country who do not share your situation, profession or inter-
ests. As Kirkness (1997: 5) puts it
Might it be easier for French, German or English linguists or neurosurgeons to
exchange information with each other on technical matters without translation
than it is for them to communicate with lay people in their own vernacular com-
munities?
Or Sager et al. (1980: 3):
[] a French physicist can read an English research paper on physics or even
understand a lecture on physics delivered in English while at the same time
being incapable of reading an English newspaper or asking his way around Lon-
don.
5.3.1 Asymmetrical linguistic and cultural backgrounds
The notion of discourse communities plays an important part in cross-cultural
communication. But even though the existence of a common discourse com-
munity may greatly facilitate communication it is still important to be aware of
the fact that the linguistic and cultural backgrounds of communicators often
vary greatly. It may of course be the case that the communicators are more or
less at the same level linguistically if they are both non-native speakers, but
more often than not they will be at different levels.
Evidently, this is also the case when the parties consist of a mixture of native
and non-native speakers and even in cases where the non-native speaker is
very fluent there is likely to be cultural gaps (one e.g. using UK English and one
using English as lingua franca). Therefore, in intercultural communication
there will always be an asymmetrical (in various degrees) linguistic and cul-
tural relationship between the parties and it is always relevant to ask yourself
the following question: What is the educational, linguistic and cultural back-
ground of the receiver of your text?
In a business-to-business context it is very common that no translators are
involved in oral communication, the opposite being the case with more formal
written communication. Even though linguistic skills may differ widely, cul-
tural knowledge and the notion of discourse communities are equally impor-
tant whether you are an economist, an engineer or a skilled translator.
5.4 The development of translation as a discipline
Translation is a very old phenomenon and has been carried out and discussed
since time immemorial. In earlier days the focus was on the Bible, classical
texts and major literary works, but in step with the industrial revolution the
need for translation exploded and today, what is termed LSP (Language for
Special Purposes) translation by far exceeds literary and Bible translation. In
former days the translation of literature was often the pursuit of gentlemen
and never a breadwinning job. Translation was something you did con
102 chapter 5
amore, whereas today an ever-increasing number of people are involved with
translation professionally. What is today known as translation studies is a com-
paratively new academic discipline, the development of which did not gain
momentum until the 1960s, especially after the publication of the American
Bible translator Eugene Nidas books Towards a science of translating in 1964
and The theory and practice of translation (with Taber) in 1969.
The role and status of the translator have varied greatly through the ages. At
some points the creativity of the translator and his ability to recreate, almost
to write anew, a piece of literature were praised, but at most times (and cer-
tainly very often today) the ideal of an invisible translator has prevailed. On
top of this some ages have favoured what Venuti (1995: 19-20) calls an ethno-
centric approach to translation (a domesticating approach, bringing the
author back home) that is, the ideal translation should read like an original so
that no one notices the fact that it has been translated and some ages have
preferred the opposite, namely an ethnodeviant approach (foreignising the
text sending the reader abroad) (Venuti 1995).
For as long as translation has been around it has been discussed whether a
translation should be faithful to the original (and its culture) or free of the orig-
inal
2
(and pointed towards the culture of the reader). During the past 20 years
there has been increasing awareness that the faithful/free discussion leads
nowhere. Translation is many things and nowadays text types are so many and
varied that an overall decision would be meaningless. Rather the translator
should focus on the purpose of the individual translation in order to determine
an overall strategy. This is in a nutshell the message of the skopos theory
which will be explained below. It should be noted that translation is tradition-
ally divided into intralingual translation (that is rewording of a text within the
same language, but for different audiences) and interlingual translation (trans-
lation proper i.e. translation between two languages). It is important to be
aware of the fact that sometimes intralingual translation is just as vital
between members of the same national culture (for instance in expert-to-lay-
man communication) as it may be when two different languages are involved.
2) Frequently the terms semantic or communicative translation are employed for respectively
faithful and free.
5.4.1 Translation competence what does it take?
More often than not the translator is perceived as a walking dictionary, indi-
cating that translation is merely a matter of substituting individual words
something which happens almost automatically. But translating is of course
much more than looking up words. The translator must take in the whole text
and must consider the situational context of the text. The translator is the
receiver of the original text which he interprets and translates into a new ver-
sion. Interpretation is therefore at the heart of the matter.
Some people consider translation a craft which requires certain skills which
can be taught. Others consider it an art, indicating that a certain amount of
creativity is involved. Naturally, it all depends on the nature of the text, but
there is no doubt that mere knowledge of lexis and grammar does not make a
professional translator. The translator must have so-called translation compe-
tence which apart from being partly bilingual includes (among many other
things) linguistic knowledge (like semantics, genre conventions and textual
analysis), knowledge on subject-matter or how to obtain it, knowledge on the
cultures involved, their values and conventions as well as knowledge on gen-
eral methods for translating tricky or untranslatable culture-bound con-
cepts, rhetorical figures, etc. (Zethsen 2003: 74).
Apart from having translation competence it is furthermore important that
the translator knows what the purpose of the translation is, who is going to
read it and which function it is supposed to have within the target culture. This
leads us, as promised, to the skopos theory.
5.4.2 The skopos theory: focusing on the receiver
Since the time of Cicero it has been discussed whether to translate directly,
almost word for word or whether to focus on the communication involved, i.e.
the meaning or sense of the text. The concept of equivalence, i.e. sameness,
has been at the fore of this discussion and not so long ago translation theory
took for granted that equivalence between the source text and the target text
was the aim of the translator. Many scholars acknowledged the fact that there
are various kinds of equivalence, but still it seemed that the general feeling
was to accept degrees and kinds of equivalence because the real thing, com-
plete equivalence, could not be obtained. The discussion has mostly been cen-
tred around the determination of a macrostrategy applying to all translation
activity, but as early as in the ninth century King Alfred the Great expressed a
rather functionalistic approach to translation; sometimes word by word,
104 chapter 5
sometimes sense by sense, and in a way this is the essence of the skopos
theory it is not a question of determining once and for all what kind of overall
strategy to employ for all translations or for a certain type of translation, it is
rather a question of choosing ad hoc a suitable strategy for each new translation.
BOX 5.3: KING ALFRED THE GREAT
King Alfred the Great, the first king of England (who reigned from 871 to 899),
expressed a rather functionalistic approach to translation; hwilum word be worde,
hwilum andgiet of andgiete (sometimes word by word, sometimes sense by sense).
The skopos theory was conceived by Hans Vermeer and was first mentioned in
1984 in a book by Vermeer and Katarina Reiss called Grundlegung einer allge-
meinen Translationstheorie. Despite the name it is not really a theory, but
more an approach to translation. The basic principle of the skopos approach is
very simple; it is the skopos [Greek for purpose] of the translation and not
that of the original which should determine the translation strategy to be
employed. It follows naturally that the translator should always find out as
much as possible about the intended function of the target text in its new situ-
ational context.
The concept of equivalence/sameness is useless as a basic translation principle
as the skopos or purpose of a given translation is not necessarily that of the
source text. In short the skopos theory argues that it is the intended function
(which is why it is also called the functional approach) or purpose of the trans-
lation in the target culture which should be central to the choice of a transla-
tion strategy at the macrolevel. In former times when equivalence was the
goal of the translator, a given text could only be successfully translated by
means of one particular macrostrategy which was suitable for this kind of text
(c.f. the faithful/free discussion). According to the skopos approach, however,
a text may potentially have an indefinite number of purposes (or skopoi) which
can be illustrated in the following way (Zethsen 1997: 17):
EXAMPLE 5.1: SOURCE TEXT WITH VARIOUS POTENTIAL
TRANSLATIONAL SKOPOI
A translator may be asked to translate the same technical report from Danish into
English with the following skopoi:
1. For a group of English linguists to enable them to study the syntax of Danish
technical language.
2. For an emergency meeting concerning the break-down of a technical installa-
tion dealt with in the report (oral translation).
3. For a project group of Spanish engineers who do not have English as their
mother tongue.
4. For a British company which is a potential purchaser.
etc.
This means that it is the intended function of the target text which should
determine the choice of macrostrategy and not the nature of the source text
and its original function. The following example illustrates how different
skopoi require different translational macrostrategies (Zethsen 1997: 18):
EXAMPLE 5.2: POSSIBLE MACROSTRATEGIES ACCORDING TO THE SKOPOI
1. For a group of English linguists to enable them to study the syntax of Danish
technical language (word-for-word translation).
2. For an emergency meeting concerning the break-down of a technical installa-
tion dealt with in the report (oral translation) (a provisional, maybe short-
ened, communicative translation focus on the message).
3. For a project group of Spanish engineers who do not have English as their
mother tongue (a translation ensuring maximum comprehension, thus avoid-
ing e.g. too complex sentences, heavy NPs, stylistic variation).
4. For a British company which is a potential purchaser (an idiomatic and flu-
ent translation, giving the impression of professionalism).
etc.
The above example shows that potentially it is possible to choose from an
indefinite number of translation strategies. The choice should not rely on the
nature of the source text, but rather on the intended function of the target
text in the target culture. It should be noted that there may be various sub-
skopoi in a text which will of course require different macrostrategies for dif-
ferent parts of the text. By taking a skopos or functional approach to transla-
106 chapter 5
tion we get rid of the never-ending faithful/free discussion at least at the
macrolevel. In many cases texts to be translated (especially within LSP) can be
grouped according to their expected function in the target culture and there-
fore it may be possible to generalise about the most suitable macrostrategy
for the translation of certain kinds of text.
BOX 5.4: FAITHFUL OR FREE?
For centuries it has been discussed how faithful translation in general should be to
the original. With the skopos approach this discussion is no longer considered rele-
vant as a general discussion, it is rather the intended function of each individual
translation in the target culture and situation which should determine whether a
translation should be faithful, free or something in between.
5.4.3 Possible microstrategies for the translation of
cultural elements
As appears from the above, macrostrategies focus on textual and extratextual
features (the situational context). A macrostrategy governs the specific deci-
sions the translator has to make at the levels of word, expression or phrase,
but in order to carry out these decisions in actual translations the translator
also needs a number of microstrategies. Many translators do not work con-
sciously with microstrategies, but good translators often choose a suitable
strategy on the basis of their experience. However, experience may not always
be enough, sometimes it is advantageous to consider ones options con-
sciously otherwise we risk an automatic translation which may be technically
correct, but ill suited to the skopos in question. Novice translators cannot
draw on their experience which is why awareness of available microstrategies
becomes even more important.
BOX 5.5: MICRO AND MACRO
On the basis of the skopos and the situational context of a text to be translated the
translator must lay down a macrostrategy for the translation, i.e. an overall strategy
which governs specific decisions the translator has to make at the levels of word,
expression or phrase. In order to carry out these decisions in the actual translation
the translator also needs a number of microstrategies, which could for instance be
various ways of translating metaphors, complex noun phrases or culture-bound words.
When dealing with microstrategies it is impossible not to mention Vinay &
Darbelnets much-cited (as well as criticised) work from 1958 which lists seven
possible strategies. However, these strategies are not sufficiently comprehen-
sive to cover real-life situations and I have therefore chosen to introduce a
more extensive model (inspired by Vinay & Darbelnet, among others) devel-
oped by Schjoldager (2003) (the examples are my own). Please note that the
suitability of the strategies is highly context-dependent.
Model 5.1: Microstrategies
Non-translation: Transfers an element unchanged. (e.g. non-stick belg-
ning).
Calque: Transfers the structure of an element (e.g. intellectually challenged/
intellektuelt udfordret).
Direct translation: Translates by means of linguistic equivalents (a word-for-
word translation, as far as correct target language permits,) han gik en tur/ he
went for a walk, brusebad/shower.
Idiomatic translation: Translates by means of functional equivalents (how are
you/hvordan gr det).
Explicitation: Makes implicit information explicit. (Anders Fogh Rasmussen
har indget en ny aftale med becomes Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the Danish
Prime minister, has entered into a new agreement with)
Paraphrase: Explains an element. If e.g. Pentagon is translated into Det
amerikanske Forsvarsministerium.
Condensation: Translates in a shorter way (the opposite of explicitation). This is
a strategy which is very common in e.g. subtitling.
Adaptation: Creates similar effect of an element (mince pies/bleskiver).
Addition: Adds something. (e.g. a passage which by law must be included in a
certain type of Danish document, but which is not mandatory in English which is
why it is not included in the English source text).
Substitution: Writes something else (in most cases this is a dangerous strategy,
but in some instances it may be justified, e.g. in advertising copy which is
adapted to suit a local market in these cases we may be on the edge of transla-
tion proper).
Omission: Leaves out something. This may be necessary in e.g. subtitling
because of restricted space.
The above list of microstrategies (or techniques as Schjoldager calls them)
can be used very specifically to obtain an overview of possible ways to solve a
concrete translation problem and they can furthermore be used to analyse
and describe which microstrategies have been employed in a concrete text (as
we shall see in the case study).
108 chapter 5
5.4.4 The translator as cultural mediator
In modern times, and probably largely due to the increased number of LSP
translations, the role of the translator has in many ways been unacknowledged
the translator has been invisible as Venuti (1995) says. But theoretically
speaking the status of the translator changed with the skopos theory which
claims a more active role from the translator in the communication process.
According to the skopos theory it is the responsibility of the translator to
obtain information about the skopos of the translation and it is the responsi-
bility of the translator to translate in accordance with the skopos, even in cases
where this would result in a text which is very different from the original. It is,
in other words, the obligation of the translator to do his utmost to understand
what the purpose of the communication is, who the parties involved are and
how best to transfer the intended messages the translator is, or rather
should no longer be, perceived as a walking dictionary, but as a cultural
mediator (Katan 1999). That is translation is taken one step further to make
use of all the skills of the almost bilingual and bicultural translator ideally the
translator should no longer be invisible, but should participate actively in the
communication process. But what exactly is a cultural mediator? Taft (in Katan
1999: 12) defines the term as follows:
A cultural mediator is a person who facilitates communication, understanding,
and action between persons or groups who differ with respect to language and
culture. The role of the mediator is performed by interpreting the expressions,
intentions, perceptions, and expectations of each cultural group to the other,
that is, by establishing and balancing the communication between them. In
order to serve as a link in this sense, the mediator must be able to participate to
some extent in both cultures. Thus a mediator must be to a certain extent bicul-
tural.
Needless to say, cultural mediators should be extremely aware of their own
cultural identity; and will need to understand how their own culture influences
their perception. As mentioned above this may be a difficult task as culture is
such an inherent and often unconscious part of us, however awareness about
cultural identity is often enhanced the more we are exposed to other cultures.
5.4.5 A case of translation
In order to illustrate the translators role as cultural mediator as well as some
of the many microstrategies available to the translator I asked nine experi-
enced translators (an average of 10 years experience) to translate a letter from
the English chocolate manufacturer Thorntons and comment on their transla-
tion. The letter contains a number of words and expressions which belong to
the field of retail shopping, but in addition some of them seem to depend on a
certain cultural context (the English). Before sending out the text to be trans-
lated I noted down the words which I considered culturally bound and I asked
the translators to write down what they found most difficult when doing the
translation. I did not tell the translators what the purpose of my study was, i.e.
that I was concerned with culture-bound words.
Thorntons basically sell their products in two ways: through Thorntons shops
(company-owned or franchising) which can be found in all British cities or
through British supermarket chains. Thorntons is only sold in Great Britain, so
for this case I invented a situation in which Thorntons decide to move into the
Scandinavian market. Their strategy is to start with Denmark and therefore
their sales manager has written a letter to Dansk Supermarked to find out
whether there is basis for cooperation (skopos). This letter needs to be trans-
lated the text is authentic, though it is not originally part of a letter, but
taken from Thorntons website. When analysing the results it was interesting
to note that generally there was an overlap between the words which the
translators pointed out as the most tricky and the words which I had identified
as culture-bound. It was furthermore interesting to see how experienced
translators choose different microstrategies to solve the same translational
problem.
I will go through some specific examples from the text the first of which con-
cerns the word high street.
EXAMPLE 5.3
Extract from the text:
The role of the retail outlet on the high street is evolving, driven by a shift in con-
sumer buying behaviour.
Dictionaries define high street as the main street of a town, i.e. what in Danish
would be hovedgaden in an almost direct translation [calque]. This solution is in fact
chosen by one translator, but the majority have chosen strgbutikkerne or strg-
forretningerne which is not a direct translation, but shows an attempt to find an
expression which does not only denote the same thing, but which is functionally
equivalent with the English high street [idiomatic]. Hovedgaden may not techni-
cally be incorrect, but is perhaps more frequent in a traffic context, whereas the
110 chapter 5
choice strgbutikkerne focusses on the shopping aspect which is one of the themes
of the text. One translator has chosen simply to leave out high street [omission]
which makes the text less specific and two translators interpret high street in the
broadest possible sense and write about detailhandlens rolle i bybilledet and
detailforretningerne i bymidten [idiomatic].
EXAMPLE 5.4
Continued expansion of the Multiple Grocers means that they are increasingly
becoming a one-stop-shop for everyday purchases.
In this sentence two culturally-bound expressions were identified as difficult. The
expression Multiple Grocers, which was mainly a problem of finding out what it
actually refers to (large supermarket chains) and one-stop-shop which I shall com-
ment on.
Two translators have chosen simply to leave out the expression one-stop-shop
[omission]. One translator has translated into one-stop-butikker by transferring
part of the expression directly one-stop and translating part of it directly butikker,
in this way preserving the structure of the expression [a combination of non-transla-
tion and calque]. The majority of the translators have explained what one-stop-
shop means [paraphrase] e.g. forretninger, hvor forbrugerne kan foretage alle
deres indkb samlet or det sted, hvor folk foretager alle deres daglige indkb.
EXAMPLE 5.5
As a consequence, the high street is becoming a leisure destination for customers
seeking more experiential shopping and more considered purchases.
The expression causing difficulty in the above sentence was one which I had not origi-
nally identified as culturally-bound (but which it probably is see below), namely
experiential shopping. In the translations it turned out that three of the translators
had actually misunderstood/misread the expression and translated into eksperi-
menterer med deres indkb which may indicate that they are not familiar with the
concept and have read it as experimental shopping. Three translators have trans-
lated the two elements of the expression directly, but in reverse order [direct transla-
tion] indkbsoplevelse or shoppingoplevelse [in the latter case also non-transla-
tion is involved in the first part of the expression]. One translator tries to introduce
the concept of experiential shopping into Danish and therefore translates the individ-
ual elements of the original structure directly [calque] oplevelsesindkb while the
remaining two translators chose to either omit shopping [omission] en bedre
oplevelse or to explain what the concept means [paraphrase] at kombinere
oplevelser med shopping.
EXAMPLE 5.6
Thorntons identified and commenced this new strategy over 2 years ago, initiating
a 12 month trial in partnership with Tesco to make luxury confectionery bars
In this case about half the translators have chosen to transfer the name Tesco directly
[non-translation] and the other half has decided to add an explanation [explicitation]
writing e.g. supermarkedskden Tesco or det engelske supermarked Tesco.
The difficult words and expressions in the Thorntons text are culture-bound in
the sense that Britain is often one step ahead of Denmark as regards new
trends, and therefore new concepts in this case within retailing. Many of the
concepts which have become established in an English-speaking context are
still unfamiliar to a Danish audience, unless of course the target group belongs
to a narrow and intercultural discourse community of retailers in which case
Danish professionals may well make use of non-translation and simply incor-
porate the English concepts into Danish untranslated (at least in oral commu-
nication). The challenge to the translator is when the discourse community
needs to communicate more broadly involving a target group which may not
be familiar with the English concepts (in this case within retailing) a situation
which implies a change in skopos. As appears from the case, translators make
use of a wide variety of microstrategies and in some cases several strategies
may be suitable for the same problem even within the macrostrategy of a
functional approach.
5.5. Conclusion
Being a translator, or cultural mediator, is a demanding profession. Due to the
complex nature of culture and consequently of intercultural communication it
requires a large number of skills. It is important with a profound under-
standing of the nature of meaning and how our choice of words in a given con-
text may be the key to the interpretation of a text. For the translator it is fur-
thermore important to be aware of the purpose (skopos) and situational back-
ground of the communication which he is trying to facilitate and as far as pos-
sible of the cultural and linguistic background of the parties involved. He
112 chapter 5
should also be familiar with available translational strategies at both macro
and micro level. The translator should take into account the increasing cultural
globalisation, but at the same time he should acknowledge the superficiality
and the limits of the concept and the importance of the existence of small cul-
tures or discourse communities. But perhaps what is most important is atti-
tude. Goodwill and tolerance are paramount if communication is to succeed in
a business-to-business context.
1. Define the concepts of denotation and connotation. Find words which
denote the same, but which have different connotations. Discuss how the
words used may be a key to the interpretation of a text.
2. Does lingua franca imply a cultura franca?
3. Explain the notion of translation competence
4. What are the basic principles of the skopos theory?
Find a text, define a skopos and translate the text in accordance with the
skopos. Then try to change the skopos completely and translate the text
again, this time in accordance with the new skopos. Compare the trans-
lated texts did the change in skopos affect your microstrategies?
5. Read a Danish newspaper article and underline culturally-bound words and
expressions discuss.
6. Explain what a cultural mediator is and what he does.
References
Katan, D. (1999): Translating Cultures. An introduction for Translators, Inter-
preters and Mediators, Manchester: St. Jerome Publishing (second ed. pub-
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Kirkness, A. (1997): Eurolatin and English today, English Today 49, (13:1), 3-8.
Nedergaard-Larsen, B. (1993), Culture-bound problems in subtitling. In: Per-
spectives: Studies in Translatology, 2, pp. 207-241.
Nida, E.A. (1964): Towards a Science of Translating, Leiden: E.J. Brill.
Nida, E.A. & Taber, C. (1969): The Theory and Practice of Translation, Leiden:
E.J.Brill; reprinted 1974
Reiss, K. and Vermeer, H. (1984): Grundlegung einer allgemeinen Translations-
theorie, Max Niemeyer Verlag.
Sager, J., Dungworth, D., et al. (1980): English Special Languages. Principles
and practice in science and technology, Wiesbaden: Brandstetter Verlag.
Schjoldager, A. (2003): Understanding translation, Aarhus School of Business,
internal teaching material no. 83.
Snell-Hornby, M. (1999), Communicating in the Global Village: On Language,
Translation and Cultural Identity. In: Language & Society Vol. 6, No. 2, pp.
103-120.
Stubbs, M. (2001): Words and Phrases. Corpus Studies of Lexical Semantics,
Oxford: Blackwell.
Venuti, L. (1995): The Translators Invisibility, London: Routledge.
Vinay, J. and J. Darbelnet (1958): Stylistique compare du francais et de langlais,
Paris: Didier.
Zethsen, K. K. (1997): Expressivity in Technical Texts From a Translation
Theoretical Perspective, Aarhus School of Business.
Zethsen, K. K. (2003), A skopos approach to translation strategies. In: Kast-
berg, Peter (ed.), LSP Translation in the New Millennium. A cross-Baltic
symposium on didactics and research. rhus: Hermes Skriftserie, HH, pp.
73-81.
114 chapter 5
CHAPTER 6
Yes, no or maybe?
A problem in English and Danish
business negotiations
Malene Djursaa
6.1 Communication strategies
When does an English businessmans yes really mean no, maybe, later, or
perhaps probably not? And how much of this is unethical stringing along or
part of a puzzling English business culture? Why cant they say what they
mean?
The subject of this chapter is a classical one in functionalist work, namely
accounting for differences in communication strategies (direct and indirect)
between national cultures. Drawing on the experiences of a number of both
Danish and English businessmen, the difficulties of interpreting the varying
meanings of the English yes are discussed. Does yes in fact sometimes mean
no?
The theoretical framework of this chapter is also classically functionalist,
namely Edward Halls concepts of high- and low-context cultures and commu-
nication. It also contains a number of features which take it in the interpretivist
direction, however, such as its use of qualitative data, and is meant to show
that the two academic traditions can in fact be combined.
6.2 Whats the problem? Two cases
A Danish paint manufacturing firm negotiates with a large English firm to rep-
resent them in Britain. The Danes have been to England once, and have
received very positive signals. Going across a second time and expecting to get
down to detailed planning, they are surprised by what they sense as a com-
plete lack of interest, yet they are not turned down. The marketing manager
yes, no or maybe? a problem in english and danish business negotations 115
says that their no was finally received in a note of three lines after a total of 3
visits and advanced planning from the Danish end.
A Danish margarine manufacturer tries to have his product adopted by an Eng-
lish supermarket chain. He is received well, and encouraged to send a sample.
Following up on the contact he is again received well but unfortunately the
sample has been mislaid (approx. 200 kg), so would he be kind enough to send
another? A few pleasant phone-calls and visits later, he receives his no by let-
ter: His was the best margarine they had tried from the Continent. What
could we say other than thank you? says the Danish manufacturer, a trifle
sourly.
Both Danes they could, as I shall argue, have been Germans, Swedes, Dutch,
or other North Europeans felt unethically treated, led up the garden path
and dumped in the nettles after expending annoying or even damaging
amounts of time, energy and money. Why didnt the English simply say that
they were not interested?
The answer could of course be that the two Danish firms were unlucky to get
entangled with firms of low ethical standards. However, given that these two
are far from isolated cases in a sizeable amount of data material, it seems rea-
sonable to look for an answer of a more generally applicable kind: communica-
tion difficulties stemming from cultural differences rather than mere lan-
guage.
6.3 The data
The two cases quoted above, and most of the references in what follows,
come from a set of 55 in-depth interviews conducted with people actively
engaged in Anglo-Danish business relations. Twenty-five of the respondents
were Danes in exports, 13 were English and 12 were Scots in imports, though
for fear of jeopardizing existing trading relationships the Danish and British
sides chosen were not each others exact trading partners. (The remaining 5
were atypical, expert witnesses or third-country nationals operating in
Anglo-Danish trade.)
Within each block, purposive sampling was used to ensure a spread on the fol-
lowing variables: type of business, size of company, geographical location,
company experience with the foreign market, and individual respondents
experience with the foreign market.
116 chapter 6
Although a majority of the respondents were in top- or middle management
positions, the novice export or import workers more unpolished perceptions
were equally valuable in this design, which sought to verify a number of wit-
nesses assumptions about perceptions of general cultural differences
between Danish and British business values and practices, and to pursue the
degree of fit between the two nationalities self- and other-perceptions.
The interviews (collected during the years 1985-88) were semi-structured in
form, using nothing more than a topic checklist and lasting between 1 and 2
hours. All interviews but one were tape-recorded, transcribed (summary and
key quotes, not verbatim), and analysed with the help of Brigham Young Uni-
versitys Word Cruncher programme.
6.4 Anglo-Danish relations
The British think of Denmark as the Far North and the Danes think of Britain
(always referred to as England, covering all four nations) as just across a bit of
water. Historical and economic ties go back a long way, some peaceable and
some not, and with a clear imbalance: To the British, Denmark is on the whole
of little or no interest or importance, barring the odd moment of usefulness as
fellow Eurosceptics. To the Danes, however, her big neighbours, both west
and south, have always loomed large in politics, trade, and culture. To every-
one but the youngest generation, who are more US-oriented, Britain has been
seen as friendly, familiar and accessible and quaintly anachronistic. Danes
enjoy British humour, and the British reciprocate by finding Danes friendly but
rather dull, like all serious North Europeans. Altogether an amicable if not inti-
mate starting point.
Danes speak English well, believe they speak it even better and have their
egos stroked by the always urbane admiration of the monolingual English.
Undoubtedly many Danish businessmen overestimate their own English lan-
guage skills (self-assessment questionnaires in conjunction with observation
during the interviews confirm this) and undoubtedly language difficulties do
muddle some messages in Anglo-Danish trade, the more so because of Danish
over-confidence. Even so, the main Danish difficulty is not that of under-
standing the English words; the difficulty is understanding the extra messages
surrounding the surface value of the words; the context, or the cultural mes-
sage. No dictionary can hold the possible contextual meanings of yes. In
which setting, under which circumstances, with which inflection and accom-
panied by which body language does yes mean no, maybe, later, or per-
haps probably not?
6.5 The context theory of communication and culture
Intercultural competence has become an accepted term to cover the ability
to behave appropriately and effectively in cultures other than your own. Deal-
ing with the meanings of yes is a small item towards this goal and to
approach it, to begin to understand why different cultures encode and decode
their messages differently, we can get help from a theoretical concept called
context: the anthropologist Edward T. Halls distinction (1977) between high-
context and low-context communication.
Context, says Edward Hall, is the information that surrounds an event (1990,
p. 6). When he talks of high-context and low-context communication, then,
this concerns the rules around information exchange, and in particular the
degree to which information is explicit, vested in words of precise and unam-
biguous meaning (low-context), and the degree to which it is implicit, vested
in shared experience and assumptions and conveyed through verbal and non-
verbal codes (high-context).
In low-context communication, the listener knows very little and must be told
practically everything. In high-context communication the listener is already
contexted and so does not need to be given much background information
(Hall 1990: 184).
BOX 6.1: CLASS OR GROUP DISCUSSION
Find examples from your own lives where high- and low-context communication is
used, in different situations. Also consider which types of situation represent
medium context communication.
Although high-context and low-context communication takes place in every
country and culture witness the private conversation of an old married couple
compared with the instructions in a technical manual Hall suggests that cul-
tures differ in the degree of contexting considered normal and necessary in
every kind of discourse, including business communication. High-context cul-
tures are cultures in which people are deeply involved with each other
[where] simple messages with deep meaningflow freely, while low-context
cultures are those highly individualized, somewhat alienated, fragmented cul-
tures.in which there is relatively little involvement with people (Hall 1977: 39).
118 chapter 6
If we have high- and low-context communication everywhere, depending on situa-
tion and relationships between people, then what is the justification for calling
whole cultures either high- or low-context? Discuss both the positive uses and the
pitfalls of such generalisations.
Terms also heard to cover a closely related set of ideas is that some business
cultures are contract cultures, i.e. operate on the basis of the unambiguous
written word, while others are relationship cultures, operating on the basis of
personal networks.
It is not, of course, an either/or, high or low; and placing cultures in relation to
each other on the sliding context scale can never be an exact science. Hall him-
self comes no closer than this:
Japanese, Arabs, and Mediterranean peoples who have extensive information
networks among family, friends, colleagues, and clients and who are involved in
close personal relationships, are high-contextLow-context people include
Americans, Germans, Swiss, Scandinavians, and other northern Europeans; they
compartmentalize their personal relationships, their work, and many aspects of
day-to-day lifeThe French are much higher on the context scale than either
the Germans or the Americans (Hall 1990: 6).
6.6 Placing Britain
By implication, the quotation above classifies Britain as a low-context country,
along with other Anglo-Saxons and northern Europeans. Elsewhere (Djursaa
1994) I have argued with detailed evidence that British business culture is in
fact radically different from that of her closest neighbours, and should be read
as high-context in many respects. In line with this reasoning, it is interesting to
note that the focus of this paper, yes which does not mean yes, has been
noted by other writers on business cultures as a specific problem in Arabian
countries as well as in Japan, both indisputably high-context countries.
I would not claim that Britain is as high-context as Japan or the Arabian coun-
tries. But I would claim that it is sufficiently higher than her neighbours to cre-
ate problems.
6.7 Cotton-wool communication
A high-context person
1
is rather slow in getting to the point, and does not
expect to have to be very specific even when he or she does here illustrated
with a Japanese example:
The Japanese are part of a high-context tradition and do not get to the point
quickly. They talk around the point. The Japanese think intelligent human
beings should be able to discover the point of a discourse from the context,
which they are careful to provide (Hall 1989: 63, emphasis added).
This preference for roundabout messages is even more marked if it is some-
thing unpleasant that has to be conveyed:
A high-context individual will expect his interlocutor to know whats bothering
him, so that he doesnt have to be specific (Hall 1977: 113).
Being specific about unpleasantness is particularly embarrassing in a relation-
ship culture, and easily involves losing face.
In contrast, the low-context individual is quick to get to the point, tends to
over-inform which by a high-context person is experienced as talking down
to him and is much more direct in delivering his message (Hall 1989: 114).
Put words on what it is that generates high-context communication and what it is
that generates low-context communication, in your own experience.
As a natural consequence of this, the low-context individual is not used to
decoding high-context indirect messages. As a rule he is literal-minded; he
means what he says and assumes other people mean what they say, without
having to read too much between the lines. When dealing with high-context
people, this can come across as both impolite and nave, and may also create
misunderstandings.
120 chapter 6
1) A high-context person is someone who primarily employs high-context communication strategies
but this does not mean that a high-context person would not use low-context communication in a num-
ber of situations. Likewise, a low-context person will also employ high-context communication strate-
gies in some situations.
6.8 Japan and Arabian countries
It is easy to recognize the context theory in the following advice to the west-
erner about decoding the meanings of yes in Japan:
A foreigner may meet Japanese who say yes but mean no, because it is impo-
lite to say no, and the other party would lose face.
Normally you wont receive a commitment from a Japanese business connec-
tion until the question has been dealt with by the collective system. Conse-
quently the best answer you can receive to start with is I will speak to my col-
leagues about it.
If you insist and push the Japanese into a corner, you risk getting a yes which is
only meant to get him off the hook without having to deliver an unpleasant
no.
A quick and clear positive reaction means that yes means yes, while a long-
winded and meandering reaction means the answer is no. That way it is possi-
ble for neither party to lose face, and you can part as friends after all (Pallis and
Krgaard Kristensen 1985: 50, translated and with emphasis added).
BOX 6.4: A GOOD PRICE
Ms. Young: We will charge you $5 per unit if you order 10,000 units.
Mr. Kawabata: Thats a good price, Ms. Young.
Ms. Young: So you accept that price?
Mr. Kawabata: Its very good.
Ms. Young: Great! Lets talk about a delivery schedule then.
Comments: Ms. Young hasnt understood the Japanese yes, which can only be
appreciated in the context of the Japanese no, which for all practical purposes does-
nt exist. No one is to be publicly embarrassed or humiliated in Japan. This is the
notion of face or ones image; ones own face and that of others must at all times be
preserved. Because saying no or even implying displeasure or disappointment risks
humiliating the other party, they must be avoided.
Instead of the offensive no, the Japanese have devised a number of ways of not
quite saying yes. Among these are: 1) to ask a question, 2) to say they dont under-
stand, 3) to change the subject, 4) to say they cant answer at this time, 5) to give a
conditional yes, 6) to say that the question is very difficult, and 7) to claim that this
question is not within their authority to answer.. To another Japanese, not saying yes
means no (Quoted from Storti 1994: 51, 106-107).
In the Arabian countries similar problems apply, but with slightly different
coding conventions:
In the Arabian world it is impolite to turn someone down directly, unless the
other party has offended you. Consequently a yes normally simply means that
the Arab does not like to say no. A yes maintains the pleasant atmosphere, so
why spoil it with a no?
If the Arab means yes it is repeated many times, and will be clearly conveyed
by his body language and eye signals.
In writing, the same applies: A yes has to be repeated in order to be a real yes
(Juhl and Krgaard Kristensen 1985: 125, translated and with emphasis added).
BOX 6.5: THE SITUATIONAL ASPECT
High-context cultures, not least the English, often require introductory small-talk,
which strengthens the relationship aspect. In some situations, however, low-context
communication takes over:
In exhibitions its a completely different style there is no introduction. They are
strangers, and they get straight to the point. But as soon as we go and visit them
even if its after theyve visited our stand at an exhibition then it starts in the tradi-
tional English way with a little talk about something else (Danish respondent).
6.9 England
Moving from the cultures of Japan and the Middle East to England, an unex-
pected kinship is evident in the data material.
Most of the Danish respondents were convinced that there was a difference in
directness that unlike both Danes and Germans, the English (not the Scots)
wrap things up, no matter if the context is making excuses, turning somebody
down, or handing out instructions. Several of the British respondents agreed,
and filled in interesting details.
In one English importers words, We are not as firm as a lot of other countries
are in saying no and the more you know and like people, the more difficult
it becomes:
We dont like saying no, especially if we like somebody. Wed rather they went
away reasonably happy (English respondent, ref. 50).
122 chapter 6
Explore the ways in which a greater or smaller reluctance to disagree openly or say
no to an interviewer could affect marketing research. What can be done to make
results truly comparable between countries?
In a business culture like the English, which operates extensively through per-
sonal networks, the reluctance to deliver a no face-to-face is habit-forming:
I dont think I have ever received a no to my face [in England]. By letter, yes, no
problem but not face to face (Danish respondent, ref. 19).
Before we conclude that English businessmen are cowardly and dishonest, we
should consider the possibility that the message is misinterpreted because of
differences in interpretive framework thus the English businessman thinks he
has delivered a polite no but the Dane misses the point. One English importer
attempted to provide a key to an English indirect no:
If there is no chance of business, we tend to say, look, there is a very remote
chance of business. If we find there is a chance of business, we say we have to
have a closer dialogue (English respondent, ref. 54, emphasis added).
That is not the way Danes and Germans are used to communicating in busi-
ness contexts. But fortunately the English appear to understand each other:
You get buying signals, feelers. I can tell, talking to an English business man,
fairly early on, the lie of the land. Even though he says yes I know he means no.
(English respondents, ref. 57, emphasis added).
BOX 6.7: RELATIONSHIPS AND MUTUAL DEPENDENCE
As stated by Hall (1989: 68 and 102), the centre of a high-context business culture is
its personal relationships, while the centre of a low-context one is its contracts and
small print.
If were on the same wavelength, thats more important than a bit of a difference in
pricePersonal relations count for considerably more than in Germany (Danish
respondent).
English people would rather deal with someone they liked if they possibly can We
get better service by having a relationship with our suppliers (English respondent).
The UK works more through personal networks. If two people came with the same
article, one slightly better than the other, we would buy it from a friend even if it was
slightly inferior. Maybe its not the right thing to do, but its the way business is done in
the UK. Personal networks are the reason we can do business (Scottish respondent).
We dont have to go further afield than Scotland, however, to find this com-
munication between the lines breaking down. In several important respects
the Scots share the high-context characteristics of the English business culture
(Djursaa 1994), notably the centrality of networks and personal relationships in
business but they appear to follow the low-context cultures in their prefer-
ence for straight speaking. That was the general consensus among the Scottish
respondents, and one even said that he had problems with the English himself
when he was selling: That he did not know if they mean no even if they say
yes (Scottish respondent ref. 71). How, then, are real foreigners to know?
BOX 6.8: REGIONS AND INDUSTRIES
If you dont want to do business, just say so Ive got lots of other things to do
(Danish respondent selling industrial shovels in northern England. It works fine, he
says).
At one point I discovered that I didnt get very far with [being so direct] (Danish
respondent, trading with the graphics industry in the south of England).
6.10 Attempting explanations
Lazy, cavalier, and unethical: damning terms used about the English by
one of the disappointed Danes (ref. 02), when he finally received his no. His
bitterness is understandable. But is it justified?
Various explanations were offered by both Danish and British respondents to
explain how the problem arose. One Dane (ref. 35) said, They are not honest.
They pretend to like your product they are altogether too polite, while
another (ref. 17) felt that it was the general friendliness of the English (their
rather effusive manner), combined with the rich nuances of the English lan-
guage, which were at the base of the misunderstandings. This respondent is
strongly critical of what he sees as the easy option for the English, but never-
theless assumes that there is a no message somewhere which he is not catch-
ing a message buried somewhere in the friendliness and the innuendos
which he cant decode.
124 chapter 6
BOX 6.9: WHAT IS A TIE?
A young Danish furniture salesman, inexperienced except for a spell in the United
States with some business partners, had as the next step in his training been stationed
with the manufacturers London agent. I chatted to him in the showroom, where he
was very casually dressed in a check shirt, without a tie. I remarked that it was
unusual in England, and he answered that people would have to take him as he was.
It turned out that the English agent was not taking him. The young man was too
aggressive, as he said, and they were parting company soon. The final straw had
been an incident when the young Dane had been invited to the Reform Club, one of
the august conservative London clubs, and had been asked by his English hosts to
wear a tie. So he did: a badly tied tie on top of his check shirt. They had been refused
admission to the Reform Club.
The English themselves have different explanations. One (ref. 57) suggests
that it is a question of size; that the larger English firms have to see more
people before deciding whom to deal with than a family-size Danish firm, and
hence could appear to procrastinate. This is a reasonable enough explanation
until you come to ask why the Germans, whose firms are generally as large as
the English, are quite capable of giving direct answers.
Another Englishman (ref. 62) suggests that the Danes do not push the closing
deal hard enough that they let promising deals slip away. Given the many
statements in the data material from Englishmen who (approvingly) charac-
terize Danes as pleasantly soft salesmen, this seems a reasonable contribu-
tion. It does not, however, explain why the Danes stop pushing too soon. The
reading in line with the problem discussed in this paper would be that when
the Danes hear a yes they stop pushing and start preparing but that the
yes they hear could in fact be a maybe or even a preliminary yes, which
both need follow-up to be confirmed. The basic problem remains, then: an
incorrectly decoded yes leading to inappropriate action.
Finally, an English (ref. 50) and a Scottish respondent (ref. 80) suggest that the
Danes who experience this problem are operating at too low a level that top-
level English management are quite capable of giving direct answers, includ-
ing no when needed, and face to face. In answer to this, we must first grant
that clearly there is a difference between the furniture salesman who calls
uninvited and leaves his promotional material behind, and the top-level sit-
down negotiating job. When that is said, however, the possibility remains,
even at the top level, that culturally determined misunderstandings arise.
The data and theory both support this interpretation: that the English believe
they have expressed themselves clearly, and indeed have done so, had their
counterparts been of the same culture. Faced with a different culture, how-
ever, and especially one which is used to unambiguous directness, the English
message can get muddled. My guess is that the English are as embarrassed as
the Danes or Germans are annoyed when this occurs that when the 3-line
note arrives with the final no, as reported by one Danish firm, it is like driving
a pole through a corpse that wont lie still.
Why dont the English just say no? Well, why dont the Danes listen?
6.11 Implications
The problem outlined here is an unpleasant one, because a simple communi-
cation problem results in accusations of unethical behaviour. The problem has
been surmountable for the Danish businessmen interviewed, partly because it
is neutralised by a general experience of high moral standards in British busi-
ness life and partly because those business contacts that survive the initial hur-
dles are less vulnerable to such communication breakdowns and often
develop a base of genuine goodwill and sympathy. In fact, given half a chance,
the Danes seem to take to the English high-context relationship culture like
ducks to water and enjoy the experience, often contrasting it explicitly with
the more hard-nosed German environment.
BOX 6.10: WHEN HIGH MEETS LOW
The indirectness of high-context communication can be a very effective defence
against demands for specific answers:
During the meet the press session at Chateaux de Caix in 2005, Queen Margrethe
was asked to comment on the stories in two Danish tabloids that Princess Alexandra
had a new boyfriend. Im glad to say that I havent read either of them (Jeg har
heldigvis ikke lst nogen af dem), was the Queens answer.
The reason for suggesting that the English businessmen should learn the art of
saying no clearly is that if the problem can be identified in data material from
Danish businessmen, who enjoy a close affinity with England and speak Eng-
lish better than most other nationalities, then it must be a problem in other
countries too. This chapter has suggested that it is likely to be a problem for
businessmen of other low-context countries who are not used to indirect mes-
126 chapter 6
sages in a business context including certainly the USA, the Scandinavian
countries, Germany, Holland and Belgium.
You could argue that it is the foreigners who have a problem in England, not
the English, so why should the English change their ways? The answer sug-
gested here is that the English should make the effort because it is easier for
them to learn to use face-value words than it is for others to learn to decode
veiled messages and because accusations of unethical behaviour, however
unjust, are a serious matter.
6.12 Conclusion
This chapter has sought to bring a functionalist theory to bear on neighbour-
ing countries which in many ways are similar has sought to show that func-
tionalist theory can be applied to nuances, not just to contrasts. In global
terms, both England and Denmark are considered low-context countries, but
Halls theory can still help us understand some characteristic traits of English
business culture, as compared with both Denmark and Englands own close
neighbour Scotland.
Ideally, however, we should go even further, systematically exploring some of
the variables which are introduced in both text and boxes and which cut across
national culture: as for instance region, type of industry, age or experience of
respondent, or the location and the circumstances in which the communica-
tion takes place.
Employing a finer mesh of variables and influences would certainly enhance
our understanding of the communication difficulties being investigated. How-
ever fine a mesh we employ, however, the argument here is that it is unlikely
to negate the overall pattern, which as Chapter 2 made clear functions as a
pre-understanding in the initial phase of the meeting of cultures. As relation-
ships develop and contexts change, this pre-understanding is modified and
refined.
1. What is the central problem treated in this article as illustrated by the 2
cases described in the opening paragraphs?
2. What kind of representativeness is sought in the data-collection for this
project (p 3)? Is it quantitative/statistical? Or qualitative/hermeneutic?
3. Explain in your own words what high- and low-context communication is (p
5).
4. Explain why relationship cultures are more likely to use high-context com-
munication (p 5).
5. Why do you think a low-context person can come across as nave when
talking to a high-context person (p 6)?
6. What similarities and what differences between the English and the Scots
are suggested here (p 8)? Consider some regional and other variations
which might be relevant to introduce more nuances into these generalisa-
tions.
7. It is suggested (p 10) that general cultural difference matters more before
people get to know each other well than later in the relationship. Why is
that? Consider the question in terms of the functionalist vs. the social con-
structivist approach to cultural analysis.
References
Djursaa, M. (1990), British Images of Themselves vs. Others. In: Marketing
Research and Planning 8 (7), pp. 29-32.
Djursaa, M. (1994): North European Business Cultures: Britain vs. Denmark and
Germany, European Management Journal 12 (2), pp. 138-146.
Hall, E. T. (1981 (1959)): The Silent Language, New York: Doubleday.
Hall, E. T. (1977 (1976)): Beyond Culture, New York: Doubleday.
Hall, E. T. (1989 (1983)): The Dance of Life: the Other Dimension of Time, New
York: Doubleday.
Hall, E.T. and Reed Hall, M. (1990): Understanding Cultural Differences, USA:
Intercultural Press, Inc.
Juhl, E. and Krgaard Kristensen, E. (1985), Mellemsten. Den arabisk-
islamiske kultur. In: Erik Krgaard Kristensen (ed.) (1985), Kulturmarkeds-
guide for eksportvirksomheder (Cultural Market Guide for Exporting
Firms), Copenhagen: Nyt Nordisk Forlag Arnold Busck A/S.
128 chapter 6
Pallis, Y. and Krgaard Kristensen, E. (1985), Japan. In: E. Krgaard Kristensen
(ed.) (1985), Kulturmarkedsguide for eksportvirksomheder (Cultural Mar-
ket Guide for Exporting Firms), Copenhagen: Nyt Nordisk Forlag Arnold
Busck A/S.
This article has been reproduced (lightly edited) with permission from Basil
Blackwell. Originally published as: Djursaa, Malene (1995, January) Getting to
No. A Matter of English Ethics or Culture? Business Ethics: A European Review
4 (1), 1-5.
ChAPTER 7
B2B websites in an
intercultural perspective
Malene Gram
7.1 Communication and the Internet
Communicating with customers and potential customers on the Internet is a
new phenomenon and the Internet is still even in recent marketing books
considered a new media. The broad commercial use of the Internet is not
even 10 years old, and still today every serious company has its own website.
The media transcends borders and has become a symbol of globalization, and
the fact that users across the globe can access a companys website poses a
number of challenges. This chapter invites to reflection on companies need
localize their websites and ends with exercises on websites and intercultural
communication.
7.2 Case: Tulip
Tulip Food Company is a Danish company which produces and markets chilled,
frozen and canned meat products in its own label and in private label to more
than 130 markets. The company has sales companies in nine countries and a
representative office in Russia. The Nordic region, particularly Denmark, is
regarded as the companys home market. Other European countries particu-
larly Germany, France, Italy and the UK are also important markets. Moreover,
Tulip Food Company is a supplier to overseas markets, including the US and
Asia (www.tulip.dk/ January 2006).
7.2.1 Tulips website
Until approximately 2
1
/2 years ago Tulip Food Companys home page was
merely a business card, static and not allowing for interactivity. At this stage
the home page was made in an HTML-based system, common at the time. This
system was not user-friendly and whenever changes had to be made Tulip had
to contact the advertising agency who had created the site and pay to have
b2b websites in an intercultural perspective 131
changes made. In 2003 Tulip changed to the Windows-based system they
have today. This system is simple to work with. It consists of several templates,
and these templates can be filled in, updated and changed by Tulip em-
ployees.
On Tulips home page (www.tulip.dk/ January 2006) there is a strong focus on
the Danish end users of Tulips meat products. This home page shows a happy
mother and three children, a selection of recipes, a competition and there is a
link to Tulips current television commercial. According to Pernille Kroer, head
of communication at Tulip, the main aim of the Danish website is to create a
preference for Tulips brand. To cater for B2B buyers and sellers there is a spe-
cial link (Trade partners), where more particular information can be found
about Tulips products and services. There is also a photo archive which can be
used e.g. by retailers and wholesalers, and a direct link to Tulips Slice kalkula-
tor (helping buyers from industrial kitchens to find out how to buy Tulips
products the cheapest way).
132 chapter 7
Figure 7.1: Tulips home page for the Danish audience: www.tulip.dk (January 2006)
Tulip has to handle the fact that the users of its website are not all Danish.
Pernille Kroer states:
Our Danish website exists in Danish, German and English versions. Besides we
have local websites in all countries where we have subsidiaries. The Danish site
is our main corporate website which is aimed at a number of target groups. We
get several requests from the whole world through our corporate website. This
is why we have judged it relevant to keep this site in several languages. Still the
German and English versions are not 100 percent identical with the Danish ver-
sion (the Danish version is bigger). The local sites are first and foremost target-
ing customers and consumers in each country.
In the English version of the Danish home page Tulip has chosen to show its
main products. Obviously the Danish television commercial is not part of this
site. Apart from this difference the English site on the Danish main site is a
more limited version of the Danish site, with the same design.
Figure 7.2. Tulips British version of main page: http://english.tulip.dk (January 2006)
7.2.2 Tulips subsidiaries local websites
The local websites in Germany and the United Kingdom are similar to the Dan-
ish main site even though the subsidiaries have autonomy when it comes to
filling in the ready-made templates. The French and Italian websites are still
based on the system from 2003, but changes are planned.
The British subsidiarys site is managed by the British subsidiary and adapted
to the British market even though a fair share of the information on the site is
translated from the Danish site (e.g. the section on food safety). This site is
aimed primarily at the British B2B market. In Britain Tulip Food service sells
exclusively to the B2B market, and a sister subsidiary deals with the British con-
sumer market. This site (cf. figure 7.3) contains a competition for a pizza deliv-
ery bike and information about food exhibitions, to mention a few examples.
In Sweden, however, the local management felt that the Danish site-template
did not live up to Swedish expectations of interactivity and the Swedes were
allowed to make a more challenging site for the Swedish users. The local
134 chapter 7
Figure 7.3. Tulips British subsidiary: www.tulipfoodservice.co.uk (January 2006)
management in Tulips subsidiaries (Germany, Britain and Sweden) are thus
responsible for the main export markets assuring that these sites are accept-
able to its national audiences. The localizations are primarily made in the B2C
part of the websites, not in the B2B part.
The Swedish subsidiary has had relatively free hands to make websites pro-
moting Tulips products. The local sites are all managed by the local sub-
sidiaries but follow the broad lines of the mother company in Denmark.
In Tulips markets outside Europe no websites exist. In several of these mar-
kets contacts with agents and supply agreements with big wholesalers mean
that hardly any market communication exists. Furthermore in some of these
markets e.g. Mexico, the online population is still very small. Tulip has no dot-
com address since tulip.com is occupied by a Dutch computer company.
Tulip has, however, reserved the new European counterpart to dot-com:
dot-eu.
Figure 7.4: Tulips Swedish subsidiarys main page: www.tulip.se (January 2006)
Apart from what the local managements do to adapt the websites Tulip has
not given priority to adapting the sites much to local tastes. Pernille Kroer
explains:
We are so small on the German and French markets. Even though we have a
good turnover in these markets we will never become a big player like we are in
the Danish market.
7.2.3 Strategic choices
Creating a website is a difficult discipline because it is expensive and there are
limits to how many times users of the sites can be expected to click them-
selves into the site. Pernille Kroer explains that Tulip has like any other com-
pany creating a website had to make a number of strategic choices. Tulip has
chosen to focus on home and neighbouring markets. At the moment the mar-
keting department at Tulip has chosen to target end-users at its home page to
aim at creating preferences for its brands.
Big companies like Tulip have resources to manage both a main corporate
website with versions in German and English, and local subsidiary home pages
managed locally. Even though Tulip has till now, according to Pernille Kroer,
not given high priority to cultural adaptation, and particularly not to the B2B
segments, the mere fact that local subsidiaries are responsible for the local
sites assures that the content is acceptable in a given cultural context. But for
small and medium sized companies (SMEs) resources are seldom available for
such an elaborate system of websites.
7.2.4 Culture matters also on websites
Cultural preferences seem to matter on websites. Even though a number of
studies show that websites of various global companies and brands are not
adapted to specific cultural communication styles (e.g. Hermeking 2005),
other studies find that local country websites depict the cultural values of that
country. Singh et al. write, after having compared the US, India, China and
Japan, that even within the Asian region there is considerable variation in the
depiction of cultural values on the web (2005: 141). This indicates that differ-
ent cultural tastes exist when it comes to websites.
7.2.5 Challenges for Tulips websites
Within the neighbouring markets Tulip plans changes in the near future to
profit better from the possibilities of interactivity for visitors on its website
136 chapter 7
and to give more attention to its B2B visitors. Tulip faces a number of chal-
lenges when creating and maintaining its websites. Tulip has moved from an
online business card in less than three years to an advanced interactive site,
which is a big step. When Tulip develops its site or sites a number of choices
have to be made:
Developing a site or sites, choosing between numerous options: mov-
ing from an online business card in less than three years to an advanced
interactive site is a big step.
B2C and B2B target groups. Are these user groups needs and ways
of using websites very different? And are both groups sensitive to
culture?
Considering home market, neighbouring markets, foreign markets with
varying cultural backgrounds and language skills. Should web content
and layout be adapted? How can a cultural sensitive approach be inte-
grated in corporate websites?
This chapter digs into these challenges by giving a brief overview of the web-
site as a communication channel in an intercultural perspective, by showing
how a number of other Danish B2B companies have dealt with the challenge of
multicultural readers and by presenting what has been written about websites
and intercultural communication.
7.3 New media, old challenges
The obvious advantage of Internet communication is that anyone can access a
website from anywhere in the world. This does, however, also pose a number
of challenges for the website owner, not least regarding the intercultural com-
munication, which might follow from this. A number of these challenges are
similar to considerations, which have existed for decades with regard to other
media (catalogues, ads, direct mail, TV commercials, etc.).
The opportunity for direct contact with customers is obviously a strength but
this can also cause problems. Replying to e-mails from users asking questions
or demanding catalogues or other information can be difficult to handle
because it demands manpower of varying intensity and e-mail users expect a
fast response (Hanna and Millar 1997). The global nature of the audience who
can access a website plays a role for the page content (e.g. language, cultural
considerations, and simple linguistic considerations such as the use of abbrevi-
ations or contact details).
7.4 B2B and B2C web visitors
How about the differences between B2B and B2C visitors to websites with
regard to influence of culture? By some practitioners and researchers B2B-buy-
ers are considered as being very different, more rational buyers than B2C-
buyers, by others B2B-buyers are considered as being just as anchored in a cul-
tural context as B2C buyers: anchored in ideas about which sales arguments
are valid in the context of a given product or service; which communication
style is acceptable; which pre-understandings he or she has for example of a
Danish company, etc. In this chapter the position taken is that a B2B buyer is
also sensitive to cultural differences and that it is therefore relevant also to
consider culture when creating a website in a B2B context.
7.5 Language strategies
How do Danish B2B companies address potential or current website visitors?
Typical for Danish companies is of course that if they are interested in attracting
foreign customers they need to do so in a different language, because so few
people speak and read Danish. An infinite amount of money can be used to
develop websites, and obviously few companies, particularly SMEs, have large
amounts of money to spend on their websites. Therefore they need to prioritize
their needs according to their actual contacts and future aims and ambitions as
we saw in the Tulip case. In the following a number of examples of different lan-
guage strategies of how to deal with non-Danish visitors to websites are
explored from locally centered to the most globally oriented (cf. textbox 7.1).
In the first example of a language strategy the website is a primarily Danish
site with less elaborate sites for main foreign markets for example in English
and German.
This language strategy can be relevant when the home market is most impor-
tant, and further resources are then prioritized to main export markets. For
some companies, agents and other partners deal with the export markets
locally, and the main home page serves to inform or perhaps redirect people
to a market served by an agent or a subsidiary. This strategy is for example
applied by Tulip as we saw in the case above.
A second way of handling non-Danish visitors on the companys website is to have
a dot-dk or dot-com address with English and Danish language, with a Danish text
making it possible for Danish readers to quickly click into a Danish language site,
and an English text making it possible for non-Danish speakers to click into an
138 chapter 7
English text. Here the approach is global, but the company still demonstrates that
Danish readers have a priority. An example of this is the Danish cement manu-
facturer Aalborg Portland (www.aalborg-portland.com / January 2006).
Sales and marketing director Jrgen Norup, from Aalborg Portland with
numerous factories around the world, says:
www.+++.dk
Figure 7.5: Main focus
on home market, and
smaller versions for
main markets, possibly
link to local sites for
main export markets
(inspired by Hillier
2003). DK means
Danish, E means Eng-
lish
E
DK
E
DK
E
DK
E
Figure 7.6: www.aalborg-portland.com (January 2006)
The websites of Aalborg Portland are primarily split up in English, because this is
our corporate and business language, and hereafter in Danish, because it is from
here we have our point of departure from a business perspective. We have decid-
ed that if there are any further needs to communicate with the markets it should
not happen from an enlarged website from the headquarters but through a lo-
cally based website in the given market and language (October, 2005).
140 chapter 7
Figure 7.7: Equal focus
on non-Danish and
home market visitors
(Inspired by Hillier
2003)
www.+++.com or www.+++.dk
E E DK DKv
E
DK
E ? DK
Figure 7.8: Dot-com leading to local sites: www.arla.com (January 2006)
A third language strategy is a dot-com address with a world map or a row of
different national flags, making it possible to click into the relevant area of the
world. This click might link to elaborate sites for various national markets e.g.
www.arla.com (January 2006) (or elaborate sites for main markets and less
elaborate sites, just addresses of agents for other markets, or it can link on
to just addresses of agents). This world map entry site can be supplemented
by a Danish site, giving special priority to the home market as www.arla.dk
(January 2006) does.
A fourth language strategy is a choice of an all English website with no Danish
or other language options.
An example of this language strategy is Aalborg-Industries (aalborg-indus-
tries.com, January 2006) The aalborg-industries.dk address links on to the
dot.com address, and this language strategy is clearly not focussing on its
home market but has a global approach.
www.+++.dk and www.+++.com
Figur 7.9: World map
dot-com supple-
mented with Danish
site for home market
DK
DK
A B C D
E + worldmap
www.+++.com
Figure 7.10: The all global no local
approach
E
E E
These different language strategies in corporate websites reflect the compa-
nies strategic priorities. The various strategies can be found both in very mod-
est and very sophisticated versions.
BOX 7.1: TYPICAL DANISH LANGUAGE STRATEGIES ON B2B WEBSITES
The website has:
1. Main focus on home markets with home page in Danish, offering smaller ver-
sions for main export markets (possibly supplemented with links to local
websites).
2. Equal focus on non-Danish speaking and Danish speaking visitors with a main
home page where the visitor has to choose between an English or a Danish site.
3. World map dot-com address, making it possible to click into the relevant
area of the world, possibly supplemented with a dot-dk address with a Danish
site for the home market.
4. All English, no Danish or other languages options
7.6 Culture on websites
Handling non-Danish visitors is not just about language. As any other text the
content of the website will be read in different ways according to the readers
142 chapter 7
Figure 7.11: All English dot-com site: www.aalborg-industries.com (January 2006)
horizon. A number of authors claim that cultural differences and expectations
must be taken into account. Hillier writes:
[A] mismatch between the cultural context of the site design and a set of trans-
lated text would cause inconsistencies and uncomfortableness to arise in the
mind of the user (2003: 11).
Figure 7.12 illustrates that communicating on websites demands more than
adaptation of language. But how can we deal with culture on websites?
7.6.1 Hofstede and Hall: mainstream, but adequate?
Most studies on websites and culture have been made within the functionalist
paradigm using primarily Hofstede and Hall (Cf. Chapter 1). The functionalist
studies identify general differences within values and within communication
styles. This general approach has several limits (a static view of culture, focus
on national cultures, searching for universal traits rather than looking out for
what is special in a given context) but still a number of findings from these
studies will be outlined below because with the limits in mind they might be
inspiring when considering culture on websites.
In a comparison of Mexican and American websites it was found by Singh and
Baack (2004) that the use of family as a theme, the use of tradition as a theme
(Collectivismvs. Individualism), titles and rank or prestige of the company
(Power distance) differed between US American and Mexican sites. In the Mex-
ican sites it was found that company titles, and in addition to plain titles the
professional degree of individuals such as Liecenciado, Ingerniero and
Doctor was used far more frequently than on the US sites. The tradition
theme was applied more in the Mexican context by using legacy statements of
the founding fathers of the company and pictures of the founding Chairman
Language A Language B
Designer ?
Language B
WEBSITE
Context A
User
Figure 7.12: Mismatch of language and cultural context in translated website (Hillier
2003: 11)
(Uncertainty avoidance). Finally gender roles were used in a different way
(Masculinity vs. Femininity). According to Singh and Baack men play a pre-
dominant role in the pictures on the websites, often shown conducting most
of the company operations. Women on the contrary were seldom depicted,
and if they were they were shown in traditional roles in the Mexican sites.
Hermeking (2005) finds that many websites are characterized by a low-con-
text style (i.e. very text heavy, deeply structured content). Hermeking sees
these websites as strongly standardized and not taking into account the so-
called high-context cultures which, according to Hermeking, prefer visual and
less structured content elements on sites with a stronger emphasis on enter-
tainment and emotional aspects. Hermeking calls this a less print, more TV
style, which he claims is better catered for in B2C contexts (especially regard-
ing non-durable products) than in B2B contexts (particularly not when it
comes to industrial products).
Furthermore differences in communication styles and values play a role when
communicating on websites. Singh and Baack (2004) enumerate a number of
differences found on websites in various cultural contexts. Readers across cul-
tures might have different expectations and habits when it comes to web page
layout for example when translating roman-based alphabets (English, French,
German, etc.) to non-roman based alphabets (Chinese, Japanese, Korean,
etc.). These readers have diverging rules of bolding, underlining and capitaliz-
ing and font selection vary between these two sets of alphabets (Rockwell,
1998 quoted in Singh and Baack, 2004). Singh and Baack also quote studies,
which show that people used to reading from right to left prefer navigation
bars in a similar sequence. As with other kinds of market communication cul-
turally bound traditions for making market communication must be taken into
consideration along with translation equivalence, country-specific symbols,
varying connotations associated with colours and icons with a special meaning
in a given cultural context.
7.6.2 Alternative paradigms
While useful to consider, functionalist approaches to handling culture on the
Internet seem like a limited approach to the complexities of the cultural per-
spective (cf. discussions in Chapter 1). The approach is most often an etic
approach, looking for the same elements in various cultural contexts (e.g. that
high power distance and high context communication are valid in all Mexican
websites regarding all products).
144 chapter 7
If we consider the frameworks of understanding presented in Chapters 1 and 2
regarding culture and communication it is clear that we cannot just consider
cultural preferences as something fixed and static. The readings and reactions
to websites are dependent on the readers dynamic pre-understandings and
expectations, experiences and values related to a given consumption context
along with the words and images offered on the website.
The interpretive approach in opposition to the functionalist approach takes
into account that cultures and therefore readers of websites are dynamic.
Website creators take their point of departure in what they think is good and
appropriate communication when they create websites. Readers take their
point of departure in what they think is good and appropriate when they eval-
uate websites. Furthermore Internet-users zap easily from context to context
on the Internet and are used to reading contents and communication styles
with various origins. This makes them competent readers, but they are still
anchored in a cultural context.
When websites are created the work of web designers and creators of web
content automatically communicate from their horizons. The image they
themselves hold of the company and the image they think others, e.g. people
within different national settings, have of them as Danes and as part of a given
business segment will play a role for how they orchestrate themselves on the
website.
7.6.3 The meaning of horizons in the creation of websites
When creating websites the users and their various cultural backgrounds must
therefore be considered. Who are the target groups? What are their horizons?
Which experiences and expectations do they have towards the given products,
situation of use, the nationality of the users and producers, etc.
By considering background knowledge of the consumption context (e.g. local
food culture, if the product is foodstuff, local working place relations, if the
product is related to office equipment), other websites for similar products,
other kinds of advertising for similar products if this exists in the target cul-
ture, a valuable insight can be obtained, which is more nuanced than the func-
tionalist dimensions of culture or rough how-to-do advice.
Most often the functionalist approaches ignore the contexts of reading the
websites, contexts of consumption, culturally bound expectations of a prod-
uct, a service or a website. Still some of the findings from functionalist studies
might be inspiring and helpful, for example differences found in preferences
regarding text versus pictures and graphics, emphasis on some values rather
than others, etc. The best result is no doubt gained by including as much
knowledge as possible from studies already made and combining these find-
ings with an emic and open approach (what is special in a given cultural con-
text?) and a feel for the ever-changing horizons among the target audience of
the websites.
7.7 Tulip revisited
If Tulip decides to make a more developed and localized site e.g. to the French
market, it could be relevant to dig into the issue of French food culture. Today
this culture is torn between old and proud traditions of good ingredients and
146 chapter 7
Creator of website
WEBSITE Visitor to website
Figure 7.13: Horizons of expectations and websites
Horizon
Experiences as:
online user and website creator
user and buyer of the product or service
being part of a (national) culture or cultures
Expectations of:
What a good website is like
Advertising style
The company, the offerings
The users of the website- demands and desires
Stereotypes of nationality or globality
Knowledge of:
Language
The product or service advertised
The competitors and their offers
Etc.
Horizon
Experiences as:
online user
user and buyer of the product or service
being part of a (national) culture or cultures
Expectations of:
What a good website is like
Advertising style
The company, the offerings
Stereotypes of Nationality or globality
Knowledge of:
Language
The product or service advertised
The competitors and their offers
Etc.
refined cooking and the busy lifestyles of not least French women (most often
fulltime employees and housewives). The lack of time makes it difficult if not
impossible to live up to the traditions of proper and well-prepared meals of
earlier days. With its offer within precooked and convenience products Tulip
might very well fit nicely into this dilemma.
The French consumers have a particular view on the importance of a meal
being balanced (un repas quilibr) i.e. combined by the right elements. To
encounter these French expectations of what good and proper meals are, and
what looks delicious, Tulip might want to integrate this more explicitly in its
French website (e.g. by showing more vegetables along with the meat prod-
ucts presented, and possibly smaller helpings (there has to be appetite for the
starter, cheese and dessert)). Also the social aspect of eating is very strong in
France, an aspect, which could also easily be integrated visually. That the web-
site reflects an adequate presentation of food to a visitor from a French con-
text might very well play a role for how images and sales arguments are
assessed also in the French B2B context.
The communication style of the French is known to be more poetic and emo-
tional in advertising, but at the same time more formal and polite than e.g. in a
Danish context. If it holds true that markets known to be high context in Halls
terminology are more visually oriented this could be a clue for Tulip in the cre-
ation of the French website. But of course this communication style is develop-
ing and changing, and a close look on similar French websites will provide
Tulip with ideas to find a suitable approach and tone in the French version of
its website assuring a culturally sensitive approach to the French market.
7.8 Conclusion
Making corporate websites is still a new discipline, and a discipline, which is
developing rapidly. Websites are cultural zones like any other zones, and even
though Internet users both in B2B and B2C contexts are more used to see-
ing web communication from various contexts than earlier, studies indicate
that different cultural values, traditions and communication styles play a role.
A number of different language strategies from Danish companies websites
were presented in this chapter demonstrating different ways of dealing with
non-Danish site visitors. Some corporate sites give highest priority to the
home market with a little room for neighbouring markets, whereas other sites
give no attention to the home market but have a focus in the website of being
a global corporation with all communication in English. Danish companies
have chosen a number of different ways of dealing with non-Danish visitors
because they represent different missions and visions, different strategies,
resources and priorities.
In the studies made regarding culture on corporate websites it is found that
cultural differences matter and different traditions already exist in different
markets, as has been known for long in advertising research. The main part of
studies made regarding culture on the websites are anchored in a functionalist
tradition referring to Hofstede and Halls notions of power distance, individu-
alismvs. collectivism, high and low context communication, etc. These etic
studies point out that different preferences exist when it comes to the use of
visuals vs. text, weight on tradition vs. innovation, hard vs. soft sell, etc.
It seems obvious, however, that an eye for unique values, traditions and
knowledge in a given segment, context of use of the product or service being
promoted, unique traditions of market communication (traditions for use of
humour, the use of authorities and experts to recommend products and guar-
antee quality, etc.) a so-called emic approach, is a valuable method when
assuring the necessary knowledge about web target groups across borders.
Relevant questions to ask are what is special for the targeted readers of a com-
panys website, what are their associations linked to the product or service in
question and what is changing in the experiences and expectations of the
readers.
Whether or not a website should be localized to a local market is a much
debated question. Clearly some benefits can be gained from using a country-
of-origin approach (Danish Design, Danish Bacon), at least for some countries.
However, in order to avoid offending or provoking or making the site illegible,
it is obviously relevant to know the local culture and the local communication
style (Is it e.g. OK to be emotional? Authoritarian? Direct? Is our sales argu-
ment valid?). Websites with special domains for different languages or cultural
areas have the option of localizing. This is more difficult with one global and
standardized approach.
Another snag of creating various localized versions of the corporate website is
that it is easy for readers of sites to click from one national version to another
and may be puzzled if there are too great differences from one site to another.
The question of how to handle the corporate image is therefore much more
148 chapter 7
pressing regarding the creation of websites than when catalogues are sent out
to different corners of the world. At the same time it is easy to check out ones
competitors to see how they handle their web communication. This all adds to
the excitement of intercultural communication in cyberspace.
1) What are the main differences between functionalist and interpretive
approaches to working with culture in relation to websites?
2) Discuss the link between the creation of a companys website and its
strategies of export and nursing of its home market.
Figure 7.14: KOMPANs website (February 2006)
3) Consider the website in Figure 7.14 (www.kompan.com). KOMPANis a
playground manufacturer dealing with B2B and public purchasers. Con-
sider its approach to its international markets from a cultural perspective.
4) Consider the Dairy producer Arlas homesite (www.arla.com) and consider
the cultural symbols (origin of models, situation in which models are
shown, products promoted, argumentation used, communication styles,
etc.) on the site (both the dot-com homepage and the national sites e.g.
Sweden and Germany). In the light of the standardization/localization
debate, evaluate Arlas approach.
References
Hanna, J.P.R. and Millar, R. J. (1997): Promoting tourism on the Internet,
Tourism Management, Vol. 18, pp. 469-470.
Hermeking, M. (2005): Culture and Internet Consumption: Contributions from
Cross-Cultural Marketing and Advertising Research, Journal of Computer-
Mediated Communication, 11, 1, pp. 1-31.
Hillier, M. (2003): The role of cultural context in multilingual website usability,
Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, 2, pp. 2-14.
Singh, N., Hongxin, Z., et al. (2005): Analyzing the cultural content of web-
sites. A cross-national comparison of China, India, Japan and US, Interna-
tional Marketing Review, 22, 2, pp. 129-146.
Singh, N. and Baack, D.W. (2004): Website Adaptation: A Cross-Cultural Com-
parison of US and Mexican Websites, Journal of Computer-Mediated Com-
munication, 9, 4.
150 chapter 7
CHAPTER 8
Speech acts in sales letters
Martin Nielsen
8.1 Speech acts and communication
Have you ever been annoyed by the noisy conversation of people sitting next
to you on the train? You could change the situation from noisy to quiet
through action: by reaching over and plugging up your fellow travellers
mouths with crumpled paper. But you can also achieve the desirable change in
the situation by means of verbal communication: by asking people to keep
their voices down. In other words: You would use speech acts to shut some-
body up or to ask somebody to be quiet.
The exact same thing applies to business life. For instance, in marketing you
could be unhappy with the sales figures and you could try to change that
unsatisfactory situation through action. If you are in the bicycle industry you
could sell your bicycles at the price of an ice cream, and if you are in the phar-
maceutical industry you could produce a diet or cancer medicine that actually
works. Both actions, though, are rather unrealistic. But you could also achieve
a growth in sales figures by communication: You could indirectly or directly
ask people to buy your goods.
The following example (figure 8.1) shows how a business like industrial pump
manufacturer Grundfos goes about informing about its new range of waste-
water pumps, creating interest about them, and requesting potential cus-
tomers to contact Grundfos for further information.
When we use communication professionally to achieve things with business
purposes, it surely would be advisable to know
what we actually are doing when we use communication to do things:
How do words work? How does language and communication work?
What is it Grundfos is doing when they describe their wastewater
speech acts in sales letters 151
pumps as Using completely new technology and when they request
the reader to Have a look at the materials?
what possibilities and techniques there are: Can we do anything with
words? What kind of communication can change what kind of situation
regarding what kind of receivers? For one thing, Grundfos can change
152 chapter 8
Figure 8.1: Business-to-business sales letter from Grundfos
the situation of a target group which does not know about the new
wastewater pump range by writing Welcoming a new generation of
wastewater pumps.
how to go about it when doing things with words across cultures: Can
we do things with words in one language exactly the same way we do it
in another language? Is it possible to achieve the same thing with Fill in
the enclosed reply form as with Udfyld vedlagte svarkupon or Fllen
Sie die beigefgte Antwortkarte aus? If not, where are the differences?
This chapter will introduce you to the concept of speech acts, and by using
authentic examples it will illustrate how particularly directive speech acts are
used in sales letters across cultures.
There are two main reasons why we have chosen to use sales letters to illustrate
the nature of speech acts. Firstly, within marketingcommunication in recent
years the tendency has gone from mass communication via mass media to one-
to-one marketing. With a heavy information overload, especially within com-
mercial messages, many mass communication efforts are wasted. Conse-
quently, companies increasingly try to target their messages at their target
group using media and texts that are especially tailored for that target group.
BOX 8.1: MASS COMMUNICATION VS. DIRECT COMMUNICATION
In business communication, marketing communication can travel one of two roads:
Either the marketing communication should stake on mass communication or on
direct marketing. Now, those two ways of communicating with the target groups do
not at all exclude one another, but especially in SMEs like most Danish companies and
especially in business-to-business companies where the communication and particu-
larly the media budgets are tight, it will probably be considered quite carefully which
communication and media strategy should be chosen: expensive mass media with its
high reach but poor segmentation possibilities or rather a less expensive direct mar-
keting approach with low reach but high segmentation. In a time of heavy informa-
tion overload, companies increasingly favour direct marketing on behalf of classic
mass communication (Kotler and Bliemel 1995: 1096). Also related, yet more far-
reaching concepts like relationship marketing (cf. Houman Andersen 2003) or one-
to-one marketing are being used more frequently than ever.
Secondly, sales letters per definition contain the most interesting type of
speech act when it comes to attempting to make people, i.e. the target group,
do something, namely directive speech acts (cf. 8.4 and 8.5).
8.1.1 The communicative purpose of sales letters
The most general thing you can say about the communicative purpose of a
sales letter is that it aims at making the receiver do something (Stenvinkel
Nilsson 2001: 165; Briese-Neumann 1996: 137). The original and ultimate pur-
pose is or was to make the receiver buy something. Depending on the industry
in question, today a number of sales letters still aim at making the receiver buy
or order something, particularly in the business-to-consumer sector and here
again especially in the fast moving consumer goods sector. However, since
building up long-term relationships with customers becomes increasingly
important (cf. relationship marketing, see for instance Houman Andersen
2003), a sales letters communicative purpose is very much to evoke some
kind of response from the receiver, to establish a relationship, or to maintain
the relationship. That could be an actual purchase or an order, but it could also
be and is in fact very often the receiver making contact with the sender: con-
firming his interest, giving information about himself, participating in a com-
petition, returning a form with name, address or interests:
EXAMPLE 8.1
when you want to know more, simply return the enclosed reply card or call your
local Grundfos consultants (cf. figure 8.1).
EXAMPLE 8.2
Fill in the enclosed reply form and return it to us for a chance to win one of these
prizes (cf. figure 8.1).
8.1.2 What is a sales letter anyhow?
Sales letter, mailing and direct mail are sometimes used synonymously
although they designate different concepts. It is therefore a good idea to clar-
ify the concepts in order to ensure a consistent use of terminology. Figure 8.2
shows the mutual relations between the very general concept of transmitting,
here called direct mail, the complete, complex genre consisting of up to sev-
eral simple, specific genres, here called mailing, and the specific text we
know as the sales letter (that part of the complete package that is the core of
the mailing and contains the specific directive speech acts).
8.2 What are speech acts?
Speech acts are the acts you perform while speaking or writing. One way to
put it is to say: You cannot say something without at the same time doing
something (Kjller 1975: 147). But actually, there is no shorter nor better way
154 chapter 8
to put it than the title of the famous book of the founder of speech act theory
John L. Austin: How to do things with words (1962).
BOX 8.2: : FOUNDING FATHER OF SPEECH ACT THEORY JOHN L. AUSTIN AND
SUCCESSOR JOHN R. SEARLE.
John L. Austin (1911-1960) was a pioneer in language philosophy. His pioneer work
How to do things with words, a collection of twelve lectures he gave during his time
in Oxford which was published posthumously, is one of the most influential works of
linguistics. It is considered being one of the first and most important books on what
later became known as pragmatics. The main idea was to see language not as (exclu-
sively) a means to make statements about the world, but (also) as a means with
which human beings can perform acts. Though Austin was the founder of the concept
of speech acts, his student John R. Searle (born 1932) has become the name most fre-
quently connected with that concept (Searle 1969). He developed Austins thoughts
further and created an actual theory of speech acts. Although also his theory of
speech acts has been discussed, criticized and developed further, Searle remains the
scholar that in the opinion of most of the members of the linguistic community is the
most influential developer of speech act theory.
Figure 8.2: Relations between direct mail as an abstract way of communication, the
complete sent out package and the specific genres ( Nielsen 2003: 64)
Pre-information
Brochure
(catalogue)
Stuffer
(enclosures)
Gadget
(samples, gizmos)
Sales letter (letter
with offer)
Response card (reaction
form, order form)
Envelope
Direct Mail
Mailing
(package)
Follow-up letter
Way of transmission:
abstract way of
communication
What is sent out: complex genre
A speech act is an act we perform by saying or writing something, and it con-

sist of four simultaneous acts:
The utterance act is the actual saying or writing down a sentence; we
can evaluate it by deciding if it is grammatically (i.e. orthographically,
syntactically etc.) correct.
The propositional act is the statement we make about the world; we
can evaluate it by deciding if it is true or false (i.e. are the words in
accordance with the world).
The illocutionary act is the action-related dimension of the speech act;
we can evaluate it by deciding if it succeeds or not, i.e. if the receiver
recognizes our communicative intentions (Why does he say that?
What does he mean? Is that an offer/ a threat/ a promise?).
The perlocutionary act is the purpose or the intended reaction of the re-
ceiver; we can evaluate it by deciding, if the receiver at the end of the day
actually did what the sender wanted him to do (Does he react? Does he
place an order? Does he contact us for further information? Does he par-
ticipate in the competition?) (Linke, Nussbaumer, et al. 2004: 206-219).
Let us illustrate that with an example. A pump manufacturer wants to sell
wastewater pumps to its customers. One marketing instrument is a sales
letter, the purpose of which is to make the receiver buy those pumps. In the
sales letter trying to achieve that it says:
EXAMPLE 8.3
Whatever you need to pump, and however large the quantities, Grundfos can help
you (cf. figure 8.1).
In writing those words, the sender has performed no fewer than four part-acts
which constitute the speech act:
He has written a sentence, and we can note that it is an orthogra-
phically, syntactically and lexically correct sentence (utterance act).
He has made a statement about the world, and we can note that it is
(probably we assume it is right) a true statement (propositional act).
He has performed an action, and we can note that he succeeds in con-
veying his intention to the receiver: The receiver realises that the sender
wants to sell him industrial pumps that help him pump any quantity of
fluid (illocutionary act).
156 chapter 8
He has made the receiver buy a pump (probably we assume that the
receiver became interested in the offer, contacted the company and
eventually bought a pump), and we can note that his ultimate goal was
reached (perlocutionary act).
8.3 Types of speech acts
8.3.1 Beg, threaten, apologize: Illocutionary types
After the invention or discovery of speech acts one of the first main discus-
sions one which is still going on within this theory is that of the classifica-
tion or taxonomy of speech acts: How many are there? What are they? On
what hierarchical levels are they placed?
Although these questions have not been answered definitively, it seems fair to
assume a small number of general types of speech acts. Since the core concept
of the speech act theory is the illocutionary act, speech acts are usually classi-
fied according to those illocutionary acts. The number of illocutionary classes
may vary slightly from scholar to scholar. Thus, Edelsgaard Andersen (1989: 9f.)
operates with a quite useful three main types and two supplementary classes,
whereas Wagner (2001) supplements the five classic classes with two further
classes to make it seven. But in general five classes have survived. In the end,
those taxonomies date back to Austin (1962) and Searle (1976) (Colliander and
Hansen 2004: 61ff.; Linke, Nussbaumer, et al. 2004: 217f.). Therefore, we have
chosen to follow this conventional taxonomy of Searle (1976):
1. assertives (assertive speech acts, also: representatives) are statements
about the world, e.g. to describe, to assert, to report, to explain, to present.
2. directives (directive speech acts) are requests to do something, e.g. to ask,
to beg, to invite, to order, to prescribe.
3. commissives (commissive speech acts) are obligations and promises, e.g.
to commit oneself, to promise, to threaten.
4. expressives (expressive speech acts) are statements about the feelings of
the sender, e.g. to thank, to say hello, to apologize, to acknowledge.
5. declaratives (declarative speech acts) are performatives, e.g. to baptize, to
toast, to declare something open, to promote somebody.
BOX 8.3: NAMING OF SPEECH ACTS
Another issue within speech act theory is how to name speech acts. The most obvious
(and still the most common) way to name speech acts is by calling them by the verbs
that happen to exist in the language in question. Thus complaining is a speech act,
asking, answering, patronizing, describing, apologizing, ingratiate oneself
with somebody etc. Wagner (2001: 147) identifies within his 7 illocutionary classes
540 illocutionary types for the German language, by far most of which bear the
names of German verbs. Only relatively few are have more complex expressions, typ-
ically a verb with a post-modification of some sort, like showing affection, express-
ing ones readiness to do something, asking for forgiveness.
8.3.2 Gimme, gimme would you be as kind as to give me: Direct
vs. indirect speech acts
Another maybe even more important classification of speech acts is the differ-
entiation between direct speech acts and indirect speech acts. NB: Do not con-
fuse direct speech acts with directive speech acts! A directive speech act can
be uttered either through a direct speech act or through an indirect speech
act. A direct speech act is straightforward while the real communicative inten-
tion of an indirect speech act is hidden behind another speech act. This point is
very well illustrated for instance by the title of the article by Ellerup Nielsen
and Nlke (1991): Persuasion Disguised as Description. An Example of Argu-
mentation in the Company Brochure. We have a marvellous offer for you is
really an assertive speech act by nature: We make a statement about the
world. But the real intention, i.e. the illocutionary act, is to make the receiver
buy or first to respond. Or put in another way: A directive speech act can be
uttered either through a direct speech act
EXAMPLE 8.4
return the enclosed reply card (cf. figure 8.1)
in this example the directive speech act is very clearly and explicitly marked
by the imperative
or through an indirect speech act
EXAMPLE 8.5
Grundfos has completed its range of wastewater pumps, and now they are ready to
invade buildings and construction projects all over the world (cf. figure 8.1).
158 chapter 8
in this case the request to make a purchase is hidden behind the mere state-
ment about the world.
8.4 Directive speech acts
The above-mentioned types of speech acts are individually special in having
features which none of the other types have. The assertives are the only
speech acts that in principle do not involve sender or receiver in any way (pro-
vided that we are only construing them as direct speech acts). The
commissives imply a heavy involvement of the sender and influence the future
of the receiver, which is not the case in any of the other types. The expressives
are the speech acts by far most occupied with the sender. And the declaratives
create a new situation in the world the very second they are spoken, which is
not the case in the other speech acts: Before the Crown Prince speaks the
words
EXAMPLE 8.6
I now declare this fair open
the fair was actually not yet open, but the second he says those words, the fair
is in fact open. What is specific about directive speech acts is the subject of the
next paragraphs.
8.4.1 How do directive speech acts influence
the face of the receiver?
So how do writers of sales letters get around this dilemma they are faced with:
On one hand they have to ask the receiver of the sales letter for something (be
it an order, be it an action, be it information), thus uttering a directive speech
act which is face-threatening; and on the other hand they must not annoy
their receivers by interfering with their right to self-determination.
In social interaction the so-called face is always involved, and there are two
needs attached to the face: the want of every competent adult member that
his actions be unimpeded by others (negative face) and the want of every
member that his wants be desirable to at least some others (positive face)
(Brown and Levinson 1987: 62). Particularly the negative face, i.e. the need for
freedom to act and to make decisions for one self on ones own is relevant. If
the negative face equals the need for self-determination (which would be
threatened by any restriction that someone else might impose on it) it follows
that any directive speech act which, as we have seen, is defined as a speech
act that asks someone to do something per definition constitutes a face-
threatening act.
BOX 8.4: FACE
The notion of face was developed by Erving Goffman, a micro-sociologist. He found
out, that basically in social interaction all human beings reveal that they have a so-
called positive and negative face. The positive face is the wish to be a pleasant com-
panion, and the negative face is the wish to be allowed to decide for oneself what to
do. The pleasing (or flattering) of those two faces is called face-work. In social
interaction, i.e. also in communication, everybody will want to have his or her face
protected, pleased, flattered and anyway not have it threatened. That is why we
almost never say Give me coffee, but tone down (soften) this potentially face-
threatening act by wording our attack on the dialogue partners freedom to decide
his or her actions for herself much more carefully and indirectly: Would you please
pour me a cup of coffee?
8.4.2 How can you soften face-threatening acts?
There are numerous linguistic strategies to soften face-threatening acts
regarding the negative face (Brown and Levinson 1987: 129ff., see also Edels-
gaard Andersen 1989: 21f.). Very many of them, though, are rather relevant in
daily social face-to-face interaction, like Would you be as kind as to , which
you are not very likely to find in sales letters. Therefore, in the following just a
few of them and those relevant to sales letters or at least to written communi-
cation shall be mentioned and illustrated by examples from the Grundfos sales
letter (cf. figure 8.1) and from authentic Danish and German sales letters.
By asking questions the directive dimension is toned down because on the sur-
face it does not look like interfering with the receivers self-determination:
EXAMPLE 8.7
Trnger din opsparing til et eftersyn? [Do your savings need an inspection?] (Syd-
bank, bank).
EXAMPLE 8.8
Bentigen Sie noch ? [Do you need ?] (Ketchum, PR agency).
EXAMPLE 8.9
Interesse? [Interested?] (Ketchum, PR agency).
160 chapter 8
The use of modal verbs, especially of forms of being able to also reduce the
impediment on the receivers freedom to decide on his own actions. It leaves
him with a choice to do it or not to do it:
EXAMPLE 8.10
knnen Sie gleich mitbestellen [You can order at the same time] (Avon, cos-
metics).
EXAMPLE 8.11
du kan lse mere om [You can read more about ] (SAS, airline).
A very important and useful linguistic strategy to reduce the threat to the
receivers face is the use of indirect speech acts. We have already seen an
example in [8.5] where a seemingly assertive speech act is actually being used
to make a request. But consider also the following instances:
EXAMPLE 8.12
Med de rette vrktjer kan slgeren klare kundens foresprgsler her og nu [With
the right tools the salesman can handle the inquiries of the customer here and now]
(AC Intellicom, software).
EXAMPLE 8.13
Vi ser frem til at vise Dem, hvordan ogs De kan styrke Deres slgere! [We are
looking forward to showing you how also you can strengthen your salesmen!]
(AC Intellicom, software).
EXAMPLE 8.14
Vi hber, at du vil finde noget, der interesserer dig [We hope you will find some-
thing that interests you ] (Liberalt Oplysnings Forbund, education association).
EXAMPLE 8.15
Was Ihnen O2 zu bieten hat erfahren Sie mit diesem Informationspaket von O2
[What O2 has to offer you you will learn with this information package from O2]
(O2, telecommunication).
EXAMPLE 8.16
Welche Beratungsfirma, meinen Sie, bringt durch ihre Projektarbeit die deutlich-
sten Ergebnisverbesserungen? [Which consultant company, in your opinion, creates
the most pronounced increases in profit?] (Roland Berger, consultant).
EXAMPLE 8.17
Experten aus unterschiedlichen Bereichen beantworten gern Ihre Fragen [Experts
from different areas of expertise will be happy to answer your questions] (IBM, soft-
ware).
In all those examples the directive speech act is expressed indirectly. Although
none of them are direct directives we can in each case evaluate the illocution-
ary act by asking What do they want me to do? In example [8.12] it is to
order the right tools, in [8.13] to attend the demonstration of a software solu-
tion, in [8.14] to pick a course that interests you, in [8.15] it is to read the mate-
rial, in [8.16] it is to use the consultant firm before others, and in [8.17] it is to
participate in the seminar and ask the experts.
Another way to reduce or hide the directive speech act is to wait to present
the request until having written the first paragraphs in the letter. Few sales
letters start out by asking the receiver: Order this device now! although
the other genres of the mailing may very well have requests and very direct
directives placed in big letters on them, e.g. the envelope or the response
card. Thus a study by Jansen (1992) showed that prize-winning Dutch sales let-
ters prompted their first face-threatening act slightly later in the letter than
average Dutch sales letters. The same study showed that the face-threatening
act was repeated towards the end of the letters and that very specific instruc-
tions (send in the form, e-mail an answer, call us at ) were not softened
through using indirect speech acts or other softeners, but were bald-on-
record. Bald-on-record is the expression used within politeness theory
for direct, unsoftened face-threatening acts (Brown and Levinson 1987: 69,
94ff.).
If you consider the sales letter from Grundfos in figure 8.1, you will see that the
first many speech acts are actually assertives (although several of them can be
characterized as being indirect directives) and that the first direct directive
speech act only occurs in the third paragraph:
EXAMPLE 8.18
Signal us for more information! (cf. figure 8.1).
Obviously there are also directives the face-threatening potential of which are
low because the sender is requesting something from the receiver that is posi-
tive for him. In those cases it is interesting to note that the straightforward
162 chapter 8
imperative can easily be used since it probably does not feel like an impedi-
ment at all to be commanded to have fun or the like:
EXAMPLE 8.19
genieen Sie [enjoy] (Avon, cosmetics).
EXAMPLE 8.20
freuen Sie sich [look forward to] (Detail, architectural magazine).
EXAMPLE 8.21
nutzen Sie die Chance [exploit the advantages] (IBM, software).
EXAMPLE 8.22
vind [win] (migatronic, welding machines).
EXAMPLE 8.23
spar [save] (Penge og Privatkonomi, financial magazine).
Those directives are hardly face-threatening since they ask the receiver to do
something which is good for him.
8.5. Make-up vs. insulation: realization of speech acts in
different cultures
Now that we have established that directive speech acts constitute a crucial if
not the most important feature of sales letters the question arises if the
speech acts used in a different cultural setting are the same, and if they are the
same, if they are expressed in the same way, i.e. if they are linguistically
realised identically.
Sharpening the eye for what direct speech acts are used in ones own mother
tongue is a prerequisite to understanding and being able to produce directive
speech acts and hence writing a sales letter in a foreign language, but what is
more important: in another culture whatever kind of culture that might be.
8.5.1 Danish vs. German: speech acts in sales letters from different
national cultures
In general, the use of particles and adverbs seems to differ from Danish to Ger-
man sales letters. It is quite typical to find particles in German sales letters that
have the function to soften the directive speech act of responding. Very typical
is the use of einfach, but also doch and mal occur. In the following
example, all of those softeners are used at the same time
EXAMPLE 8.24
Surfen Sie doch einfach mal unter vorbei [Why dont you simply try and surf by
on ] (IBM Deutschland, software).
In that respect, the sales letters reflect a general difference between German
and Danish in as much as German has considerably more particles than Danish
and than English, which has practically none (Colliander and Hansen 2004:
109).
Of course, also the particle bitte is used, although surprisingly seldom.
EXAMPLE 8.25
Bitte lesen Sie auf der Rckseite weiter! [Please continue reading on the next page]
(ADAC, German drivers association).
An otherwise classic softening particle like bitte thus is not a very much used
softener in German sales letters. The German particle bitte has no pendant
in Danish. The adverb venligst does occur in Danish sales letters, though
EXAMPLE 8.26
Lad venligst disse nyheder cirkulere til Deres kollegaer [Kindly let these news cir-
culate to your colleagues] (Andertech Plastteknik A/S, software).
but is even less frequent than bitte. It is noteworthy that venligst occurs
not only very rarely, but also seemingly only in business-to-business sales
letters. Since venligst also can be admonishing, it gives the speech act in
question and thus the whole sales letter to some extend a touch of an old-
fashioned, even reserved style.
A particular way of toning down the potential threat to the receivers face that
comes from a directive speech act is to use the word velkommen til together
with an infinitive a construction that is only possible in Danish and not in Ger-
man.
164 chapter 8
EXAMPLE 8.27
Du er ogs velkommen til at tilmelde dig direkte p vores website [You are also
welcome to sign up directly on our website ] (Magnus Informatik, software).
By using the phrase vre velkommen til to express the directive speech act,
the request that really is hidden behind that phrase sounds like a welcome to a
pleasant place or event rather than a request to perform an action.
The directive speech act to invite is a euphemism sometimes used in German
sales letters. An invitation is usually a speech act where the sender requests
the receiver to participate in a societal or social event, and the participation in
that event is usually a positive thing for the receiver. An invitation can be
uttered by saying Why dont you come over this weekend and well have a
couple of beers or by using the verb to invite like a performative and saying
or writing We hereby invite you to /You are hereby invited to .
EXAMPLE 8.28
Ich lade Sie herzlich ein, in den groen Kreis der Leser von Lnger und gesnder
leben einzutreten [I invite you to join the wide circle of readers of Lnger und gesn-
der leben] (Lnger und gesnder leben, Health newsletter).
EXAMPLE 8.29
Ich lade Sie deshalb ein, das Controller-Magazin kennenzulernen [That is why I
invite you to get to know the Controller-Magazin] (Controller-Magazin, controlling
magazine).
In those two instances the sender hides the fact that the request to do some-
thing is actually an act which is of benefit for the sender. Of course the sender
sincerely thinks that also the receiver will benefit from a subscription to the
magazine, otherwise this artifice would not work. Thus it would be nearly
impossible to invite somebody to wash somebodys car or since an invitation
always includes being together with other people to help to wash some-
bodys car. But using the verb to invite must still be seen as a euphemism.
The direct, bald-on-record directive would have been Subscribe to this maga-
zine!, but putting it this way it sounds like a privilege and honour to be
invited to join the other subscribers and readers.
Although a rather peripheral phenomenon, it is worth noting that this way of
uttering a directive speech act is practically never found in Danish sales letters.
When stumbling across phenomena like this it is of course vital to know if it
occurs in the foreign language, too, if it does, is it more, less, or just as fre-
quent as in the source culture, etc. In order to find out how a particular speech
act related phenomenon (and actually any linguistic feature) looks and is used
in another culture, it is wise to consult parallel texts.
BOX 8.5: PARALLEL TEST ANALYSIS
Parallel text analysis is an analysis method where one or several texts from a specific
genre in one language or culture are compared with one or several texts from the
same genre in another language or culture. Those results are then used when the for-
eign version of the genre in question is produced. The advantages of this method are
the fact that you find out how you do things with words in a foreign language and
culture more than just translating the way you do it in your own culture.
8.5.2 Business-to-consumer culture
vs. business-to-business culture
The previous paragraphs have dealt with some specific Danish-German
national cultural differences in the realisation of speech acts. But as it may
have become clear the differences were not particularly crucial. However, cul-
ture and cultural differences are not at all limited to the entity of the nation.
Actually, if you compare sales letters, the differences between Danish and Ger-
man ones seem much less important than the differences between business-
to-business sales letters and business-to-consumer sales letters. Let us there-
fore take a closer look at some examples from those two cultures.
It seems to be a quite distinctive feature of the realisation of speech acts in
business-to-consumer sales letters that the realisation of their speech acts is
somewhat more poppy than the realisation of speech acts in business-to-
business sales letter, no matter if they are Danish or German
EXAMPLE 8.30
Verleihen Sie Ihrem Sonnenteint noch den letzten Schliff mit den Makeup-Produk-
ten von Arabian Glow. [Endow your suntan with the last finish with makeup pro-
ducts from Arabian Glow] (Avon, cosmetics).
EXAMPLE 8.31
Grib chancen nu og oplev, hvordan du fr mere ud af din bolig med det nye mnedsblad
bolig magasinet. [Seize your chance now and experience how you get more out of your
residence with the new monthly bolig magasinet] (Egmont, publishing company).
166 chapter 8
Accordingly, in both Danish and German business-to-business sales letters the
speech acts are more objectively realised
EXAMPLE 8.32
Af hensyn til fly bestilling og hotelreservation beder vi Dem venligst sende Deres
tilmelding sledes at vi har den senest d. 30. april 2002 [Regarding flight and hotel
reservation we kindly ask you to send your registration by 30 April 2002 at the latest]
(Ferromatik Milacron, injection-molding machines).
EXAMPLE 8.33
Ihr Ansprechpartner aus dem Verkaufsteam 1 erwartet Ihre baldige Nachricht
[Your contact from sales team 1 is expecting your early notice] (SPH, packing and
insulation].
8.5.3 Cultural differences
In the previous paragraphs cultural differences in speech acts used in Danish
and German business-to-business and business-to-consumer sales letters
have been briefly described. You may have noticed that the national cultu-
ral differences were not particularly weighty. Note also that we were able to
illustrate many speech act phenomena that characterize sales letters in gen-
eral with examples from both languages, Danish and German (cf. examples
7-21).
Conversely, differences are somewhat clearer when you compare business-to-
business sales letters to business-to-consumer sales letters. In that compari-
son the way speech acts are realised leads to a higher degree of appeal in the
business-to-consumer sales letters and a lower degree of appeal in the busi-
ness-to-business sales letters.
The reason for that is probably that in this case business culture to some
extend overrules national culture when it comes to speech acts in sales letters.
Therefore, the differences between business-to-business sales letters and
business-to-consumer sales letters are more distinct than the differences
between Danish and German sales letters: In respect of speech act realisation
Danes and Germans apparently have a closer understanding they share to a
certain degree pre-understandings of the concept of a sales letter and what
kind of speech acts in what form it should contain. Or, in other words: They are
part of the same discourse community. At least the fusing of their horizons has
made somewhat more progress than the fusing of the horizons of the mem-
bers of business-to-business culture and the members of business-to-con-
sumer culture.
8.6 Conclusion
It is possible to do, to achieve things by using words language and communi-
cation. Actually, we cannot say or write something without at the same time
doing something. That goes for personal communication as well as in profes-
sional settings, for instance when writing a sales letter.
The purpose of the sales letter is to sell, i.e. to make the receiver order, to
respond, or to give information.
Whenever language is in use acts are performed. Every utterance can be
divided into four different simultaneous acts that take place on different lev-
els: grammatical/ phonetic (utterance act), propositional/ semantic (proposi-
tional act), illocutionary/ pragmatic (illocutionary act), perlocutionary/prag-
matic (perlocutionary act). Five main illocutionary classes can be distin-
guished: assertives (statements), directives (requests), expressives (emotions),
commissives (obligations), and declaratives (performatives). At another level,
two types of speech acts can be distinguished: direct and indirect.
In interaction positive face and negative face must be protected, and directive
speech acts are per definition an attack against the negative face. Therefore
facework is applied in the shape of indirect speech acts and softeners like
questions, modal verbs etc.
It is noteworthy that in respect of speech acts in sales letters national cultural
differences are rather small whereas business-to-business and business-to-
consumer cultures seem to differ more. In that respect the shared pre-under-
standing and the common discourse community seem to be more likely to
overcome national cultural differences than differences between a business-
to-business and a business-to-consumer culture.
1. What is a speech act and what part acts does it consist of?
2. What kind of illocutionary classes are there and what characterizes them?
168 chapter 8
3. What distinguishes a direct speech act from an indirect speech act?
4. Discuss in how many different ways you can perform the speech act of ask-
ing someone to shut up.
5. Discuss what other illocutionary types of speech acts occur in the Grundfos
sales letter.
6. Paragraph 8.1 states that you are most likely to find directive speech acts in
sales letters. Discuss in what other intercultural business genres written
or oral you might find directive speech acts.
References
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delshjskolens Forlag.
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170 chapter 8
CHAPTER 9
Politeness in French and
Danish e-mails
Jeanne Strunck
9.1 Interpretations of netiquette
How did you regard the last e-mail you received? As a nice and friendly mes-
sage? As a cold and straightforward one? Was it respectful or was it not polite?
And are you sure that the e-mail was meant the way that you perceived it?
What about the last e-mail you sent do you think it was understood in the
way that you intended? Do you recognize the feeling of a possible miscommu-
nication? I believe we all do, and that is the reason why we have to concentrate
on the way we express ourselves in e-mails.
As e-mails are one of the most frequent ways of corresponding in the corpo-
rate world this chapter presents and discusses the daily correspondence
between a French parent company and its Danish subsidiary.
E-mails are mostly rather short texts often written quickly to ask somebody a
question, to give an answer to a previous question or to give a short message.
This means that the conversation partners do not always elaborate much on
the language, and that the rhetoric of e-mails may not be as polite as in longer
and more carefully elaborated letters. Misunderstandings or difficulties in
interpreting the meaning of a message especially in intercultural contexts
may be the results.
The aim of this chapter is to illustrate different interpretations of (net)-eti-
quette and to show how politeness is expressed linguistically in e-mails. To
what extent do cultural backgrounds, nationality, pre-understandings or per-
sonal relations affect the presence or absence of politeness strategies?
politeness in french and danish e-mails 171
BOX 9. 1: E-MAILS AND SYMBOLS
Generally e-mails are short and to the point. However, they make use of non-linguis-
tic symbols to establish an interpretive framework. Examples of such symbols are
smileys which express the writers mood.
9.2 The French Connection
In the following case we are going to study the communication in a multina-
tional company (HQ)
1
that produces and sells frozen and preserved vegetables
world-wide. The corporate headquarters are situated in France whereas sub-
sidiaries and sales divisions are placed all over the world. The Danish sales divi-
sion (DS) is responsible for sales in Scandinavia. The relationship between HQ
and DS can be characterised as a customer supplier relationship where prod-
ucts are delivered from France to Denmark. E-mails are frequent and may deal
with a range of topics from logistics and accounts to it-problems.
The data received from the company consists of 22 e-mails of varying length
and topic. The conversation partners may be placed in different jobs and hier-
archical levels in the company, and some of them know each other rather well
whereas others do not. As the conversation partners are either French or Dan-
ish employees some of them are native speakers in French and others use
French as a foreign language, because the company has chosen French as the
corporate language. In the following selected extracts of the data are pre-
sented and analysed.
9.3 French and Danish e-mails
In this part of the chapter we are going to study how a Danish employee (D)
writes to her French colleague (F) to thank her for having provided information
on a specific case and what she gets back from France. D is taking care of
orders from Danish customers and sees to it that the articles are ordered from
France. There is of course much paperwork to do in such situations and D is in
daily contact with the logistics department in France where F is working. The
two women know each other well from other work situations and are placed
at the same hierarchical level in the organisation. As D has been my contact in
the company and has sent me the data, she told me that she was rather con-
fused after having received the in-return mail from her French colleague
172 chapter 9
1) The names of the company and sites as well of the conversation partners who will emerge in the text
examples are made anonymous, and I alone am responsible for the invented synonyms: HQ = company,
D = Danish employee, F = French employee, DS = Danish sales division of the company.
because she always tries to be polite herself. D felt a bit offended that her e-
mail was not responded to in the way she had imagined. But what is it that
causes her frustration? Let us look at the exchange.
9.3.1 Politeness in e-mails: Vive la politesse
The following example illustrates the correspondence between the Danish and
the French employees mentioned above. As we are going to see they express
themselves differently. Box 2 is a translation of the correspondence into
English.
EXAMPLE 9.1
(a) The e-mail from D in Denmark to F in France:
De: D
Pour: F
Objet: Merci!
Bonjour F,
Merci mille fois de ton aide au sujet du dossier xxxx xxxxx
2
qui est dune grande
importance pour nous. Je dirais au client de nous envoyer les cdes
3
plus tt.
Bonne journe!
D
(b) The answer from F in France to D in Denmark:
Par contre pourrais tu me donner le prix de transport pour la commande NETTO
SUEDE (xxxx / xxxx) car je ne peux pas cloturer mon dossier ;
Merci davance
slts F
BOX 9.2: ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF EXAMPLE 9.1
(a) Danish e-mail
From: D
To: F
Subject: Thank you!
2) The exact codes are made anonymous as they are in the following e-mail correspondence
3) Cdes = codes
Hallo F,
Thank you so much for helping me with the dossier xxxx xxxxx which is of a great
importance to us. I will ask the client to send us the cdes as soon as possible.
Have a nice day!
D
(b) French e-mail:
In return could you give me the transport price for the order NETTO SWEDEN (xxxx /
xxxx) as I can not close my dossier;
Thanks in advance
Best F
As it appears from example 1 the French employee (F) has helped the Danish
employee providing important information for which the Dane thanks her,
expecting a conventional reply like no problem or anytime. Contrary to
expectations, however, her thank-you goes unnoticed and instead she
receives a matter-fact request from the French employee regarding a different
matter. Although the request is not directly impolite the Danish employee felt
uncomfortable about the tone of the reply. She had wanted to express her
gratitude and felt somewhat offended by what she interpreted as a lack of
politeness markers. In the French reply there is no address or opening greet-
ing, and the closing greeting is abbreviated. In French the abbreviation stands
for salutations which is the shortest and the least polite closing. However,
there are less obvious politeness markers in the text: For example the modal
form conditionnel of the verb: pourrais (could) is an indicator of
politeness. The other politeness marker thanks in advance may in fact be mis-
understood by the Danish receiver as it connotes a situation in which no is
not an option. Thus thanks in advance may be interpreted as an indirect com-
mand. How can we explain this type of miscommunication? Is it due to cultural
differences in the use of politeness strategies? Or is it simply because e-mails
are often brief and to the point and do not waste time and space on polite-
ness markers?
9.3.2 Face Work strategies
Example 9.1 (a) contains the moves sender, receiver and subject, an address
(hallo F) and a closing with a wish ritual (Have a nice day!), which are conven-
tions within the genre and which might be perceived as a sign of politeness.
174 chapter 9
But looking at the body of the text we find other features like a thank you
which is positively motivated by a so much stressing the feeling of gratitude
a face flattering act = FFA (Kerbrat-Orecchioni 2005 b: 31). In the next part
of the utterance this gratitude does not concern D alone but her department
signified by us. Furthermore, the help was of great importance a positive
evaluation. If we are to conclude on this we have got more elements which
together give us the impression of a polite e-mail: conventional moves
observed, positive wording, face flattering acts and the use of the pronouns
me, you and us which tell us to categorise the rhetorical strategy as that of
personal and polite proximity. The fact that the conversation partners use
their first names signifies a certain degree of personal knowledge.
If we now turn to text (b), only a few of the genre conventions are observed:
we have an abbreviated closing greeting, but we have another closing too
thanks in advance. This utterance is of course an expression of gratitude, but
there is more to it: it is an indirect request repeating the first utterance in
return could you give me . Previously we stressed the verbal form condi-
tionnel (could) because this form of the verb is a sign of politeness and it is
used here in the speech act question which is more polite than giving a direct
order (give me!). Still, in the body of the text politeness does not prevail. The
expression in return informs us that the sender believes to be entitled to a
gesture. The reasons why are twofold: she has done something for D and as I
can not close my dossier. This last part of the utterance is an indirect reproach
an implicature that we interpret as such only because of the rest of the
communication. The indirect reproach is a face-threatening act = FTA (ibid.).
This leads us to a set of theories: face work and conversational maxims,
developed primarily by Goffman, Grice, Brown & Levinson, Leech and Kerbrat-
Orecchioni. The face theories concern our identity as social beings how we
show ourselves to others and hope to be perceived by them and how we per-
ceive others. Within this work we try to defend ourselves against threats at the
same time as we try to not offend our partner. Every interactant has got two
faces to protect: 1. the personal / affective face (the positive face) and 2. the
territorial face / the room for our freedom to act (the negative face). Some
speech acts are more threatening than others, i.e. to order somebody to do
something (negative face is threatened) or to tell him that you do not like his
looks (positive face is threatened). As we saw in example 1, F asked D if she
could give her the price of something which was a lesser threatening act than
it would be to give her an order send me .
The genre conventions of e-mails and the netiquette tell us to be brief and
direct. This recommendation is based on the idea that every communicative
event observes or should observe certain rules for social and communicative
behaviour (Grice, H.P. 1975). These rules are referred to as maxims. Accord-
ing to Grices maxims you should not say more than necessary but as much as
necessary. What you say most be relevant to your partner. You should not say
something for which you have no evidence, and you must be brief and precise.
Some of these conventions and maxims are observed in example 1, but still we
have not been able to explain why D is offended. To find out more, we need to
look at more examples.
9.4 Hierarchy and forms of address
Normally we regard the opening and the closing of a text as a politeness
marker. But openings and closings may be more or less polite as we are going
to see in the following data.
9.4.1 Openings and closings in e-mails
The list below represents different openings and closings (a n) taken from
the data forwarded to me by the company DS. Apart from the example 1 com-
mented on in the previous part of the chapter, the corpus has got 21 other
texts, but as the openings and closing of some of them are alike a) n) repre-
sent the variety of openings and closings only.
EXAMPLE 9.2
a) Opening: Bonjour.
Closing: Vous remerciant par avance de nous tenir informs de la suite du
dossier. Cordialement.
b) Opening: Bonjour M. F.
Closing: Meilleures salutations et bon weekend! D
c) Opening: Bonjour M. F.
Closing: Merci de me contacter le plus vite possible. Salutations, D
d) No opening.
Closing: an automatic prompt with name, department and e-mail adress.
e) No opening.
Closing: Salutations, F
f) Opening: Bonjour F.
Closing: Par avance, merci beaucoup. Salutations D
g) Opening: Bonjour F. Merci de ton mail.
Closing: Merci davance et bonne journe ! Cordialement D
176 chapter 9
h) Opening: Bonjour.
Closing: Slts F (= salutations)
4
i) No opening.
Closing: Sincres salutations, F
j) Opening: Saluts F.
Closing: Merci davance. Bonne journe! Salutations, D
k) Opening: Bonjour F. Jespre que tu as pass a bon weekend !.
Closing: Merci davance de ton aide! Salutations, D
l) No opening
No closing
m) No opening.
Closing: F
n) No opening.
Closing: Bien cordialement, F
Example a) is an e-mail sent by a Frenchman to a Dane. He uses the address
form hallo (Bonjour) and there are no introductory remarks. The body of the
text is brief and direct. We also have a request placed in the closing and
politely expressed in a thank you in advance. The final closing is a warm and
friendly with kind regards. The text is written by the French manager of the
logistics department in France to a Danish associate. As we havent got an e-
mail from the same Danish associate to the same French manager we are not
able to conclude whether the politeness has something to do with hierarchical
difference / distance (power relations) which is most likely, or if it is simply a
matter of personal style. But we might say that the formality level in the clos-
ing part is relatively high.
Concerning the observation of the genre conventions we notice that half of
the 21 e-mails have no subject line, and in 5 cases there is no address form. In
most of the remaining examples the main part of the e-mails have a hallo
(bonjour) as address form 2 of them even followed by a M (Monsieur) and a
name which might be considered as a mix of formality levels ( b) and c) Bon-
jour M. F). The answers from M. F to the Dane (d used in two occasions) are
though without any address form. This tells us that the relations between
the two persons regarded from the Danes perspective are characterised by
distance, and that the Frenchman is very brief. F is using an automatic closing
prompt with name, department and e-mail address, but no greeting. But still
4) My comment.
we have to remember that e-mails are very short texts written often in a hurry
which might also be the case here and it might explain the lack of politeness.
Returning to the address forms and the closing greetings we find the following
3 varieties of address forms in the corpus: Bonjour (hallo), saluts (cheers), no
address form. As closings we find: Automatic name prompt, name only, cor-
dialement (kind regards), bien cordialement (kindest regards), Slts = saluta-
tions (best), salutations, sincres salutations/meilleures salutations (best
regards) and no closing or greeting. In the following part of the chapter we
shall try to explain why the interactants use different forms of openings and
closings in their daily correspondence.
9.4.2 Distance or proximity
Now it is time to ask who uses which forms of address and closings and if it has
something to do with hierarchy, power relations, distance or proximity and
personal relations? And furthermore, are the address forms and closings in
conformity with the body of the text in regards to other features of politeness?
Are some address forms and closings used by Danes and others by French-
men? Are the Frenchmen more polite than the Danes? Do we have to find the
answer to these questions in the fact that we are dealing with two different
national and linguistic cultures?
Can the functionalist approach provide us with answers to these questions?
Can Halls theories explain the differences between French and Danish com-
municative behaviour? Halls concept of high-context and low-context com-
munication may take us a part of the way. According to Hall, northern Euro-
pean cultures are explicit, low-context cultures, whereas the southern Euro-
pean cultures are implicit, high-context cultures in which non-verbal aspects
of communication are important. Consequently, the French texts (examples 1
and 2) can be expected to be more polite than the Danish texts. Furthermore,
most textbooks on correspondence tell us that the French pay more attention
to politeness than Danes. However, the present analysis of e-mails rather indi-
cated the opposite!
Lets turn to the interpretive approach. In the interpretive approach politeness
is not regarded as a universal system of features and normative standards
which can be applied across languages as suggested by the functionalists
Brown and Levinson (1978). The interpretive approach sees each communica-
tive event as a consequence of the rhetorical situation, the interpersonal rela-
178 chapter 9
tions, the subject in question, the influence of media and genre conventions
etc.
In the e-mails analysed, we found no national differences in the use of address
forms and closings and, we may add, no differences in regard to gender. As
concerns distance or proximity, the analysis shows that associates who corre-
spond very often demonstrate their personal relations by introductory
remarks of a personal kind before they convey the main information of the
text, as in g) and k): Thank you for your mail (Merci de ton mail), I hope that
you have had a good weekend (Jespre que tu as pass un bon week-end!).
The few examples of the informal and friendly cheers (saluts) are also found
in e-mails demonstrating close relationships.
In many e-mails requests are introduced or closed by thank you in advance or
varieties of this expression, but in close relationships this form is personalised
as in k): Thank you in advance for your help! (Merci davance de ton aide!).
Here, as in the previous examples we find another proximity marker in the
French language the use of ton (tu). Normally, in French, vous indicates
distance and respect. However, most of the conversation partners in the pres-
ent corpus share knowledge and have friendly and close relations. Conse-
quently, they use the pronoun tu as a sign of their mutual understanding.
When managers address lower rank employees, the pronoun vous is used to
indicate distance (3 examples in the corpus).
Summing up we may say that the ways of expressing politeness in the exam-
ples studied depend on personal relations and power distance not on nation-
ality.
9.5 Conclusion
In order to study the politeness in the e-mail corpus we have used two
approaches to communication and intercultural studies. We started the analy-
sis from a functionalist approach where concepts such as face work and con-
versation maxims gave us insights into the types of politeness features used.
To find out more about the reasons for the use of these concepts we enlarged
the analysis with the interpretive approach. We were now able to analyse the
texts at a contextual and an interpersonal level where the discourse commu-
nity appeared to be the perspective helping us understand why explicitly
expressed politeness was not always used.
As it has appeared from the analysis, the conversation partners do not always
observe the genre conventions and what is traditionally perceived as polite
rhetorical behaviour. What we have seen is a set of informal language prac-
tices which seem to have become conventionalised. We might consider the
complexity in the use of politeness with regard to our conversation partners as
a type of social interaction which has become institutionalised. This institu-
tionalised social activity is governed by certain conventions regarding behav-
iour. Seen from this perspective the forms of internal cross-cultural verbal and
non-verbal communication in the presented multinational corporation influ-
ence the interpersonal relations, the conventions and the procedures of how
to take actions and handle information within the company.
Although the e-mails of the corpus do not contain many politeness markers,
we have found some. Most of them are placed in the closings (final position)
and a few politeness markers are found in the examples of introductory
remarks (initial position). These politeness markers may be interpreted as
ways of protecting the interpersonal relations of the conversation partners.
The ways these markers are used depend on the kind of relationship in ques-
tion in the specific communicative event.
Concluding we may say that the most important factors for the realisation of
content and politeness in the present corpus of e-mails are the interpersonal
relations and the specific discourse community in which communication takes
place. To this we have to add the importance of the characteristics of e-mails
as a text genre used in a specific media. Genre and media have an influence on
the rhetoric such as inspiring minimalism and having resemblances to the dia-
logue and the daily informal talk.
1. Discuss the use of politeness strategies in e-mails across languages and cul-
tures.
2. Give examples of openings and closings in other languages e.g. German,
Spanish etc.
3. Discuss the influence of national culture, organizational context and dis-
course community in regards to politeness strategies.
180 chapter 9
4. What linguistic features are relevant for the study of politeness in written
texts such as letters and e-mails? Why?
5. Discuss the influence of genre conventions and media on the realisation of
politeness in written texts.
6. Discuss the main differences between the functionalist approach and the
interpretive approach. How can you apply these approaches when studying
politeness in intercultural settings?
References
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guage Usage, Cambridge.
Fredsted, E. (2005) Politeness in Denmark: Getting to the Point. In: Hickey, L. &
Stewart, M. (eds.), Politeness in Europe (127, pp 159-173). Canada . Multilin-
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Goffman, E. (1967): Interactions ritual: Essays on face-to-face behaviour,
New York: Pantheon.
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og hndtering af e-mails, chat, nyhedsgrupper og andre kommunikations-
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and Semantics 3, New York.
Grice, H.P. (1989), Studies in the way of words, London: Harvard University Press.
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Matters: 127.
Kerbrat-Orecchioni, C. (2005) a: Le discours en interaction. Armand Colin.
Kerbrat-Orecchioni, C. (2005), b: Politeness in France. How to buy bread
politely. In: L. & Stewart, M. (eds.), Politeness in Europe (127, pp 29-44).
Hickey, Canada: Multilingual Matters.
Leech, G. (1990): Principles of Pragmatics, London.
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ting. In: Bargiela-Chiappini & Nickerson (eds.), Writing Business: Genres,
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Nickerson, C. (1999), The use of English in electronic mail in a multinational
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182 chapter 9
CHAPTER 10
Business students and culture:
Searching for a toolbox?
Maribel Blasco
10.1 Learning about culture
Learning about culture can be tricky for business students. You are probably
not studying business because you have a burning interest in culture. But
nowadays courses on culture are standard in most international business pro-
grammes and you are told that you must take it seriously. In practice it isnt
that simple though. Compared to economics and marketing, culture seems
woolly and vague. There are hundreds of different definitions of culture, and
many are so broad or complex that they are hard to use to solve concrete
questions. Other theories simplify cultures so much that you just end up with
stereotypes. So how are can you treat culture in a serious way that is neither
too simple nor too woolly?
This article explores this question from three different perspectives. The first
presents some ways in which culture is taught on business school curricula.
The second presents some experiences of business students who have tackled
culture in their projects and other study-related tasks. The third explores why
culture is such a challenge both to learn and to teach in business schools. The
article is based on observations from my teaching of Latin American studies
and intercultural communication as well as from student papers, interviews
and surveys with Bachelor and Masters students at a major Scandinavian busi-
ness school.
1
business students and culture: searching for a toolbox? 183
1) Three group interviews were held with undergraduate and graduate students. A qualitative question-
naire survey was subsequently sent to all undergraduate and graduate students and a total of 25 com-
pleted questionnaires were returned, generating around 150 pages of written material. Further empirical
data was gathered from written student projects.
10.2 How is culture typically taught to business students?
The business world is increasingly recognising the importance of culture and
languages for achieving global business success. Managers these days are
more mobile, workplaces more multicultural and multinationals operate
across many different countries, and so cultural understanding and flexibility
are becoming increasingly important skills. Knowing a lot of facts about partic-
ular countries or learning purely technical business skills such as economics
and marketing is no longer enough, since managers must often make deci-
sions in many countries simultaneously and be able to switch rapidly between
business locations. Nowadays, employers are calling for softer skills such as
cultural intelligence (see Box 10.1) and intercultural and ethical awareness
(Cant 2004: 180; Webb et al. 1999, cited in Shetty and Rudell 2002: 105). Man-
agers operating cross-culturally are now not only expected to secure the best
deals; they must also show moral integrity and behave respectfully and
socially responsibly towards their host societies.
BOX 10.1: CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE
Cultural intelligence is a combination of three types of skills: cognitive, emotional
and physical/behavioural:
Cognitive: Knowledge about culture, e.g. theories about how cultures vary and how
they affect behaviour, and factual knowledge about other cultures
Emotional: The capacity to pay attention to others and ones own signals and reac-
tions
Physical/ behavioural skills: The ability to select appropriate physical and commu-
nicative behaviours in cross-cultural situations
People with cultural intelligence:
Are able to question and see past stereotypes
Are open to learning about different cultural environments
Do not blame the other culture for misunderstandings, but examine their own
behaviour and try to learn from these misunderstandings
Do not see national cultures as rigid systems or mental programmes that predeter-
mine all behaviour, but can distinguish between individual traits and more general
cultural patterns, be these national, regional, gender- or generation-based etc.
10.2.1 The challenge of teaching intercultural skills
in business schools
How are business schools taking on board these challenges? Traditionally,
intercultural awareness in business programmes has been taught through lec-
184 chapter 10
tures, cases and project writing (Orpen 1996). Overall, such teaching has had
either a very theoretical or a very practical focus that teaches facts about spe-
cific countries, often focusing also on national values and intercultural eti-
quette.
2
This gap between theory and practice has been identified as a broader
problem for business schools, including in Denmark, with both business com-
munity and students alike complaining that courses are too academic and the-
oretical, with weak linkages to the real-life business community so that gradu-
ates are not equipped with the practical skills that they need in the real world
(Dansk Industri 2002). There have been calls for intercultural teaching to focus
on developing cultural intelligence, which combines theoretical and practical
skills to enable managers to adapt swiftly and sensitively to new cultural situa-
tions. However, despite this, much intercultural training still takes place along
traditional lines: Business schools still tend to teach culture in simple-minded
terms, glossing over nuances and ignoring complexities, as one observer puts
it (Osland and Bird 2000 in Sderberg 2002: 111).
But how do students experience the way that culture is taught? The following
section looks at business students perceptions of culture as a concept; what
they think of the way they are taught about culture; how they tackle culture in
their study tasks; and what sources they draw on to do so.
10.3 Business students and culture: uneasy bedfellows?
The students who participated in this study were very ambivalent about the
concept of culture. Whilst many found it interesting or challenging, at the
same time it was generally considered a slippery topic to deal with in papers
and other tasks. Culture was considered vague, abstract, too complex
and less scientifically credible than economics or sociology. Or, it was too
simplified into boxes and models that stereotyped cultures but offered few
real insights. So, while on the one hand students had trouble using the con-
cept as a tool, at the same time they felt they could get away with putting too
many things under the culture umbrella:
Nobody grasped the complexity of culture. Compared to economics that every-
body found hard to understand, culture was loose, abstract and widely applied
as explanatory I find [the concept of culture] hard to distinguish sometimes
2) See Earley and Peterson (2004: 101) for an overview of this literature.
it is a very abstract term that tends to be used to cover for MANY issues
Sometimes it seems everything can be labelled as cultural or be due to cultural
differences without having to specify what the culture then actually entails.
Culture seemed at the same time to explain everything and nothing. As one
undergraduate student admitted, If you have something you cant explain,
you can always blame culture! Despite the fact that they found culture
tough to deal with, however, most students could see the relevance of study-
ing culture for their future careers in international business and were glad that
it was a component of their studies.
Students also appreciated it when culture was taught in a critical and open
way although this also made the concept even harder to apply since no neat
boxes were provided for classifying cultural phenomena. Students regarded
the critical teaching they received about culture positively compared to their
more traditional business electives:
It is extremely frustrating attending classes where culture is still introduced as
the software of the mind and Hofstedes dimensions [are] used uncritically to
predict behaviour Frustrating to the point that the discussion is not even
worth taking in that particular class.
10.3.1 Cultural skills are great but can you sell them?
This sense of being culturally aware was tinged with frustration, however. Stu-
dents found it hard to describe exactly what they had gained from their stud-
ies of culture. Although many felt that they had learned a lot and developed
their ability to understand, manage and interact with [their] surroundings,
understand peoples behaviours and reactions as well as better under-
standing themselves and becoming more tolerant and curious, they felt that
these skills were rather intangible and hard to sell to employers. As one stu-
dent put it, explaining exactly WHAT I am capable of compared to others is
still a challenge. They wanted cultural knowledge that was easier to describe
and apply in practice so that they could market their skills more effectively
after their studies:
most people in companies dont understand the concepts that we have
learned, so you need to learn to translate everything into everyday language
and thats a tough job.
186 chapter 10
Lectures were seen as too theory-guided, with a need for more examples
from reality such as business cases and knowledge about specific cultures, as
well as versatile tools that could be applied to different cultures.
I havent obtained any actual skills which Im able to use in relation to exact
tasks and this is the problem for me. If you are to be an expert on culture you
should at least be able to have exact tools which will work in different situations.
This emphasis on the need for a more concrete approach to culture is perhaps
not all that surprising in view of the fact that students main area of academic
interest is not necessarily culture; and neither did they consider culture neces-
sarily the most relevant aspect for them when it came to a future career in the
business world. Thus, some students expressed a preference for culture-on-a-
need-to-know basis only:
What you need to know about culture in a business job is often common sense
or you can read a book about a certain culture. I do not need a course in culture
for that I think more investment analysis and economic courses should be
emphasised instead of culture, as the economics is more useful for your later
career and job possibilities.
Finally, students felt that the international environment among staff and stu-
dents had been perhaps their most useful cultural learning experiences, in
addition to their internships abroad. Students clearly valued these in-the-flesh
intercultural experiences at least as highly as their more theoretical exposure
to the idea of culture in lectures and other study tasks.
10.3.2 Finding sources on culture: a tricky business
Students were also asked what kind of sources they typically drew on when
tackling culture-related questions in study tasks and how they went about
searching for data on culture. Here, most regarded culture as a separate ingre-
dient that had somehow to be incorporated in their papers, regardless of
whether or not it seemed directly relevant to their research question:
In some of our projects it is easy to incorporate culture, but in other projects it is
a hassle to try to find a way to fit it in. When analysing an industry, culture may
be relevant, however sometimes the cultural part seems more like an add-on
than an important part of the analysis.
When asked to state what sources they drew upon when searching for infor-
mation on culture, students distinguished between theoretical literature on
culture as a concept and on specific national/organisational cultures; and
sources providing information about a countrys economic, social and political
context and history. Box 10.2 contains a list of the sources that students drew
upon when looking for information about culture.
BOX 10.2: SOURCES ON CULTURE USED BY STUDENTS
Embassy websites
Websites with information on how to do business in X country: You get basic infor-
mation summed up in a very clear fashion.
Government organisations
CIA + World Bank country briefs/profiles
Empirical observations and interviews carried out for projects.
Statistical info from OECD, Eurostat, World Bank, WTO
The Economist country surveys and Economist Intelligence Unit
Market surveys and industry analysis
Large national newspapers/magazines e.g. Der Spiegel, Financial Times etc. or the
English speaking newspaper of that country
Internet, especially Google though its hard to find direction there and sort out the
good from the bad
Google scholar
Personal sources (friends, fellow students and other networks, family, travel etc.)
Course curriculum texts
Personal networks
Article databases (e.g. Proquest, Business Source Premier, JSTOR)
Lonely Planet
Hofstede,
Library books
CIA country briefs: (give statistics and are updated all the time)
Bibliotek.dk
Kultur + sprogmdestudier (RUC) (good site with projects and information about
culture encounters)
Other student projects bibliographies
E-journals
Anthropology institute
Danish Institute for Social Resarch (SFI for info on Danish culture)
188 chapter 10
The wide variety of sources mentioned in relation to culture is thought-pro-
voking. Culture is interpreted as statistics (e.g. CIA webpages, OECD, Econo-
mist, World Bank etc.); tourist information (Lonely Planet) which often offers
very concise summaries of a countrys history, traditions and contemporary
situation; market profiles, newspaper reports and academic sources such as
books, journals and university department web pages. In other words, almost
any source of information is interpreted as culture as long as it is
country/region-specific.
Students reported that finding information on culture was a challenge as
sources were both hard to find and biased. The way that students search for
cultural sources is in turn influenced by the way that they conceptualise cul-
ture. As one student observed, searching directly for information on culture
seldom revealed useful results; while translating culture into other types of
category yielded better information:
Oddly enough (probably due to the dominance of Hofstede and friends) topic
searches under culture always yield functionalist perspectives. Rather, I prefer
searching within the research fields of cognitive and social psychology, commu-
nication, as well as critical management research, as these are much more up-
to-date in their approach to the social world (including culture and manage-
ment) [Does the literature you find usually help you to answer your research
question?] Absolutely. In the beginning it seemed impossible to find beginnings
and ends to the mass of information, but as soon as one learns where to look
(i.e. NOT within culture studies) there is in fact much relevant insight to be
found.
This suggests that students who actually search for culture as a topic are likely
to find an entirely different set of sources than students who themselves trans-
late culture into a combination of more concrete topics.
A good many of the student projects reviewed in this study tackled the cultural
dimension using a mixture of statistical or other factual information from e.g.
OECD or the CIA country briefs; and summary-type information about a coun-
try from e.g. the Danish embassy or World Bank or Economist country briefs.
In fact, these were by far the most common references, with comparatively lit-
tle use of more academic historical sources, particularly among students who
relied on Hofstede to account for the cultural dimension of their papers. No
students mentioned history explicitly in connection with culture until asked
directly. When asked, they claimed that they considered history part of cul-
ture, but that they found it hard to incorporate it in their papers since they
worried about identifying the exact historical period that had had an impact
on the phenomenon they were investigating.
10.3.3 How does theory influence students choice
of culture sources?
Theory also posed difficulties when searching for sources on culture. While
students felt that they were taught a lot of different theories about culture in
the abstract, they had trouble finding theories that could explain the specific
national, regional or organisational culture that they were writing about. This
meant that they were forced to put together a framework themselves using a
variety of different theories and sources. Because of this, they expressed a
sense of being on their own to a far greater degree when it came to writing
about culture compared to other subjects, which tended to have more clear-
cut theories which were easier to apply in practice:
With some analysis and handy application and integration of different theories
it is often possible to respond to almost all kinds of culture questions. But some-
times it really takes a lot of imagination to identify the theories you need to mix
in order to create a framework for explaining your point or analyzing your spe-
cific object.
Several students explained that they got around this problem by resorting to
theorists of national culture such as Hofstede, despite some being sceptical
about their validity:
There are general theories about what culture is and how it affects communica-
tion but you must find culture yourself when it comes to specific national cul-
tures. Our project was about cultural differences in consumer behaviour and we
ended up using Hofstede because hes the only one who describes specific
national cultures the general theories about culture cant be applied to spe-
cific national contexts.
Students said very openly that they used such theories to rubber-stamp the
cultural dimension of their papers even though they were very well aware that
this was an easy way out. Because of these difficulties, some students opted
to avoid an openly cultural theme when choosing a topic for their written proj-
ects, considering it far too complex and/or loosely defined, and therefore risky
190 chapter 10
in terms of getting a good grade, even though they found culture in itself both
interesting and relevant:
It can be quite hard to apply in your written reports because it is so ambiguous
and hard to study (it often requires more time than you have e.g. for a disserta-
tion So if/when you think in terms of grades it is most often smarter to avoid
cultural issues the [good] grades are rarely given to projects that aim high,
but to the ones that are executed well and that is much easier if you avoid the
cultural issues.
When writing their projects, students approached culture in very different
ways even within the framework of the same theoretical models.
3
Some
groups drew on a wide variety of historical, industrial, marketing, theoretical
and statistical sources in order to build up a picture of the cultural context in
which particular industries operate: for instance a countrys pride in its small-
scale wine-making tradition, or a national reputation for quality and efficiency.
Other groups largely skipped this process and relied instead on a theorist of
national culture such as Hofstede to fill in the cultural part of the analysis.
Even students who go into considerable depth with historical and institutional
investigations tended to list culture as a separate influence in their project
structures, where culture typically appears as a separate subheading, typically
listed alongside political/economic/social factors. This segmentation leads to
the following type of observation:
The cultural dimension can arguably be said to influence the determinant fac-
tor conditions since Germanys perception of quality can be seen as a crucial
competitive advantage.
Culture is regarded here at best as a factor on an equal footing with other fac-
tors; and at worst as something that has to be added on to meet study require-
ments.
10.3.4 Summary
Bringing all these threads together, then, the students views outlined in the
three sections above can be summarised as follows:
3) In the case studied: Porters diamond, Porters Five Forces, PEST, Porters generic strategy, Hofstedes
four dimensions of culture.
Culture can be everything, nothing, or a factor to be taken into
account among other factors, depending on the class or task at hand.
Although students were repeatedly told about the importance of cul-
ture, at the same time they found the concept hard to apply in practice.
They were wary of tackling culture in their projects, unless using a neat
theory about cultural values such as Hofstedes, as it seemed an over-
whelming topic to approach. If culture is history, traditions, institutions
and values and if these can also vary according to organisation,
region, gender, social class and a myriad of other factors it is a daunt-
ing task to tackle this in the short space of time allotted.
Students felt very much left to their own devices when figuring out
what to include under culture, particularly when it comes to finding
suitable empirical data. The problem of how and whether to address
history is particularly tricky. Popular theoretical models used in business
studies tend to squeeze students into conceptualising culture as a sepa-
rate factor or influence whose impact can be measured.
Teaching about culture tends to be either very theoretical/abstract, or
too simplistic. Students felt they lacked analytical tools that fell some-
where in between abstract culture theory and stereotype-based
approaches.
Although not all students found culture equally interesting, most found
the cultural skills they learned during their studies relevant, but at the
same time a) hard to market after their studies; and b) hard to apply in
practice.
Students draw on a wide variety of sources, divided mainly into factual
data about the countries, regions, economies, branches and institutions
in question; and theoretical literature about economics, business and
culture. These sources include academic articles and books, and other
sources such as newspaper articles and web pages from governmental
and international organisations. Some students seemed reluctant to
use academic historical sources. Most notably, many students broadly
interpreted any geographically-specific sources as culture.
192 chapter 10
10.4 Learning culture at business schools:
pragmatismas a way forward?
What is it about culture that makes it such a challenge to teach and to learn in
a business school context? Some tentative answers to this question follow.
First, the instrumental nature of business itself shapes to a large extent the
way that culture is treated in business studies. Much ink has flowed on the role
played by culture in the success or failure of business initiatives, though gener-
ally the latter. In the goal-oriented world of business, culture tends to be
approached in two ways. Often, it is seen as a barrier: the source of a problem
such as bad communication or conflict. In business communication, for
instance, cultural difference has typically been dealt with as noise that inter-
feres with the clear transmission of a message from sender to receiver (see
Chapter 2). Such approaches see communication as a means to present prede-
fined messages as clearly and efficiently as possible. Others see culture more
positively as a business asset: a resource to be exploited, as in the tourist
industry or the notion that certain nations possess a more entrepreneurial
spirit than others. Whether attributing the Japanese miracle to particular cul-
tural values such as consensus, harmony and groupism (see Goodman 1999:
127 for an overview); the growth of market capitalism in East Asia to Confu-
cianism (Weller 2002; Dore 1984 in Sen 1999: 19); or the failure of business ven-
tures in Mexico to cultural misunderstandings (Hise et al. 2003; Stephens and
Greer 1995), culture offers pat explanations. The concepts appeal in the realm
of business lies in the fact that it provides ready answers to complex questions;
and that those answers are devilishly hard to falsify.
10.4.1 Managing cultural difference
Although dealing with different types of business activity,
4
the common mes-
sage of such studies is that for a business endeavour to succeed, culture must
be changed, managed or otherwise harnessed to the task at hand. Culture
becomes a set of techniques to achieve goals that do not necessarily have any-
thing whatsoever to with cultural understanding. Instead of seeing culture as
something that organisations and people are, it is treated as something that
they have which can be changed to meet the needs of business (Goodman
1999: 135). The ambition is to reduce unpredictability in intercultural business
4) Such as diversity management, human resource management, mergers and acquisitions and business
negotiation. Culture is a means to achieving a particular end more effective negotiations; a better
grasp of foreign values, consumer behaviour and markets or better developmental outcomes; not an
end in itself.
encounters by seeking to pre-empt, control, and put culture to work for busi-
ness interests (see Chapter 2). If cultural difference is to be managed and put
to work for business in this way, it has to be seen as a real thing which can be
changed. Teachers of culture, many of whom often have backgrounds outside
business studies, can feel uncomfortable with this instrumental approach.
They may not regard it as particularly academic and some may see it as unethi-
cal since they believe that communication should not just be treated just as a
means to achieve strategic ends (see also Askehave, this volume). Teachers
may also feel a duty to educate responsible citizens of the world with high
ethical standards and multicultural awareness alongside their business
degrees (Fielding 2003: 107).
10.4.2 The politicisation of cultural difference
A second reason why culture can be tricky to teach in business studies is that dis-
cussions of cultural difference are nowadays very politicised. In an increasingly
globalised world, struggles over ethnic identities and rights, mass immigration
and racism have made cultural difference a very sensitive matter: we must
respect cultural differences, but we must do this without being ethnocentric or
essentialising other cultures. Against this background, the tendency in business
studies to recommend managing or changing cultures can become problem-
atic. In practice what can happen is that teachers encourage their students to
be sensitive to cultural differences, but at the same time they seek to prevent
them from stereotyping cultures or treating them as mere tools to achieve busi-
ness objectives. To illustrate: in my classes on Latin American studies, a topic
that frequently crops up in discussions and student writings as an explanation
for the failure of business or development initiatives is personalism. This can
take many forms: nepotism, corruption, clientelism, as well as less controversial
topics such as the impact of social capital and networks on business ventures. It
would be absurd to avoid teaching about these important topics, but at the
same time it is worrying when they pop up time and time again as explanations
for business failures. To blame corruption for all the problems in Latin American
business is overly simplistic and incorrect and yet we must teach about it.
BOX 10.3: CULTURAL ESSENTIALISM + SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIVISM
Cultural essentialism is a position that all members of a particular group share char-
acteristic attributes. Groups may be defined by many different criteria: race, gender,
skin colour, weight, generation, etc. No allowance is made for possible individual
variations within groups. Essentialist standpoints are not necessarily negative, but
tend to be associated with generalisations like:
194 chapter 10
Women are better at multitasking than men.
All Danes support the principle of Jantelov (the informal law written by Aksel
Sandemose that all are equal).
Social constructivism: is usually regarded as the opposite of cultural essentialism.
Social constructivists claim that human characteristics and the values we attach to
them are not natural but are the product of socialisation processes. A social con-
structivist might counter the above statements thus:
Statistically, women may be better at multitasking than men. But this is probably due
to social factors, not biology. And it doesnt apply to all women there may be a good
many male multitaskers around too.
Not all Danes support the principle of Jantelov. And those who do, do not support it
out of any natural belief in equality but because they have been exposed to the idea
time and time again in schools, workplaces and the media.
10.4.3 Getting good grades
A third reason why culture can be a challenge is that students are concerned
with getting good grades, and that means meeting certain requirements. As
the quotes above show, students know very well that their teachers usually
reward papers that respect academic conventions, are well-written and sys-
tematically executed within the time limits given. Doing that is safer than
experimenting or diving into complex topics like culture. If we add to this the
fact that many business students are not necessarily interested in culture for
its own sake, either in their studies or as a component of their future careers,
then the incentive for students to delve into culture in a more sophisticated or
experimental way can all but disappear.
10.4.4 Culture: an elastic concept
A fourth factor is that culture is often taught in very different ways even within
the same course of studies. Culture can be understood as factual knowledge of
a country or other groups geography, institutions, history, literature, achieve-
ments, personalities, customs, values, manners, lifestyles. Or it can be taught
as theories of cultural, ethnic or national identity. It can also be taught from a
very practical perspective where students are given cultural survival kits for
doing business in country x, including information about etiquette, body lan-
guage, values etc. Students may also choose to go on internships or periods of
study abroad, where they experience intercultural encounters in their own
flesh. Furthermore, students may find that their teachers have rather different
understandings of culture. While some teachers see cultures in a rather essen-
tialist fashion (see Box 10.3) as fairly fixed systems of belief and behaviour
usually linked to particular groups and/or territories, others take a more social
constructivist view (see Box 10.3), seeing culture as emerging through sociali-
sation, relationships and dialogue with others. It is hardly surprising, then, that
when students are asked about how they are taught culture, they mention a
wide range of different aspects of culture, but that they are also often unsure
how these fit together. When approaching concrete study tasks, students
must decide whether they will approach culture as the history, production
forms and reputation of a particular industry; whether to try to relate these to
general cultural tendencies in their chosen country; or whether to apply a the-
ory of national cultural values such as Hofstedes four dimensions of culture to
account for this part of the analysis. Or indeed whether to combine elements
of all these, as some students do. One could argue, as students often do, that
culture is more relevant for analysing some markets/industries than others.
5
Moreover, these models tend to push students into conceptualising culture
either as a separate factor or as a rather diffuse, blanket context affecting
more or less everything. But the important point here is that both the multidi-
mensional approach to teaching culture as well as some of the most popular
theoretical models taught on business courses leave the question of how to
approach culture rather open.
Perhaps because of the fragmented way in which students experience teach-
ing about culture, they also typically treat culture as though it were a separate
factor to be taken into account alongside economic and political factors,
which may then be treated clinically as though they were culture-free. Theo-
rists of culture point out that this is problematic since people dont turn from
doing the economic to doing the cultural in the way that we might
imagine them ending work for the day and turning to leisure activities (Tom-
linson 1999: 18). Similarly, Worsley (1999: 21) observes: we should not fall back
on this concept of culture as a separate sphere only to be resorted to when we
find that other kinds of explanation, economic, political etc., prove to be in-
adequate. Instead, he suggests we should see culture as a dimension of all
social action, including economic and political. However, whilst it is fine to
argue that we should not treat culture as a separate factor, this leaves busi-
ness school teachers with a tricky teaching dilemma. If culture is everything,
how can students be taught to apply the concept analytically? And how can
196 chapter 10
5) For instance: the telecommunications industry may seem to lend itself less to a cultural analysis than
the perfume or fashion industries.
they learn to be culturally sensitive whilst at the same time seeing culture in
terms of potential competitive advantages (or indeed disadvantages), as in
e.g. the branding of regions, mentioned earlier? And how should they deal
with culture in their study tasks?
10.4.5 Coping with culture: student pragmatism
Students do manage to find ways to cope with these demands, although they
clearly find this process frustrating at times. Many get around the conflicting
demands placed on them by approaching culture in a very pragmatic way,
choosing the easy way out and applying a theory like Hofstedes to cover the
cultural requirement in their papers, dissertations and exam responses, etc.
Teachers, of course, only usually see these end products and can end up con-
cluding from these that students havent learned very much about culture. Yet
what I discovered when I talked to students is that their understanding of cul-
ture is actually far more sophisticated than we teachers often realise. There is
far more to it than meets the eye, as one student put it during a group inter-
view. In fact, by the time they reach graduate level, students are remarkably
clear about the cultural skills that they have learned, as the following quote
shows:
And this is probably the most important skill that we learn: being able to always
see things from other perspectives. So you may believe in one thing but at the
same time you know that there isnt only one truth.
Students know that they have acquired important skills such as learning that
the most plausible solution to a problem depends on the specific situation in
question or that there is a limit to what you can do and you should respect
that there are other perspectives as well or not to take everything for
granted and to try to be critical. These skills may not always be very easy to
put into words, but they are actually exactly the types of skill described in defi-
nitions of cultural intelligence (see Box 10.1).
So, although students are rather pragmatic in the way they deal with culture,
this does not mean that they dont possess more finely-tuned culture skills. In
fact, pragmatismmay be one of the most valuable skills they learn during their
studies. Students taking a pragmatic approach to culture focus on selecting
the right knowledge to solve the problem at hand in the best way, rather than
worrying about the link between theory and practice. They also try to establish
what type of knowledge can be achieved in different areas. And they reflect
about the broader implications before choosing a course of action. In practice
this means asking questions like those in Box 10.4.
BOX 10.4: TOWARDS A PRAGMATIC APPROACH TO CULTURE
What kind of cultural knowledge is needed to solve the problem?
E.g. institutions, values, history, theory?
How much depth of analysis does the task require?
Do you need a profound understanding of another culture to be able to carry
out your task? Or do you need mainly factual knowledge such as geographical
conditions, statistics on voting patterns about a particular region?
What is the purpose of the knowledge you generate?
Will the knowledge you produce be used to justify a particular course of
action and do you agree with this?
What consequences is your choice of approach likely to have?
Who/what will it affect, and how?
What is your goal?
In dent e.g. to get the best possible grade?
Cultural intelligence and pragmatismare complementary skills for todays
international business student. Combining these skills means that students
learn to account for the way in which they address culture, and to reflect on
the implications of their choices. And, rather than worrying about the doubt
and ambiguity that they experience when dealing with cultural matters, they
would welcome this as a sign that they are developing the necessary reflexivity
to act carefully and responsibly in their studies and future careers.
10.5 Conclusion: the pragmatic toolbox
There are no easy fixes when it comes to culture. But by way of a conclusion I
have compiled an alternative pragmatic toolbox to help students think about
how they approach culture in their work. All examples are based on fellow-stu-
dents experiences and examples from student papers.
1. Culture can mean many things
Ask yourself how you are going to approach and define culture in your study.
What kind of cultural knowledge does the task call for? Do you need to know
about a countrys institutions, its history and, its traditions; or is it sufficient to
draw on a theory such as Hofstedes that describes more abstract cultural
traits such as power-distance? Or does the task require that you focus on gen-
eral theories of cultural identity?
198 chapter 10
2. Question your preconceptions and pay close attention to information
that doesnt match your hypothesis or pre-understanding of a given
topic.
You have a hunch that Catholicism may be at the root of the unwillingness to
take business risks associated with a certain South American country. Try
actively to find evidence to the contrary. Are there perhaps successful firms
run by Catholic businessmen in your country of study or indeed elsewhere
that contradict your hunch?
You want to argue that family businesses may be less efficient due to personal-
istic ties among employees in Latin America. Try to interrogate this idea. Are
there examples of thriving family-based businesses in the region? If you can,
your task may then become instead to explain why some family firms are suc-
cessful and others are not, an exercise that will help you to nuance and deepen
your analysis.
3. Be aware of the possible pitfalls of historical justifications for contempo-
rary problems, especially when it comes to the influence of cultural values.
Pay close attention to the broader picture, and to the time frame you are
working with.
You suspect that workers capacity for innovation in a South American firm is
hampered by their excessive respect for authority (employees seem exces-
sively docile in your eyes). You interpret this as a legacy of the countrys
authoritarian past, where fear of reprisals caused people to keep a low profile.
Try to interrogate this interpretation. First, look at what is going on elsewhere
in society. Is there anything that doesnt fit this picture? For instance: Is civil
society active? Are there social movements, labour unions or public demon-
strations that dont fit your picture of a docile, passive workforce? Second,
how innovative was industry before the dictatorship? It could be that your
explanation doesnt hold water historically because you havent paid attention
to historical events that occurred outside your immediate analytical time-
frame.
You are investigating why a particular industry in an Eastern European country
lags behind in terms of technological innovation, and the implications of this
for the countrys competitiveness in a European context. Your hypothesis is
that this may be due to the communist legacy that rewarded conformism and
discouraged individual initiative. Try to compare your case with other former
communist countries and see how they are doing in terms of innovation. If
others are doing well by comparison, try to see what might be peculiar about
your case. Perhaps the education system is underfunded; or perhaps there is a
predominantly ageing population with little technical know-how that requires
retraining.
4. Information about cultural etiquette and behaviour is not the same
thing as cultural understanding.
The type of guidance you get from literature on How to do business in coun-
try X is unlikely to help you to understand why people behave the way they do
or what meanings they attribute to things; or how to communicate more
effectively with them. Acquiring cultural understanding is an ongoing process
involving trying to see things with the others premises. Here, a wide variety of
different types of literature will help you most if you dont have a chance to
visit the country and also if you do: novels, poetry, films, history books, art
exhibitions, talking to people from that country, etc.
5. Seek cultural understanding, but accept that there may be limits.
Our knowledge even of what we consider to be our own culture is limited, and
misunderstandings abound amongst people from similar as well as dissimilar
cultural backgrounds. Class, gender, generation and employment shape both
our life events and the way we experience them in ways that are not explicable
through notions of national culture. Moreover, interpretations of cultural phe-
nomena can vary hugely: Anthropologists can spend years living in and study-
ing the same small society and still disagree violently with each other concern-
ing fundamental cultural patterns, such as whether the people are peace or
war-loving or how their kinship system operates.
6. Disjunctures, surprises and misunderstandings are among your most
valuable resources in your communication with others, and in your
research.
Rather than seeing these things as problems, try to learn from them, both
about yourself and about the culture you are working on. And always ask your-
self whether the problems you identify are necessarily due to cultural differ-
ences.
7. Question concepts whose meaning seems obvious to you.
Concepts whose meaning seems obvious, like youth, can differ tremendously
from one society to another. So, when a group of students analysing the prob-
200 chapter 10
ability that a Danish brewery will succeed in penetrating the youth market in
Mexico define youth as people aged 18 or under they may be surprised to find
that people over 14 who no longer attend school but have regular employment
are considered adults for all practical purposes in some social sectors in Mex-
ico. Conversely, people who still live at home with their parents may still be
considered young whatever their real age. Remember that concepts that you
may think must be the same everywhere, such as the meanings associated
with particular age-groups and family relationships, change both over time
within any given society; and are cross-culturally variable. Our expectations
about such apparently basic categories can blind us to other cultural realities,
unless we use them actively to spot differences.
Exercises and points for discussion:
1. In what ways do you think that culture might affect business?
2. What do you think are the most important skills that todays international
business graduates should possess?
3. Find five different definitions of culture. Which of these best applies to the
role of culture in business?
Write down answers to the following questions individually, then discuss
answers with your class and teacher.
4. Do you think the concept of culture is easy to understand and use? If not,
why not?
5. Did you agree with any of the remarks made by students in this article
regarding culture and the way it is taught?
6. Do you think the way you are taught about culture helps you to develop
cultural intelligence? (see Box 10.1). How culturally intelligent do you
think you are?
7. Can you suggest any ways in which culture might be taught more effec-
tively at your own study programme?
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Authors
Inger Askehave, Ph.D., Ass. Professor, Aalborg University. Research areas:
intercultural business communication, genre analysis, corporate communica-
tion, professional-lay communication.
Per Blenker, Ass. Professor, University of Aarhus. Research areas: industrial
marketing, entrepreneurship and innovation, entreprenurial teaching and
learning.
Poul Rind Christensen, Professor of entrepreneurship, Aarhus School of Busi-
ness. Research areas: local and international entrepreneurship, small enter-
prise management, regional and global production and supply systems.
Maribel Blasco, Ph.D., Ass. Professor, Copenhagen Buciness School. Research
areas: education and family relations, poverty and development, and intercul-
tural communication, with a geographical focus on Latin America.
Malene Djursaa, Ph.D., Ass. Professor, Copenhagen Business School,
Research areas: different aspects of intercultural issues, covering both busi-
ness culture and consumer culture, and always focusing on conditions for busi-
ness relations between Britain and Denmark.
Malene Gram, Ph.D., Associate professor, Aalborg University. Research areas:
market communication with special interest in childhood in a cross-cultural
perspective.
Martin Nielsen, Ph.D., Ass. Professor, Aarhus School of Business. Research
areas: direct marketing communication across cultures, advertising style,
translation vs. adaption (in a Danish-German context).
Birgitte Norlyk Ph.D., Ass. Professor, University of Southern Denmark.
Research areas: Corporate communication, intercultural communication,
occupational and corporate cultures.
204 authors
Jeanne Strunck, Ph.D., Associate professor, Aalborg University. Research areas:
discourse analysis, argumentation, rhetoric, politeness, implicit language,
intercultural communication.
Karen Korning Zethsen, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Head of Research
Group for Translation and Interpreting Studies, Aarhus School of Business.
Main research areas: translation studies, semantics, expert-layman communi-
cation.
authors 205
A
Aalborg Portland 139, 140
adaptation 80, 91, 108, 136, 143
aesthetics 80, 81, 84
approach 145
Arla 22, 86, 141 , 150
artefacts 14, 80, 81, 84, 85
assertive 157, 158, 159, 161, 162, 168
avoidance 11, 12, 13
B
B2B 131, 132, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 141,
142, 143, 144, 145, 149, 150
B2C 135, 137, 138, 139, 144, 147
bald-on-record 162, 165
business students 187, 195, 197
business-to-business 99, 102, 113, 152, 153,
164, 166, 167, 168
business-to-business (B2B) markets 69
C
closings 178, 179
codes 81
coding 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 122
collectivism 11, 12, 21, 143, 148
commissive 157, 159, 168
communication 33
communication strategies 77, 115
communicative event 41, 42, 48, 55, 176,
178, 180
connotation 78, 85, 88, 91, 100, 101, 113,
144
context 8, 23, 25, 118, 147, 148, 171, 178,
180, 188, 190, 191, 192, 196, 199
conversational maxims 175
cross-cultural communication 102
cultura franca 100, 101, 113
cultural background 7, 33, 46, 47, 48, 49,
50, 52, 97, 99, 101, 102, 137, 145, 171, 200
cultural intelligence 184, 185, 197, 198,
201, 202
cultural mediator 97, 109, 111, 113
cultural skills 186, 197
cultural values 136, 147, 192, 193, 196,
199
curricula 11, 183
D
declarative 157, 159
decoding 40, 79, 80, 120, 121
Denmark 13, 20, 77, 84, 85, 110, 112, 117,
127, 131, 135, 172, 173, 185
denotation 98, 113
direct directive speech act 162
direct mail 137, 154
direct speech act 158, 159, 163, 169
directive 157, 159, 162, 163, 165, 169
directive speech act 153, 154, 157, 158, 159,
162, 163, 164, 165, 168, 169
directness 122, 126
discourse 22, 28, 41, 44, 46, 47, 50, 51, 52,
53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 99, 101, 102,
112, 118, 120
discourse community 52, 53, 54, 55, 57,
59, 99, 101, 102, 112, 167, 179, 180
distance 177, 178, 179, 200
dynamic 20, 38, 40, 145, 202
E
emic 24, 26, 146, 148
equivalence 104, 105, 144
ethnocentric 16, 24, 27, 78, 79, 103, 194
ethnocentrism 16, 29
ethos 89
etic 24, 144
explicit 8, 13, 178
expressive 157, 159, 168
206 index
Index
F
face 97, 121, 123, 175
face flattering act 175
face protected 160
face to face 41, 45, 58, 123, 125
Face work 174, 175, 179
face-threatening act 159, 160, 162, 175
feminine dimension 12
femininity 144
food culture 145, 146
formality 13, 177
France 57, 131, 147, 172, 173, 177
functionalist 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 16, 17, 18, 19,
20, 24, 27, 34, 77, 115, 128, 143, 145, 146,
148, 149, 178, 189
functionalist approach 9, 10, 11, 15, 16, 17,
26, 29, 144, 145, 178, 179, 181
functionalistic 104, 105
G
genre 52, 55, 56, 59, 154, 166, 174, 180
genre conventions 58, 104, 175, 176, 177,
180, 181
globalization 29, 77, 78, 99, 101, 131
greetings 55, 178
H
Hall 13, 14, 118, 119, 123, 143, 148
hermeneutic 18, 128
hermeneutics 41
hierarchy 22, 176, 178
high context 13, 14, 144, 147
Hofstede 9, 11, 12, 13, 16, 17, 23, 143, 148,
186, 188, 190, 196, 197, 198
horizon 20, 29, 33, 40, 41, 43, 44, 45, 46,
47, 48, 50, 52, 56, 57, 58, 143, 145, 146,
167
humanistic 18, 34
I
identity 8, 15, 16, 29, 48, 53, 77, 81, 84, 86,
100, 109, 175, 195, 198
illocutionary 162
illocutionary act 156, 157, 158, 168
illocutionary type 158, 169
implicature 175
indirect speech act 158, 161, 162, 168, 169
individualism 11, 12, 24, 27, 143, 148
interaction 13, 21, 28, 33, 34, 39, 40, 45,
85, 159, 160, 168, 180
interactivity 131, 134, 136
intercultural communication 9, 10, 11, 16,
17, 18, 26, 27, 28, 29, 45, 58, 78, 79, 89,
101, 102, 112, 131, 137, 149, 183
interpersonal relations 178, 180
interpretive anthropology 19
interpretivist 8, 10, 17, 18, 19, 24, 26, 27,
34, 115
K
kompan 150
L
language strategies 169, 142, 147
lingua franca 99, 100, 101, 102, 113
local management 134, 136
local site 135, 136
localization 23, 77, 79, 81, 90, 91, 135, 150
logos 89, 90, 92
long-term orientation 12
low context communication 148
low-context 13, 14, 15, 77, 115, 118, 119, 120,
122, 123, 124, 127, 128, 144, 178
LURPAK 21, 22, 23
M
management 47, 77, 78, 92, 117, 126
market communication 34, 37, 78, 79,
135, 144, 148
marketing 9, 21, 22, 23, 34, 37, 78, 79, 89,
91, 115, 123, 131, 136, 139, 151, 153, 156,
183, 184, 191
masculine dimension 12
masculinity 144
meaning 98, 99, 104, 112, 118, 144, 145, 171,
200, 201
media 100, 131, 137, 153, 179, 181
misunderstandings 120, 125, 126, 171, 184,
193, 200
monochronic time 14, 15
index 207
N
national culture 10, 11, 15, 46, 54, 78, 99,
100, 101, 115, 127, 143, 167, 181, 184, 190,
191, 200
nationality 9, 15, 19, 46, 48, 49, 50, 54,
145, 171, 179
negative face 159, 160, 168, 175
negotiations 15, 18, 27, 115
O
openings 176, 178, 180
orientation 11
outsourcing 8
P
particle 163, 164
pathos 89, 91, 92
perlocutionary act 156, 168
persuasive strategies 77, 78, 88, 89
politeness 13, 14, 101, 171, 173, 175, 177, 178,
180, 181
polychronic time 14
positive face 168, 175
positivist 10
power distance 11, 12, 13, 17, 24, 47, 143,
144, 148, 179
power relations 27, 177, 178
pragmatic 10, 155, 168, 197, 198
pragmatism 194, 199, 200
pre-understanding 27, 39, 41, 42, 43, 46,
48, 56, 58, 127, 128, 167, 168, 171, 199
predictive 9
product syntax 78, 81
propositional act 155, 168
proximity 175, 178, 179
R
relationship marketing 153, 154
relativism 26
S
sales letter 56, 59, 151, 153, 154, 156, 159,
160, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168,
169
short-term orientation 12
skills 102, 104, 112, 117, 137, 184, 185
skopos theory 103, 104, 105, 108, 109,
113
small and medium sized companies 136,
153
softener 162, 164, 166, 168
sources 18, 185, 187, 189, 190, 191
speech act 151, 153
standardization 16, 77, 79, 90, 93, 151
stereotypes 17, 27, 28, 29, 42, 183
stylistic choices 77, 80
supranational culture 100
T
thick description 24, 25
translation 77, 79, 81, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90,
97, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 109,
110, 111, 112, 144, 173
translation competence 104, 114
transmission paradigm 79, 88
Tulip 131, 132, 133, 134, 136, 137, 138, 146,
148
U
uncertainty avoidance 12
understanding 7, 8, 11, 16, 18, 19, 21, 25,
27, 28, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 45, 46, 49, 52,
53, 54, 57, 58, 89, 97, 99, 109, 112, 117,
127, 145, 163, 167, 179, 184, 186, 193, 195,
197, 198, 200
universal categories 24
utterance act 156, 168
V
value systems 10
W
web of significance 19, 20, 21, 22, 29, 30
website 51, 88, 110, 131, 132, 134, 135, 136,
137, 139, 141, 142, 143, 145, 146, 149, 150,
165, 188
world view 39, 44, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51,
52, 53, 54, 57, 58, 101
208 index

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