Transcript Slide 1

Chapter 7
Written Communication
Patterns
Intercultural Business Communication, 4th ed., Chaney & Martin
Upon Completion of This Chapter:
• Know the guidelines for writing
international messages in English
• Be familiar with letter formats commonly
use by U.S. business firms
• Understand how faxes are commonly used
• Understand how writing tone and style vary
from culture to culture
• Understand cultural differences in other
types of written correspondence
Intercultural Business Communication, 4th ed., Chaney & Martin
Correspondence in English
• What percent of outgoing international
correspondence is sent in English?
• 97% ENGLISH
• 1% in French, German, and Spanish
• (Percentages for incoming correspondence are
similar.)
• Many U.S. companies correspond with foreign
corporation; it is important to be aware of differences
in the format, tone, and style of written
communication
Intercultural Business Communication, 4th ed., Chaney & Martin
Know Your Reader
In spite of all the trade between the United States
and the Far East, Americans fail to study even
common Asian customs and business practices.
Consider one of the most popular words in the
English language - you. U.S. people try to
personalize writing by taking the “you approach.”
But in some other countries, such as Japan, people
don’t like this personal touch. They believe that
writers should refer to their company: “Would
your company be interested in this plan?” Not:
“Would you be interested in this plan?”
DeVries, Internationally Yours
International English
• Three cultural factors that are important to
effective communication include:
understanding the business communication in
the other culture, knowledge of how business
communication is taught in the other culture,
and knowing that content errors are more
difficult to discern than language errors.
Intercultural Business Communication, 4th ed., Chaney & Martin
International English
• Use the 3,000 to 4,000 most common
English words. Uncommon words, such
as onus for burden and flux for continual
change, should be avoided.
• Use only the most common meaning of
words. The word high has 20 meanings;
the word expensive has one.
• Choose words with singular rather than
multiple meanings.
Riddle & Lanham
International English
• Select action-specific verbs and words with
few or similar alternate meanings. Use
cook breakfast rather than make breakfast;
use take a taxi rather than get a taxi.
• Avoid redundancies (interoffice
memorandum), sports terms (ballpark
figure), and words that draw mental
pictures (red tape).
Riddle & Lanham
International English
• Avoid using words in other than their most
common way, such as making verbs out of
nouns (impacting the economy and faxing a
message).
• Be aware of words that have a unique
meaning in some cultures; the word check
outside the U.S. generally means a financial
instrument and is often spelled cheque.
Riddle & Lanham
International English
• Be aware of alternate spellings in countries
that use the same language; e.g.,
theatre/theater, colour/color, and
judgement/judgment.
• Avoid creating or using new words; avoid
slang.
• Avoid two-word verbs, such as to pick up;
use lift.
Riddle & Lanham
International English
• Use the formal tone and maximum
punctuation to assure clarity; use no first
names in letter salutations.
• Conform carefully to rules of grammar;
be careful of dangling participles and
incomplete sentences.
• Use more short, simple sentences than
you would ordinarily use; avoid
compound sentences.
Riddle & Lanham
International English
• Clarify the meaning of words with more
than one meaning.
• Adapt the tone of the letter to the reader if
the cultural background is known; e.g., use
unconditional apologies if that is expected
in the reader’s culture.
• Try to capture the flavor of the language
when writing to someone whose cultural
background you know.
Riddle & Lanham
International English
Remember also:
• To avoid acronyms (ASAP), emoticons (),
and “shorthand” (4 representing for).
• That numbers are written differently in
some countries; for example, 3,000 may be
written as 3.000 or 3000.
Intercultural Business Communication, 4th ed., Chaney & Martin
What are Lexical Errors?
• Lexical errors are content errors—
errors in meaning.
Examples of lexical errors:
• We baste (based) this conclusion on our
research.
• Thank you for your patients (patience).
• Our office will be closed on this wholey (holy)
day.
• With your aide (aid), we will soon have our
office fully staffed.
Intercultural Business Communication, 4th ed., Chaney & Martin
What are Lexical Errors?
• The results will be worth the weight (wait).
• Since you plan to visit an ant (aunt) in New
York, perhaps we could meet at your
convenience.
• According to the senses (census), the
number of exported trucks has declined in
the last decade.
Intercultural Business Communication, 4th ed., Chaney & Martin
What are Syntactic Errors?
• Syntactic errors are errors in the order of
the words in a sentence.
• Native speakers of a language will
discover syntactic errors in a sentence
more readily than lexical errors.
– In Spanish, for example, the noun is given
first, then adjectives follow. Example:
Paseo del Rio (River Walk)
Intercultural Business Communication, 4th ed., Chaney & Martin
Tone and Writing Style
• Tone and writing style are more formal
and traditional in other countries than in
U.S. companies.
• Good news messages in the U.S. use the
direct approach.
• In the U.S. bad news messages use the
indirect approach.
• Latin Americans avoid bad news
completely.
Intercultural Business Communication, 4th ed., Chaney & Martin
Letter Formats
• In France:
– Use formal beginnings and endings; endings tend
to be flowery.
– Apologize for mistakes and express regret for any
inconvenience caused. Most direct with bad news.
– Use the indented style.
– Place the name of the originating city before the date.
– Type the surname in all caps.
• In Germany
– The title (Herr) is on the first line and the full name on
the second line.
– Letters tend to be more formal.
Intercultural Business Communication, 4th ed., Chaney & Martin
Letter Formats
• In Japan:
– Begin letters with a comment on the season.
– Present negative news is a positive manner.
– Avoid bad news. Surname is place before the given
name like Chinese.
• In the U.S.:
– End negative letters on a positive note.
– Avoid apologies.
– Preferred styles in the U.S. are Blocked and Modified
Blocked with standard or open punctuation. The title
and full name are placed on the first line,
Intercultural Business Communication, 4th ed., Chaney & Martin
Letter Formats
• The street name comes after the number in the
U.S. but before the street number in Germany,
Mexico, and South America.
• Dates are written differently also. In the U.S.
dates are written month/day/year (May 5, 2---);
in other cultures, they may use the 5th of May,
2--- or 5 May 2---.
Intercultural Business Communication, 4th ed., Chaney & Martin
Letter Formats
• Salutations and closings are more formal in
many other countries. Salutations for German letters
would be the English equivalent of Very Honored
Mrs. Jones; complimentary closings would often be
the English equivalent of Very respectfully yours.
• The Japanese have a traditional format beginning with
the salutation followed by a comment about the
season/weather; then comes a remark about a gift,
kindness, or patronage; they close with best wishes
for the receiver's health or prosperity.
Intercultural Business Communication, 4th ed., Chaney & Martin
Examples of Japanese
Seasonal Greetings
• March:
- Spring has just begun, but the cold winds of
winter are still with us.
• June:
- Rice paddy fields are ready to be planted.
• August:
- Indian summer is still around this week.
• November:
- The tree on the boulevard is bare of leaves.
Intercultural Business Communication, 4th ed., Chaney & Martin
How an Address is Written Shows the
Relationship:
• In Asian cultures, the
family is the basic unit
and society as a whole is
the larger family:
JAPAN, Tokyo
Hachioji-shi
168-46 Shimoyuki
47-25 Nanyodai
Nakamura, Yoko
• In the West, the
individual is most
important and the self
is the key:
Mr. John R. Smith
2350 Walnut Road
Memphis, TN 38152
U.S.A.
Intercultural Business Communication, 4th ed., Chaney & Martin
Facsimiles (FAX)
• Fax may be more dependable than the
mail in many cultures.
• Fax would be written as you would
write a letter.
• Use a transmittal sheet so the operator
knows to whom the FAX is directed,
the sender, and the total number of
pages.
• Faxes are sent via telephone lines.
Intercultural Business Communication, 4th ed., Chaney & Martin
Electronic Mail (E-Mail)
• Use a memorandum format; no inside address.
• Observe proper e-mail courtesy, including
addressing the receiver by name in the opening
sentence.
• Keep messages concise and brief (maximum of
two screens).
• Devising an electronic signature is
recommended.
• Respond within 24 hours to e-mail messages.
Intercultural Business Communication, 4th ed., Chaney & Martin
Résumé and Job Search
Information
• In the United States, a one- to two-page résumé is
preferred; include personal information, job
objective, educational background, work
experience, references, and a cover letter. Exclude
age, religion, gender, marital status, or a photo.
• In Germany, résumés are 20-30 pages including:
copies of diplomas, photo, employment
verification, names of parents, family, religious
affiliation, financial obligations, and professional
activities.
Intercultural Business Communication, 4th ed., Chaney & Martin
Résumé and Job Search
Information
• In France, the résumé includes: a cover
letter, photograph, family information, age,
hobbies and foreign language expertise. Age
discrimination is common and legal.
• In England, the résumé is one or two pages;
it does not include a photo, family
information, military service, or any other
personal information.
Intercultural Business Communication, 4th ed., Chaney & Martin
Résumé and Job Search
Information
• In Spain, the résumé is two pages in letter form
including: chronology of experience, military
service, education, family information,
professions of parents, clubs, and professional
objective; picture is acceptable.
• Canadians want résumés with educational
background, work experience, skills,
achievements, and references; need a cover
letter; important to select key words and
industry jargon.
Intercultural Business Communication, 4th ed., Chaney & Martin
Résumé and Job Search
Information
• China’s résumés contain personal information
• (date of birth, gender); then job objective, education,
and employment history; specialized training includes
computer skills and language competencies and
follows education.
• In The Netherlands, résumés include work
experience and education; letters of recommendation
may be requested later; personal questions may be
asked during the interview.
• South Korea’s résumés include work experience and
education; include details of achievements.
Intercultural Business Communication, 4th ed., Chaney & Martin
Topics Covered—Review Carefully
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International English
Writing Tone and Style
Letter Formats
Facsimiles (Fax)
Electronic Mail (E-mail)
Résumé and Job Search Information
Intercultural Business Communication, 4th ed., Chaney & Martin
Case 1
• You work in the personnel division of a
multinational organization. You have been
asked to provide a list of potential candidates
for a management position in the corporation’s
German office. Because of their laws, you
want a German national for the position. How
would you go about obtaining resumes to
review?
Intercultural Business Communication, 4th ed., Chaney & Martin
Case 2
• If you are dealing with a foreign corporation in which
no one speaks English as a native or second language,
what may be necessary for your corporation and the
foreign corporation to work together? How does a
U.S. corporation read when the other corporation
does not speak in its language? If the corporation has
the flexibility to deal with another company in which
someone speaks its language versus one in which no
one does, which company would receiver the order?
Intercultural Business Communication, 4th ed., Chaney & Martin
Case 3
A U.S. executive was working with a convention booth
builder in England. The English were not working on
the booth and would not give a date o completion for
the booth or a shipping date to the United States. For
six consecutive weeks, the U.S. executive called to
inquire about the state of the booth. One day, the
executive called and was given the usual litany of
excuses, so he gave the English an ultimatum. The
next week, the English had not acted on the
ultimatum, so the U.S. executive informed the
company he would have a trucking company pick up
and ship the booth to the United States.
Intercultural Business Communication, 4th ed., Chaney & Martin
Case 3(continued)
Twice the trucking company went to pick up the booth
and was told by the English company that they were
not authorized to pick up the booth. The U.S.
executive finally had to hire the advertising firm in
England that had to hire the advertising firm in
England that had originally hired the booth
manufacturer to intervene and get the booth shipped.
When the booth arrived in the United States, it had
not been packed properly and required additional
work. What cultural differences were involved in this
situation? How could the executive have handled the
situation differently?
Intercultural Business Communication, 4th ed., Chaney & Martin