Cultural Factors in Business English Communication.docx

Cultural Factors in Business English CommunicationAbstractUnderstanding culture differences is critical to the success of firms engaging in international business. With China's entering into WTO and Chinese economy's extensively blending with world economy, business English learning process should pay attention to the effects of intercultural communication factors on business activities, cultural difference between China and the West is certainly reflected in international business activities. The article analyzes tine ideas of culture and international business and the basic differences in values and mode of thinking between China and the West. Through the communication between different cultural identity, the realization of communication smoothly. At last it also talks about how to understand new culture to do good to the international business communication.KeywordsInternational business; cross-cultural communication; impacts on the intercultural business negotiation;0. IntroductionWith the development of globalization, the contact with the world has become more and more frequent. As we go about our daily lives, we do not have a great sense of our culture's influence. Culture exists everywhere around us between different nations and different countries, so Business English is a necessity and we attach great importance to its teaching and learning in correspondence with the social development. For the sake of satisfying the need fbr business talents, lots of courses concerning Business English have been set in many universities. However, Business and recognition. Identity is not imposed, of course, not. Refers to seek common ground while putting aside differences and save small variations. Is the premise of problem, set up humanistic cultural viewpoint. All peace-loving people all over the world in the main respect each other countries rights, respect for the territorial integrity, non-aggression9 on the basis of equal communication dialogue, mutual respect and mutual understanding, complement each other, the comparison we can fbr the adjacent. No advantage race, no power chauvinism, can only raise, mutual learning advanced culture, philosophy, science and technology culture and wisdom. The principle of cultural identity, therefore, can be considered to be of pragmatic principles in business English learning process. The more in the future to the cross-cultural communication, we have to work through the business English knowledge to reach the identity between different cultures. Only in this way, to maintain and keep the appropriate communication distance, in order to achieve expected communication effect.BibliographyXuLisheng. Intercultural Communication in English M Shanghai Foreign LanguageEducation Press, 2009.1 Linell Davis. Doing Culture: Cross-cultural Communication in Action, Foreign LanguageTeaching and Research Press, 2005.2 Beamer, Linda & Varner, L. Intercultural Communication In the Global Workplace (2nd ed.),New York: McGraw-Hill Company, 2005.3 Heusinkveld, Paula R. Pathways To Culture (Ed),Yannouth: Intercultural Press, 1997.4 Gopaul- M cN ico,l Sharon - Ann Gopaul- M cN icoJJanet Brice- Baker. C ross- CulturalPractice: A ssessment,treatment, and training. John W iley and Sons. 19986江晓红.跨文化交际中的中国英语J .四川外语学院学报，2001(6):46-48.7贾玉新.跨文化交际学M.上海:上海外语教育出版社，1997.8洪登永.论跨文化管理在企业国际商务活动中的作用和影响口.经济与管理,2000.9窦卫霖.关于跨文化商务交往与礼仪的调查研究J.国际商务研究，1999.10赵伟君.中西文化冲突与我国跨文化商务谈判对策J.商业研究,2003.11胡文仲.跨文化交际学选读武汉湖南教育出版社，1990.12姚伟均.中国传统文化新编武汉华中理工大学出版社,2004AcknowledgementsFour years of studying and life is beginning to draw a full stop. And in my life is just a comma, I will face the beginning of a new journey. This research and the thesis is completed under the guidance of the kindness of my tutor XX. A great man, a celebrity is a great man, but I want to give my respect to an ordinary person, my mentor, XX. Maybe I am not your best student, but you are my most respected teacher.You are so rigorous scholarship, knowledgeable, wide field of vision, profound thoughts, your heart fbr me to create a good academic atmosphere, let me the more rigorous.At the same time, I would like to thank the students who completed the graduation thesis group. If you do not have the support and love, I cannot solve these difficulties and doubts, and ultimately will allow the smooth completion of this article. So far the surfaced on the occasion, my mood to keep calm, starting from the selection of subjects to the smooth reply, there are numerous honorable teachers, friends gave me a lot of help. Here, please accept my sincere thanks!Finally, once again to express my heartfelt thanks to those who in the process of the completion of the paper help me.English on the way to satisfy people at present.目录Cultural Factors in Business English Communication1Abstract1Keywords10. Introduction1Business English Communication31.1 The Concept of Business English31.2 Connotation of Business English32. The Effects of Cultural Factors in English Communication32.1 Inconformity in Cultural Information32.2 Promoting the success of the negotiations5TheMain Cultural Factors in Business English Communication52.3 Different values and thinking models52.4 Discrepancies in customs and habits62.5 Different views of time and space62.6 Different religious believes and taboos7Suggestions on Overcoming Cultural Obstacles in Business Communication72.7 The Confirmation of Language's Meanings72.8 Improving Cultural Awareness and Sensitiveness82.9 Consulting Professional vocabulary dictionary82.10 Finding the best fit point of Chinese and Western culture8Conclusion9Bibliography10Acknowledgements111. Business English CommunicationLI The Concept of Business EnglishInternational business consists of business transactions between parties from more than one country, Examples of international business transactions include buying materials in one country and ship them to another for processing or assembly, shipping finished products from one country to another fbr retail sale, building a plant in a foreign country to capitalize on lower labor costs , or borrowing money from one bank in one country to finance operations in another.1.2 Connotation of Business EnglishIt is not convenient fbr people without communication. Communication is everywhere. Only train a number of proficiency in business English talent to meet the social demand fbr English talent. Especially businessmen have encountered people from all around the world since the beginning of the time. And the Silk Road has just established a typical example of cross-cultural communication.Successfully communicating with someone from different culture or different countries which is very difficult to our human requires a degree of communication competence. Most models of communication competence include an affective and behavioral component, which is essential in cross-cultural communication.With the rapid development of modern social economy, the interest of cross cultural communication is increasing. The impact of all aspects of culture has also increased significantly. Yet most of our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors are profoundly affected by different cultures.2. The Effects of Cultural Factors in English CommunicationInconformity in Cultural InformationThe business negotiation is not only communication and cooperation between the two parties which based on it own economic benefits, but also collision and communication between different cultures. Definition of business English business English is the world big market the product of the formation and development. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the culture factor in international business negotiations and to know further negotiation styles of business in various places.Because of the differences in historical tradition, political institution, economic condition , cultural background , customs and values among different countries. It is particularly true when international business negotiations take place between different countries and different nationalities. Every negotiator before the desk rooted with its own culture . Thus , as a good negotiator ,we should be familiar with the culture differences of each country and also their cultural background , especially their verbal or nonverbal habits , values , way of thoughts , way of actions and psychological characteristics in order to make full prepqaration and to achieve more interest . Let's take western countries and China fbr example:The philosophy of American businessmen is to make more money through efforts , speed , opportunities and power . They always looked kindly but in fact they lack patience in international business negotiation .They liked to say some stimulating words to push forward the negotiation and they rarely have any entertainment before or after the negotiation. They put money in the first place and never influence by any emotion in making the business decision. They may forget your name the next day after your cooperation fbr what they cares about is the profit at present not the long term relation. On the contrary, Chinese businessmen liked to invest more emotion in business activities like sending gifts and having business talk during meals. Thus, their progress goes slowly and repeatedly. The final decision is made out of the meeting while the aim of the meeting is to collecting information. In China, the negotiation is to make sure whether the other part is a good cooperator in a long term. They like to exchange ideas and thoughts on the topics which they are interested in before the meeting.2.1 Promoting the success of the negotiationsNonetheless, cultural differences do exist . When dealing with new culture , many international businesspeople make the mistake of relying on the selfreference criterion 9 the unconscious use of one's own culture to help assess new surroundings .Cross-cultural business negotiation, speaker should actively take the necessary measures to achieve communicative purpose. Modem life actively, business negotiations become the indispensable prelude to economic trade, also is the first condition of enterprise to obtain economic benefits. Information about specific cultures can also be obtained from various published sources .To complicate matters further, many countries have more than one culture, although the level of such cultural diversity varies by country. Successful international businesspeople must recognize the attributes of the primary national culture as well as any important subcultures in culturally heterogeneous societies.3. The Main Cultural Factors in Business English CommunicationDifferent values and thinking modelsNowadays, more and more organizations and enterprises are getting involved in business communication across cultures, between cultures, and among cultures. Although the development of contemporary Chinese culture is diverse symbiotic, but it is such a diverse symbiosis of development but is fbr the development of socialist advanced culture direction. During the course of doing business, they need be fluent in Business English indispensably, but they are necessarily concerned in business negotiation. As a matter of fact, business communication is intercultural communication. In order to communicate with another culture, you have to come to terms with it somehow. As Scott suggests, "Effective international business skills are the backbone that supports the transaction of business around the world”, s a result, teachers and students should put a higher valuation on the increase of the ability of cross-cultural communication in the course of teaching and learning.3.1 Discrepancies in customs and habitsThere exist much diversity in different culture due to the performative forms and judging standards of courtesy. Basic to every society is its social structure, the overall framework that determines the roles of individuals in the society , the stratification of the society , and individuaPs mobility within the society. Therefore, we have to understand the cultural differences when we communicate with people from different cultural background. At the same time, we should train our language capacity and communicative capacity. In addition, we can compare English with our mother tongue, and be aware of their similarities and difference. Yet most of our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors are profoundly affected by different cultures. Only in this way can we select the appropriate language structures and expression and avoid pragmatic failure in cross-culture communication.3.2 Different views of time and spaceCulture also affects and reflects the secular values and attitudes of the members of a society . Values are the principles and standards accepted by the members ; attitudes encompass the actions , feelings , and thoughts that from those values . Culture values often stem from deep-seated belief about the individuaPs position in relation to his or her deity , the family , and the social hierarchy that we discussed earlier . Culture attitudes toward such factors as time , age , education and status reflect these values in turn shape the behavior of and opportunities available to international business operating in a given culture. For example , when facing with problems , western companies tend to be more “selfish“ for they would cut employees to maintain the operating of the company while Chinese companies pay more attention on social responsibility to try their best to avoid cutting employees . In enterprise operating , westerners stressed on equal competition in regardless of people's nationalities which reflects the famous theory “ The better survive ” . However , on the contrary , Chinese people are more emotional who put relation in the first place and have strange national consciousness .3.3 Different religious believes and taboosReligion is an important aspect of most societies. It affects the ways in which members of a society relate to each other and to outsiders. It is researched that proximately 85 percent of the world's people claim some religions. Religion shapes the attitudes it adherents have toward work ? consumption , individual responsibility , and planning fbr the future .Sociologist Max Weber , for example , has attributed the rise of capitalism in Western Europe to the Protestant ethic , which stresses individual hard work , frugality and achievement as means of glorifying God . Religion affects the business environment in many other important ways. Often religion impose constrains on the roles of individuals in society. For example, in some Saudi Arabia countries women were not allowed to contact with strange males and were provided with limited job opportunities .Religion also affects the types of products consumers may purchase as well as seasonal patterns of consumption. In most C