How Various Dimensions of Culture Affect Communication Across Cultures?

Effective communication across cultures depends upon how much one understands about other cultures & its dimensions. Effective Communication improves productivity and promotes harmonious work environments. These cultural dimensions which are used to describe a specific culture and have significant affect on communication across cultures. Keeping in mind diversity of cultures across the globe understanding these dimensions can help to improve communication and ensure employees alignment towards corporation goals. Communicating with body parts like hands, arms, head etc varies by culture. Hand gestures also differ with respect to culture e.g. V Sign or thumbs up sign have different meanings in different cultures. Even eye movements differ by culture. For example, in America, eye contact is considered important. In Indonesia, eye contact with elders or those in high positions in hierarchy is considered disrespectful. Some cultures do not like much touching and perceive hand shake as weak whereas other cultures have greetings ranging from embraces to kisses. Communication techniques are not universally acceptable. Westerners cultures are more frank, direct and explicit as compared to others and get to the point quickly & sometimes may appear blunt. People in Asian cultures prefer an indirect approach and are not so frank or explicit, and may appear to be evasive, roundabout and indecisive. How people view superior-subordinate relations also differs in various cultures. In the cultures that values hierarchy/status any communication/decisions from top is enforced or followed with respect and people adjust their behavior and any challenge to people in power is considered as disrespect. People find it very difficult to communicate with their seniors E.g. Korean Airlines crash at Guam. In egalitarian culture people normally challenges any decisions from people in power & it is considered OK. Differences in grammar, words with same meanings in understood differently by...