Intercultural Communication

Intercultural Communication Paper

COM/360

February 20, 2012

Intercultural Communication Paper

In today’s business world corporations can not only rely on their knowledge and skills that make them successful in the United States but they also have to be aware of differences in cultures worldwide. Businesses must obtain a thorough understanding of not only the culture in which business transactions will transpire, but a company must also possess an understanding of their own cultural identity to succeed in international commerce (Jameson, 2007). Before working abroad, companies and employees can begin with a subjective investigation into organizational, personal, and cultural tendencies. This self-observation is tempered with a concentrated examination of the culture of the foreign location (Jameson, 2007). According to Jameson the final step “Is to link knowledge of self with knowledge of others by identifying specific cultural adaption strategies that will allow the expatriate to succeed” (Jameson, 2007, p. 202).

The process that is listed above is a time-consuming and soul searching investigation, however not following these steps can have a negative impact on foreign relations as well as destructive consequences on international trade. This paper will cover some of the repercussions that Microsoft encountered when they failed to thoroughly investigate the Indian and Saudi Arabian cultures prior to the release of new computer software. This paper will also briefly examine the differences in culture between the United States and Saudi Arabia.

Microsoft, the world’s largest supplier of computer software is not immune to cultural conflicts. Situations that stemmed from poor translations, territorial upsets, and religious differences have cost Microsoft millions of dollars (Best, 2004). Microsoft’s failures to identify cultural differences have offended people worldwide including whole nations. Best identified an instance in which the Spanish language...