EFFECTIVE CREATIVE INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION IN THE CONTEXT OF BUSINESS INTERACTION: THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL ASPECTS

Justinas Braslauskas

doi:10.3846/cs.2020.12094

Abstract

Although various aspects of intercultural communication have been addressed in the works of various authors, there is still a lack of works that describe intercultural communication from the new viewpoint – in terms of effective intercultural business interaction, theoretical analysis of models of the classification of cultures, and combination of theoretical and practical insights in overcoming the obstacles of intercultural interaction. There is also a lack of works that highlight creativity as an integral part of cross-cultural business communication. In the belief of the author of the article, without a close synthesis of these aspects, it is impossible to understand in detail the meaning of effective intercultural business interaction. Purpose of the article – to analyse theoretical and practical aspects of effective cross-cultural business communication based on creativity. In the article, through the use of the models of the classification of cultures of various researchers from around the world (Richard R. Gesteland, Edward T. Hall, Richard D. Lewis, Geert Hofstede, Gert Jan Hofstede, Michael Minkov, Shalom H. Schwartz), the aspects of multiculturalism in the context of intercultural business interaction are highlighted. The work analyses creativity as an integral part of effective cross-cultural business communication. The publication also describes the barriers in the intercultural interaction and ways to overcome it. Research methods used in the work: systematic, comparative, logical analysis and synthesis of scientific literature.

Highlights

Intercultural business interaction takes place in the medium of different cultures with their inherent features
Gesteland (1997) distinguished the classification of intercultural interaction and negotiation types by the treatment of the main aspects of negotiation. It allows for a flexible look at the features of intercultural interaction and negotiating in terms of country and region, without only being attached to geographic distribution
This paper analyses the classifications of different theoretician cultures in the context of business interaction

Summary

Introduction

Intercultural business interaction takes place in the medium of different cultures with their inherent features. If these conflict resolution styles are more suited to the negotiation situation, these practical tips for dealing with conflicts arising in intercultural business interaction are more universal, namely: 1) staying focused on the essentials and not polarising (good – bad, positive – negative); 2) maintaining the contact: not to break the relationship, to encourage dialogue, not to isolate from one another; 3) recognise the existence of other styles: each person has his or her own conflict resolution style, which has good qualities; 4) choose the own conflict resolution style: most people use the same style in similar situations; it is necessary to recognise and name their own style; 5) be creative and expand the style repertoire: not to stick to one style but to evaluate which style would be most acceptable in the current situation; 6) recognising the importance of the context of conflict: understanding of the wider social, economic, cultural, political context, which is the background for many conflicts; 7) be prepared to forgive: it is especially useful in solving intercultural conflicts, as accusation leads to stress, physical problems and even the burnout syndrome The requirement of tolerance in the context of globalisation is an objective necessity because the world is very diverse and its processes are treated differently by different cultures

Conclusions

Justinas BRASLAUSKAS