Journal of Business and Technical Communication Oct 2007

Business Communication Needs: A Multicultural Perspective

Valerie Priscilla Goby Zayed University

Abstract

How should we teach international business communication? What role can multiculturalism play in the business communication classroom? Can we identify a set of business communication requirements that are valid across different cultures? This article enters this discussion by presenting a small empirical study of the business communication needs expressed by postgraduate students in a North Cyprus university and comparing it to similar studies conducted in the United States and Singapore. The findings reveal some interesting correspondences between the needs expressed by students in these different countries. In addition, the multicultural environment of the North Cyprus university studied suggests that multicultural interaction increases students' sensitivity to the need for a nonethnocentric approach to international communication. The findings also indicate that respondents in multicultural settings may be more inclined to engage in groupthink because of their heightened awareness of cultural differences and their wish to avoid conflict.

Journal
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Published
2007-10-01
DOI
10.1177/1050651907304029
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Topics
graduate education professional writing empirical research race and writing
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (7)

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CrossRef global citation count: 20 View in citation network → Build reading path →

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