Contemporary society requires that communication occur between
individuals of different linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Thus inter-
cultural communication has become an important area of investigation among
linguists and business managers alike. Operating in a global society,
individuals must communicate on the basis of business, immigration,
political and even recreational premises. Research suggests that
international communication is more however, than simply learning the
language of another country. There are hundreds of verbal and non verbal
cues that are utilized from a cultural perspective depending upon the
environment in which one is communicating. To avoid conflict and to
adequately facilitate effective international communications, business
representatives must first acknowledge and take an active interest in
learning the cultural distinctions that exist from one country to another.
To do this, individuals must first recognize communication patterns within
their own culture. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the impact of
cultural and customs on communications between people from a global
Gullestrup (2003) examined critical elements occurring within an
intercultural situation. He created a model based upon the idea that
individuals when communicating are often affected by more than one culture
at a time. Gullestrup proposes that to understand basic concepts regarding
intercultural communication, one must first understand basic units of
culture, particularly one's own culture. He defines culture as a
"philosophy of life, values, norms and rules" as well as actual behavior
from which separate individuals have the ability to communicate as one
(Gullestrup, 2003:1). If international business people do not first
understand the nuances of their own culture and its impact on
communications style, they will not have the ability to successfully
...