This document provides an index and overview of a dissertation focused on the impact of culture on interpersonal communication in multinational corporations. It discusses culture and key aspects of interpersonal communication. A literature review examines communication policies at a Swedish furniture company with operations in multiple countries. The research methodology section outlines the use of secondary data sources and primary data collection through employee interviews at the case study company.

2. INDEX
Sr. no Topics Page no.
1 Objective Summary 2
2 Introduction 3
3 Literature Review 7
4 Research Methodology 9
5 Barriers to communication & recommendations 10
6 Conclusions 13
7 Interpersonal Communication Challenges in Multinational
Organizations
15
8 General Conclusions from the Report 17
8 Bibliography 18
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3. Objective Summary
This dissertation focuses on the meaning of culture & its significance on interpersonal
communication within different functions of MNC’s.
In what way employees from varied culture & their respective behavior affects the
communication process, business strategies, marketing/advertising creatives & other HR
policies of organization as a whole.
Also we need to analyze different types of barriers that affect the said channel of
communication & find out the feasible solutions to overcome the same.
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4. Introduction
Culture​:
‘Culture is a fuzzy set of basic assumptions and values, orientations to life, beliefs, policies,
procedures and behavioral conventions that are shared by a group of people, and that
influence (but do not determine) each member’s behavior and his/her interpretations of the
‘meaning’ of other people’s behavior.’
-Spencer-Oatey 2008: 3
Cultures are complex and multifaceted. As is apparent from the above image & definition,
cultures are complex “structures” that consist of a wide array of characteristics.
Organizations also have cultures, often apparent in particular patterns of dress, layout of
workspaces, meeting styles and functions, ways of thinking about and talking about the nature
and directions of the organization, leadership styles, and so on.
The relationship between communication and culture is a very complex and intimate one.
First, cultures are created through communication; that is, communication is the means of
human interaction through which cultural characteristics— whether customs, roles, rules,
rituals, laws, or other patterns—are created and shared. It is not so much that individuals set
out to create a culture when they interact in relationships, groups, organizations, or societies,
but rather that cultures are a natural by-product of social interaction. In a sense, cultures are
the "residue" of social communication.
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5.
MNC​:
A multinational corporation (MNC) is a corporation that manages production or services in
more than one country. A multinational company confronts many problems and uncertainties
in evaluating and dealing with political, legal, economic, social, cultural, and governmental
policy variables and constraints in various countries. Many of the executives employed by
these companies are unable to relate to foreign cultures and environments. Lack of experience
in dealing with these cross-cultural differences and the lack of trust between the parent
company and subsidiaries are the main difficulties with communication.
Interpersonal communication:
Communication is the process by which
information is transmitted between a sender and
a receiver. Communication is a process of
exchanging of messages between the sender and
the receiver. Communication is only considered
effective when it achieves the desired results. As
the world is going to become a global village the
communication process is becoming difficult due
to difference in the language and cultural.
Though the companies are expanding their business in all over the world, they need skilled
persons who have ability to communicate the ideas and the information of the company.
Interpersonal communication is the process of exchange of information, ideas, feelings and
meaning between two or more people through verbal and/or non-verbal methods.
Everybody communicates on interpersonal level regularly. So, it can be conscious or
unconscious activity. Interpersonal communication is useful in establishing relationships
between two people. When two people communicate, they form a bond, even if it is for a short
period of time. Refer the image attached for easy understanding of the said communication.
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6. Interpersonal communication can be further divided into other skills like.
- Verbal communication skills
Everything we speak using words fall under verbal communication. And, the skill to use these
words effectively is verbal communication skill. Communicating with another person and
building relationships need verbal communication.
- Non-verbal communication skills
Communication without words is non-verbal communication. It is the body language,
gestures, facial expressions, silence, aesthetics, etc of an individual. Non-verbal
communication skills send and receive effective non-verbal cues. This skill is a must-have for
proper communication and understanding cues given by others.
- Listening skills
Listening skills are needed to receive messages given by others. It is needed to give feedback
accordingly. Good listening skills can only make interpreting words and non-verbal
communication possible.
- Negotiation skills
Negotiation skills are important for relationship building as relationships need trust and
peace. These skills deal with resolving conflicts by focusing on mutual agreement. By
negotiation, people come to settle for the same goals and outcomes.
- Assertiveness skills
Being able to influence people is an important skill. You create influence with your own ideas,
beliefs, thoughts, and wants. This skill is assertiveness skill which helps in creating and
maintaining relationships.
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7.
- Decision making and problem-solving skills
Making decisions and solving problems are skills which help in relationship maintenance.
Decisions create harmony in a social environment and help relationships prosper whereas
problems destroy them.
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8. Literature Review
Internal Communication in an MNC-International Business
Master Thesis No 2001:50
- Sanna Forssberg & Siiri Malm
For better understanding of internal communication process in MNC, we’ll be
referring to communication policies adapted by ​MODUL Service AB​.
The case company is a China based company, subsidiary of IKEA group,
manufacturing & exporting furniture (general), lamps, accessories & parts,
furniture hardware & parts & has operations in Sweden, Slovakia and China. MODUL Service
AB was established in 1985, as an independent subsidiary to the IKEA Group. MODUL Service
AB is a global wholesaler of furniture fittings, such as screws and plugs, to IKEA’s suppliers of
furniture. Since the customers of MODUL Service AB are the suppliers of IKEA, it is of value
to be close to IKEA’s suppliers. In line with this purpose, the company has, apart from its
headquarters in Älmhult, Sweden, set up offices in Malacky, Slovakia, and in Shekou, China.
https://gupea.ub.gu.se/bitstream/2077/2442/1/Forssberg_2001_50_inlaga.pdf
Currently, the company employs around 300 people in its three different offices, where around
200 people work in Älmhult, 80 people in Malacky, and about 20 people in Shekou. The
company purchases fittings in bulk and, thereafter, packs the fittings into smaller bags. The
process of packing the fittings into bags is in the company referred to as production. in its
three units. MODUL Service AB has been growing rapidly over the last few years, and during
this rapid development the two foreign units were established. As a consequence of this rapid
growth, there has been no time for the company to really look into and evaluate its internal
communication and plan its execution in accordance with its new structure.
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9. ➢ Organization structure:
From the mentioned Fig 5 of Org structure at MODUL Service, we can straight away foresee or
assume, that how difficult will be the flow of information or communication process between
these units & departments.
All the units & departments have their individual goals. In order to achieve Organizational
goal/objective, we need to achieve departmental goals first, which will only be possible by
simple & clear communication policies.
➢ Various communication channels adapted:
The company has established various channels, oral, written, and different electronical means
to facilitate the transmission of information throughout the organization.
Some of the methods are listed below:
- Management Team Meetings
- Kick-off
- Local Information Meetings
- Intranet
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10. Research Methodology
Triangulation (collecting data through different strategies) is considered to be an
exceptionally beneficial method when collecting case study data since it uses
many sources of evidence (Yin 1994). During our collection of data, we
utilized secondary as well as primary data that will be discussed in more detail
below
● Secondary Data:
Secondary data is information which has been collected in the past by someone else.
For example, researching the internet, newspaper articles and company reports.
In the first phase of the research process, various forms of secondary data such as internal
company material, literature regarding internal communication were studied.
Advantage- It helped us to obtain a deeper knowledge and understanding
of internal communication, which was a new concept for us.
Disadvantage- Using this type of data is that the information was collected
for other studies that might not have had the same focus as our study
● Primary Data:
Primary data is information collected through original or first-hand research. For example,
surveys and focus group discussions.
Primary sources such as
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11. - Conducting interviews with the employees of MODUL Service AB. Sample size: Out of
the 300 employees of MODUL Service, 140 are working in the office and 160 are
working in production and warehouse. Out of the140 in the office we selected 55, the
ones with regular contact with the other units across 3 locations.
- Open discussions about human resource experiences, feelings & opinions.
- Observations & Analysis of documents.
Our findings based on the above mentioned research methodologies have been mentioned in
barriers in communication.
➢ Barriers to communication:
● Geographical Distance:
- Lack of immediate feedback
- Absence of face to face communication
- Delayed decision making
- Manipulation of information or information loss
This situation can be summarized with the saying “out of sight, out of mind”.
● Time Difference:
- Difference in official timings & time zones may result in loss/delay in flow of important
information. Since mails triggered from one of the units may not be acted on or read
instantly.
- This will in turn result in delayed important managerial decisions & processes.
● Culture:
- In our interviews with the employees of MODUL Service AB, there was a clear
tendency for the cultural differences to be noticed not at the management level but at
the operative level. Most of the Swedish managers stated that there are no cultural
barriers to the internal communication that are worth mentioning and that “The
Chinese and the Slovaks are human beings just like us”
However, at the operative level some comments were made regarding cultural differences and
how it effects the internal communication
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12.
a. Sweden
- Management style is very informal and the management cares about the employees on
a personal level, which is uncommon in both Slovakia and China.
- Communication style is informal and employees are allowed to state their opinion and
be quite direct towards the managers
- There is a general feeling in Malacky that the Swedes are very relaxed and not as
hardworking as the Slovaks.
- Harder to motivate
b. Slovakia
- Slovaks are at times hesitant to make decisions and afraid of making mistakes.
- More willing to work hard
- Not concerned with meeting deadlines
c. China
- Afraid of making mistakes and making decisions.
- Chinese are not as direct as Swedes. When we say NO, we might mean YES, so you
have to learn and adapt [the way you communicate] to each other.
- “One of the [Chinese] employees wrote, “please give me instructions” where a Swede
would have written, “please send me the information”. The opinion about the person
who sent the message is different depending on the choice of words.”
- Mostly communicate through memo, which are complicated (ie not self- explanatory)
● Ethnocentrism
Connected to national culture and its associated problems is the concept of ethnocentrism
- Trust issues
- Negative perceptions
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13. ● Language
Language, together with the geographical distance, is the area that is considered to be a major
barrier among the respondents in all of MODUL Service’s three units
- Most of the protocols are published in Swedish, which is not known to every employee.
- Lack of understanding of message as directed by sender.
- Affects overall performance.
They should adapt a practice of publishing magazines & other important documents in 2
copies ie. Local (Swedish) & Common language (English). This will probably help to improve
communication process.
● Lack of Formal Structure
● Lack of a Feeling of Togetherness
➢ Recommendations:
Some of the recommendations to reduce or eradicate the above mentioned barriers are as
follows:
● Geographical distance / Time difference
The geographical distance as a phenomenon cannot be reduced, but structuring the
communication appropriately can weaken its effects. This is applicable for both the vertical
communication and the horizontal communication within MODUL Service AB.
- Use the communication channels to their full capacity. Intranet is an example of a
channel that could be made better use of, and the reason for why more effort should be
put into improving the Intranet is that it is a channel every employee in MODUL
Service AB can access.
- Video / phone conference
- Bulletin board in network
- Increase cross-unit departmental meetings/contacts
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14. ● Culture / Ethnocentrism / Language
The presence of ethnocentrism in MODUL Service AB is hard to reduce. This will be a matter
of changing opinions, which is not done overnight. However, in order to speed up the process
of changing attitudes a good idea would be to increase the contacts over national borders
including having more personal contact in order for the employees to get to know each other.
- Increase cross-unit contacts with more personal visits
- Increase translation into English
- Establish English as the corporate language
- Establish a corporate Modulan
➢ Conclusions:
● Control and coordination of activities within an MNC
- Decentralization/Centralization- Higher the degree of centralization, the higher is the
need for coordination of the dispersed activities within the MNC. From the conducted
study, we have come to the conclusion that a high degree of centralization also requires
a well-functioning internal communication. This is due to the fact that, as centralization
implies, the subunits are dependent on the headquarters for new products, work
processes, knowledge and information; therefore, a well-structured internal
communication is crucial.
● Consequences of the nature and characteristics of the MNC & their interrelation
- Most of the difficulties in the internal communication within the studied company are
to a large extent, related to geographical distance, ethnocentrism and language skills, all
of which are characteristics of an MNC. An example of the interrelatedness among the
barriers is the language factor, which has consequences on the difficulty of bridging the
barrier that the geographical distance implies
● Ethnocentrism as a major barrier
- Incorrect perception
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15. - Trust issues
● Necessity to plan for the internal communication​ in an early stage in a company’s life
cycle- The reason for this is that with time the company grows and becomes more
complex and this is also true for its internal communication. By planning the internal
communication in an early stage, future problems/difficulties can be avoided.
Types of Interpersonal Communication Challenges in Multinational Organizations
Shina Neo has described 4 types of Interpersonal Communication Challenges in Multinational
Organizations as below
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16. 1. Direct versus Indirect Communicat​ion:
Communication style in Western cultures are direct and the meaning is seemingly obvious.
Other cultures tend to be more discrete in the way they present their message. As a
result, communication between a Westerner and a non-Westerner can result in
confusion within the workplace. This can occur during face-to-face interactions and
when communication is virtual. Needless to say, how employees of diverse cultures
respond to one another is a major determining factor towards the cohesiveness of an
organization. For example, in a Western culture, the question might be, “Is option A or
option B more effective?” Whereas in a non-Western culture, employees may have to
imply or suggest a particular option without stating it directly. Oftentimes, in a Western
culture, during a board meeting, when someone nods, we tend to think they agree with
the statement. However, in other cultures, a nod doesn’t necessarily mean mutual
agreement, rather, just an acknowledgement.
2. ​Trouble with Accents and Fluency:
A more obvious challenge within an organizationally diverse workplace is the language
barrier among employees, including accents and fluency. Although English is the
standard language internationally for business, many non-English speakers can feel
unnoticed and unappreciated in the workplace because they have difficulty conveying
what they want to say in their non-native language. Employees who may be subject
matter experts, may take a backseat to contributing to the team because of their inability
to get a message across in their second language. This can sometimes cause frustration
and interpersonal conflict. They may become less engaged and motivated as a team
player, and become an impediment to the collaborative learning process as a whole. An
organization can be negatively affected and fail to see an increase in their return on
investment.
3. Different Attitudes toward Hierarchy and Authority:
In any organization, teamwork is essential to success and profitability. However, in some
cultures, employees are treated different based on their rank within the organization.
Diversity training in the workplace should account for negotiation tactics among
different cultures. For example, multicultural employees have different ways of
presenting an idea to the manager or CEO. In some organizations, employees must
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17. present to higher-level team members and up the corporate ladder before reaching the
executive level. Other organizations have relatively flat hierarchical structures where
employees and leaders work as a unified team. A lack of cultural awareness can result
in a disconnected workforce and leave some employees feeling left out and
unrecognized.
4. Conflicting Norms for Decision Making:
It isn’t surprising that individual cultures have their own way of reaching an agreement and
coming to an executive decision. Cultures differ on how long the decision making
process takes, what steps must be in place beforehand and how much effort should be
put in. Unlike other cultures that tend to withhold information until they have
performed analyses and comparisons before reaching a decision, Americans tend to be
very quick at deciding, according to the Harvard Business Review article.
An article in the Ivey Business Journal that discussed how Americans tend to negotiate by
making compromises and trade-offs; however, the French will agree on a set of basic
principles to guide them throughout the negotiation process. While diversity in the workplace
breeds different attitudes towards hierarchy, it is also important to be aware of the conflicting
norms for decision making.
Successful organizations create a culture of awareness that inspires employees to respect one
another through diversity training. This mutual understanding among managers and
employees encourages new ideas, different perspectives and collaboration, making all the
difference within an organization.
General Conclusion Summary
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18. - Culture should always be respected no matter where a company is located.
Cross-Cultural Literacy, an understanding of how cultural differences across nations
can affect the way business is practiced, should be present in every business society.
- Not paying significant attention to culture differences can prove to be detrimental in an
international business.
- We see how this Multinational Companies are focusing on addressing issues based on
the Culture of that particular region.
- Successful organizations have to create a culture of awareness that inspires employees
to respect one another through diversity training.
- To make difference within the organization mutual understanding among managers
and employees is important and this encourages new ideas, different perspectives and
collaboration.
- These organizations are providing proper Cultural training to employees. Like if their
Indian region interacts and work with Japan region which is considered to be highly
sensitive then proper cross cultural training is provided to them.
- Multinational companies have to adapt according the culture to survive and make mark
in the industry.
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19. Bibliography
Links for reference’s used for the said report
Essays, UK. (November 2013). Cause Related Marketing In Fmcg Sector In India Marketing
Essay. Retrieved from
https://www.ukessays.com/essays/marketing/cause-related-marketing-in-fmcg-sector-in-in
dia-marketing-essay.php?vref=1
https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/al/globalpad/openhouse/interculturalskills/global_pad_-_
what_is_culture.pdf
https://www.ukessays.com/essays/management/definitions-of-communication-in-multinati
onal-corporations-management-essay.php
http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/articles/pages/6491/Culture-and-Communication.html
https://www.businesstopia.net/communication/interpersonal-communication-examples
https://gupea.ub.gu.se/bitstream/2077/2442/1/Forssberg_2001_50_inlaga.pdf
https://trainingindustry.com/blog/workforce-development/4-types-of-communication-chall
enges-in-multicultural-organizations/
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