Trends and issues in multicultural business communications in South A'frica: an exploratory perspective

Abstract

In South Africa we have lived in a society where separation of
communities and racial groups has been the norm. Since 1994 the
separation is being bridged as more individuals encounter people with
different attitudes, value systems and cultural behavioural patterns in
social and business environments. This leads to new avenues of
understanding, but also to a wider scope for misunderstanding and
unintentional miscommunication, especially in the business context.
The way in which people communicate in a business setting, varies from
culture to culture. Such variation occurs in all stages of development and
at all levels of culture. whether from one corporate culture to another, or
from one region, state or country to another. Although most rules of
business communication apply to the domestic business environment,
Intercultural business communication requires knowledge and skills that
differ from those within a specific culture. It is impossible to know all the
variations in business communication in a multicultural business society
like South Africa, but businesspeople can and should prepare themselves
for those experiences they are most likely to face in employee and
customer relations when conducting business in more than one culture.
This article probes the possibility of diminishing business
miscommunication in South Africa, by focussing on awareness of barriers
to multicultural marketing and management communication. Business
communication is defined as consisting of management as well as
marketing communication. A pilot survey on existing business
communication strategies in a large South African province is discussed.
This has pointed towards a more comprehensive research project, with

the aim of providing a three-tier model for effective multicultural marketing
communication strategies in a post-Mande/a South Africa.