Cross-cultural Communication [antikvár]

INTRODUCTION 'Jó napot, sógor! Mit csinál?' 'Foltozom a csónakot.' 'Hát az öreg mit csinál?' 'Kilukadt a feneke.' (Hungarian children's song) When in 1995 the College for Foreign Trade, today a faculty of the Budapest Business College, following in the footsteps of some West European business schools, included a course in cross-cultural communication in its curriculum, very few people, including myself, had any idea what it was all about. By today learning about other cultures has become a standard course of study in higher education, and a popular topic of in-company training. Given that Hungary's relations with the outside world have been continuously expanding, and cooperation with 'strangers' is now an inescapable element in most careers, cross-cultural competence is of crucial importance. While based on the original course programme, this book has been thoroughly revised so that it will better reflect the current state of affairs in the discipline. However, the original idea of combining theory and practice in a workbook-like format has been retained because successful intercultural interaction requires that knowledge and information are translated into skills. Chapter 1 will define culture in the broad sense, and explore its ingredients. Then, Chapter 2 will handle issues of communication that may affect the interaction of people from different cultures. Since language is closely intertwined with culture, Chapter 3 will explore their relationship. Chapter 4 will deal with cross-cultural communication proper. While providing several widely accepted frameworks for comparing national cultures, it will contain numerous examples and illustrations which range from everyday hfe to the world of business. The book provides ample opportunity to think, to talk and to argue. Readers will certainly find plenty of statements and judgments that they do not agree with. Virtually everything is open for discussion. Since my experience in