Otemon Economic Studies,25（1992）

“A Speculation upon Gary Ferraro's Perspec-

　tive to The International Business Within

　The Framework of Cultural Anthropoloy”

Introduction :

Akiko　Sasamoto

41

　　　Technological advancement in transportation and communication of recent

years have made our world physically closer,and more than ever our personal as

well as business encounters and transactions have been taking place in intercul-

tural forms and circumstances.

　　　Inthis study, in order to deepen our understanding of potential intercultural

interface problems in the International business settings,the application of cultur-

al anthropological perspective and theory presented by Gary P. Ferraro in The

Cultural Dimension of International Business would be observed, and the concept of

“culturalliteracy" would be examined.

Garry p. Ferraro's Approach to Understanding The Cultural Dimension of

　　　InternationalBusiness:

Presentedin The CulturalDimensionofInternationalBusiness

　　　Inthe above book Ferraro presents fourfold approach to discuss his points : 1）

Culture-general approach by discussing the connections between anthropological

theory （generalizations）and international business；2）Understanding communi-

cation patterns－verbal and nonverbal; 3）Cultural self-awareness : their values

and ours; 4）Culture-specific approach : finding relevant cultural intormation.

Along with these discussions, the issues of Culture shock is eχamined. In addition

to these approaches to discuss the cultural dimension that is reflected in an inter-

national business setting, examples of cross-cultural conflictsin a business setting

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42 AKIKO　SASAMOTO

are presented for the reader to analyze, and to determine the causes of the conflict

or misunderstanding so as to help him/her gain a greater sensitivity to the wide

range of potential conflicts that could arise.

　　　Ferraro defines “culture" as “everything that people have, think and do as

members of their society", and further eχplaines that “it consist of 1）material Ob-

jects; 2）ideas, values, and attitudes ； and 3）normative or expected patterns of

behavior, which is shared by at least two or more people" （Ferraro 1990 : 18）.

Then he eχamines the concept of“culture" by providing siχ features of culture in

general 1）the learned nature of culture ；2）how culture influences biological proc-

esses；3）cultural universals ；4）the ubiquity of culture change ；5）ethnocentrism ；

and 6）the intergrated nature of culture. It is the description of these variations in

behaviors within　limits that constitutes the patterns of any specific culture

（Ferraro 1990 : 40）. In this course of discussion it is assumed that an awareness of

the concept of“culture" is a necessary, yet not sufficient, prerequisite for an un-

deostanding of any particular culture.

　　　Inhis second approach, understanting communication patterns,it is discussed

that both verbal and nonverbal communication work as critical, interconnected

factors for an effective communication between people in a cross-cultural business

setting. Moreover there is close interrelation between language and culture, and

in the international business setting, linguistic proficiency plays a critical role for

enabling effective business communication to take place （Ferraro 1990 : 46 －47）.

　　　Here siχsalient features of nonverbal communication have been presented ；1）

Like its verbal counterpart, nonverbal communication is largely a learned, 0r cul-

turally transmitted, phoenomenon; 2）We do not have, at least yet, a grammar

specifying the rules for constructing nonverbal messages ； 3）Unlike spoken Ian-

guage，many nonverbal cues are sent and received despite our best intentions to

do otherwise; 4）Since some nonverbal communication is beyond the individual's

control, it is not at all uncommon to find a noticeable lack of fit between a

person's words and the nonverbal messages he or she might send ； 5）To much

greater degree than with language, nonverbal behavior is, by and large, unconsci-

ous ；6）Based on past research there is strong evidence that women are better able

to read nonverbal cues than are men （Ferraro 1990 : 87 －88）.

　　　Inhis third approach, it is discussed how communicator's value orientaion （F.

Kluckhohn & F. L. Strodtbeck, 1961）, or cultural assumptions, influence one's view

of the world, and that it might causes cross-cultural conflicts or misunderstanding

in the international business setting.　Hence it is a must for an international busi-

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　（2）

“A SPECULATION UPON GARY FERRARO'S PERSPECTIVE TO THE INTERNATIONAL 43

　　　　BUSINESS WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOY"

nesspersons to increase his/her cultural self-awareness.

　　The fourth is cultural-specificapproach to discuss how and where to find the

specific cultural information needed for any particular international business as-

signment｡

　　Ferraro emphasizes that a business organization, like other social systems, re-

quires effective communication in order to operate efficientlyand meet their ob-

jectives,and that“the success or failureof a company abroad depends on how ef-

ficientlyits employees can exercise their skillsin a new location and that ability

will depend on both their job-related expertise and the individual's sensitivityand

responsiveness to the new cultural environment." （Ferraro 1990: 7）Hence he

points out the importance of cross-cultural communication skills,which include

verbal and nonverbal ones, and the knowledge, awareness about the cultural in-

fluence on a person's communication style.

“Cultural Literacy"

　　　Ferraro states “there's a direct correlation between the amount of culture一spe-

cific information a person has and the success of his or her personal and profes-

sional overseas experience" （Ferraro 1990 : 136）, and that to become culturally lit-

erate is required for a successful business operation in overseas. Particularly

being equipped with an understanding of 1）how ones's own cultural values effect

his/her thinking and behaving ； and 2）how one's own values differ from those in

other cultures, would help to avoid or at least minimize breakdowns in cross-cul-

tural communication （Ferraro 1990 : 1 15）. Cultural generalization is risky, howev-

er, this should not deter us from the task of discovering basic value differences

and how people can affect communication across cultures. Furthermore this

would help people to cope with a culture shock and would enable them to function

better in intercultural business settings.

Conclusion

　　　Ferrarohas written this book in attempt to give a different prespective to in-

ternational business for Amenican business people. However, the cultural anthro-

pological approach he presented in the book could be applied to many other

peoples who are to work in intercultural settings.

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44 AKIKO　SASAMOTO

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Reference

Condon, John C. & Yousef, Fathi. An Introduction to Intercultural Communication, Indiana-

　　　　polis: Bobb-Merrill Co., 1977.

Ferraro, Gary p. The Cultural Dimension of InternationalBusiness. Englewood Cliffs,NJ: Pren-

　　　　tice-Hall,1990.

Kluckhohn, F. & Strodtbeck, F. Variations in Value Orientations. Evanston : Row, Peterson,

　　　　1961.

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