communication barriers in a cross-cultur

8/18/2019 Communication Barriers in a Cross-cultur

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COMMUNICATION BARRIERS IN A CROSS-CULTURAL

MULTINATIONAL COMPANY (TOYOTA MOTORS,

PAKISTAN): A CASE STUDY

Faheem Akhter 1 2

Abstract

This case study is about managing communication barriers amongst staff at Toyota

Motors Pakistan. Toyota Motors is one of the world's leading automobile manufacturing

companies. !er the years" the #apanese automaker had built up a reputation for

manufacturing reliable automobile. Toyota's products are famous for $uality amongst their

customers in Pakistan.

The factory of Toyota Motors Pakistan is located at %arachi" the &apital ub of

Pakistan. (t is ha!ing staff mainly from different pro!inces" cities and parts of Pakistan and

e)ecuti!es from #apan" Thailand and *ingapore and Pakistan. This case study describes the

problems the mentioned company faces in managing the issues of their staff" the gap in

understanding of directi!es issued by the management and implementation of directi!es by

the local staff and labour etc.

To ensure defects free finished product" Toyota Motors set up $uality assurance

systems across !arious sections" including de!elopment" purchasing" production" managing

uman +esource and training of their outfits. owe!er being an M,& ha!ing ma-or labour

chuck of local populous the management uses different techni$ues to communicate the

market trend and re$uirement down to grass root le!el. This case study is carried out to

highlight the human communication issues being faced by the management in a cross cultural

en!ironment and few remedial measures are also suggested at the end. Focus of this case

study is to simplify the essential distincti!eness of the problems during communication

between different cultural people working in a multinational company /Toyota Motors"

Pakistan0.

1 M.Phil Scholar; Department of Public Administration; University of Karachi; e-

mail faheem!"#yahoo.com

$ Paper was written and submitted as an assignment of Business Administration


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Intro!ct"on

Multinational organiation tends to ha!e more cultural combinations as it has people

from different regions and countries therefore it likely to ha!e more differences and conflicts

amongst the working personals due to their attachment with different culture. (n this study

only one problem i.e. communication problem" arising in an M,& due to e)istence of people

from different cultures will be discussed.

(t is important in all communication that the message is properly sent by the sender

and recei!ed by the recei!er e$ually god /reenberg" 23340. Minimiing of physical and

psychological barriers especially in cross5cultural communication is more important as the

chances of error increase in this case.

There are also significant differences across cultures in the ways and the e)tent to

which people communicate /#ay %andampully" 23310. 6fforts would be made through this

case study to find out and analye the !ital uni$ueness of cross cultural communication

problems through an analysis of real cases in daily communication amongst different cultural

people working in a multinational company /Toyota Motors" Pakistan0. Problem they face in

communicating their point of !iew and understanding other7s would be seen here with some

suggestions at the end to impro!e upon as well. Managing the effecti!e communication

amongst the colleagues within an en!ironment where people from different culture work is

always been a point of concern for leading company. To impro!e upon and ha!e a cordial

working atmosphere is must to get the ma)imum output. Through this study an effort will be

made to find out the gray areas of the communication in a cross cultural en!ironment"

analying the means to highlight the weakness and then suggesting measures to impro!e

upon.

Iss!#s to b# "sc!ss#

• To identify the importance of effecti!e human communication at Toyota Motors that

helps it make a reputed brand in Pakistan.

• Analye the working en!ironment of Toyota Motors Pakistan.

•

To analyse the data collected on the topic mentioned abo!e for its !alidity.


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• 8nderstand the communication problems amongst the employees being faced in

Toyota Motors Pakistan.

• 6)amine the reasons for difficulty in communication.

• ow effecti!ely Toyota Motors Pakistan is managing communication barriers in a

multi5cultural en!ironment.

• To conclude by gi!ing +ecommendations for betterment and future prosperity.

M#t$oo%o&'

This research approach is an in5depth e)planatory single5case study. The reason for

selecting an e)planatory rather than an e)planatory research design is the practice being

carried out in Toyota Motors to resol!e the day5to5day human communication issues arising

in a cross cultural en!ironment. For this reason" an e)planatory case study seems

appropriate" as the aim is not to test theoretical propositions" but to highlight the successful

practices in !ogue which may be helpful to other industries and organiation in bringing

better in the same area.

The study will be $ualitati!e" efforts would be made for $ualitati!e data collection

through primary and secondary sources" using website of the organiation under study"

through re!iew of literature a!ailable on the sub-ect and the reading material pro!ided during

course of study.

The reason for selecting such organiation is to analysis and e)amines the cross5

cultural communication7s dynamics that arise in a huge automobile industry.

Data Co%%#ct"on an Ana%'s"s

The collection of data was not an easy task to do as the company did not allow access

e!erywhere and to e!ery indi!idual as a matter of company policy. 6ffort was made to collect

data through inter!iew of different people for this purpose ( conduct a total of 9 inter!iews

which were main source of data collection. These all inter!iews were of the people ha!ing

different tires in the organiation" like /i0 eneral Manager perations /ii0 Manager

Administration" /iii0 :eputy Manager *ecurity and *ur!eillance" /!i0 *uper!isor Production"

/!0 elper 6lectrical :epartment and /!i0 *uper!isor *taff welfare &anteen. The inter!iews

were conducted between April and May" 2314. The inter!iews were held in a semi5structured


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manner and in real working en!ironment. The a!erage inter!iew time with each member was

appro)imately 1; minutes to 23 minutes. (n addition to the primary data" data is also

collected through internet" literature a!ailable on the sub-ect and the course material issued to

the students.

(n order to analying the collected data first the inter!iew transcriptions" personal

notes" and secondary data had to be classified and organied according to some key

dimensions like department" working affiliation of the inter!iewing employees" position in

the company7s hierarchy" assigned role in the pro-ect.


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Motor reflects powerfully by actions at the forefront of acti!ities that help preser!e and

impro!e the en!ironment" building close and cooperati!e relationships with indi!iduals and

organiations in!ol!ed in en!ironmental preser!ation. Toyota Motor also unceasingly

refining the company7s own en!ironment management system and discouraging e!ents that

ha!e a negati!e impact. Toyota Motor is an (* 14331 and >332 certified company /Toyota"

23140.

Few of the actions taken are reflected bellow?

• To recycle water used for plantation" a wastewater treatment plant has been installed

with an in!estment of +s.;3 million" it also helps in pro!iding clean en!ironment.

• To help reduce carbon dio)ide emissions through the use of natural gas used to

operate engines and turbines the company has installed the en!ironment friendly &o5

generation Power Plant.

• (n order to recycle the waste thinner in its manufacturing process Toyota has installed

a Thinner +ecycling Machine with a cost of +s. 2.; million.

• Toyota Motor was the first automobile company in Pakistan to use en!ironment5

friendly gas +51@4a in car air5conditioners /instead of &F&5120.

• To ensure en!ironmentally safe solid waste disposal Toyota has installed an

(ncinerator facility at its plant.• Thousands of saplings and trees are planted at and around Toyota7s plant.

• (t also de!eloped a garden one of o!er 94"333 s$. meters.

• Toyota Motor is also contributing for the preser!ation of ake *aiful Muluk to clean

up its surroundings and educate locals to keep the area clean.

Co!n"cat"on rob%#s aon&st t$# #%o'##s at To'ota Motors

Pa"stan

Toyota Motor has ma-or chunk of its employee from Pakistan being located here.

6mployees belong to different parts of country representing their local culture. The

e)ecuti!es are from #apan" Thailand and *ingapore and there is a score of Pakistanis as well.

People from #apan" Thailand and *ingapore speak different languages they show different

gesture and body language at the changing situation. These factors naturally tend to create a

linguistic barrier between them and their Pakistani co5workers and subordinates.

R#asons *or "**"c!%t' "n co!n"cat"on


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&ultural difference between #apanese" Thais" etc. and Pakistanis is the ma-or

communicational barrier. Pakistan is a culturally rich country which possesses di!ersified

culture !arying from region to region. abour working in the plant of Toyota Motor

represents mostly rural background. The labour force has different culture" temperament of

work" physical status and language. Managers ha!e to use different techni$ues to

communicate the task to the labour and they ha!e to use different techni$ues to get the work

done.

.o/ To'ota Motors "s ana&"n& co!n"cat"on barr"#rs "n a !%t"-

c!%t!ra% #n+"ron#nt0

Toyota has built up a strong corporate reputation o!er time which facilitates the building of good relationships amongst its work5force. To understand the cultural !alues and

re$uirements Toyota has designed rotation plan for its key staff on a 2 to@ year5basis. This

consistency makes the management5staff and staff5staff relationships more harmonic.

(ndi!iduality is respected but the o!er5all policy of Toyota remains consistent to get the work

done efficiently.

As good team working is fundamental at e!ery stage" Toyota e)plains their way of

doing the things to get the output. Mutual trust is a key principle of good working

en!ironment this is always maintained at all le!el.

R#co#nat"ons

10 Toyota7s efforts to breach the communication gap should continue.

20 A modernied structure at Toyota be maintained to deal with communication

problem arising due to the cultural difference.

@0 Toyota is contributing a lot in making en!ironment healthier and free from

pollution it should resume. The company should pursue the de!elopment of

energy5sa!ing products too.

40 ower staff should be educated to obey laws of land and keep the safety and

security as the top priority.

;0 Toyota should continue contributing in social support accomplishments.

90 to effecti!eness of communication" understanding each other builds a good

relationship.

B0 6mployees may be taught to take the things at face !alue rather than as

delegate of layers of sense.C0 6fficiency and effecti!eness may be ser!ed by a sustained focus on tasks.


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>0 (t is recommended to e!ade messages which are muddled or cluttered. *uch

messages lea!e confusions that if you actually mean what you say.

130 The key of getting the successful communication is to be an acti!e listener

staff should be educated to listen carefully.

110 Toyota should de!ise a system where staff should try to remo!e physical and

en!ironment distractions while engaging in a cross cultural communication.

Conc%!s"on

(n this paper" ( ha!e considered the communication between Pakistani and #apanese

and different clans of Pakistani colleague. &onte)t plays !ital role in any con!ersation

therefore it is highly recommended to understand it properly /leser &" 1>C10. 6specially

when we are engaged in a situation where there are cross cultural con!ersations going on"

understanding the difference and thorough knowledge of conte)ts is una!oidable.

The effecti!e communication is managed within an en!ironment where folks from

different ethos work is always been a worry companies like Toyota. To maintain conduci!e

working en!ironment Toyota has de!ised different ways which are highlighted in this study.


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Act"on P%an

R#co#nat"on Act"on Act"on

co%#t# b'

B#n#*"ts *ro

"%##ntat"onToyota management should

continue its efforts to breach the

communication gap

8nderstanding of

each other7s culture

be inculcated

Management

and staff

6nhanced Message

understanding

Maintaining a modernied

structure to deal with the day5to5

day communication problem

arising due to the cultural

difference.

*taff be kept

updated with the

changing social

en!ironment

Management

and staff

etting the -ob out of

lower staff would be

better and easier

&ontribution in making

en!ironment healthier

Detter work5

en!ironment would

increase output

Management ealthy working

atmosphere will help in

increasing output

8se of global human resources" Friendly

en!ironment in the

organiation

Management This will support

consolidated

management on a

global scale.

*afety is the top priority slogan be implemented

Adherence of safetyrules

*taff at all le!elmust adhere

*afe workingen!ironment" increased

production.

&ontinue social support

contribution

*ocial support

actions

Management (t helps in creating

goodwill amongst the

locals

8nderstanding each5others

conte)t

Detter

understanding of

culture

Management

and staff

(t can contribute to

effecti!eness of

communicationTake the things at face !alue 8nderstanding of

culture

*taff Detter understanding of

culture

*ustained focus on tasks. Focused task *taff and

management

(ncreased efficiency

and effecti!eness

A!oid e!aded messages &lear messages *taff and

management

+educe confusion

De an acti!e listener policy &larity of task *taff and

management


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&arefully select the conte)t and

con!ersation style to strengthen

the communication and reduce

barriers

&larity of thought

and assignment

*taff and

management

elp in remo!al of

physical and

en!ironment

distractions while

engaging in a cross

cultural

communication.

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