Cross-cultural Communication: The Challenges Ahead
Jowati binti Juhary
[presented at National Communication Seminar organised by Universiti Utara Malaysia, January 2002]
Globalisation is fast affecting the life of many around the world including Malaysians. When globalisation is said to be the core of many discussions and issues today, it is vital to look at its one of the many main components, which is communication. As globalisation creates borderless world or global village, communication is one of the ways for people to keep track of one another. This study attempts to investigate the challenges in cross-cultural communication, using the setting of Malaysia as the basis of discussion. The discussion and analysis will revolve around the concept of cultures or societies on the cultural continuum of abstraction and concreteness. Since this study uses text analysis approach, data are gathered from various written texts. Findings show that there are yet issues in cross-cultural communication that need further exploration and explanation. It is hoped that this study triggers the awareness of Malaysians especially when it comes to cross-cultural communication in a globalised world.