FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS - 尼加拉瓜和台灣咖啡業務經理之間的跨文化溝通應對模式

The aim of this chapter is to present the main findings of the study as related to the research questions. A section is assigned to each of the three research questions mentioned in Chapter One.

A discussion of the relationships between the findings and relevant literature is also included at the end of this chapter.

The table below presents the outline of main findings for each research question. The first research question is about the characteristics of the communication used coffee business managers of Nicaragua and Taiwan. The characteristics include the personal experience of the coffee business managers of Nicaragua as well as the experience when they communicate with their Taiwanese counterpart, the use and frequency of verbal communication and the influence of non-verbal communication. The second research question is about the difficulties that coffee business managers of Nicaragua face when communicating with their Taiwanese counterpart. There are some differences such as language, geographic location and culture that generate difficulties during the communication process.

The last research question is related the practices that coffee business managers of Nicaragua follow to overcome the difficulties they have in the communication process. These practices include an effective message exchange, a reach of mutual understanding, communication etiquette, frequency of communication, good use of the language chosen to communicate, successful communication management and a third party involved.

28 Table 4.1.

Outlines for Research Questions and Findings

The followings sections provide detailed descriptions which are supported by the data analysis in responding to the research questions.

Research Questions Findings

What are the characteristics of the communication of Coffee Business managers from Nicaragua and Taiwan? What are the intercultural communication

difficulties of coffee business managers from Nicaragua and Taiwan?

Characteristics of the Communication of Coffee Business Managers from Nicaragua and Taiwan

This section focuses on the first research question regarding the characteristics of the communication used by coffee business managers of Nicaragua and Taiwan.

Experience Dealing with Intercultural Communication

Personal experience.

The personal experience that coffee business managers from Nicaragua have dealing with people from different cultures is an important factor when dealing with intercultural communication. All of the interviewees not only have experience working with Nicaraguan businesses but also with people in different parts of the world, some with many years of experience making businesses abroad. Their experience is based on working relationships with partners from different continents, not only countries, as the Nicaraguan coffee is very famous and recognize as one of the best in the world:

I experience intercultural communication almost every day because I work with people from different nationalities and cultural backgrounds, some of my partners are from Taiwan, but we also make business with Europe and part of North America. (EM-1-1-1)

The coffee business in Nicaragua has been increasing yearly and new markets have been explored to help the managers to expand their products and gain international recognition. They have been taking advantage of this and target their product globally. For coffee business managers of Nicaragua, intercultural communication is almost part of their daily bases, and as the market continues to expand the more opportunities they have to increase the amount of international and culturally different partners they add to the business. By shifting their local business to seek international markets, Coffee business managers of Nicaragua change the entire environment of the business shifting to that of an international one and its national as well as international standards are strengthened and aligned with standard protocols of commerce. They have been maintaining positive intergroup relations, engaging in intercultural communication and capable of

giving and receiving feedback, increasing their experience in the international market as well as challenging personal beliefs and embrace new perspectives.

First experience with their Taiwanese counterpart.

Coffee business managers from Nicaragua described their first experience with their Taiwanese counterpart in many ways, all of them positive. While some of them already had information beforehand about Taiwanese businessmen, most of the Nicaraguan coffee business managers had a satisfactory first intercultural communication experience dealing with them for the first time. As for the results of the study, they understand the specifics of this Asian specific marketplace where they hold an advantage. There is a correlation between the level of the information handled beforehand and the level of the performance on the first encounter.

Researching ahead increase the chances of a joyful environment to interact with culturally diverse clients:

I already had some insight from Taiwanese businessman from other people in the business, some other coffee producers also affiliated to CATO, about the facility to export coffee and the good working relationship they had. (MF-1-2-3)

The results of this study show a good first impression from Nicaraguan coffee business managers of their Taiwanese counterpart, which increases the trust for setting up further negotiations. Positive first impressions lead to social cohesion. With a good first impression, managers have the opportunity to create successful business relationships on a long term, exploiting the results of a positive experience. Making a good first impression is particularly important when it comes to meeting customers. A businessman that shows knowledge and interest of the product also gives a good first impression to Nicaraguan coffee business managers, here is a good example of as one of them pointed out:

They had good knowledge about the coffee business in Nicaragua. We had a nice conversation, they seemed very interested in our product, exchanged presentation cards and a few weeks later I received an email to start our business relationship. (CV-1-2-5)

Language also played a role in the first international experience for Nicaraguan coffee managers with their Taiwanese counterpart. The common language that they use to communicate is English but some of the Taiwanese businessman already spoke Spanish and facilitate the first communication experience between them. One of the Nicaraguan coffee business managers was impressed by not only the ability of a Taiwanese businessman to speak Spanish but also about the prior knowledge of the coffee business, as mentioned below:

It was with the owner of Finca Tres Soles, Scott Yang, a man with an extraordinary vision for business, no communication problems at all, he can speak good Spanish, broad knowledge about the coffee business. Very good first impression. (CF-1-2-2)

It was easier for Nicaraguan coffee business managers to create and have a good first impression of their Taiwanese counterpart than to correct a negative impression. You make your first impression upon someone quickly, within seven to thirty seconds of meeting them. Almost always, they judge people by first impressions. It was the main forming opinion about their Taiwanese counterpart. There were no responses indicating a bad first experience or a negative impression. Their first international experience served as the foundation of the business relationship Nicaraguan coffee business managers have nowadays with Taiwanese businessmen.

Type of Communication

Verbal communication.

Verbal communication is not used often among the coffee business managers and their counterpart due to geographical location. Distance from Taiwan to Nicaragua is 15,030 kilometers and there is no direct flight between the two countries, one stop-over minimum is required while boarding an airplane, the fastest way to travel, taking an average flight time of 24 hours and a half.

Majority of them communicate face to face while attending to some coffee fairs. Some other International Coffee fairs are also promoted among the Nicaraguan coffee business managers listed under CATO to meet new partners. CATO, serving as the link for Nicaraguan and Taiwanese first business communication, facilitates mutual interaction of trade and economy, strategic alliances and international investment cooperation, is in charge of organizing the visit of Nicaraguan coffee business managers to the Taiwan International Coffee Show that gathers 767 exhibitors and

194,000 visitors during 4 days, being one of the most important shows in Taiwan and the opportunity to meet new partners, create new business relationships and have a real time communication with partners, one of the managers further explained:

We have face to face meetings during the different International Coffee Fairs in Taiwan, such as the Taiwan International Coffee Show, that we attend every year since we are part of CATO. (VR-1-3-4)

The use of social media and mobile applications play and important role between the communication of Nicaraguan coffee business managers and their Taiwanese counterpart.

According to statistics, the number of social media users by the end of 2017 was 2.34 billion and is experts calculate 2.95 billion users by 2020. By January 2018, 61% of the Nicaraguan population had access to the internet using mobile devices. The fastest growing social networks are Facebook and WhatsApp with almost 400 million users every month. Also, all of them used e-mail, one of the first and most reliable ways to communicate using the internet, with 3.8 billion users as for August 2018, one of the managers said:

If face to face communication is not possible, we usually communicate over WhatsApp with the new video call feature and we use email for formal business communication and English as a common language used. (PG-1-3-6)

Both of them can see businesses relying messages during non-working hours. In this type of interaction, unless it is urgent, they do not have the need to be in the same time zone as their counterpart to establish a communication. When social media was only becoming popular, it was more relevant to users who wanted to exchange personal information, or common interests with each other and make friends. Social media was rarely as a platform for making business. However, social media communication has increased among businesses, and has changed tendencies of how businesses communicate. Nicaraguan coffee business managers are taking using social media as one of the most important communication channels for businesses.

33 Non-verbal communication.

Coffee business managers of Nicaragua use gestures and body language when communicating with their Taiwanese counterpart. During the stone age, non-verbal communication was the only form of communication. Consciously when we are communicating, our brain is focused on the interpretation of the words we speak as a part of a conversation but the subconscious shows non-verbal signals, part of them is the body language (Neuliep, 2014).

Humans have different ways of transmitting and receiving body language signals. There is so much more to communication than just what you say. Your body language, facial expressions, and eye contact are just as important as words when you’re communicating with others. Some of the interviewees agreed that body language and gestures have a positive effect in their communication and no difficulties are driven from these types of interaction:

Gestures are often use to simplify the communication. I use my hands for helping in my communication or when I talk I tend to move them sometimes. I nod my head when I do not understand something. All of these signs help. Body language is a part of any culture, even Taiwanese, but for me that’s a way of helping to deliver a message. (OG-1-4-8)

It’s always important to be conscious and aware of facial expressions. Face movements of any type can build a connection with your counterpart. Nicaraguan coffee business managers are very good at recognizing and interpreting the emotions being expressed by their counterpart.

Results of this study show that there is an emotional component on facial expressions used in this intercultural communication rather than only being reflexive. Understanding facial expressions or body language can substantially help managers to better communicate with their Taiwanese counterpart and interpreting what they might be trying to transmit, in a low-high context cultural exchange:

I think non-verbal gestures help to identify if the other person understood the message or if there is any problem by the way the react after listening to it, especially facial expressions. The typical hand movement or facial expressions when we talk with anyone are inevitable. (JP-1-4-7)

Verbal communication is not commonly used during the intercultural communication in this particular case of study, but data gathered suggested that when Nicaraguan coffee business managers have the opportunity of having a verbal and real time communication, the combination of verbal and non-verbal communication can still convey volumes of information and is significant in the overall intercultural communication process.

Intercultural Communication Difficulties of Coffee Business Managers from Nicaragua and Taiwan

This section addresses the second research question related to the difficulties that coffee business managers of Nicaragua face when communicating with their Taiwanese counterpart.

Language Barrier

The first and the most mentioned difficulty during the data collection process for Nicaraguan coffee business managers was a language barrier created by the use of two completely different languages and the decision to utilize none of them as a common language for communication. An increase number of business managers are becoming more aware that with globalization they have to interact across linguistic boundaries. Language affects almost every part of our daily life, therefore, researchers involved in international business and management need to focus more on communication difficulties (Henderson, 2005).

Nicaraguan coffee business managers had problems expressing their ideas in a language that is not Spanish, having difficulties to translate their ideas, creating a small-time gap used to think carefully what to say while their Taiwanese counterpart is waiting for a response. The official language of the Republic of Nicaragua is Spanish while the official language of the Republic of China is Chinese. This being said, unless one of the parts learn the language of the other, the two of them need to decide the common language they will use to communicate, that can bring some difficulties to the communication as expressed:

The fact that we have a common language that is not our mother tongue sometimes represents a difficulty. We manage to understand each other, but a confusion might arise from time to time. If a language that is not our native is used, I would say there will always be a little difficulty because sometimes you don’t really know how to say something or you can’t find the word you’re looking for to describe something too. Sometimes it is hard to express any ideas in a language that is not your mother tongue, so the communication flow can be affected. (OP-2-1-10)

Almost all of them reached an agreement to use English as a common language when communicating with their counterpart. English is used as a common language in almost all conversations. English was significantly reinforced in the 20th century by USA world domination in economic, political and military aspects and by a strong influence of American movies. English is one of the most analytical languages, with no significant synthetic, fusional or agglutinative characteristics. Even setting up English as a common language, some managers are aware that communication difficulties can arise, as one of them said:

We both use a common language like English, and since is something we learnt and in my case a language I do not practice very often, sometimes I just cannot remember a word or have some pronunciation mistakes too, that can affect a little but the communication. A language that is not our native always represents a difficulty, with English we have been able to communicate with no major problems, but yes, sometimes you speak too literal and do not choose the correct words to deliver a message. (ER-2-1-9)

Some of the Nicaraguan coffee business managers established business relationship with Taiwanese partners that were able to speak Spanish, bringing positives benefits to their relationship, but also creating a communication difficulty driven from the use of a language that is not native for a Taiwanese and their attempts to adjust their speech to communicate effectively.

Spanish is spoken as an official language in 20 countries for a total of 473 million people, but every country has its variations, slangs or native expressions used that create confusion, and Nicaraguan coffee managers are aware that this could affect the communication, their Taiwanese counterpart might be using expressions in Spanish that they are not familiar with, one manager explained:

My partners speak Spanish perfectly so I will not say this is a major issue, but sometimes we do have a little difficulty to understand some words or the real meaning of something they say. I think that a language that is not native will always represent a little difficulty in terms of communication. Is not that all of our partners can speak Spanish, only a few of them. And their Spanish is very good, but sometimes mispronunciation or not using the right words can create a language barrier. (VR-2-1-8)

A third party sometimes is involved to assist in the communication process, as some of the Taiwanese businessmen hire an interpreter when a face to face communication is implemented.

From the use of an interpreter difficulties start to arise. The interpreter affects the two-way communication, since they have to wait for the interpreter, there is no free-flowing sharing of ideas. One mentioned that the interpreter makes the communication process longer, as they have to share an idea, the interpreter needs to translate it, wait for a reply for the counterpart and then translate it back:

Is sometimes not a direct communication being the main issue a language barrier, even though they speak a decent English or Spanish, they still hire interpreters because they want to make sure that the communication is 100% understood between the parts involved.

We don’t have a real one on one conversation, there is a mediator, who is in charge of translating and delivering the message for both parts, so it prologs the communication process a little. (CF-2-1-4)

Language barrier is a common difficulty for Nicaraguan coffee business managers as they are with many other international companies. As their business relationships increase over the years, more often they will start to face this challenge. Language is the primary problem, although this can be fixed with interpreters to some point, they still have the basic cultural issues to go through. Taiwanese partners can be isolated because they might feel unable to participate in the communication due to the use of a dominant language.

Time Difference

Both countries are located in different parts of the world, far away from each other, Nicaragua in Central America and Taiwan in East Asia. There is a 14 hours difference between the 2 countries, Nicaragua under UTC-6 (CST) and Taiwan UTC+8 (NST). This represents a difficulty for Nicaraguan coffee business managers with almost no possibility for a real time communication.

With the 14 hours difference, in one country is night time while in the other is morning time as one of them expressed:

The next one is the external factor of time difference, being 14 hours, we barely have a real time communication. When is day here is night there and the opposite, so we have to wait at least 12 hours to receive a reply. Is difficult to deal with. One office is closing and the other one opening, so we cannot really have a real time communication. (PG-2-2-12)

Since it is not a communication in real time, makes the process longer and takes away the possibility to address certain problems immediately. Problems are inevitable while conducting business.Although they cannot change the duration of a day, they are able to manage the way that

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