Understanding Multicultural Communication for Effective Business Management: An Integrative Review of Literature

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to review the literature on intercultural communication  problems encountered in business organisations and discuss the implications of  intercultural communication on organisational performance. The study was guided by  the following research questions; how does intercultural communication in the  workplace affect organisational performance; in what ways does intercultural communication affect business operations; and how can management foster multicultural communication to improve organisational efficiency? The study adopted  an integrative review of literature conducted following the Seven-Step Model of critical
literature review. This review was conducted on the backdrop of research on multicultural communication conducted at a communications company in Luanda, Angola. The data from the review indicated that multicultural communication problems
are inevitable; hence management should implement strategies that help to increase the cross-cultural competencies of employees. The researchers proposed a new framework; the Intercultural Communication Analysis Model (ICAM) for analysing the impact of multicultural communication in an organisation. The model can be tested for practicality through empirical research.