Strategies on Effective Communication Based on the Study of NEC （China） Corporation

【Abstract】Through communication we can maintain our interpersonal relationship because communication can be involved in all things we do. While under the changeable and hyper-competitive society， effective communication plays a vital role for modern companies， especially for MNCs to achieve their success. Here some strategies on effective communication are given based on the study of NEC （China） Corporation.

【Key words】effective communication； strategy； MNCs NEC（China）

Todays businesses increasingly reach across international borders to market their products， collaborate with other businesses， and recruit global staffs or executives， which is known as an action of globalization. Multinational companies has already become a strong force which develops very rapidly and cannot be ignored anymore in China. effective communication can close the connection between a company and all its partners which are affected in some way by the companys actions：customers， employees， shareholders， suppliers， and even the whole world. Conversely， when communication is ineffective， the results can range from time wasting to tragic.

1. The significance of cross-culture communication

Intercultural communication mainly focus on the study of multicultural environment management rules， principles and practical methods. Making effective communication plays a vital role in management system and risk controlling under different cultures.

1.1 Culture communication deeply affecting culture cooperation

Culture is a kind of accumulation refined and condensed during humans production practice， with its stability and exclusivity. Due to different ethical， national or regional culture， multinational corporations become the convergence zone of various cultures but also of cultural conflict and fusion. The integration of multicultural teams， therefore， not an overnight thing and needs time to adjust and adapt to each other. And effective communication can speed up the time to adapt and the degree to cultural understanding. For example， Japanese-owned enterprises entering the U.S. market， it shows the culture of double track. But under a warm-family enterprise culture， they achieve the intersection and fusion of two different cultures as well as enhance the cultural communication effect.

1.2 Communication promoting multi-culture to unify consciousness and behavior

Communicating with people is in essentially exchanging their thoughts and ideas. Therefore， in MNCs teams， only communication can reach a possibility of consensus， and based on that， team members can actively participate in team activities in the same pace. Wang Shanji， vice president， marketing director of NEC （China） company， said， “NEC original employees neither divide their respective functional areas with the new staffs， nor just look on how those staffs do. They just actively cooperate with them in the reform of the team.”endprint

1.3 Cultural communication mechanism keeping the team in harmony

To keep effective communication in the MNCs， it cant depend merely on individual consciousness or stays on the emotional side. Communication among management layers should be institutionalized and programmatic in order to solidify it into a principle， a regime. In this way， the communication can be long-lasting， can be grounds for keeping and can form the rules to follow.

2. Basic tips to achieve effective communication

Effective communication penetrates every aspect of business and personal lives. Probably 99% of the problems within organizations are caused by a breakdown or failure in the communication process. According to research， people believe that those who can text at high speed， update blogs， emails continuously， speak in a loud voice and a fast rhythm or talk with others without any problem on any subjects， are effective communicators. But the opposite of it is often proved in practice. Owning the ability to organize words quickly never means what you are saying is understood by people. For passing your message exactly and effectively， here are three basic communicating tips：

Be clear：Pass you main idea as clear as possible because clarity means saving time， saving money and warding off mistakes. Answer what you are asked. Ask for what the formation you need. Quite normal people talk in a roundabout way or just stray form the point so that the key issues are not dealt with. Additionally， if you are making instructions， provide details and expectations. Whats the matter is that ensuring your recipient knows what you want or how to meet your need.

Know your audience：There are a thousand Hamlets in a thousand peoples eyes. People talk about different thoughts because they just stand on their own standpoints. So if we could learn to place ourselves in others shoes， considering who you are communicating with， what is his standpoint， what he concerns， what he would compromise， what is his level of knowledge， then we can smooth the communication much more.

Listen：Generally， the most essential but overlooked element of all！ It transmits information to you and let you complete a thought before responding. However most of us are already forming a response before we even hear the full thought or read the full message. Thus， we would and we did always miss the key information. Being a good listener， it shows your respect as well as indicates what the important information that the individual must convey.endprint

3. Some strategies to make effective communication based on NEC （China） Corporation

The basic goal of NEC Corporation， presented in the slogan “Better Products， Better Service， ” is to fulfill the promise of providing its customers with world-class products and reliable after-sale service. NEC （China） as well as NEC stuck to this promise from the beginning till now， which benefit itself a concept what we now call Customer Satisfaction （CS）. Whereas the notion of after-sale service didnt penetrate in all businesses until passing a full half-century time in Japan. In 2010， to better meet the market demand， NEC decided to implement an integrated strategy and business operation system in China. NEC （China） co.， LTD.， as the headquarter of greater China region， commands the groups each business in China.

NEC （China） Corporation adopted the multicultural team combination in the process of cross-cultural management， which accelerated the pace of its adaption to the Chinese market. Multicultural teams success owes much to communicate effectively within the enterprises. NECs effective communication embodies in the following several aspects：

3.1 Facing market reality by taking Chinese culture as the host culture

As the old saying， “Do in Rome as Rome does”. NEC Corporation extend their business across the world nations with the purpose of the markets of host countries. The priorities of it should come to connect the local government， businessmen and customers and employ local staffs. At present， there are 16 management personnel in NEC （China）， 3 from American， Canadian， 5 Japanese from NEC Japan headquarters， the other 8 all from Chinese. As to MNCs， they also should learn the host culture and the local communication style instead being excluded to become a “culture vag”. McDonalds， KFC， Samsung electronics and MOTOROLA also did well in this aspect and make benefit for the host countries as well as themselves.

3.2 Body language helping to catch the deep meaning

Effective communication not only embodies in talking but also in language and words， especially to customers. An approach called “audience-centered approach” which involves understanding and respecting the members of your audience and making every effort to get your message across in a way that is meaningful to them. Besides verbal communication， nonverbal language also is important to an effective listener because it lays stress on the most important point to the speaker. When someone is not willing to express her feelings by words， or has to repress her feelings to some extent， the person s nonverbal languages usually can indicate the persons true feelings.endprint

3.3 Using powerful Tools for Communicating Effectively

The tools of business communication evolve with every new generation of digital technology. Selecting the right tool for each situation can enhance business communication in many ways. For MNCs whose coworkers in different cities or countries need to collaborate， they can exchange or share ideas without costly travel. For example， they can use Outlook， MSN， Skype or other apps to send emails. In NEC Corporation， staffs use communication technology to keep track of parts， orders， and shipments—and to keep customers well-informed. Their same customers can also communicate with them in many ways at any time of the day or night. Moreover， NEC（China） Corporation also established their own NEC BBS as a communication platform for all people who are interested in its products.

Conclusion

As to MNCs， effective business communication skills are vital to successful co-worker and customer interactions because of culture differences， geographical distance. Effective communication requires much more clear and exact message than simple speech and hearing by both the speaker and listener. Word choice， voice tone， body language， message clarification and communication style， each of them can exert an influence on effective communication and even on the success of interpersonal transactions and interactions. Corporations can adopt several ones or combine them to improve their effectiveness and promote cooperation with its staffs， customers or all other partners.

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作者简介：廉亚慧（1991-），女，汉族，河北康保县人，研究生在读，天津财经大学，研究方向：英语语言文学（商务英语方向）。endprint