International Business Communication: Etiquette and Ethics

My interview process began with introducing myself through an email, while first requesting an interview. Lauren Fredendall, the government relations counsellor at International Business-Government Inc was my interviewee. I initially found her through the internet, after performing an internet search for “international business, Washington D.C.” Though her work schedule is extremely busy, Ms. Fredendall quickly agree to meet with me as long as it could fit within her lunch hour. She explained to me that her job mostly consisted of coordinating with various corporations with international interests on the political and economic conditions in particular countries which could affect their businesses. Her field of specialization is Asia and she advises clients on trade policy issues regarding business operations in countries like China, South Korea, and Japan.

When I met her, Ms. Fredendall was eager to help me complete the project. I began by introducing myself (again) and began asking her my interview questions. Her day-to-day work responsibilities mainly include communicating with corporations that have international branches and operations. While she could not reveal the exact companies who were her clients, she mentioned that she has meetings on a daily basis with corporations that want to expand into Asian markets. Her interaction with those of other cultures is highly limited, since she works mainly with American firms. However, she has to maintain contact with international agencies since she needs to be knowledgeable about changes in trade policies. She mentioned that international etiquette is one of the most important components of her job, something which she “never learned in [University of Pennsylvania].”

Ethical communication, according to Ms. Fredendall, is one of the most important aspects of international business. She stated that one always needs to make sure the other persons understand what is being said or communicated at any instance. Even simple changes in wording that would not make much difference in American English make a world or difference in other cultures. Ms. Fredendall was very emphatic when she stated that she “absolutely despised” those who did not communicate properly while conducting business transactions.

When I was interviewing her, we were seated at a table in a moderately busy restaurant. The external noise was not particularly intrusive, but we still had to maintain a louder than conversational volume during the interview.

She was an articulate speaker who chose her words very carefully and made sure she said what she meant. Her communication was very clear and concise. While her volume was modified for the space, at times she would increase her volume to intensify her regard of a specific issue. While discussing international business etiquette, she enunciated her words much more than usual and increased her volume. Since this was her main focus during the interview, I took it to mean that she felt very strongly about the issue. However, overall, Ms. Fredendall was a very concise, clear speaker. This is probably a by-product of her training in international business. Her facial expressions were largely neutral. Though her face was not blank, she did not express much in terms of emotion, such as happiness, anger or sadness. While she spoke, Ms. Fredendall had a tic where she kept rolling her wrists up and down. This was slightly distracting, since it did not convey any information or reflect her spoken communication. While some people also gesture as the speak, usually their hand movements reflect, to some degree, their speech.

When I was conducting the interview, I consciously attempted to control my body language. I attempted to lean forward, maintaining eye contact as much as possible. While I was genuinely interested in the topic, I tend to lean away from speakers, which shows disinterest or lack of attention. Thus, I consciously attempted to lean forward to show my interest. I feel that this resulted in a better response from Ms. Fredendall.