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Korean Business Letters: Strategies for Effective Complaints in Cross-Cultural Communication

Seoul National Polytechnic University, Korea

W. Tracy Dillon

Portland State University, OR

Kenneth L. Mitchell

Southeastern Louisiana University, Hammond

This case study examines international business letters of complaint written in English by US. managers whose first language (L1) is English and by Korean managers for whom English is a second language (L2). Important differences exist in rhetorical choices between the two groups. The US. writers used a direct organizational pattern and tended to state the main idea or problem first before sharing explanatory details that clearly related to the stated problem. By con trast, the standard Korean pattern was indirect and tended to delay the reader's discovery of the main point. The US. managers implied that a problem existed but requested action explicitly. The Korean managers were not uniform in their strategy for making complaints implicit and action requests explicit. These findings suggest that L1 writers must be sensitive to L2 features that can present obstacles to efficient communication in international business. Someone accus tomed only to the U.S. pattern might find the L2 patterns of organization and style in the Korean letters vague, emotional, and accusatory. U.S. managers who can recognize the L2 rhetorical patterns identified in this study will be more likely to accept their Korean eounterparts' rhetorieal choices. Equally impor tant, Korean business people should know that these patterns in L2 letters of complaint may not be tolerated by Americans who lack this understanding.

Journal of Business Communication, Vol. 35, No. 3, 328-345 (1998)
DOI: 10.1177/002194369803500302


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