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Human beings draw close to one another by their common nature，but habits and customs keep them apart．

Lack of communication has given rise to differences in language，in thinking，in systems of beliefand culture generally．These differences havemade hostility among societies endemic and seemingly eternal．

Intercultural communication，as you might suspect，is not new．Since the dawn of civilization，when the first humans formed tribal groups，intercultural contact occurred whenever people from one tribe encountered members of another tribe and discovered that they were different．Sometimes these differences，in the absence of multicultural awareness and tolerance，elicited the human propensity to respond malevolently．However，in the pursuit of political alliances，knowledge，or commercial trade，these differences were more often recognized and accommodated．For instance，Alexander the Greatwas known to pay homage to the different gods of the lands he conquered and to encourage his followers to marry into the power elite families of those societies，thereby assuring a degree of political loyalty and stability．The storied Library of Alexandria，thought to have been established in the third century B．C．，accumulated texts from across the ancient world．Spices，silk，tea，and coffee made their way to Europe from China，Southeast Asia，and the Middle East via the Silk Road trade routes．Guns，modern medicine，and even bread were brought to the Far East by traders sailing from Western Europe on the voyages of discovery．

These cultural exchanges have accelerated in the past century at a dizzying pace，to the pointwhere，aswementioned，societies around the globe have been interwoven into a complex fabric of interdependent economic，technological，political，and social relationships．This interdependency is a salient characteristic of the world that you presently live in，and the future promises even greater inter connectivity，requiring increased cultural knowledge and language abilities．To help you understand how the challenges of the future will require you to acquire and use intercultural communication skills，wewill discuss a number of areas in which global interconnectedness and the cultural dynamics of society will have a direct impact on your life．These areas include globalization，international conflict and security，world competition for natural resources，global environmental challenges，world health care issues，and population shifts．

Globalization has become a term common to many languages and used in many disciplines．Some use it positively and others use it negatively．It is defi ned variously，depending on the user’s perspective and intent．Cameron sees globalization as“the ongoing integration of the world economy．”For Gannon，“Globalization refers to the increasing interdependence among national governments，business firms，non profit organizations，and individual citizens．”From an anthropological perspective，globalization is“worldwide interconnectedness，evidenced in globalmovements of natural resources，trade goods，human labor，finance capital，information，and infectious diseases．”The common theme resonating in these definitions is connectedness．It has become increasingly difficult to live your life without being affected by other people’s opinions and actions．This connectedness，which constitutes the core of globalization，is the productof“growth in world trade and the business activity that accompanies it；dramatic improvements in telecommunications；ease of data storage and transmission；increased facility and opportunity for business and leisure travel．”In order to better comprehend this transformation of the global society，let us take a minute and look at some of these forces of globalization．

This ability to quickly move products，equipment，people，information，and securities around the world，with little concern for national or international borders，has given rise to what are commonly called transnational corporations．Their global presence and reach is sometimes difficult to comprehend．For example，McDonald’s busiest location is in Munich，Germany，and the most active 7-Eleven store is in Samutparkam，Thailand．Kentucky Fried Chicken is available atmore than eleven thousand locations in over eighty countries．Baskin-Robbins ice cream can be purchased in over 5，800 stores，of which 2，700 are outside the United States．As of May 2007，Toyota Motor Corporation，the world’s largest automobile maker，operated“52 overseas manufacturing companies in 26 countries/regions”and marketed“vehicles in more than 170 countries/regions．”

General Electric collected revenues of﹩163．3 billion，employedmore than three hundred thousand people，and operated in over one hundred countries in 2007．Continuing technological advances in transportation，communication，and data transfer facilitate the ability of transnational corporations to reposition manufacturing processes in regions that offer low production costs，especially for labor，and tomove products and services quickly to emerging markets．Mega-corporations are expected to continue to expand in the near future，and their growth holds two principal concerns for you．First，there is a good likelihood that you will someday work for a transnational organization or one of its subsidiaries．As such，intercultural communication skills will be a critical necessity．The ability to work in a multicultural workforce and interactwith people from other cultures，often in other languages，is inherent to the success of amultinational business．

A second concern will be how the economy is managed and controlled．According to Mandel，“Globalization has overwhelmed Washington’s ability to control the economy．”The giant commercial companies now have the capacity to exert considerable influence on local，state，and national governments and，in the pursuit of open markets and free trade，have the ability tomove goods across borders with few or no regulatory restrictions．China’s export of lead-painted children’s toys to the United States and of frozen gyōza（dumplings）contaminated with insecticides to Japan attest to the dangers of under regulated industries and insufficient quality control supervision．Unlike governments，these huge organizations are not transparent and are responsible only to their shareholders，which allows them considerable operational flexibility．For example，the consolidation of media outlets into a few large organizations has had a homogenizing influence on available media，and this tends to stifle constructive debate，underrepresentminority views，and discount local perspectives．

Although many of these large organizations have developed viable programs to become good corporate citizens，their main objective remains making money，and improving social conditions is amuch lesser concern．Thus，governments and non profit organizations（NPOS）will need to work across cultures to establish effective regulations and controls of themovement of goods and services across borders，and this may require new international organizations，such as“global institutions for governing the world economy”．

If you live in the United States，you can easily enjoy a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables year round that are shipped from all over the world．People living in Japan can eat bluefintuna thatwas caught off the coast of Nova Scotia only days earlier and flown to Tokyo．People are now traveling widely for both business and pleasure．The U．S．Commerce Department has estimated that the United States will have asmany as 61．6 million visitors in 2011．This influx of international tourists will call for service personnel trained to interact successfully with people from a wide selection of cultures．Additionally，global business will bringmore and more people together from different cultures．In some cases，this contact will be face-to-face interaction，and in other instances，it will be virtual contact via electronic means．But regardless of the medium，successfully interaction will require well-developed intercultural communication skills．

Technology will also expand the ability of people throughout the world to connect with each other．At the end of 2007，there were an estimated 3．3 billion cell phone subscribers in the world，and in many countries，cell phones are now perceived as necessities rather than conveniences．Cell phones are already used for voice and e-mail communication and Internet access，and function as cameras，voice recorders，personal organizers，game devices，and music players．Japanese university students can now upload“cell phone novels”to help relieve the tedium of their daily train and bus commute，which in some cases takes up to two hours one way．As a result of cell phones’variety of uses and declining costs，the number of subscribers is expected to grow，and international phone connections are becoming more commonplace．Will you know the proper phone etiquette when traveling in another culture？Advancing technology also promises to increase exponentially the amount of information available in the very near future．A new Internet，dubbed“The Grid”，is expected to operate at“speeds about10，000 times faster than a typical broadband connection．”A recent corporate study on the future of digital information reported，“Between 2006 and 2010，the information added annually to the digital universe will increase more than sixfold．．．”Management and regulation of this deluge of information will require international cooperation and the establishment ofmutually agreeable protocols．

Globalization has greatly increased the economic strength ofmany nations，and this has significantly intensified international competition for the natural resources needed to sustain commercial growth．In addition，rapidly expanding middle classes in China and India are creating a demand for consumer and luxury products to improve their rising lifestyles．Your own spending habits have no doubt already been impacted by the heightened competition for oil，partly because of greater demand in China and India．Butoil ismerely one ofmany natural resources being subjected to intensified international competition：［China］accounts for abouta fifth of the world’s population，yet it gobbles up more than half of the world’s pork，half of its cement，a third of its steel and over a quarter of its aluminum．It is spending 35 times as much on imports of soybeans and crude oil as it did in 1999，and 23 times asmuch importing copper—indeed，China has swallowed over four-fifths of the increase in the world’s copper supply since 2000．．．The International Energy Agency expects China’s imports of oil to triple by 2030．

The rise in prices of natural resources has had a particularly harmful impact on many third-world nations．The increased price of oil naturally leads to a concurrent rise in the cost of food production，a cost that is passed on to consumers．And the demand for alternative energy sources has caused many farmers to switch from growing cereal grains such as wheat to producing corn for biofuel．Increased use of vegetable oils for biofuel production has created a shortage of cooking oil in undeveloped countries．Collectively，this has resulted in rising prices and food scarcities inmany African，Southeast Asian，and South Asian nations．The president of theWorld Bank haswarned that the world is“now perched at the edge of catastrophe”．

The problem is of such significance that representatives from themajor developed nations are actively seeking solutions，an effort thatwill call for extensive intercultural communication．The ocean’s ever-declining fish stocks are also a product of intensified global competition for food．According to the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization，of“all theworld’s natural resources，fish are being depleted the fastest”．Whether you eat fish or not，if left unresolved this situation can have very grave consequences．Many underdeveloped nations depend on fish as a primary source of protein，and ithas been estimated that“by 2050 wewill only be able to meet the fish protein needs of half the world population．”Existing scientific guidelines and regulatory organizations designed to control and preserve the fishing industry have failed．Rectifying this problem will require increased international agreements，enforcement and monitoring of those agreements，and cooperation in policing against fishing piracy．

INTERNATIONAL CONFLICT AND SECURITY

There can be no doubt that the world is amuch more dangerous place than it was just a decade ago．Combating the threatof international terrorism requires a vast，coordinated network stretching across many international borders．Nations are now sharing terrorist-related information on an unprecedented scale．To fully understand and employ much of this information，and to interact with representatives from other nations，requires considerable intercultural communication skills．This international cooperation will be a continuing requirement for protecting our homelands formany years to come．

ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES

Your future will also be marked by the challenges of environmental change．For many people in the world，global warming and other forms of environmental degradation are not scientific theories or predictions；they are ongoing realities．For example，in the Sundarbans，a vast low-lying delta along the border of India and Bangladesh，rising waters are already destroying fields and homes．Global warming is also thought to be contributing to increased desertification in arid regions of China and North Africa．

One result，when coupled with industrial pollution，is atmospheric dust storms “containing plant pollens，fungal spores，dried animal feces，minerals，chemicals from fires and industry，and pesticide residues”．Experts are also predicting that continued global warming will produce a worldwide shortage of water，which will affect even the United States．According to a White House report on climate change issued in May 2008，the future will be characterized by“worsening water shortages for agricultural and urban users”across the entire United States．Additionally，military experts have indicated thatwater problems resulting from global warming“willmake poor，unstable parts of the world—the Middle East，Africa，and South Asia—even more prone to wars，terrorism and the need for international intervention”．The need for intercultural communication skills to help lessen and resolve these projected problems should be quite clear．

The challenge of natural disaster response work also calls for intercultural communication proficiency．In late December 2005，an undersea earthquake created a tsunami that inundated the coastal areas of eleven Indian Ocean nations，killing an estimated 230，000 people and leavingmillions homeless．In October 2005，an earthquake in the Kashmir region，which borders India and Pakistan，claimed asmany as 79，000 lives and forced 3．5 million people into refugee camps．In early May 2008，a typhoon struck Myanmar（formally Burma）and a few weeks later an earthquake devastated Sichuan Province in central China．The death toll from these two tragedies will probably exceed two hundred thousand；in addition，millions have lost their homes．

Programs tomitigate the human suffering caused by these calamities required international relief efforts on an unprecedented scale．Rescue teams，medical personnel，disease control professionals，logistics experts，and many other international specialists quickly converged on these areas to assist in recovery operations．Relief agencies from around the world rushed in people and supplies to help the victims．These recovery efforts will continue for extended periods．And，as you would expect，all of this work will require an enormous amount of intercultural communication．In addition to language，it is important to know the cultural norms of the people receiving aid．With experts predicting that climate changewill bringmore intense tropical storms and flooding to low-lying coastal areas，disaster relief work is expected to increase worldwide．

Contemporary global interconnectedness also influences current and future health．for prevention and control．A large number of national governments and international agencies are currently working to control，and find a vaccine for，a deadly strain of avian flu．This has involved the culling and killing of“hundreds of millions of birds”since 2003．It has been estimated that hundreds ofmillions of people could die in a worldwide pandemic should this strainmutate and become transmissible between humans．Also，theWorld Health Organization is directing worldwide efforts to detect，monitor，and report on incidents of severe acute respiratory syndrome（SARS），which can be spread easily by international travelers．Communication must extend acrossmultiple cultures for these efforts to succeed．The future promises even greater need for international agreement and cooperation to ensure safety from diseases．

For instance，researchers have found that the atmospheric dust clouds，which we discussed earlier in this chapter，can transport“bacteria，fungus，and viruses that may transmit diseases to humans．”Global warming also promises to accelerate death rates due to diarrhea，malaria，and dengue fever among the peoples of poverty-stricken nations．

SHIFTING POPULATIONS Imm igration

The world’s population is increasing！At about the time when many of you will begin to think aboutwhat you will do in your retirement years，the current population of approximately 6．6 billion could exceed 9 billion，according to estimates by the United Nations．Most of this growth will occur in developing nations，further straining already overburdened，inadequate social support systems．Inmany instances，untenable living conditions and the lack of economic opportunity will force people to look to the developed world．This could，of course，increase the waves of immigrants alreadymoving to the developed nations，particularlyWestern Europe and the United States，and further change the cultural and social complexion of those nations．For example，immigrants currently make up about 11 percent of Spain’s population and as much as 10 percent of Ireland’s．These immigrants，arriving from Africa，the former Soviet Republics，and Eastern Europe，and the expectation ofmore to come，are quite naturally the subject of heated debate．From one perspective，the immigrants are seen as a threat to the long-established traditional values of the native culture，which in some cases can become a form of racism．However，on the other side of the argument，the new arrivals are seen asmuch-needed additions to the national economies because they supplement the shrinking indigenous workforce and pay taxes that sustain social support systems，such as retirementand health care programs，as the native population ages．Regardless of which side you take in this clash of perspectives，the situation will give rise to greatly increased intercultural communication needs．