Chapter 4 Flashcards
Communication
The process of transmitting information through media such as words, behavior, or material artifacts to assist in decision making. Greatly helps in negotiating future plans.
Noise
anything that disrupts the communication process.
Encoding
Translating the intended meaning of the message into symbols.
Decoding
the process of translating the received symbols into the interpreted message.
Causes of noise
the difference between sender and receiver’s life space
Intercultural communication
occurs when a member of one culture sends a message to a member of another culture.
Attribution
the process in which people look for the explanation of another person’s behavior. People may blame a failure in communication on the other person’s stupidity, deceit, or craziness.
Trust
improves cross-cultural communication by encouraging the open exchange of ideas and information. Socializing when possible and making friendly contacts with persons can improve trust.
Language
verbal and nonverbal characteristics.
Attitudes
Positive or negative evaluations, feelings, and tendencies that individuals harbor toward objects or concepts and affects the communication process.
Subculture
a group of people who share a unique way of life within a larger, dominant culture.
Stereotyping
when a person assumes that every member of a society or subculture has the same characteristics or traits.
Symbols
letters, figures, colors, or other characters that communicate meaning.
Kinesic behavior
an element of nonverbal communication that includes posture, gestures, facial expressions and eye contact. The meaning of body movements/kinesics vary across cultures. Ex. When someone from the US has a relaxed posture, this could be interpreted as rudeness in Asia. Likewise, hand gestures used by someone from the US can be distracting to someone from Japan.
Oculesics
subtle differences in eye behavior. Direct eye contact is common in the US. British tend to keep looking away while conversing.
Haptics
communicating through touch.
High contact culture
in this type of society people stand close together and touch a great deal.
Coworkers may put an arm over their colleague’s back. Brazil is a high contact culture.
Japan is a
______ culture
(high contact) that bows and often don’t shake hands. In low contact cultures people are
likely to stand at a respectable distance from each other
Proxemics
the influence of closeness and space on communication. ex. Brazilians tend to stand
close to others compared to cultures such as the US and Japan
Paralanguage
Reflects how something is said rather than the content. yawning, changing the meaning of words by changing the inflection of your voice, the use of silence during meetings.
Object language or material culture
the manner in which people communicate through material
artifacts such as architecture, office design, furniture, clothing, cosmetics, and cars.
Monochronic culture
treat time as a compartmentalized and classified tool for bringing order to
life, adhere to plan commitments. Considers time as something that can be saved or wasted and prefers “efficiency” in time. May come to decisions quicker
Polychronic culture
tolerate many events occurring simultaneously, consider time flexible and
focus on relationships rather than material systems. Members can be distracted and change plans frequently while doing many tasks at once. Ex. Latin Americans have a flexible view of time and may not arrive at the predetermined time. May “waste” time by chatting about many non-business things. May be slower to make decisions.
High context culture
feelings and thoughts are not explicitly expressed. The message is given
implicitly and inferred based on the context. People have to “read between the lines” to
interpret meaning based on unarticulated moods, subtle gestures, and environmental cues. Most communication occurs within a context of extensive information networks resulting from close personal relationships. Personal relations and goodwill valued. Ex. Japan
