week 12 Flashcards
Intercultural communication and intracultural
Intercultural communication is the sharing of meanings between individuals from different cultures
Intracultural communication is shared communication between members of the same cultural group
Enculturation
- process of learning or absorbing one’s own culture
- It involves internalising ‘rules’ of interaction
- Internalised rules surface in a range of intercultural contexts including business, social and personal contexts
- Context includes all the factors that shape and influence the ways in which we understand an interaction
Acculturation
- Acculturation is the process of cultural adjustment and adaptation people experience as they move from one culture to another
- Involves learning, adjusting and adapting to the values, symbols and/or behaviour of the host culture
Enculturation can be:
- unconscious
- E.g. as we absorb and imitate daily habits, behavioural patterns and roles from infancy
- deliberate
- E.g. as we are taught specific manners for greeting people, religious rites and rituals
Acculturation is
Acculturation is a multi-dimensional process. Adjusting to a new culture can involve difficulties:
- conflicting social norms and attempts to retain the previous culture
- focusing on differences between own and new culture
- perceiving differences as weaknesses
In a low-power-distance culture
employees do not readily recognise a power hierarchy. They accept directions only when they think the boss is right or when they feel threatened
Masculinity/Femininity
-In this context, masculinity refers to an emphasis on assertiveness, success and competition.
-At the other end of the continuum
is femininity, which refers to an emphasis on personal relationships, caring for others, and a high quality of life.
High context cultures
Not everything is said or signaled
Reading between the lines necessary for interpretation
Contextual understanding needed in interpretation
Low context cultures:
Large part of the message is verbally transmitted
Less contextual information needed in interpretation
During business negotiations or formal communication between two parties -
Low context culture:
Brief greetings are exchanged
Brief ice-breakers (e.g., trip, weather)
Individuals get straight to the point
Not much of the context/history of the two parties or organisations discussed
Expression or disapproval or assertiveness during negotiations considered okay.
During business negotiations
High context culture:
Formal and often long sessions of greetings
Longer discussions on family and business networks (not in all high context cultures)
The context/history of the two parties or organisations discussed in depth
Individuals rarely ever get straight to the point
Overt expression or disapproval or assertiveness during negotiations not acceptable.
Cultural components to intercultural communication: Perceptions of power
Power differentials within a culture can be divided into two dimensions:
- a permanent dimension of gender, race, age and sexual orientation
- a more changeable dimension of educational background, socioeconomic status and marital status
Cultural components to intercultural communication: Language
- Language and the meaning of words learnt within a culture reflect the culture’s values and shape its members’ view of the world
- Language is dynamic and changes over time
- It is important to be aware of meaning of words and idiomatic expressions
Cultural components to intercultural communication: NVC
Nonverbal communication
- any communication not encoded in words
- can be personal to the individual, common to the group or culture, or universal
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Cultural components to intercultural communication: NVC
what can it be classified as?
It can be classified as:
- relational nonverbal
- status messages
deceptive nonverbal
Cultural components to intercultural communication: NVC
what NVC have different interpretation across cultures?
- body movements (may be personal, cultural or universal)
- eye contact
- facial expression (more universal)
- paralanguage
- proxemics
- chronemics
- silence
- Artefacts (more personal)
Barriers to communication
stereotyping
Stereotyping can lead to prejudice
•pre-judging with little or no information can create negative attitudes towards a cultural group
This can lead to discrimination
•this involves overt actions by nations, institutions, groups or individuals to exclude, avoid or distance another cultural group
Barriers to intercultural communication
culture
Cultural practices
- practices vary across cultures (e.g., direct vs. indirect approach in meetings)
- E.g., in Japan, business meetings held during the day can seem to be slow to deal with key issues, whereas after-work drinks and dinners may be more useful as sources of information.
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Social institutions
- Social institutions and their norms determine how people relate to each other, how they manage themselves and what they view as acceptable behaviour.
- Intercultural communication barriers arise when either party demonstrates ethnocentricity rather than cultural relativism.
barriers to intercultural communication
Value systems
- values affect the legal, political and economic practices
- they reflect what is important to the culture
- values are the most pervasive and sensitive element of culture
Ambiguity and conflict
•Conflict is a real or perceived incompatibility of goals, values, expectations, process or outcomes between two or more interdependent individuals or groups from different cultures
Intercultural competency
is developed through understanding how we perceive and react to cultural rules — not only those of others, but also our own
Hofstede (1991) has identified two different approaches to culture learning:
- culture-specific
- culture-general
Culture-specific approach
Focuses on acquiring specific knowledge about the ‘other’ culture
Based on gathering information about a country
Useful information BUT it does not provide a full in-depth understanding of the people and the culture
Culture-general approach
A much broader approach to culture learning, focusing on developing the following abilities:
- cultural awareness and sensitivity
- cultural and communication sensitivity
- behavioural flexibility
- an ‘other-orientation’
- responsibility for communicating
Cultural assumptions about conflict
Constructive view of Conflict
Conflict is normal and useful
All issues are subject to change through negotiation
Direct confrontation and conciliation are valued
Conflict is necessary renegotiation of contract, a release of tensions and a renewal of relationships
destructive view of conflict
- conflict is a destructive disturbance of peace
- disputants should be disciplined
- confrontation is destructive and ineffective
- the social system is not to be adjusted to the needs of its members - its members need to adapt to the established values
primary aim of press agentry/publicity model
to attract media coverage
feature of one-way communication models
no feedback from public
two-way asymmetrical model enables
2 way asymmetrical model enables an organisation to collect info and improve the effectiveness of its message
example of 2 way asymmetrical model
political campaigns
role of research in 2 way asymmetrical model
evaluable research is used to alter public attitudes in favour of the organisation’s objectives
what is the 2 way symmetrical model based on ?
free exchange of information
