New Directions

1. PRESENTATION ON
‘AMERICAN VALUES AND
ASSUMPTIONS’
GARY ALTHEN

2. Group Members
 A- Leader
 R - Editor
 N
 A
 R
 S

3. Table of Contents:
 Intercultural Communication
 Gary Althen
 American Values and Assumptions
 Introduction to The Text
 Values and Assumption
 Individualism
 Competition
 Privacy
 Equality
 Informality
 The Future, Change and Progress
 Time
 Achievement, Action, Work, and Materialism
 Directness and Assertiveness
 Conclusion

4. Intercultural Communication
 Synonymous to cross cultural communication
 Seeks to understand how people
- Act
- Communicate
- Perceive

5. Gary Althen
 Served for 30 years as a foreign
student adviser (University of
Iowa)
 Received Marita Houlihan
Award for his contributions to
the field of international
educational exchange.
 President of NAFSA, the
Association of International
Educators.

6. American Values And
Assumptions
Excerpted from American Ways: A Guide for Foreigners in the United States
Writings:
 The Handbook of
Foreign Student Advising
(1983)
 American Ways: A Guide
for Foreigners in the
United States (1988)

7. Introduction to The Text
 Personal experiences.
 Difference in values and assumptions
 Beliefs and customs
 Seems normal in one and strange in another
 Problems resulting from cross-cultural variation

8. Values and Assumptions
 Values: Ideas what are right or wrong, desirable or
undesirable, normal or abnormal and proper or improper
 Assumptions: The unquestioned standards about people
and life; what we suppose or think

9. Individualism
 Devotion to individualism
 Consider themselves separate individuals
 Responsible for the consequences
 Not trained to see themselves as members of an
interdependent family or religious group.

10. Competition
 Pervades the society
 Attainment of superiority
 Maintaining uniqueness.

11. Privacy
 Love their privacy
 Friend seekers are considered weak and
dependent
 When the boundary is crossed they become aloof.

12. Equality
 ‘All men are created equal’
 ‘One man one vote’
 Basic level of respectful treatment
 Unaware of status differences

13. Informality
 Democratic approach to other people
 Use of slang and idiomatic speech
 Extravagant friendliness
 Informality is normality

14. Future Change and Progress
 Look ahead
 Setting goals and working systematically
 New things are better than old things
 Believe in work rather than in fate

15. Time
 Time is money
 Admire well organized people
 Human interactions are truly important
 Constructive future oriented activities

16. Achievement, Action, Work And
Materialism
 Admiration of achievers
- People judged by their jobs
 Materialistic in nature
-Earning is must for evaluation of success

17. Directness And Assertiveness
 Straight forward and frank
 Speak up the mind
 Guarding emotional responses
 Considerate

18. Conclusion
 Individualism vs. Family
 Equality vs. Inequality
 Punctuality vs. Unpunctuality
 Informal vs. Formal

19. The Floor is Open For Questions…..

20. THANK YOU!