Local and Global Communication in Multicultural Settings - Purposive Communication.pdf

CULTURE
Culture is defined as the
sum of a way of life,
including expected
behavior, beliefs, values,
language and living
practices shared by
members of a society. It
consists of both explicit
and implicit rules through
which experience is
interpreted.
InTERCULTURaL
CompETEnCE
Intercultural competence
is the ability to develop
targeted knowledge, skills
and attitudes that lead to
visible behavior and
communication that are
both effective and
appropriate in intercultural
interactions.
3p modEL
We communicate with other
people with different cultures.
Frank (2013) presents the 3P
model of culture to raise
awareness among
communicators in various
cultures.
1) Product
2) Perspective
3) Practices

pRodUCT
Food is often the first cultural
product that people think of
when they think about
another culture. The
special foods associated with
a particular culture are often
the first thing someone
unfamiliar with the
culture learns about it. Other
cultural products include
clothing, music, and literature.
pERspECTIvE
Perspectives describe "what
members of a culture think,
feel, and value". This includes
ideas about what is important
in life, and beliefs about how
younger people should relate
to older members of society.
Perspectives define what
members of a particular
culture consider appropriate
and inappropriate behavior
pRaCTICEs
Perspectives shape practices.
Practices include the traditions and
typical behaviors in a culture. The way
people communicate can differ greatly
from one culture to another, not just in
terms of language but also
what people talk about; with whom;
how direct they are when
communicating; the gestures they use;
their
use of eye contact; etc. Practices
include other behaviors as well, from
the formal – for example wedding
ceremony traditions – to the informal,
such as how people dress and eat on a
day-to- day basis.

• Culture is strengthened through its
expression. The more people engage in
the traditions and ways of living of their
culture, the more that culture's
perspectives, practices, and products are
reinforced. A tradition that has been
practiced for hundreds of years is a
very strong tradition. A culture's
perspectives, practices, and products
can change over time.

• It is important for people, in all areas
of their lives, to be able to interact
successfully with people who are
from cultures that are different from
theirs. This ability is called
intercultural competence.
Intercultural competence is needed
for people from different cultures –
with their different values, practices,
and ways of communicating – to
avoid conflict and misunderstanding.
Intercultural competence requires people
to be flexible in their thinking and to
recognize that people are complex.

• People have different levels of
intercultural competence, among
themselves, and from context to
context. People’s intercultural
competence will be more or less effective
depending on their familiarity with the
particular culture they are encountering
and particular stereotypes that they may
believe. No one can be completely
prepared for all the intercultural
experiences they will have in the
future, and so intercultural
competence requires flexibility.

• This makes the development of
intercultural competence an ongoing
process; it never ends. It requires the
ability to think critically about differences.
Critical thinking is also necessary to
negotiate differences and use strategies
to minimize conflict and
misunderstandings.

• If you start to think about it, you are a
member of many micro-cultures. Your
classroom is one micro-culture that
you move through (and create) each
day. Other micro-cultures in your life
might have to do with your hobbies,
family ties, profession, religion, or
politics. We can see that there are many
micro- cultures, and this is connected to
the many different aspects of a person’s
identity.

High-context culture vs low-context cultures
In anthropology, high-context culture
and low-context culture are measures of
how explicit the messages exchanged in a
culture, and how important the context is in
communication. High and low context cultures
fall on a continuum that describes how a person
communicates with others through their range
of communication abilities: utilizing gestures,
relations, body language, verbal messages,
or non-verbal messages.

High-context culture vs low-context
cultures
These concepts were first introduced by the
anthropologist Edward T. Hall in his 1976 book Beyond
Culture. According to Hall, in a low-context culture, the
message will be interpreted through just the words
(whether written or spoken) and their explicit meaning.
In a high-context culture, messages are also
interpreted using tone of voice, gesture, silence or
implied meaning, as well as context or situation.
There, the receiver is expected to use the situation,
messages and cultural norms to understand the
message.

cultures
High-context cultures often stem from
less direct verbal and nonverbal
communication, utilizing small
communication gestures and reading into
these less direct messages with more
meaning. Low- context cultures are the
opposite; direct verbal communication is
needed to properly understand a message
being said and doing so relies heavily on
explicit verbal skills.

cultures
"High" and "low" context cultures typically
refer to language groups, nationalities, or
regional communities. However, they have also
been applied to corporations, professions and
other cultural groups, as well as settings such
as online and offline communication.

High Context Culture Low Context Culture
q Indirect communication
q Fewer words, more nonverbal clues
q Simple and ambiguous messages
q Very verbal people seen as unattractive; smiling
associated with nervousness
q Preference to long term relationships and
underlying messages
q Long term view of time
q Appointments are generally considered flexible
q Vague and non-confrontational language is
preferred
q Honor and respect is more important than
business; adjourn power and position
q Private networks are used to obtain information
q Values family and group authority
q Direct and specific communication
q High value on words rather than nonverbal clues
q Structured message with technical details
q Informal, frequent smiles, and frequent use of hand
gestures and facial expressions
q Temporary personal relationships
q Short term view of time
q Emphasis on appointments on time, management
of schedules, and punctuality are given high
preference
q Focus on getting a job done, being specific, and
goal attainment
q Personal relationships not considered that much;
ideas and people are assumed equals
q Information is made accessible readily, shared with
Others
q Individualism valued

Are You from a High-Context or Low-Context Culture?
Answer “Yes” or “No” to the following questions and
1) In your culture, is it okay to call your teacher or boss by his or
her first name?
2) Do you feel frustrated when people do not answer your
questions directly?

3) Is it important to you that many people know about your
personal accomplishments?
4) Do you feel comfortable with short-term casual friendships?

5) Do you rely more on words than nonverbal means to express
yourself?
6) Do you seek rational solutions to problems or personal ones?

7) Do you prefer an individual approach over group decision-
making processes for learning and problem solving?
8) Are results just as important as personal relationships in
terms of achieving goals?

9) Is your identity strongly defined outside of group associations
(family, work, culture)?
10) Do you feel conflict is a necessary part of human relations
and should not be avoided?

If you answered “yes” to six
or more questions, chances are,
you are from a low context
culture.

Characteristics of Culture
(Chase & Shamo, 2013)
1) Cultures are learned, not innate –
Children are not born with knowledge
of culture. They are raised by adults
who guide them in their own cultural
ways and instill those beliefs that they
deem to be important. We think and
act as Filipinos because our parents
brought us up this way. We acquired
complete knowledge and
understanding of our cultural norms
from our parents, teachers, relatives,
and friends.

2) Cultures are shared – We act as
members of our own cultural group, not
as individuals, because belonging to a
culture means following the norms of
the group. Fitting not the group means
acceptance and fellowship, and it
provides us members with feelings of
security and love. This happens
because significant portion of the
society share particular belief, value, or
practice. Culture is often viewed as
group customs that link together
members of society.

3) Cultures as multifaceted - Just as
there are dynamics within one culture, it
is also true that a person can belong to
more than one culture. That is to say,
culture is multifaceted. We are never
defined by just one characteristic. People
belong to many different cultural groups
at any given time.
For example, I am currently a member of the culture of
college students. I am also a member of my family, an Igorot, a
musician, and a female. I could fill this page with a list of cultures
to which I belong. To illustrate further, most Filipinos eat port but
our Moslem brothers (who are also Filipinos) find this offensive.

4) Cultures are dynamic - cultures
constantly change as cultural contact
increases, new technologies emerge,
and economic conditions vary.
Globalization has greatly changed
relationships of nations and
governments. Cell phones have
drastically changed interpersonal
communication, and the availability of
the Internet has affected how people of
varied cultures recognize and respect
their differences.

Culture is not static. It is ever changing,
growing, morphing into something new.
Culture is dynamic because people are
dynamic. Since a culture is made up of the
people that belong to it, it is constantly
reformed by those individuals.

5) Cultural identities are overlapping
– we belong to multiple, overlapping
cultures as we interact with one
another. Some of these cultures work
together while others clash. We all
belong to national, regional, social
class, ethnic, professional, religious,
age, and gender cultures.
Sometimes one or more of these identities
become significant while others take a back,
but when the overlapping cultures create
differences that cannot be ignored, conflicts
and problems arise.

Adaptation to New Culture
Many countries have become a
melting pot – a place, whether city or
country, where people of various races or
cultures live together and gradually create
one community.
These countries are, therefore,
places of coexisting cultures, and
overcoming cultural differences is
difficult. Below are ways how to adapt to
new cultures:

1) Cultural integration – is a form of
cultural exchange in which one group
assumes the beliefs, practices, and
rituals of one another group without
sacrificing the characteristics of its own
culture (“Cultures and Traditions,”
2017). This kind of adaptation is
considered positive because
nothing is lost; cultural integration
is a healthy intermingling of the
beliefs and rituals of two unique
cultures.

Integration has the benefits of allowing
citizens to respect other cultures, creating
a creating a sense of unity within a
community. In addition, individuals that
partake in multiple societies gain
resources from multiple cultures while
expanding their own horizon. sense of
unity within a community.

2)Cultural assimilation – occurs when
member of one cultural group adopt the
language, practices, and beliefs of
another group often losing aspects of
their traditional culture in the process
(“Cultures and Traditions,” 2017). These
happen when immigrants voluntarily
adopt their new country’s language and
cultural practices primarily to integrate
into society and improve their chances
of economic and social gain.

Assimilation usually involves a gradual
change of varying degree. Full
assimilation occurs when new members of
a society become indistinguishable from
native members.

Multiculturalism, the counterpart of
assimilation, in which cultural diversity is
encouraged and valued as beneficial to
society. It is the belief that cultures, races,
and ethnicities, particularly those of minority
groups, should be accorded special
acknowledgment of their differences within
a dominant political culture. In general,
multiculturalism includes engagement with
and respect toward people from distinctly
different cultures (Gamble & Gamble, 2013,
p.24)

3) Cultural accommodation – refers to
the process by which individuals may
take on values and beliefs of the host
culture and accommodate them in the
public sphere while maintaining the
parent culture in the private sphere
(“Cultural Accommodation and
Negotiation,” 2017).
Filipinos who migrate to another country
speak their native language at home but outside,
they use the language of the receiving country.

Separation, on the extreme end happens
when one cultural group refuses to interact
or join the dominant culture. Members of
this group prefer to interact with members of
their own culture, so they are
known as outsiders.

Barriers to Effective Cultural Communication
(McKeiver,2013; Chase & Shamo, 2013)
1) Ethnocentrism – refers to the belief that a
person’s culture (his ‘’in-group’’ culture) is much
better than any other group’s culture (an ‘’out-
group’’ culture), and the tendency is for that
person to judge any ‘’out-group’’ culture by using
the norms of his ‘’in-group’’ culture. All of us is, to
some extent, ethnocentric, whose ethnocentricity
falls somewhere on a scale between ‘’low’’ and
‘’high’’ (Neuliep., 2012), as cited in McKeiver,
2013). Our level of ethnocentricity affects our
ability to successfully communicate cross
culturally.

If your ethnocentricity level is high, the effect is
negative. We experience the largest communication
barriers, so wea less likely to attempt to interact with
those whose cultures differ from ours.
With a low ethnocentricity level, however, the effect is
positive. We can become ‘’curious, interested, and
inspired’’ to interact with those belonging to the out-
group, so we become more inclined to deal with them,
enjoy their company, and experience the benefits of
our increased intercultural communication.

2)Stereotypes – are often generalized negative
traits assigned to a group of people (e.g., race,
nationality, religion, social class, sexual orientation,
age, gender) even if these traits may only reflect a
selected few of the group. Simply said, a
stereotype is a generalization of a group of people
based on a small sample of these people.
Stereotyping or classifying an entire group of
people or culture with defining characteristics,
which are usually unfair and untrue, is much easier
than explaining the complexities of the uniqueness
of specific situations and the individual differences
essential in each event.

Your generalizations are the results of your own
experiences, situations you see in videos, movies,
television, things you read about from newspapers,
magazines, and books; and experiences you hear
from your family, relatives, and friends.
Example: Asians have better math ability.
African Americans have greater athletic
ability, and women are more caring.

3) Prejudice – an offshoot of stereotype, is an unfair
thought, belief, or feeling of dislike for a person or
group because of race, nationality, gender, sexual
orientation, age, religion, and so on. It is a negative
preconceived opinion held by one group toward
members of another group that biases perception
and provides a reason for discrimination. When
someone is prejudiced, the prejudice usually refers
to hid thoughts, feelings, and beliefs about a
certain group of people, which he learns only from
his ‘’in-group,’’ nit from any first-hand, direct contact,
with ‘’out-group’’ members, and he seldom
attempts to check the validity of this bias, or if ever
he proves it being unsubstantiated, he often
ultimately ignores the truth.

4) Assumed Similarities – an assumption of
similarity is a baseless, unreasonable refusal to
see cultural differences where they exist. This
happens when members of one group assume that
all groups behave the same way they do, that what
is true to their culture is also true to all other
cultures. This results to insensitivity to cultural
differences.
Example: If you want challenges and
responsibility in your job, you'll assume that
others want the same.

5) Anxiety – intercultural communication anxiety is
the fear or apprehension associated with either
real or anticipated communication with people from
another cultural group. The fear is often caused by
differences in language ability, verbal and
nonverbal communication styles, and expression
of emotions. Regardless of culture, everyone may
experience feelings of impatience, frustration, and
suspicion while communicating or even in
anticipation of the interaction, which can then
increase anxiety. When you experience high levels
of anxiety, your natural instinct is to avoid the
situation.

Example:
As a new college student, you usually feel
afraid and nervous before your first day of
classes in the university because you do not
know what to expect from your new
classmates and teachers whose cultures are
different from yours.

Linguistic Preference and Non-verbal Behavior
Variations in the way different cultures
use language – like linguistic preferences and
nonverbal behaviors – also cause
miscommunication. Nuances in linguistic
preferences provide hints about behavior,
manners, and thinking as a cultural group (Lee,
2017; Zelinski, 2017).

For instance, Asians including
Japanese and Chinese, consider harmony an
important virtue, so to avoid confrontation,
they often say ‘’yes’’ to many things with the
understanding of “Yes, I hear you’’ or “Yes, I
understand,” and not necessarily “Yes, I
agree.” People in Latin America, Southern
Europe, and Japan, however, are not
comfortable with ambiguity because they are
conditioned to expect absolute truths.

Nonverbal behaviors, which Edward T.
Hall (1959) called the “silent language,” are
expressive human attributes that impact
feelings, attitudes, reactions, and judgments
which need to be given continued attention
because they are acquired mainly through
acculturation (adopting the traits of another
cultural group); moreover, they are unspoken
and largely unconscious, so the implied
meanings are more felt than understood.

Below are some differences in the
nonverbal behaviors of some other cultures
that can help us coexist with them in the
globalized community we are in because of
technology (International Etiquettes,”2017;
“Dimensions of Body Language,” 2017).

In summary,
ü Globalization affects the economy as it
involves the movement of people and
products.
ü Because people move, globalization affects
communication.
ü The diversity of people affects
communication.
ü Awareness and sensitivity to multi cultures
determine success of communication

“Cultural differences should not
separate us from each other, but
rather cultural diversity brings a
collective strength that can benefit
all of humanity. Also, intercultural
dialogue is the best guarantee of a
more peaceful, just and sustainable
world”.
- Robert Allan Arthur -

Local and Global Communication in Multicultural Settings - Purposive Communication.pdf

Local and Global Communication in Multicultural Settings - Purposive Communication.pdf

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