this is an assessment concerning communication and culture

1. Self-Assessment 1: Culture and Communication
Marcela Lopez Lopez
January 18, 2021

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1. Overview (~1-2 paragraphs)
In your own words, offer a summary of your country's cultural analysis generated by the
Hofstede Insights Country Comparison tool (linked in the assignment description for this
assignment). Include the generated graph as a visual aid, label it properly (Figure 1), and be
sure to refer to it in your summary below.
According to the 6-D model, the united states has a low power distance of 40. This shows that
everybody in America is unequal with one another. this poses equality witnessed in the
country. This also indicates that the less powerful member of this community accepts that
power is unequally distributed. The rate of individualismis very high, with America recording
91. This shows that every citizen only mins about themselves and their immediate family. This
indicates how there exists uniqueness in the rights of citizens. Even in the workplace,
promotions and hiring are based on the individual performance
America has high masculinity of 62, which can be attributed to individualism within the country.
This indicates that behaviors at work and school are based on the shared values that people
strive to acquire, and the winner takes it all. The future cannot be predicted, and America
scores an average of 46 of the uncertainty of avoidance. This indicates that the country does
not trust ambiguous situations (Zainuddin, Yasin, Arif, and Abdul Hamid, 2018). The
government has a fair acceptance of new ideas and willingness to try new ideas and
innovations. However, the country also offers freedom for opinions and also allows everyone to
exercise freedom of expression. America scores low in long-term orientation, reflecting that the
country analyses new data to check whether it is true. This also shows that the country prefers
to maintain its traditions as well as the norm. The country scores a score of 68 in indulgence,

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which shows that the country tries its best to control its impulses and desires. This is evidenced
in the fight against drugs despite the county being ranked as the leading in drug addiction.
Figure. 1

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2. Your PerspectiveonCultural Influence (~2-5 sentences each)
The Hofstede Insights Country Comparison tool analyzes cultures as a whole. While cultural
norms, values, etc., absolutely shape us, there are many regional and individual variations.
You may feel that you identify more or less with specific dimensions of the analysis.
For each of the six dimensions discussed in the Hofstede Insights analysis, describe your
identification level with your country's dimension score and description.
Power Distance
In the unitedstates,everybodyisunique,whichmeansthateveryone
isnot equal to another.InAmerica,the level of inequalityisveryhigh,
so the powerscore is 40. Powerisnot equallydistributedasthe whites
feel thatthey are more superiorto blackAmericans.
Individualism
The level of individualismin the unitedstatesisveryhigh.There isa
highdegree of interdependence wheresocietyonlyviews people's
image intermsof 'I.' People lookafterthemselvesandtheirfamilies
and notabout others'welfare.Withanindividualistscore of 91 and a
powerdistance of 40, it indicates ahighneedforthe US to emphasize
equal rights.Eveninthe workplace,the employees are expectedto
relyon themselvesanddisplayinitiative.Evenpromotions,decision
making,andhiringare basedon whatan individual hasdone.
"Masculinity"1
(Achievement vs.
Nurturing)
The US has a masculinityscore of 62, whichisveryhigh.Thisshows
that America'sentire society isdriven by achievement,competition,
and success,which isdefinedbythe winnerorthe one whois bestin
the battle.Itthismasculinitythatdrivesthe highindividualityinthe
1 The Hofstedesitecalls this dimension “Masculinity,” whilethe chapter fromthe Interplay textbook moreaccurately calls this dimension
“Achievement vs Nurturing.” Yes, using the labels “masculine”and“feminine”to describe culturalprioritizations of self/achievement vs
other/nurturing is definitely sexist, but pleasedon’t letyourselfget hung up on Hofstede’s outdated choiceoflabels and instead focus onthe
content of thedimension.

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country.Thisis manifestedinschool where behaviorisbasedonthe
valuesshared,whichlearnershave tocompete,andthe winnertakes
it all. The US is full of the mentalityof "cando,"whichhas createda lot
of dynamismwithinthe society.Thismakes Americans live towork to
obtainrewardsintermsof moneyandattainthe high status according
to howgood theyare.
Uncertainty Avoidance
Americahasa score of 46, whichis below average,andthismeansthat
the country hasa fairacceptance of new ideas,willof tryingdifferent
or newideas, andalsoinnovative products.The countrytoleratesnew
opinionsorideasfromall people,anditalsooffersfreedomof
expression.
Long Term Orientation
The US has a low score of 26, whichmeansthatthe countryisprone to
maintainingitsnormsandtraditionsastheyreview society'schange.
Americans analyze new datatocheckwhetheritiscorrect. Although
thisshouldnotbe confusedtosay that Americansare pragmatic,the
fact isthat theya convenientastheyare guidedbythe "can do"
mentality.
Indulgence
Americahasa highscore of indulgence of 68, andthismakesthe
countryto be reflectedinthe behaviorandattitude of playingand
workinghard.Thisis the reasonthe countryhas wagedwar against
drugsdespite leadingtodrugaddiction.
3. Verbal and Nonverbal Communication (~1-2 paragraphs)

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Using the chapter "Culture and Interpersonal Communication" and the Hofstede Insights
analysis, discuss how you think culture and your cultural perspectives affect/impact your use
of verbal and nonverbal communication.
The world is full of a different culture which has different norms and behaviors. The
perspectives and culture have a tremendous impact on nonverbal and verbal communication.
For instance, in the culture of America, people interact in terms of age. It would seem so
awkward to see a kid of 8years communicate, dress, or even act like a fully grown person.
The culture has a communication style that is related to age. Americans believe that
communication develops as one undergoes growth. Western culture values the youth, but
aging attitudes are more negative than positive (Wolniak, 2017). The media depicts the aged
as bored, unattractive, and declining in health matters. While the people who are over 60,
especially women, are underrepresented in them, and even they are not given any chance to
have a say in their country. This is because the culture values the masculine gender more and
that they are more superior. This affects communication, especially to women, as they are
not even given a chance to rule.
In the united states, nearly one in five people disable, and these people have to use different
strategies to fit into the dominant. One of the strategies they use is assimilation, where they
choose to de-emphasize their differences, and in most cases, they opt to remain quiet about
their disability. According to the culture, the lesser one tells about his state of disability, the
better off they are. Society only identifies them with their state of disability, which makes
them not enjoy the freedom of expression.

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Social-economic status is another character within the US, affecting how people
communicate (Beugelsdijk, Kostova, and Roth, 2017). People identify themselves to belong
to the different societal classes, and they always feel a state of solidarity when they interact
with people belonging to the same class. People who come from the working-class and then
get a job of the middle or upper class find a challenge communicating to others as they have
different vocabularies. This makes them adopt new non-verbal and verbal behaviors so that
they can gain acceptance.

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4. Culture, Perception, andExpectations (~2-3 paragraphs)
Using the chapter "Culture and Interpersonal Communication" and the Hofstede Insights
analysis, discuss how you think your cultural influences affect your perspectives and
expectations of others.
Although many cultures have some similarities in their language, some remarkable
indifferences in different respects affect how people interact. For instance, being brought up
in a high-class culture, we have a way to communicate, dress, or even act. This brings a
challenge when we interact with other people from a different culture as I expect them to
behave in a manner I do. Also, we have different names that we use to identify ourselves,
reflecting on how we relate to one another. Still, I expect the other people to behave the
same, which is hard as they have their own cultures with different norms. My cultural
influences always affect others' perspectives and expectations, as I always tend to force them
to behave and believe in our culture and not theirs.
4.1 …and Communication (~1 paragraph)
How do you think this affects the way you communicate with others?
Indifferences in culture affects communication with other people from different cultures. As I
come from a different culture with a different language, this forces me to change my
language whenever in a new culture to that of the dominant culture. Different cultures have

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different ways in which they code during communication. For instance, in our culture, we use
our identities, surname, street name, town, and even country. But other cultures, primarily
where their many groups of people use their ethnic groups, make it hard to understand one
another. We also have different communication styles, which poses a challenge during
communication with others.

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5. Culture, Communication, andProfessional Engineering (~1-3 paragraphs)
This assignment is designed to help you gain a clearer understanding of how your cultural
norms and background affect your communication (including verbal, nonverbal, and
interpersonal communication), perceptions, expectations, and preferences.
How will having a better understanding of this affect your proficiency and success as a
professional engineer?
Every profession requires someone to have a well understanding of their cultural norms and
behaviors. A clear understanding of my norms, expectations, preferences, and perceptions
makes me fully understand who I am. It will also help me understand other people from
different cultures and appreciate their culture. With a well understanding of the effects of
culture on communication, I will develop intercultural communication skills, which will help
me interact with people from other cultures. Interaction with other cultures calls for some
ingredients of general communication competence. This assignment will help me develop a
range of behaviors and be skillful when choosing and undertaking some situations. Also, I
will learn how to change my culture to fit into the dominant culture of the people I will be
working with, which will help me develop ambiguity to learn new ideas.

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References
Beugelsdijk, S., Kostova, T., & Roth, K. (2017). An overview of Hofstede-inspired country-level
culture research in international business since 2006. Journal of International Business
Studies, 48(1), 30-47.
Wolniak, R. (2017). Verbal and nonverbal communication in the recruitment process. Business
ethics and sustainable development, 1, 111-120.
Zainuddin, M., Yasin, I. M., Arif, I., & Abdul Hamid, A. B. (2018, December). Alternative
Cross-Cultural Theories: Why Still Hofstede?. In Proceedings of International
Conference on Economics, Management and Social Study (pp. 4-6).