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CULTURE, CONFLICT AND COMMUICATION IN THE GLOBAL WORKFORCE

CULTURE, CONFLICT AND COMMUICATION IN THE GLOBAL WORKFORCE. March 27, 2008 University of Illinois Dr. Gary R. Weaver American University. WHY IS DIVERSITY IMPORTANT?. Changing demographics Not just in urban areas “Globalization”. The American Culture Today.

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CULTURE, CONFLICT AND COMMUICATION IN THE GLOBAL WORKFORCE

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  1. CULTURE, CONFLICT AND COMMUICATION IN THE GLOBAL WORKFORCE March 27, 2008 University of Illinois Dr. Gary R. Weaver American University

  2. WHY IS DIVERSITY IMPORTANT? Changing demographics Not just in urban areas “Globalization”

  3. The American CultureToday • Not a Cultural Cookie Cutter or Melting Pot • Patchwork Quilt • Salad Bowl • Mosaic • Tapestry

  4. Minorities in USA Today 12% African American 15% Hispanic 4% Asian and Pacific Islanders 1% American Indian

  5. TO MORE EFFECTIVELY SERVE YOUR CLIENTS Conveying information Developing skills Overcoming barriers caused by differences Using differences to create synergy

  6. TRAITS THAT CORRELATE WITH FAILURE IN CROSS-CULTURAL INTERACTIONS Low tolerance to ambiguity or high uncertainty avoidance Overly task-oriented or high need for individual achievement Overly closed-minded and inflexible

  7. What is “Culture?” • culture - the way of life (values, beliefs and behaviors) of a people passed down from one generation to the next through learning

  8. Cultural Generalization Never applies to everyone in every situation Only a first “guess” Discard it when no longer accurate or useful Cultural Stereotype Applies to everyone in every situation – no exceptions Retained even when no longer accurate or useful Generalization vs. Stereotype

  9. Culture is like an Iceberg. Most of it is UNDER the water.

  10. BEHAVIOR BELIEFS VALUES AND THOUGHT PATTERNS

  11. As we interact, differences will become LESS important. • Leon Festinger • Theory of Cognitive Dissonance • Muzafir Sherif • Development of a “Superordinate Goal”

  12. Earned Status Individual Achievement Individual Action Equality Immediate family Self Reliance Independence Individual Competition Individualism Guilt Future Class Mobility Ascribed Status Affiliation Stability Inequality Extended Family Reliance on Others Interdependence Cooperation Collectivism Shame Past or Heritage Caste Rigidity CULTURAL CONTINUUMSTo Do To Be

  13. CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION

  14. What Doesn’t Fit? Nice weather we’re having! Sunny, high in the 70s. Haven’t we met before?

  15. What Doesn’t Fit? • Nice weather we’re having! • Haven’t we met before? • High-Context - Relational - Associative • To Be - Poets • Sunny, high in the 70s. • Low Context - Abstractive - Analytical • To Do - Memo Writers/Lawyers

  16. Communication Styles A B

  17. Communication Styles A B

  18. Communication Styles A B

  19. Communication Styles A B

  20. Project Timeline Stage One 0 - 6 Months Stage Two 6 - 12 months Stage Three 12 - 18 Months Stage Four 18 - 24 months

  21. Project Timeline Stage One 0 - 12 Months Stage Two 12 - 18 Months Stage Three 18 - 22 Months Stage Four 22 -24 Months

  22. NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION We send messages, not meaning To Do people tend to be verbally-oriented To Do people trust vision

  23. Cross-Cultural Conflict

  24. QUESTIONS: How do you know if it’s a conflict? Is it escalating or de-escalating? When do you resolve it? When it is beyond resolution? How do you resolve the conflict?

  25. Resources • Hall, Edward. Beyond Culture. • Weaver, Gary R., ed. Culture, Communication and Conflict, 2nd edition. Boston, MA:Pearson Publishing, 2000. • Weaver, Gary R. and Adam Mendelson, America’s Midlife Crisis: The Future of a Troubled Superpower, Boston, MA: Intercultural Press, 2008 • www.interculturalpress.com • www.imi.american.edu

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