Intercultural Communication in the Workplace

1. Intercultural Communicationinthe Workplace

2. Intercultural Communication Challenges • Communication dependant on cultural upbringing • On autopilot • Use symbolic systems learned as children to understand messages • Use their own cultural norms

3. Intercultural Communication Challenges • Researchers use an iceberg analogy to describe how a person’s heritage impacts communication

4. Intercultural Communication Challenges • Communication can be described as an “action chain” • Meaning – • One phrase or action leads to the next • A whole series of unwritten expectations of reciprocity • Unwritten expectations are culturally unique

5. Intercultural Communication Challenges • Stereotyping --- another challenge • Is believing that all members of a group communicate similarly • A stereotype can become a self-fulfilling prophecy

6. Four Stages of Intercultural Communication • Unconscious incompetence • Speaker misunderstands • Doesn’t even know a misunderstanding has occurred • Conscious incompetence • Speaker is aware of misunderstanding • Makes no effort to change

7. Four Stages of Intercultural Communication • Conscious competence • Speaker modifies communication to avoid misunderstanding • Unconscious competence • Speaker is skilled enough to make cultural adjustments without thinking about them

8. Intercultural Communication Concepts • Communication uses symbols • Only sender knows exact meaning of message • Receiver filters message through cultural norms to interpret original message • Relationship between sender and receiver important in preventing misinterpretation

9. Intercultural Communication Concepts • Verbal vs. nonverbal messages: • Verbal messages best for conveying data-like content • Nonverbal messages communicate feelings and attitudes about relationships

10. Intercultural Communication Concepts • Verbal communication: • Messages can only be interpreted within cultural context • Cultural context --- innate part of how and what we perceive • Hard to believe that other cultures don’t have some “background” understanding

11. Intercultural Communication Concepts • Low- and High-Context Cultures: • Cultures vary between “low-context” and “high-context” • “Context” --- the affective and physical cues used to indicate meaning • Examples: Tone of voice, posture, facial expression, gestures, rolling eyes, twitching

12. Intercultural Communication Concepts • Low-Context: • The actual words more important than who is giving message • Information presented in linear, logical sequences • Meaning depends on the words used • Example: Western cultures

13. Intercultural Communication Concepts • High-Context: • The wording may be vague or incomplete • The meaning found in how the information is conveyed

14. Intercultural Communication Concepts • High-Context: • Nonverbal signifiers are highly meaningful • Examples: Small eye movements, small sounds, squirming • High context cultures are most typical among homogeneous populations

15. Intercultural Communication Concepts • Cultures ranked by high- and low-context communication: • Very high-context: • Asian, Middle Eastern, Native American • Mildly high-context: • Latino • Low-context: • U.S; many European cultures even lower

16. Intercultural Communication Concepts • Mismatch between high- and low-context communication: • May result in impatience or offense • Biomedicine is usually low-context • Goal: Convey information accurately; not to promote positive relationship • High-context clients may feel dissatisfied and discontinue treatment

17. Intercultural Communication Concepts • Low-context cultures: • Individual typically regarded as separate from group • Values: • Individualism, self-realization, personal accomplishments, excel beyond others

18. Intercultural Communication Concepts • Low-context cultures: • Communication used to gain group acceptance • Within family, workplace, community • Self-esteem: • Based on successful mastery or control of situation

19. Intercultural Communication Concepts • Low-context cultures: • Individualism --- a prominent characteristic in: • Australia, Canada, Great Britain, New Zealand, Netherlands, Sweden, U.S.

20. Intercultural Communication Concepts • High-context cultures: • All members of group interact according to predetermined patterns • Values: • Awareness of group members as mutually dependent, preserve group’s identity and cohesiveness, fulfill set roles

21. Intercultural Communication Concepts • High-context cultures: • Collectivism --- valued in: • Denmark, Ghana, Guatemala, Indonesia, Nigeria, Panama, Peru, El Salvador, Sierra Leone, Taiwan, Thailand, Venezuela, Columbia

22. Nonverbal Communication • Touching --- Examples by Culture • Cultures that mostly avoid touching: • U. S., Canada, Great Britain, Scandinavia, Japan, Korea

23. Nonverbal Communication • Touching --- Examples by Culture • Cultures that expect touching: • Middle East, Greece, Mexico, Central Ameria, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Russia

24. Nonverbal Communication • Touching --- Examples by Culture • Gender impacts cultural rules • For many cultures, touching on head or hair is especially inappropriate

25. Intercultural Communication Concepts • Uncertainty Avoidance: • Cultures vary in how tolerant they are towards uncertainty and ambiguity

26. Intercultural Communication Concepts • High “Uncertainty Avoidance” Cultures: • Prefer structure, formality, external supervision, and consensus • Deviation from norm creates anxiety

27. Intercultural Communication Concepts • High “Uncertainty Avoidance” Cultures: • Cultures include: • Argentina, Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, Egypt, France, Israel, Spain, Mexico, Greece, most of Africa and Asia

28. Intercultural Communication Concepts • Low “Uncertainty Avoidance” Cultures: • Are willing to accept dissent within group, open to change, more informal, internally driven

29. Intercultural Communication Concepts • Low “Uncertainty Avoidance” Cultures: • Cultures include: • U.S., Canada, Denmark, Great Britain, Hong Kong, India, Jamaica, Sweden, Philippines, Netherlands

30. Intercultural Communication Concepts • Perception of power and authority or “power distance”: • Influence communication patterns • Low-context cultures: • Person’s job or role confers power • Power distance is small • People seen as equals • Willing to question directions and ask for explanations

31. Intercultural Communication Concepts • Perception of power and authority or “power distance”: • High-context cultures: • Superiors automatically given respect • Authority and instructions not questioned • Explanations are not expected • Large power distance

32. Intercultural Communication Concepts • Perception of power and authority or “power distance”: • Miscommunication arises when people miscalculate one another’s power distance • Employees with high power distance may reject employee empowerment