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Management Communications and Intercultural Contexts

Management Communications and Intercultural Contexts. Zeenat Jabbar. A Definition of Culture. “Culture is everything that people have, think, and do as members of their society.” Professor Gary P. Ferraro The Cultural Dimensions of International Business , 3e.

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Management Communications and Intercultural Contexts

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  1. Management Communications and Intercultural Contexts ZeenatJabbar

  2. A Definition of Culture “Culture is everything that people have, think, and do as members of their society.” Professor Gary P. Ferraro The Cultural Dimensions of International Business, 3e

  3. Culture is composed of . . . • Material objects • Ideas, values, and attitudes • Expected patterns of behavior

  4. Some Principles of Culture • All culture is learned. • Culture is universal to human society. • All cultures are constantly undergoing change. • Some cultures change more quickly than others.

  5. Some Principles of Culture • Culture is not value-neutral. • Not all cultures are equally complex. • Virtually all cultures permit the development of sub-cultures. • Culture can influence biology and biology can influence culture.

  6. Functions of Culture • Cultures universally respond to human problems and challenges by developing systems to deal with them. • Economic systems • Marriage and family systems • Educational systems • Supernatural belief systems

  7. Cultural Change • Cultures change because of internal forces such as discovery and innovation. • Cultures change because of external forces such as diffusion and borrowing.

  8. Issues Affecting Cultural Change • Relative Advantage: Is it superior to what already exists? • Compatibility: Is it consistent with existing cultural patterns? • Complexity: Is it easily understood?

  9. Ethnocentrism • All cultures, to one degree or another, display ethnocentrism, or the tendency to evaluate a foreigner or outsider’s behavior by the standards of one’s own culture. • All cultures also display the tendency to believe that they are somehow superior to all others.

  10. Ethnocentrism • We take our own culture for granted. • We see our behavior as “correct” and others’ as somehow “wrong.” • Ethnocentrism can enhance group solidarity within a society. • Ethnocentrism can also foster prejudice, contempt, inaccurate stereotypes, and conflict.

  11. Domestic Cultural Variables • Gender • Ethnicity • Age • Ability • Preference

  12. Dimensions of Culture • Individualism vs. Collectivism • Masculinity vs. Femininity • Power Distance • Uncertainty Avoidance • Short-Term vs. Long-Term Orientation • High vs. Low Context • Immediacy and Expression

  13. Cross-CulturalCommunication Skills • The capacity to accept the relativity of one’s own knowledge and perceptions • The capacity to be non-judgmental • A tolerance for ambiguity • The capacity to communicate respect for other people’s ways, their country, and their values

  14. Cross-CulturalCommunication Skills • The capacity to display empathy • The capacity to be flexible • The capacity for turn-taking • The humility to acknowledge what you do not know or understand

  15. Process Assumptions AboutCross-Cultural Interactions • The other person sees the situation the same way you do. • The other person is making the same assumptions you are. • The other person is (or should be) experiencing the same feelings you are. • The communication situation has no relationship to past events.

  16. More Process Assumptions • The other person’s understanding is (or should be) based on logic, not feelings. • The other person is the one who has the “problem” or who does not understand the logic of the situation. • Other cultures are changing and becoming more like your own culture and, therefore, other people are becoming more like you.

  17. Communication Climates • Evaluative vs. Descriptive • Control-oriented vs. Problem-oriented • Strategy vs. Spontaneity • Neutrality vs. Empathy • Superiority vs. Equality • Certainty vs. Provisionalism

  18. Relationship of Humans to Nature Subjugation to nature Harmony with nature Mastery over nature Time Orientation Past Present Future Variations In Value Orientation

  19. Basic Nature of Human Beings Evil Neutral or mixed Good Activity Orientation Being Containing and controlling Doing Variations in Value Orientation

  20. Relationships Among People Hierarchical Group Individualistic Orientation to Space Private Mixed Public Variations in Value Orientation

  21. The Effective Global Executive Should Be Able to: • Develop and use global strategic skills. • Manage change and transition. • Manage cultural diversity. • Design and function in flexible organizational structures. • Work with others and in teams. • Learn & transfer organizational knowledge.

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