Intercultural Communication

Intercultural Communication: Assignment #2

Angela Green
email: agreen134@umuc.edu
University Maryland University College

HRMN 302 7382 Organizational Communication

Dr. April Hamlin
July 17, 2016

Intercultural Communication

Part 1: INCA Survey Results and Reflection

America was built on waves of immigrants filled with hope, searching for freedom and
new opportunities. Our great land is often referred to as the melting pot as immigrants continue
to build their future and introduce their culture to the United States; no other place in the world
has such a diverse population. In order to engage in effective, appropriate interaction with
diverse individuals, its important one focuses on intercultural competence.
In completing the INCA Survey for each of the six intercultural competencies I rate full
level in all competencies; according to the intercultural competence framework, one with full
competence can use judgement and knowledge to appropriately interact with individuals with
different values and customs; one can respect anothers viewpoint while dealing with differences
without wavering from their beliefs. The six competencies include the following:
communicative awareness, knowledge discovery, request for otherness, empathy, tolerance of
ambiguity and behavioral flexibility (Interpreting your INCA survey scores, n.d). Ahead you
will find a brief discerption of the competencies and my thoughts on my personal ratings.
A full level competency in communicative awareness indicates I have the ability to
identify and use communicative conventions of people from other backgrounds and have the
ability to modify my forms of expressions accordingly. In the knowledge discovery field, I am
able to easily acquire new knowledge of culture and practices and use the knowledge to
effectively communicate with individuals. Full competency in respect for otherness indicates
Im courteous and open to others beliefs and Im able to confidently share my beliefs in a
respectful manner. With full competency in empathy, Im able to understand who others may
feel and think in situations. In tolerance of ambiguity, full competency indicates Im able to
accept of the lack of clarity and can deal with ambiguous situations constructively. Lastly, full

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competency in behavioral flexibility indicates Im able to adapt my behavior to deal with specific
situations (A Guide to Working with Other Cultures, 2005).
In closing, I strongly agree with my survey ratings and I didnt find it a surprise that my
intercultural skills are at a full competency level. Although I grew up in a small town,
population of 2,500, with little diversity, I always found myself learning about other cultures via
books, internet and television. Ive always had the desire to travel and leaped at any opportunity
to stretch my horizons. In my mid 20s I have given the opportunity to travel east; I spent months
traveling China and getting to know the people. I do believe during my travels, my cultural lens
fully found focus. I was challenged to remove myself from my comfort zone and enjoy a culture
that was unknown to me. Through my travels, I learned that one may have different customs,
culture and beliefs, but at the end of the day, one may find a lifelong friend if willing to open the
mind and heart.

Part 2: Critical Incident #3

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In this critical incident, a teacher recognizes a student is cheating during a grammar test.
After the teacher requests the student to complete the test on his own, the student continues to
cheat. The teacher then took the exam and threw it in the garbage in front of the other students.
The student became upset and complained to the office staff. In the following paragraphs, the
teacher/student interaction and cheating is analyzed.
Almost every instructor will be confronted with academic dishonesty in some form and
its widely agreed upon that academic misconduct is a major problem across institutions of
education. With nearly 65% of college students admitting to acts of academic dishonesty,
instructors must remain vigilant against academic dishonesty (McKibban, 2013).
Dr. Price-Mitchell states, Children are not born with integrity or the behaviors we
associate with it, like honesty, honor or respect, authenticity, social responsibility, and the
courage to stand up for what believe is right. It is derived through a process of cultural
socialization (Price-Mitchell, 2015). By establishing clear and concise criteria for academic
integrity, an instructor can actively promote integrity and prevent dishonesty. A few
preventative methods include; appropriately spacing students, using multiple versions of an exam
and using different exams every term (Stearns, 2001) and developing a moral vocabulary that
promotes responsibility, respect, fairness, trustworthiness and honesty (Price-Mitchell, 2015).
While fostering a positive, honest educational environment, the instructor must hold
themselves to the same standards of honesty, respect and integrity. While responding to a student
that isnt upholding classroom polices, the instructor may use the event as a teachable moment.
Rather than reacting unprofessionally and allowing emotions to manage the situation, the
instructor can continue to show respect and reinforce the classroom polices, reminding the
student that cheating is never accepted (Price-Mitchell, 2015).

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As an instructor, one must remember students come from diverse backgrounds and a
particular behavior may be acceptable in their home environment, but may not be acceptable in
the educational environment. Established polices will help eliminate the unknown and set clear
expectations of the students; an instructor should never assume students understand favorable
behaviors and actions. While the student in question was instructed to rely on their answers and
chose to dismiss the warning, the instructor could have addressed the situation in a more
professional manner. If established polices were discussed and followed, the student would
understand the repercussion of cheating. Furthermore, the instructors reaction was
unacceptable; such a reaction can invoke further classroom disturbance and isnt conducive to an
environment that fosters respect and trust.
Critical Incident #14
In this critical incident, a man was surprised to see a tomb stone with the name of
someone who had already died and next to it a name of someone who was still living. In the
following paragraphs cultural traditions of death and dying and ones knowledge of the culture
will be discussed.
A tomb stone is a marker placed over a tomb, traditional for burials in the Christian,
Jewish, and Muslim religions. The tomb stone typically will have the deceaseds name, date of
birth, date of death and a message or prayer (Wikipedia.org, n.d). While some may be
uncomfortable of purchasing a tombstone prior to dying, preplanning ones funeral is a growing
trend; about 17 million adults over the age of 50 have prepaid for some or all or their funeral
expenses (bbb.org, n.d.).
Pre-planning a funeral offers the planner a piece of mind knowing their surviving family
members will not be burdened with the emotional and financial stress of planning their funeral in

Intercultural Communication

a time of grief (dsfda.org). Crown Hill suggest that pre-planning isnt just something you do for
yourself-its something you do for your loved ones. Pre-planning not only removes the
financial burden, but it also allows the planner to make wishes of their own (Crownhill.org, n.d).
Pre-planning puts the planner in control of their funeral, allows time to ask questions that one
may not think of in a time of grief and gives the planner a sense of relief, knowing their loved
ones will not be burdened during their loss.
While the man in question was shocked that an individual would chose to purchase a
tombstone and have it set prior to their death, this is a socially acceptable and promoted in the
United States. Death can be a difficult subject to discuss and depending on culture or religion,
traditions that are socially acceptable for one may feel uncomfortable to others. Death is
universal and affects each of us a least once in our lifetime; having empathy for others beliefs,
especially in a time of grief can be the universal too.
Critical Incident #18
In this critical incident, Peter had a positive interaction with the office receptionist,
however while the receptionist was on break, Peter asked a question and the receptionist was not
as friendly advising Peter his request will need to wait until he gets off break; Peter was surprised
at the receptionist response. In the following paragraphs, communication and respect will be
discussed.
Most of us have heard the golden rule treat others how you wish to be treated. While
most of do not attempt to be rude or unaccommodating, our tone, choice of words and body
language can send a different message. Russell suggests our our tone conveys our attitude,
whether we send a message of humor, anger, sarcasm, jealousy or sincerity. While
communicating with others, its important one is mindful of their voice as its also a key

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component to non-verbal communication; using voice inflection will allow a speaker to

emphasize key words and emotions, this will better help the recipient understand the message
and the emotions behind the words (Bonanno, n.d.).
Professional relationships are a key to ones success and can be tarnished by an
unpleasant interaction; one should be mindful of their attitude and demeanor, keeping a positive
attitude can foster a positive work environment and show colleagues one is invested in building a
professional working relationship (Richason, n.d). Should employees experience an unpleasant
interaction or miscommunication, its important both parties acknowledge it, calmly and honestly
talk through the event and commitment to the next action steps, as needed (Scivicque, 2013).
While the receptionist left a positive first impression with Peter, the second interaction
left Peter surprised which indicates Peter may have felt the tone, body language or the
receptionists choice of words indicated he didnt have time to help. When I read the
receptionists response, I too added a negative tone to the response because of the choice of
words, Im on break and you will need to wait until I get back. Although the response doesnt
indicate the receptionist never wants to be of assistance, he could have said Im on break at the
moment, but I will be happy to assist in ten minutes when I return; such a response may have
evoked a more positive experience and the request to wait for assistance until after break is still
made.
We often get busy in the day-to-day hustle and we often react, providing a response
before thinking of the delivery. While we often have good intentions, our delivery states
otherwise. Taking a moment to pause before responding will allow one to choose their words
wisely and be mindful of their tone and inflection. Its important we show respect and
effectively communicate to promote positive relationships, even in the busiest of times.

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References
Better Business Bureau. (n.d.). Prepaid Funeral Plans. Retrieved from
http://www.bbb.org/wichita-falls/business-reviews/funeral-directors/industrytips/prepaid-funeral-plans
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Bonanno, G. (n.d.). Voice Power in Public Speaking Pauses, Inflection and Tone. Retrieved
from http://www.gildabonanno.com/Pages/VoicePowerPausesInflectionandTone.aspx
Delaware State Funeral Directors Association. (n.d.). Pre-Need Funeral Planning. Retrieved from
http://www.dsfda.org/prearrangement.html
Dorn, G. and Cavailieri-Koch, A. (2005). Intercultural Skills, A Guide to Working with other
Cultures. Retrieved from http://www.inlanguages.com/downloads/Intercultural_Skills.pdf
Mckibban, Amie R. (2005). Students' Perceptions of Teacher Effectiveness and Academic
Misconduct: An Inquiry into the Multivariate Nature of a Complex Phenomenon. Ethics
& Behavior 23.5 (2013): 378-95. Web.
Price-Mitchell, M. (2015). Creating a Culture of Integrity in the Classroom. Retrieved from
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/8-pathways-creating-culture-integrity-marilyn-pricemitchell
Richason, O. (n.d.). What is Effective Workplace Communication? Retrieved from
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/effective-workplace-communication-822.html
Russell, J. (2011). Career Coach: The Wrong Tone can Spoil the Message. Retrieved from
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2011/02/04/AR2011020406095.html
Scivicque, C. (2013). 6 Steps to Repair Damaged Professional Relationships. Retrieved from
http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/2013/05/10/6-steps-torepair-damaged-professional-relationships
Stearns, S. A. (2001). The Student-Instructor Relationship's Effect on Academic Integrity. Ethics
& Behavior, 11(3), 275-285. Web.
Wikipedia. (n.d.). Definition of Headstone. Retrieved from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headstone