Remi Manna

DP4

Dr. Berkos

October 14, 2019

Chapter six is all about culture. Culture has a huge impact on communication. Culture
affects communication because it is a group of people that share beliefs, symbols, meanings, and
experiences. Different cultures communicate differently. This can be seen with Hofstedes
cultural dimensions which differentiates and ranks cultures. The first dimension is individualism
to collectivism. The US has a highly individualistic culture whereas China is very collectivist.
This means that in the US the individual is valued more than the group and vice versa in China.
Individualistic cultures reward being independent and personal successes. Competition is also
viewed positively. Collectivism has in group and out groups. Identity is made through belonging
to a group. The self is defined in relation to others. Usually collectivistic cultures have high
context communication. This means that things are spoken around as not to offend and the
receiver is expected to search for meaning. In the US, low context communication is common.
The is more direct and to the point communication requiring little context.
Uncertainty avoidance is commonplace when speaking about intercultural
communication. There is high uncertainty between different cultures because there are different
norms. This is important to take into account when discussing communication. Some cultures
have high uncertainty avoidance. they are more rigid, rule heavy, and structured. Power distance
is another part of the cultural dimensions. A culture with high power distance thinks of having
power as a scarce resource with rigid systems and hierarchies. Low power distance is taking
away power distance. Masculine and feminine cultures were also discussed in this chapter.
feminine cultures have fear rigid rules for behaviors and men and women are usually more equal.
In masculine cultures social roles and stereotypes are more enforced.
Communication Accommodation theory explains how individuals accommodate their
speech and actions when communicating with others. This is interesting when talking about
intercultural communication. When I was in high school we had a foreign exchange student from
Sweden. She spoke very differently from us, had different non verbal communication, and
laughed at different things. When she came here at first she felt like she was part of the out
group, but as time went on she began to accommodate. she picked up slang word and even
started sounding like she had a twinge of an American accent. She also began to act differently to
accommodate. She wanted to assimilate with us and become part of the in group. she didn’t
change too much though. She changed the way she spoke just enough for it to still be normal and
have successful communication. At first it was difficult to have a conversation with her, but as
time went on it got easier. When she first moved her, interpreting her messages were usually
inconsistent with how she intended them. She just had different meanings for different things that
were common to her culture. Later she became more comfortable and got a sense for our style of
communication. It became successful after that. This intercultural adjustment made her feel
secure and socially appropriate. through increased communication she had less anxiety and
uncertainty with our school and she no longer felt uneasy.

Can intercultural communication affect the work place and what measures can be taken to ensure
that someone from a different culture is accommodating?

What are some of the negative sides or accommodation?