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Contents Practising intercultural communication Introduction to intercultural communication The importance of intercultural communication What is intercultural communication? Defining culture The effect of history and world view The effect of socialisation The effect of language Language and culture Language subtleties Language relativity and the problems of translation The effect of non-verbal communication Kinesics Proxemics Chronemics Haptics Paralanguage High-context and low-context cultures Edward T. Hall Hofstedes four dimensions of culture Power distance Uncertainty avoidance Individualismcollectivism Masculinityfemininity Patterns of dimensions You talkin to moi? Computer-mediated communication with other cultures World view Context Language Non-verbal (mis)communication Humour Problems and solutions Communication competence: a Western concept? Infotrack Search Terms Explanations to Case Study exercises
include attitudes, expectations, family roles, history, language, non-verbal communication, socialisation, traditions and world view, intercultural communication has a very broad meaning. To practise intercultural communication effectively requires us to be adequately informed about how to use verbal and non-verbal signals and to be open to checking our understanding with others in intercultural, and indeed any, communication contexts.
Defining culture
Culture is one of the most used but misunderstood concepts of recent times. It is used by politicians, academics, managers, schoolteachers and students all the time, usually as an explanation for abnormal behaviour. Linguists, anthropologists, sociologists and organisational theorists have variously attempted to define culture and the lesser term subculture. While we all seem to have some idea of what is meant by culture, Defining it precisely is difficult. Informally, the word culture refers to a way of thinking and acting that is somewhat related to people speaking a common language (but not always). It encompasses traditions, family roles, expectations, attitudes and non-verbal communication. The English-speaking communities of Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, for example, have distinct cultures, while speaking the same language. There is another meaning of culture, which refers to activities of an artistic or intellectual nature, such as attending the ballet, the opera or art galleries. This meaning of culture is used when academics discuss artefacts of high culture and low culture, such as chamber music versus pop songs. However, this second meaning of culture is seldom used when discussing intercultural communication. Many researchers break up culture into a series of constituent, sometimes overlapping, parts, in order to better understand how culture affects communication and vice versa, how communication can affect culture. One of the overlooked aspects in such approaches is the impact that communication technologies such as the Internet have had on intercultural communication (see You talkin to moi? Computer-mediated communication with other cultures pp. 959). We believe culture can be best understood if it is broken up into four main dimensions: 1 history and world view, including values, beliefs and religion 2 socialisation, including education, enculturation and personal growth 3 language 4 non-verbal communication. We take the view that it is these (and other) aspects of specific cultures that affect the quality and outcomes of intercultural communication. We will focus on the effects of these four dimensions on intercultural professional activities between Westerners and other cultures. In particular, many of our examples will compare Asian and Western cultures, since many Western researchers view Asian cultures as being the most dissimilar to their own.
Many cultures respect their history, but some more than others. For example, it has been said that Australians are not very mindful of their convict or Indigenous past, preferring to concentrate on sporting prowess and a relaxed way of life. Asian cultures, on the other hand, often have a deep regard for their countrys or cultures heritage and past. This is seen in religion, art and respect for ancestors, elders and family. For example, if an Australian visits Korea, he or she will almost certainly be told that Korea has a five-thousand-year-old history. In Westernised Hong Kong, locals may still talk about the glory of Ancient China to emphasise a conservative position. A long and continuous history forms an important part of the world view of most of the Asian cultures, much of the Middle East, Russia, and many European nations. In general, in professional situations Australians of non-Asian backgrounds are unlikely to stress their lineage from the Celts or Ancient Greece or Rome. Rather, Australian professionals often desire short negotiations or a quick decision, and they emphasise expediency in order to keep up with political, social and technological change. Work happens now, and the organisation needs a decision in order to move on to the next project. Work is linear and tied to the immediate present or not-too-distant past. We are talking here of last week. In comparison, the historically centred Asian professional is likely to need a slowerpaced meeting, or series of meetings. Work is an ongoing part of a persons social life, family context and employment, and decisions are likely to be influenced by the effect on a persons reputation and the good of the company, including its future growth potential. Thus, an Australian might view a Japanese person as ponderously slow and overly careful, while the Japanese person views the Australian as rushing headlong into a decision and ignoring a range of important factors.
certain rituals along the way. Rituals include such events as circumcision, tattooing, body piercing, baptism and other religious ceremonies.
No two languages are ever sufficiently similar to be considered as representing the same social reality. The worlds in which different societies live are distinct worlds, not merely the same world with different labels attached We see and hear and otherwise experience very largely as we do because the language habits of our community predispose certain choices of interpretation. (Sapir 1929, p. 69) Whorf, who was Sapirs protg, analysed the concept this way: the world is presented in a kaleidoscopic flux of impressions which has to be organised by our minds and this means largely by the linguistic systems in our minds. We cut nature up, organize it into concepts, and ascribe significances as we do, largely because we are parties to an agreement to organize it this way an agreement that holds throughout our speech community and is codifed in the patterns of our language. (Whorf 1940, pp. 21314). Few researchers have been able to demonstrate the SapirWhorf hypothesis, namely that language moulds cognition, convincingly, although some new research (cited by Skoyles 1999) has been carried out that appears to lend it support. From the point of view of intercultural communication, the significance of the SapirWhorf hypothesis is that between cultures and languages, there may be impenetrable barriers of understanding simply because one language has been developed to deal with situations and information quite different from those of another language. Fortunately, few linguists agree completely with the hypothesis. Rather than linguistic determinism, the notion that language determines thought and that people can think only about objects, events and processes through the symbolised language that they speak, they prefer to discuss linguistic relativity: the notion that language influences thought but does not determine it. Thus although some terms in one language are virtually untranslatable, most ideas can be translated from one language to another. The relationship between language and experience is also dealt with in Chapter 2 of this text and is of course important as a way of looking at language within any one culture, even the culture of professional speech and writing (see pages 324). You will find that the two treatments of this topic complement each other.
language, since it includes use of time, space, furniture and clothing. Non-verbal communication accompanies verbal communication more often than not. Try imagining a nod or smile that was not a reaction to some verbal signal, or a rude hand sign that did not accompany a swearword. Non-verbal communication is integrally related to language use, and as such forms a distinctive part of intercultural communication. There are many different forms of non-verbal communication, and many ways of categorising this behaviour. In Chapter 3 we classify non-verbal communication into five main categories: kinesics (or movements of our bodies and body language) proxemics (or use of space and territory to communicate) chronemics (or time as communication) haptics (or touching behaviour). vocalics/paralanguage (or variations in our voices to create or reveal mood and attitude)
In Chapter 3 we made some generalisations about cultural differences in nonverbal behaviour (see pages 712). In this chapter we analyse more closely the potential for this form of communication to help or hinder effective communication between cultural and language communities, especially in professional contexts. Kinesics Kinesics (see pages 602) is what we commonly call body language and refers to those movements of our body that communicate meaning. Our eyes and face convey a wide range of meanings in interpersonal meetings. In the opening scene of this chapter, Mr Lau uses a smile to convey his embarrassment, but this smile is interpreted incorrectly by Mr Clarke. According to psychologists, smiles are universally recognised in every culture in the world. But while smiles may be easily recognised, their true purpose may not be understood, as is the case with Mr Lau, who uses a smile to mask his embarrassment. Asian people tend to smile or even laugh more easily than Westerners in response to minor embarrassments or anxieties. Westerners sometimes misinterpret this behaviour as agreement and are therefore ignorant about the source of subsequent difficulties. One interpretation of this so-called nervous smiling or laughter is that Asian people are trying to preserve the interpersonal harmony of the situation. Many Australians have no such need since their culture reinforces individualism rather than group welfare. Thus, in any given social situation, an Australian who smiles or laughs is usually expressing emotion, not unconsciously covering up an awkward situation. The accepted form of greeting new acquaintances, colleagues or friends is very different around the world. In the West, shaking hands is the most common form of greeting for males, with the cheek kiss commonplace between females and sometimes between males and females. In Asia, the bow is a very commonplace greeting between people from all walks of life. However, bowing is not the same in each country, with Japanese and Korean people exhibiting more frequent and deeper bows compared to Chinese people. Shaking hands is also practised, especially in Japan, where there is considerable Western influence as more and more Westerners make contact with previously traditional companies and institutions. Even within Australian culture, the practice of handshaking is changing, particularly with respect to women, whose hands were seldom shaken 20 years ago. In France, Italy, Spain and Latin American countries,
the handshake between men and women often gives way to a double-cheeked kiss. This level of familiarity is not normally practised in Asian or English-speaking countries, but given the multicultural nature of Australia, it is becoming more popular with younger people. Dress and appearance The way in which we dress, the hairstyles we adopt, and the make-up and jewellery that we choose to wear are all indicators of our status and our socio-economic class. Dress and appearance are important signifiers of our social identities, but we are constrained by the acceptable limits of our culture. We can think of dress and appearance as a sort of uniform that we choose to adopt in order to belong to a particular group of people in society. Thus, some professional people wear suits in the workplace. In fact such people are called suits by some students and non-professionals. Even within the business subculture of business people, there are classification systems based on the limited alternatives of business attire. Someone wearing a designer-label suit instead of an offthe-rack suit may indicate that they are of particular status within the company. In some workplaces professional women have a wider palette of attire to choose from, including choices of hairstyles, make-up, accessories and jewellery. Even the choices of shirt colour, shoes or brief case can be signifiers of the professional status of the individual. Hairstyles and the wearing of tattoos and body piercings are yet another area of wide variability even within English-speaking nations and at different periods in time. For example, short-cropped, spiky hair for men was very fashionable in the 50s and during World War II. Strangely, short hair is not as popular in Latin America and Spain at present, with male long hair still signifying machismo throughout much of the Spanish-speaking world. Tattoos and piercings became very popular among young people in the late 90s, due to many pop stars being tattooed and/or pierced. Given many UK celebrities being tattooed or pierced, the acceptability of tattoos and/or piercings is somewhat higher in England as opposed to Australia. Proxemics Proxemics studies the use of space: both interpersonal space and the space within rooms, buildings, precincts and cities. The use of space varies enormously between different cultures and is a constant source of confusion in intercultural communication. The leading researcher in this field was Edward T. Hall, whose work we discussed in Chapter 3 (pages 624). Edward T. Hall was the first scholar to categorise the interpersonal distances used by Americans. Obviously none of our family and friends use any one distance all the time with us. Everyone constantly moves in and out of different spatial zones. Hall was in fact depicting an average distance, but the problem with Halls zones is that they really only apply to Anglo-Americans during the 1950s. If we were to examine Latin American or Japanese cultures, then their relative distances are typically smaller than Halls four interpersonal zones. Mediterranean Europeans, Asians, females and equalstatus professionals (e.g. a group of doctors, a group of lawyers) also tend to stand nearer to each other than Halls categories would have us believe. Halls categories are useful in order to describe relationships, which may be symbolically represented by distance between people. The categories are also able to explain the discomfort experienced, for example, when an Australians interpersonal space is violated by a member of another culture, say an Italian, who expects a smaller interpersonal distance. When the Italian keeps moving closer to feel comfortable, the
Australian unconsciously backs away. Similarly, in population-dense, crowded areas of Asia, such as Hong Kong and Bangkok, the overcrowding a farmer from outback Australia feels will not be experienced to the same degree by the locals. Proxemics may also be applied to furniture; the way that it is arranged around a room reflects cultural attitudes towards family life. For example, space is a scarce resource in Japanese homes, hence much furniture is hidden from sight or arranged around the edges of a room to allow for a multiplicity of room functions. Western furniture tends to be organised around the middle of rooms, endowing each room with a single function. In most Australian living rooms, for example, the furniture is arranged around the television set, which is on the same level as the seated family members. The television set (and its related peripherals such as the video or DVD player) therefore constitutes the rooms main focus, while in other cultures the television may be disguised in a closet or lowered on to the floor level, giving it a less conspicuous status. Similar intercultural analyses can be made about differences in the location of the computer, both at work and in the home. The study of proxemics extends to examining organisational distribution of rooms, staff, hardware and office furniture. The position of the managing directors office at the top of the building; the arrangement of chairs at a business meeting or in a school classroom; the use of space in an apartment complex or even a whole city these are all indicative of a cultures prevailing attitudes and values towards the users and/or owners of that space. The sense of strangeness that is often termed culture shock, and which occurs when we travel to exotic locations, is due, in part, to these intercultural differences in the use of space. Chronemics English-speaking Westerners generally regard time as an inflexible entity, with only a small degree of latitude. When business people make appointments in Australia, they are normally expected to be on time, give or take five minutes: a generally allowable period of lateness. Other cultures are much more flexible about time, with business people sometimes being up to 30 to 45 minutes late for meetings. It is important to be aware of cultural norms about the use of time because people make judgements about others attitudes, credibility and reliability based on being on time. In Western contexts people usually apologise if they are more than five minutes late for an appointment as a sign of respect with a view to restoring any damage to their reputation. So in Western cultures professionals are expected to keep to the scheduled times for appointments, meetings and leave taking. If time rules are broken by being late or using the set time inefficiently, professionals may be judged to be incompetent or unreliable. As professionals in global contexts, we need to be aware of the variety of expectations and uses of time throughout the world. Haptics The term haptics in its broadest sense relates to the sense of touch and derives from the Greek term haptikos, able to touch. The study of haptics forms a part of psychology which has developed a sense of touch. We rely on our sense of touch to do everyday tasks such as using a touch-tone phone, finding second gear in a manual car, or playing a musical instrument like a guitar or a piano, which all rely heavily on the tactile cues we receive. Much research comprises finding the best way to use these tactile cues and so become a better driver or guitar player.
Haptics is also applied to compare different cultures. Anglo-Saxons are a lowto non-contact culture in the professional setting. Australians, the British and Americans tend not to touch each other in normal conversation. Asian cultures are somewhat similar. On the other hand, African, Mediterranean, Arab, Russian and South American cultures are high-contact. It is common for Latino friends to kiss each other on the cheek to say hello, and to touch or grab the arm or hand of their friend while talking. It is common for Latinos to hug, to shake hands and touch the arm, or to place a hand on the others shoulder while communicating. The cross-cultural result of this difference in the use of touch is that Australians often feel that high-contact cultures touch to a degree that is uncomfortable, threatening or insulting to them. Italians and Latinos may feel that Australians are cold, unfriendly or rejecting. As professional communicators, we need to be aware of these culturally sensitive differences in touch behaviour. Paralanguage Paralanguage or paralinguistics is the study of how we use tonal variation of our voices to emphasise certain words or phrases. Paralinguistic behaviour is always concurrent with language usage and includes vocalisations such as um and ah, loudness, speed, intonation, rhythm, pronunciation, use of pauses, and vocal accent or timbre. The main problem for intercultural communicators is that often non-native speakers will accompany a language such as English with the paralanguage that is more suitable for the speakers mother tongue, thus giving a false impression of the speakers emotional state of mind. For example, the instructional video Crosstalk at work (BBC, 1991) depicts the speech and intonation patterns of an Indian speaker using the English language to ask questions of an English clerk. The paralanguage, which expresses questioning behaviour in Hindi, sounds very aggressive when heard by native English speakers. The rhythm and intonation of the voice communicate the wrong message, even though the words are quite meaningful and acceptable. Westerners hearing the paralanguage ignore the meaning of the words and wrongly attribute to the speaker the emotion of irritation. So they may respond in either a conciliatory or equally irritable fashion. The Indian speaker receives an unexpected response to his questions and thinks all Westerners are rude. A similar situation has been experienced by one of the authors of this book, when confronted by an Arabic student who was asking in English for clarification of the marks for an assignment. Using a typical Arabic intonation pattern, the student seemed to be hostile and needing to be placated. The only way to disprove this assumption was to actually ask the student how she was feeling at the time. To our surprise the student replied that she was very happy with her mark, but was attempting clarification of the lecturers handwritten comments, which she could not decipher. There are no rights or wrongs in these intercultural communication incidents. We could blame the Indian or Arabic person for not using the correct paralanguage, or we could blame ourselves for misinterpreting the exact meaning. Similarly, we could blame either Mr Lau or Mr Clarke from the example at the start of this chapter for their cultural insensitivity. But blame is not the appropriate attitude in many cases. Understanding all possible cultural factors in such meetings is an impossible task unless one is born and raised in all possible cultures. We believe that we need to withhold judgements that are based on non-verbal communication until we have confirmed these judgements by using language. Thus, if you are feeling irritation about the nonverbal
responses of another person, you should investigate whether your feelings are justified or merely a response to non-English paralanguage. Case Study 1: The Ugly Australian Having traveled in Europe and Great Britain during the seventies and eighties we discovered a certain term to describe Australians who tended to congregate together overseas the Ugly Australian. The origin of the term is unimportant, yet it fairly accurately describes some young Australian males and females who live together in Earls Court, London, who take Contiki bus tours, and who inhabit European camping grounds. There are definitely ugly American and ugly German equivalents to the loud Australian. His antisocial behaviour includes drinking to excess, singing, vomiting, and sometimes the baring the buttocks from out of the window of moving vehicles. The strange thing is that the Ugly Australian is most usually an ordinary ocker at home ugly behaviour manifests itself most noticeably overseas but not so much in Australia. Thus, many young Aussies who go abroad for the very first time tend to be viewed with some disdain by some foreigners. Activity: In the classroom break up into small groups according to nationality. Australians should role-play the Ugly Australian. Other nationalities may role-play other characteristics. The Australian groups should try to script a short play that epitomises drunken behaviour in a setting such as an overseas pub or camping ground. Other nationality groups may also try to enact an embarrassing part of their particular culture. Discussion: Why is there a need for this behaviour by some young Australians on their first trip overseas? Is this behaviour isolated to overseas locations? (See end of chapter for one possible explanation.)
Harmony with nature Fate Being Past or present orientation Tradition Focus on relationships Hierarchy/status Elders Cooperation Formality Indirectness/ritual Spiritualism/detachment
Mastery over nature Personal control over the environment Doing Future orientation Change Time dominates Human equality Youth Competition Informality Directness/openness Practicality/efficiency
Knowledge of high- and low-context cultures is important to our understanding of how culture can influence ones own and other peoples style of communication. For example, the dominant style of communication in the Australian (low-context) culture has the following characteristics: 1. The vast majority of information is explicitly stated; for example, an apology needs to be clearly articulated. In a high-context culture the same message can be communicated through a variety of non-verbal gestures, such as a smile, a sigh, a shrug or a frown. Australians prefer directness and openness, with some degree of freedom of emotional expression. Spontaneity and casualness characterise informal relationships. Within this context, successful communication mainly requires an understanding of the explicit norms of behavior. In such low-context cultures, success also requires knowledge of implicit norms and expectations. Within reason, Australians expect others to challenge the status quo. Polite questioning of the boss or authority figures suggests one is perceptive, has personal power and may help bring about change. Independence, selfdetermination, and personal confidence are highly prized whatever the level of employment. As a contrast, in high-context Japan subordinates tend to defer to the bosss decision. Of course, in all cultures, personal dynamics affect what is regarded as the rule. Non-verbal communication cues such as posture, gestures and facial expressions are very useful communication tools and are encouraged. For example, eye contact is perceived to be important in validating recognition and communicating interest. It is also seen as assertive and shows that one has nothing to hide. The exact opposite is true of high-context cultures where expressions of emotion are often hidden from view.
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avoidance, individualismcollectivism, and masculinityfemininity. However, one should view Hofstedes findings with some scepticism because his sampling methods were not random. Most of his participants were male, of a particular social class, and all worked for one large multinational company. Hofstedes results may simply be a descriptive map based on gender, level of education and organisational factors. The data was also collected more than thirty years ago and cultures may have changed since then due to developments in media, global travel and information technology. Power distance Power distance refers to the fact that in various cultures people react differently to status differences and social power. Some cultures, e.g. New Zealand, Denmark, Israel and Austria, prefer low power distance indexes (PDIs) and minimise inequalities in terms of job status, social class or wealth. Managers in these cultures typically want to be one of the group and be addressed by first names. Decisions may be questioned and challenged in these cultures, resulting in fl at organisational structures with relatively few hierarchical levels. As a contrast, the cultures of Arab countries, Guatemala, Malaysia and the Philippines have high PDIs and believe that individuals have rightful places in society and that authority figures should not be challenged. Interestingly, although China was not represented in the survey, Hong Kong recorded higher PDIs than Japan. Uncertainty avoidance Uncertainty avoidance refers to how certain cultures adapt to change and cope with uncertainties in their societies. How much a culture avoids uncertainty becomes a measure of cultural anxiety or fear with respect to unpredictable events. In countries such as Sweden, Denmark and Hong Kong, the cultures seem to have low uncertainty avoidance indexes (UAIs), meaning that they cope very easily with unexpected problems and also have a relatively small number of rituals and rules that govern social conduct and human behaviour. These cultures, according to Hofstede, are more tolerant of dissent and social deviance, and encourage new ideas and innovation in work. HighUAI countries include Greece, Guatemala, Portugal, Uruguay and Japan. These cultures promote or even demand consensus in terms of social goals and disapprove of any deviant behaviour. Australia has a relatively low UAI, appearing near the middle of the whole range of this dimension. Individualismcollectivism Individualismcollectivitism refers to the extent a culture values individual autonomy as opposed to collective teamwork. Australia, Belgium, the Netherlands and the USA have high scores on the individualism index (IDV), which translates into an individualistic culture that looks after family but little else. Privacy, independence and the self are all-important characteristics of these cultures. Decision-making is based on the individual, with competition being the norm in terms of job selection and promotion. Low-IDV countries include Hong Kong, Indonesia, South Korea, Thailand and Mexico. These countries have a strong collectivist orientation, which values the group over the individual. Such cultures have a we consciousness and emphasise belonging to a group or many groups. Masculinityfemininity
Masculinityfemininity refers to the way that cultures prefer assertiveness and achievement (masculinity) to nurturance and social support (femininity). The alternative label for this dimension is achievementnurturance. The cultures of Austria, Italy, Japan and Mexico have high masculinity indexes (MASs) and strongly believe in achievement and ambition. In these cultures business and professional people tend to judge others according to their level of performance and the amount of material goods that they possess. People in high-MAS cultures also believe in ostentatious shows of manliness or machismo. Low-MAS cultures such as Chile, Portugal, Sweden and Thailand adhere less to external achievement and shows of manliness and more to things like quality of life and empathy for the less fortunate. The term feminine is somewhat misleading, since these cultures prefer equality between the sexes and lessprescriptive gender-based roles. Patterns of dimensions One of Hofstedes most controversial findings was that there were patterns to how the four dimensions appeared around the world. Hofstede suggested climatic, geographic and economic reasons for these cultural differences. Climate, measured by latitude, was shown to have a correlation with certain power-distance scores and masculinity femininity scores. For example, people who live in warmer climates tend to prefer high power-distance and masculine behaviour. People who live further from the equator tend to have lower power-distance scores and a more feminine outlook on life. Exhibit 4.2 contains a summary of points of difference between mainstream Australian cultural values and those of other cultures. The statements are not prescriptive, and the reader is invited to discuss them. EXHIBIT 4.2 A comparison of intercultural behaviours in Australia and other cultures
Behaviour Legal contracts In Australia Contracts are legally binding and enforceable by law. In other cultures Contracts may not always be regarded highly. They may not be enforceable under international law. Caveat emptor (let the buyer beware) may be the response. Other cultures may be more unforgiving than Australians, e.g. a gift may be seen as a bribe in some cultures. Informal attire may be viewed as disrespectful. Other cultures may not require the same amount of personal space. Other cultures may view time flexibly. They may start meetings slowly, with social discourse. Other cultures may not make friends easily. They may view all business acquaintances with a degree of social distance. Other cultures may have a strict social hierarchy that cannot be violated. While important, dress expectations may not be the same in other cultures.
Social customs
Australians tend to be forgiving of violations of their own social customs by foreigners. Australians prefer lots of personal space. Australians prefer to be on time and quickly get down to business in a meeting. Australians try to make friends very quickly, and regard their business acquaintances as possible friends. Class is not a predominant issue in Australia. Formal business attire is important. An exception would be academic settings.
Religion Practicality
Many Australians are not deeply religious and lack knowledge of other religious beliefs. Most Australians are practically oriented. If something has no practical value, it is usually thrown out. Efficiency is usually measured in terms of costs and benefits. While resistant to change, Australians will accommodate it eventually. Australians will entertain competition in business. While ostensibly formal in their dress, Australia is among the least-formal cultures in the world. Australians still have a long way to go, but Australians are closer to equal opportunity than many other cultures. Using a standard written document is usually seen as the best medium. Reports, memorandums and letters have a standard recognisable format.
Other cultures are likely to be more religious than their Australian counterparts. Other cultures retain practices that have little practical value but are integral to their heritage. Other cultures may not see profits as the main measure of success. Enjoyment or satisfaction may be more highly regarded. Other cultures may be totally resistant to any kind of change. Other cultures may not be accustomed to competition at all, e.g. State-controlled monopolies. Other cultures may have strict rules governing dress, language usage and behaviour. Many other cultures openly practise discrimination based on age, sex, religion and ethnicity. Written communication is not universally seen as the medium of business. The content or the writing style of Western documents may be offensive to some cultures, e.g. most Japanese documents are apologetic and place the writers in inferior positions to the readers. Thus Western documents are seen as too bold or direct. Source: Adapted from Sprinks & Wells 1997.
Case Study 2: Customs of other cultures It is an obvious fact that different cultures have very different customs to ours. What is often perplexing is how to act appropriately when we are with someone from another culture. The following is funny look at how Europeans act at lunch time. A group of Italian, Hungarian, Polish, German, Spanish and English tourists went to a caf in a small Italian town at lunchtime. They were all on their way to catch a bus to visit another town. As the Italians were hungry, they ordered bruschetta, pasta and wine; the Spaniards ordered sandwiches and short black coffees. In contrast, the Hungarians and Poles started eating home-made sandwiches and ordered cappuccino. The Germans did not even go inside to eat their neatly-wrapped, store-bought sandwiches. Everybody wanted to hurry the Italians. The Italians responded that the other nationalities ruined their 'eating culture'. The Englishman sat at the table with the others, and to everyones horror, pulled out a newspaper and started reading. The Poles and Hungarians were very speedy except at paying, but in the end it was thanks to the Germans that they all managed to catch the bus, since the Germans kept track of the time!
Activity: S. Paul Verluy (University of Antwerp) has contributed a series of intercultural scenarios, which have been reprinted below. Break up into small groups, each group take one scenario, and discuss the possible causes of intercultural conflict. Scenario 1: In 1991, I was a student at a university in Pennsylvania, USA. I lived on campus and I shared a room with an girl from India. Many times at night, while we were studying, she asked me: Petra, do you feel like drinking a Coke? And I replied yes or no. But invariably, her next question always was: Could you get me one? So whether I wanted something from the vending machine or not, I went four floors downstairs, and brought her what she wanted. It didnt bother me, it just surprised me that someone would ask for this on regular basis instead of helping herself. (Petra K, Czech Republic) Scenario 2: Valentina and I went looking for my cousin Paola on campus where she was taking her classes. There we met Yuko and a Japanese friend of hers. SinceYuko lived in the same house as Paola and they were also in the same class, I asked her whether she had recently seen Paola. She said no. I gently asked her to say to Paola that we were looking for her, if she happened to meet her. I noticed that after this request Yuko and her friend stood there instead of continuing their walk, but I did not pay much attention and walked away. After fifteen minutes we came back the same way. From afar, I noticed that Yuko and her friend were still standing exactly in the same place as before. They were still waiting for Paola! (Raffaella P., Italy) Scenario 3: In my class there are some thirty Americans, and four Indonesians including me. When the professor asks questions in class, none of the Indonesians will raise their hands and volunteer for an answer, even if they know it. Typically, only the Americans participate in the classroom discussion. The professor called one of us one day and asked why we were not participating in the discussions. He attributed our passiveness to a lack of interest in the subject. (Omar H., Indonesia) Scenario 4: I met a Hungarian girl the first week I got here in Europe. When we introduced ourselves she kissed me on the cheek. It felt strange to me that someone I did not know would show so much affection. We met on two more occasions, and each time she kissed me. Some time later I arrived back from a long vacation and met her again. I gave her a big hug, but she froze like a statue. The rest of the conversation seemed a little uncomfortable, although the next day things were back to normal. (Brad D., USA) Scenario 5: Kei, a Chinese friend I met in England, announced that she was coming over to Spain for a visit, and I wanted to introduce
her to my parents also. I liked the idea of her visit but I was worried about the behavior she might exhibit in front of my fairly conservative parents. After her arrival she had her first meal with me alone, and again she did not mind burping or farting in front of me, and even if she used to say excuse me I found it terribly rude. Thinking of a polite way to express my dissatisfaction without hurting her, I started shaking my legs like one does when one is nervous or upset. Kei said: Ana, dont shake your legs like that, dont you know this is really impolite? (Ana S., Spain) Scenario 6: The new teacher was exasperated when he came to marking the essays from her multinational class. The Australian and American students had all written focused essays which related directly to set essay topic. They had mostly successfully argued for or against the topic. The Korean and Japanese student essays however were all over the place. In many cases the topic was not even mentioned in the essay. How could these students have gotten through the selection process to attend the university in the first place? (Ray Archee., Sydney).
This is a fictitious re-enactment of a real chat discussion that occurred on the Internet chat system called ICQ (short for I Seek You). Thousands of such discussions occur daily on dozens of global chat systems, such as MSN Messenger, AOL, IRC, Yahoo! Chat and CU-SeeMe. What is remarkable about the excerpt is the unresolved
misunderstanding that terminates the conversation. The underlying causes of the conflict are perplexing. A possible cause might be the cultural differences between the two participants. Another explanation could be the mismatch between the perceived social context of ICQ and the unexpected work-related question. A third explanation is that Japanese expatriates are often isolated in foreign countries and are much more sensitive than Japanese people on their own soil. Most professionals would agree that the Internet has enabled us to communicate more effectively with our professional colleagues, both locally and overseas. The ease, the speed and the convenience of email, bulletin boards, chat systems and instant messaging have revolutionised our professional practice. But there is one area of concern that gets overlooked: how does online communication affect intercultural communication? Does our Western, informal and very direct use of computer-mediated communication (CMC) technologies conflict with the way other cultures use these technologies? Or has the whole world become a homogenous community, each country indistinguishable in terms of their online communication behaviour? Five thousand years of civilisation cannot be changed by a mere decade and a half of Internet usage. Enthusiasm for online communication can sometimes be nave and misplaced when it comes to communicating with members of other cultures. With vastly increased opportunities for communication to take place, we believe that there is an equivalent increase in the amount of miscommunication that is occurring between cultures. However, we cannot be certain of this, because there is very little research that has studied the intersection of communication technology and intercultural communication. The Internet enables us to communicate effectively with professional colleagues, locally and overseas but what are the problems involved? Case Study 3: Using the Internet to communicate across cultures Thorne (2003) studied cross-cultural communication between American students and French students and teachers using a variety of mediated communication tools. In the first scenario, there was misunderstanding between an American student and a French correspondent concerning the style and tone of responses. Thorne notes that these messages are characterized by different discourse styles that play themselves out on national, institutional and personal levels. There are cultural expectations around how people should communicate in the medium of e-mail. Americans, in their search for understanding the lives of the French, expected trust and solidarity to develop through direct contact with French counterparts on the basis of shared personal experience. This was not shared by French respondents. This illusion of familiarity was given by their everyday use of the Internet and created somewhat false expectations of what those exchanges would be like. The second scenario highlighted how significant instant messaging (or IM) is for American students. The students were asked to use e-mail with their keypals but students who changed to IM to communicate found their conversations and confidence improved while those who stuck with e-mail found that the conversations became stagnant. IM allowed for naturalistic conversations leading to the development of genuine interpersonal relationships. In the third scenario, Thorne explicitly addressed how American students do not prefer to use e-mail, and usually only speak with their friends via IM. E-mail is said to be a tool for communication between organisational power levels and different
generations. E-mail is assumed to take effort while IM is much easier, and more natural communication. Discussion topics: 1. Is e-mail or IM, in fact illusory when it comes to forming friendships or relationships online? 2. Have you ever been surprised when you met someone you had previously only known online? 3. Do you prefer IM or e-mail or perhaps SMS? Why? 4. Is e-mail really only useful for business people, or oldies? World view For many anthropologists and sociologists, a persons world view is an important determiner of their communication expectations. Because work happens in the immediate present, Australian or other English-speaking organisations emphasise fast decisions and negotiations, before moving on to the next project. Thus, when we use email we prefer fast turnarounds and equally quick decisions. This expectation may be totally at odds with Asian partners, who may feel pressured to make premature decisions due to the demands of the technology, or who may simply defer answering our demanding emails. On the Internet, our true identities are most often hidden, unless we choose to reveal who we really are. Celebrities, politicians, CEOs and professionals all have email addresses that disguise their real identities. However, in many cultures, understanding the identity of the other person is imperative to understanding how to act towards that person. The status of that person, their role in the organisation, their decision-making power and their personality are all, to some extent, important considerations that are usually totally absent in mediated communication. Context As discussed earlier (page 89), in the 1960s Edward T. Hall divided the worlds cultures into two categories: high-context and low-context. If this theory is also applicable to online communication, this may explain why CMC technologies are problematic for some cultures. Low-context cultures such as those of America, Britain and Australia do not usually use social contexts as a way of determining the most appropriate way of replying to messages. But in high-context cultures such as those of Japan, Russia and Latin America, the context conveys as much information as, or even more than, the exact meaning of the message being discussed. When we receive an email message, participate on a listserv or peruse a bulletin board, we are not usually looking for context. The identities of other participants are almost unimportant, compared to their words argument, ideas and prose style are more important than who they are. This is exactly the opposite approach to that of someone from a high-context culture, whose whole upbringing requires a clear, unambiguous social structure in order for any communication to occur. Without the context, the high-context person is lost for words. Language Probably the most obvious feature of intercultural CMC is the strong likelihood that Australians will be writing in English; this will be a foreign language for most of our
international colleagues. Difficulties with English grammar will lead to mistakes, which may give us a less than favourable impression of our overseas colleagues. Moreover, while we might proclaim the wonders of email, our informal manner of writing email messages may contribute to the interpretation burden on our non-English-speaking partners: the use of English colloquial expressions should be avoided at all costs. Our use of language has other problems. Given that language has an informative function and a relationship function, what happens when we use CMC with a foreign colleague who is attuned to the social functions of the language, not the information provided? Westerners do not normally ask about family and health in business meetings or professional online communication. We tend to get to the point very quickly, express our individual viewpoints, and expect a prompt reply that affirms or contradicts our conclusions. We do not expect our local colleagues to talk about the weather, their health or their fathers or mothers well-being. Could it be the case that online, we are tacitly seen as rude and uncaring, devoid of humanity and only worried about individual gain, by many of our overseas partners? Non-verbal (mis) communication A persons use of non-verbal communication is a highly visible feature of their cultural identity. A persons body language, their use of personal space and their appearance are obvious differences when we physically encounter people from other cultures. A less obvious difference is their speech patterns, and features such as tone of voice, vocal inflections, rhythmic phrasing, accent and word choices, which are strong indicators of their culture, class and socio-economic group. Apart from the simplest devices, such as emoticons, paralinguistic features are usually completely missing in online communication. Thus, when professionals communicate solely via technology, their relationships are entirely based on the written word. Using CMC, we create a persona via the keyboard, with eventual problems occurring when there is a considerable mismatch between our screen identity and our real selves. Synchronous chat systems are especially prone to this kind of distortion and exaggeration because we are severely limited in the kinds of non-verbal emotion we can portray. Attempts at linguistic subtlety such as sarcasm or irony may simply be viewed as criticism. In the introductory transcript, an ordinary question was interpreted by a Japanese expatriate as inappropriate for the relationship. Yokos description of the mistake was to call the simple question rude. Bruce is surprised since he cannot escape the accusation, and without the availability of non-verbal communication any explanation would be brutally long-winded and self-defeating. Once the accusation was made on the chat system, the fledgling relationship was unable to be rescued. Humour Humour is often used by Westerners as a way of breaking the ice in tension-filled situations or achieving group cohesion, and is thus sometimes used in online communication. Unfortunately, humour is not a universally accepted way of doing business; with many cultures having very specific ideas about what is humorous and what is not. Humour may even be viewed as disrespectful in certain situations. In China it is disrespectful to make fun of ones colleagues or superiors; in Slovakia humour is inappropriate until after the meeting; in Denmark sarcasm is a preferred method of joke-making; in Mexico jokes about ones family are totally off-limits. Any attempt at levity in intercultural exchanges is a highly risky behaviour, and probably should not be attempted when using CMC technologies.
Problems and solutions These complex problems are not easy to solve. One solution is to try to adopt the other persons style of online writing, their way of thinking or joking, and to undervalue your own natural tendencies. We think this solution is misguided and bound to fail. A better solution is to be less extreme in your own cultural inclinations, and to be more sensitive to the possible alternative explanations inherent in the electronic message. If given the choice of a real-time online meeting, a bulletin board post or an email, Asian people would probably choose the slower medium, since it allows for a more deliberate, more considered reply or even series of replies. Thus, we can model our collaborative partners potential responses by leaving the discussion open, by asking open-ended questions and not necessarily asking for a decision as soon as possible. CMC is devoid of non-verbal communication, but we can add bracketed actions (laughs), ellipses (...) and emoticons (e.g. :-) ) to our email. If in doubt, one should always courteously ask for clarification, perhaps using a non-CMC medium. Communication theory extols the virtues of two-way communication. We think withholding judgment and sensitively questioning overseas colleagues about their points of view is the only way to fully understand their online ideas. Unfortunately, it is too late for Bruce and Yoko.
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Why do different nationalities create different-looking websites for the same product? When you are on a trip in a foreign country, how much about that countrys culture should you know? Conversely, how much of a culture should a new immigrant know when he or she arrives in a country? For example, how much of Australian culture should a new immigrant to Australia know on arrival? Are there any cultural practices that are reprehensible in your culture? For example, what cultural practices are reprehensible to Australians? Are there any Australian cultural practices that may be difficult for a foreigner to understand? How would you deal with this in terms of intercultural communication? If someone comes to your home country to live, should they entirely give up their own culture? If not, how much should they retain? For example, should a new immigrant to Australia be required to learn English? Why, or why not? What are possible implications for implementing such a requirement: a for the immigrant? b for the Australian government? c for education providers? Are there any universal cultural values that transcend particular cultures? Ask your class members if they know of words for surfing or barbecue in languages other than English. Ask them if they have more than one word for particularly important concepts in their own cultures. Share these with the whole class and identify similarities and differences across cultures. Discuss whether such differences might affect communication and professional practice. Use the Internet to study intercultural differences on the Usenet via Googles Groups, or on ICQ, IRC or a webchat channel. Culture can also be applied to companies and organisations. Describe the culture of the organisation you work for or the institution you are studying with. Use categories introduced in this chapter to structure your description. Explain which categories were most useful or valuable for your investigation.
Explanations to Case Study exercises Case Study 1: There is no known reason why the Ugly Australian or Ugly American exists. However, many Australians and Americans are very nave and inexperienced with traveling. The requisite big trip overseas for many Australians is the first time they have left their country and is undeniably nerve-wracking. Culture shock could result in anxious Aussies resorting to those crass behaviours that were once used when leaving the family home for the first time. Case Study 2: Scenario 1: My Indian friend came from a wealthy Indian family living in Nepal. Their house was full of young Nepali girls and boys who lived with them as servants. And now she was in America, on her own, doing her own laundry, tidying up her room, so at least she found someone to bring her a can of Coke, to keep a trace of her old living standard. People from high Power Distance, low Individualism countries have no qualms issuing orders to others and being obeyed. People from low Power Distance, high Individualism cultures are used to helping themselves rather than ordering others around.
Scenario 2: We realised that Yuko would not leave unless we did something. So I went to them and gently told them that it was OK, now Valentina and I would wait for Paola and thanked them for their patience. They thanked us profusely (for releasing them from their duty, I suppose) and then they walked away. Japanese communications patterns are based on understatements and reading indirect messages. Therefore, if you formulate a vague request, a Japanese person may interpret it as an indirect way of issuing a formal command. Add to that possible language problems and the fact that waiting does have the same connotations universally: you have the necessary ingredients for this minor, but embarrassing intercultural misunderstanding. Scenario 3: In Indonesia, raising our hands to participate in a class discussion is not our custom. However, we are more than willing to answer questions when the teacher points to us or calls our name in class. In some cultures, a class is mainly a lecture by the professor with the students learning through listening; in other cultures interaction and discussion is felt to be an essential part of the learning process. Scenario 4: It seems that a kiss was to her what a handshake is to me; and a hug was too intimate for her, yet I feel that it is less intimate than a kiss. Codes of conduct that regulate touching, hugging and kissing behavior are obviously culture-specific. Is there any way to know in advance which greeting rituals are appropriate in a given culture? Who should adapt to whom? Is Brad supposed to adapt to the Hungarian girls habits and expectations, or the other way around? Scenario 5: What is polite or impolite is not universally the same in every culture. Do you tolerate Keis behavior or would you try to change it? Scenario 6: Essay writing is a cultural activity. Westerners learn to write in a linear fashion, usually employing inductive reasoning and ending up with a stated conclusion. Eastern cultures, and some European cultures, employ different strategies, which may resemble a circle or spiral, with the conclusion never stated, only implied. Sources of authority, referencing procedures, citations, and quoting are viewed very differently throughout the world (see Kaplan 1966).
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