MULTICULTURALISM

Thanks to K. Garrison for the original textual material

International and Cross-Cultural Communication

Globalization: You Are Not Alone

People from different cultures are different in a variety of ways, including: Different ways of greeting each other Different ways of looking at things Within cultural dimensions

Profile your audience

Base your communication on: (82-85, 92) What you know What you can research Social cues Etc. Examples?

Do not ever assume that “they” will assume that you are “right” because you are American – we all know what happens when we assume things, right… ;)

Some Perceptions of Americans

Europe & especially England: “Americans are stupid and unsubtle. And they are fat and bad dressers.”

Finland: “Americans always want to say your name: 'That's a nice tie, Mikko. Hi Mikko, how are you Mikko?’”

Indian: “Americans are always in a hurry. Just watch the way they walk down the street.”

Kenyan: “Americans are distant. They are not really close to other people -- even other Americans.”

Turkey: “Once we were out in a rural area in the middle of nowhere and saw an American come to a stop sign. Though he could see in both directions for miles, and there was no traffic, he still stopped!”

Some Perceptions of Americans

Colombia: “In the United States, they think that life is only work.”

Indonesia: “In the United States everything has to be talked about and analyzed. Even the littlest thing has to be 'Why, why why?'.”

Ethiopia: “The American is very explicit. He wants a 'yes' or 'no'. If someone tries to speak figuratively, the American is confused.”

Iran: “The first time my American professor told me 'I don't know, I will have to look it up', I was shocked. I asked myself 'Why is he teaching me?‘”

People from different cultures are different in a variety of ways, including:

Different ways of greeting each other (92) Different ways of looking at things Cultural Dimensions

Possible Greeting Styles I

Kiss or Embrace Small Bow or Hand Signs

Possible Greeting Styles II

Shake Hands Tip a Hat

Shaking Hands

a firm, short handshake indicates self-confidence

In the United States… In most parts of Africa…

a limp handshake is the correct way to do it

the handshake may last several minutes

People from different cultures are different in a variety of ways, including:

Different ways of greeting each other Different ways of looking at things (92-93, 99-101) Cultural Dimensions

Arabic or Chinese Reader Scanning a Page

American or European Reader Scanning a Page

From Johnson-Sheehan, R. (2006). Technical communication today, 2nd Ed., p. 59

Scanning Text

Writing Dates

UNITED STATES8/25/11

JAPAN11/8/25

EUROPE25/8/11

August 25, 2011

People from different cultures are different in a variety of ways, including:

Different ways of greeting each other Different ways of looking at things Cultural Dimensions (93-98)

Variance in Cultural Dimensions

High Context vs. Low Context

Monochronic vs. Polychronic

Future vs. Present vs. Past Orientation

Power Distance

Individualism vs. Collectivism

High Context vs. Low Context

High context culture: Communicators assume a great deal of commonality of knowledge

and views Less is spelled out explicitly and much more is implicit or

communicated in indirect ways More responsibility is placed on the listener to keep up their

knowledge base and remain plugged into informal networks Include the Japanese, Arabs and French

Low context culture: Things are fully (though concisely) spelled out Things are made explicit Considerable dependence is put on what is actually said or written Is vulnerable to communication breakdowns when they assume

more shared understanding than there really is. This is especially true in an age of diversity.

Is not known for their ability to tolerate or understand diversity, and tend to be more insular

Include the Anglos, Germanics and Scandinavians

Interactions

Can be problematic

Examples Japanese can find Westerners to be offensively blunt Westerners can find Japanese to be secretive, devious and

bafflingly unforthcoming with information French can feel that Germans insult their intelligence by

explaining the obvious Germans can feel that French managers provide no

direction

Monochronic vs. Polychronic (94-95)

Monochronic cultures: Like to do just one thing at a

time Value a certain orderliness and

sense of there being an appropriate time and place for everything

Do not value interruptions Typically include the Germans

Polychronic cultures: Like to do multiple things at

the same time Typically have an open door, a

ringing phone and a meeting all going on at the same time in a manager's office

Include the French and the Americans Modern Representation of Chronos

Picture from http://www.piers-anthony.com/bearinganhourglass.html

Interactions between types:

Can be problematic Examples

A German businessman cannot understand why the person he is meeting is so interruptible by phone calls and people stopping by. Is it meant to insult him? When do they get down to business?

Similarly, the American employee of a German company may be disturbed by all the closed doors - it seems cold and unfriendly.

Future vs. Present vs. Past Orientation I

Past-oriented societies: Concerned with traditional

values and ways of doing things

Conservative in management and slow to change things that are tied to the past

Include China, Britain, Japan and most Spanish-speaking Latin American countries

Future vs. Present vs. Past Orientation II

Present-oriented societies: Include the rest of the Spanish-speaking Latin American countries See the past as passed and the future as uncertain Prefer short-term benefits

Future vs. Present vs. Past Orientation III

Future-oriented societies: Are optimistic about the future Think they understand it and can

shape it through their actions View management as a matter of

planning, doing and controlling (as opposed to going with the flow, letting things happen.)

Include the United States and, increasingly, Brazil

Quantity of Time

Time is seen as being a limited resource which is constantly being used up

OR Time is more plentiful, if not infinite. In old agricultural

societies, time was often seen as circular, renewing itself each year.

Time-limited societies

Punctuality becomes a virtue

It is insulting to waste someone's time, and the ability to do that and get away with it is an indication of superiority/status

Time is money

Time-limited cultures don't have time to develop trust and so create other mechanisms to replace trust (such as strong rule-by-law)

Time-plentiful societies

View no problem with making people wait all day, and then tell them to come back the next day

Tend to rely on trust to do business

Include India or Latin American

Power Distance

The extent to which people accept differences in power and allow this to shape many aspects of life.

High Power vs. Low Power

Implications

In high power distance countries (most agrarian countries), bypassing a superior is insubordination.

In low power distance countries (US, northern Europeans, Israel), bypassing a superior is not usually a big deal

In the US, superiors and subordinates often interact socially as equals. An outsider watching a party of professors and graduate students typically cannot tell them apart.

How, and to what extent, do power-holders separate themselves from the less powerful?

Is the boss always right because he/she is the boss, or only when he/she gets it right?

Individualism vs. Collectivism I

Individualist cultures believe: Individual uniqueness and self-determination is a valuable trait A person is all the more admirable if they are a "self-made man"

or "makes up their own mind" or show initiative or work well independently

Tend to believe that there are universal values that should be shared by all

Include Anglo cultures

Collectivist cultures: Expect people to identify with and work well in groups which

protect them in exchange for loyalty and compliance Tend to accept that different groups have different values Include Asian cultures

Basic Communication Problems

Being able to interpret others comments and actions

Correctly predicting behavior

Dealing with conflicting behavior

How can we avoid these problems? What you know What you can research Social cues