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Cultural differences in cross-cultural communication
Cultural differences in cross-cultural communication
Analyse the impact that cultural differences may have on communication
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Communication pattern is the structures in which communication flows in an organization. There are different kinds of communication pattern and assumption of cultural difference. The majority of people living in this United State has a different communication pattern which they are used to. But the challenges in this communication difference is that miscommunication will likely occur because there is a significant cultural difference between the communicators. The most important aspect of this communication pattern is the ability to understand another person’s pattern. For me, I am identified with African American culture. The communication pattern of African American is different from other people culture, and the one that fit me very well
Being a resident of South Carolina, African-American Culture was chosen as part of the applied learning project for the Intercultural Nursing class, because African-Americans make up more than a quarter of this state’s population. According to the 2010 United States Census Bureau, the total population for South Carolina (S.C.) is 4,625,364, with 27.9% being of African-American descent. The purpose of this paper is to develop an understanding and sensitivity to issues and cultural variances or phenomena that are unique to the African-American Culture. Another goal is to identify nursing interventions that are important for the nurse to consider in caring for this population. These phenomena’s include variances in social organization, communication, space, perception of time, environmental control, and biological variations associated with the African-American culture. (Giger, 2013 and South Carolina minority, n.d.)
Throughout the semester, we have studied numerous communication theories. Their purpose is to help understand exactly what happens when we interact with others. We might not necessarily agree with all of the theories, but the idea is to develop tools to evaluate situations we may encounter. Often, when the theories are explained in the readings or lecture, it is beneficial to apply the concepts to a "real life" situation. Using this approach, I will use a situation that many of us have faced, or will face, and analyze it according to a particular communication theory.
In the Western culture communication tends to have a logical and linear structure, most proceed right to the point. (Hong, 2008) Countries in the West are mostly industrialized and rely heavily on electronic technology and emphasize written messages over oral or face-to-face communication. The United States especially exemplifies this trend. Most countries in West Africa still rely more on face-to-face communications than on the written mode. (Novinger, 2008)
Samovar, L. A., Porter, R. E., & McDaniel, E. R. (2009). Culture and Communication. Boston: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
In my workplace setting, the ability to communication effectively is essential. I am conscious of the subtle differences between individuals and how they interact. This impacts on the individuals that use the service and how I respond to their needs. I will give examples;
This week’s study material was extremely educational. African American language is based on a culture and it is a pidgin, the history behind AAL should uncovered. I loved the video 3, where the children where learning how to translate AAL to American standard English. It is important to be able to communicate in a professional way, that school in Los Angeles clearly has the right idea of what needs to be done.
The Communication Accommodation Theory developed by Giles while broad and complex is undeniably important to the field of Communication Studies. The broad focus of CAT can be perceived as a drawback, but could also be viewed as a merit by allowing researchers to apply CAT principles in almost any situation dealing with communication between representatives of differing cultural backgrounds. By using CAT, Communication Researchers can objectively make observations of the communication strategies, as well as the motivations for those strategies on both small and large scales. By understanding such information, individuals and organizations alike could potentially make great strides in the improvement of relations with other cultural counterparts. In a sense, the Communication Accommodation Theory is significant because it can be applied to any cultural interaction, can help disseminate the causes of intercultural incongruity, and potentially help prevent future misunderstanding.
The average worker spends two-thousand and eighty hours a year at their place of employment. Communication within the workplace is often overlooked or not given as much importance as most people should allow, given the amount of time that is spent there. Beyond the more basic verbal speech, one must be aware of the nonverbal symbols and noise that can have an effect on communication. There are also cultural, environmental and internal factors that can effect communication and how successful it can be. The various perceptions that an individual has developed over their life can also effect communication. One’s ability to communicate effectively will determine the success and enjoyment that is to come from their job.
As I begin to examine myself, it is evident that my self-identity, which includes my personal identity, spiritual identity, regional identity, and gender identity, as well as worldviews and values are almost entirely made up of the efforts of my family, my friends, and from my experience of growing up in America as a person of African descent. In addition, the African American culture that has influenced myself as well as those who are closest to me has partly done so by establishing a culturally preferred communication style that varies based on age and relationship. In order to begin to understand Intercultural as well as International communications, it is imperative that I first evaluate and understand my own cultural and personal values, views, and communication styles. With this understanding, I will be able to open myself up to understanding, learning, and accepting others ways of life.
As the workforce becomes more diverse, immigration increases, and technology rapidly advances, effective communication is harder to achieve. All types of communication follows the same model of sender, encoding, channel, receiver, decoding, and feedback, with noise during that communication transition, however, cultural differences can complicate the process, adding so much noise that contributes to misunderstanding is the workplace. Effective communication in the workplace requires growth and flexibility. This means that, first, one needs to accept that the verbal and non-verbal communication style that we are most familiar with often become our unconscious norm against which we judge the communication styles of others. Second, there is a
The way people communicate varies widely between, and even within, cultures. One aspect of communication style is language usage. Language has always been perceived as a link between people but it can also constitute a barrier. Across cultures, some words and phrases are used in different ways. For example, even in countries that share the English language, the meaning of "yes" varies from "maybe, I'll consider it" to "definitely so," with many shades in between . Furthermore, communication between cultures which do not share the same language is considerably more difficult . Each culture, has its distinct syntax, expressions and structure which causes confusion in intercultural communication. For example , in Asian countries the word “no” is rarely used, so that “yea” can mean “no” or “perhaps”. Therefore, an American traveling to Japan might be considered impolite if he ignores this rule. Furthermore, individuals who are not comfortable with a certain language may not be taken seriously. Such is the case in the classroom, where a student who has a perfect knowledge of the subject in question may have difficulty expressing his idea due to his inability to write properly and therefore he would not receive the grade he truly deserves. Similarly intercultural communication is dominant in the workplace. In the past, many companies and organizations could operate entirely within their country of origin and conduct their activities exclusively in their own native language. But now, due...
One of the areas that show diversity is in context. The differences in cultures bring about a dissimilarity in the manner in which their members approach issues. These practices have an influence on patterns of communication. Within the study of culture, two contexts exist. They include high and low context cultures, whose nature's influence the manner in which their respective members interact (Kittler, Rygl, & Mackinnon, 2011). These classifications rely heavily on how the cultures rely on verbal and nonverbal cues. The authors describe high-context cultures as those whose members depend on nonverbal cues to derive an understanding from subjects. These people have a greater understanding of the context of communication so much that they use it to bring forth an understanding. Within this understanding, the members of high-context cultures are laden with information that makes it easy for them to understand messages contextually. The authors contend that the members of this group possess pre-programmed information. They note that they have high-level contexting skills, which allow them to analyze information with the aim of using the useful data only. In short, high-context cultures need a large proportion of context and a small amount of data. Conversely, low-context cultures usually have low volumes of preprogrammed information. Unlike
As I mentioned earlier, I thought I had very good understanding of cross cultural communication. I did not know if I would gain much in this class before I decided to take this class. For me, cross cultural communication was about talking with people with different cultures backgrounds. For example, two people are from two different countries; the communication between them is cross culture. However, I found that cross cultural communication is a more complex thing than I ever thought. The definition of cross cultural communication can be defined as the ability to successfully form, foster, and improve relationships with members of a culture different from one’s own. It is based on knowledge of many factors, such as the other culture’s values, perceptions, manners, social structure, and decision-making practices, and an understanding of how members of the group communicate—verbally, non-verbally, in person, in writing, and in various business and social contexts, to name but a few. I know this is a long definition. It is not as simple as I ever thought.
Communication and culture are part of human’s life, communication is basically about sending and receiving message, meanwhile for the culture is how people talk and react towards the person based on their attitude which basically shaped by their culture. Communication is also being considered as one of life's greatest resources, in any case communication is likewise considered as one of the issues or problems in life. Because, everybody utilizes communication in their regular day to day existence, and surely human is truly relying upon correspondence with a specific end goal to give and get the information. Further, People nowadays tend to be more flexible towards other people, and it is not simply because the society accepts them, however
In today’s society, we are media – rich with multiple ways of communicating. Often times we communicate with people in different areas of the country, but more so people in different areas of the world. Within organizations, communication is central to complete the task. That organization could be at work, a club, a sports team, church or even at home. In a fast paced organization, effective communication is key to completing the objective. In order to communicate effectively, you must know the person or system you are communicating with. Today, our lives are filled with technology, computers, mobile phones and other portable devices making communication even more effective. So why do we often get it wrong in communication?