Interpersonal Communication in an Intercultural Setting
Cultural growth in the twenty-first century has heightened the
emphasis on interpersonal communication in an intercultural
setting. As our world grows, expands and becomes increasingly more
interconnected by various technological advances, the need for
effective interpersonal communication among differing cultures has
become quite clear. Due to the advancement of technology in
today's world, a world in which some businesspeople are involved in
transactions with other businesspeople in faraway countries, the
call for knowledge of intercultural communication within this
setting has become a reality. Interpersonal communication is a
form of communication that involves a small number of people who
can interact exclusively with one another and who therefore have
the ability to both adapt their messages specifically for those
others and to obtain immediate interpretations from them (Lustig et
al, 1993). Although interpersonal communication is usually thought
of as being perf! ormed in small, centralized groups, a need to
broaden these groups and bring about a general feeling of cultural
awareness has become apparent. To a certain degree, all communication
could be called interpersonal, as it occurs between two or more
people. However, it is useful and practical to restrict the definition
to distinguish those relationships that involve a relatively small
group of people, such as couples, families, friends, workgroups, and
even classroom groups from those involving much larger numbers of
people, as would occur in public rallies or among massive television
audiences. Unlike other forms of communication, interpersonal
communication involves person-to-person interactions. Additionally,
the perception that a social bond has developed between the
interactants, however tenuous and temporary it may seem, is also much
more likely.
Intercultural communication is a symbolic, interpretive,
transactional, contextual processing tool with which people
from different cultures create shared meanings (Berko et al,
1998). When we speak to someone with whom we share little or
no cultural bond, it is referred to as intercultural
communication. Our need to communicate across culture can be
very beneficial personally and professionally. Within an
intercultural setting, nonverbal and verbal communication are
both prevalent in emphasizing the differences in cultures. The
way we act and the things we say determine whether or not we
belong in a certain culture. Nonverbal communication systems
provide information about the meaning associated with the use
of space, time, touch and gestures. They help to define the
boundaries between the members and nonmembers of a culture
(Koester at al, 1993). In order to fully enjoy and benefit
from interpersonal communication in an intercultural setting,
one must first gain a fu! ll, comprehensive knowledge of the
determining factors of culture.
When this happens the cell tries to repair the cut but the repair process is error prone leading to mutations that can disable the gene allowing the researchers to understand its function. These mutations are random but sometimes the researchers need to be more precise for example by replacing a mutant gene with a healthy copy. This can be done by adding another piece of DNA that carries the desired sequence. Once the CRISPR system has made the cut, this DNA template can pair up with the cut ends recombining and replacing the original sequence with the new version. All this can be done in cultured cells including stem cells that can give rise to many different cell types. It can also be done in a fertilized egg allowing the creation of transgenic animals with targeted mutations. A major advantage of CRISPR is that, it can be used to target many genes at once. It is a big advantage for studying complex human diseases that are caused not by a single mutation but by many genes acting together. These methods are being improved rapidly and will have many applications in basic research in drug development, in agriculture and perhaps for eventually treating human patients with genetic
When working with children and young people, a huge responsibility for us is our duty of care towards them as we also take on what’s called ‘loco parentis’. This means that when a child or young person is left in our care, we take on the responsibility to ensure the safety and well-being as their own parents. This also includes the responsibility to see that children’s rights are promoted and their individual needs are met. Under the Children Act 1989, children have the right to be protected from harm, to discuss their concerns, and be listened to. They also have the right to be told what their rights are, and have their wishes considered when decisions are being discusses, when they affect them. Children and young people are vulnerable because
As the Titanic was emerged out of SouthAmpton, many photographers were nearby taking photos of the Titanic’s “big day”. The Titanic had 9 decks and a number of 899 crew members who would help the need of over 1,300 passengers. One captain would be in charge of this ship. Captain Edward J. Smith was chosen as the Captain of the ship. It took around 15,000 men to build the Titanic. The Titanic had a sister ship. The “Olympic” was built next to the Titanic. They were built closely the same. Turbo engines were built in to give the ship more power. The Hull of the ship had a double bottom and around 15 compartments with watertight doors. The doors could be controlled by an electric switch. The walls did not extend all the way up to the next deck. Therefore leaving room at the top for water to overflow into the rest of the Titanic. The number of lifeboats was cut in half so the passengers had extra deck room to walk. The designers thought that would be enough boats for the ship, but some were worried that it was not enough. Later 4 extra collapsible lifeboats were added. Yet again there was still few seats on the boats for about 2,200 people that had boarded the Titanic.
Commission for Social Care Inspection (2005) Making Every Child Matter, Commission for Social Care Inspection
Culture has always been a driving force in understanding nonverbal communication as nonverbal communication is highly influenced by the cultural differences as the context of the culture defines how the communication/message is interpreted in certain cultures. “Communication occurs within a context but the context is particularly important in relation to non-verbal communication” (Tyler, Kossen & Ryan, 2005, p.185). Culture defines the messages perceived by the non-verbal communication. For instance, proxemics. “Proxemics refers to the spatial relationship or how we use space.” (Tyler, Kossen & Ryan, 2005, p.190) Culture plays an important role in defining the use of one’s personal space in the nonverbal communication process. For example, in North America people usually remain at a distance from one another when talking while Latin American people stay very close when talking. (Wood, 2009). This defines the use of the privacy or personal space in two different cultures. H...
Many people who go to visit or work in another country suffer some misunderstanding from the local people, because they have a different culture. Different culture will cause disparity points of view about almost everything. In the article, Intercultural Communication Stumbling Blocks by Laray M. Barna, there are five stumbling blocks mentioned that are seen in a cross-culture communication. These blocks are: language, nonverbal signs and symbols, preconceptions and stereotypes, the tendency to evaluate and high anxiety. Barna wants to use these stumbling blocks to show the common blockades between different cultures. I agree with what she thinks about the language, nonverbal signs and symbols, preconceptions and stereotypes, and the tendency
Little to there knowledge it wasn't the weight of the ship they had to worry about. It was traveling across the Atlantic Ocean in the dark with many icebergs. The builders of the ship took extra precautions in securing the safety and welfare of its passengers. It exceeded the legal requirement for safety boats, which were sixteen. The Titanic, carrying twenty lifeboats, still didn't have enough for all 2,227 passengers.
Hall (as cited in Würtz, 2006) defined high context cultures have a preference for Nonverbal communication (p. 55). High context culture website uses implicit information, in which it is important to have related news information and some signs. Nonverbal communication mainly the emphasis on visual effects which are images, animation, links, buttons, music, video, symbols and messages related to particular topics (p. 274). A Nonverbal communication is one in which most of the information is in the physical forms, while very little is in the text. Singh, Zhao & Hu’s (as cited in Ahmed, Mouratidis & Preston, 2009) demonstrated that "the use of symbols and icons is more important, in Nonverbal communication" (p. 55). For instance, Indian websites regularly use Color, symbolism, animations, images and sometimes video clip and music also. According to Evers (as cited in Ahmed, Mouratidis & Preston, 2009) found that the 86.5 % of Asians strongly liked sound effects (Evers, 2001). In short, the high context culture country uses nonverbal communication which is India, China, Mexico, Brazil and Japan.
With an increase in globalization, many people venture into other countries to seek employment and education opportunities. The United States-based corporations employ over 100 million overseas workers. They also hire a large number of locals who then move to take roles in other countries where the company has operations (Reichard et al. 2015). This means that Americans are exposed to a high number of people from other nations with diverse cultures in their workplaces, schools, neighborhoods and other social places. Therefore, people need to improve their intercultural communication skills to enable them to interact efficiently with people with diverse cultures. The improvement of technology has made the media an agent for enhanced
When individuals or groups from different cultures communicate, this process is called intercultural communication. The transaction process of listening and responding to people from different cultural backgrounds can be challenging. The greater the difference in culture between two people, the greater the potential of misunderstanding and mistrust. Misunderstanding and miscommunication occur between people from different cultures because of different coding rules and cultural norms, which play a major role in shaping the patterns of interaction (Jandt, 2012).
The Titanic was a ship that was so large and so powerful, that there was no way it could ever sink, or so they thought. At approximately 11:40 P.M. on April 14, 1912, an iceberg was reported “dead ahead” of the Titanic. As, the leader of the huge ship, Captain Edward Smith ordered a “panic turn” in attempt to miss the iceberg. The attempt was almost successful, instead of hitting the iceberg head on, the iceberg scraped the side of the Titanic. (D’Alto) The collision with the iceberg was such an impact that the rivets that held the ship together were starting to pop loose. Once the rivets started popping loose, it was easy for water to enter the ship and filling the compartments of the Titanic, thus flooding the hull. The flooding of the ship’s hull ultimately led to the sinking. (Streissguth)
Humans have been communicating since four million years. On the other hand, the birth of culture is estimated to have taken place about 35,000 years ago. Today, both culture and communication have evolved considerably and have become interdependent of one another, to the point that communication is considered to be a product of culture. Thus, our own culture has a deep impact on our thoughts and behaviors. Since each culture has its distinct aspects, intercultural communication can be the cause of conflict and disorder. There are three main issues which are at the root of the problem of intercultural miscommunication : language as a barrier, cultural diversity and ethnocentrism. I will analyze these three notions in situations in which intercultural communication is frequent such as : the workplace, the classroom and vacation trips.
I have learned about body language, and the tone of ones voice and the words you choose can make a difference in the way the message is received. Again, I think that this course has introduced me to a meaning and understanding of these types of messages that are more in depth, and complex then I expected. I feel as though the verbal codes are still a little confusing to me. For some of the codes, I can figure them out by looking at the prefix of a word such as morphology; the smallest form meaning in a language, and phonology; the combining of basic sound units of a language. For others, I wasn 't aware that there were words that define a concept, such as semantics, which is the study of the meaning of words. The majority of nonverbal messages in intercultural communication make sense to me. I can think of examples of when they are used in everyday life, but I think it is interesting that we, as least I, do not think of them when we they actually occur. For example, when I talk I do not think of the nonverbal behaviors I am doing that are tied to what I am saying, or illustrators. However, there are a few messages that are so close in similarity that I do have to think about them, such as the difference between regulators and vocalics, and proximity and
To elaborate, by mentioning intercultural understanding, I meant that each cultural group has different ways to communicate. For example, Western culture encourages people to be up-front and straight-forward with their communication; contrastly, people who are influenced by Eastern culture might be less outspoken about their ideas and pay a lot of attention to nonverbal language of the people around them. Culture is something that if one have never encountered or exposed to it, he or she would never know. I hope that after this project, besides of the knowledge we gained from the research itselves, all four of us would improve even more on our intercultural and interpersonal communication skills. Because at the end of the day, the knowledge that one have learnt might be forgotten, but all of the skills that one have gained will stay for a very long time.