Question 1:
My best friend and I are extremely similar, personality wise, therefore we share many subcultures; however we are also of very different ethnic and religious backgrounds therefore we tend to argue quite a lot due to the difference in our backgrounds. For example, we have very different views on the Palestinian- Israeli conflict, I am of Arab decent therefore naturally I am pro Palestine while he is of Jewish origin, he was raised to be pro Israel, therefore we argue on the conflict consistently. Our political views are radically different due to our cultural upbringings and ethnicity which causes temporary tension in our friendship.
Question 2:
While my best friend and I are extremely close we have experienced tensions due to
…show more content…
The Uncertainty & anxiety management theory, defined as “a framework that explains how uncertainty and anxiety affect intercultural communication.” Due to my best friend and I’s radical difference in cultural backgrounds a lot of what is said may also be misconstrued as I am from a high context culture while he is from a low context culture; at times during our discussion he may say something that is too direct and may offend and shock me while I may say things that have vague implications behind the words which may seem very unclear to him and may anger him. According to the Uncertainty and Anxiety management theory, one should be at a level in between the maximum and minimum threshold for uncertainty and anxiety; where “you feel confident enough to participate in the conversation, but not so much that you don’t pay attention and your anxiety level leaves you motivated to communicate carefully but not frightened or overwhelmed. “ I believe the issue we face is that we both would feel very overwhelmed by what the other would say and would feel the need to retaliate. In scenario A of which actually happened; Patricio and I had a huge argument as we both had very different points of view concerning the Palestinian Israeli conflict. While I was expressing my point of view, he must have grown anxious thinking that the intentions behind my words were cruel since I take a vague approach to the elaboration due to the culture that I am from. However, while he was expressing his point of view, I was growing anxious thinking that he was being very offensive to the Arab culture as I felt that his argument implied a generalization towards the Arab culture, while there are 22 Arab countries in the world. Therefore at one point we both started screaming at each other and the root problem was not because of our different
Intercultural communication is a significant, unavoidable element of communication in the 21st century. With the vast movements of population throughout history, as well as the growing prominence of technology, the ability to interact and come into contact with different cultures, both ethnic and sub-cultures, has never been easier. However, with this growing role of intercultural communication, there is a large opportunity for the existence and perpetuation of stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination. In order to avoid offence and miscommunication when partaking in intercultural communication, a person must be willing to understand a person as an individual entity, and not as a representation of their culture or of what the host culture may believe it to be.
Intercultural communication is type of communication which people from different cultures and groups share information. The occasion where significant basically cultural differences made effective intercultural communication a challenge between me and my friend here in America was about bride price. In my culture bride price is paid by groom to the family of the girl who is going to marry. The bride price symbolizes as a promise to always love and protect. It serves as reassurance to the bride’s parents that the daughter they love with all their heart will be in good hands. The bride price does not represent the value of a women and it was never intended to. Its present a promise to love and respect a women. But my friend who is the citizen here and was born here told me that in America there is no like this culture anymore, they do not pay any bride price to groom or to the bride.
When people meet strangers having unfamiliar culture, uncertainty is higher. [J4] When a team has just started, uncertainty is strongly related to communication with others, especially people who came from different cultures. So, managing uncertainty is a crucial process for team building. While people do not express any inconvenience when they have a conversation with people having the same culture, they show difficulty of conversation due to higher uncertainty with strangers from different cultures. [J4] When a team is able to minimize misunderstandings, the team will have effective
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).
Interpersonal conflict is very common with many relationships. It occurs when two people can not meet in the middle or agree on a discussion. Cooperation is key to maintaining a healthy debate. More frequently; when dealing with members of your own family, issues arise that include conflict and resolution. During this process our true conflict management style appears “out of thin air”. (Steve A. Beebe, 2008, p. 191).
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!
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
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
Intercultural communication is an evolving discipline that encapsulates the interactions between individuals or groups from different backgrounds. Diversity and the need for cultural awareness are forever increasing, and this solidifies the direction in which diversity will take in the future. Intercultural communication is going to be a tremendous part of our future and as individuals it will be part of our personal, social and professional relationships.
The frequent situations of misunderstandings in intercultural communication may be more common then one may believe. The potential for misunderstandings between two different cultures communicating is very high. Through such things as idioms, translation errors, and wrong body language communicative skills can be incorrect. When these intercultural mistakes occur between the people speaking or moving it may be perceived by the opposite culture as funny, rude or confusing. With these considerations in mind, the combination of possibilities for misinterpretations is increasingly elevated.
I wasn 't quite sure what I was getting into when I first enrolled in Intercultural Communications. I had assumptions as to the goals of the course such as I would be learning about the way cultures interact with each other, learn about communication in general, or I would be learning about the ways we use communication through our culture. I think that I achieve the latter goal, but I also gained knowledge about more then just my culture. I came to realize that there is more to a culture than just language, appearances, and customs, which are aspects of culture that could be seen above the waterline, or they are more noticeable/obvious to someone outside of that culture. There are aspects of culture that are below the waterline, or more
There is difficulty assigning a specific method that works best for friends and family because it depends on people's personality. As well as keeping in mind that the relationship between both parties. People are not born with set values and expectations, therefore, their friends and family help define and frame who they are. Usually, those people act in someone's best interest so when conflict occurs addressing an issue can either heal or break relationships. Avoidance is labeled as one of the low conflict resolution styles because of the lack of assertiveness. Positive conflict is ideal so the outcome can be constructive, task-focused, or reduce the problem. However, there is a layer of complexity with friends and family because of the personal investment. Avoiding can be beneficial to some degree as far as reducing stress, saving time or reducing the risk of enhancing the problem. When it comes to friends and family there is a concern about hurting others and disturbing relationships so avoidance is seen as the best option. On the other hand, the lack of communication may harbor resentment between two individuals and increase the original conflict. As a whole, avoidance occasionally works well in long-term friendships or with close family members because there is more attention on building the relationship than fighting. But
Even traditionally strong relationships, such as marriage, are prone to many instances of interpersonal conflicts. Home buying; what is important to each in a home? Career choices; does one career affect the other, if so, which one is more important to each? Holiday plans can involve conflict. Oftentimes during the holidays I would like to visit with my family...
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.
What does it mean to be a competent communicator and a competent intercultural communicator? A Competent communicator defines as a person who can communicate with others properly and sufficiently, and a competent intercultural communicator is the ability to communicate effectively and appropriately with people of other cultures. It takes many abilities to be an effective competent communicator and an effective competent intercultural communicator. While some environments and factors can affect the way you communicate properly, there are also abilities that can help you achieve better communication. In this discussion I will be comparing and contrasting the concepts of both competent communication and competent intercultural communication.