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Rhon TeruelleClass #9 – November 12, 2012

CCT200: Intercultural Communication

• Intercultural Communication in the Workplace• Cross Talk: Rights at Work• Stumbling Blocks in Intercultural Communication• Developing Intercultural Competence

Economic Global Transformations

• Global Transformations refer to the worldwide economic and technological changes that influence how people relate to one another.

• Toffler (1980) identifies several characteristics of global transformations that influence our ability to communicate competently with people from other cultures: (1) The ground rules of social life are changing; (2) the restructuring of time is intensifying loneliness and social isolation; (3) we are becoming an information society; (4) human tensions are being spawned by technological changes; (5) old values are clashing with technology; (6) our role models of reality are changing.

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Some Basic Characteristics Tied to the Workplace

1) Rising levels of stress

2) Loss of hope

3) Feelings of redundancy

4) Expressions of virtue

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New People in the Workplace

• We can improve our interpersonal competence by following a few general rules.

1) Learn acceptable verbal patterns of address.

2) Learn about other groups in the workplace.

3) Know how friendship rules apply.

4) Recognize that information-based cultures differ from agricultural, industrial, or postindustrial cultures.

5) Place communication and meanings in context.

6) Observe “because of” and “in spite of” behavioural differences.

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Economic Forces are Powerful Factors

• Convince yourself that the world is changing and that you must change with it.

• Adjust your attitude.

• Avoid blaming others.

• Look for comfort zones.

• Demonstrate civil verbal and nonverbal behaviour.

• Observe and record.

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Using Economic Arrangements to Explain Intercultural Communication

• Values and lifestyle patterns – lifestyle patterns help to explain what people value.

• Information and decision making – today’s global economic revolution is influencing how people manage information and make decisions.

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Intercultural Communication in the Business Context

• Language – in the business context, our language differences can cause significant problems both economically and personally.

• Relationships – the pacing of the business transaction differs across cultures. This is due in part to the ways in which people from various cultures develop and maintain relationships.

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Intercultural Communication in the Business Context Continued….

• Cultures differ in what is considered acceptable evidence, reasonable, and persuasive styles.

• Quasilogical style – preferred by Westerners.• Presentational style – speaker appeals to and

emphasizes the emotional aspect of persuasion.

• Analogic style – speaker establishes the conclusion they want the audience to accept by using an analogy, story, or parable in which a lesson is learned.

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Ethics

• According to Chen and Starosta (1998), “ethics considers how we should communicate. It asks what is right or wrong, good or bad, and what standards and rules should guide our conduct.”

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Moral Reasoning

• Kohlberg (1976, 1984) argues that our ability to make moral judgments consists of six stages, which are basic to all cultures.

1) Obedience and punishment orientation

2) Instrumental purpose and exchange

3) Interpersonal accord and conformity

4) Social accord and system maintenance

5) Social contract, utility, and individual rights

6) Universal ethical principles

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Principles of Intercultural Communication• Reciprocity – a fair exchange; we try to determine if we

are being treated fairly; “I helped you, so you ought to help me.”

• Chen and Starosta (1998) note that there are four behavioural standards or principles that affect the general rule of reciprocity.

1) Mutuality – we must try our best to find common understanding within an intercultural encounter.

2) Nonjudgmentalism – typifies the notion of open-mindedness.

3) Honesty – the confidence we place in other people’s promises.

4) Respect – we attempt to protect another’s basic human rights.

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Factors Shaping Individual Ability to Manage Intercultural Encounters

• The cognitive dimension – refers to an individual’s ability to change their knowledge base.

• The affective dimension – focuses on the emotional aspects of an individual.

• The behavioural dimension – refers to an individual’s ability to adapt or change their actions based on skills acquired in the cognitive and affective realms.

• Imaginative participation – assumes movement from your perspective to the perspective of a person unlike yourself.

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Factors Influencing Intercultural Competence

• Knowledge of self

• Sociocultural roots

• Family

• Economics

• Political

• Stereotypes and prejudices

• Religion

• Language and context

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Questions or comments

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