Module Number 2

Module Title Communication and Globalization

Module Overview Communication and Globalization is the second module of the
course GE
105: Purposive Communication. This module will discuss the
what globalization is and how its impacts affect the type of
communication that we have across the world.
Module By the end of this module, you will be able to:
Outcomes a. Identify what globalization is;
b. Explain the impact of globalization to communication; and
c. Use different communication skills to respond to
globalization.

Module Number 2
Module Title Communication and Globalization
Lesson 1 Globalization and Its Impact to Communication Skills
Development
Description of Globalization and Its Impact to Communication Skills
the Lesson Development will introduce you to the definition of globalization
and how it impacts communication with others across the world. In
this module, we will closely look into the different global
communication competencies and what we can do to equip
ourselves to be globally competent communicators.
Lesson By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
Objectives a. identify the relationship between globalization and
communication;
b. explain impacts of globalization to communication skills
development; and
c. interpret and respond to messages sent through medium of
technology (email).
Lesson Proper
Activity As a 21st century communicator, we invite you to share your idea
of what globalization is by providing a word or phrase for each
letter of the word.
Example:
G – lobal understanding
L – ong distance communication

G – lobal transaction made easy

L – onger delays in communication erradicated
O – ptimized international connection
B – rought a faster means of global communication
A – ddressed issues and news globally
L – essened delays of information overseas
I – nternational ties further developed.
 Z – appy means of communication was developed
A – cerbic communication
T – ies between countries are further developed
I – nternational organization were created.
O – pened the gate for foreign trades
N – ew means of media were developed.

Analysis From your responses in the previous activity, consolidate your

thoughts on globalization by answering the following questions.
Write your insights on the space provided below.
1. From where did you learn about what globalization is?
2. Has your idea of globalization changed over time? How?
3. Does your understanding of what globalization is, affecting
the way you communicate with others? In what ways?
4. How do you think can you be a better global
communicator?

1. I learned Globalization from my Economics teacher when I was in

Grade 9 of my junior high school.

2. Yes, when I become a senior high school student as our teacher

discussed and gave more information about Globalization.
3. Yes, because through communication or by communicating with
other people helps to increase business opportunities and
remove cultural barriers.
4. I can be a better communicator by communicating effectively.
Like
being an active listener, paying attention to your partners
conversation, you can use action verbs and confident language.
Even if you’re not feeling confident, you can still sound confident.
One good trick is avoiding saying words like “um” and “uh”. Ask
clarifying questions, it’ll ensure you understand what is your
partner saying. Sharing also an interest or opinion with your
conversation partner is a great strategy. Knowing your subject
matter will put at ease and make it easier to communicate with
others.

Abstraction Before we can fully take off to our discussion, it is but fitting to
 understand
what globalization really is and how we can relate its impact on
communication. In the book, Globalization: A Very Short
Introduction, Steger (2013) included definitions of globalization
from different personalities and they are as follow:
Globalization can be defined as the intensification of worldwide
social
relations which link distant localities in such a way that local
happenings are shaped by events occurring many miles away
and vice versa. (Anthony Giddens, Formezr Director of the
London School of Economics)
 Globalization may be thought of as a process (or set of
processes) which
embodies a transformation in the spatial organization of social
relations and transactions—assessed in terms of their extensity,
intensity, velocity and impact— generating transcontinental or
interregional flows and networks of activity, interaction, and the
exercise of power. (David Held, Professor of Politics and
International Relations, Durham University)
Globalization as a concept refers both to the compression
of the world
and the intensification of consciousness of the world as a whole.
(Roland
Robertson, Emeritus Professor of Sociology, University of
Aberdeen, Scotland) From these definitions, what key terms
can you associate with globalization? Kindly write your responses
below by filling in the concept map.

Economic

Cultural Political

Globalization

Social Religious

Environmental
Indeed, globalization has shrunk the world. In what ways has it
shrunk the
world? It has capsulized almost everything that we need through
the use of devices that we have right now such as cell phones,
computers and other devices powered by technology that enable
us to be connected with other people throughout the world.
Because of this, the question now is, how will be become
responsible
global communicators?
We have to understand that globalization as the name
implies, involves a
relationship with people from around the world. Meaning to say,
we have to consider the cultures, traditions and beliefs of people
when we communicate. Thus, Chen’s (2005) proposition of having
global communication competence. As cited by Manzano, et. al.
(2018), competence, in the global communication context further
requires individuals to be equipped with the ability to
acknowledge, respect, tolerate, and integrate cultural differences
in order to be qualified for enlightened
global citizenship (Chen & Starosta, 1997, 2003). To support his
claims, he developed a model of global communication
competence.
According to Chen (2005), there are four dimensions of
global
communication: global mindset, unfolding the self, mapping the
culture, and aligning the interaction.

1. Global Mindset. People with global mindset are

characterized as culturally sensitive, open,
knowledgeable, critical and holistic thinkers, and
flexible. It enables individuals to regulate the
complexity, ambiguity, contradiction, and conflict
embedded in the turbulent change of the globalization
process.

2. Unfolding the Self. Unfolding the self refers to the

ability to look for shared communication symbols and
project the self into another person’s mind by thinking
the same thoughts and feelings and the same emotions
as the person (Chen &S Starosta, 1997, 2000b).

3. Mapping the culture. Global communication

competence requires a cognitive ability to map a
person’s or another person’s culture. Understanding
ourselves as a cultural being is a prerequisite to
knowing other cultures. Respect and integration of
cultural differences becomes possible through mutual
awareness of cultural knowledge. Thus, cultural
awareness is a necessity in reducing situational
ambiguity and uncertainty in the process of intercultural
global communication (Chen & Starosta, 2003).

4. Aligning the Interaction. The behavioral requirement

of aligning global interaction allows individuals to
negotiate the multiple meanings and manage
complexity and conflicts in the global context. It requires
individuals to foster the ability of intercultural adroitness
by which they can function effectively and appropriately
in the global communication environment without
violating their counterpart’s norms and rules in order to
reach a global civic society.

Globalization requires the development of a person’s

language ability. The ability to use language accurately and
appropriately is a requirement of a globalizing society. In a social
interaction, a person demonstrates the ability to respond
appropriately to the formality level of the situation, can use a
variety of sentence structures, and can handle expanded
inventory of concrete, idiomatic and conceptual language. Hence,
the creativity to use the English language is a determinant of a
person’s communication skill. (Manzano, B., et.al, 2018)
In this task, you will learn about the necessary impact of
globalization on communication skills development and what we
can do about it.
Through communication technologies we talk to one
another, view news
and documentaries about other parts of the world and other
cultures, revisit history, and share in the cultural production of
other social groups. Through other

technologies we can rapidly traverse the globe physically, transmit

information almost instantaneously, and send goods around the
world in hours or days, rather than months. The speed of
transmission, and the mobility of capital, mean that both space
and time seem to have been truncated, or to have collapsed
entirely. (Schirato, T. & Webb, J., 2003). This is exactly what
globalization has done to the world that we live in.
Baxter (2018) argued that as technology advances, the world is
both
getting larger and smaller. Today, we are able to communicate
with people across the globe at the touch of a button. While
globalization, or communication between nations beyond their
borders, is an old concept, with the onset of new technology
globalization is impacting the ways we communicate and learn in
fascinating ways.
Manzano, B., et.al, (2018) presented 4 major impacts of
globalization on
communication skills development.
1. Virtual interactions. Globalization has introduced virtual
communication and collaboration as a major part of workplace
dynamics. Modern entrepreneurs need to understand the
strengths and limitations of different communications media and
how to use each medium to maximum effect. For example,
communicating via email to distant team members requires a
certain etiquette and nuance not necessarily required in face-to-
face interactions. Holding virtual meetings requires a similar
change in approach, and people who are unaccustomed to
communicating in groups can find themselves lost, confused or
unable to share their input.
2. Cultural awareness in speech. Today, global
communication is often referred to as dialogue between
civilizations (Tibi, 2011). The need for cultural awareness is a
major impact of globalization on the required skill set of effective
communicators. Modern entrepreneurs and employees need the
ability to catch subtle nuances of people’s manner of speech when
communicating across cultures. Even when two people are
speaking the same language, cultural differences can affect
vocabulary, colloquial expressions, voice tone, and taboo topics
(Ingram, 2009). In Filipino culture, for example, it can be
considered rude to ask unprofessional questions. Even if they
seem harmless, these questions could show that the employees
are incompetent, rude or even liabilities to the company, and it
might end up costing their job.

Some Questions to Avoid in Speech in the Workplace

Are you sure about that?
How much are you offering them?
Do I get some bonus pay?
Who is your capitalist? (If the capitalist does not like to reveal
his/her identity)
Do I get my birthday off?
I don’t have much to do today. Can I go home early?
How do I benefit from this?
When do I get raise?
What’s the employee discount like?
Am I going to do that? It is not part of my job?

Who should I avoid around here?

3. Cultural awareness in body language. Awareness of
cultural differences in body language can be just as important
as the nuances of speech. Students should understand
acceptable speaking distances, conflict styles, eye contact, and
posture in different cultures, accepting that the physical
expressions of their own culture are not universally accepted.
These differences should be addressed to avoid difficulties or
miscommunication.

Examples of Body Language

shaking hands eye contact
OK sign head nod from side to side or
head shake
thumbs-up head nod up and down
broad arm tugging the earlobes
movement
pointing using the sitting with crossed legs
lips

4. Time Differences. The advent of global collaboration

introduces another new dynamic to communication skills – the
need to communicate and share information with people across
several time zones. When people collaborate with others on the
other side of the globe, their counterparts are usually at home
asleep while they themselves are at work. Today’s
communication skills development programs should address
the nuances of overcoming this challenge by overcoming this
challenge by teaching people to understand the information
needs of their colleagues, according to the communication
styles of different countries or cultures. Being able to share
effectively information between shifts can make or break the
productivity of a geographically dispersed team, making this an
important issue for many companies (Ingram, 2009).
Application Task 1: In the next activity, you will have the opportunity to
interpret a message that is sent through an e-mail, which is one
of the impacts of communication across the globe.

This activity was taken from Stringer and Cassiday’s (2009)

book, 52 Activities for Improving Cross-Cultural Communication.
E-mail Intent vs. Impact
For this activity, we would like you to answer the following set of
questions for every sample e-mail. Kindly write your answer
below each sample e-mail.
a. How would you respond to this e-mail message?
b. What approach might the sender be using?
c. What could be the positive intention of the sender?
d. How might you respond to this e-mail if you
assumed your initial response was correct?
e. How might you respond to this e-mail if the sender
had a positive
intent?
f. How could you rewrite this e-mail to have a positive
impact on you?
g. How might you use this reframing of an e-mail in
your daily work?
Email #1:
Miguel: Will arrive at hotel 7 pm. See you then. Donna

a. How would you respond to this e-mail message?

- Donna : Okay. I'll be waiting.
b. What approach might the sender be using?
- Communication as transmission
c. What could be the positive intention of the sender?
- He might have brought something for Donna.
d. How might you respond to this e-mail if you assumed your initial
respond was correct?
- Dona : Did you bring what I told you to buy?
e. How might you respond o this e-mail if the sender had a
positive intent?
- Dona : Okay I'll be waiting.
f. How could you rewrite this email to have a positive impact for
you?
- I would say : " Hi Dona, I'll be there by 7pm, I brought what you
told me to buy, see you soon."
g. How might you use this reframing of an e-mail in your daily
work?
- It would be better if e-mails become more professional and
polite.

Email # 2:
My dearest Donna: How is your family? I hope you had a
wonderful weekend. I am very excited about our upcoming work
together because I always learn so much when we work together.
I will arrive at the hotel about 7 pm and hope we can have dinner
together and catch up on each other’s lives before we begin our
project. I spent the weekend hiking with my partner and we saw
some beautiful scenery. I have photos that I look forward to
sharing with you. I will call you when I get to the hotel. Warmest
regards, Miguel.

a. How would you respond to this email?

- Donna : Hi Miguel, my family is doing great and we all had a
wonderful weekend. I also look forward meeting you and us
working together. I'll catch up soon.
b. What approach may the sender be using
- Communication as transmission
c. What could be the positive intentin of the sender?
- The sender wants to know how his co-worker and her family is
doing. He also expressed his excitement on woking with her.
d. How might you respond to this email assuming your initial
response was correct?
- Dona: Hi Miguel, my family is doing great and we all had a
wonderful weekend. I also look forward meeting you and us
working together. I'll catch up soon.
e. How might you respond to this email if the sender had a positive
intent?
- Maybe I would have constructed my email more professional.
f. How could you rewrite this email to have a positive impact on
you?
- I think the email was well rounded and had no issues about its
vibe.
g. How might you use this reframing of an email on your daily
work?
- Although I did not have to reframe the email, it taught me to write
email that produces positive vibe on the reciever.
Email # 3:
Sharon: Regarding Q1 results. Off by 10% of target. Clearly not
acceptable. Please send your plan for revision.

a. How would you respond to this email?

-: I'm very sorry Sir/Ma'am I'll be sending the revision as soon
as possible.
b. What approach may the sender be using
- Communication as transimission.
c. What could be the positive intentin of the sender?
- The sender wants a revision plan because of the erroneous
results.
d. How might you respond to this email assuming your initial
response was correct?
- I'm very sorry Sir/Ma'am I'll be sending the revision as soon as
possible.
e. How might you respond to this email if the sender had a
positive intent?
- I'm very sorry Sir/Ma'am I'll be sending the revision as soon as
possible.
f. How could you rewrite this email to have a positive impact on
you?
- Good Day! I like to remind you regarding Q1 results it was
unfortunately off by 10% and is not acceptable. Please send
your plan of revision as soon as possible. Thanks.
g. How might you use this reframing of an email on your daily
work?
- I think it would be better to construct an email that will have a
positive impact to the receiver regardless the message.

Email # 4:
Harold: Want to discuss my observations of last week’s
meeting. You are not much of a team player are you? Results
are good. Carolyn

a. How would you respond to this email?

: Thank you ma'am.
b. What approach may the sender be doing?
: Communication as transmission
c. What could be the positive intent of the sender?
: I think she would just like to commend me of my positive
performance.
d.How might you respond to this email assuming your initial
response was correct?
: Thank you ma'am, it was nice knowing the results went well.
e.How might you respond to this email if the sender had a
positive intent?
: Thank you ma'am, it was nice knowing the results went well.
f. How could you rewrite this email to have a positive impact on
you?
: Good day! I hope you are having a great time. I want to
discuss my observations of last week's meeting. You seem to
be a solo player are you? The results went well. Carolyn
g. How might you use this reframing of an email on your daily
work?
: It is always better to start with a greeting to every message we
send.

Email # 5:
Pietre: Want to inform you that due to staff shortages and
schedule demands, we have not yet shipped the order that was
due to your client in Bogata this
week. Efforts being made to ship next week. Emma

a. How would you respond to this email?

:Good day! I also recieved the complain from my client. I would
just inform them of the situation.
b. What approach may the sender be using?
: Communication as transmission.
c. What could be the positive intent of the sender?
: The sender wants to address the issue to his clients.
d.How might you respond to this email assuming your initial
response was correct?
: Good day! I also received the complain from my client. I would
just inform them of the situation.
e.How might you respond to this email if the sender had a
positive intent?
:Good day! I also recieved the complain from my client. I would
just inform them of the situation.
f.How could you rewrite this email to have a positive impact on
you?
: Good day! I want to inform you that due to staff shortages and
schedule demands, we have not yet shipped the order that was
due to your client in Bogata this week. Efforts being made to
ship this week. Emma.
g. How might you use this reframing of an email on your daily
work?
: It is always better to start your day with a greeting !

Debriefing Conclusions:
1. E-mail messages are often misinterpreted because the
sender and receiver have different cultural approaches.
2. Reframing the message with a positive intention can allow
people to be more effective in accurately perceiving and working
with one another.

Task 2:
At this point, you are invited to watch a video titled “The Flight
from Conversation/Connected, but Alone?” by Sherry Turkle that
shows how globalization has affected communication. The video
can be viewed or downloaded using this link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7Xr3AsBEK4.You may also
read the facsimile of the talk below or from this link:
https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/22/opinion/sunday/the -flight-
fromconversation.html.

After watching/reading, kindly write a one-page insight paper

containing your realizations about the article.
Metacognition As a wrap, we would like to invite you to write a one-page
reflective essay by answering the following questions:
1. What did you learn from this module?
2. How can you use what you have learned as
a. a student?
b. a citizen
c. a human being at large?
Suggested Ahmed, A. 2018. The Effects of Globalization on Global
Readings Communication. Nove,ber 21, 2018. Retrieved from
https://bizfluent.com/how-5192697communicate-globally.html

Sorrells, K. 2016. Intercultural Communication: Globalization and

Social Justice.
2nd Edition Retrieved from shorturl.at/xEI28
References Baxter, B. The impact of globalization on communication and
education. July 31, 2018. Retrieved from shorturl.at/vxAN0

Manzano, B., et. al. 2018. Purposive communication for college

freshmen. St. Andrew Publishing House. Plaridel, Bulacan

Schirato, T. & Webb, J. 2003. Understanding globalization. SAGE

Publications Ltd. 6 Bonhill Street. London EC2A 4PU

Tibi, B. The Handbook of Global Communication and

Media Ethics Volume I. 2011. Blackwell Publishing Ltd.