LESSON NUMBER 3: INTERCULTURAL AND GLOBAL COMMUNICATION

Learning Objectives:

After the completion of the chapter, students should be able to:

1. define culture;
2. identify the different dimensions of culture;
3. explain how these dimensions of culture affect the communication situation;
4. apply practical use of these dimensions in improving the quality of communication;
5. identify ways/guidelines in communicating under a diverse intercultural setting; and
6. identify barriers in intercultural communication and how to resolve them.

Topics:

Intercultural and Global Communication

1. Thinking about Culture
2. Dimensions of Culture
3. Intercultural Communication Ethics and Competence
4. Barriers to Intercultural Communication

Culture

- The word "culture" derives from a French term, which in turn derives from the Latin "colere,"
which means to tend to the earth and grow, or cultivation and nurture.
- The characteristics and knowledge of a particular group of people, encompassing language,
religion, cuisine, social habits, music and arts.
- Culture is communication, communication is culture.
- Learned behavior” to “ideas in the mind,” “a logical construct,” “a statistical fiction,” “a psychic
defense mechanism,” and so on. (A.L Kroeber and Clyde Kluchkhohn, 1952)
- “Culture is the collective programming of the human mind that distinguishes the members of one
human group from those of another. Culture in this sense is a system of collectively held
values.” -- Geert Hofstede

Dimensions of Culture

Geert Hofstede’s Five Dimesion of Culture

The word culture is used frequently in organizational behavior. Culture is the learned and shared way of
thinking and acting among a group of people or society. Cultures vary in their underlying patterns of values
and attitudes.

The way people think about such matters as achievement, wealth and material gain and risk and change
may influence how they approach work and their influence with organization. A framework offered by
Hofstede offers one such approach for understanding how values differences across national cultures can
influence human behavior at work.

The values that distinguished countries from each other could be grouped statistically into four clusters.
These four groups became the Hofstede dimensions of national culture:

1. Power Distance (PDI)

2. Individualism versus Collectivism (IDV)
3. Masculinity versus Femininity (MAS)
4. Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI)
5. Long-Term Orientation (LTO)

A fifth Dimension was added in 1991 based on research by Michael Bond who conducted an additional
international study among students with a survey instrument that was developed together with Chinese
employees and managers.

1. Power Distance

Power distance is the willingness of a culture to accept status and power differences among its members.
In cultures with low power distance, people are likely to expect that power is distributed rather equally, and
are furthermore also likely to accept that power is distributed to less powerful individuals. As opposed to
this, people in high power distance cultures will likely both expect and accept inequality and steep
hierarchies.

The fundamental issue here is how a society handles inequalities among people. People in societies
exhibiting a large degree of power distance accept a hierarchical order in which everybody has a place and
which needs no further justification. In societies with low power distance, people strive to equalize the
distribution of power and demand justification for inequalities of power.

2. Uncertainty Avoidance

Uncertainty Avoidance is referring to a lack of tolerance for ambiguity and a need for formal rules and
policies. This dimension measures the extent to which people feel threatened by ambiguous situations.
These uncertainties and ambiguities may e.g. be handled by an introduction of formal rules or policies, or
by a general acceptance of ambiguity in the organizational life.
The majority of people living in cultures with a high degree of uncertainty avoidance, are likely to feel
uncomfortable in uncertain and ambiguous situations. People living in cultures with a low degree of
uncertainty avoidance, are likely to thrive in more uncertain and ambiguous situations and environments.

Countries exhibiting strong UAI maintain rigid codes of belief and behavior and are intolerant of unorthodox
behavior and ideas. Weak UAI societies maintain a more relaxed attitude in which practice counts more
than principles.

3. Masculinity vs. Femininity

It is the tendency of a culture to stereotypical masculine or feminine traits. These values concern the extent
on emphasis on masculine work related goals and assertiveness (earnings, advancement, title, respect et.),
as opposed to more personal and humanistic goals (friendly working climate, cooperation, nurturance etc.)

The first set of goals is usually described as masculine, whereas the latter is described as feminine. These
goals and values can, among other, describe how people are potentially motivated in cultures with e.g. a
feminine or a masculine culture.

Japan is considered a very masculine culture whereas Thailand is considered a more feminine culture.

4. Individualism vs. Collectivism

In individualistic cultures people are expected to portray themselves as individuals, who seek to accomplish
individual goals and needs. In collectivistic cultures, people have greater emphasis on the welfare of the
entire group to which the individual belongs, where individual wants, needs and dreams are often set aside
for the common good.

5. Long vs. Short Term Orientation

Long-Term Orientation is the fifth dimension, which was added after the original four dimensions. This
dimension was identified by Michael Bond and was initially called Confucian dynamism. Geert Hofstede
added this dimension to his framework, and labeled this dimension long vs. short term orientation.

The consequences for work related values and behavior springing from this dimension are rather hard to
describe, but some characteristics are described below.

Long term orientation:

● Acceptance of that business results may take time to achieve

● The employee wishes a long relationship with the company

Short term orientation:

● Results and achievements are set, and can be reached within timeframe
● The employee will potentially change employer very often.

Pros

Hofstede provided a definition of culture and how culture can be measured. His research showed that
cultural differences matter. Managers in international organizations operate according to their country’s
values, rather than to the organization’s culture.

Employees from related national cultures work in similar fashions, thereby reducing the chance of conflicts.
Hofstede’s model provides managers of cross-cultural relations a tool to help them understand differences
in value sets and behavior.
The model negates that one set of principles is universally applicable by confirming that there are multiple
ways of structuring organizations and institutions. An organization’s wider social and cultural environment
plus its technology determines the level of bureaucracy and centralization (Scott, Hofstede).

Cons

When Hofstede’s first results were criticized by Asian scholars, he added time orientation as a fifth
dimension thereby raising doubts about whether the typology itself was exhaustive.

Culture is a far too complex and multifaceted to be used as a straightforward organizational change control.
“You do not control culture, at best you shape it” (Green).

Cluster of countries based on Hofstede’s dimension of individualism collectivism and power distance

Intercultural Communication Ethics and Competence

- The sharing of meaning with receiving and interpreting ideas from people whose cultural
background is different from yours.

Variations of Intercultural Communications (Samoval and Porter 2001)

1. Interracial Communication- is the interaction among people of different races.

Example: A tourist guide conducting a tour for a group of people with different nationalities.

2. Inter-ethnic Communication- is the interaction among people who have different ethnic groups.
Example: An international correspondent interviewing the aborigines of Australia for a television
documentary.

3. International Communication- is the interaction between persons representing different political

structures.
Example: The president of a parliamentary government meeting the president of democratic
government.

4. Intra-cultural communication- is the interaction that includes all forms of communication among
members of the same racial, ethnic, and subculture groups.
Example: The head of the Manobo tribe meeting his constituents.
Barriers to Intercultural Communication
 Effective communication is a skill that few people possess and even fewer people can get their point
across when there is a cross cultural barrier. Cross cultural or intercultural communication is a part of the
interaction of different people from different backgrounds and heritages.

1. Anxiety - is usually defined as a state of human condition where a person has a feeling of unease
and nervousness. It is even sometimes associated with the feeling of an unrealistic fear. Anxiety
usually occurs when a person usually comes across his or her first cross cultural interaction
(Communicaid 2). The feeling of not knowing what to expect from their counterparts and lack of any
knowledge about the ways to interact with them usually causes a great deal of anxiety in individuals
(Communicaid). Out of their anxiety individuals usually make small mistakes which can result in a
great deal of problems for the two parties conducting the business. For example, in the UAE it is
customary for greetings to be physical in nature such as hugs and long handshakes that are very
common (Communicaid 2).

2. Ethnocentrism - a perception that an individual has for someone else’s culture and heritage as
being inferior to his or her own culture and heritage (Coopman and Lull). The perception basically
encompasses a wide range of assumptions regarding the culture as being morally correct and
rational in all ways possible. When such individuals interact with a person of another culture or
heritage they refuse to acknowledge the opinion of that person or they evaluate a certain situation
from their own point of view. In some rare cases Ethnocentrism is related to racism (Coopman and
Lull).

3. Assumption of similarity - Sometimes people assume that two cultures are not different, but are
similar in their nature. For example, if an Arab prefers to drink coffee instead of tea then others
assume that coffee is a popular drink in UAE. This is not always true as people from different
cultures have different preferences. The preference of a person or a group of people does not
reflect the entire culture (Communicaid 2). When dealing with different cultures one must not make
any predetermined assumptions about their opposite numbers culture. To play it safe one should
assume that there are no cultural differences between the two cultures. The best way is to present
oneself in a manner that they would do in their daily lives and carry out activities in an orderly
fashion (Communicaid 2).

4. Prejudice - is another notable and important barrier to cross cultural communication. Prejudice
refers to irrational judgments passed on certain groups or individuals (Flinders 3). It refers to a
primary negative perception created by individuals on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, cast or
language. Definitely, when people from different cultures and norms join individuals from other
cultures, they face challenges of prejudice (Jandt). Lack of communication and interaction is there
as pre-judgments are passed in such cross-cultural setting. Actually, irrational perception created by
a majority for a minority is the basis of prejudice. And this comes out as the breakdown of the
communication pattern.

According to Jandt (2010), prejudice refers to irrational hatred – a gap that is created on the basis of
hatred following a certain group, religion, cast or race. In this way, prejudice is inevitable blockage
of cross-cultural communication as it is a source to augment victimization of certain groups. When
victimization is there definitely lack of communication is there too (Jandt 83-85).

5. Language barrier - Language is an exchange gate of communication. It refers to a source which

exchanges values, ideas, and thoughts between two exchange groups. If exchange groups are
cross cultural, definitely language can be a major barrier of exchange (Velo). Communication gap is
there due to differences in language between exchange groups (Velo 66).
 Multinational corporations have implemented solutions for this. Such firms have standardized
English as an international language which has reduced the problem of cross-cultural interaction.
Now everyone joining a multinational firm learns English (the most accepted language) and
reducing the gap of communication in the international work environment (Velo 66).

Language barriers can be removed by hiring specialists. Specialists in areas of cross-cultural

communication, anthropology can be effective to remove language barriers (Velo). In addition,
special training programs can be organized to improve speech tendency and language frequency of
the speaker. This is how language barriers can be minimized and controlled for effective
intercultural communication (Velo 66).

6. Cultural Relativism -  is another most notable barrier of intercultural communication. The denial of
others’ values and cultures for the augmentation of self values and cultures refers to cultural
relativism (Flinders 7). Cultural relativism is a notion that reflects the superiority of a certain group.
The denial of others’ values makes cultural relativism a prominent barrier of cross-cultural
communication. It is the same like imposing your conceptions on others’ morals and conceptions
(Flinders 7).

The concept of cultural relativism is mostly found in UAE small and medium enterprises, where
employees are kept on to the adaptation of the static culture (Flinders). The firms restrict their
employees to engage with the static culture, which indirectly affects their intercultural
communication (Zechente 333).