Camama, McJahn Miguel V.

GE05 - Purposive Communication

PCEIT-09-101A
Unit 2 Lessons 1 - 4 Summary

Lesson 1: Intercultural and Global Communication

In the context of society, communication plays a pivotal role in shaping the

identity and culture of various groups. For instance, subcultures like goths, punks, and
emos express their identity through symbols such as hairstyles, body piercings, and
music preferences. These groups coalesce around shared behaviors and
communication styles once they are labeled and exhibit consistency in their interactions.
Society exerts its influence by reinforcing collective values through everyday
communication. Friends, family, coworkers, and even strangers act as agents of society,
subtly reminding individuals of these values and reinforcing conformity. Society isn't just
a bureaucratic structure; it's a system of beliefs, heritage, and a way of life transmitted
through communication.

Culture and society are intricately linked through relationships with individuals
encountered frequently in daily life. Any group with shared norms, rituals, and beliefs
can be seen as a culture, even friendships or romances. This perspective allows us to
move beyond traditional notions of culture based solely on structural labels like
nation-states. These labels don't accurately represent the diversity of meaning systems
within them, as not everyone within a nation or race communicates the same way.
Associating societies and cultures solely with nations, races, or other broad categories
is a mistake. In essence, culture and society are intricate webs of communication that
shape our identities and beliefs, transcending simplistic categorizations.

Lesson 2: Dimensions of Culture

In low-context cultures, several distinct tendencies shape communication and

social dynamics, as outlined by Halverson. These tendencies include an emphasis on
quick relationships, goal-oriented productivity, individual identity rooted in personal
accomplishments, decentralized social structures, and communication primarily reliant
on explicit verbal messages for information exchange. Disagreements in such cultures
are typically depersonalized, focusing on rational solutions rather than personal matters.
Additionally, spatial boundaries are important, leading to a preference for privacy and
individuals standing farther apart. Time in these cultures is treated as a commodity, with
scheduled events and rapid change, and learning tends to follow specific instructions,
favoring individual orientation and speed.
 Contrasting low-context cultures with high-context cultures in organizational
settings, low-context cultures prioritize job commitment, adherence to plans, respect for
privacy, punctuality, and attention to detail. In contrast, high-context cultures emphasize
relationships, flexibility, open friendliness, and community.

Cultures can also be categorized as collectivist or individualist. Collectivist

cultures, like Japan, prioritize group harmony and common concerns over individual
advancement, while individualist cultures, such as the United States, prioritize personal
goals and achievements.

Cultural variations extend to concepts of time. Monochromic cultures, like the

United States, value punctuality and view time as a valuable commodity, while
polychromic cultures, such as Italy or France, have a more relaxed attitude toward time,
often engaging in multiple simultaneous activities.

Conflict management styles vary across cultures, including dominating,

integrating, compromising, obliging, and avoiding styles. The choice of style depends on
cultural norms and individual preferences.

Geert Hofstede identified five value dimensions that differ across cultures:
individualism-collectivism, masculinity-femininity, power distance, uncertainty avoidance,
and task-social orientation. These dimensions shape how people define themselves,
their relationships, and their approach to communication in various cultural contexts.

Lesson 3: Communications Theories in Intercultural Communication

To improve intercultural communication, several strategies can be considered.

Firstly, selective transmission of information can be practiced, focusing on essential
messages. Building rapport and face-to-face relationships are crucial for establishing
trust. Careful encoding and positive acceptance of feedback enhance communication
effectiveness. Developing strong listening and observation skills, along with follow-up
actions, helps maintain meaningful interactions. Cultural sensitivity is vital to anticipate
varying interpretations of messages. Using clear language and incorporating gestures
can aid understanding while avoiding informal language and idioms.

The Communication Accommodation Theory, proposed by Howard Giles,

suggests that individuals adjust their speech, vocal patterns, and gestures when
interacting with others to accommodate differences. The theory examines why people
emphasize or minimize social differences in verbal and nonverbal communication,
influenced by factors like power, context, and identity.
 The theory operates under four key assumptions, highlighting speech and
behavioral similarities and differences, the perception of these differences affecting
evaluations, the role of language in communicating social status and group belonging,
and the presence of norms guiding accommodation processes.

Speech Accommodation Theory encompasses convergence and divergence.

Convergence aims to create emotional connections and increase intelligibility, while
divergence seeks to retain group identity and may involve preserving certain linguistic
aspects.

While the “Face Negotiation Theory,” proposed by Stella Ting Toomey, explores
how different cultures respond to conflict and focuses on saving or restoring one's face
or self-image. Facework involves specific verbal and nonverbal actions to maintain or
restore face loss. The theory identifies three faces: self-face, other face, and mutual
face, reflecting individualism and collectivism values.

It introduces styles of conflict management, including avoiding, obliging,

compromising, dominating, integrating, emotional expression, passive aggression, and
third-party help. The theory's core assumptions emphasize the universality of face
negotiation, the impact of cultural values, and the role of individual, relational, and
contextual factors.

Lastly, Speech Codes Theory examines how speech communities communicate

based on societal, cultural, gender, or occupational factors. Speech codes are sets of
rules guiding communication in specific contexts. The theory assumes the existence of
distinctive speech codes in every culture, the deployment of multiple speech codes
within a speech community, and the implication of psychology, sociology, and rhetoric by
speech codes.

It also posits that speech codes influence the significance of communication acts
and are evident in interactions, meta-communication, and cultural rhetorical forms. Artful
use of shared speech codes predicts, explains, and controls the form of discourse about
communicative conduct.

Lesson 4: Intercultural Communication Ethics and Competence

Intercultural communication involves navigating the norms, values, and behaviors

associated with different cultures. These norms are manifested in communication
through respect for elders, degrees of openness, nonverbal styles, and deference in
interactions. It's a mistake to assume that everyone within a nation or country shares
the same beliefs, as regions and subcultures within a country often have distinctive
belief systems. Ethical communicators respect cultural identities, avoid demeaning
others, and strive to describe the world as accurately as possible, acknowledging that
truth can vary between cultures. They encourage unique expressions and seek
commonalities among cultural beliefs and values.

Prejudice and racism are rooted in early socialization and communication with
prejudiced individuals. Hate speech includes threats and derogatory language directed
at specific groups. Another issue is "othering," where cultures and subgroups outside
one's own are labeled and degraded. This often involves representing others as binary
opposites, reinforcing stereotypes.

Personal traits play a role in intercultural communication. Self-concept,

self-disclosure, self-monitoring, and social relaxation impact how individuals interact
with others. Effective communicators must possess self-awareness, friendliness, and
competence in both verbal and nonverbal behaviors. Communication skills, message
skills, behavioral flexibility, interaction management, and social skills are essential for
effective intercultural communication. Psychological adjustment and cultural awareness
are also crucial for acclimating to new environments and understanding the customs
and social systems of host cultures, enabling effective communication.