PURPOSIVE

COMMUNICATION

LESSON 2- LOCAL AND

GLOBAL
COMMUNICATION IN
MULTICULTURAL
SETTINGS
 OBJECTIVES:
• At the end of the lesson, you should be able to :

1. Demonstrate an awareness of the reality of cultural diversity;

2. Demonstrate an understanding of how cultural diversity affects
communication; and
3. Appreciate the benefits and challenges of cross-cultural communication.

TASKS:
 TWO SPEAKERS ARE EXPERIENCING
MISCOMMUNICATION. WHILE VIEWING THE
VIDEO, NOTE THE FOLLOWING:
• The source of the miscommunication ( the wor
d or the phrase that was not correctly understoo
d)
• The resolution of the miscommunication ( the s
trategy or strategies the speakers used to try to r
esolve the misunderstanding)
 QUESTIONS:
•1. What did one speaker say that was not understood by the person he/she was speaking?
•2. What was the other speaker’s understanding of what was said?
•3. What do you think were the causes of the miscommunication?
•4. How was the miscommunication resolved?
•5. What should have been done by each speaker to prevent the miscommunication?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3a3fgUkw6c
DO YOU AGREE THAT
SPEAKER'S LACK OF
PROFICIENCY IN A
LANGUAGE IS THE
REASON FOR
MISCOMMUNICATION?
 VOCABULARY

BEFORE READING THE TEXT , LOOK UP THE MEANING OF THE FOLLOWING WORDS AND PHRASES THAT ARE USED IN THE SELECTION

• TAKE FOR GRANTED-

• CULTURAL BIASES-
• DOMESTIC WELFARE-
• CULTURAL OVERTONES-
• DURABLE BOND-
• GROSSLY DISLOYAL-
 VOCABULARY

BEFORE READING THE TEXT , LOOK UP THE MEANING OF THE FOLLOWING WORDS AND PHRASES THAT ARE USED IN THE SELECTION

• TAKE FOR GRANTED-to value someone or something too lightly.

• CULTURAL BIASES-is the phenomenon of interpreting and judging phenomena by
standards inherent to one's own culture
• DOMESTIC WELFARE- or household welfare ( total income)
• CULTURAL OVERTONES-something that is suggested, but is not clearly stated by certain
culture
• DURABLE BOND- strong connection
• GROSSLY DISLOYAL- not supporting someone that you should support
 READING DETAILS

COMMUNICATING ACROSS CULTURES

NOV 22, 2010
BY CAROL KINSEY GOMAN, PH.D.

P. 104-108
 DISCUSSION:
• FACTORS TO CONSIDER IN COMMUNICATING ACROSS CULTURES
• 1. CULTURAL DIFFERENCES
• - HIGH CONTEXT
• - LOW CONTEXT CULTURE
• 2. TIME ORIENTATION
• - SEQUENTIAL
• - SYNCHRONIC
• 3. REASON AND EMOTION
- AFFECTIVE
- NEUTRAL
 CULTURAL DIFFERENCES
HIGH CONTEXT
NATIONALITY Mediterranian, Slovakian, Central
European,Latin American, African,
Arab, Asian, American-Indian)
ASSOCIATION  Relationships build slowly and
depend on trust.
 Identity of the individual is
established according to the groups
he/she belongs to (family, culture,
work, friends, etc.).
◆ Specific hierarchy is seen in social
structure and authority. The responsible
person at the top looks out for the benefit
of the group.
INTERACTION Nonverbal elements are significant.
Verbal messages usually
indirect.Disagreement is personalized
LOW CONTEXT
Mostly Germanic and English speaking
Countries
Relationship begin and end quickly.
Relationships are short-lived.
◆ Individual’s identity is established by
himself/herself and his/her
achievements.
◆ The social structure is not centralized,
and the authority is distributed on
various levels. Each level is in turn
responsible for something.
Non- verbal elements are not
significant.Verbal messages are explicit.
Disagreement is depersonalized; its more
rational (not personal) in finding
solutions.
 CULTURAL DIFFERENCES
HIGH CONTEXT
INTERACTION Nonverbal elements are significant.
Verbal messages usually
indirect.Disagreement is personalized
 Extensive use of gestural elements in
carrying out a conversation (e.g., voice
tone, facial expressions, eye movement,
body language, etc.).
◆ Information is conveyed implicitly,
and is heavily dependent on context
rather than actual words.
Any disagreement or conflict is taken
personally. A differing opinion is seen as
being personally threatening, and hence
conflict must either be avoided or
resolved as soon as possible.
LOW CONTEXT
Non- verbal elements are not significant.Verbal
messages are explicit. Disagreement is
depersonalized; its more rational (not personal)
in finding solutions.
Conversation involves extensive use of verbal
elements instead of nonverbal ones.
◆ Information is conveyed explicitly in a precise
and easy to understand form. It depends on the
actual words rather than the context.
◆ Communication is direct, succinct, and to the
point.
◆ Communication is regarded as a means to
exchange information, ideas, and facts.
◆ Disagreement is not taken personally, but is
chalked up to a difference in opinion/outlook
that does not affect the individuals personal
relationship. Instead, both individuals focus on
formulating a rational solution.
 TIME ORIENTATION
SEQUENTIAL SYNCHRONIC

NATIONALITY North American, English, German, South American, Southern

Swedish and Dutch European, Asian

TEMPORALITY Business people give full attention The flow of time is viewed as a
to one agenda item after another. sort of circle, with the past, present
and future all interrelated.

Treat time as a commodity. See time more holistically and

interconnected.
• “On time” in Ghana
• It reminds me of the story about a German businessman traveling in Ghana. He set a meeting with his
Ghanaian counterpart for 1 p.m. Since “on time” for the German businessman meant arriving early
enough for the meeting to begin at 1 p.m., he made sure he arrived at the Ghanaian’s office 10 minutes
early to account for things that could go wrong. After his arrival, he was greeted by the secretary of his
Ghanaian counterpart and told to take a seat. 1 p.m. came and went and his Ghanaian counterpart wasn’t
there. 1:10 p.m. came and went, and his counterpart wasn’t there. 1:20 p.m. came and went and his
counterpart still wasn’t there. At this point the German businessman asked the secretary if everything was
OK. Had there been an accident preventing the arrival of his counterpart? The secretary simply smiled
and said she was sure everything was OK and that the Ghanaian businessman should be along any minute
now. The German businessman returned to his seat and continued to wait, becoming angrier as each
moment passed. As the clock struck 1:45 p.m. the Ghanaian businessman entered his office in no
particular hurry, chatted with his secretary and invited the then angry German businessman into his office.
After closing the door, the German businessman could not contain himself any long and he said, “I don’t
know what kind of outfit you’re running here but we clearly said we would meet at 1:00 p.m. According
to my watch, it is now 1:55 p.m.!” The Ghanaian took a seat behind his desk and said “My good man, you
have the watch but I have the time.”
• “On time” in Ghana
• The story above is an illustration of two different ways of seeing time, sequentially and
synchronically. According to Fons Trompenaars Seven Dimensions of Culture, cultures
with a preference for a sequential approach to time tend to treat time as a commodityTime is
something to be saved, spent or wasted. Time is used to bring order and set limits, like the
counselor who says your time is up even if you are in the middle of revealing a deep insight.

• On the other hand, those cultures which tend to see time synchronically see time more
holistically and interconnected. Time doesn’t drive the task. If I am meeting with my
manager and the meeting goes longer than expected, I probably won’t stand up at the
appointed hour and leave! If he decides it is a better use of my time to meet with him than
to do the other things I planned to do, then I would shift and cancel other commitments.
Synchronic cultures tend to value priorities more than a predetermined time limit. They will
do what is right to do at the moment, not follow a strict schedule.
 REASON AND EMOTION

AFFECTIVE NEUTRAL

NATIONALITY/COUNTRIES
Italy, France,the USA and Japan, Indonesia, the UK,
Singapore Norway, Netherlands
Emotions are expressed by Emotions are controlled and
laughing, smiling, grimacing, subdued.
scowling , sometimes crying
shouting or walk out of the
room.
 COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS:
1. How does each of the items in the following contrasting pairs differs from
the others?
a. High context vs. low context
b. Sequential vs. synchronic
c. Affective vs. Neutral

2. What does the author recommend that we do to be successful in cross-

cultural communication?
TASK 1
• Read the statements carefully. Decide if each statement is true or false. Write T on the
blank if the statement is True, and F if the statement is false. If the statement is false ,
re-write or revise it to make it true. Use the space provided after each statements .

____1. Anyone who is proficient speaker of a language will find communicating across
culture easy.
____2. Our emotions do not matter whenever we communicate with others.
____3. There is no such thing as a right culture or a wrong culture.
____4. All cultures have the same way of thinking about time.
____5. Communicating across cultures happens in one’s own country because of the
diverse domestic workforce of many companies today.
TASK 1-EXPECTED ANSWER
• Read the statements carefully. Decide if each statement us true or false. Write T on the
blank if the statement is True, and F if the statement is false. If the statement is false ,
re-write or revise it to make it true. Use the space provided after each statements .

__T__1. Anyone who is proficient speaker of a language will find communicating

across culture easy.
__F__2. Our emotions do not matter whenever we communicate with others.
__T__3. There is no such thing as a right culture or a wrong culture.
__F__4. All cultures have the same way of thinking about time.
__T__5. Communicating across cultures happens in one’s own country because of the
diverse domestic workforce of many companies today.
TASK 2
• Interview ( videoconfencing) a member of an expatriate community in
the Philippines. An expatriate ( also referred to locally as “ expat”) is a
non-Filipino person who is temporarily residing in the Philippines for
business or work purposes. During your interview , ask about his/her
experiences in communicating with Filipinos. What are his/her pleasant
experiences? Be ready to present the result of your interview as a
written report as an oral presentation to the class or you can record it
through video (VLOG).
TASK 2
• Use the following interview guide questions.

1. What are your pleasant experiences in communicating with Filipinos?

2. What are the challenging situations you have encountered?
3. How did you deal with these challenges?
REFERENCES:

• Retrieved from: https://

www.asme.org/topics-resources/content/communicating-across-cultures
Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3a3fgUkw6c
Retrieved from: https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ox5LhIJSBE&fbclid=IwAR3mbNWjga_RqOV
quKXTS8XmzuYd3kOOiOADR1iM5rynO_Xim6Gw1dOLjds