Cultural Characteristics that Affects Communication
1. Cultural Characteristics That Affects Communication Sarah Caldwell, Victoria Grant, Courtney Wright, Nader Abdel-Jaber
2. 6 characteristics that have the most effects on small group communication. Worldview Collectivism/Individualism Power Distance Uncertainty Avoidance Masculinity/Femininity High/Low Context
3. Worldview One’s beliefs about the nature of life, the purpose of life, and one’s relation to the cosmos. 2 types of cultures: “being”-“go with the flow” because the destinies are predetermined “doing”- strongly influence, events and adopt a “make it happen” worldview.
4. Individualism/Collectivism Individualism-Culture in which the needs and wishes of the individual predominate over the needs of the group. Collectivist- Culture in which the needs and wishes of the group predominate over the needs of any one individual.
5. Power Distance The degree to which a culture emphasizes status and power differences among members of the culture; status differences are minimized in low power-distance cultures and emphasized in high power-distance cultures. Low power distance High power distance
6. Uncertainty Avoidance How well people in a particular culture tolerate ambiguity and uncertainty. Low and High uncertainty avoidance cultures Low uncertainty avoidance cultures: have a high tolerance for ambiguity. High uncertainty avoidance cultures: people try to avoid ambiguous situations.
7. Masculinity/Femininity Masculinity- cultures that value stereotypical masculine behaviors such as assertiveness and dominance. “Simon lost his job” Femininity-cultures that value behaviors such as nurturing and caring for others.
8. High and Low-Context High-context communication: communication where in the primary meaning of a message is conveyed by features of the situation or context instead of the verbal, explicit part of the message. Low-context communication: communication wherein the primary meaning of a message is carried by the verbal or explicit part of the message.
9. References Professor Kaye Lewis definition of hegemonic masculinity 13th Edition of Effective Group Discussion
“being”-believe that fate controls all human events and are more likely to “go with the flow” because the destinies are predetermined.(these people value patience)The worldview helps explain why things are the way they are and helps humans find a place in life.“doing”-believe that people can control or strongly influence, events and adopt a “make it happen” worldview. (These people want to get to the point hurry and get things done.)
Here people are encouraged to worry about “I” instead of “WE” and some people may even leave the group if they are concerned that their individual values and beliefs are being compromised.Examples of Individualism: United States, here people are admired because “he or she may march to a different drum.”Here people are all about “we” and not “I” A Chinese proverb states, “The nail that sticks up is pounded down.” This is a good analogy of how collectivism works. It is all about the group and if you are not conforming to the group, the group reserves the right to force the individual to conform.Examples of Collectivist culture: Asian, Native American, and Latin American cultures. Note worthy-Turn-taking is distributed more unequally in the mixed groups compare to single-cultural groups- So next time you have a group meeting, make sure to be aware of different cultures communication style.
Hi everyone my Victoria and I will be talking about Power distanceLow power-distance countries-Austia, Israel and New Zealand.Here people believe that power should be distributed equallyThey value participative, democratic leadershipEveryone’s voice should be heard no matter their statusHigh power:High power distance-countries- Philippines, Mexico, Iraq, and India have a rigid, hierarchical status system and prefer large power distances. Here people in power have special privileges and should not be questioned.They value authoritarian, directive leadershipHere minimal participation from group is commonHow it affects small group communication: power distance is related to leadership styles and preferences and discussion procedures.Example If you were in a meeting with a large number of people from New Zealand and the leader of the meeting was from Mexico, you would have a hard time getting the New Zealander’s to conform with the leader, due to the type of leadership style and discussion procedures.
Low uncertainty avoidance cultures: have a high tolerance for ambiguity.More willing to take risksHave less rigid rulesOk with certain amount of deviance and dissentGreat Britain, Sweden, and Hong Kong are examples of low uncertainty cultures.High uncertainty avoidance cultures: people try to avoid ambiguous situations. Rules are clearly established Clear cut norms of behavior help people feel more secure Greece, Japan and Belgium are example of high uncertainty cultures.How does mixing these types of cultures affect a small group?May threaten each other, because some are task oriented while others are more relationship-oriented.
Masculine cultures such as Japan, Austria, Mexico and Venezuela. Here hegemonic masculinity. Social roles are more clearly defined. Males take task related roles and female tend to take socio emotional ones.. Feminine cultures Netherlands and Thailand. Here they value interpersonal relationships, nurturing, service to and caring to others.
High- what is not said is more important, than what is said. High consensus that words aren’t neededLow-
