Challenge of Intercultural Communication - Assignment Example

Intercultural Communication of the of the PART I The opening “Culture at Work” vignette, “Virus Free Communication”, shows a. the improvements that have been made in enabling people to use emails without needing to fear computer viruses as much as had been the case before the year 2004 b. that an event such as a health emergency can force uncomfortable changes in a culture’s preferred way of communicating c. that companies such as Wal-Mart prefer to temporarily eliminate purchases from China rather than risk the potentially costly miscommunication that could result from a lack of face-to-face communication d. that Chinese culture is so dependent upon meeting for face-to-face communication that everything immediately returned to normal as soon as the travel ban was lifted Answer. a. (the improvements that have been made in enabling people to use emails without needing to fear computer viruses as much as had been the case before the year 2004). 2. Which of the following is not one of the major differences in how people from different cultures communicate with each other? a. language usage b. technologies used c. verbal style d. nonverbal communication Answer: b (technologies used) 3. Which of the following English words is most likely to be difficult to translate into Chinese? a. dumpling b. smile c. achievement d. three (the number) Answer: d. three (the number) 4. All of the following are verbal communication styles, except _____________. a. direct versus indirect b. elaborate versus succinct c. optimistic versus pessimistic d. personal versus contextual Answer: c. (optimistic versus pessimistic) 5. Speakers tend to select words that hide their real feelings in cultures that use the _____ verbal style. a. affective b. instrumental c. indirect d. contextual Answer: c. (indirect) 6. Speakers using the _____ verbal style tend to emphasize precision and the right amount of words to convey the desired meaning. a. succinct b. exacting c. elaborate d. personal Answer: a. (succinct) 7. North American speakers generally use the _____ verbal style, addressing each other informally, directly, and on an equal basis. a. personal b. contextual c. affective d. indirect Answer: a. (personal) 8. Being late for a meeting is most likely to offend a ______________ business associate. a. Mexican b. Italian c. Saudi d. German Answer: d. (German) 9. Oculesics, Haptics, Proxemics, Chronemics, and Chromatics are all forms of _____________. a. affective communication b. communication barriers c. commonly spoken foreign languages d. nonverbal communication Answer: d. (nonverbal communication) 10. One area of nonverbal communication in which there seems to be universal agreement cross-culturally is _____________ a. body language b. emotional expression c. proxemics d. usage of time Answer: b. (emotional expression) 11. For most people in the US, communication within a distance of 18 inches is the _____ zone, and communication within 4 to 12 feet, common in business situations, is the _____ zone. a. public; low-contact b. high-contact; public c. intimate; social d. intimate; public Answer: b. (high-contact; public) 12. The two points at which the cross-cultural differences in language usage, verbal styles, and nonverbal communication affect the communication process are _______________ a. encoding and decoding messages b. media selection and transmission c. encoding and feedback d. decoding and feedback Answer: b. (media selection and transmission) 13. _____ is a common perceptual barrier to intercultural communication; it is a shortcut in which we categorize another person as a member of a group in which we assume that all members have common characteristics. a. Analysis b. Data gathering c. Stereotyping d. Observation Answer: c. (Stereotyping) 14. A study of the relationship between stereotypes and international effectiveness found that managers judged most internationally effective were those ___________________ a. that had never formed stereotypes b. that had specific and durable stereotypes c. who were able to change their stereotypes as they learned more information d. who never let themselves forget which cultures are the better ones and which ones are inferior Answer: a. (that had never formed stereotypes) 15. Virtual cross-cultural communication has grown rapidly due to all of the following except _____. a. FAX b. more efficient airmail service c. email d. teleconferencing Answer: c. (email) 16. Because of the asynchronous nature of emails, virtual team participants who are not communicating in their native languages often find that email, compared to face-to-face communication, makes ____________________________ a. it easier to communicate effectively b. it a little bit more difficult to communicate effectively c. it much more difficult to communicate effectively d. no difference in their effectiveness, one way or the other Answer: a. it easier to communicate effectively 17. Which of the following would not improve the effectiveness of cross-cultural communication? a. speaking slowly and using shorter sentences b. using colorful expressions and popular slang in order to keep the other person’s attention c. repeating major points or summarizing periodically d. expressing respect for the other person and allowing them equal opportunity to express themselves Answer: b. (using colorful expressions and popular slang in order to keep the other person’s attention) 18. The fact that the Japanese have a distinct set of characters for foreign words used to make a Japanese word that sounds the same as the foreign word ___________________ a. is a force for divergence b. is a force for convergence c. shows that there is little hope for improved cross-cultural communication d. shows that Japanese is an inferior language Answer: b. (is a force for convergence) 19. Effectiveness in cross-cultural communication _______________________ a. enhances the effectiveness of leadership b. helps managers better motivate subordinates by explaining job requirements c. influences the development of organizational culture d. does all of the above Answer: d. (does all of the above) 20. A message is transmitted to the receiver through a __________________________ a. noise b. jargon c. medium d. perception Answer: c. (medium) 21. Knowledge useful for organizational innovation is best communicated in _____ form. a. oral b. written c. jargon d. strategic Answer: a. (oral) 22. While ______ communication is typically a conscious process, _____ tends to be somewhat unconscious and culture-specific. a. non-verbal, verbal b. verbal, non-verbal c. verbal, oral d. oral, non-verbal Answer: b. (verbal, non-verbal) 23. ______ is the process of receiving information from the external world around us. a. Communication b. Stereotyping c. Perception d. Messaging Answer: a. (Communication) 24. Over ___ percent of a managers day is spent communicating. a. 25 b. 50 c. 70 d. 80 Answer: a. (25) 25. _______ is a basic form of interchange between two or more individuals, groups, or organizations – a process that is used in labor management relations, business deals, such as sales agreements and mergers, and international relations. a. Communication b. Bargaining c. Negotiation d. Socialization Answer: c. (Negotiation) 26. _______ is the process of arguing and haggling over prices and other details involved in transactions of goods and services, and is common in flea markets, bazaars, and fairs all over the world. a. Communication b. Bargaining c. Negotiation d. Socialization Answer: b. (Bargaining) 27. In the _______ stage of the negotiation process, negotiators focus on gathering information, planning their strategies, and learning as much as possible about the other party or parties. a. relationship building b. preparation c. information exchange d. persuasion Answer: b. preparation 28. ______ cultures are characterized by flatter organizational charts with fewer levels but sprawling and unstructured. a. Universalistic b. Monochronic c. Particularistic d. Polychronic Answer: d. (Polychronic) 29. The ________ approach focuses on the various steps that are involved in the way managers carry out a task involving decision-making. a. descriptive b. normative c. prescriptive d. authoritative Answer: a. (descriptive) 30. If people in a failed communication were to blame their confusion on the other person’s stupidity, that would be an example of a. cultural noise b. attribution c. intercultural communication d. life space Answer: b. (attribution) 31. _________ occurs when we believe that every member of a particular subculture has the same characteristics or traits a. Attribution b. Stereotyping c. Cultural noise d. Homogeneous culture Answer: b. (Stereotyping) 32.  The logical progression of reasoning_______________ a. is the same across cultures—logic is logic b. varies only slightly across cultures c. is the same in nearly all cultures, but varies slightly in some cultures d. varies widely across cultures. Answer: d. (varies widely across cultures) 33. _________ is an example of paralanguage a. Speaking faster b. Moving closer to the listener c. Wetting your lips d. Touching while you speak Answer: a. (Speaking faster) 34. _________ is an example of proxemics a. Widening your eyes b. Moving closer to the listener c. Speaking faster d. Touching while you speak Answer: b. (Moving closer to the listener) 35. _________ is an example of oculesics. a. Moving closer to the listener b. Widening your eyes c. Speaking faster d. Touching while you speak Answer: b. (Widening your eyes) 36. _________ is when we communicate through visual arts or design a. Paralanguage b. Oculesics c. Object language d. Ningensi Answer: c. (Object language) 37 .  In _________, "time serves to order life." a. monochronic systems b. object language c. paralanguage d. polychronic systems Answer: a. (monochronic systems) 38.  The attitude that _________ is a characteristic of polychronic time systems. a. time serves to order life b. time is linear c. people adhere to time commitments d. relationships are more valuable than material systems Answer: d. (relationships are more valuable than material systems) 39. _________ is a characteristic of communication in a low-context culture a. Work and close personal relationships are inseparable b. Feelings and thoughts are not explicitly expressed c. One must read between the lines d. Feelings and thoughts are expressed in words Answer: d. (Feelings and thoughts are expressed in words) 40. Which of the following does not constitute a normal interpersonal communication task for managers? a. coordinate activities b. disseminate information c. motivate employees d. give speeches at conferences e. f. Answer: d. (give speeches at conferences) PART II Question 1: What is the responsibility of each person, for sending accurate messages when he or she communicates with someone from another culture? Daft (2009) defined communication as “process by which information is exchanged and understood by two or more people, usually with the intent to motivate or influence behavior”. While breaking the mentioned definition, one can understand that communication depends on two way mechanism such as, 1- message senders send the messages and 2- message receivers receive the message. In case of cross cultural communication, senders send the message to receiver who may belong to different geographic region or exposed to different cultural orientation. According to Clarke, Kwon & Wodak (2005), cross cultural communication process depends on four process verticals. Process 1: sender of the message encodes feelings, opinion or information into messages that can be communicated through verbal communication. Process 2- Sender of the messages use suitable modalities or channels (such as verbal talking, telephonic conversion, written communication or others) to send the encoded messages to receiver. Process 3- after receiving the message, receiver of the message decodes the underlying meaning of the encoded message. Process 4- After understanding meaning of the communicated messages, receiver provides the feedback. In case of intercultural communication, sender of the message bears the responsibility to show respect to cultural orientation of receiver of the messages. First, the sender of the message needs to overcome language barrier caused due to selection of words that can have different meanings in different cultures (Bang, 2012). For example, ‘catastrophe’ means relatively small problem for French people while the same word means earth-shaking event for German people (Thill & Bovée, 2004). In such context, the study has identified 5 responsibilities of each person for sending accurate messages when he or she communicates with someone from another culture. Responsibility 1: it is not humanly possible to translate languages word for word. As a result, using idioms or local jargons might create problem for receiver to understand the meaning of the message. Therefore, sender should avoid using idioms and use phrases that bear most specific denotative meaning for receivers of the message. Responsibility 2: sender of the message should not be distracted by dress, environmental discomforts, appearance of receiver who has different cultural orientation (Thill & Bovée, 2004). Responsibility 3- conducting prior research on rituals, communication manner and value system prioritized in the culture of message receiver. Based on such cultural study, sender of the message should modify the communication approach (using direct straightforward mode or indirect approach). Responsibility 4- if the sender is confident about cultural dynamics of message receiver, then, he/she can use informal communication style (Thill & Bovée, 2004). Responsibility 5- when placed in an unfamiliar situation, sender of the message needs to be humble and maintain patience to understand the requirements of receiver who belong to different cultural orientation. Verbal as well as nonverbal communication of the sender of the message should be clear, informative, consistent and honest so that receiver can decode the communicated messages easily (Thill & Bovée, 2004). Question 2: What is the responsibility of the listener/receiver, when he or she communicates with someone from another culture? Eisenberg, Goodall & Trethewey (2007) and Kinloch & Metge (2014) pointed out that a communication process cannot be completed without the presence of listener/receiver of the message. Without collecting feedback from receiver of the message, sender of the message fails to get the assurance regarding complete understanding of the message for receiver. According to Daft (2009), ‘Noise’ caused by culture misunderstanding may decrease the effectiveness of communication between sender of the message and receiver of the messages. When he or she communicates with someone from another culture, listener/receiver may face three types of noses such as semantic noise, psychological noise, physiological noise and physical noise. In case of intercultural communication, receiver of the message needs to overcome semantic noise and psychological noise. Psychological noise- due to cultural orientation and complex thinking process, listener/receiver may bear preconceived notions while entering in the communication process such as stereotypes, biases, assumptions and vague assumptions. Such preconceived notions can be considered as psychological noises make the listener blinded to messages being communicated by the sender. For example, if a listener/receiver from developed country bears common ignorance towards people from less developed country, then, there are possibilities that the respective listener/receiver would not give proper attention while communicating with people from less developed country. Semantic noise- in most cases, receiver of messages fails to understand its content due to lack of knowledge of the subject matter. In many cases, listener/receiver lacks the motivation as well as knowledge level to decode complex grammatical usage or technical jargons being used by the sender. Based on above discussion, the study has identified four responsibilities of the listener/receiver, when he or she communicates with someone from another culture. Responsibility 1: listeners/receiver should not bear preconceived notions while entering in the communication process such as vague assumptions regarding cultural orientation of sender of the message, stereotypical thinking regarding people from particular country, biased opinion regarding the message sender and ignorance towards people with particular cultural orientation (Thill & Bovée, 2004). Responsibility 2: conducting prior research on communication manner, values and beliefs prioritized in the culture of message sender. Based on such cultural study, receiver should adjust his/her expectation from the sender of the message. Responsibility 3: efficacy of intercultural communication gets decreased if the listener gives importance on hearing instead of listing (Thill & Bovée, 2004). It is responsibility of the listener to put detailed attention to every phrase being used in the message. Through careful and attentive listening, listeners/receivers can decode the meaning of most of the messages communicated by the sender (Thill & Bovée, 2004). Responsibility 4: in case of any lack of understanding or misunderstanding, receiver should ask question to sender to clarify the doubts. Listeners should also conduct rigorous study to gain knowledge about the subjects of discussion with other individual or group of individuals. Receiver of the message should not show derogatory expression or pass derogatory comments regarding dress, environmental discomforts, appearance of sender who has different cultural orientation (Thill & Bovée, 2004). Question 3: How do different learning styles, because of cultural influences, impact the work experience? Considering the cultural dimension model of Hofstede (2000), it can be said that three types of cultural dimensions can influence learning styles such as, 1- individualism versus collectivism, 2- uncertainty avoidance and 3- long-term versus short-term orientation. Individualism versus collectivism: in case of individualistic culture, people are encouraged for intrapersonal learning (for example, learning through role playing) and kinesthetic learning (for example, learning through physical activities). On contrary, in case of collective culture, social learning (learning in team environment) is being done in protective as well as theoretical environment. As a result, a learner from collective society can easily adjust with team environment in professional field and work with colleagues to deliver efficient performances. On contrary, work experience of individuals with individualistic cultural orientation is characterized with personal achievements, autocratic leadership and communication problem with other colleagues (Kirsch, Chelliah & Parry, 2012). Uncertainty avoidance: people belong to culture blended with high uncertainty avoidance used to look for conventional learning styles such as visual learning (using visuals to learn new things), aural learning (using audio source to learn new lessons) and verbal learning (learning through writing and speaking). Such learners use the same techniques in professional field to learn about job responsibility. In absence of such learning styles, work experience of people belong to culture blended with high uncertainty avoidance gets negatively affected. Long-term versus short-term orientation- People with long term cultural orientation tend to adopt robust learning process that can help them to address professional challenges in sustainable manner. As a result, work experience of individuals with long term cultural orientation is characterized with achievements, leadership roles, execution of difficult tasks and others. References Bang, H. (2012). What prevents senior executives from commenting upon miscommunication in top management team meetings? Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management: An International Journal, 7(2), 189-208. Daft, R. L. (2009). The new era of management. New York: Thomson. Eisenberg, E. M., Goodall, H. L., & Trethewey, A. (2007). Organizational communication: Balancing creativity and constraint. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins. Hofstede, G. (2000). Culture’s consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions, and organizations across nations. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Kinloch, P., & Metge, J. (2014). Talking past each other: problems of cross cultural communication. Victoria: Victoria University Press. Kirsch, C., Chelliah, J., & Parry, W. (2012). The impact of cross-cultural dynamics on change management. Cross Cultural Management, 19(2), pp. 166-195. Kwok, S. H., & Gao, S. (2005). Attitude towards knowledge sharing behavior. Journal of Computer Information Systems, 46(2), 45-51. Thill, J. V. and Bovée, C. L. (2004). Business communication activebook. 2nd ed. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Read More