Cross-Cultural Communication - Assignment Example

Cross Cultural Communication Midterm Exam Saoud M Sulaymani #3317866 SIS-140-10 Wigfall-Williams American February 23,2012 Question 1: How has the stereotyping used in the reporting of gender violence in this conflict zone influenced the perception of people internal and external to the DRC? Mitchell’s story was aptly written from a woman’s point of view.1 From her own account, she had dire expectations on the state of women in the DRC due to the stereotypes she has been exposed to before finally confirming the reality herself. Visions of monstrous violent men raping women all over the place may have flashed in her mind, as well as other readers who were likewise fed the same information, and they would have shivered at the thought of coming to DRC in fear of their own safety. Such dreadful thoughts have been successful in preventing seeing the real issues that women face. harbor. However, as Mitchell unraveled her report, she clarified that such claims were exaggerated. She does not deny the violence and aggression against women existing in DRC, but not to the extent perpetuated by some media and humanitarian organizations who needed to create such negative stereotypes to justify their own presence in the DRC. The stereotype of women as victims and men as victimizers created a myopic vision that screens out more important survival issues. Mitchell contends that: “‘Peace’ for Congolese women is a straightforward concept encompassing basic services, sustainable living, and equal rights. The most touching definition of ‘peace’ was provided by Liliane as having the stability of “knowing tomorrow.” The women are aware they are depicted as victims, and find the depiction insulting and without merit.” 2 This concept may be considered a cultural metaphor3 for the women of DRC. Although stereotyped and admittedly ‘victims’, their main priority is survival, and this is what they wanted to express to the world. Despite the challenges of being victims of violence, they are actually strong women who long for equal rights with men and to be able to survive long enough to see a future for themselves and their families. Internally, the women of DRC are aware that the existence of various organizations may have hidden agendas. They express that their own efforts at contributing to the empowerment of women in their society is shunned by the grandstanding of some international organizations. Although the help extended to them by such organizations are very much welcomed and appreciated, the women of DRC also need to be given credit for taking the reins and determining their own futures. Women as well as men are victims of rape in the DRC and some women work with the rebels, thus it is a complicated situation for all parties involved. What recommendations would you propose to journalists and humanitarian workers to change how they report and discuss complex issues? In view of Mitchell’s report, I would propose to journalists and humanitarians to give credit where credit is due. Knowing that the women of DRC are already in pathetic situations, and such image is promoted worldwide, it would be good if they are vindicated by reports that they have the needed strength and intelligence to fight for their own rights, and have proven so. Highlighting their strengths and accomplishments will not only put them in a more positive light but also give credibility to them to continue the good work begun by the advocacy groups who help them. Lessening, if not diverting the image projecting them as victims and increasing content depicting them as survivors would further encourage them to stand up from where they were thrown on the ground, and continue their fight to empowerment. An important consideration is the cultural background of the women being reported on. Media should first be objective as to how they project the women in the context of their culture and not tainted by their own subjective judgments. Question 2: What was the triggering event that led the residents in Chalco to behave as they did toward the kidnappers? The local residents have been concerned by news of constant kidnappings in their town, region, and throughout Mexico.. Such high rate of kidnappings merited a travel advisory issued by the US State Department against travelling to Mexico. This not only meant that the country’s reputation is tainted as an unsafe place for people to visit, but it also implied the loss of tourism revenue opportunities. The most recent report was some schoolchildren were about to be kidnapped by three men for ransom. For a people who seemingly had enough, they shared a common sentiment and “synced” together to perform a collective movement. 4 The movement is inflicting violence on the alleged kidnappers by beating them with pipes and bottles and setting them on fire. 5 The triggering event was when the women alerted the other townspeople that there was a kidnapping in progress. The church bells were rung and then the rest of the citizens were made aware of the danger – the beginning of the action chain. If people do not talk during an action chain, particularly a complex one, then it is very likely to end in violence according to Hall. Is this an example of an action chain, syncing or some other phenomenon? Yes, this is an example of a syncing phenomenon resulting from an action chain.6 The impetus of the action chain was actually the rising rate of kidnappings. However, when the last kidnapping before the burning incident involved school children, the action chain was triggered to unfold with the taunting of six women shouting “Justice! Justice! They’re kidnappers!”7. In reference to one of the lecture slides, a bullet point indicated that “Action Chains all require words at some point, in order for the situation to be dealt with correctly”8. The words uttered by the women incited the violence, and set off the action chain of the people ringing the church bells to summon the townspeople to come, bringing pipes and bottles and rounding out the three kidnappers to attack them for their misdemeanor. It was a whole people trying to claim justice for a crime committed against some of theirs. Are there contemporary conditions in Mexico that may have contributed to the how the residents chose to respond to the kidnappers? The common experience of fear and anger brought about by the prevailing rise of kidnappings and disappearances, along with the travel advisory issued by the US State Department may have been too much to bear. Some of the residents may have had first hand experience with the kidnappings… either themselves or their own family members or friends. The threat of kidnap for ransom was very high, and the residents of Chalco could not take it anymore and put justice in their hands when they had the opportunity. Not only did they intend to put a stop to the kidnappings by trying to kill the latest group of kidnappers, but it sent a message to others who likewise had the same devious plans. For them, the show of collective force was both a release of the repressed but powerful emotions of fear and anger and insurance for their own safety that the kidnappings will finally stop. Mexico is a collectivist country and as such the group is very dedicated to ensuring the success, achievement and well-being for all its members. The rule of law is absent throughout Mexico due to the infiltration of the drug cartels into the legal system. When basic security mechanisms are missing people resort to vigilantism, which is always excessively violent. Question 3: Thoroughly explain and differentiate between the two types of communicating styles. Hall differentiates between high-context and low-context societies whose communicating styles are very different.9 High-content societies are characterized by close social contact in prolonged periods of time which makes communication much easier that even non-verbally, the members understand each other. Sometimes, even the use of verbal communication can impede the transmission of the message because of some misunderstanding or inability to put into words what one can otherwise express fluently non-verbally. Members of the group have unspoken understanding of expectations from them. On the other hand, low-context groups have a higher need for verbal communication with explicit messages. The members of such groups do not seem to have close social relationships with each other and a wall seems to discourage sharing of information to one another. That is why they need to exert much effort in verbal communication in order for messages to get through, as non-verbal cues are not easily deciphered. Explain the underlying reasons for each style. Gannon & Pillai explain Hall’s four dimensions of communication which determine if a society is high- or low-context.10 These are context, space, time and information flow. Context is the amount of information that is needed to be explicitly shared with the members of the society. Space is the personal space tolerated by the members of the society while communicating. Time is whether the society is monochromatic, which means that they complete just one task at a certain time or polychromic or the nature of a society is such that they are able to multi-task at any given time. Finally, information flow is the structure and speed at which messages are exchanged within the group. The combination of these dimensions may follow certain patterns for some societies. Societies share cultural similarities such as communicating much information in close personal spaces without regard for time. These are high-context societies wherein information flows smoothly and continuously without much effort. Other societies may not be tolerant of such circumstances in communicating and members would rather have wider spaces between them when communicating, limit communication only to certain periods and would rather keep most of the information to themselves. This makes information between members more difficult to flow smoothly. An individual coming from a certain society brings with him the communication patterns he has been accustomed to. Sometimes, conflict arises from individuals coming from two very different cultures due to the combination of the dimensions of communication they have imbibed as they were growing up. Identify what can occur when the sender encodes and the receiver decodes messages that may lead to confusion. The way one encodes and decodes information matters much in the quality of relationships he or she has with others. Skill in interpersonal relations entails effective communication which takes practice and hard work. Several factors need to be considered when communicating: age, gender, relationship to the person, nature of the communication exchange, temperament and personality and even culture. One should be able to adapt to such factors and appropriately adjust to them in order to successfully put the message across. The communication accommodation theory is important in helping people succeed in communicating across difference in style. People communicate by both explicit verbal communication and implicit, non-verbal communication which is more action-oriented. 11 Using your own cultural norms, beliefs and values, describe how you would attempt to communicate these traditions to someone from a distinctly different culture. Hofstede has defined culture as “the collective programming of the mind which distinguished the members of one human group from another… Culture, in this sense, includes systems of values; and values are among the building blocks of culture”.12 This definition implies that each culture has its own set of distinguishing patterns of behavior adopted by its members. Hofstede identified several cultural dimensions that may explain how cross-cultural communication interactions may improve. He identified the cultural dimensions of power distance, uncertainty avoidance, societal orientation, social gender and time. Power distance refers to the differing levels of power individuals possess. High power distance typically results in a greater sphere of influence of superiors over subordinates. However, a high power distance does not necessarily ensure compliance or attitudinal agreement.13 Uncertainty avoidance describes the reaction of a group to that which is different or unfamiliar. Typically, cultures that are allowed more freedom to define themselves as individuals experience a lower level of uncertainty avoidance, whereas cultures that stress conformity tend to experience higher levels of uncertainty avoidance.14 Social orientation is the nature of collectivism or individualism of a group. Hofstede and Peterson assert that “collectivism implies a link between the individual’s self-identity and a collective, whereas individualism implies that the two are more fully distinct”15. This means that members of collectivist groups are more socially cohesive and rely on each other to strengthen them while individualist groups have members who would rather be self-reliant. The dimension of social gender refers to the masculinity or femininity of a group. This means that some cultures adopt gender-based values. Cultures tending towards masculine values are associated with more ego-based principles, whereas cultures tending towards feminine values more closely associate with social goals. Finally, the dimension of time orientation pertains to what people prioritize in terms of time. Values such as thrift and perseverance (long-term) vs. respect for tradition, fulfillment of social obligations, and protections of one’s “face” or (short-term) may be leveled depending on how the culture gives significance to it. Face or ‘lian’ represents the “confidence of society in the integrity of ego’s moral character, the loss of which makes it impossible to function properly with the community”16. In order for me to be able to communicate effectively with an individual from a totally different culture from mine, I would need to consider the aforementioned cultural dimensions and adjust accordingly to our cultural differences. At the same time, I need to consider the cultural background I have. For example, my family culture’s dimensions would probably score in Hofstede’s measure as high on power distance, low on uncertainty avoidance, more collectivist than individualist, adopt more masculine values and invest more in long-term planning. That means, we give much respect authority and follow orders, willing to learn more about uncertain things, more comfortable in groups than in working on our own, are very competitive and possess foresight in planning. Being aware of this, I should be able to adjust my communication and social interaction with someone who can be very different from me with the knowledge that he may come from different culture with totally different values in their cultural dimensions. Bibliography BBC News Latin America & Carribean, “Mexico mob kills three suspected kidnappers”, BBC News, 11 Feb. 2012 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-17000216 (Accessed 20 Feb 2012) Gannon, M.J. & Pillai, R.Understanding Global Cultures, Sage Publications, Inc., 2010 Hall, E.T. Beyond Culture, New York: Anchor Books, 1976. Hans, R., Covert Culture and Action Chains, class materials Hofstede, G. Cultures and Organizations: Intercultural cooperation and its importance for survival –software of the mind, London: McGraw-Hill/HarperCollins,1994 Hofstede, G. & Peterson, M., ‘National Values and Organizational Practices’, in N. Ashkanasy et al (Eds.), Handbook of Organizational Culture, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 401-415, 2000. Hu, Face Saving and Perception, Chapter 3 class materials Lee, T.J., “Actions speak loudly”, Communication World , July-August 2008 Mitchell, C. “Congolese Women: We’re Not Just Victims”, Peace X Peace (January 30, 2012) http://www.peacexpeace.org/2012/01/congolese-women-were-not-just-victims/ (accessed 20 February 2012) Read More