Intercultural Awareness and Communication - Coursework Example

Table of contents Intercultural Awareness and Communication Introduction Globalisation as made the world to be nothing short of a global village. People are increasingly travelling to other countries for work, leisure, education and even settling there. This has triggered the need for intercultural communication among people. Bilingualism and multilingualism is now the order of the day in most countries. It is however a fact that in itself communication is not enough. Total intercultural competence is needed for all people to co-exist and work together harmoniously. It means being in a position to understand the specific concepts of acting, feeling, thinking and perception of other people. Definitions of Intercultural Communication Culture refers to all behaviour patterns, beliefs, values, practices, knowledge, arts, and perceptions that are socially transmitted among a particular group of people. Communication on the other hand refers to the act by which messages are defined, send and received between people. Intercultural communication therefore is the activity that occurs when individuals from two different ethnic communities engage in verbal and non-verbal communication. It involves responding to the other person’s different cultural background, verbal communication, behaviour, and understanding of the world. Aspects of intercultural communication Aspects of intercultural communication include personal space, perception of time and non-verbal communication. Personal space; in some countries, for example, UK, personal space is highly valued. This means one should respect and maintain a personal space when communicating with them. To them, it is inappropriate to touch others in public. This is however different in other countries like Saudi Arabia in which men can walk while holding hands. Jandt (2006), advices that care should also be taken on choice of words used during communication to avoid criticisms from the recipient. It should clearly depict the relationship between n the writer and recipient. In high-context cultures like Saudi Arabia, more importance is placed on message context than its content. As result of this other communicative clues, for example, eye contact and body language are valued as elements in conveying messages than direct words. This makes people to make assumptions of what is being said. Emphasis is placed on facial clues, voice tone, body language and use of silence. Perception of time; some cultures like UK highly value punctuality hence lateness may amount to offence. Arriving a few minutes prior to the meeting time is allowed. Some other cultures like Saudi Arabia do not have the same sense of urgency in regard to matters of time. Intercultural differences Cultural dimensions are used to identify and describe the particular culture. It is very important to learn differences in the culture of different people. This ranges from all behaviour patterns, beliefs, values, practices, knowledge, dress code, and perceptions. For example in Saudi Arabia, hand shaking is mostly used for greetings between men though some men greet women by hand. Walking hand-in-hand between two men is a sign of friendship but it is interpreted as promiscuity if it is between a man and a woman. The situation is different in UK where a man and a woman can hold hands without any negative interpretation. In Saudi Arabia, it is unethical to sit with one’s legs crossed because they are not to show the bottom of their feet. To put one’s thumbs up is an offensive gesture (Rathje 2007). The Islamic culture greatly defines the culture of Saudi Arabia. Islam places value on expected social behaviour and ethics. These are generosity, solidarity and respect. Confrontation and conflict are issues of avoidance in Saudi Arabia. They never want to loose face, as d respect and dignity are held in esteem. The good values are maintained through the use of patience, self-control and compromise. The concept of face is used to avoid embarrassing others and solving conflicts. UK culture on the other hand is a secular one. People conduct themselves based on generally acceptable norms with little inclination to religion. Offering of gifts is not part of Saudi Arabian culture though they consider it impolite to refuse one already offered. In UK, offering of gifts is not encouraged only in business settings. Communications is done at a slow pace among the Saudi Arabians. In their discussions, men do not mention subjects of women including their health. During conversations, the silent observer is usually the most likely to be the silent observer while the one who asks more questions is considered least important. Whenever the host interrupts a meeting, it is kind to leave the room for 15-20 minutes to allow the offer their daily prayers (Ferraro 2005). During communications, the people in UK like to maintain a personal space. It is seen as inappropriate to touch others in public. Tapping of the nose is used to indicate that something is to be kept secret. Privacy is valued in UK therefore intense staring or asking of personal questions is unethical. When visiting or during business occasions, a simple handshake is used. One should always avoid disruptive behaviours and loud talks. Other people simplify and distort the view of other societies. According to Jandt (2006), ignorance is the main stem of this in that they do not understand the culture of the other people. Due to ethnocentrism, they want to assume that the actions and thought of other people should be like theirs. They do not want to seek for the correct way of interpreting these situations. This has led to misinterpretations of actions, words and even rights because what is fair to one group may be unfair to another. It leads to increased stereotyping, misunderstanding and frustration among the members of the different cultures. Positive or negative stereotyping can occur. This will affect how the two groups of people will interact. Reaction to these stereotypes will vary in type and magnitude depending o the context. For example, of it is abusive or a less harmless comment. Stereotype can threaten the security of the new person and should be avoided (Mead and Andrews (2009). In intercultural awareness and communication, it is not possible to separate the culture, language, and communication. Complete and successful intercultural awareness and communication can only be achieved by merging all the three. The culture of a people includes how they communicate and language they use. A person joining a different society should be able to integrate well with them. Group membership or the ability to identify to with a certain group of people is important. It makes the members to have a sense of belonging and enhances communication. This means that each one of them has adapted to a common behaviour, communication patterns, personality traits and even mode of dressing. A person coming in should therefore adapt to these identity avoid clashes with the others. Communication between sexes across cultures Men and women communicate at different levels across cultures. Some cultures allow free communication whereas others limit the level of communication. Due to their Islamic religion, communication and interaction between men and women in Saudi Arabia is approached with care. They consider its results and family integrity. They insist of sexual purity and distinction between maternity and paternity. Most minimal communication is allowed for those nearing marriage age like teens or college students. There are separate high schools and college and university campuses for females. Communication between men and women is always done in public not private places. This communication is however stopped if one of then feels that they are being overtaken by lust (Rathje 2007). The situation is different in UK where communication between men and women is less restricted culturally. Men and women can interact freely in public places. Their children learn in mixed schools at whatever age if they choose. It is evident that total communication between sexes in some cultures like Saudi Arabia is impossible due to the cultural restrictions. This also translates to impaired communication across cultures, for example, men from UK and Saudi Arabian women can only communicate to some extend due cultural restrictions on Saudi Arabian women. It is therefore important that all people understand each others culture to allow for free communication without misunderstanding though real communication between them may never be achieved. Inter-cultural Communication in Business Models for intercultural communication in business are very important. The right skills and attitudes are required. This is because decisions arising from such meetings will affect all the parties involved. Proper skills and attitudes will ensure that there is no misunderstanding, offence, confusion, misinterpretation and difficulty in making conclusions among the parties involved. All parties should be able to reach a common understanding. It also ensures that all points of agreement are not offensive to others or could affect the business negatively, for example, names given to products. Their meanings in all languages should be clearly understood. An understanding of intercultural communication in business leads to better performance (Mead and Andrews (2009). How business matters are conducted should be considered, for example, face-to-face meetings are most preferred in Saudi Arabia. Care should also be taken on how the parties communicate, for example, Saudi Arabians do not like being put in uncomfortable places through pressure. They love their conversations conducted in slow paces with considerations to avoid offence. Non-verbal communication, dressing, greetings and other business etiquettes should also be understood to avoid misinterpretation and misunderstanding. For example, silence in Saudi Arabia is a sign of contemplation. This means it is relevant that one does not speak such a time. During business occasions in Saudi Arabia, men should appear in ties, long pants, shirt with no jewellery. Dresses or skirts for women should be below the knee. The women usually wait for men to offer their hands for a handshake. Interruption of meetings for daily prayers is not offensive. In the UK, rules for business attire are relaxed though conservative dress is still important. Dark suits with solid or patterned ties are acceptable. Men’s shirts should not have pockets and if any, they should be empty. During conversations, eye contact is rarely kept. Gifts in business settings are generally not accepted. Business lunches are conducted in pubs over a light meal and may be a pint of ale. A personal space should be kept (Ferraro 2005). Principles and importance of intercultural communication Intercultural principles guide people on how they communicate across cultures. They include assumptions, situation and needs rights and values. When interacting with people of other cultural backgrounds, it is important to clearly understand the rights, values and needs they expect to be met and respected. These include privacy, and personal space. This will allow for a smooth communication and interaction. When communicating, honest should be maintained to ensure that assumptions made are correct to avoid misinterpretations. One should clarify the purpose of the communication. Intercultural communication must take place under situations that do not pose pressure and emotions between the interacting people. Teather (2004) explains that an understanding of the principles of intercultural communication is very important in academic and professional fields. In education, it allows for students to interact and communicate freely with other students from different cultural backgrounds and to participate in exchange programs between their schools and others abroad. Kitsantas (2004) adds by saying that it allows for proper utilisation of educational human resources like tutors of different cultures. In professional fields, it increases the chances of getting, sustaining and advancing in a job as it enables one to work with people from different cultural backgrounds. Today, the ability to work with people of different backgrounds is one of the job requirements in most organisations, especially international organisations. For a person to work internationally, it is important that they acquaint themselves with other cultures for ease of communication and working with them. Those who cannot meet these standards find it hard to get jobs or and maintain the jobs they have (Abbe et al (2007), According to Mead and Andrews (2009), staff training on intercultural communication should be done in many organisations especially currently when many organisations are becoming global. This will allow for people from different cultural backgrounds working in the organisation to work together. It increases the ability of staff to work for the organisation from its different bases in the world if there are any. It also makes it easier for the organisations to invite expatriates or network with other organisations abroad. Therefore, the issue of stereotyping should be gotten rid of in all organisations. Conclusion Intercultural awareness is not an obligation but an enriching lifestyle. Having intercultural skills is an added advantage because it improves one’s job opportunities and stability, social benefits and communication abilities. It is much importance locally and internationally due to globalisation and increasing diversity in most nations as noted by Greg (2006). It allows a person to interact and share a lot with people of other culture hence enriching their lives, mindset and experiences. It opens doors for opportunities and lead to great dynamic progress. Though it may not be possible to quickly learn the other person’s language, it is respectful to learn a few words while considering other aspects of communication like facial expression, gestures, signs and body language and human contact to avoid annoyance or misinterpretation. References Abbe, A.Gulick, L. & Herman, J. (2007). Cross-cultural competence in Army leaders: A conceptual and empirical foundation. U.S. Army Research Institute. Washington, DC: Ferraro, G.P. (2005) The Cultural Dimension of International Business (5th edition). Prentice Hall. New Jersey. Greg, M.(2006). “Existential Migration”. Journal of Existential Analysis. (2)pp 238–260 Jandt, F.(2006). An Introduction to Intercultural Communication (5th ed). Sage. London. Kitsantas, A. (2004). “Studying abroad: the role of college students goals on the development of cross-cultural skills and global understanding”. College Student Journal, 38(3) pp 23-35. Mead, R. & Andrews, T. (2009). International Management (4th ed). John Wiley & Sons. New York. Rathje, S.(2007). “Intercultural Competence: The Status and Future of a Controversial Concept.” Journal for Language and Intercultural Communication.(4) pp 254–266. Teather, D. (2004). “The networking alliance: A mechanism for the internationalisation of higher education?” Journal of Managing Education Matters.(2) pp 3. Read More