Communication Theory and Cultural Studies - Essay Example

?Provide at least TWO examples of the ways in which communication theory and cultural studies can be helpful in either understanding or preventing cross-cultural miscommunication. Why might this be useful in a globalised world? The modern world is currently affected by a phenomenon that is termed “globalisation.” This implies a greater connectedness between different parts of the world, through travel and trade, and through communication media such as films, radio, television and the internet. Although the latter part of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first century have witnessed this explosion of communication across every conceivable physical and cultural barrier, this does not necessarily mean that such communication takes place smoothly. Misunderstandings are common, and these can have serious consequences ranging from the failure of business operations to the needless suffering of individuals caught in a culture far removed from that of their birth, and even to war and destruction when nations fail to come to a workable understanding of each other’s aspirations. This paper examines two ways in which communication theory and cultural studies can be helpful in preventing cross-cultural miscommunication. The first is the discipline’s potential to clarify and explain the role of ritual in human interactions, and this is explored using the example of health services which have to operate in one particular culture, but deal with clients from multiple different cultures. The second is the process that can be called “clarification of values” which underpins intercultural understanding, and this is explored using example of business relations between China and the Western world which includes Europe and America. The paper aims therefore to demonstrate on a small and then on a larger scale, the value of two aspects of communication theory and cultural studies in the modern world. Communication theory and cultural studies are relatively new disciplines that arose out of a growing appreciation of the importance of social behaviour in humans. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, culture was interpreted as an expression of higher and nobler human qualities, such as art, music and literature, while other kinds of human behaviour were considered inferior and written off as “uncultured” or barbaric. Such extreme distinctions underpinned ideologies like colonialism and slavery which privileged white, western ideas above other types of culture. In the twentieth century, studies such as those of Adorno and Horkheimer observed the cataclysmic world wars, the horrors of Fascism, and the rise of capitalist consumerism and rightly concluded that Western culture was capable of untold atrocities. This brought into question all the former assumptions about the superiority of Western elitist cultural assumptions. They concluded that the alliance of financial interests with cultural expression had resulted in a commodification of culture into what amounts to an industry. The effects of this were seen as negative, dragging culture down into a lowest common denominator and marketing it to make money: “The result is the circle of manipulation and retroactive need in which the unity of the system grows ever stronger.” (Adorno and Horkheimer, 1999, p. 33) In a way this line of thinking can be seen as reaction against the elitist view of culture that had prevailed in the previous century. More recent cultural theorists have formulated a more positive view of culture, seeing it as a multi-faceted quality of human behaviour that is far from unified, and holds the promise of continued development and renewal due to the interaction of many different cultures. The work of bel hooks, for example, redefines the complacent elitism of dominant beliefs in America at the time of the civil rights movement as “white supremacist capitalist patriarchy” (hooks, 1999, p. 235) and promotes the ideal of “cultural diversity” (hooks, 1999, p. 239) which instead of supporting dominant institutionalised values, rejoices in the creative tensions and potential for experimentation that arises when multiple different cultures interact on more equal terms. Cultural studies is no longer the domain of “high” culture alone, but an exploration of all kinds of culture with a wide range across different social classes, political positions, ethnicities, and genders. This shows that already in its short history, the discipline of communication theory and cultural studies has identified, theorized and encouraged great social change. In the world of the average citizen, there are many pressing and even life-threatening concerns that are influenced by these theories. One field which daily has to face the task of communicating across cultures is that of general medicine. As people migrate from one country to the next, as a result of economic or family pressure pulling them there, or wars and political pressures pushing them out of their homeland, doctors and nurses have to find ways of providing their service to an increasingly diverse population. The theories of cross cultural communication can assist these professionals to understand the nature of the difficulties that they encounter in the consulting room. Practitioners identify two kinds of problem: one is directly related to the customs and values of the country of origin, for example many East Indian women cannot allow pelvic examinations by male doctors, (Cave et al. 1995, p. 1686). An understanding of the religious and moral values of the source country can help doctors to appreciate the reservations of their patients, and provide systems which cater for these needs. A second, and much more subtle, factor in the health context is that of the ritual nature of medical encounters. An empirical study of a sample of international patients attending a general surgery found that cultural understanding from the doctor was not expected by the patients, and that while doctors did attempt to learn more about their patients’ cultural backgrounds, there were many practical limitations which made this difficult to deliver consistently. A key area of difference between immigrant patients and their doctor, was that patients came to the surgery believing that the doctor’s superior knowledge and technology was sufficient to heal them: the ritual for them involved deliberate suppression of their own culture in an effort to gain the benefits of another culture which they viewed somewhat unreasonably as infallible. (Cave et al., 1995, 1688) On the other hand, doctors were frustrated that patients failed to reveal crucial details about their habits, and also tended to cease compliance with the doctor’s directions when results were not seen within the timescale that patients expected. An analysis of the underlying assumptions of both groups reveals that some of this is due to the concept of “mystery” that patients intuitively preserve in their ritual consultations, seeing the doctor as the dispenser of a cure, and the contrasting concept of “partnership” that the doctor seeks to engender, by explaining procedures and engaging the patient in a program of treatment that requires sustained teamwork with the doctor. The culture of the doctor and his organisation sets up an expectation that patients do not even notice. A true application of cultural diversity theory requires therefore that “Physicians and patients should avoid assuming that the other’s expectations are the same as their own and try to identify both accurately.” (Cave et al., 1995, p. 1690) In the field of international relations and politics there is plenty of evidence that cultural misunderstanding exists, and that it causes great difficulty. The emergence of China onto the global stage after a period of seclusion due to the Cultural Revolution and the dominance of communist ideology has resulted in a great deal of research on cross cultural issues. China, because of its immense size and powerful growth in economic power has caused a number of intercultural dilemmas for the global community, not least because it embodies a number of basic values that are defined differently than the American “norm” that is favoured by transnational organisations such as the IMF, World Bank, United Nations etc. Typical collective values such as the well known business practice of guanxi, which relies on a network of personal connections, can be interpreted in some quarters as criminal activity. This illustrates a clash of cultures, since the values of China are different: “The private appropriation of public goods – as shocking as it may be to the Western ethos of bureaucracy – responds to the moral necessity to serve kinship of the body to which one belongs while, at the same time, satiating personal cupidity” (Ching, 2001, p. 333). Conversely, the harsh realities of Western capitalism, which tolerates sudden and public redundancies in pursuit of increased profits when times are bad, is regarded as morally reprehensible by Asian societies which have a much greater sense of the “face” or reputation of their firm and their employees. Theories of culture explain these differences and encourage companies who attempt, in a globalised market place, to do business across these cultural barriers, to spend time clarifying the values that their employees have. This entails becoming sensitive to these distinctions and devising systems and processes which take account of the different values in respective societies. A knowledge of cultural studies helps human resources professionals, for example, to set up core regulations which all must follow, along with flexibility in certain areas to allow for local differences. Staff development can then be tailored to address the different interpretations that groups of staff might have of company policies, and help bridge the gaps that emerge in their fulfilment of company expectations and objectives. In this model of operation, the aim is not to impose one norm, or have different branches of a multinational organisation follow conflicting policies, but to anticipate areas of difference, and integrate them within a carefully worked compromise. This is what it means to be a truly multi-cultural organisation. These small and large scale examples have demonstrated that both on individual and company levels there are great benefits to be found in identifying conceptual and communication strategies which remove cultural barriers. This in turn promotes better mutual understanding and creates the conditions under which diversity is allowed to flourish, within the overall objectives of the society or organisation which needs to operate interculturally. References Adorno, T. and Horkheimer, M. 1969. Reprinted in1999. In S. During, The Cultural Studies Reader. London and New York: Routledge, pp. 31-41. Cave, A., Maharaj, U.,Gibson, N. and Jackson, E. 1995. Physicians and immigrant patients: cross-cultural communication. Canadian Family Physician 41, pp. 1685-1690. Ching, L. 2001. Globalizing the Regional, Regionalizing the Global: Mass Culture and Asianism in the Age of Late Capital. In A. Appadurai, (Ed.). Globalization (Public Culture Book). Duke University Press, pp. 279-306. During, S. 1999. The Cultural Studies Reader. London and New York: Routledge. hooks, b. 1994. A Revolution of values: the promise of multicultural change. Reprinted 1999 in S. During, The Cultural Studies Reader. London and New York: Routledge, pp. 233-240. Read More