Advanced Cross-Cultural Communication - Report Example

Advanced Cross-Cultural Communication Report ID Number & Total Number of Words: 3,000Executive Summary This report focused on analyzing and discussing the relevance of several existing cross-cultural theories on the critical incident. Basically, the critical incident presented in this report is all about miscommunication that arises out of the use of non-verbal communication cues such as body and sign language. Three major questions that were analyzed in this study include: (1) Why do I find it hard to understand her body language?; (2) Why was the homestay mother rude to me?; and (3) Why was she refusing my help? The first question was analyzed using theories related to non-verbal miscommunication and parochialism. The second question was addressed using theories related to high- and low-context culture. The third question was answered based on the theory of individualism and collectivism as well as the high- and low-context culture. It was concluded that the root cause of miscommunication in cross-cultural encounter is “parochialism”. Therefore, this report highly recommends the need to provide our future business people with opportunity to learn different the ways on how they can increase their awareness particularly with regards to the relationship between cultural background and the use of non-verbal cues such as facial expression, body distance, gestures, etc. Table of Contents Executive Summary .......................................................................................................... ii 1.0 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 1 2.0 Research Process ................................................................................................... 2 3.0 Findings and Discussion ........................................................................................ 4 3.1 Why do I find it hard to understand her body language? ........................ 4 3.2 Why was the homestay mother rude to me? ............................................ 6 3.3 Why was she refusing my help? .............................................................. 8 4.0 Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 9 5.0 Recommendations ................................................................................................... 10 References ........................................................................................................................... 11 Bibliography ........................................................................................................................ 12 Appendix I – Full Critical Incident Report .......................................................................... 14 Appendix II – Summary of Continuum from High-Context to Low-Context Culture ........ 16 Appendix III – Comparison of the General Characteristics that Affect Communication between people from High- and Low-Context Countries ............................ 16 1. Introduction When I first arrived in New Zealand back in 2001, I had to live in a “homestay”. Back then, I could not speak any word in English. In order to communicate with people who live with me at the homestay, I had to learn the use of body and sign language. Even though I was able to express my personal thoughts and opinion through the use of body and sign language, there were several occasions I encountered miscommunication between me and my homestay mother. (See Appendix I – Full Critical Incident Report on page 14) The rationale and main objective of this report is to analyze and discuss the relevance of several existing cross-cultural theories on the critical incident presented on Appendix I. In the process of completing this report, the student is expected to conduct a literature review with regards to the concept and application of cross-cultural theories. By doing so, the student can receive good opportunity in terms of developing a strong appreciation and understanding with regards to the importance of using effective intercultural communication skills particularly when it comes to dealing with people of different cultural background. Under the full critical incident report as presented on appendix I, the first question that needs to be answered is “why do I find it hard to understand her body language?” In response to the first question, this report will consider the need to explore several cross-cultural communication theories such as the non-verbal miscommunication and parochialism. Basically, body language is classified under non-verbal communication practices. Therefore, exploring the theory behind non-verbal miscommunication will be useful in explaining why I find it difficult to understand my homestay mother’s body language. Under the study of cross-cultural communication, Schermerhorn (2012, p. 249) explained that the term parochialism “assumes the ways of your culture are the only ways of doing things”. Therefore, exploring the significance of parochialism in the study of cross-cultural communication will also be useful in helping me gain better understanding as to why I find it difficult to understand my homestay mother’s body language. The second question that will be analyzed in this report is “why was the homestay mother rude to me?” To be able to address this particular question, this report will consider examining the relevance of high and low context cultural theory. In general, the main purpose of using the high and low context cultural theory is to enable the readers gain a better understanding with regards to the significant impact of culture on communication. By closely examining the cultural differences between me and my homestay mother, it will be easier for me to verify the truth behind my initial perception that my homestay mother has been rude to me. The last question that needs to be addressed is “why was she refusing my help?” To analyze why my homestay mother was refusing my help, this report will try to examine the relevance of several cultural theories such as the individualism and collectivism. According to Gudykunst and Mody (2002, p. 28), “individualism-collectivism affects communication through its influence on cultural norms and rules related to group identities and the differentiation between members of ingroups and outgroups”. Therefore, this report will seek to examine the significance of individualism and collectivism when it comes to analyzing why my homestay mother was refusing to receive my help. 2. Research Process A review of literature will be conducted in exploring the relevance of cross-cultural communication theories with the critical incident report presented on Appendix I. To address the main purpose of this study, the first step in the research process is to write down the full critical incident report which will be used in analyzing and discussing the relevance of several existing cross-cultural theories such as: non-verbal miscommunication, parochialism, high and low context cultural theory, individualism, and collectivism. After listing down important key words such as: “non-verbal miscommunication”, “parochialism”, “high and low context cultural theory”, “individualism”, “collectivism”, and “cross-cultural communication theory journal”, it will be easier on the part of the researcher to locate academic books and journals which can be used in the search for related literature. Before writing down the research findings, it is necessary on the part of the researcher to gather and read some academic books that talk about different cross-cultural communication theories. As a common knowledge, reading some books will enable the researcher get a short overview and idea with regards to topics that are highly related to cross-cultural communication theory. By doing so, the researcher will be able to track down useful theories which can be used to explore all possibilities that can identify and explain factors that could have triggered the miscommunication between me and my homestay mother. Basically, this particular research process has been applied in the process of completing the introduction as presented in Chapter I. The Google search engine was used to locate academic books and journals. Using search terms and phrases such as: “body language”, “non-verbal miscommunication”, “parochialism”, “high and low context cultural theory”, “individualism”, “collectivism”, and “cross-cultural communication theory journal”, the researcher will start going through the process of brainstorming. In relation to the full critical incident report, the researcher will start analyzing the relevance of each identified cross-cultural communication theories with my own personal experience with my homestay mother. Based on the research process presented in this section, part of the study limitations presented in this report include the fact that the research findings was highly dependent on how the researcher has understood the potential link between each of the three (3) research questions and the identified cross-cultural communication theories. Therefore, the inability of the researcher to clearly interpret the link between the research question and the identified theories could lead to a bias or misleading conclusion and recommendation. 3. Findings and Discussion This section will focus on analyzing and discussing the relevance of pre-selected cross-cultural communication theories on three (3) questions that was derived from the critical incident report. 3.1 Why do I find it hard to understand her body language? While living at the homestay, I came across some strange situational experiences. One day, my homestay mother was talking to me. To be honest, I could not comprehend what she was trying to tell me. Pretending that I understand every single word she was trying to tell me, I simply smiled at her every time she says something. Initially, I thought that whatever she was trying to tell me is something not really important. It came to a point that she suddenly placed her hands around her neck and started acting in a strange way. In response to her action, I started laughing as she repeated acting in a strange way. The use of non-verbal cue expression varies across the different culture (Marsh, Elfenbein, & Ambady, 2007). For example, based on the experiment that was conducted by McCarthy et al. (2008), the researchers reported that most Canadians look up each time they are thinking and knows that somebody is looking at them whereas the Japanese tend to look down each time they are thinking and knows that somebody is looking at them. After examining the significant impact of cultural value orientations on self-reported emotional expression across cultures, the research study that was conducted by Wong, Harris-Bond, & Rodriguez-Mosquera (2008) confirmed that there is really a significant relationship “between cultural value orientations of hierarchy, autonomy-embeddedness, and mastery, and cultural-level means of emotional expression”. It means that the cultural background of each person could somehow affect how we project emotional expressions. Even though I was able to use body language as a form of non-verbal communication method, Schmidt-Fajlik (2007) explained that the cultural boundaries that are present between the native and non-native English speakers can lead to a higher rate of miscommunication and misunderstanding. Therefore, to avoid the risks of developing miscommunication or misunderstanding caused by the use of non-verbal communication, it is necessary for me to be able to learn more and increase my awareness with regards to the use of non-verbal cues such as facial expression, body distance, gestures, etc. in relation to different culture (Adler & Gundersen, 2007, p. 251; Marsh, Elfenbein, & Ambady, 2007; Schmidt-Fajlik, 2007). The term parochialism originates in Christian churches. As defined by Adler and Gundersen (2007, p. 14), parochialism means “viewing the world solely through ones own eyes and perspectives”. I strongly believe that parochialism has somehow occurred during the time when I was using non-verbally communication method with my homestay mother. In fact, this particular cross-communication theory somehow explained why I find it hard to understand her body language. Since I thought that all people are using the same non-verbal cues across all cultures, I failed to accurately interpret my homestay mother’s non-verbal expressions before I decided to laugh in response to what she was trying to tell me. Now-a-days, it is common for almost all workplace to be diverse. In line with this, several authors mentioned that non-verbal communication method such as the use of body language is necessary in terms of enhancing the two-way communication process between the native and non-native English speakers (Shi & Fan, 2010; Schmidt-Fajlik, 2007). In almost all cases, Schmidt-Fajlik (2007) mentioned that the inability of a person to accurately decode non-verbal communication within the workplace can trigger not only miscommunication among the co-workers but also trigger some incidents of emotional and psychological internal conflicts. 3.2 Why was the homestay mother rude to me? During the entire time I was staying at the homestay, there were several occasions I had to ask my homestay mother for her permission before using the home facilities. However, the answer I always get was a straight “NO”. At some point in time, I kept on asking myself why was my homestay mother being rude to me? As a tenant, I find it rude on her part not to allow me to use some of the home facilities. Edward T. Hall was the first American anthropologist who discussed the issue on high- and low-context culture (Hall, 1977). According to Holliday, Hyde and Kullman (2010, p. 78), both high- and low-context behaviours has a significant impact on intercultural communication. In general, high-context countries such as Japan, China, and other Asian countries prefer the use of indirect communication style and development of good business relationship when doing business transactions whereas low-context countries such as Scandinavia, Germany, the United States, Canada, and northern Europe are more accustomed with the use of specific, structured, logical, and direct communication technique aside from valuing productivity more than establishing business relationship with its stakeholders (Krizan et al., 2011, p. 39; Novinger, 2001, p. 6). (See Appendix II – Summary of Continuum from High-Context to Low-Context Culture on page 16) The verbal and non-verbal communication style and technique used by people who live in a high-context country differs a lot as compared to that of a low-context country. To answer the question “why was the homestay mother rude to me?”, it is best to consider the idea that I personally came from a country with high-context cultural background and that my homestay mother lives in a country with low-context cultural background. Krizan et al. (2011, p. 40) presented a clear comparison between the general characteristics of two people with high- and low-context cultures. Using the data presented on Appendix III, it makes sense that due to the reason that I originally came from a country with high-context cultural background somehow explain why it was easy on my part to make use of “fewer words with more non-verbal clues” (Krizan et al., 2011, p. 40). On the contrary, my homestay mother who lives in a country with low-context cultural background prefers the use of a straight-forward and more specific verbal communication approach (Krizan et al., 2011, p. 40; Novinger, 2001, p. 6). Since I find it hard to verbally express my desire to borrow and use some of the home facilities in English, there is a strong possibility that my homestay mother failed to understand me at the time I was asking her permission to use some of the home facilities. (See Appendix III – Comparison of the General Characteristics that Affect Communication between people from High- and Low-Context Countries on page 16) In the country where I was born, I had the opportunity to learn to read and write in school using the English language. However, I barely had the chance to use the English language to verbally communicate with other people. I sincerely admit the fact that I was not accustomed with the use of the English language at the time I first arrived in New Zealand back in 2001. For this reason, I remember that I was merely pointing my finger out on the specific home facility that I wanted to borrow from my homestay mother. Since I failed to verbally speak out my thoughts in a direct manner, I was able to develop a wrong perception that my homestay mother was being rude to me for not granting my wish to use some of the home facility whenever I needed it. In the process of completing this report, I realized that my homestay mother was not consciously being rude to me. It was just a simple misunderstanding that has taken place due to my inability to directly speak out my wishes. Within a workplace, having a wrong perception that a co-worker is being rude to me is not good since the act of thinking that one of my co-worker does not respect me as a person can only trigger a lot of misunderstanding between me and my co-worker. By thinking that there are discrimination practices within the workplace, it will be more than difficult for each employee to work harmoniously in team. 3.3 Why was she refusing my help? Every Sunday, my homestay mother is doing some household chores like watering the garden, emptying the garage, and cleaning the house. Each time I tried to help her, she would automatically reject my help. The question here is “why was she refusing my help?”. Seriously, I find it strange for her not to accept any help. Was it because of the miscommunication that happened between us in the past? ...or is it because of their cultural practice not to accept any help from a tenant? While searching for a relevant cross-cultural communication theory that can clearly explain why my homestay mother was constantly refusing my help, I came across Hofstede’s concept of collectivism and individualism (Adler & Gundersen, 2007, p. 37). As explained by Novinger (2001, p. 30), “individualists tend to be more distant in their personal interactions with others and they must go through the process of acquiring affective relationships whereas collectivists interact closely and are interdependent”. It simply means that people who are individualists by nature prefer to work on their own. Since majority or almost all of the individualists are characterized by being self-motivated, this group of individuals prefer to complete their tasks on their own. To be able to fully understand the relevance of collectivism and individualism in the case presented in the critical incident report, it is best to consider my homestay mother as an individualist person. Since I prefer to work with other people, one can say that I am more of a collectivist person as compared to my homestay mother. Because of the cultural differences between me and my homestay mother, I failed to consider the idea that she works best when being alone. For this reason, I kept wondering for years why my homestay mother kept on refusing my help. Also related to the theory of collectivism and individualism, other cross-cultural communication theory that can help explain why my homestay mother has been constantly refusing my help is the Hall’s theory behind the culture of high- and low-context. As explained by Krizan et al. (2011, p. 40), people who live in a high-context country (such as in my case) value the concept of working in group whereas people who live in a low-context country (such as in the case of my homestay mother) value the concept of individualism. Within a workplace, teamwork is necessary in terms of getting the individual and organizational tasks done properly. The issue with regards to “refusing my help” is a serious one since teamwork requires all employees to participate and work equally in terms of reaching the organizational goal. 4.0 Conclusions It is obvious that communication differences that result from collectivism and individualism dimensions can lead to long-term misconceptions and miscommunications. In the long run, the process of being unable to solve problems related to misconceptions and miscommunications can negatively affect and influence the business organization in a negative way. It is common for each person to practice and value their independence and individualism. The term parochialism is all about making decisions based on each person’s own perspective in life. Due to excessive practice of parochialism, miscommunication can arise out of cross-cultural encounters. To effectively control the adverse business consequences of being too much accustomed with the practice of individualism, each employee should be given the opportunity to gain more insight about the benefits of practicing collectivism. By doing so, each employee will be able to appreciate the importance of working interdependently and working harmoniously in group. 5.0 Recommendations 5.1 Coming from outside consultants, executive mangers should be given the opportunity to receive cross-cultural training with regards to the use of performance appraisal starting on the 3rd day of March 2013. In line with this, the success of performance appraisal can be evaluated through a staff survey comparing past and present experience within 6 months of training. 5.2 Coming from outside consultants, executive mangers should extend training programmes to each employee with regards to the importance of cross-cultural communication practices starting on the 3rd day of April 2013. To evaluate the success of the said training programme, each participant will be tested based on their knowledge and skills with regards to the differences between collectivism and individualism, the benefits of collectivism vs. individualism, etc. References Adler, N., & Gundersen, A. (2007). International Dimensions of Organizational Behavior. 5th Edition. Mason, OH: South-Western College Publication. Gudykunst, W., & Mody, B. (2002). Handbook of International and Intercultural Communication. London: Sage Publications Inc. Holliday, A., Hyde, M., & Kullman, J. (2010). Intercultural communication: An advanced resource book. 2nd Edition. London: Routledge. Krizan, A., Merrier, P., Logan, J., & Williams, K. (2011). Business Communication. 8th Edition. OH: South-Western Cengage Learning. Marsh, A., Elfenbein, H., & Ambady, N. (2007). Separated by a common language. Non-verbal accents and cultural stereotypes about Americans and Australians. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology. 38(3): 284-301. McCarthy, A., Lee, K., Itakura, S., & Muir, D. (2008). Gaze Display When Thinking Depends on Culture and Context. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology. 39(6): 716-729. Novinger, T. (2001). Intercultural Communication: A Practical Guide. 1st Edition. TX: University of Texas Press. Schermerhorn, J. (2012). Organizational Behavior. 12th Edition. Danvers, MA: John Wiley & Sons Inc. Schmidt-Fajlik, R. (2007). Introducing non-verbal communication to Japanese university students: Determining content. Journal of Intercultural Communication, ISSN 1404-1634, issue 15. Shi, Y., & Fan, S. (2010). An Analysis of Non-verbal Behaviour in Intercultural Communication. The International Journal - Language Society and Culture. 31: 113-120. Wong, S., Harris Bond, M., & Rodriguez-Mosquera, P. (2008). The influence of cultural value orientations on self-reported emotional expression across cultures. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology. 39(2): 224-229. Bibliography Adler, N., & Gundersen, A. (2007). International Dimensions of Organizational Behavior. 5th Edition. Mason, OH: South-Western College Publication. Cambridge Rindge & Latin School. (2013). Retrieved January 14, 2013, from Basic Steps in the Research Process: http://www.crlsresearchguide.org/ Cornell University Library. (2013). Retrieved January 14, 2013, from The Seven Steps of the Research Process: http://olinuris.library.cornell.edu/ref/research/skill1.htm Gudykunst, W., & Mody, B. (2002). Handbook of International and Intercultural Communication. London: Sage Publications Inc. Hall, E. (1977). Beyond Culture. Anchor Books. Holliday, A., Hyde, M., & Kullman, J. (2010). Intercultural communication: An advanced resource book. 2nd Edition. London: Routledge. Krizan, A., Merrier, P., Logan, J., & Williams, K. (2011). Business Communication. 8th Edition. OH: South-Western Cengage Learning. Marsh, A., Elfenbein, H., & Ambady, N. (2007). Separated by a common language. Non-verbal accents and cultural stereotypes about Americans and Australians. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology. 38(3): 284-301. McCarthy, A., Lee, K., Itakura, S., & Muir, D. (2008). Gaze Display When Thinking Depends on Culture and Context. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology. 39(6): 716-729. Novinger, T. (2001). Intercultural Communication: A Practical Guide. 1st Edition. TX: University of Texas Press. Schermerhorn, J. (2012). Organizational Behavior. 12th Edition. Danvers, MA: John Wiley & Sons Inc. Schmidt-Fajlik, R. (2007). Introducing non-verbal communication to Japanese university students: Determining content. Journal of Intercultural Communication, ISSN 1404-1634, issue 15. Shi, Y., & Fan, S. (2010). An Analysis of Non-verbal Behaviour in Intercultural Communication. The International Journal - Language Society and Culture. 31: 113-120. Wong, S., Harris Bond, M., & Rodriguez-Mosquera, P. (2008). The influence of cultural value orientations on self-reported emotional expression across cultures. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology. 39(2): 224-229. Appendix I – Full Critical Incident Report When I first arrived in New Zealand back in 2001, I could not speak any word in English. I lived in a “homestay” which was the most challenging experience for me as it was difficult on my part to speak with the people I live with. At first, most of them were trying to communicate with me using the English language. However, I could hardly understand a single word they were trying to tell me. To be able to communicate with me, most of them were left with no other choice but to use body and sign language. Through the use of body and sign language, everything seems to be a little bit better for me. However, I noticed that there is something strange with regards to the use of body language. While living at the homestay, I came across some strange situational experiences. One day, my homestay mother was talking to me. To be honest, I could not comprehend what she was trying to tell me. Pretending that I understand every single word she was trying to tell me, I simply smiled at her every time she says something. Initially, I thought that whatever she was trying to tell me is something not really important. It came to a point that she suddenly placed her hands around her neck and started acting in a strange way. In response to her action, I started laughing as she repeated acting in a strange way. Throughout the communication process with my homestay mother, I knew something was seriously wrong. At first, I thought that I had to laugh louder as the situation was quite strange and funny. At the same time, I was also wondering why I could not fully understand her body language. For instance, there was a point when she used body language to portray death. I thought she was trying to inform me that someone she knows died. However, I was able to verify from one of our housemates that nobody from the circle of my homestay mother was sick or has died due to illness. Up to now, I am curious about what went wrong and what exactly made her act strange. Did I seriously react in such a way that was offending on her part? Would the entire conversation be better had I responded in a gentle way instead of laughing loud? Why do I find it hard to understand her body language? During the entire time I was staying at that place, there were several occasions I had to ask her permission for the use of some facilities. The answer was always “no”. At some point in time, I kept on asking myself why was my homestay mother being rude to me? As a tenant, I find it rude on her part not to allow me to use some of the home facilities. Every Sunday, my homestay mother is doing some household chores like watering the garden, emptying the garage, and cleaning the house. Each time I tried to help her, she would automatically reject my help. Why was she refusing my help? Seriously, I find it strange for her not to accept any help. Was it because of the miscommunication that happened between us in the past? ...or is it because of their cultural practice not to accept any help from a tenant? Appendix II – Summary of Continuum from High-Context to Low-Context Culture Source: Krizan et al., 2011, p. 39 Appendix III – Comparison of the General Characteristics that Affect Communication between people from High- and Low-Context Countries Source: Krizan et al., 2011, p. 40 Read More