The Chapter Reactions - Essay Example

A Reaction to Chapter 2 The chapter was a good article for me to read because it gave me valuable insights on the relationship between communicationand culture. I used to take these issues for granted but ever since I have come in contact with people of different nationalities, I have come to realize just how different we can be from each other and also that these differences are reflected in the way that we act and in the way we communicate. I particularly like taking the self-evaluation tests found in the chapter because they provide me with an insight of how I am subconsciously without my realization of these things in the past.

I also like reading the inset stories which offer very good applications to better understand the theories in the chapter. The ideas presented in Chapter 2 are indeed very helpful in my own life because it has somehow made me more aware of the need to understand and respect the cultural differences among people with varying backgrounds. Just like anybody, I have my own world views of the world. It is important that I realize that my world views may be different from other people because of the differences in our backgrounds.

For example, I realized that I tend to be very individualistic in terms of dealing with certain tasks or in terms of dealing with people. I personally do not feel the need to be extra friendly with other people if I do not feel like it. In fact, I could very well tell somebody up front that I do not like him or her and I expect other people to be straightforward with me too. However, I have to realize that there are indeed some people who would rather preserve their existing relationships rather than be straightforward and labeled rude or tactless.

In addition, the chapter has also made me realize that while I personally may have a strong sense of achievement, other people are more inclined towards ascription and are more inclined to be confined within the roles or classes that they are oriented into. Also, I came to understand that one doesn’t necessarily have to be better than the other; I simply need to learn to respect other people’s worldview in this aspect. I did not find anything in the chapter that I disagree with. If anything, I was curious with the results of the scores of different countries in the individualism scale.

It was really quite obvious that Westerners possessed a higher degree of individualism compared with the Easterner counterparts. However, it was also quite surprising to find a number of European countries at the bottom of the individualism scoring system. Indeed, my reading of Chapter 2 provided me with a lot of valuable insights on how differences in culture may be manifested by people. The chapter did not really leave me with unanswered questions. In fact, the chapter was able to successfully provide answers and explanations to the many aspects that used to bother me whenever I dealt with somebody from a different country.

Through the ideas presented in Chapter 2, I have become more understanding and more tolerant of differences in people’s cultural manifestations.