Intercultural Communication Essays (Examples)

Intercultural Communications -- Definitions -- In its most basic form, multicultural communication is a way of understanding how people from different cultures communicate, behave, and perceive the world. One scholar defines it as the "interpersonal interaction between members of different groups, which differ from each other in respect to the knowledge shared by their members and in respect of their linguistic forms of symbolic behavior" (Knapp in What is Intercultural Communication?, 2011). Culture is a learned set of values that is passed down and communicated through a variety of forms: parents, relatives, peers, school systems or learning environments, and society. Typically, its power focuses on the reinforcement of behaviors through positive responses and discourages inappropriate actions or responses through negative responses. Because of this learning transference, it is possible for a person to communicate, adapt, and even become part of another cultural experience -- multicultural communication. The idea of multicultural…

He must instead keep aware of the accepted verbal and nonverbal communication gestures of other cultures. He should break out of the habit of preferring or revering his own verbal and non-verbal communication over those of others. Cultural relativism views all cultural practices as good. ut unlike cultural relativism, effective intercultural communication does not state that al cultural practices as good. Rather the effective intercultural communicator exerts efforts to develop an intercultural consciousness and understand those of other cultures. This is to improve communication and thus increase understanding among all the members (rown).
Simplifying the situation will also improve intercultural communication, internally and externally (rown 2010). Visualizing culture as a community in general will lead members to discover ways of communicating among themselves and with customers and clients more effectively. Understanding separate communities and communicating with them in acceptable ways or in ways they will appreciate is the right approach.…

Some cultures are overtly emotional, while there are others which believe in keeping emotions concealed, or only reveal them to a "rational" degree. Naturally such differences often lead to problems. Following are two examples from international diplomacy, cited by the University of Colorado's Conflict esearch Consortium, which illustrate that lack of awareness of a certain culture and its values can result in longstanding misunderstandings, whereas accommodating cultural differences and understanding them, can lead to fruitful results.
The first case pertains to the relations between U.S. And India. In 1954, the U.S. had provided arms assistance to Pakistan, which was India's adversary. India took exception to this assistance provided to Pakistan, and as a form of re-assurance, President Eisenhower dispatched a letter to the Indian Prime Minister, and mentioned that the U.S. would intervene if Pakistan used the assistance against India. Nehru indicated to the ambassador that he did not doubt…

Intercultural Communication
When people from different cultural backgrounds interact with each other, they face various problems in effectively communicating their messages and expressing their thoughts, expectations, and beliefs (Paulston, Kiesling, & Rangel, 2012). These problems lead to serious intercultural communication issues in multicultural societies. Researchers have found that difference in languages is not the sole reason of intercultural communication problems; people fail to effectively communicate due to different cultural dimensions that differentiate them from other cultures and societies (Nelsona, Al-Batalb, & Bakaryc, 2002). This paper presents a comparative analysis of Arab and American culture in the light of two important cultural dimensions, Individualism/collectivism and Masculinity/femininity. The paper focuses on explaining the challenges and issues which people from these cultures face while they interact or communicate with each other in different situations and settings.

Intercultural Communication between Arabs and Americans

Intercultural communication is largely effected by the cultural dimensions which shape the way people…

Intercultural Communication in the Workplace:
As the world continues to experience globalization because of the numerous technological advancements, intercultural communication has become an important element in today's working environments. Intercultural communication is critical because workplaces are currently made up of people from diverse backgrounds, races, ethnicity, and cultures. Therefore, understanding intercultural competence and communication is vital since it helps in promoting effective communication in the workplace. Such understanding also helps in dealing with various intercultural issues that may arise in the working environment from time to time. When the intercultural communication issues are dealt with in the workplace, the organization enhances effective communication.

Description of Intercultural Communication Issue:

Intercultural communication is an important aspect for organizations and companies that are involved in international businesses. These companies need to consider the complexities of intercultural communication as part of enhancing effective communication and productivity. Some of the major ways for such firms to consider intercultural…

In addition to vocabulary shaped by environment, different languages also develop arbitrary differences in idiomatic expression. For just one example, modern Hebrew has a word pronounced "dafkuh" that does not translate directly into English. It is used to denote "just at that time," or "exactly that person," or "that very day" in a manner that suggests either irony, coincidence, misfortune, or even sarcasm, in the following manner: "I knew someone who died in the 9/11 terrorist attack; he had a job interview in the World Trade Center dafkuh on that day.."

3. International English in Intercultural Communications:

Native speakers of English routinely use phrases that have evolved in American culture or even in different regions of the country. While doing so is perfectly natural, it may interfere with the ability to communicate clearly with someone who learned English as a second language rather than through using the language in the United States.…

ithin my team of Americans are several African-Americans and three Latinos. In the book Intercultural Communication: A Reader (Samovar, et al., 2008) the authors point out what scholars, sociologists and alert journalists have known for a long time: "…Although Latinos are generally aware of the Black experience, there is little understanding of Black culture. Equally problematic is the lack of awareness among Blacks about Latino culture" (Samovar, p. 183). Albeit I have Asians in my team, considered a separate culture from Americans, the unspoken tensions between Blacks and Latinos among my American team members must also be dealt with. In my suggestion box an idea was put forward to have a bulletin board with articles in all the languages represented among the employees in my team.

Among the first articles I will pushpin to the bulletin board is the Los Angeles Times' article on May 1, 2020, "South Los Angeles Latinos…

The fact that Greece is resisting greater oversight of its financial dealings is not laziness, or profligacy, but its very different view of long-term values than Germany. Germany places a strong value on long-term planning, persistence, and thrift. It cannot understand why a nation would hide its debt, in hopes that no one would notice and everything would 'be alright' in the long-term, so long as short-term pleasures were satisfied. Nations with a short-term cultural orientation like Greece uphold respect and tradition for individuals (such as older people), reciprocation of greetings, favors, and gifts, and may be more concerned with immediate shows of status than thrift. Hofstede might state that Germany needs to put aside some of its moralistic language regarding money when dealing with the Greek debt crisis, but if Greece wishes to be part of the European Union it must adopt some of the other member nation's longer-term…

She said that differences are meant not to invoke culture clash. Instead, differences are meant to educate people of the diversity of the world around us and to be more respectful and considerate of each other. Indeed I have learnt a lot of things from her.
On to nonverbal communication, I have also observed that Durga would look intently in my eye whenever we talk which somehow tells me how much of a sincere person she actually is. During conversations, when we'd talk about American culture, she never fails to give a comforting nod -- one which somehow tells me it is okay to talk about our culture, our liberal views, about areas in our culture which I know is distinctly different from hers. I also observed how she always keeps her tone in a mild, courteous manner regardless of who she talks to -- may it be a professor…

Intercultural Communication
ANALYSIS & EPOT FOMAT Use format headings address answer overarching question 'Did working a volunteer contribute detract intercultural exchange communication?': Introduction Outline event, organisation worked, tasks undertaken, occurred, undertook activity worked day - background nationality

Intercultural communication

Overview of intercultural communication theory

Intercultural communication in the simplest form involves sharing information across cultures and social groups. It involves synonymously understanding the actions, language, beliefs and values of individuals from different social groups or cultures. Steinfatt and Millette (2009, p. 41)

, adaptation in intercultural communication is important since it ensures a continuous interplay of the two cultures thus allowing them to share beliefs, values, etc. And appreciate the eminent differences.

Kincaid (1988, p. 98)

argues that for intercultural communication to be effective, there must be cultural convergence which means that the two cultures must converge at a particular point in time and diverge at another. This convergence allows for intercultural adaptation where one communication channel…

Mixed working groups naturally promote better mutual understanding and can often reduce biases and negative expectations such as those attributable to ethnocentrism and prejudices (Blair, 2003).
More active methods of reducing discrimination and stereotyping include practical group demonstrations led by experienced counselors and organized discussion groups (Myers & pencer, 2004). pecifically, organized discussion groups provide an opportunity for members of different social groups to raise their concerns and to express their personal experiences in relation to prejudice and discrimination.

Typically, the opportunity of sharing real-life experiences of others has a natural tendency to increase intercultural sensitivity through several different mechanisms: by personalizing general perceptions, by allowing individuals from different groups to consider things from the perspectives of other groups, by appreciating some of the specific experiences of others in relation to discrimination and prejudices, and by demonstrating the commonalities between members of different social groups (Aronson, Wilson, & Akert, 2003; Blair,…

3. Diagnosis

The previously presented situation can be analyzed from two different standpoints, also perceived as communication norms. On the one hand, there is the language barrier which can easily come between representatives of different nationalities. In this order of ideas, Anrai Brogan was an Irish of Gaelic descent, born and brought up in the old tradition. Even the native language he spoke bore little resemblance to the Irish language, as it was highly influenced by the Gaelic traits. The relevance of this feature to the miscommunication situation at Tetonica Plc. is given by the fact that the Gaelic Irish language does not have any equivalents for the words yes and no. "Irish Gaelic does not possess equivalents of "yes" or "no," which seems unhandy to persons accustomed to this conciseness. Consequently, when speaking Gaelic, people must construct circumlocutions such as "I think not" and "this is so" in place of…

In cultures were being or relationality has a greater emphasis, human relations are at the forefront of most individual's concerns. It might even be considered rude to ask what someone does for a living in a social setting, at least before taking in some of the hospitality of the host in the form of food and drink. Social and emotional perceptions of value are of great importance. One example of how this might affect commerce is that in the United States, how much something costs may have great significance in determining people's purchasing decisions. However, in France, where there may be a greater stress upon relationality, buying from a local market owned by someone who lives near a consumer's home may have equal impact upon a consumer's choice of store as the store's price or time-saving and convenient location.

How can an understanding of the difference between "high-context" and "low-context" cultures…

In terms of their body language towards their teachers, Japanese students are more likely to sit in their seats, raise their hands, and even outside of the classroom are more likely to accept advice from teachers about personal matters, such as how to speak politely and even matter of hygiene. The greater deference and focus on passing exams, rather than engaging in contentious or individualistic debate is also evident in European education systems. In many European nations, in contrast to Japan, the family rather than the teachers are seen as have the ultimate authority in dictating their children's private lives; however, students are far more inclined when in school to observe a respectful distance between themselves and their teachers, and to defer to their teacher's authority.

Give examples of problems that may arise in a health care setting if a physician does not understand the cultural norms of his or her…

Cultural Sensitivity
Intercultural sensitivity has emerged as one of the most important aspects of the modern working environment because of increased diversity in today’s workforce. In essence, today’s workforce is characterized by people from different ethnicities, nationalities and race. The increased diversity of the workforce is attributable to increased globalization, which has significantly transformed the modern society. For instance, this company comprises of employees from different races and ethnic backgrounds, which is a reflection of the increased diversity of the workforce as shown in Figure 1 below.
Figure 1: Composition of the Company’s Workforce
Given the increased diversity in the organization’s workforce, intercultural sensitivity is a crucial component towards enhancing interactions between the workforce and enhancing their productivity (Kegeyan, 2016). Intercultural sensitivity is essential towards promoting positive interactions and intercultural communication in the company’s workforce. In this regard, the company will significantly benefit from establishing a corporate culture that is characterized by intercultural…

Transnational Negotiation What is Negotiation?
Negotiation is communication between two parties to reach an agreement. The process of negotiation is how the parties arrive at the agreement, a combination of written, verbal and nonverbal communication to convey one's interests, offers, and acceptances that make up the content of the negotiated agreement.
Benefits of Negotiation
There are other means of dispute resolution, but the main benefit of negotiation lies with the fact that both parties negotiate and then come to an agreement. Thus, both parties are able to advance their interests, and choose the trade-offs that they are willing to make to achieve an agreement. Both parties can exit the negotiation satisfied either with the agreement that they were able to secure, or knowing that they will not be able to secure an agreement, but that they gave themselves the best opportunity to do so.
Intercultural Negotiation
It is important to understand the culture with which you…

Intercultural Communication: Towards etter Understanding and Learning
In humanity's pursuit for learning, it is inevitable that we will encounter diversity, or differences in people in the way they think, act, and behave. Most often, people whom we perceive as different are no more different than us -- that is, we may perceive them as different, but they also presumably assume us as different from the people they have been familiarized and acquainted with. This move towards crossing cultural boundaries in pursuit of learning is called intercultural communication, often defined as the "process that occurs when members of two or more cultures exchange messages in a manner that is influenced by their different cultural perceptions and symbol systems" (Adler, 1998:40).

How does intercultural communication relates to the development of understanding and learning? It is essential for any academic students to be acquainted with different cultures, within or outside the country, in order to…

Naturally, cheek kissing is practiced in the States just as handshakes take place in Latin America. Incidentally, the latter is largely a result of the Americanization of Hispanic cultures. Nevertheless, as a general rule, each custom is mainly witnessed in its respective culture.

Cross cultural misunderstanding can and does happen. For example, an American visiting a Latin country may, at first, feel intruded upon when natives begin kissing them at initial contact. The reverse is true when a Latin American, arriving to the States has a hand thrust at them during introductions. It is not uncommon for Latin Americans to declare Americans as reserved. However, the more time spent in a foreign culture allows one the ability to acclimate to the host country's customs. There may even come a time when one maneuvers easily between the two cultures.

A major goal of learning is facilitation of basic literacy and language skills of difference students, the importance of which stems from a persistent school failure in the United States of students with Hispanic, African-American and American Indian background (Gay, 1994). Multicultural education can ease the tensions by teaching skills in a cross-cultural communication style that emphasizes interpersonal relations, perspective taking, contextual analysis and understanding differing points-of-view and frames of reference (Gay, 1994). Students must learn how their cultural condition may affect values, attitudes and beliefs, as well as preferences, expectations and behaviors (Gay, 1994).
As an experienced administrator working within the U.S. school system, I learned that within U.S. society there also still exists a strong ethnic prejudice as well as "ethnocentric values that are based and driven by cultural beliefs not based on fact; there is in fact a tendency in the U.S. To ascribe attributes and behaviors…

Intercultural Communication
Intercultural and Multicultural Communication

Countries are no longer confined by borders. Today's society is a global society, and intercultural issues and intercultural communication ave become a part of daily life, weter in business, education or personal. Type 'intercultural education' on Google's searc engine, and over two million Web sites become available. Four suc Web sites are Te Young Society for Intercultural Education, Training and Researc, Te American Council on International Intercultural Education, Te International Association for Intercultural Education, and te University Center for Intercultural Education.

Te University Center for Intercultural Education is designed to cultivate te social and umanity skills of students to enable tem to cope effectively wit te emerging era of globalization, and to become responsible international citizens.

Subjects include electronic communications and information processing, ealt sciences, and foreign languages, wic gives te student te ability to communicate internationally.

Universities around te globe are seeing a major trend in increased awareness…

The important aspect to consider is the way that people perceive and accept these differing power distributions. The barrier and problem that Sally experiences in this particular case is that she comes from a society that favors a low power distance model of behavior as the accepted norm; whereas in the society in which she is now staying the cultural norms and accepted context is one of high power distance.

In theoretical terms this means that Sally wishes to reduce the distance between herself and the housemaid on the cultural and normative grounds that all people are equal regardless of their social position. However, this view runs counter to the norms adopted in the high power culture, which reflects the view that the maidservant should know her place in the societal and cultural structure and that it is not correct or acceptable for the maid to address Sally informally.

This can also…

Intercultural Communication
The Ivey business case Collision Course -- Selling High Performance Motorcycles in Japan outlines the case of the Japanese importer and marketer of an Italian line of motorcycles, Tommasi. In this case, there are several issues raised. First, there are communication barriers between the different people involved in marketing the motorcycles -- Japanese dealers who speak little English and Western expats on the marketing side who speak little Japanese. Second, there are issues with the product, and the way that the product is being marketed. The protagonist in the case is the intermediary between the dealers and the Italian company, and therefore has to work with these conflicting marketing tactics daily. The dealers feel that their expertise in the Japanese market has not been reflected adequately in the company's strategy. Conversely, the company would prefer to see its strategy implemented as it desires. So there are intercultural communication issues…

Intercultural Communication
A) Explain the difference between Norms and Values as they pertain to society.

Values and norms are essential components of all societies. Values denote ideas that aid individuals and groups in differentiating good from bad, and ascertaining what is proper or desirable. Each society has its own different set of values. And the values of an individual stem from the particular culture he/she belongs to. Meanwhile, norms are typically proper or correct forms of conduct. They refer to specific prescriptions regarding how one should conduct oneself for being consistent with modern societal values. Therefore, societal norms may be perceived as a reflection of societal values (Module 1: Sociology-Basic Concepts 84-5).

B) Clarify how Values might have an impact upon social Norms.

Values represent broad notions concerning what is good, desirable, and correct, shared by a majority of members of any given society. They stabilize group interactions by holding the society in question…

ntercultural Relations Studies as "analysis of intergroup behaviour within contexts of cultural diversity." To explore this issue, they studied Spanish students in an English course at a Spanish university. They found that positive contacts between two cultures was not enough to create positive views of the culture unfamiliar to the participant.
Data was gathered by using a questionnaire that measured ethnic attitudes and intercultural assumptions. t covered contacts with foreign people and the quality of those contacts. t also looked at attitudes, intercultural problems and conflicts, stereotypes, prejudices, and assumptions/expectations. t was used by analyzing the variables defined in the questionnaire. The subjects were 74 Spanish university students who had contact with foreign students. Participation was voluntary and anonymous.

Major Findings

The major finding was that for these students, contact with people from other cultures was not enough to foster positive opinions. The international students and Spanish students did not interact much;…

This can help increase the tolerance and cultural awareness of future generations, which is always a positive benefit for a more progressive society.
Different types of conflict styles can also impact how individuals fair within the context of an intercultural or interracial relationship. The way many cultures handle how they deal with conflict differ dramatically from other cultures. As a result, when two individuals from different cultures come together, they may often find that they have conflict because of how each party handles conflict. An indirect conflict style is one which tends to shy away from confrontation. Many cultures utilize such conflict management styles as a way to stay neutral and not dive into a conflict that would be emotionally exhausting. For example, many Asian cultures tend to exhibit very indirect conflict management styles. Yet, these can often be misinterpreted as being indifferent, where the individual is mistakenly thought to…

Clt Comm
Identity and Intercultural Communication

This paper will briefly explore the concept of identity as it relates to intercultural communication. It is important for one to understand the many factors that influence the development of an identity. It is these factors that make each and every one of us an individual and unique in personality. These factors include such elements of character like age, gender, race, religion, class and culture that help decide one's point-of-view when communicating. For the purpose of this paper, it is safe to assume that individually each of us has acquired different methods of communicating due these factors. The paragraphs below will explore how these factors influence communication across cultures.

In order to better understand, intercultural communication, one must first understand the concept of identity. Only then will one begin to realize that much of how we see ourselves has a direct relationship with communication and the different…

Q5. How will you deal with others in your workplace who feel they have no biases but you are aware that they do?

I think that sensitivity training and diversity education should be mandatory components of all workplaces. This type of training should include self-administered questionnaires like the HIAT to raise awareness about the commonness of prejudice and also role-playing and discussions about different assumptions and communication styles. I should note that I do not believe that explicitly 'calling someone out' on their prejudices and shaming them is particularly helpful; firmly presenting an alternative point-of-view or way of looking at the situation is much more effective. Organizations must also have strong and effective anti-discrimination policies to reduce bias. This can help all workers. "We have developed a "good person/bad person" paradigm of diversity. A more accurate depiction, however, is that we all have bias of one kind or another. It is…

The slaughtering of cows is forbidden by law (Potpourri, 2009).
It is clear that when he made the "don't have a cow" comment, John Smith was not aware of the status of cows in Indian culture -- or he temporarily forgot about it. This situation is the perfect example as to how can different cultural values impede communication. Instead of focusing on the promotional campaign -- the core of the first dispute -- the two parties became engaged in a more intense dispute which prevented them from addressing the work related matter on the table. In a theoretical formulation, the conflict aroused as Smith failed to obey one of the most important rules of intercultural communication -- that of being aware of and respecting the cultural symbols and values of his culturally diverse colleagues (Hahn, 2009). Within the workplace, the effects were those of accentuated conflicts and tensions, as well…

However, gender expectations of different nations can impede free and open discussion in intercultural communications, if a particular culture has yet to accept that it is appropriate for women to confidently assume positions of authority.
Although cross-cultural communication presents a challenge, globalization has made understanding the difference between high-context and low-context cultures even more vital than ever before. Implied meanings in different cultures have different levels of signification, based upon relationships. "In relationship-oriented countries like Mexico, India and China, people tend to prioritize projects based on the hierarchy of the person who owns it" in contrast to the United States, where the project itself is viewed more important than the person in charge (Frase 2007).

Much like male-female communication tropes, social expectations rather than actual message or even delivery can affect the message conveyed and impede communication. An analysis of diverse work teams at international firms by Brett et al. (2006)…

In essence, cultural values across Argentina demand for observation, tolerance, and understanding. The tingo dance for example is one of the nonverbal communications. Argentines also like engaging in activities that give them a sense of belonging (Foster, et al., 18).
Part 3: Africa, Tanzania

Cultural norms are patterns of behavior that specifically are typical to a given group. They are shared, sanctioned, and integrated systems of beliefs and practices. These behaviors are passed from one generation to the next. In other words, cultural norms are the expectations and rules that are agreed upon through which a society guides the behavior of its members with regard to a given situation (Qingxue, 13). Cultural norms widely vary across cultural groups. In most cases cultural norms are not considered to be formal laws, however, they are helpful and vital in instilling social control within the society. Cultural norms are mainly enforced through non-verbal communication…

Intercultural Conflict
Conflict, according to Word Net, (2011) is "an open clash between two opposing groups (or individuals)" it also defines it further as "opposition between two simultaneous but incompatible feelings." This definition presupposes, and correctly so, that that two varying groups of people/individuals living, working or travelling together have the possibility, even if very remote, of conflicting.

Since man must co-exist, and in the process conflicts have to emerge, the purpose of this paper is to divulge the various ways through which individuals involved in conflict can attempt to solve the conflict as well as looking into the mediation process once the individual conflict resolution method has failed.

When exposing people to a cross cultural situation, there is a likelihood of conflict to occur, and having known this, it is significant to prepare both parties from the varying cultures for the eventualities that they face and how to handle the differences.

2.1 Characteristics…

Collectivism and individualism do exist concurrently in many countries throughout the world. The U.S. is a prime example of a society where they cohabitate. There are radical religious sects that strongly oppose morale issues such as abortion, gay marriage, or traditional beliefs that stand side-by-side with the very individuals that their beliefs are intended to suppress. However, despite their coexistence, the two sides are often subjects for heavy controversy and significant reasons for much of the political debate, and near rioting uproar throughout societies across the map. It is apparent that these two orientations are able to exist in one culture at the same time, but not without great consequence.

The history of the United States has had a great impact on the way that cultural values have been developed and kept. Citizens of the United States agree that each individual has the right to their own beliefs and the actions…

" (Ford and Kotze, date unknown) The work of Spencer-Rodgers and McGovern (2002) entitled: "Attitudes Toward the Culturally Different: The Role of Intercultural Communication arriers, Affective Responses, Consensual Stereotypes and Perceived Threat" report that testing was conducted for the purpose of examining the psychological impact of intercultural communication barriers on intergroup attitudes. It is reported that it was indicated by regression analyses indicated that "....intercultural communication emotions were strongly and uniquely related to prejudice toward a culturally diverse outgroup: foreign students." (Spencer-Rodgers and McGovern, 2002)
ibliography

Spencer-Rodgers, Julie and McGovern, Timothy (2002) Attitudes Toward the Culturally Different: The Role of Intercultural Communication arriers, Affective Responses, Consensual Stereotypes, and Perceived Threat. International Journal of Intercultural Relations. Vol. 26, Issue 6. 1 Nov 2002.

Ford, Gabrielle and Kotze, Paula (date unknown) Designing Usable Interfaces with Cultural Dimensions. Online available at: http://hufee.meraka.org.za/Hufeesite/staff/the-hufee-group/paula-kotze-1/publications/ford-kotze-final-revised.pdf

Karasawa, Minoru and Sayaka, Suga (date unknown) Retention and Transmission of Socially Shared eliefs: The…

Intercultural Communication - Group
As the Manufacturing Procurement Lead for an American/Japanese automobile manufacturer, my main task is to coordinate several characteristics of production and delivery schedule of an Italian designed and manufactured electronic braking system for a new high performance sports car to be launched to the American market. An important aspect of achieving this goal is conducting a three-day meeting that incorporates various social activities, price, negotiations of delivery schedule, and creation of a preliminary contract. The social activities include cocktail reception on the first evening and a final dinner on the final day of the three-day meeting. The other vital component of success in this meeting is an understanding of group dynamics since it will affect discussions and negotiations.

The American/Japanese automotive manufacturer will be doing business with an Italian company, which implies that understanding cultural differences and business interactions with the Italian customer is essential for successful negotiations.…

Communication plays a vital role in human interaction. Unfortunately, communication is not always as adept as it should be between people. This fact is usually exacerbated when people from disparate cultures are attempting to communicate with one another, particularly when they are not as well informed about one another's culture as they could be (Barna, 68). As a result, there are a number of negative occurrences that people may experience due to complications in intercultural communication. Laay Barna's essay, "Intercultural Communication Stumbling Blocks" addresses several points that may cause difficulty with communication between people of different cultures. Many of these issues are characterized by assumptions and a degree of ignorance on the part of one or both people that result in a decidedly narrow perspective on their parts.
One of the many valid points that Barna raises regarding obstructions between an easy facilitation of cultural communication is the presence and…

Popular culture differs from what was once referred to as "high" culture ("Popular Culture" 2000). High culture distinguished and continues to distinguish itself from popular culture by subordinating the latter. However, a tremendous shift in academia has led to the critique of both "high" and "low" culture and a subsequent merging of the two ("Popular Culture" 2000).
Also known as "mass" culture, popular culture can be considered crude even as it shapes politics and policy ("Popular Culture" 2000). According to Chito Childs & Laudone (2004), popular culture is uniquely responsible for the shaping of values, beliefs and norms surrounding interracial friendships, interracial relationships, and race relations in general. Films that depict interracial couples "tend to reinforce the existing racial hierarchy, rendering interracial relationships problematic," (Chito Childs & Laudone 2004, p. 1). Popular culture is part mirror for social realities and part shaper of those realities.

One exception to the generally negative…

Intercultural Communication
Managing conflict in intercultural communication

Intercultural communication is considered as one of the most important communication level through which people from all cultures interact. Surpassing the complex nature of intrapersonal, interpersonal, group, and organizational communication, communication at the intercultural level is characterized as having the greatest complexity due to the presence of numerous differences among communicators. And because of these differences, conflict often arises among communicators. It is therefore imperative that understanding and knowledge of cultures be undertaken by the communicator so that conflict would be alleviated, if not altogether eliminated.

In understanding intercultural communication, one must first identify the nature of conflict that arises at this level (of communication). Conflict at the intercultural communication level is characterized as ambiguous and involves different styles of communicating (i.e., differences in languages and manner of communicating).

Intercultural communication conflict stems from ambiguity because communicators often make the mistake of communicating without prior knowledge of…

Communication
Electronic communication such as texting and emailing are not as effective as talking face-to-face with someone.

Premises/Data: Studies have showed that without face-to-face interaction, the lack of nonverbal cues, facial emotions prevents successful communication and hinders growth in a relationship. One study of preteens at a summer camp found that with just five days without electronics, the children showed improvement in there nonverbal communication skills (Uhls et al., 2014). We already know that non-verbal communication is a significant portion of communication, that when presented with a person face-to-face, as little as 7% of communication was verbal (Yaffe, 2011). Thus, these preteens were improving immediately their ability to comprehend what is in many cases the majority of communication messages.

Studies of virtual teams have found that people are even inclined to interpret email text for non-verbal messages. The problem with doing so is that we tend to use shorthand for this, for example…

Communication
The McDonald's Menu and Charles erger's Uncertainty Reduction Theory

In the field of communication, extant theories and models aim to provide explanations about the nature and dynamics of relating and interacting with other people. These theoretical frameworks also delve into various kinds of communication, such as verbal or non-verbal and intrapersonal, interpersonal, group, and organizational. One of the most important aspects among these kinds of communication concern theories about interpersonal relationships, which serve as the common ground wherein further studies on communication among people from one-on-one, group, and/or organizational.

Among these interpersonal theories, Charles erger's uncertainty reduction theory figures as one of the most descriptive and analytical theory in studying communication at the most basic level. The uncertainty reduction theory describes the 'self-monitoring' behavior of communicators when initially establishing a relationship or interacting with another communicator or an agent of communication. The theory involves two important concepts: the objective and subjective self-awareness.…

Intercultural Film Analysis on Up in the Air
Interpersonal attraction

Interpersonal attraction is one of the themes at the heart of Up in the Air. For the purposes of this analysis, interpersonal attraction is taken to mean the ways in which people are drawn toward one another. The main character, yan Bingham, is a challenging character to analyze in this regard because he has experienced significant success through resisting interpersonal attraction, and yet he eventually comes to realize that people cannot simply shelter themselves from interpersonal attractions, even if they desire to live in complete alienation from others. yan makes his living through flying to workplaces and firing employees so that the bosses do not have to perform the unpleasant task, and yet he also doubles as a motivational speaker. His character is unusual in that he effectively tells people they are not suitable for their jobs (in his job firing people),…

Additionally, the very peculiar relationship between modern information technologies and the business must somehow be conceptualized if a proper model of knowledge transfer is to be attained. So, while in some cases, technology may serve as an obvious way to optimize the transfer of knowledge and overcome the barriers of routines, these same technologies, in different settings or with different individuals, will create more barriers and less effective routines. The fundamental concern must be attaining an applicable model of knowledge transfer, and perhaps the willingness to employ the idea of replication wherever it can be straightforwardly implemented.

Traditionally, many careers have been subject to gender specific designations. Obviously, numerous broad fields of work like medicine and law have historically been dominated by men, while women have been relegated to secretarial, nursing, or other subordinate positions. In recent decades this trend has come under fire and gender is no-longer widely accepted as…

Race is a more difficult topic to define because there are no clear definitions of race. In general, race implies neither nationality nor culture but skin color. Race is distinguished from culture in that white people come from various European cultures, and black people also come from various cultures around the world. However, race, culture, and nationality are linked in several ways, especially within the United States. Americans can identify as being a certain race, a certain culture, and a certain nationality. For example, a woman with dark skin who is born in Honduras and who lives in the United States could say that she is of the African race, Honduran culture, and American nationality. Therefore, co-culture can be used to describe this woman: she can say that she is a Latina-American because she identifies with both cultures.

Support for the second hypothesis, that male speakers would be perceived as less cooperative than female speakers, also varied across situations, and the effect was even smaller" (Edwards & Hamilton 2004). Support for the Tannen model only was found after additional research was done, and a new questionnaire was given that scored recipient's self-perception in terms of feminine and masculine characteristics and inculcation into traditional gender roles. Individuals with strong gender self-images were more likely to fall in line with the Tannen model of women perceiving nurturance and males perceiving conflict in relatively neutral scenarios and seeing men in general as less cooperative.
This study is provocative on several levels, not the least of which in its stress upon the individualized nature of gender norms and the lack of inherent biological tendencies towards perceiving nurturance and conflict. It suggests the need to more carefully screen subjects in terms of individualized…

Such a system has the obvious advantage that the worker is very loyal to his company and develops a certain practice working in the same place, but, on the other hand, we may question ourselves on the motivating issue: is this still functional?
The example of the Japanese society nowadays may show that it is not. Indeed, we find in Japanese companies that the motivating factors are actually restrictive factors that are used to control production capabilities. Promotion, for example, one of the motivating tools most used in the Western world, is almost non-existing in Japan, as promotion is performed according to age and you will never expect to reach a certain position within the company until a certain age. Additionally, the fact that you work in the same company and have long-term contracts may induce the fact that you will not be interested in delivering highest achievements, as the…

But to me, a young woman standing alone on a busy street in a still strange country, the word gaijin changed the tone of this encounter. For the group of teenagers waving and shouting at me, the word gaijin was merely a way of identifying their rare and exciting discovery. For me, a citizen of a country whose history has its share of prejudice and violence, the impersonal identification of me, based solely on my appearance, sounded like the racial and ethnic epithets hurled at Italian immigrants, African-Americans, Asians, Native Americans, Irish immigrants, Jews and millions of other people in the United States.

The word gaijin simply means "foreigner." It is not a derogatory term. But in Italy and the United States, two countries rich with immigrants from all over the world, the act of impersonally identifying a person's racial or ethnic background based solely on the person's appearance, is considered…

The Asian view takes longer and includes carefully considering all the long-term implications and nuances that Americans often ignore. This way of thinking may be confusing to American negotiators at first, plus the fact that nothing is ever completely settled. Instead of solving one thing at a time and moving on to the next item, Asian style allows the negotiators to come back again and again (circular fashion) to points already discussed. They may even discuss many issues concurrently and consider the whole situation all at the same time.
Use of time is a form of non-verbal communication. It sends a message about what one believes -- and in this case, what the culture values. To Americans who value their time and see it as something they don't have enough of, the Asian view can be frustrating. To Japanese and Chinese team members, time is never something to be saved;…

Intercultural Conflict Management
Today's society is a multicultural environment that holds both extreme promise and conflicts (Adler, 1998, pp. 225-245). Through rapid developments in technology, global communication has been revolutionized in the past few decades. By the end of the twentieth century, new technology made it simple for people in different cultures to communicate with each other at lightning speeds.

As a result, a greater number of people are exposed to cultures other than their own. Due to communication technology, people are no longer isolated by borders and other obstacles and have ample opportunities to experience different cultures.

However, this incredible occurrence has brought conflict amongst people from different cultures, due to differences in language, manners, opinions, lifestyles and other factors. As a result, intercultural conflict management has become necessary in helping people to understand one another.

About Conflict

Conflict occurs at all levels of human interactions, whether it is interpersonal, social, national, or international.…

com, 2003). Fitting into the system of France is very important, and creating a good French citizen is one of the goals of the educational system. Students in France, for example, cannot wear religious clothing or other affiliations with national, non-French institutions of identity.
As in France and Japan, in the United Kingdom, education is free and compulsory until age sixteen, as an educated workforce is highly valued. There is also a great deal of respect and deference given to the role of the teacher. "Teachers in primary schools (4- to 11-year-olds) are always addressed by their surname by parents and pupils alike, always Mr., Mrs. Or Miss Smith

In secondary schools (11-16 years), teachers are always addressed as Miss or Sir" ("Introduction to School Life," oodlands Junior School, 2007). Students in the United Kingdom must wear a uniform, which enforces a certain sense of national and school cohesion, although individualistic expression…

Embracing the limits of my control will enable me to deal with stress appropriately.
Nonverbal and Cultural Barriers to Communication

It is only when the intended receiver of a message understands the information contained within the message that communication can be regarded effective. The world is today regarded a global village. This effectively means that intercultural communication will continue being even more common going forward. In so many ways, effective communication will enable me to successfully execute the mandate of my new position. Given the multicultural nature of our institution, there exists a significant need for me to explore ways of overcoming cultural barriers to communication. In seeking to overcome the said barriers, I will amongst other things ensure that I understand the receiver's perspective. This will help minimize instances of wrong interpretation. I will also ensure that the message is delivered in a format that can be understood by the…

545). By allowing students to speak in the classroom, rather than lecturing students about how intercultural interactions should take place, students from other cultures can bring their own cultural understandings and conceptions to the forefront, rather than passively receive teaching from a professor, or accept a university party line that their university is diverse. "The discourse of multiculturalism is not the voice of ethnic and racial minorities speaking for themselves. It is, rather, the voice of white middle-class education professionals speaking about 'problem' groups," one academic alleges, but through more open-ended discussion and generating student feedback that allows them to infuse their personal cultural and intercultural experiences into the classroom, a more positive conception of intercultural communication can occur (Olneck, 1990, p. 163).
A university setting can be uniquely beneficial to establishing intercultural dialogue simply because it is designed to have structured listening experiences that are then reinforced by outside social…

Furthermore it has become critically necessary to be equipped technologically in handling today's increased IT demands for business communication.
ibliography

Video Conferencing (2006) GlobalMedia. Online available at: www.globalmedia.com.

Hart, Amy (2001) Global Communication Warming - The CEO Refresher. Online available at http://www.refresher.com/!warming.html.

Martin, Jeannet S. And Chaney, Lillian H. (2006) Global usiness Etiquette: A Guide to International Communication and Customs. Online available at http://doi.contentdirections.com/mr/greenwood.jsp?doi=10.1336/0275988155.

Global usiness Support: Creating the Infrastructure for International usiness Communication (2006) Nova's Communication-ased usiness Activities. Online available at http://www.nova.ne.jp/english/corporation/02jigyo/jigyou_business.html.

Jarvenpaa, Sirkka L. And Leidner, Dorothy E. (1998) Communication and Trust in Global Virtual Teams - JCMC 3 (4) June 1998. Online available at http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol3/issue4/jarvenpaa.html

Global Alliance Joins the Organization of the World Congress on Communication for Development (2006) Global Alliance 5 July 2006 Online available at http://www.globalpr.org/news/industry_news_direct.asp?v1=86

usiness Communications Applications on Any Network (2005) Avaya White Paper May 2005.

Avaya White Paper, "New Era of Intelligent Communications: Driving Agility through usiness Communications Applications, http://www.avaya.com/gcm/master-usa/en-us/resource/assets/whitepapers/ef-lb2713.pdf

How…

When instituting organizational change, emphasizing the need for that change is vital to increase the chance of acceptance of the new alterations in approach. It must be communicated that an organization cannot succeed in a global environment if it is not diverse. Multinational departments and a diversity of employees, with a wide range of skills and knowledge spheres make the organization more flexible and responsive. If employees are aware of this fact, they will be more accepting. Transmitting examples of intercultural success stories is particularly essential as an organization adjusts to its multinational status.

Conclusions: Improvements in the current environment

Diverse organizations are stronger, after the initial adjustment period, and also are able to more effectively communicate to a wide range of consumers, internationally. And common language of virtual communication may eventually be established, reducing the chances of offense in coming eras. The new global era of business has also erased many…

Interviewing HR Manager
When interviewing the HR manager Ahmed Al-Salim, who works at a well-known bank in Kuwait, I addressed three specific questions to him regarding communication breakdowns. Because communication is really key to a strong HR department, I wanted to see how well he responded to breakdowns in communication among the topic areas of internal politics, decisions making and leadership. Specifically, I asked: How do communication breakdowns in these areas influence the manager's ability to function effectively in the job.

Regarding breakdowns in communication pertaining to internal politics, he responded: Internal politics is inevitable at any workplace, regardless of the culture. People will try to jockey for position, will try to curry favor, will be upset about some policy, or will want a co-worker or boss to be either rewarded or censored for various reasons. When two individuals cannot find a common ground or fail to see the other's point-of-view, this…

Titans
Racial differences and prejudice: the role of intercultural communication competence in strengthening group cohesion in "Remember the Titans"

Popular media such as films are most effective ways to convey specific messages to the audience that are socially-relevant to them. Through audio-visual media, people are able to put into the right perspective or context issues that would otherwise have been discussed without clarity and understanding. ecause of the effectiveness of audio-visual media as communicator of socially-relevant messages, movies and films are often used to illustrate an individual or group's point-of-view or opinion about an important and controversial social issue.

The movie "Remember the Titans" exemplifies the preceding discussion: it is a film that discusses how racial prejudice and discrimination was a prevalent attitude and behavior during the 1970s in American society. Set in the state of Virginia, the "Titans" chronicles the true life of the football team of T.C. Williams High School…

High and Low Context Communication
In low and high context cultures, the style of communication is regulated by the proximity of bonding between societal members, powerful behavioral norms, and degree of social hierarchy structuring. In high context communication, the information is typically embedded with internal meaning; hence, everything is not articulated in speech or writing clearly. The recipient of information is supposed to look for implied meaning in the message communicated, and grasp the unsaid part of the message, using their background knowledge. Hall (1976, 91), emphasizes such percept stating that high-context messages/communication are characterized by a majority of information being internalized in whichever individual receives the message or being present in the physical form of the communication -- the coded, transmitted, or clearly-stated message components contain very little information.

esearch objective

This paper's aim is critically analyzing low/high context communication taking place between an individual whose native tongue is not English (i.e.,…

Ethnography of Communication in High School Film
The EOC (ethnography of communication) is the analysis of communication within a culture, and practices of speech of a number of community. The EOC refers to the discourse analysis in linguistic drawing the anthropological field investigating the use of speech, their meaning or interpretation as being found in human groups or particular communities. The normative and cultural are two important concepts in the ethnographic communication analysis, which are used to analyze language, cultural norms, and situation context that influence communication among people.

The objective of this paper is to demonstrate the concept ethnographic of communication using the film titled "High School" directed by Frederick Wiseman.

Part 1 of Project

The study uses the film titled "High School" to illustrate the concept ethnographic communication. High School is an American film directed by Frederick Wiseman in 1968. High School is an ethnographic film depicting Northeast High School student's…

Jonathan needs to focus on are communication and collaboration. As the fourth respondent points out, Jonathan has two main objectives: to fulfill his obligation to safety and also to understand the role of the executives. His position at a large bank as lead coordinator for the Global Wealth Management Business Continuity program places him in a unique position within which principles of cooperation and communication can be exhibited.
In situations like these, "compromise is not enough," (p. 4). A compromise is not a win-win situation but rather, a situation in which neither party comes out satisfied. Compromise is not successful in the long run and does not take into account the cultural differences that color communications in the organization. In the case of Jonathan's role, culture refers not as much to ethnicity as it does to role and organizational culture. As the fourth respondent puts it, Jonathan needs to get…

Bridging the Gap
(Between Communication Styles)

In Management in Two Cultures, author Eva S. Kras discusses many differences between Mexican and U.S. cultures and their effects on business dealings. She describes differences in cultural values, customs, and attitudes that lead to misunderstandings when the two countries meet in the workplace. Perhaps most significant are communication styles, which are learned by socialization in childhood and so habitual to both cultures that they almost go unnoticed. The work of Deborah Tannen (1995) on feminine and masculine communication styles is helpful as a way to look at differences in the communication styles of Mexicans and Americans.

Tannen argues that American girls and boys are socialized so differently, they almost grow up in two different cultures. Socialization begins at birth. For example, when we hold baby girls, we position them so that they can see directly into our faces as we talk to them. Boys, on the…

Business Communication
The success of any business enterprise depends on a multitude of crucial factors, one of them being the ability of its administrators to communicate in a clear and effective manner. The quality of business communications therefore, having a direct impact on the economic act, is hereby studied at four specific levels, as follows:

Interpersonal business communication

Negotiation

Conflict management, and last

Inter-cultural business communication

Interpersonal business communication

Melinda Knight starts her 2005 article at the premise that efficient business communications at the managerial level are quintessential for the overall success of the enterprise. Yet, despite this generally accepted notion, the managers have little actual training of interpersonal communications during their formation in universities or other non- U.S. MBA programs. While some programs have some unaligned courses of interpersonal communications in the business settings, other programs do not include the subject in their curricula at all. Knight asserts the importance of managerial communications, but argues that…

For this reason, the Americans and Cubans probably did have to use some of the techniques proposed by Shannon and Weaver to simplify communication in order to communicate at all. Despite the fact that communication between these two groups may have been difficult, and that coming together in order to form one design project produced by such culturally diverse designers may have resulted in the portrayal of mixed messages, some theorists contend that this does not matter. Indeed, it is only the "reader's" impression upon interpreting the text that matters. In the case of O'Bryan's designers, the reader is the Toni O'Bryan, and the other founders of the project. Thus, because of this concept -- called "The Death of the Author" -- the mixed messages that the Cubans and Americans may have revealed would be overshadowed by the reader's interpretation. Thus, Bennett and Robert propose a variety of theories…