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7/27/2019 Script Inter-cultural Communication
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Intercultural Communication
Script
Terms used in the script:
-analytical frame
-assumptions
-beliefs (personal/shared)
-body language
-context (high/low)
-connotation
-cultural behaviour
-communication pattern
-C culture
-c culture-culture dimensions
-culture general approach (culture specific approach)
-culture iceberg
-culture shock (reverse shock)
-deductive (stereotyping)
-dimensions (of culture)
-direct communication style
-discourse
-diversity
-ethnocentric approach (perception/interpretation)
-etiquette-feminine culture (masculine culture)
-indirect communication style
-individualist culture (collectivist culture)
-inductive (stereotyping)
-.intercultural communication
-interpersonal communication
-generalisation
-linear style
-mindset
-mirroring
-monochronicity
-mono-cultural communication
-non-verbal behaviour
-polychronicity
-patterns of beliefs (learned/ shared)
-power distance
-ritual
-stereotype (positive/negative)
-values
I. Introduction
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Intercultural communication or cross-culture communication started as a subject long before
the subject got its name. Travellers described not only the nature of the distant countries they
visited but also people, political systems, religious beliefs and everyday life
Marco Polo
Vasco da Gama
Afanasij NikitinGerman specialist invited by Peter I of Russia
Are just a couple of those who left not only descriptions of flora and fauna of the countries
they visited but also gave us descriptions of the culture of the population, their looks, habits,
pastime and religious rituals.
http://www.google.de/search?q=vlkertafel&hl=de&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&s
a=X&ei=pTkiUL-BE87JswbAzoHoB
As you can see from the example above, the knowledge of the travellers was collected,
categorised and offered to businessmen in a concise form as their preparation for the first
contacts with an unknown culture
These descriptions always take a perspective of a home country culture of the narrator and
their historic environment. Thus all these descriptions are judgemental and emotional.
This is something though that can hardly be avoided on the level of private observation. Each of
us looks at the world through our personal culture lens.
It is what we now call mental programming.
The biggest part of it is human nature which forms the basis. of our decision making and
everyday behaviour. It is universal and inherited.
Culture programming is group specific and learned. This programming starts with our first days
of life and is environmental and picked up from the group surrounding us by mirroring. Our
language, everyday habits, daily routine, eating habits and notions of good and bad formed in
the first years of life and later applied within our peer groups are the main part of our group
programming and what we can summarise for analysis as c culture.
.Personality programming is specific to each particular individual and inherited as well as
learned. Personal food preferences, likes, dislikes and interests in the fields of everyday life as
well as being left handed, myopic or afraid of heights are in part due to our inherited features
and in part due to the close peer group behaviour.
During the WW II and especially after it the cultural awareness grew considerably with the
development of communication technology, transport means and tourism development as well as
internationalisation of production and distribution of commercial goods. Mass media transported
transatlantic cultural influence to Europe which led not only to the cultural export of American
values but also to growing local cultural awareness.
On the other hand it became obvious that international cooperation is only possible if partners
not only share a language of communication, but also the notions behind the words used and the
hidden meaning of the messages.
The first cultural analyses were based on fragmentary data of ethnographic, historic, linguistic
and psychological research and concentrated on perceived culture manifestations such as
-symbols: words, gestures, pictures, objects of particular meaning
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-heroes: persons alive or dead, real or imaginary who possess chasracteristics that are praised
in a given culture
-rituals: collective activities, technically superfluous to reaching desired ends which are
considered socially essential within culture
-practices: the three above are manifested in practices.
II. Definitions of some terms.
Before we go any further, let us look at the definitions of our main terms.
Culture:
http://varenne.tc.columbia.edu/hv/clt/and/culture_def.html
The variety of the definitions and different terms and elements employed in them it is obviousthat the term itself is not only difficult to describe but impossible to define the boundaries of..
The same is true about the term communication.
http://solocommunication.blogspot.de/2009/10/various-definitions-of-communication.html.
http://www.cicsworld.org/blogs/vkmalhotra/2009/10/theory_of_human_communication_1.html
As you can see from the introduction into the theory of human communication, the term itself is
subdivided into many categories.
Littlejohns statement Communication is difficult to define., is only too true .From the communication theory we know that for effective communication we need:
-a sender
-a receiver
-a message with its variables- a medium available for both a sender and a receiver.
- various channel filters
If one of these malfunctions, our communication will fail.
These are some other factors though which make communication an even more complex process.
According to different sources 60%-90% of communication is non-verbal.
III. Body language
The elements of the non-verbal communication are:-kinesis
-proxemics
-posture
-haptics
-oculesics
-chronemics
-olfactics
-vocalics
-locomotion
-adornment
-silence
-sound symbols
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Kinesis can be further split into body movements, gestures, eye movement and a general facial
expression.
Body language is considered one of the key issues of the interpersonal communication. It is
perceived subconsciously and thus can different interpretations cause irritation without any
apparent cause. Some nations have a reputation for expressive body language other nations are
known to show no emotions and keep a neutral facial expression. Proximics is one of the mostirritating factors in body language, if done wrong.
As a self-experiment:
-Try standing very close to people you are talking to, then try to stand far away from them.
-Talking to someone try to touch them from time to time.
-Talking to someone avoid looking at them when you talk. Look at the spot above their right
shoulder.
-
Thus the communication process becomes even more complex to analyse.
One of the most important contributions into this analysis was made by Desmond Morris. Hereis the link to his documentary:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3323021761394989726
In it D Morris analyses the variety of aspects of our body language and its suitability to the
given situation in a given culture. Body language as a key factor in the communication especially
during the first encounter with your communication counterpart is often underestimated. The
polite and appropriate behaviour of your home country may not be what is expected in the host
The aspects which are crucial for the initial communication, such as greeting, are illustrated in
some detail.IV.Signs, symbols and signals.
Look at the illustration above and the two illustrations below.
Do you understand all of them?
Which are the signs, symbols and which of these are signals?The examples of signs, symbols and signals are nearly always clear but the definitions of the
terms are very close and interdependent.
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We could say that a sign is a pictogram or an artefact belonging to a system of the pictograms
or artefacts which can be recognised in their interrelation.
The generally known example of a sign is a letter of any alphabet.
A symbol is a sign denoting a complex notion, e.g. a cross can function as a sign of Christianbelief.
A signal is a sign of a functional nature directing our actions, as for example in motorway code.
Signals and many symbols tend to be of international nature and have to be understood by
people of different cultures. Thus they are inclusive.
Signs may be exclusive, as for example a letter or , whichare familiar to those who can
read Russian, but are not necessarily known to the non-Russian speakers.
The signals and signs in the international airports, harbours, hotels and railway stations tend to
be inclusive. They have to be understood by people of different cultures.
Signs, signals and symbols could sometimes be one and the same. A sign in one culture can
function as a symbol or a signal in other cultures.
The borderline between the terms is blurred and it is especially obvious in the cultural value of
different colours. The symbolic meaning of colours in Christian paintings used to be the guideline
for reading them in times when the majority of the population was illiterate.
The same colours have different meaning and are associated with different
figures/events/phenomena in other cultures.
Black as a mourning colour became widely known in Europe by the 19
th
century and was to somedegree a result of industrial development when death and mourning which were a part of
everyday life became good business and department stores carried articles associated with
family losses.
Before that white and even purple were a sign of mourning and in some courts and mourning
colour was sometimes announced for each case of death.
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V. Language and its position in cultural analysis.
Language takes a special part in any culture, being not only means of communication, but also an
instrument in creating works of art and vehicle of knowledge accumulation and propagation. This
instrument is flexible, continually changing and reflecting the needs of a given culture.
For a long time psychologists and linguists were of an opinion that language forms our thinking
processes and today again we have a lot of discussions along this line.
Lera Boroditsky shows us the complexity of the information items each utterance of a given
language provides the receiver with and how different this information tends to be depending onthe language used.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703467304575383131592767868.html
All those using more than one language in their daily communication know the phenomenon. Some
notions are easier uttered and formulated in one or the other language and there is a mental list
of untranslatables in each language.
http://betterthanenglish.com/
http://cubimension.net/blog/?p=931
https://www.google.de/search?q=untranslatable+words&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:de:official&client=firefox-a&channel=fflb
. For those who know Russian. This is a small list of Russian untranslatables.
List of Russian Words that are difficult to render in English
/
/
/
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/
/
c/
c
/
/
/
There is a general belief that the untranslatable words reflect the notions typical and
frequently used in the given culture.
Think of untranslatable German words and make a list. Can you put the words into
different categories?
Cultural connotation was often mentioned as a factor influencing communication between native
and non-native speakers of one and the same language. A word which in one language is neutral or
positive translated into another language may become derogative, rude or may contain a sexual
innuendo.
Symbolic value of the words for colours and numbers may be different in different languages,
too.White wedding a positive picture in many European cultures would be seen as a symbol of death
in many other cultures. The cultural value of the words for 13 and 4 is another well-known
example of a different cultural value of the word which in case of Chinese word for 4 is based on
sound similarity.
Cultural images, quotations or half-quotations, allusions form another hurdle in understanding.
Using light blue as a synonym of gay in Russian is, in fact, based on a song from a popular
cartoon.
But language is not only words. Grammar and morphology are also the meaning carriers and some
languages convey more information grammatically than the other do.
Languages are dynamic systems developing in contact with other languages and with culturalenvironment. They either thrive or die depending on the number of active users.
http://www.altalang.com/beyond-words/2008/12/17/endangered-languages-list-10-languages-
facing-extinction/
For the language to survive it does not only need to have enough active users, but should also be
flexible enough to accommodate the social, economic and cultural changes.
Much research has concentrated in the field of language analysis, but one of the most important
aspects of language analysis is language etiquette and taboos. These are the obvious reflection
of the language functions of a given culture. Some of the aspects of language use become
obvious when two speakers use one language, one of them as a native speaker and one as a second
language user.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13545386
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The article points out the basic differences in language etiquette of the two countries. Small
talk is thought not important, empty, time waste in Germany and is seen as tuning in, checking
the day form, creating rapport in Britain. Please, thank you, sorry, pardon often repeated have
other functions in everyday life, too. They may signal turn taking in conversation, being too close
to another person or a request. Thus language etiquette has multiple functions in its culturalenvironment.
VI. Cultural adjustment
When we emerge into a new culture we are confronted with a number of factors which are
different from those in our home culture, sometimes unexpected, sometimes anticipated,
sometimes annoying, but always present. Depending on our aim in culture our reactions would bedifferent depending on our role in the new culture. Tourist reactions would be different from
professional. The phenomenon of culture shock has been described in many ways and offers
itself for interesting works of art from Asterix cartoons to Outsourced film.
http://www.google.de/search?q=culture+shock+curve&hl=de&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&sourc
e=univ&sa=X&ei=fW4zULqRBILWtAb504CIAQ&ved=0CFAQsAQ&biw=1280&bih=844
With the first description of culture iceberg the perception of culture learning changed.
http://www.google.de/search?q=culture+iceberg&hl=de&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=un
iv&sa=X&ei=IyUqUOqrMaX24QTYh4DIBQ&sqi=2&ved=0CFEQsAQ&biw=1280&bih=844
Let us look at one of the curves in more detail:
What was originally perceived as culture adjustment U curve is now called culture adjustment
W-curve. Practically everyone describing the phenomenon has agreed that reverse/re-entry
shock is as strong and definitely more unexpected. Those experiencing it have two critical
phases which decide if one stays in a culture or leaves it.
The curve itself is definitely more complex than a simple W. Minor culture shocks constantly
happen but become less prominent the more one develops compensation strategies.
The symptoms of culture shock may vary from feeling of being out of place, uneasy, insecure to
insomnia, chronic tiredness, loss of appetite or eating to compensate for being unhappy, physical
disorders.
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One of the popular compensation strategies is developing cultural cocoon of compatriots in the
same foreign culture with whom one can be in touch with the home culture and discuss
confrontations with the surrounding culture.
Cocooning may lead to cultural isolation or culture negation.
VII. Edward T Hall
Edward T Hall took up the notion making it not only visibly appealing but also explaining the
components of it. The notion of culture iceberg was known in cultural studies since late 50ies-
early 60ies but it was only seen as an illustration of the point that culture consists of obvious
and hidden elements.
ceberg Analogy
Hall made the whole notion of deep culture more comprehensible by explaining the elements not
relayed or discussed in C culture descriptions
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**http://region10.acui.org/region/10/conference/2011/presentations/Hall%27s%20Iceberg%20
Model%20handout.pdf
Halls interpretation of the notion points out the important components of culture learning. Only
acting within the culture one can perceive the elements that underline the society
As anthropologist, Edward T Hall analysed the key cultural factors from the point of view of the
interaction within the given society.
One of the most important dimensions he formulated is context:
He was the first to talk about high and low context:
FactorHigh-context culture Low-context culture
Overtness of
messages
Many covert and implicitmessages, with use ofmetaphor and reading
between the lines.
Many overt and explicitmessages that aresimple and clear.
Locus of control
and attribution forfailure
Inner locus of control and
personal acceptance forfailure
Outer locus of control
and blame of others forfailure
Use of non-verbal
communication
Much nonverbalcommunication
More focus on verbalcommunication than
body language
Expression of
reaction
Reserved, inward
reactions
Visible, external,
outward reaction
Cohesion andseparation of
groups
Strong diistinction
between ingroup andoutgroup. Strong sense of
family.
Flexible and open
grouping patterns,changing as needed
People bondsStrong people bonds withaffiliation to family andcommunity
Fragile bonds betweenpeople with little senseof loyalty.
Level of
commitment torelationships
High commitment to long-
term relationships.Relationship more
important than task.
Low commitment to
relationship. Task moreimportant than
relationships.
Flexibility of time Time is open and flexible.
Process is more importantthan product
Time is highly
organized.Product is more
important than process
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Time was another dimension Hall formulated the differences in.
Monochronic time or M-time is basically doing one thing at a time, acting on schedules and plans,
what we call time management.
Incidentally there is a tendency for monochromic people to be low-context.
Polychronic people tend to value human interaction over time and things material. It is not as
important to get things done as long as they get done at all. Meeting and interacting withpeople is much more important.
There is a tendency for polychromic people to be high context.
Factor Monochronic action Polychronic action
Actions do one thing at a time do many things at once
FocusConcentrate on the job at
handAre easily distracted
Attention totime
Think about when thingsmust be achieved
Think about what will beachieved
Priority Put the job first Put relationships first
Respect for
property
Seldom borrow or lend
things
Borrow and lend things
often and easily
Timeliness Emphasize promptnessbase promptness
relationship factors
Space is another dimension Edward T Hall discussed. He called it proxemics.
The concern with space is general for all people irregardless of their culture. Personal body
space in a queue, parking space, office space, your space at home,- we need it and feel irritated
and threatened by those who encroach into it.
Different cultures though have different needs in space. Japanese needs less space than
Canadian which causes irritation for both sides when they communicate.
So high territoriality is a need to mark your personal territory and feel possessive about it.
Low territoriality is sharing territory and ownership with ease. People of low territoriality tend
to be high context.
Australian Aboriginal people say that they belong to land rather than land belongs to them
Information and the ways it is treated in cultures is the fourth dimension described by Hall.
Cultures with slow flow of information plan information carefully and structure it. They would
tend to portion information, not to give more than absolutely necessary. They tend to be
monochronous, low context cultures.
Cultures with fast flow of information think that themore quickly the information is spread, the
better it is for all. They tend to be polychromous, high context cultures.
The dimensions defined by Edward T Hall were the beginning of the systematic analysis and
classification of the culture clusters.
One of the next most important contributions came from the psychologist trying to analyse and
classify thousands of the interviews conducted within the same organisation in 40 countries ofthe world.
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VIII.Gert Hofstede
The most important question Hofstede was trying to find the answer to was how can we
understand the cultural differences of those we work with. In the 70ies when Hofstede
introduced the method of data collection by means of interviews and .data analysis it quickly
became a standard in the field.
Originally there were four dimensions identified by Hofstede, later the fifth was added, whichis how we know the model now.. The result analysis is based of the 0 to 100 scale. The higher the
score, the more is the dimension present in the society.
1. Power Distance Index (PDI)
extent to which inequalities of power and wealth are commonly accepted
2. Individuality Index (individuality versus collectivism - IDV)
extent to which individual interests prevail over the interests of a group
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3. Masculinity Index (masculinity versus femininity - MAS)
4. Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI)
extent to which people feel threatened by uncertain or unknown situations
5. Long-Term Orientation versus Short-Term Orientation (LTO)
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The five dimensions formulated by Hofstede have dominated the intercultural studies field for a
long time. There has been some serious criticism though, some points of which are relevant:
- interviews were conducted in an artificial surrounding of one organisation. This may lead to
misinterpretation due to the organisational culture and organisational values.
- many countries were never or only lately included into the corpus and there are not enough
data about them
- dimensions are to Eurocentric, not taking into consideration values relevant to other cultural
regions.
See also:
IX Fons Trompenaars
Trompenaars is a Dutch consultant in the field of cross-cultural communication. He grew up
between two cultures, speaking French and Dutch and later at work with Shell in nine countries.
1. Universalism Versus Particular
(Rules Versus Relationships)ism
Characteristics Strategies
Universalism People place a high importance on
laws, rules, values, and obligations.
They try to deal fairly with people
based on these rules, but rules come
before relationships.
Help people understand howtheir work ties into their
values and beliefs.
Provide clear instructions,processes, and procedures.
Keep promises and beconsistent.
Give people time to makedecisions.
Use an objective process tomake decisions yourself, and
explain your decisions if
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others are involved.
Particularism People believe that each
circumstance, and each relationship,
dictates the rules that they live by.
Their response to a situation maychange, based on what's happening in
the moment, and who's involved.
Give people autonomy to maketheir own decisions.
Respect others' needs whenyou make decisions.
Be flexible in how you makedecisions.
Take time to buildrelationships and get to know
people so that you can better
understand their needs.
Highlight important rules andpolicies that need to befollowed.
Typical universalist cultures include the U.S., Canada, the U.K, the Netherlands, Germany,
Scandinavia, New Zealand, Australia, and Switzerland.
Typical particularistic cultures include Russia, Latin-America, and China.
2. Individualism Versus Communitarianism
(The Individual Versus The Group)
Characteristics Strategies
Individualism People believe in personal freedom
and achievement. They believe that
you make your own decisions, and that
you must take care of yourself.
Praise and reward individualperformance.
Give people autonomy to maketheir own decisions and to use
their initiative.
Link people's needs with thoseof the group or organization.
Allow people to be creativeand to learn from their
mistakes.
Communitarianism People believe that the group is more
important than the individual. The
group provides help and safety, in
exchange for loyalty. The group
always comes before the individual.
Praise and reward groupperformance.
Don't praise individualspublically.
Allow people to involve othersin decision making.
Avoid showing favoritism.
Typical individualist cultures include the U.S., Canada, the U.K, Scandinavia, New Zealand,Australia, and Switzerland.
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Typical communitarian cultures include countries in Latin-America, Africa, and Japan.
3. Specific Versus Diffuse
(How Far People Get Involved)
Characteristics Strategies
Specific People keep work and personal lives
separate. As a result, they believe
that relationships don't have much of
an impact on work objectives, and,
although good relationships are
important, they believe that people
can work together without having a
good relationship.
Be direct and to the point. Focus on people's objectives
before you focus on
strengthening relationships.
Provide clear instructions,processes, and procedures.
Allow people to keep theirwork and home lives separate.
Diffuse People see an overlap between theirwork and personal life. They believe
that good relationships are vital to
meeting business objectives, and that
their relationships with others will be
the same, whether they are at work
or meeting socially. People spend time
outside work hours with colleagues
and clients.
Focus on building a goodrelationship before you focus
on business objectives.
Find out as much as you canabout the people that you
work with and the
organizations that you do
business with.
Be prepared to discussbusiness on social occasions,
and to have personal
discussions at work. Try to avoid turning down
invitations to social functions.
Typical specific cultures include the U.S., the U.K., Switzerland, Germany, Scandinavia, and the
Netherlands.
Typical diffuse cultures include Argentina, Spain, Russia, India, and China.
4. Neutral Versus Emotional
(How People Express Emotions)
Characteristics Strategies
Neutral People make a great effort to control
their emotions. Reason influences
their actions far more than their
feelings. People don't reveal what
they're thinking or how they're
feeling.
Manage your emotionseffectively.
Watch that your bodylanguage doesn't convey
negative emotions.
"Stick to the point" inmeetings and interactions.
Watch people's reactionscarefully, as they may be
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reluctant to show their true
emotions.
Emotional People want to find ways to express
their emotions, even spontaneously, at
work. In these cultures, it's welcomeand accepted to show emotion.
Open up to people to buildtrust and rapport.
Use emotion to communicateyour objectives.
Learn to manage conflicteffectively, before it becomes
personal.
Use positive body language. Have a positive attitude.
Typical neutral cultures include the U.K., Sweden, the Netherlands, Finland, and Germany.
Typical emotional cultures include Poland, Italy, France, Spain, and countries in Latin-America.
5. Achievement Versus Ascription
(How People View Status)
Characteristics Strategies
Achievement People believe that you are what you
do, and they base your worth
accordingly. These cultures value
performance, no matter who you are.
Reward and recognize goodperformance appropriately.
Use titles only when relevant. Be a good role model.
Ascription People believe that you should be
valued for who you are. Power, title,
and position matter in these cultures,
and these roles define behavior.
Use titles, especially whenthese clarify people's status
in an organization.
Show respect to people inauthority, especially when
challenging decisions.
Don't "show up" people inauthority.
Don't let your authorityprevent you from performing
well in your role.
Typical achievement cultures include the U.S., Canada, Australia, and Scandinavia.
Typical ascription cultures include France, Italy, Japan, and Saudi Arabia.
6. Sequential Time Versus Synchronous Time
(How People Manage Time)
Characteristics Strategies
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Sequential Time People like events to happen in order.
They place a high value on punctuality,
planning (and sticking to your plans),
and staying on schedule. In this
culture, "time is money," and people
don't appreciate it when theirschedule is thrown off.
Focus on one activity orproject at a time.
Be punctual. Keep to deadlines.
Set clear deadlines.
Synchronous Time People see the past, present, and
future as interwoven periods. They
often work on several projects at
once, and view plans and commitments
as flexible.
Be flexible in how youapproach work.
Allow people to be flexible ontasks and projects, where
possible.
Highlight the importance ofpunctuality and deadlines if
these are key to meeting
objectives.
Typical sequential-time cultures include China, Russia, and Mexico.
Typical synchronous-time cultures include Japan, Canada, Norway, the U.K., and the U.S.
7. Internal Direction Versus Outer Direction
(How People Relate to Their Environment)
Characteristics Strategies
Internal Direction
(This also known as
having an internal
locus of control.)
People believe that they can control
nature or their environment to
achieve goals. This includes how they
work with teams and within
organizations.
Allow people to develop theirskills and take control of their
learning.
Set clear objectives thatpeople agree with.
Be open about conflict anddisagreement, and allow people
to engage in constructive
conflict.
Outer Direction
(This also known as
having an external
locus of control.)
People believe that nature, or their
environment, controls them; they
must work with their environment to
achieve goals. At work or in
relationships, they focus their actions
on others, and they avoid conflict
where possible. People often need
reassurance that they're doing a good
job.
Provide people with the rightresources to do their jobs
effectively.
Give people direction andregular feedback, so that they
know how their actions are
affecting their environment.
Reassure people that they'redoing a good job.
Manage conflict quickly andquietly.
Do whatever you can to boostpeople's confidence.
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Balance negative and positivefeedback.
Encourage people to takeresponsibility for their work.
Typical internal-direction cultures include Israel, the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, and the U.K.
There are quite a number of articles comparing Hofstedes and Trompenaarss culture
dimensions and classifications. See:
..
X Other voices in intercultural studies:
Shalom SchwartzHis theory of types of values on which countries can be compared supported by data from 49
nations is structured around three polar dimensions:
- conservatism vs intellectual and Affective autonomy
--hierarchy vs egalitarianism
- mastery vs harmony
see:
William B. Gudykusnst
Developed a theory of anxiety/uncertainty management as an attempt to describe what makes
up effective communication. The centre of the theory is being a stranger in a strange culture:
Xiaodong Dai
Chinese cultural values have been studied very unsufficiently and only in the recent years we
have heard Chinese voices in the intercultural theory development.
Xiaodong Dai in his paper summarise the development of the intercultural thought in China: