Chapter 3 Communicating Across Cultures American manager acted like the Greek was American but he wasn t The power distance views in the countries varied Communication is the exchange of meaning Communication includes any behavior that another person perceives and interprets It includes verbal and non verbal messages It includes consciously sent messages that the sender is totally unaware of having sent EX When boss checks watch during meeting to make sure he will be on time for his next meeting may be interpreted by presenter that he s not interested in the presentation and he s rude Culture creates noise TO decode meaning means figuring out what the message means o EX Japanese use high context language depending on the situation Face to face conversations are the best form of communication Second is a phone call The process of translating meanings into words and behaviors that is into symbols and back again into meaning is based on cultural background The bigger the difference in cultures the bigger the difference in meanings attached to particular words and behavior and the greater the noise o Noise Anything that serves to undermine the communication of the intended meaning Cross cultural communication occurs when a person from one culture sends a message to a person from another culture Cross cultural miscommunication occurs when the person fro the second culture does not receive the sender s intended message There are 3 causes of cross cultural miscommunication 1 Misperception Perception is the process by which an individual selects organizes and evaluates stimuli from the external environment to provide meaning to him or herself a We learn when we re little what it is we should pay attention to b Learn in culture what s important EX In Egypt stoplights are just a suggestion EX In Arab countries they don t like it when people touch each other with their left hands Perception is o o o o o Selective Learned Culturally determined Consistent Inaccurate Finished files are the result of scientific study combined with the experience of years o The way we read is to look at only important words Na ve English speakers ignore the Fs in of Example of misperception Assume black guy is the one threatening the white guy People have automatic thoughts See things that aren t there People in collectivist countries would think the boy in the second picture can t be happy because his friends aren t happy 2 Misinterpretation Interpretation occurs when an individual gives meaning to observations and their relationships It is the process of making sense of perceptions a What does a person mean by what they re saying We group perceived images into familiar categories that help us to simplify our environment Cross cultural Mis categorization Problems occur when we place people and things in the wrong category EX Koreans and Sweeden meeting If Korean s see a woman in the meeting they assume she s a secretary because woman only have jobs like that in Korea Stereotypes A form of categorization that organizes our experience and guides our behavior toward ethnic and national groups Stereotypes never describe individuals Stereotypes describe the norm for members of a particular group Effective stereotypes o Consciously held realize you re stereotyping making assumptions about them o Descriptive Rather than evaluative Should describe how ppl are o o o Modified by experience As you get to know the person modify what they Accurate First best guess think the person is like EX When in Venezuala assume all Hispanics are late But if they are not you modify what you think about that person they break the stereotype Sources of misinterpretation Subconscious cultural blinders Expect ppl are going to act the same EX Serbian professor came for a visit and thought students were rude for interrupting talking in class and raising their hands because in Serbia it s the opposite He assumed it would be the same in America Lack of cultural self awareness Have to be aware of own culture Projected similarity Mirror image effect Assume people feel the same way as us 3 Misevaluation Evaluation involves judging whether someone or something is good or bad We use our own culture as a standard of measurement Since no other culture is like ours we tend to judge all others as inferior o Cultures that don t meet our standards are inferior to us Cultural Variables in the Communication Process Attitudes Language Thought Patterns Deductive see evidence then build a theory and Inductive start with a theory then find evidence Verbal communication styles EX Japanese use silence as a means of communicating Context Information that surrounds a communication and helps convey the message o Context plays a key role in explaining many communication differences Messages often highly coded and implicit in high context societies EX Pre programmed info like greetings in Japan and Arab countries Messages often explicit and speaker says precisely what she means in low context societies EX U S and Canada o Indirect and direct styles o High context cultures messages implicit and indirect voice intonation timing facial expressions play important roles in conveying information Low context cultures people often meet only to accomplish objectives ted to be direct and focused in communications o The importance of context o o o Elaborate to succinct styles Three degrees if communication quantity elaborating exacting succinct Elaborating style uncertainty avoidance most popular in high context cultures with moderate degree of Where you give details when telling a story focuses on precision and use of right amount of words to convey message Exacting style more commonly in low context low uncertainty avoidance cultures Succinct style avoidance where people say few words and allow understatements pauses and silences to convey meaning more common in high context cultures with considerable uncertainty Contextual and Personal styles Contextual style focuses on the speaker and the relationship of parties Personal o Often associated with high power distance collective high context culture style focuses on the speaker and the reduction of barriers between parties o More popular in low power distance individualistic low context cultures Affective and instrumental styles Affective style is characterized by language requiring the listener to note what is said and to observe how the message is presented The impact of culture Nonverbal communication Nonverbal