Culture • Values and perspectives shared by people who are “conditioned by similar education and life experience” • • • • Regional: Religion: Corporate: Other groups: country, area, community sects, variations, etc... industry, company, department schools, clubs, etc... Values/perceptions that differ within/across cultures • Individualism and collectivism • High context and low context • Perception of space • Perception of time • Importance of hierarchies • Nature of change • Perception of gender roles • Criteria/definitions of success • Nature of authority • Nature of humor Communication practices (norms) that differ within/across cultures • • • • Role of written communication Role of meetings Patterns of reasoning and argumentation Level of formality in inter-personal communications • Oral presentation style • Non-verbal communication behaviors Characteristics of culture • Culture is not inherent, but learned • Cultures are rooted in deep seated beliefs • Culture is the basis for self-identity and community • Cultures are dynamic Tips for approaching cross cultural communications • Avoid ethnocentrism • Look beyond stereotypes • Seek common ground • Observe non-verbal cues • Study your own and other cultures Hall: Comparing low to high context cultures Low Context High Context • Tends to prefer direct verbal interaction • Tends to prefer indirect verbal interaction • Tends to understand meaning at one level only • Tends to understand meanings embedded at many socio-cultural levels • Is generally less proficient in reading • Is generally more proficient in reading non-verbal cues nonverbal cues Low Context Culture • Values individualism • Values group membership • Relies more on logic • Relies more on context and feeling • Employs linear logic • Employs spiral logic • Says no directly • Talks around point, avoids saying no • Communicates in highly structured messages, provides details, stresses literal meanings, gives authority to written information • Communicates in simple, ambiguous, noncontexted messages; understands visual messages readily German North American German-Swiss Scandinavian French Spanish Greek Chinese English Italian Mexican Arab Japanese High Context Culture