1. Culture and communication
Chapter 6
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2. Culture Culture is communication and communication is culture.’
Hall (cited in Adler & Elmhorst, 1999, p. 40)
‘The cultural context includes the beliefs, values, attitudes, meanings, social hierarchies, religion, notions of time, and the roles of participants’
( Samovar & Porter, cited in Verderber et al., , p. 7)
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3. What is culture?
‘Culture refers to the relatively specialised lifestyle of a group of people consisting of their values, beliefs, artefacts, ways of behaving and ways of communicating. A culture also includes all that members of a social group have produced and developed – their language, modes of thinking, art, laws and religion.’
(DeVito et al., 2000, p. 99)
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4. Key concepts about culture
Culture is more than geography and a common language.
Culture is passed down from generation to generation.
Societies may be:
monocultural
bicultural
multicultural.
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5. Key concepts about culture (cont.)
Culture is not accurately contained in generalisations.
Culture affects behaviour and communication.
Culture is learned.
Culture is a set of shared interpretations.
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6. Key concepts about culture (cont.)
Culture involves beliefs, values and norms.
Culture provides ethical guidelines for behaviour.
Culture is more than nationality.
Understanding culture is important for intercultural communication.
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7. Treaty of Waitangi History Maori and English versions differ greatly.
Signed on 6 February 1840 at Waitangi in the Bay of Islands by 43 chiefs, Te Tiriti o Waitangi was then taken around the country and another 500 signatures were gathered from 39 places throughout Aotearoa/New Zealand. The English version was signed by 39 chiefs only, in Waikato and the Manukau.
Maori and English versions differ greatly.
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8. Implications for communication
Maori culture is a strongly collective culture which values whakapapa, tribal connections, iwi and whanau highly.
Maori protocols can be integrated into normal business practice.
For Maori, meaning will often lie in how things are said, rather than in what is said.
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9. Implications for communication (cont.)
Understanding cultural taboos and not violating them assists communication.
Non-verbal communication needs to be interpreted carefully.
Differing cultural norms govern behaviour.
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10. Implications for communication (cont.)
In spoken language, Maori culture relies more on storytelling, myth, religious references and metaphor than does Pakeha culture.
In a wider business context, consultation with local iwi over land management issues is essential, especially when projects could disturb areas of cultural significance.
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11. Implications for communication (cont.)
Creating strong links between business and the community can be achieved through working with Maori groups.
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12. Co-cultures and subcultures
In New Zealand, we identify Maori, Pakeha, Samoan, Tongan, Fijian, Chinese, and Indian as some of our main cultural groupings or co-cultures.
Subcultures
New Zealand life has many different subcultures (or smaller groupings within the broad frame of New Zealand culture).
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13. Culture, biology and the individual
Biology makes us physically different.
Culture derives from our family background, our experiences when growing up and our identification with certain groups in society.
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14. Culture, biology and the individual
Culture creates and defines how we behave, what we think is ‘right’ and our attitudes, beliefs and values.
‘Culture is how we are raised to view and practise life’ (Simons, 1999).
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15. Becoming aware of values and beliefs
Ethnocentrism is the tendency to believe that our culture is the ‘right’ way to do things.
Cultural relativism accepts that each culture has its own ways of behaving, communicating and relating to others.
What is right or appropriate in one culture may be considered wrong or inappropriate in another culture.
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16. How is culture learned? Culture is learned through:
enculturation, or being brought up within a particular culture and way of life, and
acculturation, or learning to adjust to another culture and way of life.
If cultures are similar, the process of adjustment and acculturation is easier
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17. Cultural difference and its application in workplace communication
High-context and low-context cultures
Individual and collective orientation
Leadership and culture
Power distances
Uncertainty reduction
Masculine and feminine cultures
Differing approaches to time
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18. Gender differences in communication
Women use the affinity or liking dimension of communication. Men listen for and take note of control, status and achievement.
Women use more eye contact than men when listening. Men will sit side by side and look away more, but are still listening.
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19. Gender differences in communication (cont.)
Women talk more about relationships: men about factual events. This is often shortened to ‘rapport versus report’ but in fact both styles can build relationships.
Men use good-natured teasing or argument to bring up points. This can discourage some women.
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20. Gender differences in communication (cont.)
Women are more indirect in giving orders: men are more direct.
Men generally communicate more in public or group situations like meetings.
Women use more qualifiers and disclaimers than men, e.g. ‘It might be’ or ‘It seems to me that …’
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21. Gender differences in communication (cont.)
Women read non-verbal communication better than men, e.g. they can tell more easily when people are lying.
Men are more likely to believe that they are superior to their peers both physically and in personality. Women are more likely to believe that their personality is better.
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22. Gender differences in communication (cont.)
Women use more politeness than men.
Women are more likely to seek areas of agreement than men.
Women initiate more touching behaviour than men, even opposite-sex touching.
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23. Intercultural and cross-cultural communication
Intercultural communication operates at the interpersonal, informal level between individuals.
Cross-cultural communication operates at a different level, e.g. between governments or businesses.
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24. Intercultural misunderstandings
These are often based on:
different cultural norms and expectations in
conflict management strategies
status recognition
ways of showing respect
direct and indirectness
politeness, etc.
different beliefs and value systems in
achievement (individual)
co-operation (collective)
not recognising or acknowledging difference.
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25. Barriers to intercultural communication
These can include:
talking to, about or past each other rather than with each other
being condescending or patronising
rejecting help or offers of friendship
taking offence
confronting others
isolating oneself
saying what is expected rather than what is meant, as in being politically correct or insincere.
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26. Key principles for intercultural communication
Be prepared.
See diversity as a strength.
Don’t be afraid.
Be patient and persistent.
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27. Key principles for intercultural communication (cont.)
Recognise cultural difference and accept it but treat people as individuals.
Don’t use geographical labels.
Be aware of differences in meaning in both language and non-verbal communication.
Be aware of cultural rules governing behaviour, customs, and communication.
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28. Key principles for intercultural communication (cont.)
Listen without interrupting.
Take risks.
Be flexible. Learn when to be direct and when to be indirect – vary your communication style.
Realise that neither culture is superior to the other.
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29. Speaking Slow down. Limit information. Pronounce words carefully.
Avoid slang and idioms.
Structure questions carefully.
Recap and rephrase information.
Encourage others to ask questions.
Check on understanding often.
Don’t use double negatives such as ‘You can’t not do that’.
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30. Writing Structure information clearly under headings and subheadings.
Write clear topic sentences in every paragraph.
Choose simple and accurate vocabulary.
Avoid slang and technical jargon.
Make clear transitions and links from sentence to sentence, paragraph to paragraph.
Use pictures and graphs wherever possible.
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31. Principles for cross-cultural communication
Pay particular attention to:
names and forms of address
social customs
dress
attitudes to conflict
gender roles.
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32. Summary
Culture can be summed up informally as ‘the way we do things around here’. Aotearoa New Zealand culture can only be fully understood by reference to Maori culture and the Treaty of Waitangi.
Culture develops over time and it can be very difficult to learn about another culture.
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33. Summary
Culture operates in our lives on many different levels and is not accurately contained in generalisation.
We learn about our own culture by experiencing cultural difference.
Gender acts as a significant subculture and there are many theories about culture and its role in society and business.
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34. Summary
Understanding the principles underpinning cross-cultural and intercultural communication allows us to communicate better in business and life.
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