1. Culture in Business
ELL 실용 비즈니스 영어

2. Warmup
You are working together in a group of 4 members. You notice one group member does not do his work well. He is constantly behind and not working well or doing what he should. You decide to…
a) yell at him. You tell him directly, “What are you doing? You are a terrible worker and are making the rest of us look bad in front of the boss. Try harder or you are off the team.”
b) tolerate him. You and the other hard-working coworkers will work harder to compensate for his lack of ability and you will do his work for him since he is behind. This way you don’t have to confront him even though you have to do more work.

3. Warmup
Wednesday, May 3 is a public holiday. Friday, May 5 is a public holiday. Thursday, May 4 is a work day. One week before May 4 the government decides to make Thursday, May 4 a holiday as well. You…
a) are very happy. Now you can plan a trip and take time off from school. You have 5 days off (Wed to Sun) and can relax and enjoy this new holiday.
b) are angry. Why did the government wait one week before May 4 to make it a holiday? Why could the government not decide this before in January or February when you would have more time to schedule a trip abroad. Why did the government schedule this so late?

4. Case Studies
1. An Australian woman is finishing her day at a Korean company. An hour before the end of the day, the boss says, ‘Tonight we’re having a staff dinner.’ Her Korean coworkers are not upset but the woman is upset. Why?
2. Korean workers do not think their boss has a good idea, however they do not tell the boss that they believe the boss’ idea is a bad one. Why don’t they tell the boss?
3. American employees ask their Korean coworkers about a possible suggestion to improve work. Instead of just saying ‘no’, the Korean coworkers say ‘Let’s think about it and see what happens’. Why aren’t they direct?

5. A Theory on Cultural Communication
A anthropologist, Edward Hall, wrote a book ‘Beyond Culture’ in 1976 which looked at cultural communication. His thesis was the way in which we communicate is influenced by which culture we are from.
There is a difference in communication between ‘High Context Cultures’ and ‘Low Context Cultures’. What are the characteristics of each culture?

6. High and Low Context Cultures
In a low context culture we assume we have a low level of shared context – we don’t have the same reference points, don’t have the same knowledge – therefore we have to be explicit in communicating (clear, concise)
In a high context culture we assume we share a high level of shared context – we have same reference points, same knowledge – therefore we do not have to be explicit in communicating because a lot of the message is understood through body language, gestures, tone, vocabulary, status, etc. implicitly.

7. Logic & Culture In High Context Cultures…
Much information and significance is contained in the physical context (age, relationships, dress, gender, setting, facial expression). Relationships are very important.
Rules are often implicit (understood, rather than directly stated).
Group dynamics and team dynamics are stressed.
Contracts are not all important and may not be very detailed.
Directness & self-disclosure may be offensive (lack of respect, losing face). Emotions are protected.
Flexibility is expected in all situations, change is normal.
Listening and reading effectively require knowledge of the context clues, and it is usually the responsibility of listeners or readers to consider the context carefully, not simply the words written or spoken.

8. Logic & Culture In Low Context Cultures…
Important information is contained in the explicit message (the words used, spoken or written). Words are used for their literal meaning.
Relationships, while still important, have less significance than words, contracts, facts or objective information.
Less formality.
Rules are explicit (stated directly) in work and public life, exceptions are not usually made.
Contracts are binding (not flexible).
Indirectness and flexibility may be a sign of deviousness or untrustworthiness.
Speakers and writers should make an effort to be clear and ensure that listeners and readers can easily follow their meaning. Confusion is often considered to be a result of poor communication by the speaker or writer.

9. Low Context Cultures High Context Cultures
Australian Canadian British Finnish German Irish New Zealand Scandinavia Switzerland United States (excluding the Southern United States)
African Arab Brazilian
Chinese Filipinos French
Canadian (Quebec) French Hawaiian
Indian Italian Japanese
Korean Latin Americans
Russian Southern US Spanish
Thai Turkish Vietnamese

10. High / Low Context Culture

11. Logic & Culture In High Context Cultures…
Much information and significance is contained in the physical context (age, relationships, dress, gender, setting, facial expression). Relationships are very important.
Rules are often implicit (understood, rather than directly stated).
Group dynamics and team dynamics are stressed.
Contracts are not all important and may not be very detailed.
Directness & self-disclosure may be offensive (lack of respect, losing face). Emotions are protected.
Flexibility is expected in all situations, change is normal.
Listening and reading effectively require knowledge of the context clues, and it is usually the responsibility of listeners or readers to consider the context carefully, not simply the words written or spoken.

12. Logic & Culture In Low Context Cultures…
Important information is contained in the explicit message (the words used, spoken or written). Words are used for their literal meaning.
Relationships, while still important, have less significance than words, contracts, facts or objective information.
Less formality.
Rules are explicit (stated directly) in work and public life, exceptions are not usually made.
Contracts are binding (not flexible).
Indirectness and flexibility may be a sign of deviousness or untrustworthiness.
Speakers and writers should make an effort to be clear and ensure that listeners and readers can easily follow their meaning. Confusion is often considered to be a result of poor communication by the speaker or writer.

13. Differences in High/Low Context Cultures
Can you call me by my first name?
What would happen if you called your Korean professors by their first name?
(formality)
Are 회식’s common in the West?
(flexibility vs inflexibility)
Is 눈치 a Korean concept or western concept?
How do you say ‘no’ in Korean?
Where is the verb in English / where is the verb in Korean?
When I ask ‘are there any questions?’ does anyone ask?
(group harmony)

15. Warmup - Revisited
You are working together in a group of 4 members. You notice one group member does not do his work well. He is constantly behind and not working well or doing what he should. You decide to…
a) yell at him. You tell him directly, “What are you doing? You are a terrible worker and are making the rest of us look bad in front of the boss. Try harder or you are off the team.”
b) tolerate him. You and the other hard-working coworkers will work harder to compensate for his lack of ability and you will do his work for him since he is behind. This way you don’t have to confront him even though you have to do more work.

16. Warmup - Revisited
Wednesday, May 3 is a public holiday. Friday, May 5 is a public holiday. Thursday, May 4 is a work day. One week before May 4 the government decides to make Thursday, May 4 a holiday as well. You…
a) are very happy. Now you can plan a trip and take time off from school. You have 5 days off (Wed to Sun) and can relax and enjoy this new holiday.
b) are angry. Why did the government wait one week before May 4 to make it a holiday? Why could the government not decide this before in January or February when you would have more time to schedule a trip abroad. Why did the government schedule this so late?

17. Low Context Culture in Business
the message will be clear and all the information you need will be in that message
a business meeting will have a clear start, body and finish
people will repeat themselves or summarize to make sure everyone is understood
you are allowed to call the boss (teacher/professor) by their first name
you can confront someone directly if they are causing problems
follow rules strictly
have short-term relationships in business
never change the contract – most are written (contracts will be very detailed)
inflexible (don’t like change)
conflict is not personal (you can disagree but still be friends)

18. High Context Culture in Business
people will preserve the group dynamic (sometimes over efficiency)
relationships in your work are very important
people will avoid a loss of face – won’t criticize others, especially the boss
it’s possible to change a contract, contracts are vague, (verbal contracts are okay)
the rules are understood implicitly but maybe not mentioned
things can be changed at the last minute (flexible)
saying ‘no’ may be too direct