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M4 Summary chapter 2-14 Intercultural Skills
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This is a summary which gives you a clear vision about chapters 2 till 14 of the book; Intercultural Skills.
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Summary Intercultural skillsChapter 2 Basic mechanisms: SRC, attribution
2.1 SRC, the Self Reference Criterion
When choosing the right action in certain situations, we use a frame of reference. This frame of
reference can be seen as a set of expectations. It is often based on one's own Self Reference Criterion
(SRC): it does not look beyond one's own standards. In intercultural situations this can cause
(unforeseen) problems. To solve this, one must open one's eyes and simply observe.
2.2 Attribution
Attribution is described in this book as interpreting what people do and say. Attribution errors are
often made. This means that we attribute a meaning to actions and statements that does not
correspond to their intended meaning. There is more chance of an attribution error in people who
are very different from each other and it will occur more quickly if one relies too much on one's own
frame of reference. Experience with intercultural communication cannot always prevent these
errors. It is necessary to know how frames of reference differ in other cultures.
2.3 Reversibility and transitivity of attributions
An attribution error is reversible. Person A gets the wrong impression of person B, but vice versa.
Also, attribution errors are transitive. In a conversation between an Arab and a Westerner, the
Western person will often find his conversation partner too intrusive and the Arab will find his
partner too distant. However, during the communication between the Westerner and a Japanese
person, the Westerner will find the Westerner too intrusive and the Japanese too distant.
Chapter 3 Time
Time is a psychological construct in our minds and experiencing it is both a basic cognitive
mechanism of people, but at the same time culture-specific. The time dimension ranges from
microscopic (e.g. minutes) to macroscopic (e.g. years).
3.1 Temporal structure of a conversation
There are three mechanisms that play a role in a conversational structure: tolerance of silence, turn
taking and backchannelling.
3.1.1 Backchannelling
Backchannelling refers to feedback signals given by the listener in a conversation to let him or her
know that he or she is listening and generally understands what is being said. This concept is
universal, but the amount with which and the way in which the listener does this is culture-specific. It
is not consciously learned and seems arbitrary, which can lead to misattributions.
3.1.2 Turn taking
Turn taking mechanisms are mainly unconscious and seldom occur explicitly. Here we look at two
basic options that person B has if he/she wants to take over the turn from person B:
- Person B can interrupt person A in the middle of a sentence or word.
- Person B can wait for a moment of silence with person A
The acceptability of strategy and frequency of exchange differs per culture.
,3.1.3 Tolerance of silence
The speed with which answers are given is also culture-specific. In western countries, a small pause is
tolerated and fillers (such as 'eh') are used if one does not know an answer. When the interlocutor
does not answer directly, a Westerner will speak again, which can be interpreted as an insult.
3.2 Punctuality
In cultures, there can be a time lag (time difference) between the indicated time and the time at
which an event actually begins. This can differ per situation and one must be careful of stereotypes.
These time differences are generally not made explicit. The way in which an event is structured also
differs per culture.
3.3 Temporal structure of a negotiation
A business negotiation can be divided into four sub-components (the duration and importance of
each part varies per culture):
Getting acquainted: the way in which this happens and the time taken varies per culture.
Negotiating and consulting: there are two ways to structure this process:
o Zooming out: from details to a general agreement (west).
o Zooming in: from a general idea to smaller details (Japan/China).
Decide: often the decision takes the form of a written contract (of varying value), sometimes
it is a handshake or verbal promise.
Implement the choice: in the West the implementation is expected to happen quickly, but in
other cultures it can take longer or never be completed.
3.4 Short vs. long term orientation
Terms related to long-term orientation and short-term orientation:
Long-term orientation: frugality, perseverance, a sense of shame have, save and slower
results.
Short-term orientation: face protection, respect for tradition, personal stability, social
pressure, little saving and expect quick results.
A study by the Chinese Values Survey (CVS) shows that many Asian countries score high on long-term
orientation. Anglo-Saxon countries score lower than Western countries and African countries the
lowest.
3.5 Time and tasks: polychrony vs. monochrony
The concepts of monochrony and polychrony come from Edward T. Hall. An important difference is
that in monochronic cultures (Northern Europe and North America) attention is paid to one activity
at a time, whereas in polychronic cultures (France, Italy, Arab countries) attention is divided between
different activities and people's needs.
3.6 Some philosophical aspects of time
3.6.1 The arrow of time
A sense of time comes with culture. The western representation of time has several characteristics: it
has three separate parts (past, present, future), the future is open and the past is closed (future
progress is important), time is linear and continuous and the emphasis is on the future. In many
cultures time is cyclical, as are many phenomena in nature.
, .6.2. Event-linked time (procedural time)
Biguma & Usunier have distinguished three culture-specific concepts of time:
Linear-separable time: monochrony, interpreted in economic terms, focusing on the future
and common in Anglo-Saxon countries.
Traditional procedural time: time is formed by events.
Traditional circular time: polychrony, not an economic dimension of time, focused on the
present and common in Latin countries.
3.6.3 The past and the future
In different cultures, the future stands behind someone and the past in front of someone. The past is
important when making choices, just like the present. The future is relatively unimportant, it does
not yet exist. This is important for the way business is structured and how society works.
Other factors that play a role in understanding how agreements are set up and complied with:
Saving and investing vs. spending and enjoying: a lot is saved in East and South-East Asia, less
in Europe and the United States, hardly any in Central Africa.
Keeping agreements: in the West, agreements are important, the emphasis is on the future.
In other cultures, agreements are not yet a reality in the present.
Moving circularly instead of going straight to the core.
Event-linked time: being patient or not while waiting.
In cultures where face-saving is important, it can be misconceived to be an event-linked
person. proposed time to meet to refuse.
Chapter 4 Space
4.1 Proxemics: interpersonal distance
Interpersonal distance, the distance between two people is culture-specific, but is also determined
by other factors (level of intimacy, age, etc.). Difference in interpersonal distance can lead to
misattributions. Americans or Europeans may appear cold in a conversation with a person from the
Middle East or Latin America, while the Western person may consider their conversation partner as
aggressive or intrusive.
4.2 Haptics: physical contact
In cultures where the interpersonal distance is relatively small, it is also more normal to touch the
interlocutor.
4.3 Office space
The way in which space is structured in an office is culture-specific. Variations can be found in the
amount of privacy and the location of the employees.
Chapter 5 Verbal communication: language
5.1 English as a foreign language
5.1.1 Avoid idioms and check for understanding
Miscommunications often occur due to the lack of a common language, but can be limited by:
repeating information and using other words, summarizing, avoiding long sentences and difficult
syntax, speaking slowly and clearly with as little background noise and formulations as possible,
avoiding proverbs and expressions with culture-specific characteristics.
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