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Summary Introducing Intercultural Communication - Intercultural Communication (LET-CIWB152)
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Summary of "Introducing Intercultural Communication" combined with class notes - LET-CIWB152-IBC (InterculturalComm)
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ContentsChapter 1: Challenges of living in a global community ......................................................................... 2
Chapter 4: Perceptions and Categorization ........................................................................................... 7
Chapter 2 Culture and people .............................................................................................................. 12
Chapter 3 Communication and Culture ............................................................................................... 17
Chapter 5 Value Orientations and Behavior ........................................................................................ 22
Chapter 6 Identities and Subgroups ..................................................................................................... 28
Chapter 7 Verbal Communication and Culture.................................................................................... 33
Chapter 8 Nonverbal Communication and Culture ....................................................................... 38
Chapter 9 Immigration and Acculturation ................................................................................... 43
Chapter 10 Intercultural and Intergroup Relations ....................................................................... 49
Chapter 11 Intercultural and International Conflicts .................................................................... 54
Chapter 12 Mass Media and Cultural Change .............................................................................. 59
Chapter 13 Effective Intercultural Communication in a Global Society ......................................... 63
,Chapter 1: Challenges of living in a global community
Global village: a world in which communication technology, such as television, radio and news
services, brings news and information to the most remote parts of the world (Marshall McLuhan)
Globalization: the process of increasing interconnectedness between societies and people at the
economic, political and cultural levels
Contributors to Cultural Diversity
Globalization is defined as the widening, deepening and speeding up of worldwide
interconnectedness in all aspects of contemporary social life (Goonasekera, 2001). Goonasekera
further argues that ‘paradoxically, we find that while technology has given the world the means of
getting closer together into a global village, this very same technology has also given rise to
unprecedented fears of domination by the technologically powerful nations’
While some scholars view increasing interconnectedness brought about by globalization as a threat
to cultural uniqueness, other scholars argue that globalization may accentuate the distinctive
characteristics of local cultures.
Trade routes and the Ottoman Empire are examples that showed that the connection between
cultures and the mass migration of people have a long history; the advent of communication
technologies has just accelerated the process.
Advances in communication technology and transport systems
Communication technology is a key contributor to cultural diversity. The choices of media to connect
with other people anywhere and anytime are multiplying.
Advanced communication technologies affect how people form relationships with others. With each
technological advance – the train, motor vehicle, telephone and the internet (The internet has led to
new ways of socializing that especially seem to attract young people) – social relationships have been
transformed and expanded manyfold.
Information and communication technologies also transform the potential reach and influence of
economic and business transactions from a local to a global level. Global transformation refers to the
worldwide economic and technological changes that influence how people relate to one another
(Cooper, Calloway-Thomas and Simonds, 2007).
Cultural diversity brings many opportunities, particularly in the economic realm, and helps to make
our society the cosmopolitan, dynamic and exciting place it is today. However, one of the biggest
economic and social challenges facing citizens of the global community is how to unlock the barriers
to the acceptance of cultural diversity.
International migration and global business
The most significant contributor to the culturally diverse society today is the ever-increasing flow of
people through international migration. According to the International Migration Report 2015
(United Nations, 2016), large movements of migrants continue worldwide, often from low-land
middle-income countries to high-income countries.
Interestingly, Europe and Asia, while being the largest regions of origin of international migrants, are
also the top destination regions of international migrants
,International migration increases diversity in the composition of populations in destination countries,
and contributes to social and economic development both in the countries of origin and in the
countries of destination.
Of more permanent residential status than international students are those people who migrate to
the host country to make a living. Migrants move to their host countries for a variety of reasons,
including access to a better living environment or business opportunities or to seek refuge or political
protection or to give their children a good education in an English-speaking country.
In response to economic transformations, businesses are continually expanding into world markets
as part of a wider process of globalization. Multinational corporations are increasingly moving their
operations overseas to take advantage of lower labor costs, a trend that has far-reaching
implications.
Having a multicultural workforce allows organizations to make use of scarce resources and thus
increase their competitive advantage. As a result of such economic and cultural shifts, people with
diverse cultural backgrounds are working side by side in many countries, creating a culturally diverse
workplace.
Cross-border movements of workers have vastly increased both the amount and the importance of
intercultural communication in workplaces. Communication problems can be exacerbated when
people interact with those whose communication behaviours are guided by a different set of beliefs
and values. Not just face-to-face communication, but also mediated modes of communication affect
and are affected by cultural differences between communicators.
The internet revolution, particularly since around 1990, means that a very high proportion of work-
related communication takes place via email, instant messaging, Skype, video conferencing, mobile
phone and social media
The pervasive reliance on the internet for work communication, along with the increasingly diverse
ethnic composition of the workforce, makes businesses realize the importance of intercultural
understanding in workplaces where people from different ethnic backgrounds work side by side.
Cultural home: an individual’s sense of belonging to an ethnic, racial or geographic community with
shared traditions and practices. A cultural home provides its members with emotional attachments
to a cultural group as well as a sense of identity and belonging because its members share a common
history and culture, and even similar physical features. Boundaries can be symbolic
Ethnic enclave: an area where relatively large numbers of people from the same ethnic or racial
background live in their host country.
Challenges From Cultural Diversity and Multiculturalism
Central to the debate surrounding the benefits and threats of cultural diversity is the question of
whether the preservation of ethnic cultures creates a threat to the uniqueness and dominance of the
mainstream culture.
At a descriptive level, multiculturalism can be used to characterize a society with diverse cultures. As
an attitude, it can refer to a society’s tolerance towards diversity and acceptance of equal societal
participation.
, Some countries are addressing concerns by trying to control diversity through tighter entry
requirements. Other countries are developing government policies concerning the rights of
immigrants to preserve their home culture within the host country.
The maintenance of nationalism and protecting the mainstream culture have been key challenges
facing host nationals in immigrant-receiving countries.
With the opening up of national borders within the European Union, European nations have been
granting social rights, although no real political rights, to migrants. This change has increased the
perception of competition on the part of the native population.
For many years, North African immigrants were considered temporary residents (guest workers) and
had no share in the social, political and cultural life of the host societies. It was only after the 1974
policies of family reunion that immigrants, their families, traditions and religions became visible in
everyday life.
While acknowledging the benefits that can be obtained from an ethnically and culturally diverse
workforce, studies consistently indicate problems that are often experienced by multi-ethnic
workers, such as conflicts in expectations, lack of communication competence, differences in
preferred communication styles, and attitude problems such as mistrust. Thus, understanding the
cultural tensions created by cultural diversity is a challenge we face in the global community.
Cultural diversity and multiculturalism require us to reconsider our cultural identity. Cantle argues
that while multiculturalism is right to continue to focus on inequalities, it has failed to adapt to
super-diversity and the multifaceted aspects of difference and otherness, including those based on
disability, age and gender.
The key issues about diversity, citizenship, multiculturalism and national identity are directly related
to intercultural communication. The fundamental question yet to be answered, as Cantle points out,
is how we can increase the possibilities for peace, tolerance and social cohesion by building
relationships across many divides in a multicultural society.
Increasing mobility and technology make our ‘village’ more global and diverse. However, this does
not mean that the physical and psychological borders between countries and people are removed.
Brown (2011) observes that ever since the fall of the Berlin Wall there has been a paradoxical
increase in wall-building, in order to separate people. There is also an increase in attempts at
enclosure, as if nations can wrap themselves safely behind walls.
Thus, while communication technology and modern transport systems have facilitated contact
between peoples, they may have also accentuated an awareness of differences between peoples and
psychological borders. Breaking down the cultural and psychological walls is a challenge we face
today, living in a global society.
Necessity and Benefits of Intercultural Communication
Intercultural scholars such as Anthony J. Marsella (2017) use the word ‘fractionation’ to describe the
divisive separation of people, societies and nations. Brexit, Trumpism, Putinism, and scores of similar
populist movements across the world, lead to intense nativist–alien competitions for power.
Widespread fears, anger and rage are endemic in populist movements, and globalization is blamed as
the cause for tensions and problems.
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