UNIT 3: Local and Global Communication in Multicultural Settings

At the end of this unit, you are able to:

1. apply culturally appropriate terms, expressions, and images;
2. apply concepts in cultural and intercultural awareness and sensitivity in
communicating ideas.

ENGAGE YOURSELF!

Living in a globalized world, we encounter people with diverse cultural backgrounds.

Such interactions occur in social, educational, political, and commercial settings.
Intercultural competence is essential for us to live harmoniously despite our differences in
culture.

Let us find out your effectiveness in communicating or dealing with other people who
belong to different cultures through this simple self-assessment. This is a non-graded task.

Write T (True) if the item is true about you and write NT (Not True) if the item is not a
reflection of yourself. This activity was lifted from the Purposive Communication book by
Wakat et al (2018).
1. ______ I am interested in interacting with both people who are like me and different
from me.
2. ______ I am sensitive to the concerns of all minority and majority groups in our
multicultural country.
3. ______ I can sense when persons from other cultures seem not to understand me or
get confused by my actions.
4. ______ I have no fear communicating with persons from both minor and major cultural
groups.
5. ______ People from other cultures may get angry with my cultural affiliates.
6. ______ I deal with conflicts with people from other cultures depending on the situation
and their cultural background.
7. ______ My culture is not inferior to other cultures.
8. ______ I can manage my behavior when dealing with people of different cultures.
9. ______ I show respect to the diverse communication practices of other people.

How many true answers did you write? The more True answers that you give, the more
effective you are in your intercultural competence.

EXPLORE (DIVE IN!):

In everyday life, local or abroad, we get to deal with people from different
ethnic, cultural, racial, or national backgrounds. What happens when different peoples
meet?
*peoples = not the plural of people but al term to mean groups of people with different
ethnic or national backgrounds
Culture
-- a way of living
-- all knowledge and values shared by a group
-- a system of behaviour that helps us act in an accepted or familiar way
-- (Hofstede, 1991): the “software of the mind” –- mental programs that make us
inclined to patterns

* Hence, if we say we are of the same culture, we share the same norms, that which are
considered normal. However, what we consider normal in our group, whether ethnic or
national, can be strange to other cultures.

Cultural Diversity
- the existence of a variety of cultural or ethnic groups in a society (Oxford Languages)
- differences in a community such as race, ethnicity, age, ability, language, nationality,
socioeconomic status, gender, religion, or sexual orientation.

Why do people from different cultures sometimes have misunderstandings or conflicts?

They can interpret the same thing differently. Some behaviors that are polite in
one culture can seem rude in another culture. Clothing that is very nice in one cultural
context can be entirely inappropriate in another. People from any two cultures should
be able to make the same observations about someone’s behavior or clothing, but their
interpretations of them could be very different. This is because they attach different
cultural meanings to what they observe.
Cultural meaning is symbolic. We do not see events and objects just for what they
are; we attach symbolic meaning to it. For example, instead of simply seeing clothing of
a particular color and style, we can interpret it to indicate that a person is a policeman
or a baker. These professionals’ uniforms have symbolic meaning to all who know how to
interpret them. Gestures and actions take on symbolic meaning when interpreted
through a cultural lens. Greetings, for example, vary widely from culture to culture. How
should you greet a particular person? Do you shake hands? Wave? Give a kiss on the
cheek? Is a hug appropriate? Do you bow? The rules vary widely around the world.
(excerpt from World learning, Intercultural Encounters)

Anecdotes on Cultural Diversity

A. Between a British ( British usually like to engage in small talk even with strangers)
and a Norwegian (Norwegians mostly prefer to keep quiet or by themselves
amongst strangers)
In a cafe in Oslo…
British visitor: “So you have lived all your life here in Oslo?”
Norwegian: “Not yet”.

B. Between British (culture: greets co-workers) and a French (culture: analytical/too

critical about things, strong tendency as faultfinder)
 In the workplace, the British arrives…
British: “Good morning, Jean.”
Pierre (French): “Iz it?” (Is it?)

C. Trevoh (African-Swiss) goes to fetch his 10-year old half-brother, Isaac (full-
blooded African).
Inside the car, while Isaac is putting on his seatbelt:
Isaac: “ Ah kids, Noah.. I can’t do this. Kids…”
Noah: “Why? What’s the matter?”
Isaac: “ My friend saw you and I told him you are my brother. Then he
asked me how come you are my brother. You are white. “
Noah: “Oh, so what did you tell him?”
Isaac: “I have to explain the way kids understand. So I said, ‘People are
like chocolates. Like you can have white chocolate; there is dark
chocolate; or you can have milk chocolate. But it is all Nestle”.

N.B. *A & B anecdotes are from Pellegrino Riccardi’s TED Talk

([Link] ) on Cross-cultural
Communications).
*Anecdote C is from Trevor Noah who is an African-Swiss comedian and anchor
based in the US ([Link]

Intercultural Competence
Intercultural Knowledge and Competence is "a set of cognitive, affective, and
behavioral skills and characteristics that support effective and appropriate interaction
in a variety of cultural contexts.” (Bennett, J. M. (2008).
Interculturally competent people will adjust their behavior according to the context
they find themselves in.

These cultural diversities are neutral elements, neither positive nor negative. It
becomes a source of conflict or misunderstanding largely because of people’s
unacceptance of what is different or not normal to their sets of systems they have been
exposed to or lived in for years. It takes intercultural competence in which an open mind
is a major factor to understand, adapt, and adjust well in this world with differences.

EXPLAIN (GET THE HANG OF IT!)

Knowing has a big contribution in understanding that leads to better adjustment

or adaptation. Let us expound some of these cultural diversities in our society, be it
local or international.

Cultural Dimensions
1. According to the degree to which individuals perceive themselves as
members of a group
A- Individualistic culture: An action is done for the self. Those who belong in
this culture will be willing to sacrifice personal relationships if that is
necessary for personal gain. Because of this, relationships outside of their
nuclear family are less important. Written contracts in these societies are
very important documents for defining relationships between many
people.

B- Collectivist culture: An action is done for the community or society.

In a collectivist society, your strongest identity is with the group you belong to.
Your individual identity is less important. This group may be your family, your
work place, or your national identity. If the group’s needs conflict with your
individual needs, you will be expected to sacrifice (give up) your individual
needs for the group. In collectivist societies, long-term relationships built on trust
are very important.

2. According to Context:
C. low-context culture: uses direct speech or manner
D. high-context culture: uses indirect, subtle speech or manner

3. According to Chronemics, sense of time

E. monochromic culture : strict with time
F. polychromic culture: flexible with time

4. According to Uncertainty avoidance:

G. low-uncertainty avoidance culture: open to spontaneous decisions and
gives leeway
H. high-uncertainty avoidance culture: very organized so errors are not
acceptable; has many rules

5. According to Power distance

I. low-power distance culture: Everybody is on equal footing.
J. high-power distance culture: There is hierarchy or ranking in power or
status.

6. According to Gender:
K. masculine culture: Men are dominant or superior in the society over their
females.
L. feminine culture: Women and men have different roles but are both valued
equally.

7. According to performance/outcome
M. Short-term orientation culture: believes in immediate, fast outcomes or
performance
 N. long-term orientation culture: Outcomes or performance may take time.
* Items 1,4,5,6,7 are findings of Hofstede (1991)

Diversity is a natural occurrence in our society. However, it is not usually understood

nor accepted; thus, it creates unintentional offense, misunderstandings, or conflicts. One
way to understand diversity is through intercultural communication. Intercultural
communication is the sharing of ideas between/ among people from different
backgrounds or cultures (Allwoo, 2004; Croucher, 2015; Jandt, 1998)

Improving Intercultural Communication Competence

The following guidelines may help enhance our ability to communicate effectively across
cultures:

*By Trompenaars & Woolliams, 2004: The 4Rs of Applying Transcultural Competence

1. Recognition: The first step is recognizing what the cultural dilemma may be primary in
a situation.
2. Respect: The second step is respecting that there is a dilemma and that both sides of
the dilemma have cultural legitimacy.
3. Reconciliation: The third is reconciling the dilemma through coming to some sort of
agreement that honors all sides. It is looking at a win-win scenario and not a win-lose one.
4. Realization: Finally, the fourth is bringing into realization the needed change to sustain
a reconciled solution.

*By Gamble & Gamble, 2008).

1. Recognize the validity and differences of communication styles among people.
2. Learn to eliminate personal biases and prejudices.
3. Strive to acquire communication skills necessary in a multicultural world.

* By Pellegrino Riccardi, TED talk speaker suggests:

([Link]

1. Make the effort to learn about the new culture.

- - At first Mr. Riccardi got annoyed with Pierre, his French co-worker who likes to
complain a lot and too critical about things. But upon learning that French
people like to complain to improve state of things, he sees Pierre in a more
positive light.

-- He also learned that Norwegian language likes brevity.

British Norwegian
● Excuse me, may I just interrupt for for a second? Du?
● Sorry for bumping into you like that…terribly clumsy of me. Oi!
● Sorry, I didn’t quite catch what you just said. Haa!
 2. Focus on the positive or the best traits of the culture different from your own.
*By Foster (1992) recommends the following:
-- Focus on “the value of a global mind-set over a global miscellany.”
-- He suggests that the “more you understand about the history, art, music, literature,
politics, economics, religion, psychology, sociology, anthropology, and mythology of a
people, the more likely you will be to succeed in communicating with them.”
-- “It is best to begin by understanding the one culture we can truly master, our own, and
becoming aware of the ways it affects the process of working with others…” (Foster,
1992).
-- “… our first priority needs to be the development of a larger, deeper, and more
empathic approach to doing business with other cultures.” He used an analogy “no one
can know everything about someone else’s culture, just as you cannot gather every fish
in the sea;” rather, it “is more like a journey”.

“Human beings draw close to one another by their common nature, but habits and
customs keep them apart.” (Confucius)

Amidst these differences, the blatant fact is that we have more commonalities than
differences. We can start in acquiring intercultural competence by focusing on these
commonalities.
“A good head and good heart are always a formidable combination” (Nelson
Mandela)

ELABORATE (ON MY OWN NOW)

You have learned how cultural and global issues affect communication and you now
have a good idea of the cultural diversity you may encounter in your workplace, here in the
Philippines and much more abroad.

Your task now is to identify a place (local- any place in the Philippines or international-
any country) where graduates of your program are mostly employed. As a newly hired
employee, you need to know about the cultural modes of the place. Research cultural
communication modes (of your chosen place) to be included in your video presentation.