Theories of intercultural

communication

Just a quick recap

Culture is COMPLEX because
It consists of different layers, elements,
manifestations
Dominant vs. subculture
Subculture cultural undercurrents in the
general society which dont encroach upon the
main culture, but are important for some
members (Davies 1972)
The whole culture is a composite of varying
and overlapping sub-cultures the culture of an
identifiable group of people coexisting within
some dominant cultural context

Macroculture vs. microculture

 Culture is often studied as

fragmented and diversified (Lane
1984) such approaches focus on
sub-cultures that come together to
form one culture without each of
them the whole picture of culture
would be incomplete
In contemporary society there is no
agreement whether societies possess
a dominant culture or ideology (Lane

How cultures differ?

Cultural universals (language, social groups,
mythologies)
Ethnocentrism tendency to interpret or
evaluate other cultures in terms of one's own.
Generally considered a human universal,
evident in the widespread practice of labeling
outsiders as savages or barbarians simply
because their societies differ from those of the
dominant culture.
The opposite of ethnocentrism is cultural
relativism, the understanding of cultural
phenomena within the context in which they occur.
(
http://www.merriam-webster.com/concise/ethnocentrism?show=0&t=
1377171663
)

How cultures differ?

The growing need for cross-cultural
communication
Travel made easier
Global markets, global business
Mobility of workers, students

Intercultural communication is a field of

study that examines how people from
different cultural backgrounds endeavour
to communicate
The main theories in the field resulted in
analytic classification of the main
dimensions in which cultures can differ

 Theories applied to different

communication settings: mostly business
and management (Trompenaars &
Hampden-Turner), marketing (de Mooji,
Dahl) but also education (Byram)
Often criticised for being based on the
culture concept derived from 19 th century
cultural anthropology and emphasising
culture-as-difference and culture-asessence notions
Recently new focus on cross-cultural
interdependence instead of the traditional
view of comparative differences and
similarities between cultures.

E.T. Hall the founding father

Anthropologist, 1950s-1960s
Context the information that surrounds an event,
bound up with the meaning of that event. The
elements that combine to produce a given meaning
are in different proportion depending on the culture
(Hall, 1990).
A scale from low to high context cultures.
A high context communication is one in which most of
the info. is already in the person, while very little is
in the coded, explicit, transmitted part of the
message.
In a low context communication the mass of the info.
is vested in the explicit code. Twins who have
grown up together can and do communicate more
economically than two lawyers in a courtroom

http://www.genderwork.com/se
rvices/culturalassessment.html

High-context
Factor
culture
Many covert and
implicit messages,
Overtness of
with use of
messages
metaphor and
reading between
the lines.
Inner locus of
Locus of control control and
and attribution for personal
acceptance for
failure
failure
Much non-verbal
communication
Use of non-verbal
communication

Low-context
culture
Many overt and
explicit messages
that are simple
and clear.

Outer locus of
control and blame
of others for
failure
More focus on
verbal
communication
than body
language

Factor
Cohesion and
separation of
groups

People bonds

Level of
commitment to
relationships

Flexibility of time

High-context
culture
Strong distinction
between in-group
and out-group.
Strong sense of
family.
Strong people bonds
with affiliation to
family and
community
High commitment to
long-term
relationships.
Relationship more
important than task.

Low-context
culture
Flexible and open
grouping patterns,
changing as
needed
Fragile bonds
between people
with little sense of
loyalty.
Low commitment
to relationship.
Task more
important than
relationships.
Time is highly
organized.
Product is more

Time is open and

flexible. Process is
more important than
http://changingminds.org/explanations/culture/hall_cu

Space - proxemics
How many distances do human
beings have and how do we
distinguish them? What is it that
differentiates one distance from the
other?
Intimate distance
Personal Distance: 1,5-2,5 feet (4575cm)
Social Distance: 4-7 feet (1,2-2m)
It dictates the way we organize our

Space territoriality
High territoriality
Some people are more territorial than others with greater concern for
ownership. They seek to mark out the areas which are theirs and
perhaps having boundary wars with neighbors. (co-workers may
battle over a piece of paper which overlaps from one person's area to
another. At national level, many wars have been fought over
boundaries.)
Territoriality also extends to anything that is 'mine' and ownership
concerns extend to material things. Security thus becomes a subject
of great concern for people with a high need for ownership.
People high territoriality tend also to be low context.
Low territoriality
People with lower territoriality have less ownership of space and
boundaries are less important to them. They will share territory and
ownership with little thought.
They also have less concern for material ownership and their sense of
'stealing' is less developed (this is more important for highly
territorial people).
People with low territoriality tend also to be high context.

Time
Monochronic time
means doing one thing at a time
careful planning and scheduling
a familiar Western approach that appears in disciplines such
as 'time management'.
Monochronic people tend also to be low context.
Polychronic time
human interaction is valued over time and material things,
a lesser concern for 'getting things done' they do get done,
but more in their own time.
Aboriginal and Native Americans have typical polychronic
cultures, where 'talking stick' meetings can go on for as long
as somebody has something to say.
Western cultures vary while North Americans are strongly
monochronic, the French have a greater polychronic tendency
Polychronic people tend also to be high context.

Monochronic
Factor
action
Do one thing at a
Actions
time
Concentrate on the
Focus
job at hand
Think about when
Attention to time things must be
achieved
Priority
Respect for
property
Timeliness

So

Polychronic
action
Do many things at
once
Are easily
distracted
Think about what
will be achieved

Put relationships
first
Borrow and lend
Seldom borrow or
things often and
lend things
easily
Base promptness
Emphasize
http://changingminds.org/explanations/culture/hall_cu
on relationship
promptness
lture.htm
factors
Put the job first

Trompenaars & Hampden-Turner

Cultural factors
Research based on 30,000
participants
culture is the way in which a group
of people solves problems and
reconciles dilemmas (T & H-T
1997:5)
Continuing/ building on Halls work,
adding other dimensions
Culture as the onion

 Important to look
past the surface to
understand inner
layers

But why do values and norms

sink down into semi-awareness
and unexamined beliefs? Why
are they so different in
different parts of the world?
A problem that is regularly
solved disappears from
consciousness and becomes a
basic assumption, an
underlying premise. It is not
until you are trying to get rid
of the hiccups and hold your
breath for as long as you
possibly can that you think
about your need for oxygen.
These basic assumptions
define the meaning that a
group shares. They are
implicit. (H&T-H, 1997: 7)

The outer layer: explicit products

Explicit culture is the observable reality of the
language, food, buildings, houses, monuments,
agriculture, shrines, markets, fashions and art.
Prejudices mostly start on this symbolic and
observable level.
They are the symbols of a deeper level of culture.

If we see a group of Japanese managers

bowing, we are obviously observing explicit
culture as the sheer act of bending. However, if
we ask the Japanese Why do you bow?, a
question they may not welcome, we penetrate
the next layer of culture.

The middle layer - norms and values

Norms are the mutual sense a group has of what is right
and wrong.
Norms can develop on a formal level as written laws, and on an
informal level as social control.

Values determine the definition of good and bad, and are

therefore closely related to the ideals shared by a group. A
culture is relatively stable when the norms reflect the
values of the group. When this is not the case, there will
most likely be a destabilizing tension. (example?)
Norms show us that this is how I normally should
behave, values give us a feeling of this is how I aspire
or desire to behave.
Some Japanese might say that they bow because they like
to greet people: that is a value. Other might say they dont
know why except that they do it because the others do it
too. Then we are talking about a norm.

The core - assumptions about existence

The best way to test if something is a basic
assumption is when the question provokes
confusion or irritation
Groups of people organise themselves in such a
way that they increase the effectiveness of their
problem-solving processes
From this fundamental relationship with the
(natural) environment man, and after man the
community, takes the core meaning of life.
This deepest meaning has escaped from
conscious questioning and has become selfevident, because it is a result of routine
responses to the environment.
In this sense culture is anything but nature

Dimensions
Universalism vs. particularism
Relationships with Individualism vs.
other people
communitarianism
Neutral vs. emotional
(affective)
Specific vs. diffuse
Achievement vs. ascription
The passage of time Sequential vs. synchronic
Relation to the
Internal vs. external
environment

Universalism vs. particularism

You are riding in a car driven by a close friend. He hits a
pedestrian. You know he was going at least 35 miles per hour in
an area of the city where the maximum allowed speed is 20 miles
per hour. There are no witnesses. His lawyer says that if you
testify under oath that he was only driving 20 miles per hour it
may save him from serious consequences. What right has your
friend to expect you to protect him?

a definite right

some right

no right

You are a newspaper journalist who writes a weekly review of new

restaurants. A close friend of yours has sunk all her savings in a
new restaurant. You have eaten there and you really think the
restaurant is no good. What right does your friend have to expect
you to go easy on her restaurant in your review?

a definite right some right no right

Universalism vs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sX53CzbWGE
particularism

Universalism vs. particularism distinguishes

societies based on the relative importance they
place on rules and laws as opposed to
personal relationships.
Universalistic societies focus more on rules, codes,
values and standard which all take precedence
over the needs and claims of friends and relatives.
Particularist (pluralistic) societies focus more on
human friendships and personal relationships than
on formal rules and laws, believe that deals are
made based on friendships and that contracts, for
example, can be adapted to satisfy a specific
situation

Individualism vs.
collectivism
A defect is discovered in one of the
installations. It was caused by negligence
of one of the members of a team.
Responsibility for this mistake can be
carried in various ways.
A The person causing the defect by
negligence is the one responsible.
B Because he or she happens to work in a
team the responsibility should be carried
by the group.

Individualism vs.
collectivism
Individualism vs. collectivism distinguishes societies
based on the relative weight given to individual vs.
group interest.
In individualist societies members place the
individual before the group; there is a frequent use of
the term I, people ideally achieve alone and
assume personal responsibility; members are
expected to take care of themselves first.
In collectivist societies members place the group
before the individual; there is a frequent use of the
term we, decisions are referred back to the
representatives (seniors); people ideally achieve
objectives in groups and assume joint responsibility;
members expected to act in ways that serve the best
interests of the society (and by doing so their
individual needs will also be served)

Hofstedes model
Dutch, mechanical engineer, fields of
anthropology, social psychology
Culture a set of likely reactions of
citizens who share a common culture
(Hofstede 2001: 112), the collective
programming of the mind which
distinguishes the members of one human
group from another (Hofstede 1984: 21)
rooted in value systems of major group
and stabilized over long periods of
history (p. 13)

Culture the software of the mind that

guides us in our daily interaction.
This does not mean, of course, that people
are programmed the way computers are. A
persons behavior is only partially
predetermined by her or his mental
programs; (s)he has a basic ability to deviate
from them, and to react in ways which are
new, creative, destructive, unexpected
culture is always a collective phenomenon,
because it is at least partly shared with
people who live or lived within the same
social environment, which is where it was
learned.

 A study done for the IBM in the 1980s, in 72

countries
Based on his view of culture an onion

Five dimensions along which cultures are

analyzed and rated on a scale

Dimensions

Power distance
Collectivism vs. Individualism
Femininity vs. Masculinity
Uncertainty Avoidance
(In 1991) Long term vs. Short term
orientation
(In 2010) Indulgence vs. Restraint

Power distance
Power distance is the extent to which the less powerful
members of organizations and institutions (like the
family) accept and expect that power is distributed
unequally.
Reflects how the decision of the power holders should be
viewed (challenged/accepted)
High-power distance countries (Latin America, most Asian
and African countries, France, Spain) subordinates
afraid of bosses, bosses paternalistic and autocratic
Low-power distance countries (USA, UK, most of EU)
subordinates more likely to challenge bosses, bosses
tend to use a consultative management style
"all societies are unequal, but some are more unequal
than others"

Collectivism vs.
Individualism
The degree to which individuals are integrated
into groups; allegiance to self or the group
On the individualist side: societies in which the
ties between individuals are loose: everyone
is expected to look after her/himself and their
immediate family. [Solidarity all contribute
to a common goal, but little mutual pressure].
On the collectivist side: societies in which
people from birth onwards are integrated into
strong, cohesive in-groups, often extended
families which continue protecting them in
exchange for unquestioning loyalty

Femininity vs. Masculinity

Refers to the distribution of emotional roles between
the genders; values of assertiveness, achievement,
acquisition of wealth OR caring , social support,
quality of life.
Feminine values (Sweden, France, Israel, Indonesia) cooperation, social security, equality
Masculine values (USA, UK, Japan, Italy, Mexico)
recognition, social climbing, accomplishments
The women in feminine countries have the same
modest, caring values as the men; in the masculine
countries they are more assertive and more
competitive, but not as much as the men, so that
these countries show a gap between men's values
and women's values.

Uncertainty Avoidance
a society's tolerance for uncertainty and
ambiguity. It indicates to what extent a
culture programs its members to feel
either uncomfortable or comfortable in
unstructured situations (novel, unknown,
surprising, different from usual).
High UA index countries (South Korea, Japan,
Latin America) low tolerance for
ambiguity
Low UA index countries (USA, UK, Singapore,
the Netherlands) open to innovations,
risk, different views encouraged

Long term vs. Short term orientation

The promotion of some sets of ethical values
found in Confucianism thrift, perseverance,
a sense of shame, tradition, saving face
Long- term oriented societies (China, Japan,
India) foster pragmatic virtues oriented
towards future rewards, in particular saving,
persistence, and adapting to changing
circumstances.
Short-term oriented societies foster virtues
related to the past and present such as
national pride, respect for tradition,
preservation of "face", and fulfilling social
obligations.

Where do we fit in?

Countr
y
Australi
a
Canada
USA
France
German
y
UK
YU
Serbia

PDI

UAI

I vs. C F vs.
M
90
61

LT vs
ST
31

36

51

39
40
68
35

48
46
86
65

80
91
71
67

52
62
43
66

23
29
39
31

35
76
86

35
88
92

89
27
25

66
21
43

25

Resources
ET Hall (1966). The silent language.
ET Hall (1990). The hidden dimensions.
Trompenaars & Hampden-Turner (1997).
Riding the waves of culture.
Hofstede, G. (1991). Culture and
organizations: software of the mind.
New York: McGraww-Hill
http://www.geerthofstede.com/dimensio
ns-of-national-cultures