Globalisation, culture

and cultural sensitivity

Lecture 4
 Understand globalization
The global village
The global village and
Overview
culture
A framework for cultural
sensitive communications
 Globalisation

 Can be defined as an extensive network of economic, cultural, social and

political interconnections and processes which goes beyond national
boundaries’ (Yeates 2001)
 … it is about increasing inter-connectednessand inter-dependence among
the world‘s regions, nations, governments, business, institutions, communities,
families and individuals… it fosters the advancement of global mentality‘ and
conjures the picture of a borderless world through the useof information
technology to create partnerships to foster greater financial andeconomic
integration‖. (Obadan, 2003)
Globalisation

 It is not a 21st century phenomenon but has occurred at various points over
human history (Sriramesh, 2009).
 Three periods of Globalization (Thomas Friedman, 2014).
- Globalisation 1.0 (1491–1800) involving the globalization of countries
- Globalization 2.0 (1800–2000) involving the globalization of companies
- Globalization 3.0 (2000–present) involving the globalization of individuals
Principal drivers of globalization in the
final decade of the 20th century

1. Elimination of trade barriers among nations of the world,

causing countries to trade within, and among, trading blocs
2. The onset and development of Information and
Communication Technologies (ICTs)
3. The recognition among the overwhelming majority of
countries of the world that the human race needs to come
together and address common problems such as
environmental pollution, terrorism, nuclear proliferation, and
overpopulation resulting in poverty and hunger.
Global village

 Globalisation has led to the emergence of the global village

mainly through the influence of ICT and the media
 Marshall McLuhan popularized the phrase ‘the global
village’ in his 1962 work The Gutenberg Galaxy where he
suggested that the rapid developments in communications
technology, allowing the instantaneous flow of information
around the world, had made possible the existence of a
single, interconnected (but by no means standardized or
harmonious) world
 The world is increasingly becoming a global village because
people’s lives – irrespective of their specific location – are
connected with other parts of the world through the media.
(Marten et al, 2008).
Global village & culture

 The global village has been created by increased interpersonal international

cultural exchanges via migration, tourism and exchange studentship.
 The global village has seen many homogeneous societies being transformed
into multicultural communities in which people from different cultural
backgrounds and ethnicities live together.
 The global village has seen many organisations becoming alive to the fact of
operating in multicultural contexts with multicultural stakeholders.
 The global village has also led to concerns over cultural imperialism
A framework for culturally sensitive
communications

 Because organisations now operate in the multicultural context of the global

village, there is need for them to become culturally sensitive in their strategic
communications.
 Six stages of cultural sensitivity - denial, defense, minimization,
acceptance, adaption, and integration
  Denial is being oblivious to cultural differences.
 One is ignorant to cultural differences and may not
realize cultural differences even exist between the
individual’s own culture and the new culture.
 Common misconceptions in this stage include thinking
the different culture will be extremely similar to one’s
own culture, including the language, conceptions of
time, or social behaviors.
Denial  Usually, people in this stage have not undergone
intercultural experiences before.
 “Since difference has not been encountered, meaning
(categories) has not been created for such
phenomena” (Bennett, 1986).
 This causes individuals to think “one’s own world view is
unchallenged as central to all reality” (Bennett, 1986).
  The defense stage is the ethnocentric view that one’s
culture is better, an “us and them” mentality.
 “[Individuals in a new culture] feel ‘under siege’ by
people that they stereotype in simplistic and negative
ways, protecting themselves with a hardened boundary
between themselves and the ‘others’” (Bennett, 1986).

Defense  Negative stereotypes imposed by the individual

consume the cultural image of the different culture.
These negative assumptions hinder the individual from
experiencing and understanding the true aspects of the
culture (Hammer, Bennett, & Wiseman, 2003).
  Minimization is the act of acknowledging differences in
culture, but underrating the importance of the
differences.
 The individual has adopted an understanding that
“deep down we are all alike, either
physically/physiologically or spiritually/philosophically”
(Bennett, 1986).
 This is the first stage where the individual will begin to
Minimization make cultural adaptions, but the commonalities
assumed are still ethnocentric.
 One sees too much similarity between the two cultures
and thinks one’s personal values are universal, “since
everyone is essentially like us, it is sufficient in cross-
cultural situations to ‘just be yourself’” (Bennett, 1986)
  The acceptance stage requires a perspective shift,
while still retaining one’s personal
values.
 The individual finally understands that the cultural
differences and experiences are
dependent on the cultural context and not universal.
Acceptance
 It is important to note that acceptance does not mean
a permanent alteration of values or agreement but an
acceptance of different cultural views (Hammer et al.,
2003).
  This is the ability to function in a bicultural capacity.
 One is able to look at differences based on one’s own
culture and then see the differences based on
other cultural perceptions.
 “People at Adaptation can engage in empathy—the
ability to take perspective or shift frame of reference vis-
à-vis other cultures” (Hammer et al., 2003).
Adaption  This adaption shift consists of two aspects, cognitive
adaption and behavioral adaption.
 Cognitive adaption is the ability to think with both
cultures in mind
 Behavioral adaption is taking action with the
appropriate cultural norms in consideration
  Reached when one is able to effortlessly shift between
multiple cultures and evaluate norms based on both
culture’s views.
 Entails changing from being ethnocentrism oriented, the
belief that an individual’s culture is superior to other
Integration cultures, to polycentrism oriented.
 Integration occurs when an individual “intentionally
makes a significant, sustained effort to become fully
competent in new cultures” (Bennett, 1986)
Excellence  Diversity is embodied in all roles of the public relations

theory and department.

 This allows for cultural blind-spots to be minimized
cultural especially in corporate communications

sensitivity
 Integrating multicutural
stakeholder expectations in
organisational strategy

Enterprise
strategy This ensures the diversity of
and cultures and stakeholders are
prioritized uniquely
cultural
sensitivity