Intercultural communication

Class 1 - Identity
Everyone has many identities
Some identities are things people can see “easily” (like ethnicity or assumed gender), while other
identities are internalized and are not always easy to see (like a disability, socioeconomic status or
education level).

- Age
- Gender
- Race/Ethnicity
- Religion/spirituality
- Socio-Economic status
- Sexual orientation

Class 2
Intercultural Competence

Attitude
1. Critical awareness
2. Openness, the right to di er, respect
3. Flexibility and empathy

Skills
4. Communicative skills
5. Solution oriented skills

Knowledge
6. Knowledge of culture

“I am a critical and conscious citizen who functions exibly in an open and respectful manner in
the multicultural and diverse society in which I live and work.”

Communication
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 Noise in communication

1. Physical noise
Physical noise is interference that is external to both speaker and listener; e.g. other people
talking at once in a small room, construction works or tra c, etc.

2. Physiological noise (physiological noise is created by barriers within the sender or receiver)
Examples: articulation problems, mumbling, talking too fast/slow, forgetting to pause

3. Psychological noise (Psychological noise is mental interference in the speaker or listener)

Thoughts, attitudes and emotions. Examples of psychological noise are wandering thoughts,
preconceived ideas (e.g. stereotypes), and sarcasm.

4. Semantic noise
Semantic noise is interference created when the speaker and listener have di erent
meaning systems. Language barriers and cultural di erences are a good example.

What is culture?
“The collective mental programming that distinguishes the members of one group or category of
human beings from other groups” (Hofstede, 1991)

Every person is in certain respects

1. Like all other people (human responses)
2. Like some other people (group level)
3. Like no other person (personal level, personal identity)

Culture as a shbowl —> You’re so used to your environment, to your culture that you are not
aware of the hidden aspects of your culture. They have become natural to you, just like a sh in a
sh bowl doesn’t know they’re in a sh bowl, they’ve become so used to their environment, that
they’re not able to see the bigger picture from inside the sh bowl.

Culture as an onion - Hofstede

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 For you to get to know the culture fully, you have to be in it long enough for you to be able to peel
the layers and experience all the aspects of a culture, including the hidden ones.

Symbols: Flag, national ower/dish/animal/

emblem…

Heroes: President, beloved singer, historical

gure…

Rituals: Fasting (religion), Sinterklaas, eating,

greetings, etiquette (business, food…)

Values can be that of an individual or a

community Individual values are in uenced by
culture too

Guilt cultures (Europe, US) —-> Individualism

(Security, being adept, recognition, self-
development)
vs.
Shame cultures (Japan, SWANA and Far East)
—-> Collectivism (Pleasing the group,
reputation, honor)

Culture as an iceberg
Observable (known)
Symbols, heroes, rituals, manners, customs, language, history

Not observable (unknown)

Values, norms, behaviour, perceptions

Class 3 - Culture Shock

Culture shock - de nition

“The physical and emotional discomfort one su ers when coming to live in another country or a
place di erent from the place of origin”.
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5 phases of culture shock
1. Euphoric stage (honeymoon)
Everything encountered is new and exciting

2. Disintegration stage
Discontent, anger, sadness, feeling of incompetence

3. Gaining understanding of new culture

Feeling of pleasure and a certain psychological balance

4. Integration stage
More solid feeling of belonging

5. Re-entry shock
Things are not the same. Newly acquired customs are not in use in the old culture.

—-> Adding a preliminary stage at the beginning, where the individual prepares themselves for
their integration (by reading upon the culture and getting acquainted with it) and departure, can
reduce the e ects of the culture shock.

Process of deculturalization and acculturation

Deculturalization —> Estranging from your own country (because of spending time in another
one)
Aculturation —> Acquiring a new culture (its values, rituals, etc.)

Over time, the individual becomes a mix of cultures and cannot simply be categorized in either one
of the cultures.

Class 4 - Categorization of culture

It is equally true to say that every culture has a “communication style norm” that is used by
majority of people in that culture and to say that a cultural norm is not likely to apply to every
individual within the culture.
In other words, cultural norms can apply to most people in a group but do not apply to every
individual in the group.
= generalization
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When a cultural norm is applied to everyone in a group in a rigid manner, we have shifted from
generalizations to stereotypes (Bennett 1998).

A stereotype is an over-generalized belief about a particular group of people. (It is an expectation

that people might have about every person of a particular group.)
—> Be aware of the dangers of categorization leading to stereotypes

1. Lewis Model of Cross-Cultural Communication (Lewis)

Multi-active (usually Latin countries)

- Warm
- Emotional
- Loquacious (talkative)
- Impulsive

Linear-active (usually Western

European countries)
- Cool
- Factual
- Decisive Planner
Reactive (usually East-
Asian countries)
- Courteous
- Accommodating
- Compromiser
- Good Listener
- Linear-active & reactive compliment each other
- Multi-active & Linear-active are two opposites, so interaction is di cult
- Reactive & Multi-active, interaction can be satisfactory, but it is also time-consuming

2. Cultural Dimensions (Hofstede)

The country scores on the dimensions are relative, in that we are all human and simultaneously we
are all unique. Culture can only be used meaningfully by comparison.

The 6 Dimensions

1. Individualism vs. Collectivism

2. Power Distance (equal vs. hierarchical)

3. Femininity vs. Masculinity

"refers to the distribution of values between the genders …" (Hofstede, 2011). A society is called
feminine when there is not a strong di erentiation between the genders for emotional and social
roles—both men and women should be modest and caring and both boys and girls may cry, but
neither should ght. In masculine societies, both men and women are assertive and competitive;
however women are less so than men.
(Feminine —> more gender equal, work-life balance, group feel)

4. Uncertainty Avoidance
To which extent is a culture comfortable with unstructured situations, the unknown
- High score = wanting to be in control —> rigid structures and rules (eg. Japan, Belgium)
- Low score —> not-so-rigid systems (eg. )

The way people look at organisations is mainly determined by the dimensions power distance
and uncertainty avoidance. In each organisation two questions are essential:
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- Who has the power to decide what? (power distance)
- Which rules and procedures need to be followed to obtain the desired goals? (uncertainty
avoidance)

The way people function in an organisation is mainly determined by the dimensions

individualism vs. collectivism and femininity vs. masculinity. Following questions give us insights in
the interaction:
- Are tasks given to teams or individuals? (collectivism vs. individualism)
- Is competition or cooperation stimulated? (masculinity vs. femininity)
5. Short vs. Long-term Orientation
A Short-Term Oriented country tends to live in the moment, valuing quick results (“carpe diem”).
Eg. SWANA region, Spain…

Long-Term Oriented tend to value the acquisition of skills, a good education, hard work and
perseverance. Patience and frugality are cherished values, and the family structure is seen as a
social blueprint for the wider society.
Eg. China, Belgium

6. Restraint vs. Indulgence

The extent to which a society “controls grati cation of needs and regulates by means of strict
social norms” (restraint)
eg. Russia, China, France, Italy (religion plays a part as well)

Relative to a society that “allows relatively free grati cation of basic and natural human desires
related to enjoying life and having fun" (indulgence)
eg. North- and Central-America, Australia… (Individualism can play a part)

Class 6 - The Culture Map

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 - Communicating: Are they low-context (explicit) or high-context (implicit) interactions?
- Evaluating:When giving negative feedback does one give it directly, or prefer being indirect and
discreet?
- Persuading: Are speci c cases and examples (application- rst) or holistic and detailed
explanations (principles- rst) being preferred?
- Leading: Are people in groups egalitarian, or do they prefer hierarchy?
- Deciding: Are decisions made in consensus, or made top-down?
- Trusting: Do people base trust on how well they know each other (relationship-based), or how
well they do work together (task-based)?
- Disagreeing: Are disagreements tackled directly, or do people prefer to avoid confrontations?
- Scheduling: Do people perceive time as absolute linear points (linear-time) or consider it a
exible range ( exible-time)?

Class 9 - The DAE Tool

DAE (Describe, Analyze, Evaluate)

1. D = Describe the photo/event, sticking to objective and observable facts

—> What is going on? General agreement

2. A = Analyze the photo/event/object.

Think of the various interpretations or explanations as to what is happening, or any
assumptions you have about what you described. Try to come up with at least three
interpretations.
—> Why is it happening? Alternative explanations possible

3. E = Evaluate your results. This is where you evaluate your interpretations, decide what value
they have to you or how you feel about the situation now that you have more information.
—> How do I feel about it? How do I think she/he feels? No one else has to agree.

What do you think are the major pitfalls in intercultural encounters regarding these three steps?

- Jumping to steps 2 or 3 without rst doing the step 1 (description);

- Incorrectly applying step 2 by giving a wrong interpretation or analysis;
- Providing the wrong evaluation in terms of what the person intended from their own cultural
perspective.

Taking the time to actually realize and analyse what you see, before judging it from your own point
of view. It’s important to know what is shown, beneath the surface of our own cultural frame of
reference, before adding that top layer to it.

—> “Don’t judge a book by its cover.”

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