Download 8TH EDITION Chapter 1 Intercultural Communication: Interaction in

Communication
between cultures
8TH EDITION
Chapter 1
Intercultural Communication:
Interaction in a
Multicultutral World
© Cengage 2012
Chapter 1 Intercultural Communication:
Interaction in a Multicultural World
1
Key Ideas
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The world Stage: Global Interdependence
Communication and Culture Defined
Venturing into a new culture
Ethical Issues
Intercultural Communication Challenges
©2012 Cengage
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Interaction in a Multicultural World
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The Interconnected Global Community
Six areas impacting your life
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International conflict, security
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Competition for natural resources
Competition for jobs
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Environmental challenges
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Health care issues
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Population shifts
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©2012 Cengage
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Interaction in a Multicultural World
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The Interconnected Global Community
• Product of:
– growth in world trade
– improvements in telecommunications
– ease of data storage and transfer
– increased business, leisure travel
• Global mega-corporations continue to expand,
increasing intercultural interaction
• Actions, processes involve entire world;
results worldwide in scope
©2012 Cengage
Chapter 1 Intercultural Communication:
Interaction in a Multicultural World
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Growing Domestic Diversity
• U.S. population undergoing dramatic change
• Minorities now represent 35% of U.S.
population
• Growth of “cultural generation” gap
– Increase in 45-64 age cohort
– Younger generation growth largely product of
Hispanic and Asian births
©2012 Cengage
Chapter 1 Intercultural Communication:
Interaction in a Multicultural World
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U.S. Immigration
• New immigrants now locating in suburbs
• News media dwell on issues of crime and
illegal arrivals taking U.S. jobs
• Immigrants have made significant
contributions to economy and U.S. welfare
©2012 Cengage
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Interaction in a Multicultural World
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Influence of Technology
• Technology has enabled ordinary individuals to
cheaply and quickly organize themselves around
a common interest, ideology, or social cause
• Internet and cell phones allow people to
exchange ideas everywhere
• Technology is providing a means to reaffirm and
extend cultural awareness, identity, and practices
• Technology is bringing about more polarized
society
©2012 Cengage
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Interaction in a Multicultural World
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Definitions
• Intercultural communication involves interaction
between people whose cultural perceptions and
symbol systems differ enough to alter the
communication event
• Dominant culture . A dominant group is
characteristic of all cultures, and this collective
of people possesses those instruments of power
that allow it to set the broad societal agenda the
majority of others will commonly follow
©2012 Cengage
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Interaction in a Multicultural World
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Definitions
• Co-culture groups or social communities
exhibiting perceptions, values, beliefs,
communicative behaviors, and social practices
that are sufficiently different from other groups
and communities and from the dominant culture
• Society comprehensively to organized human
interactions, such as social structure, organizations,
and institutions
©2012 Cengage
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Interaction in a Multicultural World
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Venturing into a new culture
• Culture contributes to feeling of familiarity
– Common language
– Collective values
– Common bonds
• Culture shock is part of process of adapting
to new culture
©2012 Cengage
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Interaction in a Multicultural World
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Phases of culture shock
• Exhilaration Stage, filled with excitement,
hopefulness, and even a feeling of euphoria as
the individual anticipates being exposed to a
different culture
• Disenchantment Stage recognizing the reality
of the new setting, began to encounter some
difficulties, and adaptation and communication
problems begin to emerge
©2012 Cengage
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Interaction in a Multicultural World
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Phases of culture shock
• Adjustment Stage, the sojourner gains some
cultural insight and gradually begins to make
some adjustments and modifications in coping
with the new surroundings
• Effective Functioning Stage people understand
the key elements of the new culture (customs,
behaviors, communication patterns), and feel
comfortable in the surroundings
©2012 Cengage
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Interaction in a Multicultural World
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Functioning in a new culture
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Learn about language of host culture
Guard against ethnocentrism
Learn about the host culture
Work to maintain your own culture
©2012 Cengage
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Interaction in a Multicultural World
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Ethical considerations
• Ethics can be seen as a reflection of your
convictions, which are rooted in your culture
• Ethics provide guidelines that influence the
manner in which you communicate with other
people
• Ethics helps you determine what you ought to
do, how you ought to act, and how you should
interact with people
©2012 Cengage
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Interaction in a Multicultural World
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Common ethical perspectives
• Fundamentalism
– Timeless moral truths are rooted in human nature and
independent of the conventions of particular societies
– Definitive moral rules and codes that apply to all people
at all times
• Relativsm
– Deciding what is right or wrong and good and bad
behavior is not absolute, but is changeable and relative
– Ethical principles are culturally bound, context
dependent, and only applicable to their respective
cultures
©2012 Cengage
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Interaction in a Multicultural World
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Being Mindful in Communication
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Show respect for others
Search for commonalities
Be respectful of cultural differences
Accept responsibility for your behavior
©2012 Cengage
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Interaction in a Multicultural World
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Intercultural communication
challenges
• Individual uniqueness
– No two people are exactly alike
– Behaviors are shaped by multiple sources
– We are more than our culture
©2012 Cengage
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Interaction in a Multicultural World
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Intercultural communication
challenges
• Generalizations
– View cultural generalizations as approximations
not absolute representations
– Generalizations should deal with primary values
and behaviors of a particular culture
– Use those that can be supported by a variety of
sources
– conclusions and statements about cultures should
be qualified so that they do not appear to be
absolutes, but only cautious generalizations
©2012 Cengage
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Interaction in a Multicultural World
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Intercultural communication
challenges
• Objectivity
– The state of being objective, just, unbiased and
not influenced by emotions or personal prejudices
– Objectivity means you approach each new
situation with an open mind and avoid being too
judgmental
©2012 Cengage
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Interaction in a Multicultural World
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Summary
-Globalization, domestic diversity. And
immigration make acquiring intercultural
communication skills imperative.
-Communication technology is making
interaction between people from different
cultures increasingly common.
-A society can encompass more than one
culture…
©2012 Cengage
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Interaction in a Multicultural World
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