In the contemporary global economy which can be categorized as dynamic and evolutionary in nature, one needs to be cognizant of change that is inevitable within the tourism industry. Due to the demands of the global customer the world can be viewed as being more so inter-connected, owing to this fact the traditional workplace has become more diverse. With diversity in mind the barriers to communication have become prevalent. Within the ambit of the essay such barriers to intercultural communication outlined by LaRay M. Barna shall be explored; anxiety, assuming similarity instead of difference, ethnocentricity, stereotypes and prejudice, nonverbal misinterpretations, language and modern technology will be further discussed. In going forward it is essential to define culture and communication.
According to Hofstede’s (1980), ‘culture is the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one human group from another… culture in the sense, includes systems of values: and values are among the building blocks of culture.’ It is necessary to determine how culture impacts our communication behavior as culture directly influences our perception and understanding of the message that is transmitted from one party to another. People from different cultures encode and decode messages differently; this therefore increases the chances of misunderstanding. Intercultural communication refers to interactions between people whose cultural assumptions are so different that the communication between them is altered. Verderber, Verderber, & Sellnow, (2010).
Firstly anxiety occurs because of not knowing what one is expected to do, and focusing on that feeling, thus being totally present in the communication transaction. Fo...
... middle of paper ...
...and giving them their due respect.
Works Cited
Hollensen, S. (2011) Global Marketing – A Decision Oriented Approach, Prentice Hall, Financial Times (p.2)
Innovateus.net, (2014) ‘What does Ethnocentrism Mean?’ Available at: http://www.innovateus.net/innopedia/what-does-ethnocentrism-mean
Pragyaan, (2009) Mass Communication – a biannual journal. Institute of Management Studies Dheradun. Volume 7 Issue 1 June 2009, ISSN No: 0974-5221. Available at: http://www.iuu.ac/pragyaan/Pragyaan_Mass_Comm_June-09.pdf#page=17
The National Post (2012), The symbolic meaning of a handshake – Joshua Rapp Learn. Available at: http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/06/30/the-symbolic-meaning-of-a-handshake/
Verderber, K., Verderber, R. & Sellnow, D. (2010) Communicate! Canada: Nelson Education Ltd. (Chapter 5)
Kotabe, M., & Helsen, K. (1998). Global marketing management. Temple University. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Ting-Toomey, Stella., & Chung, Leeva C. (2012). Understanding Intercultural Communication. Oxford University Press. 43, 159-160.
Communication is always a good way for one to express their thoughts. I interviewed two different people who were of separate races and ethnicities to learn about their experiences in the U.S. healthcare system. The interviews asked questions that centered around their racial and ethnic background and how their identities influenced their privileges or discrimination of or by health care officials. The two people I interviewed were from my physical therapy building. This was a great way to determine race and ethnicity seeing how the physical therapist is Indian and his assistant is Pacific Islander Filipino. Within public health, we see plenty of different races and ethnicities all around us. It is safe to say that an issue that emerged from the interviews was a lack of communication during a health related visit between different races and ethnicities. It became
Many people who go to visit or work in another country suffer some misunderstanding from the local people, because they have a different culture. Different culture will cause disparity points of view about almost everything. In the article, Intercultural Communication Stumbling Blocks by Laray M. Barna, there are five stumbling blocks mentioned that are seen in a cross-culture communication. These blocks are: language, nonverbal signs and symbols, preconceptions and stereotypes, the tendency to evaluate and high anxiety. Barna wants to use these stumbling blocks to show the common blockades between different cultures. I agree with what she thinks about the language, nonverbal signs and symbols, preconceptions and stereotypes, and the tendency
With an increase in globalization, many people venture into other countries to seek employment and education opportunities. The United States-based corporations employ over 100 million overseas workers. They also hire a large number of locals who then move to take roles in other countries where the company has operations (Reichard et al. 2015). This means that Americans are exposed to a high number of people from other nations with diverse cultures in their workplaces, schools, neighborhoods and other social places. Therefore, people need to improve their intercultural communication skills to enable them to interact efficiently with people with diverse cultures. The improvement of technology has made the media an agent for enhanced
When individuals or groups from different cultures communicate, this process is called intercultural communication. The transaction process of listening and responding to people from different cultural backgrounds can be challenging. The greater the difference in culture between two people, the greater the potential of misunderstanding and mistrust. Misunderstanding and miscommunication occur between people from different cultures because of different coding rules and cultural norms, which play a major role in shaping the patterns of interaction (Jandt, 2012).
Effective communication with people of difference cultures can be especially challenging. The way people interpret the world can be strikingly different between cultures. Intercultural communication occurs when a member from one culture produces a message that is absorbed by a member of another culture. How that message is understood by the communicating party is a vital part in intercultural communication. For example, in Cambodia it would be considered rude to discuss business in a social setting (Language, culture, customs and etiquette, n.d.). However, in the United States this is a common practice and is almost an encouraged event. Another important factor and consideration in intercultural communication is the importance of understanding cultures, values, history and beliefs. For instance, in Cambodia, if you deliver a present that is wrapped in white paper, this is considered to represent mourning. This is one of the many reasons why it is important to assimilate into a culture and be mindful of communication between cultures (Language, culture, customs and etiquette, n.d.).
What does it mean to be a competent communicator and a competent intercultural communicator? A Competent communicator defines as a person who can communicate with others properly and sufficiently, and a competent intercultural communicator is the ability to communicate effectively and appropriately with people of other cultures. It takes many abilities to be an effective competent communicator and an effective competent intercultural communicator. While some environments and factors can affect the way you communicate properly, there are also abilities that can help you achieve better communication. In this discussion I will be comparing and contrasting the concepts of both competent communication and competent intercultural communication.
Before teaching my intermediate English class this semester, I have never worked with such an ethnically diverse group of L2 learners. Coming from eight different countries, my students have shown me a blueprint of World Englishes being spoken by international language users for intercultural communication. However, their individually different accents have often contributed to miscomprehension and miscommunication during peer interaction. As a language teacher, I am also faced with the difficulty to understand the vernacular English of my African student — Max (Field Journal #3, Jan. 25, 2016). While my Brazilian student Barbara finds it effortless to communicate with Max, she frequently tells me how much she hates her own accent and the influence
Humans have been communicating since four million years. On the other hand, the birth of culture is estimated to have taken place about 35,000 years ago. Today, both culture and communication have evolved considerably and have become interdependent of one another, to the point that communication is considered to be a product of culture. Thus, our own culture has a deep impact on our thoughts and behaviors. Since each culture has its distinct aspects, intercultural communication can be the cause of conflict and disorder. There are three main issues which are at the root of the problem of intercultural miscommunication : language as a barrier, cultural diversity and ethnocentrism. I will analyze these three notions in situations in which intercultural communication is frequent such as : the workplace, the classroom and vacation trips.
Jeannet, J. and Hennesey, H. (1998), Global Marketing Strategies, 3rd ed., Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, MA.
I wasn 't quite sure what I was getting into when I first enrolled in Intercultural Communications. I had assumptions as to the goals of the course such as I would be learning about the way cultures interact with each other, learn about communication in general, or I would be learning about the ways we use communication through our culture. I think that I achieve the latter goal, but I also gained knowledge about more then just my culture. I came to realize that there is more to a culture than just language, appearances, and customs, which are aspects of culture that could be seen above the waterline, or they are more noticeable/obvious to someone outside of that culture. There are aspects of culture that are below the waterline, or more
As I mentioned earlier, I thought I had very good understanding of cross cultural communication. I did not know if I would gain much in this class before I decided to take this class. For me, cross cultural communication was about talking with people with different cultures backgrounds. For example, two people are from two different countries; the communication between them is cross culture. However, I found that cross cultural communication is a more complex thing than I ever thought. The definition of cross cultural communication can be defined as the ability to successfully form, foster, and improve relationships with members of a culture different from one’s own. It is based on knowledge of many factors, such as the other culture’s values, perceptions, manners, social structure, and decision-making practices, and an understanding of how members of the group communicate—verbally, non-verbally, in person, in writing, and in various business and social contexts, to name but a few. I know this is a long definition. It is not as simple as I ever thought.
Intercultural communication has no problems even if people grow in different regions with it's one personality so thinking about this issue is unneeded! Actually, there are lots of problems in intercultural communication and as a returnee myself I feel that there are lots people suffering from this. In our class we looked at three examples of people suffering from the complicated aspects within intercultural communication and I am going to explain about each problem using Ms.Laray M. Barna’s article, “Stumbling Blocks in Intercultural Communication”
How do personal values shape culture, and how does culture affect our understanding and interpretation of seemingly ordinary things?