People always tend to look at other cultures from their own viewpoint. They recognize their culture and its manners as the standard, and all other cultures as foreign or mysterious. Critical Incident Analysis (CIA) is an analytical method used to investigate obstinate situations in cross-cultural interactions through understanding other viewpoints. It helps avoiding the snare of self-reference norm in cross-cultural meetings (Cavusgil, Knight, Riesenberger, Rammal, & Rose, 2014). A situation that I have experienced where a cross-cultural misunderstanding took place was at the university where I used to work for 7 years. I was a member of the abroad universities validation unit (committees responsible for validation of our university with some English universities). Regarding Faculty of Pharmacy, our committee included five old professors and 4 young teaching assistants including me. The five old professors were not open-minded enough to deal with other academic systems, and unfortunately they could not communicate effectively in English. We, the teaching assistants, had a lot to prepare to establish our faculty's committee, and we had a lot of correspondences …show more content…
The staff members from University of Wales were disappointed when they met the 5 old professors. The meeting was not productive. In addition to the language barrier, the professors were not flexible with getting introduced to another academic system. Wales University staff members wrote some notes on small cards during the meetings until finishing and starting writing their final reports to be submitted to the presidents of both universities. Unfortunately, one of the staff was holding a card in a way such that it could be read by people sitting in front of him. The card showed his comment "Fly the old staff". Not only were the professors offended, but also they started treating us in a very awkward way, and they created obstacles to hinder the validation
If you are a European American traveling in Italy, the cultures will seem very different. One of the biggest is the concept of time! Italians will usually be late to appointments and not think anything of it. Americans are always frantically running. They don’t want to be late to work or an event. Even if they are on time, they feel late so they need to come earlier. Neither is right or wrong, it is the culture that makes them different. Communicating across cultures is challenging. Each culture has set rules that its members take for granted. Few of us are aware of our own cultural biases because cultural imprinting begins at a very early age. And while some of a culture's knowledge, rules, beliefs, values, phobias, and anxieties are taught, most of the information is learned subconsciously. The challenge for communication has never been greater. Worldwide business organizations have discovered that intercultural communication is very important, not just because of increased globalization, but also because domestic workforce is growing more and more diverse, ethnically and culturally. We are all individuals. No two people belong to the same culture and they are not going to respond in exactly the same way. However, generalizations are valid to the extent that they provide clues on what you will most likely encounter when dealing with members of a particular
When a case study is conducted, the researcher conducts an in-depth observation on a particular individual for an extended period of time. While observing the individual, the researcher records their observations which are then translated into case materials that are used to demonstrate a possible problem (American Psychological Association, 2009). Also, as mentioned before, case studies are solely focused on observations of a particular individual. However, even though the word individual is usually used to refer to a person, in this case, it can also be used to refer to a business, school, or neighborhood (Cozby & Bates, 2012).
The aim of this paper is to explore and critically analysing two research articles. The critical analysis will explain the importance of the study, evaluate design and research method used in those articles. To identify any gaps it will provide the literature review in those researches and possibility for the new study. The project plan, for the possible research will be developed on a potential gaps and the essay will finish with the conclusion.
Reflection has its importance in clinical practice; we always seek to be successful and that can be achieved by learning every day of our life through experiences we encounter. In that way we can reconsider and rethink our previous knowledge and add new learning to our knowledge base so as to inform our practice. Learning new skills does not stop upon qualifying; this should become second nature to thinking professionals as they continue their professional development throughout their careers (Jasper, 2006). According to Rolfe et al. (2001), reflection does not merely add to our knowledge, it also challenges the concepts and theories by which we try to make sense of that knowledge. Acquiring knowledge through reflection is modern way of learning from practice that can be traced back at least to the 1930s and the work of John Dewey, an American philosopher and educator who was the instigator of what might be called ''discovery learning'' or learning from experience. He claimed that we learn by doing and that appreciating what results from what we do leads to a process of developing knowledge, the nature and importance of which then we must seek to interpret (Rolfe et al., 2001).
The purpose of this essay is to reflect and critically study an incident from a clinical setting whilst using a model of reflection. This will allow me to analyse and make sense of the incident and draw conclusions relating to personal learning outcomes. The significance of critical analysis and critical incidents will briefly be discussed followed by the process of reflection using the chosen model. The incident will then be described and analysed and the people involved introduced. (The names of the people involved have been changed to protect their privacy) and then I will examine issues raised in light of the recent literature relating to the incident. My essay will include a discussion of communication, interpersonal skills used in the incident, and finally evidence based practice. I will conclude with explaining what I have learned from the experience and how it will change my future actions.
“Communicating can be a very complex and intricate process involving the exchange of messages between interactants, both verbally and nonverbally” (2013).When effectively communicating in a culturally diverse workplace; it is important to understand the people in the different culture may not communicate in the same manner as another would. Each cultur...
Cultural sensitivity is more than an awareness that there are differences in culture in order to interact effectively
The difference in languages can cause different perceptions of various cultures leading to distinctions or possible clashes. When I lived in France I faced some of the problems a language barrier can cause. The most common and at the same time most irritating problem of language is the inability to translate word for word as some words just don’t have a direct translation into another language. These are normally colloquialisms for example “up the apples and pears” does not translate into “monter les pommes et les poires.” This would cause people to look at you in a very strange manner wondering what on earth you were talking about and it’s not only verbal language which creates different perceptions of people. Body language, such as hand movements and voice intonation can determine or change someone’s perception of a culture. The following paragraphs will illustrate the way language can be misconstrued.
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).
In order to understand both, the aspects and complexities regarding Situational Theory of Publics, one must first understand the theory in itself. Situational Theory considers a public as a, “section of the community having a particular interest or connection” (Oxford, 2016). This theory locates and identifies publics by a given genre, the genre being that particular interest or connection. Each public is a group or audience of people with the potential to recognize an organization and its current situation or goal(s). Additionally, Situational Theory helps to identify trends within various publics which allow for strategic communications practitioners to make predictions more accurately.
The Communication Accommodation Theory developed by Giles while broad and complex is undeniably important to the field of Communication Studies. The broad focus of CAT can be perceived as a drawback, but could also be viewed as a merit by allowing researchers to apply CAT principles in almost any situation dealing with communication between representatives of differing cultural backgrounds. By using CAT, Communication Researchers can objectively make observations of the communication strategies, as well as the motivations for those strategies on both small and large scales. By understanding such information, individuals and organizations alike could potentially make great strides in the improvement of relations with other cultural counterparts. In a sense, the Communication Accommodation Theory is significant because it can be applied to any cultural interaction, can help disseminate the causes of intercultural incongruity, and potentially help prevent future misunderstanding.
Today the world we live in is “a global village” where no nation, group or culture can remain anonymous (Samovar & Porter, 1991). What happens in one part of the world affects all parts of the world. As the world is becoming smaller, we are increasingly interacting with people from many different cultures. While modern technology has made it easier for us to communicate with people anywhere in the world, such interactions can be difficult if we do not know how to deal with people and cultures different from our own. Here are examples of some of the obvious mistakes politicians and businesses have made when it comes to dealing with other languages cultures:
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.
The way people communicate varies widely between, and even within, cultures. One aspect of communication style is language usage. Language has always been perceived as a link between people but it can also constitute a barrier. Across cultures, some words and phrases are used in different ways. For example, even in countries that share the English language, the meaning of "yes" varies from "maybe, I'll consider it" to "definitely so," with many shades in between . Furthermore, communication between cultures which do not share the same language is considerably more difficult . Each culture, has its distinct syntax, expressions and structure which causes confusion in intercultural communication. For example , in Asian countries the word “no” is rarely used, so that “yea” can mean “no” or “perhaps”. Therefore, an American traveling to Japan might be considered impolite if he ignores this rule. Furthermore, individuals who are not comfortable with a certain language may not be taken seriously. Such is the case in the classroom, where a student who has a perfect knowledge of the subject in question may have difficulty expressing his idea due to his inability to write properly and therefore he would not receive the grade he truly deserves. Similarly intercultural communication is dominant in the workplace. In the past, many companies and organizations could operate entirely within their country of origin and conduct their activities exclusively in their own native language. But now, due...
Communication is the key to organization for these companies and leaders depend largely on its effectiveness. In one study of cross cultural communication, managers were asked to think of seven problems before the meeting to make the communication effective (Barriers of Cross Cultural Communication in Multinational Firms). But, how do people understand each other when they do not share the same culture? To answer this question we must first understand cross cultural management. This type of management focuses on the behavior of people working together as a group ...