Exam 5: Culture and Context in Communication

Symbols have specific meaning.

According to the discussion on language in the text, all language (both verbal and nonverbal) is actually a code, which means it is ________________. In other words, there is no inherent meaning in words (or characters) except when people create meaning for them.

Analyze the following scenario regarding specific experiences and observations about differences in cultural groups based upon course concepts. Choose the best answer. Joint Venture: A major U.S. telecommunications company was working on a joint venture project with a communications company based in India. On the first visit, Casey Maddox, a senior engineer, headed the U.S. team. On the second visit, one of her subordinates led the team. Over the course of the next few scheduled visits, the composition of the U.S. team kept changing. The Indian team could not understand why different individuals would show up each time. The project was soon riddled with problems. The members of the Indian team were reluctant to act on decisions and enact processes that had already been agreed upon because they did not feel they knew any of their U.S. counterparts well enough to trust them. -What are the most accurate cultural explanations for the U.S. team's actions?

When dealing with someone from a collectivistic and traditional culture, one should focus on

Regarding the Triangle of Meaning, when we act as interpreters, we hope to select symbols that others will understand in precisely (or approximately) the same way we do. Remember, communication is only successful when both the sender/receiver

In business dealings, the Chinese tend to be more formal. They have a preference for strict form in negotiations - by following certain protocol. This usually means the opening discussion will be very formal. The host side will first describe themselves - who they are and what they do - with many statistics. Then they will expect the guests to do the same. Why?

The concept of ____________ describes people's attitude towards the ambiguity and unpredictability of life.

If we look at the metaphor, "Time is money," this means that people pay close attention to time and don't 'waste' time. This would best refer to the concept of:

Meaning resides in one's mind and not the symbol. No two humans can communicate 100% effectively because no two humans have learned to perceive identically.

We have learned that all communication (both verbal and non-verbal) is symbolic, deciphered by both communicators as they try to be on the same frame of reference. This means that:

Many global companies have made egregious errors regarding miscommunication during sales and marketing of their products. This can happen with

Since Edward T. Hall arranges cultures on a continuum going from low-context to high-context communication, he seems to suggest that a low-context culture cannot be high context. However, his descriptions of cultures argue against this proposition. For example, he describes the high-context way that the Japanese communicate with one another but the low-context way they communicate with Westerners. Also, the karaoke bar is a Japanese innovation which is popular with other Asian nations (e.g., S. Korea and Malaysia) presumably because it allows for the expression of low-context behavior and serves as an emotional outlet for such rules-focused and high context cultures. Even when businesspeople from a high-context culture entertain their counterparts from a low-context culture in a karaoke bar, they tend to move away from high-context behavior toward low-context behavior. Which response is the most pragmatic (reasonable) response?

Cultures and societies with ____________ appreciate flexibility and have a greater tolerance for differences. Not every aspect of behavior needs to be legislated.

Cultures can have different styles of communication. For example, the "bicycle wheel" or "web" speech pattern in Africa would indicate that communication flows from the center to 'connect' all of the spokes to the tire or "catch" all of the strands of the web so that they bind together. This analogy could be representative of the ______________ dimension.

Language doesn't only consist of the words you use with the literal meaning (___________) As we discussed in the Triangle of Meaning, language is symbolic and carries with it interpretive meaning (___________) - even images carry meaning.

___________ time puts people into more rigid time-frames.

___________ time puts people into more rigid time-frames.

Jack, a rather boisterous but well-liked British chap, had a roommate from Thailand, named Pitchit. They seemed to get on fairly well and Jack remarked to one of his U.S. American friends how easy Pitchit was to live with compared with some of his previous roommates. However, several months later, Pitchit suddenly announced that he was moving out next week. Jack was quite upset and puzzled, and asked Pitchit why. At first Pitchit was reticent about saying anything, but after persistent questioning he told Jack that he could not tolerate his habits - Jack was always playing loud music, had friends visiting at all hours, and was untidy. Jack reacted by pressing him as to why he had not told him before... he had not realized that he was disturbing Pitchit in any way. Pitchit said nothing. According to this critical incident what is the most likely reason Pitchit didn't tell Jack previously of his dissatisfactions?

In Japanese culture, the art of silence, or "extra-verbal" communication, is called haragei or "belly art," which is the equivalent of what "heart" connotes for Americans. For the Japanese, it is the belly (or the heart in our perspective) that houses a person's essence. The art of haragei is in the intuitive understanding and tolerance gained through experience - something U.S. Americans might call wisdom. In Japan, a business person would use silence and controlled listening. This is an example of

A high power distance country's overall organizational culture would probably include