Intercultural Communication

Competence

PGP I
IIM Kozhikode
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 Stereotyping
• As if all the members of a culture or group share the
same characteristics.

• It can be attached to any assumed indicator of group

membership such as race, religion, ethnicity, age, gender,
and national culture.

• Stereotypes can be both positive an negative; however,

both are problematic in intercultural communication.

Remember: They are partially correct (both positive and

negative), which force us to see others in selective ways.
Consequently, this confirms our prejudices
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 Culture?

• Culture provides people with an implicit theory

about how to behave and how to interpret the
behavior of others

• Culture is not innate; it is learned

• Culture teaches one how to think, conditions one

how to feel, and instructs one how to act,
especially how to interact with others

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 Culture?

• In sum, culture refers to knowledge, experience,

meaning, beliefs, values, attitudes, religions, concept
of self, the universe and the self universe,
relationships, hierarchies of status, role expectations,
spatial relations, and time concepts
• This is accumulated by the large group of people
over generation through individual and group
effort

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• Culture is like
an Iceberg

• 6/7th of it is
UNDER the
water

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 • Behaviour

• Beliefs

• Values and
Thought Patterns

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 The Iceberg Analogy of Culture

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 Culture

A way of life of people living together in a society,

locality, country, organization which includes:
• Language
• Religion
• Rituals
• Food Habits
• Accepted Codes of Behaviour
• Notions of Love, Power, Status, Time, Space etc.

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 (C)ulture versus (c)ulture

• (C)ulture is objective culture. It is about the

institutions of culture. For instance art, literature,
music, drama and dance—they have become
routinized into a particular form.
• The study of these institutions constitutes much
of the curriculum in both international and
multicultural education.
• This can be valuable information, it is limited in
its utility to the face-to-face concerns on
intercultural communication.

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 (C)ulture versus (c)ulture

• The less obvious aspect of culture is its

subjective side—it is “culture-writ-small”.
• It is a subjective culture that define a group of
people—their everyday thinking and behavior.
• In sum, it is a learned and shared patterns of beliefs,
behaviors and values of groups of interacting
people.

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Communication is Culture and
Culture is Communication—
Edward T. Hall

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 Intercultural Communication
• It focusses on face-to-face or person-to-person
interaction among human beings. (Here each participant
must see himself or herself as potentially engaged in
communication and capable of giving and receiving
feedback.)
• ICC does not generate comprehensive descriptions of
culture
• ICC is about cultural interaction not cultural
comparison.
• This does not mean that interculturalists neglect
knowledge; they focus less on differences and more on
how the differences are likely to affect face-to-face
interaction.

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 How to become interculturally
Competent?

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 Rule 1

• Kill Your Cultural Biases

– Stereotyping
– Generalizations
– Ethnocentrism

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 Rule 2

• Develop Your Cultural Intelligence

• What’s it? Cultural intelligence is the capability

to function effectively across a variety of
cultural contexts, such as ethnic, generational,
and organizational cultures.

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 Cycle of Cultural Intelligence

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 CQ Drive

• CQ drive (motivational dimension) is your

interest and confidence in functioning effectively in
culturally diverse settings.
• It gives us the energy and self-confidence to
pursue the needed understanding and planning
necessary for a particular cross-cultural
assignment

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 How to Develop CQ Drive

• Believe in that they are non same, yet they are us

different from us.
• Connect your cross-cultural assignment with other
interests.
• Accept whatever cross-cultural assignments are
available.
• Get interested in the cultural norms.
• Don’t standardize. Try the local specialties.

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 CQ Knowledge

• CQ knowledge (cognitive dimension) is your

knowledge about how cultures are similar and
different.
• It provides us with an understanding of basic
cultural issues that are relevant to this
assignment.

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 Way I: Cultural Variability By Brooks
Peterson

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 Way 2- Hofstede 5 Dimensions of Cultural
Variability

Individualis
m-
collectivism

Time &
Masculinity High-low
and context
Femininity

Culture
Variability

Indulgence Power
distance

Uncertainty
avoidance

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High and Low-context Communication

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 High and Low-context Communication

• In high-context communication most of the

information is either in the physical context or is
internalized in the person. Only a little
information is in the coded, explicit, transmitted
part of the message.
• A low-context communication is just the
opposite; the mass information is vested in the
explicit code.

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 High and Low-context Communication

• Low-context societies
– Message is explicit and the speaker tries to say
precisely what is meant
– Direct style: focus on speaker's statements
– Silence may make people uncomfortable
– Facial expressions and body language may be
easy to interpret
– Business meetings are often focused on
objectives.

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 High and Low-context Communication

• High-context societies
– Business meetings with new contacts focus on
relationships first. Business comes later.
– Indirect style: speaker does not spell out his
message
• Avoid saying "no"
• Avoid embarrassing people
• Control facial expressions and body
language

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 Individualism/Collectivism

• How individual’s perceive themselves (e.g. “I

am distinct and unique” vs. “ I am a member of
a family”)
• How individuals relate to others (e.g.
“How/what do I gain from this act?” Vs. “How
will this act affect others?” )
• The goals they follow (e.g. “I want to win” vs. I
am a team player to help the team win)
• What drives their behavior (e.g. “It is my right to
do this” vs. “My duty is to my group”)

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 Power Distance

Definition: “The extent to which the less powerful

members of organizations and institutions (like
the family) accept and expect that power is
distributed unequally”
• Cultures with stronger power distance will be
more likely to have decision-making
concentrated at the top of the culture.

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 Uncertainty Avoidance

Definition: “Indicates to what extent a culture

programs its members to feel either
uncomfortable or comfortable in unstructured
situations”
• Negotiators from high uncertainty avoidance
cultures are less comfortable with ambiguous
situations--want more certainty on details, etc.

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 Uncertainty Avoidance

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 Masculinity/Femininity

Definition: the extent cultures hold values that are

traditionally perceived as masculine or feminine
• Influences negotiation by increasing the
competitiveness when negotiators from
masculine cultures meet

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 Women (Pinkies) Men (Billus)

• Patient • Strong
• Sensitive • Confident
• Devoted • Firm
• Responsible • Forceful
• Appreciative • Carefree
• Timid • Aggressive
• Weak • Bossy
• Needs Approval • Sarcastic
• Dependent • Rude
• Nervous • Feels Superior

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 Indulgence

• One challenge that confronts humanity, now and in

the past, is the degree to which small children are
socialized. Without socialization we do not become
“human”. This dimension is defined as the extent to
which people try to control their desires and
impulses, based on the way they were raised. A
tendency toward a relatively weak control over their
impulses is called “Indulgence”, whereas a
relatively strong control over their urges is called
“Restraint”. Cultures can be described as Indulgent
or Restrained.

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 Time

• Monochronic Time
• Polychronic Time

In monochromic cultures, time is perceived as

being tangible. Something that can be spent, lost,
saved and wasted. It focuses on one thing at a
time. Time is linear, having past, present and
future.

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 Power Distance
90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
India France China German US Swedish Italian
Countries

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 Individualism
100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
India France China German US Swedish Italian
Countries

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 Masculinity
80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
India France China German US Swedish Italian
Countries

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 Uncertainty Avoidance
100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
India France China German US Swedish Italian
Countries

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 Indulgence
90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
India France China German US Swedish Italian
Countries

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 CQ Strategy

• CQ Strategy (meta-cognition) is how you make

sense of culturally diverse experiences.
• It allows us to draw on our cultural
understanding so we can plan and interpret
what’s going on in this situation.

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 Developing CQ Strategy

• Become more aware.

• Plan your cross-cultural interactions.
• Check to see if your assumptions and plans were
appropriate.
• Think of topics to be discussed
• Which words to be used
• How to order and request
• How to compliment

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 Example

• What kind of small talk is appropriate for a

person from this culture and for this individual?
• Who should initiate the transition from small
talk into business?
• How will you get to action steps in this meeting?
• How much direction should you provide?

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 CQ Action

• CQ Action (behavior) is your capability to adapt

your behavior appropriately for different cultures.

• It provides us with the ability to engage in

effective, flexible leadership for this task.

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 Developing CQ Action (Verbal)

• Avoid colloquial expression

• Use neutral language
• Avoid expletives
• Use some words of the native language of the
interlocutor

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 Developing CQ Action: Nonverbal
Communication
• Nonverbal communication
– The transfer of meaning through means such as
body language and use of physical space
• Kinesics
– The study of communication through body
movement and facial expression
• Eye contact
• Posture
• Gestures
• Haptics
– The use of touch in communication

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 Physical Space to Communicate

• Intimate distance is used for very confidential

communications
• Personal distance is used for talking with family
and close friends
• Social distance is used to handle most business
transactions
• Public distance is used when calling across the
room or giving a talk to a group

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 Intimate distance 18”

Personal distance 18” to 4’

Social distance 4’ to 8’

Public distance 8’ to 10’

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 Don’t Touch

• Communicating through the use of body is

called HAPTICS
• In US, shaking hands, giving hugs, or showing
other expressions of affection are encouraged to
develop familiarity.
• In addition, People of higher rank may touch the
people of lower rank, not vice versa.
• Touching is avoided in almost all the Asian
cultures.

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 To Recapitulate

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 CQ Gyan!
• Read
• Journal
• Learn a new language
• Attend cultural celebrations
• Go to the Temple, Mosque, Gurudwara, Synagogue or Church
• Look for culture
• Travel
• Create taboo lists
• Talk to taxi drivers
• Take public transit
• Stroll through the grocery store
• Question, question, question

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 Stages of becoming multiculturalist

Denial defense minimization acceptance adaptation integration

Ethnocentric stages Ethnorelative stages

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 Thanks!

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