Transcript key challenges facing human resources management

Chapter 6 Theoretical
Perspectives on Intercultural
Communication
Managing Organizations in a Global
Economy: An Intercultural Perspective
First Edition
John Saee
Copyright  by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning. All rights reserved.
Theories of Intercultural
Communication and Adaptation:
Origins
Theories of intercultural
communication have their origins in
trans-disciplinary areas of research.

True or false: “Intercultural
communication competence has to a
large extent to do with learning a
foreign language.”
Psychological Theories of
Intercultural Communication
 Intercultural
communication is explained in
terms of individual behavioral adaptation.
 The main focus: personal and interpersonal
traits and attributes, and individual internal
psychological responses in intercultural
communication situations.
Stages of Cross-Cultural Learning and
Adaptation (Harris & Moran 1979,
Lysgaard 1955)
 Initial
contact
 Initial culture shock
 Superficial adjustment
 Depression/isolation
 Reintegration/compensation
 Autonomy/independence
"Culture Shock" U-curve (Oberg
1960)
 “Honeymoon"
stage
 Stage of hostility
 Recovery stage
 Final stage
How do foreigners react to the
host culture (Bennett 1971; Taft
1977)?
 Value
of psychological theories: a useful
framework for understanding psychological
reactions by sojourners living in the host
culture.
 Critique:
conceptually problematic.
Focus of other theories
 Explaining
intercultural communication in
terms of the development of effective
interpersonal relationships and the ability to
communicate effectively.
Convergence Theory (Kincaid 1988)
 If
two or more individuals share information
with one another, then they will tend to
converge toward one another, leading to a
state of greater uniformity.
 The main underlying thesis: the provision
of opportunity for unrestricted
communication.
 Hall
1976; Triandis 1972, 1983; Gudykunst
1983, 1984
 Emphasis on “cultural learning”and adaptation
as a way of developing intercultural
communication competence.
Anxiety/Uncertainty Management
(AUM) Theory (Gudykunst)
 Theoretical
Foundations
 The Concept of Stranger
 Uncertainty
 Anxiety
 Effective Communication
 Being Mindful
AUM Theory
 Maximum
and minimum thresholds for
anxiety.
 Avoidance (Stephan & Stephan 1985).
 Biases in how we process information.
 Road block to communicating effectively.
AUM Theory
 Uncertainty
and Anxiety Reduction
(Gudykunst & Hammer 1988) through:
 Knowledge of host culture
 Shared networks
 Intergroup attitudes
 Favorable contact
 Stereotypes
 Cultural identity
 Cultural similarity
 Second language competence
AUM Theory
 Four
variables influence only uncertainty
reduction:
 Intimacy
 Attraction
 Display of nonverbal affiliative expressiveness
 Use of appropriate uncertainty reduction
strategies
AUM Theory
 Four
variables associated only with
reducing anxiety:
 Strangers' motivation to live permanently in the
host culture
 Host nationals' intergroup attitudes
 Host culture policy toward strangers
 Strangers' psychological differentiation
Motivation to Communicate
(Turner 1988)
 Reactions
to strangers.
 Social categorizations.
 An increase in strangers’ understanding of
the similarities and differences between
their culture and the host culture.
 “Ability to adapt to the host culture” equals
“effectiveness of communication.”
 AUM
theory critique:
 The responsibility for miscommunication
rests on the shoulders of the stranger who
has not learned or interpreted the host
culture sufficiently to adapt to cultural
differences.
General Systems Theory (Kim
1988)
 The
intercultural communication
competence: the overall internal capability
of an individual to manage differences and
unfamiliarity, intergroup posture, and the
accompanying experiences of stress.
General Systems Theory (Kim
1988)
 Cognitive,
affective, and operational
adaptability of an individual's internal
system in all intercultural communication
contexts.
 Adaptability of an individual's internal
system equals an individual’s growth.
General Systems Theory (Kim
1988) Critique
 The
processes are one-way, whereas the
process of intercultural communication is
two-way.
Interpersonal Theory of Intercultural
Communication (Irwin 1996)
 The
ideologies of intimacy (closeness) and
performance (competence).
 The key features of the communication
process:
 Context
 Conduct
 Content
Intercultural communication
competence is a difficult concept to
define adequately and precisely.
What is competence?
 The
set of personal qualities/traits, attitudes,
skills, abilities, and knowledge that enable
an individual to......
Ruben and Kealy (1979):
 Give
individuals empathy
 Display respect
 Perform role behaviors
 Be nonjudgmental
 Be open
 Be tolerant of ambiguity
 Interactively manage
The knowledge component of
competence:
 Knowledge
of:
 How to gather information
 Group differences
 Personal similarities
 Alternative interpretations for others’
behavior
Skills/Abilities (Berger 1979; Coleman &
Depaulo 1991; Bellah et al. 1985;
Gudykunst & Kim 1997):
 The ability:
 To be mindful
 To tolerate ambiguity
 To calm ourselves
 To explain and make accurate predictions
of strangers’ behavior
Behavioral Dimensions Associated with
Perceived Competence (Gudykunst,
Wiseman, & Hammer 1977)
 Dealing
with psychological stress
 Communicating effectively
 Establishing meaningful interpersonal
relationships
Do specific skills/abilities,
knowledge and behaviors ensure
that we will be perceived as
competent in any particular
interaction?