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Imperatives for Intercultural Competence Demographic Technological Economic Peace Interpersonal Demographic Imperative Globalization is leading to an extensive wave of cultural mixing. For example, in the U.S., European American population is fast becoming the minority (62.3% of population) Since 2000, over half of the U.S. pop growth has been Latino. Since 2000, Asian American pop has increased by 43%. Shift is affecting demographics of K-12 classrooms, universities and business settings. Demographic Imperative In the U.S., In 2010, 9 million people identified with more than one racial group, up 32% from 2000. Population shift is due largely to immigration and migration. By 1960, 75% of immigrants were European. By 2009, only 12.7% of immigrants were European. In 2009, >half immigrants from Latin America, and >a quarter from Asia. Changes are occurring in Europe, Asia, Africa, South America and the Middle East as well. If the world was a village of 100 people, there would be: 61 Asians 20 Chinese 17 Asian Indians 14 Africans 11 Europeans 9 Latin Americans 5 North Americans 0 Australians/Oceanians If the world was a village of 100 people, there would be: 33 Christians 20 Muslims 13 Hindus 6 Buddhists 14 People practicing other religions 14 Atheists or nonreligious Worldviews 1.2 billion Muslims Only 20% are Arab Over 1 billion Hindus Over 1.5 billion Buddhists Over 1 billion Christians Almost 14 million Jews Roughly as many Jews in U.S. than in Israel Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2009 Technological Imperative Marshall McLuhan coined the term “global village” to describe mass media’s outreach throughout the world. Rapid and efficient transportation systems link people who live very far from each other. Technology allows and facilitates human interactions across the globe and in real time. You can videochat or email from your phone in the middle of a Peruvian Jungle, so work could be done thousands of miles away. Technological Imperative Facebook Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Baidu Skype, Chat/Messenger, Whatsapp, WeChat Youtube Google “The World is Flat.” – Thomas Friedman Digital Divide 25% of Americans have never connected to the Internet There are more telephones in NYC than in all of rural Asia More Internet accounts in London than all of Africa More than half of the world’s population has never made a phone call => There are people who know virtually nothing about your culture! Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2009 Economic Imperative Globalization—the integration of capital, technology and information across national borders—is creating a global marketplace. Economic success depends on intercultural communication competence. A nation’s economy is now characterized by interdependence with other countries. Economic Imperative Consider tourism: When ppl travel to HK, they inject new money into HK economy by staying in HK hotels, spending in HK stores, visiting HK attractions, eating at HK restaurants. 60.8 million visitors to HK (2014). International travel is U.S.’ biggest export, representing 8.7% of U.S. exports in 2010. Peace Imperative In 2009, there were more than six thousand hate crimes committed against individuals because of their race, culture, religion, or social group membership in the U.S. alone. The need to understand and appreciate those who differ from ourselves is vital. Interpersonal Imperative Your neighbors might speak different first languages than yours. They may have different values & customs. Your family members may include ppl from different cultural backgrounds. Your colleagues may belong to various cultures. You may be expected to participate in intercultural teams with them. Interpersonal Imperative Given the effects of the global village, the quality of your daily life will increasingly depend upon your ability to communicate competently with people from other cultures. There are consequences to maintaining competent interpersonal relationships in an intercultural world. Communication “Communication is a symbolic, interpretive, transactional, contextual process in which people create shared meanings.” Characteristics of Communication It is symbolic. It is interpretive. It is transactional. It is contextual. It is a process. It involves shared meaning. Communication is Symbolic MEANING is a perception, thought, or feeling that a person experiences and might want to communicate to others. For example, the sensation resulting from the room’s temperature, or feelings of happiness or anger because of what someone said. However, the private meanings cannot be shared directly with others. The can be shared and understood only when interpreted as a message. Communication is Symbolic A MESSAGE refers to the “package” of symbols used to create shared meanings. For example, the words in this PowerPoint are SYMBOLS that form a message, which I am trying to communicate to you. Communication is Symbolic A symbol is a word, action, or object that stands for or represents a unit of meaning. Symbols can mean different things to different cultures. Ex. The “Peace” sign means peace, victory, or an obscene gesture, depending on the culture. Communication is Interpretive Whenever people communicate, they must interpret the symbolic behavior of others and assign meaning to the behaviors. Communication requires sufficient understanding between participants. Understanding means that participants have imposed similar or shared interpretations about what the messages mean. Understanding does not equal agreement. Two ppl may differ in beliefs about religion or politics, but can still communicate meaningfully. Communication is Interpretive Complete accuracy in interpreting meanings that are shared by people is rare, if not impossible. Such accuracy would require symbols to be understood by participants in exactly the same way. Even if complete understanding was possible, it would be impossible to verify that the meanings that were created for the symbols were identical in the minds of all participants. Communication is Interpretive This does not imply that communication is impossible. Communication requires a degree of understanding sufficient to accomplish the purposes of the participants. Communication is Transactional Communicators simultaneously send and receive messages at every instant that they are involved in conversations. Emphasis is on the shared creation of messages and meanings. Communication Model Culture P er s o n Culture Encode/ Decode Send/Receive Messages through Various Channels Noise Noise Encode/ Decode A Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2009 Noise P er s o n B Communication is Contextual All communication takes place within a setting or situation called a context. Context includes: Physical settings—actual location for interaction. An afternoon conversation at a crowded café and a hushed, candlelit dinner will differ in the meanings and interpretations– of certain phrases or glances. Social settings—shared expectations people have about the kinds of interactions and behaviors that normally should occur in various social events. A festive pre-funeral in Ireland (the “wake”) will call for different behavior than a solemn funeral in Hong Kong. Communication is Contextual All communication takes place within a setting or situation called a context. Context includes: Interpersonal settings—Expectations people have about the behaviors of others as a result of differences in the relationships between them. A boss inviting his secretary out for a drink after work may be interpreted as a romantic gesture in Mexico City, but less likely in Los Angeles. Communication is a Process It is a process that includes people, relationships, activities, objects, and experiences that are dynamic rather than static. This process is always changing, moving, developing, and evolving. “You can’t stand in the same stream twice” Communication involves shared meanings Meanings are created and shared by groups of people as they participate in the ordinary and everyday activities that form the context from common interpretations. Focus must be on the ways people attempt to “make sense” of their common experiences in the world. Interpersonal Communication It is comprised of 4 characteristics. It occurs between small groups of people. It involves people interacting exclusively with one another. It is adapted to specific others. Interpretation of messages can occur simultaneously with their creation, allowing communicators to adapt their messages instantaneously. The Challenge of Communicating in an Intercultural World All cultures have a visible component and a larger (and arguably more important) part that is hidden from view. Visible component include things like a culture’s food, music, behavioral preferences. Hidden component includes a culture’s deeply held beliefs, values, norms about how to behave, unspoken assumptions. There are no simple prescriptions that can guarantee competent interpersonal communication among people from different cultures. As the world transforms, differences among people become reasons to celebrate and share rather than fear and harm. Discussion Questions What are some of the implications for a Hong Kong in which, within your lifetime, is becoming more diverse (in language, food, etc.)? Which of the imperatives for intercultural competence—demographic, technological, economic, peace, or interpersonal—is the most powerful motivator for you to improve your intercultural competence?