Module 1: Group Work Theories
PART VI: Diversity and International Communication
As Zachary Larson (2023) suggests, workplace diversity can relate to cultural diversity, racial diversity, gender diversity, physical diversity, and diversity in personality type. Sometimes personal identities are intersectional, meaning that an individual’s identity may combine various social, cultural, and political identities, creating unique and complex personalities. For example, an individual might have parents from different cultural backgrounds, and also have a physical or learning disability.
Increasing globalization over the last few decades has intensified our sense of international trade and work. Increasingly, we are working, studying, and living with people from diverse cultural contexts that may be unfamiliar to us (Mumby & Kuhn, 2019). Over generations, North America has been settled by people from around the world, meaning that we engage with multiple cultures every day, including at school and in the workplace.
In 1959, Anthropologist Edward T. Hall published his theory on cultural diversity in The Silent Language. In this book, he categorized contexts as either high concept or low concept cultures. The distinction refers to different interpersonal and communication styles exhibited by different cultures.
| High Context | Low Context |
| Family and community oriented | Independent and individually oriented |
| Indirect communication style that relies on context and tradition to imply meaning | Direct communication style; say what you mean |
| Relationships are more important than tasks | Tasks are more important than relationships |
| Flexible sense of time | Time as tightly ordered, scheduled and controlled |
Individuals from many Asian, Arab, and Latin American cultures tend to exhibit high context characteristics, while those from countries like Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and many European countries tend to exhibit low context characteristics. These are generalizations, and clearly there is a range of expression among individuals from different contexts. It is, however, useful to have a sense of high and low context differences, as it can sometimes help explain individual behaviours or tendencies.
Building on Hall’s model, in 2001, Geert Hofstede published Culture’s Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions and Organizations Across Nation, using quantitative data to develop the notion of five cultural dimensions. Based on research across 73 countries, Hofstede’s five dimensions are: Power Distance, Individual/Collectivism, Masculinity/Femininity, Uncertainty Avoidance, and Long-/Short-Term Orientation. Again, these are generalizations, but may be useful in helping to explain individual behaviours or tendencies.
When working in a multicultural group, whether in school or at work, remain open and conscious of the diversity of team members. Use clear language that is well pronounced and articulated. Try to avoid idioms and acronyms that might be easily misunderstood, and consider how visual aids might be interpreted differently depending on individual context. Be aware of the potential for communicative differences between individuals from varying cultural contexts, and try to avoid ethnocentrism—the idea that one’s own culture is superior to another’s.
Although diversity can have its challenges, it also has multiple benefits, including supporting greater commitment, trust, and engagement; innovation toward problem solving; stronger supportive group alliances; and improved recruitment and retention (Stevens, Plaut & Sanchez-Burks, 2008).
