{"id":56,"date":"2023-10-12T13:25:24","date_gmt":"2023-10-12T17:25:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/cultivatingsuccessfulsmallgroupdynamics\/?post_type=chapter&p=56"},"modified":"2023-11-11T11:01:58","modified_gmt":"2023-11-11T16:01:58","slug":"part-six-diversity-and-international-communication","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/cultivatingsuccessfulsmallgroupdynamics\/chapter\/part-six-diversity-and-international-communication\/","title":{"raw":"PART VI: Diversity and International Communication","rendered":"PART VI: Diversity and International Communication"},"content":{"raw":"As Zachary Larson<\/a> (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.\r\n\r\nIncreasing 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.\r\n\r\nIn 1959, Anthropologist Edward T. Hall published his theory on cultural diversity in The Silent Language. <\/em>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.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
High Context<\/strong><\/td>\r\nLow Context\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Family and community oriented<\/td>\r\nIndependent and individually oriented<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Indirect communication style that relies on context and tradition to imply meaning<\/td>\r\nDirect communication style; say what you mean<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Relationships are more important than tasks<\/td>\r\nTasks are more important than relationships<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Flexible sense of time<\/td>\r\nTime as tightly ordered, scheduled and controlled<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\nIndividuals 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.\r\n\r\nBuilding on Hall\u2019s model, in 2001, Geert\u00a0Hofstede published Culture's Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions and Organizations Across Nation<\/em>, using quantitative data to develop the notion of five cultural dimensions. Based on research across 73 countries, Hofstede\u2019s 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.\r\n\r\nWhen 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\u2014the idea that one\u2019s own culture is superior to another\u2019s.\r\n\r\nAlthough 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<\/a>).","rendered":"

As Zachary Larson<\/a> (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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

In 1959, Anthropologist Edward T. Hall published his theory on cultural diversity in The Silent Language. <\/em>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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
High Context<\/strong><\/td>\nLow Context\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Family and community oriented<\/td>\nIndependent and individually oriented<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Indirect communication style that relies on context and tradition to imply meaning<\/td>\nDirect communication style; say what you mean<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Relationships are more important than tasks<\/td>\nTasks are more important than relationships<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Flexible sense of time<\/td>\nTime as tightly ordered, scheduled and controlled<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Building on Hall\u2019s model, in 2001, Geert\u00a0Hofstede published Culture’s Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions and Organizations Across Nation<\/em>, using quantitative data to develop the notion of five cultural dimensions. Based on research across 73 countries, Hofstede\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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\u2014the idea that one\u2019s own culture is superior to another\u2019s.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":491,"menu_order":6,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-56","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":3,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/cultivatingsuccessfulsmallgroupdynamics\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/56","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/cultivatingsuccessfulsmallgroupdynamics\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/cultivatingsuccessfulsmallgroupdynamics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/cultivatingsuccessfulsmallgroupdynamics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/491"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/cultivatingsuccessfulsmallgroupdynamics\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/56\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":242,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/cultivatingsuccessfulsmallgroupdynamics\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/56\/revisions\/242"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/cultivatingsuccessfulsmallgroupdynamics\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/3"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/cultivatingsuccessfulsmallgroupdynamics\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/56\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/cultivatingsuccessfulsmallgroupdynamics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/cultivatingsuccessfulsmallgroupdynamics\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=56"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/cultivatingsuccessfulsmallgroupdynamics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=56"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/cultivatingsuccessfulsmallgroupdynamics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=56"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}