Unit Title: Unit 1- World English’ and Global Communication

Title of the Lesson: Lesson 7-Cultural Diversity in the Workplace

Duration: 1.5 hours

Introduction

Indigenous languages and ethnicity reach independently their identity and recognition
because of their culture and not of their being a country (Hall, 2018). Muslim immigrants in
France were not able to withstand policies to assimilate. In fact, 30 thousand Navajos who
lived in Los Angeles were in isolation from their native nation and culture. The nomadic
Fulani, searching for good pasture throughout sub-Saharan West Africa was held together
not by clan fidelity, but because their political future hanged in balance.

As evidence of this cultural diversity, more than 30 percent of the information technicians
working for the Microsoft Corporation in the United States were Indians while 80 percent of
immigrants to the United States were Europeans during the early 1900s. In the 1960s, the
majority has been Asians, Latin Americans, and Africans. In the 21st century, the US
became a melting pot of diverse cultures but had maintained its own culture, religion, and
language. Self-identity consciousness, therefore, is vital to strengthen culture. Because of
this change, mass media are called upon to be an instrument to unify people across
cultures.

To withstand the new demands of cultural diversity in media practices and policies, an
individualistic morality of rights must be modified by the social ethics of the common good.
When the community is understood to be axiologically and ontologically superior to the
individual, a commitment to cultural pluralism makes sense. Human beings in this
communitarian perspective naturally come out in a diverse cultural setup. They are
dependent on the social realm. They are born into a sociocultural universe where values,
moral commitments, and existential meanings are both presumed and negotiated. Hence,
society desires positive actions and morally upright members of the community. Unless a
person's freedom is used to help others flourish, that individual's well-being is diminished
(Edwards, 2014).

Objectives/Competencies
As the lesson ends, the students are expected to:

1. define culture.
2. relate culture to second language learning.
3. differentiate low and high context cultures;
4. explain the difference between multicultural, cross-cultural, intercultural, and
international contexts in learning a language; and
5. identify language skills in a multicultural context.

Pretest

Remember and Comment: Make your memory work and recall cultural practices you
might be familiar with.

1. What does the word culture mean to you?

2. Do all cultures eat the same foods? Yes or No

_ _

3. Which country is known as the Land of the Rising Sun?

a. The Philippines

b. Malaysia

c. Japan

d. Thailand

4. Circle the American symbol below.

5. This advocates respect for cultural uniqueness, tolerance for differences, and
 adherence to the principle of cultural diversity.

a. cultural pluralism
b. cultural diversity
c. cultural relativism
d. ethnocentrism
6. Cultural norms refer to individual expectations of what constitutes proper or
improper behavior.
a. True
b. False
c. Neither true nor false
d. None of the above

7. This is the strategy when a co-culture member wants to fit in or join with

members of the dominant culture.

a. Assimilation

b. Accommodation

c. Separation
d. None of the Above

8. This advocates respect for cultural uniqueness, tolerance for differences, and

adherence to the principle of cultural diversity.

a. cultural pluralism
b. cultural diversity
c. cultural relativism
d. ethnocentrism

Lesson Proper/Course Methodology

What is Culture?

Society consists of individuals with a culture different in customs, morals, traits, traditions,
and values. But common heritage and joint experiences link these people to learn.
Cultures exist on scales both large and small, extending from countries and regions, such
as the American culture or Middle Eastern culture, to such small and distinct cultures (e.g.
from Amish communities in Pennsylvania to the Basque culture in Southern France.
Moreover, cultures provide people with a sense of self-identity and community, and they
greatly influence actions within the workplace (Hall, 2018).

The word “culture” is derived from the French term, which in turn derives from the Latin
word “colere”, which means to cultivate, nurture or tend to the earth and grow. Culture
encompasses religion, food, language, marriage, music, beliefs, clothes and how they are
being worn, the way a certain group of people sits, the way everyone greets and accepts
visitors, behavior, and a million things. Culture shares etymology with a number of other
words related to actively fostering growth (Edwards, 2014).

While there are specific differences in each culture, generally speaking, cultures share a
number of traits, such as a shared language or linguistic marker, definition of proper and
improper behavior, a notion of kinship and social relationship (i.e., mother, friend, or co-
worker), ornamentation and art, and a notion of leadership or decision-making process.

Culture and society, though similar, are different things. Cultures are defined by these
learned behaviors and schemata (experiences). Societies at their simplest can be defined
as groups of interacting individuals (Edwards, 2014). However, it is not easy to separate
culture and society from the interaction that develops within. One way to think of this
complex interplay is by looking at du Gay, et al (1997) notion of the circuit of culture. The
complexity of individual culture affects the product which gives an impacts on the varied
cultural aspects.

Communication is the exchange of information and meaning. People anywhere in the

world constantly communicate in a wide range of different contexts, such as with each
other (interpersonal communication), with different cultural groups or subgroups
(intercultural communication), or too large audiences (mass communication). However, to
understand communication, there is a need to understand the place of communication in
culture. Communication is central to the construction, maintenance, and transmission of
culture, as well as to cultural resistance, change, and diverse cultural practices.

Culture may even have within it certain subcultures which exist within the main cultural
framework of a society but share within it specific peculiarities or modalities that set it apart
from the mainstream. Such cultures within may continuously be present for a long if not for
a short period of time. They may die out or may become incorporated into the mainstream
as part of this ongoing evolution of culture (Hall, 2018).
 Culture and Co-Cultures

Culture is the system of knowledge, beliefs, values, customs, behaviors, and artifacts
acquired, shared, and used by its members in everyday life. Parts of this system are the
rituals, practices, and symbolic and physical artifacts of individuals, groups, institutions, or
societies that shape attitudes. Culture is a set of learned behaviors shared by a group of
people through interaction. They are not permanent and single entities. They are ever-
changing, responding to pressures and influences based on the diverse experiences and
interactions of their members. However, to its members, the artifacts and even the
existence of cultural behaviors and schemas may seem invisible or unremarkable.

Within the culture are co-cultures. These are composed of members of the same general
culture who differ in some ethnic or sociological way from the main culture. In the present
society, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Japanese Americans, the disabled, gays
and lesbians, cyberpunks, and the elderly are just some of the co-cultures belonging to the
same general culture. When people feel that they belong to a marginalized group
(members who feel they are outsiders) they have the techniques to choose how they want
to interact with members of the dominant culture (Hall, 2018).

Strategies to Penetrate Co-Cultural World

The following are the strategies to consider in penetrating the co-cultural world (Edwards,
2014): Assimilation is the strategy when a co-culture member wants to fit in or join with
members of the dominant culture. These people converse about subjects that members of
the dominant group talk about (e.g., cars, sports, or how they dress) as assuming the
modes of behavior of the dominant culture. Accommodation, on the other hand, is used
when co-culture members attempt to maintain their cultural identity even while they strive
to establish relationships with members of the dominant culture. The other strategy aside
from the previous two is Separation. When co-culture members employ the strategy of
separation, they tend to resist interacting with the other members they consider outsiders.
Rather than have contact with ‘strangers’ they tend to keep to themselves.

Members of co-cultures can be passive, aggressive, assertive, or confrontational in their

approach to accomplishing their communication objectives. They seem passive when they
seem to seek as little to do as possible with the dominant group’s members. They do not
attempt to interact with or have contact with those outside of their own groups. They
passively accept their position in the cultural hierarchy. Being assertive, on the other hand,
is seeking to realize the objectives with whom they interact. One assertive trait is when
they relate to the other members through trusted members of the dominant group. While
aggressive members hurtfully express and self-promote themselves, they also are in
control of the choices they make with the members they want to be with, confrontational
members seek to make the dominant culture hear them, recognize them, and react to
them by making it impossible for them to ignore their presence or pretend they do not
exist.

Understanding both the general culture and its co-cultures is essential if one wants to
communicate effectively. Merely knowing varieties of languages and group’s values does
not make one an effective communicator without knowledge of the strategies to use in his
intercultural communication. To Hall (2014), “culture is the interaction within”. It is the
culture that teaches one to think and what to think about. It is the culture that teaches one
what is helpful or harmful, or appropriate or out of place. Culture is the lens through which
one views the world and the mirror one uses to reflect and interpret reality.

Ethnocentrism, Cultural Relativism and Cultural Pluralism

When cultures meet or when people interact with other people whose values or behavioral
norms are different, they should first recognize and acknowledge individual differences.
They should come to accept diversity to process other cultures’ influences and
communicate with each other in a meaningful way; through ethnocentrism and cultural
relativism. Ethnocentrism is the tendency to see own culture as superior to all others. This
is also the key factor why most intercultural communication efforts fail. People who are
ethnocentric experience great anxiety in the interaction with different cultures. Those who
embrace ethnocentrism lack cultural flexibility and are particularly unprepared to meet
challenges posed by the world of today. The more ethnocentric people are, the more they
there is a tendency for those people to view other groups as inferior. As a tendency, they
tend to blame others for the problems to occur and they seek to maintain distance from
people of different cultures (Edwards, 2014).
Cultural relativism, on the other hand, is the opposite of ethnocentrism. When people
experience cultural relativism, they view the group to which they belong as superior to all
others. They tend to understand the behavior of other groups on the basis of the context in
which the behavior occurs rather than their own frame of reference. With people’s efforts
to submerge if not eradicate cultural differences comes cultural pluralism.

Cultural pluralism advocates respect for cultural uniqueness, tolerance for differences, and
adherence to the principle of cultural diversity. In a multicultural society, every group is
believed to be differently okay since these differences will shape each country’s future
(Edwards, 2014). Advances in communications and transportation continue the increase of
contact with a number of other cultures. Such use of communication innovations with
people of different backgrounds, nationalities, and lifestyles is significant to come together
and interconnect for humanity.

HIGH CONTEXT VERSUS LOW CONTEXT CULTURES

In business, while high-context countries place high regard on relationships and indirect
communication, low-context countries value productivity and prefer direct communication.
High context cultures allocate more meaning to shared history, non-verbal signals, and the
context of the messages than to what is said.

Japan, China, and some countries in Asia are categorized as nations belonging to high
context cultures. On the other hand, the United States, Canada, as well as the northern
part of Europe are with cultures considered low context. Cultural differences influence all
international communication. Even the choice of communication medium can have cultural
effects. The determining factor may not be the degree of industrialization, but rather
whether the country falls into a high-context or low-context culture (Hall, 2018).

High-Context Cultures

Cultures considered high context are regarded for using nonverbal and indirect forms of
communication. To understand the information conveyed, communicators must have a lot
of schemata. People with high-context cultures are Asians, Africans, Arabs, central
Europeans, and Latin Americans.
High-context cultures such as Mediterranean, Slav, Central European, Latin American,
African, Arab, Asian, and American-Indian; leave much of the message unspecified, to be
understood through context, nonverbal cues, and between-the-lines interpretation of what
is actually said. By contrast, low-context cultures like most Germanic and English-
speaking countries expect messages to be explicit and specific.

Based on C.B. Halverson’s book Cultural Context Inventory, high-context cultures often
show the following criteria: (Source: Edward, 2018 Historyplex):

Association: Relationships build slowly and depend on trust. Productivity depends on

relationships and the group process. The identity of the individual is formed in groups (in
the family, in the community, at work). Social structure and authority are centralized.
Interaction: Nonverbal elements such as voice tone, gestures, facial expression, and eye
movement are significant. Interaction to be engaging is observed using indirect verbal
messages. Personal contradiction and conflicting sensitivity are also expressed using
implied signals.

Territoriality: Space is communal. Communicators form a closely knit to connect within a

territory.

Temporality: Everything has its own time, and time is not easily scheduled. Gradual
change occurs as time goes by.

Learning: Multiple sources of information are used. Thinking proceeds from general to
specific. To accurately learn, group participants observe, model, demonstrate, and
practice.

Low-Context Cultures

A low-context culture relies on explicit communication. Hence, more information is not

understood if not deleted. United States, Australia, and some parts of Western Europe are
examples of countries with low-context cultures. Low-context cultures often display the
following tendencies, according to Hall (2018).
Association: Relationships begin and end quickly. Paying attention to the internal
processes is the basis of productive work. For the decentralization of the societal
components, each accomplishes individually for the common good.

Interaction: Nonverbal elements are not significant. Verbal messages as well as the
exchange of facts, ideas, and opinions are observable. In addition, to solve conflicts (to
either contradiction or agreement) the approach should not be personal. An individual can
directly show their own behavior to others.

Territoriality: Space is compartmentalized. Privacy is important, so people stand farther

apart.

Temporality: Events and tasks are scheduled and to be done at particular times. Change
is fast, and time is a commodity to be spent or saved. One’s time is one’s own.

Learning: One source of information is used. Thinking begins with a specific message to
general information. Learning takes place through other’s direct explanations. Individual
orientation is preferred and speed is valued.

Cultural differences shape every aspect of global communication. This suggests why
Japanese people from a high-context culture recommend personal communication. In
contrast, low-context industrialized countries like the US, Canada, UK, and Germany favor
electronic technology.

Similarly, high-context cultures prefer face-to-face interaction rather than written

transcripts. They recommend building a good relationship, better understanding, and
empathy with visual and oral cues like body language, silence and pauses, and
observable nonverbal signals (Edward, 2018). Nevertheless, low-context cultures
emphasize the use of direct and precise spoken or written words in transmitting
messages. U.S. business leaders often fall into a communication trap by disregarding the
importance of building and maintaining personal relationships when interacting with people
from high-context cultures (Hall, 2018).
Differences between high-context and low-context cultures are easy to observe. In
American culture which is low context, for example, communication among family
members seems high context. “Family members openly share experiences requiring few
words due to common understanding.” Whereas communication in workplaces is
considered low- context because each needs to be more specific and direct to what one
tries to say rather than their relationships. In China or Japan, words receive less attention
than relationships, mutual understanding, and nonverbal body language (González, 2018).

Some low-context cultures seem very particular with spoken words and are more focused
on non-verbal expressions. Due to time constraints in negotiating, low-context workplaces
tend to use words to show efficiency and professionalism. North America and Western
Europe are examples of low-context cultures.

While in high-context cultures, time is unlimited. People within the workplace can indirectly
express what they want to say without hurrying. They can apply a spiral approach circling
around a topic and detailing all angles and viewpoints. Whereas Americans with high-
context cultures can be very vocal attention is not just on the spoken words but on body
language and facial expressions (Edward, 2018).

Today as never before, multicultural workplaces are observed to have people with low-
context and high-context cultures. As people are affected both visibly and invisibly by their
cultures, conflict can result from the inevitable misunderstandings. For example, Chinese,
Mexican, as well as Japanese employees from high-context cultures, choose to say
gesture "no" with body language rather than speaking the word. Literal Americans and
Canadians, however, often overlook these subtle implications and may fail to understand
them (Hall, 2018).

To overcome multicultural misunderstandings, smart business managers take the time to

learn about and understand the different cultures represented within their workplace and
train employees from different cultures on how best to communicate with each other on
the job. Far East, Middle East, and Hispano are examples of those high-context cultures.

Given below are the basic differences between high and low-context cultures.

HIGH CONTEXT CULTURE LOW CONTEXT CULTURE

Indirect communication Direct and specific communication
Fewer words, more nonverbal clues High value on words rather than
 nonverbal clues.
Simple and ambiguous messages Structured messages with technical
details.
Very verbal people are seen as Informal, frequent smiles, and frequent
unattractive;
smiling is associated with nervousness. use of hand gestures and facial
expressions
Preference for long-term relationships Temporary personal relationships.
and
underlying messages.
Long-term view of time The short-term view of time.
Emphasis on appointments on time,
Appointments are generally considered management of schedules, and
flexible. punctuality is given high preference.
Vague and non-confrontational Focus on getting a job done, being
language
is preferred. specific, and goal attainment.
Personal relationships are not
considered
Honor and respect are more important that much, ideas and people are
than assumed
business; adjourn power and position. as equals.

Private networks are used to obtain Information is made accessible readily,

information. shared with others.
Values family and group authority Individualism valued.

Reflection/Learning Insights

Choose ten (10) cultural practices and orientation you happen to be familiar about
and try to compare it with other country’s cultural practice

Post-test

Direction: Read the statement in each number. Then, circle the letter of your answer.

1. Culture encompasses religion, food, language, marriage, music, beliefs, clothes

and how they are being worn, the way a certain group of people sit, the way
everyone greets and accepts visitors, behavior and a million things.
a. True
 b. False
2. In territoriality everything has its own time, and time is not easily scheduled.
gradual change occurs as to some as time goes by.
a. True
b. False
3. Low context culture concerns high value on words rather than nonverbal clues.
a. True
b. False
4. High context culture high preference and emphasize on appointments on time,
management of schedules, and punctuality.
a. True
b. False
5. Japan, China, and some countries in Asia are categorized as nations belonging
to high context cultures.
a. True
b. False
6. Assimilation is used when co-culture members attempt to maintain their cultural
identity even while they strive to establish relationships with members of the
dominant culture.
a. True
b. False
7. Ethnocentrism is the tendency to see own culture as superior to all others. This is
also the key factor why most intercultural communication efforts fail.
a. True
b. False
8. Communication is central to the construction, maintenance and transmission of
culture, as well as to cultural resistance, change and diverse cultural practices.
a. True
b. False
9. United States, Australia and some parts of Western Europe are examples of
countries with low-context cultures.
a. True
b. False
10. When people experience cultural relativism, they view the group to which they
belong as superior to all others.
a. True
b. False
 References:

Edwards, Paul N. (2014). Cultural Sensitivity in Business.

http://www.kwinteressential.co.uk//cultural-services/articles/cultural-sensitivy.html

González, Mari (2018). cross-cultural vs. intercultural. Ixmati Communications. Hall,

Edward (2018). culture. Historyplex

Hall, Edward (2018). The Basic Difference between High-context and Low-context Cultures
Historyplex