[I-Culture]
Week 1 Tutorial 1 – 31 August 2017
Week 3 no class
2 Hour tutorial
Exam part B: MC and open questions in week 9 or 10
Relevance for project: the target groups has another cultural background
Culture
Culture: the values, beliefs, behavior, and material objects that together form a people’s way of life
Culture is the beliefs, rules and standards learned and shared by members of a society, community, family or
organization.
It is what defines a human community, its individuals, its social organization, as well as its economic and
political systems.
What are the components of culture
- Birth
- Housing
- Language
- The arts Test question: what are 6 components of
- Literature culture?
- Architecture
- Immigration
- Lifestyle
- Food
- Technology
- Symbols
- Norms
- Values
All have an influence of who we are and what we eat!
The cultural onion
- Visual cultural: how tall they are
- Norms and values: greetings: 3 kisses
- Key beliefs: not so visible but very important
Test question:
The cultural iceberg
- Surface culture
- Deep culture
Cultural awareness
- Culture is basically this interpretation system which we use to understand all
those daily or extraordinary signifying practices around us. We make sense of
our world through culture.
- We do not always appreciate the power of culture until we encounter a different
environment, in which many of the assumptions we had taken for granted do no
apply e.g. eating habits, clothes, communications etc.
- This can sometimes result in… CULTURE SHOCK
Semester one year 3 Page 1
, - You can start influencing your audience by getting to know them and understanding the underlying
dimensions of their culture.
- Cultural Awareness and Sensitivity: Success in the global economy depends on awareness of cultural
patterns around the world.
Intercultural communication
Intercultural communication is a discipline that studies communication across different cultures and social
groups, or culture affects communication.
Intercultural communication Theories and Concepts
Edward Twitchell Hall, Jr. (may 16, 1914 – july 20, 2009)
American anthropologist and cross-cultural researchers
Founding Father of intercultural communication
High context and low context communication:
- High context characteristics:
o Primarily use non-verband methods to relay meaningful information in conversations, such as
facial expressions, eye movement, and tone of voice,
o The situation, people, and non-verbal elements are more important than the actual words that are
communicates
o People are comfortable standing close to each other.
o The preferred way of solving problems and learning is in groups.
o Members of the culture place emphasis on interpersonal relationships.
o Trust must be developed before business transactions can begin.
Japan – Asia, Brazil African middle east, Iran, Iraq
- Low context characteristic’s:
o Emphasis on logic and facts
o Facts are more important than intuition in the decision-making process
o Words are more important than body language
o Verbal messages are explicit, direct, and concise
o Tasks or goals are more important than relationships
o Most knowledge is above the waterline. This means knowledge is explicit, visible and can be
easily conveyed to others
o Primary method of learning is by following other people’s explicit directions and expectations
o Decisions and actions focus on the goal and diving responsibilities
USA, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland.
Monochromic and polychromic time.
Week 2 Tutorial 2 – 5 September
Intercultural Communication - Hall’s: Monochronic and Polychronic Time
Monochornic time and polychromic time is about being on time.
Monochronic time -> Netherlands
- M-Time, as Hall called it, means doing one thing at a time. It assumes careful planning and scheduling and
is a familiar Western approach that appears in disciplines such as 'time management’. Monochronic people
tend also to be low context.
Semester one year 3 Page 2
, -Examples: eating at 6, working from 9-5, appointments,
deadlines
Polychronic time
- In Polychronic cultures, human interaction is valued
over time and material things, leading to a lesser
concern for 'getting things done' -- they do get done, but
more in their own time. Polychronic people tend also to
be high context.
- Examples: ->
Monochronic and Polychronic time
In which countries is it norm to keep to monochronic
time?
- Similar to low context countries: Anglo Saxion,
Germanic Linguistic areas, North Western Europe, North America ( USA and English-Speaking Canada0
Australia, New Zealand.
Where are the polychronic countries?
- Similar to high context countries: Latin Europe, Latin America, The Meditteranean, The Middle East,
Africa, Asia and Oceania.
Central and Eastern Europe combine monochronic with polychronic time. Balkans, Slavic countries, former
soviet states.
Contrasting the two: Western cultures vary in their focus on monochronic or polychronic time. Americans
are strongly monochronic whilst the French have a much greater polychronic tendency -- thus a French
person may turn up to a meeting late and think nothing of it (much to the annoyance of a German or
American co-worker).
Personal space
Human beings also have an invisible barrier that we consider our personal
Personal space: the physical space immediately surrounding someone
What does our ”personal space” depend on
1. The situation
2. The relationship
3. Culture
Low context culture: personal space and correct distance is large
- the Netherlands? Germany? USA?
High context countries: personal space is smaller
- Spain? Morocco? Indonesia?
Geert Hofstede: sociologist: culture dimensions
Cultural Dimensions: describes the effects of a society's culture on the values of its members, and how these
values relate to behavior.
Between 1978-83, Hofstede carried out interviews with hundreds of IBM staff in 53 countries
He was able to determine patterns of similarities and differences among the replies.
He formulated a theory that ‘world cultures’ vary along consistent, fundamental dimensions
His subjects were only from one multinational corporation (IBM) so he ascribed their differences to the
effects of their national cultures.
He maintained that each country had one dominant culture…..
Hofstede’s dimensions:
- 1. Collectivism vs. Individualism: Describes the degree to which a culture relies on and has alleginace to
the self or the group. Wealthy Cultures=Individualistic . Poor cultures= Collectivist.
Semester one year 3 Page 3
Week 1 Tutorial 1 – 31 August 2017
Week 3 no class
2 Hour tutorial
Exam part B: MC and open questions in week 9 or 10
Relevance for project: the target groups has another cultural background
Culture
Culture: the values, beliefs, behavior, and material objects that together form a people’s way of life
Culture is the beliefs, rules and standards learned and shared by members of a society, community, family or
organization.
It is what defines a human community, its individuals, its social organization, as well as its economic and
political systems.
What are the components of culture
- Birth
- Housing
- Language
- The arts Test question: what are 6 components of
- Literature culture?
- Architecture
- Immigration
- Lifestyle
- Food
- Technology
- Symbols
- Norms
- Values
All have an influence of who we are and what we eat!
The cultural onion
- Visual cultural: how tall they are
- Norms and values: greetings: 3 kisses
- Key beliefs: not so visible but very important
Test question:
The cultural iceberg
- Surface culture
- Deep culture
Cultural awareness
- Culture is basically this interpretation system which we use to understand all
those daily or extraordinary signifying practices around us. We make sense of
our world through culture.
- We do not always appreciate the power of culture until we encounter a different
environment, in which many of the assumptions we had taken for granted do no
apply e.g. eating habits, clothes, communications etc.
- This can sometimes result in… CULTURE SHOCK
Semester one year 3 Page 1
, - You can start influencing your audience by getting to know them and understanding the underlying
dimensions of their culture.
- Cultural Awareness and Sensitivity: Success in the global economy depends on awareness of cultural
patterns around the world.
Intercultural communication
Intercultural communication is a discipline that studies communication across different cultures and social
groups, or culture affects communication.
Intercultural communication Theories and Concepts
Edward Twitchell Hall, Jr. (may 16, 1914 – july 20, 2009)
American anthropologist and cross-cultural researchers
Founding Father of intercultural communication
High context and low context communication:
- High context characteristics:
o Primarily use non-verband methods to relay meaningful information in conversations, such as
facial expressions, eye movement, and tone of voice,
o The situation, people, and non-verbal elements are more important than the actual words that are
communicates
o People are comfortable standing close to each other.
o The preferred way of solving problems and learning is in groups.
o Members of the culture place emphasis on interpersonal relationships.
o Trust must be developed before business transactions can begin.
Japan – Asia, Brazil African middle east, Iran, Iraq
- Low context characteristic’s:
o Emphasis on logic and facts
o Facts are more important than intuition in the decision-making process
o Words are more important than body language
o Verbal messages are explicit, direct, and concise
o Tasks or goals are more important than relationships
o Most knowledge is above the waterline. This means knowledge is explicit, visible and can be
easily conveyed to others
o Primary method of learning is by following other people’s explicit directions and expectations
o Decisions and actions focus on the goal and diving responsibilities
USA, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland.
Monochromic and polychromic time.
Week 2 Tutorial 2 – 5 September
Intercultural Communication - Hall’s: Monochronic and Polychronic Time
Monochornic time and polychromic time is about being on time.
Monochronic time -> Netherlands
- M-Time, as Hall called it, means doing one thing at a time. It assumes careful planning and scheduling and
is a familiar Western approach that appears in disciplines such as 'time management’. Monochronic people
tend also to be low context.
Semester one year 3 Page 2
, -Examples: eating at 6, working from 9-5, appointments,
deadlines
Polychronic time
- In Polychronic cultures, human interaction is valued
over time and material things, leading to a lesser
concern for 'getting things done' -- they do get done, but
more in their own time. Polychronic people tend also to
be high context.
- Examples: ->
Monochronic and Polychronic time
In which countries is it norm to keep to monochronic
time?
- Similar to low context countries: Anglo Saxion,
Germanic Linguistic areas, North Western Europe, North America ( USA and English-Speaking Canada0
Australia, New Zealand.
Where are the polychronic countries?
- Similar to high context countries: Latin Europe, Latin America, The Meditteranean, The Middle East,
Africa, Asia and Oceania.
Central and Eastern Europe combine monochronic with polychronic time. Balkans, Slavic countries, former
soviet states.
Contrasting the two: Western cultures vary in their focus on monochronic or polychronic time. Americans
are strongly monochronic whilst the French have a much greater polychronic tendency -- thus a French
person may turn up to a meeting late and think nothing of it (much to the annoyance of a German or
American co-worker).
Personal space
Human beings also have an invisible barrier that we consider our personal
Personal space: the physical space immediately surrounding someone
What does our ”personal space” depend on
1. The situation
2. The relationship
3. Culture
Low context culture: personal space and correct distance is large
- the Netherlands? Germany? USA?
High context countries: personal space is smaller
- Spain? Morocco? Indonesia?
Geert Hofstede: sociologist: culture dimensions
Cultural Dimensions: describes the effects of a society's culture on the values of its members, and how these
values relate to behavior.
Between 1978-83, Hofstede carried out interviews with hundreds of IBM staff in 53 countries
He was able to determine patterns of similarities and differences among the replies.
He formulated a theory that ‘world cultures’ vary along consistent, fundamental dimensions
His subjects were only from one multinational corporation (IBM) so he ascribed their differences to the
effects of their national cultures.
He maintained that each country had one dominant culture…..
Hofstede’s dimensions:
- 1. Collectivism vs. Individualism: Describes the degree to which a culture relies on and has alleginace to
the self or the group. Wealthy Cultures=Individualistic . Poor cultures= Collectivist.
Semester one year 3 Page 3
