Intercultural communication requires us to withhold judgement and tolerate ambiguity.
I remembered once I have a project mate who came from Pakistan. He was often late for meetings and takes a long time for him to settle down. On top of it, he often slipped into Urdu (National Language of Pakistan) and became very aggressive. We found what he did very offensive and told him directly. However, his ways hardly change.
However, the things he did are prevalent in their culture (http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/pakistan.html). Punctuality is not common and they are highly emotional during talks. On top of it, they take time to "warm up" with other people. They also tend to talk to people in an indirect way leaving people to guess what they are trying to say. If we had know these cultures before hand, we may not take it so offensively and told him off.
I feel that it is important to be patient with others to find out what their culture is before coming to a decision. We also need to understand our own cultural biasness. By doing so can help us understand that not every culture have the same belief, enabling us to have more tolerance for other cultures. Effective inter cultural can enable us to work better in teams.
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Dear Kenneth,
ReplyDeleteI think that you started the post very well, because it directly states your opinion on what intercultural communication entails.
Your post answers the requirement of the blog entry very well. I also liked that you included a link of the different cultures, as it allows readers to go beyond and understand different aspects of different cultures. Perhaps you could have explained how you resolved the issue with your project mate and came to a compromise because I think most of us are curious to know that.
I find your post is very well-written and think that you employed the 7C's very effectively.
With regards,
Jihan Abdat
Hi Kenneth,
ReplyDeleteI like your first sentence, very well composed and it summarises your opinion on intercultural communication very well.
You have raised a very valid point with regards to the role played by biasness in understanding intercultural behaviors. I too, find biasness a huge barrier in effective intercultural communication. Typically, people get emotional over minor issues faster than they think because they assume they know the other person's culture well or rather assume that their culture is not much different from our own.
In a nutshell, your post is very concise and you have employed the 7Cs well. However, I agree with Jihan that it will be good if you mentioned the outcome because I am curious to know.
Regards,
Shu Yan
Hi Kenneth,
ReplyDeleteOnce again a succint and clear post. I especially liked the inclusion of the link and had an interesting read from it.
The ending remark about awareness of our own cultural biasness is a good point too. Besides being aware of other people's culture, we need to understand and have an objective point of view of our own culture in order for effective cross-culture communication.
All in all, it was a well-written post.
sixiao
Dear Kenneth
ReplyDeleteI am just wondering whether they should adjust to our system. Since much is said about "in Rome, do as the Romans do", do you think they should have adjusted to your way of doing things?
Do sum up by addressing some of the points raised by your blogging group.
Regards
Happy
Hi Kenneth,
ReplyDeleteThis is a very relevant issue you have addressed in this post as I realize this is a problem a lot of us encounter as students with our groupmates - punctuality. Everyone has different perceptions of time and we fail to understand that culture is the reason for this.
I have to admit it is hard to get used to a new environment but I feel that it could have been corrected by both parties if they were willing. If both had known about and made an effort to understand each other's culture, the problem would not have arisen. I reiterate my point that knowing is not enough, one has to make an effort to adjust and accept each other's ways.
Your post is very easy to understand and you have written it well. Your opening is excellent in creating an impact and creating interest to read further. Moreover, I particularly like the point you addressed in the final paragraph of reflecting on our own cultural biases. I enjoyed how you made the whole post flow and incorporated your own ideas.
Regards,
Prameet
Hi all,
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ms Goh that he should adapt to our system. This is because if he does not adapt, it can be very tedious for us to work together. This is especially so as we only have a few weeks together.
As for the outcome, he refused to listen to our advice. As his work is below par, we refused to use some of his work but we told him the reason.
However, he was not please. He actually threatened the girls in the group but we decided to it pass. The matter was not resolved as it takes two hands to clap.
Regards
Kenneth