Question

When engaging in cross-cultural communication, there are six (6) fundamental patterns of culture differences. Explain five (5) of them and provide appropriate examples in your response.

Answer 1

The six fundamental patterns of cultural differences are communication styles, attitudes towards conflict, approaches to completing tasks, decision-making styles, attitudes towards disclosure and approach to knowing.

Communication Styles- Way of communicating varies widely between different cultures. The communication styles in which the differences mainly exist are language usage, the importance of non-verbal communication and the appropriate degree of assertiveness. For example, people of some cultures consider raised voice as a sign of negative gesture, while others might consider it as an expression of excitement.

Attitudes towards Conflicts- Individuals of different cultural backgrounds treat conflict as a negative or positive emotion based on their values. In Eastern culture, conflict is often considered as demeaning and thus, it is perceived as something to be avoided. However, in other cultures, it is believed that conflicts can be addressed in face-to-face conversations.

Approaches to Completing Tasks- People have various ways of completing tasks in different cultures. These differences exist due to the dissimilarities existing in access to resources, opinions about rewards associated with task completion, the notion of time, varied ideas on relationship building and others. In Asian cultures, the emphasis is given on the relationship building, while in European-American cultures, more focus is given on the completion of the task on hand.

Decision-Making Styles- In decision making, the roles of individuals vary across different cultures. For example, often tasks are delegated to subordinates and supervisors are responsible for undertaking the final decision in many US companies. On the other hand, in many Southern European countries, individuals are often responsible for decision making on their own.

Approaches to Knowing- Differences also exist in the approaches that people from different cultural backgrounds use for knowing things. In European cultures, information is mainly acquired through cognitive means of measuring and counting, while in African cultures, symbolic imagery and rhythm are often considered for effective ways of knowing things.