PHI 1101 Individual and Society Instructors: Reggie Kwan and Carole Chen

Course Objectives This course aims to enable students to have a better understanding of themselves, to develop appropriate ways of dealing with problems, to become responsible and self-directing individuals with independent thinking, to have reflective examination of issues of social concern and to realize more on the relationship between individuals and society.

Learning Outcomes have better understanding of self identity, strengths and weaknesses; identify the relation between individuals and society; become more responsible and self-directing individuals; demonstrate critical awareness of social and ethical issues.

Textbook Human Relations: The Art and Science of Building Effective Relationships 4

Course Structure 1. Lectures (14) 2. Quizzes (10%: 14: 25th minute – 30th minute, best 10 out of 14) 3. Tutorials (14: 2 hours each) 4. Presentation (10% last three weeks) and report (15% during revision week) 5. Debates (15% through out the semester) 6. Assignments (20%: once a week, best 10 of 13) 7. final test (30%: last week)

Learning resources Lecturers (Reggie and Carole) Textbook Supplementary readings (library) Internet and Web Wiki (1st tutorial)

Web resources Be aware of false information Be selective Watch out for accidental plagiarism Dictionary Answers on the Web 粵語審音配詞字庫 Search engines (google + yahoo)

Who are we? 8

What is human relations? HUMAN RELATIONS (p. 5): The ability to interact effectively with diverse others in a variety of situations. 9

Why Study Human Relations? Effective interpersonal skills are key to successful personal relationships Success in relationships is nested in effective patterns of communication Interpersonal skills are highly valued in workforce today Skills must be paired with an understanding of the context of interactions 10

What is Context? CONTEXT (p. 2): Personalities, cultural background, situational factors in each interaction. 11

How does context apply to human relations activities? Listening Situation Recognition of diversity 12

Listening Listening is an important aspect of human relations. Why this is true? How do you know? Why does listening effectiveness differ from situation to situation? For example, listening is an important aspect of human relations. Can you think of a reason why this is true? Is it helpful every time you listen to someone else? Or every time someone listens to you? How do you know? Why do you think listening effectiveness differs from situation to situation? 13

Situation or Context Context (Business) e.g. World’s local bank What is the context for success in this class? As a successful college student in this class As a successful college teacher in this class How are these contexts different and alike? Context (Business) e.g. World’s local bank Help students to recognize that context is more than a physical space. Successful context for students might not be identical for successful context for instructor. Ask for examples. 14

Recognition of diversity Increasing diversity in Chinese culture and society influences relations with others. Cultural backgrounds play significant role in beliefs, expectations, and interpretations that influence interactions with others. 15

What is the “art” of human relations? There is more to effective human relations than listening (or any other skill). The “art” of human relations emerges as one becomes more proficient in knowing what, when, and how to use skills (p. 3). 16

What is psychology? PSYCHOLOGY (p. 4) is the scientific study of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. 17

Why use psychology to study human relations? The study of PSYCHOLOGY is best suited to understand context using empirical evidence. Psychology considers internal (personality) and external (social and cultural) factors. 18

What is empirical evidence? EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE (p. 4): Based on data that has been collected through precise measurement under carefully controlled conditions. Empirical evidence is science-based. 19

Why does this matter when studying human relations? What problems might occur if you use only your own personal experience or that of another to understand and/or interpret why people think or act in certain ways? 20

And so…what is human relations? HUMAN RELATIONS (p. 5) ability to interact effectively with diverse others in a variety of situations. process that begins early in life and continues to develop in formal and informal ways. 21

Assessing Your Current Human Relations Abilities Activity 1.1: Assessing your current strengths and areas of improvement in relations with others. Take a few minutes to complete the exercise on pages 26-27 of your text. What are your greatest strengths? What are your most significant areas for improvement? Personal Statement (Assignment 1) Describe Activity 1.1 (HO 1.1 provides a hard copy of this exercise) Five rated questions: understanding people, getting along with people, communicating with people, resolving conflict with people, being understood by others. Three open-ended questions: best interpersonal skills, weakest areas in human relations, second opinion, reflection on what is working well, with whom, and in what settings, biggest challenges in terms of personal characteristics, people, or situations 22

What is culture? CULTURE (p. 7) is a set of values, shared by a group of people, which shape and influence norms, attitudes, beliefs, expectations, perceptions, and behaviors of group members. 23

Individualism-Collectivism Dimension is characterized on continuum Individualism (higher value on the individual) Collectivism (higher value on the group or family) The dimension is characterized on a continuum with individualism (higher value on the individual) on one end and collectivism (higher value on the group or family) on the other. See Table 1.1 (A Sample of Individualism-Collectivism Rankings) (p. 15). The majority of the world’s population lives in collectivist cultures. Relationships are interdependent. Elder members are revered, family rituals are attended, finances and other resources are shared, and family members are remembered after death. In individualist cultures the needs and goals of individuals take precedence over needs and goals of the social groups. Small nuclear families encourage children to “stand on their own”; elders are often not cared for by family members, and a sense of achievement and success if often individualistic. Individualism and collectivism are rarely unequivocal classifications for all people within any culture. Examples in Hong Kong 24

Culture and Diversity Culture is steeped in diversity. Diversity involves a long, enduring history. A wide degree of diversity in acceptable behavior among different people comes from different value systems. Make sure that students make the connections here. Culturediversitydifferent value systemsnorms, beliefs, situational expectations, perceptions, attitudes 25

And so… Culture influences basic values related to a wide range of things: Group norms Beliefs Situational expectations Perceptions Attitudes Go back to the examples students provided in the previous slide. Where these examples of group norms, beliefs, situational expectations, perceptions, attitudes, or some combination? 26

How are values defined? VALUES (p. 9) are guiding principles. Terminal values Refer to overall life goals Instrumental values Refer to types of behavior that we strive for or prefer Definitions used in Activity 1.2 27

Dimensions of Culture Four main dimensions are used to compare cultures: Individualism-Collectivism (IC) Power Distance (PD) Uncertainty Avoidance (UA) Masculinity-Femininity (MAS) 28

Dimensions of Culture Culture Uncertainty Masculinity- Femininity Avoidance (UA) Individualism- Collectivism (IC) Power Distance (PD)

What is Power Distance (PD)? POWER DISTANCE (PD) (p. 17) examines how a culture deals with the basic issue of human inequality. Societies differentially create mechanisms to reinforce dominance. High power distance cultures Low power distance cultures 30

What is Uncertainty Avoidance? UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE (p. 20) is the extent to which the members of a culture feel threatened by uncertain or unknown situations. The best explanation for variance in uncertainty avoidance is probably rooted in historical and religious traditions. 31

Masculinity-Femininity MASCULINITY-FEMININITY (MAS) (p. 21) refers to the degree of differentiation between the roles of men and women in a culture. MAS dimension is firmly rooted in historical traditions. These long-standing traditions aid in the understanding of the slow rate of normative, cultural change. 32

Conclusion (lecture 1) Course Info Learning resources Basic thinking skills Context Culture –What, how? Individualism-Collectivism (IC) Power Distance (PD) Uncertainty Avoidance (UA) Masculinity-Femininity (MAS)