Challenges of Living in a Global Society and Understanding Communication

The global village Marshall McLuhan coined the term ‘global village’ to describe a world in which communication technology brings news and information to the most remote parts of the world. Do we partake of a more unified or diversified world because communication technologies bring us closer?

Globalization Three perspectives on globalization (Held and McGrew, 2007): Globalists view globalization as an inevitable development which cannot be resisted or significantly influenced by human intervention. Traditionalists believe that most economic and social activity is regional, rather than global, and they still see a significant role of nation-states in globalization. Transformationalists contend that globalization represents a significant shift, but there is still significant scope for national, local and other agencies. Which perspective is close to yours? Why?

Contributors to cultural diversity (1) Advanced technology and transportation systems: Internet, fax machine, satellites, telephone, social media, podcasting, blogging. Train, car, aeroplane. Increased intercultural encounters create opportunities of understanding and possibilities of misunderstanding. Understanding other cultures is a challenge we face today.

Contributors to cultural diversity (2) Global economy and business transactions: Global transformation. International expansion. Diverse workforce. Understanding cultural tensions created by economic transformations is a challenge we face in the business context of intercultural communication.

Contributors to cultural diversity (3) Mass migration and international exchange: Immigration flow, mainly from developing to developed countries. Migrants who move to the host country for work or study. Promoting inter-ethnic co-existence is a challenge we face in our multicultural society.

Multiculturalism The term multiculturalism can be used to describe the composition of a society made up of diverse cultures. It can also refer to a society’s tolerance and acceptance of cultural diversity.

Intercultural communication Intercultural communication refers to communication between individuals of diverse cultural backgrounds and between diverse groups. How can knowledge and skills of intercultural communication benefit us?

Necessity and benefits of intercultural communication (1) Building intercultural understanding: Understanding is the first step towards acceptance. People around the world have accumulated a rich stock of cultural traditions and customs, but we are often not aware of the cultural rules governing our own behaviour. To understand another culture, we need to communicate with its people.

Ethnocentrism Ethnocentrism means seeing our own culture as the centre of the universe and seeing other cultures as insignificant or even inferior. Ethnocentrism may lead to prejudice, stereotypes or discrimination.

Cultural relativism Cultural relativism is the degree to which an individual judges another culture by its context. Cultural relativism evaluates the behaviours of a culture by its assumptions about the reality.

Necessity and benefits of intercultural communication (2) Promoting international business exchange: Three competencies essential in the global workplace are: intercultural communication skills, problem solving ability and global leadership. Communicating with unfamiliar cultures does not simply mean finding a translator to facilitate the process. You need to know what to expect when someone engages in an interaction (e.g. Guanxi in business negotiation with Chinese).

Necessity and benefits of intercultural communication (3) Facilitating cross-cultural adaptation: Cross-cultural adaptation is a two way process. The tension between immigrants and host nationals often centres on the issue of ethnic cultural maintenance. True multicultural society is characterized by mutual acceptance and equal societal participation.

Challenges of Studying Communication Communication is sharing who we are and what we know. We all share our ideas and feelings with others; however, how we share them with others varies from culture to culture. New communication technologies create new configuration of sources, messages, and receives; they also reinforce the need to examine existing definitions of communication.

Defining Communication Communication may be defined as the process by which people use shared verbal or nonverbal codes, systems and media to exchange information in a particular cultural context. What does this definition tell us about the characteristics of communication?

Rhetorical Theory The rhetorical tradition views communication as the practical art of discourse. A discourse approach to communication holds the possibility that the practice of communication can be improved though education and research. Every culture has its own communication rules and characteristics and criteria for judging ‘good’ communicators. Could you name some criteria for a good communicator in your culture?

The Components of Communication Source: origin of information, sender of the message Message: verbal and/or nonverbal form of the idea, thought or feeling one wishes to communicate Channel: a means by which messages move from one person to another Receiver: intended target of the message Encoding: the process by which the source uses shared codes to convert concepts, thoughts and feelings into a message Decoding: the process by which the receiver converts the coded message back into meaning Noise: all factors that interfere with information transfer Feedback: the response of the receiver after receiving the message

Characteristics of Communication Communication is a dynamic process. Communication is interactive. Communication is symbolic. Communication is contextual. Could you give an example to illustrate each of the above characteristics?

Communication Models Communication models are representations of communication processes and characteristics – they illustrate the main components of communication and their relationships to each other. When communication theories need modification, so too do models.

The Linear Model Noise Encoding Decoding Source Message Channel Receiver Feedback Receiver response Source: Adapted from Shannon, Claude and Weaver, Warren (1949) The Mathematical Theory of Communication. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press. p. 5.

The Interactive Model Encoder Interpreter Decoder Message Source: Adapted from Schramm, Wilbur (1971) ‘The nature of communication between humans’, in W. Schramm and D. F. Roberts (eds), The Process and Effects of Mass Communication. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press. p. 24.

Current Issues in Theorizing Communication The multi-disciplinary nature of communication field does not mean communication is a fragmented field. Craig (1999) advanced a constitutive meta-model of communication theory. In cybernetic tradition, communication is synonymous with information processing. Who is the ‘whom’ in online communication?

Communication and Culture Culture and communication mutually influence one another, producing different behavioural patterns in different contexts. Difficulties may arise when we try to share meaning with those whose communication behaviours are governed by cultural rules different from our own.

Cultural Rules Culture teaches us significant rules, rituals and procedures, such as our orientation towards time, tolerance of uncertainty, the way we dress and eat, etc. Could you give an example of some cultural rules you were taught as a child? How do they affect your communication behaviour?

Cultural Beliefs and Values Culture reinforces beliefs and values that are reflected in our communication behaviours. E.g. a ‘fair go’ is an important value of Australian culture. Could you give an example to illustrate how cultural beliefs and values are reflected in your communication behaviour?

Cultural Norms for Relationship Development Any communication event establishes a certain relationship. Culture teaches us how to develop relationships with others. Do people in your culture view interpersonal relationship as long-term or short-term? Why? Could you give an example to illustrate your point?

Culture and Communication Our verbal and nonverbal behaviours reflect our cultural imprints. Features such as loudness, pitch, turn taking and gestures vary considerably across cultures. Could you give an example to show how culture governs communication behaviour in your culture?

Communication Accommodation Theory Communication Accommodation theory (CAT) is based on three general assumptions: Communication interactions are embedded in a socio-historical context. Communication is both exchange of referential meaning and negotiation of identities. Communicators achieve the informational and relational functions of communication by accommodating their communicative behaviours.