High/Low Context Cultures Teacher Training

Warmup You are working together in a group of 4 members. You notice one group member does not do his work well. He is constantly behind and not working well or doing what he should. You decide to… a) yell at him. You tell him directly, “What are you doing? You are a terrible worker and are making the rest of us look bad in front of the boss. Try harder or you are off the team.” b) tolerate him. You and the other hard-working coworkers will work harder to compensate for his lack of ability and you will do his work for him since he is behind. This way you don’t have to confront him even though you have to do more work.

Warmup Your coworker tells you in January that he will take his vacation at the end of May. You… a) are happy. Now you know when he wants time off and can plan your schedule when he is out of the office. b) are upset. Why is he telling you he wants time off in January? We don’t even know how busy we will be in May? He should wait till later when he know how busy we will be to tell us when he wants vacation.

Case Studies 1. A Chinese employee feels uncomfortable calling his Danish CEO by his/her first name.   2. An American teacher at a Korean school gets upset when the (Korean) principal tells him that tonight there will be a staff dinner and he has to attend. 3. A Canadian employee asks her Korean coworkers about a possible suggestion to improve work. Instead of just saying ‘no’, the Korean coworkers say ‘Let’s think about it and see what happens’. Why?

A Theory on Cultural Communication A anthropologist, Edward Hall, wrote a book ‘Beyond Culture’ in 1976 which looked at cultural communication. His thesis was the way in which we communicate is influenced by which culture we are from. There is a difference in communication between ‘High Context Cultures’ and ‘Low Context Cultures’. What are the characteristics of each culture?

The Geography of Thought Psychologist Richard Nisbett examined cultural differences with ‘The Geography of Thought’. His hypothesis is how East Asian cultures and Western cultures differ. A lot of this difference is because of the different schools of thought. Confucianism vs Greek thought

High and Low Context Cultures In a low context culture we assume we have a low level of shared context – we don’t have the same reference points, don’t have the same knowledge – therefore we have to be explicit in communicating (clear, concise). In a high context culture we assume we share a high level of shared context – we have same reference points, same knowledge – therefore we do not have to be explicit in communicating because a lot of the message is understood through body language, gestures, tone, vocabulary, status, etc. implicitly.

Logic & Culture In High Context Cultures… Much information and significance is contained in the physical context (age, relationships, dress, gender, setting, facial expression). Relationships are very important. Rules are often implicit (understood, rather than directly stated). Group dynamics and team dynamics are stressed. Contracts are not all important and may not be very detailed. Directness & self-disclosure may be offensive (lack of respect, losing face). Emotions are protected. Flexibility is expected in all situations, change is normal. Listening and reading effectively require knowledge of the context clues, and it is usually the responsibility of listeners or readers to consider the context carefully, not simply the words written or spoken. Usually a high power distance, ethnically homogeneous, long history, more religious

Logic & Culture In Low Context Cultures… Important information is contained in the explicit message (the words used, spoken or written). Words are used for their literal meaning. Relationships, while still important, have less significance than words, contracts, facts or objective information. Less formality. Rules are explicit (stated directly) in work and public life, exceptions are not usually made. Contracts are binding (not flexible). Indirectness and flexibility may be a sign of deviousness or untrustworthiness. Speakers and writers should make an effort to be clear and ensure that listeners and readers can easily follow their meaning. Confusion is often considered to be a result of poor communication by the speaker or writer. Usually a low power distance, multicultural, shorter history, less religious

Low Context Cultures High Context Cultures Australian Canadian British Finnish German Irish New Zealand Scandinavia Switzerland United States (excluding the Southern United States) African Arab Brazilian Chinese Filipinos French Canadian (Quebec) French Hawaiian Indian Italian Japanese Korean Latin Americans Russian Southern US Spanish Thai Turkish Vietnamese

High / Low Context Culture

Logic & Culture In High Context Cultures… Much information and significance is contained in the physical context (age, relationships, dress, gender, setting, facial expression). Relationships are very important. Rules are often implicit (understood, rather than directly stated). Group dynamics and team dynamics are stressed. Contracts are not all important and may not be very detailed. Directness & self-disclosure may be offensive (lack of respect, losing face). Emotions are protected. Flexibility is expected in all situations, change is normal. Listening and reading effectively require knowledge of the context clues, and it is usually the responsibility of listeners or readers to consider the context carefully, not simply the words written or spoken.

Logic & Culture In Low Context Cultures… Important information is contained in the explicit message (the words used, spoken or written). Words are used for their literal meaning. Relationships, while still important, have less significance than words, contracts, facts or objective information. Less formality. Rules are explicit (stated directly) in work and public life, exceptions are not usually made. Contracts are binding (not flexible). Indirectness and flexibility may be a sign of deviousness or untrustworthiness. Speakers and writers should make an effort to be clear and ensure that listeners and readers can easily follow their meaning. Confusion is often considered to be a result of poor communication by the speaker or writer.

Differences in High/Low Context Cultures Can you call me by my first name? What would happen if you called your Korean teachers/professors/principal by their first name? What is one of the first questions that is asked in Korea? Can you wave at someone older than you? How do you act if you are drinking with someone older than you? (status / formality / power distance) Are 회식’s common in the West? (flexibility vs inflexibility) Is 눈치 a Korean concept or Western concept? How do you write an essay in English (vs Korean)? (explicit vs implicit) How do you say ‘no’ in Korean? Where is the verb in English / where is the verb in Korean? When I ask ‘are there any questions?’ does anyone ask? (group harmony)

Warmup - Revisited You are working together in a group of 4 members. You notice one group member does not do his work well. He is constantly behind and not working well or doing what he should. You decide to… a) yell at him. You tell him directly, “What are you doing? You are a terrible worker and are making the rest of us look bad in front of the boss. Try harder or you are off the team.” b) tolerate him. You and the other hard-working coworkers will work harder to compensate for his lack of ability and you will do his work for him since he is behind. This way you don’t have to confront him even though you have to do more work.

Warmup - Revisited Your coworker tells you in January that he will take his vacation at the end of May. You… a) are happy. Now you know when he wants time off and can plan your schedule when he is out of the office. b) are upset. Why is he telling you he wants time off in January? We don’t even know how busy we will be in May? He should wait till later when he know how busy we will be to tell us when he wants vacation.

Low Context Culture in Business the message will be clear and all the information you need will be in that message a business meeting will have a clear start, body and finish people will repeat themselves or summarize to make sure everyone is understood being punctual is important; people who are constantly late may be untrustworthy you are allowed to call the boss (teacher/professor) by their first name you can confront someone directly if they are causing problems follow rules strictly never change the contract – most are written (contracts will be very detailed) inflexible (don’t like change) conflict is not personal (you can disagree but still be friends)

High Context Culture in Business people will preserve the group dynamic (sometimes over efficiency) people will avoid a loss of face (체면) – won’t rebuke others it’s possible to change a contract (verbal contracts are okay) the rules are understood implicitly but maybe not mentioned things can be changed at the last minute (flexible) saying ‘no’ may be too direct

Discussion 1. Have you ever had a cultural misunderstanding you could attribute to the high/low context culture theory? 2. What problems might someone from a high context culture (Korea) have living in a low context culture (the US)? What problems might someone from a low context culture (Switzerland) have living in a high context culture (China)?