1. HIGH vs LOW CONTEXT IN INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
(CHAPTER 2.2.5)
Jessica Martin

2. LOW CONTEXT (WESTERN) HIGH CONTEXT (EASTERN)
~~~~~~~~~~DIALECTIC/SPECTRUM~~~~~~~~~~
VALUES OBJECTS
VALUES RELATIONSHIPS
CONFRONTATIONAL
DIRECT
NONCONFRONTATIONAL
INTERMEDIARIES
USE MED/MED METHODS
(i.e. focus groups, content analysis)
USE L/H & H/L METHODS
(i.e. in-depth interviews & surveys; textual analysis & discourse analysis)
CONCERN FOR PRIVACY AND AUTONOMY
CONCERN FOR
INTERDEPENDENCE, INCLUSION
SELF-FACE MAINTENANCE
MUTUAL/OTHER-FACE MAINTENANCE

3. LOW vs HIGH CONTEXT CULTURE IN BUSINESS
-For both domestic and international business it is very important to observe and understand the different hierarchies, habits, organization and levels of importance of other cultures before and during a business agreement.
-For example, if American businesspeople were working with a Japanese company they must honor the expectations of Japanese business operations. This includes being on time, using culturally-correct greetings, reciprocating favors and building a relationship and trust before talking about business (i.e. eating together). --Likewise, Japanese should reciprocate and recognize America’s low context habits, such as valuing time and hastening business deals.

4. LOW vs HIGH CONTEXT CULTURE IN WEBSITE DESIGN
-With the widespread international interest and use of the internet, people commonly visit websites made by and for people from other countries. Visitors ultimately notice differences in the organization and content between their local and international websites.
-In a 2009 study US and South Korean website designs were compared. Their findings suggest that websites from low context countries focus on “less arbitrary textual formats” (such as animation, videos, pop-up windows, audio) than those of high context countries, who focus more on text.
-For example, the US shopping website Amazon.com clearly uses images, animation and audio to attract its Western visitors. On the other hand, the multipurpose website Korean.net, aside from a few advertisements, features long written phrases. It should be noted that Korea’s most popular websites (as decided by detailed, informal research) are multipurpose in nature, meaning that they cover shopping, travel plans, the arts, news, , etc..

5. WORKS CITED
Jandt, Fred E. (2015). An Introduction to Intercultural Communication, 8th edition. Washington, D.C.; Sage Publications.
Blogroll “Top 10 Most Popular Korean Websites.”
Amazon Home Page.
Overseas Korean Foundation