The concept of communication can be defined as the activity of conveying meaningful information. Communication required a sender, content (message) and a receiver. However, the message can have different meanings depending on the time, the place and the person involved in the communication. Thus, we have to be really careful on which word or expression to use when we are speaking with a foreigner.
In the globalized world we live in today, what Rudyard Kipling said- "East is East, West is West, and never twain shall meet"- proved to be incorrect. We have to know each other, while learning from one another. To do so, people have to learn how to understand each other.
Many people think that by just being aware on what is happening in the world, they can understand different culture and communicate effectively. Media and news are far from good enough to be able to understand what's going on in the rest of the world.
[...] Differences between China & West in negotiating a. Culture & Behavior & Communication & Values People are conditioned by their culture and society in areas such as to what , when, and how to say something. There is an inter relationship between culture and behavior as culture helps to shape acceptable behaviors, while at the same time behaviors influence culture. 8 Below are the differences between West (blue) and China (red) in terms of behavior (This pictures are from the show made by Yang Liu): Topic Scheme West “Living alone” Individualist society East Living together as a community. [...]
[...] To what extent is the communicating culture different between West and East? Sommaire Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 2 I. a. b. II. How a culture can be defined? ........................................................................................... 3 What is culture : .............................................................................................................................. 3 What is not culture : ........................................................................................................................ 3 Main approaches to cultural differences ............................................................................ 3 III. Cross-cultural communication ........................................................................................... 5 a. b. a. b. c. Elements of cross-cultural communication ..................................................................................... 5 Practices and researches in cross-cultural communication ............................................................ 6 Culture & Behavior & Communication & Values............................................................................. 8 Negotiation process differences ................................................................................................... [...]
[...] The way to communicate, to way to react and the way of thinking are really different from West to East. Let's explore now the differences in communication styles. III. Cross-cultural communication As previously mentioned, the East and West are culturally very different. Because of these differences, understanding the other culture is very important. We will now analyse the elements of cross culture communication followed by some cross culture communication theories a. Elements of cross-cultural communication Speak vs. Think : Asia think more than they talk compare to the French Time: Monochronic (Asia) : – – – – – – Doing one thing at the same time Priority is given to a schedule Interruptions are disliked Time is linear To use time well, it has to fill it with activity Appearing stressed means you are filling your time to the limit Polychronic (West): 5 – – – Being involved in many things at the same time To be enthusiastic when you are interrupted to do something else Time fluctuate a lot High context vs. [...]
[...] What is not culture : The culture is not absolute and the same everywhere. It is not right or wrong, it is relative. This is why stereotypes are not an accurate representation of any culture. It is not inherited Individual behavior does not represent the culture, as people do not have the same psychological reaction to a stimulant. II. Main approaches to cultural differences If we focus first on the concept of culture, 19th century French philosopher Montaigne's approach is an interesting one. [...]
[...] The explanation of my initial feelings is the large gap between Western and Eastern cultures. Thanks to this lecture and the Harvard Business Review, I am better able to understand what Chinese people may think and why they are acting that way. Also, I have a better understanding of how to react, what I should not say, and how to handle myself in a Chinese society. SOURCES: The Academic lectures of Professor Bernard Fernandez (September 2011, TongJi University) The Chinese Negotiation, by John L. [...]
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