Are we really different or simply unique? (Week 6)

We are a world of diversity, variance and inter-mixture. We interact with a myriad of different people of different backgrounds, race and most noticeably, of different cultures everyday; especially here in Singapore where we pride ourselves for being a multi-cultural society. It is a form of presenting “who” we are, an “identity of our history” and a way of showing others what is uniquely different from them.

As so, because of the fact that each culture, unique to their very own geographical position in the world, communication between different cultures is different. Culture is learned by listening to and observing the behavior of others within a group and it can be passed from person to person from generation to generation.

Today, both culture and communication have evolved considerably and have become interdependent of one another, to the point that communication is considered to be a product of culture. Thus, our own culture has a deep impact on our thoughts and behaviours. Since each culture has its distinct aspects, intercultural communication can be the cause of conflict and disorder.

When people of different cultures come together to interact, collaborate, correspond and acquaint, the interpretation of the verbal and non-verbal signals will be reflected upon differently. People from different cultures encode and decode messages differently, in contacts between people with different cultural norms and values, the intercultural contacts, there is a heightened chance of misunderstanding, miscommunication and mismanagement, of which damage to business and personal interests can be the result, if one is not well acquainted with each other’s norms, values, rules of life and codes of behaviour.

So, culture is often at the root of communication challenges. Exploring historical experiences and the ways in which various cultural groups have related to each other is key to opening channels for inter-cultural communication. When we become more aware of cultural differences, as well as conceiving cultural similarities, communication with others will be more effective.

Today, both culture and communication have evolved considerably and have become interdependent of one another, to the point that communication is considered to be a product of culture. Thus, our own culture has a deep impact on our thoughts and behaviours. Since each culture has its distinct aspects, intercultural communication can be the cause of conflict and disorder. There are three main issues which are at the root of the problem of inter-cultural miscommunication: language as a barrier, cultural diversity and ethnocentrism.

As we can see from the collection of the HSBC videos, we can see that different cultures command a different approach to communication, and it is important to observe these changes and underlying meaning to different communicating signals.

Lastly, we can always avoid inter-cultural miscommunications by never assuming that our own cultural context is always the right one and not generalizing and stereotyping the other parties’ judgment and approach but rather to receive it with an open mind.

~ by lockeddlips on October 18, 2009.