cultural-diversity-跨文化交际.ppt

1、Session 2,Cultural Diversity,Right attitude in this global village,Appreciate similarities, Accept differences,We are alike, We are different,Warm-up: Read the following sayings aloud, and think it over: what do they mean to you?,Human beings draw close to one another by their common nature, but hab

2、its and customs keep them apart. - Confucian saying,性相近，习相远 -论语,One mans meat is another mans poison. - English proverb,萝卜白菜，各有所爱！ 众口难调！ -中国谚语,God gave to every people a cup, cup of clay, and from this cup they drank life They all dipped in the water, but their cups were different. - R. Benedict,上帝给

3、了每个人一个杯子、一杯粘土，并且人们从这个杯子里面啜饮人生.他们都是浸在水里面的，只是他们的杯子不一样而已 -本尼迪克特,Why is one culture different from another?,On the surface Perception (how we sense the world) Belief (what we believe as true) Value (a system of criteria known as rules and guideposts),Why is one culture different from another?,More deepl

4、y World view (religion) - Spiritual and psychological needs of people (life and death, creation of universe, relationship between humans and nature) - Social aspects of a culture (origin of society and groups within the society, relationship of individuals and groups to one another) Family (gender r

5、oles, individualism-collectivism, age, social skills) History (government, community, political system, key historical heroes, geography),What does cultural diversity mean?,Cultural patterns - conditions that contribute to the way in which a people perceive and think about the world - the manner in

6、which they live in that world Some cautions The value of the culture may not be the value of all individuals within that culture. It is useful to visualize each cultural pattern as a point on a continuum rather than one of only two possible responses. The patterns are interrelated with a host of oth

7、er values and do not operate in isolation. Common cultural patterns must be limited to the dominant culture in each country.,Significance of studying cultural diversities,When we study cultural differences, we mainly refer to the deep structure of culture (below the iceberg) Although culture is subj

8、ect to change, the deep structure of a culture is resistant to change. The comparison and contrast of different cultures help understand ones own culture and other cultures, which will ultimately enhance the effect of intercultural communication.,Question:,How can we compare one culture with another

9、 to find out their similarities and differences?,How to classify different cultures?,Culture patterns,Kluckhohn and Strodtbecks Value Orientation,Hofstedes Dimensions of Cultural Variability,Edward T Halls Context - Culture Theory,Human Nature,Man-nature,Time,Activity,Social Relationship,Individuali

10、sm Vs Collectivism,Uncertainty Avoidance,Power Distance,Masculinity Vs Femininity,High-Context,Low-Context,1. Model by Kluckhohn,5 basic questions that need answering at the root of any culture: 1) What is the character of innate human nature? 2) What is the relation of man to nature? 3) What is the

11、 temporal focus? 4) What is the mode of human activity? 5) What is the mode of human relationship?,1) = Human nature orientation 人性取向 2) = Man-nature orientation 人天取向 3) = Time orientation 时间取向 4) = Activity orientation 行为取向 5) = Social orientation 人际取向,Limitations of Kluckhohns model,Not everyone i

12、n a culture has the same basic values. Cultures change over time. The concept of basic values is itself a generalization,Case study,During the American Civil War, a very hungry young man fell down in front of a farm gate. The farmer gave him food but in return he asked the young man to move a pile o

13、f wood in his yard in fact it was not at all necessary to move the wood. When the young man left, the farmer moved the wood back to its original place. Seeing all this, the farmers son was confused.,Why did the farmer do that? What values are reflected in this story?,Save face and dignity of the you

14、ng man accept - earn,Individualistic value system,Writing assignment,When you compare your values to those of your parents or grandparents, do you see that Chinese values are changing? Give evidence. (10 mins),2. Model by G. Hofstede (1984),Hofstedes work was one of the earliest attempts to use exte

15、nsive statistical data to examine cultural values. During the 1980s, he surveyed over a hundred thousand workers in multinational organizations in forty countries. Each country was assigned a rank of one through forty in each category, depending on how it compared to the other country.,Hofstedes Fou

16、r Cultural Value System,individualism-collectivism Uncertainty avoidance power distance masculinity-femininity,2.1 Individualism vs. Collectivism,Individualistic cultures “I” consciousness independence, competition, negative face need Collectivist cultures “We” consciousness, interdependence, group

17、harmony, positive face need Strong influence on social relationships The concept of ingroups and outgroups Rules Vs relationships, strangers Vs associates All people and cultures have both individual and collective dispositions.,Ranking of Individualism,Case study: At the negotiating table, differen

18、ces in this dimension can clearly cause serious conflict. Americans too often expect their Japanese counterparts to make decisions right at the negotiating table, and the Japanese are constantly surprised to find individual members of the American team promoting their own positions, decisions, and i

19、deas, sometimes openly contradicting one another.,Americaindividualism Japancollectivism,2.2 Uncertainty Avoidance,It involves the extend to which a culture would avoid or tolerate uncertainty. High uncertainty avoidance cultures think of the uncertainty inherent in life as a continuous hazard that

20、must be avoided. They try to avoid uncertainty and ambiguity by providing stability for their members, establishing more formal rules. (a higher level of anxiety and stress) Low uncertainty avoidance cultures more easily accept the uncertainty inherent in life and are not as threatened by deviant pe

21、ople and ideas, so they tolerate the unusual. They prize initiative and more willing to take risks, more flexible. (less tense, more relaxed),不确定性规避的核心就是认为未来不可知。虽然可能每个人都在预测未来，但是没有人能够丝毫无误地预知下一刻、下一天、下一年或下十年会发生什么事情。美霍夫斯泰德用不确定性规避一词来“界定一种程度，一种当人们遇到混乱不清、难以预测的情况时所感到的不安程度。通过对严格的行为方式的遵循和对绝对真理的信仰，他们尽力避免这些情况。”

22、,不确定性规避,高度不确定性规避文化为了避免不确定性和模糊性，常常向其成员提供稳定性，制定正式的规则，不容忍偏离观点和行为，寻求共识，并相信绝对的真理。他们感到的焦虑和压力较高：人们认为生活中的不确定性会持久为患，因此必须避免。为了增强生活的有序性，他们非常需要成文的规则、计划、规范、典礼和仪式。具有强烈不确定性规避倾向的国家有葡萄牙、希腊、秘鲁、比利时和日本,高度不确定性规避,相反，人们发现像瑞典、丹麦、爱尔兰、挪威、美国、芬兰和荷兰等国家，比较容易接受生活中的不确定性，不为偏离的人或主张所困扰，因此他们对不寻常性的容忍度比较强。他们喜欢上进，不喜欢等级关系。他们乐于冒险，灵活性强，认为规则

23、越少越好，他们对专家的依赖性不强，而更多地相信自己。整体而言，低度不确定性规避文化心态较为放松。,低度不确定性规避,Ranking of Uncertainty Avoidance,*A low score means the country can be classified as one that does not like uncertainty.,The lower score, the higher uncertainty avoidance.,2.3 Power Distance,High PD Culture: People who hold power and people w

24、ho are affected by power are significantly far apart Vertical, hierarchical (everybody has a rightful place) E.g. India, Brazil, Singapore, Greece, Venezuela, Mexico, etc. Low PD Culture: The power holders and people affected by the power holders are significantly closer Horizontal (inequality in so

25、ciety should be minimized) E.g. Austria, Finland, Denmark, Norway, New Zealand, etc.,2.4 Masculinity vs. Femininity,Cultures high in the masculinity dimension focus on achievement, power, and possessions, regarding work as more central to ones life, differing gender roles more than feminine culture.

26、 (performance society) Cultures high in the femininity dimension value interpersonal relationships, nurturance, compassion, and quality of life. (welfare society),Ranking of Masculinity,*A low score means the country can be classified as one that favors Masculinity.,Limitations of Hofstedes model,Be

27、cause the people Hofstede surveyed were middle managers in large multinational organizations, most of his findings are work related. Many important countries and cultures were not included in his study. ( no Arab countries, South Africa representing Africa, no information about mainland China) He em

28、phasizes national culture, so it is not possible to know the layers of culture within nations.,3. Edward T. Halls Model,Human communication is dependent on the context in which it occurs. Communicative contexts include the physical, sociological, and psychological environments. High- and Low-context

29、 cultures,High-context Culture:,In high-context messages, meaning is not necessarily contained in words. Information is provided through gestures, the use of space, and even silence. Meaning is also conveyed through status (age, sex, education, family background, title, and affiliation). Examples of high-context cultures include Chinese, Japanese, Middle Easterners, etc.,Low-context Culture:,In low-context messages, the majority of the in