...Vicki Graves 8/2/2015 Short Paper 1 INT-600 High-Context vs Low Context South Korea & U.S. Edward T. Hall created the phrase high-context culture to describe a country/culture’s communication style. A high-context culture, like South Korea, is one where “there are many contextual elements that help people to understand the rules.” (Hall’s cultural factors). That being said, because of the “unwritten rules” or nonverbal communication it can be confusing for an individual to fully understand the communication. A low-context culture, like the U.S., is one where “very little is taken for granted meaning more explanation is needed and there is less chance of misunderstanding particularly when visitors are present.” (Hall’s cultural factors). There is more of a focus on verbal communication than nonverbal like body language. Between a high-context culture like South Korea and a low-context culture like the U.S. there are many similarities and differences when it comes to cultural dimensions. Hofstede’s model of national culture uses five dimensions: power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism, masculinity, and long-term orientation. Power distance focuses on how power is distributed and the extent to which subordinates accept how power is distributed unequally. It focuses on the belief that superiors and subordinates are different kinds of people. In South Korea power distance is high, receiving a score of 60 according to Hofstede, and embraced by all. It is and...
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...Edward T. Hall created the phrase high-context culture to describe a country/culture’s communication style. A high-context culture, like South Korea, is one where “there are many contextual elements that help people to understand the rules.” (Hall’s cultural factors). That being said, because of the “unwritten rules” or nonverbal communication it can be confusing for an individual to fully understand the communication. A low-context culture, like the U.S., is one where “very little is taken for granted meaning more explanation is needed and there is less chance of misunderstanding particularly when visitors are present.” (Hall’s cultural factors). There is more of a focus on verbal communication than nonverbal like body language. Between a high-context culture like South Korea and a low-context culture like the U.S. there are many similarities and differences when it comes to cultural dimensions. Hofstede’s model of national culture uses five dimensions: power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism, masculinity, and long-term orientation. Power distance focuses on how power is distributed and the extent to which subordinates accept how power is distributed unequally. It focuses on the belief that superiors and subordinates are different kinds of people. In South Korea power distance is high, receiving a score of 60 according to Hofstede, and embraced by all. It is and has always been a norm in society. Everybody has a place starting from birth, although that place can...
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...High Vs. Low Context High Context vs. Low Context Cultures There are many distinct differences between high context and low context cultures. While many cultures are noticeably high context or low context they are not that exclusively. Many cultures have certain aspects of the other; this is also true with hearing and deaf cultures. I will explain the differences between the two then how they intertwine. A high context culture is one that contains many close connections and may be difficult to enter into or understand if you are and outsider. In a high context culture acceptable behaviors or rules are not openly laid out because they are known by all of the members. Activities usually revolve around face-to-face interactions. Most people in high context cultures have a very small, distinctive group of people that they surround themselves with. These cultures are similar to your family or a long relationship. A few cultures identified as high context cultures are the Japanese, Arabs, and French. A low context culture is one that is very open, it is very easy to enter into and all the rules and regulations are laid out for everyone to see. Many people in low context cultures have a wide network of contacts. Knowledge is very public in these cultures and relationships usually last a shorter time and are for the purpose of a task. Rules are very important in these cultures. A few cultures identified as low context cultures are Americans, Germans, and Scandinavians. When compared...
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...is the difference between a low-context culture and a high-context culture? Give an example of a country that is an example of each type, and provide evidence for your answer. ANSWER E. Hall has suggested the concept of high and low context as a way of understanding different cultural orientations. In a low-context culture, messages are explicit; words carry most of the information in communication. In a high-context culture, less information is contained in the verbal part of a message. Much more information resides in the context of communication, including the background, associations, and basic values of the communicators. In general, high-context cultures function with much less legal paperwork than is deemed essential in low-context cultures. Japan, Saudi Arabia, and other high-context cultures place a great deal of emphasis on a person's values and position or place in society. In such cultures, a business loan is more likely to be based on who you are than on formal analysis of pro forma financial documents. In a lowcontext culture such as the United States, Switzerland, or Germany, deals are made with much less information about the character, the back-ground, and the values of the participants. Much more reliance is placed on the words and numbers in the loan application. In a high-context culture, a person's word is his or her bond. There is less need to anticipate contingencies and provide for external legal sanctions because the culture emphasizes obligations and...
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...Multiple Choice (1 point each) 1. Which of the Hofstede variables would be most closely responsible for the existence of formal rules and procedures within a given culture? a) Individualism b) uncertainty avoidance c) masculinity d) femininity 2. Jane greatly values achievements and success. Fred on the other hand, values time with family and friends. Based on Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, Jane is likely to come from a _____culture, while Fred is likely to come from a _____ culture. a) high power distance; low power distance b) high risk loving; low risk loving c) individualistic; collectivist d) achievement oriented; performance oriented 3. Italians and Mexicans would openly express emotions even in a business situation, where as British and Japanese would consider such displays unprofessional. Trompenaars categorizes the differences as _____. a) universalism versus particularism b) neutral versus affective c) specific versus diffuse d) achievement versus ascription 4. Which of the following does not characterize the Japanese business environment? a) strong working relationships b) strong seniority systems c) weak middle management d) emphasis on looking after employees 5. Which of the following would likely occur in a high-contact culture? a) widening your eyes b) looking at your watch c) speaking faster d) touching while you speak 6. Which of the following statements about time systems...
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...Perspective of High Context and Low Context Jianeng Wang Foreign Languages College, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou 310018, China E-mail: jianeng101@163.com Abstract In cross-cultural communication, ignorance of contexts usually leads to misunderstanding and conflicts. Based on Edward. T. Hall’s notion of high-context and low-context, this paper aims to generalize the basic distinctive characteristics of the two contexts by analyzing the actual cases in daily communication between American and Chinese. This paper also tries to conclude some tips for communication crossing the two contexts in accordance with the case analysis. Keywords: High-context, Low-context, Communicatio, Culture 1. About Hall’s high-context and low-context Context is important in all communication, but it is relatively more important in some situations than in others. There are also significant differences across cultures in the ways and the extent to which people communicate through context. One of the main distinctions between cultures has been the notion of high and low context cultures, proposed by the American anthropologies Edward. T. Hall in his 1976 classic, Beyond Culture (Hall, 2000). 1.1 What is high/low-context? Edward T. Hall has described cultural differences in the use of language and context in communication. He calls communication that occurs mostly through language low context and communication that occurs in ways other than though languages as high context. A high-context (HC) communication...
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..."An Investigation into the Relationship Between Low-Context Online Learning and High-Context Learners" By Timothy Paul Westbrook Paper presentation for NAPCE/SPCE 2013- Chicago Farmer (2010, 472) writes, “The anonymity of online communication can … make females from male-dominated cultures feel more comfortable voicing their opinions.” Ibarra (2000, 7) reports, “No one can hear my accent on the keyboard!” According to Al-Harthi (2005, 7), students from Arab Gulf states felt a sense of anonymity online and both male and female felt “freer to speak their minds.” As an online instructor myself in a predominantly white Christian university, I have often pondered how culture might interact with online forms of education and whether my own institution is serving at full capacity. Students who come from a high context culture may find the low-context, online culture to lack cues that they would normally expect when meeting face-to-face Judging that online communication by definition is low context (Lustig and Koester 2006, 111), this study explores the impact low-context communication makes in the learning environment of students from high-context cultures by summarizing Hall’s definitions of contexting Ever since Hall (1976, 91–101) distinguished between high- and low context cultures, researchers have been studying their implications for cross-cultural communication. According to Hall, high-context communication takes place non-verbally with cues expressed between...
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...Dimensions of Culture Com 101 Cultural Dimension: High Context vs. Low Context Definition of the Dimension: High and low context communication are ways in which members of various cultures deliver messages. High context messages are communicated non-verbally, in an attempt to maintain social balance, while low context messages express what one would like to communicate directly through language. Examples of how this dimension of culture can result in misunderstanding and/or challenges faced by people who would come from different cultures in which the members of the respective cultures have learned different worldviews/ behaviors/beliefs, etc. regarding this particular dimension: One example of how high context communication could result in a misunderstanding is in a retail setting. An American employee could be going about their job as usual, and a person who is from a low context culture might not get the service they expect. An American might not pick up on the non-verbal cues given by somebody from a high context culture and could come off as rude or non-caring even if that isn’t their intention. An example of challenges faced by people who come from different cultures in which members of the respective cultures have learned different behaviors can happen in the business world. A new hire from a high context culture might have trouble adjusting to the business environment in the U.S. People in America and especially from New...
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...realizes it needs water to live when it is no longer swimming in the water. Our culture is to us like water to the fish. We live and breathe through our culture." As Trompenaar's quote outlines, culture is a crucial part of someone's life or even indispensable for the life of humans. This is because culture determines a human's basic assumptions, values, norms and belief systems as well as a human's behaviour, language, food, drinking habits and other determinants of one's daily routine. Understanding his or her own culture is a key factor in order to live in his or her society, but understanding other cultures gives the opportunity to look out of the box. It provides someone, for example, with the ability to interact between two cultures. A vital aspect when it comes to make business upon international terms. This paper will focus on the discoveries of Edward T. Hall and will also provide especially european countries as examples. 2. Hall’s dimensions of culture Edward T. Hall, Anthropologist, developed a culture model with three dimensions. Context, the most popular dimension, Time and Space. The following paragraphs will outline and explain the three dimension. Overview of the most popular culture models HALL | HOFSTEDE | TROMPENAARS | HIGH-CONTEXT vsLOW-CONTEXT | POWER DISTANCE | UNIVERSALISM vsPARTICULARISM | | | INDIVIDUALISM vsCOLLECTIVISM | HIGH-TERRITORIALITY vs LOW-TERRITORIALITY | INDIVIDUALISM | NEUTRAL vsEMOTIONAL | | MASCULINITY/FEMININITY...
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...frameworks with analyses of case studies, focusing particularly on cases of negotiation between Western and non-Western states. Cohen rejects the notion that a single international diplomatic culture has developed, which makes diplomats' native cultures largely irrelevant. He finds that seasoned diplomats reports that cultural differences have a significant impact. Theoretic studies show that culture plays a large role in shaping the individuals' character. This constitutive impact of culture cannot be erased by mere exposure to other cultures. Cohen draws primarily on Lorand Szalay's theory of inter-cultural communication. Szalay begins by distinguishing between the form and content of a message. The form of the message serves to encode its meaning. Understanding a message is a matter of the receiver correctly decoding it, so that the receiver's intention matches the sender's meaning. Szalay says, "Since the encoder and the decoder are two separate individuals their reactions are likely to be similar only to the extent that they share experiences, that they have similar frames of reference. The more different they are, the less isomorphism there will be between encoded and decoded content."[p. 20] Cultural similarity provides a shared frame of reference, while individuals from divergent cultures are more likely to have different...
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...discussion began with high-context and low-context communication. He described high-context communication as something that requires a great deal of background information; low-context communication relies on what is explicit in the message. A Filipino practice that may count as a form of high context communication is lip pointing. One of the most common reasons for lip pointing is to give quick directions, of which explaining verbally would take a longer time. So if you’re lost in a street and you ask from a Filipino whose arms are loaded with grocery bags where the nearest bus stop is, he would probably purse his lips and extend his neck to some left or right instead of giving you a sentence of detailed directions. High-context and low-context communication determines the way of regulating behavior in a community, the nature of contracts and negotiation and decision-making. Low-context cultures communicate behavior norms more often through writing while high-context cultures do it through personal enforcement. Contracts in low-context cultures are thorough and very detailed; while contracts in high-context cultures do not require a very detailed presentation and are usually open for changes in the future. Lo-context cultures are usually frank while highcontext cultures deliver things with indirectness, especially when the news is something negative. Relationship-based cultures trigger high-context communication. Behavior in relationship-based cultures is regulated through...
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...community, where understanding how different cultures communicate is extremely important. In order to achieve effective intercultural communication we have to understand how different cultures communicate. Communication styles differ by how power is distributed within an organization. There are essentially two types: hierarchical, and democratic. In a hierarchical structure the most power is held by the highest ranking individual, where as in a democratic structure, power distribution is uniformed among the individuals. The classification of high-context versus low-context cultures based on the amount of information that is implied versus stated directly in a communication message. In high-context cultures, the meanings of the messages are found in the situation and in the relationships of the communicators, or are internalized in the communicator’s beliefs, values, and norms. In low-context cultures, less emphasis is placed on the context. Instead they rely on explicit verbal messages. Understanding these differences is essential to accurately decoding the message. Communication specialists estimate that three-fourths of our communication is nonverbal and takes place through our behavior. Nonverbal cues serve as the markers of ones’ identities. The way people dress, the accent pattern, and the nonverbal way of gesturing, all deliver messages to others. A culture’s perception of time can alter the message being communicated. In a culture that uses linear time, tasks are sequential...
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...6th 2014 Introduction: There are around 196 countries in the world and the cultures and values differ between the different countries. There are still similarities in some of the culture traits. In today’s world people are more willing to engage in global business and for this reason they need to be able to adapt to the different cultures. As the cultures vary from country to country, people around the world may face many difficulties during their communication. Many businesses have failed due to the fact that they failed to fully assess the market they were entering in. The paper will portray three different approaches that will aid in understanding cultural differences that can be utilized as effective tools in conducting global business. These approaches are known as the context approach, the cluster approach and the dimension approach. 1. Context Approach: This is one of the three main approaches to understand cultural differences. Context approach is considered as the most straightforward as it relies on a single dimension. In addition, there are two parts of the context approach, known as: (i) High context cultures and (ii) Low context cultures. The two types of contexts have different cultures, values, norms, and ways of thinking. In low-context cultures such as North American and Western European countries, communication usually takes place at face value whereas, in high-context cultures such as Asian and African countries, communication relies upon unspoken condition...
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...prevalent in Low-context, typically Western cultures, in which communication is relatively informal and intimate. A culture can be either high context or low context which is related to the way people communicating with each other. Jandt (2004: 61) defined high-context cultures as cultures where the meaning of message is in the physical environment or already shared by people thus people do not need to say or write more.It is important to remember that every individual uses both high-context and low context communication; it is not simply a matter of choosing one over the other. Often, the types of relationships we have with others and our circumstances will dictate the extent to which we rely more on literal or implied meanings. To better understand high-context and low-context communication, ask the following: • Do I recognize implied messages from others, and am I aware of the verbal and nonverbal cues that let me understand the speaker's meaning? (High-Context) • Do I "let my words speak for themselves?" Do I prefer to be more direct, relying on what is explicitly stated in my speech? (Low-Context) Novelist Amy Tan describes the differences in cultural communication this way: "An American business executive may say, 'Let's make a deal,' and the Chinese manager may reply, 'Is your son interested in learning about your widget business?' Each to his or her own purpose, each with his or her own linguistic path." When individuals from high-context and low-context cultures collaborate...
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...Low Context Cultures vs. High Context Cultures The video cultural difference in business is about a 17-year-old Valerie Hoek who traveled through the outskirts of Beijing China. She gained valuable knowledge about China’s culture by staying with the locals and learning how they lived and believed. This knowledge later helped her in business relationships with China. China, which is a high context culture, emphasizes interpersonal relationships in their personal lives and while doing business. The perception of people in high context cultures from people in low context cultures may be they are inefficient in their use of time; however, high context cultures may believe people from low context cultures are overly aggressive. This video also points out how in high context culture, earning trust is very important to them when doing business and building relationships over time is how this is achieved. Low context cultures like United States, relationships are not as important in business transactions as contracts and laws are. In addition, conversation is more direct straightforward, concise, and efficient in telling what action is expected. Words are in high context societies are not as important as tone of voice, facial expression, gestures, posture or the person’s family history and status. Saving face, as stated in the video, is a major concern in low context cultures because of the importance of building relationships and status. In low context cultures having a transaction...
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