Cross-cultural competence and power-based rules: A native American case study

Inter-organizational relationships are increasingly formed between entities representing culturally dissimilar and politically unequal populations. This case study of an Anglo-Navajo inter-organizational relationship identifies effective and ineffective communicative acts on the part of individuals who represent the politically dominant group. It shows that effective cross-cultural coordination in these relationships requires the successful navigation of power-based rules.     

Cross-cultural small group research: A review,an analysis,and a theory

The small group research reported in the literature has been conducted predominantly with American subjects. Because these studies have primarily sampled only one culture, it was speculated that the findings may not be applicable to groups in other societies. After examining the available cross-national small group research, the investigator found that group behavior frequently varied from culture to culture, particularly with regard to leadership, conformity, network performance, and risky shift. In discussing cultural differences in group behavior, a value theory of small group development was posited. Essentially, the theory maintains that cultural values determine how a small group and its members behave. Research strategies for testing the theory are also examined in the article.     

Japanese intercultural communication competence and cross-cultural adjustment

This study explores the relationship between language and communication skills and patterns of success and failure in the cross-cultural adjustment of Japanese university students. Seven interpersonal communication skills which were selected by Ruben and Kealey as important to cross-cultural adjustment were examined: empathy, respect, role behavior flexibility, orientation to knowledge, interaction posture, interaction management, and tolerance for ambiguity. Besides these skills, language was taken into consideration as a major component influencing Japanese intercultural communication. The behavioral assessment method developed by Ruben was utilized to measure communicative performance and behaviors of Japanese university students who visited the United States for 4 weeks for their English training. In order to assess the language skills of these individuals, listening, speaking, structure and written expression, and vocabolary and reading comprehension skills were measured. At the end of their stay in the United States, the dimensions of culture shock, psychological adjustment, and interactional effectiveness were examined. Comparisons of pre- and post-test measures indicated that six out of the seven communication behaviors observed in the Japanese students did not predict success or failure in adjustment to the United States. Only ambiguity tolerance yielded correlation with culture shock. However, speaking and listening skills were closely correlated with interactional effectiveness.     

An empirical study of Canadian technical assistance: Adaptation and effectiveness on overseas assignment

Some 100 variables were studied on adaptation and effectiveness of technical assistance personnel working in six developing countries. Variables related to job effectiveness, personal and cultural adaptation, transfer of skills, receptivity of nationals, and personal characteristics of the effective Canadian working and living in another culture. Data analyzed included options and standardized ratings by self, colleagues, and national counterparts. Results detailed the components of “Overseas Effectiveness” of technical assistance personnel and spouses. There was evidence of at least two categories of adaptation and two categories of effectiveness. It was found that the best predictor of overseas effectiveness was “Interpersonal Skills,” followed by “Idenity” and “realistic predeparture expectations.” Regarding transfer of skills to nationals, it was found that technical assistance personnel were likely ineffective because of their inability to engage in intercultural interaction.     

A cognitive approach to intercultural communication based on schema theory

The purpose of this study was to examine schema theory and its application to intercultural communication, especially to sojourners’ cross-cultural adaptation. Eight primary types of schemas for social interactions were extracted, and these schemas’ functions for processing information were investigated. Furthermore, fundamental functional structures of schemas were analyzed when the theory was applied to sojourners’ cross-cultural adaptation, and eleven axioms were formulated in the following domains: the development of schemas, internal organization of schemas, schema-driven versus data-driven functions, and schema modification and change.     

Situational and personal influence on attitude change following ethnic contact

The study undertook to examine the validity in Israel of several conclusions reached by investigators in the United States on the effect of intergroup contact on change in ethnic attitudes, as well as to extend contact research to topics which heretofore have received only scant attention. There were 100 subjects: 12-year-old Israeli girls of different ethnic background, participating in a summer camp. Results indicated that (1) as a result of contact, a positive change in attitude of the high status towards the low-status group occurred with regard to people and activities both related and not related to the contact situation, (2) only subjects without previous ethnic contact showed changes, (3) enjoyment of the contact situation was related to attitude change, while (4) authoritarianism was not related to attitude change.     

Cross-cultural training,expatriate self-efficacy,and adjustments to overseas assignments: An empirical investigation of managers in Asia

This paper presents the findings of an empirical study that investigated the relationship between cross-cultural training (CCT) effectiveness, self-efficacy, and adjustment of expatriate managers in Asia. Responses of 169 managers from four different national backgrounds, all currently on overseas assignments in Asia, indicate that the relationship between CCT effectiveness and adjustment is mediated by an increase in self-efficacy. Implications of the findings for professional practice and for future research are discussed.     

Intercultural communication competence: Theory,measurement, and application

This brief article focuses on issues or concerns about the current state of intercultural communication competence (ICC) research. Theoretical issues include problems with ICC terminology and with conceptualizations of ICC. Measurement issues include problems with the use of self-reports to assess the “appropriateness” dimension of ICC and with the domain of skills and traits that make one more likely to be perceived as competent. Application issues center on the desirability for increased attention to practical uses of researched-based theory. We suggest that accounts of positive exemplars – those who are widely perceived to be competent in specific intercultural encounters and relationships – would be a welcome and useful addition to the ICC literature.     

Observing intercultural communication: A proposal of theory and method

Techniques for analyzing intercultural communication should minimize subjective intrusion by observers and maximize the potential benefit of analysis to communicators. Interchange between communicators is defined transactionally as events involving simultaneous change in (1) a communicator, (2) other communicators encountered by that communicator, and (3) what is known about these encounters. Interchange in dyadic communication is explained in terms of an ABX model, which is phenomenal rather than objective for an observer and in which X signifies mutual experience between communicators A and B. X is the focus of empirical investigation by the observer, who conducts parallel interviews with A and B and cross checks them. Comparison of different sets of interviews indicates which variables are persistent in intercultural communication. Research procedures are proposed for rigorous evaluation of the transactional model.     

Behavioral assessment of communication competency and the prediction of cross-cultural adaptation

This study explores the relationship between interpersonal and social behaviors and patterns of success and failure in cross-cultural adaptation. Seven interpersonal communication skills often mentioned as being important to cross-cultural adaptation were studied: empathy, respect, role behavior flexibility, orientation to knowledge, interaction posture, interaction management and tolerance for ambiguity. For each dimension, behavioral observation indices were developed. Following a week-long predeparture training program, behavioral assessments were made on these dimensions for each person in a group of technical advisors and spouses assigned to two-year postings in Kenya. One year later, an in-the-field follow up study was conducted to assess shock dynamics, psychological adjustment, and vocational and interactional effectiveness of these individuals. Comparisons of pre and post-test measures indicated that each of the focal dimensions predicted patterns of success and failure in adaptation with varying degrees of adequacy. These results and implications for further research, and cross-cultural training and selection, are explored in the final section of the article.     

Intercultural communication problems as perceived by Saudi Arabian and American managers

Research on Saudi Arabian communication patterns is inadequate. The present study reviews the literature on Saudi Arabian cultural and communication patterns and reports the results of data collected in Saudi Arabia on the perceived problems of Saudi Arabian businessmen when communicating with Americans. While large differences exist in the perceptions of the communication problems, both the Saudi Arabians and the Americans targeted differences in the patterns for organizing ideas as a major intercultural problem. Implications for intercultural training are provided.     

Interethnic perception and the communication behavior among five ethnic groups in Hawaii

The purpose of this paper was to explore interethnic perception in an ethnically mixed society, and to examine the relationship between the degree of stereotyping toward certain ethnic groups and interethnic interpersonal communication and social capacity variables, such as education, age, occupational status, length of stay in the U.S., and English fluency. The study focused on three major aspects of stereotyping: homogeneity, polarity, and favorableness of interethnic attitudes. Homogeneity was defined as the degree to which an individual differentiates dimensions of perception, while polarity was the degree of extremity—either positive or negative—of perception. Favorableness was the degree of positive attitude toward other ethnic groups.The study was based upon a random survey conducted from 1978 to 1979 of five ethnic groups in Hawaii, including 401 Koreans, 203 Japanese, 200 Caucasians, 199 Samoans, and 208 Filipinos. Six bipolar dimensions of perception were explored: responsible-irresponsible, friendly-unfriendly, independent-dependent, good-bad, hard working-lazy, and wise-foolish. The results indicated that interethnic interpersonal communication had the strongest relationship with the level of favorableness. The hypothesized relationships between the social capacity variables and stereotyping were statistically significant, although the magnitude of the relationships were small.     

Culture's influence on the perception of OCB as in-role or extra-role

The relationship between dimensions of individual level culture-related variables (social axioms) and the categorization of organizational citizenship behaviours (OCB) as in-role versus extra-role was explored within a Canadian sample. In order to appropriately address levels-of-analysis issues, this study focused on the relationship between two variables at the same level of analysis: individual social beliefs and individual perceptions of what constitutes OCB. Results indicate that the extent to which each of the OCB dimensions were viewed as in-role versus extra-role varied considerably among participants and that this variation could in part be predicted by social beliefs. The implications of understanding culture's effect on employee work behaviours and attitudes are discussed.     

Phenomenology and hermeneutics: Evolving approaches to the study of intercultural and international communication

The thought models and theories of many individuals and disciplines have contributed to the study of human communication. In recent years scholars have become increasingly aware of the fact that methodologies superimposed upon the actual event of human communication have significantly shaped our perceptions of these events. Going beyond methodological approaches or quarrels, a phenomenological basis requires direct encounter with the event and an attempt to let methodology evolve out of that direct encounter, rather than attempting a so-called objective approach. Self, experience, values, and human relationships are of primary concern to the phenomenologist who sees meaning and interpretation as a unitary concept. Phenomenology thus concerns itself with understanding, and the bases for such understanding, rather than with the mere application of methodology. At the same time, phenomenology by its very approach, concerns itself not merely with the discovery of some abstract truth, but must be deeply concerned also with the improvement of the human condition founded in conscious experience. Behavior and meaning thus become conjoined. The ultimate aim of phenomenological studies becomes a concern with the ontological as well as the epistemological bases of human understanding.     

Business communication as cultural text: Exchange and feedback of promotional video clips

Our research is a response to the need to improve the understanding of the complexity of global professional communication. To investigate the complex cultural interpretations that producers and audiences apply to professional texts, we developed a two-year interactive project. Business students in New Zealand and Israel produced promotional “texts” – video clips to promote a university program – which they exchanged with their counterparts overseas to receive feedback. We adapted models of home-made visual communication and advertising which used the categories of participants, settings, topics, and style, to analyze the eight clips. Emergent findings suggested two more categories – information and language – as important analytical tools. Variables of age, gender, intra- and intercultural differences, and (cultural) context also resulted in student audiences’ multiple interpretations of the texts. The outcomes indicate the need to extend the culture-in-context approach for a “situation focused communication approach,” where the primary focus is a group of producers and their audience as they produce and interpret a professional text. This approach also foregrounds contextual variables and a plural understanding of culture to accommodate the potential for miscommunication of business and professional texts in pluricultural contexts.     

Influences of organizational communication tactics on trust with procedural justice effects: A cross-cultural study between Japanese and American workers

This study looked into possible relationships between workplace organizational communication tactics, workers’ feelings of trust, and workers’ perceptions of procedural justice. Raw data was collected by questionnaires, and structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to reveal the relationships. The subjects in the study were Japanese (N = 417) and American (N = 591) workers, surveyed in a period running up to late May 2004. For both the Japanese and the Americans, perceived procedural justice was influenced positively by rational communication tactics, and negatively by hard communication tactics; and soft communication tactics did not relate to perceived procedural justice. In the case of Japanese workers, it was found that, after controlling for perceived procedural justice, soft, rational, and hard communication tactics affected trust in different ways: positively, positively, and negatively, respectively. Therefore, perceived procedural justice had a partially mediating effect on the relationships between rational and hard communication tactics and trust. In contrast, for the Americans, there were no direct relationships between communication tactics and trust; rather, there were indirect effects from rational and hard communication tactics, via perceived procedural justice as a full mediator. The influence of three communication tactics on trust was much stronger for Japanese workers than their American counterparts. On the other hand, the influence of hard and rational communication tactics on perceived procedural justice and that of perceived procedural justice on trust were much stronger for American workers than their Japanese counterparts. Based on the results, some academic and practical implications are presented.     

Institutional completeness and communication acculturation: A comparison of Korean immigrants in Chicago and Hartford

This paper addresses the question of whether the institutional completeness of an ethnic community affects the communication acculturation patterns of the members of that ethnic community. The study examines the effects of institutional completeness upon the ethnic interpersonal and mass communication patterns. The research question was tested by applying some of the methods used in a study of a very institutionally complete ethnic group, the Chicago Korean community, studied by Young Kim, to a less institutionally complete ethnic group, the Greater Hartford Korean community. The results indicate that there are differences in some of the communication patterns which can be seen as evidence that the institutional completeness of an ethnic community influences certain aspects of the communication acculturation patterns of the immigrants within that community.     

An exploratory study on intercultural communication research contents and methods: A survey based on the international and domestic journal papers published from 2001 to 2005

With the progressive acceleration of globalization in the world, the study of intercultural communication is accordingly flourishing day by day on both domestic and international levels. In order to discern the current trends of intercultural communication research in China and abroad and furthermore provide suggestions for future research, the present study has made an analysis of 368 intercultural communication articles published between 2001 and 2005 in 11 major international and domestic academic journals, among which 203 articles are from 10 major domestic academic journals and 165 ones from the American journal entitled International Journal of Intercultural Relations. Each article is analyzed from two perspectives: the research contents and research methods. The results indicate that intercultural communication research in China is sharply different from research abroad with regards to research contents and methods. The main concern of researchers abroad is intercultural adaptation and intercultural training while the Chinese researchers are mainly concerned with cross-cultural pragmatics. As far as research methods are concerned, most studies abroad are conducted using empirical research methods, the majority of which adopt the quantitative research method. On the contrary, most studies in China are non-empirical research. Of the small number of empirical studies, considerable attention is paid to the mixed use of both qualitative and quantitative research methods. At the end of the paper, constructive suggestions are made for future research.     

The relationship between intercultural effectiveness and perceived project team performance in the context of international development

Working effectively in the development context—humanitarian aid or capacity building as in any intercultural context requires specific skills and abilities such as special knowledge of human relationships as these projects bring people together from different cultures, mentalities, and backgrounds. The research examines the relationship between intercultural effectiveness and project team performance in the international development field based on the Canadian technical advisors and project team personnel that work overseas within international development projects. The sample consisted of 106 international development practitioners who completed a self-report survey assessing intercultural effectiveness based on the Multicultural Personality Questionnaire (MPQ) and project team performance based on the Group Development Questionnaire. The study examined how the level of intercultural effectiveness is affected by age, gender, education, and experience of each individual respondent based on MANOVA and t-test analysis. Correlation analysis confirmed the relationship between intercultural effectiveness and project team performance.     

An initial analysis of the effects of face and concern for OTHER in chinese interpersonal communication

The present study investigated two of the most frequently used concepts in Chinese communication processes—face and other. A popular TV series in China was selected as the primary context in which face and other were analyzed. It was found that face and other played important roles in Chinese interpersonal communication. Specifically, the two dimensions of face, lian and mian, conveyed different messages in the everyday discourse of the Chinese. The notion of lian used in its negative form was related to a persons moral character and personal integrity. Mian, however, was used in compliance gaining, conflict mediation, and requesting. Results also revealed that the concept of other was important in self reproach, decision making, behavior regulation, and effectiveness of requests.