LESSON 2:

Cultural and Global

Issues Affecting
Communication
AT THE END OF THE LESSON, YOU SHOULD BE
ABLE TO:

a. identify the cultural and global issues affecting

communication;
b. explain how cultural and global issues affect
communication;
c. determine ways on how such issues may be
addressed;
d. enumerate the guidelines to improve one's ability
to communicate interculturally;
e. make a slogan or participated in a small group
discussion to demonstrate understanding of the
various ways on how to communicate interculturally;
f. write a reaction paper on the impact of
globalization based on the essay; and
g. recognize the importance of communication on
the society and the world.
Our cultural identity is based on our group
memberships which are determined by gender, age,
racial, ethnic, religious, socioeconomic, political or
even national affiliations.

Culture as a social group's system of meanings. You

are part of a culture because you've been taught to
attach meanings to almost everything - persons,
places, ideas, rituals, things, routines, and even
communication behavior.
_German et al. (2003)

Our experiences are different

from others what with the
different social education and
upbringing that we had.
How we define GENDER ROLES? For instance;

Affects the way males and females present

themselves, socialize, work, perceive their
futures, and communicate.
American tend to adopt a
problem-solving orientation, while In contrast
women tend to be relationship-
oriented.
Muslim
We also have ideas regarding the
meaning and significance of age,
Asian
including how persons a particular
age should look and behave.
In the United States, large
Latin American cultures
numbers of people place great
value on looking youthful and People respect
appear to be younger than they
are.
rather than deny, aging.
Our racial and ethnic
Socioeconomic identity
identities
frames how we respond to issues of
are similarly socially constructed. Some
our day. The widening gap between the
racial and ethnic groups, for example,
ultrawealthy and the middle and lower
share experiences of oppression. Their
classes in the different parts of the
attitudes towards towards
world is contributing to their developing
contemporary issues such as
different attitudes on a wide array of
affirmative action.
issues.

Religious identity
Religious identity

is at the root of countless refers to legal status or citizenship.

contemporary conflicts occurring in People from different countries have
the Middle East, India and Pakistan, been U.S citizens for generations, yet
and Bosnia and Herzegovina. some still perceive them as foreigners.
 ETHNOCENTRISM VS. CULTURAL RELATIVISM
When cultures meet, when we interact with persons whose values are different from ours
or whose behavioral norms differ from our own, we must first recognize and acknowledge
our differences. We must come to accept diversity if we are to be able to process other
cultures' influences and communicate with each other in a meaningful way.

Ethnocentrism, the tendency to see your own culture as superior to all others, is a key
characteristic of failed intercultural communication efforts.

Persons who are ethnocentric experience great anxiety when interacting with persons
from different cultures. Quick to utter statements like "They take our jobs," "They're
everywhere," and They're just not like us," those who embrace ethnocentrism lack cultural
flexibility and are particularly unprepared to meet the challenges posed by our society
and our world today. The more ethnocentric you are, the grater your tendency is to view
groups other than your own as inferior. As a result, you tend to blame others for problems
and seek to maintain your distance from them.
Cultural relativism is the opposite of ethnocentrism. When you
practice cultural relativism, instead of viewing the group to which
you belong as superior to all others, you work to try to understand
the behavior of other groups on the basis of the context in which the
behavior occurs rather than from your own frame of reference.

STEREOTYPE AND PREJUDICE

Identifying the impact of stereotypes and prejudice;

Stereotypes are mental images or pictures we carry around in our

heads; they are shortcuts, whether positive or negative, that guide
our reactions to others. When attached to the way we view the
world, stereotypes generate unrealistic pictures of others and
prevent us from distinguishing an individual from a group. Racial
profiling is just one example of how stereotyping effects worldview.
PREJUDICE
Describes how we feel about a group of people whom,
more likely than not, we do not personally know. A
negative or positive prejudice arises either because we
want to feel more positively about our own group, or
because we feel others present a threat, real or not.

Prejudice leads to the creation of in-groups and out-

groups, with out-group members becoming easy
targets for discrimination. Because of the negative
expectations that stereotypes and prejudices produce,
we may try not to interact with people who are the
objects of our prejudices.
 Ways to improve the ability to communicate
intercultural
The following guidelines should help you increase your tolerance for ambiguity,
enhance your ability to handle new situations, and better prepare yourself to meet
the communication challenges of today and tomorrow:

Refrain from formulating expectations based solely on your own culture.

When those you interact with have diverse communication styles, it is critical
that you acknowledge the differences and accept their validity. By not
isolating yourself within your own group or culture, you allow yourself to be
more fully a part of a multicultural society and thus a better communicator.
 Recognize how faulty education can impede understanding. It is
important to identify and work to eliminate any personal biases and
prejudices you have developed over the years. Determine, for example,
the extent to which your family and friends have influenced your feelings
about persons from other cultural groups.

Do those you have grown up with appear comfortable or uncomfortable

relating to persons of different cultural origins?

To what extent have their attitudes affected your intercultural communication

competence?
 Make a commitment to develop communication skills and abilities appropriate to life
in a multicultural world.

While culture is a tie that binds, the creation of the global village makes it essential that
you leave the comfort of your cultural niche, become more knowledgeable of other
cultures, and strive to be culturally aware.

It is important to familiarize yourself with the communication rules and preference of

members of different cultures so that you can increase the effectiveness of your
communication encounters. Your ability to develop intercultural communication skills
depends in large part on how many of the following promises you are willing to make
depends in large part on how many of the following promises you are willing to make:
 The following promises
you are willing to make:

I will make a commitment to seek information

from persons whose cultures are different
from my own.
I will try to understand how the experiences of
persons from different cultures lead them to
develop perspectives that differ from mine.
I will pay attention to the situation and the
context when I communicate with persons
from different cultures.
I will make every effort to become a more
flexible communicator.
I will not insist that persons from other
cultures communicate with me on my terms.