Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Communications 491
Chapter 6
well as intercultural communication. This chapter talks about four theories that help explain how
these communication skills can help companies grow in foreign countries. The four different
theories talked about in this chapter are Hofstedes cultural dimensions, communication
The first theory chapter 6 talks about is Hofstedes cultural dimensions. Hofstede talks
about individual collectivism, this idea says that different cultures have different characteristics
and some of these cultures can be classified as individualistic. The USA for example would fall
under this category because most of the time people in America will not go above and beyond
what is asked of them unless there is a reward for them to gain from. In the individualistic
culture, sticking with the American example, companies tend to give employees individual
awards and put people ahead, this culture views competition as a good thing. Hofstede goes on to
talk about masculinity in cultures and how it differs throughout the world. America is a country
that is high in masculinity in the work place, this means that men as supposed to be assertive,
competitive, and ambitious. This is true but women have made waves in recent years and the tide
The next theory talked about in chapter 6 is the communication accommodation theory.
This theory talks about the different ways people change their speech around to fit the
appropriate vocabulary. The theory explains that people may go on vacation and find themselves
talking with an accent from wherever they vacationed. This theory explains that changing your
speech around can help in the workplace if you can use it correctly, not everyone uses it correctly
The third theory talked about in chapter 6 is the anxiety/uncertainty management theory.
This theory explains that the effectiveness of groups and communication effectiveness is a direct
result of reducing intercultural anxiety and uncertainty. People sometimes have trouble working
in groups and being able to express their opinions, by reducing peoples stress levels in these
group settings then co-workers can work better with each other. When workers have anxiety or
they are uncertain about something then they cannot properly communicate their message to
their co-workers. AUM tells us the key to communication is effective mindfulness, the ability to
relax and listen to what other people have to say instead of using stereo types and having a
The fourth theory chapter 6 talks about is the face negotiation theory. This theory
explains that different cultures have different face needs and concerns, when there is a conflict
with the different cultural faces are differing with one another. This theory helps explain how
some people are going to react to conflict based on their cultural background, with this
information people can figure out easier how someone is going to react if they are in a situation
This chapter talks about many different theories that can help in the real world. The big
take away I got from this chapter is the idea of dealing with intercultural situations. Many people
have a hard time dealing with people they are not familiar with, especially if that person is hard
to understand or reacts differently to conflict. This chapter gave me tools that I can apply in my
1. Different cultures react to conflict differently but do all people from a specific culture act
the same?
2. Not all group situations can be fixed with mindfulness, what are some other techniques?