chapter six

adapting to others - bringing culture and gender differences 

  • WHO do you CONNECT with? 

  • globalization

    • integration of economics and technology connecting people worldwide

    • technology? economics?

    • what is CULTURE? 

  • culture: a LEARNED system of KNOWLEDGE, BEHAVIOR, ATTITUDES, BELIEFS, VALUES, and NORMS that is shared by a group of people and SHAPED by one GENERATION to the next. 

    • terms to understand

      • co-culture: a culture that exists within a larger culture 

      • intercultural communication: when you communicate with someone from a different culture than you

      • worldview: how a certain group of people view the world 

      • culture shock: being in and having to navigate through a culture not your own.

  • high context and low context cultures

    • high context: places emphasis on nonverbal. facial expressions, silence, surroundings. asian, arab, southern european. 

    • examples of common errors that should be avoided when exhcanging cards

      • do not stuff the card in your pocket

      • do not make notes in blank areas of the card

      • do not bend or damage the card in front of it’s owner

      • the card should not be cribbed to reconfirm the owner’s name. 

    • low context cultures: places less focus on nonverbal queues. 

  • individualistic vs collectivistic 

    • individualistic: personal accomplishments. individual achievements. 

      • US. UK. FR. AUS

    • collectivistic: collaboration. teamwork. group achievement. 

      • Asia, Costa Rica. 

  • masculine values vs feminine values

    • masculine values: heroism, assertiveness, material wealth, traditional gender roles    

      • italy, ireland, 

    • feminine values: relationships, caring for less fortunate, quality of life, less traditional roles

      • sweden, norway, costa rica

    • men are more “what” women are more “how” 

  • assumptions

    • we may assume we are superior to the other person

    • we may assume we are similar to the other person

    • ethonocentrism 

    • stereotypes

    • when you’re travelling somewhere, you get info to learn more about that place. tolerate ambiguity. mindfullness.