Com 105: Lecture Notes/ Study guide Exam 1 9/9/12 5:35 PM

Monday 8/18

Todd Norton, or Mnorton

tmnorton@wsu.edu

Textbook: Communicating in global contexts… may not need the book, all

exams are lecture based

I can drop one exam, can drop the final or take the final and then decide to

drop it

Chapters 1-3

Wednesday day 2 8/20

Perception Process

Perception of beauty in western cultures

Perception is the process of interpreting the meaning of those attributes we

attend to from the world around us

We impose meaning or come to a collective agreement about what certain

things mean

Selection

Selection is impacted by three aspects

1. Unexpected nature or rarity of experience- Susan Boyle

2. Repetition of experience- Advertising jingles (state farm insurance)

3. Intensity of experience- strong odor or intense colors

Organizing

Perceptual Schema

A mental framework to organize information into constructs. We get it from

experience. It’s like when you see yellow juice in the fridge and pour it then

realize that its iced tea. Making assumptions

Analogy: It is almost as through we have a ‘box’ inside our head for each

type of person we know.

There are 4 types of schemas used to classify people

1. Physical constructs (outward appearance, height, skin tone, attractiveness

2. Role constructs (Social or professional position, teacher, accountant,

sister) we organize people based on their profession

3. Interaction constructs (behavior, outgoing, aggressive, sky, or

considerate)

4. Psychological constructs (thoughts and feelings, angry, self-assured,

insecure, or carefree)

Interpretation

1. Your personal experience- Were past experiences positive or negative.

Bad relationship with a blond guy so after that you never want to date a

blond again

2. Your knowledge- what do you know of the person?

3. The closeness of your relationship- is your relationship such that the

behavior is expected?

Factors that impact perception…

Stereotypes

Definition: Generalizations about a person based upon the group to which

they belong

Identify group to which person belongs

Cognitively activate the schema of that group

Generalize that schema to that person

Stereotypes and bias

They ALWAYS carry a bias

What comes to mind when you think of Elderly people, homeless people, gay

and lesbian people?

Selective memory bias: The tendency to remember information that supports

our stereotypes while forgetting information that does not

“If I were Arab, the shooting would be terrorism. If I were Black I’d be a Thug.

But I’m White, so it’s Mental Illness.”

Primacy/ Regency

Primacy:

Your first impression or experience

Sets the tone for all future interactions

Regency:

Your most recent impression or experience

Is more powerful than our earlier impressions

Influence of perceptual Sets

Perceptual set:

A persons predisposition to perceive only what he or she wants or

expects to perceive

Ex:

Behavior explained through Attribution

Attribution

An explanation for an observed behavior

Impacts perception through an explanation of “why” someone acted

in certain way

Ex: Colorado theater shooting

Dimensions of Attribution

Locus

Where is the cause of the behavior “located”?

Such as: internal psychological factors vs. external context factors

Stability

Is the cause of a behavior stable or unstable?

Such as: difficulty of caring for elderly grandparent vs. traffic

accident

Controllable

Is the behavior within the person’s control?

Such as: walking in front of a car vs. a car crashing into your home

Friday August 24, 2012

Two common attribution errors

Self-serving bias

The tendency to attribute one’s successes to stable internal causes

and one’s failures to unstable external causes

Examples

Explain a success in internal & stable attributes- “I am dedicated

person and worked hard”

You explain a failure in external and unstable attributes “the lecture

class is too big”

Two common attribution errors

Fundamental attribution Error

The tendency to attribute one’s successes to stable internal rather

than external cues

Examples

The high school student ran the pledge drive because he is a caring

giving person not because he earned extra credit for doing so

How we perceive ourselves

Self concept

The set of perceptions a person has about who he or she is, also

known as identity

A subjective multi-faceted construct

Example

Name- “I’m Todd,” or “I’m Dr. Floyd”

Physical or social- “I am a woman,” or “I am Canadian”

Relationship- “I am an uncle” or “I am a volunteer”

Self-evaluation- “I am impatient” or “I am honest”

Self-concept is multi faceted

Managing our image

Image -> Face

Face- what we want others to see

What image do you want to portray

Face work- image management

What are you doing to portray that image?

The face and face work distinction

The behaviors we see in public are face work

The way people act (face work) however is not necessarily who they are

(face)

Predators on social media

Fellowship Face

The need to have others like and accept us

Such as

First date behavior

First day of school behavior

Autonomy & competence

Autonomy Face

Our need for freedom of action- to not be interfered with

Ex: turning someone down for a date

Face

Our need to be respected

Face Threatening Acts (FTA’s)

FTA: Communicative actions which could cast the target of the FTA in a

negative light

Such as: Criticism

FTA’s need not be intentional

o Rutgers hate crime

Offshoring Culture and Communication

Offshoring: The practice of a company moving certain services overseas

Highlighted cultural differences between employees

Enables companies to capitalize on cultural advantages

o Ex: calling customer service and getting someone from a

different country

Monday August 26, 2012

Offshoring and Communication

Cultural challenges

Communication difficulties

Managers must be aware of “Context”

Companies need to understand how others perceive relationships

Managers need to be aware of different cultural working norms

How do we manage offshoring?

Verbal communication- context

Communication: the process of transferring meanings from sender to

receiver

Context: is the information surrounding communication and helps convey the

message

High-context cultures/low-context cultures

High context Societies : Japan and Arab Countries. Messages are

coded and implicit. “I don’t want to go on a date and instead of

saying no I say I have plan”

Low context societies: United States and Canada. Messages are

explicit and precise

o What impact does this have on advertising, PR, marketing

comma, org mission

o , act?

America is lower context

Indirect and Direct styles

High context cultures: implicit and indirect

Close personal relationships and large information networks

Rely also on nonverbal communication: voice intonation, timing,

and facial expressions

Lower context cultures:______________

You can compare them based on types of questions that are asked

_____________: “Who will be at this meeting?” (Interested in

environment)

____________: “What is this meeting going to be about” (Interested in

objectives)

Verbal Communication- Quantity

Succinct: few words and avoids loss of face

Exacting: enough words to convey message and no more (too few=

ambiguity; too many= exaggeration.) England is like this

Elaborate: a lot of talking, detailed description and information. Common in

high context cultures- Arabic countries

Elaborating style: more popular in high-context cultures with uncertainty

avoidance

Contextual and Personal Styles

Contextual style/ sensitivity: language reflects the hierarchy of the situation,

thus maintaining barriers of high power- distance cultures (status)

Personal style: language breaks down hierarchy of the situation. More

common in low power-distance cultures (addressed by first names)

How do you address someone if you don’t know him or her very well?

In our culture we over dress, use more formally if we don’t know them. Or

how would you start the email

Affective and instrumental styles

Affective messages are emotionally sensitive both in receipt and delivery.

Requires intuitional and reading of subtle verbal/non-verbal cues.

More common in Middle East, Latin America, and Asian cultures

Instrumental orientation is ‘raw’ and focused on information transfer.

Common in low-context cultures such as Switzerland, Sweden and US

Communication Flows

Downward Communication: transmission of information from managers to

subordinate

Important to use language that is easy to understand and allows

people to ask questions’

Ex: if you have a problem with your boss and you skip over him and

go talk to his boss.

Upward Communication: Transfer of meaning from subordinate to superior

Seen in Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore

An idea from a student to a professor

Barriers to Cross cultural communication

Language, perception, culture, and nonverbal communication

Language: home country’s language is important

o Geographic, cultural and institutional distance

o Ex: jet lag

Barriers: Geography and styles of formality

Expectations of formal written communication differ across cultures

Us: nicety –> bad news

Great Britain: immediate reference -> apology

Japan: Indirect in discussion

Barriers: Perception

Perception: A person’s view of reality

Different cultures perceive messages differently including public relations,

advertising and marketing campaigns, company slogans and so forth

Remember: symbol <- -> referent

Examples in book are different cultural referent for the symbol used.

Fiera=’old ugly women’ in Spanish

Comet/Client= ‘Street walker’ in Mexico

GST= Canadian Socialism in Canada… or Mercedes Benz Grand

sports Tourer

Structural issue

Soiled clothes/ detergent/ clean clothes from Left to right and Arabic

countries read from right to left

Barriers: Culture= class and familiarity

Class manifests itself through familiarity in communication

US tends toward a ‘non-class’ orientation and a loose/ familiar

communication style

Arabic countries recognize class more and social relations are built

more slowly and deliberately

Barriers: Geography and time

Geographic’s space -> time differences impacting work schedules

Christmas….new years….Dusshera

Wednesday August 26, 2012

Non-Verbal Communication

Kinesics

Study of Communication through

Body movement (haptics)

o Posture

o Gestures

Facial Expressions

o Eye contact (oculesics) conveying messages through use of

eye contact and gaze

Ex: India

Use of left hand

Feet on things

In some cultures some things are insulting ex.. Putting your feet on

things

Proxemics

Study of way people use physical space to convey messages

In the US….

Intimate distance: Confidential comm.

Personal distance: family and close friends

Social distance: most business transactions

Public distance: public speaking, etc.

Know these in order ^

Us distance norms farther than

Middle east

South America

Ex: Indian men and handholding. Not acceptable in us

Double check this title…

Americans keep backing up… While other attempts to close the gap/ leads to

breakdown in communications

Ex: Indian men and holding hands is the norm other there but here it is most

certainly not

Ex: office layout is another example

Us likes large spaces, large offices, vs. being crammed in an

elevator. Makes Americans uncomfortable but in middle east they

like being squished

Chromatics

How time is used in a culture

Mon chronic

o Linear scheduling- doing one thing at once

o Individualistic cultures

Us, Great Britain, Canada, Australia

Polychromic

o Doing several things at once

o Accomplished is secondary to involvement

Latin America, Middle East.

Polychromic people think that monochromic people are

uptight. Polychromic are never on time. Ex. come at 8,

in their culture they will be there around 8 30

Chromatics

Use of color to communicate messages

o Black for mourning… except in some parts of India that wear

white

o White wedding dresses…except in Hong Kong, where red is

traditionally worn to signify luck

o Bouquet of yellow roses sounds great… except in Chile, where

it means “I don’t like you”

o Color tied to social class

What does this do for us? Advertising and marketing use color very

significantly to sell. What colors attract the right people for your product etc?

Achieving Communication Effectiveness

Improving feedback system

Personal face to face meeting, telephone conversations

Impersonal- reports budgets plans

Provide language training

Provide cultural training

Increase flexibility and cooperation

Negotiation

Process of bargaining with one or more parties to arrive at a solution that is

acceptable to all

Managers spend ~ 50% of time negotiating

Types of Negotiation

Distributive negotiation: bargaining that occurs when two parties with

opposing goals compete over a set

Zero sum

Both trying to get the best deal, but gain for one means loss for the

other

Integrative negotiation: bargaining that involves cooperation between two

groups to integrate interests, create value, and invest in the agreement

The negotiating Process

Planning

Interpersonal relationship building

Exchanging task-related info

Persuasion

Agreement

Affects of Cultural differences

Tend to approach negotiations using our own cultural norms

Recommendations

Do not rely on snap judgments (name, accent act.) as culture is

complex and indians often have multiple cultural identities

Westerners “do” but not all cultures are similar; remember to think,

feel and talk

Allow your perception of the other party to remain dynamic

Not all aspects of culture are equally significant

Norms for interaction may be different for you, as an outsider, than for

“cultural insiders”

You don’t know as much as you think you do about the other party’s culture

Negotiation Tactics

Location: where should negotiation take place?

Neutral site

o Each party has limited access to its home office

o Cost is height want to conclude negotiations quickly

Time limits

Important when one party is under a time constraint

o Scheduled flights

Holiday: Americans at a disadvantage because of holidays

Buyer-seller relations

U.S. walk away after negotiations

Japanese believe in reciprocal favors

Negotiating for mutual benefits

5 general principles

Separate people form problems

Focus on interests not positions

Generate options

Use objective criteria

Standing ground

Friday August 30, 2012

Colgate’s Distasteful Toothpaste

2 real world events where communicating was used

Clash of cultures

Fact file

Colgate’s international sales represent ½ of total revenue

Colgate bought 50% partnership in the Hawley and Hazel group for $50

million. (Darkie Toothpaste)

Hawley and Hazel was based in Hong Kong

H & H group, 1933, oral care

Hong Kong

Coalgate bought Darkie, who is a white guy on the label but is black. Used to

be a very racist show in USA, he is the main character

Darkie

Produced since 1920’s

Al Jolson

Black-faced entertainer

Crisis

US minorities and civil rights groups

The interfaith center on Corporate responsibility

Petition in Change of logo and name

Plan to repeat the damage

Changes implemented over a year

Process took 3 years

Name changed to “Darcie” and black guy was changed back to white

Colgate pays for the whole thing

Later Colgate distance itself from the brand

Worldwide Apology

China liked the black guy and thought it was ultimate respect to dress a

white man up as a black

USA thinks is very racist, and Americans were offended because it degrades

a race

Euro Disneyland

U.S management removed from Euro Disneyland

Jan 18, 1993 Robert Fitzpatrick quit one year after the grand opening of Euro

Disney

Compromised “squeaky clean” image

Lifted alcohol Ben

Reduced prices for parks and restaurants and hotels

Miscommunication between 2 cultures

Disneyland in Europe vs. Disneyland in America

Disney wanted both of them to be the same. Happiest place on early, smiles

to alcohol

Didn’t want to castles to be similar to French castles

Robert owned it for a year and quit cause he was awful

Basically the wrong cultures got involved cause people are different so a

French Disneyland isn’t going to be the same as a American

Wednesday September 5th 2012

Analysis paper on case studies: prompt is online

Only 2 page paper. Quick get to the point type of papers

Show how those concepts are relevant to the real world

Academic Writing: Best Practices: Due next Friday

Do’s and Don’ts

The D.I.E. Frame work

Description descriptive summary

Ex: what do you see?

Just a general comment. He is wearing glasses

I see an Asian woman covering her mouth

Interpretation he is afraid of black people

Ex: What does it mean? Why is he wearing glasses?

We tend to make interpretations based on our cultural framework

Ex: She’s burping and trying to be polite

Explanation bad: he had no right to shoot an innocent person, not fair to his

family

Is it good/bad?

Your own opinion, must back up your claim

Ex cont.: I think that's great, that she’s trying to be polite

Applying to the D.I.E.

(A framework of what to do)

Structure of an Analytical Paper

Introduction

Background on the topic

Preview of the body of the paper

Body

Paragraph #1: description of the issue

Paragraph #2: Interpretation of the issue

Paragraph #3: Evaluation of the issue

Conclusion

Summary of the Case including your description, interpretation and

evolution

What NOT to do

Introduction

“The Apple’s handling of the Foxconn-labor scandal is an important

example of international/intercultural communication.”

What’s wrong with it?

o Intro should offer more background and preview the paper’s

body. There should be more than one sentence.

Body Paragraph #1

“Apple did a poor job of communicating during the scandal. As a

result, it will cost the company in the long run. One of the main

messages that came from Apple when coverage of the poor working

condition’s  in Foxconn’s plants first broke in 2007 was that Foxconn

had been audited and found mostly compliant with Apple’s

standards (Dean, 2007).”

What’s wrong with it?

o  The first paragraph is about description. This begins with

evaluation.

Body Paragraph #2

“Another reason the Foxconn issue became a problem is that Apple

became a victim of its own self-serving bias. After suicides at

Foxconn began to skyrocket, Apple said it would investigate the

company . Essentially, this message from Apple was an attempt to

externalize the cause of the problem, which is exactly what people

do when they are confronted with their failures.”

What’s wrong with it?

o  Part of this is an example of description, so it should be

moved to body paragraph one.

o The second body paragraph should focus on interpretation.

Part of this is more evaluative

Body Paragraph #3

“Had the company addressed the issue early on, it’s  most recent

successes might have given the public a better image of Apple,

instead,  the Foxconn scandal had  stayed around in people’s minds,

becoming entrenched.”

What’s wrong with it? (grammar matters)

o  It’s vs. its

o  Comma splice

o  Wrong verb tense

Analysis Paper Guidelines

5 Paragraphs

Intro

Description

Interpretation

Evaluation

Conclusion

Page length: 1.75-2 pgs

Font: Times new roman 12pt

1” margins on all sides

There is a bad example on Angel

Exam Review:

Bring ID!

Bring pencil!

Briefly introduce the case

Use lots of description! (First body)

You may introduce the concept “In particular the role of perception”

APA style!

Pick a concept for each paragraph to make it more organized, or 2

First sentence is obviously evaluation. make sure to not get them confused!

APA:

Current

Relevant

Authority

Accurate

Purpose

5 sources

Is this credible information?