Culture And Its Influence On Communication

The term "culture" has been used more and more recently but what exactly does it mean? Some have even regarded culture as "the most central problem of all social science" (Malinowski, 1939). According to Merriam Webster (2016), culture is defined as the arts and other manifestations of human achievements. If culture was as simple as Merriam-Webster defines it then the lives of anthropologists, sociologists, and psychologists would be much easier. As we know, culture varies greatly across religion, countries, and some cases in just states; the difference between the north and the south. We can conclude that culture is a set of shared thoughts, values, and cognitions (Geertz, 1973). With culture in itself varying tremendously based on values and location, then surely organizational culture is no simple concept either. The term "organizational culture" has just recently become to be used more (Barley, 1988). Though there may be disagreements on defining culture universally, researchers tend to agree that culture is of vital importance in an organizational context, whether that organization is a company or a government (Kilmann, Saxton, & Serpa, 1986).

to allow people a piece of sanity and balance within their lifestyle. When it comes to culture

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Raymond Williams (Hutchison, 2011) said “culture is one of the two or three most complicated words in the English language” (p. 247). When I thought of culture, I used to picture food, festivities, clothes and country. Just like the nurse, I thought that if learned about one culture, I understood everybody in that culture. But as I started expanding my knowledge the meaning of culture started becoming harder to define. Different subjects seemed to have different definitions of what culture is. The idea expanded until it was not just a check list but “a set of common understandings, manifest in act and artifact. It is in two places at once: inside somebody’s head as understandings and in the external environment as act and artifact” (Hutchison, 2011, p. 246). The definition above explains why social workers need to learn cultural humility. It clarifies that because culture is both behavior and act, it is interpreted differently by different people. In other words, two people can be from the same exact place and still have different cultures.

In “The danger of a single story,” Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie explains that stereotypes or single stories are unrepresentative of an entire culture. In other words, all individuals within a culture should not be clumped together. She describes that these stereotypes may be a part of the culture; however, they do not represent every individual or family. There are differences among individuals and families. Adichie also describes that individuals feel sorry for other cultures separate from their own due to their focus on a single, negative story of a culture. It is significant to recognize that stereotypes or single stories often fail to recognize all of the similarities between cultures and instead, focus on all of the differences.

Throughout history our cultures have affected the way we read literature. Culture can be defined as a particular group of people, which include their languages, cuisine, social habits, religion, music and arts. It is their way of life. Different groups of people have their own belief and ideology. Through culture, people develop a sense of belonging, personal growth and the ability to empathize and associate with others. According to Damrosch,

Alberts, Martin and Nakayama (2011) describe communication as “ a transactional process in which people generate meaning through the exchange of verbal and nonverbal messages in in specific contexts, influenced by individual and societal forces and embedded in culture.”(p.7) They then go on to state that intercultural communication “occurs in interactions between people who are culturally different.”(p.122) Cultural differences thus affect many interactions, with the communication process being one.

In chapter two “Understanding and studying culture,” Jack Eller is trying to explain and define culture. However, culture is very difficult to define. The best definition to understand culture in the textbook was provided by E. B. Tyler, “Culture or Civilization, taken in its wide ethnographic sense, is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society” (Eller 2013:20). In other words, culture is something we earn not born with. Culture is shared, symbolic, integrated, and adaptive. As a result, every individual could have a different culture, even thought if the live in the same society.

For this exercise I have decided to analyze three short clips from the American TV show The Office. By doing a thorough analysis of the interactions I saw many of the themes we discussed in class such as form versus meaning, gender, power in relationships, culture, and speech patterns. Each of these factors played a role in how the conversation played out. The most prevalent, however, was power and its relationship (or lack thereof) to gender. According to Henley and Kramarae’s “Gender, Power, and Miscommunication,” differences between male and female patterns of speech are a direct result of male’s higher level of power compared to females. In my analysis I show that, contrary to the opinions above, gender does not automatically determine power in conversations; the context of the situation is largely responsible for determining who is in the higher position of power.

Towards the end of the article the authors discuss one main issue that involves the spreading of the “unfortunate by-product” stereotype (Lindinsky 621). As explained, this means that once our minds are fixed on these typecast that are associations with certain categories it becomes easier to comply with. In other words, having a pre bias judgment about a certain person or group can sometimes makes us aware of that particular culture and help us understand culture boundaries. The assumption is that a positive stereotype is an effective way to compliant

Many assume that their daily life and basic education is enough to be fluent in communication, gender and culture, but they are severely mistaken. As our society becomes more diverse the need to learn about communication and culture increases ever more, for with communication and understanding of one's identification, we can limit and decrease the bigotry in the world. Therefore, allowing to build a stronger foundation for a better society.

. When examining the concept of stereotyping you must be open minded and willing to accept the truth about yourself and others. You must be receptive to the facts. Honestly, creating generalization may be organic to most individuals, but it’s painful and this behavior has long term effects on society. When you wrongfully judge a segment of the population without any factual evidence that directly affect your existence you are proper guilty of the participating in the destructive act. Usually, most people will characterize a group of people, based on the behavior of one person from the group, without taking into consideration that one person cannot represent an entire group. Members of different races and cultures have unique individual experience that define their character. Therefore, a segment of the population can share common interest without being classified. Stereotypes are based on assumption and it is absurd to judge a person based on superficial reason. Consequently, this attuited denies you the opportunity to learn more about a person, so that you can make an honest evaluation of that person traits.

The concept of culture is something that defines many aspects of one’s life. From physical objects to different ways of thinking, culture adds significance to human life and makes groups of people distinct from one another. Culture is essentially a group of people who come together with similar interests and points of view. According to the Center for Advanced Language Acquisition of the University of Minnesota, “culture is defined as the shared patterns of behaviors and interactions, cognitive constructs, and affective understanding that are learned through a process of socialization.” From a more sociological perspective, culture is a way in which people come together in order to fulfill their needs. These shared patterns and ideas identify the members of a culture group while also distinguishing those of another group.” Culture is one of the things that sets the United States apart from the rest of the world. Not that the rest of the world is not cultural, but the circumstance here is different. Many people of different cultural backroads come to this country in search of a better life. As a consequence, the United States has become a place where many cultures merge together like a colossal pot soup.

"We didn 't all come over on the same ship, but we 're all in the same boat."- Bernard Baruch

'Culture is the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one category of people from another.' (Hofstede, 1991)