Culture Is The New Concept For Organizational Studies

Beyond Culture examines on the importance of context and how man copes in the world as a culture being. Looking at the book from the first chapter to the eighth chapter one would realize that it explains culture from different perspectives ranging from man’s ethnical culture, to his organizational culture and his personal culture. In this book, Edward Hall uses his experiences to explain what frames the thinking and understanding of cultures outside the Western culture after having travelled the world and experienced culture shock, he boils it all down to context. Edward Hall explained contexting as the way man handles the complexity of human transactions so that the system doesn’t bog down in information overload (p. 90). He explained context into two dimensions; the low context and high context. Although context cannot be given a specific meaning, the meaning of communication is dependent on it. However one would notice these contextualized differences in cultures only when two cultures meet and experience what can only be explained as culture shock; as in the example of the Japanese hotel operations (p. 62). Man as a culture being is contextualized from the day he is born to the day he dies as he is born into a culture and dies with a culture but there are situations at which man needs to let go of his cultural thinking and accept a new understanding (p. 88). When this new situation arises, it is required of man to read into the context of the situation in other to be

The second section of the article deals with conflicts in low- and high-context cultures. She defines a low-context culture as groups of cultures that value words, or what is actually said (Ting-Toomey 76). A high-context culture is defined as groups of cultures that put the needs and goals of the group first. This is more of a we-identity (Ting-Toomey 76). Examples of low-context cultures are Germany, United States, and Switzerland. Some high-context cultures are the Chinese, the Japanese, and the Vietnamese. There is more emphasis put on the relationship in a high-context cultre, whereas words are more important in a low-context culture. Ting-Toomey explains one of the conflict differences between the two. In a low-context culture, two people in a conflict can argue, yell, and curse at each other while still remaining friends (Ting-Toomey 77). To call someone out in a high-context culture is a severe insult. This causes both parties to "lose face" (Ting-Toomey 77). Another difference between the two cultures as noted by Ting-Toomey is the levels of uncertainty in a conversation. There are high levels of uncertainty in a low-context society, while there is low uncertainty in a high-context culture (Ting-Toomey 79). The high uncertainty level in the low-context cultures is often

Culture has its important in comprehending communication since culture is figurative communication, and the connotations of the symbols can be learned and continued through establishments of a specific society.

Culture is a convenient way of describing the ways members of a group understand each other and communicate that understanding “Culture is not only race or ethnicity; it includes gender, sexual orientation, education and literacy level, profession, hobby, or life experience that may include violence, trauma, or disease. Each of these cultures has their own language or slang, and group behavior and beliefs”

In the article Hall’s cultural factors America is described as a low context culture where very little is taken for granted and there is less of a chance of having a misunderstanding when visitors are present (Hall’s, p 1.). Hall also describes in a low context culture such as America messages are simple and clear, people blame others for failure, there is more focus on verbal communication rather than body language, reactions are visible, flexibility is present when change is needed, bonds between people are fragile with little loyalty, task are more important than relationships, and time is not flexible (Hall, p1). I agree with Hall’s views about America being a low context culture. I think the messages American’s want to get across to others are clear. I also have seen many situations where people blame others for their failure and I know I have blamed someone else for my mistake. I also know that people listen and body language is not as important as the actual words that are being communicated. I have been in relationships where strong bonds are broken over something silly. I also know time is very important to Americans and it seems everyone is always busy and schedules are not very flexible. I can think of an example for all of Hall’s descriptions of America being a low context culture and that is why I think I am “in line” with general views about

Culture is an “operational code” shared by members of a particular society, a system of shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviors, and artifacts that members of society use to cope with their world and with one another. Members of a society share their culture; there is no “culture of one”, it is learned through a process called enculturation, and changeable through social interactions between people and groups. Culture is patterned, meaning that people in a society live and think in ways forming definite, repeating patterns.

When I think of a culture I think of a group of people from the same region(s) who share similar views on beliefs, values, and behaviors. For example, Mexican cultures a persons emotional sensitivity is highly valued as well as their role in society isn’t confined to just the workplace (1). Such non-verbal communication Edward T Hall would consider to be a part of a high-context language culture, which is defined as a language in which people state things indirectly and implicitly (2). When compared to the United States, a low-context culture, things are explained direct and clear.

Culture is the group behavior of a society passed down through generations, often implicitly. Implicit culture includes ideals and values of a society that are generally agreed upon, despite never speaking about them. For example, an implicit facet of culture in the United States is the fact we often shake hands when meeting others, rather than hugging or even kissing which is popular in other cultures. There was never a meeting of people who all sat down and decided we would shake hands, it just happened.

In our textbook, Real Communications by O’Hair, Wiemann, Mullin and Teven, culture is defined as, “a learned system of thought and behavior that belongs to and typifies a large group of people”. In short, culture is the way we do things that is the same as people where we came from. It can vary not only from country to country, but even different parts of the city. It is part of an identity through which we see the world and can affect how we interpret information, especially speeches and body language. Culture includes lots of things such as languages, fashion, music, art, customs, and slang.

Culture is defined as the sum total of ways of living built up by a group of human beings and transmitted from one generation to another (Staff, 2015). Culture effects the way a person perceives, communicates and behaves in the world, what is “socially” acceptable in one culture is not necessarily acceptable in another. Common language, gestures and signals are used to communicate within each culture and are therefore an extension of culture and how you speak is effected by what you were taught and how you view the world. Communicating is a give and take process and it is an experience that you share with someone.

A culture of any region provides a complete framework to its inhabitants to how to organize themselves, their actions and thoughts with respect to their environment. Thus culture is not innate; instead it is learned by the people as they continue to live in that particular region. This culture drives their thinking, actions and basically all kinds of interaction with their surroundings. Thus, it is different for different areas and people from these areas learn different ways to interact by each other(Neuliep, 2015).Moreover, people from different cultures differ from each other because of their context in which they move about. This context plays an important role in providing meaning to their interaction. There are some things that cannot be understood by verbal words alone; they have to be justified by the context in which they exist. This has been argued by Edward Hall, according to whom, “context carries varying proportions of the meaning” (Gamsrieglerm, 2005). Because of these differences in interaction due to differences in the context in which these people exist, culture has been divided into two sub-categories. One is high-context culture and the other is low-context culture. These two terms are used to refer to the differences in culture between different societies because of the difference in context, and have been suggested by a well-known U.S. anthropologist Edward T. Hall (Hofstede, 2011).

These subcultures provide a method of informal socialization “that no reasonable amount of formal training can provide.” (Volti, 2008) In most cases, these subcultures “mesh quite well with the dominant organizational culture because their goals and values parallel those of management.” (Volti, 2008) However, as stated, this is an organization in transition and there is the potential for countercultures to arise due to the ambiguity of what the behaviors, values, and norms of the new leadership’s culture will be. “Schein contends that many of the problems confronting leaders can be traced to their inability to analyze and evaluate organizational cultures.” (National Defense University, Undated) As this new group of leaders begins to set strategic direction for the next generation of this organization, they must acknowledge, “Difficulties with organizational transformations arise from failures to analyze an organization’s existing culture.” (National Defense University, Undated) For this organization to be successful, leaders will need to “correctly analyze the organization’s existing culture, and evaluate it against the cultural attributes needed to achieve strategic objectives.” (National Defense University, Undated)

The high context culture is a polychromic culture such as the Latin Americans and Arabs, which is a culture that has toleration for many simultaneous happenings with a focus on many things at once. However, the low context culture or the monochromic culture such as the cultures of Switzerland, Germany and the United States is such that time is linearly experienced. Communication in the high-context culture by the individual from a low-context culture can be very confusing. For example the culture of the Arabs is such that they are quick to make themselves heard and friendship, honor and hospitality are the building blocks of communication. The Arabs are what are known as 'high contact' in their communications and time is reported as being priority in the process of communication. (Sepehri, 2011)

If one looks at the organization as a human body with a respiratory system, a skeleton, and a brain, the culture of the organization is its face. The organizational culture determines how individuals, both in and outside of the organization, perceive the way business is conducted. The National Defense University Website, in a section called Organizational Culture, highlights several cultural forms including language, use of symbols, ceremonies, customs, methods of problem solving, use of tools or technology, and design of work settings that create the way the organization is perceived (NDU 2009). An example of this idea is a restaurant. Most restaurants divide the business in the “front of the house” and the “back of

High Context Culture Use body language, Clothing items which one my wear, and emotions into the equation of communication. Meaning that High context cultures express more human communication that is not verbal or written. Low context cultures use less visuals and are more direct by saying what they mean in a situation. For example, someone writing someone a letter or an email, as these forms of communication involve no physical contact and only express on what is written or typed.