Deck 5: Organizing Messages to Other Cultures

Question 1

Discuss the issue of culture in the conventional communication model.

Answer 1

The conventional model for communication of sender-channel-receiver plus feedback loop has no specific place for culture. Yet culture affects every aspect of communication. Culture is present in the mental categories or mental database of the sender,and in the choice of code (language)in which the message is sent. Culture also often influences the choice of channel. Culture is present in the mind of the receiver,who has to decode the message (perhaps from another language),put it in a mental category and assign meaning to it. Meanings come from culture. In a sense,culture should be pictured in the model as the context for every step in the communication process.

Question 2

Indirect plan organization means putting the main message in the first sentence.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Explain what the indirect plan is and discuss reasons for its choice,with reference to cultural dimensions of at least two cultures.

Answer 3

The indirect plan begins with relationship-oriented and contextual expressions. Then it may go into explanations (historical background,reasons,and benefits to the reader). Only after the writer has presented this content does the writer get to the main point of the message. In Japanese correspondence,the opening paragraph refers to the season,giving a context for the message and establishing common ground between writer and reader. In Islamic correspondence,the writer often begins by invoking a blessing upon the reader. This also establishes common ground,and nurtures the relationship. Indirectness is also used in results-oriented cultures when the purpose of the message is to persuade or to communicate unwelcome news. The indirect plan,with its attention to relationship,buffers bad news and creates a context of trust for persuasive messages.

Question 4

Developing a context for a business message is important to most Asian communicators.

Question 5

Clarity and conciseness are important characteristics of business messages in any culture.

Question 6

Technological developments have changed the way businesspeople use communication channels. Discuss the effect of culture on business communication in telephone text messages,social media posts (such as on Facebook and Twitter).

Question 7

"Choosing the right channel is a communication skill." Discuss internal and external channels,oral channels,and structured behavior channels in relation to relationship-oriented versus results-oriented cultures.

Question 8

Describe the direct plan for organizing messages and discuss the cultural reasons for preference (or distaste)for it in at least two cultures.

Question 9

The why in business communication refers to the purpose for which a message is written.

Question 10

Formal and hierarchical messages often go together;informal and horizontal messages often to together. Explain,using examples from specific cultures.

Question 11

Choose one low-context culture and one high-context culture and discuss the way words are regarded in the two cultures,taking into account
a)trust in words to communicate meaning
b)choice of words
c)calculated impact of words.

Question 12

Logic based on facts is the only way people in collectivist cultures are persuaded.

Question 13

The place for culture in the communication model is at the decoding stage,to make the model complete.

Question 14

Channel choice (email,face-to-face,telephone)for communication is not affected by culture.

Question 15

Low-context cultures generally use indirect plan for persuasive messages.

Question 16

Discuss persuasion in messages from at least two cultures from among these three different regions: Western Europe,East Asia,and Arab cultures

Question 17

The idea is what travels from sender to receiver.

Question 18

To communicate successfully across cultures,the communicator has to make assumptions about meaning.

Question 19

Discuss storytelling,analogy,and bargaining discourses as ways to communicate about problems.

Question 20

The way a language is structured seems related to the structure of thought. Discuss,using examples.

Question 21

The role of words

A) is not important in Japanese culture,in which words alone are not trusted
B) is not important in Arabic cultures,in which words alone are not trusted
C) is not important in German culture,in which words alone are not trusted
D) is not important in New Zealand culture,in which words alone are not trusted

Question 22

Virtually every aspect of written and oral communication is affected by the cultural priorities of the communicators.

Question 23

When communicating about problems,members of high-context cultures may refer to past experiences for assurance of correct solutions.

Question 24

Framing is explaining a context of a message before delivering it.

Question 25

Arabic speakers and English speakers both prefer elaborate phrases and using large numbers of words.

Question 26

Indirect plan is

A) preferred by cultures that value individual responsibility--both credit and blame
B) preferred by cultures that communicate about results
C) preferred by low-context cultures for persuasion
D) preferred by high-context cultures only for persuasion

Question 27

Communication between international parties is always by memo.

Question 28

Behavior,such as the way a cup of coffee is offered,cannot communicate as effectively as words.

Question 29

The communication model shows

A) a sender transmits meaning through a channel to a receiver
B) the idea travels through the channel to the receiver
C) encoding and decoding takes place with noise
D) the message triggers decoding in the mind of the receiver who assigns meaning to it

Question 30

Purposeful business communication involves the task of

A) costing
B) financing
C) refusing
D) pondering

Question 31

Culture belongs in the communication model

A) at the encoding by the sender
B) at the channel
C) at the decoder by the receiver
D) in every part of the communication process

Question 32

Japanese communicators value "hearing one and understanding ten."

Question 33

Unwelcome messages

A) are easy for people in low-context cultures to communicate
B) are usually organized in an indirect plan by members of high-context cultures
C) require someone to be blamed,since the words are not impersonal
D) must be in words,in high-context cultures,to be understood

Question 34

Choice of channel may be culturally based--for instance,preferring written memos over oral communication.

Question 35

One way to communicate about a solution to a problem is through narrative.

Question 36

There is a suggested relationship between language and the way people think. Which of the following statements about the relationship is NOT true?

A) it was explored in the late 1950s by Benjamin Whorf
B) it proposes that the categories by which we understand the world are related to the way we organize language
C) it claims that native speakers of the same language think in similar patterns
D) it proves that speakers of different languages think alike

Question 37

Direct-plan messages

A) get to the main point quickly
B) are preferred by members of high-context cultures
C) always insult those who prefer indirect plan
D) put the main message after the explanations

Question 38

When it comes to saying "no"

A) members of some high-context cultures are not concerned about the loss of face of those being refused
B) members of some high-context cultures have a hard time actually saying "no"
C) members of low-context cultures prefer to say "no" quickly
D) members of low-context cultures have great concern for loss of face of the person saying "no"

Question 39

The book discusses all the following ways to communication about a solution to a problem EXCEPT:

A) analogy
B) syllogistic reasoning
C) bargaining
D) listing

Question 40

Saying "no" is often done with delay and indirectness in low-context cultures.