Chapter 8: Cross-Cultural Literacy and Communication

Chapter 8: Cross-Cultural Literacy and Communication

In this chapter, we learnt how emotional intelligence relates to leadership style and how cultural literacy relates to how effectively one communicates as a leader. There are definite steps that can be taken to improve one’s emotional intelligence and how well one. As a leader, one’s listening skills can also be improved upon. In communicating, there is need to pay close attention both verbal and non verbal communication elements in order to succeed as a leader. Mentoring is key part of leadership communication and providing feedback is essential to developing staff that report to us as managers. In the context of emotional intelligence, psychological tools like the MBTI can be used to understand one better and help identify possible areas for improvement. Leaders need to understand culture diversity, called cross-cultural literacy. First of all they have to understand a definition of culture. Culture is a fuzzy set of attitudes, beliefs, behavioral conventions and basic assumptions and values that are shared by a group of people and that influence each member’s behavior and their interpretations of the meaning of other people’s behavior. These five variables are important to all cultures that are context, information flow, time, language, power and equality, collectivism vs. individualism, and spirituality and tradition. These are the variables anthropologists use most often when making distinctions about culture. When we interaction in new social medium, we should be open and respectful, know the social customs, learn as much about the culture, history people, and even language as reasonable, obtain pointers and feedback, be patient, flexible, and value, keep a sense of humor, and keep language simple and avoid jargon. Connecting and Communicating across Cultures: By understanding and appreciating cultural diversity, leaders can better know how to connect and communicate with all of the different audiences that form the professional environment and most of the professional word today. Basically, to connect and communicate, leader should adopt the following approaches to any cross-cultural encounter: Be open and respectful, Know the social customs, Learn as much about the culture, history, people, and even languages as reasonable, Obtain pointers and feedback from members of the culture, Be patient, be flexible, and value the time needed to develop relationships, Keep a sense of humor, and Keep language simple and avoid jargon. This chapter provides a beginning and should have increased the recognition of the importance and value of understanding and appreciating cultural differences. This chapter has provided an introduction and basic foundation for leadership communication across cultures.

Question

1. What is culture?

Culture is the set of values, beliefs, rules, and institutions held by a specific group of people. Main components include: aesthetics, values and attitudes, manners and customs, social structure, religion, personal communication, education, and physical and material environments.

·        Accommodating Culture: Avoiding Ethnocentricity

1.  Ethnocentricity is the belief that one’s own ethnic group or culture is superior to that of others. It causes people to view other cultures in terms of their own and overlook human and environmental differences. 3

2. Ethnocentricity can undermine business projects when a firm’s employees are insensitive to cultural nuances.

·        Understanding Culture: Developing Cultural Literacy

1. Managers working directly in international business should develop cultural literacy—detailed knowledge about a culture that enables a person to function effectively within it.

2. Cultural literacy brings a company closer to customer needs and desires

and improves competitiveness.

2. Why teach cultural literacy?

To become more aware and tolerant of different cultures and religions.

• To understand differences and similarities in people.

• Become aware of different dialects

• To know how to interact with people from other cultures.

3. How to teach cultural literacy through power point?

Define cultural literacy using age appropriate language

• Make slides related to the children and their cultures

• Allow for discussion and “think time”

• Use pictures and other “new” technologies