Jake Pellegrino

DP-6 Professor Berkos

Communications 491

Chapter 6

Chapter 6 talks about the advantages to understanding cross-cultural communication as

well as intercultural communication. This chapter talks about four theories that help explain how

these communication skills can help companies grow in foreign countries. The four different

theories talked about in this chapter are Hofstedes cultural dimensions, communication

accommodation theory, anxiety/uncertainty management theory, and face-negotiation theory.

The first theory chapter 6 talks about is Hofstedes cultural dimensions. Hofstede talks

about individual collectivism, this idea says that different cultures have different characteristics

and some of these cultures can be classified as individualistic. The USA for example would fall

under this category because most of the time people in America will not go above and beyond

what is asked of them unless there is a reward for them to gain from. In the individualistic

culture, sticking with the American example, companies tend to give employees individual

awards and put people ahead, this culture views competition as a good thing. Hofstede goes on to

talk about masculinity in cultures and how it differs throughout the world. America is a country

that is high in masculinity in the work place, this means that men as supposed to be assertive,

competitive, and ambitious. This is true but women have made waves in recent years and the tide

is changing towards total equality.

The next theory talked about in chapter 6 is the communication accommodation theory.

This theory talks about the different ways people change their speech around to fit the
appropriate vocabulary. The theory explains that people may go on vacation and find themselves

talking with an accent from wherever they vacationed. This theory explains that changing your

speech around can help in the workplace if you can use it correctly, not everyone uses it correctly

so social cues help people figure it out.

The third theory talked about in chapter 6 is the anxiety/uncertainty management theory.

This theory explains that the effectiveness of groups and communication effectiveness is a direct

result of reducing intercultural anxiety and uncertainty. People sometimes have trouble working

in groups and being able to express their opinions, by reducing peoples stress levels in these

group settings then co-workers can work better with each other. When workers have anxiety or

they are uncertain about something then they cannot properly communicate their message to

their co-workers. AUM tells us the key to communication is effective mindfulness, the ability to

relax and listen to what other people have to say instead of using stereo types and having a

reaction to everything someone says.

The fourth theory chapter 6 talks about is the face negotiation theory. This theory

explains that different cultures have different face needs and concerns, when there is a conflict

with the different cultural faces are differing with one another. This theory helps explain how

some people are going to react to conflict based on their cultural background, with this

information people can figure out easier how someone is going to react if they are in a situation

where conflict is present.

This chapter talks about many different theories that can help in the real world. The big

take away I got from this chapter is the idea of dealing with intercultural situations. Many people

have a hard time dealing with people they are not familiar with, especially if that person is hard
to understand or reacts differently to conflict. This chapter gave me tools that I can apply in my

future job endeavors.

1. Different cultures react to conflict differently but do all people from a specific culture act

the same?

2. Not all group situations can be fixed with mindfulness, what are some other techniques?