Coping with Conflict in an Intercultural Interethnic Situation essays

Coping with Conflict in an Intercultural Interethnic Situation essays Contemporary society requires that communication occur between individuals of different linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Thus inter- cultural communication has become an important area of investigation among linguists and business managers alike. Operating in a global society, individuals must communicate on the basis of business, immigration, political and even recreational premises. Research suggests that international communication is more however, than simply learning the language of another country. There are hundreds of verbal and non verbal cues that are utilized from a cultural perspective depending upon the environment in which one is communicating. To avoid conflict and to adequately facilitate effective international communications, business representatives must first acknowledge and take an active interest in learning the cultural distinctions that exist from one country to another. To do this, individuals must first recognize communication patterns within their own culture. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the impact of cultural and customs on communications between people from a global Gullestrup (2003) examined critical elements occurring within an intercultural situation. He created a model based upon the idea that individuals when communicating are often affected by more than one culture at a time. Gullestrup proposes that to understand basic concepts regarding intercultural communication, one must first understand basic units of culture, particularly one's own culture. He defines culture as a "philosophy of life, values, norms and rules" as well as actual behavior from which separate individuals have the ability to communicate as one (Gullestrup, 2003:1). If international business people do not first understand the nuances of their own culture and its impact on communications style, they will not have the ability to successfully ...