Chapter 3,9, and 10

                                                                                                                        Natalie Tourino

            Culture and communication are closely intertwined. Culture is the set of beliefs, values and norms shared by a group. Communication is the interaction between people.Effective communication relies on the understanding of cultural differences among people that influence verbal and non-verbal interactions.

            Cultural norms and rules reflect a groups' values. Some values and beliefs may be considered appropriate by one group and unacceptable by another. For example, U.S. culture believes that men and women should have equal rights. Other cultures, however, restrict women's rights.

            Dominant cultures and co-cultures exist within society. The dominant culture is the one shared by most people. Co-cultures consist of subgroups whose customs and beliefs differ from the dominant culture. Race, ethnicity, native language, sex and gender, sexual orientation, religion, seriocomic status, disability, and age/generation are some of the co-cultures found in society.

            Differences also exist among dominant cultures based on the ideas of individualism/collectivism, context, chronemics, uncertainty avoidance, power distance, masculinity/femininity, long-term/short-term orientation, and indulgence.

            Some cultures are individualistic and encourage competitiveness and self-expression. Other cultures are collectivist and value shared interest and the sense of community. In collectivist cultures, the emphasis is on a group, rather than the individual. 

            

            The use of contextual clues also affects communication. Some cultures are low-context and depend on words for expression. Other cultures are high context and rely on contextual clues to interact.

            Chronemics is another cultural factor that impacts communication. It refers to a culture's perception of time. Some cultures stress punctuality and meeting deadlines. Other cultures are polychronic and value time flexibility. Being punctual is not essential to polychronic cultures.

            How people perceive uncertainty also differs between cultures. Low- uncertainty avoidance cultures are better able to handle unpredictable situations. However, high uncertainty avoidance cultures struggle with uncertainty.

            Another culture variant is the disruption of power among individuals. In high power-distance cultures, unequal power distribution is accepted. However, low-power distance cultures value the equal power distribution among its people. 

            Gender roles also differ among cultures. Some cultures are are masculine and value traditional gender roles where women are expected to be caring and submissive while men should be assertive. Feminine cultures, however, do not share strict gender roles and encourage men and women to be both caring and assertive.

            Long-term/short-term orientation is still another factor that impacts cultures and how people value patience or immediate rewards. Indulgence also affects cultures as it deals with how a group values achieving pleasure versus restraint.

            Aside from the importance of being able to interact with people from other dominant cultures or co-cultures, effective communication is vital for individuals to be able to interact within groups. Such groups include families and social groups.

           Families foster communication help to instill the values and customs of its members. Family communication impacts each member's socialism, and self-concept. Depending on their decision-making and conversational habits, family units may be classified as protective, consensual, pluralistic, or laissez-faire. Protective families have an authority figure who makes decisions, but there is more conversation among the members. Pluralistic families are those where all members converse often and engage in group decision- making. In laissez-faire families, the members communicate often, but make their own individual decisions.

           

            Communication is also important within social groups made up of people who care for one another and enjoy each other's company. Conversations are encouraged and are meant to provide encouragement, support, and protection.

           Support groups are comprised of people who share a common problem and seek support and understanding. Conversations within the members must follow specific communication guidelines.

           Other groups include interest groups created by people who have a common hobby or interest, service groups who come together to do charity work, work groups made up of people who have a task to complete, and virtual groups who communicate through technological means.

           Regardless of their specific purpose, healthy groups share similar features. They should have ethical goals. In addition, its members should be interdependent with one another, cohesive, accountable, synergetic, and able to develop and follow productive norms.

           All groups evolve through several development stages. The initial stage is called forming, when members first get together and engage in polite and positive communication. The groups gradually move on to the storming stage, where conflict may develop as members seek power. Groups go through the norming stage of trust and collaboration, engage in problem-solving at the performing stage, and reach the adjourning stage to celebrate the groups' accomplishments.

           Even in healthy groups, conflict will occur. Disagreements may stem from pseudo-conflict, issue-related group conflict, or personality-related group conflict. These disagreements may stem from poor communication among members, incompatible beliefs, and personality clashes.

           In the business world, groups play a key role. They depend on members who take on a leadership role to guide the group process. Effective groups have shared leadership functions performed by the members. These include task roles, maintenance roles, and procedural roles. Each role is important to the group's effectiveness.

           Groups with effective shared leadership have responsibilities that must be carried out by all members. For instance, members must be committed to the group's goals. They must keep discussion on track, encourage output, and and manage conflict within the group.

           Work groups often communicate through meetings. For those meetings to be effective, leaders should follow guidelines before, during, and after the meeting. From creating an agenda, monitoring time, and reviewing the meeting outcome, these guidelines will help leaders plan and conduct effective meetings.

           Work groups may be asked to tackle a problem. As such, group members will need to communicate and follow steps to achieve their goal. Members must identify and analyze the problem, choose criteria for judging solutions, come up with possible solutions, evaluate the solutions and select one to implement. 

            Once a solution is chosen, the work group must communicate the result by written, ora, or virtual formulas. The group should then evaluate its effectiveness by analyzing its own group dynamics and the quality of its group presentation.