I work in a company that comprises people from different parts of the world. The enterprise is in Georgia, United States. The company has a new employee who works as the marketing director. From my evaluation, he is an African, thus falling under a high-cultural context. In one of the instances, he reorganized our office, which two Americans occupied to accommodate seven other people. The initiative led to a feeling of discomfort among the Americans since they value personal space. I also noticed that the new marketing officer usually comes to the meetings late and communicates most using figurative language. The Japanese and Americans in the marketing department are always punctual for the meeting. They usually register disappointment because they view that the person whom they expect to provide direction comes late. Apart from that, rather than engaging on the purpose of the meeting directly, he spends almost 15 minutes in storytelling. The practices of the marketing director have contributed to conflicts within the department.
From the case study, it is clear that the marketing director is not aware of Americans and the Japanese cultural dimension. His lack of time management practices shows the flexibility in time routine that people from High-context utilize. According to Changing Minds (n.d), people from the low-context culture are monochromic. They value time management, and they assume careful planning and scheduling. The Japanese and Americans emphasize promptness, puts the job first, and concentrate on the job at hand. As such, engaging in storytelling and attending the meeting late is against the Japanese and American culture. Lack of awareness was a source of disappointment in the department. It results in the inability to complete duties as per plans, something that Japanese and Americans value.
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The use of figurative language was another way to view the African was not aware of the Americans and Japanese' cultural context. The two communities use clear communication patterns (Changing Minds, n.d). Using figurative language causes deviation from the expectations. The Japanese and the Americans follow the semantic rules in their communication because it enhances understanding and meaning. Using figurative language contributes to misunderstanding since the method focuses on connecting the speaker's conversation to personal experience rather than the listeners' needs (University of Minnesota, n.d). The breakdown in communication results in the confusion that might translate to poor job delivery.
The reorganization of the office shared by two Americans to accommodate seven other members demonstrates the African inability to understand Americans' personal space nature—the community values bigger space, which is not the case for the people from the high-context areas—the Americans' need for personal space results from their high levels of indulgence versus restraint perspective. According to Hofstede's cultural dimensions, people from low-context countries such as Americans encourage relatively free gratification (Mind Tools, n.d). The initiative makes most people consider the need for a large space that facilitates the satisfaction of their emotions and drives. Large space in the office was basically left to facilitate personal fun. The increase in the number of office staff causes suppression to personal gratification by restricting people’s enjoyment needs—the process results in creating stricter social norms that might not be effective in the American context.
The case study outlines the breaching of low-context people's cultural identity by a high-context cultural individual unknowingly. According to TEXxBend (2017), people should use their perceptions to improve others, not diminish. The marketing director is expected to define his culture and develop a mechanism that he can utilize to improve his interaction with other workers. For instance, he needs to learn that different cultural contexts have dissimilar approaches to handling real-life issues. Understanding offers a foundation for better communication with others in the workplace.
References
Changing Minds. (n.d.). Hall’s cultural factors. http://changingminds.org/explanations/culture/hall_culture.htm
Mind Tools. (n.d.). Hofstede’s cultural dimensions: Understanding different countries. https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_66.htm
TEDxBend. (2017, July 6). White men: Time to discover your cultural blind spots: Michael Welp [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rR5zDIjUrfk
University of Minnesota. (n.d.-c). 3.3 Using words well. In Communication in the real world: An introduction to communication studies. https://open.lib.umn.edu/communication/chapter/3-3-using-words-well/
