Understanding Intercultural Communication Ting-toomey Pdf

[Dorian Aldrege]

Interculturalcommunication is the basis for a productive dialogue between various races and cultures. People who profess different religions also benefit from the approaches used to create such a dialogue, since true faith is always based on affirmation and love, and not on denial or condemnation. Christianity in the North American and European tradition has a hard-hitting history of Christian colonialism, when the faith was imposed on the inhabitants of the territories of the occupied countries, with the belittling of the significance of local faith, culture, and traditions. This paper aims to discuss how intercultural communication can be applied to the Christian ministry practice.

The book Understanding Intercultural Communication by Ting-Toomey and Leeva is a comprehensive guide for practitioners of intercultural communication. Chapter 12 is especially interesting, as here the author reveals the intricacies of intercultural communication based on ethical principles. The professionals who require training in intercultural communication may include teachers, preachers, business people who operate globally. For ministers, understanding the types of ethical systems is especially important.

The most interesting element of meta-ethical decision-making is the ability of parallel thinking, which utilizes the tool of replacing more distant and impersonal relationships with closer ones. For example, when an intercultural professional becomes aware of some unethical but culturally acceptable local practice, they should imagine as if the practice was performed by their loved ones, brothers, or sisters.4 This approach makes it possible to feel more immediate emotional reactions and returns a person to an absolutist position concerning the equality of all human beings. Noteworthy, this approach has the spirit of dynamic flexibility, and could be the highest manifestation of active compassion in intercultural relations.

Pindi and De La Graza start a timely discussion about how Jesus, by definition, is seen by Europeans as a white person, which demonstrates and reaffirms racial superiority and inequality. Many scholars denounce this approach and view it as a colonial legacy and the basis for acts of micro-aggression. Scholars also emphasize the role of the body of Christ in Christian discourse, since the color of this body can unconsciously and automatically divide groups of believers.

Lawless and Chen examined pedagogical approaches to intercultural education in the United States. The authors condemn the tendency for teachers to resist the strengthening of intercultural positions in education.11 The article is well applicable to intercultural ministry practice since sermons have a lot in common with lessons. Therefore, both teachers and preachers can use the ethical approaches, such as the concepts of dynamic flexibility and parallel thinking, to strengthen the intercultural field.

Thus, the ways of introducing intercultural communication to the Christian ministry practices were discussed. The chapter regarding intercultural communication was analyzed to improve the understanding of ethical approaches to ministry. Then, this knowledge was applied to analyze the contemporary articles about the problems in intercultural communication. To summarize, the ministers should respect different races and cultures, which require deeper knowledge of their ways of finding the faith.

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The problem of culture shock can be inevitable when venturing abroad on a ministry mission, yet it is essential to deal with it correctly since otherwise, it may provoke negative emotions. In the book in question, the authors provide several tips on how to manage a culture shock, but the main ones include working on tolerance for ambiguity and increasing motivation to learn3. Essentially, a person immersed in an intercultural context must not become amazed by the aspects of the life of other people but accept them as a norm and be constantly willing to embrace novelty. There is no doubt that in my future ministry abroad, I will encounter certain phenomena inherent to other cultures which will be not only new but may appear strange to me. Yet, by developing my ambiguity tolerance and being able to motivate myself to learn about such phenomena, I will be able to reduce the effect of a culture shock.

Nonverbal communication is a significant part of the process of intercultural communication and one which should be carefully considered before use. Out of all forms of nonverbal communication, facial expressions are the most universal ones and are generally accurately recognized across all countries, especially those reflecting sadness, happiness, disgust, fear, anger, surprise, and interest5. Thus, other types of nonverbal communication, such as gestures and haptics, should be avoided since they may have different meanings in various cultures. In my future ministry, I am planning to communicate with people whose languages will be difficult for me to understand. The book helped me gain a better understanding of the effective use of nonverbal elements, and I will rely on the basic facial expressions. Therefore, I will use such nonverbal forms of communication in during future ministry in order to earn respect among the locals, which will enhance my ability to fulfill the Great Commission.

Before publication, the StudyCorgi editorial team proofread and checked the paper to make sure it meets the highest standards in terms of grammar, punctuation, style, fact accuracy, copyright issues, and inclusive language. Last updated: October 28, 2022.

Employers must help their organizations succeed and thrive by deriving maximum value from an ever-increasing range and depth of cultural difference. This influences the skills and competencies we need, the policies and systems we design, and the ways we develop employees and leaders. Organizations must adapt and develop so that key decision-makers, managers and leaders start making truly inclusive decisions in all aspects of people management. Intercultural competence, as defined and explored in this toolkit, is a key enabler of this professional and organizational development. Tools exist to apply these concepts in practical ways at the individual, team and organization levels.

Research and experience show that we all think we are better than we actually are at communicating and working with people from different cultural backgrounds. Most people believe that our common humanity is most relevant to achieving a common understanding and thus underestimate the actual effect of cultural difference. The Golden Rule states, "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you." The core operating assumption is that everyone else values, believes and wants the same things as we do. Believing this, it seems natural that if we all just act as we normally do, then we will be able to understand each other. This inaccurate assumption prevents the deeper understanding needed to ensure successful outcomes. Overcoming this assumption enables an organization to build a truly inclusive workplace that harnesses its diversity to drive productivity, innovation and creativity.

The Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) program was initiated in in the early 1990s to study how culture is related to societal, organizational and leader effectiveness. This research is considered the most comprehensive in understanding the relationship between culture and leadership in organizations.

Consider a hypothetical U.S.-based team or group composed of a mix of individuals originally from Alabama, Arizona, Kansas, Maine, New Jersey and Oregon. The team includes members who are Asian-American, Black, Latino and white. Two members are second-generation immigrants, from Thailand and the Dominican Republic. Add a mix of spiritual beliefs, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation and organizational functions. The team is culturally very diverse. Team members may be unaware of the full scope of their diversity. They likely have different life experiences, communication styles and work habits. Moreover, individual preferences and assumptions regarding recognition, organizational hierarchy and dealing with uncertainty vary. These differences may either hinder or boost productivity and innovation.

Communication is at the core of all these functions. Productivity and innovation require that people communicate well and use work methods that actively draw on everyone's unique perspectives and input.

Each person is a blend of many dimensions with an "answer" to his or her view of self for each dimension. The more alike two people are, the more answers they have in common and vice-versa. Working with these dimensions can help people gain a deeper understanding of their own and other peoples' cultural identity and the effect of these identities in the workplace. Consider to what extent one is similar to and different from people with whom one works. In our complex workplace and society, this question applies to fellow employees, suppliers, business partners, outsourcing companies, regulators and customers.

We must be able to effectively communicate with an increasingly diverse set of people. This is true regardless of where an organization is located, its size, whether its customers are consumers or other organizations, and where its customers and business partners are located. The need is universal.

Ting-Toomey and others have also demonstrated the opportunity available from cultural difference between people, namely the potential for greater innovation and creativity in the team's or organization's output. This potential stems from the wider range of perspectives and approaches to an issue that can lead to more creative problem-solving and more effective solutions to business issues.

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