Performing Arts Chapter 6 Six Cultural Contexts The Influence The Setting Overview Nishiyama Japanese Style

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Chapter Six

Cultural Contexts: The Influence of the Setting

Overview

Nishiyama, K. “Japanese Style of Decision Making in Business Organizations” (pp. 266-272).

The differences between Eastern and Western decision-making strategies are explored in this

Hinner, M. “Comparing and Contrasting German and American Business Cultures” (pp. 273-288).

The focus of this essay is an analysis of German and American business cultures. Following a

Skow, L. M., & Stephan, L. “Intercultural Communication in the University Classroom” (pp. 288-302).

This article aims to explain how aspects of culture influence teaching and learning. To achieve

this goal, the authors first describe the demographic makeup of U.S. universities before

Gay, G. “Culture and Communication in the Classroom” (pp. 302-319).

The semiotic relationship between communication, culture, teaching, and learning is introduced

Geist-Martin, P. “Negotiating Cultural Understanding in Health Care Communication” (pp. 320-329).

In this essay, Geist-Martin first introduces the relationship between culture, health, and

communication and then provides several specific case examples to illustrate the ways in which

Rao, N. “‘Half–Truths’ in Argentina, Brazil, and India: An Intercultural Analysis of Physician-Patient

Communication” (pp. 329-339).

Rao argues that interactions between physicians and patients are inherently intercultural, even

when both doctor and patient believe they are part of the same culture. To investigate the impact

– Chapter Six –

Outline

I. JAPANESE STYLE OF DECISION MAKING IN BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS

(Nishiyama)

a. Employment system in Japan

i. Recruitment practices in Japan

i. New employees recruited from new graduates

2. Bonding considered a very important aspect of their career

ii. Japanese companies are still reluctant to hire workers who have had previous

experience with other companies

iii. All Japanese companies use different classifications of employees in order to

retain good and loyal workers and to differentiate them from other, less desirable

workers

1. Regular employees, hanyatoi

2. Temporary employees, rinjiyatoi

3. Part-time employees, paato

5. Dispatched employee, haken shain

b. Building up interpersonal relationships

i. Nyushashiki, entering the company ceremony following induction

i. Like a graduation ceremony

ii. Those who “graduate” together continue to have associations with one another

c. Ringi, or group decision making

i. Japanese executives and managers are not really independent decision makers

ii. Process of ringi decision making

i. Plan initiator, “kiansha” drafts a proposal, “ringisho”

ii. Nemawashi, literally, twisting the tree roots

1. The document requests a decision, offers supporting data, justification,

etc.

iii. Kaigi, or face-to-face conference

i. Appears similar to Western business meetings but is quite different

ii. Rather than make a decision, the purpose of kaigi is to formally confirm what

was already decided in the nemawashi

iii. In Western cultures, it is acceptable to change one’s mind about what has been

informally agreed upon, but in the Japanese cultural context, this is a serious

social infraction and betrayal of interpersonal trust

d. Advice on overcoming communication difficulties

i. Maintain close personal contacts

ii. Do not rush Japanese counterparts

iii. Do not consider ringi negative because it is slow and cumbersome because

implementation is swift once a decision is made

iv. Bring gifts for Japanese counterparts

v. Good understanding of Japanese culture and social customs is necessary for successful

participation in decision-making conference

vi. Do not talk too much and do not dominate discussions

vii. Be patient and disregard the “Western time orientation”

viii. It is a good strategy to prepare visual aids in Japanese

e. Conclusion

II. COMPARING AND CONTRASTING GERMAN AND AMERICAN BUSINESS CULTURES

(Hinner)

a. Culture

i. German and American similarities

ii. German and American differences

iii. Culture and consumers

iv. Characteristics of culture

1. Worldview

3. History and government

4. Environment

v. General disposition and individual diversity

1. Individual behavior varies

b. German culture

i. A history of political disunion

ii. Linguistic diversity

iii. Religious division

iv. East and West Germany

v. Consensus and parity

vi. Government system

a. In part, this explains chronic unemployment

c. German business culture

i. Problem solving

1. Few organizations are organized as corporations in Germany

iii. German corporations

2. Supervisory board Aufsichstrat: exercises control of management

3. Mitbestimmungsgesetz (codetermination act) requires employees to be part of

1. Typically fixed by collective tariff agreements negotiated by trade union

representatives

d. The interrelationship of culture and business conduct

i. Task oriented

2. Germans do not like to make mistakes because they are expected to be experts in

their field of specialization

ii. Relationships

1. Germans tend to strictly separate business relationships from private relationships

2. May use formal titles with each other even after working together for many years

iii. Time management

1. Like in the United States, punctuality is valued

3. Appointments are not reconfirmed

iv. Information flow

2. Americans may think Germans are trying to hide something from them

v. Business meetings and negotiations

1. Germans are well prepared for meetings, but often lack spontaneity, and

1. Like to have an initial and comprehensive understanding of all aspects of

the problem

2. Americans

2. Brainstorming

3. Once the goal determined, the group decides on a plan of action and

tasks are assigned to various group members

e. Concluding remarks

III. INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION IN THE UNIVERSITY CLASSROOM (Skow &

Stephan)

a. Introduction

c. Culture and classroom communication

i. The influence of values on classroom communication

1. Collectivism versus individualism

ii. Learning and teaching styles

1. Our learning and teaching styles are influenced by individual preferences

and culture

a. Chinese approach of explaining part of a concept to students and

iii. Verbal ways of speaking in the classroom

1. Problems can arise due to intercultural differences in

iv. Nonverbal ways of speaking in the classroom

2. Silence

d. Improving communication in the intercultural classroom

i. Intercultural Classroom Scenario One: Conflicting Expectations

1. Russian calculus instructor and explanations for American students

ii. Intercultural Classroom Scenario Two: Issues of Privacy

1. German ITA asking students to discuss their grades publicly in class

iii. Intercultural Classroom Scenario Three: Voices in the Classroom

e. Suggestions for students in intercultural classroom

ii. Focus on listening to a way of speaking with which you are unfamiliar

iii. Do not hesitate to ask your instructor to repeat information

iv. Ask international instructors about their home countries

v. Remember that communication requires people to work together to reach

understandings

IV. CULTURE AND COMMUNICATION IN THE CLASSROOM (Gay)

a. Introduction

1. Students of color who are most traditional in their communication styles and other

b. Relationship among culture, communication, and education

i. Communication is described as “an intricate matrix of interacting social acts that occur in

a complex social environment that reflects the way people live and how they come to

interact with and get along in their world.” (pp. 303-304)

1. Culture is the social environment

2. Communication is dynamic, interactive, irreversible, and invariably contextual

c. Culturally different discourse structures

i. Passive-receptive versus participatory-receptive postures

d. Ethnic variation in communication styles

i. Among African Americans, the participatory interactive style of communicating is

sometimes referred to as call-response

1. Involves listeners’ giving encouragement, commentary, compliments, and even

criticism to speakers as they are talking

ii. Native Hawaiian students use talk-story, similar to the call-response

1. This involves several students working collaboratively or talking together to

create an idea, tell a story, or complete a learning task

2. What seems important to Hawaiian children in talk-story is not individual… but

group performance in speaking

iii. European American females – “cooperative talk overlapping”

1. Women talking along with speakers to show participation and support

2. Usually when talk is casual and friendly

3. A type of rapport talk

4. Other traditional women’s ways of communicating that complement cooperative

talk include

1. Many African American, Latino, Native American, and Asian American students

2. In traditional African American and Latino culture, problem solving is highly

contextualized

3. Asian Americans who prefer to learn within the context of groups use a process

of collaborative and negotiated problem solving

4. Study habits of Chinese Americans

v. Organizing ideas in discourse

1. Topic centered discourse (Def.) “speakers focus on one issue at a time; arrange

2. Topic associative discourse (Def.) “…is episodic, anecdotal, thematic, and

integrative. More than one issue is addressed at once. Related explanations

vi. Storytelling as topic chaining

1. Achieve multiple outcomes simultaneously

a. Relate information, persuade others to support one’s point of view,

2. Teachers seeking to improve the academic performance of students of color who

use topic-associated discourse styles need to incorporate a storytelling motif into

1. Ethnically diverse students relate to material differently

1. The discourse dynamics of European Americans are almost the opposite of

African Americans

a. African Americans are more likely to express personal points of view in

ix. Playing with and on words

1. Frequent use of verb pairs in African American culture

x. Ambivalence and distancing in communication

1. Communication features of Asian and Asian American students

e. Gender variations in discourse styles

i. Females communicate differently from males

ii. Gender communication patterns established early in life

iii. Problems with gendered communication styles

f. Conclusion

V. NEGOTIATING CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING IN HEALTH CARE COMMUNICATION

(Geist-Martin)

a. Linking culture, health, and communication

b. Expanding cultural sensitivity in the health care context

i. The growing culture gap between the medical system and the ethnic minorities

who work in it and are served by it

c. Cultural differences in perceptions, treatment practices, and relationships

i. Folk healing beliefs

2. Chinese folk medicine

ii. Problems with patients self-medicating using folk healing

2. Therefore, doctors are encouraged to discuss patients’ beliefs and

1. Miscommunications with translators are frequent

a. Linguistic differences in terms

b. Translators choosing not to translate something

d. Culturally sensitive health care

i. Training for health professionals that helps them examine their own beliefs and

values as a starting point to appreciate other cultures

ii. View cultures as dynamic and assess each patient as an individual

VI. “HALF–TRUTHS” IN ARGENTINA, BRAZIL, AND INDIA: AN INTERCULTURAL ANALYSIS

OF PHYSICIAN-PATIENT COMMUNICATION (Rao)

a. Impact of culture on physician-patient communication

i. Diversity exists both across cultures and within cultures

ii. Language can be a major barrier to culturally appropriate medical care

1. South-East Asian patients often use the word “yes” to mean “I hear you,

and I will answer your question” instead of an affirmative response

iii. Medical jargon exacerbates miscommunications

iv. Research question: How do physicians in different countries communicate with

culturally diverse patients?

v. Physicians’ definition of culture

vi. “Half–truths”

1. Most physicians reported they would give a patient a bad diagnosis in

small doses over several visits, would not disclose a bad diagnosis

2. But some doctors preferred to tell their patients directly

3. Doctors in the United States reported they would tell only the patient and

would tell the patient directly

vii. Family as patient

1. Physicians treated an entire family rather than just the ill person

a. Connected to collectivist cultures

viii. Defining success

1. Physicians reported that a patient dying was not a failure if they had done

everything possible for the patient

a. U.S. doctors see death as failure

b. Physicians in Argentina, Brazil, and India focused on relational

b. The intercultural journey continues

i. Implications:

2. It is important to understand the communication strategies used by

physicians in individualistic cultures

3. Research on physician-patient interaction must be viewed as an

intercultural interaction

– Chapter Six –

Discussion Ideas

Concepts & Questions from “Japanese Style of Decision Making in Business Organizations” (Nishiyama,

pp. 266-272):

1. Why is the group-oriented mentality important in Japanese business organizations?

2. How does the Japanese employment system foster group orientation?

3. Why are Japanese employers reluctant to hire employees who have worked for other companies?

4. Nishiyama has indicated that although companies try to establish one unified work group, there

may be factions within the company. What are the bases for these factions? How do these factions

fit with the idea of a group-oriented workforce?

5. What are the cultural significances of the Japanese ringi decision-making process?

6. How does the ringi process differ from decision-making processes in Western organizations?

7. Why is it important for a Western businessperson to understand the kaigi process?

8. In what ways do face-to-face conferences in Japanese business organizations differ from those in

Western business organizations?

9. In group-oriented Japanese business organizations where harmonious relationships are important,

do Japanese business people have a means to exchange and express frank and honest opinions?

Explain.

Concepts & Questions from “Comparing and Contrasting German and American Business Cultures”

(Hinner, pp. 273-288):

1. How might the similarities between American and German business cultures affect intercultural

communication?

2. What does Hinner mean when he writes about external and hidden cultural differences? How can

these differences affect product marketing?

3. How does the history of Germany influence the culture of German business organizations?

4. In what ways does the tradition of regional autonomy influence German business culture?

5. How do the bases of American and German law compare? How do these differences contribute to

the distinct business cultures found in each country?

6. In what ways does the German educational system differ from that of the United States? How does

the German education system support German business?

8. What are the differences between German and American corporate organization? How do these

differences affect communication within and between German and American businesses?

10. List the advantages and disadvantages of the German corporate system of simultaneously operating

under two different boards of directors. Would such a system be effective in the United States?

Concepts & Questions from “Intercultural Communication in the University Classroom” (Skow &

Stephan, pp. 288-302):

1. Describe several ways in which the international presence on U.S. university campuses has affected

the learning process.

2. What differences might you find between collective and individualistic cultures in the structure of

the classroom and the learning process?

4. What role does power distance play in determining the forms of communication that are appropriate

to the teaching and learning process?

5. How does the gender orientation of a culture affect the forms of communication in the classroom?

6. How might a student from a culture that is high in uncertainty avoidance react to a U.S. professor

who answers a student question by saying, “I don’t know”?

Concepts & Questions from “Culture and Communication in the Classroom” (Gay, pp. 302-319):

1. How do students’ communication abilities affect teachers’ perceptions of students?

2. Beyond the transmission of information, what other purposes does Gay suggest that language

serves?

6. Describe the methods employed by many African American students to gain entry into

conversations. How does this style differ from the communication styles of Native Hawaiian

students?

7. Describe differences in problem-solving styles among African Americans, Latinos, Native

Americans, and Asian American students.

8. Distinguish between topic-centered and topic-associative (or topic-chaining) techniques in

Concepts & Questions from “Negotiating Cultural Understanding in Health Care Communication” (Geist–

Martin, pp. 320-329):

1. How does the type of communication between caregivers and patients affect a patient’s recovery?

2. What is required of health practitioners in order for them to develop a cultural understanding of

health?

3. How might cultural diversity in the ideologies of quality of life influence decisions regarding

whether or when to withdraw life support?

4. What are “dialogic dialectics,” and how are they employed in health care communication?

5. How should a caregiver make use of the “dialectics of self” in establishing an initial communicative

relationship with a patient?

6. In what manner is the term “patient” a problem-laden word?

7. How does the practice of folk-healing medicine influence communication in the health care setting?

8. Discuss some of the problems inherent in the use of language translators in the health care setting.

How can these problems be minimized?

Concepts & Questions from “‘Half–Truths’ in Argentina, Brazil, and India: An Intercultural Analysis of

Physician-Patient Communication” (Rao, pp. 329-339):

1. How does Rao distinguish between the dynamics of illness and disease? In what manner may these

dynamics be influenced by culture and affect physician–patient communication?

3. In what ways might cultural diversity in language affect physician–patient communication?

4. Rao makes the argument that effective physician–patient communication requires both cultural

knowledge and well-developed interpersonal communication skills. What justification is there for this

position?

5. How do physician perceptions of cultural diversity in Argentina and Brazil seem to differ from those

evident in India?

8. In what way does building trust between physician and patient in Argentina, Brazil, and India differ

from how it is achieved in the United States?

9. What does Rao mean when he refers to the intercultural aspects of physician–patient communication?

10. In what ways do the communication strategies of physicians in collectivistic cultures seem to differ

from those of physicians in individualistic cultures?

– Chapter Six –

Exercises

Exercise 6.1: Classroom Visitors

This activity is designed to give students an in-depth understanding of the role that culture plays in the

business, health care, and classroom contexts and applies to all the articles in this chapter. It allows

students to listen to and ask questions of business professionals, health care providers, and teachers.

Students will acquire some “real life” understanding of the consequences of culture in the realm of

business. Further, students will gain insight into how interaction between patients and health care workers

This activity can be accomplished in two ways. First, students can interview someone in the business,

health care, or educational context, ask the questions below, and then report their findings to the class. A

second option is for you to invite members from at least three contexts to visit your classroom—invite

two or three business professionals to your class. These visitors can be contacted via personal affiliations,

local business communities, or through businesses that have a partnership with your college or university.

Ask your visitors to address changes in the business environment due to culture. How have the personal

cultural demographics of the organization changed over the last five/ten years? What cultural sensitivity

training is being done? What adaptations/accommodations have been made due to increase cultural

diversity in the workplace? Have office arrangements, space, time usage, uniforms, etc., been altered?

Negotiations? Group dynamics? What difficulties arise in the multicultural organization?

Next, invite two or three health care workers (nurses, doctors, public health workers, counselors, etc.) to

your class. These visitors can be contacted on your college or university campus or from the surrounding

community. Such health care facilities as Planned Parenthood, women’s health care and community

clinics, hospices, local hospitals, and the health department in your city are excellent possible resources.

Finally, invite two or three K-12 teachers to your class. These visitors can be contacted at local schools

throughout your community. Invite teachers who teach in a multicultural school and who are culturally

diverse among themselves. Other resources are the local school districts in your community. They may be

able to direct you to individuals in charge of multicultural programs and multicultural specialists at

certain schools. Ask your visitors to address the influence that culture has in the classroom and share

some of the experiences they have had with their students. Ask them to describe the cultural backgrounds

Questions for discussion:

1. What are your own cross-cultural experiences in the business, health care, or educational

environment?

2. Do you think our society addresses the issue of cultural differences in the business, healthcare, or

classroom environment(s) enough?

3. Give examples of how U.S. society has conceptualized and administered business, health care,

Exercise 6.2: Cultural Views of Job Satisfaction

Different people want different things from their intimate relationships with others. Some are looking for

only basic companionship, others want someone who will listen and empathize, and still others are

searching for a person who will primarily satisfy their physical needs for affection and sex. We can’t

assume that our partners want what we want from our relationship. The same notion holds true when we

This exercise asks students to identify the components of job satisfaction for themselves and then to ask

someone who has a different cultural background to assess his or her needs as an employee. Because

different cultures value and conceive of work differently, students may come up with some interesting

What differences do they see between the two sets of rankings? How might such differences affect

working relationships?

Instructions: In the left column, students should rank their satisfaction with each of the work condition

concepts from 1 to 10 (with 1 being the aspect of your work that you are most satisfied with and 10 being

that aspect with which you are least satisfied). The right column should be completed by a friend. Be

sure to cover your answers so that your friend’s responses are not compromised!

Satisfaction Ratings

You Friend

_____ Interesting work _____

_____ Personal loyalty of supervisor(s) _____

_____ Full appreciation of work done _____

_____ Help on personal problems _____

_____ High wages _____

Questions for class discussion:

1. What differences do you see between the item you ranked as number one and the item your friend

ranked as number one?

2. What do you think accounts for these differences?

3. What differences do you see between the item you ranked as number ten and the item your friend

ranked as number ten? What do you think accounts for these differences?

4. Consider your ranking of the job satisfaction items. What do you feel has influenced this ranking?

Exercise 6.3: Cultural Notions of Health and Illness

This exercise asks students to consider the following questions:

• How do health care workers perceive the communication process with their clients?

• Do they adapt their typical way of communicating when interacting with a client who is of the

opposite sex, from a different country, or of a different ethnic group?

The goal of this exercise is to find out how doctors, nurses, and health care professionals perceive and

respond to the influence of culture in their interpersonal relationships with patients and clients. Ask

students to contact two or three professionals in the health care field and talk with them for approximately

Below is a list of questions for students to use to conduct their interviews. Add questions of your own to

this list. Encourage students to send a copy of the questions they will be asking to the people they will

interview before the day of the interview. This will give them an opportunity to reflect on their

Interview Questions

1. Describe some of the patients/clients that you see in your work.

3. How would you describe the relationship between a client or patient and a health care

professional?

4. How does communication play a role in your treatment of a patient?

5. How is communication more challenging when the patient is from a different cultural background

as your own?

Post Interview Questions

1. What health care professional did you interview and how many years’ experience does he or she

have?

2. What is this person’s cultural background?

3. How does this person describe the client-health care professional relationship?

4. What role does communication have in his or her treatment of a patient?

5. How do the cultural backgrounds of his or her patients affect interactions with them?

Exercise 6.4: Diversity and Discussion in the Classroom

The classroom can be an excellent environment to engage in intercultural communication with people

from a variety of backgrounds. Some of the most fruitful and compelling learning takes place in classes

where students from all walks of life engage in discussions about issues that affect our world. Without

such diversity, students would have only like-minded individuals to share their ideas with; debate and

This exercise asks students to consider two classroom scenarios where university students are debating

the often controversial issues of affirmative action and women’s rights. In each hypothetical scenario,

students from different cultural, ethnic, religious, and political backgrounds are gathered to discuss each

of these issues. Ask students to read each scenario and respond to questions that follow from the

Discussion 1: Affirmative Action

Students in “Policy Making in the United States” settle into their seats. The instructor begins the

discussion on affirmative action by giving some historical background on what it is and why it was

initially implemented. After this introduction, she asks students to express their views on the goals of

affirmative action and whether they feel it is a policy that should continue. Jennifer, a Caucasian woman

in her mid-20s, is the first to speak.

After Jennifer finishes, George, a Mexican American man of about 20, immediately responds to her

comment.

Question:

Write out how you would respond to Jennifer and George’s short dialogue. Consider not only your own

opinions about affirmative action but perhaps more importantly, think about how you as a fellow

discussant can contribute to the primary goal of the discussion: to exchange disparate opinions while

encouraging positive interpersonal dynamics among diverse class members.

Discussion 2: Women’s Rights

You are in an Anthropology 101 discussion section and the topic of the present unit is women’s lives in

developing countries. The teaching assistant in your class has begun a discussion on marriage customs in

Islamic cultures of Africa. Hanan, a Muslim woman from Ethiopia, offers a comment.

Kathy, a woman born and raised in the United States, immediately responds to Hanan. They begin a

dialogue.

There is a momentary pause as Kathy finishes. You raise your hand to make a comment. The teacher

calls on you.

Write out how you would respond to Hanan and Kathy’s short dialogue. Consider not only your own

opinions about Islamic marriage customs but perhaps more importantly, think about how you as a fellow

– Chapter Six –

Popular Film Suggestions

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Brussat: Toni Morrison’s 1998 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Beloved sets before us the

nightmarish brutalities of slavery, the yearning of the slaves for freedom, and the terrible struggle

of deeply wounded souls to “beat back the past.” At the moral center of the story is an elderly

• Finding Forrester (2000; director, Gus Van Sant; 133 min). This is an interesting drama/comedy

about the education of an African American male who is a gifted writer. Excerpt from an online

review: “Finding Forrester follows a sixteen-year-old African American kid from Harlem

(newcomer Robert Brown), who is a well-read budding writer… Jamal’s demons are mostly

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especially because he avoids performing any better than necessary. To do so would mean

rejection by his peers, so he keeps a low academic profile and spends his afternoons playing

• A Time to Kill (1996; Director: Joel Schumacher; 149 min). A film review by James Berardinelli:

“It’s possible to argue all day about how much of the race issue in A Time to Kill is a legitimate

exploration of black/white tension, and how much is sensationalism used to spice up the story.

The KKK has a prominent role, but couldn’t a more moderate, less universally-despised group

have filled a similar function? There are times when A Time to Kill preaches, but isn’t

Schumacher aiming the sermon at the converted? The movie clearly touches on some important

• Working Girl (New York, 1988; director Mike Nichols; 115 min.) A film about a young

woman’s struggle for success in the corporate world of advertising. The film illustrates class

struggles between the wealthy and well educated in America and the working class woman who

has had to go to night school to get ahead. Excerpt from an online review: “Possibly Mike

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