8.1: Chapter Resources

Activities

Group Dynamics: Understanding Intercultural Incidents

Section 8.1(Conflict Defined) explains that “conflict is a part of all human relationships (Canary, 2003)...and is happening all around the world at the personal, societal, political, and international levels.” The purpose of this activity is to focus on understanding the differences that could lead to conflict during group work from an intercultural perspective. This involves (i) discussing a framework for understanding cultural variation and difference and (ii) analyzing the impact of cultural difference on interaction in the international classroom using the high–low context continuum.

First remind students of the high-low context framework for analyzing cultural differences (Hall & Reed Hall, 1989). Explain that this is one of the possible theoretical frameworks to understand and analyze communication incidents that may come up in intercultural groups (Section 4.3: Communication Styles). Then provide a discussion on the impact of the high–low context mode of communication on the interaction between students in a project group which may lead to misunderstandings, conflicts, and failed group projects. Ask participants to provide concrete examples when possible.

Student Activity: Have students get into groups of equal size. Introduce and distribute the case study to the participants. Ask the participants to first individually read the case and complete the individual worksheet. When everyone is done completing their own worksheet, ask students to discuss their findings with each other in their groups. After they are finished discussing, instruct students to create a shared framework on the group handout or a flip chart.

Case Study

It is nearing the end of the semester and you have been asked to help teach a section of the course and facilitate (tutor) some group projects as a class leader. There are 36 students in six groups. The student groups have been researching a topic and working on a final report. One of the groups is having a conflict and the instructor has asked you to help because you have a background in intercultural communication. This group includes Joanna (United Kingdom), Wong (Malaysia), Françoise (France), Mohamed (Oman), Renee (Netherlands), and John (Nigeria). The students from this group have studied the task and have worked together for one week. During your first tutoring session with them, you notice they have not progressed as far as you would have liked. Joanna, who volunteered to be the group coordinator, is clearly embarrassed and explains that not everyone was able to attend the preparation meeting that she had organized and/or provide the pre-work she had requested. She also felt that she had been undertaking most of the work along with Françoise. She was concerned about the overall grade they may be awarded. You decide to speak with all of the group members to see what is going on. Here is what you found out:

● Wong was not clear about what was expected of him.

● John claims he was representing the College in basketball but should be able to attend the next meeting.

● Renee felt left out of the group work because, due to the tight deadline, the decision was made to put in the work on a Sunday, which conflicted with her religious obligations (no work on Sunday).

● Mohamed felt his contributions were being disregarded.

● Some group members felt Joanna was only concerned with her grades and not listening to the other members of the group.

Worksheet Identifying and Analyzing Intercultural Misunderstandings: (1 for each participant to complete individually and 1 for the group to fill out together).

Student	What was the intention of the behavior?	What are the perceptions of the other students?	Which intercultural issues could be at play?
Joanna
Francoise
Wong
Renee
Mohammed
John

Investigation:

1. In terms of understanding and resolving differences, what would success look like for you as the tutor in this Case?

2. What was the impact of taking an intercultural perspective?

3. What factors were you not originally thinking about that were highlighted by the High–Low Context Continuum?

4. What was the impact of discussing this with someone else?

5. What else did you learn through this process?

6. What does it take to work effectively with this tool?

7. How can the tool be useful to you moving forward?

This activity was adapted from EQUiiP (Educational Quality at Universities for inclusive international Programmes). Co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union, (CC BY 2.0

Cultural Miscommunication

Parties in conflict have perceptions about their own position and the position of others. Each party may also have a different perception of any given situation. We can anticipate having such differences due to a number of factors that create perceptual filters or cultural frames that influence our responses to the situation. Such influences can be things like culture, race & ethnicity, gender & sexuality, knowledge, impressions of the messenger, and previous experience. These factors and more conspire to form the perceptual filters through which we experience conflict (Section 8.1: Conflict Defined). This activity has us think about how these perceptive filters influence our understanding of cultural miscommunication using the D.I.E. (Description, Interpretation, Evaluation) Model.

Student Activity: Have students think about a cultural misunderstanding from their own lives and complete this chart (you can provide a worksheet version or have them write their own):

Describe – Interpret – Evaluate

Description: What I see (only observed facts)

Interpretation: What I think about what I see

Evaluation: How I feel about what I see (positive or negative)

Description	Interpretation	Evaluation
What I see	What I think	What I feel

Investigation:

1. Our perceptions of ourselves and the world around us have developed throughout our lives, they are a reflection of our lived experiences. How did this exercise help you think specifically about your perceptions?

2. How can we work to be more understanding of others' perceptions and recognize that they may not be the same as ours?

3. What is the relationship between how we describe an event and how we interpret it?

4. What influence do our emotions play on our interpretation of this experience?

5. How can this practice/model help us engage in more productive evaluations of potential points of conflict?

6. Do you think having the parties involved in a conflict complete this model could improve their conflict management? How/why?

Additional Resource: Dally, J. (2013, September 28). Bennett’s Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS) [Video]. YouTube.

Adapted from Improving Intercultural Competence in Canadian Settlement In Action: History and Future (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).

Face

Section 8.2: Face explains that the concept of face is defined as a person's self-image or the amount of respect or accommodation a person expects to receive during interactions with others, which plays a crucial role in navigating intercultural conflict. Conflict Face-Negotiation Theory (Ting-Toomey, 2004) examines the extent to which face is negotiated within a culture and what existing value patterns shape culture members’ preferences for the process of negotiating face in conflict situations. According to the theory, there are three different concepts of face:

● Self-face: The concern for one's image, the extent to which we feel valued and respected.

● Other-face: Our concern for the other's self-image, the extent to which we are concerned with the other's feelings.

● Mutual-face: Concern for both parties' face and for a positive relationship developing out of the interaction.

This activity explores how an intercultural conflict might be managed with a focus on self-face, other-face, and mutual-face.

Student Activity: Begin by having students brainstorm potential intercultural conflicts. Have students be specific, in identifying the parties involved, the setting (relational, workplace, school, etc.), and the nature of the conflict. Instead of having students brainstorm, you could provide a case study.

Case Studies:

Aeriel, a sophomore, and Tara, a senior, are roommates. Most of the time the two women get along very well and conflict is limited. Recently though, Aeriel has been leaving dirty dishes and personal belongings in the shared living space. This has started to annoy Tara, as she is becoming overwhelmed with the messy room, increased class assignments, and the stress of her upcoming graduation. Tara feels Aeriel is taking advantage of her and being disrespectful. This morning, after stepping on one of Aeriel’s wire clothing hangers and lacerating her foot, Tara has had enough and goes to confront Aeriel.

Michael and Kristen are volunteers on a student committee responsible for planning monthly Late Night Dances on campus. Kristen is in charge of the committee and Michael is the person she has put in charge of security at the dances. At the dance in March (two weeks ago) there was a problem involving an intoxicated student who gained entrance to the dance and caused a fight. Kristen sent Michael an email indicating that he was relieved of his security responsibilities as a result of the fight. When Michael saw Kristen on campus two days later he angrily confronted her and accused her of prejudice in the decision to fire him.

The case studies were adapted from Introduction to Public Communication (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Now that there is a specific conflict to examine, have students explore various ways to manage this conflict that reflect the different face strategies. What would a self-face strategy look like compared to a mutual-face, etc.? Students could do this individually, in pairs, or in groups.

Investigation:

1. What is my cultural and personal assessment of the problem?

2. Why did I form this assessment and what is the source of this assessment?

3. What are the underlying assumptions or values that drive my assessment?

4. How do I know they are relative or valid in this conflict context?

5. What reasons might I have for maintaining or changing my underlying conflict premise?

6. How should I change my cultural or personal premises in the direction that promotes deeper intercultural understanding?

7. How should I adapt on both verbal and nonverbal conflict style levels in order to display facework sensitive behaviors and to facilitate a productive common-interest outcome?

Discussion Questions

1. Section 8.1(Conflict Styles) reminds us that conflict is an inevitable part of life. Nonetheless, conflict can make us profoundly uncomfortable. Why is some conflict productive while another conflict is destructive? Some competitive and some cooperative? What distinguishes these kinds of conflicts? Are we prone to one or the other? How can we move from destructive to productive? Is this always possible or something we should strive for? Does some conflict need to be competitive?

2. In section 8.2 (Managing Conflict Across Cultures) we learn more about the variables that impact how we choose to manage conflict. In some cases, we choose to walk about and avoid conflict, other times we stand up and fight. While we don’t always know consciously why we chose one or the other in the moment it is helpful to reflect and understand why we choose one style or another. Does your relationship with the other person influence your choice? How does the focus of the conflict influence the decision? What cultural norms impact our choices? What about our individual personalities?

Supplemental Materials

Working with Cross-Cultural Couples: Unexplored Issues in Therapy

In the United States, 1 in 6 new marriages is interethnic or interracial. Today’s therapists need to be equipped to help cross-cultural couples not only navigate the usual intimacy and communication concerns but also address issues of identity, privilege, and cultural differences, which are often ignored in traditional couples therapy. To do this well, and enhance our therapeutic effectiveness, we must examine our own blind spots and biases around race and culture. This movie is available at Films on Demand.

Cross Cultural Communication, Pellegrino Riccardi, TED Talk

This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. Pellegrino, being a cross cultural expert, he is sharing with us his personal and professional experience about how very different cultures can successfully coexist next to each other.

Stella Ting-Toomey on Face-Negotiation Theory

Interview conducted by Em Griffin, author of A First Look at Communication Theory.