This study analyzed intercultural communication competence between
Malays and Chinese in organizational and social settings in Malaysia. Two
groups: Malays and Chinese in organizations in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia),
were studied.
The intent of this study was to find similarities and differences in
Malays and Chinese' communication styles. A total of forty-six respondents
were surveyed: twenty-three Malay executives and twenty-three Chinese
executives, in organizations in Malaysia. The organizations were selected
based on their function, size, number of employees, ethnic composition, and
location.
The open-ended questionnaire was written in English and pretested.
The revised questionnaire was sent to Kuala Lumpur to be administered by
two interviewers who were from each ethnic groups. All of the responses
from the questionnaire were interpreted and categorized by two Malay and
two Chinese individuals who acted as coders.
This study used thematic content analysis to analyze the responses
from the two groups. Respondents' descriptions and explanations of their
perceptions on conflict were studied. Coders from both ethnic groups were
asked to recall a conflict situation in both organizational and social settings.
Each group varied in their definition and perception of conflict.
The results showed some similarities in their perception of appropriate
and effective verbal and nonverbal messages in organizational and social
settings. The results also showed some similarities and differences in their
perceptions of inappropriate and ineffective verbal and nonverbal across
ethnic group lines.
The similarities can be explained by shared orientations to uncertainty,
large degrees of power distance and collectivism. The differences may be due
to cultural dimensions that are situationally variant. The findings showed
both groups' preference for clear and explicit verbal messages in task
orientations, and for nonverbal messages in relational-orientations. / Graduation date: 1993
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ORGSU/oai:ir.library.oregonstate.edu:1957/36812 |
| Date | 06 May 1993 |
| Creators | Omar, Mariani |
| Contributors | Collier, Mary Jane |
| Source Sets | Oregon State University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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