An increased cross-cultural interaction around the world is
being dictated by the ever increasing communication needs required
by business and national concerns. This increased interaction, and its
resultant inter-dependence, is often referred to as "Globalization."
Due to the effect of globalization on the business and education
environments, this study was an investigation of the theory base
regarding context as embedded in the development of culture and
cross-cultural communications. The study developed an instrument
that 1) measures the contextual preferences of individuals from a
variety of cultures, and 2) determines the level of significant
differences between cultures based on their contextual preferences.
The literature review concentrated on those characteristics which
allow us to go beyond specific cultural barriers to communication.
This was done to determine a common ground beyond culture, which
is inherent in the communications process, and to allow a
determination of factors for improved cross-cultural training and
education. The literature review focused on:
- The effects of the globalized environment
- The influence of culture on communications
- A cross-cultural communications model
- Context and individualism/collectivism as measures of
cross-cultural communications.
The findings of the study provide an initial instrument that can
be used for the identification of personal preferences, based on
context, that may determine an individual's predisposition to interact
in a cross-cultural learning environment. The data analyzed notes
significant differences in major cultural groupings, and some specific
cultures.
Specific analysis included the contextual preferences of
individuals based on their home cultural environment, the dimensions
of gender, age, number of years an individual is away from their home
culture and the number of languages spoken. It was concluded that
there are highly significant differences between cultures, even with
common ancestral ties and geographic proximity, that affect how
individuals will interact and communicate across cultural boundaries.
These differences, based on non-verbal context, must be considered
individually in their sub-component form, not just within the overall
classification of context. / Graduation date: 1994
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ORGSU/oai:ir.library.oregonstate.edu:1957/31621 |
| Date | 30 November 1993 |
| Creators | Miller, Dwight Errol |
| Contributors | Sredl, Henry |
| Source Sets | Oregon State University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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