Week 2: Diversity and Positive Cultural Conflict

The topic of discussion this week is Diversity in Business and the Professions. I learned much from the text and the discussion boards. I first wish to discuss the concept of high-context and low-context cultures. It was determined through a study and discourse of the subject the essential difference between the two. The following is a brief explanation of the concept.

High-context cultures, as the name implies, are very much reliant on the context of the conversation rather than the direct and literal meaning of the words spoken. More important than the literal meaning of the words are gestures, implications, relationships, formalities, and non-verbal cues. Collective achievement is prized more highly than individual achievement.

On the other side, low-context cultures rely more on the literal and factual meaning of the words, and less so on what they or the speaker implies. Individuality, identity, and personal achievement are more highly prized. Low-context cultures are also more procedural and rule-driven.

I was very much intrigued this week by the concept encountered in the textbook that cultural conflict can be positive and indeed is necessary to be both diverse and successful in an organization. My primary takeaway on this interesting topic was a tool to be used anytime conflict arises as a result of cultural differences: the Cultural Communication Conflict Triangle.

The three points of this triangle represent (1) cultural self-knowledge, (2) knowledge about the context, and (3) discourse from the conflict (O'Hair, Friedrich, & Dixon p.86). To summarize, conflict can actually be made positive by first examining one's own cultural assumptions, then examining the context in which the conflict is taking place, and finally by examining the topics of conversation and the actual meanings of each party both overtly expressed and implied. By applying this model when conflicts arise, the experience can serve to allow for differences to co-exist and improve communications even when the parties have very different styles and viewpoints.

O'Hair, D., Friedrich, G. & Dixon, L. (2011). Strategic communication in business and the professions (7th ed., p. 86). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.