Intercultural Communication

Intercultural communication is the communication between members of different cultures whether defined in terms of racial, ethnic, or socioeconomic differences (Tubbs). Culture is a way of life developed and shared by a group of people and passed down from generation to generation and is made up of many complex elements including religious and political systems, customs, and language as well as tools, clothing, buildings and works of art (Tubbs). According to our textbook (Tubbs), there are also co-cultures. Co-cultures are cultures within a culture. Our book (Tubbs) also explains that there are high context cultures (cultures more skilled in reading nonverbal behaviors, and they assume that other people will also be able to do so – speak less and listen more) and low context cultures (stress direct and explicit communication and emphasize verbal messages and the shared information they encode). With that being stated, Tubbs explains three approaches to studying culture. They include: the social science approach (assumes that behavior can be observed, measured and predicted), the interpretive approach (goal is understanding rather than predicting behavior), and finally, the critical approach (involves analysis of text or cultural products including those produced by the media).
Because there are so many different types and kinds of cultures it is impossible for each one not to communicate with the others. Therefore, there are several effects that intercultural communication has. First, there is the effects of the individual (travel is easier and affordable, the needs and desires of many groups to affirm and preserve their cultures is reflected in demands for more bilingual education, multicultural programs, curriculums and textbooks that better represent all cultural contributions to our literature and history). Second, there are social and political effects (international companies). And finally, there are also cultural effects (cultural homogenization – tendency for cultures in contact with one another to become increasingly similar to one another) (Tubbs).
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In high school, my class (well, in fact my whole school for that matter), was very diverse. We had people of all races. Lincoln High School is actually the most diverse high school in Sioux Falls. So, needless to say, I have always been very accepting of different cultures. We had diversity promoting programs just about every month. To be honest, they got old after awhile because I’m just so accepting of other people and their cultures and what not that it was difficult for me to understand how someone could not be so accepting. But it was needed because there were still fights at school – most of them were because of someone’s race or ethnicity. Our book (Tubbs) explains ethnocentrism which is the tendency to judge the values, customs, behaviors, or other aspects of another culture in terms of those that make our own culture group regards as desirable or ideal. Therefore, it is important that we build community with each other. The text (Tubbs) explains seven principles to increase community building and the acceptance of diversity. They are: to be committed (we must be committed to the principles of community in our lives, as well as to the individuals with whom we are trying to develop community), to be mindful (think about what we do and say), to be unconditionally accepting (accept others as they are, value diversity and not judge other based on their diversity), be concerned for both ourselves and others (avoid polarized communication and engage in dialogue whenever possible), be understanding (recognize how culture and ethnicity effect the way we think and behave – search for commonalities), be ethical (engage in behavior that is not a means to an end but behavior that is morally right), and finally, be peaceful (do not be violent to deceitful, breach valid promises or be secretive). All in all, the goal is to ultimately strive for harmony.
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In 2005, an episode of The Office called “Diversity Day” aired. In this episode, corporate sends in someone to teach about diversity because of some comments that Michael has made towards some people at the office. One thing that Mr. Brown, the man who comes in to talk about diversity, teaches is the acronym “HERO”, which stands for honesty, empathy, respect, and open-mindedness. I thought that that really went well with the seven principles that the book (Tubbs) mentioned about community building. In the office, we have Oscar, who is Mexican, Kelly, who is Indian and Stanley who is black. The rest of the employees of the office are white. So, for an office that small, I would say that they really do have a diverse group of people. I think that this aspect also makes the show much more hysterical.

Tubbs, S. L., & Moss, S. (2006). Human communication: Principles and contexts (11th Ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill