Communicating in a

Multicultural Society
and World
Jufranz Sweet K. Faustino
PURCOM class
 DIVERSITY
Are we diverse in this class? in
Ateneo? in Zamboanga?

If YES, in which way/s is

diversity manifested?
If NO, why so?
 the recognition and valuing of difference,
encompassing such factors as age, gender, race, ethnicity
ability, religion, education, marital status,
sexual orientation and income.

DIVERSITY
Globalization
&
Global Village
The increasing economic, political, and cultural integration
and interdependence of diverse cultures—the worldwide
integration of humanity.

GLOBALIZATION
 Intercultural
Communication
Interracial Communication
Interethnic Communication
International Communication
Intracultural Communication
Intercultural Communication
– process of interpreting and sharing meanings
with individuals from different cultures.
International Communication
– communication between persons representing
different nations or
political structure
Some forms/variations of
intercultural communication…

Interethnic
Communication
Interaction with
individuals of different
Interracial ethnic origins Intracultural
Communication Communication
Interaction with All forms of communication
individuals of among members of the same
different races racial, ethnic, or other co–
culture groups
 CULTURE &
CO-CULTURE
 Culture
A system of knowledge, beliefs,
values, customs, behaviors, and
artifacts that are acquired,
shared, and used by its
members during daily living.
Co – culture
Composed of members of the
same general culture who differ
in some ethnic or sociological
way from the parent culture.
Ethnocentrism
Tendecy to see
own culture as Cultural Relativism
superior to all Opposite of ethnocentrism
others The acceptance of other cultural
groups as equal in value to one’s
own
You work to try to understand the
behavior of other groups on the
basis of the context in which the
behavior occurs rather than from
your own frame of reference
 …
Assimilation
The means by which co-
culture members attempt
to fit in

Accommodation
The means by which co-culture
members maintain their cultural
identity while striving to
establish relationships with
members of the dominant culture
Separation
The means by which co-culture members
use to resist interacting with members
of the dominant culture
 Preferred Strategies and Communication
Approaches of Marginalized Groups

Strategy Communicative Approach Example

Lunching alone, living in an area

Separation Passive
with similar people
Wearing a yarmulke to work,
Accomodation Assertive
wearing a sari to a party

Assimilation Aggresive, confrontational Staging a protest

 INDIVIDUALIS
M
01 versus
COLLECTIVISM
INDIVIDUALIST
CULTURES
• Cultures in which individual goals
are stressed.

• Great Britain, the United States,

Canada, France, and Germany,
stress individual goals

COLLECTIVIST
CULTURES
• Cultures in which group goals are stressed
• Arab, African, Asian, and Latin American
countries, give precedence to
group goals
 02
HIGH CONTEXT
versus
LOW CONTEXT
HIGH CONTEXT
• a tradition-bound
communication system which
depends on indirectness

LOW CONTEXT
• a system that encourages
directness in communication
HIGH POWER DISTANCE
versus
LOW POWER DISTANCE03
HIGH POWER
DISTANCE
• cultures based on power differences in
which subordinates defer to superiors
• Saudi Arabia, India, and Malaysia, view
power as a fact of life and are apt to
stress its coercive or referent nature.
• Superiors and subordinates in these
countries are likely to view each other
differently; subordinates are quick to defer
to superiors.
 LOW POWER
DISTANCE
• cultures that believe that power
should be used only when
legitimate.
 04
MASCULINE
versus
FEMININE
MASCULINE
• cultures value aggressiveness, strength,
and material symbols of success

• examples are Japan, Italy, Germany,

Mexico, and Great Britain.

• Masculine cultures socialize members to be

dominant and competitive. They tend to
confront conflicts head-on and are likely to
use a win–lose conflict strategy
 FEMININE
• cultures that value tenderness and
relationships
• the members of feminine cultures
are more apt to compromise and
negotiate to resolve conflicts,
seeking win–win solutions.
• Among highly feminine cultures are
Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands,
Thailand, and Chile.
 Sole of a Shoe
THE COST OF United States or
Europe
Saudi Arabia
CULTURAL
IGNORANCE Blinking while another
person
United States
Taiwan
talks

Business Card
United States
Japan
 stereotypes
mental images; prejudice
shortcuts that guide reactions (bias)
Ex. step-mothers are usually evil
dalagang Pilipina – very modest
a positive
or
negative prejudgment
 How do you become
a good
MULTICULTURALIST?
persons respectful of and engaged with people from
distinctly different cultures
.
MULTICULTURALIS
T
Thanks!