understanding and managing intercultural conflicts
TRANSCRIPT
![Page 1: Understanding and Managing Intercultural Conflicts](https://reader031.vdocuments.mx/reader031/viewer/2022013105/56649e025503460f94aec2ca/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Understanding and Managing
Intercultural Conflicts
![Page 2: Understanding and Managing Intercultural Conflicts](https://reader031.vdocuments.mx/reader031/viewer/2022013105/56649e025503460f94aec2ca/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
Major topics
Defining intercultural conflicts Causes of intercultural conflicts Communication conflict styles Managing intercultural conflicts Practical suggestions
![Page 3: Understanding and Managing Intercultural Conflicts](https://reader031.vdocuments.mx/reader031/viewer/2022013105/56649e025503460f94aec2ca/html5/thumbnails/3.jpg)
Intercultural conflict is the implicit or explicit emotional struggle or frustration between persons of different cultures over perceived incompatible values, norms, face orientations, goals, scarce resources, processes, and/or outcomes in a communication situation. (Ting-Toomey and Oetzel, 2001)
![Page 4: Understanding and Managing Intercultural Conflicts](https://reader031.vdocuments.mx/reader031/viewer/2022013105/56649e025503460f94aec2ca/html5/thumbnails/4.jpg)
Conflict is indeed a cultural challenge and, simultaneously, an opportunity for us to learn about diverse approaches in framing a conflict situation and in honing our constructive conflict management skills. (Ting-Toomey and Oetzel, 2001)
![Page 5: Understanding and Managing Intercultural Conflicts](https://reader031.vdocuments.mx/reader031/viewer/2022013105/56649e025503460f94aec2ca/html5/thumbnails/5.jpg)
The study of intercultural conflict is about the study of conflict that evolves, at least in part, because of cultural group membership differences. It is about acquiring the necessary knowledge and skills to manage such differences constructively and creatively.
![Page 6: Understanding and Managing Intercultural Conflicts](https://reader031.vdocuments.mx/reader031/viewer/2022013105/56649e025503460f94aec2ca/html5/thumbnails/6.jpg)
Causes of Intercultural Conflicts跨文化冲突的原因
1. Culture-based conflict lenses Independent-self conflict lens views conflict from a(n):a. Content conflict goal lens (tangible conflict issues)b. Clear win-lose conflict approach c. "Doing" angle (something broken needs fixing)d. Outcome-driven mode (clear resolution needed) Interdependent-self conflict lens views conflict from a:a. Relational process lens (relationship and feeling issues)b. Win-win relational approach (feelings, "faces" both saved)c. "Being" angle (repair relational trust)d. Long-term compromise negotiation mode (no "winner"/"loser")
![Page 7: Understanding and Managing Intercultural Conflicts](https://reader031.vdocuments.mx/reader031/viewer/2022013105/56649e025503460f94aec2ca/html5/thumbnails/7.jpg)
Individualistic conflict lens
• Outcome-focused• Content-goal-oriented• Doing-centered• Use personal equity norms• Self-face concern• Low-context conflict style• Competitive/dominating
behaviors• Conflict effectiveness
Collectivistic conflict lens
• Process-focused
• Relational goal-oriented
• Being-centered
• Use communal norms
• Other-face concern
• High-context conflict styles
• Avoiding/obliging behaviors
Conflict appropriateness
![Page 8: Understanding and Managing Intercultural Conflicts](https://reader031.vdocuments.mx/reader031/viewer/2022013105/56649e025503460f94aec2ca/html5/thumbnails/8.jpg)
2. Intercultural conflict perceptions
There are three primary perception features of intercultural conflict:
Involves intercultural perceptions (i.e., ethnocentrism, stereotypes)
Ethnocentric perceptions add biases to conflict attribution process
Attribution process compounded by different conflict styles
![Page 9: Understanding and Managing Intercultural Conflicts](https://reader031.vdocuments.mx/reader031/viewer/2022013105/56649e025503460f94aec2ca/html5/thumbnails/9.jpg)
3. Intercultural conflict goal issues
Content goals: practical issues external to individuals involved
Relational conflict goals: relational definition, desire in interaction
Identity-based goals: face-saving and face-honoring issuesa. Cultural identity: how person defines self culturally, ethnically, linguistically, religiouslyb. Social identity: profession, age, social class, and gender c. Personal identity: personal self-esteem, self-respect issues
![Page 10: Understanding and Managing Intercultural Conflicts](https://reader031.vdocuments.mx/reader031/viewer/2022013105/56649e025503460f94aec2ca/html5/thumbnails/10.jpg)
4. Perceived scarce resources
Conflict resources: tangible rewards that people strive for in conflict
Tangible resources: items, time, scarce commodities, etc. Intangible resources: desires or emotional needs (security,
etc.) Three techniques to negotiate scarce resources: a. Differentiation: acknowledge different perspectives and
divide up the large puzzle into different piecesb. Expansion: search for alternative paths or creative solutions c. Compensation: offer exchanges or concessions for conflict issues each values differently
![Page 11: Understanding and Managing Intercultural Conflicts](https://reader031.vdocuments.mx/reader031/viewer/2022013105/56649e025503460f94aec2ca/html5/thumbnails/11.jpg)
Face and Facework
Face refers to a person’s sense of favorable self-worth or self-image experienced during communicative situations. It is an emotional extension of the self-concept.
Self-face, other-face and mutual-face One’s face can be threatened, enhanced,
undermined, and bargained over both emotionally and cognitively.
![Page 12: Understanding and Managing Intercultural Conflicts](https://reader031.vdocuments.mx/reader031/viewer/2022013105/56649e025503460f94aec2ca/html5/thumbnails/12.jpg)
Facework refers to the various ways people deal with conflict and face. It refers to the communicative strategies employed to manage one’s own face or to support or challenge another’s face.
Face work can be employed to initiate, manage or terminate conflict.
![Page 13: Understanding and Managing Intercultural Conflicts](https://reader031.vdocuments.mx/reader031/viewer/2022013105/56649e025503460f94aec2ca/html5/thumbnails/13.jpg)
Conflict Communication Style
Defining conflict styles1. Face: socially approved self-image and other-image issues2. Facework: verbal and nonverbal strategies to maintain, defend,
or upgrade our social image (or attack or defend others')3. Conflict communication style: patterned responses to conflict 4. Three approaches to studying conflict styles:a. Dispositional: conflict style due to socialization, dispositionb. Situational: conflict topic and situation shapes stylesc. Systems: integrates a and b. People have predominant styles
but modify based on situation, etc.
![Page 14: Understanding and Managing Intercultural Conflicts](https://reader031.vdocuments.mx/reader031/viewer/2022013105/56649e025503460f94aec2ca/html5/thumbnails/14.jpg)
Five-style conflict grid conceptualizes five conflict style tendencies
a. Dominating (or competitive/controlling): push for one‘s own position above others’ conflict interest
b. Avoiding: dodge conflict topic, party, or situationc. Obliging (or accommodating): concern for others‘
conflict interest above one’s own conflict positiond. Compromising: give-and-take concession to reach mid-
pointe. Integrating (or collaborative): concern for both oneself
and others‘ interest
![Page 15: Understanding and Managing Intercultural Conflicts](https://reader031.vdocuments.mx/reader031/viewer/2022013105/56649e025503460f94aec2ca/html5/thumbnails/15.jpg)
Cross-cultural conflict styles
1. Face-negotiation theory: how individualism-collectivism value patterns influence use of diverse face concerns and conflict styles in different cultures
2. Individualists: self-face oriented, direct, low-context style3. Collectivists: other-/mutual-face oriented, indirect, high-
context style4. Independent-self individuals: competitive/dominating
conflict styles5. Interdependent-self individuals: avoiding, obliging,
integrating, and compromising styles
![Page 16: Understanding and Managing Intercultural Conflicts](https://reader031.vdocuments.mx/reader031/viewer/2022013105/56649e025503460f94aec2ca/html5/thumbnails/16.jpg)
Cross-ethnic conflict styles and facework
1. African American conflict styles: energetic, nonverbally animated, emotionally expressive
2. Asian American conflict styles: Confucianism influence (roles, status, collective face-saving), avoiding, obliging, sometimes "silence"
3. Latino/a American conflict styles: tactfulness important, avoidance sometimes preferred over head-on confrontation
4. Native American conflict styles: verbal restraint, other- and mutual-face sensitivity, deliberate silence, ask elder for wisdom
![Page 17: Understanding and Managing Intercultural Conflicts](https://reader031.vdocuments.mx/reader031/viewer/2022013105/56649e025503460f94aec2ca/html5/thumbnails/17.jpg)
Competent Intercultural Conflict Skills
1. Facework management Core issues of protecting our communication identity during
conflict and dealing with others' communication identity Self-oriented face-saving behaviors: to regain or defend
one's image after threats to face or face loss Other-oriented face-giving behaviors: to support others'
face claims and help prevent further face loss or restore face Giving face: not humiliating others' communication identity
in public
![Page 18: Understanding and Managing Intercultural Conflicts](https://reader031.vdocuments.mx/reader031/viewer/2022013105/56649e025503460f94aec2ca/html5/thumbnails/18.jpg)
2. Mindful listening Mindful listening: learning to listen responsively or ting
(a Chinese word that means "attending mindfully with our ears, eyes, focused heart")
Creating new categories: learn to apply culture-sensitive concepts to interpret conflict variation behaviors
Paraphrasing skills involve: a. verbally summarizing content meaning of the message b. nonverbally echoing your interpretation of emotional
meaning
![Page 19: Understanding and Managing Intercultural Conflicts](https://reader031.vdocuments.mx/reader031/viewer/2022013105/56649e025503460f94aec2ca/html5/thumbnails/19.jpg)
3. Cultural empathy: learned ability to understand others' self-experiences, convey understanding effectively
4. Mindful reframing Highly creative, mutual-face honoring skill Mindful process of using language to change how
a person defines or thinks about experiences and views the conflict situation
![Page 20: Understanding and Managing Intercultural Conflicts](https://reader031.vdocuments.mx/reader031/viewer/2022013105/56649e025503460f94aec2ca/html5/thumbnails/20.jpg)
Face Negotiation Theory
(1) people in all cultures try to maintain and negotiate face in all communication situations;
(2) the concept of face is especially problematic in emotionally threatening or identity-vulnerable situations when the situated identities of the communicators are called into question;
![Page 21: Understanding and Managing Intercultural Conflicts](https://reader031.vdocuments.mx/reader031/viewer/2022013105/56649e025503460f94aec2ca/html5/thumbnails/21.jpg)
(3) the cultural value spectrums of individualism-collectivism and small/large power distance shape facework concerns and styles;
(4) individualism and collectivism value patterns shape members’ preferences for self-oriented face concern (i.e., verbal direct tendency) versus other-oriented or mutual-oriented face concern (verbal
indirect-accommodating tendency);(5) small and large power distance value patterns shape
members’ preferences for horizontal-based facework (i.e., informal interaction) versus vertical-based
facework (i.e., formal interaction);
![Page 22: Understanding and Managing Intercultural Conflicts](https://reader031.vdocuments.mx/reader031/viewer/2022013105/56649e025503460f94aec2ca/html5/thumbnails/22.jpg)
(6) the value dimensions, in conjunction with individual, relational, topical, and situational factors
influence the use of particular facework behaviors in particular cultural conflict scenes; and
(7) intercultural facework competence refers to the optimal integration of culture-sensitive knowledge,
mindfulness, and flexible communication skills in managing vulnerable identity-based conflict situations appropriately, effectively, and adaptively.
![Page 23: Understanding and Managing Intercultural Conflicts](https://reader031.vdocuments.mx/reader031/viewer/2022013105/56649e025503460f94aec2ca/html5/thumbnails/23.jpg)
Case Study
Who gets the job?
![Page 24: Understanding and Managing Intercultural Conflicts](https://reader031.vdocuments.mx/reader031/viewer/2022013105/56649e025503460f94aec2ca/html5/thumbnails/24.jpg)
Intercultural Conflict Competence
ICC refers to applying the intercultural knowledge we have learned in a skillful manner. There are 4 criteria to be a competent communicator:
Appropriateness Effectiveness Satisfaction Productivity
![Page 25: Understanding and Managing Intercultural Conflicts](https://reader031.vdocuments.mx/reader031/viewer/2022013105/56649e025503460f94aec2ca/html5/thumbnails/25.jpg)
Practical Suggestions
A. To deal constructively with conflict in a collectivistic culture, individualists need to do the following:
1. Be mindful of mutual face-saving premises
2. Practice patient, mindful observation and limit why questions
3. Mindful listening skills, attend to others‘ identities and relational expectations
![Page 26: Understanding and Managing Intercultural Conflicts](https://reader031.vdocuments.mx/reader031/viewer/2022013105/56649e025503460f94aec2ca/html5/thumbnails/26.jpg)
B. In encountering a conflict situation in an individualistic culture, collectivists need to do the following:
1. Assertive conflict behavior, state a clear thesis then develop key points
2. Use “I” statements and more content-clarification questions
3. Use active listening skills; do not rely solely on nonverbal signals.