The Importance of Communication

Paper Summary:

The paper explores the challenges of inter-cultural communication and outlines the ways in which becoming proficient at reaching those from a different cultural tradition contributes to individual and organizational success. The paper defines terms such as culture, inter-cultural communication, enculturation, acculturation, ethnocentrism and cultural relativism. The paper concludes that inter-cultural dialogue is vital in a global economy that transcends national barriers.

From the Paper:

"To begin with, it is worth asking precisely what "culture" is. As many experts are quick to note, there is no standard definition of culture, per se. However, a "working" definition of the concept holds that culture is "the system of shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviors, and artifacts that the members of society use to cope with their world and with one another, and that are transmitted from generation to generation through learning" ("Module I: the Culture Concept", n.d., para.1). Another online source generally reiterates these points, but emphasizes also the "cumulative deposit of knowledge" lying at the heart of any culture and the fact that "hierarchies", "spatial relationships" and collective ontological/epistemological assumptions also define the thing people call "culture"."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Acculturation, 2006, Dictionary.com webpage, Lexico Publishing Group, LLC, viewed 21 August 2006 <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/acculturation>
• Burr, Vivien, 2003, Social Constructionism, Routledge, New York, viewed 21 August, 2006, at Questia.com <http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=107446609>
• Choudhury, Ifte, n.d., Culture: Some Definitions, construction science webpage, Texas A & M University, viewed 21 August 2006, <http://www.tamu.edu/classes/cosc/choudhury/culture.html>
• Dwyer, Judith, 2005, Communication in Business: Strategies and Skills, 3rd edition, Pearson Education, Frenchs Forest, N.S.W., viewed 21 August 2006, <http://wps.pearsoned.com.au/wps/media/objects/1647/1686833/CommunicationModel.ppt>
• Enculturation, n.d., Labor Law Talk Dictionary webpage, Labor Law Talk, USA, viewed 21 August 2006, <http://dictionary.laborlawtalk.com/enculturation>

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