Matakuliah
Tahun
: V0052
: 2008
CULTURAL COMMUNICATION BARRIERS
(Cont.)
Week 4
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this unit, the students should be able to
identify and recognize major barriers to effective crosscultural communication.
Mahasiswa dapat mengidentifikasikan dan mengenali jenisjenis hambatan pada komunikasi antar budaya.
Bina Nusantara
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Subjects
• Non-verbal communication
• Preconception and Stereotypes
• Tendency to make judgment
• Stress level and work place issue
Bina Nusantara
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4
Week 4
Preconceptions and Stereotypes
• Stereotypes are sets of attitudes or
beliefs in which qualities or
characteristics are attributed to a
person according to the group of
people to which the individual belongs
• We create a stereotypes when we
categorize people according to traits of
dress, behavior, physical appearance,
and ignore all else about them
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Week 4
Negative Effects on Communication
• Danger of stereotypes to effective communication:
– Stereotypes are rigid, resistant to change, often
incorrect and usually unfavorable and
judgemental
– The over generalized attitudes prevent objective
perception and openness to individual differences
– They cause us to assume that a widely held
believe is true when it may not be
Bina Nusantara
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Week 4
Example of Stereotypes
• Shaheen (1984) cited the four Western myths about
Arabs as shown on television:
“Arabs are wealthy, barbaric, sex maniacs and
terrorist-minded”
• Asian-American become associated with the
stereotype of the “model minority” who achieved
success through hard work, perseverance, silent
stoicism, strong family ties, and strong support for
education
Bina Nusantara
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Week 4
Avoiding Preconceptions and Stereotypes
• Become aware of you own preconceptions and
stereotypes of the guests’ culture
• Beware of media stereotyping
• Re-interpret the guests’ behavior from their own
cultural perspective
• Don’t make assumptions and take things for granted
• Be willing to adapt and change your own stereotypes
to fit your new experiences
• Treat your international guests as you do all your
guests – as individuals
Bina Nusantara
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Week 4
Prejudice
• Prejudice refers to the irrational suspicion or hatred
of a particular group, race, religion, or sexual
orientation (Rothenberg, 1992)
Bina Nusantara
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Week 4
Tendency to Make Judgments
• Tendency to judge is largely due to ethnocentrism
• Ethnocentrism is negatively judging aspects of
another culture by the standards of one’s own
culture
• To be ethnocentric is to believe in the superiority of
one’s own culture.
Bina Nusantara
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Week 4
Avoiding Inappropriate Judgments
• Known your own cultural values
• Be aware of ethnocentrism (making judgments based on ones
own standards and applying those standards in judging others
from different cultural backgrounds)
• Be objective
• Be aware of cultural differences in standards and norms of
behavior in other cultures
• Don’t judge someone from another culture by your own cultural
values until you have to know them and their cultural values
Bina Nusantara
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Week 4
High Level of Stress at Works
•
•
•
•
•
•
Bina Nusantara
Long hours
Late hours
Shift work
High level of customer contact
Physically demanding
Many cross-cultural situations
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Week 4
Reducing Stress and Anxiety
• Increase knowledge and understanding of the
cultural backgrounds of your guests
• Aware of the stress factor
Bina Nusantara
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Week 4
Identifying Workplace Issue
• With Guests:
– Difficulty with language on menus, check-in, hotel
directory, facilities usages, signs, safety, medical
needs
• With Colleagues:
–
–
–
–
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Family obligations
Religion/holidays
Work ethics
Family structure
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QUESTIONS?
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Group Discussion
• Develop a list of situations that can cause
communication problems in the workplace for
international guests
• Suggest strategies to reduce the problems
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Review Questions 3
1. What are the negative effects of ethnocentrism
on communication?
2. What is prejudice? Give examples.
3. Explain why the level of stress at the work place
may cause barrier in communication.
Bina Nusantara
HO 0708
17