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Intercultural Relationships Essay Benchmark Nagy...

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1 COM – 263 11/15/19 Dr. Reka Nagy Intercultural Relationship Importance Communication between cultures is such an important aspect worldwide. Without being able to communicate with other cultures, the world would not be able to function effectively. There are many different cultures throughout the entire world, because of this there are vast differences between the cultures. Learning how to understand and work with those from different cultures is a beneficial skill for anyone to have. The importance of intercultural relationships can be demonstrated through the building and management of a relationship, determining how ethical the relationship is, and understanding how to deal with intercultural conflict. When considering the development of relationships within one’s culture there are many different factors that come into play. Often, certain cultures look to other different cultures and do not understand their way of developing relationships because it is not the social norm in their own culture. An example of this would be how in America it is quite common to smile at someone, even if you do not know them, when passing by them. This is seen as a common courtesy and not something out of the ordinary to do. While in Poland, smiling at someone could be seen as acting as if you know this particular person. But, since you do not this person it is seen as being intrusive or being disrespectful to the typical distance between strangers in Europe. (Storti, 2012). This type of interaction could highly affect how two people from different cultures develop a friendship. While the American in this interaction could be trying to develop some sort of relationship, the Polish person could be very turned off by this interaction and not be open to pursuing any type of relationship. Understanding these social norms, especially when visiting an

2 unfamiliar country, can help a person create a relationship in a healthy and comfortable way for both parties. The vast number of different cultures across the world sometimes makes it difficult to fully understand cultures other than our own. This can make some practices of other cultures seem unethical or not morally correct. In the country of Eswatini, a small country in southern Africa, their king is openly a polygamist. Polygamy refers to when a person chooses to be married to more than one spouse at a given time. (Neuliep, 2018). The king of Eswatini holds a “Reed Dance Ceremony” in which more than 50,000 young virgin girls dance in the royal stadium in hopes to become one of the king’s many wives. (Haque Khondker, 2006). When the king was 37, he was on the search for his 13th wife, many of whom were between the ages of 1621. In our American culture, this is deemed completely unethical. Polygamy is illegal in all 50 states in the United States, as well as marriages involving children. Warren Jeffs, the leader of Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was on the FBI’s most wanted list for things such as polygamy, underage marriages, rape and sexual assault. (Haque Khondker, 2006). Jeffs was eventually arrested and given a life sentence for his action which indicates that ethically the United States does not stand for polygamy or child marriages. The way that relationships are developed between cultures can be vastly different depending on what is ethical in one’s own culture. In the United States, marriage is something that happens between two people who are both of the marrying age. In other countries this may not ring true, but unfortunately does not mean it is unethical to those in that particular country. How one interacts with conflict depends heavily on their type of culture. Depending on what type of culture a person comes from effects how they view the workplace. Individualistic cultures focus more on personal accomplishment while in a collectivistic culture the focus is

3 more on how the group performs. (Sukanya, 2015). In the United States an individualistic culture, as in many other cultures, conflict in the workplace is almost inevitable. While there have been many instances where conflicts have happened because of discrimination, the United States has put certain legislations in practice in order to lessen the conflict that may appear. Two examples are the Equal Pay Act, Civil Right Act, Age Discrimination Employment Act and Americans with Disabilities Act were passed in order to have less conflict and more opportunity in the workplace. (Pruase, 2015). This comes from a cultural that is very adaptive, once a problem demonstrates it is affecting the workplace, laws will be put in place in order to accommodate. Often time when there is conflict between two people from different cultures it may be hard to understand why the person from a different culture is acting the way that they are. In a high-context culture, the meaning of the conversation may not be as clear, one might have to look for physical, social, and physiological contexts in order to understand what they person is trying to tell them. While in a low-context culture, the primary way the message is being delivered is verbally. (Neuliep, 2018). This can make a discussion between someone from a highcontext culture and a low-context culture hard to understand. Someone from China, a highcontext culture, may think the meaning of their statement is easily understood because of their tone of voice or the context, while someone the United States, a low-context culture, may not receive the entire message the Chinese person is trying to relay. (Cheng, 2017). Which can make a small conflict turn into a much larger one. A person who knows they will be interacting often with someone from another culture should research how that person’s culture will differ to save themselves from conflict or misunderstanding because of these cultural differences. The impact of intercultural relationships has shown to be an important aspect of communication. Without the understanding of different cultures, one may not be capable of

4 creating and maintaining effective relationships with someone in a culture other than their own. The difference between what is ethical and what is not ethical within a culture differs immensely. With a better understanding of different cultures, it can limit the amount of conflict that can appear between cultures solely because there is a lack of understanding. There is always more to learn and understand in regards to other cultures. By having this knowledge it will benefit and help a person create more rewarding relationships between different cultures.

5 References

Cheng, T. K. (2017). Developing skills to address cultural issues in arbitration and mediation. Retrieved from https://lopes.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search-proquestcom.lopes.idm.oclc.org/docview/2037412828?accountid=7374 Haque Khondker, H. (2006). Cultural Conflicts, Fundamentalisms, and Globalization. Globalizations. Retrieved from https://doiorg.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.1080/14747730601045694 Neuliep, J.W. (2018). Intercultural Communication: A Contextual Approach. Retrieved from http://www.gcumedia.com/digital-resources/sage/2017/intercultural-communication_acontextual-approach_ebook_7e.php Prause, D., & Mujtaba, B. G. (2015). Conflict management practices for diverse workplaces. Retrieved from https://lopes.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search-proquestcom.lopes.idm.oclc.org/docview/1667167670?accountid=7374 Storti, C. (2012). Culture Is Not Easy. Retrieved from https://search-ebscohostcom.lopes.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=77899401&site=ehostlive&scope=site Sukanya R. (2015). The Challenges of Cross -- Cultural Issues in Human Resource Management: A Descriptive Analysis. Retrieved from https://doiorg.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.5958/0976-478x.2015.00007.5...