Relies on explicit (literal) communication: Those from low-context cultures prefer that messages be explicitly stated rather than simply "understood" by the parties involved. The following example illustrates the preference for explicit communication in the U.S. Midwest as opposed to the higher context U.S. Southeast.
Example: Susan Shofield was district manager for a national wholesale shoe company. After rising quickly through the ranks to become district manager of the Southeast U.S., she was surprised that the company wanted to transfer her to the Midwest. Susan, who had lived all her life in the South, knew that the move would be difficult and expressed her concerns to a customer who owned a chain of children's shoe stores in Alabama.
Example: Tom Womeldorf had lived in Springfield, Illinois, most of his life and talked about the adjustment he and his family had to make when they set up shop in the South. "At first, I was too direct, but I learned by listening to my customers how they expected me to communicate. You're a good listener, so it won't take you long to figure out Midwesterners. The people up there say what they mean and mean what they say. "
☺ (In the end of the last story-example it is possible (if you think it is necessary) to make a general short conclusion such as Your success in business and good relationships with people depend on your knowledge of customs and traditions of the place you work or live in, etc.)
Emphasizes verbal communication over nonverbal communication:
The phrase that Susan Shofield heard in the above example ("Say what you mean and mean what you say") is often repeated to children from low-context cultures as they are growing up. Parents place far less emphasis on communicating indirectly or nonverbally and ask their children to "speak up." By the time they enter business, people from low-context cultures have learned to rely on words to convey exactly what they mean. This preference for verbal communication carries over to the workplace where businesspeople are expected to "spell out" what they mean as clearly and directly as possible.
Separates job tasks from relationships:
☺(Before the discussion of this feature of LC culture ask the trainees to draw three circles on a piece of paper. One circle will represent their family relationships, the second will represent job relationships, and the third will represent church and community relationships. The students should draw the three circles to show the extent to which the three groups of relationships overlapped. Give them time to do it and let them share their points of view.)
People from low-context cultures usually prefer to keep their job tasks separated from their relationships. Indeed, relationships are seen as outside the task rather than an integral part of it. Even if a key person on a project leaves the company, another person can easily take his or her place since the business transactions are considered to be between companies and not based on relationships between people. Example:
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In a training session on cross-cultural business communication at a multinational corporation in Los Angeles, the participants were asked to draw three circles on a piece of paper. One circle represented their family relationships, the second represented job relationships, and the third represented church and community relationships. Participants were asked to draw the three circles to show the extent to which the three groups of relationships overlapped. Out of 20 participants, 12 drew three distinct circles with no overlap. All 12 were from low-context cultures. The participants whose circles overlapped were all from high-context cultures. Neither group had considered that the way they viewed the separation of or the combining of task and relationship was part of their culture.
Emphasizes individual initiative and decision making:
☺(Ask trainees what is preferable for them to be members of a team and gain a group award or distinguish themselves as individuals and gain an individual award. Let them express their points of view and reasons.)
Those whose cultures are lower on the context continuum tend to value individual initiative, decision making, and achievement. As the American proverb states, "Look out for number one." Even when they work in groups, individuals from low-context cultures try to think of ways to distinguish themselves as individuals. In business, a group award is valuable and desired, but an individual award is usually more highly prized. The individual is expected to define and solve problems with little supervision.
Example. A professional coach was working with a mid-level manager at a manufacturing plant in Chicago. The coach was from the Euro-American culture, and the manager was West African. One of the "needs" identified by the professional coach was for the manager to establish his individual accomplishments. "Put your name on all your reports, so they'll know that you took the lead on these projects," advised the coach. The West African manager was very troubled by the instructions. It didn't feel "right" to take credit for work done by his team to which he felt much loyalty. The thinking of the professional coach reflected his low-context culture.
Views employer/employee relationship as mechanistic: In low-context cultures, the view of the employer/employee relationship tends to be more mechanistic. The term originates from the belief that a business can be run like a " well-oiled machine " with replaceable parts (i.e., employees). Indeed, employees tend to view themselves as a marketable commodity and will make decisions to change jobs if they can improve their circumstances. Employers can terminate an employee because of negative performance reviews. Likewise, employees feel justified in leaving a job for a better paying one even when they really like their managers and colleagues. Since trust is not as great a factor in hiring decisions, company policy may prohibit the hiring of relatives or even fraternization and marriage among employees. Example:
A commercial for a U.S. financial company shows a young man talking to his father about a job change. The young man laments the loss of friendships at his old job. He continues by talking to his father about the opportunities in the new job and the ease with which he has rolled over his retirement plan. In response, his father offers support for his decision to leave the old job for the better opportunity even if it means leaving friends at work. He says, "The new job's great. It's going to be OK."
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☺ (The example may be omitted. Let the trainees talk about this problem. Let them think of themselves as family members at work or replaceable parts.)
Relies on facts, statistics, and other details as supporting evidence: People from low-context cultures tend to require facts, statistics, and other reliable data in a business presentation. They trust numbers over intuition ("Numbers never lie," American proverb). They may even trust statistical data in spite of special circumstances that could explain a decline in sales, for example. Their presentations will be heavy with charts, graphs, and quotes from experts in their particular field and will be light on suppositions or intuitive remarks. They will often expect the same level of detailed statistical analysis from others.
Uses direct style in writing and speaking: One hallmark of businesspeople from low-context cultures is directness in their writing and speaking. They prefer to get right to the point of their message. Doing so will help them stay on their time schedule and accomplish the task. Therefore, those from low-context cultures usually state the reason for the call, letter, email, or face-to-face meeting at the beginning and then follow with details if asked. Even lengthy business reports will be prefaced with an executive summary of findings.
Prefers linear reasoning: Businesspeople from low-context cultures usually prefer a straight line of reasoning. For example, they may start with reasons a particular account is unprofitable (causes) and follow to the outcome (effect) that the account should be reorganized. They also expect that those with whom they do business will follow the same linear logic. In fact, many people are surprised to find that there exist other kinds of logic. In low-context cultures, "He used circular reasoning to come to that conclusion," is usually not considered a compliment.
Adheres to the letter of the law: People from low-context cultures rarely do business on just a handshake. Even if they have excellent rapport with a business associate, the deal is not considered final until attorneys have written a document that is agreed to and signed by all the decision makers. Conversely, once the signatures are on the dotted line, the contract is set in stone and will be enforced by the courts when disputes arise. Example.
Because of their low-context orientation, the Jewish culture values precision when it comes to legal rulings. To prepare for a spaceflight mission, Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon did more than learn about the experiments he would conduct as a payload specialist on the U.S. space shuttle Columbia. Because he planned to observe the Jewish Sabbath in space, he asked for a ruling from Jewish leaders to determine exactly when he should begin and end his observance of Shabbat, the weekly Jewish Sabbath, which lasts from sundown Fridays to sundown Saturdays.
A group of respected rabbis debated and discussed the question. Before the flight, Colonel Ramon received a ruling that he should observe the Sabbath on Eastern Daylight Time because that was the shuttle's point of departure. In the low-context Jewish culture where adherence to the law is revered, such a decision would never be left to chance.
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Now let us take a look how members of high and low contextual cultures see themselves and their opposites:
| High Context Communication polite respectful integrates by similarities/harmony not direct | Low Context Communication open true integrates by authenticity direct |
| High Context claims Low Context impolite cannot read between the lines naïve no self discipline too fast | Low Context claims High Context hiding information not trustable arrogant too formal too slow |
For an example how a low context culture interacts with a high context culture as the Chinese, please visit GlobThink: http://globthink.com/2009/06/24/indirect-communication-and-indirect-leadership-in-asia/ Unfortunately this link is broken / not existing anymore (reviewed 12.12.2012)
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Conclusion
The implications are obvious. Interactions between high and low context peoples can be problematic. For example: Japanese can find Westerners to be offensively blunt. Westerners can find Japanese to be secretive, devious and bafflingly unforthcoming with information. French can feel that Germans insult their intelligence by explaining the obvious, while Germans can feel that French managers provide no direction.
High context cultures are vulnerable to communication breakdowns when they assume more shared understanding than there really is. They are strongly inclined to indirect methods of communication. This is especially true in an age of diversity. Low context cultures, on the other hand, are not known for their ability to tolerate or understand diversity, and tend to be more insular. The explicitness with which they communicate can often cause offence and resentment.
According to Hall, in a low-context transaction, the verbal code is the primary source of information. Low-context cultures generally rely on elaborated codes. Unlike users of restricted codes, users of elaborated codes rely extensively on the verbal code system for creating and interpreting meaning.
Information to be shared with others is coded in the verbal message.
Although persons in low-context transactions recognize the nonverbal environment, they tend to focus more on the verbal context. Moreover, the rules and expectations are explicitly explained. Users of elaborated codes are dependent upon words to convey meaning and may become uncomfortable with silence. In low-context transactions, the communicants feel a need to speak. People using low-context communication are expected to communicate in ways that are consistent with their feelings. Hence, low-context communication typically involves transmitting direct, explicit messages. Although there are exceptions, many low-context cultures are individualistic, including Switzerland, Germany, Scandinavia, the United States, France, and the United Kingdom.
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Thoughts to discuss
Applications of Hall`s Theories about the Context Website Design
in High and Low Context Cultures
☺(The trainees may be familiar with the feature of various website designs and, if yes, they can give some interesting facts about it. If not, the group can look through the table just for review.)
| Parameter: | Tendency in HC Cultures | Tendency in LC Cultures |
| Animation | High use of animation, especially in connection with images of moving people | Lower use of animation, mainly reserved for highlighting effects e.g., of text |
| Promotion of values | Images promote values characteristic of collectivist societies | Images promote values characteristic of individualistic societies |
| Individuals separate or together with the product | Featured images depict products and merchandise in use by individuals | Images portray lifestyles of individuals, with or without a direct emphasis on the use of products or merchandise |
| Level of transparency | Links promote an exploratory approach to navigation on the website; process-oriented | Clear and redundant cues in connection with navigation on a website; goal-oriented |
| Linear vs. parallel navigation on the website | Many sidebars and menus, opening of new browser windows for each new page | Few sidebars and menus, constant opening in same browser window |
☺ (The trainees should analyze the difference in design between two ads using the material they have already learned. Also they should define what culture represented in each advert is HC or LC culture and compare these differences.)
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Link to the current Mc Donalds Website in China
Link to the current website Mc Donad`s Germany
The explanation to the Chinese ad of McDonald.
() Meanwhile, its rolling out a new social media campaign, asking consumers to share favorite moments at the store, and it made a massive ad buy on Baidu, Chinas main search engine, this weekend. The new togetherness message doesnt mean China is phasing out global slogan Im Lovin It.
What weve done is give a layer of context to the it why are you lovin it?' said Agatha Yap, senior marketing director for McDonalds China.
