. While a lot of resources are in the realm of international relations and business, there are some valuable high and low context culture lessons to glean for community engagement. Van Mulken etal., Citation2014) or to ask them to write down what they think is the meaning of the message (cf. Comfort in knowing the rules; protocol important; sensitivity to position and age. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Gudykunst, W. B., & Ting-Toomey, S. (1988). (_CC In K. Berardo & D. K. Deardorff, eds. The German society is a truly Individualist one (67). While some traditions and norms are important to Germans, they can also be adapted to suit solutions that are dependent on time, situation, and context. Intentions not explicitly stated can often be inferred from the context. The Basic Difference Between High-context and Low-context Cultures This study focuses on two Western European countries: Belgium and the Netherlands. Coming from a high context culture, I found the German colleagues too wordy when writing minutes of meeting and focus too much on details in discussions. German society also stresses compartmentalizing personal and professional lives in this pursuit of success. About The Helpful Professor The result is a highly structured and punctual culture, which plays into the high masculinity. These great minds from Germany have come up with . Development of long-term relationships; trust is created based on high-quality and reliability of services and products; quality may override price considerations. Highly decentralised and supported by a strong middle class, Germany is not surprisingly among the lower power distant countries (score 35). Germany - Hofstede Insights Communicators in high-context cultures pay attention to more than the words spoken they also pay attention to interpersonal relationships, nonverbal expressions, physical settings, and social settings. Hall's approach, however, was theoretical: nations have been grouped and accorded a position on the continuum from low- to high-context rather loosely. Produced by Will Reid and Michael Simon Johnson. Wurtz found something similar while analyzing website design. While Germany isnt nearly as individualistic as some Western countries, it still scores high in the category. Edited by Liz O. Baylen and Mike Benoist. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. Germans have a decidedly pragmatic approach to this dimension, and score very high in this aspect. Which of the following countries is considered a high context culture? About half of the participants were female (56%). With a German audience, I need to be more fact based up front and have a more disciplined presentation style to build a case, almost as if I were in a courtroom.. The ages ranged from 17 to 25 (M = 20.94, SD = 1.78). Examples of high-context cultures include Japan, Korea, and India. The general terms "high context" and "low context" (popularized by Edward Hall) are used to describe broad-brush cultural differences between societies. Conclusion Cultural Communication is always a challenge. Their communication is often indirect and requires a nuanced understanding, so outsiders might find it more difficult to enter their culture. In general, both Germany and the U.S. are low-context cultures, meaning that information and meaning are usually communicated explicitly through words. Navigating the Cultural Minefield - Harvard Business Review Let's analyse the first dimension today! ^o_JcqT In low-context cultures, gestures and facial expressions are never the primary means of communication; they only serve to clarify or complement a point. Finally, place focus on personal achievement, success, and competition, values which drive the German business world. High Context Culture vs Low Context Culture: Communication - TechTello Self-motivation and personal identity are important values to Germans. which score low on this dimension, for example, prefer to maintain time-honoured traditions and norms while viewing societal change with suspicion. In high-context cultures, people are said to prefer symbolic, artful language that is implicit. Low-Context Culture Communication & Examples - Study.com The Lavin Agency Speakers Bureau. What is an Interculturally Effective Person (IEP)? Privacy Policy. Future studies may examine other dependent variables, such as product attitude or behavioral intention. Importantly, the current study examines this classification empirically by assessing individual context scores in both cultures. Culture of Germany - Wikipedia and the German culture is referred to low context and status-oriented cultures [Kulikova, 2006; Kotthoff, 2003; Gnther, 2002; Khorrami . The present study is the first of its kind to test one of the central claims of context theory: namely, that complex messages are perceived as less complex and are better liked in higher-context than in lower-context cultures. Germany has produced some great philosophers including Albertus Magnus from the Middle Ages, Leibniz in the 17 th century, and the famous Immanuel Kant. In the main study, the scale proved to be just adequate ( =.68). Although the use of understandable messages is commonplace in advertising and communication, complex messages are regularly used; for example, through the use of jargon, foreign languages, or verbal or visual metaphors. Framework: Intercultural model. According to the information processing theory of McGuire (Citation1972), for instance, a persuasive communicative attempt is only expected to be successful if it passes a number of critical steps, including the comprehension of the message. (2014, December 10). H2: Participants' personal context scores mediate the effect of nationality on perceived complexity. Neuliup, J. W. (2011). Cultures can, therefore, be described as Indulgent or Restrained. Democratic ideal; large middle class; long tradition of Mitbestimmung (employee co-determination), but respect for organizational hierarchy. This is why complex messages are sometimes more effective than less complex messages. Rather than valuing positions that are based on family connections or age, Germans prefer to put trust in those who demonstrate experience and vast knowledge. What is High Context Culture - Culture Matters A 2005 study by Elizabeth Wurtz demonstrates how cultural differences shape marketing and advertising. The visual in the ad displays a piece of clothing with blue liquid detergent in the form of a crocodile attacking a brown, coffee-like stain. Relevance Theory has been successful in explaining findings related to comprehension and persuasion of metaphors. If we explore the German culture through the lens of the 6-D Model, we can get a good overview of the deep drivers of German culture relative to other world cultures. In. In the current comparative survey-based study, participants were exposed to 12 different product ads; asking for actual comprehension of all of the ads might have revealed the purpose of the study. A low-context culture is a culture in which people communicate explicitly. H1: Participants from a higher-context culture perceive ads with visual metaphors as less complex than participants from a lower-context culture. Business interactions tend to be unemotional and fact-driven. Cite this Article in your Essay (APA Style), Privacy PolicyTerms and ConditionsDisclaimerAccessibility StatementVideo Transcripts. One challenge that confronts humanity, now and in the past, is the degree to which small children are socialized. Intercultural Communication on Websites: A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Websites from High-Context Cultures and Low-Context Cultures. High-Context Culture: Definition & Examples - Study.com An in-depth understanding of cultural norms is not required because the communication is explicit. Belgian participants have a higher ad liking than Dutch participants, and this national difference is explained by the participants' personal context score. After the 2011 nuclear reactor disaster in Fukushima, Japan, Chancellor Angela Merkel immediately called for the permanent shutdown of several nuclear reactors, and has plans for taking the rest of the reactors offline by 2022. They are not simply complementary but are often used as the primary means of conveying a message and require the members to have greater cultural understanding. Imagine an ad for a sports car that does not feature the car, but instead shows a leopard running on a coastal road. According to M.Q. (2013)[2]explain the concept of cultural context: Cultural context is a concept developed by cultural anthropologist Edward T. Hall. She found out that in high-context countries, the advertising campaigns used more colors, movements, and sounds to provide context. An expert on metaphors in advertising checked the ads on the metaphors that were included, and another expert ensured the cross-cultural equivalence of the material in the Netherlands and Belgium. There are smaller communities and specific settings within national/linguistic cultures, and they may exhibit different communication patterns. Need for Certainty It will be based on the book entitled The Culture Map by an INSEAD professor and cross-cultural specialist Erin Meyer. Praise is rarely given, and when it is given, it is understated, e.g. On the other hand, he identified countries such as Germany, the United States and Scandinavia as low-context cultures. Germanys high score of 83 indicates that it is a pragmatic country. Loyalty is based on personal preferences for people as well as a sense of duty and responsibility. Let us help you make your transition easy! Low vs. high context . High-context cultures rely heavily on non-verbal cues, such as facial expressions, body language, tone of voice, etc. endstream endobj 313 0 obj <>stream Two Types of Reflective Writing Assignments, Additional Resources for Improving Writing, Consistency in comparatives and listed elements: Parallelism, A Note on Punctuating the End of List Items, Hofstede Insights country comparison tool, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oYfhTC9lIQ, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQvqDv4vbEg, https://www.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/42958_2_The_Cultural_Context.pdf, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, Tend to prefer indirect verbal interaction, Tend to understand meaning at one level only, Tend to understand meanings embedded at many sociocultural levels, Are generally less proficient in reading nonverbal cues, Are generally more proficient in reading nonverbal cues, Communication in highly structured messages, provide details, stress literal meaning, Communication is simple, sometimes ambiguous, messages; understand visual messages readily, Define cultural context (Guffey et al., 2013, p. 64), Contrast communicate styles for low-context and high-context cultures (Meyer, 2017, p. 59), Explain how cultural differences can affect workplace communication (Lavin Agency Speakers Bureau, 2014). Speakers should not expect that listeners will figure out what they really mean unless the intended message is stated precisely. Germany - IOR The current study is the first empirical examination of context theory's role on message comprehension and liking. High-context cultures are built on a sense of shared experiences and history. With its first empirical demonstration of the role of context culture on comprehension and persuasion, the current study suggests that using Hall's context theory may be a fruitful way of thinking about adapting messages to diverse cultural audiences. Robin Bargheon on Twitter Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. First, it is expected that participants from a higher-context culture will like the complex ad better than participants from a lower-context culture (H3). Business communication - Business Culture The complexity of a message is actually defined by the comprehension of the receiver. Guffey, M. E., Lowey, D., Rhodes, K., & Rogin, P. (2013). Seekprofessional input on your specific circumstances. Repetition is appreciated for purposes of clarification, as is putting . In communication theories, the important role of comprehension has been acknowledged. aV )I~Wo='h6&XY+]fo)'M@y~. Meetings are only scheduled when necessary; punctuality important; agenda is followed; lengthy discussions of agenda items possible (expression of need for thoroughness). The indirect effect of nationality on perceived complexity through participants' individual context score proved to be significant (b = .05; CI [0.117, 0.007], bootstrapping technique, N = 50,000). Honesty is also valued highly because German communication as a whole is incredibly low-context. Communicating With High- and Low-Context Cultures Cardon (Citation2008, p. 400), for instance, noted, Studies that use contexting as an explanatory framework for cross-cultural variation almost invariably accept the contexting continuum, neglecting to measure participants' context scores. In doing so, we followed current methodological advice (see Hayes, Citation2009; Rucker, Preacher, Tormala, & Petty, Citation2011) to employ bootstrapping as a mediation technique because of its benefits compared to conventional methods, such as bootstrapping's higher power to detect potential indirect effects (e.g., Baron & Kenny, Citation1986). Tanaka, Citation1992). One of the biggest differences between cultures is the method by which we communicate. Registered in England & Wales No. Based on their fact-orientation, they may appear confrontational and overly critical. Dr. Drew has published over 20 academic articles in scholarly journals. Listen to business speaker Erin Meyer explain how cultural differences can affect communication. From the same gender distributions in the two samples, it might be considered unlikely that, for instance, one sample contained predominantly arts students (which are mostly female students) and the other predominantly engineering students (which are mostly male students). Your email address will not be published. Instead, they depend on the explicit code of the words and written rules to convey meaning. In Individualist societies people are supposed to look after themselves and their direct family only. Germany, Sweden, and the United States are generally classified as low-context cultures. In addition to striving for personal accomplishment through masculine traits, Germans also enjoy tokens of status, which often comes from high-quality cars and new technology. Increased complexity in advertising has been found to affect consumers' comprehension and liking of ads (e.g., Lagerwerf & Meijers, Citation2008; McQuarrie & Mick, Citation1999; Van Mulken, Van Hooft, & Nederstigt, Citation2014). The results confirmed three of four expected differences: perceived complexity was higher for Dutch than for Spanish participants (but not than for French), and ad liking was lower for Dutch than for Spanish and French participants. Writing Topic Sentences and Body Paragraphs, 39. This article was peer-reviewed and edited by Chris Drew (PhD). 1 From High Context to Low Context . To request a reprint or commercial or derivative permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below. When it comes to emails, texts, and online messaging, low-context cultures use it to fire off quick, frequent messages. The fundamental issue addressed by this dimension is the degree of interdependence a society maintains among its members. Emotions are discredited as unprofessional; in a business context, trust and credibility are developed through suppression of emotions; tendency to be more emotionally expressive with family and friends, particularly in southern Germany. Cultural map of the world according to the World Values Survey, describing Germany as high in "Rational-Secular Values" and low in "Self Expression Values" Germany is a modern, advanced society, . Low-context countries, on the other hand, relied more on linear processes and verbal communication. For each advertisement, perceived ad complexity was measured with two items with 7-point scales: The message of the advertisement is easy/hard to understand and The message of the advertisement is simple/complex (mean reliability: =.93, range.83.96). For the sake of completeness, Figure2 displays the (un)standardized coefficients of the discussed relationships in the model. GI?Ln T9a`"-&k 16 KWGWC1?Q'_}]G- 4XmyxKLsx%yIj `y There is some empirical evidence that consumers from different context cultures vary in their reaction (i.e., perceived complexity, ad liking) to complex visual messages, such as ads containing visual metaphors. Focus on accomplishing tasks one at a time and sequentially. This methodological limitation makes it impossible to assess whether it is indeed context culture that is the explanatory factor of the results obtained. Managers are expected to be decisive and assertive. Intercultural communication. Thus, Relevance Theory accommodates two seemingly opposing outcomes: a more complex message may generate higher as well as lower appreciation than a less complex message. ;#EtZ-P`IsPv;SFMx+CS~!v}w\ `p>cgVX In his model, context refers to the stimuli, environment, or ambiance surrounding an event. High-context cultures, on the other hand, depend on both the spoken words and the context of the situationincluding the shared values/assumptions of the groupto convey meaning. Little attention is given to non-verbal cues & body language. people generally use. Sage Publications. 45-52). High-Context and Low-Context Cultures - OUP Academic General information Instead of doubling down on the tried and true method of fossil fuel power, however, Germany has launched a massive clean-energy revolution. A number of scholars have claimed that the comprehension and interpretation of visual metaphors in particular may differ between cultures (e.g., Kvecses, Citation2005; Le Pair & Van Mulken, Citation2008; McQuarrie & Mick, Citation1999; Van Mulken etal., Citation2010). In this study, we follow their classification: Belgium is expected to be a higher-context culture than the Netherlands. However, no country is low-context or high-context in absolute terms; instead, there is a mix of explicit & implicit communication everywhere. 7:00AM and 4:00PM CEST i~^/NGu8Oc$j*$hd$BC+ji.9mkK"B?0m`d()-r//JQ ?7M!7|Q]pTX6w9 They rely less on the shared values/assumptions of the group and the context of the situation. The methodological problem of this approach is that potential differences in comprehension and appreciation cannot be empirically attributed to context culture, but only to the broader notion of nationality. However, in conflict situations, Germans often defend their position strongly and loudly (independent of job level). Order Free Brochure. They show an ability to adapt traditions easily to changed conditions, a strong propensity to save and invest, thriftiness, and perseverance in achieving results. Wurtz studied McDonalds online advertising in various countries such as Japan, Germany, the United States, etc. There is an aversion to letting the future take its course. Eye contact, for example, which is encouraged in North America, may have ambiguous meaning or be considered disrespectful in certain high-context cultures. D.u{Tet&q3b Permission is granted subject to the terms of the License under which the work was published. Their communication is less-task oriented, and their decision-making is driven by relationships, shared experiences, and emotions. In other words, the Federal Republic is well-known for an extremely direct way of speaking about things. It describes the level of explicit information and the importance of context in a given culture, indicating the range of communicative abilities (verbal messages, gestures, etc.)