Exam 3: Culture and Identity

In understanding the cultural identity of others, Ting-Toomey explains that one must look at value content and salience. Salience refers to

Sam Sheppard was recently promoted to the position of Senior Communication Specialist in a large pharmaceutical company in the Midwestern United States that had international subsidiaries in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. His primary function was to oversee cross-functional teams that maintained close links with team members at various sites around the world in order to ensure that their communications transmitted consistent and appropriate messages for the organization. Teams in each of the global areas were a mixture of people from different cultures. The U.S. team of communication specialists consisted of two men from the U.S., one man from Britain, one Japanese man who was new to the organization, and one British woman. After an unusually long and difficult project, Sheppard determined that the team needed a break and organized a company dinner at the completion of the project which, despite all of the setbacks, actually ended on schedulE. It was important as a new director for him to show his sincere appreciation as well as maintain the morale of the group. Each of the team members was encouraged to bring along their spousE. The stress of the past few months appeared to evaporate as team members and guests laughed and conversed freely. Toward the end of the dinner celebration, Sheppard stood up to make a toast to the group and singled out the team member from Japan, Mr. Yasuko Futaba, saying that if he hadn't joined the team at just the right time to offer his technical expertise, the group would not have succeeded. -Sam thought it a bit awkward when Mr. Futaba simply nodded his head but didn't smile despite the cheers and good wishes from the other team members, one of whom gave him a good natured slap on the back, claiming that "he saved the day." Mr. Futaba's wife seemed embarrassed and lowered her eyes. With glasses raised high by all of the guests seated at the table, some glanced nervously at each other until one of the team members broke the silence by expressing his gratitude to the group. Others joined in, the conversations resumed and the evening ended well despite this awkward moment. Sam was disappointed with the unexpected reaction of Mr. Futaba….Why do you think Sam was confused about Yasuko's reaction?

The concept of ________________ focuses on how people identify their individual background (identities influenced by cultural backgrounds) and then interact / negotiate meanings with others.

What is the difference between ENCULTURATION and ACCULTURATION?

Which statements are true regarding: Uncertainty Anxiety Management:

Social and Cultural Identities include ethnicity, language, age, gender, social status, roles, and ability/disability

'Familismo' is a concept that deals with the importance of immediate and extended family ties which are very important to the Latino community. This is similar to

Ethnicity is defined in terms of shared ancestry; race is defined in terms of social definitions.

Dilemma: a situation facing a decision maker who can select only one of either two equally attractive or two equally unattractive alternatives.

Cultural Identity is the emotional significance that we attach our sense of belonging or affiliation with the larger culture -e. e.g., the larger Brazilian cultural identity or the larger Canadian cultural identity. While cultural salience is the strength of that affiliation.