User:Brunasfsu/High-context and low-context cultures

Article body
Individuals and groups operating in low context cultures tend to take what is said literally and prefer to have thorough knowledge before a task or a meeting. Making eye contact might convey more information in a high-context culture than words might, especially when it comes to your deepest emotions and experiences.

Importance of Understanding High and Low Context Cultures
The concept of high and low context cultures pertains to the significance of contextual cues in the interpretation of a message. Low context cultures communicate more plainly and explicitly, whereas high context cultures base their communication style on body language, tone, and the environment as a whole.

In contrast to high context cultures, which emphasize not just what individuals say but also when, where, and how they say it—and even what they don't say at all—low context cultures place greater value on the precise meaning of words.

When people with diverse cultural backgrounds and communication styles collaborate on a project, miscommunications and even confrontations may occur. Low context communicators may come across as cold, unapproachable, or impersonal to someone from a high context society. Conversely, high context communicators could come out as rude or even obtrusive. Due to the potential risks to teamwork, creativity, and efficiency posed by these variances, it is important to recognize and adjust social contexts and communication styles.

Benefits of understanding High and Low Context Cultures
One of the benefits of understanding high and context cultures is that it makes it possible for you to influence and interact with people more skillfully. It improves your capacity to blend in with the surroundings at ease. It provides you with knowledge that enables you to accurately understand the "what" and "why" of a person's actions.

US, China, and Korea
Kim Donghoon conducted a study to test the major aspects of high-context versus low-context culture concepts. The study collected three samples from different cultures - the US, China, and Korea - with 96 business managers surveyed in the American and Chinese samples and 50 managers in the Korean sample. According to Hall's theory, the Chinese and Korean samples represented higher-context cultures while the American sample represents a lower-context culture. The study tested 16 items, covering various aspects of the high-versus-low context concept, including social orientation, responsibility, confrontation, communication, commitment, and dealing with new situations.

The results show significant differences between the American, Chinese, and Korean samples on 15 out of 16 items, with 11 items significant at the .01 level, one at the .05 level, and three at the .10 level. The composite score also indicates a significant difference among the three samples at the .01 level. The American sample scored the lowest compared to the two "Oriental samples," which aligns with Hall's concept. Overall, this study provides further evidence to support the high versus low-context culture concepts with Chinese, Korean, and American participants. The study suggests that in high-context cultures, such as China and Korea, people tend to be more socially oriented, less confrontational, and more complacent with existing ways of living compared to people from low-context cultures like the US.

Sino-American Language throught automobile advertisement
Wang Ning, with the support of the Atlantis-Press, bring "A Comparative Study of Sino-American Language from the Perspective of High- and Low-Context Cultural Theory” and provide an analysis of automobile advertisements in China and the USA through the lens of high and low context cultural theory. The study finds that due to the different cultural backgrounds of China and the United States, the use of language in automotive advertising varies a lot.

For example, Chinese automobile advertisements, which are found to belong to the high-context category, characterized by vagueness and implicitness. Much of the information’s are brought in the context of the publicity, that includes also shared history, relationships, and cultural norms/values (like Chinese poems for example). As a result, citing Wang Ning, if you do not say it is a car advertising, you do not know it is a car advertising. On the other hand, American automobile advertisements are categorized as low context, characterized by straightforwardness and frankness. This aligns with low-context cultures where communication is more explicit, direct, and elaborate, and the meaning of messages is more dependent on the words being spoken rather than on the interpretation of more subtle or unspoken cues.

Example of Advertisement : ''Example 3: Think small. (Volkswagen Beetle) Example 4: To enjoy oneself is less funnier than enjoy ourselves (Chinese: du le le bu ru zhong le le) (Mercedes-benz GL SUV) Example 3 is the advertisement of Volkswagen Beetle and as it is known to all, the main feature of the Volkswagen Beetle is its small capacity. As we can see from example 3, advertisement designers have used the word “small” to give a direct impression of the feature of the capacity of Advances in Economics, Business and Management Research, volume 109 417 Volkswagen Beetle to the consumers. Example 4 is the advertisements of Mercedes-benz GL SUV. The advertisement designers have used the Chinese ancient poems to show the capacity of the Mercedes-benz GL SUV. In fact, it is widely recognized that the SUV has a large capacity by using the expression “zhong le le”in the peom. Page 417/ 3.2 On Space in Automobile Advertisements ''

Russia and Romania
A case study was done on 30 Romanian and 30 Russian employees, to compare high- and low-context cultures, and the results strongly suggested that Russia and Romania are both high-context cultures. The table shows the major differences and similarities between individual queries.

Mexico and the U.S.
This study is a result of a cross-cultural examination between students from the United States, a low-context culture, and Mexico, a high-context culture, to study the reasons people communicate in each culture. There were 225 Mexican participants from three different undergraduate universities in Mexico City and 447 participants from Kent State University in the U.S. The case study looked into culture shock experienced by Mexicans studying in the U.S. The hypotheses tested indicated the high-context culture in Mexico would provide different motives for communication when compared with the low-context culture of the U.S.

The results found that U.S. participants used communication for pleasure more often than Mexican participants. Pleasure, affection, and inclusion were the highest motives for communication in both cultures and control was the lowest for both cultures.

Japan and the U.S.
In Japan, there is a significant difference between high-context culture and low-context culture in the United States. Understanding these differences is crucial when Japanese and Americans collaborate on business ventures. Japan's business culture is quite unique and may be challenging for Americans to grasp. Moreover, there are several values in this culture that could potentially cause stress for Americans. In Japanese workplaces, it is essential to read the air during communication. This means understanding the situation and intentions of others without necessarily verbalizing them, and responding accordingly. Why is reading the air so important in Japan? There is a historical background to this. Japan is an island nation and had limited contact with other countries, leading to the development of a culture that emphasizes mutual understanding and discerning the intentions of others. As a result, a culture emerged where understanding nuances without explicit expression is expected.

Brazil and Germany
A research, published in 2022, investigates how varying cultural communication styles impact the outcomes of social group divisions. By blending concepts from theories on group dynamics and cultural communication, Kathrin Burmann and Thorsten Semrau examined 54 teams in the banking sector in Germany (low-context culture) and Brazil (high-context culture). The study results show that in Germany, known for direct communication, social divisions often lead to task conflicts, harming team performance. However, in Brazil, where communication tends to be more indirect, they didn't observe the same negative consequences.