46. What is the difference between high and low context culture?

Ways that High and Low Context cultures differ:

1. The structure of relationships:

• High: Dense, intersecting networks and long-term relationships, strong boundaries, relationship more important than task.

• Low: Loose, wide networks, shorter term, compartmentalized relationships, task more important than relationship.

2. Main type of cultural knowledge:

• High: More knowledge is below the waterline – implicit, patterns that are not fully conscious, hard to explain even if you are a member of that culture.

• Low: More knowledge is above the waterline – explicit, consciously organized.

3. Degree of importance given to non-verbal communication:

• High: increase in voice is a sign of an exciting conversation among friends.

• Low: raised voices consider to be sign that a fight has begun

4. Attitudes toward conflict:

• High: open conflict is experienced as embarrassing or demeaning; as a rule, differences are best worked out quietly. A written exchange might be the favored means to address the conflict.

• Low: conflict is not usually desirable; but people often are encouraged to deal directly with conflicts that do arise. In fact, face-to-face meetings customarily are recommended as the way to work through whatever problems exist.

5. Approaches to completing tasks:

• High: these cultures tend to attach more value to developing relationships at the beginning of a shared project and more emphasis on task completion toward the end as compared with low-context cultures.

• Low: tend to focus immediately on the task at hand, and let relationships develop as they work on the task.

6. Decision-making style:

• High: there is a strong value placed on holding decision-making responsibilities oneself. When decisions are made by groups of people, consensus is the preferred mode.

• Low: decisions are frequently delegated – that is an official assigns responsibility for a particular matter to a subordinate. When decisions are made by groups of people, majority rule is a common approach.

7. Attitude toward disclosure: in some cultures, it is not appropriate to be frank about emotions, about the reasons behind a conflict or a misunderstanding, or about personal information. When dealing with conflict, be mindful that people may differ in what they feel comfortable revealing. Questions that may seem natural to one – may seem intrusive to others. The variation among cultures in attitudes toward disclosure is also something to consider before you conclude that you have an accurate reading of the views, experiences, and goals of the people with whom one is working.

8. Approaches to knowing: European cultures tend to consider information acquired through cognitive means, such as counting and measuring, more valid than other ways of coming to know things. Compare to African cultures’ preference for affective ways of knowing, including symbolic imagery and rhythm. Asian cultures’ epistemologies tend to emphasize the validity of knowledge gained through striving toward transcendence.

9. Attitude to time:

• High (polychronic systems): many things occurring simultaneously and emphasize involvement with people. Polychronic people – Latin Americans, Arabs, and those from other collectivist cultures – may focus on several things at once, be highly distractible, and change plans often. Polichronic people, for example, are likely to hold open meetings, moving around and conducting transactions from one party to another, rather than compartmentalizing meeting topics, as do monochromic people.

• Low (monochronic cultures): time is experienced in a linear way, with a past, a present, and a future; time is treated as something to be spent, saved, made up, or wasted. Classified and compartmentalized, time serves to order life. Monochronic people, found in individualistic cultures, generally concentrate on one thing at a time, adhere to time commitments, and are accustomed to short-term relationships.