Hall's Cultural Factors
- 1. Hall’s Cultural Factors (1950) Aniss Khalida Puteri Mohaini Muhamad Amiruddin
- 2. Context • Low Context and High Context 1- Low Context - More verbal communication - More straight forwards - Less misunderstanding
- 3. 2- High Context - More non-verbal communication. - Implying the message in a more indirect method. - More confusing.
- 4. Low Context VS High Context
- 5. Time • Monochronic time • Polychronic time
- 6. Monochronic time • It means doing one thing at a time. • Assumes careful planning and scheduling. • A familiar Western approach that appears in disciplines such as 'time management'. • Monochronic people tend also to be low context. Polychronic time •Human interaction is valued over time and material things • Leads to a lesser concern for 'getting things done' • They do get done, but more in their own time. •Polychronic people tend also to be high context.
- 7. Contrasting the two • Western cultures vary in their focus on monochronic or polychronic time. • Americans are strongly monochronic whilst the French have a much greater polychronic tendency • For example, a French person may turn up to a meeting late and think nothing of it (much to the annoyance of a German orAmerican co-worker). • Note the similarity with Trompenaars' time as sequence (monochronic) and time as synchronization (polychronic).
- 8. Factor Monochronic Action Polychronic Action Actions do one thing at a time do many things at once Focus Concentrate on the job at hand Are easily distracted Attention to time Think about when things must be achieved Think about what will be achieved Priority Put the job first Put relationship first Respect for property Seldom borrow or lend things Borrow and lend things often and easily Timeless Emphasize promptness Base promptness relationship factors
- 9. Space • The need for space • High territoriality • Low territoriality
- 10. The need for space Some people need more space in all areas so whoever who encroach into that space are seen as a threat. • Personal space is an example of a mobile form of territory and people need less or greater distances between them and others. • Some people need bigger homes, bigger cars, bigger offices and so on. This may be driven by cultural factors • For example, the space in America needs to greater use of space, whilst Japanese need less space (partly as a result of limited useful space in Japan). • A Japanese person who needs less space thus will stand closer to an American, inadvertently making the American uncomfortable.
- 11. High territorial Some people are more territorial than others with greater concern for ownership. They seek to mark out the areas which are theirs • Territoriality also extends to anything that is 'mine' and ownership concerns extend to material things. • Security thus becomes a subject of great concern for people with a high need for ownership. • People with high territoriality tend also to be low context
- 12. Low territorial • People with lower territoriality have less ownership of space and boundaries are less important to them. • They will share territory and ownership with little thought. • They also have less concern for material ownership and their sense of 'stealing' is less developed (this is more important for highly territorial people). • People with low territoriality tend also to be high context.
- 13. “So then what?” • When working across cultures, pay attention to high and low cultures through the actions of others. • For example if people are late for meetings it may be because they are polychronic, not because they are disrespectful or lazy. • When you understand the personal, national or organizational culture, then you can seek to align with them and hence gain greater influence.
- 14. Reference List Hall, E.T. (1959). The Silent Language, New York: Doubleday Hall, E.T. (1985). Hidden Differences: Studies in International Communication, Hamburg: Grunder and Jahr