Lesson 1 Topic: General information about notions of "culture". Intercultural communication Aim

What is “little c” culture? Little c culture, in contrast, invisible type of culture associated with a region, group of people, language, etc. Some examples of little c culture include communication styles, verbal and non-verbal language symbols, cultural norms (what is proper and improper in social interactions), how to behave, myths and legends, etc.

CULTURAL RELATIVISM

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  Different cultural groups think, feel, and act differently. There is no scientific standards for considering one group as intrinsically superior or inferior to another. Studying differences in culture among groups and societies presupposes a position of cultural relativism. It does not imply normalcy for oneself, nor for one's society. It, however, calls for judgment when dealing with groups or societies different from one's own. Information about the nature of cultural differences between societies, their roots, and their consequences should precede judgment and action. Negotiation is more likely to succeed when the parties concerned understand the reasons for the differences in viewpoints.
  

CULTURAL ETHNOCENTRISM
Ethnocentrism is the belief that one's own culture is superior to that of other cultures. It is a form of reductionism that reduces the "other way" of life to a distorted version of one's own. This is particularly important in case of global dealings when a company or an individual is imbued with the idea that methods, materials, or ideas that worked in the home country will also work abroad. Environmental differences are, therefore, ignored. Ethnocentrism, in relation to global dealings, can be categorized as follows:
Important factors in business are overlooked because of the obsession with certain cause-effect relationships in one's own country. It is always a good idea to refer to checklists of human variables in order to be assured that all major factors have been at least considered while working abroad.
Even though one may recognize the environmental differences and problems associated with change, but may focus only on achieving objectives related to the home-country. This may result in the loss of effectiveness of a company or an individual in terms of international competitiveness. The objectives set for global operations should also be global.
The differences are recognized, but it is assumed that associated changes are so basic that they can be achieved effortlessly. It is always a good idea to perform a cost-benefit analysis of the changes proposed. Sometimes a change may upset important values and thereby may face resistance from being implemented. The cost of some changes may exceed the benefits derived from the implementation of such changes.
Questions on the theme of the lesson.
1. To help students to develop an understanding of the fact that all people exhibit culturally-conditioned behaviors.
2. What is the notion of culture?
3. What is culture with example?
Literature:
1.Utley, D. (2004) Intercultural Resource Pack: Intercultural communication resources for language teachers p 12-26.
2.Adrian Holliday, Martin Hyde and John Kullman. inter-cultural communication an advanced resource Book p 59-62.
3.http://people.tamu.edu/~i-choudhury/culture.html