WCIUjournal
Copy of CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION

Cross-Cultural Communication

What difficulties in communication do cross-cultural workers face? How can these best be addressed in various settings?

Posts tagged cultural identity
The Reply of African Ethnicist-nationalism to the Overwhelming Mega-culture of Globalization

by Adder Abel Gwoda, Ph. D.

From a cultural point of view, a universal uniformity is emerging which absorbs or dissolves any differences. Under the booster of neoliberal economics, globalization attempts to homogenize different identities following the Western model, resulting in tremendous reactions from endangered cultures. These reactions of identities are of two kinds: the zealot, which is belligerent and can turn into terrorism and the Herodian, which is essentially pacifist and adaptive. A phenomenological analysis of authentic African cultural experience presents an ethnicist acculturation attempt in a bid to diminish the mega-culture of Globalization. This identity reaction which is rather adaptive, known as ethnicist-nationalism, will appear as a valuable contribution to the global justice project in so far as it provides a cosmopolitan flexible citizenship, built out of the postures of sentimental-nationalism and instrumental-globalization.

Read More
Editorculture, globalization, Africa, cultural identityComment
Cultural Schemas Shape Identity and Influence Language

By Sheryl Silzer

When people receive the Scriptures in their language for the first time, they interpret the message through their previous knowledge and experiences. If the new information is not understandable in relation to what they already know, the Scriptures may not impact or change their lives. A major challenge for Bible translators coming from a scientific worldview is the ability to recognize how their scientific worldview may fit in and even promote the magical worldview of the receptor language speakers (Harries 2011, 18). Early missiologists linked this clash of worldview to a lack of applicability of the Gospel message (Hesselgrave 1978, 68; Kraft 1978, 94; Dye 1987, 39).

Read More
EditorBible, cultural schemas, worldview, contextualization, Native Americans, religion, Dualism, community, holism, evil, Science, group identity, individualism, cultural identityComment
Cross-Cultural Conflict Management

by May Nor Clara Cheng

Interweaving with stories of her cross-cultural experiences in three countries, Cheng contends that the context of conflict management is the emotional wholeness of a cross-cultural worker. One of the two starting points of cross-cultural conflict management is self-awareness of the impact of one’s national character in their personality, especially in relevant to individualistic and collectivistic cultures. The other one is the understanding of the conflict dynamics and the issues in cross-cultural conflicts. For cross-cultural workers from an individualistic cultural background, the core lesson is to move their social life and conflict management from a self-centered orientation towards more of a communal life orientation.

Read More
Editorconflict management, individualism, group identity, cultural identity, spirituality, conflict resolution, prayerComment
Who Decides and How? The Challenge of Decision-Making in Intercultural Ministry Teams

by Donald Moon

Members of intercultural teams bring with them their cultural preferences or biases about many things, including leadership styles and how decisions are made. Misunderstandings and conflict were nearly inevitable when team members operate, often unknowingly, from their cultural preferences.  Their different ideas about what they consider the correct way to make decisions is a key indicator of their cultural type.

Read More
Editorindividualism, decision-making, conflict management, group identity, teams, community, leadership, cultural identity Comment
Book Review: African Heartbeat

by Editor

In his novel, African Heartbeat and a Vulnerable Fool, Jim Harries gives the Western reader an opportunity to vicariously experience an immersion in African culture with all its confusing reality. It is based on true stories and events, and takes place in the fictional African country of Holima.This book would be a good resource for prospective cross-cultural workers to help them be aware of what they are “going to meet up with” (p. 165).

Read More
EditorAfrica, language, cultural identity, poverty, dependency, developmentComment
Book Review: Biblical Multi-cultural Teams

by Sunny Hong

This book was written to help members of a multicultural team recognize and understand why cultural differences exist among members of their team and to apply biblical truth to cultural differences. Silzer starts this book by stating that we are all created in the image of God. The image of God in us is distorted, however, by following cultural practices rather than biblical truth.

Read More
Editorteams, multi-cultural, cultural identityComment
Resolving Western Hegemony in Africa: Distinguishing the Material from the Spiritual/Relational

by Jim Harries

Dominant Western engagement in Africa wrongly presupposes African people to be dualistic. This misleads Westerners to believe Africans should be able to accept and build on secular approaches to solving their society’s problems. The result is confusion and unhealthy dependency on the West. To benefit tomorrow’s Africa, a genuine holistic witness to Jesus, and the positive development possible as people within societies follow Jesus, must use local categories and languages.

Read More
EditorAfrica, worldview, Bible, Dualism, orality, cultural identity, cultural schemas, development Comment
Reflection: Cross-Cultural Interaction: Partnership with Chinese Workers

by Sam Yim

The concept of human development is different for East and West. For example, I heard of a Hong Kong pastor who worked with American missionaries to do church planting in Hong Kong. They started from zero and gave him five years to be independent. It meant this Chinese worker would not receive any financial assistance from the Western mission group after five years. When the time was up, the Chinese worker requested that the new church needed to have more time to be independent, but the negotiation failed as plans were fixed. The Chinese church viewed the Western group as selfish and that they were being forsaken too early. Therefore, any partnership needs both parties to dialogue and both parties need to be willing to adjust.

Full Text html

Read More
EditorChina, cultural identity, Confucius, group identity, community, teams, individualism, leadershipComment