Effective communication and Cultural barriers Research Essay

Introduction

There are a few ideas that are crucial to the smooth operation of any particular society, and the concept of communication stands out among these ideas. People engage in communication regardless of their age, social rank, or economic standing in the community. Therefore, the process of passing information, knowledge, or concepts from the sender to the receiver can be referred to as communication. Feedback from the recipient to the sender, which demonstrates that the message was understood, marks the conclusion of the communication process. Regardless of how crucial communication is, if certain degrees of barriers are present, it may lose its effectiveness. Therefore, barriers to effective commutation can be described as a particular factor that could impede the free flow of indented message sent to the recipient. Over the years and as a result of the advancement of studies in this field a couple of factors have been discovered as responsible for the barriers to effective communication, and this factor ranges for culture to gender and the likes. Each of these elements can impede the communication process resulting in a loss of its purpose. However, for this study, we shall consider the barriers to effective commutation that are developed as a result of culture difference. The study will, therefore, produce and analyze cogent concepts in support of its thesis, and at the end, a conclusion will be drawn, to sum up, the ideas of the study.

The Role of Culture in Communication

As mention earlier, the concept of communication cannot be overemphasized based on the role of information sharing that it provides. There is need to mention that one factor that could also determine the effectiveness of communication is the concept of culture. Culture is the way of life of people; it is important because it forms the basis of their beliefs, norms, and values. Hence cultural values determine a significant aspect of the life of individuals and their communication patterns also inclusive. There are some mediums by which cultural beliefs can pose a barrier to effective communication and means includes language; every culture has its form of language which is used for communication among its members. Language is very crucial to effective communication because it is required as means of defining the kind and nature of the conversation and also the level of assimilation of the users of such languages. There is need to note that language serves as a barrier to effective communication because the inability to use a specific a language hinders conversation. Hence language difference with is a crucial feature of culture is a primary barrier to effective communication. For example, a native Chinese speaker cannot understand any form of communication done in English language and vice visa. Language has also served as a barrier to effective communication in specific instances where specific slangs and jargons are used in the communication process. When such word choices are used, and such words are not accessible by other parties to the communication, such actions pose barriers to effective communication, (Sue and David 45)

Signs and Symbols in Communication

Every culture has a couple of signs and symbol which are a representative of certain notions in such society. It is important to note that a couple of meaning and interpretation has been associated with such signs and symbols by members of such communities. Hence for those who are not members of this society, such signs and symbols impede the effectiveness of the communication, as they remain unable to interpret or infer the meaning of such signs and symbolic representations. It is important to note that this situation could also have far-reaching effects when people are unable to understand the meaning of such symbols they stand the chance of being affected by eventualities if such signs are warning signal sent to members of the community informing them of impending danger, (Dell’Arciprete et al. 56).

Stereotyping in Communication

In the cause of cultural development, the society has featured several belief patterns, one of such beliefs are based on the development of stereotypes. Stereotyping is a process of creating a generalization and conclusion about a group of people. In recent times, the concept of stereotyping is closely associated with cultural belief, and this can also be considered as a primary cause of communication barriers. When a stereotype is formed, it mostly believed to be accurate by a large proportion of the society, and hence it forms the basis of the communication shared by the community with the group of people in which such notions are developed against. For example, in recent times the American culture has enveloped an adverse stereotype of the members of the Islamic religion. It is believed that this group of people is extremely aggressive, dangerous and poses an enormous threat to the society; This belief has also adversely affected the communication between members of the American society and those of the Islamic world. There exists limited or no friendliness between the American and member of the Islamic religions and most cases when there are opportunities for communication. The Americans do not consider the possibility of listening to or seeing things from the perspective of the member of the Islamic world. The above notion is based on the adverse cultural stereotype that has been developed against this set of people in recent times, (Spencer-Rodgers et al 78)

Beliefs and Behavior in Communication

A prominent aspect of culture is the beliefs and behavior, in the course of the development of culture members of the society are provided within couple orientation which forms a significant part of their beliefs system and ends up being responsible for a substantial proportion of their behavioral tendencies. Their factors could affect the effectiveness of their communication among people who do not share the same belief and behavior. For example in some cultures elders and senior citizens are expected to be addressed in a particular manner while in other societies this aspect is not that important. Hence members of society where communication pattern is detailed and specific regarding by senior citizens will find it difficult communicating with members of other communities where the reserve is the case. There is need also to mention that in some society body language is monitored and determines if such communication would continue or end immediately. For example, in some culture eye constant during conversation is a sign that both parties are actively engaged in the communication process. Hence the communication continues, and it is deemed successful. However, in other cultures, maintaining eye contacting during communication most especially when talking to some more advanced in age is considered as a high level of disrespect. Therefore the above contrasting cultural believes has shared by members of these groups serve as a significant hindrance to effective communication between them, (Neuliep 39)

Ethnocentrism in Communication

Ethnocentrism is an aspect of culture that is also responsible for the rate of effective communication. There is the tendency that this concept will create a form of division which is known as in-group and out-group classification. The set of people refers to as in-group are individuals who are members of a particular ethnic group, hence the shares similar ethic values. The out-groups are those who are not members of the same ethnic group consequently they do not share the same levels of ethic considerations. Based on the in-depth discussion about Ethnocentrism as presented above, there is need to note that it is enshrined in societal culture could serve as a hindrance to effective commutation. The in-group members are always willing to interact with each other and often unwilling to communicate with members of the outgroups. The concept of Ethnocentrism is very crucial when determining the effectiveness of communication because in most cases it affects the level of understanding of the message being passed across and could also serve as a source of extreme aggression during a communication process, (Harris 67).

Religion in Communication

Perhaps an essential aspect of culture that could also be responsible for creation barrier to effective communication is the concept of religion. It is undeniable that religion constitutes one of the most influential forces in the world. Over the years and in recent times religious beliefs have represented a significant chunk of the behavioral characteristics of members of the society and the mode of communication is not left out. In most cases just like stereotyping and ethnocentrism, religion disrupts communication by efficiently creating a specific adverse notion about the followers of other faiths. Hence based on this idea, people find it difficult to talk to or share other forms of communication with people of another religious background. Religious view is a prominent factor that influences what people think of others and creates opinions that determine how they relate to them regarding communication, (Blondheim et al. 88)

Conclusion

In conclusion, communication is an essential aspect of the society; it forms the bases by which information is passed across from source to recipient. However, the success of a communication process is determined to a large extent by the level of its effectiveness. In the course of societal development, there have been a couple of factors that have been accredited to hindering effective communication. However, for this study, a focus was placed on one of these concepts known as culture. Culture is the way of life of a set of people. Hence it is responsible for a significant portion of their behavioral tendencies which includes communication. The study points out that culture provide a couple of cultural components which could serve as a hindrance to successful communication. Such elements of culture include religion, ethnocentrism, beliefs behaviors, stereotypes, and language. There is need to note that since communication is an essential aspect of every society, therefore, all forms hindrance to its effectiveness should be minimized as much as possible. A practical means of reducing the cultural factors that adversely affect communication is the adoption of a reorientation. The process will provide the society with information as to the importance of communication and need to put aside all form of cultural bias.

Works Cited

Blondheim, Menahem, and Elihu Katz. “Religion, communications, and Judaism: the case of digital Chabad.” Media, Culture & Society 38.1 (2016): 89-95.

Dell’Arciprete, Ana, et al. ”Cultural barriers to effective communication between Indigenous communities and health care providers in Northern Argentina: an anthropological contribution to Chagas disease prevention and control.” International journal for equity in health 13.1 (2014): 6.

Harris, Stephanie Leanne. ”Americans’ Willingness to Communicate With Mexican Immigrants: Effects of Ethnocentrism and Immigration Status.” (2017).

Neuliep, James W. Intercultural communication: A contextual approach. Sage Publications, 2017.

Spencer-Rodgers, Julie, and Timothy McGovern. ”Attitudes toward the culturally different: The role of intercultural communication barriers, affective responses, consensual stereotypes, and perceived threat.” International Journal of Intercultural Relations 26.6 (2002): 609-631.

Sue, Derald W., and David Sue. ”Barriers to effective cross-cultural counseling.” Journal of Counseling Psychology 24.5 (1977): 420.