Chapter 12

In chapter 12 I found Culture and Self-Construals to be interesting. Perhaps I was more in tune with this section because for my other Comm classes this summer, they focus a lot on different cultures and how we communicate differently and that leads us to where we are today in terms of communication at work, in school and personally with each other. It definitely seems that we communicate and use tactics based on how our culture is. For example, the point about Japanese avoiding conflict and Americans do not. Although I have no real experience with the Japanese culture one on one per say, what I observe if I am in a Japanese community, say at a restaurant, in school or someplace like Japan town, it does seem that Japanese culture does try avoid conflict by focusing more on subtle indirect communication strategies than we do. We are loud society as Americans so it only seems fitting that we’d be more likely to dive in and get into an argument or confront and persist on get someone’s ideas out or giving our expertise spin on something. And in terms of how we and the Korean culture make request again, it seems that these culture tactics sum up pretty good how I view each culture to be. Sometimes, I think are the Europeans and other countries right in thinking that we are the rude culture based on how we communicate? For example, the comparison of the how the Koreans feel that making certain request were imposing on peoples feelings where as Americans are more right in your face, direct and imposing upon one another. It was an interesting and right on the money section for me.