As evidenced by the above, being objective is no simple assignment. For exam-
ple, it is difficult, if not impossible, tosee and to give meaning to words and beha-
viors unfamiliar to you. How, for example, do you make sense of someone’ssilence
if you come from a culture that does not value silence? You might make the mis-
take of thinking,“How could someone be so insensitive as to be silent at a time
like this?”Someone from an indirect culture might avoid a direct refusal of your
proposal by saying,“I’dliketostudythat,”but never get back to you. You might
deem the person inconsiderate or even deceitful for not providing an honest
answer. In both these scenarios, a lack of objectivity can impede intercultural
communication.
Objectivity also requires that you approach each new situation with an open mind
and avoid being judgmental. To reject someone simply for having a different skin
color, living in a different country, espousing a dissimilar worldview, or speaking
English with an accent diminishes the person and keeps you from having new cultural
experiences. Objectivity promotes learning to interact and value distinct groups of
people regardless of their culture, race, ethnicity, religion, country, or gender.Compromise in Intercultural Communication
Intercultural knowledge and skill will not eliminate cultural conflict! If you engage in
intercultural communication for any length of time, inevitably you will encounter
some type and degree of conflict. The conflict may arise due to differences between
you and the other individual(s), or it could be an internal conflict, resulting from
having to make decisions when confronted by culturally different beliefs, values, or
behavioral protocols. Encountering disagreements is a natural characteristic of inter-
acting with individuals who have differing perceptions of what is right or wrong,
good or bad, acceptable or unacceptable, etc. The important aspect is not whether
conflicts will occur, because they will, but rather how to successfully manage the situ-
ation. Normally, the best resolution of an external conflict is one where both parties
are satisfied—mutual agreement. This is often achieved through reciprocal compro-
mise, as in international business and diplomatic negotiations. In these cases, an
agreement is usually reached through a compromise overinterests, such as price,
time, or support, e.g., how much an item costs, when it will be delivered, and the
type of warranty.
A culturally based conflict involvingvaluescan be more problematic, especially if
it is an internal conflict. For instance, imagine a scenario where you are studying in
Madrid and living with a Spanish family. One evening, your host proudly
announces that despite great difficulty, she has obtained tickets for Sunday’s bull-
fight featuring Spain’s top matador. If you have strong feelings about animal rights
and animal cruelty, you may experience an internal conflict. The problem then
arises as to how to handle this difficult and delicate situation. You do not want to
offend your host, but at the same time, you are rather repelled by the thought of
watching a bull being killed. While your culture has taught you that bullfighting is
a blood sport, your host family has been brought up to believe that it is an art form.
What is to be done? Unfortunately, there is no standardized procedure for handling
these types of situations, and you will have to decide on the final resolution
yourself.Compromise in Intercultural Communication 21Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).