Real Communication An Introduction

266 Part 3  Group and Organizational Communication

Once your group begins working toward its goals, encourage yourself and

your fellow members to talk regularly about the decisions you’re making and the

actions you’re taking to ensure that these all support progress toward the goals.

Individual Differences

Members of a group may share norms, goals, and cohesion with their fellow members,

but they also each bring personal differences that can strongly affect the communica-

tion climate. Let’s examine how cultural factors and communication apprehension—

which vary by individual—affect our ability to communicate in groups.

Cultural Factors

As you’ve learned throughout this book, culture has a big impact on how we

communicate. Cultural diversity can have a particularly significant impact on

group processes and outcomes (Thomas, Ravlin, & Wallace, 1996). When a

group has culturally diverse members, that diversity can have benefits (such as

enabling the group to produce a wide array of viewpoints) as well as challenges

(including misunderstandings between members).

As we discussed in Chapter 3, cultures in English-speaking nations such

as the United States, Great Britain, and Canada are largely individualist and

low context, valuing personal accomplishment, self-esteem, and direct com-

munication. As such, people in individualist cultures want their own opinions

heard and appreciated, and they are likely to express them clearly and openly.

In a collectivist and high-context culture, people value cooperation and group

harmony, as well as indirect expression. They allow group norms (rather than

their own personal goals) to have the largest influence on their behaviors and

thoughts (Triandis, Brislin, & Hul, 1988). Not surprisingly, this difference can

present a challenge when members of these cultures are working together in

groups. People from individualist cultures will likely more openly vocalize their

disagreement with the others and try to persuade each other, whereas the col-

lectivists may feel “bulldozed” as they stifle their own objections for the good of

the group. Conflict also occurs because of these differences in members’ attitudes

and basic orientations to problems (Tjosvold, 1992).

Communication Apprehension

The next time you’re sitting in your communication classroom or logging

on to a discussion forum in your online course, take a peek around. Is there

someone who never speaks up or raises a hand? Perhaps you’re assuming that

this person has nothing to say or that he or she is a social loafer. Maybe you’re

right. But it’s also possible that this individual feels uncomfortable participat-

ing in group conversation even when his or her contribution would clearly help

the group. People who are fearful or nervous about speaking up in groups are

experiencing communication apprehension (CA). We discuss CA more fully

in Chapter 14, because this anxiety is particularly common in public speaking

situations, but it can affect collaboration in groups as well. Particularly in newly

formed groups, individuals experiencing high levels of communication appre-

hension are less likely to participate; they produce and share fewer ideas with

Have you ever misunder-

stood another member of

a group you were involved

in because of cultural differ-

ences? If so, how did you

and the other person deal

with the misunderstanding?

AND YOU?