Assignment: Cultural Communication

400 to about 650 words, but certainly no more than 800 words.
Include the word count at the end of your response, like this: Words: 582
Submit to the relevant dropbox as a Word Document (doc or docx) or a PDF file.
Write the response in Standard American English. This includes using full sentences, indented paragraphs, and proper spelling and punctuation. be sure to double space your submission.
Place course concepts you use in bold. Example: “Early on our group developed an unusual norm about taking turns in conversation...” (Note that your goal is still to demonstrate a rich understanding of the course material, though, and not merely to “spam vocabulary.”)
If the only source you use is the textbook, you do not need to submit a works cited list.
Prompt
Identify a specific situation (either one-on-one or in a group) in which you felt that you were not communicating very well with the someone due to differing expectations of appropriateness. Then:
Part 1: Discuss how differences in one (or two) of the five cultural dimensions helps explain this breakdown in communication: individualism/collectivism, power distance, gender expectations, time orientations, or high context/low context cultural dimensions. (Be sure that you and the other(s) actually hold different expectations (e.g., high context vs low context), so that you can explain the dialectical tension. ) This should comprise the longest portion of your writing response, and it should clearly demonstrate your understanding of the concept as explored in the readings.
Part 2: Briefly explain how one or two additional factors of diversity might also have contributed to this particular miscommunication, selecting a concept related to personality, gender, generation, or religion. Many people use a specific type or trait of personality, such as the sensor type, or agreeableness, but any specific concept from these sections of the reading--personality, gender, generation, religion--would be appropriate. (Note that the Working in Groups text has not yet been updated with information on Gen Z, those born after 1999 or so. If a generation difference is relevant to your situation, you might want to consult the overview of McKinsey's report on Gen Z (Link to external website). For a much deeper dive, see the collection of articles assembled in Pacific Standard's Gen Z Special Report (Link to external website.)
Part 3: Discuss how you could have behaved and communicated differently to encourage a better interaction. You should draw upon one or more of the techniques for adapting to diversity discussed near the end of the reading to support your answer. (Since you can’t control or change others’ actions, how might you have invited a more productive response from the other person, now that you’ve considered what might have motivated them?)
Note: While a language barrier may in some instances have been a contributing factor, I encourage you to focus only on the dimensions of diversity and culture discussed in the readings.
Evaluation
Overall, you are being evaluated on your ability to clearly demonstrate your understanding of the course material covered in both the reading and this lesson, and to apply it to a specific communication event. Specific criteria are as follows:
Accurate use of course concepts, including selecting the most appropriate term for the situation you describe: 10 points
Explanation depth, demonstrating an awareness of the complexity of group interaction: 15 points
Writing quality is consistent with Standard American English, and attends to clarity, mechanics, and proofreading: 5 points
Please review the rubric below prior to completing the assignment so you are aware of the grading criteria.